Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recognition of Creaky Voice from Emergency Calls

Although creaky voice, or vocal fry, is widely studied phonation mode, open questions still exist in creak’s acoustic characterization and automatic recognition. Many questions are open since creak varies significantly depending on conversational context. In this study, we introduce an exploratory creak recognizer based on convolutional neural network (CNN), which is generated specifically for emergency calls. The study focuses on recognition of creaky voice from authentic emergency calls because creak detection could potentially provide information about the caller’s emotional state or attempt of voice disguise. We generated the CNN recognition system using emergency call recordings and other out-of-domain speech recordings and compared the results with an already existing and widely used creaky voice detection system: using poor quality emergency call recordings as test data, this system achieved F1 of 0.41 whereas our CNN system accomplished an F1 of 0.64. The results show that the CNN system can perform moderately well using a limited amount of training data on challenging testing data and has the potential to achieve higher F scores when more emergency calls are used for model training.
Title Mechanisms of influence of invasive grass litter on germination and growth of coexisting species in California Permalink

In grasslands, litter has been recognized as an important factor promoting grass persistence and the suppression of forbs. The invasive European annual grass Bromus diandrus (ripgut brome) is widespread throughout California, where it produces a persistent and thick litter layer. The native grass, Stipa pulchra, is also common in some grassland settings and can also produce persistent litter, yet it is typically associated with more forbs. Very little is known about the mechanisms through which these two common grass species influence seedling establishment of both exotic invasive and native herbs. Here, we evaluated the effect of B. diandrus and S. pulchra litter on seedling establishment of two invasive (the grass B. diandrus and the forb Centaurea melitensis) and two native (the grass S. pulchra, and the forb Clarkia purpurea) herbaceous plants in a greenhouse setting. Our results showed that B. diandrus litter cover hindered seedling establishment of the four species tested, but that the degree and mechanism of inhibition was dependent on which species was tested, life form (e.g. monocot/dicot) and seed size. Seedling emergence of the two forb species was more vulnerable to litter cover than either grass species and both forbs had smaller seed size. After germination, only seedling biomass of B. diandrus itself was reduced by litter (both B. diandrus and S. pulchra). We found no significant effects of leachate of either grass species on seedling emergence of any species, while a high concentration of B. diandrus leachates inhibited root growth of all species including B. diandrus seedlings. Stipa pulchra litter leachates did not affect S. pulchra or C. melitensis seedlings although it did suppress B. diandrus and C. purpurea seedling growth. Our findings provide direct experimental evidence for the mechanism of effect of litter on these coexisting invasive and native species. Such evidence helps advance our understanding of role of B. diandrus and S. pulchra litter in California grassland.
Thermodynamic Assessment of the Solar-to-Fuel Performance of La 0.6Sr 0.4Mn 1-YCr yO 3-σ Perovskite Solid Solution Series

In the search of new materials for the solar-to-fuel technology, we turn to the material class of perovskites that offer wide possibilities in manipulation of its chemistry and catalytic activity. Here, we access the role of Cr in the La<sub>0.6</sub>Sr<sub>0.4</sub>Mn<sub>1-Y</sub>Cr<sub>y</sub>O<sub>3-σ</sub> perovskite solid solution hitherto unexplored for two-step solar thermochemical fuel production. A multi-component Calphad defect model for the system La-Sr-Cr-Mn-O is therefore optimized and used for computations of oxygen nonstoichiometries and redox thermodynamics of the La<sub>0.6</sub>Sr<sub>0.4</sub>Mn<sub>1-Y</sub>Cr<sub>y</sub>O<sub>3-σ</sub> solution series in the temperature range of 1073 to 1873 K as a potential operation window for solar-to-fuel conversion. Modeling results reveal two advantages of substituting manganese by chromium. Firstly, it is possible to reduce the heat capacity with up to 10%, to a value of 132 J mol<sup>-1</sup> K<sup>-1</sup>. Secondly, the thermodynamic driving force for solar-to-fuel conversion increases and the Cr-doped materials provide higher yield and efficiency at isothermal operation. The proposed model allows for continuous simulative scanning of redox thermodynamics from zero Cr-doping to a fully substituted chromite perovskite. For isothermal water splitting, the composition La<sub>0.6</sub>Sr<sub>0.4</sub>Mn<sub>1-Y</sub>Cr<sub>y</sub>O<sub>3-σ</sub> displays the highest fuel yield and efficiency of 2.7% due to a high thermodynamic driving force at elevated temperature for this composition. These predictive insights give prospects for engineering the thermodynamics of the oxygen release reaction in perovskites towards higher fuel production and efficiency in solar-to-fuel reactors with isothermal operation.
Productivity and growth : the relevance of the national system of entrepreneurship

