Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF THE STOP CONSONANTS FOR DETECTING HYPERNASAL SPEECH

Speakers having evidence of a defective velopharyngeal mechanism produce speech with inappropriate nasal resonance (hypernasal speech). Voice analysis methods for the detection of hypernasality commonly use vowels and nasalized vowels. However, to obtain a more general assessment of this abnormality it is necessary to analyze stops and fricatives. This study describes a method for hipernasality detection analyzing the unvoiced Spanish stop consonants /k/ and /p/, as well. The importance of phonemeby-phoneme analysis is shown, in contrast with whole word parametrization which may include irrelevant segments from the classification point of view. Parameters that correlate the imprints of Velopharyngeal Incompetence (VPI) over voiceless stop consonants were used in the feature estimation stage. Classification was carried out using a Support Vector Machine (SVM), obtaining a performance of 74% for a repeated cross-validation strategy evaluation.
BREAST CANCER PATIENT'S EXPERIENCE OF POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH: RELATIONSHIP WITH COPING STRATEGIES AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

Shams Un Nisa 1 and Touseef Rizvi 2 . 1. Contractual Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, 190006. 2. Sr. Asst. Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, 190006. Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History
Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Intensity Models with Long Range Dependence

In this paper, we generalize Russell’s (1999) autoregressive conditional intensity model in several directions. First, we propose a framework which nests both proportional intensity structures as well as accelerated failure time structures. Second, the process dynamics are extended to allow for long range dependence in the intensity process. Third, we account for spill-over efiects between consecutive trading days by incorporating inter-day dynamics. Fourth, a semiparametric extension of the Burr hazard rate for the modelling of the baseline intensity component is suggested. Applications of univariate and bivariate versions of the model to trade intensities and price change intensities based on the IBM stock traded at the New York Stock Exchange illustrate the usefulness of the proposed extensions. Signiflcant long memory efiects are observed. Furthermore, we flnd evidence for non-stationary patterns in the intensity series. In contrast, the inter-day dynamics are weak and only identiflable on a su‐ciently long time series. Moreover, we observe the presence of acceleration efiects and a rejection of proportional intensity structures. Finally, it turns out that a semiparametric speciflcaton of the baseline intensity component is necessary to capture the distributional properties of the data. The latter is particularly important for trade durations.
Contrast agents for molecular photoacoustic imaging : current status and future potential

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is an emerging tool that bridges the traditional depth limits of ballistic optical imaging and the resolution limits of diffuse optical imaging. Using the acoustic waves generated in response to the absorption of pulsed laser light, it provides non-invasive images of absorbed optical energy density at depths of several centimeters with a resolution of ~100 μm. This versatile and scalable imaging modality has now shown potential for molecular imaging, which enables visualization of biological processes non-invasively using systemically introduced contrast agents. Understanding the relative merits of the vast range of contrast agents reported, from small molecule dyes, through gold and carbon nanostructures, to liposome encapsulations, represents a significant challenge. Here, we critically review the physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics of the existing photoacoustic contrast agents, highlighting key applications and also the present challenges for molecular PAI.
Multiband Monopole Antenna with Sector-Nested Fractal

A kind of novel multi-frequency monopole antenna with sector-nested fractal is proposed and designed, which is nested with a series of similar circular sector elements. By means of the trapeziform ground plane with the tapered CPW (coplanar waveguide) feeder in the middle, the antenna’s radiation performance is greatly improved. The antennas can synchronously operate in three frequencies, covering the working frequency bands of WLAN/WiMAX, 2.44 GHz/3.5 GHz/5.2 GHz - 5.8 GHz. The pattern and impedance measurements of antenna show a good performance over the WLAN/WiMAX band; it possesses a near omni-directional characteristic and good radiation efficiency. Moreover, the antenna is miniature and its design idea can be easily applied into other types of nested structure, the features of which make the proposed antenna have a promising application in other fields.
Technical Inefficiency of Chili Farms in Thailand

The primary purpose of this study is to measure and investigate factors affecting technical inefficiency of chili farms in Thailand. This study applies a stochastic frontier production function approach to measure farm-specific technical inefficiency using the 2013 farm-level cross-sectional survey data of Thai chili farms in a single estimation technique applying the maximum likelihood estimation method. The non-negative technical inefficiency effects are modeled as a function of farm-specific management and socio-economic factors. The empirical results suggest two important findings. First, there is confirmation that the difference in variety used has influenced the technical inefficiency of chili farms. Second, good agricultural practice (GAP) also has different impacts on technical inefficiency in Thai chili production in different farms.
Video super-resolution by integrating SAD and NCC matching criterion for multiple moving objects

