Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phonemic Transcription of Low-Resource Tonal Languages

Transcription of speech is an important part of language documentation, and yet speech recognition technology has not been widely harnessed to aid linguists. We explore the use of a neural network architecture with the connectionist temporal classification loss function for phonemic and tonal transcription in a language documentation setting. In this framework, we explore jointly modelling phonemes and tones versus modelling them separately, and assess the importance of pitch information versus phonemic context for tonal prediction. Experiments on two tonal languages, Yongning Na and Eastern Chatino, show the changes in recognition performance as training data is scaled from 10 minutes to 150 minutes. We discuss the findings from incorporating this technology into the linguistic workflow for documenting Yongning Na, which show the method's promise in improving efficiency, minimizing typographical errors, and maintaining the transcription's faithfulness to the acoustic signal, while highlighting phonetic and phonemic facts for linguistic consideration.
Work-related stress in the veterinary profession in New Zealand

Abstract AIM: To investigate sources of work-related stress in the veterinary profession in New Zealand, perceptions of levels of stress being experienced, and the social support that veterinarians are using to manage work-related stress. METHODS: A postal survey was distributed to 1,907 veterinarians registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ). The survey collected information on respondents′ age, gender, type and number of people in the workplace, stress levels, depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, causes of stress and sources of support. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty-seven (48.6%) veterinarians returned useable responses. Veterinarians who were retired, working overseas or did not provide information about their type of work were excluded from the analysis, leaving data from 849 (44.5%) veterinarians. Women experienced more work-related stress and depression than men, veterinarians in small animal/mixed practice reported more stress and depression than those in other types of work, and younger veterinarians experienced higher levels of stress than older veterinarians. The main sources of stress were hours worked, client expectations, and unexpected outcomes. Respondents were also stressed by the need to keep up their knowledge and technical skills, and by personal relationships, finances and their expectations of themselves. Most respondents reported that they had good networks of family and friends to help them deal with stress. In general, respondents tended to rely on informal networks such as family and friends, other veterinarians and workmates to provide support. The small proportion of respondents who reported clinical depression or suicidal thoughts or attempts were more likely than respondents in general to have used health professionals, counselling, pastoral/spiritual support and the Vets in Stress phone line, but less likely to have sought support from employers and workmates. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a wide range of strategies to manage work-related stress among veterinarians. Sources of stress in the workplace must be identified and strategies developed to control those which present a significant hazard. Strategies may include attention to workloads and working hours, design of work processes, and increasing social support. Training in work-related skills such as communication, conflict management and stress management may be helpful where lack of these skills is contributing to stress. Support services such as helplines and mentor schemes are also available and information about these needs to be more accessible.
E-Learning as an Emerging Entrepreneurial Enterprise in Universities and Firms

With the inflow of an estimated $6 billion of venture capital over the past five years, E-learning is driven not only by many startup dot-com entrepreneurs but also big corporations, for-profit spinoff ventures, and big and small universities. All vie for a piece of a promising marketplace. Many universities entered the E-learning marketplace using non-profit models, leveraging their knowledge in the traditional classroom to the E-learning environment. Countless entrants and overwhelming numbers of services and products, coupled with market chaos, created confusion that makes it difficult to assess the E-learning industry. This paper identifies and presents four emerging models of E-learning in terms of enterprises, target market, relative advantages and challenges. We introduce a spatial visualization to differentiate among various E-learning models based on their educational orientations and resources. A comparison of the costs associated with E-learning from the perspectives of producers, consumers, and faculty is then presented. We conclude by discussing the lessons that can be learned from this industry’s evolution.
Analyzing the Nature of Knowledge in the IS Field

The history of the IS field is no more than fifty years. This can be considered relatively new compared to more developed disciplines such as the social sciences or the natural sciences. However, the field of IS has long been criticized based on the nature of knowledge in its domain. Moreover, the diversity and pluralism of methodologies adopted by researchers and lack of a coherent body of knowledge in the IS field invites additional criticism. This brings to the fore the important question about organization of knowledge in the field of information systems whether it can be considered as coherent, scientific or cumulative (considered generally as important factors in judging the soundness of a discipline and categorizing it as an independent academic discipline). The other related question is whether there could be alternative or possibly better ways for a discipline to organize knowledge in forms other than theories. We believe that criticisms of the IS field for lack of well-established theories or multiplicity of views of IS researchers appear to be misplaced. In this paper, we respond to some of these criticisms. Our suggestion is that diversity of views or lack of established theories in the field should not be used as the basis for criticizing the IS field as a core body of knowledge. Such criticisms should rather focus on judging whether knowledge accumulated over time in the IS field has a scientific character. We contend that the IS field is still evolving while other disciplines such as the social sciences or the natural sciences have matured over the last couple of centuries. In view of the still emerging nature of the IS field, we adopt the premise that comparison of the state of knowledge in the IS field with that in other established disciplines does not seem logical and this, in itself highlights the weakness in the argument of the critics of the IS field. Since the nature or the way knowledge is organized in a field is usually an important criterion for assessing the academic character of the field, an alternative framework for organizing knowledge in the IS field is suggested that can help accord the status of an academic discipline to IS field.
Seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae antibodies in blood donors in Crete