In this study we evaluate how country-level entrepreneurship—measured via the national system of entrepreneurship—impacts total factor productivity, and how the national system of entrepreneurship triggers productivity by increasing the beneficial effects of different types of entrepreneurship, namely Kirznerian and Schumpeterian entrepreneurship. Using a comprehensive database for 73 countries during 2002-2013, we employ a non-parametric technique—Data Envelopment Analysis—to build the world technology frontier and compute the Malmquist total factor productivity index and its components. The results are consistent with the notion that the national system of entrepreneurship is positively associated with total factor productivity at the country level. Additionally, the findings reveal that the national system of entrepreneurship enhances efficiency change via enhanced Kirznerian entrepreneurship in the short-run, while the positive effect on total factor productivity of Schumpeterian entrepreneurship prevails in the long run. The results suggest that public policies promoting Kirznerian entrepreneurship—e.g., increased business formation rates—may be conducive to productivity in periods of economic growth. In contrast, policy interventions targeting Schumpeterian entrepreneurship objectives—e.g., innovative entrepreneurship and the development of new technologies—yield to technical progress and, consequently, productivity growth, regardless of the state of the economic cycle (growth of stagnation).
Working with patients with an acquired brain injury : staff experiences of inappropriate sexualised behaviour.

Research investigating challenging behaviour is expansive across different client groups, the majority of which adopts a quantitative approach. Consequently, research regarding the subjective experiences of staff working with these behaviours, in particular the emotional impact, appears limited. To address this, experiences of staff who are exposed to client challenging behaviour were explored in a qualitative literature review. A transparent and systematic approach was used to identify and analyse key themes and quality issues. Themes identified from the reviewed studies included: understanding the behaviour, losing control, emotional reactions, managing a response, coping strategies, relationship with client and professionalism. However, many studies lacked methodological rigour. Understanding staff experiences may help promote psychological and emotional wellbeing. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed and possible areas for future research identified, including investigating coping strategies for care staff and effective support mechanisms.
Selectivity and Market Timing Ability of Fund Managers: Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Conventional HSBC Saudi Mutual Funds

This paper empirically compares the market timing, the stock selection and the performance persistence of Islamic and conventional HSBC Saudi mutual funds by using monthly returns from April 2011 to December 2018. The data was grouped into five portfolios based on geographical investment basis (locally, Arab, internationally) and Sharia compliance (Islamic and conventional). The empirical results indicate that Islamic funds underperformed conventional funds internationally but not locally. Findings suggest that the market selectivity skills of managers in the Islamic funds are better than the conventional funds. In addition, only the managers of Saudi conventional funds investing internationally have a good market timing skills, thus, they are able to beat the market index by predicting its movements and buying and selling accordingly. Furthermore, this study gives a brief idea about the performance persistence of HSBC Saudi funds. The results confirm existence of the persistence performance when the funds do not apply Sharia law and when they are instead focused internationally.
Hollowed Out : Technological Change , Labor Market Polarization , and Trade Union Decline

