Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phonetic and phonological imitation of intonation in two varieties of Italian

The aim of this study was to test whether both phonetic and phonological representations of intonation can be rapidly modified when imitating utterances belonging to a different regional variety of the same language. Our main hypothesis was that tonal alignment, just as other phonetic features of speech, would be rapidly modified by Italian speakers when imitating pitch accents of a different (Southern) variety of Italian. In particular, we tested whether Bari Italian (BI) speakers would produce later peaks for their native rising L + H* (question pitch accent) in the process of imitating Neapolitan Italian (NI) rising L* + H accents. Also, we tested whether BI speakers are able to modify other phonetic properties (pitch level) as well as phonological characteristics (changes in tonal composition) of the same contour. In a follow-up study, we tested if the reverse was also true, i.e., whether NI speakers would produce earlier peaks within the L* + H accent in the process of imitating the L + H* of BI questions, despite the presence of a contrast between two rising accents in this variety. Our results show that phonetic detail of tonal alignment can be successfully modified by both BI and NI speakers when imitating a model speaker of the other variety. The hypothesis of a selective imitation process preventing alignment modifications in NI was hence not supported. Moreover the effect was significantly stronger for low frequency words. Participants were also able to imitate other phonetic cues, in that they modified global utterance pitch level. Concerning phonological convergence, speakers modified the tonal specification of the edge tones in order to resemble that of the other variety by either suppressing or increasing the presence of a final H%. Hence, our data show that intonation imitation leads to fast modification of both phonetic and phonological intonation representations including detail of tonal alignment and pitch scaling.
Causes of Student Absenteeism and School Dropouts.

The aim of the study is to investigate the causes of student absenteeism and school dropouts at primary, secondary and high school level in Düzce Province and to develop suggestions for solving these problems. A “case study” design, which is one of the qualitative research approaches, was used in this study. The study group consisted of 64 school principals working at primary, secondary and high schools in the province center and districts of Düzce. A semi-structured interview form consisting of nine questions was used as the data collection tool. The collected data was analyzed by content analysis method. 15 main themes were formed under five categories. Certain suggestions were developed based on the findings obtained as the result of the study.
Review of the state of the art: discovering and associating semantics to tags in folksonomies

Abstract This paper describes and compares the most relevant approaches for associating tags with semantics in order to make explicit the meaning of those tags. We identify a common set of steps that are usually considered across all these approaches and frame our descriptions according to them, providing a unified view of how each approach tackles the different problems that appear during the semantic association process. Furthermore, we provide some recommendations on (a) how and when to use each of the approaches according to the characteristics of the data source, and (b) how to improve results by leveraging the strengths of the different approaches.
Missed Programs (You Can’t TiVo This One): Why Psychologists Should Study Media

Media psychology involves the scientific examination of the cognitive processes and behavior involved in the selection, use, interpretation, and effects of communication across a variety of media (e.g., via the Internet, television, telephone, film). Media are central to people’s lives, with projections indicating that an average person spent over 3,515 hours using media in 2012. New technologies are increasing the importance of media. Data from two content analyses demonstrate the underrepresentation of media psychology in mainstream psychological literature and in undergraduate and graduate psychology course offerings. We argue for the importance of a psychological approach to the study of media because of its presence in people’s lives and because psychologists use it in their research and their choices may affect the external validity of their findings. We provide a useful framework from which psychologists can approach the study of media, and we conclude with recommendations for further areas of scientific inquiry relevant to psychological science.
Activities of Fluoroquinolones againstStreptococcus pneumoniae Type II Topoisomerases Purified as Recombinant Proteins

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase have been purified from a fluoroquinolone-susceptibleStreptococcus pneumoniae strain, from first-step mutants showing low-level resistance to ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin, and from two clinical isolates showing intermediate- and high-level fluoroquinolone resistance by a gene cloning method that produces recombinant proteins fromEscherichia coli. The concentrations of ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, levofloxacin, or ofloxacin required to inhibit wild-type topoisomerase IV were 8 to 16 times lower than those required to inhibit wild-type DNA gyrase. Furthermore, low-level resistance to these fluoroquinolones was entirely due to the reduced inhibitory activity of fluoroquinolones against topoisomerase IV. For all the laboratory strains, the 50% inhibitory concentration for topoisomerase IV directly correlated with the MIC. We therefore propose that withS. pneumoniae, ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin target topoisomerase IV in preference to DNA gyrase. Sitafloxacin, on the other hand, was found to be equipotent against either enzyme. This characteristic is unique for a fluoroquinolone. A reduction in the sensitivities of both topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase are required, however, to achieve intermediate- or high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in S. pneumoniae.
Progress and challenges in the discovery of macrofilaricidal drugs

