Effectiveness of computer-based auditory training in improving the perception of noise-vocoded speech

Five experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of “high-variability” lexical training in improving the ability of normal-hearing subjects to perceive noise-vocoded speech that had been spectrally shifted to simulate tonotopic misalignment. Two approaches to training were implemented. One training approach required subjects to recognize isolated words, while the other training approach required subjects to recognize words in sentences. Both approaches to training improved the ability to identify words in sentences. Improvements following a single session (lasting 1–2 h) of auditory training ranged between 7 and 12 %pts and were significantly larger than improvements following a visual control task that was matched with the auditory training task in terms of the response demands. An additional three sessions of word- and sentence-based training led to further improvements, with the average overall improvement ranging from 13 to 18 %pts. When a tonotopic misalignment of 3 mm rather than 6 mm was simulated, training with several talkers led to greater generalization to new talkers than training with a single talker. The results confirm that computer-based lexical training can help overcome the effects of spectral distortions in speech, and they suggest that training materials are most effective when several talkers are included

Assessment of the risk of tuberculosis transmission for five housing prototypes designed for a Haitian community

The hospitalization of patients affected with tuberculosis (TB) can be particularly long and burdensome, especially in poor countries where the disease remains a major issue and beds in health care centres are a precious resource. Therefore a policy of decentralising TB treatment from hospitals to residential environments is starting to be considered worldwide, and new guidelines in support of such strategy are needed. This study illustrates a potential “risk assessment model” for TB transmission in dwellings that might help analysing both existing building stocks and new designs in order to apply the new policy, utilizing as a reference the general frame of risk assessment for buildings developed by civil engineering; the model was then tested on five housing prototypes proposed for the town of Saint Marc, Haiti, showing that environmental features of a building such as ventilation, crowding, temperature and relative humidity are among the most important parameters for the estimate of the risk. The final outcome of the analysis, however, highlighted how he most influential factor on the risk of spread of infectious diseases is the efficiency of the health care system operating in the building urban context

Hopping Transport in the Presence of Site Energy Disorder: Temperature and Concentration Scaling of Conductivity Spectra

Recent measurements on ion conducting glasses have revealed that conductivity spectra for various temperatures and ionic concentrations can be superimposed onto a common master curve by an appropriate rescaling of the conductivity and frequency. In order to understand the origin of the observed scaling behavior, we investigate by Monte Carlo simulations the diffusion of particles in a lattice with site energy disorder for a wide range of both temperatures and concentrations. While the model can account for the changes in ionic activation energies upon changing the concentration, it in general yields conductivity spectra that exhibit no scaling behavior. However, for typical concentrations and sufficiently low temperatures, a fairly good data collapse is obtained analogous to that found in experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Quantum Statistics and Slow Neutron Scattering by Gases

A surprisingly simple expression in ``closed form'' for the cross section d2σ/dΩdϵ for the scattering of thermal neutrons (including polarized neutrons) from an ideal quantum gas is derived. This result extends the work of Van Hove on the quantum gas. An expansion is obtained for dσ/dϵ. The case of elastic scattering is treated separately. From these expressions is obtained a criterion for ignoring the statistics of the scatterer in favor of classical (Boltzmann) statistics. This criterion should have some validity for weakly interacting systems. It is shown that the effects of statistics on the neutron cross section for a helium‐4 gas range from 5% or less for the noninteracting gas up to as much as 40% for the interacting system.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70882/2/JCPSA6-47-12-4923-1.pd

Detailed analysis of data from heat pumps installed via the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme

The RHPP policy provided subsidies for private householders, Registered social landlords and communities to install renewable heat measures in residential properties. Eligible measures included air and ground-source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal. Around 18,000 heat pumps were installed via this scheme. DECC funded a detailed monitoring campaign, which covered 700 heat pumps (around 4% of the total). The aim of this monitoring campaign was to assess the efficiencies of the heat pumps and to estimate the carbon and bill savings and amount of renewable heat generated. Data was collected from 31/10/2013 to 31/03/2015. This report represents the analysis of this data and represents the most complete and reliable data in-situ residential heat pump performance in the UK to date

Who knows who we are? Questioning DNA analysis in disaster victim identification

The use of DNA analysis as a mode of identification of disaster victims has become increasingly predominant to other, traditional, methods of identification in recent years. Scientific advances of the technological processes, high-profile use in identification efforts across the globe (such as after 9/11 or in the Asian Tsunami of 2004), and its inclusion in popular media, have led to its popular adoption as one of the primary modes of identification in disaster scenarios, and to the expectation of its use in all cases by the lay public and media. It is increasingly argued to be integral to post-disaster management. However, depending on the circumstances, location, and type of disaster, this technology may not be appropriate, and its use may instead conflict with socio-political and cultural norms and structures of power. Using examples primarily from Cambodia and Iraq this article will explore what these conflicts may be, and in doing so, question the expanding assumption that DNA analysis is a universally appropriate intervention in disaster victim identification. It will argue instead that its use may be a result of a desire for the political and social capital that this highly prestigious technological intervention offers rather than a solely humanitarian intervention on behalf of survivors and the dead

From Falashas to Ethiopian Jews: The external influences for change c. 1860-1960.

The arrival of a Protestant mission in Ethiopia during the 1850s marks a turning point in the history of the Falashas. Up until this point, they lived relatively isolated in the country, unaffected and unaware of the existence of world Jewry. Following this period and especially from the beginning of the twentieth century, the attention of certain Jewish individuals and organisations was drawn to the Falashas. This contact initiated a period of external interference which would ultimately transform the Falashas, an Ethiopian phenomenon, into Ethiopian Jews, whose culture, religion and identity became increasingly connected with that of world Jewry. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine the external influences that implemented and continued the process of transformation in Falasha society which culminated in their eventual emigration to Israel. The original research provides an in-depth insight into the processes which were set in motion among the Falashas during the course of the twentieth century. The thesis begins with a description of their religion, culture and identity before the Falashas' exposure to external influences, an analysis which is used to examine and interpret the modifications that subsequently took place in the Falashas' society. The missionaries' activities, which brought the Falashas to the attention of Western Jewry, are then examined. Considerable attention is devoted to Jacques Faitlovitch who was instrumental in developing the concept of an 'Ethiopian Jew.' His programmes and activities in Ethiopia and abroad, which were fundamental for the success of subsequent endeavours by Israeli organisations, are examined in detail. The Italian occupation of Ethiopia and its impact on the Falashas is also a topic thoroughly researched for the first time. Finally, the activities of Israeli organisations and their impact on the Falashas are examined. The conclusions of this thesis are based on the results of both archival research and interviews with Falashas and key personalities who worked with them before the 1960s

Simple Lattice-Models of Ion Conduction: Counter Ion Model vs. Random Energy Model

The role of Coulomb interaction between the mobile particles in ionic conductors is still under debate. To clarify this aspect we perform Monte Carlo simulations on two simple lattice models (Counter Ion Model and Random Energy Model) which contain Coulomb interaction between the positively charged mobile particles, moving on a static disordered energy landscape. We find that the nature of static disorder plays an important role if one wishes to explore the impact of Coulomb interaction on the microscopic dynamics. This Coulomb type interaction impedes the dynamics in the Random Energy Model, but enhances dynamics in the Counter Ion Model in the relevant parameter range.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.