bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Study to Assess the Feasibility of Implementing a Web‐Based Decision Aid for Birth after Cesarean to Increase Opportunities for Shared Decision Making in Ethnically Diverse Settings
Authors: Shorten Allison , Shorten Brett , Fagerlin Angela , Illuzzi Jessica , Kennedy Holly Powell , Pettker Christian , Raju Dheeraj , Whittemore Robin
Published: October 2018

Introduction

Decision aids are central to shared decision making and are recommended for value‐sensitive pregnancy decisions, such as birth after cesarean. However, effective strategies for widespread decision aid implementation, with interactive web‐based platforms, are lacking. This study tested the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act‐secure, web‐based decision aid to support shared decision making about birth choices after cesarean, within urban, ethnically diverse outpatient settings.

Methods

A before‐and‐after design was used to assess feasibility and acceptability for decision aid implementation. Measures included women's knowledge, decisional conflict, birth preferences, birth outcomes, decision aid use, decision aid acceptability ratings (content, features, and functions), and views on how the decision aid supported shared decision making.

Results

Of the 68 women who participated, most were black (46.2%) or Hispanic (35.4%). Their knowledge scores increased by 2.58 points out of 15 (P < .001; d = 0.87), and decisional conflict score reduced by 0.45 points out of 5 points (P < .001; d = 0.69). Forty‐four women (65.9%) attempted a vaginal birth after cesarean, of whom 29 (65.7%) succeeded. Women rated decision aid content, features, and functions as good or excellent. Most indicated they would recommend it to others. Health care providers recommended additional strategies to simplify decision aid access and integration into routine care.

Discussion

Implementing web‐based decision aids within ethnically diverse practice settings is potentially feasible and worthwhile. However, strategies are needed to improve women's access and to encourage timely decision aid usage to prepare them for decision discussions with health care providers. Sustained implementation will require seamless integration into clinic workflow, which could include health care provider tools (counselling guides) embedded within the electronic health record, along with continuing education to support and engage health care providers in their use.
Continental patterns in the diet of a top predator: Australia's dingo
Authors: Doherty Tim S. , Davis Naomi E. , Dickman Chris R. , Forsyth David M. , Letnic Mike , Nimmo Dale G. , Palmer Russell , Ritchie Euan G. , Benshemesh Joe , Edwards Glenn , Lawrence Jenny , Lumsden Lindy , Pascoe Charlie , Sharp Andy , Stokeld Danielle , Myers Cecilia , Story Georgeanna , Story Paul , Triggs Barbara , Venosta Mark , Wysong Mike , Newsome Thomas M.
Published: October 2018

Conserving large carnivores is controversial because they can threaten wildlife, human safety, and livestock production. Since large carnivores often have large ranges, effective management requires knowledge of how their ecology and functional roles vary biogeographically.

We examine continental‐scale patterns in the diet of the dingo – Australia's largest terrestrial mammalian predator. We describe and quantify how dingo dietary composition and diversity vary with environmental productivity and across five bioclimatic zones: arid, semi‐arid, tropical, sub‐tropical, and temperate.

Based on 73 published and unpublished data sets from throughout the continent, we used multivariate linear modelling to assess regional trends in the occurrence of nine food groups (arthropods, birds, reptiles, European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus, medium‐sized [25–125 kg] and large [169–825 kg] exotic ungulates [including livestock], and other small [<0.5 kg], medium‐sized [0.5–6.9 kg] and large [≥7 kg] mammals) in dingo diets. We also assessed regional patterns in the dietary occurrence of livestock and the relationship between dietary occurrence of rabbits and small, medium‐sized and large mammals.

Dingoes eat at least 229 vertebrate species (66% mammals, 22% birds, 11% reptiles, and 1% other taxa). Dietary composition varied across bioclimatic zones, with dingo diets in the arid and semi‐arid zones (low‐productivity sites) having the highest occurrence of arthropods, reptiles, birds, and rabbits. Medium‐sized mammals occurred most frequently in temperate and sub‐tropical zone diets (high‐productivity sites), large mammals least in the arid and sub‐tropical zones, and livestock most in the arid and tropical zones. The frequency of rabbits in diets was negatively correlated with that of medium‐sized, but not small or large mammals.

