Identification and discrimination of /th/ and /kh/ by children with cleft palate and posterior placement

Also available in print.A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007.Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Reversible Superconductivity in Electrochromic Indium-Tin Oxide Films

Transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films, electrochemically intercalated with sodium or other cations, show tunable superconducting transitions with a maximum $T_c$ at 5 K. The transition temperature and the density of states, $D(E_F)$ (extracted from the measured Pauli susceptibility $\chi_p$ exhibit the same dome shaped behavior as a function of electron density. Optimally intercalated samples have an upper critical field $\approx 4$ T and $\Delta/{k_BT_c} \approx 2.0$. Accompanying the development of superconductivity, the films show a reversible electrochromic change from transparent to colored and are partially transparent (orange) at the peak of the superconducting dome. This reversible intercalation of alkali and alkali earth ions into thin ITO films opens diverse opportunities for tunable, optically transparent superconductors

Temperature dependent core-level photoemission study of UNiSn

UNiSn undergoes an anomalous phase transition at T-N = 47 K, at which temperature it transforms from an antiferromagnetic metal to a paramagnetic semiconductor with an energy gap similar or equal to 70 meV. In order to investigate how the electronic structure of UNiSn changes as it crosses the transition temperature, we have used the X ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) technique from 20 to 70 K. According to the XPS studies, the U 4f core levels are almost temperature independent while the Ni 2p core levels and the satellite structure display a weak anomaly at T-N

Drive care: System for monitoring driver’s concentration and consciousness using consumer grade electonnencephalogram (EEG) headset 護駕: 利用消費級可裝載腦波監測儀實現實時監控駕駛者專注度系統

As people increasingly drive cars for both work and personal purposes, the dangers posed by drug driving, drink driving or sleep-deprived driving are growing threats to society. Highly dangerous driving behaviour and numerous traffic accidents occur because drivers are insufficiently conscious or inadequately focused while driving... 不論是為了工作還是個人需要，不少人都愛自行駕車，但藥後駕駛、醉酒駕駛、或駕駛前睡眠不足，往往容易對巿民的安全構成威脅。司機無法保持清醒或專注地駕駛而導致高危駕駛行為或交通意外，屢見不鮮... Award: Silver奬項: 銀

Application of Artificial Intelligence in predicting earthquakes: state-of-the-art and future challenges

Predicting the time, location and magnitude of an earthquake is a challenging job as an earthquake does not show specific patterns resulting in inaccurate predictions. Techniques based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) are well known for their capability to find hidden patterns in data. In the case of earthquake prediction, these models also produce a promising outcome. This work systematically explores the contributions made to date in earthquake prediction using AI-based techniques. A total of 84 scientific research papers, which reported the use of AI-based techniques in earthquake prediction, have been selected from different academic databases. These studies include a range of AI techniques including rule-based methods, shallow machine learning and deep learning algorithms. Covering all existing AI-based techniques in earthquake prediction, this paper provides an account of the available methodologies and a comparative analysis of their performances. The performance comparison has been reported from the perspective of used datasets and evaluation metrics. Furthermore, using comparative analysis of performances the paper aims to facilitate the selection of appropriate techniques for earthquake prediction. Towards the end, it outlines some open challenges and potential research directions in the field

Variability in locomotor dynamics reveals the critical role of feedback in task control.

Animals vary considerably in size, shape, and physiological features across individuals, but yet achieve remarkably similar behavioral performances. We examined how animals compensate for morphophysiological variation by measuring the system dynamics of individual knifefish (Eigenmannia virescens) in a refuge tracking task. Kinematic measurements of Eigenmannia were used to generate individualized estimates of each fish's locomotor plant and controller, revealing substantial variability between fish. To test the impact of this variability on behavioral performance, these models were used to perform simulated 'brain transplants'-computationally swapping controllers and plants between individuals. We found that simulated closed-loop performance was robust to mismatch between plant and controller. This suggests that animals rely on feedback rather than precisely tuned neural controllers to compensate for morphophysiological variability

Minocycline markedly reduces acute visceral nociception via inhibiting neuronal ERK phosphorylation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Minocycline prevents the development of neuropathic and inflammatory pain by inhibiting microglial activation and postsynaptic currents. But, how minocycline obviates acute visceral pain is unclear. The present study investigated whether minocycline had an any antinociceptive effect on acetic acid-induced acute abdominal pain after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of saline or minocycline 1 hour before acetic acid injection (1.0%, 250 μl, i.p.).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Minocycline (4, 10, or 40 mg/kg) significantly decreased acetic acid-induced nociception (0-60 minutes post-injection) and the enhancement in the number of c-Fos positive cells in the T5-L2 spinal cord induced by acetic acid injection. Also, the expression of spinal phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) induced by acetic acid was reduced by minocycline pre-administration. Interestingly, intrathecal introduction of PD98059, an ERK upstream kinase inhibitor, markedly blocked the acetic acid-stimulated pain responses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results demonstrate that minocycline effectively inhibits acetic acid-induced acute abdominal nociception via the inhibition of neuronal p-ERK expression in the spinal cord, and that minocycline may have therapeutic potential in suppressing acute abdominal pain.</p

Macro Aspects of Housing

This paper aims to achieve two objectives. First, we demonstrate that with respect to business cycle frequency (Burns and Mitchell, 1946), there was a general decrease in the association between macroeconomic variables (MV) and housing market variables (HMV) following the global financial crisis (GFC). However, there are macro-finance variables that exhibited a strong association with the HMV following the GFC. For the medium-term business cycle frequency (Comin and Gertler, 2006), we find that while some correlations exhibit the same change as the business cycle counterparts, others do not. These “new stylized facts” suggest that a reconsideration and refinement of existing “macro-housing” theories would be appropriate. We also provide a review of the recent literature, which may enhance our understanding of the evolving macro-housing-finance linkage