A Communication Application Design Framework Based on Mesh Network Architecture for Folk Song Dissemination

This document suggests a pair of optimization and enhancement algorithms for Mesh network architecture to foster the spread of folk songs and evaluates these algorithms within a communication design framework. Proposed are communication applications utilizing Mesh network architecture. The average end-to-end delay of the improved expected transmission time metric algorithm is is lower than that of other algorithms; The channel allocation algorithm of wireless mesh network structure improves the throughput by about 16% with the same number of data streams; The real-time reliable data transmission delay of the folk music dissemination framework is significantly lower than that of the non-realtime reliable data network; The mean delay from start to finish in the real-time dependable data transfer within the folk music distribution system is markedly less compared to that in a non-realtime dependable data network.; The folk music communication framework's real-time reliable data transmission experiences an average end-to-end delay, with an average data reception rate surpassing that of non-real-time reliable data, and the real-time reliable data. The rate of receiving usable data from start to finish remains largely unaltered regardless of the amount of communication data; Upon functional testing of the Application (APP), the Central Processing Unit (CPU) usage rate in most tasks remains under 10%; however, during the system's operation, both the occupied memory and CPU usage on the Personal Computer (PC) side is significantly lower. During the operation of the framework, the PC side's occupied memory and CPU usage rate maintain a comparatively steady state

Is Pre-consultation Conducted by the Assistant Physician Effective in Improving Online Healthcare Service Quality and Satisfaction?

To improve online healthcare quality and efficiency, online healthcare communities (OHCs) enabled the pre-consultation function, in which an assistant physician interacts with the patient to understand and document the patient’s health conditions, medical history, and consultation objectives prior to the formal online consultation with the attending physician. Using detailed service data from a Chinese OHC, this study scrutinizes the effect of using pre-consultation on online healthcare service quality and satisfaction. The results show that pre-consultation can significantly increase the attending physician’s response speed, length, and the level of informational support embedded within the response, while maintaining a consistent level of emotional support. Despite the improvement in service quality, pre-consultation leads to decreased patient satisfaction with the consultation service. Furthermore, we find that pre-consultation improves service quality by enhancing the professionalism and comprehensiveness of patient case information and reducing information seeking and clarification of the attending physician with the patient

Estudio acústico de las vocales del noreste de China y de su adquisición por parte de hablantes con castellano como L1 y catalán como L1

En esta tesis se presentan el sistema vocálico del chino y las diferencias acústicas entre las vocales chinas pronunciadas por hablantes nativas del noreste de China y por participantes españolas. La tesis persigue tres objetivos: en primer lugar, introducir el sistema vocálico del chino, centrándonos en las vocales del mandarín del noreste de China para describir fonéticamente las peculiaridades de su sistema vocálico. En segundo lugar, estudiar las semejanzas y las diferencias entre el sistema vocálico del castellano, del catalán y del chino, y comparar las vocales chinas pronunciadas por hablantes nativas del noreste de China y las pronunciadas por informantes castellanohablantes y valencianohablantes. Finalmente, a partir del análisis de errores, determinar cómo influyen las vocales del castellano y del catalán en el sistema vocálico chino de las hablantes españolas y detectar las dificultades que el aprendizaje del chino puede plantear para este tipo de estudiantes. Para realizar este trabajo, primero, se han grabado las vocales chinas en tres grupos formados por seis hablantes nativas del noreste de China, por seis aprendices castellanohablantes y por seis valencianohablantes. Después, a partir del material obtenido, se han extraído los formantes de las vocales y otros datos acústicos. A continuacion, se han analizado estadisticamente estos datos para ver las similitudes y las ́́ diferencias entre los diferentes sistemas; dicho análisis se presenta numéricamente y también en forma de gráficos. Los resultados indican que el sistema vocálico del chino es muy complejo, con cinco vocales básicas, cinco variantes contextuales de la vocal media, cinco de la vocal baja, tres alófonos de la vocal /i/ que no presentan características consonánticas y una vocal retrofleja. Respecto del aprendizaje de las vocales chinas por parte de las aprendices españolas, la mayoría puede pronunciar correctamente las vocales básicas /i/ y /u/ y la vocal retrofleja; sin embargo, existen dificultades en la pronunciación de las vocales básicas /y/ y /ə/, de algunas variantes de /a/, de las variantes de la vocal media y de las variantes de /i/ diferentes de [i]. Finalmente, no se constata que haya diferencias relevantes en el aprendizaje entre las informantes castellanohablantes y valencianohablantes, lo que significa que en las aulas no se utiliza la mayor variedad de sonidos del catalán para mejorar la pronunciación.This doctoral dissertation presents the Chinese vowel system and the acoustic differences between the Chinese vowels pronounced by native speakers from northeastern China and by a group of Spanish participants. The dissertation has three goals: first, to introduce the Chinese vowel system, focusing on the Mandarin vowels in northeastern China in order to describe phonetically its vowel system. Second, to study the similarities and the differences between Spanish, Catalan and Chinese vowel systems, and to compare the Chinese vowels produced by native speakers from northeastern China and from Spanish-speaking and Valencian-speaking learners. Finally, departing from the Error Analysis Theory, to determine how the Spanish and Catalan vowel systems influence the Chinese vowels pronounced by Spanish speakers and to detect the difficulties that the learning of Chinese poses to these students. To carry out this work, first, the Chinese vowels have been recorded in three groups formed by six native speakers of northeast China, by six Spanish-speaking Chinese learners and by six Valencian-speaking learners. Then, from the material obtained, the vowel formants and other acoustic data have been extracted. Next, these data have been statistically analyzed to establish the similarities and the differences between the different systems; this analysis is presented numerically and also in the form of graphs. The results indicate that the Chinese vowel system is very complex, with five basic vowels, five contextual variants of the mid vowel, five variants of the low vowel, three allophones of the vowel /i/ that do not have consonant features and a retroflex vowel. Regarding the learning of the Chinese vowels by Spanish apprentices, the majority can pronounce correctly the basic vowels /i/ and /u/ and the retroflex vowel; however, there are difficulties in pronouncing the basic vowels /y/ and /ə/, some variants of /a/, the variants of the mid vowel and the variants of /i/ different from [i]. Finally, there is no evidence showing relevant differences in the learning process between Spanish-speaking and Valencian-speaking informants, which means that the greatest variety of Catalan sounds is not used in the classroom to improve the students’ pronunciation

