Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relative contributions of spectral and temporal resolutions to the perception of syllables, words, and sentences in noise-vocoded speech

In this study, we investigated how the temporal envelopes contribute to the recognition of isolated syllables, words, and sentences in noise-vocoded speech, under comparison with the influence of spectral resolution. The spectral and temporal resolutions of speech materials were systematically manipulated by a noise-vocoding technique. Japanese monomoraic syllables, meaningful and meaningless words, and sentences were used as test speech materials. The original speech sound was spectrally separated by a filter bank, and each spectral band was replaced with band noise, preserving its original temporal envelope. Spectral resolution was controlled by varying the number of spectral bands as 4, 8, or 16 bands. Temporal resolution was altered by smoothing the amplitude envelope using a low-pass filter with cut-off frequencies at 4, 8, or 16 Hz. Results demonstrated an increased dependence on temporal resolution in comparison with spectral resolution for the recognition of speech materials at higher structural levels (i.e., monosyllables, words, and sentences). This increased temporal dependence suggests that the temporal envelope in noise-vocoded sentences contained a greater amount of suprasegmental information, such as coarticulations, prosodies, and rhythms, in the original speech sound.
Transitions in students' epistemic framing along two axes

We use epistemological framing to interpret participants’ behavior during group problem-solving sessions in an intermediate mechanics course. We are interested in how students frame discussion and in how the groups shift discussion framings. Our analysis includes two framing axes, expansive vs narrow and serious vs silly, which together incorporate and extend prior work on how students frame discussions in physics education research. We present markers for where discussion falls on these axes. We support our conclusions with both microanalytic excerpts of discussion and overall analysis of 75 hours of videobased data. We find that the group spends most of its time in more serious framings, and slightly more than half of its time in more narrow ones. The teaching assistant is the participant who initiates the largest number of frame shifts, and her shifts include bids to all quadrants in the expansive or narrow and serious or silly plane.
Key Themes in Mobile Learning: Prospects for Learner-Generated Learning through AR and VR.

This paper summarises the findings from a literature review in mobile learning, developed as part of a 2-year six-institution project in New Zealand. Through the development of a key themes codebook, we address selected key themes with respect to their relevance to learner-generated learning through emerging technologies, with attention to mobile augmented reality and mobile virtual reality. We see that these two current mobile learning affordances, complemented though relevant approaches to research and practice in mobile learning such as design-based research and connected social learning, are critical to reconceptualise learning through mobile devices. We conclude that mobile learning still requires the theories, methodologies, and practices of its own as a field. We also see a need for mobile learning to be conceptualised around ever-changing learning affordances and educational settings, rather than focusing on static structures such as content-delivery approaches, while embedding it within the scholarship of technology enhanced learning.
Boundary layers in incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with Navier boundary conditions for the vanishing viscosity limit

Abstract. In this paper, we study the vanishing viscosity limit for the incompressible NavierStokes equations with the Navier friction boundary condition. To simplify the expansion of solutions in terms of the viscosity, we shall only consider the case that the slip length α in the Navier boundary condition is a power of the viscosity ǫ, α= ǫ . First, by multi-scale analysis we formally deduce that γ= 1 2 is critical in determining the boundary layer behavior. When γ > 1 2 , the boundary layer appears in the zero-th order terms of the expansion of solutions, and satisfies the same boundary value problem for the nonlinear Prandtl equations as in the non-slip case, when γ= 1 2 , the boundary layer also appears in the zero-th order terms of solutions, and satisfies the nonlinear Prandtl equations but with a Robin boundary condition for the tangential velocity profile, and when γ < 1 2 , the boundary layer appears in the order O(ǫ) terms of solutions, and satisfies a boundary value problem for the linearized Prandtl equations. Secondly, we justify rigorously the asymptotic behavior of the vanishing viscosity limit for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with anisotropic viscosities by using the energy method, when the slip length is larger than the square root of the vertical viscosity. Even though the boundary layer appears in the lower order terms of solutions and satisfies a linear problem, the vorticity of flow is unbounded in the vanishing viscosity limit.
The Explanation Power of Investors' Opinion Divergence in Open Market Repurchases

This paper proposes a new theory to explain the behavior of share repurchases by assuming heterogeneity in investors' beliefs. This new theory provides testable hypotheses that are examined empirically in this paper. Our empirical results show strong evidence for the explanation power of investors' opinion divergence in firms repurchasing shares, even after considering controlling variables such as the undervaluation-signaling hypothesis. The results are also robust to various measures of investors' divergent opinions in open market repurchases.
Propagation of Pi2 pulsations through the braking region in global MHD simulations