Control of human filarial infections currently depends on chemotherapeutic strategies predominantly directed at microfilariae. Doxycycline therapy in an extended daily dose regimen sterilizes and kills adult stages, but the utility of this drug for routine field use remains an issue of concern. No macrofilaricidal drugs with efficacy after one or two doses are available for use, delaying the achievement of the elimination or eradication of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Moxidectin, a macrocyclic lactone, is currently in clinical trials for onchocerciasis. A few other drugs that have already been approved for use in veterinary practice or in human medicine for other indications are available for investigation. Early drug discovery pipelines are poorly populated and the process of macrofilaricide discovery and development remains highly challenging. In particular, the lack of convenient, validated animal models in an antifilarial drug discovery pathway is an unresolved issue.
X-Ray Observations of the Compact Central Object in Supernova Remnant G347.3–0.5

We present Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer observations of 1WGA J1713.4-3949, a compact source at the center of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G347.3-0.5. The X-ray spectrum of the source is well fitted by the sum of a blackbody component with a temperature of ~0.4 keV plus a power-law component with a photon index of ~4. We found no pulsations down to 4% in the 0.01-0.16 Hz range nor down to 25% in the 0.01-128 Hz range. This source resembles other compact central objects in SNRs, and we suggest that 1WGA J1713.4-3949 is the associated neutron star for G347.3-0.5. We also measured the properties of the adjacent radio pulsar PSR J1713-3945 with a 392 ms period, and we show that it is not associated with 1WGA J1713.4-3949 nor, most probably, is it associated with SNR G347.3-0.5.
Genetic algorithm for scheduling of IRIS (Increased reward with increased service) tasks

In this paper we consider on-line reward-based scheduling for real-time tasks having hard deadlines on a single processor, which arrive in arbitrary manner. The scheme used is Increased Reward for Increased service (IRIS) where the reward of the task is an increasing function of the amount of service it receives. Our aim is to maximize average reward function. A genetic algorithm is proposed to find the optimal schedule of tasks such that it maximizes the net reward function. A single algorithm finds out the accrued execution time of each task and schedules it.
Stereotypes: A source of bias in affective and empathic forecasting

People’s emotional states often depend on the emotions of others. Consequently, to predict their own responses to social interactions (i.e., affective forecasts), we contend that people predict the emotional states of others (i.e., empathic forecasts). We propose that empathic forecasts are vulnerable to stereotype biases and demonstrate that stereotypes about the different emotional experiences of race (Experiment 1) and sex groups (Experiment 2) bias empathic forecasts. Path modeling in both studies demonstrates that stereotype-biased empathic forecasts regarding how a target individual will feel during a social interaction are associated with participants’ affective forecasts of how they will feel during that interaction with the target person. These affective forecasts, in turn, predict behavioral intentions for the social interaction before it even begins. Stereotypes can therefore indirectly bias affective forecasts by first influencing the empathic forecasts that partly constitute them. In turn, these potentially biased affective forecasts determine social behaviors.
Comparative studies of brain evolution: a critical insight from the Chiroptera

Comparative studies of brain size have a long history and contributed much to our understanding of the evolution and function of the brain and its parts. Recently, bats have been used increasingly as model organisms for such studies because of their large number of species, high diversity of life‐history strategies, and a comparatively detailed knowledge of their neuroanatomy. Here, we draw attention to inherent problems of comparative brain size studies, highlighting limitations but also suggesting alternative approaches. We argue that the complexity and diversity of neurological tasks that the brain and its functional regions (subdivisions) must solve cannot be explained by a single or few variables representing selective pressures. Using an example we show that by adding a single relevant variable, morphological adaptation to foraging strategy, to a previous analysis a correlation between brain and testes mass disappears completely and changes entirely the interpretation of the study. Future studies should not only look for novel determinants of brain size but also include known correlates in order to add to our current knowledge. We believe that comparisons at more detailed anatomical, taxonomic, and geographical levels will continue to contribute to our understanding of the function and evolution of mammalian brains.
Maxillary osteoradionecrosis - review of published literature: incidence, classification, risk factors, physiopathology and prevention

