The Effects of Computer-assisted Pronunciation Readings on ESL Learners’ Use of Pausing, Stress, Intonation, and Overall Comprehensibility

With research showing the benefits of pronunciation instruction aimed at suprasegmentals (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1997, 1998; Derwing & Rossiter, 2003; Hahn, 2004; McNerney and Mendelsohn, 1992), more materials are needed to provide learners opportunities for self-directed practice. A 13-week experimental study was performed with 75 ESL learners divided into control and treatment groups. The treatment group was exposed to 11 weeks of self-directed computer-assisted practice using Cued Pronunciation Readings (CPRs). In the quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, speech perception and production samples were collected at Time 1 (week one of the study) and Time 2 (week 13). Researchers analyzed the treatment’s effect on the learners’ perception and production of key suprasegmental features (pausing, word stress, and sentence-final intonation), and the learners’ level of perceived comprehensibility. Results from the statistical tests revealed that the treatment had a significant effect on learners’ perception of pausing and word stress and controlled production of stress, even with limited time spent practicing CPRs in a self-directed environment

Foley Catheter Priming Device

A lack of a pressure gradient throughout the catheter prevents urine flow from the bladder and through catheter system in a condition referred to as “air-lock.” The purpose of this project was to design a device that could be utilized by person with a catheter faced with the problem of air-lock to restore urine flow and normal functioning of the catheter system. After a prototype was created, the device was put through a series of tests to insure proper functioning, absence of leakage, and durability. The device created can be added in-line with the catheter system, inconspicuously under the user’s clothing, as a primer that the catheter user can push to create a pressure gradient in the system and initiate urine flow. Overall, the device functions as its intended design and has the potential to solve the problem of air-lock for many catheter users

Development in the Gulf of Maine: Avoiding Geohazards and Embracing Opportunities

Mapping for marine-spatial planning is crucial if Maine is to safely develop its offshore resources, espe­cially wind and tidal energy. The authors focus on shallow natural gas (methane) deposits, an important and widespread geohazard in Maine’s seafloor. They describe the origin, occur­rence, and identification of natural gas in Maine’s seafloor; explain the hazards associated with these deposits and how to map them; and discuss what Maine can learn from European nations that have already developed their offshore wind resources. Because the U.S. gives states a central role in coastal management, Maine has the chance to be proactive in delineating coastal resources and demarcating potential seafloor hazards

OMAE2009-79934 JACK-UP INSTALLATION ON AN UNEVEN SEABED: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM MODEL TESTING IN OVERCONSOLIDATED CLAY

ABSTRACT This paper presents results of a laboratory testing program employing a reduced-scaled model of a three-legged jack-up to investigate the influence of an adjacent footprint on spudcan installation. This study focused on the installation of the full jack-up with a single leg located adjacent to a surface discontinuity. This contrasts previous studies that focused on the behavior of a single leg model and aims to account for the coupled interaction of the three legs and hull. The investigation was conducted using a 1:200 model scale jack-up designed to represent an average commonly used field jack-up. It was fully instrumented for leg bending and axial force measurement, and allowed unconstrained horizontal motion and rotation in the plane of foundation-footprint offset. Installation was performed at foundation-footprint centerline offsets of 0.75, 0.89, and 1.0 times the footprint diameter in overconsolidated kaolin clay adjacent to three different footprint types. The three footprint types -spudcan generated, a similarly shaped vertical walled auger generated, and shallow slope -were used to analyze separately the effect of shape and soil disturbance

Francisella tularensis Transmission by Solid Organ Transplantation, 20171.

In July 2017, fever and sepsis developed in 3 recipients of solid organs (1 heart and 2 kidneys) from a common donor in the United States; 1 of the kidney recipients died. Tularemia was suspected only after blood cultures from the surviving kidney recipient grew Francisella species. The organ donor, a middle-aged man from the southwestern United States, had been hospitalized for acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome, pneumonia, and multiorgan failure. F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2) was cultured from archived spleen tissue from the donor and blood from both kidney recipients. Whole-genome multilocus sequence typing indicated that the isolated strains were indistinguishable. The heart recipient remained seronegative with negative blood cultures but had been receiving antimicrobial drugs for a medical device infection before transplant. Two lagomorph carcasses collected near the donor's residence were positive by PCR for F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (clade A2). This investigation documents F. tularensis transmission by solid organ transplantation

Novel Naphthalene-Based Inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei RNA Editing Ligase 1

African sleeping sickness is a devastating disease that plagues sub-Saharan Africa. Neglected tropical diseases like African sleeping sickness cause significant death and suffering in the world's poorest countries. Current treatments for African sleeping sickness either have high costs, terrible side effects, or limited effectiveness. Consequently, new medicines are urgently needed. RNA editing ligase 1 is an important protein critical for the survival of Trypanosoma brucei, the unicellular parasite that causes African sleeping sickness. In this paper, we describe our recent efforts to use advanced computer techniques to identify chemicals predicted to prevent RNA editing ligase 1 from functioning properly. We subsequently tested our predicted chemicals and confirmed that a number of them inhibited the protein's function. Additionally, one of the chemicals was effective at stopping the growth of the parasite in culture. Although substantial work remains to be done in order to optimize these chemicals so they are effective and safe to use in human patients, the identification of these parasite-killing compounds is nevertheless a valuable step towards finding a better cure for this devastating disease

