Search results for: direct voice input

Authors: Jimmy Eadie

Abstract:

Convolutional Cross Synthesis (CCS) has emerged as a powerful technique for blending input signals to create hybrid sounds. It has significantly expanded the horizons of digital signal processing, enabling artists to explore audio effects. However, the conventional applications of CCS primarily revolve around reverberation and room simulation rather than being utilized as a creative synthesis method. In this paper, we present the design of a digital instrument called CrossSampler that harnesses a parametric approach to convolution cross-synthesis, which involves using adjustable parameters to control the blending of audio signals through convolution. These parameters allow for customization of the resulting sound, offering greater creative control and flexibility. It enables users to shape the output by manipulating factors such as duration, intensity, and spectral characteristics. This approach facilitates experimentation and exploration in sound design and opens new sonic possibilities.

Keywords: convolution, synthesis, sampling, virtual instrument

Procedia PDF Downloads 42

Authors: Stacey Pollard, Henry Baraket, Girish Ganesan, Natalie Kim

Abstract:

One year after U.S.-led coalition operations liberated ISIS-held territories in Iraq and Syria and killed ISIS core leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS is resurging. Taking a page from its old playbook, the organization is capitalizing on social unrest and a rapidly deteriorating security environment—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—to reconstitute in permissive areas of Iraq and Syria. This Short examines ISIS’s pandemic-era ground and information operations through the lens of its state- and nation-making efforts to help analysts and decisionmakers better understand the imminence and scope of the threat. ISIS is rapidly overcoming U.S.-supported counterterrorism gains and, without direct pressure to reverse these advances, is poised for recovery.

Keywords: Terrorism, COVID-19, Islamic State, Instability, Iraq, Syria, Global, Resurgence

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Tessa Sellis, Marike A. Wierda, Elke Tichelman, Mirjam T. Van Lohuizen, Marjolein Berger, François Schellevis, Claudi Bockting, Lilian Peters, Huib Burger

Abstract:

Introduction: Most women develop a healthy bond with their children, however, adequate mother-to-infant bonding cannot be taken for granted. Mother-to-infant bonding refers to the feelings and emotions experienced by the mother towards her child. It is an ongoing process that starts during pregnancy and develops during the first year postpartum and likely throughout early childhood. The prevalence of inadequate bonding ranges from 7 to 11% in the first weeks postpartum. An impaired mother-to-infant bond can cause long-term complications for both mother and child. Very little research has been conducted on the direct relationship between the personality of the mother and mother-to-infant bonding. This study explores the associations between maternal personality and postnatal mother-to-infant bonding. The main hypothesis is that there is a relationship between neuroticism and mother-to-infant bonding. Methods: Data for this study were used from the Pregnancy Anxiety and Depression Study (2010-2014), which examined symptoms of and risk factors for anxiety or depression during pregnancy and the first year postpartum of 6220 pregnant women who received primary, secondary or tertiary care in the Netherlands. The study was expanded in 2015 to investigate postnatal mother-to-infant bonding. For the current research 3836 participants were included. During the first trimester of gestation, baseline characteristics, as well as personality, were measured through online questionnaires. Personality was measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), which covers the big five of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, altruism and conscientiousness). Mother-to-infant bonding was measured postpartum by the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ). Univariate linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the associations. Results: 5% of the PBQ-respondents reported impaired bonding. A statistically significant association was found between neuroticism and mother-to-infant bonding (p < .001): mothers scoring higher on neuroticism, reported a lower score on mother-to-infant bonding. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the personality traits extraversion (b: -.081), openness (b: -.014), altruism (b: -.067), conscientiousness (b: -.060) and mother-to-infant bonding. Discussion: This study is one of the first to demonstrate a direct association between the personality of the mother and mother-to-infant bonding. A statistically significant relationship has been found between neuroticism and mother-to-infant bonding, however, the percentage of variance predictable by a personality dimension is very small. This study has examined one part of the multi-factorial topic of mother-to-infant bonding and offers more insight into the rarely investigated and complex matter of mother-to-infant bonding. For midwives, it is important recognize the risks for impaired bonding and subsequently improve policy for women at risk.

