Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Task Demands Modulate the Sensitivity of the Human Cochlea

Recent studies lead to the conclusion that focused attention, through the activity of corticofugal and medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent pathways, modulates activity at the most peripheral aspects of the auditory system within the cochlea. In two experiments, we investigated the effects of different intermodal attention manipulations on the response of outer hair cells (OHCs), and the control exerted by the MOC efferent system. The effect of the MOCs on OHC activity was characterized by measuring the amplitude and rapid adaptation time course of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). In the first, DPOAE recordings were compared while participants were reading a book and counting the occurrence of the letter “a” (auditory-ignoring) and while counting either short- or long-duration eliciting tones (auditory-attending). In the second, DPOAEs were recorded while subjects watched muted movies with subtitles (auditory-ignoring/visual distraction) and were compared with DPOAEs recorded while subjects counted the same tones (auditory-attending) as in Experiment 1. In both Experiments 1 and 2, the absolute level of the averaged DPOAEs recorded during the auditory-ignoring condition was statistically higher than that recorded in the auditory-attending condition. Efferent-induced rapid adaptation was evident in all DPOAE contours, under all attention conditions, suggesting that two medial efferent processes act independently to determine rapid adaptation, which is unaffected by attention, and the overall DPOAE level, which is significantly affected by changes in the focus of attention.
Using Information Gap Activity to Increase Students' speaking Skill at the Twelve Grade of MAN 1 Pamekasan

Based on the researchers’ observation on the preliminary study on the teaching of speaking, the problem was found that the students’ speaking skill in the teaching and learning was very low. It was because the class was heterogeneous and the teacher used monotonous teaching activity. To cope of this problem, the researcher employed the Information gap activity. This study tries to prove how the Information-gap activity can increase students’ speaking skill at the third grade of MAN 1 Pamekasan. The study was design to increase the students’ speaking skill by using Information gap activity at MAN 1 Pamekasan. The study was collaborative classroom action research in which the researcher and the collaborator worked together, the researcher acted as the teacher while the collaborator observed the students during the implementation of the strategy. This study was conducted in one cycle consisting of six meetings using the following procedures; planning, implementing, observing and reflecting. The data of the study were collected through the observation checklists, field notes, and questionnaires. The subject of the study were 41 students of third grade on science 3 program MAN 1 Pamekasan.
Transcriptional responses indicate maintenance of photosynthetic proteins as key to the exceptional chilling tolerance of C4 photosynthesis in Miscanthus × giganteus

Summary C4 photosynthesis is impaired typically by chilling, but not in Miscanthus × giganteus. Global transcript profiling reveals that expression of many key photosynthetic genes is maintained or upregulated during chilling in M. × giganteus, in contrast to maize, suggesting a basis for chilling-tolerant C4 photosynthesis.
Age-dependent height estimation and speaker normalization for children's speech using the first three subglottal resonances

This paper proposes an age-dependent scheme for automatic height estimation and speaker normalization of children’s speech, using the first three subglottal resonances (SGRs). Similar to previous work, our analysis indicates that children above the age of 11 years show different acoustic properties from those under 11. Therefore, an age-dependent model is investigated. The estimation algorithms for the first three SGRs are motivated by our previous research for adults. The algorithms for the first two SGRs have been applied to children’s speech before. This paper proposes a similar approach to estimate Sg3 for children. The algorithm is trained and evaluated on 46 children, aged between 6-17 years, using cross-validation. Average RMS errors in estimating Sg1, Sg2 and Sg3 using the age-dependent model are 51, 128 and 168 Hz, respectively. The height estimation algorithm employs a negative correlation between SGRs and height, and the mean absolute height estimation error was found to be less than 3.8cm for the younger children and 4.9cm for the older children. In addition, using TIDIGITS, a linear frequency warping scheme using age-dependent Sg3 gives statisticallysignificant word error rate reductions (up to 26%) relative to conventional VTLN.
A Comparative study on Term Weighting Methods for Automated Telugu Text Categorization with Effective Classifiers

