Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Production Variability and Categorical Perception of Vowels Are Strongly Linked

Theoretical models of speech production suggest that the speech motor system (SMS) uses auditory goals to determine errors in its auditory output during vowel production. This type of error calculation indicates that within-speaker production variability of a given vowel is related to the size of the vowel’s auditory goal. However, emerging evidence suggests that the SMS may also take into account perceptual knowledge of vowel categories (in addition to auditory goals) to estimate errors in auditory feedback. In this study, we examined how this mechanism influences within-speaker variability in vowel production. We conducted a study (n = 40 adults), consisting of a vowel categorization task and a vowel production task. The vowel categorization task was designed—based on participant-specific vowels—to estimate the categorical perceptual boundary (CPB) between two front vowels (/ε/ and /æ/). Using the vowel production data of each participant, we calculated a variability-based boundary (VBB) located at the “center of mass” of the two vowels. The inverse of the standard deviation of a vowel distribution was used as the “mass” of the vowel. We found that: (a) categorical boundary was located farther from more variable vowels; and (b) the calculated VBB (i.e., the center of mass of the vowels) significantly and positively correlated with the estimated categorical boundary (r = 0.912 for formants calculated in hertz; r = 0.854 for formants calculated in bark). Overall, our findings support a view that vowel production and vowel perception are strongly and bidirectionally linked.
Model to Determine Main Factors Used to Measure Audit Fees

Purpose - This study examines the factors that have an impact on external audit fees on manufacturing companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). Also, it tries to builds a model to determined and measuring external audit fees. Design/methodology/approach - A multiple regressions model was developed for the factors which expect to have possible impact on audit fees ( such as: client size, profitability, client’s risk, client’s complexity, client’s industry type, status of audit firm, external audit report lag, audit rotation and audit committee independence). The data were collected from the annual reports and information available on ASE website covering the period from 2014 to 2018. Findings - The most important factors that have significant effect on audit fees are: Audit Report Lag, risk, client size, status of the audit firm, and corporate complexity. Also audit fees are negatively and significantly associated with industry type and profitability. Moreover, no relations were detected between audit committee independence and audit rotation with the audit fees. Originality/ value – To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, there are little studies that have been performed to examine the factors influencing external audit fees of manufacturing companies listed on Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) for 5 years period. In addition, this study is considered among the first studies to build a model which help companies to determine auditing fees.
Immediate and Neighborhood Contextual Effects on Intentional, Accidental, and Fatal Drug Overdoses in a Non-Urban Jurisdiction

ABSTRACT Drug overdoses in the United States have been dramatically increasing since the late 1990 s. Research has been successful in identifying individual-level correlates of overdoses, but often fails to examine contextual effects. Using data from one police department, the U.S. Census, and ReferenceUSA, we test the effects of block group (N = 34) and parcel (N = 21,489) variables reflective of social disorganization and availability-proneness theories on drug overdoses taking place in one non-urban jurisdiction over four years (N = 396). Furthermore, we test the ability of mental health and social-community service providers to mitigate the harmful effect of poverty. Because effects may vary across intent or outcome, accidental, intentional, and fatal overdoses were modeled independently. Based on multilevel analysis (HLM7), several variables were positively associated with overdoses; however, service providers in high poverty areas, as well as bars in general, elicited negative associations. Lastly, contextual effects varied based by type of overdose.
Learning With Batch-Wise Optimal Transport Loss for 3D Shape Recognition

Deep metric learning is essential for visual recognition. The widely used pair-wise (or triplet) based loss objectives cannot make full use of semantical information in training samples or give enough attention to those hard samples during optimization. Thus, they often suffer from a slow convergence rate and inferior performance. In this paper, we show how to learn an importance-driven distance metric via optimal transport programming from batches of samples. It can automatically emphasize hard examples and lead to significant improvements in convergence. We propose a new batch-wise optimal transport loss and combine it in an end-to-end deep metric learning manner. We use it to learn the distance metric and deep feature representation jointly for recognition. Empirical results on visual retrieval and classification tasks with six benchmark datasets, i.e., MNIST, CIFAR10, SHREC13, SHREC14, ModelNet10, and ModelNet40, demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method. It can accelerate the convergence rate significantly while achieving a state-of-the-art recognition performance. For example, in 3D shape recognition experiments, we show that our method can achieve better recognition performance within only $5$ epochs than what can be obtained by mainstream 3D shape recognition approaches after $200$ epochs.
Psychometric properties of the Insomnia Catastrophizing Scale (ICS) in a large community sample

