Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Anechoic Audio Corpus for Room Acoustics and Related Studies

Anechoic or semi-anechoic instrument recordings are readily available for academic purposes on a few different sites online. Anechoic recordings are commonly used in auralizations, which today practically means convolving recordings with simulated or measured room impulse responses. Besides the possibility of being used as such, these recordings offer other possibilities for the generation of test stimuli. Many studies, such as, studies on auditory distance perception or source separation, would benefit from available experimental materials which would not be strictly musical but could still be linked to the perception of musical stimuli. The goal of the current investigation is to develop a procedure for generating such materials, i.e., an anechoic audio corpus which can be used in the future investigations of room acoustics and in related fields. Moreover, the aim is to provide a framework for further development of processes where a large number of stimuli can be generated in a systematic way. In this study, the proposed framework is instantiated by producing two sets of stimuli by either directly segmenting anechoic music or randomly combining different segments of anechoic instrument tracks. Music information retrieval (MIR) approach is used to calculate 14 musical features of the generated sets of stimuli. Principal component analysis is used to analyse the sample spaces enabling the experimenter to select a small number stimuli with desired characteristics. The benefits and drawbacks of this stimuli generation approach including some important theoretical underpinnings of experimental design are also discussed.
Effects profiles of complete aqueous extract and hexane and aqueous fractions of Phalaris canariensis L. seeds on fructose-induced metabolic syndrome in rats

Phalaris canariensis L. (P. canariensis), commonly known as canary seed, is used in the traditional medicine of Mexico for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Recent preclinical studies with different P. canariensis seed extracts support such uses. The main interest of this study was to describe the protective effect of the seeds on fructose-induced metabolic syndrome (MS) in rats and to assess the benefits gained from use of a complete aqueous extract. Our results indicate that the antihypertensive component(s) of P. canariensis seeds is (are) found in the aqueous fraction and that the substances responsible for the effects on obesity are found in both the aqueous and the hexane fractions. We conclude that both fractions are effective in attenuating manifestations of MS, and that administration of the complete aqueous extract of the P. canariensis seed is necessary for effective control when the P. canariensis seeds are used as an alternative herbal medicine.
The UK Productivity Puzzle 2008-13: Evidence from British Businesses

In many larger advanced economies labour productivity growth slowed sharply and remained subdued for years after the credit crisis of 2007/08. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the United Kingdom. We examine the dynamics of productivity among British businesses that lie behind this stagnation. The most striking feature is the widespread weakness in total factor productivity within firms, pointing to the importance of a common factor in explaining productivity weakness. In addition,we find that the positive correlation between surviving firms’ employment growth and their relative productivity ranking broke down after 2007/08, as would be expected if an adverse credit supply shock had caused inefficiencies in resource allocation across firms. Indeed, during the immediate recession years 2008/09, this shift was most apparent in sectors with many small and bank dependent businesses. But subsequently, while the contribution of external reallocation to aggregate productivity growth in 2010/13 was smaller than in previous years, this was not obviously associated with sectoral bank dependence. We illustrate the sensitivity of these findings to the choice of decomposition method.
Evaluation cassava, sweet potato and Irish potato starches as cheap alternative gelling agents for micropropagation of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

Starch extracts from cassava, sweet potato, and Irish potato were tested as cheap alternative gelling agents for micropropagation of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.). Nodal explant cultures were initiated in MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with 3% sucrose and 0.5mg/l Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) and solidified by either 12% sweet potato, 12% Irish potato, 15% cassava starch or 0.8% agar (w/v). Shoots were multiplied through 3 subcultures in BAP free MS medium with 5mg/l gibberelic acid. The overall quality of shoots in starch based media was slightly lower than in agar medium. In 84 days, average number of propagules produced from one explant was 40 in Irish potato medium, 1312 in cassava, 2058 in sweet potato and 3584 in agar. Despite the low multiplication rate of shoots produced on starch media, the cost per propagules was reduced by about 67%, 44% and 33% for sweet potato, cassava and Irish potato starches, respectively. This result suggests that, although starch based media were not as efficient as agar, , sweet potato and cassava starch may be suitable agar substitutes due to low costs and good quality of propagules.
Comparisons of Asset Pricing Models in the Egyptian Stock Market