Dingoes have a flexible and generalist diet that differs among bioclimatic zones and with environmental productivity in Australia. Future research should focus on examining how dingo diets are affected by local prey availability and human‐induced changes to prey communities.
Use of chicken eggshell to improve dietary calcium intake in rural sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Bartter Justin , Diffey Helena , Yeung Ying Hei , O'Leary Fiona , Häsler Barbara , Maulaga Wende , Alders Robyn
Published: October 2018

Undernutrition resulting from inadequate access to high‐quality, nutritious food is a widespread issue in sub‐Saharan Africa impacting the health and survival of mothers and their children. Inadequate dietary intake leads to a deficiency in nutrients including calcium, required for growth and physiological functioning. This study investigated the potential of increasing dietary calcium intake by the addition of heat‐treated ground eggshell to locally prepared food. A mixed methods approach of literature review, Delphi expert survey and focus group discussions with women of childbearing age in rural Tanzania, were used to assess the practicality, safety, and acceptability of consumption of ground eggshell. Chicken eggshell has high calcium content (380 mg of calcium/gram) and bioavailability comparable to calcium carbonate (~39%) with 1 g sufficient to provide one half of a sub‐Saharan African adult female's dietary calcium needs. Salmonella was indicated as the most likely threat to human health through eggshell consumption. Experts agreed that eggshells boiled for 10 min when preparing hard‐boiled eggs with a further 20 min cooking of crushed eggshell in staple foods would eliminate identified egg‐associated pathogens. Five focus groups (n = 46) indicated eggshells were perceived as waste. However, there was an indication of general acceptance of the approach and a willingness to consider the incorporation of ground eggshells into their diets. Development of suitable communication methods are required to convey benefits and safe preparation methods. Ground eggshell could be a highly equitable method of increasing calcium intakes across rural sub‐Saharan Africa where calcium intake is low and village poultry ownership common.
The potential of a simple egg to improve maternal and child nutrition
Authors: Lutter Chessa K. , Iannotti Lora L. , Stewart Christine P.
Published: October 2018

Evidence is mounting about the benefits of eggs for child nutrition and potential benefits for women during pregnancy and birth outcomes. Maternal consumption of eggs during lactation may also enhance the breast‐milk composition of certain nutrients, thus contributing to the nutrition and potentially also to the development of breastfed children. Relative to single nutrient supplements, eggs deliver nutrients and other hormone or immune factors in compounds that may be more readily absorbed and metabolized. In addition to macronutrients, eggs contain a number of micronutrients, such as choline, that are known to have brain health promoting effects. Among children less than 2 years of age, consumption nearly universally increases with age. Large regional differences exist; the prevalence of egg consumption among African children is less than half that of most other world regions and threefold less than in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among women of reproductive age, egg consumption is strongly related to socio‐economic status in a dose–response fashion with women in the lowest wealth quintile eating the fewest eggs and those in the highest wealth quintile eating the most. Cultural factors likely play a role in around consumption of eggs during pregnancy, lactation, and early childhood, though most reports are anecdotal in nature and few high‐quality data exist. Well‐informed social marketing and behaviour change communication strategies have led to large increases in egg consumption among young children. Economic barriers that limit access are likely to be far more important than cultural ones in explaining low consumption.
Identification and Estimation Issues in Exponential Smooth Transition Autoregressive Models
Authors: Buncic Daniel
Published: October 2018

Exponential smooth transition autoregressive (ESTAR) models are widely used in the international finance literature, particularly for the modelling of real exchange rates. We show that the exponential function is ill‐suited as a regime weighting function because of two undesirable properties. Firstly, it can be well approximated by a quadratic function in the threshold variable whenever the transition function parameterγ, which governs the shape of the function, is‘small’. This leads to an identification problem with respect to the transition function parameter and the slope vector, as both enter as a product into the conditional mean of the model. Secondly, the exponential regime weighting function can behave like an indicator function (or dummy variable) for very large values ofγ. This has the effect of‘spuriously overfitting’a small number of observations around the location parameterμ. We show that both of these effects lead to estimation problems in ESTAR models. We illustrate this by means of an empirical replication of a widely cited study, as well as a simulation exercise.
Reproductive success of the Canarian Echium simplex (Boraginaceae) mediated by vertebrates and insects
Authors: Jaca J. , Nogales M. , Traveset A.
Published: October 2018

Oceanic island ecosystems favour the appearance of novel interactions as a consequence of their depauperate and disharmonic flora and fauna. We investigated Echium simplex, endemic to the Anaga Biosphere Reserve in NE Tenerife, Canary Islands, belongs to the Canarian bird–flower element.

Along two flowering seasons, we studied the breeding system of E. simplex, identified the floral visitors and compared the pollination effectiveness of different animal guilds (insects versus vertebrates) by means of selective exclosures.

E. simplex is self‐compatible but selfing significantly reduced fruit set. The flowers were visited by five bird species (mostly Phylloscopus canariensis and Serinus canarius, but also Cyanistes teneriffae, Sylvia atricapilla and Sylvia melanocephala), a lizard species (Gallotia galloti) and over a hundred insect species (mainly hymenopterans and coleopterans). Flying insects increased fruit set whereas small flower dwellers (mostly beetles) decreased both fruit and seed set. Vertebrates had a negligible effect on reproductive success.

