Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Objective assessment of listening effort: Effects of an increased task demand

In demanding listening situations the individual has to exert an increased listening effort to process interesting auditory signals correctly. Especially people with hearing loss are particularly affected and require more effort to identify sounds compared to those with normal hearing. So far, a suitable objective estimate of listening effort is still not available. In previous studies, we presented an objective estimate of listening effort (OLEosc), which is based on the instantaneous phase distribution of the ongoing EEG activity. In the current study, the proposed measure was analyzed in detail. The task performance was taken into account, which indicates if the participants can solve the auditory task and exert effort or if they ceased solving the task. The EEG data was acquired from people with moderate hearing loss solving a listening task. During the experiment, hearing aid settings with different microphone configurations were tested. The results indicate that the OLEosc reflects the real exerted effort of the participants. Besides the reflection of different task demands related to the hearing aid settings, it was possible to show a decline of focused attention to the auditory stimuli related to an excessive task demand. Furthermore, the data indicate that the OLEosc is not directly correlated to the speech intelligibility presented in the word score data and is not subjectively biased like the results of the presented rating scale.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in children with atopic rhinitis: a 7‐year follow‐up

Background: A high prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) was found in atopic subjects with rhinitis. Those subjects may be at higher risk for developing bronchial asthma. We evaluated, in a 7‐year follow‐up, BHR and atopy in a homogeneous population of nonasthmatic children with allergic rhinitis (AR), and their role in asthma development.
The role of bisphosphonates in the treatment of prostate cancer

In this section there are mini‐reviews on four different important subjects, which should be of general interest. First, there is a critical review of the role of bisphosphonates in the treatment of prostate cancer, followed by a review of the literature on the Bosniak classification of renal cystic masses, a controversial topic which relates to a common problem. These are followed by two mini‐reviews on less common, but also very important topics: renal haemangiopericytoma, and the mechanics of renal ischaemic injury and the impact they have on clinical practice.
Social enterprise: An international overview of its conceptual evolution and legal implementation

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the social enterprise concept at an international level. It provides a comprehensive overview of the existing literature in this subject area and focuses on the legal implementation of social enterprises. , – The paper is an analytic review, building on previous work. Conclusions are on how the social enterprise concept has been legally implemented in a number of representative European countries. , – The lack of a common understanding of social enterprise should not be regarded as a limitation as such debate encourages a rethinking of the theoretical definition of enterprise and its legal structure. The legal recognition of social enterprise contributes to conceptual clarification in the countries concerned. , – This is a conceptual discussion paper, which stimulates further research on the most interesting mechanisms and consistent models of social enterprise that are developing at an international level. , – The paper synthesises existing conceptual studies on social enterprise. It contributes to enrich the current debate on social enterprise and aids in focusing future research.
Testing a Tool to Scale Quality of Life Indicators in Tanzania

A quality of life questionnaire utilizing scaled response codes is created for implementation in a predominantly rural African setting. The authors design a concrete tool using color as a semantic differential as a means to ease semantic shifts and enhance participant comprehension. Although they find a fairly even response distribution and no significant clustering among a sample of questions for which the tool is used, their interviewers report that some groups have more difficulty than others and suggest alternative or complementary approaches. This article describes the authors' experience with the utility of their tool within the parameters of this study.
Menopausal life as imitation of art: Margery Kempe and the lack of sorority

Abstract Margery Kempe may have well been one of the first women on record who we can read about who entered menopause; however, by the time Margery had entered that stage of life, she had probably ostracized herself from any female support system or sorority. Her self-exile from any sisterhood seems to have been motivated by her desire to participate in a world where only men were empowered: first she tried various unsuccessful business ventures and then later turned to religion. Reinventing herself by imitating female spiritual icons, Margery escaped the imprisoning drudgery she saw as the life of a medieval matron and thrust herself into the influential circle of the male episcopate
A 28 Gb/s 3-V optical driver with high efficiency in a complementary SiGe:C BiCMOS technology

In this work, a modulator driver in a 0.25 µm SiGe:C complementary BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax of 110 / 180 GHz for the npn and 95 / 140 GHz for the pnp transistor is presented. The driver is implemented following an H-bridge topology, taking advantage of the availability of the pnp HBTs, and delivers a differential output amplitude of 3 Vpp to a 50 Ω load. Clear eye diagrams up to 28 Gb/s are demonstrated. Power dissipation of the full IC is only 175 mW. To the best knowledge of the authors, the reported power efficiency of 6.4% is the highest in comparison to other state-of-the-art drivers.
The Stranger in Laboratory Culture Revisited

