Combining vocal tract length normalization with hierarchial linear transformations

Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of vocal tract length normalization (VTLN) as a rapid adaptation technique for statistical parametric speech synthesis. VTLN produces speech with naturalness preferable to that of MLLR-based adaptation techniques, being much closer in quality to that generated by the original av-erage voice model. However with only a single parameter, VTLN captures very few speaker specific characteristics when compared to linear transform based adaptation techniques. This paper pro-poses that the merits of VTLN can be combined with those of linear transform based adaptation in a hierarchial Bayesian frame-work, where VTLN is used as the prior information. A novel tech-nique for propagating the gender information from the VTLN prior through constrained structural maximum a posteriori linear regres-sion (CSMAPLR) adaptation is presented. Experiments show that the resulting transformation has improved speech quality with better naturalness, intelligibility and improved speaker similarity. Index Terms — Statistical parametric speech synthesis, hidden Markov models, speaker adaptation, vocal tract length normaliza-tion, constrained structural maximum a posteriori linear regression 1

Cardiovascular Effects of Vibration Semiannual Report, 1 Aug. 1965 - 28 Feb. 1966

Vibration induced cardiovascular changes in anesthetized dog

Effect of bone loss in anterior shoulder instability

Anterior shoulder instability with bone loss can be a difficult problem to treat. It usually involves a component of either glenoid deficiency or a Hill-Sachs lesion. Recent data shows that soft tissue procedures alone are typically not adequate to provide stability to the shoulder. As such, numerous surgical procedures have been described to directly address these bony deficits. For glenoid defects, coracoid transfer and iliac crest bone block procedures are popular and effective. For humeral head defects, both remplissage and osteochondral allografts have decreased the rates of recurrent instability. Our review provides an overview of current literature addressing these treatment options and others for addressing bone loss complicating anterior glenohumeral instability

Cardiovascular Effects of Vibration Semiannual Report, 1 Feb. - 31 Jul. 1966

Cardiovascular changes and noise reduction in electrocardiograph signals studied on human and dog during vibratio

Revision Total Shoulder Arthroplasty is Associated with Increased Thirty-Day Postoperative Complications and Wound Infections Relative to Primary Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

© 2017, Hospital for Special Surgery. Background: With an increasing volume of primary total shoulder arthroplasties (TSA), the number of revision TSA cases is expected to increase as well. However, the postoperative medical morbidity of revision TSA has not been clearly described. Questions/Purposes: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of postoperative complications following revision TSA, relative to primary TSA. In addition, we sought to identify independent predictors of complications, as well as to compare operative time and postoperative length of stay between primary and revision TSA. Methods: Patients who underwent primary/revision TSA between 2005 and 2015 were identified in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Differences in complications, readmission rates, operative time, length of stay, and predictors of complications were evaluated using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 10,371 primary TSA (95.4%) and 496 revision TSA cases (4.6%) were identified. The overall complication rate was 6.5% in primary and 10.7% in revision TSA patients (p \u3c 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified an increased risk of any complication (odds ratio 1.73, p \u3c 0.001), major complication (2.08, p = 0.001), and wound infection (3.45, p = 0.001) in revision TSA patients, relative to primary cases. Operative time was increased in revision cases (mean ± standard deviation, 125 ± 62.5), relative to primary (115 ± 47.7, p \u3c 0.001). Age \u3e 75, female sex, history of diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and American Society of Anesthesiologists classification ≥ 3 were associated with increased risk of any complication. Smoking history was the only significant predictor of wound infection. Conclusion: Revision TSA, in comparison to primary, poses an increased risk of postoperative complications, particularly wound infections. A history of smoking was an independent predictor of wound infections

Long Head of Biceps Tendon Management: a Survey of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons

© 2017, Hospital for Special Surgery. Background:: Management of symptomatic long head of biceps tendon (LHBT) pathology remains a source of debate. Questions/Purposes:: The purpose of this study was to identify consensus trends for the treatment of LHBT pathology among specialists. Methods:: A survey was distributed to members of the American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES), consisting of three sections—demographics, case scenarios, and general LHBT pathology management. Cases presented common clinical scenarios, and surgeons reported their management preferences. Consensus responses were defined as \u3e 50% of participants giving a single response. Results:: One hundred and forty-two of 417 (34%) surgeons completed surveys. Forty-seven percent of questions reached a consensus answer. Biceps tenodesis was the overwhelmingly preferred technique in cases demonstrating LHBT pathology, as compared to tenotomy. No consensus, however, was reached regarding a specific surgical technique for biceps tenodesis. The two most popular techniques were arthroscopic tenodesis to bone and open subpectoral biceps tenodesis. Fellowship-trained arthroscopic surgeons and surgeons with a largely arthroscopic practice were more likely to perform tenodesis arthroscopically. Conclusion:: ASES members favored biceps tenodesis over tenotomy for surgical management of LHBT pathology, without consensus regarding a specific surgical technique

Synthesis of inhibitors of histone deacetylase.

It has been known for some years now that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition exerts a variety of effects on cellular proliferation and apoptosis. The potential for use of inhibitors of HDAC in the field of cancer therapy has now been realised the first drug of this class recently being approved for use. Structurally, a great variety of molecules have been shown to be capable of producing an inhibitory effect, through mechanisms elucidated by crystallographic studies of the inhibitor-bound enzyme. Despite the diversity of these compounds, several structural features common to most of the known inhibitors can be identified, including a moiety capable of binding a zinc ion present at the enzymes active site. A great number of the known inhibitors bear a hydroxamic acid group for this reason, despite the reportedly unfavourable characteristics of this functionality in vivo. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of novel inhibitors of HDAC, attempts to develop non-hydroxamate inhibitors and biological evaluation of the HDAC inhibitory capability of compounds synthesised within this group. A series of compounds bearing aryloxyalkanoic acid hydroxyamide motifs were synthesised following the identification of this class of compounds as potent HDAC inhibitors. Systematic variation of these molecules allowed optimisation of their activity in isolated enzyme inhibition assays and in human cancer cell line cytotoxicity assays. Attempts to identify novel zinc-binding groups capable of replacing the hydroxamic acid motif were possible through use of the structure of a known potent inhibitor and substitution of the motif with a variety of structures proposed to provide the same role. A further group of novel hydroxamate inhibitors were synthesised based on the simple structure of a known inhibitor. Diversification of the structure and substitution of bio-isosteres led to enhancement of inhibitory activity. Finally, a selection of novel compounds synthesised within this group were evaluated for their effect on cell cycle, cell protein expression and isolated HDAC inhibition

Cultural policies in cities of the ‘global South’: a multi-scalar approach

Building on the literature on global cities and on the worlding of cities, the articles in this special issue chart how cities outside Europe and North America try to reinvent and rescale themselves using culture. They suggest that the fabric of urban cultural policy is embedded in multi-scalar power dynamics. First, the contributions in this special issue reveal the importance of circulating standards across borders in structuring narratives about urban history, heritage and identity, in conjunction with local actors’ interests. Second, the diffusion of hegemonic cultural policy models such as the “creative city” leads to logics of exclusion, gentrification, and has been met with resistance, which suggest that these models can be to the detriment of local residents, despite the progressive values they are often claim to promote. Third, this special issue points to the need to rethink the politics of cultural policy mobility and offers conceptual tools such as vernacularization to make sense of the ways in which urban elites navigate, negotiate and take advantage of circulating cultural policy models