We investigate the propagation of Pi2 period pulsations from their origin in the plasma sheet through the braking region, the region where the fast flows are slowed as they approach the inner edge of the plasma sheet. Our approach is to use both the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Lyon‐Fedder‐Mobarry (LFM) global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) computer codes to simulate the Earth's magnetosphere during a substorm that occurred on 14 September 2004 when Pi2 pulsations were observed. We use two different MHD models in order to test the robustness of our conclusions about Pi2. The simulations are then compared with ground‐based and satellite data. We find that the propagation of the pulsations in the simulations, especially through the braking region, depends strongly on the ionospheric models used at the inner boundary of the MHD models. With respect to typical observed values, the modeled conductances are high in the UCLA model and low in the LFM model. The different conductances affect the flows, producing stronger line tying that slows the flow in the braking region more in the UCLA model than in the LFM model. Therefore, perturbations are able to propagate much more freely into the inner magnetosphere in the LFM results. However, in both models Pi2 period perturbations travel with the dipolarization front (DF) that forms at the earthward edge of the flow channel, but as the DF slows in the braking region, −8≤x≤−6 RE, the Pi2 period perturbations begin to travel ahead of it into the inner magnetosphere. This indicates that the flow channels generate compressional waves with periods that fall within the Pi2 range and that, as the flows themselves are stopped in the braking region, the compressional wave continues to propagate into the inner magnetosphere.
Association between serum selenium levels and febrile seizures in Indian children: a case control study

Background: Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures. Children are at particular risk for selenium deficiency. There was various hypothesis about the co-relation between selenium levels and febrile seizures. The aim of the present study was to determine whether there were any changes in serum selenium levels in children with febrile seizures when compared to children with febrile illness without seizures. Methods: This was a hospital based prospective case control study, consisting of 40 children (20 cases and 20 controls) aged between 6 months to 60 months. The serum selenium level was measured in each of them by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Data was analysed by using frequency percentage and pearson’s chi square test . Results: Out of the 40 children included in the study, serum selenium level was lower in febrile seizure group (80%) when compared to controls (20%) which was statistically significant (P value: 0.003). Also, there was no statistically significant difference between males and females. Conclusions: In the present study, we found significantly low serum selenium levels in children with febrile seizures as compared to the children with febrile illness with no seizures. Decreased levels of selenium in children with febrile seizures may be the result of oxidative damage, occurring in the neuronal cells. In our study, a significant co-relation between low levels of selenium and febrile seizures have been observed in children. However, since the numbers are small, further studies with larger sample size are recommended.
Effect of rosella extract on development of fatty streaks lesions in female rats

This research was conducted to explore the effect of rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa) on female rats on oxidative stress which induced by 0.5% H2O2. Oxidative stress has been investigated via tissue (aorta and heart) malonadyaldehyde (MDA) as indirect lipid peroxidation index. For atherosclerotic lesions follow up light microscopical technique has been applied. The result elucidate significant reduction in lipid profit parameters namely: low density lipoprotein (LDL-c), triglycerides, very low density lipoprotein (vLDL-c), atherogenic index and significant elevation in high density lipoprotein (HDL-c) in few animals treated with H2O2 and rosella extract, parallely, this research illustrate reduction in aorta and heart MDA concentration, concomitant with significant rising in glutathione (GSH) level. Histopathologically, this study revealed fatty streaks associated with infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells have been detected after 60 days, in animal treated with rosella revealed reduction in lipid vacuoles and proliferation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMcs) in media toward intimal layers after 40 days from treatment.
Exploring Perceptions and Practices of Biomedical Norms during Exclusive Breastfeeding among HIV-Positive Lactating Mothers in Mozambique

Introduction: To prevent passing infection to their infants, Mozambican mothers with HIV are advised to follow biomedical norms during breastfeeding. However, little is yet known about how HIV-positive mothers perceive biomedical norms during the breastfeeding period. Objective: To analyse lactating mothers’ perceptions and compliance with biomedical norms recommended for reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV via breastfeeding. Method: A qualitative study was carried out consisting of in-depth interviews with 59 HIV-positive lactating mothers. This involved 5 focus group discussions, direct observation and 6 semi-structured interviews with nurses. We used Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a guiding framework for data analysis. Results: Findings revealed participants had mixed perceptions and inadequate knowledge about breast milk and exclusive breastfeeding. As well, participants struggled to comply with some biomedical norms. Approximately half of the participants breastfed immediately after childbirth. Most participants do breastfeed on demand and all participants complied with prescription regarding antiretroviral therapy for their infants. Of the 59 participants, 53 complied with prescription of antiretroviral therapy for themselves. A total of 56 participants did not comply with exclusive breastfeeding to the sixth month. This was due to a lack of knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding, the perception that both breast milk and formula were not enough to feed the baby up to the age of six months. Other factors included returning to school or work, illness of the mother and child, lack of disclosure of HIV status of the mother as well as social norms. Conclusion: The study results suggest participants’ perceptions, incorporated learned experiences and the social environment they inhabit seem to influence compliance to biomedical norms. These norms seem new, and participants are still processing its incorporation. Health education on exclusive breastfeeding and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission should take into account the participant’s perceptions and their social environment.
Teacher Effi cacy as an Antecedent to Teacher Change during Professional Development

