Hand Clapping Research Articles

Use of Laughter Therapy for In Vitro Fertilization: A Systematic Review

Background/Objectives: In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technique for women and couples experiencing difficulties in achieving a spontaneous pregnancy, often due to stressors that negatively affect fertility. Humor can be beneficial in these stressful situations, helping to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. The primary aim was to analyze the effectiveness of laughter therapy in increasing pregnancy rates in women undergoing IVF. The secondary aims were to identify different types of laughter therapy interventions and evaluate their benefits. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Cinahl, ProQuest and Lilacs, with the search terms “laughter”, “laughter therapy”, “fertilization in vitro” and “fertilization”. Intervention studies published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese were included, with no limits on the date of publication. Studies with other designs, those conducted with animals and grey literature were excluded. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Results: In total, n = 3 studies (1 randomized clinical trial and 2 quasi-experimental) were included, evaluating pregnancy rates and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The interventions included clowns performing magic tricks and interpreting comic situations. Additionally, they incorporated hand clapping, breathing exercises, childlike playfulness, drinking milk, muscle relaxation exercises, candles, and music. Conclusions: This review does not provide clear evidence on the effectiveness of laughter therapy in increasing pregnancy success in IVF. Although it may have some positive effects in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, it is important to note that while the reduction of these symptoms may enhance the emotional well-being of patients, it has not been demonstrated to directly lead to an increase in pregnancy rates. Laughter therapy is an innovative, non-pharmacological intervention that is simple, non-invasive, easy to implement and cost-effective; however, the number of available studies is insufficient. More research is needed to provide better and higher-quality evidence using rigorous designs to evaluate this intervention in IVF clinical practice.

Children performance evaluation rubric in Greek dance. Reliability of scores

ABSTRACT The analytic rubric, consisting of eight criteria (dance identification, response to the rhythm of the dance, synchronization, step sequence, direction-schema and type of hand holding of the dance, body stance and position, quality characteristics of the movement, and expressiveness) and five performance levels for each (excellent, very good, moderate acceptable, marginally acceptable, not acceptable), aims at objectively and consistently illustrating the way in which one is dancing, regardless of who evaluates it (Pitsi, Digellidis and Philippou 2013). The purpose of the study was to examine the reliability of the dance performance rubric in students aged 10–12 years. Consequently, thirty-six students, in grades 5 and 6 of primary school, with an average 4-year experience at Greek dances, were examined in their ability to identify three Greek dances from their music, to respond to the rhythm of the dance with hand clapping and perform the kinetic form of each dance. The students were videotaped during the performance of the dances and evaluated through their videotaped performances. A re-evaluation was carried out two weeks after the first one so the possibility of repeating the evaluation by memory would be excluded. The raters were two dance experts with great experience. The findings are encouraging as to the reliability of the use of this rubric. The rubric, therefore, will enable dance teachers to get feedback to better design future learning experiences for maximum benefit to their students.

The synchronic, diachronic cell as the holism of consciousness

The cell is both synchronic and diachronic, based on ontogeny and phylogeny, respectively. As experimental evidence for this holism, absent gravitational force, differentiated lung and bone cells devolve, losing their phenotypes, losing their evolutionary status, reverting to their nonlocal status. Thus, when evolution is seen as serial homeostasis, it is homologous with Quantum Entanglement as the nonlocal means of maintaining homeostatic balance between particles. This monadic perspective on consciousness is one-hundred and eighty degrees out of synch with the conventional way of thinking about consciousness as a diad, or mind and brain. There have been many attempts to explain consciousness, virtually all of them based on the brain as mind. The working hypothesis is that consciousness is a holism constituted by the unicell, the lipid cell membrane forming a barrier between inside and outside of the cell's environment as a topology. Conceptually, both the unicell and ‘two hands clapping’ are holisms, but because the cell is constituted by the ambiguity of negative entropy, and ‘one hand clapping’ requires two hands, they are both pseudo-holisms, constantly striving to be whole again. In the case of the cell, it is incomplete in the sense that there are factors in the ever-changing environment that can homeostatically complete it. That process results in biochemical modification of specific DNA codes in the egg or sperm so that the offspring is able to adapt in subsequent generations epigenetically. The opportunity to trace the evolution of the breath from humans to fish opens up to the further revelation of the interplay between evolution and geological change, tracing it back to invertebrates, sponges, and ultimately to unicellular organisms. And therein is evidence that the Cosmos itself ‘breathes’, providing the ultimate celestial fundament for this trail of holisms.

Effectiveness of different sounds in human echolocation in live tests.

