Learners' Problem in Phonetics with the Intelligibility at Segmental and Supra-segmental Level

Bengali, though not much discussed, is one of the most resourceful Indo-Aryan languages. Its forty-nine letters allow its speakers utmost flexibility to diphthongize and to form wide ranges of consonant cluster in accordance with the demand of spelling and meaning. Remarkably enough, Bengali has more sounds than needed to facilitate any English sounds without making any distortions to them. But, in fact, there are very many pronunciation varieties people are used to pronouncing Bengali words: most sounds they may bring into their English often can be variably  attributed to their own regional dialects rather than the standard CholitaBhasha . However, apart from the local dialects, Cholita Bhasha speakers are likely to make distortions in the production of certain English sounds, but incontestably not in too many. This paper looks into the similarities and dissimilarities between English and Bengali at segmental and supra-segmental level and attempts to pinpoint the influences behind these distortions to rectify learners' errors init

A Multiscale Mathematical Model of Plasmodium Vivax Transmission

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites which are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Plasmodium vivax is distinct from other malaria species in its ability to remain dormant in the liver (as hypnozoites) and activate later to cause further infections (referred to as relapses). Mathematical models to describe the transmission dynamics of P. vivax have been developed, but most of them fail to capture realistic dynamics of hypnozoites. Models that do capture the complexity tend to involve many governing equations, making them difficult to extend to incorporate other important factors for P. vivax, such as treatment status, age and pregnancy. In this paper, we have developed a multiscale model (a system of integro-differential equations) that involves a minimal set of equations at the population scale, with an embedded within-host model that can capture the dynamics of the hypnozoite reservoir. In this way, we can gain key insights into dynamics of P. vivax transmission with a minimum number of equations at the population scale, making this framework readily scalable to incorporate more complexity. We performed a sensitivity analysis of our multiscale model over key parameters and found that prevalence of P. vivax blood-stage infection increases with both bite rate and number of mosquitoes but decreases with hypnozoite death rate. Since our mathematical model captures the complex dynamics of P. vivax and the hypnozoite reservoir, it has the potential to become a key tool to inform elimination strategies for P. vivax

Enhancing Workplace Well-Being: A Multidimensional Approach to Person-Environment Fit

This review paper covers important gaps in the knowledge of Person-Environment Fit. PE fit is widely described as the compatibility between an individual and their work environment and more specifically the individual level criteria. However, there are several recurring issues in the P-E fit approach to stress, including a theoretical problem of inadequate distinction between different versions of fit; confusion between different functional forms of fit; and methodological problems relating to poor measurement of fit components and inappropriate analysis of the impact of fit on strain. Various studies and reviews have still fallen short of providing a comprehensive measure of PE fit, with most of the previous studies focusing exclusively on single fits of either person-job fit or person-organisation fit. Therefore, the current study aims to review the multidimensional measures of the PE fit study to gain a comprehensive view of the PE fit approach in enhancing workplace well-being. This study contributes to the occupational stress literature by delineating how the multidimensional measures of PE fit are associated with work-related stress and the possible outcomes related to both employees and organizational aspects indirectly. Future research may fill in these gaps and broaden the scope of the person-environment fit study

Optimal Interruption of P. vivax Malaria Transmission Using Mass Drug Administration

Plasmodium vivax is the most geographically widespread malaria-causing parasite resulting in significant associated global morbidity and mortality. One of the factors driving this widespread phenomenon is the ability of the parasites to remain dormant in the liver. Known as ‘hypnozoites’, they reside in the liver following an initial exposure, before activating later to cause further infections, referred to as ‘relapses’. As around 79–96% of infections are attributed to relapses from activating hypnozoites, we expect it will be highly impactful to apply treatment to target the hypnozoite reservoir (i.e. the collection of dormant parasites) to eliminate P. vivax. Treatment with radical cure, for example tafenoquine or primaquine, to target the hypnozoite reservoir is a potential tool to control and/or eliminate P. vivax. We have developed a deterministic multiscale mathematical model as a system of integro-differential equations that captures the complex dynamics of P. vivax hypnozoites and the effect of hypnozoite relapse on disease transmission. Here, we use our multiscale model to study the anticipated effect of radical cure treatment administered via a mass drug administration (MDA) program. We implement multiple rounds of MDA with a fixed interval between rounds, starting from different steady-state disease prevalences. We then construct an optimisation model with three different objective functions motivated on a public health basis to obtain the optimal MDA interval. We also incorporate mosquito seasonality in our model to study its effect on the optimal treatment regime. We find that the effect of MDA interventions is temporary and depends on the pre-intervention disease prevalence (and choice of model parameters) as well as the number of MDA rounds under consideration. The optimal interval between MDA rounds also depends on the objective (combinations of expected intervention outcomes). We find radical cure alone may not be enough to lead to P. vivax elimination under our mathematical model (and choice of model parameters) since the prevalence of infection eventually returns to pre-MDA levels