This paper employs GRS test to empirically compare the applicability of five alternatives of asset pricing models for 55 shares listed on the EGX100 for the Egyptian stock market: 1) the CAPM, 2) the Fama-French three factor model, 3) the Cahart four factor model, 4) liquidity-augmented four factor model, 5) and the five factor model (liquidity and momentum-augmented Fama-French three factor model. The sample is split into six portfolios sorted on size and book-to market ratio and 45 shares are excluded due to data unavailability. Our results based on GRS (1989) show evidence that Fama-French model is the best and reject the other models.
Echocardiographic abnormalities and disease severity (based on CD4 count) in treatment-naive HIV positive patients

Purpose: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may be associated with cardiac abnormalities. These abnormalities appear to be more frequent with disease progression. This study sought to examine the relationship between HIV disease severity in treatment-naive patients and cardiac abnormalities identified by echocardiography. Material and methods: 100 HIV-positive, treatment-naive patients, comprising 53 patients with CD4 count < 200/μl (AIDS group) and 47 patients with CD4 count ≥ 200/μl (non-AIDS group) without any traditional risk factors for cardiac disease were recruited for the study. Both groups had clinical and echocardiographic evaluation for cardiac abnormalities. Results: Of the 53 patients in the AIDS group, 11.5% had dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), compared with none in the non-AIDS group (p = 0.018). Systolic dysfunction was higher in the AIDS group when compared with the non-AIDS group (42.3% and 17.0%, respectively; p = 0.006). Also, those in the AIDS had a significantly higher left ventricular end diastolic diameter index when compared with the non-AIDS group (2.87 ± 0.37 and 2.67 ± 0.29, respectively; p = 0.004). Furthermore, moderate to severe pericardial effusion was more frequent in the AIDS group, when compared with non-AIDS group (15.38% and 2.12%, respectively; p = 0.045). Diastolic dysfunction was also more frequent in AIDS group, although this did not achieve statistical significance (34.64% and 29.78%, respectively; p = 0.61). Conclusion: Cardiac abnormalities are more frequent with disease progression in HIV infected patients. Patients with more advanced disease (CD4 < 200/μl) had significantly more frequent systolic dysfunction, DCM, larger left ventricular dimension, and moderate to severe pericardial effusion than those with CD4 ≥ 200/μl. HIV AIDS Rev 2017; 16, 3: 169-175 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/hivar.2017. 70945
Influence of Urea and Ammonium Sulfate on Soil Acidity Indices in Lowland Rice Production

Urea and ammonium sulfate are principal nitrogen (N) sources for crop production. Two field experiments were conducted during three consecutive years to evaluate influence of urea and ammonium sulfate application on grain yield, soil pH, calcium (Ca) saturation, magnesium (Mg) saturation, base saturation, aluminum (Al) saturation, and acidity (H + Al) saturation in lowland rice production. Grain yield was significantly influenced by urea as well as ammonium sulfate fertilization. Soil pH linearly decreased with the application of N by ammonium sulfate and urea fertilizers. However, the magnitude of the pH decrease was greater by ammonium sulfate than by urea. The Ca and Mg saturations were decreased at the greater N rates compared to low rates of N by both the fertilizer sources. The Al and acidity saturation increased with increasing N rates by both the fertilizer sources. However, these acidity indices were increased more with the application of ammonium sulfate compared with urea. Rice grain yield had negative associations with pH, Ca saturation, Mg saturation, and base saturation and positive associations with Al and acidity saturation. This indicates that rice plant is tolerant to soil acidity.
Minerality in wine: a geological perspective

Tasting ‘minerality’ in wine is suddenly highly fashionable. And unusually for a wine-taste descriptor, the term is very often taken to imply a genesis: the sensation is the taste of minerals in the wine that were transported through the vine from the vineyard rocks and soils. However, there is an array of reasons why this cannot be. The minerals in wine are nutrient elements – typically metallic cations – and only distantly related to vineyard geological minerals, which are complex crystalline compounds. The mineral nutrients in wine normally have minuscule concentrations and they lack flavour anyway. Although attempts to explain the perception of minerality involve allusions to geological materials, these are irrelevant to its origin. Whatever minerality is, it cannot literally be the taste of minerals in the vineyard rocks and soils.
Multi-method geophysical mapping of quick clay