Automatic Text categorization refers to the process of assigning a category or some categories automatically among predefined ones. Text categorization is challenging in Indian languages has rich in morphology, a large number of word forms and large feature spaces. This paper investigates the performance of different classification approaches using different term weighting approaches in order to decide the most applicable one to Telugu text classification problem. We have investigated on different term weighting methods for Telugu corpus in combination with Naive Bayes ( NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k Nearest Neighbor (kNN) classifiers.
Psychological and behavioral functioning in adolescent psychiatric inpatients who report histories of childhood abuse.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine psychological and behavioral functioning in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents who report histories of childhood abuse. METHOD Three hundred twenty-two subjects completed an assessment battery of psychometrically well-established instruments. Childhood abuse was assessed by using the childhood abuse scale of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory. Childhood abuse scores of 30 or less and 70 or greater were used to create two study groups--no abuse (N = 93) and high abuse (N = 70), respectively. The two study groups were compared demographically and on the battery of instruments. RESULTS The two groups differed substantially on most measures of psychological disturbance examined by the assessment battery. When age and depression level were controlled, the high-abuse group was characterized by significantly higher levels of dependency, suicidality, violence, impulsivity, substance use problems, and borderline tendency. Correlational analyses with the entire study group (N = 322) revealed that higher levels of these psychological problems were positively associated with higher levels of childhood abuse. CONCLUSIONS Psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents who report childhood abuse present with a constellation of symptoms that, after removing the effects of depression, are consistent with borderline personality in statu nascendi.
Pharmacokinetics of Dolutegravir When Administered With Mineral Supplements in Healthy Adult Subjects

All commercially available integrase inhibitors are 2‐metal binders and may be affected by co‐administration with metal cations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of calcium and iron supplements on dolutegravir pharmacokinetics and strategies (dose separation and food) to attenuate the effects if significant reductions in dolutegravir exposure were observed. This was an open‐label, crossover study that randomized 24 healthy subjects into 1 of 2 cohorts to receive 4 treatments: (1) dolutegravir alone, fasting; (2) dolutegravir with calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate, fasting; (3) dolutegravir with calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate with a moderate‐fat meal; (4) dolutegravir administered 2 hours before calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate, fasting. Plasma dolutegravir AUC(0–∞), Cmax, and C24 were reduced by 39%, 37%, and 39%, respectively, when co‐administered with calcium carbonate while fasting and were reduced by 54%, 57%, and 56%, respectively, when co‐administered with ferrous fumarate while fasting. Dolutegravir administration 2 hours before calcium or iron supplement administration (fasted), as well as administration with a meal, counteracted the effect. Dolutegravir and calcium or iron supplements can be co‐administered if taken with a meal. Under fasted conditions, dolutegravir should be administered 2 hours before or 6 hours after calcium or iron supplements.
Infection Related Never Events in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Spinal Fusion Procedures in United States: Prevalence and Predictors

Objective To examine the prevalence and predictors of infection related never events (NE) associated with spinal fusion procedures (SFP) in children (age < = 18 years) in the United States. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2004 to 2008. All pediatric hospitalizations that underwent SFP were selected for analysis. The main outcomes measures include occurrence of certain NE’s. The association between the occurrence of a NE and factors (patient & hospital related) were examined using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results Of 56,465 hospitalizations, 61.7% occurred among females. The average age was 13.7 y and two-thirds were whites. The major insurance payer was private insurance (67.4%). About 82% of all hospitalizations occurred on an elective basis. Teaching hospitals accounted for a majority of hospitalizations (87.9%). Two-thirds were posterior fusion techniques, 52.3% had underlying musculoskeletal deformities, and the most frequently present co-morbid conditions (CMC) included paralysis (10.9%), chronic pulmonary disease (9.7%), and fluid/electrolyte disorders (7.6%). Overall rate of occurrence of a NE was 4.8%. Post-operative pneumonia was the most frequently occurring NE (2.9%). Female gender (OR = 0.78) and elective admissions (OR = 0.66) were associated with lower risk of NE occurrence. Medicaid coverage (OR = 1.46), primary diagnosis of other acquired deformities (OR = 1.82), spinal cord injury (OR = 6.94), other nervous system disorders (OR = 2.84) were associated with higher risk of NE occurrence. Among CMC, those with chronic blood loss anemia (OR = 2.57), coagulopathy (OR = 1.97), depression (OR = 2), drug abuse (OR = 3.71), fluid/electrolyte disorders (OR = 2.62), neurological disorders (OR = 1.72), paralysis (OR = 1.75), renal failure (OR = 5.45), and weight loss (OR = 4.61) were risk factors for higher odds of a NE occurrence. Hospital teaching status, region, hospital size, and patient race did not influence the occurrence of NE. Conclusion The never events examined in the current study occurred in 4.8% of children hospitalized with SFP. Certain predictors of NE are identified in this study.
Influence of Hyperlipidemia on the Treatment of Supraspinatus Tendinopathy With or Without Tear