Traditionally, image enlargement is magnified from a single image. Due to the one and only one image, the quality of the reconstructed image is thus constrained. Super-resolution is proposed to use multiple frames as additional information to estimate the high-resolution image. If we have enough low-resolution images with observed subpixels, the high-resolution image can be reconstructed. In this paper, a complete super-resolution model based on k-means motion clustering is proposed for image enlargement with multiple moving objects. Motion masks are first produced for useful image selection and then blocks matching are used to do motion estimation. Two complementary features, sum of absolute difference (SAD) and normalized cross-correlation (NCC), are adopted as the matching criterion. Objects are assumed to move slightly between two consecutive images. Thus, erroneous motion vectors could be corrected by the center of motion clusters. The proposed method achieves better magnification quality than the traditional ones and some previous super resolution works. From the experimental results, both the visual and quantitative improvements, especially in the high frequency, are significant.
LIFE / 29-29 P Lactobacillus Engineering for Chemical Production

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) has many advantages as host for multiple purposes such as the Generally Recommended As Save (GRAS), and the simple of energy metabolism. Since 20 century, study has focused on its ability as probiotic. During the past few years, utilities of LAB has been directing into molecular biology aspects and developed into enzyme delivery system, live-vaccine etc. LAB has been engineered to produce industrially chemical compounds such as D-xylitol, D-Ascorbic acid, D-mannitol, bioethanol from biomass and etc. This review is about the report of LAB utilities to produce chemical compounds which are useful in pharmaceutical industries and enzymes delivery system to treat some diseases.
Soil carbon and nitrogen cycling and storage throughout the soil profile in a sweetgum plantation after 11 years of CO 2-enrichment

Increased partitioning of carbon (C) to fine roots under elevated [CO2], especially deep in the soil profile, could alter soil C and nitrogen (N) cycling in forests. After more than 11 years of free-air CO2 enrichment in a Liquidambar styraciflua L. (sweetgum) plantation in Oak Ridge, TN, USA, greater inputs of fine roots resulted in the incorporation of new C (i.e., C with a depleted dC) into root-derived particulate organic matter (POM) pools to 90-cm depth. Even though production in the sweetgum stand was limited by soil N availability, soil C and N contents were greater throughout the soil profile under elevated [CO2] at the conclusion of the experiment. Greater C inputs from fine-root detritus under elevated [CO2] did not result in increased net N immobilization or C mineralization rates in long-term laboratory incubations, possibly because microbial biomass was lower in the CO2-enriched plots. Furthermore, the d CO2 of the C mineralized from the incubated soil closely tracked the dC of the labile POM pool in the elevated [CO2] treatment, especially in shallower soil, and did not indicate significant priming of the decomposition of pre-experiment soil organic matter (SOM). Although potential C mineralization rates were positively and linearly related to total SOM C content in the top 30 cm of soil, this relationship did not hold in deeper soil. Taken together with an increased mean residence time of C in deeper soil pools, these findings indicate that C inputs from relatively deep roots under elevated [CO2] may increase the potential for long-term soil C storage. However, C in deeper soil is likely to take many years to accrue to a significant fraction of total soil C given relatively smaller root inputs at depth. Expanded representation of biogeochemical cycling throughout the soil profile may improve model projections of future forest responses to rising atmospheric [CO2].
Severe acute encephalopathy related to human parainfluenza virus type 2 infection in an infant: a case report

Introduction: We present here a rare case of severe acute encephalopathy with extra-pulmonary symptoms in a two-year-old girl caused by human parainfluenza virus type 2 (HPIV2) infection. Case Presentation: The patient was brought in by ambulance, presenting with fever, hypoxia and generalized tonic-clonic seizure, and was admitted into Fukuyama Medical Center. She had a depressed level of consciousness with drowsiness. Her Glasgow coma score was 6. Based on the results of laboratory examinations, brain computed tomography, brain magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, we diagnosed her with acute encephalopathy. Treatment was initiated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin, methylprednisolone pulse therapy and edaravone along with mechanical ventilation. We confirmed HPIV2 infection using samples of sputum from the intra-tracheal tube, throat swab and blood using next-generation sequencing and the PCR method. After continued steroid and anti-inflammatory therapy, the patient recovered completely. Conclusion: Extra-pulmonary symptoms in parainfluenza viral infections are rare. HPIV2 infection can cause severe acute encephalopathy via a systemic immunological reaction along with airway symptoms.
HD 202772A b: A Transiting Hot Jupiter around a Bright, Mildly Evolved Star in a Visual Binary Discovered by TESS