Following recent work on how between-group heterogeneity decreases the probability of developing encompassing institutions, I argue that labor market polarization across western democracies has contributed to trade union decline. Labor market polarization, an increase in employment in highand low-wage occupations but a decline in routine task, middle wage occupations, is caused by technological change and creates a workforce that is more heterogeneous in its preferences for union representation, reducing the possibility of cross-skill-group support for unions. I test this argument using data for 21 OECD countries 1969-2010 and linked employer-employee German data 1993-2007. In the former, I find a robust, positive relationship between routine task employment and union density. In the latter, I find that firms with more heterogeneous workforces are more likely to withdraw from collective agreements and that industries with high between-firm skill heterogeneity have lower collective agreement participation.
INTEGRATION OF BIOCHAR AND LEGUMES IN SUMMER GAP FOR ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY OF WHEAT UNDER CEREAL BASED CROPPING SYSTEM

Biochar application is gaining popularity in agriculture system as prime technology in sustainable context. Field experiments were conducted at the Research Farm of the University of Agriculture Peshawar, during 2011-2013. Wheatmaize-wheat cropping pattern was followed with the adjustment of legumes in summer gap (land available after wheat harvest till maize sowing). Legumes i.e., mungbean, cowpea and Sesbania with a fallow were adjusted in the summer gap with and without biochar application. Biochar was applied at the rate of 0 and 50 t ha with four N levels of 0, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha to subsequent wheat crop. Biohcar application and plots previously sown with legumes improved thousand grain weight of wheat crop. Nitrogen application increased thousand spikes m, grains weight, grain and biological yield. It is concluded that integration of biochar and legumes could be a useful strategy for enhancing the overall farm profitability and productivity of cereal-based systems by providing increased yields from this additional 'summer gap' crop.
Chemical Composition and Micro Morphology of Golden Laminae in the Wall Painting “ La Maest à ” by Simone Martini : A Study by Optical Microscopy , XRD , FESEM-EDS and ToF-SIMS

The chemical characterization of gilding decorations in works of art is fundamental in order to elucidate the techniques and materials used by the artists. In the present work we investigated by a combination of bulk and surface sensitive methods the composition and micro stratigraphy of the gilding laminae in the wall painting of the 14th century “La Maestà”, the masterpiece of Simone Martini. The aim of this study was to determine the composition of the gilding leaves and of the adhesive organic materials used to glue the metallic decorations to the wall painting. Due to the altered state of the samples we could not univocally identify the nature of the adhesive materials. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements showed that the gilding layers consisted of a gold leaf which was laid either directly on a preparation layer or on a tin lamina. The high sensitivity of ToF-SIMS and its spatial resolution allowed us to find traces of silver in the gold leaves and in the tin laminae which were not revealed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis.
Mindfulness and cancer : a literature review and empirical study

This paper presents a new conceptualisation of how mindfulness-based interventions might be of psychological benefit to cancer patients and a review of the empirical literature evaluating the extent to which such benefits exist. The paper begins with an overview of mindfulness-based interventions, the mechanisms by which they are thought to have their therapeutic effects, and how they might apply to people dealing with the multiple challenges that cancer presents. This is followed by a review of the literature examining the effects of mindfulness-based interventions for cancer patients, specifically assessing how well the literature is currently able to address three key questions: 1. For whom is mindfulness helpful? 2. Does it matter how the intervention is packaged? 3. What kinds of benefits can mindfulness offer to cancer patients? A narrative synthesis of the literature finds some evidence that mindfulness-based interventions can offer psychological benefits to cancer patients but concludes that a preponderance of uncontrolled studies has led to prematurely strong conclusions in the literature. Finally, the paper suggests some implications of the review for clinicians, purchasers and researchers.
Isolated limb perfusion with TNF and Melphalan for locally advanced soft tissue sarcoma: three time periods at risk for amputation