Bartonella henselae are aerobic, Gram-negative, rod shaped bacteria responsible for the disease known as cat-scratch disease (CSD), which encompasses a worldwide distribution. Cats, the main reservoirs of the pathogen, are usually asymptomatic; however, human infection can cause symptoms ranging from mild to relatively serious (such as bacillary angiomatosis and Parinaud’s oculolandular syndrome), particularly if a person has a weak immune system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of the bacterium in a healthy Cretan population (blood donors) in order to assess the potential risk of exposure to the bacterium.
The Treatment of Lepra Reaction In Lepromatous Leprosy

There is no proof that chaulmoogra oil,^-^ applied ineffectively in the treatment of Hansen's disease, was responsible for lepra reactions. Other medications, such as thiosemicarbazone (TBI),^-'' diphenyl-thiourea (Ciba 1906),^ ethyzul,* streptomycin^ and cycloserine* were in vogue for a time, but were discontinued as inefficient. In turn, sulfones,*"'* which were introduced four decades ago, and whose beneficial influence on the disease cannot be contested, can cause lepra reactions. This complication can be overcome by considerably reducing the dose of sulfone, but then it loses some of its efficacy as a specific drug. The literature mentions the merits of clofazimine**'^" as anti-hanseniasis and antireactional medication, indicating that it takes four to six weeks to exercise full effects on the lepra reaction. Our own experience is limited since we had to discontinue this drug
Three new diterpenoids from Coleus forskohlii Briq

Three new diterpenoids, forskolin G(2), forskolin H(3), forskolin I(4), were isolated from the whole plant of the Coleus forskohlii Briq. , and their structures were elucidated as 1α,6β-diacetoxy-8,13-epoxylabd-14-en-11-one, 1α-hydroxy-6β,7β-diacetoxy-8,13-epoxylabd-14-en-11-one, and 1α,9α-dihydroxy-6β,7α-diacetoxy-8,13-epoxylabd-14-en-11-one on the basis of spectral data.
Effect of rimonabant, a cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker, on weight and cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight or obese patients: RIO-North America: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Rimonabant, a selective cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker, may reduce body weight and improve cardiometabolic risk factors in patients who are overweight or obese. OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of rimonabant with placebo each in conjunction with diet and exercise for sustained changes in weight and cardiometabolic risk factors over 2 years. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 3045 obese (body mass index > or =30) or overweight (body mass index >27 and treated or untreated hypertension or dyslipidemia) adult patients at 64 US and 8 Canadian clinical research centers from August 2001 to April 2004. INTERVENTION After a 4-week single-blind placebo plus diet (600 kcal/d deficit) run-in period, patients were randomized to receive placebo, 5 mg/d of rimonabant, or 20 mg/d of rimonabant for 1 year. Rimonabant-treated patients were rerandomized to receive placebo or continued to receive the same rimonabant dose while the placebo group continued to receive placebo during year 2. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Body weight change over year 1 and prevention of weight regain during year 2. Additional efficacy measures included changes in waist circumference, plasma lipid levels, and other cardiometabolic risk factors. RESULTS At year 1, the completion rate was 309 (51%) patients in the placebo group, 620 (51%) patients in the 5 mg of rimonabant group, and 673 (55%) patients in the 20 mg of rimonabant group. Compared with the placebo group, the 20 mg of rimonabant group produced greater mean (SEM) reductions in weight (-6.3 [0.2] kg vs -1.6 [0.2] kg; P<.001), waist circumference (-6.1 [0.2] cm vs -2.5 [0.3] cm; P<.001), and level of triglycerides (percentage change, -5.3 [1.2] vs 7.9 [2.0]; P<.001) and a greater increase in level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (percentage change, 12.6 [0.5] vs 5.4 [0.7]; P<.001). Patients who were switched from the 20 mg of rimonabant group to the placebo group during year 2 experienced weight regain while those who continued to receive 20 mg of rimonabant maintained their weight loss and favorable changes in cardiometabolic risk factors. Use of different imputation methods to account for the high rate of dropouts in all 3 groups yielded similar results. Rimonabant was generally well tolerated; the most common drug-related adverse event was nausea (11.2% for the 20 mg of rimonabant group vs 5.8% for the placebo group). CONCLUSIONS In this multicenter trial, treatment with 20 mg/d of rimonabant plus diet for 2 years promoted modest but sustained reductions in weight and waist circumference and favorable changes in cardiometabolic risk factors. However, the trial was limited by a high drop-out rate and longer-term effects of the drug require further study. Clinical Trials Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00029861.
Food Insecurity and Electronic Benefit Transfer *