Our existing research interest in the area of professional development and our direct involvement in many staff development training workshops for in-service teachers and university lecturers has lead us to this line of inquiry and prompted us to this analysis of the psychological antecedents to individual teacher change in the professional or staff development process. Thus, this paper will elaborate the basic description of professional development, a professional teacher, the concept of teacher’s change, the antecedents to teacher’s change: Personal teaching effi cacy, and fi nally teacher effi cacy and professional development.
Effects of Current Modulation Conditions on the Chromaticity of Phosphor Converted (PC) White LEDs

For two well-known modulation methods, stepwise current modulation (SCM) and pulse width modulation (PWM), the effects of driving current modulation conditions on chromaticity were experimentally investigated in a white LED lighting system. For the experimental implementation of both SCM and PWM, a white LED lighting was fabricated using phosphor converted (PC) white light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a driving circuit module was developed. By using them, the variations of illuminance, color coordinates, and spectrum were evaluated under various forward current conditions. Through the analysis in color coordinates, yellow shift in SCM and blue shift in PWM were observed on chromaticity diagrams with increasing average driving current. In addition, in order to analyze color deviation quantitatively, color distance before and after current increase, and the correlated color temperature (CCT) were calculated. As a result, for the white LED lighting in both modulation conditions, the maximum difference in the calculated CCT was obtained close to 1000 K. It means that careful consideration is required to be taken in the design of illumination systems to avoid serious problems such industrial accidents.
Physiochemical, Biochemical, Minerals Content Analysis, and Antioxidant Potential of National and International Honeys in Pakistan

16 honey samples from Pakistan and two other countries were investigated for their physiochemical, biochemical, minerals, and antioxidant potential. Antioxidant activities of all honey samples were performed by using percentage inhibition of DPPH free radical, AEAC, and FRAP. 5-HMF and mineral contents were determined by HPLC and AAS, respectively. The obtained values of respective parameters, namely, pH, EC, TDS, total acidity, moisture, ash, color intensity, sugars, proline, and protein were in compliance with codex standard and recommendation of council directive by European Union. The total phenolics contents in acacia honey from Germany and jujube honey from Pakistan are similar to monofloral honey from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, respectively. The mineral contents in tested honey samples are comparable with honey from Brazil and Romania. Dark color honeys contained higher phenolic contents than light color ones and attributed to higher oxidation potential and have strong positive correlation with DPPH and FRAP.
Comparing Levels of Serum IgA, IgG, IgM and Cortisol in the Professional Bodybuilding Athletes and Non-Athletes

Article history: Received: 29 Feb 2012 Accepted: 15 Apr 2012 Available online: 17 Nov 2012 ZJRMS 2013; 15(10): 65-68 Background: Bodybuilding athlete's bodies are placed under much pressure in during the exercise, which 2Tis2T 2Tcausing2T 2Tchanges2T 2Tin 2T 2Tthe immune and hormone system2T 2Tin the long term. The purpose of this study was to compare levels of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and cortisol in the professional bodybuilding2T 2Tathletes (BA) and the non-athletes (NA) 2Tmale2T. 2T Materials and Methods: 2T his study was a descriptive-analytic and 2T 29 5Tvolunteer 2T5Tsubjects2T 2Tin2T 2Tthe2T professional 2TBA2T 2Tand 2T 2TNA men participated.2T 2TLevels of2T5T 2T5Tserum IgA, IgG, IgM using Single Radial Immunodiffusion (SRID) and levels of2T5T 2T5Tserum2T5T cortisol 2T5Tusing2T Radioimmunoassay2T (RIA) were measured 2T 2Twith 2T 2Tblood2T 2Tsampling2T 2Tfrom2T 2Tbrachial 2T 2Tvein 2T 2Tat rest2T 2Tand2T 2Tfasting2T. 2TData were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test (p 0.05), while, the2T 2Tlevels of2T 2Tserum cortisol (22.10±2.60 vs. 15.41±3.44 2Tμg/dl 2T, U=0.001, p=0.001) significantly greater in the BA than the NA. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that participation in training and competitions bodybuilding has no effect on serum levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, but increased levels of serum cortisol. Copyright © 2013 Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
CONTINUOUS FRAMES IN HILBERT SPACES