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term limb salvage rate and overall survival after isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF) and melphalan for locally advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods: From 1991-2003, 73 patients (36 male, 37 female, median age 54 (range 14 – 80) years) years with biopsy proven STS underwent 77 perfusions followed by delayed surgical resection, with or without adjuvant radiation. Limb salvage and overall survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: A total of 21 amputations (28%) were performed. Overall 1, 5 and 10 years limb salvage was 80.1 ± 4.8, 68.2 ± 6.5% and 60.6 ± 9.2% respectively. Three time episodes were at risk for amputation. The first period was within 11⁄2 year after perfusion mainly due to massive necrosis of the tumor and overlying skin resulting in a soft tissue deficit or recurrent disease (n=17). The second time period was within 5 years with 2 amputations performed for late local recurrence. The third episode occurred ten years after perfusion, 2 amputations performed for critical leg ischemia. Another two patients developed a pathological fracture of the femur due to radiation osteonecrosis. These 4 patients received adjuvant radiotherapy. Overall 1, 5 and 10 years survival was 82.9 ± 9.2%, 58.7 ± 13.1% and 42.5 ± 18.2% respectively. Conclusions: ILP with TNF and melphalan followed by delayed surgical resection and adjuvant radiation treatment is an effective limb salvage treatment regimen for locally advanced STS. However, we observed late morbidity with 2 amputations performed for critical leg ischemia and 2 pathological fractures of the femur in patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy.
Long-Range Behaviour and Correlation in DFA and DCCA Analysis of Cryptocurrencies

In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to cryptocurrencies, owing to their great development and valorization. In this study, we propose to analyse four of the major cryptocurrencies, based on their market capitalization and data availability: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin. We apply detrended fluctuation analysis (the regular one and with a sliding windows approach) and detrended cross-correlation analysis and the respective correlation coefficient. We find that Bitcoin and Ripple seem to behave as efficient financial assets, while Ethereum and Litecoin present some evidence of persistence. When correlating Bitcoin with the other cryptocurrencies under analysis, we find that for short time scales, all the cryptocurrencies have statistically significant correlations with Bitcoin, although Ripple has the highest correlations. For higher time scales, Ripple is the only cryptocurrency with significant correlation.
Subspace Pooling Based Temporal Features Extraction for Audio Event Recognition

Currently, most popular methods of Audio Event Recognition (AER) firstly split audio event signals into multiple short segments, then the features of these segments are pooled for recognition. However, the temporal features between segments, which highly affect the semantic representation of signals, are usually discarded in the above pooling step. Thus, how to introduce the temporal features to the pooling step requires further investigation. Unfortunately, on the one hand, only a few studies have been conducted towards solving this problem so far. On the other hand, the effective temporal features should not only capture the temporal dynamics but also have the signal reconstruction ability, while most of the above studies mainly focus on the former but ignore the latter. In addition, the effective features of high-dimensional original signals usually inhabit a low-dimensional subspace. Therefore, we propose two novel pooling based methods which try to consider both the temporal dynamics and signal reconstruction ability of temporal features in the low-dimensional subspace. The proposed methods are evaluated on the AudioEvent database, and experimental results show that our methods can outperform most of the typical methods.
A ug 2 01 9 Dyadic Regression August 27 , 2019

Dyadic data, where outcomes reflecting pairwise interaction among sampled units are of primary interest, arise frequently in social science research. Regression analyses with such data feature prominently in many research literatures (e.g., gravity models of trade). The dependence structure associated with dyadic data raises special estimation and, especially, inference issues. This chapter reviews currently available methods for (parametric) dyadic regression analysis and presents guidelines for empirical researchers. JEL Classification: C14, C55, C57
ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYNTACTIC AND PROSODIC BOUNDARIES: FREE RELATIVE CLAUSES IN APPALACHIAN ENGLISH