Intra-month cycles in consumption and expenditure are often present amongst participants in transfer programs. Little is known about what determines the severity of these cycles. I find that households with more children experienced more extreme cycles prior to the implementation of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants. The implementation of EBT eliminated this differential severity. The results are not consistent with stigma reductions or security improvements as mechanisms. Household bargaining and improved decision-making are more plausible explanations. The findings have implications for the design of transfer disbursements and for why some households fail to budget successfully. JEL Classifications: D13; D91; I38
The High-Resolution Ultrasonography and Electrophysiological Studies in Nerve Decompression for Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow

Abstract Objective To discuss a combination of high-resolution ultrasound and electrophysiological examination in diagnosis and evaluation of ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow. Method We retrospectively reviewed 20 healthy volunteers and 278 patients of ulnar nerve entrapment divided into three groups by McGowan grade, and we treated patients with subcutaneous or modified submuscular ulnar nerve transposition randomly. All the patients were followed for 2 years. The diagnosis and effects were confirmed by preoperative or postoperative cross-sectional area (CSA), motor conduction velocity (MCV), sensory conduction velocity, and nerve action potential (NAP). Results Healthy volunteers and grade I patients had significant differences in CSA, MCV, and NAP; grade I, II, and III patients had significant differences in CSA, MCV, and NAP; all patients had significant differences in CSA, MCV, and NAP before and after operations. Conclusion High-resolution ultrasound and electrophysiological examination can be used in diagnosis and evaluation of operations of ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow.
Skin pretreatment with microneedles prior to pilocarpine iontophoresis increases sweat production

Collection of sweat via pilocarpine iontophoresis is commonly used to diagnose cystic fibrosis (CF), with thousands of tests performed each day. The main source of resistance to the passage of pilocarpine ions to the sweat glands is the electrical resistance of the stratum corneum. It was hypothesized that pretreating the skin with 0·5 mm‐long microneedles would significantly decrease this resistance, thus increasing pilocarpine's permeation into the skin. Improved permeation should result in significantly reduced time to sweat initiation, time to collection of a clinically meaningful amount of sweat, and increased total amount of sweat produced in 15 min. Subjects (n = 12) had two 5 cm2 areas on the forearm measured, marked and randomized to experimental (microneedles + iontophoresis) or control (iontophoresis alone). Microneedle pretreatment was conducted using a 35‐needle microneedle stamp in a manner that 20 applications completely covered the 5 cm2 treatment area. This was repeated five times for a total of 100 applications. Both experimental and control sites were placed under iontophoresis (1·5 mA) for 5 min. Microneedle pretreatment significantly decreased mean skin resistance (260 ± 27 kΩ versus 160 ± 19 kΩ, P = 0·006), while significantly increasing mean sweat rate (0·76 ± 0·35 versus 0·54 ± 0·19 μl cm2 min−1, P = 0·007). No significant difference was found concerning pain (P = 0·059), number of active sweat glands (P = 0·627) or the osmolality of the collected sweat (P = 0·636). The results of this study suggest that microneedle pretreatment prior to pilocarpine iontophoresis significantly increases sweat production. Such results have the potential to improve the methodology currently used to diagnose cystic fibrosis and, more broadly, to administer drugs via the skin.
Geminin is an indispensable inhibitor of Cdt1 in mouse embryonic stem cells

Geminin is implicated in regulation of the cell cycle and differentiation. Although loss of Geminin triggers unscheduled DNA rereplication as a result of interruption of its interaction with Cdt1 in some somatic cancer cells, whether such cell cycle regulation also operates in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has remained unclear. To characterize the Geminin‐Cdt1 axis in ESCs and compare it with that in somatic cells, we established conditional knockout (KO) of Geminin in mouse ESCs and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Geminin KO ESCs manifest a large flattened morphology, develop polyploidy accompanied by DNA damage and G2‐M checkpoint activation, and subsequently undergo apoptosis. Rereplication in Geminin KO ESCs was attenuated by inhibition of G2‐M checkpoint signaling or by expression of wild‐type Geminin, but not by expression of a Geminin mutant that does not bind to Cdt1, indicating the importance of sequestration of Cdt1 by Geminin in G2 phase. In contrast, Geminin KO MEFs did not manifest disturbance of the cell cycle unless they were treated to force abnormal accumulation of Cdt1. Together, our results indicate that Geminin is a key inhibitor of Cdt1 in mouse ESCs, but that it plays a backup role in MEFs to compensate for accidental up‐regulation of Cdt1.
Analysis of Space Charge Generating Devices for Lightning Protection: Performance in Slow Varying Fields

