Articulatory Kinematics During Stop Closure in Speakers with Parkinson’s Disease

Purpose: The goal of this exploratory study was (a) to investigate the differences in articulatory movements during the closure phase of bilabial stop consonants with respect to distance, displacement, and timing of motion between individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and healthy controls; and (b) to investigate changes in articulatory movements of speakers with PD when they voluntarily vary the degree of speech intelligibility. Methods: Six participants, 4 PD and 2 healthy control (HC) speakers, participated in this study. The stimulus was a sentence containing several bilabial stop consonants (i.e., “Buy Bobby a puppy”). Movement data were collected using the Wave Speech Research System (NDI, Canada). Movement measures included duration, distance, and displacement and speed of the tongue front, tongue back, upper lip, lower lip, and jaw. Results: Speakers with PD and HC speakers produced observable articulatory differences during the stop closure of bilabial stops. Generally, the PD group produced smaller articulatory movement and had longer closure durations than the HC group. Regarding changes in speaking mode, the two groups made observable, but different articulatory changes during the stop closure. For more clear speech, both groups made greater articulatory movements and decreased the stop closure duration. For less clear speech, the HC group demonstrated reduced articulatory movements and longer closure durations whereas the PD group made greater articulatory movements and longer closure durations. Discussion: The findings of this study revealed several articulatory differences during the stop closure between the two speaking groups. For more clear speaking conditions, speakers in the PD group can successfully compensate for reduced articulatory movement by producing exaggerated lower lip and jaw movement. These findings support the use of more clear speaking modifications as a therapeutic technique to elicit better articulatory movement among speakers with PD. However, it also appears the PD group has difficulty producing fine motor articulatory changes (e.g., less clear speech)

What It Takes to Be a Successful Football Program

Abstract This research paper explores the basis of what it takes to be a successful football program. In this paper, the reader will find that research was conducted on the topic above. The content of this research paper is to inform a person what it takes to be a successful football program. While there are many teams throughout college football, only a few have long-term success. These programs are what are considered to be successful football programs. Many teams may experience short-term success but they cannot sustain the long-term success that other programs have had and continue to have. After this paper, the reader should be able to process the key features that make a football program successful. By analyzing the key points made in this research paper, the reader should be able to have a better insight of what these programs are and how they are constructed

A Multiscale Investigation of Habitat Use and Within-river Distribution of Sympatric Sand Darter Species

The western sand darter Ammocrypta clara, and eastern sand darter Ammocrypta pellucida are sand-dwelling fishes of conservation concern. Past research has emphasized the importance of studying individual populations of conservation concern, while recent research has revealed the importance of incorporating landscape scale processes that structure habitat mosaics and local populations. We examined habitat use and distributions of western and eastern sand darters in the lower Elk River of West Virginia. At the sandbar habitat use scale, western sand darters were detected in sandbars with greater area, higher proportions of coarse grain sand and faster bottom current velocity, while the eastern sand darter used a wider range of sandbar habitats. The landscape scale analysis revealed that contributing drainage area was an important predictor for both species, while sinuosity, which presumably represents valley type also contributed to the western sand darter’s habitat suitability. Sandbar quality (area, grain size, and velocity) and fluvial geomorphic variables (drainage area and valley type) are likely key driving factors structuring sand darter distributions in the Elk River. This multiscale study of within-river species distribution and habitat use is unique, given that only a few sympatric populations are known of western and eastern sand darters

Evaluating the Effect of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate in Acute Hyperkalemia Management

Introduction Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (ZS-9) can acutely decrease serum potassium (K) levels after one dose and may have favorable side effects compared to sodium polystyrene sulfate (SPS). ZS-9 replaced oral SPS in the Hyperkalemia Order Set at St. Cloud Hospital in April 2019 Purpose To characterize the acute potassium-lowering effects of one 10-gram dose of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate in conjunction with other potassium-lowering medicationshttps://digitalcommons.centracare.com/pharmacy_posters/1008/thumbnail.jp

The Impact of Revisionist History on Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Worldviews

Students sometimes find the study of history to be boring and irrelevant. Many question the accuracy of accounts given. The introduction of revisionist history to a convenience sample of students (A^ =164) from a college of education program located at a Midwestern university made a positive difference in historical learner perspective. Students gained a greater appreciation for the study of the past, as well as a better understanding of how the melodramatic hyping of events and heroes discourages the formulation of a balanced and accurate view of history and its leaders. Pretest-to-posttest changes in mean scores were found to be highly significant. Results were independent of 8 selected demographic variables. Despite inherent differences, classical and revisionist versions of past events and its heroes do not have to be adversaries. Creative contrasting of the two approaches has the potential of increasing student appreciation for the study of history