ABSTRACT The purpose was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Insomnia Catastrophizing Scale (ICS) including factorial validity and internal consistency as well as discriminative and convergent validity. Associations with sleep parameters and daytime impairment are also examined. Drawn from a randomly selected sample of the general population, 1615 participants completed a survey on insomnia-related nighttime and daytime symptoms, health outcomes and psychological processes, including the ICS. A one-factor solution was supported for both the nighttime catastrophizing (11 items) and daytime catastrophizing (6 items) subscales. Both subscales displayed high internal consistencies (α > 0.90) and accounted for 59.1–70.1% of the variance. The insomnia disorder group had significantly higher scores than participants without insomnia on the two subscales and on the individual items. Cutoffs were established for both subscales with acceptable sensitivity and specificity. Both subscales displayed adequate convergent validity with measures indexing worry, cognitive pre-sleep arousal and anxiety. The two subscales were also significantly associated with nighttime and daytime insomnia symptoms. The ICS is a reliable and valid scale for the assessment of insomnia-related catastrophizing. Future research is needed to examine the test-retest reliability and treatment sensitivity of the ICS.
Remote Sensing for Precision Agriculture: Sentinel-2 Improved Features and Applications

The use of satellites to monitor crops and support their management is gathering increasing attention. The improved temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution of the European Space Agency (ESA) launched Sentinel-2 A + B twin platform is paving the way to their popularization in precision agriculture. Besides the Sentinel-2 A + B constellation technical features the open-access nature of the information they generate, and the available support software are a significant improvement for agricultural monitoring. This paper was motivated by the challenges faced by researchers and agrarian institutions entering this field; it aims to frame remote sensing principles and Sentinel-2 applications in agriculture. Thus, we reviewed the features and uses of Sentinel-2 in precision agriculture, including abiotic and biotic stress detection, and agricultural management. We also compared the panoply of satellites currently in use for land remote sensing that are relevant for agriculture to the Sentinel-2 A + B constellation features. Contrasted with previous satellite image systems, the Sentinel-2 A + B twin platform has dramatically increased the capabilities for agricultural monitoring and crop management worldwide. Regarding crop stress monitoring, Sentinel-2 capacities for abiotic and biotic stresses detection represent a great step forward in many ways though not without its limitations; therefore, combinations of field data and different remote sensing techniques may still be needed. We conclude that Sentinel-2 has a wide range of useful applications in agriculture, yet still with room for further improvements. Current and future ways that Sentinel-2 can be utilized are also discussed.
Phase Transformations in Ternary Wurtzite-to-Rocksalt type of LiGaO2 from Ab Initio Calculation

A ternary wurtzite-to-rocksalt phase transformation, so called B4-B1 pathway, in LiGaO 2 (LGO) is investigated using ab initio calculation. The result reveals that under hydrostatic compression up to 3.7 GPa, LGO finally exhibits structure of a rocksalt-like with body-centered tetragonal (space group I4 1 /amd) structure. According to further calculations, the stability of the phase transformation processes can be characterized by calculating surface enthalpy, which can be revealed energy barriers of the transformation paths. Finally, the energy barrier is discovered corresponding to the (I4 1 /amd) structure at 86.25 meV/atoms. Furthermore, the energy barrier in parallel (in-plane) is lower than the straight diagonal path. Keywords : phase transformations, LiGaO 2 , B4-B1 pathway, ab initio
Semantic Security on Wiretap Channels using Universal Hashing with Fading Applications

We furnish a procedure based on universal hash families (UHFs) that can convert an error correcting coding scheme (ECC) of rate $R$ into a semantically secure wiretap coding scheme of rate $R - \xi$ where $\xi$ is a parameter derived from the eavesdropper's point-to-point channel. This conversion is shown to be polynomial time efficient with block length and is applicable to any channel. When an ECC is chosen, our procedure induces a wiretap coding scheme that is concrete and efficient as long as the ECC is also such. To prove this induced wiretap coding scheme is semantically secure, we have constructed bounds on the information leaked to the eavesdropper. Our construction is an upgrade of bounds from recent literature: the novelty here being that our leakage bounds hold for any message distribution. Indeed, our wiretap procedure using UHFs and our characterization of its semantic leakage is the first main contribution of this work. The other main contribution of this work is as follows. We apply the aforementioned procedure to a variety of wiretap channels in order to show the procedure's efficacy, and as a result of such applications, our results establish new achievable semantically secure rates.
The Journey Counts: The Importance of Including Orbits when Simulating Ram Pressure Stripping