Keywords: mother-to-infant bonding, personality, postpartum, pregnancy

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Tassadit Issaadi Hamitouche, Nicolas Gillard, Jean Petit, Valerie Lavaste, Celine Mayousse

Abstract:

Water is a fundamental resource for the industry. It is taken from the environment either from municipal distribution networks or from various natural water sources such as the sea, ocean, rivers, aquifers, etc. Once used, water is discharged into the environment, reprocessed at the plant or treatment plants. These withdrawals and discharges have a direct impact on natural water resources. These impacts can apply to the quantity of water available, the quality of the water used, or to impacts that are more complex to measure and less direct, such as the health of the population downstream from the watercourse, for example. Based on the analysis of data (meteorological, river characteristics, physicochemical substances), we wish to predict water stress episodes and anticipate prefectoral decrees, which can impact the performance of plants and propose improvement solutions, help industrialists in their choice of location for a new plant, visualize possible interactions between companies to optimize exchanges and encourage the pooling of water treatment solutions, and set up circular economies around the issue of water. The development of a system for the collection, processing, and use of data related to water resources requires the functional constraints specific to the latter to be made explicit. Thus the system will have to be able to store a large amount of data from sensors (which is the main type of data in plants and their environment). In addition, manufacturers need to have 'near-real-time' processing of information in order to be able to make the best decisions (to be rapidly notified of an event that would have a significant impact on water resources). Finally, the visualization of data must be adapted to its temporal and geographical dimensions. In this study, we set up an infrastructure centered on the TICK application stack (for Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf, and Kapacitor), which is a set of loosely coupled but tightly integrated open source projects designed to manage huge amounts of time-stamped information. The software architecture is coupled with the cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM) data mining methodology. The robust architecture and the methodology used have demonstrated their effectiveness on the study case of learning the level of a river with a 7-day horizon. The management of water and the activities within the plants -which depend on this resource- should be considerably improved thanks, on the one hand, to the learning that allows the anticipation of periods of water stress, and on the other hand, to the information system that is able to warn decision-makers with alerts created from the formalization of prefectoral decrees.

Keywords: data mining, industry, machine Learning, shortage, water resources

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Ramona Zharfpeykan

Abstract:

This study analyses the trend and nature of sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) reporting in firms globally. It presents both trend and panel data of sustainability reports of 798 firms in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database from 2010 to 2014. The results show some fluctuations in the frequency of sustainability KPI reporting globally across the time while the major focus of reports in firms stayed almost the same. It made us further analyse this trend and found that there are some indicators, such as 'environmental protect expenses' and 'number of grievances', that was barely reported over this period along with some highly popular ones such as 'direct economic value' and 'employment rate'. We could not find any statistical correlation between the KPI reporting percentage and the firms’ industries generally and neither if they belong to environmentally sensitive industries.

Keywords: global reporting initiatives, sustainability reporting, sustainability KPI, trends of sustainability reporting

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: V. Nikkhah Rashidabad, M. Manteghian, M. Masoumi, S. Mousavian, D. Ashouri

Abstract:

In this research, the capability of neural networks in modeling and learning complicated and nonlinear relations has been used to develop a model for the prediction of changes in the diameter of bubbles in pool boiling distilled water. The input parameters used in the development of this network include element temperature, heat flux, and retention time of bubbles. The test data obtained from the experiment of the pool boiling of distilled water, and the measurement of the bubbles form on the cylindrical element. The model was developed based on training algorithm, which is typologically of back-propagation type. Considering the correlation coefficient obtained from this model is 0.9633. This shows that this model can be trusted for the simulation and modeling of the size of bubble and thermal transfer of boiling.

Keywords: bubble diameter, heat flux, neural network, training algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Mohammad Reza Dawoudi

Abstract:

With the increasing rate of patients suffering from chronic pain, several methods for evaluating of chronic pain are suggested. Motion of morbid has been defined as the rate of pine and it is linked with various co-morbid conditions. This study provides a summary of procedure useful to statistics performing direct behavioral observation in hospital settings. We describe the need for and usefulness of comprehensive “morbid motions” observations; provide a primer on the identification, definition, and assessment of morbid behaviors; and outline and discuss specific statistical procedures, including formulating referral motions, describing and conducting the observation. We also provide practical devices for observing and analyzing the obtained information into a report that guides clinical intervention.

Keywords: assessing pain, DNA modeling, image matching technique, pain scale

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: Obasa Joshua Ifeoluwa

Abstract:

Phonetics is the foundation and most important part of language learning. This article, through an acoustic experiment as well as using Praat software, uses Yoruba students’ Chinese consonants, vowels, and tones pronunciation to carry out a visual comparison with that of native Chinese speakers. This article is aimed at Yoruba native speakers learning Chinese phonetics; therefore, Yoruba students are selected. The students surveyed are required to be at an elementary level and have learned Chinese for less than six months. The students selected are all undergraduates majoring in Chinese Studies at the University of Lagos. These students have already learned Chinese Pinyin and are all familiar with the pinyin used in the provided questionnaire. The Chinese students selected are those that have passed the level two Mandarin proficiency examination, which serves as an assurance that their pronunciation is standard. It is discovered in this work that in terms of Mandarin’s consonants pronunciation, Yoruba students cannot distinguish between the voiced and voiceless as well as the aspirated and non-aspirated phonetics features. For instance, while pronouncing [ph] it is clearly shown in the spectrogram that the Voice Onset Time (VOT) of a Chinese speaker is higher than that of a Yoruba native speaker, which means that the Yoruba speaker is pronouncing the unaspirated counterpart [p]. Another difficulty is to pronounce some affricates like [tʂ]、[tʂʰ]、[ʂ]、[ʐ]、 [tɕ]、[tɕʰ]、[ɕ]. This is because these sounds are not in the phonetic system of the Yoruba language. In terms of vowels, some students find it difficult to pronounce some allophonic high vowels such as [ɿ] and [ʅ], therefore pronouncing them as their phoneme [i]; another pronunciation error is pronouncing [y] as [u], also as shown in the spectrogram, a student pronounced [y] as [iu]. In terms of tone, it is most difficult for students to differentiate between the second (rising) and third (falling and rising) tones because these tones’ emphasis is on the rising pitch. This work concludes that the major error made by Yoruba students while pronouncing Chinese sounds is caused by the interference of their first language (LI) and sometimes by their lingua franca.

Keywords: Chinese, Yoruba, error analysis, experimental phonetics, consonant, vowel, tone

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Jeff Dickie

Abstract:

This research paper combined grounded coding and research questions with the objective to investigate conflict resolution in the classroom. The students’ answers concerning teaching were coded according to phrasal meanings which revealed concepts. These concept codes then became input data into theoretical frameworks. The investigation indicated two conflicts: whether the information was valid and whether to make the study effort which was discussed as perceptions of teacher’s competence in helping to learn. The relevant factors in helping to learn were predominately emotional. These factors were important in the negotiation process to develop relationships. Information validity seemed to be the motivator to begin and participate effectively with the learning process. In effect, confidence in the learning negotiation process with the focus towards relationship building with the subject matter seemed to be the motivator to make the study effort.

Keywords: coding, confidence, competence, conflict resolution, risk, trust, relationship building

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Naser Ojaroudi Parchin, Atta Ullah, Haleh Jahanbakhsh Basherlou, Raed A. Abd-Alhameed, Peter S. Excell

Abstract:

A design of beam-steerable antenna array for the future cellular communication (5G) is presented. The proposed design contains eight elements of compact end-fire antennas arranged on the top edge of smartphone printed circuit board (PCB). Configuration of the antenna element consists of the conductive patterns on the top and bottom copper foil layers and a substrate layer with a via-hole. The simulated results including input-impedance and also fundamental radiation properties have been presented and discussed. The impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ ≤ -10 dB) of the antenna spans from 17.5 to 21 GHz (more than 3 GHz bandwidth) with a resonance at 19 GHz. The antenna exhibits end-fire (directional) radiation beams with wide-angle scanning property and could be used for the future 5G beam-forming. Furthermore, the characteristics of the array design in the vicinity of user-hand are studied.

Keywords: beam-steering, end-fire radiation mode, mobile-phone antenna, phased array

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Mohammad Moeini, Mehrdad Ghyabi, Kiarash Mohtasham Dolatshahi

Abstract:

This paper investigates seismic soil-pile interaction using the Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) approach. Three soil types are considered to cover all the possible responses, as well as nonlinear site response analysis using finite element method in OpenSees platform. Excitations at each elevation that are output of the site response analysis are used as the input excitation to the soil pile system implementing multi-support excitation method. Spectral intensities of acceleration show that the extent of the response in sand is more severe than that of clay, in addition, increasing the PGA of ground strong motion will affect the sandy soil more, in comparison with clayey medium, which is an indicator of the sensitivity of soil-pile systems in sandy soil.

Keywords: BNWF method, multi-support excitation, nonlinear site response analysis, seismic soil-pile interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: Leonardo Herrera, Shield B. Lin, Stephen J. Montgomery-Smith, Ziraguen O. Williams

Abstract:

Three control algorithms: Proportional-Integral-Derivative, Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian, and Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian with the shift, were applied to the computer simulation of a one-directional dynamic model of a Stewart Platform. The goal was to compare the dynamic system responses under the three control algorithms and to minimize the impact energy when simulating spacecraft docking operations. Equations were derived for the control algorithms and the input and output of the feedback control system. Using MATLAB, Simulink diagrams were created to represent the three control schemes. A switch selector was used for the convenience of changing among different controllers. The simulation demonstrated the controller using the algorithm of Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian with the shift resulting in the lowest impact energy.