We conclude that although the floral resources provided by E. simplex may be important to some vertebrate species, these do not appear to contribute to increase fitness of the plant, which was more dependent upon flying insects for fruit and seed set. We additionally found that plant reproductive structures are heavily damaged by feral goats, which threaten the maintenance of this Canarian endemic species.
The Joint Use of RFID and EDI: Implications for Hospital Performance
Authors: Bradley Randy V. , Esper Terry L. , In Joonhwan , Lee Kang B. , Bichescu Bogdan C. , Byrd Terry Anthony
Published: October 2018

Hospitals in the United States (U.S.), and the healthcare industry as a whole, are experiencing major transformations that will likely affect every facet of our society. One such example is a federal regulation known as the Value‐based Purchasing (VBP) program, which shifts hospital reimbursements for services rendered away from a fee‐for‐service model to a value‐based model. This change requires hospitals to more accurately track and document resources/assets utilized in the delivery of care, in addition to appropriate health outcomes. Hence, the focus of this study is on assessing the effect of the joint use of RFID and EDI on hospital performance, namely supply chain cost efficiency, personnel expenses, and hospital readmission rates. The findings, based on secondary, longitudinal data on more than 3300 US hospitals spanning eight years, suggest that hospitals bundling RFID and EDI experience an initial decrease in supply chain cost efficiency and increase in personnel expenses, with no immediate impact on readmission rates. However, over time, better supply chain cost efficiency, lower personnel expenses, and a consistent reduction in readmission rates accrue from the long‐term and consistent leveraging of the RFID‐EDI bundle. Thus, the overarching contribution of this study is the elucidation of how and along what measures the bundled leveraging of RFID and EDI improves hospital performance, as well as which measures of hospital performance are time (in)variant. We round out this study with a discussion of our findings, their implications, and offer directions for future research.
Political Decoupling: Private Implementation of Public Policy
Authors: Teodoro Manuel P. , Zhang Youlang , Switzer David
Published: October 2018

Where policy goals can be achieved through regulation of private firms, private provision of public services allows governments to separate public policies from their political costs by shifting those costs to the private sector. Over the past three decades, financial decoupling has emerged as a regulatory strategy for promoting conservation, especially in the energy sector. Decoupling refers to the separation of a firm’s revenues from the volume of its product consumed, which allows companies to pursue resource efficiency free from financial risk. Similarly, when private firms provide public services, they separate public policies from their political costs. This political decoupling allows governments to pursue controversial policies while avoiding their attendant political risks. Applied to environmental policy, this theory implies that potentially unpopular conservation policies are more likely to be adopted and succeed when implemented through private firms. As an initial test of the theory, we analyze California water utilities and their responses to that state’s drought from 2015–2017. Analysis shows that, compared with those served by local government utilities, private utilities adopted more aggressive conservation measures, were more likely to meet state conservation standards, and conserved more water.
Integrated genetic, epigenetic, and gene set enrichment analyses identify NOTCH as a potential mediator for PTSD risk after trauma: Results from two independent African cohorts
Authors: Conrad Daniela , Wilker Sarah , Schneider Anna , Karabatsiakis Alexander , Pfeiffer Anett , Kolassa Stephan , Freytag Virginie , Vukojevic Vanja , Vogler Christian , Milnik Annette , Papassotiropoulos Andreas , J.‐F. de Quervain Dominique , Elbert Thomas , Kolassa Iris‐Tatjana
Published: October 2018

The risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases with the number of traumatic event types experienced (trauma load) in interaction with other psychobiological risk factors. The NOTCH (neurogenic locus notch homolog proteins) signaling pathway, consisting of four different trans‐membrane receptor proteins (NOTCH1–4), constitutes an evolutionarily well‐conserved intercellular communication pathway (involved, e.g., in cell–cell interaction, inflammatory signaling, and learning processes). Its association with fear memory consolidation makes it an interesting candidate for PTSD research. We tested for significant associations of common genetic variants of NOTCH1–4 (investigated by microarray) and genomic methylation of saliva‐derived DNA with lifetime PTSD risk in independent cohorts from Northern Uganda (N1 = 924) and Rwanda (N2 = 371), and investigated whether NOTCH‐related gene sets were enriched for associations with lifetime PTSD risk. We found associations of lifetime PTSD risk with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2074621 (NOTCH3) (puncorrected = 0.04) in both cohorts, and with methylation of CpG site cg17519949 (NOTCH3) (puncorrected = 0.05) in Rwandans. Yet, none of the (epi‐)genetic associations survived multiple testing correction. Gene set enrichment analyses revealed enrichment for associations of two NOTCH pathways with lifetime PTSD risk in Ugandans: NOTCH binding (pcorrected = 0.003) and NOTCH receptor processing (pcorrected = 0.01). The environmental factor trauma load was significant in all analyses (all p < 0.001). Our integrated methodological approach suggests NOTCH as a possible mediator of PTSD risk after trauma. The results require replication, and the precise underlying pathophysiological mechanisms should be illuminated in future studies.
The new issue: Approaches to oneness Pentecostalism in the United States
Authors: Barba Lloyd , Johnson Andrea Shan
Published: October 2018