Marine clay deposits in coastal, post-submarine areas of Scandinavia and North America may be subjected to quick clay landslides and hence significant efforts are being taken to map their occurrence and extent. The purpose of this paper is to assess the use of a number of geophysical techniques for identifying quick clay. The investigated area, Smorgrav, located in southern Norway has a history of quick clay sliding, the most recent event occurring in 1984. Geophysical techniques that are used include electromagnetic conductivity mapping, electrical resistivity tomography, seismic refraction and multichannel analysis of surface waves. These results are compared to geotechnical data from bore samples, rotary pressure soundings and cone penetration testing. A number of these approaches have proved promising for identifying quick clay, in particular electrical resistivity tomography and electromagnetics, which delineated a zone of quick clay that had previously been confirmed by rotary pressure soundings and sampling. Seismic refraction was useful for determining the sediment distribution as well as for indicating the presence of shallow bedrock whereas the multichannel analysis of surface-waves approach suggested differences between the intact stiffness of quick and unleached clay. It is observed that quick clay investigations using discrete rotary pressure soundings can be significantly enhanced by using, in particular, electrical resistivity tomography profiles to link together the information between test locations, perhaps significantly reducing the need for large numbers of soundings.
STAGGERED WORK HOURS FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY

The Staggered Work Hours Demonstration Project was conducted in downtown Honolulu during a 4-week period in 1988. During the project, official office hours for state, city, and county employees were shifted 45 min later in an attempt to alleviate the early peak-period congestion into downtown Honolulu. Approximately 3,500 of the 7,100 employees working in the Civic Center area participated in the project. This evaluation focuses on the project's effects on traffic flow, employee commuting experience, employee attitudes, work performance, and productivity. Three types of data were collected: (a) floating-car measurements of travel times and speeds on major corridors into the downtown area on two dates before and two dates during the project; (b) an employee panel survey of reported commuting experiences on the same four dates, as well as attitudes concerning project effects on activity schedules; and (c) a postproject survey of managers concerning work performance and morale. Results indicate a significant overall effect on travel conditions. Average estimated time savings were in the range of 3 or 4 min, or less than 10% of the average commute. However, the effects were not uniform, and nonparticipants benefited more than participants. Many participants also experienced inconveniences associated with household activities. Project results suggest that staggered work hours can improve travel conditions, but a permanent project should be as voluntary as possible to minimize problems of equity and inconvenience.
The influence of occupational therapy on quality of life for individuals with dementia living at home in the community: a literature review

Background Dementia is the broad term used to describe a range of conditions, which effect the function of the brain. In addition to behavioural, emotional and social changes, dementia has a progressive decline in functional abilities (Cummins and Warren 2010; Olazarán et al 2010). As the prevalence of dementia diagnoses rise; the demands for occupational therapy services will escalate (Perrin et al 2008). Objectives To review the literature to establish current occupational therapy interventions for individuals with mild to moderate dementia and to ascertain the influence on quality of life and wellbeing for individuals with mild to moderate dementia who are living at home in their communities Methods The following databases were searched (AMED, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, PsycInfo, PubMed, UK & Ireland Reference Centre) for literature since 2005. Findings Over 1900 studies found. However, only three papers (Graff et al 2007b; Lam et al 2010; Voigt-Radloff et al 2011) specifically addressed quality of life for individuals with dementia in the community. Their findings were mixed regarding the influence occupational therapy has on quality of life. Conclusions Recent years have seen an increase in the literature for occupational therapy in dementia care. However, current research focuses mainly on caregiver burden and behaviour difficulties with limited research investigating the relationship occupations have in influencing the well-being or quality of life of the individual with dementia. Further research needs to investigate the complexities of wellbeing and quality of life for individuals with Dementia.
Does Child Sponsorship have a positive impact on the quality of life and social behavior of sponsored children? Evidence from Indonesia

Relaxing an internal constraint of an individual at early stages of life is an approach that complements traditional policy interventions aimed to alleviate poverty. The Compassion International child sponsorship program focuses their work on the emotional, social, and spiritual development of sponsored children. This study investigates the impacts of child sponsorship on the quality of life and social behavior of sponsored children using age-eligibility as an instrument for sponsorship, a time preference experiment and a trust game. The study looks specifically at self-esteem, optimism, social trust, educational outcomes, patience and reciprocity of 286 sponsored children and 234 non-sponsored children between the ages of 4 and 23. The study also implements an innovative way of constructing summary indices using a method proposed by Anderson (2008). Results reveal child sponsorship does not have an effect on the quality of life of sponsored children. In fact, sponsored children seem to have less patience and reciprocate less than non-sponsored children. However the exploration of impacts by age shows that the program increases the self-esteem and optimism on sponsored children between the ages of 4 to 14.
Lower tropospheric ozone over the North China Plain: variability and trends revealed by IASI satellite observations for 2008–2016