We report the first confirmation of a hot Jupiter discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission: HD 202772A b. The transit signal was detected in the data from TESS Sector 1, and was confirmed to be of planetary origin through radial velocity (RV) measurements. HD 202772A b is orbiting a mildly evolved star with a period of 3.3 days. With an apparent magnitude of V = 8.3, the star is among the brightest and most massive known to host a hot Jupiter. Based on the 27 days of TESS photometry and RV data from the CHIRON, HARPS, and Tillinghast Reflector Echelle Spectrograph, the planet has a mass of and radius of , making it an inflated gas giant. HD 202772A b is a rare example of a transiting hot Jupiter around a quickly evolving star. It is also one of the most strongly irradiated hot Jupiters currently known.
EXAMINING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION GRADES AND CRITICAL DEFECTS USING DATA MINING AND FUZZY LOGIC

This paper explores the relations between defect types and quality inspection grades of public construction projects in Taiwan. Altogether, 499 defect types (classified from 17,648 defects) were found after analyzing 990 construction projects from the Public Construction Management Information System of the public construction commission which is a government unit that administers all the public construction. The core of this research includes the following steps. (1) Data mining (DM) was used to derive 57 association rules which altogether contain 30 of the 499 defect types. (2) K-means clustering was used to regroup the 990 projects of two attributes (defect frequency and original grading score of each project) into four new quality classes, so the 990 projects can be more evenly distributed in the four new classes and the correctness and reliability of the following analyses can be ensured. (3) Finally analysis of variance (ANOVA), fuzzy logic, and correlation analysis were used to verify that the aforementioned 30 defect types are the important ones determining inspection grades. Results of this research can help stakeholders of construction projects paying more attention on the root causes of the critical defect types so to dramatically raise their management effectiveness.
Segmentation of Pointed Objects for Service Robots

This paper describes how a person extracts a unknown object with pointing gesture while interacting with a robot. Using a stereo vision sensor, our proposed method consists of two stages: the detection of the operators' face, the estimation of the pointing direction, and the extraction of the pointed object. The operator's face is recognized by using the Haar-like features. And then we estimate the 3D pointing direction from the shoulder-to-hand line. Finally, we segment an unknown object from 3D point clouds in estimated region of interest. On the basis of this proposed method, we implemented an object registration system with our mobile robot and obtained reliable experimental results.
The airborne mass spectrometer AIMS – Part 1: AIMS-H 2 O for UTLS water vapor measurements

Abstract. In the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), the accurate quantification of low water vapor concentrations has presented a significant measurement challenge. The instrumental uncertainties are passed on to estimates of H2O transport, cloud formation and the role of H2O in the UTLS energy budget and resulting effects on surface temperatures. To address the uncertainty in UTLS H2O determination, the airborne mass spectrometer AIMS-H2O, with in-flight calibration, has been developed for fast and accurate airborne water vapor measurements. We present a new setup to measure water vapor by direct ionization of ambient air. Air is sampled via a backward facing inlet that includes a bypass flow to assure short residence times (
A joint satellite and global cloud‐resolving model analysis of a Madden‐Julian Oscillation event: Model diagnosis

[1] In this study, a methodology to diagnose a global cloud-resolving model (GCRM) is explored on the basis of a joint analysis with satellite measurements. The Madden-Julian Oscillation experiment carried out with the Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) is used as the test bed. The NICAM output is compared with Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and CloudSat measurements in terms of composite analysis, contoured frequency by altitude diagrams (CFADs), and the joint histogram of cloud top and precipitation top heights. It is found in the composite diagram that the GCRM reproduces a slow, eastward migration of a convective envelope well comparable to the satellite measurement. The GCRM CFAD qualitatively reproduces TRMM and CloudSat CFADs, except that the GCRM tends to overly produce snow in deep convection. The joint histograms reveal that, while the overproduction of snow is evident, NICAM-simulated snow is incapable of producing 94-GHz radar echoes higher than 5 dBZ. This deficiency can be mitigated by a modification to microphysical parameterization in the way that a proportion of small particles is enhanced in the snow mass spectrum.
A Hybrid Short-Term Forecasting Model of Passenger Flow on High-Speed Rail considering the Impact of Train Service Frequency

Short-term forecasting of OD (origin to destination) passenger flow on high-speed rail (HSR) is one of the critical tasks in rail traffic management. This paper proposes a hybrid model to explore the impact of the train service frequency (TSF) of the HSR on the passenger flow. The model is composed of two parts. One is the Holt-Winters model, which takes advantage of time series characteristics of passenger flow. The other part considers the changes of TSF for the OD in different time during a day. The two models are integrated by the minimum absolute value method to generate the final hybrid model. The operational data of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway from 2012 to 2016 are used to verify the effectiveness of the model. In addition to the forecasting ability, with a definite formation, the proposed model can be further used to forecast the effects of the TSF.
Interaction of Kinetin and Indoleacetic Acid in the Avena Straight‐Growth Test