We investigate the importance of varying the ram pressure to more realistically mimic the infall of a cluster satellite galaxy when comparing ram pressure stripping simulations to observations. We examine the gas disk and tail properties of stripped cluster galaxies in eight “wind-tunnel” hydrodynamical simulations with either varying or constant ram pressure strength. In simulations without radiative cooling, applying a varying wind leads to significantly different density and velocity structure in the tail than found when applying a constant wind, although the stripping rate, disk mass, and disk radius remain consistent in both scenarios. In simulations with radiative cooling, the differences between a constant and varying wind are even more pronounced. Not only is there a difference in morphology and velocity structure in the tails, but a varying wind leads to a much lower stripping rate, even after the varying wind has reached the ram pressure strength of the constant wind. Also, galaxies in constant and varying wind simulations with the same gas disk mass do not have the same gas disk radius. A constant wind cannot appropriately model the ram pressure stripping of a galaxy entering a cluster. We conclude that simulations attempting detailed comparisons with observations must take the variation of the ram pressure profile due to a galaxy’s orbit into consideration.
Reaction Time in Differential and Developmental Research: A Review and Commentary on the Problems and Alternatives

Reaction time is believed to be a good indicator of the speed and efficiency of mental processes and is a ubiquitous variable in the behavioral sciences. Despite this popularity, there are numerous issues associated with using reaction time (RT), specifically in differential and developmental research. Here, we identify and focus on two main problems—unreliability and sensitivity to speed–accuracy interactions. The use of difference scores is a primary factor that leads to many RT measures having demonstrably low reliability, and RT measures in general often do not properly account for speed–accuracy interactions. Both factors jeopardize the validity and interpretability of results based on RT. Here, we evaluate conceptually and empirically how these issues affect individual differences research. Although the empirical evidence we provide are primarily within the domains of attention control and task switching, we highlight examples from various other areas of psychological inquiry. We also discuss many of the statistical and methodological alternatives available to researchers conducting correlational studies. Ultimately, we encourage researchers comparing individuals of differing cognitive and developmental levels to strongly consider using these alternatives in lieu of RT, specifically RT difference scores.
High-resolution noncontact charge-density mapping of endocardial activation.

BACKGROUND Spatial resolution in cardiac activation maps based on voltage measurement is limited by far-field interference. Precise characterization of electrical sources would resolve this limitation; however, practical charge-based cardiac mapping has not been achieved. METHODS A prototype algorithm, developed from first principles of electrostatic field theory, derives charge density (CD) as a spatial representation of the true sources of the cardiac field. The algorithm processes multiple, simultaneous, noncontact voltage measurements within the cardiac chamber to inversely derive the global distribution of CD sources across the endocardial surface. RESULTS Comparison of CD to an established computer-simulated model of atrial conduction demonstrated feasibility in terms of spatial, temporal, and morphologic metrics. Inverse reconstruction matched simulation with median spatial errors of 1.73 mm and 2.41 mm for CD and voltage, respectively. Median temporal error was less than 0.96 ms and morphologic correlation was greater than 0.90 for both CD and voltage. Activation patterns observed in human atrial flutter reproduced those established through contact maps, with a 4-fold improvement in resolution noted for CD over voltage. Global activation maps (charge density-based) are reported in atrial fibrillation with confirmed reduction of far-field interference. Arrhythmia cycle-length slowing and termination achieved through ablation of critical points demonstrated in the maps indicates both mechanistic and pathophysiological relevance. CONCLUSION Global maps of cardiac activation based on CD enable classification of conduction patterns and localized nonpulmonary vein therapeutic targets in atrial fibrillation. The measurement capabilities of the approach have roles spanning deep phenotyping to therapeutic application. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01875614. FUNDING The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Translational Research Program at Royal Papworth Hospital and Acutus Medical.
A Grid-Based Inverted Generational Distance for Multi/Many-Objective Optimization

Assessing the performance of Pareto front (PF) approximations is a key issue in the field of evolutionary multi/many-objective optimization. Inverted generational distance (IGD) has been widely accepted as a performance indicator for evaluating the comprehensive quality for a PF approximation. However, IGD usually becomes infeasible when facing a real-world optimization problem as it needs to know the true PF a priori. In addition, the time complexity of IGD grows quadratically with the size of the solution/reference set. To address the aforementioned issues, a grid-based IGD (Grid-IGD) is proposed to estimate both convergence and diversity of PF approximations for multi/many-objective optimization. In Grid-IGD, a set of reference points is generated by estimating PFs of the problem in question, based on the representative nondominated solutions of all the approximations in a grid environment. To reduce the time complexity, Grid-IGD only considers the closest solution within the grid neighborhood in the approximation for every reference point. Grid-IGD also possesses other desirable properties, such as Pareto compliance, immunity to dominated/duplicate solutions, and no need of normalization. In the experimental studies, Grid-IGD is verified on both the artificial and real PF approximations obtained by five many-objective optimizers. Effects of the grid specification on the behavior of Grid-IGD are also discussed in detail theoretically and experimentally.
Sodium-coupled monocarboxylate transporter is a target of epigenetic repression in cervical cancer