Introduction: osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of facial bones is a serious complication of radiotherapy. Objective: this literature review was performed to study maxillary osteoradionecrosis, its incidence, classification, risk factors, physiopathology, prevention, and current treatment. Literature review: literature search using Medline was performed for all relevant articles with specific keywords from January 2000 to November 2011 aiming to find current data available on ORN and the paradigm change in physiopathology and prevention of the disease. The literature reviewed showed lack of either controlled or randomized trials, a few prospective studies, and a great amount of retrospective studies. Final considerations: adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy may be applied for osteoradionecrosis prevention, before and after dental procedures, with satisfying results. Nonetheless, several studies indicated that HBO therapy is not beneficial.
Developing a Validity Argument Through Abductive Reasoning with an Empirical Demonstration of the Latent Class Analysis

This article proposes and demonstrates a methodology for test score validation through abductive reasoning. It describes how abductive reasoning can be utilized in support of the claims made about test score validity. This methodology is demonstrated with a real data example of the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP)-General test—a program assessing functional English language ability in the community and workplace. Abductive reasoning seeks the enabling conditions through which a claim about a person's ability makes sense. For example, it makes sense that a person has strong functional language proficiency if he or she has been regularly using English to write emails and meet with colleagues at work. A valid test score should be affected by the extent of a person's engagement with such enabling conditions. Empirical evidence that warrants such an abductively reasoned claim is illustrated through a latent class analysis within a structural equation model. Evidence is examined to investigate whether certain classes of test takers who have been differentially engaging in the enabling conditions do, in fact, predict a person's CELPIP-General performance. The steps of the methodology are summarized in the closing section.
Air Pollution and Risk of Stroke: Underestimation of Effect Due to Misclassification of Time of Event Onset

Background: Epidemiologic studies linking ambient air pollution to the onset of acute cardiovascular events often rely on date of hospital admission for exposure assessment. Methods: We investigated the extent of exposure misclassification resulting from assigning exposure to particulate matter based on (1) date of hospital admission, or (2) time of hospital presentation compared with particulate matter exposure based on time of stroke symptom onset. We performed computer simulations to evaluate the impact of this source of exposure misclassification on estimates of air pollution health effects in the context of a time-stratified case-crossover study. Results: Among 1101 patients admitted for a confirmed acute ischemic stroke to a Boston area hospital, symptom onset occurred a median of 1 calendar day before hospital admission (range = 0–30 days). The difference between ambient particulate matter exposure based on the calendar day of admission versus time of symptom onset ranged from −47 to 36 &mgr;g/m3 (−0.1 ± 7.1 &mgr;g/m3; mean ± SD). The simulation study indicated that for nonnull associations, exposure assessment based on hospitalization date led to estimates that were biased toward the null by 60%–66%, whereas assessment based on time of hospital presentation yielded estimates that were biased toward the null by 37%–42%. Conclusions: Epidemiologic studies of air pollution–related risk of acute cardiovascular events that assess exposure based on date of hospitalization likely underestimate the strength of associations. Using data on time of hospital presentation would marginally attenuate, but not eliminate, this important source of bias.
On the two-dimensional sloshing problem

A correct proof is given for the following assertions about the two-dimensional sloshing problem. The fundamental eigenvalue is simple and the corresponding stream function may be chosen to be non-negative in the closure of the water domain. New proof is based on stricter assumptions about the water domain; namely, it must satisfy John’s condition.
Spécificité politique et spécificité lexicale

SPECIFICITES D'AUTEURS DANS LE SURREALISME AU SERVICE DE LA REVOLUTION Dans cet article, extrait de la derniere partie de sa these restee inachevee, M. -R. G. expose d'abord le principe du calcul statistique qui aboutit a la definition des specificites, puis la partition a laquelle le calcul est applique. Etudiant successivement les vocabulaires lexical et fonctionnel, elle presente d'abord les formes de base, c'est-a- dire les plus regulierement reparties, puis les rapprochements et oppositions statistiques entre les auteurs prix deux a deux. Enfin, elle dresse, a partir de leurs specificites positives les plus fortes, le « profil » des contributions de Breton, Eluard, Crevel, Tzara, Dali et Aragon, a la revue Le Surrealisme au service de la Revolution.
Robotic gait trainer in water: Development of an underwater gait-training orthosis