When Oneness Pentecostals branched off in the 1910s, they began to create a version of Pentecostalism that was marked by a theology that rejected Trinitarianism, or the concept of a triune Godhead, and assumed a different trajectory over the past century. This new wave of Pentecostalism was marked by debates over further doctrinal issues, racial boundaries, and gender roles. This article provides a historical overview of the themes emerging from and approaches taken in the writings on Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States.
Structural and individualistic theories of poverty
Authors: Calnitsky David
Published: October 2018

This paper clarifies and contrasts the explanatory mechanisms in individualistic and structural accounts of poverty. I argue that individualistic approaches obscure a great deal of the theoretical substance in the causal explanation of poverty, as they lack a macro‐level appraisal of the subject. Such arguments can explain why one person has a higher risk of poverty than another, but ignore the fact that a full account of poverty is not furnished by a simple adding up of all the separate individual‐level accounts. I also argue that there are in fact two separate macro‐level explanations of poverty: where macro‐structural explanations attempt to provide accounts of the “empty places” of poverty into which individuals get slotted, situational accounts attempt to explain the circumstances under which specific “poverty‐generating” behaviors arise. I conclude by providing a synthesis of individual and structural accounts of poverty, showing that while the two approaches need not be viewed as entirely antagonistic, the former should be accorded a far more modest role and indeed subsumed into broader structural accounts.
Hematologic and biochemical reference intervals in Shetland Sheepdogs
Authors: Ruggerone Beatrice , Giraldi Marco , Paltrinieri Saverio , Scarpa Paola
Published: October 2018

Background

Several breeds have physiological peculiarities that induce variations in reference intervals (RIs) compared with the general canine population. Shetland sheepdogs (SSs) are reported to be more predisposed to different diseases (eg, hyperlipidemia, gallbladder mucocele, and hypothyroidism). Consequently, a breed‐specific approach is more often required.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine whether the RIs of the general canine population could be applied to that of SSs, and to generate breed‐specific RIs, where appropriate.

Methods

Sixty clinically healthy and fasted SSs (36% of the population registered at the Italian Breed association) were examined. Routine hematology and biochemistry analyses were performed. The transference method was used to compare the results of SSs with the RIs of the general canine population. When these RIs were not validated, new RIs were generated according to the guidelines of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology. Differences associated with sex, age, coat color, and whether used as a pet, a herding dog, or an agility dog were also investigated.

Results

The transference method validated for 30/38 SS RIs. For 6 of the remaining 8 variables, the difference with the claimed RIs could depend on preanalytical or analytical artifacts, whereas for glucose and total cholesterol, these differences could depend on breed peculiarities. However, in all SSs, the concentration of cholesterol was <12.95 mmol/L. Relevant differences associated with sex, age, coat color, and use were not found.

Conclusions

This study suggests that breed‐specific RIs should be used for glucose and cholesterol in SSs.
Heterosexual Nationalism: Discourses on Masculinity and Femininity
Authors: Kumari Kanchan
Published: October 2018

When control over women’s sexuality always remain the base for nation state and national identity this research would tries to argue that it is not just about the control over women’s sexuality but by giving prominence to an ideal form of sexuality that it regulates other possible forms of sexuality too. This paper strives to look at how by producing and reproducing particular sexuality and gender as normal, acceptable and essential, a community of nation-state redefined the private realm to ensure and maintained the hegemony of dominant groups and unequal power relations and vice-versa? It also look at the relationship between compulsory heterosexuality (or hetronormativity), procreative sex and nation-state? What role does compulsory heterosexuality play in the making of nation-state? How naturalization/legitimization of only one form of sexuality leads to delegitimation of other possible forms of sexualities.
Increased endothelial shear stress improves insulin‐stimulated vasodilatation in skeletal muscle
Authors: Walsh Lauren K. , Ghiarone Thaysa , Olver T. Dylan , Medina‐Hernandez Areli , Edwards Jenna C. , Thorne Pamela K. , Emter Craig A. , Lindner Jonathan R. , Manrique‐Acevedo Camila , Martinez‐Lemus Luis A. , Padilla Jaume
Published: October 2018

Key points

It has been postulated that increased blood flow‐associated shear stress on endothelial cells is an underlying mechanism by which physical activity enhances insulin‐stimulated vasodilatation.

This report provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that increased shear stress exerts insulin‐sensitizing effects in the vasculature and this evidence is based on experiments in vitro in endothelial cells, ex vivo in isolated arterioles and in vivo in humans.

Given the recognition that vascular insulin signalling, and associated enhanced microvascular perfusion, contributes to glycaemic control and maintenance of vascular health, strategies that stimulate an increase in limb blood flow and shear stress have the potential to have profound metabolic and vascular benefits mediated by improvements in endothelial insulin sensitivity.