The Effect of Online Follow-up Services on Offline and Online Physician Demand: Evidence from Chronic Disease Physicians

The adoption of online follow-up services by physicians provides their offline patients with an important channel for medical follow-ups. Using detailed service data from a Chinese online healthcare community (OHC), the present study scrutinizes the rarely studied effect of adopting online follow-up services on offline and online physician demand in the context of chronic disease. The results demonstrate that adopting online follow-up services leads to higher offline physician demand. Interestingly, in contrast to the channel substitution effect documented in the literature, we find that providing online follow-up services also increases online physician demand. Furthermore, the results of mechanism tests reveal that online follow-up services affect online demand by boosting physicians’ online exposure and increasing the availability of information on their online service characteristics to patients. Our findings offer strategic guidance for physicians, design implications for OHCs, and insights for healthcare policymakers

Producción del sistema vocálico del español por hablantes de chino

En este trabajo se comparan los sistemas vocálicos del español y del chino pronunciados por hablantes nativos con el objetivo de presentar a continuación las peculiaridades del sistema vocálico español de un grupo de estudiantes de China con un nivel intermedio de español. El estudio de las similitudes y las diferencias entre los sistemas nativos nos ha permitido prever en qué áreas pueden diferir las vocales pronunciadas por aprendices chinos de las vocales españolas. Los resultados indican que el sistema vocálico español de los estudiantes chinos es estructuralmente similar al sistema nativo, pero con algunas diferencias fonéticas: en primer lugar, tiene una extensión mayor por lo que respecta a F1, como resultado del traslado directo de las distancias entre las vocales del chino; en segundo lugar, algunas vocales, particularmente /a/, /e/ y /o/, muestran más dispersión que en el sistema nativo, y, finalmente, las vocales de los aprendices chinos son más largas, aunque más cortas que las vocales del chino. Así pues, se ha comprobado que, si bien los aprendices chinos no encuentran grandes dificultades para adquirir las vocales del español, los rasgos del sistema vocálico chino afectan a su realización, especialmente a su grado de abertura y a su duración. In this paper we compare the Spanish and Chinese vowel systems as pronounced by native speakers in order to analyze afterwards the peculiarities of the Spanish vowels produced by a group of Chinese students with an intermediate level of Spanish. The study of the similarities and differences between the two native systems allows us to predict the points in which the Spanish vowels from Chinese learners may differ from the native system. The results indicate that the vowel system displayed by these students is structurally similar to the native system, but with some phonetic differences. Firstly, it shows a greater F1-amplitude, as a result of the direct translation of the distances between the Chinese vowels. Secondly, some vowels, particularly /a/, /e/ and /o/, show more dispersion than in the Spanish native system. Finally, the vowels produced by Chinese learners are clearly longer than in Spanish, although shorter than in Chinese. All in all, we have found that, even though Chinese learners do not experience great difficulties in acquiring the Spanish vowels, the features of the Chinese vowel system influence their realization, especially their openness and their duration

