Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phonetic versus spatial processes during motor‐oriented imitations of visuo‐labial and visuo‐lingual speech: A functional near‐infrared spectroscopy study

While a large amount of research has studied the facilitation of visual speech on auditory speech recognition, few have investigated the processing of visual speech gestures in motor‐oriented tasks that focus on the spatial and motor features of the articulator actions instead of the phonetic features of auditory and visual speech. The current study examined the engagement of spatial and phonetic processing of visual speech in a motor‐oriented speech imitation task. Functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure the haemodynamic activities related to spatial processing and audiovisual integration in the superior parietal lobe (SPL) and the posterior superior/middle temporal gyrus (pSTG/pMTG) respectively. In addition, visuo‐labial and visuo‐lingual speech were compared with examine the influence of visual familiarity and audiovisual association on the processes in question. fNIRS revealed significant activations in the SPL but found no supra‐additive audiovisual activations in the pSTG/pMTG, suggesting that the processing of audiovisual speech stimuli was primarily focused on spatial processes related to action comprehension and preparation, whereas phonetic processes related to audiovisual integration was minimal. Comparisons between visuo‐labial and visuo‐lingual speech imitations revealed no significant difference in the activation of the SPL or the pSTG/pMTG, suggesting that a higher degree of visual familiarity and audiovisual association did not significantly influence how visuo‐labial speech was processed compared with visuo‐lingual speech. The current study offered insights on the pattern of visual‐speech processing under a motor‐oriented task objective and provided further evidence for the modulation of multimodal speech integration by voluntary selective attention and task objective.
Transfersomes: a Revolutionary Nanosystem for Efficient Transdermal Drug Delivery

Transdermal delivery system has gained significance in drug delivery owing to its advantages over the conventional delivery systems. However, the barriers of stratum corneum along with skin irritation are its major limitations. Various physical and chemical techniques have been employed to alleviate these impediments. Among all these, transfersomes have shown potential for overcoming the associated limitations and successfully delivering therapeutic agents into systemic circulation. These amphipathic vesicles are composed of phospholipids and edge activators. Along with providing elasticity, edge activator also affects the vesicular size and entrapment efficiency of transfersomes. The mechanism behind the enhanced permeation of transfersomes through the skin involves their deformability and osmotic gradient across the application site. Permeation enhancers can further enhance their permeability. Biocompatibility; capacity for carrying hydrophilic, lipophilic as well as high molecular weight therapeutics; deformability; lesser toxicity; enhanced permeability; and scalability along with potential for surface modification, active targeting, and controlled release render them ideal designs for efficient drug delivery. The current review provides a brief account of the discovery, advantages, composition, synthesis, comparison with other cutaneous nano-drug delivery systems, applications, and recent developments in this area.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on road safety in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract This study uses structured literature mapping to review worldwide trends in traffic safety following the phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivated by dissimilar findings globally and a lack of evidence from emerging nations which have been significantly more affected by road traffic crashes, the study examines the impact of the pandemic-induced lockdown on road traffic deaths and injuries in Tamil Nadu, India. Using a holistic approach, methods such as ARIMA, Holt-Winters, Bayesian Structural Time Series, and Generalized Additive Model are employed for counterfactual prediction, to draw a causal inference of lockdown on traffic safety. In line with global studies, a substantial reduction in traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities during lockdowns has been found. However, the comparison of relative differences shows that the number of grievous injuries reduced more than minor injuries, crashes, or fatalities. Furthermore, these relative differences were sustained even when metrics returned to normalcy in the post-lockdown phases. Further spatial stratification at two levels (cities and districts) shows that the macroscopic state-level trends are also broadly seen in the sub-units. This validates the consistency of trends across rural–urban differences and shows that, despite variations in the degree of enforcement of the lockdown within Chennai city, contrary to expectation, increased police presence did not have a differential impact on road crashes.
Utilizing HVDC to damp power oscillations

Damping of slow oscillations with active and reactive power modulation of high-voltage direct current (HVDC)-links is analyzed with the aim of gaining a physical insight into the problem. The analysis shows that active power modulation is efficient when applied a short mass-scaled electrical distance from one of the swinging machines, and reactive power modulation is most efficient when a well-defined power flow direction exists and the modulation is made at a point close to the electrical midpoint between the swinging machines. It is shown that the intuitively appealing feedback signal frequency and derivative of the voltage are appropriate for active and reactive power modulation. The impact of the constraints imposed by the HVDC equations is analyzed, and it is determined when the implicit reactive power modulation resulting from constant gamma control may be detrimental for the damping. >
Travelling wave fault locator experience on Eskom's transmission network

