An acoustic description of vowels spoken by speakers with Cajun ethnicity in Southern Louisiana

This study aimed to provide selected acoustic data for vowels of one portion of the southern region (Southern LA) in recognition that a variety of Southern dialects have not been recognized on the American English dialect map. To examine dialectical variations in vowel acoustics, this study included a relatively greater number of acoustic parameters including: vowel duration, F1 and F2 from the temporal midpoint of the vowel, trajectory length, and F2 slope. Ten participants between the ages of 18 to 24 were selected from the Southern Louisiana dialect region. Speech stimuli, which have been used in prior research regarding dialect, included words containing 16 American English vowels in /hVd/ context (Hillenbrand, 1995). Each stimulus was produced five times in a row, which results in analysis of a total of 800 vowels (10 speakers, 16 vowels, and 5 repetitions). Based on a general comparison between data from Southern Louisiana dialect speakers and previously reported data from Upper Mid-Western dialect speakers, it can be inferred that there are differences in temporal and spectral measures between these two dialects. This provides a basis for direct comparison of Southern Louisiana dialects to other dialects to determine which parameters are most sensitive to dialect and how these might impact vowel production and perception

Cofactor matrices

AbstractThe function which maps a square matrix A to its cofactor matrix cof(A) is examined. A characterization is given for the image of the function. Its injective properties on the general linear group of nonsingular matrices are also addressed

Biochemical Profile and Antibacterial Examination of Freshwater Crab Scylla Serrata (FORSKAL, 1775)

Natural products from the aquatic organisms provide unlimited opportunities for the production of new drugs. To verify this fact in the present study ‘the biochemical profile and antimicrobial activity of different samples of the estuarine crab, Sylla serrata’ was investigated. Biochemical study of the body parts of the crab gains substantial attention for their specificity in connection to the food values of the crab and for the evaluation of their physiological needs at different periods of life.   The total protein was estimated by Lowry's method and the amount of protein was highest in the soft muscle sample (20.27mg/ml). The total sugar was estimated by the Phenol-Sulphuric acid method and it was highest in the leg sample (209.8mg/ml). The lipids of the samples were estimated by Folchs method. Lipid was highest in the shell sample (28.35mg/ml). Thin Layer chromatography was done for characterization of protein. Antibiotics are used against bacterial infections. The natural products gained importance to screen antibiotics.     For this reason the antibacterial activity of the samples were tested against grampositive and gramnegative pathogenic bacterial strains. The bacterial strains like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes were used as the test strains. In the present study, the ethanol extract of crab sample I showed maximum zone of inhibition (13 mm) in P. aeruginosa. The sample I showed moderate zone of inhibition (11 mm) in K.pneumoniae.  The sample II showed the minimum zone of inhibition (7 mm) in P. aeruginosa. It indicated that the shell of crabs would be a good source of antimicrobial agents and would replace the existing inadequate and cost effective antibiotics. The microbial associates of crustaceans have proven to be a rich source of bioactivity with antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects. So the organism used in the present study will be the promising source to the biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications.&nbsp

Rotational Splitting of Pulsational Modes

Mode splittings produced by uniform rotation and a particular form of differential rotation are computed for two-dimensional rotating 10 Mo ZAMS stellar models. The change in the character of the mode splitting is traced as a function of uniform rotation rate, and it is found that only relatively slow rotation rates are required before the mode splitting becomes asymmetric about the azimuthally symmetric (m=0) mode. Increased rotation produces a progressively altered pattern of the individual modes with respect to each other. Large mode splittings begin to overlap with the mode splittings produced by different radial and latitudinal modes at relatively low rotation rates. The mode splitting pattern for the differentially rotating stars we model is different than that for uniformly rotating stars, making the mode splitting a possible discriminant of the internal angular momentum distribution if one assumes the formidable challenge of mode identification can be overcome.Comment: 6 journal pages, 7 Figures, accepted by Ap

Relatedness within and among sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) social units assessed using single nucleotide polymorphisms

1 online resource (vi, 56 leaves) : ill. (some col.)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-56).Altruistic behavior, such as caring for the offspring of others, is an intriguing phenomenon observed in several mammalian species. One of the most successful theories for explaining how this behavior could have evolved is kin selection. According to this theory, altruism can be adaptive if the individuals being helped are related to the helper. Female sperm whales and their calves live in stable matrilineal families called “units” within which there is extensive altruism, notably in the form of alloparental care. Furthermore, two or more units will often temporarily associate into larger “groups” and hunt for prey together. Because units are largely composed of related individuals, it is likely that this unusual social system evolved by kin selection. To investigate this, the detailed relatedness patterns within and among units must be known. Sperm whales naturally shed pieces of skin that can be used to extract DNA for this purpose. However, the DNA within these samples is often heavily degraded. Microsatellites are informative DNA markers that are commonly used for such genetic analyses. However, microsatellite analysis is difficult with degraded DNA, because they tend to be relatively long sequences. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are another, increasingly popular DNA marker that are only one nucleotide in length, so they can be more easily analyzed in degraded DNA. The purpose of this study was to use SNPs to investigate kin selection in sperm whales from highly degraded DNA in sloughed skin. A total of 12 SNPs, eight of which were linked, were genotyped in 72 individuals, and a network analysis was performed. Results were unable to resolve any genetic structuring, owing to the poor informativeness of individual SNPs. It was concluded that microsatellites are still more useful for studying relatedness, and that biopsy sampling of whales for higher quality DNA may be required

