Towards a continuous modeling of natural language domains

Humans continuously adapt their style and language to a variety of domains. However, a reliable definition of `domain' has eluded researchers thus far. Additionally, the notion of discrete domains stands in contrast to the multiplicity of heterogeneous domains that humans navigate, many of which overlap. In order to better understand the change and variation of human language, we draw on research in domain adaptation and extend the notion of discrete domains to the continuous spectrum. We propose representation learning-based models that can adapt to continuous domains and detail how these can be used to investigate variation in language. To this end, we propose to use dialogue modeling as a test bed due to its proximity to language modeling and its social component.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, published in Uphill Battles in Language Processing workshop, EMNLP 201

Flow and heat transfer study of an impinging piezoelectric fan over a vertical surface

Piezoelectric fans are low-form-factor cooling devices, which have gained recent attention for electronics cooling. These devices feature a vibrating blade, which sheds vortices from its tip during its motion. The performance of a piezoelectric fan is based on its location, orientation, and operating condition. Thus, we investigated the heat transfer and flow field of an impinging flow produced by a piezoelectric fan. The heat transfer tests are conducted using a vertical, 2.54 cm × 2.54 cm copper heater, which is configured with the piezoelectric fan positioned along its centerline. The fan is operated at its fundamental frequency of 60 Hz, where it achieves maximum heat transfer and fan deflection. There is significant heat transfer degradation with increasing heater-to-fan spacing and off-resonance operating conditions. To better understand this thermal performance, we require information about the flow field produced by this pulsating flow. Hence, we performed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the flow field for free and impinging cases with different heater-to-fan spacing. We used instantaneous and time-averaged PIV to depict the response in a region within approximately two times the fan oscillation amplitude. In this region, there was a stagnation flow close to the heater, which would result in significant heat transfer. However, this flow also featured high-magnitude velocity vectors towards the sides of the heater rather than towards its center, which would likely result in non-uniform heat transfer

Flow and heat transfer study of an impinging piezoelectric fan over a vertical surface

Piezoelectric fans are low-form-factor cooling devices, which have gained recent attention for electronics cooling. These devices feature a vibrating blade, which sheds vortices from its tip during its motion. The performance of a piezoelectric fan is based on its location, orientation, and operating condition. Thus, we investigated the heat transfer and flow field of an impinging flow produced by a piezoelectric fan. The heat transfer tests are conducted using a vertical, 2.54 cm × 2.54 cm copper heater, which is configured with the piezoelectric fan positioned along its centerline. The fan is operated at its fundamental frequency of 60 Hz, where it achieves maximum heat transfer and fan deflection. There is significant heat transfer degradation with increasing heater-to-fan spacing and off-resonance operating conditions. To better understand this thermal performance, we require information about the flow field produced by this pulsating flow. Hence, we performed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the flow field for free and impinging cases with different heater-to-fan spacing. We used instantaneous and time-averaged PIV to depict the response in a region within approximately two times the fan oscillation amplitude. In this region, there was a stagnation flow close to the heater, which would result in significant heat transfer. However, this flow also featured high-magnitude velocity vectors towards the sides of the heater rather than towards its center, which would likely result in non-uniform heat transfer

High cost of illness in fibromyalgia patients in Iran, irrespective of disease severity: A prospective cost study

Aims: This study aimed to estimate the economic burden of fibromyalgia (FM) in 6 months, using a cost-diary, and to evaluate its relationship with the disease severity. Methods: This is a prospective cost-of-illness study on 62 participants with an FM diagnosis within a 6 month period. Patients completed the questionnaires, including FIQR (Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) and SF-12 (12-item short-form survey). The cost-diary method was used to track the cost of the disease. The participants received six cost-diary booklets during the study period to report their FM-related costs, hours, and days of productivity loss. The final costs are reported in US dollars. Results: Most of the participants were women (90.3) with a mean (±SD) age of 40.80 (±5.50) years and a mean (±SD) FIQR score of 54.38 (±14.13). Moreover, 45.2 of patients fulfilled all six booklets, whereas 24.2 returned only one booklet. The participants showed a mean (±SD) direct healthcare, non-healthcare, and indirect cost of  2817.08 (± 1860.04),  1497.98(± 1358.21), and  1449.05(± 3637.41) per patient for 6 months, respectively. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia is associated with high health-related and non-health-related costs in our country, irrespective of its severity. This study warrants urgent consideration in managing the disease burden on both patients and society. © 2021 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Lt