The vasodilator actions of insulin contribute to glucose uptake by skeletal muscle, and previous studies have demonstrated that acute and chronic physical activity improves insulin‐stimulated vasodilatation and glucose uptake. Because this effect of exercise primarily manifests in vascular beds highly perfused during exercise, it has been postulated that increased blood flow‐associated shear stress on endothelial cells is an underlying mechanism by which physical activity enhances insulin‐stimulated vasodilatation. Accordingly, herein we tested the hypothesis that increased shear stress, in the absence of muscle contraction, can acutely render the vascular endothelium more insulin‐responsive. To test this hypothesis, complementary experiments were conducted using (1) cultured endothelial cells, (2) isolated and pressurized skeletal muscle arterioles from swine, and (3) humans. In cultured endothelial cells, 1 h of increased shear stress from 3 to 20 dynes cm−2 caused a significant shift in insulin signalling characterized by greater activation of eNOS relative to MAPK. Similarly, isolated arterioles exposed to 1 h of intraluminal shear stress (20 dynes cm−2) subsequently exhibited greater insulin‐induced vasodilatation compared to arterioles kept under no‐flow conditions. Finally, we found in humans that increased leg blood flow induced by unilateral limb heating for 1 h subsequently augmented insulin‐stimulated popliteal artery blood flow and muscle perfusion. In aggregate, these findings across models (cells, isolated arterioles and humans) support the hypothesis that elevated shear stress causes the vascular endothelium to become more insulin‐responsive and thus are consistent with the notion that shear stress may be a principal mechanism by which physical activity enhances insulin‐stimulated vasodilatation.
Self-torque and angular momentum balance for a spinning charged sphere
Authors: Bonga Béatrice , Poisson Eric , Yang Huan
Published: October 2018

Angular momentum balance is examined in the context of the electrodynamics of a spinning charged sphere, which is allowed to possess any variable angular velocity. We calculate the electric and magnetic fields of the (hollow) sphere, and express them as expansions in powers of τ/tc ≪ 1, the ratio of the light-travel time τ across the sphere and the characteristic time scale tc of variation of the angular velocity. From the fields we compute the self-torque exerted by the fields on the sphere, and argue that only a piece of this self-torque can be associated with radiation reaction. Then we obtain the rate at which angular momentum is radiated away by the shell, and the total angular momentum contained in the electromagnetic field. With these results we demonstrate explicitly that the field angular momentum is lost in part to radiation and in part to the self-torque; angular momentum balance is thereby established. Finally, we examine the angular motion of the sphere under the combined action of the self-torque and an additional torque supplied by an external agent.
Transforming the content, pedagogy and structure of an introductory physics course for life sciences majors
Authors: Smith David P. , McNeil Laurie E. , Guynn David T. , Churukian Alice D. , Deardorff Duane L. , Wallace Colin S.
Published: October 2018

In this paper, we describe how we transformed our large-enrollment introductory physics sequence for the life sciences to a Lecture/Studio format and aligned the physics concepts with authentic biological applications. We modified the pedagogy to include research-validated practices in interactive engagement, and accomplished our goals of enhanced learning gains and institutionalization of our course transformations. The active engagement at the heart of the Lecture/Studio format results in comparable or enhanced learning gains (as measured by validated concept surveys) when compared to traditional instruction. As a result of our efforts, the current format of these courses is sustainable, requiring no greater financial or human resources than does the traditional mode of teaching such courses. We developed a complete suite of active-engagement instructional materials and made them available to the physics education community for adoption outside our institution.
PyEcholab: An open-source, python-based toolkit to analyze water-column echosounder data
Authors: Wall Carrie C. , Towler Rick , Anderson Charles , Cutter Randy , Jech J. Michael
Published: October 2018

Water-column echosounder data are widely used for a diversity of research objectives from fisheries abundance to identifying methane seeps to characterization of the seafloor. However, these data are voluminous, complex, and recorded in instrument-specific binary file formats. Tools to process these data are limited to a few commercial applications or custom programs developed by researchers, leaving potential users without sufficient financial resources or programming knowledge to use the data. To address this problem, NOAA Fisheries, University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) scientists are developing PyEcholab. PyEcholab is an open-source, python-based system for reading, processing, and visualizing water-column echosounder files. Currently, the system is being developed to meet existing NCEI processing and visualization needs but PyEcholab’s base classes and open architecture provide a framework for developing new file readers, processing algorithms, and visualization techniques that can be modularized into the system. The long-term vision is to engage the community in an open-source effort that continually grows PyEcholab’s capabilities and expands the accessibility of water-column echosounder data.
Measuring students’ learning gains with pre/post assessment
Authors: Buck John R. , Wage Kathleen E.
Published: October 2018