One way of approaching problems in the areas of culture contact and acculturation is by viewing small groups of people in acculturation situations as "strangers" and applying "stranger" theory. Data on reactions to taking the role of strangers might then throw light on the psychological aspects of acculturation. If continuity with the outside world were demonstrated, the small groups laboratory could provide us with some of the necessary information. This paper describes a laboratory experiment in which the reactions of subjects in the stranger role are explored.
Interleukin 31 and skin diseases: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND Although the pathophysiology of pruritus has been extensively studied in recent years, with many resultant advancements, management of pruritus is still enigmatic, particularly in chronic cutaneous diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, chronic urticaria, allergic contact dermatitis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and uremic pruritus. The recent finding of the involvement of interleukin (IL) 31 in the pathogenesis of chronic pruritus has provided a novel approach to the management of chronic inflammatory skin disorders. The present report provided an in-depth overview of the role of IL-31 in chronic skin diseases and the possible diagnostic and therapeutic applications in the management of these diseases. METHODS A systematic review of IL-31 was conducted by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. RESULTS A review of a total of 45 published research articles revealed that the majority of these articles focused on the role of IL-31 in causation of pruritus and in the worsening of the disease in atopic dermatitis. Other publications examined interleukin in other pruritic diseases (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, uremic pruritus, allergic contact dermatitis, chronic urticaria). In almost every disease, IL-31 levels were reported to be correlated with the pathology and often with pruritus. The cutaneous injection of IL-31 resulted in a long-lasting itching sensation, and the use of monoclonal antibodies that targeted IL-31 led to a reduction in pruritus. CONCLUSION The use of monoclonal antibodies against mediators involved in the pathogenesis of chronic skin diseases has shown promising results. Antibodies that target IL-31, in particular, its receptor A, showed interesting results in atopic dermatitis and decreased pruritus. In subsequent years, the use of these new therapeutic strategies could change the scenario of pruritic skin diseases. However, further studies are needed to more rigorously examine the effects of IL-31 cascade blockage in different chronic skin diseases and to confirm efficacy and the safety of these new therapeutic approaches.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Sports Performance

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Human Motor Control Laboratory, Burke Medical Research Institute, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, White Plains, NY, USA, 2 Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, 3 School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia, Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA, Human Spinal Cord Injury Repair Laboratory, Burke Medical
CLASSIFICATION OF STOP CONSONANT PLACE OF ARTICULATION: COMBINING ACOUSTIC ATTRIBUTES

This study evaluates the classification of stop consonant place of articulation in running speech using knowledge-based cues. Acoustic attributes are chosen to capture four categories of cues: amplitude and energy of burst, formant movement of adjacent vowels, spectrum of noise after the release, and some temporal cues. Correlation analysis shows no redundant information among cross-category attributes, although a few attributes in the same category show high correlation. Combinations of non-redundant attributes are used for the place classifications based on Mahalanobis distance. When stops contain release bursts, the classification accuracies are better than 90%. When bursts are absent, the classification can only rely on formant structures, and this results in reduced accuracy. It is also shown that voicing and vowel frontness contexts lead to a better classification accuracy of stops in CV context. However, there is no evidence of significant improvement for stops in VC context. When stops are located between two vowels, information on the formant structures in the vowels on both sides can be used. The probabilities of each place of articulation from two classifiers, each of which uses information on one side of the stops, are combined in order to obtain final decisions. Such combination yields the best classification accuracy of 95.5%. By using appropriate methods for stops in different contexts, an overall classification accuracy of 92.1% is achieved. The overall accuracy could be improved significantly if stops in VC context with no release burst were classified more accurately.
The Peculiarities of Different Types of Chronic Rhinitis in Children and Adolescents in Kazakhstan