The SLC5A8 gene encodes Na monocarboxylate transporter 1, which is epigenetically inactivated in various tumour types. This has been attributed to the fact that it prevents the entry of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and favours the metabolic reprogramming of neoplastic cells. Nevertheless, its expression and regulation in cervical cancer (CC) have not been elucidated to date. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether SLC5A8 expression is silenced in CC and if epigenetic mechanisms are involved in its regulation. Using RNA and DNA from human CC cell lines and tumour tissues from patients with CC, the expression of SLC5A8 was analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and the methylation status of its CpG island (CGI) by bisulphite-modified sequencing. Additionally, SLC5A8 reactivation was examined in the CC cell lines following treatment with DNA methylation (5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine) and HDAC inhibitors (trichostatin A and pyruvate). All the CC cell lines and a range of tumour tissues (65.5%) exhibited complete or partial loss of SLC5A8 transcription. The bisulphite-sequencing revealed that hypermethylation of the CGI within SLC5A8 first exon was associated with its downregulation in the majority of cases. The transporter expression was restored in the CC cell lines following exposure to 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine alone, or in combination with trichostatin A or pyruvate, suggesting that DNA methylation and histone deacetylation contribute to its inhibition in a cell line-dependent manner. Together, the results of the present study demonstrate the key role of DNA hypermethylation in the repression of SLC5A8 in CC, as well as the involvement of histone deacetylation, at least partially. This allows for research focused on the potential function of SLC5A8 as a tumour suppressor in CC, and as a biomarker or therapeutic target in this malignancy.
AN AUTOMATED PYTHON BASED TOOL TO DETERMINE EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS (K) OF GASEOUS PHASE REACTIONS

: Python coding has been applied to determine the K value of gaseous phase reactions from the reactants, products, reaction stoichiometry and reaction temperature by a complex model. The program determined K values has been found sufficiently close to the reported values for seven different reactions at three different temperatures. In the second part of the study, variation of reaction equilibrium constants with temperature has been studied for various industrial gaseous phase reactions such as, methanation reaction, hydrocarbon combustion, production of formaldehyde from methanol, methanol production from syngas and production of ethanol from ethylene around the optimum temperature range of the processes’. The K values have been shown increasing or decreasing trend with the increase of the temperature according to the endothermic or exothermic character of the reactions.
Protoplanetary Disk Masses from Radiative Transfer Modeling: A Case Study in Taurus

Measuring the masses of protoplanetary disks is crucial for understanding their planet-forming potential. Typically, dust masses are derived from (sub-)millimeter flux density measurements plus assumptions for the opacity, temperature, and optical depth of the dust. Here we use radiative transfer models to quantify the validity of these assumptions with the aim of improving the accuracy of disk dust mass measurements. We first carry out a controlled exploration of disk parameter space. We find that the disk temperature is a strong function of disk size, while the optical depth depends on both disk size and dust mass. The millimeter-wavelength spectral index can be significantly shallower than the naive expectation due to a combination of optical depth and deviations from the Rayleigh–Jeans regime. We fit radiative transfer models to the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 132 disks in the Taurus-Auriga region using a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach. We used all available data to produce the most complete SEDs used in any extant modeling study. We perform the fitting twice: first with unconstrained disk sizes and again imposing the disk size–brightness relation inferred for sources in Taurus. This constraint generally forces the disks to be smaller, warmer, and more optically thick. From both sets of fits, we find disks to be ∼1–5 times more massive than when derived using (sub-)millimeter measurements and common assumptions. With the uncertainties derived from our model fitting, the previously measured dust mass–stellar mass correlation is present in our study but only significant at the 2σ level.
Vegetation Trajectories and Shortwave Radiative Forcing Following Boreal Forest Disturbance in Eastern Siberia

Major boreal forest disturbance and associated carbon emissions have been reported in the coldest region of the Northern Hemisphere. Related biophysical feedbacks to climate remain highly uncertain but might reduce warming effects expected from carbon emissions. This study quantifies albedo change after disturbance, primarily fires, in larch‐dominated forests around Yakutsk as compared to undisturbed areas with natural albedo variability, using satellite‐based time series. The related annual mean shortwave radiative forcing was −6.015 W/m2 for the 13 years following forest disturbance. It was highly negative during snow‐covered months (−3.738 to −13.638 W/m2), but positive (+5.441 W/m2) for the summer months in the first year after disturbance, decreasing afterward and also turning into a negative forcing after 5 years. Forcing by surface shortwave radiation must be considered to assess the impact of boreal forest disturbance on climate and additional feedbacks, such as increased permafrost thaw or transition to alternative ecosystem states.