Echolocation is a vital method of spatial orientation for many visually impaired individuals who are willing to and able to learn it. Blind echolocators use a variety of sounds, such as mouth clicks, cane taps, or specialized sound-emitting devices, to perceive their surroundings. In our study, we examined the effectiveness of several different sounds used in echolocation by conducting trials with 12 blind and 14 sighted volunteers. None of the participants had received formal training in echolocation, though a number identified as self-taught experts. The sounds tested included those played from a loudspeaker, generated by a mechanical clicker, or made by the participants themselves. The task given to the participants was to identify the direction and distance to an obstacle measuring 1x2 meters in an outdoor environment, with the obstacle placed in one of nine possible positions. Our findings indicated that the blind participants displayed significantly better echolocation skills when compared to the sighted participants. The results of the blind participants were also strongly divided into two distinct subgroups-totally blind participants performed much better than those which were legally blind, but had some residual vision. In terms of sound comparisons, we found that sounds with a center frequency near 3-4kHz and a wide spectrum provided higher accuracy rates than those with lower frequency peaks. Sighted participants performed best with 3kHz and 4kHz percussion sounds, while the blind group performed best with blue and pink noise. The loudspeaker generated tones generally yielded better results than those generated by the participant (using a mechanical clicker, mouth clicks or hand claps). These results may be useful in developing training programs that teach echolocation as well as artificial sounds to improve echolocation effectiveness.

Memory, Identity and Consciousness in the Sound of One Hand Clapping—In a Diaspora Study

Memory, Identity and Consciousness in the Sound of One Hand Clapping—In a Diaspora Study

Electroluminescence, Mechanoluminescence, and Triboelectric from Superior Multimode Systems Based on Flexible Hydrogels for Human Motion Sensing

AbstractFlexible sensors have attracted extensive research interest due to their great application potential in biodetection, flexible display, and wearable devices. However, they still have a lot of room for improvement in terms of luminous color, flexibility, and self‐powered systems. A wearable, antifreeze, and discoloration sensing system based on electroluminescence, mechanoluminescence, and tribo‐power generation is developed in this paper. Triboelectric nanogenerator systems can harvest biomechanical energy from hand clapping and knee/elbow bending to generate real‐time electrical signals. The use of dielectric materials reduces the initial voltage and frequency of light‐emitting devices, enabling them to be driven by Triboelectric nanogenerators. At the same time, the device can produce red, blue, white, and other multicolor light. In addition, the system can produce an optical signal output due to external mechanical stimulation. As a result, the sensor system is simple to manufacture and unique to operate, proving its potential applications in areas such as cold‐resistant displays, wearable optoelectronics, soft robotics, and electronic skin.

The Role Visual Resources and Improvised Techniques Play in the Actualization of Bukusu Circumcision Songs

The study is an analysis of visual resources and improvised techniques in actualization of the Bukusu circumcision songs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role visual resources and improvised techniques play in the actualization of Bukusu circumcision songs. The study employed Performance Theory because it was performance-centered approach and more adequate to analyze visual resources and improvised techniques employed in Bukusu circumcision songs in a more effective way. The study relied on fieldwork methods like note taking, video recording, interviews, and questionnaire and participant observation. It also employed purposive sampling procedures that used to obtain a maximum number possible of informants from whom data was collected, analyzed and documented. Both primary and secondary sources were utilized in data collection. The quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in which, the rating scale was as follows: Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1; Disagree (D) = 2; Agree (A) = 3; Strongly Agree (SA) = 4. While the qualititative data was analysed thematically then subjected to the rating scale. The researcher concluded that, visual resources and improvised techniques play a role in the actualization of Bukusu circumcision songs in regard to; composition, aesthetics and performance. The findings in table 2 showed that, majority of respondents 106 (56.7%) strongly agreed that composition of visual resources and improvised techniques played a role in the actualization of Bukusu circumcision songs. Elements like gestures, costumes and dramatic elements like body movements, facial expressions and tonal variations. VR and IT turned a boring song into an interesting and memorable song. Facial expression showed feelings of the performer and audiences, the costumes of the performers, all combined reveled the beauty and the semantic content of the song and the performance. The findings on aesthetics in table 3 established that, women’s personal interest in aesthetics in BSC had a role on use of visual resources and improvised techniques, ululation brought in a happy mood of the mother and aunties of a circumcision candidate at 15 (76.9%). Youth at 20 (66.3%) believed that aesthetics had a role on VR and IT like costumes was associated with seriousness of the initiation process. Men liked aesthetics of visual resources and improvised techniques at 35 (70.7%). These implied that, men just like women and youth had an interest in aesthetics exhibited in BCS through VR and IT made the song exciting. VR and IT in BCSs had its messages as well as its aesthetics which were learned through the language of drum, the clapping of hands, the characterization and body movements of the performers; the participation of audience and their imitation of the other audience-performers and the ululations by aunties and mothers made the songs enjoyable. Concerning the performance of VT and IT, the study in table 4 established that, 113 (60.6%) strongly agreed that, during performance of BSC, visual resources and improvised techniques were employed by the both the performer and audience-performer that made a song lively. The study recommends that, the roles of visual resources and improvised techniques in Bukusu circumcision songs cannot be ignored; there is need for the government of Kenya and other cultural stakeholders to appreciate these components and initiate programs that promotes traditional circumcision songs as a sources of tourist attraction activities in Kenya.