An Invertible Transform for Efficient String Matching in Labeled Digraphs

Let G = (V, E) be a digraph where each vertex is unlabeled, each edge is labeled by a character in some alphabet ?, and any two edges with both the same head and the same tail have different labels. The powerset construction gives a transform of G into a weakly connected digraph G\u27 = (V\u27, E\u27) that enables solving the decision problem of whether there is a walk in G matching an arbitrarily long query string q in time linear in |q| and independent of |E| and |V|. We show G is uniquely determined by G\u27 when for every v_? ? V, there is some distinct string s_? on ? such that v_? is the origin of a closed walk in G matching s_?, and no other walk in G matches s_? unless it starts and ends at v_?. We then exploit this invertibility condition to strategically alter any G so its transform G\u27 enables retrieval of all t terminal vertices of walks in the unaltered G matching q in O(|q| + t log |V|) time. We conclude by proposing two defining properties of a class of transforms that includes the Burrows-Wheeler transform and the transform presented here

Maximum entanglement of formation for a two-mode Gaussian state over passive operations

We quantify the maximum amount of entanglement of formation (EoF) that can be achieved by continuous-variable states under passive operations, which we refer to as EoF-potential. Focusing, in particular, on two-mode Gaussian states we derive analytical expressions for the EoF-potential for specific classes of states. For more general states, we demonstrate that this quantity can be upper-bounded by the minimum amount of squeezing needed to synthesize the Gaussian modes, a quantity called squeezing of formation. Our work, thus, provides a new link between non-classicality of quantum states and the non-classicality of correlations.Comment: Revised versio

Learning Outside the Classroom: A Distinctive Approach to Co-Curricular Recognition in the Australian context

Co-curricular engagement is an essential a part of the student experience in Australian higher education institutions. Whilst there is wide acknowledgement of the benefits of students participating in co-curricular activities, formally recognising students for the knowledge, skills and experiences that they have gained through co-curricular learning has only recently emerged in the Australian context. This practice paper will describe one Australian university’s approach in developing and implementing a co-curricular recognition framework. UOWx sits at the core of University of Wollongong’s (UOW) student experience, providing holistic and transformational personal development of students. The distinctive features of UOW’s approach include developing a whole of institution approach; embedding the student voice into continuous improvement cycles; and developing an active strategy to embed UOWx with employers and community organisations. This approach has transformed student co-curricular learning at UOW, by increasing the breadth of student engagement and deepening student understanding of the knowledge, skills and experiences students have gained through their co-curricular engagement. Keywords: Co-curricular framework; designing co-curricular recognition; reflection.Austin, K.; Thompson, A.; Coyle, J.; Chicharo, J. (2020). Learning Outside the Classroom: A Distinctive Approach to Co-Curricular Recognition in the Australian context. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):361-369. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11062OCS36136930-05-202

Seismic Evaluation of Highway Bridges - Phase 1

The primary objective of the study was to establish the guidelines for screening, assessing, and ranking Indiana bridges for seismic upgrade. The outcome of the study is a complete strategy for the detailed structural assessment of Indiana highway bridges subjected to seismic forces. The structural evaluation is conducted using a nonlinear time-history analysis of the bridge for simulated or actual records. The specific soil conditions at the site are accounted in terms of the ground motion. From the time history analysis the maximum structural response including displacements, bending moments, shear and axial forces are computed. A weighted evaluation of the ratio of expected demand to available capacity is conducted next. A seismic rating is established based on the weighted evaluation. The bridges are classified into three different categories: high, moderate and low seismic risk. In the case of bridges falling in the high and moderate categories, the weighted seismic rating can be used to establish strengthening needs. The same type of analysis could be used to evaluate different strengthening schemes. In the case where the bridge inventory is substantial, the proposed strategy in this study would be more effective helped by a preliminary first level screening of the bridge population. Several first level screening procedures available in the United States are evaluated in this study. First level screening procedures are used in the qualitative ranking of seismic bridges with respect to seismic risk. They are simplified methods for use in extensive highway networks and are the first steps in a comprehensive evaluation strategy. The Indiana Department of Transportation has conducted a preliminary first level screening of the bridge population in the southern part of the state. Several bridges have been identified as presenting a high level of seismic risk. The approach proposed in this study could be used to further refine the preliminary ranking, and to evaluate different strengthening schemes. It must be pointed out that the soil-structure interaction of bridge structures is a developing area. Many questions remain to be answered regarding the proper modeling of the foundation and the surrounding soil. The proposed evaluation strategy can be improved by means of a field evaluation of dynamic characteristics of a representative sample of bridge foundations and soil conditions in the critical southern part of the state