Pre/post protocols assess students with the same instrument at the start and end of a course to measure changes in their understanding. In contrast, traditional ”final exam” assessment measures only the students’ understanding but not their progress. Since pre/post testing measures learning gains, it is an essential tool for evaluating the effectiveness of different learning formats, e.g., standard lecture versus active learning. Concept inventories (CI's) are frequently administered as a pre/post assessment. A CI is a multiple-choice exam that emphasizes conceptual understanding over computational skills and has wrong answers designed to match common misconceptions. Inspired by Hake’s [1998] pioneering study of pre/post test data from the Force Concept Inventory [Hestenes et al., 1992], we developed the Signals and Systems Concept Inventory (SSCI). In almost two decades since its development, scores of instructors have administered the SSCI to thousands of students in dozens of countries. Analyzing pre/post data from sixty-two signals classes at multiple institutions, we found students in active learning classes learned significantly more than students in lecture classes. Our findings are consistent with both Hake’s pioneering study and with Freeman et al.’s 2014 meta-analysis of 225 studies that found that active learning classes reduced the failure rate by one-third.
Specialty fitness centre noise issues—Case study
Authors: Martin Brigette
Published: October 2018

This presentation will include a collection of case studies focusing on specialty fitness centres. There has been growth in the fitness industry for niche fitness facilities, many of which provide instructed classes in small spaces. These facilities can be located in mixed use buildings, where noise from fitness activities can result in complaints from other users in the building. This presentation provides a summary of some projects relating to these spaces, outline the noise issues, noise investigation, and solutions developed for the spaces. We have been invited to present at the Noise and Vibration from Fitness Activities session.
Optimized geospatial tool for ambient soundscapes
Authors: James Michael M. , Salton Alexandria R. , Transtrum Mark K. , Gee Kent L. , Pedersen Katrina , Butler Brooks A.
Published: October 2018

Ambient soundscape data are a critical component of numerous applications such as evaluating the environmental noise impacts of proposed activities and studying the physical and psychological impacts of a person’s acoustic environment. The current approach to characterize ambient soundscapes requires intensive field measurement programs. A soundscape prediction tool capable of modeling the soundscape over large spatial regions and timeframes is needed to provide an alternative to intensive field measurements. To address this need, a machine learning based soundscape model trained with acoustic data and geospatial layers has been developed. The model’s capability to generate A and flat-weighted exceedance levels across space, time (hourly, daytime, and nighttime), and frequency (one-third octave bands) will be demonstrated. [Work funded by an Army SBIR.]
Single-channel vibrotactile feedback for voicing enhancement in trained and untrained perceivers
Authors: Marino David G. , Elbaggari Hannah , Chu Tzu Hsu , MacLean Karon , Gick Bryan
Published: October 2018

Auditory speech intelligibility can be enhanced by integrating information from other modalities, e.g., vision [Sumby & Pollack 1954, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 26: 212] or direct manual touch [Gick et al. 2008. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 123: EL72]. There are, nonetheless, many circumstances where shared visual attention may be hard to establish, or where in-person contact may be infeasible (e.g., in a noisy collaborative environment). To test the feasibility of using vibrotactile feedback to enhance intelligibility under noisy conditions, we use a portable voice-coil-based transducer that provides vibrotactile stimulation similar to laryngeal vibrations. Participants were asked to discriminate between minimal pairs in noise. These were distinguished in voicing and vowel height. Participants were asked to wear a vibrator on their fingers, or on their suprasternal notch. We contrasted vibrator placement with different vibration styles, such as a constant vibration on voicing, or vibrations driven by the amplitude envelope of the speech signal. In untrained perceivers we found that vibrotactile feedback increased accuracy regardless of placement. This effect, though significant, was not strong enough to be useful for everyday speech enhancement. These results, and those of a follow-up study with trained perceivers, will be reported. [Funding from NSERC.]
Testing symmetry of temporal window of integration between vibrotactile and auditory speech information in voiced phoneme perception
Authors: Chu Tzu Hsu , Marino David G. , Elbaggari Hannah , MacLean Karon , Gick Bryan
Published: October 2018

The temporal window for enhancement in cross-modal integration is asymmetrical, and does not require synchrony of stimuli for integration; this temporal offset has been linked to differences in relative signal speed as can be seen in audio-visual integration [Munhall et al. 1996. Perc. Psychophys. 58: 351] and audio-aerotactile integration [Gick et al. 2010. Journ. Acoust. Soc. Am. 128: EL342] of speech. However, as vibrotactile cues normally accompany acoustic cues, no difference in signal speed—and no concomitant perceptual asymmetry—is experienced between these two modalities. Contrary to previous research, we predict a symmetrical window for integration. A portable voice-coil transducer is used to produce vibrotactile stimuli, similar to the laryngeal vibrations normally felt in voiced speech. Results of an experiment will be presented in which participants are asked to discriminate between minimal pairs in noise with the device between their thumb and index finger, and in which audio and vibrotactile stimuli are presented in different orders and at different temporal offsets. Implications will be discussed for theories of cross-modal integration. [Funding from NSERC.]
Multimodal recognition of interrupted speech: Benefit from text and visual speech cues
Authors: Miller Rachel E. , Strickland Courtney , Fogerty Daniel
Published: October 2018