This paper summarises Eskom's use and experience of recording travelling waves on its transmission grid. TWS fault locators have been extensively utilised, with excellent success, for fault location of transient earth faults on both compensated and uncompensated AC lines as well as on HVDC lines. They have allowed for fault cause identification via burn mark analysis and waveform signatures. Finally, they appear to offer a means for detecting fire caused earth faults through detection of the pre-fault corona.
Understanding and managing the interactive impacts of growth in urban land use and climate change on freshwater biota: A case study using the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)

Globally, urban expansion and climate change interact to threaten stream ecosystems and are accelerating the loss of aquatic biodiversity. Waterway managers urgently need tools to understand the potential combined impacts of urbanization and climate change and to identify effective mitigating management interventions for protecting freshwater biota. We address this challenge using the semi‐aquatic mammal the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) as a focal species. We developed high‐resolution environmental spatial data for stream networks and spatially explicit habitat suitability models (HSMs) to explore the impact of threats and to identify the combination of management actions most likely to maintain or improve habitat suitability over the next 50 years in greater Melbourne, Australia. We developed and evaluated platypus HSMs (males‐and‐females and females‐only) including validation using an independent environmental DNA data set. Platypus occurred more commonly in larger, cooler streams with greater catchment‐weighted discharge, following periods of greater stream flow. They were positively associated with near‐stream forest cover and negatively associated with annual air temperature and urban stormwater runoff. Extensive reductions in suitable platypus habitat are predicted to occur under urbanization and climate change scenarios, with the greatest threat expected from reduced streamflows. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining flow regimes as part of conserving platypus in the region; however, substantial additional benefit is predicted by concurrent riparian revegetation and urban stormwater management efforts (that also have the potential to contribute to the streamflow objectives). Provision of adequate streamflows in a future with increasing water demands and water security requirements will likely require creative integrated water management solutions. Our high‐resolution stream network and HSMs have allowed predictions of potential range‐shifts due to urban expansion and climate change impacts at management‐relevant scales and at the whole‐of‐landscape scale. This has enabled systematic strategic planning, priority action planning and target setting in strategic policy development.
Active Women over 50. Promoting Physical Activity in Women Over 50: A Randomized Trial

Purpose This study aims to test the effect of an information and support intervention on physical activity (PA) in women aged 50+ years. Design Randomized wait-list controlled trial. Setting Sydney, Australia. Sample 126 female university and health service employees, aged 50+. Intervention Information session, activity tracker, regular motivational emails. Measures Proportion achieving ≥ 10,000 steps/day (primary outcome), daily step count, proportion meeting 150 mins/week of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA), self-reported PA. Analysis Odds-ratios and general linear regression models. Results At 3 months, the intervention group reported significantly more vigorous PA (1.04 hours, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.85, P = .01, measured by IPAQ), were more likely to achieve 300 mins/week of MVPA (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 0.89 to 4.36, P = .09, measured by Actigraph) than the control wait-list group, and reported adopting PA promotion strategies (technology = 31/58% or goal-setting = 39/74%). No significant between-group differences in the primary outcome were detected (1.39, 95% CI 0.61 to 3.18, P = .44). Conclusions This low-dose intervention significantly increased self-reported vigorous PA time and non-significantly increased the proportion of people achieving 300 mins/week of MVPA but did not significantly increase the proportion of participants achieving 10,000 steps/day. Relatively small effects may be important at a population level given the minimal resources needed to deliver this intervention.
Exercise for counteracting post-acute COVID-19 syndrome in patients with cancer: an old but gold strategy?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection has caused morbidity and mortality at an unprecedented scale [1]. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel beta coronavirus responsible for new respiratory infections with mild-to-severe presentations in humans. At the beginning of the pandemic, major attention was directed to investigate the acute effect of COVID-19, as well as to identify potential therapeutic and preventive strategies to control the virus spread. More than a year after the first case was described in Wuhan, China, the scientific community faces the long-term impact of this disease. Indeed, subjects affected by COVID-19 may experience various symptoms, such as fatigue, weakness, dyspnea, physical deconditioning lasting more than one month [2]. This condition, recently defined as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, is characterized by persistent symptoms and/or delayed or long-term complications beyond 4 weeks from the onset symptoms [2]. Patients with cancer receiving systemic anti-cancer treatments are more susceptible to COVID-19, and across the oncological population, patients with lung cancer are the most vulnerable, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality rates [3]. Recent reports found that the mortality rate in patients with cancer affected by COVID-19 was 22.4% [4], whereas, in thoracic malignancies, such percentage increased to 33% [3]. Moreover, oncological patients with COVID-19, particularly those with lung cancer, may be more predisposed to long-term complications and to the development of post-acute syndrome [2]. A recent review advocates the need to expand the knowledge about interventions to manage post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, highlighting that care for patients with COVID-19 does not conclude at the time of the swab negativity but should also be proposed in the outpatient setting, especially for those patients considered more susceptible [2].
Good agronomic practices (gap) - An efficient and eco-friendly tool for sustainable management of plant diseases under changing climate scenario