Keywords: controller, Stewart platform, docking operation, spacecraft

Procedia PDF Downloads 29

Authors: Bahram Fathi, Seyedhossein Sajadifar, Naser Khiabani

Abstract:

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has recently gained popularity in energy efficiency analysis. A common feature of the previously proposed DEA models for measuring energy efficiency performance is that they treat energy consumption as an input within a production framework without considering undesirable outputs. However, energy use results in the generation of undesirable outputs as byproducts of producing desirable outputs. Within a joint production framework of both desirable and undesirable outputs, this paper presents several DEA-type linear programming models for measuring energy efficiency performance. In addition to considering undesirable outputs, our models treat different energy sources as different inputs so that changes in energy mix could be accounted for in evaluating energy efficiency. The proposed models are applied to measure the energy efficiency performances of 12 OPEC countries and the results obtained are presented.

Keywords: energy efficiency, undesirable outputs, data envelopment analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 715

Authors: Jun Ren, Zhen-Hua Ming, He-Feng Huang, Jian-Zhong Sheng

Abstract:

Adverse intrauterine stimulus during critical or sensitive periods in early life, may lead to health risk not only in later life span, but also further generations. Intrauterine hyperglycaemia, as a major feature of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), is a typical adverse environment for both F1 fetus and F1 gamete cells development. However, there is scare information of phenotypic difference of metabolic memory between somatic cells and germ cells exposed by intrauterine hyperglycaemia. The direct transmission effect of intrauterine hyperglycaemia per se has not been assessed either. In this study, we built a GDM mice model and selected male GDM offspring without pre-diabetic phenotype as our founders, to exclude postnatal diabetic influence on gametes, thereby investigate the direct transmission effect of intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure on F2 offspring, and we further compared the metabolic difference of affected F1-GDM male offspring and F2 offspring. A GDM mouse model of intrauterine hyperglycemia was established by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin after pregnancy. Pups of GDM mother were fostered by normal control mothers. All the mice were fed with standard food. Male GDM offspring without metabolic dysfunction phenotype were crossed with normal female mice to obtain F2 offspring. Body weight, glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index were measured in both generations at 8 week of age. Some of F1-GDM male mice showed impaired glucose tolerance (p < 0.001), none of F1-GDM male mice showed impaired insulin sensitivity. Body weight of F1-GDM mice showed no significance with control mice. Some of F2-GDM offspring exhibited impaired glucose tolerance (p < 0.001), all the F2-GDM offspring exhibited higher HOMA-IR index (p < 0.01 of normal glucose tolerance individuals vs. control, p < 0.05 of glucose intolerance individuals vs. control). All the F2-GDM offspring exhibited higher ITT curve than control (p < 0.001 of normal glucose tolerance individuals, p < 0.05 of glucose intolerance individuals, vs. control). F2-GDM offspring had higher body weight than control mice (p < 0.001 of normal glucose tolerance individuals, p < 0.001 of glucose intolerance individuals, vs. control). While glucose intolerance is the only phenotype that F1-GDM male mice may exhibit, F2 male generation of healthy F1-GDM father showed insulin resistance, increased body weight and/or impaired glucose tolerance. These findings imply that intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure affects germ cells and somatic cells differently, thus F1 and F2 offspring demonstrated distinct metabolic dysfunction phenotypes. And intrauterine hyperglycaemia exposure per se has a strong influence on F2 generation, independent of postnatal metabolic dysfunction exposure.

Keywords: inheritance, insulin resistance, intrauterine hyperglycaemia, offspring

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Jayahar Sivasubramanian

Abstract:

Understanding laminar-turbulent transition process in hyper-sonic boundary layers is crucial for designing viable high speed flight vehicles. The study of transition becomes particularly important in the high speed regime due to the effect of transition on aerodynamic performance and heat transfer. However, even after many years of research, the transition process in hyper-sonic boundary layers is still not understood. This lack of understanding of the physics of the transition process is a major impediment to the development of reliable transition prediction methods. Towards this end, spatial Direct Numerical Simulations are conducted to investigate the instability waves generated by a localized disturbance in a hyper-sonic flat plate boundary layer. In order to model a natural transition scenario, the boundary layer was forced by a short duration (localized) pulse through a hole on the surface of the flat plate. The pulse disturbance developed into a three-dimensional instability wave packet which consisted of a wide range of disturbance frequencies and wave numbers. First, the linear development of the wave packet was studied by forcing the flow with low amplitude (0.001% of the free-stream velocity). The dominant waves within the resulting wave packet were identified as two-dimensional second mode disturbance waves. Hence the wall-pressure disturbance spectrum exhibited a maximum at the span wise mode number k = 0. The spectrum broadened in downstream direction and the lower frequency first mode oblique waves were also identified in the spectrum. However, the peak amplitude remained at k = 0 which shifted to lower frequencies in the downstream direction. In order to investigate the nonlinear transition regime, the flow was forced with a higher amplitude disturbance (5% of the free-stream velocity). The developing wave packet grows linearly at first before reaching the nonlinear regime. The wall pressure disturbance spectrum confirmed that the wave packet developed linearly at first. The response of the flow to the high amplitude pulse disturbance indicated the presence of a fundamental resonance mechanism. Lower amplitude secondary peaks were also identified in the disturbance wave spectrum at approximately half the frequency of the high amplitude frequency band, which would be an indication of a sub-harmonic resonance mechanism. The disturbance spectrum indicates, however, that fundamental resonance is much stronger than sub-harmonic resonance.

