Somatosensory Precision in Speech Production

SummarySpeech production is dependent on both auditory and somatosensory feedback [1–3]. Although audition may appear to be the dominant sensory modality in speech production, somatosensory information plays a role that extends from brainstem responses to cortical control [4–6]. Accordingly, the motor commands that underlie speech movements may have somatosensory as well as auditory goals [7]. Here we provide evidence that, independent of the acoustics, somatosensory information is central to achieving the precision requirements of speech movements. We were able to dissociate auditory and somatosensory feedback by using a robotic device that altered the jaw's motion path, and hence proprioception, without affecting speech acoustics. The loads were designed to target either the consonant- or vowel-related portion of an utterance because these are the major sound categories in speech. We found that, even in the absence of any effect on the acoustics, with learning subjects corrected to an equal extent for both kinds of loads. This finding suggests that there are comparable somatosensory precision requirements for both kinds of speech sounds. We provide experimental evidence that the neural control of stiffness or impedance—the resistance to displacement—provides for somatosensory precision in speech production [8–10]

The impact of weather on COVID-19 pandemic

Rising temperature levels during spring and summer are often argued to enable lifting of strict containment measures even in the absence of herd immunity. Despite broad scholarly interest in the relationship between weather and coronavirus spread, previous studies come to very mixed results. To contribute to this puzzle, the paper examines the impact of weather on the COVID-19 pandemic using a unique granular dataset of over 1.2 million daily observations covering over 3700 counties in nine countries for all seasons of 2020. Our results show that temperature and wind speed have a robust negative effect on virus spread after controlling for a range of potential confounding factors. These effects, however, are substantially larger during mealtimes, as well as in periods of high mobility and low containment, suggesting an important role for social behaviour

Integrating food security into public health and provincial government departments in British Columbia, Canada

Food security policy, programs, and infrastructure have been incorporated into Public Health and other areas of the Provincial Government in British Columbia, including the adoption of food security as a Public Health Core Program. A policy analysis of the integration into Public Health is completed by merging findings from 48 key informant interviews conducted with government, civil society, and food supply chain representatives involved in the initiatives along with relevant documents and participant/direct observations. The paper then examines the results within the context of historic and international trends and theoretical models of food policy, community food security, and applied policy research. Public Health re-emerged as a driver of food security in BC—both as a key player and in positing the public’s health as a driver in food security and food systems. While Public Health’s lead role supported an increase in legitimacy for food security in BC, interviewees described a clash of cultures between Public Health and civil society. The clash of cultures occurred partly as a result of Public Health’s limited food security mandate and top down approach. Consequently civil society voice at the provincial level was marginalized. A social policy movement toward a new political paradigm—regulatory pluralism—calls for greater engagement of civil society, and for all sectors to work together toward common goals. A new, emerging policy map is proposed for analyzing the dynamics of food security and health promotion initiatives in BC

The use of prolog in the realisation of digital transfer functions

Systems characterised by general graphs are very flexible because of a given application they offer a great number of degrees of freedom and consequently a great possibility of choice to the designer. This can become a drawback in practice when myriads of cases have to be examined analytically and most of them rejected for a variety of heterogeneous reasons. For such design problems, it appears that logic programming languages are ideally suited because they can implement the heterogeneous rules which describe the desired system in a natural way. An application of the Prolog language to the design of active RC biquad circuits investigated by Mouly in his doctoral thesis illustrates the advantages of such a rule-based approach.<br /

Conservation Status of a Threatened Tree Species: Establishing a Baseline for Restoration of Juglans cinerea L. in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

To mitigate the loss of native tree species threatened by non-native pathogens, managers need to better understand the conservation status of remaining populations and the conditions that favor successful regeneration. Populations of Juglans cinerea L. (butternut), a wide-ranging riparian species, have been devastated by butternut canker, a disease caused by a non-native fungal pathogen. We assessed J. cinerea within Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) to determine post-disease survivorship and health, recruitment history, environmental conditions associated with survival, and the extent of hybridization with a non-native congener. Monitoring records were used to locate and collect data for 207 J. cinerea trees in 19 watersheds. Tree cores were collected from a subset of individuals to assess recruitment history. We sampled vegetation plots within areas that contained J. cinerea to assess site conditions and overstory species composition of characteristic habitat. We collected leaf samples for genetic analysis to determine the frequency of hybridization. Our reassessment of monitoring records suggests that J. cinerea abundance in GSMNP has declined due to butternut canker and thirty years of poor regeneration. Populations displayed continuous recruitment following Park establishment (1934) until around 1980, after which regeneration declined drastically. Ordination analysis revealed that J. cinerea in the contemporary forest was associated with greater distance from homesites and reduced basal area of competing species. Hybrids comprised a small portion of sampled trees. The presence of healthy trees and low rate of hybridization suggest that these trees may contribute to the development of disease-resistant genotypes for future restoration efforts

Climate Change and Health in British Columbia: Projected Impacts and a Proposed Agenda for Adaptation Research and Policy

This is a case study describing how climate change may affect the health of British Columbians and to suggest a way forward to promote health and policy research, and adaptation to these changes. After reviewing the limited evidence of the impacts of climate change on human health we have developed five principles to guide the development of research and policy to better predict future impacts of climate change on health and to enhance adaptation to these change in BC. We suggest that, with some modification, these principles will be useful to policy makers in other jurisdictions

Capital Flows: Issues and Policies

This paper presents an analytical overview of recent contributions to the literature on the policy implications of capital flows in emerging and developing countries, focusing specifically on capital inflows as well as on the links between inflows and subsequent capital-flow reversals. The objective is to clarify the policy challenges that such inflows pose and to evaluate the policy alternatives available to the recipient countries to cope with those challenges. A large menu of possible policy responses to large capital inflows is considered, and experience with the use of such policies is reviewed. A policy `decision tree`-i. e. , an algorithm for determining how to deploy policies in response to an exogenous inflow episode- is developed, and strategies to achieve resilience to both inflows and outflows in a world where exogenous events may frequently drive capital flows in both directions are discussed

Adjustments of Capital Account Restrictions and Exchange Rate Regimes in East Asia

This paper discusses adjustments of capital account restrictions and exchange rate regimes in East Asia. Monetary authorities have two options for these adjustments: gradual adjustments or rapid adjustments. We analyze the costs and benefits for both adjustment options in each area, i.e., capital account restrictions and exchange rate regime. The paper provides prominent country cases for each adjustment option to emphasize the benefits for policymakers. We then propose four transition policy options for East Asian countries aiming to relax capital account restrictions and increase flexibility in exchange rates from fixed regimes with capital account controls

PRIVATE SAVINGS IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES: ARE THERE TERMS OF TRADE SHOCKS?

The paper examines the impact of terms of trade shocks on private savings in the transition economies after accounting for the effect of other determinants. Economic agents in the transition economies are subject to tight credit constraints which are more pronounced during bad state of nature. Thus, adverse shocks to commodity prices in the world market can force them to reduce savings by a larger amount than they would otherwise have. Empirical analysis using a dynamic panel model and data from twenty one transition economies confirm that most of the determinants of savings identified in the literature also apply to the transition economies. Favorable movements in both the permanent and transitory components of the terms of trade have a significant positive impact on private savings with transitory movements having a larger impact than the permanent component. This reflects the lack of access to foreign borrowing that many of the transition economies have faced during the last decade. Although the impact of terms of trade shocks are found to be asymmetric, the magnitude of the impact appears to be small. The results are robust for alternative estimators, determinants, and country groupings.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39958/3/wp572.pd