Presenting degraded speech with visual cues facilitates speech recognition. This benefit is observed for visual speech cues that are perceptually correlated with the auditory signal, as well as for text cues that delay integration until a later cognitive-linguistic processing stage. However, it is not clear how the benefit compares between these two types of degraded multimodal presentations. The current study examined how listeners integrate visually interrupted text or visual speech cues with acoustically interrupted speech. In Experiment 1, text was periodically interrupted by white space at visual interruption rates that were associated with the auditory interruption rate of speech. In Experiment 2, videos were visually interrupted by grey frames. The synchrony of audio-visual interruption was also manipulated by presenting visual cues in-phase or 180o out-of-phase with speech interruptions. For both experiments, speech was low-pass filtered at 2000 Hz. Preliminary results indicate that listeners obtain a benefit from both visual speech and text cues. In addition, performance is affected by the interruption rate of speech, with minimal performance obtained around an interruption rate of 2 Hz. Supplementing speech with incomplete visual cues can improve sentence intelligibility and compensate for degraded speech in adverse listening conditions. [Work supported, in part, by NIH/NIDCD.]
The effect of perceptual similarity, frequency, and phonotactic restriction in loanword adaptation
Authors: Chen Yang-Yu , Lu Yu-an
Published: October 2018

Mandarin speakers tend to adapt an intervocalic nasal as either an onset of the following syllable (e.g., Brunoà bù.lŭ.nuò) or as a nasal geminate (e.g., Daniel à dān.ní.ěr) (Huang & Lin 2013, 2014). Two forced-choice identification experiments were conducted to test the effects of nasalization (whether the pre-nasal vowel bears stress or not) and duration (whether the pre-nasal vowel is lax or tense): Would stronger nasalization and shorter duration encourage higher nasal gemination rate? The results showed that Mandarin speakers’ choice of repairs was indeed biased by the different phonetic manipulations, suggesting an effect of perceptual similarity. Moreover, the overall preference for the V.NV form over the VN.NV form suggests an influence from the native syllable type frequency (open syllables being more frequent than closed syllables). The across-the-board higher VN.NV responses for lax than for tense vowels regardless of the phonetic manipulations are attributed to the possibility that Mandarin speakers might have perceived the tense vowels as diphthongs (i.e., English /e/ to [ej], /o/ to [ow]) and inserting a nasal coda is illegal in this contexts (*CVGN). That is, the findings suggest that the variations in loanword adaptation were guided by perception, frequency, as well as phonotactics.
Bimodal classification of English allophones employing acoustic speech signal and facial motion capture
Authors: Czyzewski Andrzej , Zaporowski Szymon , Kostek Bozena
Published: October 2018

A method for automatic transcription of English speech into International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) system is developed and studied. The principal objective of the study is to evaluate to what extent the visual data related to lip reading can enhance recognition accuracy of the transcription of English consonantal and vocalic allophones. To this end, motion capture markers were placed on the faces of seven speakers to obtain lip tracking data synchronized with the audio signal. 32 markers were used, 20 of which were placed on the speaker's inner lips and 4 on a special cap, which served as the point of reference and stabilized the FMC image while post-processing. Speech samples were simultaneously recorded as a list of approximately 300 words in which all English consonantal and vocalic allophones were represented. Different parameterization strategies were tested and the accuracy of vocalic segments recognition in different experiments was analyzed. The process of multimodal feature extraction is explained, the applied feature selection methods are presented and the obtained results are discussed. Further challenges related to the bi-modal feature extraction process and neural network-based decision systems employment are discussed. [Research sponsored by the Polish National Science Centre, Dec. No. 2015/17/B/ST6/01874.]
Integration of literal meaning of emotional phrases with vocal emotion: Comparison between Japanese and North Americans
Authors: Shigeno Sumi
Published: October 2018

This study investigated how the display rules of emotional expression apply in vocal-only communication depending on speakers’ and listeners’ cultural backgrounds and their similarities and differences. A comparison was made between Japanese and North American participants, who listened to emotional phrases spoken in their native language and a non-native language (English and Japanese, respectively). The participants were instructed to listen carefully to the recordings and judge the speakers’ true emotions. The speakers had been asked to express an emotion with their voice that was either congruent or incongruent with the emotion contained in the literal meaning of speech (ELMS), which, in English, corresponded to: “eleven-thirty,” “good afternoon,” “congratulations,” “I love it,” “I’m going to cry,” and “my heart is breaking.” The speakers spoke these utterances in neutral, happy, and sad voices. The results indicated that the Japanese listeners integrated the ELMS with the vocal emotions when the speakers were Japanese but judged the speakers’ emotions based on voice alone when the speakers were North American. This implied that Japanese participants could infer the speakers’ true emotions even when the ELMS was incongruent with vocal emotion. The results obtained from the Japanese and North American speakers and listeners were compared.
A methodological framework to derive the mental code of emotional and social inferences in sound
Authors: Ponsot Emmanuel
Published: October 2018