Keywords: boundary layer, DNS, hyper sonic flow, instability waves, wave packet

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Carine Enow-Ayor Tarkang, Victorine Neh Akenji, Dmitri Rouwet, Jodephine Njdma, Andrew Ako Ako, Franco Tassi, Jules Remy Ngoupayou Ndam

Abstract:

Groundwater is the major water resource in the whole of Bafia used for drinking, domestic, poultry and agricultural purposes, and being an area of intense agriculture, there is a great necessity to do a quality assessment. Bafia is one of the main food suppliers in the Centre region of Cameroon, and so to meet their demands, the farmers make use of fertilizers and other agrochemicals to increase their yield. Less than 20% of the population in Bafia has access to piped-borne water due to the national shortage, according to the authors best knowledge very limited studies have been carried out in the area to increase awareness of the groundwater resources. The aim of this study was to assess heavy metal contamination levels in ground and surface waters and to evaluate the effects of agricultural inputs on water quality in the Bafia area. 57 water samples (including 31 wells, 20 boreholes, 4 rivers and 2 springs) were analyzed for their physicochemical parameters, while collected samples were filtered, acidified with HNO3 and analyzed by ICP-MS for their heavy metal content (Fe, Ti, Sr, Al, Mn). Results showed that most of the water samples are acidic to slightly neutral and moderately mineralized. Ti concentration was significantly high in the area (mean value 130µg/L), suggesting another Ti source besides the natural input from Titanium oxides. The high amounts of Mn and Al in some cases also pointed to additional input, probably from fertilizers that are used in the farmlands. Most of the water samples were found to be significantly contaminated with heavy metals exceeding the WHO allowable limits (Ti-94.7%, Al-19.3%, Mn-14%, Fe-5.2% and Sr-3.5% above limits), especially around farmlands and topographic low areas. The heavy metal concentration was evaluated using the heavy metal pollution index (HPI), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI) and degree of contamination (Cd), while the Ficklin diagram was used for the water based on changes in metal content and pH. The high mean values of HPI and Cd (741 and 5, respectively), which exceeded the critical limit, indicate that the water samples are highly contaminated, with intense pollution from Ti, Al and Mn. Based on the HPI and Cd, 93% and 35% of the samples, respectively, are unacceptable for drinking purposes. The lowest HPI value point also had the lowest EC (50 µS/cm), indicating lower mineralization and less anthropogenic influence. According to the Ficklin diagram, 89% of the samples fell within the near-neutral low-metal domain, while 9% fell in the near-neutral extreme-metal domain. Two significant factors were extracted from the PCA, explaining 70.6% of the total variance. The first factor revealed intense anthropogenic activity (especially from fertilizers), while the second factor revealed water-rock interactions. Agricultural activities thus have an impact on the heavy metal content of groundwater in the area; hence, much attention should be given to the affected areas in order to protect human health/life and thus sustainably manage this precious resource.

Keywords: Bafia, contamination, degree of contamination, groundwater, heavy metal pollution index

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Adeniyi Samuel Adekoya

Abstract:

The study assessed the independent effects of age and energy expenditure on the risks of obesity among adults (20-64 years). A cross-sectional study with changes in age, changes in work and leisure-time, and physical activities information played roles, with cut-off for energy expenditure and BMI in rural and urban localities. Physical activity information determined the energy expenditure, while the BMI determined the risk of obesity among the subjects. Statistically, age has a strong and direct association with obesity in both rural and urban settings, while energy expenditure was inverse in its association. Findings from the this study showed that in developing societies, age tends to be a risk factor for obesity, whereas energy expenditure is to be protective. Level of education and economic development are also relevant modifiers of the influences exerted by these variables.

Keywords: age, energy expenditure, BMI, rural/urban

Procedia PDF Downloads 405

Authors: Thu Nguyen, Jane Daugherty-Luck

Abstract:

Falx subdural hematoma is a life-threatening condition associated with high mortality. We present a patient case who had fallen with no head injury or loss of conspicuousness. She had tenderness along cervical and thoracic lumbar spine. CT head revealed falx subdural hematoma. The patient was managed medically. The pathophysiology of falx subdural hematoma is linked to laceration of bridging veins provoked by frontal or occipital impact. Posttraumatic subdural hematoma is commonly caused by inertia instead of facture or cerebral contusion resulting from direct impact. The theory is consistent with the lack of fracture in most cases in the literature. Our patient had neither contusion nor fracture.