Kinetin has a stimulating effect in the Avena straight-growth test. The action of different concentrations of kinetin, 2.5 × 10−7, 2.5 × 10−6 and 2.5 × 10−5M, in combination with different concentrations of IAA was studied in this test. It was shown that the effect of low IAA concentrations, 0.25 × 10−7 and 1 × 10−7M, was strongly enhanced by the addition of all the kinetin concentrations investigated. The effect of the highest IAA concentrations, 25 × 10−7 and 100 × 10−7M, on the other hand, was inhibited relatively strongly by the highest employed concentration of kinetin. The results are explained as due to a kinetin-produced increase of auxin in the coleoptile segment, which in combination with low IAA concentrations can lead to a growth stimulation and with high IAA concentrations to a growth inhibition. Since kinetin in purification and chromatography of auxin can partly follow IAA, thereby affecting the quantitative yield, it is emphasized that, prior to the test, auxin extracts containing cytokinins should be freed from the latter by, for example, gel filtration or paper electrophoresis.
Critical Flow Venturi Manifold Improves Gas Flow Calibrations

We developed a critical flow venturi (CFV) manifold that reduced the uncertainty of flow calibrations from 0.09 % to as low as 0.074 % (at a 95 % confidence level) for flows of air up to 0.84 kg/s (43 000 L/min at reference conditions of 101.325 kPa and 293.15 K). The CFV manifold also reduced the time required to complete calibrations by a factor of 10. Each CFV was installed in the manifold after it was calibrated in dry air using NIST’s 677 L PVTt standard with an uncertainty in mass flow of 0.025%. The CFV manifold is used to calibrate customer flow meters at flows up to 21 times the flow of a single CFV. We demonstrate that interference effects between the CFVs in the manifold are negligible and we provide an uncertainty analysis of the CFV array working standard. We used the CFV array as a transfer standard to demonstrate the metrological equivalence of NIST’s 677 L and 26 m PVTt standards, which agreed to better than 0.059 %.
Robotic Unfolding of Hemmed Fabric using Pinching Slip Motion

This paper describes an unfolding motion of fabric in air using pinching slip motion. During the pinching slip motion, the weight of the fabric generates relative movement between the moving fingertips and the fabric. The moving fingertips can hook into the hem of the fabric during the unfolding motion if the appropriate shaped fingertips and the grasping force are selected. In this paper, we simulate the pressure distribution of moving fingertips during the unfolding. We make a model of the contact between a fingertip and the hem of fabric based on fluid dynamics; the contact is considered as the collision between fluid and a block.
Cellular and molecular-genetic mechanisms of symbiosis and associative interaction of microorganisms with plants in rhizosphere

The review contains the results of research on symbiotic and associative interaction of microorganisms and plants in rhizosphere. A special attention is given to the process of contact association of microorganisms and plants tissues including the concrete molecular structures and dominant role pertaining to protein-carbohydrate interaction. There are common features and distinctions at formation of arbuscular mycorhiza, rhizobia– legume symbiosis and association of non-leguminous plants with Azospirillum .
Effects of vitamin D supplementation on insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in overweight and obese premenopausal women

Introduction Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem, and it is related to increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D has a beneficial effect on dyslipidemia and insulin secretion. We aimed to investigate the impact of vitamin D3 supplementation on anthropometric and laboratory parameters in overweight and obese premenopausal women. Material and methods Seventy-two overweight and 50 obese vitamin-D-deficient premenopausal women (mean age: 43.1 ±10.4 years) were included in the study. Baseline mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level was 6.1 (min.–max. = 2.9–15.8) ng/ml in overweight and was 5.6 (min.–max. = 3.0–22.0) ng/ml in obese subjects. At baseline and at the sixth month of supplementation, serum 25(OH)D, intact parathormone (iPTH), calcium, phosphorus, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lipid profiles were assessed. Results Following vitamin D3 supplementation in overweight and obese subjects, serum 25(OH)D increased from 6.1 to 34.7 ng/ml and 5.6 to 34.7 ng/ml, respectively (p < 0.001). At the sixth month of supplementation in both overweight and obese subjects, a significant reduction was detected in HOMA-IR (p < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.046, p = 0.044; respectively) and iPTH levels (p ≤ 0.001, p < 0.001; respectively). A negative adjusted correlation was found between changes in 25(OH)D and HOMA-IR (r = –0.581, p < 0.001; r = –0.389, p = 0.005; respectively). A 1 ng/ml increase in serum 25(OH)D level led to a 0.30-fold reduction in HOMA-IR level (p = 0.002). Conclusions Our results support the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in HOMA-IR and LDL-C improvement in both obese and overweight subjects. Further studies focused on low serum 25(OH)D levels with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia are needed.