Most research carried out so far in auditory emotion has been based on theory-driven experiments. Such experiments, which involve a limited number of conditions, help in refining existing models or theories but cannot expose elements or processes that were not expected and targeted initially. Here, I will present a methodological framework based on a data-driven approach that allows to probe the mechanisms of auditory cognition in a space that is not constrained by a priori hypotheses. This framework uses signal-processing algorithms for manipulating the acoustical characteristics of an input sound and create a huge number of parametrically-manipulated, natural expressive variations of this sound, which are then used as stimuli in psychophysical experiments employing a reverse-correlation technique. I will present different contexts in which this framework has been used, in particular to explore the processing of speech prosodic dimensions in the formation of social impressions. Because this approach offers a principled way to reverse-engineer any high-level judgment in any individual, it should be helpful to understand the algorithms that the brain uses to build high-level emotional or social impressions from the acoustical characteristics of sound in their complexity.
Transverse horizontal spatial coherence of explosive signals in northern South China sea
Authors: Zhang Bo , Wang Jingyan , Zhang Yanjun
Published: October 2018

Transverse horizontal spatial cross-coherence was measured experimentally by bottom-mounted receiver arrays using explosive sources in Northern South China sea, where the water depth varies from 100 m to 1000 m in about 100 km ranges with a 200 m depth at about 75 km range. Expressed in terms of wavelengths, the coherence length is shown to be larger than 150λ at an acoustic frequency of 100 Hz in shallow water of 100 m depth. It is much greater than Carey’s shallow-water experimental result 30λ estimated from array signal gain (The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 104, 831 (1998)), while it is consistent with Rouseff’s modeling result of a coherence length larger than 200λ (The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 138, 2256 (2015)). In contrast to the good coherence in shallow water, the coherence length is measured to be only 5λ ~ 20λ at 100Hz in the transitional area with the array bottom-mounted at 1000m depth. Besides, both Carey and Rouseff argue that the transverse horizontal spatial coherence length depends only weakly on range. In the present study, however, the coherence length is shown to depend highly on range, and it fluctuates synchronously with the sound-field intensity while range varies.
Reflected seismic waves radiated by the apex of a wedge-shaped ocean
Authors: Xiaohan Wang , Piao Shenchun , Liu Ya-Qin , Yang Dong
Published: October 2018

A sound propagation experiment has been carried out near the coast in Qingdao to investigate underwater sound propagation characteristics over a sloping bottom. Hydrophones and Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBSs) were arranged in different place to receive the signal radiated by explosive source. In the temporal signals received by the OBSs, some weak and mystical “tails” following the direction waves were observed but the hydrophones only received the direction waves without the “tails.” Analyzing signal of different OBSs at different distance, it is indicated that the “tails” is the seismic waves coming from a fixed location. The temporal signal propagating in elastic wedge-shaped ocean is simulated with spectral-element method. The results of the model show that, when the acoustic waves propagates to the apex of the wedge, the boundary among the surface, the seabed and the coast, the apex will radiate the “tail” seismic waves. The reflection seismic waves can be apply in geoacoustic parameter estimation and Underwater Topographic Survey.
An examination of the scaling rules for sound emissions from targets excited by point-like forces
Authors: Kirsteins Ivars P. , Abawi Ahmad T. , Marston Philip L. , Daniel Timothy D.
Published: October 2018

In earlier work [T. Daniel et al., JASA 140, 3123 (2016)] we had showed experimentally that the modes of small elastic targets in water could be excited using modulated radiation pressure (MRP) generated by focused ultrasound to create detectable sound emissions. A potential advantage of the MRP approach is that the narrow beam of the ultrasound beam permits the generation of point-like forces on the target’s surface with surgical precision. But an important question is how this technique scales with target size, e.g., the amount of force required to achieve a desired sound emission level. Here we examine how the sound emission levels and surface velocities of target modes driven by a point force scale with target size a. We will show that for a constant driving force, the far-field sound emission pressure levels scale as 1/a and the surface velocity as 1/a2. Specific examples are presented for circular plates, spheres, and cylindrical-like targets. Finally, results will be shown from a recent tank experiment at Washington State University where we attempted to experimentally determine the scaling rules using small targets excited by MRP.
Common problems associated with reverberation rooms in sound testing laboratories
Authors: Lilly Jerry G.
Published: October 2018

Reverberation rooms have proven to be a very useful tool in acoustic laboratories for measuring the sound absorption of acoustic materials, airborne and impact sound transmission through building partitions, as well as measuring the overall radiated sound power level of a wide variety of sound sources. The primary benefit of a reverberation room is that the measurement can be made in much less time than with alternative environments (e.g., anechoic or hemi-anechoic chambers, or via acoustic intensity). The primary disadvantage of the reverberation room measurements is that all information regarding the directivity of the acoustic source is lost. This paper discusses some of the design and acoustical performance problems that are often found in reverberation rooms that could have been avoided with proper foresight. Issues that will be discussed include location relative to nearby noise and ground vibration sources, room size and shape, space planning for microphone locations, low frequency absorbers, and the importance of temperature and humidity control. Specific guidelines that should be followed when planning a new reverberation room will be provided.