Keywords: falx subdural hematoma, traumatic head injury, CT head scan, bridging veins, inertia

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Juan-Pedro Rica-Peromingo

Abstract:

The important change taking place with respect to the media and the audiovisual world in Europe needs to benefit all populations, in particular those with special needs, such as the deaf and hard-of-hearing population (SDH) and blind and partially-sighted population (AD). This recent interest in the field of audiovisual translation (AVT) can be observed in the teaching and learning of the different modes of AVT in the degree and post-degree courses at Spanish universities, which expand the interest and practice of AVT linguistic accessibility. We present a research project led at the UCM which consists of the compilation of AVT activities for teaching purposes and tries to analyze the creation and reception of SDH and AD: the AVLA Project (Audiovisual Learning Archive), which includes audiovisual materials carried out by the university students on different AVT modes and evaluations from the blind and deaf informants. In this study, we present the materials created by the students. A group of the deaf and blind population has been in charge of testing the student's SDH and AD corpus of audiovisual materials through some questionnaires used to evaluate the students’ production. These questionnaires include information about the reception of the subtitles and the audio descriptions from linguistic and technical points of view. With all the materials compiled in the research project, a corpus with both the students’ production and the recipients’ evaluations is being compiled: the CALING (Corpus de Accesibilidad Lingüística) corpus. Preliminary results will be presented with respect to those aspects, difficulties, and deficiencies in the SDH and AD included in the corpus, specifically with respect to the length of subtitles, the position of the contextual information on the screen, and the text included in the audio descriptions and tone of voice used. These results may suggest some changes and improvements in the quality of the SDH and AD analyzed. In the end, demand for the teaching and learning of AVT and linguistic accessibility at a university level and some important changes in the norms which regulate SDH and AD nationally and internationally will be suggested.

Keywords: audiovisual translation, corpus linguistics, linguistic accessibility, teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Mamoona Mushtaq, Komal Meher

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic, a global public health crisis, has triggered anxiety and fear of death in the public, particularly among health professionals. This study aimed to assess the direct and mediated associations between death anxiety, sleep quality, and subjective well-being in doctors working during the pandemic. Another aim was tested to analyze the interactive role of workplace locality in these associations. An indirect-effect model was tested on a sample of 244 doctors working during the pandemic. Findings revealed that the association between death anxiety and subjective well-being was mediated through depression. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: death anxiety, depression, subjective well-being, working locality

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Amandeep Singh, Surinder Singh

Abstract:

A slotted Bow-Tie microstrip patch antenna utilizing input of coplanar waveguide for high frequency wireless applications is proposed and analyzed in this work. RT/Duroid 5880 with its dielectric constant 2.2 is opted for the experimentation to analyze the proposed microstrip slot antenna. This antenna is exclusively designed for the frequency range of 10 GHz to 11 GHz and modelling parameters are obtained from the already existing data and dimensions of antenna are adjusted by employing some corrugated slots in the Bowtie shape to obtain the required bandwidth so that it can radiate within the specified range. The characteristics of proposed antenna are measured by a FEM electromagnetic field solver and it is found that the reflection coefficient, voltage standing wave ratio, radiated gain, feed point impedance, radiation efficiency are in a good agreement. This antenna is also exhibiting an absolute bandwidth of 1000 MHz. The validated results indicate that the proposed bowtie microstrip slot antenna comes under the wideband category and utilized in the wireless application ranges between the 10 GHz – 11 GHz.

Keywords: CPW, bowtie, FEM, corrugated

Procedia PDF Downloads 485

Authors: Jayesh M. Sonawane, Prakash C. Ghosh

Abstract:

Landfill leachate emerges as a promising feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present investigation, direct air-breathing cathode-based MFCs are fabricated to investigate the potential of landfill leachate. Three MFCs that have different cathode areas are fabricated and investigated for 17 days under open circuit conditions. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) is observed to be as high as 1.29 V. The maximum cathode area specific power density achieved in the reactor is 1513 mW m^-2. Further studies are under progress to understand the origin of high OCV obtained from landfill leachate-based MFCs.