IPCC projected mlmmum 1.8°C increase in temperature by 2100 above 1990 level and confirms that the global average temperature increased by 0.74°C over the last century, is about poses a potential threat to agricultural production and productivity and affects the crop yields due to incidence of plant diseases and weeds, pests as well. There 1s a 5 per cent decrease in rice yield for every°C rise in temperature above 32°C. The costs of agricultural production may be going sky-high. The sustainable option for preventing or minimizing the outbreak of disease is with the proficient use of Good Agronomic Practices (GAP). GAP is an efficient and excellent tool for effective disease pest management in general and especially for soilborne pathogens, under change climate scenario. By adopting GAP which is admirable alternatives to pesticides for the plant pathogen management, one should contribute significantly to ecological balance and playing great role in the minimizing soil pollution particularly. The GAP can be used alone or as a component of pest manageIilent programs. GAP for pest management can be used before, at or after planting. The uasie principles of GAP for pest management are any potential management method may be considered, providing that it is environmentally, technologically and economically feasible, pesticide usages is minimized by combining with other non-chemical or chemical methods. GAPs include crop rotation, fallow, flooding, deep ploughing, soil solarization-which involves a combination of physical and biological process, adjusting planting dates, irrigation, fertilization, sanitation tillage etc. Diseases those are difficult to manage or that involve problematic pesticides should be prioritized. Economic aspects are taken into consideration.
DNA damage response at telomeres boosts the transcription of SARS‐CoV‐2 receptor ACE2 during aging

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), known to be more common in the elderly, who also show more severe symptoms and are at higher risk of hospitalization and death. Here, we show that the expression of the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the SARS‐CoV‐2 cell receptor, increases during aging in mouse and human lungs. ACE2 expression increases upon telomere shortening or dysfunction in both cultured mammalian cells and in vivo in mice. This increase is controlled at the transcriptional level, and Ace2 promoter activity is DNA damage response (DDR)‐dependent. Both pharmacological global DDR inhibition of ATM kinase activity and selective telomeric DDR inhibition by the use of antisense oligonucleotides prevent Ace2 upregulation following telomere damage in cultured cells and in mice. We propose that during aging telomere dysfunction due to telomeric shortening or damage triggers DDR activation and this causes the upregulation of ACE2, the SARS‐CoV‐2 cell receptor, thus contributing to make the elderly more susceptible to the infection.
Management and outcomes of flexor tendon repairs at a peripheral hospital: a New Zealand case series study

Current evidence for flexor tendon repair management and outcomes performed at peripheral centres is unclear. Most studies are based on evidence from specialist hand centres. This study evaluated a peripheral hospital in New Zealand; where all flexor tendon repairs were performed by a generalist Orthopaedic service. The purpose of the study was to benchmark management and outcomes from a peripheral hospital in comparison to international standards.
Speech recognition using the metric defined by integra-normalizer

This paper represents a new method of recognizing speech using the metric defined by integra-normalizer (IN). A neuro-fuzzy method is also demonstrated as a comparison to the proposed method. A codebook is constructed with a set of feature vectors extracted from the raw speech data. There are various schemes for measuring the distance between a set of information. In this paper, the distance between feature vectors is obtained by using the new metric defined by IN. The metric by IN possesses an advantage to the conventional metrics such as the metric defined by the least square error in L/sup 2/ or in l/sup 2/ spaces. With the approach proposed, the information on the patterns of the speech features is mapped to the feature vectors and the metric measures the difference between speech patterns considering the shape of patterns. The results of the computer simulation are shown for the validity of this proposed method.
Optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays considering definite time backup relaying