Randomness Concerns When Deploying Differential Privacy

The U.S. Census Bureau is using differential privacy (DP) to protect confidential respondent data collected for the 2020 Decennial Census of Population & Housing. The Census Bureau's DP system is implemented in the Disclosure Avoidance System (DAS) and requires a source of random numbers. We estimate that the 2020 Census will require roughly 90TB of random bytes to protect the person and household tables. Although there are critical differences between cryptography and DP, they have similar requirements for randomness. We review the history of random number generation on deterministic computers, including von Neumann's "middle-square" method, Mersenne Twister (MT19937) (previously the default NumPy random number generator, which we conclude is unacceptable for use in production privacy-preserving systems), and the Linux /dev/urandom device. We also review hardware random number generator schemes, including the use of so-called "Lava Lamps" and the Intel Secure Key RDRAND instruction. We finally present our plan for generating random bits in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment using AES-CTR-DRBG seeded by mixing bits from /dev/urandom and the Intel Secure Key RDSEED instruction, a compromise of our desire to rely on a trusted hardware implementation, the unease of our external reviewers in trusting a hardware-only implementation, and the need to generate so many random bits.Comment: 12 pages plus 2 pages bibliograph

Framework for a Community Health Observing System for the Gulf of Mexico Region: Preparing for Future Disasters

© Copyright © 2020 Sandifer, Knapp, Lichtveld, Manley, Abramson, Caffey, Cochran, Collier, Ebi, Engel, Farrington, Finucane, Hale, Halpern, Harville, Hart, Hswen, Kirkpatrick, McEwen, Morris, Orbach, Palinkas, Partyka, Porter, Prather, Rowles, Scott, Seeman, Solo-Gabriele, Svendsen, Tincher, Trtanj, Walker, Yehuda, Yip, Yoskowitz and Singer. The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) region is prone to disasters, including recurrent oil spills, hurricanes, floods, industrial accidents, harmful algal blooms, and the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GoM and other regions of the U.S. lack sufficient baseline health information to identify, attribute, mitigate, and facilitate prevention of major health effects of disasters. Developing capacity to assess adverse human health consequences of future disasters requires establishment of a comprehensive, sustained community health observing system, similar to the extensive and well-established environmental observing systems. We propose a system that combines six levels of health data domains, beginning with three existing, national surveys and studies plus three new nested, longitudinal cohort studies. The latter are the unique and most important parts of the system and are focused on the coastal regions of the five GoM States. A statistically representative sample of participants is proposed for the new cohort studies, stratified to ensure proportional inclusion of urban and rural populations and with additional recruitment as necessary to enroll participants from particularly vulnerable or under-represented groups. Secondary data sources such as syndromic surveillance systems, electronic health records, national community surveys, environmental exposure databases, social media, and remote sensing will inform and augment the collection of primary data. Primary data sources will include participant-provided information via questionnaires, clinical measures of mental and physical health, acquisition of biological specimens, and wearable health monitoring devices. A suite of biomarkers may be derived from biological specimens for use in health assessments, including calculation of allostatic load, a measure of cumulative stress. The framework also addresses data management and sharing, participant retention, and system governance. The observing system is designed to continue indefinitely to ensure that essential pre-, during-, and post-disaster health data are collected and maintained. It could also provide a model/vehicle for effective health observation related to infectious disease pandemics such as COVID-19. To our knowledge, there is no comprehensive, disaster-focused health observing system such as the one proposed here currently in existence or planned elsewhere. Significant strengths of the GoM Community Health Observing System (CHOS) are its longitudinal cohorts and ability to adapt rapidly as needs arise and new technologies develop

Volume 08

Introduction from Interim Dean Dr. Jennifer Apperson Indigenous Peoples and the Modern Era by Meghan Enzinna Who Says : How Selena Gomez and the Scene Attempt to Subvert the Popular Standards of Beauty by Casey Dawn Gailey Art by Raven Collins Meltdown on Social Media: Amy\u27s Baking Company Meets Kitchen Nightmares by Nathena Haddrill Art by Chiara Enriquez Design by Amelia Mcconnell Worth More Than a Thousand Words: A Visual Rhetorical Discussion of Virtual Reality by Examining Clouds Over Sidra by Alexander Morton Design by Emma Beckett The Sonata: An Analysis of Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Leah G. Parr Art by Briana Adhikusuma Skewed Perceptions of Masculinity in Chris Lynch\u27s Inexcusable by Taylor Embrey Photography by Rowan Davis Joy Like Short Grass : Death in James Dickey\u27s the Eagle\u27s Mile by Danielle Sisson Poster by Bianca Cherry Design by Melissa Cacho A Writer\u27s Evolution: Connecting Academic and Workplace Writing Within the Field of Nursing by Chloé Woodward Background and Research Designs on Service Dogs for Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder by Catherine Rollins Photography by Carson Reeher Design by Landon Cooper Wallace Stevens: Meaning in Nature and Its Elements by Haley Vasquez Photography by Marlisha Stewart Building an Arcade Machine to Do Interdisciplinary Research into What Makes People Like Video Games by Eric Whitehead Poster by Sabrina Walker Design by James Bate