PENGUKURAN PERFORMANSI PERUSAHAAN DENGAN METODE BALANCED SCORECARD (PT.Exelcomindo Bandung)

PT. Excelcomindo Pratama Bandung merupakan salah satu operator seluler GSM (Global Sytem for Mobile Communication) yang hadir sejak November 1995. sesuai dengan visi Perusahaan yaitu sebagai perusahaan penyedia layanan telekomunikasi terunggul di Indonesia, excelcomindo berusaha untuk membangun infrastruktur bermutu terbaik, manajemen yang berkualitas, dan juga sumber daya manusia yang terpilih untuk dapat menjaga performansi Excelcomindo. Excelcomindo Bandung merupakan salah satu dari lima (Cirebon,Tasik, Purwakarta, Kerawang dan Bandung) depo penjualan di Jawa Barat. Untuk menghadapi persaingan dan memasuki pasar yang kompetitif Excelcomindo harus dapat menjaga bahkan meningkatkan performansi kinerjanya. Sebagai langkah awal yang perlu diambil yaitu dengan melakukan pengukuran untuk mengetahui sejauh mana performansi Excelcomindo. Pengukuran Excelcomindo Bandung sangat perlu dilakukan karena Keberhasilan Excelcomindo regional Jawa Barat tidak lepas dari Performansi Excelcomindo Bandung.Salah satu metoda pengukuran performansi adalah Balanced Scorecard . Metode ini mampu menerjemahkan kerangka pengukuran performansi yang berdasarkan pada visi, misi, dan strategi organisasi kedalam empat perspektif yang komprehensif, yaitu Perspektif keuangan , pelanggan, proses bisnis internal dan pembelajaran dan pertumbuhan. Pengukuran performansi Excelcomindo dilakukan dengan beberapa tahapan sebagai berikut : Pengenalan , wawancara, Identifikasi tolak ukur, diskusi dan pembobotan tolak ukur. Selama proses dilakukan banyak terjadi perubahan untuk proses pebaikan system pengukuran perusahaan.Perbaikan – perbaikan sistem pengukuran yang dimaksud adalah perbaikan dalam memilih tolak ukur yang berpengaruh terhadap performansi Excelcomindo Bandung. Besarnya pengaruh tolak ukur tergantung besarnya bobot masing – masing tolak ukur. Tolak ukur dengan bobot paling besar merupakan Key performance Indicator dalam arti indikator ini merupakan indikator utama dalam perspektif tersebut. Berikut adalah Key Performance Indicator untuk tiap perspektif (disertai dengan Bobot, target dan realisasi).Berikut adalah hasil perhitungan performansi masing – masing perspektif setelah dilakukan Pengukuran performansi terhadap indikator – indikator dalam perspektif tersebut : 1. Perspektif Keuangan memiliki nilai sebesar 1,7463 (Baik) 2. Perspektif Pelanggan memiliki nilai sebesar 0,6388(Buruk) 3. Perspektif Proses Bisnis Internal memiliki nilai 1,8223 (Baik) 4. Perspektif Pembelajaran dan Pertumbuhan memiliki nilai 1,4198 (Cukup) Performansi Excelcomindo Bandung secara menyeluruh adalah sebesar 1,3656. Nilai ini termasuk dalam kategori cukup. Berarti masih perlu diadakan pembenahan dalam setiap perspektif pengukurannya untuk mencapai kategori baik

Elementary sequences

Explicit finite algebraic formulas are given for some well-known sequences, including complements of polynomial sequences

A Second Amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, from Nova Scotia, Canada

In 2011, an amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, was discovered in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is the second amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander that has been documented from the Halifax area. Albino and leucistic individuals have also been identified from Nova Scotia. These aberrant conditions, including the two amelanistic individals, were discovered in isolated, fragmented, and disturbed habitat

A high-throughput regeneration protocol for recalcitrant tropical Indian maize (Zea mays L) inbreds

Immature embryos from five select recalcitrant maize (Zea mays L) inbreds used as explants were evaluated for their ability to form callus, somatic embryos and subsequent regeneration into plants. The embryos were placed on N6 basal media with varying levels of 2,4-D (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mg l-1) and were regenerated on MS me¬dium supplemented with BAP (2 - 10 mg l-1), 2,4-D (0.25 mg l-1) and silver nitrate (0.85 mg l-1). Explants cultured on N6 medium supplemented with 2,4-D (2.0 mg l-1) were associated with the highest frequency of embryogenic calli and that of UMI 29 were highly embryogenic (78.67%). When synergism between dicamba and 2,4-D on Type II callus production in UMI 29 was sought to be investigated using 2,4-D (1 or 2 mg l-1) individually and in combina¬tion with dicamba (3.7 mg l-1) production of Type II callus with the greatest frequency of 83.33% was observed on N6 medium containing 3.7 mg l-1 dicamba + 1 mg l-1 2,4-D. The greatest percentage of shoot induction (82.67%) was observed on MS medium supplemented with BAP (10 mg l-1). Among the five genotypes tested, UMI 29 was associated with the highest percentage of callus initiation, shoot induction and mean number of developed shoots. The protocol described in this study can reliably be used to transform tropical maize inbreds as a routine