Purpose. To develop a robotic gait trainer that can be used in water (RGTW) and achieve repetitive physiological gait patterns to improve the movement dysfunctions. Method. The RGTW is a hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis with pneumatic actuators; the control software was developed on the basis of the angular motions of the hip and knee joint of a healthy subject as he walked in water. Three-dimensional motions and electromyographic (EMG) activities were recorded in nine healthy subjects to evaluate the efficacy of using the RGTW while walking on a treadmill in water. Results. The device could preserve the angular displacement patterns of the hip and knee and foot trajectories under all experimental conditions. The tibialis anterior EMG activities in the late swing phase and the biceps femoris throughout the stance phase were reduced whose joint torques were assisted by the RGTW while walking on a treadmill in water. Conclusion. Using the RGTW could expect not only the effect of the hydrotherapy but also the standard treadmill gait training, in particular, and may be particularly effective for treating individuals with hip joint movement dysfunction.
From the Selectedworks of Jeffrey S. Morris Microproteomics: Analysis of Protein Diversity in Small Samples Microproteomics: Analysis of Protein Diversity in Small Samples

Proteomics, the large-scale study of protein expression in organisms, offers the potential to evaluate global changes in protein expression and their post-translational modifications that take place in response to normal or pathological stimuli. One challenge has been the requirement for substantial amounts of tissue in order to perform comprehensive proteomic characterization. In heterogeneous tissues, such as brain, this has limited the application of proteomic methodologies. Efforts to adapt standard methods of tissue sampling, protein extraction, arraying, and identification are reviewed, with an emphasis on those appropriate to smaller samples ranging in size from several microliters down to single cells. The effects of miniaturization on these analyses are highlighted using neuroscience-related examples, as are statistical issues unique to the high-dimensional datasets generated by pro-teomic experiments.
The Logic of Sentiment: The Family and Social Change: A Review Article

Individual experience and personality, human behavior, and ultimately history itself are shaped by the texture of family relationships. Recognition of this critical influence underlies the importance historians and social scientists attach to the study of the family. The structure of the family, reflecting social conditions and demographic configurations, in turn shapes the nature of social relations, in a reciprocal interaction between the family and other social institutions. The size and structure of the family and the nature of intrafamilial relations are of obvious and central importance to the emotional reality of life, to individual perceptions, and to social and moral choices. It is the nature of the intrafamilial relationships between parents and children, that is, of intergenerational relations, and their implications for the process of social change and fertility transition that is the subject of this review. While the implications for policy are not explicitly discussed, the central issues of intergenerational relations, social change, and fertility transition are of close and direct relevance to the proposals for and perceptions of efficacious policy intervention. The discussion here focuses on two recent works that offer an analysis of the process of family change-Lawrence Stone's The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800 and John C. Caldwell's "Toward a restatement of demographic transition theory. "' The book by Stone, a
Digital natives: where is the evidence?

Generational differences are seen as the cause of wide shifts in our ability to engage with technologies and the concept of the digital native has gained popularity in certain areas of policy and practice. This paper provides evidence, through the analysis of a nationally representative survey in the UK, that generation is only one of the predictors of advanced interaction with the Internet. Breadth of use, experience, gender and educational levels are also important, indeed in some cases more important than generational differences, in explaining the extent to which people can be defined as a digital native. The evidence provided suggests that it is possible for adults to become digital natives, especially in the area of learning, by acquiring skills and experience in interacting with information and communication technologies. This paper argues that we often erroneously presume a gap between educators and students and that if such a gap does exist, it is definitely possible to close it.
Research on the evaluation of traffic condition using mobile phones

Road traffic jam is a major source of inefficiency and wasted fuel. Measuring and localizing the congestion is an important step towards reducing the time people spend stuck in traffic. With the rapid development of phones, smart phones can provide location estimates with GPS sensor. Using position samples from drivers' phones to monitor traffic delays opens up the possibility of road condition estimation. This paper describes a road state evaluation system using the GPS data obtained from mobile phones. First is to evaluate the link average speed of a single vehicle, piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method is employed to improve the accuracy of evaluation. Concerning that the speed of the same type vehicle is relatively stable, next is to obtain this parameter using the method of weighting. Last, use the average speed of different types of vehicles and ratio of those types as the inputs, and the link average speed as the output to construct the RBF (Radical Basis Function) neutral network. With the network, we can get the link average velocity, and according to the statistical analysis we know the number of the vehicle in the period of time, so the traffic flow is easy to calculate. We present experimental results from 24 different link groups of bus GPS data, the analysis result proves that the piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method has a better performance and less error than traditional linear interpolation method. We show that after training the RBF network with large volumes of data obtained from VISSIM, the proposed evaluation method has a good performance.