Objective To investigate the influence of hyperlipidemia on the treatment of supraspinatus tendinopathy, with or without tear. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients with shoulder pain and patients with supraspinatus tendinopathy, with or without tear, were included in the study. Exclusion criteria were prior shoulder surgery, prior steroid injection, neurological diseases that could lead to shoulder pain, and use of lipid-lowering medication. According to the serum lipid profiles, patients were assigned to either the hyperlipidemia or non-hyperlipidemia group. By analyzing the numeric rating scale (NRS) before treatment, and at 2 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment, we compared the difference in treatment effect between the two groups. Results No significant baseline difference was found among the two groups for age, gender, body mass index, duration of pain, side of pain, range of motion of affected shoulder, or physical examination. On the repeated-measures analysis of variance, NRS scores significantly decreased with time for both groups (p<0.001). When analyzing the effect of time between the subjects factor, there was significant difference in the treatment effect between the two groups (p<0.001), namely NRS was less decreased in the hyperlipidemia group. Conclusion We found that hyperlipidemia may be an adversely affecting factor in the treatment of supraspinatus tendinopathy with or without tear.
Profile design considerations for minimizing base transit time in SiGe HBT's

A unified closed form analytical model for base transit time of SiGe HBT's for uniform and exponential base dopant distributions with different Ge profiles in the base (e.g., box, trapezoidal, triangular) is reported. The model is subsequently used to study the design of Ge profile for different base doping profiles, including that of epitaxial base transistors. Consistent with the reported results, our unified model predicts that beyond a certain total Ge content, there is very little reduction in /spl tau//sub b.SiGe/. It is further demonstrated that the trapezoidal Ge profile with X/sub T//spl sim/0.8W/sub B/ gives near optimal base transit time for all doping profiles considered. Our analysis shows that 1) for a given base width and intrinsic base resistance, the exponential base doping profile with Ge yields the least value of /spl tau//sub b, SiGe/ and 2) for a given peak base doping concentration and the intrinsic base resistance, the uniform base doping with Ge gives minimum /spl tau//sub b, SiGe/. Also, the need for keeping the total base Ge content constant while optimizing the Ge profile in the base is emphasized by showing that a false minimum for /spl tau//sub b, SiGe/ may appear if the total Ge content is not kept constant.
Merge in the Human Brain: A Sub-Region Based Functional Investigation in the Left Pars Opercularis

Language is thought to represent one of the most complex cognitive functions in humans. Here we break down complexity of language to its most basic syntactic computation which hierarchically binds single words together to form larger phrases and sentences. So far, the neural implementation of this basic operation has only been inferred indirectly from studies investigating more complex linguistic phenomena. In the present sub-region based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we directly assessed the neuroanatomical nature of this process. Our results showed that syntactic phrases—compared to word-list sequences—corresponded to increased neural activity in the ventral-anterior portion of the left pars opercularis [Brodmann Area (BA) 44], whereas the adjacently located deep frontal operculum/anterior insula (FOP/aINS), a phylogenetically older and less specialized region, was found to be equally active for both conditions. Crucially, the functional activity of syntactic binding was confined to one out of five clusters proposed by a recent fine-grained sub-anatomical parcellation for BA 44, with consistency across individuals. Neuroanatomically, the present results call for a redefinition of BA 44 as a region with internal functional specializations. Neurocomputationally, they support the idea of invariance within BA 44 in the location of activation across participants for basic syntactic building processing.
Capitalizing on Multiple Social Identities to Prevent Stereotype Threat: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem

One troubling aspect of membership in a stigmatized group is that negative stereotypes about the group’s performance affect one’s personal performance (i.e., stereotype threat). Women who are made aware of the negative stereotype that “women are bad at math” perform worse than women who are not made aware of this stereotype. However, women can use an “escape hatch” to avoid stereotype threat by identifying with another social identity (i.e., college students) that has positive stereotypes for math performance and having greater feelings of self-worth. This research shows that women who had greater self-esteem and were presented with an alternative, positive social identity were buffered from stereotype threat by eliminating working memory decrements responsible for poor math performance. Women lower in self-esteem, however, did not benefit from a positive, alternative social identity when it was available and thus fell prey to stereotype-based working memory and performance decrements.
The Effect of Spiritual Intervention on Postmenopausal Depression in Women Referred to Urban Healthcare Centers in Isfahan: A Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Background: Depression is not only common after menopause, but also affects postmenopausal women more than other women. Some studies show the positive effects of spiritual intervention on postmenopausal women and depressed patients. However, there is inadequate experimental data for supporting the effectiveness of such interventions. Objectives: This study investigated the effect of a spiritual intervention on postmenopausal depression in women referred to urban healthcare centers in Isfahan, Iran. Patients and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on postmenopausal women referred to the healthcare centers of Isfahan. Sixty-four women with postmenopausal depression were assigned randomly into an experimental group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 32). The experimental group received eight sessions of spiritual intervention while the control group received two sessions of training on healthy diet for postmenopausal women. All subjects in the experimental group and the control group responded to the Beck’s depression inventory at the start of the study, at the end of the fourth week, and a month after the last educational session. In addition to descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, independent samples t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Results: Before the intervention, the study groups did not differ significantly in terms of mean depression scores (20.76 ± 4.61 vs. 19.58 ± 5.27, P = 0.33). However, immediately after intervention and after one month, the mean depression scores of 11.01 ± 7.85 and 11.21 ± 9.23 in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group (19.22 ± 4.94 and 19.34 ± 4.92, respectively) (P = 0.001). In repeated measures analysis of variance, Mauchly’s test of sphericity was not significant (P = 0.672), and in the test of within-subjects effects, a significant interaction was found between the spiritual intervention and time. Conclusions: Spiritual intervention effectively could reduce the severity of postmenopausal depression. Considering the high prevalence of depression in postmenopausal women and the effectiveness, simplicity, and affordability of spiritual intervention, using such interventions in postmenopausal women is recommended.
Sentinel: occupancy based HVAC actuation using existing WiFi infrastructure within commercial buildings