PRODUCCIÓN DEL SISTEMA VOCÁLICO DEL ESPAÑOL POR HABLANTES DE CHINO

En este trabajo se comparan los sistemas vocálicos del español y del chino pronunciados por hablantes nativos con el objetivo de presentar a continuación las peculiaridades del sistema vocálico español de un grupo de estudiantes de China con un nivel intermedio de español. El estudio de las similitudes y las diferencias entre los sistemas nativos nos ha permitido prever en qué áreas pueden diferir las vocales pronunciadas por aprendices chinos de las vocales españolas. Los resultados indican que el sistema vocálico español de los estudiantes chinos es estructuralmente similar al sistema nativo, pero con algunas diferencias fonéticas: en primer lugar, tiene una extensión mayor por lo que respecta a F1, como resultado del traslado directo de las distancias entre las vocales del chino; en segundo lugar, algunas vocales, particularmente /a/, /e/ y /o/, muestran más dispersión que en el sistema nativo, y, finalmente, las vocales de los aprendices chinos son más largas, aunque más cortas que las vocales del chino. Así pues, se ha comprobado que, si bien los aprendices chinos no encuentran grandes dificultades para adquirir las vocales del español, los rasgos del sistema vocálico chino afectan a su realización, especialmente a su grado de abertura y a su duración

Sulfonated microporous polymer membranes with fast and selective ion transport for electrochemical energy conversion and storage

Membranes with fast and selective transport of protons and cations are required for a wide range of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, such as proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and redox flow batteries. Here we report a new approach to designing solution-processable ion-selective polymer membranes with both intrinsic microporosity and ion-conductive functionality. This was achieved by synthesizing polymers with rigid and contorted backbones, which incorporate hydrophobic fluorinated and hydrophilic sulfonic acid functional groups, to produce membranes with negatively-charged subnanometer-sized confined ionic channels. The facilitated transport of protons and cations through these membranes, as well as high selectivity towards nanometer-sized redox-active molecules, enable efficient and stable operation of an aqueous alkaline quinone redox flow battery and a hydrogen PEM fuel cell. This membrane design strategy paves the way for producing a new-generation of ion-exchange membranes for electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications

Probiotics fortify intestinal barrier function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

BackgroundProbiotics play a vital role in treating immune and inflammatory diseases by improving intestinal barrier function; however, a comprehensive evaluation is missing. The present study aimed to explore the impact of probiotics on the intestinal barrier and related immune function, inflammation, and microbiota composition. A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted.MethodsFour major databases (PubMed, Science Citation Index Expanded, CENTRAL, and Embase) were thoroughly searched. Weighted mean differences were calculated for continuous outcomes with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), heterogeneity among studies was evaluated utilizing I2 statistic (Chi-Square test), and data were pooled using random effects meta-analyses.ResultsMeta-analysis of data from a total of 26 RCTs (n = 1891) indicated that probiotics significantly improved gut barrier function measured by levels of TER (MD, 5.27, 95% CI, 3.82 to 6.72, P < 0.00001), serum zonulin (SMD, -1.58, 95% CI, -2.49 to -0.66, P = 0.0007), endotoxin (SMD, -3.20, 95% CI, -5.41 to -0.98, P = 0.005), and LPS (SMD, -0.47, 95% CI, -0.85 to -0.09, P = 0.02). Furthermore, probiotic groups demonstrated better efficacy over control groups in reducing inflammatory factors, including CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6. Probiotics can also modulate the gut microbiota structure by boosting the enrichment of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.ConclusionThe present work revealed that probiotics could improve intestinal barrier function, and alleviate inflammation and microbial dysbiosis. Further high-quality RCTs are warranted to achieve a more definitive conclusion.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=281822, identifier CRD42021281822

Regionally Specific White Matter Disruptions of Fornix and Cingulum in Schizophrenia

Limbic circuitry disruptions have been implicated in the psychopathology and cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, which may involve white matter disruptions of the major tracts of the limbic system, including the fornix and the cingulum. Our study aimed to investigate regionally specific abnormalities of the fornix and cingulum in schizophrenia using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We determined the fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD) profiles along the fornix and cingulum tracts using a fibertracking technique and a brain mapping algorithm, the large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM), in the DTI scans of 33 patients with schizophrenia and 31 age-, gender-, and handedness-matched healthy controls. We found that patients with schizophrenia showed reduction in FA and increase in RD in bilateral fornix, and increase in RD in left anterior cingulum when compared to healthy controls. In addition, tract-based analysis revealed specific loci of these white matter differences in schizophrenia, that is, FA reductions and AD and RD increases occur in the region of the left fornix further from the hippocampus, FA reductions and RD increases occur in the rostral portion of the left anterior cingulum, and RD and AD increases occur in the anterior segment of the left middle cingulum. In patients with schizophrenia, decreased FA in the specific loci of the left fornix and increased AD in the right cingulum adjoining the hippocampus correlated with greater severity of psychotic symptoms. These findings support precise disruptions of limbic-cortical integrity in schizophrenia and disruption of these structural networks may contribute towards the neural basis underlying the syndrome of schizophrenia and clinical symptomatology

Non-Standard Errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants