Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behavior and Speech Intelligibility in a Changing Multi-talker Environment

At the auditory cocktail party, we often listen to speech coming from different directions. This project aims to investigate how behavior and speech perception interact when people have different goals when listening in an acoustically complex scene. In the experiment, participants stand in a simulated reverberant room and listen to target sentences of one talker from random directions in the horizontal plane. The interferers are presented in an ongoing fashion clustered in front of the participant but the participants can move during the presentation of the sentence. At the beginning of each trial, the scene is reset to be aligned with the current orientation of the participant. The experiment aims to test behavior without restricting the participant with instructions to move in a certain way and test the effect of visual cues. Stimuli are presented in free-field using the real-time Simulated Open Field Environment. The movement behavior is recorded using a videobased motion-tracking system, and the motion data are analyzed in relation to target position and visual conditions. The results are discussed in the context of developing realistic listening scenes for psychoacoustical and audiological research.
EXAMINING FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENT SATISFACTION IN DISTANCE EDUCATION IN GHANA : A STUDY OF THE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION , UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION , WINNEBA

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that influence students’ satisfaction in distance education programmes in Ghana. The study used ordinal logistic regression based on a structured hardcopy questionnaire administered to 309 students of the Institute for Educational Development and Extension, University of Education, Winneba in the Volta Region campuses, Ghana. The dependent variable in the study is students’ satisfaction while administrative support services, course evaluation by students, instructor performance and student instructor interaction constitute the independent variables. The logistic regression results revealed that administrative support services that focus on students, course evaluation by students, the instructor’s performance and the student instructor interactions influence students’ satisfaction. In addition, most of the students expressed their satisfaction in the distance education programme in the Institute for Educational Development and Extension, University of Education, Winneba.
Journaling and Recovering in NoSQL

Not Only SQL (NoSQL) is a recent technology that is scalable and provides flexible schemas, thereby compleme nting existing relational database technologies. Although NoSQ L is flourishing, present solutions lack the features required by enterprises for critical missions. In this paper, we explore solutions to the data recovery issue in NoSQL. Data recovery for any database table entails restoring the table to a prior state o r replaying (insert/update) operations over the table givena time period in the past. Recovery of NoSQL database tables enable s applications such as failure recovery, analysis for histor ical data, debugging, and auditing. In this paper, we first identify thedesign and implementation issues with regard to the data recovery problem for NoSQL databases, including time length of recov ery, scalability, memory constraint, and software compatibility. Two solutions are then proposed and evaluated to address the dat a recovery problem in NoSQL; each solution has its pros and cons. We implement our proposals based on Apache HBase, a popular NoSQL database in the Hadoop ecosystem. Our implementations are extensively benchmarked with an indus trial NoSQL benchmark under real environments.
Birds: Trophic modelling of the Ross Sea

The model includes bird species breeding in the Ross Sea and major visitors to the region. Eleven species of birds are known to breed in the Ross Sea study area, and in adjacent regions (Table 1: Harper et al. 1984, Ainley et al. 1984). Birds in the Ross Sea study region are divided into three groups in the trophic model: (1) emperor penguins; (2) Adélie penguins; and (3) flying birds (petrels, albatrosses, skuas). Estimates of biomass for each bird group are given by species below. Methods for estimating the other parameters needed for these birds in the model are considered below.
Network Structure and Innovation Outcomes in Real Estate Networks

Within the traditional real estate business today there’s a growing trend focusing on increased costumer value at office workplaces. Facilitating innovation requires transfer of different kinds of knowledge, which means that the knowledge-bearing actors must meet and interact. In a case study, this paper seeks to improve our understanding of how network structure affects innovation outcomes in real estate innovation networks by analyzing network structure in terms of network size, density and in terms of actor centrality or position. This study shows that it was primarily the customer who was behind the innovative development of the workplace while the supplier had a more network coordinating role.
Cohort , Life-Cycle and Period Effects in a Period of Partisan Dealignment

This paper analyses the possible effect of cohort differences on patterns of electoral behaviour in a period of partisan dealignment. It argues voters‘ electoral behaviour in relation to partisan dealignment should be based on two types of behaviour: effective electoral participation that changing of electoral behaviour. The paper examines three different alternative explanations: cohort, life-cycle and period effects. Cohort effect refers to generational difference (pre-dealignment generations, postdealignment generation and children of dealignment generation). Empirical analysis of two case studies – the Netherlands and Israel--demonstrates that the last two effects – period and life-cycle influence the electoral behaviour of people during a period of partisan dealignment. The period effects are mainly related to institutional and party system changes. In addition I will show that ageing has crucial role in explaining one‘s electoral behaviour – as one becomes older he/she is less likely to be a dealigned voters.
Testing a prediabetes screening approach for a Latin American population in Vancouver, Canada

otero lm, fong m, papineau d, thorne s & zanetti ml (2011) Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness3, 329–338 Testing a prediabetes screening approach for a Latin American population in Vancouver, Canada Aim. To determine whether the CANRISK Diabetes Risk Assessment tool can be a useful component of a screening programme to identify risk for developing diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM) in a Latin American immigrant population in a Canadian urban health service region. Background. Diabetes mellitus type 2 prevalence is rapidly increasing and has been identified as a population health priority. Immigrants from Latin American countries are among the higher risk ethnic groups within the diverse Canadian urban population. Method. Within a larger multi-site project to validate the Public Health Agency of Canada’s CANRISK Questionnaire, we studied a convenience sample of 44 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin Americans to assess its utility as a potential component of a prediabetes risk screening approach with this population. Using a cross-sectional exploratory design, we compared CANRISK questionnaire results with values derived from controlled blood glucose testing. Data were collected from 2009–2010. Results. CANRISK assessment was readily accepted within this population when administered in study participants’ native language. Laboratory testing detected abnormal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values in 4·7% of this population, 4·5% with abnormal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in 4·5% and abnormal haemoglobin A1c values in 9·1%. In contrast, the CANRISK tool identified 11·4% of the sample to be at high risk, 9·1 at moderate risk and 43·2% at slightly elevated risk for developing DM. Conclusion. CANRISK identified candidates who might benefit from risk reduction interventions in whom biological indices typically signalling the need for attention were not yet apparent. It is easily administered with this higher risk population, and may be useful to identify a significantly wider spectrum of prediabetes risk than can be detected clinically. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses may consider using the CANRISK questionnaire to detect DM risk within this population as an adjunct to prevention strategies aimed at reducing the incidence and prevalence of this disease.
GOAT MILK CHEESE RIP ‐ ENED WITH Lactobacillus acidophilus AND EXTRACT RABBIT STOMACH

Abstract Rabbit stomach is waste from rabbit slaughtering that has the potential to be used as an alternative source of rennet for cheese production. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ripen‐ ing by using Lactobacillus acidophilus on the chemical composition and free fatty acids (FFA) profile of goat milk cheese with extract of rabbit stomach as coagulant. Lactobacillus acidophilus (1%) was inocu‐ lated into pasteurized goat milk and incubated for 1 h, rennet extract up to 3% was added and incu‐ bated for 25 min. Cheese was stored at 4C for 42 d. The moisture, fat, protein and ash content were analyzed at day 0, 21 and 42, whereas the FFA of goat milk cheese were analyzed on day 0 and 42. There were significantly differences in the moisture, protein, and ash content in the goat milk cheese on 21 and 42 days of ripening, but there was no significant difference in the fat content. The long‐chain saturated (C16:0 and C18:0) and unsaturated (C18:2) FFA were the most abundant in goat milk cheese, and there were no significant differences between pre or post ripening. The concentration of short chain fatty acid (C6:0, C8:0 and C10:0) and the overall concentration of FFA in goat milk cheese after 42 days rip‐ ening was higher compared to those pre‐ripening.
Corporate social responsibility communication

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) offers a solution for businesses to identify their roles in society in order to maintain corporate legitimacy in cooperation with the communities they exist. Even though companies started to work with CSR as part of their business, CSR communication remained overlooked, and the literature is scattered around various disciplines. Therefore, this study intends to gain insight into the role of CSR communication between businesses and their multiple stakeholders. By connecting CSR with the corporate marketing philosophy, this study aims to identify key factors that promote CSR communication. At the same time, the study aspires to show the interlinkages between sustainability, corporate responsibility, and corporate marketing practices with attempts to better understand the communicative perspectives on CSR through a case from the food industry. The empirical analysis is structured in accordance with the pillars of corporate social responsibility: stakeholder theory, corporate marketing philosophy and the sharedunderstanding communication model. A qualitative method is applied to study the phenomenon of CSR communication through a single-case using Oatly AB as an empirical case. Besides, the focus group technique is included to explain how consumers perceive corporate communication intents. During the project, empirical data was collected from multiple sources, such as corporate sustainability report, code of conduct, semi-structured interview, available online materials and focus groups were organized. Findings of the study justify that communication has the value to foster sustainability and CSR in society through a dynamic interplay between the corporation and its constituencies. Proactive two-way dialogues, including and connecting diverse actors in decision-making, are key to produce, reproduce meaning and create reality. The empirical case illustrates that the combination of the political-normative and communicative aspects of CSR and constant negotiations have the potential to attain shared meanings and value. Moreover, openness and transparency perceived to be crucial factors in communication to promote sustainability in the food industry; complemented with authentic messages, consumers are likely to obtain clear meanings of communicational intents. However, the current marketing channels are not the most optimal; thus, new alternatives are needed to avoid communication gaps.
Clinical profile and prognostic markers of acute febrile encephalopathy (AFE) in adult patients presenting to a North Indian tertiary care hospital

Background: Acute febrile encephalopathy (AFE) is a clinical term used to an altered mental state that either accompanies or follows a short febrile illness and is characterized by a diffuse and nonspecific brain insult manifested by a combination of coma, seizures, and decerebration. Objective: To identify the clinical and etiological profile of acute febrile encephalopathy in adult patients presenting to JNMCH, Aligarh from January-December, 2014. Patients and Methods: 238 adults (>14 yrs.) presenting to the emergency with complains of fever (>38΀C) of less than 2 weeks duration with altered sensorium with/or without seizure were prospectively investigated for etiological cause. The investigations included routine blood investigations, chest X-rays, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microscopy, bacterial and fungal cultures, CSF serology, peripheral smear and serology for malarial parasite. Other investigations included were CT or MRI wherever indicated. Non-infectious causes were ruled out by various investigations mentioned above. Outcome was evaluated by the report of investigations and response to treatment over during the period of inpatient treatment. Results: Out of all the patients admitted, acute pyogenic meningitis was the most common cause accounting for 34.5% of cases followed by cerebral malaria 20.2%, sepsis associated encephalopathy 14.3%, acute meningoencephalitis 9.2%, tubercular meningitis 6.7%, enteric encephalopathy 2.5% and fungal meningitis in 1.3% cases. Conclusion: Acute pyogenic meningitis is the most common cause of AFE in the patients who reported to JNMCH in the past one year. Prompt and specific treatment can mimimise morbidity and mortality in many cases presenting with AFE.
Assessing Interoperability Solutions for Distributed Ledgers Extended version

Distributed ledgers (DLs), including blockchains, are gradually becoming an accepted technology. Almost all of these ledgers are currently siloed, and there is an increasing need for interaction between such ledgers. To fulfill this need, interoperability solutions have been proposed. However, DL interoperability has been scarcely researched, and it is not always clear which properties these solutions have, nor which particular issues exist in such solutions. This paper describes a set of key properties with which interoperability solutions can be evaluated. We evaluate five solutions and identify several issues, of which some cannot be solved by the solution itself. Our approach can be used in practice to assess interoperability solutions, and can be used to determine which kind of solution fits best.
Mobilizing Forces: Military Conscription as a Driver of Mobility in Argentina

A vast literature documents the presence of unexploited potential gains from migration within a country, in both developing and developed economies. One possible explanation of what prevents people from migrating is that a lack of experience living outside one's hometown earlier in life could make it more di cult to migrate later on. In this paper, I use the natural experiment of military conscription in Argentina, which randomly assigned not only military service, but also the location of service, to study the e ect of this temporary displacement on long-run migration rates. I then use a rich source of administrative earnings and employment data to investigate the labor-market implications of conscription and, in particular, displacement. I nd that conscription on the whole caused a small increase in the likelihood of appearing in the formal labor force, and a small increase in earnings particularly for those who were assigned to serve in the Navy. Assignment to military service outside of one's province of origin increased the likelihood of living outside the province of origin by 2.5 percent, and while the net e ects of this displacement on earnings and employment are imprecisely estimated, the evidence suggests that there are modest long-term bene ts of conscription in Argentina that are not fully attributable to displacement. *Email: seweiner11@gmail.com. Please see following page for acknowledgements. All errors are my own.
Optimal Design of Retrieval System Based on The Deep Learning

This paper briefly describes the current development of the deep neural network (DNN). On basis of traditional B-P neural network and experiments, the most suitable number of hidden layers for equipment textual information mining is chosen to establish a deep neural network. The S-type function in the original B-P neural network is replaced by ReLU integral linear function so as to refine the convergence rate, reduce the node number in the whole network and further improve retrieval system.
Automated generation and evaluation of many-body diagrams I . Bogoliubov many-body perturbation theory