In this paper we introduce a mean of a continuous frame which is a generalization of discrete frames. Since a discrete frame is a special case of these frames, we expect that some of the results that occur in the frame theory will be generalized to these frames. For such a generalization, after giving some basic results and theorems about these frames, we discuss the following: dual to these frames, perturbation of continuous frames and robustness of these frames to an erasure of some elements.
Radiative forcing of organic aerosol in the atmosphere and on snow: Effects of SOA and brown carbon

Organic aerosols (OA) play an important role in climate change. However, very few calculations of global OA radiative forcing include secondary organic aerosol (SOA) or the light‐absorbing part of OA (brown carbon). Here we use a global model to assess the radiative forcing associated with the change in primary organic aerosol (POA) and SOA between present‐day and preindustrial conditions in both the atmosphere and the land snow/sea ice. Anthropogenic emissions are shown to substantially influence the SOA formation rate, causing it to increase by 29 Tg/yr (93%) since preindustrial times. We examine the effects of varying the refractive indices, size distributions for POA and SOA, and brown carbon fraction in SOA. The increase of SOA exerts a direct forcing ranging from −0.12 to −0.31 W m−2 and a first indirect forcing in warm‐phase clouds ranging from −0.22 to −0.29 W m−2, with the range due to different assumed SOA size distributions and refractive indices. The increase of POA since preindustrial times causes a direct forcing varying from −0.06 to −0.11 W m−2, when strongly and weakly absorbing refractive indices for brown carbon are used. The change in the total OA exerts a direct forcing ranging from −0.14 to −0.40 W m−2. The atmospheric absorption from brown carbon ranges from +0.22 to +0.57 W m−2, which corresponds to 27%~70% of the black carbon (BC) absorption predicted in the model. The radiative forcing of OA deposited in land snow and sea ice ranges from +0.0011 to +0.0031 W m−2 or as large as 24% of the forcing caused by BC in snow and ice simulated by the model.
COPING WITH DIVERSITY IN ALLIANCES FOR INNOVATION

Alliances are increasingly considered a key issue for innovation, especially in knowledge-intensive firms. While this is true, the mere membership to alliances does not explain innovation performance, and thus the alliance’s characteristics that determine high performance must be examined. Our research address the question of how the diversity of partners in a certain alliance for innovation affects innovation performance, and how this influence can be moderated by certain characteristics, such as the social capital and type of knowledge shared among partners. The empirical analysis of a sample of 90 biotech companies shows that diversity, on its own, does not explain alliance performance. Instead, social capital and codified knowledge, as moderating variables, may help reap the benefits of diversity. This effect is not unlimited, so beyond a certain level of diversity, the moderating variables become less effective.
More is more: Investigating Attention Distribution Between the Television and Second Screen Applications - a Case Study with a Synchronised Second Screen Video Game

Attention is a key concept for the design of second screen applications that are to be used while watching television (TV). One of the key design goals is to balance the user's attention between the second screen application and the TV content. To investigate the influence of interactivity on attention and overall perceived workload and user experience, we developed video games with varying degrees of interactivity allowing users to play while watching a TV show. The small games were synchronized with the TV show in both the temporal dimension (presenting games as the show progressed) and with the content (enabling users to play games similar to the storyline in the TV show). Results from a laboratory-based user study show that highly interactive video games that are interleaved with the content, draw up to seventy percent of attention on the game (tablet) and are judged with a perceived workload similar to doing real 'work' while watching TV. Nevertheless participants rated the games as fun to play with a high user experience.
Paediatric endocrine disorders as seen at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital over a ten-year period

Background : In most developing countries, data on the prevalence and distribution of paediatric endocrine disorders is lacking. Objective : To describe the pattern of endocrine disorders seen in the Department of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria between 2004 to 2013. Methods : In this retrospective study, the case files of children seen in the paediatric endocrinemetabolic clinic and those admitted into the wards at the UBTH, Benin City from January, 2004 to December, 2013 were audited. Information obtained included age at presentation, gender, principal complaints, and final diagnosis. For those who were admitted, the outcome was noted. The hospital’s paediatric clinic register was examined to obtain the total number of new cases seen during the period under review. Results : A total of 13,735 new cases were seen in the Department of Child Health, UBTH during the ten-year period under review and 99 (0.72%) of these had endocrine disorders. The frequencies of the four leading groups of endocrine disorders seen were as follows: diabetes mellitus 17.2%; disorders of sex development 13.8%; disorders of the thyroid gland 12.1%; and disorders of energy balance 11.2%. Short stature was a rare presenting complaint. Conclusion : Diabetes mellitus and disorders involving sex development, thyroid gland, energy balance and pubertal development were the five leading groups of childhood endocrine disorders encountered in our clinical practice in UBTH. Key words : endocrine disorders, clinical pattern, children, hospital, Nigeria.