Abstract. China is a highly polluted region, particularly the North China Plain (NCP). However, emission reductions have been occurring in China for about the last 10 years; these reduction measures have been in effect since 2006 for SO2 emissions and since 2010 for NOx emissions. Recent studies have shown a decrease in the NO2 tropospheric column since 2013 that has been attributed to the reduction in NOx emissions. Quantifying how these emission reductions translate regarding ozone concentrations remains unclear due to apparent inconsistencies between surface and satellite observations. In this study, we use the lower tropospheric (LT) columns (surface – 6 km a.s.l. – above sea level) derived from the IASI-A satellite instrument to describe the variability and trend in LT ozone over the NCP for the 2008–2016 period. First, we investigate the IASI retrieval stability and robustness based on the influence of atmospheric conditions (thermal conditions and aerosol loading) and retrieval sensitivity changes. We compare IASI-A observations with the independent IASI-B instrument aboard the Metop-B satellite as well as comparing them with surface and ozonesonde measurements. The conclusion from this evaluation is that the LT ozone columns retrieved from IASI-A are reliable for deriving a trend representative of the lower/free troposphere (3–5 km). Deseasonalized monthly time series of LT ozone show two distinct periods: the first period (2008–2012) with no significant trend (<−0.1 % yr−1) and a second period (2013–2016) with a highly significant negative trend of −1.2 % yr−1, which leads to an overall significant trend of −0.77 % yr−1 for the 2008–2016 period. We explore the dynamical and chemical factors that could explain these negative trends using a multivariate linear regression model and chemistry transport model simulations to evaluate the sensitivity of ozone to the reduction in NOx emissions. The results show that the negative trend observed from IASI for the 2013–2016 period is almost equally attributed to large-scale dynamical processes and emissions reduction, with the large El Niño event in 2015–2016 and the reduction of NOx emissions being the main contributors. For the entire 2008–2016 period, large-scale dynamical processes explain more than half of the observed trend, with a possible reduction of the stratosphere–troposphere exchanges being the main contributor. Large-scale transport and advection, evaluated using CO as a proxy, only contributes to a small part of the trends (∼10 %). However, a residual significant negative trend remains; this shows the limitation of linear regression models regarding their ability to account for nonlinear processes such as ozone chemistry and stresses the need for a detailed evaluation of changes in chemical regimes with the altitude.
Growth and production performance of climbing perch Thai Koi and Vietnamese Koi Strain (Anabas testudineus) in Bangladesh

The present study was performed for evaluating the growth and production performance of Thai and Vietnamese strain of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) for the period of four months during April to July, 2014. There were two treatments each with three replications. Three ponds under treatment-1 (T-1) were stocked with fry of Vietnamese strain of climbing perch, while other three ponds which designated as treatment-2 (T-2) were stocked with Thai strain of climbing perch. Fish were fed with commercial pelleted feed (30% crude protein). The water quality parameters of pond water were monitored weekly and were within acceptable range for fish culture. The mean harvesting weight of treatment-1 was significantly higher than treatment-2. After four months of rearing, gross fish production of 15,352 and 9,456 Kg/ha were obtained from Vietnamese and Thai strain of climbing perch, respectively. The results demonstrated that the higher mean growth and production were observed in Vietnamese strain than Thai strain of climbing perch.
Recognition of juvenile hawksbills Eretmochelys imbricata through face scale digitization and automated searching

Advancements in digital photography have facilitated the use of photo-ID to track individual animals, making this technique of great value for conservation biology. However, the time required to manually match new photographs to those stored in a database is proportional to the size of the database. Therefore, there is need for investigating the potential to automate the searching processes through computerized means. We encountered hawksbill turtles Eretmo che - lys imbricata (n = 2) that were members of an ongoing study but had lost flipper tags and shell etchings. To identify individuals, we first manually searched photographs of turtles previously captured and released. Manual visual matching of the 2 turtles encountered was successful for 100% of tested photographs. To investigate automated recognition of turtles in a database, we used the spot recognition program, I 3 S, to digitize scutes on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the head and to compare spot patterns through the automated system. I 3 S successfully identified the 2 return turtles as the same turtles identified by the manual visual matching method. To assess the ability of I 3 S to identify turtles both present in and absent from the database, we blind-tested a series of photographs of turtle heads and faces using both manual visual methods and I 3 S. With I 3 S, 84.6% of the computerized photos were successfully matched with photos in the database, with scores produced ranging from 0.069 to 0.435. This study showed the potential for using a photo-database for long-term identification of individual turtles, but that the usefulness of a photo- database depends on the quality of the photos and the flexibility of the computer program used.