Background The aim was to study the peculiarities of differential diagnosis, prevention and treatment of different forms of rhinitis in Kazakhstan children and adolescents. Methods: 124 children and adolescents aged 1–17 years were randomly enrolled in our hospital based study in 2010 and 2011. Skin prick tests and total serum IgE level were assessed in all allergic patients. Subcutaneous specific immunotherapy was performed in 57 (70.3%) allergic patients. For the treatment of the developed rhinitis, we used intranasal glucocorticosteroids in all 47 (37.9%) patients with rhinitis medicamentosa. Results: Allergic rhinitis was diagnosed in 81 (65.3%), infectious rhinitis in 43 (34.7%) and rhinitis medicamentosa in 47 (37.9%) cases. High mono sensitization was mainly to Artemisia Absinthium 55 (67.9%) and Sunflower 20 (24.7%) species, whereas multiple sensitization was caused by the mix of weeds in 55 (67.9%) and the mix of meadow grass in 31 (38.3%). The mean IgE level was 323.2±264.9SD. Only 5 (17.2%) patients with specific immunotherapy developed rhinitis medicamentosa. 35 (74.5%) patients treated by nasal glucocorticosteroids stopped taking the decongestants. Conclusions: The incidence of rhinitis medicamentosa depends on duration of decongestants use. Specific immunotherapy is recommended for the prevention of rhinitis medicamentosa in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis, whereas intranasal glucocorticosteroids are the most appropriate for the treatment regardless initial cause of rhinitis development.
A heterotic flux background and calibrated five-branes

We consider, in flux compactification of heterotic string theory, spacetime-filling five-branes. Stabilizing the fivebrane involves minimizing the combined energy density of the tension and a Coulomb potential associated with an internal 2-dimensional wrapping. After reviewing the generalized calibration under such circumstances, we consider a particular internal manifold based on a T2 bundle over a conformally rescaled K3. Here, we find two distinct types of wrapping. In one class, the fivebrane wraps the fibre T2 which belongs to a cyclic homotopy group. The winding number is not extensive, yet it maps to D3-brane number under a U-duality map to type IIB side. We justify this by comparing properties of the two sides in detail. Fivebranes may also wrap a topological 2-cycle of K3, by saturating a standard calibration requirement with respect to a closed K? hler 2-form JK3 of K3. We close with detailed discussion on F-theory dual of these objects and related issues.
A Global Perspective on Violence Against Women with Disabilities: Evaluating the Response of Pastoral Care and Religious Organizations

Within the vulnerable population of women are distinctive populations of women including Aboriginal women, immigrant women, women in poverty, and women with disabilities, who are uniquely vulnerable with respect to risk. Of the world’s population, 10% or 650 million people have a disability, more than half of whom are women. Studying a vulnerable population that exists within a vulnerable population has come to be known as intersectionality . This paper will give an account of the intersectionality of the vulnerable statuses of women, and of disability, and the violence these women with disabilities experience as a result of their unique vulnerability. A description of this particular type of gendered violence will be explored and then addressed at the international level drawing on the work of the United Nations, followed by a brief overview at the national level. A synopsis of recommended responses will then be presented, followed by a short evaluation of several pastoral theological contributions as well as the responses of four Christian organizations.
Effects of the synthetic estrogen 17α‐ethinylestradiol on the life‐cycle of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

A fish full life‐cycle (FFLC) study was conducted for 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) using the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas. Newly fertilized embryos (<24 h old) were exposed to five concentrations of EE2 (0.2, 1.0, 4.0, 16, and 64 ng/L nominal) in continuous flow‐through conditions for 305 d at 25 ± 1°C. Exposure concentrations were verified by 14C‐EE2 radiochemistry, supported by radioimmunoassay, and mean measured values were ≥70% of nominal. For the F0 adult phase until 301 d posthatch, the no‐observed‐effect concentrations (NOECs) for growth, survival, and reproduction (as egg production) were all ≥ 1.0 ng/L. The NOEC values for F1 embryo hatching success and larval survival (at 28 d posthatch) were both ≥ 1.0 ng/L. While statistically detectable changes in F1 growth were evident at 0.2 ng/L, these were not considered to be biologically significant when compared with historical control data. Male fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L failed to develop normal secondary sexual characteristics; on the other hand, assumed females exposed to this level of EE2 were able to breed when paired with males that had not been exposed to EE2. Histology of F0 control, 0.2‐, and 1‐ng/L exposed fish at 56 d posthatch indicated an approximate female‐to‐male (F:M) sex ratio of 50:50 (with no ovatestes observed in the control), while fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L for 56 d posthatch had a F: M sex ratio of 84:5 (with ovatestes in 11% of fish). After 172 d posthatch, no testicular tissue was observed in any fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L. At the same time point, plasma vitellogenin levels were significantly higher in fish exposed to EE2 at 16 ng/L. A lack of sexual differentiation occurred in males at concentrations ≥4.0 ng/L. Taking into account these data, the overall no‐observed‐adverse‐effect concentration was considered to be 1.0 ng/L.
Endless change in the learning and skills sector: the impact on teaching staff