This paper starts with a review of anode corona modes with particularly streamer-free glow known as ultra-corona, with the view of exploring its application in lightning protection. Due to the inherent intensification of the ambient electric field atop a tall structure, strict conditions have to be imposed on the streamer-free space charge generation and the stability of that mode of corona when exposed to rapid field variations due to remote lightning. A novel ultra-corona electrode satisfying the above conditions is introduced. High voltage test results on such electrodes are presented including corona current, charge and laboratory air gap breakdown voltage. By applying dimensional analysis, a generalized formula for corona currents from such a device atop a tall structure is presented which includes the effects of the ambient ground field, structure height, ambient electric field at the top of the structure, electrode dimensions, and wind speed.
The Microphysical Roles of Lower-Tropospheric versus Midtropospheric Aerosol Particles in Mature-Stage MCS Precipitation

AbstractSimulations of two leading-line, trailing-stratiform mesoscale convective system (MCS) events that occurred during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) have been used to understand the relative microphysical impacts of lower- versus midtropospheric aerosol particles (APs) on MCS precipitation. For each MCS event, four simulations were conducted in which the initial vertical location and concentrations of cloud droplet nucleating APs were varied. These simulations were used to determine the precipitation response to AP vertical location. Importantly, the total integrated number and mass of the initial aerosol profiles used in the sensitivity simulations remained constant, such that differences in the simulations could be directly attributable to changes in the vertical location of cloud droplet nucleating APs. These simulations demonstrate that lower-tropospheric APs largely influenced the precipitation response directly rearward of the leading cold pool boundary. However.
Methodological issues in studies of air pollution and daily counts of deaths or hospital admissions.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To review the issues and methodologies in epidemiologic time series studies of daily counts of mortality and hospital admissions and illustrate some of the methodologies. DESIGN: This is a review paper with an example drawn from hospital admissions of the elderly in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. MAIN RESULTS: The central issue is control for seasonality. Both over and under control are possible, and the use of diagnostics, including plots, is necessary. Weather dependence is probably non-linear, and adequate methods are necessary to adjust for this. In Cleveland, the use of categorical variables for weather and sinusoidal terms for filtering season are illustrated. After control for season, weather, and day of the week effects, hospital admission of persons aged 65 and older in Cleveland for respiratory illness was associated with ozone (RR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.02, 1.16) and particulates (PM10 (RR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.01, 1.24), and marginally associated with sulphur dioxide (SO2) (RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.06). All of the relative risks are for a 100 micrograms/m3 increase in the pollutant. CONCLUSIONS: Several adequate methods exist to control for weather and seasonality while examining the associations between air pollution and daily counts of mortality and morbidity. In each case, care and judgement are required.
Degradation of solid dielectrics due to internal partial discharge: some thoughts on progress made and where to go now

The amount of literature on partial discharge (PD) and partial discharge induced degradation is vast. In the past 10-20 years significant progress has been made on research within partial discharge induced aging of dielectrics. Researchers now agree on the main mechanisms pertaining to this topic. With the advent of a new generation of dielectrics of which many properties now can be affected by the introduction of small amounts of nano-sized particles it seems to be a good moment to review the progress on the understanding of PD induced aging. Focusing on internal partial discharge in solid polymeric insulation this paper tries to identify achievements and at the same time challenges still to be solved.
Implementing two treatment approaches to childhood dysarthria

Abstract The paucity of evidence and detail in the literature regarding speech treatment for children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy (CP) renders it difficult for researchers to replicate studies and make further inroads into this area in need of exploration. Furthermore, for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) wishing to follow treatments that the literature indicates have promise, little guidance is available on the details of the treatments that yielded the positive results. The present article details the implementation of two treatment approaches in speech treatment research for children with dysarthria: Speech Systems Intelligibility Treatment (SSIT) and the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD (LSVT LOUD). Specific strategies, primarily for treatment, but also for outcome measurement and acoustic analysis of dysarthric speech, are described. These techniques are provided for researchers and clinicians to consider implementing in order to advance speech treatment for this population. New data from research using these approaches are presented, including findings of acoustic vowel space changes following both speech treatments.