Keywords: microbial fuel cells, landfill leachate, air-breathing cathode, performance study

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Imane Khalil, Quinn Pratt

Abstract:

In a nuclear reactor, an array of fuel rods containing stacked uranium dioxide pellets clad with zircalloy is the heat source for a thermodynamic cycle of energy conversion from heat to electricity. After fuel is used in a nuclear reactor, the assemblies are stored underwater in a spent nuclear fuel pool at the nuclear power plant while heat generation and radioactive decay rates decrease before it is placed in packages for dry storage or transportation. A computational model of a Boiling Water Reactor spent fuel assembly is modeled using FLUENT, the computational fluid dynamics package. Heat transfer simulations were performed on the two-dimensional 9x9 spent fuel assembly to predict the maximum cladding temperature for different input to the FLUENT model. Uncertainty quantification is used to predict the heat transfer and the maximum temperature profile inside the assembly.

Keywords: spent nuclear fuel, conduction, heat transfer, uncertainty quantification

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Chantelle Francis, Karen McKenzie, Charlotte Emmerson

Abstract:

In the context of the rise in mental health difficulties amongst pupils, this review explores the factors that have been indicated as affecting psychological well-being in mainstream school contexts. Search terms relating to school-based psychological well-being were entered into five databases, and twenty-two studies were included in the review. The results suggested that pupil psychological well-being is affected by both direct and indirect factors. The former included a sense of belonging and inclusion, relationships with teachers, and academic attainment. The latter included family socioeconomic status, whole-school approaches, and individual differences factors, such as gender and Special Educational Needs. The implications for policymakers and practitioners are discussed.

Keywords: psychological wellbeing, mainstream schools, special educational needs, school-based wellbeing

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Frederic Henry-Couannier

Abstract:

Dark Gravity is a natural extension of general relativity in presence of a flat non dynamical background. Matter and radiation fields from its dark sector, as soon as their gravity dominates over our side fields gravity, produce a constant acceleration law of the scale factor. After a brief reminder of the Dark Gravity theory foundations, the confrontation with the main cosmological probes is carried out. We show that, amazingly, the sudden transition between the usual matter dominated decelerated expansion law a(t) ∝ t²/³ and this accelerated expansion law a(t) ∝ t² predicted by the theory should be able to fit the main cosmological probes (SN, BAO, CMB and age of the oldest stars data) but also direct H₀ measurements with two free parameters only: H₀ and the transition redshift.

Keywords: anti-gravity, negative energies, time reversal, field discontinuities, dark energy theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: Shuo Liu

Abstract:

In Chinese text classification tasks, redundant words and phrases can interfere with the formation of extracted and analyzed text information, leading to a decrease in the accuracy of the classification model. To reduce irrelevant elements, extract and utilize text content information more efficiently and improve the accuracy of text classification models. In this paper, the text in the corpus is first extracted using the TextRank algorithm for abstraction, the words in the abstract are used as nodes to construct a text graph, and then the graph attention network (GAT) is used to complete the task of classifying the text. Testing on a Chinese dataset from the network, the classification accuracy was improved over the direct method of generating graph structures using text.

Keywords: Chinese natural language processing, text classification, abstract extraction, graph attention network

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Minh Dong Le, Viet Dung Nguyen, Do Huu Viet, Nguyen Huu Tu

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a new method for circumscribed masses detection in mammograms. Our method is evaluated on 23 mammographic images of circumscribed masses and 20 normal mammograms from public Mini-MIAS database. The method is quite sanguine with sensitivity (SE) of 95% with only about 1 false positive per image (FPpI). To achieve above results we carry out a progression following: Firstly, the input images are preprocessed with the aim to enhance key information of circumscribed masses; Next, we calculate and evaluate statistically basic features of abnormal regions on training database; Then, mammograms on testing database are divided into equal blocks which calculated corresponding features. Finally, using priority order of basic features to classify blocks as an abnormal or normal regions.

Keywords: mammograms, circumscribed masses, evaluated statistically, priority order of basic features

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Hyunjoo Park, Taehyun Kim, Taehyun Kim

Abstract:

The government that declared 'de-nuclearization' pushes up renewable energy policies such as solar power and wind power as an alternative to nuclear power generation. However, local residents who are concerned about the development and natural disasters have been hit by opposition, and related businesses around the country are experiencing difficulties. There is also a voice saying that installing a large wind power generator will cause landslides, low frequencies and noise, which will have a bad influence. Renewal is only a harmful and disgusting facility for the residents. In this way, it is expected that extreme social conflicts will occur in the decision making process related to the locally unwanted land-use (LULU). The government's efforts to solve this problem have been steadily progressing, but the systematic methodology for bringing in active participation and opinion gathering of the residents has not yet been established except for the simple opinion poll or referendum. Therefore, it is time to identify the factors that concern the local residents about the wind power generation facilities, and to find ways to make policy decision-making possible. In this study, we analyze the perception of people about offshore and onshore wind power facilities through questionnaires or interviews, and examine quantitative and qualitative precedent studies to analyze them. In addition, the study evaluates what factors affect the local acceptance of wind power facilities. As a result of the factor analysis of the questionnaire items, factors affecting the residents' acceptance of the wind power facility were extracted from four factors such as environmental, economic, risk, social, and management factor. The study also found that the influence of the determinants of local acceptance on the regional acceptability differs according to the demographic characteristics such as gender and income level. This study will contribute to minimizing the conflict on the installation of wind power facilities through communication among the local residents.