A scoping review of mathematical models of Plasmodium vivax

Plasmodium vivax is one of the most geographically widespread malaria parasites in the world due to its ability to remain dormant in the human liver as hypnozoites and subsequently reactivate after the initial infection (i.e. relapse infections). More than 80% of P. vivax infections are due to hypnozoite reactivation. Mathematical modelling approaches have been widely applied to understand P. vivax dynamics and predict the impact of intervention outcomes. In this article, we provide a scoping review of mathematical models that capture P. vivax transmission dynamics published between January 1988 and May 2023 to provide a comprehensive summary of the mathematical models and techniques used to model P. vivax dynamics. We aim to assist researchers working on P. vivax transmission and other aspects of P. vivax malaria by highlighting best practices in currently published models and highlighting where future model development is required. We provide an overview of the different strategies used to incorporate the parasite's biology, use of multiple scales (within-host and population-level), superinfection, immunity, and treatment interventions. In most of the published literature, the rationale for different modelling approaches was driven by the research question at hand. Some models focus on the parasites' complicated biology, while others incorporate simplified assumptions to avoid model complexity. Overall, the existing literature on mathematical models for P. vivax encompasses various aspects of the parasite's dynamics. We recommend that future research should focus on refining how key aspects of P. vivax dynamics are modelled, including the accumulation of hypnozoite variation, the interaction between P. falciparum and P. vivax, acquisition of immunity, and recovery under superinfection

Initial study of invasive approach of electrical capacitance tomography for identifying non-conducting medium in steel pipe application

The paper aims to investigate the possibility of an invasive method for electrical capacitance tomography system for steel pipe application. This work presents the development process for modeling an ECT (Electrical Capacitance Tomography) sensor using COMSOL Multiphysics. COMSOL Multiphysics software is implemented as the main tool to model the ECT system. The 12 electrodes are modeled in 2-dimensional and it is based on the invasive approach. The ECT system is developed to obtain the electrical potential distribution between electrodes when an electric field is applied. Besides, it also obtains the permittivity distribution inside the closed pipe. This invasive approach is applied for the steel pipe that cannot be used with common ECT. Several positions of bubble air as the obstacle in the oil medium are tested. As a result, the sensor readings performance inside the region of interest is analyzed. Simultaneously, the tomograms are also obtained and analyzed using MATLAB software. A linear back-projection algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the image of the region of interest. Thus, the possibility of the ECT system applied for steel pipe can be observed and compared when there is a change of readings between the full oil and the existing obstacle inside the steel pipe. Besides, the tomograms for each condition tested can be observed. In short, the invasive approach for ECT is seen to be possible to apply for oil-gas application in steel pipe. The LBP algorithm with the average MSSIM value around 0.3 was able to detect the oil-gas regime inside the steel pipe

Initial study of invasive approach of electrical capacitance tomography for identifying non-conducting medium in steel pipe application

The paper aims to investigate the possibility of an invasive method for electrical capacitance tomography system for steel pipe application. This work presents the development process for modeling an ECT (Electrical Capacitance Tomography) sensor using COMSOL Multiphysics. COMSOL Multiphysics software is implemented as the main tool to model the ECT system. The 12 electrodes are modeled in 2-dimensional and it is based on the invasive approach. The ECT system is developed to obtain the electrical potential distribution between electrodes when an electric field is applied. Besides, it also obtains the permittivity distribution inside the closed pipe. This invasive approach is applied for the steel pipe that cannot be used with common ECT. Several positions of bubble air as the obstacle in the oil medium are tested. As a result, the sensor readings performance inside the region of interest is analyzed. Simultaneously, the tomograms are also obtained and analyzed using MATLAB software. A linear back-projection algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the image of the region of interest. Thus, the possibility of the ECT system applied for steel pipe can be observed and compared when there is a change of readings between the full oil and the existing obstacle inside the steel pipe. Besides, the tomograms for each condition tested can be observed. In short, the invasive approach for ECT is seen to be possible to apply for oil-gas application in steel pipe. The LBP algorithm with the average MSSIM value around 0.3 was able to detect the oil-gas regime inside the steel pipe

Standardization of the Electrical Impedance Myography (EIM) and Detection of Breast Cancer Using EIM

Electrical Impedance Myography (EIM) is a painless non-invasive electrical technique for the assessment of neurological disease status. In this electrophysiological technique, the EIM parameters namely resistance, reactance and phase depend on several anatomic factors such as muscle girth, skin thickness, fat thickness etc. EIM may also be affected by several non-anatomic factors like temperature, electrode size and inter electrode distance. This study has been conducted to explore the bio heat transfer effect due to different atmospheric temperature for the assessment of EIM data. In this study, A 3D finite element model of human upper arm with rectangular shapes of electrode was developed for seven different ambient temperatures in the range of 20℃ to 50℃ to analyse temperature distribution inside biological tissue of human upper arm and consequently for the assessment of EIM parameters. We observed that there is no significant variation (