A methodology is presented for the consideration of definite-time backup relays in the optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays using linear programming. It is shown that the influence of considering second-zone distance relays and breaker failure relays impose important requirements for the determination of the time dial settings of directional overcurrent relays. The paper introduces a revised formulation of the optimization problem. Results are presented for the application of the methodology on a power system with 2 generators, 9 buses, 2 transformers and 7 transmission lines.
Research into adventitious lung sound signals originating from pulmonary tuberculosis using electronic auscultation

II OPSOMMING . III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . IV DEDICATION . V TABLE OF CONTENTS . VI LIST OF FIGURES . VIII LIST OF TABLES . X NOMENCLATURE . XI
Active Participation and Student Journal in Confucian Heritage Culture Mathematics Classrooms

This article discusses an effort to encourage student-instructor interactive engagement through active learning activities during class time. We not only encouraged our students to speak out when an opportunity arises but also required them to record their active participation in a student journal throughout the semester. In principle, any activities which constitute active learning can and should be recorded in a student journal. These include, but not limited to, reading definition, theorem, problem, etc.; responding to questions and inquiries; asking questions; and pointing out some mistakes during class time. Despite an incentive for this participation, our experience teaching different mathematics courses in several consecutive semesters indicates that many students resist in speaking out publicly, submitting empty journals at the end of the semester instead. Students’ feedback on teaching evaluation at the end of the semester reveals that many dislike and are against the idea of active participation and recording it in the journal. This paper discusses the reason behind this resistance and provides some potential remedies to alleviate the situation.
A neural networks approach to voltage security monitoring and control

Voltage collapse evaluation methods require elaborate computations to determine the existence of feasible load flow solutions in power systems. The time-consuming process of solving the stiff nonlinear system equations in these evaluation methods makes them inefficient for on-line monitoring of voltage collapse. The authors introduce an artificial neural network approach to voltage security monitoring and control. The neural network uses its association mechanism to approximate the complicated mathematical formulation of the voltage collapse phenomenon. The inherent parallel information processing nature of the neural network, which provides the capability of fast computation, enables the neural network approach to meet the rigorous demands of real-time monitoring and control. The IEEE 57 busbar system is used to demonstrate the applicability of the artificial neural network approach to the problem of voltage security monitoring and control in power systems. <<ETX>>
Numerical Solution of Dielectric Loaded Waveguides: II - Modal Approximation Technique

A numerical method is described for the solution of the electromagnetic fields in dielectric loaded waveguides. The method uses the cutoff modes of the waveguide, obtained by finite-element analysis, to determine by matrix methods the fields above cutoff. A theoretical comparison with the conventional finite-element method is given and a general, highly efficient computer program for the analysis of dielectric loaded waveguides by the new method is described. Dispersion curves and contour plots obtained from the program are shown for several geometrical configurations, and these results are compared with analytic values and those obtained by the conventional finite-element method.
National governing body awards: a strategy for success

Abstract Outdoor education undergraduates are more likely to gain employment in the industry if they possess a wide profile of National Governing Body (NGB) awards. Such awards demonstrate to potential employers agreed standards of safety, technical competence and teaching ability. The present case study examined the kinds of strategies adopted by students in their quest to gain relevant awards. It showed that successful students place great store in structured goal setting behaviour. They set various levels of goals and are prepared to review goals in light of changing circumstances. They take full advantage of practice with peers to improve technical, organisational and teaching skills, and use placement/work opportunities to further their qualifications. The study suggests the University could do more to assist students by way of adopting a mentoring system, and providing key information and organising relevant courses. An action research project designed to examine further the relationship between some of these features and NGB award/employment success was suggested.
A standard CMOS high-voltage transmitter for ultrasound medical imaging applications

A high-voltage (HV) transmitter for ultrasound medical imaging applications is designed using 0.18-µm CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology. The proposed HV transmitter achieves high integration by employing standard CMOS transistors in a stacked configuration with dynamic gate biasing circuit while successfully driving the capacitive output load with an HV pulse without device breakdown reliability issues. The HV transmitter, which includes the output driver and voltage level-shifters, generates up to 30-Vp-p pulses at 1.25 MHz frequency and occupies 0.035 mm² of layout area.