Keywords: factor analysis, local acceptance, locally unwanted land-use, LULU, wind power generation facilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Danish Laidin, Peter Gostomski, Aaron Marshall, Carlo Carere

Abstract:

Groundwater contamination of nitrate (NO3-) is becoming more prevalent in regions of intensive and extensive agricultural activities. Household nitrate removal involves using ion exchange membranes and reverse osmosis (RO) systems, whereas industrial nitrate removal may use organic carbon substrates (e.g. methanol) for heterotrophic microbial denitrification. However, these approaches both require high capital investment and operating costs. In this study, denitrification was demonstrated using bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) inoculated from sediments and microbial enrichment cultures. The BES reactors were operated continuously as microbial electrolytic cells (MECs) with a poised potential of -0.7V and -1.1V vs Ag/AgCl. Three parallel MECs were inoculated using hydrogen-driven denitrifying enrichments, stream sediments, and biofilm harvested from a denitrifying biotrickling filter, respectively. These reactors were continuously operated for over a year as various operating conditions were investigated to determine the optimal conditions for electroactive denitrification. The mass loading rate of nitrate was varied between 10 – 70 mg NO3-/d, and the maximum observed nitrate removal rate was 22 mg NO3- /(cm2∙d) with a current of 2.1 mA. For volumetric load experiments, the dilution rate of 1 mM NO3- feed was varied between 0.01 – 0.1 hr-1 to achieve a nitrate loading rate similar to the mass loading rate experiments. Under these conditions, the maximum rate of denitrification observed was 15.8 mg NO3- /(cm2∙d) with a current of 1.7mA. Hydrogen (H2) was supplied intermittently to investigate the hydrogenotrophic potential of the denitrifying biofilm electrodes. H2 supplementation at 0.1 mL/min resulted in an increase of nitrate removal from 0.3 mg NO3- /(cm2∙d) to 3.4 mg NO3- /(cm2∙d) in the hydrogenotrophically subcultured reactor but had no impact on the reactors which exhibited direct electron transfer properties. Results from this study depict the denitrification performance of the immobilized biofilm electrodes, either by direct electron transfer or hydrogen-driven denitrification, and the contribution of the planktonic cells present in the growth medium. Other results will include the microbial community analysis via 16s rDNA amplicon sequencing, varying the effect of poising cathodic potential from 0.7V to 1.3V vs Ag/AgCl, investigating the potential of using in-situ electrochemically produced hydrogen for autotrophic denitrification and adjusting the conductivity of the feed solution to mimic groundwater conditions. These findings highlight the overall performance of sediment inoculated MECs in removing nitrate and will be used for the future development of sustainable solutions for the treatment of nitrate polluted groundwater.

Keywords: bio-electrochemical systems, groundwater, electroactive denitrification, microbial electrolytic cell

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Sofia Serra-Dawa

Abstract:

Adult relationships accrue on a variety of past social experiences, intentions, and emotions that might predispose and influence the approach to and construction of subsequent relationships. The Adult Attachment Theory (AAT) proposes four types of adult attachment, where attachment is built over two dimensions of anxiety and avoidance: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant. The AAT has been studied in multiple settings such as personal and therapeutic relationships, educational settings, sexual orientation, health, and religion. In music scholarship, the AAT has been used to frame class learning of student singers and study the relational behavior between voice teachers and students. Building on this study, the present inquiry studies how attachment types might characterize learning relationships of music students (in the Western Conservatory tradition), and whether particular instrumental experiences might correlate to given attachment styles. Given certain behavioral cohesive features of established traditions of instrumental playing and performance modes, it is hypothesized that student musicians will display specific characteristics correlated to instrumental traditions, demonstrating clear tendency of attachment style, which in turn has implications on subsequent professional interactions. This study is informed by the methodological framework of Adult Attachment Scale-R (Collins and Read, 1990), which was particularly chosen given its non-invasive questions and classificatory validation. It is further hypothesized that the analytical comparison of musicians’ profiles has the potential to serve as the baseline for other comparative behavioral observation studies [this component is expected to be verified and completed well before the conference meeting]. This research may have implications for practitioners concerned with matching and improving musical teaching and learning relationships and in (professional and amateur) long-term musical settings.

Keywords: adult attachment, music education, musicians attachment profile, musicians relationships

Procedia PDF Downloads 135