Using the case of variation in free relative (FR) clauses in Appalachian English (AppE) spoken in the United States, this study provides evidence for syntax-prosody interaction devoid of semantic influence. In AppE, the meaning of sentences like (1) I gave what-ever you left to charity and (2) I gave ever-what you left to charity is identical. The raising of ever to the determiner phrase head position in (2) was hypothesized to increase the prosodic continuity between the matrix verb and ever, and decrease the continuity between ever and what. To test these hypotheses, acoustic correlates of prosodic phrase boundaries were examined in matrix verbs and relative pronouns of sentences produced by four speakers of AppE. The results showed significant differences between the two sentence types, although the continuity interpretation was not supported. Duration differences in the acoustic analysis were consistent with perceptual judgments of prosodic grouping.
The Effect of Market Valuation Measures on Stock Price: An Empirical Investigation on Jordanian Banks

The recognition of vital sectors in the stock exchange and the identification of the dynamic variables affecting stock prices occupy an important position in the growth and development of the stock exchange. They also play an important role in dynamic issues of securities exchanges. The estimation of market valuation indicators and their impact on stock price is expected to help in true deal, and these result in closing the deal price of stocks to their normal prices. Actually, constancy will occur in a capital market when pricing equilibrium is formed in a market of capital, and it just happens with practical use of good and rational methods manner to price share. (Nazemi M., 2012) This study attempted to determine the effect of major market valuation measures on Jordanian banks’ stock prices during the period of 2008–2014; the study applied correlation and multi-regression methods to test its hypotheses. The independent variables for the study are earnings per share (EPS), dividend per share (DPS), book value per share, price/earnings ratio (P/E), dividend yield, market/book ratio and stock turnover ratio; the dependent variable is the stock price. The results of the study show that market valuation measures have a significant effect on banks’ stock prices. Dividends per share (DPS), book value per share and dividend yield also had a significant effect on stock price, while there was no significant effect caused by EPS, P/E, market/book ratio or stock turnover ratio.
Spore production and mycorrhizal development in various tropical crop hosts infected with Glomus clarum

Plant growth, mycorrhizal development and vesicular arbuscular spore production were examined in five tropical crop host species inoculated with Glomus clarum and grown in a glasshouse. In one of the two experiments, sequential harvests of maize, sorghum and chickpea were made in order to study spore production in relation to plant growth and mycorrhizal development. Spore numbers in each of these hosts increased at a fairly constant rate until maximum plant dry weight, when spore production ceased. Sorghum and maize produced considerably more spores than chickpea, with spore numbers being closely correlated with mycorrhizal root length. In the second experiment, Glomus clarum was cultured on each of maize, millet, sorghum, groundnut and chickpea for three consecutive generations before cross-inoculation of the spores from each host onto all five hosts. Sporulation with respect to host size was generally greatest when the inoculum used to infect a host had been produced on that host. The growth-promoting effects of the fungus were not influenced by the source of the inoculum. More spores were produced on the cereals than the legumes. Differences in spore numbers amongst hosts and plant generations were apparently influenced mainly by infected root length and by the growth period.
Integrated weed management for Bt cotton hybrid

Time of sowing and canopy density influence the interaction between weeds and cotton however, little is known about time of sowing response to weed interference in cotton productivity. A field experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during 2015 and 2016 to quantify the influence of time of sowing and weed management methods on weeds interference and seed cotton yield. Crop growth response to weed interference in different time of sowing with weed management was determined in Bt cotton hybrid. Results revealed that, cumulated thermal time (GDDs) was maximum in early sown cotton (1st August) beyond 15th August sowing experienced minimum cumulative GGDs in 15th September. Higher weed density and weed dry weight drastically increased in delayed sowing time from 1st August to 15th September. Pre-emergence pendimethalin 38.7 per cent CS followed by post-emergence pyrithiobac sodium 5% EC 62.5 g ha-1 recorded lower weed density,dry weight and higher weed control efficiency at 40 DAS. Better growth, higher yield parameters and seed cotton yield were recorded when sowing was done on August.