We describe the first version (v1.0.0) of the code ADG that automatically (1) generates all valid Bogoliubov many-body perturbation theory (BMBPT) diagrams and (2) evaluates their algebraic expression to be implemented for numerical applications. This is achieved at any perturbative order p for a Hamiltonian containing both two-body (four-legs) and three-body (six-legs) interactions (vertices). The automated generation of BMBPT diagrams of order p relies on elements of graph theory, i.e., it is achieved by producing all oriented adjacency matrices of size (p + 1) × (p + 1) satisfying topological Feynman’s rules. The automated evaluation of BMBPT diagrams of order p relies both on the application of algebraic Feynman’s rules and on the identification of a powerful diagrammatic rule providing the result of the remaining p-tuple time integral. The diagrammatic rule in question constitutes a novel finding allowing for the straight summation of large classes of time-ordered diagrams at play in the time-independent formulation of BMBPT. Correspondingly, the traditional resolvent rule employed to compute time-ordered diagrams happens to be a particular case of the general rule presently identified. The code ADG is written in Python2.7 and uses the graph manipulation package NetworkX. The code is also able to generate and evaluate Hartree-Fock-MBPT (HF-MBPT) diagrams and is made flexible enough to be expanded throughout the years to tackle the diagrammatics at play in various many-body formalisms that already exist or are yet to be formulated.
Author ' s personal copy Ostracism and prosocial behavior : A social dilemma perspective q

Prior research has yielded mixed findings regarding the relation of ostracism to prosocial behavior, with studies indicating ostracism leads people to become less prosocial, more prosocial, or that prosocial behavior is unaffected by workplace ostracism. By conceptualizing prosocial behavior at work as a social dilemma, we hypothesized that whether or not individuals reduce prosocial behaviors following ostracism can be understood by how individuals manage the conflict between the immediate temptation to treat others poorly and the long-term benefits of not giving into such temptations. Across three studies – a scenario (Study 1), experimental (Study 2), and field study on employed adults (Study 3) – we find support for the hypothesis that individuals who are less (versus more) oriented towards future outcomes engage in less prosocial behaviors with others who have ostracized them during prior interactions. We discuss both the practical and theoretical implications of these findings. 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
How to Minimize Maximum Regret in Repeated Decision-Making

Consider repeated decision making in a stationary noisy environment given a nite set of actions in each round. Payo¤s belong to a known bounded interval. A rule or strategy attains minimax regret if it minimizes over all rules the maximum over all payo¤ distributions of the di¤erence between achievable and achieved discounted expected payo¤s. Linear rules that attain minimax regret are shown to exist and are optimal for a Bayesian decision-maker endowed with the prior where learning is most di¢ cult. Minimax regret behavior for choosing between two actions given small or intermediate discount factors is derived and only requires two rounds of memory. JEL classi cation: D81, D83.
Optimal Resource Allocation Policy for Multi-Rate Opportunistic Forwarding

Many opportunistic routing protocols for wireless multi-hop networks rely on a fixed channel rate and a fixed priority order to manage the access to the channel by the involved nodes. Thereby, the actual channel capacities in the network are not considered and the diversity of links is not fully exploited. Furthermore, the data buffer of the nodes is not taken into account. In this work, we consider a wireless multihop scenario consisting of multiple cooperative nodes within each hop that share channel resources and adapt their channel rates based on local channel knowledge. A Markov Decision Process (MDP) model is used to derive an optimal resource allocation policy that minimizes the number of required time slots to forward all data packets to the next hop. Furthermore, we propose a state approximation technique that limits the required number of states, but captures the most important features of the problem. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed policy achieves throughput gains of up to 25% compared to a fixed order transmission policy and up to 49% compared to a unipath approach.
Common variants of the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptor genes may contribute to pregnancy-related anxiety: a pilot study

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis overactivity is thought to contribute to increased vulnerability to maternal stress. We hypothesize that functionally relevant polymorphic variants of the glucocorticoid (NR3C1) and mineralocorticoid (NR3C2) receptor genes mediating biological effects of cortisol, a major stress hormone, could also modulate the capacity to cope with pregnancy-related anxiety. Genomic DNA from the blood of 42 women with pregnancy-related anxiety and 42 age-matched women with normal pregnancy (5–6th months of gestation) were genotyped for markers rs6195 and rs10482605 of NR3C1 and two NR3C2 polymorphisms (rs5522 and rs2070951) using a Taqman allele discrimination assay. Serum total cortisol was measured using an ELISA technique. The allele Ser363 of rs6195 (the N363S polymorphism of NR3C1) was found to be associated with a higher risk of maternal stress (odds ratio (OR)=5.27; P=0.001). For NR3C2, the allele Val180 of rs5522 (I180V) also showed association with increased risk of neonatal stress (OR=1.97; P=0.038). Both predisposing gene variants were also associated with significantly elevated levels of cortisol in normally pregnant women and females with pregnancy-related anxiety. Our results suggest that pregnancy-related anxiety can be modulated by variants of NR3C1 and NR3C2 associated with increased basal cortisol levels. Thus, our findings provide evidence in support of the suggestion that elevated cortisol levels and HPA axis hyperactivity are implicated in pregnancy-related anxiety.