Commercial buildings contribute to 19% of the primary energy consumption in the US, with HVAC systems accounting for 39.6% of this usage. To reduce HVAC energy use, prior studies have proposed using wireless occupancy sensors or even cameras for occupancy based actuation showing energy savings of up to 42%. However, most of these solutions require these sensors and the associated network to be designed, deployed, tested and maintained within existing buildings which is significantly costly. We present Sentinel, a system that leverages existing WiFi infrastructure in commercial buildings along with smartphones with WiFi connectivity carried by building occupants to provide fine-grained occupancy based HVAC actuation. We have implemented Sentinel on top of RESTful web services, and demonstrate that it is scalable and compatible with legacy building management. We show that Sentinel accurately determines the occupancy in office spaces 86% of the time, with 6.2% false negative errors. We high-light the reasons for the inaccuracies, mostly attributed to aggressive power management by smartphones. Finally, we actuate 23% of the HVAC zones within a commercial building using Sentinel for one day and measure HVAC electrical energy savings of 17.8%.
Assessing Sensitivity of Paddy Rice to Climate Change in South Korea

Paddy rice constitutes a staple crop in Korea. This study conducted sensitivity analysis to evaluate the vulnerability of paddy rice to future climate change, and compared temporal and regional characteristics to classify regions with unfavorable water balances. Rainfall Effectiveness Index for Paddy fields (REIP), the ratio of effective rainfall and consumptive use, was used as a sensitivity index. Weather data from 1971 to 2010 and future climate change scenarios Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 were used to evaluate the sensitivity. Results showed an overall increase in water requirements and consumptive use. The REIP values were small for every period, except the 2040s, 2060s, and 2080s under scenario RCP 4.5, and the 2040s and 2080s under scenario RCP 8.5. Both climate change scenarios showed high sensitivity in regions Jeollabuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and Gyeongnam-do. However, regions Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, and Chungcheongbuk-do had low sensitivity compared to other regions. The REIPs were used to categorize sensitivity into four types: low consumption–water rich, low consumption–water poor, high consumption–water rich, and high consumption–water poor. The Gangwon-do region had the highest number of regions that changed from the low consumption–water rich category to the high consumption-water poor category, making it a priority for measures to improve its adaptive capacity for climate change.
Power Regimes : A Strategic Perspective on the Management of Business-to-Business Relationships in Supply Networks

This paper addresses two main research questions. The first is whether or not firms should attempt to manage the multiplicity of relationships in which they are directly and indirectly involved in their supply chains and networks. The second question, which assumes a positive answer to the first, is how and to what end should firms manage these multiple buyer-supplier relationships? Answers to these questions are proposed on the basis of a novel analytical framework for mapping and explaining the power dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships. The key original contribution made by this framework is that it looks beyond individual exchange dyads to consider interactions within an extended network of business relationships, which is referred to as a power regime. The utility of the power regimes framework is tested with case material from the aerospace industry. This case provides substantial evidence to support the proposition that power regimes are often composed of a number of interlocking, but discrete, management sub-regimes. The paper concludes that firms seeking to manage relationships with their customers and suppliers need to understand where the boundaries between these sub-regimes lie, because the possibility of managing a relationship that crosses a boundary is limited, at least in the short-term. This does not preclude the possibility, of course, that a sub-regime boundary might be moved over time by a firm's efforts to reconfigure the power structure of particular exchange dyads.