This paper explores the impact of change on tutors and managers in 24 learning sites in England, in vocational courses at Level 1 or Level 2 1 in further education (FE) colleges and in basic skills provision in adult community education and workplaces. We discuss the views of these participants in the research project, The Impact of Policy on Learning and Inclusion in the Learning and Skills Sector, funded through the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) of the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), in relation to other research on professionals in the sector. We then consider in turn the diversity in a group of tutors and managers we interviewed; their perceptions of the sources of change in their sector; and changes in the learner groups with whom they work. Three examples of changes affecting staff, and their responses to those changes, are then discussed, one from each of the research contexts: FE colleges, adult and community learning (ACL) and work‐based learning (WBL). We raise serious questions about the pace of policy‐led change, the management of change and professionals’ responses to turbulence in the sector, and stress the need to consider the impact on staff, and to listen to those who work closely with learners.
Modelo de negócios: constructo real ou metáfora de estratégia?

This article analyzes the discussion about the terms “business model” and “strategy”, and aims mainly to verify whether these concepts are similar ones. Most of the studies already undertaken consider that business model and strategy are different constructs. Hence, the aim of this article is to test this hypothesis using an interpretative method based on hermeneutics. In order to accomplish this objective several definitions of business model are compared with two main strategic approaches, namely the Positioning school and the Resource-Based View school. It is concluded that Business Model and Strategy are not entirely different constructs, i.e. there is some overlapping and similarity level between them. Furthermore, it is verified that business model acts as a dynamic and systemic tool integrating different strategic approaches and enabling different strategic concepts to be intertwined into a single definition, which increases the potential of these schools to explain and guide the actual strategic process within the organizations.
Relationship between downwelling surface shortwave radiative fluxes and sea surface temperature over the tropical Pacific : AMIP II models versus satellite estimates

Incident shortwave radiation at the Earth's sur- face is the driving force of the climate system. Understand- ing the relationship between this forcing and the sea surface temperature, in particular, over the tropical Pacific Ocean is a topic of great interest because of possible climatic impli- cations. The objective of this study is to investigate the re- lationship between downwelling shortwave radiative fluxes and sea surface temperature by using available data on radia- tive fluxes. We assess first the shortwave radiation from three General Circulation Models that participated in the second phase of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP II) against estimates of such fluxes from satellites. The shortwave radiation estimated from the satellite is based on observations from the International Satellite Cloud Cli- matology Project D1 data and the University of Maryland Shortwave Radiation Budget model (UMD/SRB). Model and satellite estimates of surface radiative fluxes are found to be in best agreement in the central equatorial Pacific, accord- ing to mean climatology and spatial correlations. We apply a Canonical Correlation Analysis to determine the interrelated areas where shortwave fluxes and sea surface temperature are most sensitive to climate forcing. Model simulations and satellite estimates of shortwave fluxes both capture well the interannual signal of El Ni ˜ no-like variability. The tendency for an increase in shortwave radiation from the UMD/SRB model is not captured by the AMIP II models.
Calibration of a rotating 2D LRF in unprepared environments by minimizing redundant measurement errors

This paper proposes a calibration method for a 3D laser scanning system built with a rotating 2D laser rangefinder (LRF) in unprepared environments. Although the combination of a 2D LRF with a rotating unit yields a low-cost and compact 3D scanner, construction misalignments must be calibrated to reduce measurement error. Existing calibration techniques are generally used either with a special target object or in prepared environments with flat surfaces, and this imposes a limitation on the applicable domain of the system. To solve this problem, we propose a novel calibration method using redundant measurements of 3D point clouds. The main idea of the proposed method is to focus on the fact that rotating LRF systems observe the same object twice during a single rotation at different times. Therefore, by minimizing the extent of misalignment of these redundant measurements, we can estimate the calibration parameters without using any special target object. We formulate this calibration by redundant measurements as a non-linear cost minimization problem. The results of the simulation and real-world experiments in challenging, real environments show that the proposed method works well in unprepared and even cluttered environments.