Spontaneous gait phase synchronization of human to a wheeled mobile robot with replicating gait-induced upper body oscillating motion

Synchronization between humans is often observed in our daily lives, for example in breathing, in hand clapping in crowds, and in walking. It has been reported that pedestrian gait synchronization maximizes walking flow efficiency. As increasingly more mobile robots are being developed for practical use, it is important to consider how robots may impact pedestrian flows. While there is research on synchronization phenomena between humans and robots, gait synchronization between humans and robots has yet to be studied, particularly synchronization occurring with wheeled humanoid robots while moving. In this paper, we investigated the gait phase synchronization between humans and a wheeled mobile humanoid robot, which moved its upper body in three distinct types of motion patterns: (1) no-motion, (2) arm-swinging (as is common for typical mobile humanoids), and (3) arms-swinging in addition to periodic vertical-oscillation similar to the human upper body movement while walking. Rayleigh test was performed on the distribution of the obtained gait phase differences under each condition and a significant distributional bias was confirmed when participants were walking with the robot that performed both arm-swinging and vertical-oscillation of the upper body. These results suggest that humans can spontaneously synchronize their gaits with wheeled robots that utilize upper body oscillating. These findings can be important for the design of robot-integrated urban transportation systems, such as train stations and airports, where both humans and robots are mobile and a highly efficient flow is required.

Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on Polyamide Composites Doped with 2D Graphitic Carbon Nitride.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted many researchers’ attention with their remarkable potential despite the fact that the practical implementation requires further improvement in their electric performance. In this work, a novel graphene phase two-dimension material, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), was employed for the development of a TENG material with enhanced features. An electrospun nanofibrous PA66 membrane doped with g-C3N4 was fabricated as a multifunctional TENG for harvesting different kinds of mechanical energy and detecting human motions. By utilizing the innovative 2D material in PA66 solution for electrospinning, the as-made TENG showed a two times enhancement in electrical performance as compared to the control device, and also had the advantages of lightweight, softness, high porosity, and rugged interface properties. The assembled TENG with 4 cm2 could light up 40 light-emitting diodes by gentle hand clapping and power electronic watches or calculators with charging capacitors. At a given impact force of 40 N and 3 Hz, the as-made TENG can generate an open-circuit voltage of 80 V, short current of ±3 µA, charge transfer of 50 nC, and a maximum power density of 45 mW/m2 at a load resistance of 500 MΩ. The UV light sensitivity of TENG was also improved via g-C3N4 doping, showing that charge transfer is very sensitive with a two times enhancement with dopant. For the demonstration of applications, the g-C3N4 doped TENG was fabricated into an energy flag to scavenge wind energy and sensor devices for detecting human motions.

A Comparative Study of Ogu Mase Music of Akarakumo and Lagon-Thogli in Badagry

This is a comparative study of Mase music in two Ogu communities; Akarakumo and Lagon-Thogli in Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. Issues relating to the origin, relevance, structure, form, and development of Mase music in both communities were investigated for documentation and archival purposes. Data is drawn from oral interviews, participant observation and available literature. Respondents were selected among leaders and members of the visited Mase groups. Selected samples of Mase songs were transcribed into staff notation and analysed for documentation. The study revealed that Mase music and its variants were created by Yedenou Adjahoui from the Republic of Benin. The instrumental ensemble of Mase music includes Apotin, Aze, Alekle-daho, Alekle-pevi, Apesin-daho, Apesin-pevi, Ogan, Aya and hand clapping.

Spontaneous motor tempo over the course of a week: the role of the time of the day, chronotype, and arousal

The spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) or internal tempo describes the natural pace of predictive and emergent movements such as walking or hand clapping. One of the main research interests in the study of the spontaneous motor tempo relates to factors affecting its pace. Previous studies suggest an influence of the circadian rhythm (i.e., 24-h cycle of the biological clock), physiological arousal changes, and potentially also musical experience. This study aimed at investigating these effects in participants‘ everyday life by measuring their SMT four times a day over seven consecutive days, using an experience sampling method. The pace of the SMT was assessed with a finger-tapping paradigm in a self-developed web application. Measured as the inter-tap interval, the overall mean SMT was 650 ms (SD = 253 ms). Using multi-level modelling (MLM), results show that the pace of the SMT sped up over the course of the day, and that this effect depended on the participants’ chronotype, since participants tending towards morning type were faster in the morning compared to participants tending towards evening type. During the day, the pace of the SMT of morning types stayed relatively constant, whereas it became faster for evening-type participants. Furthermore, higher arousal in participants led to a faster pace of the SMT. Musical sophistication did not influence the SMT. These results indicate that the circadian rhythm influences the internal tempo, since the pace of SMT is not only dependent on the time of the day, but also on the individual entrainment to the 24-h cycle (chronotype).

She Put Her Foot In It

She Put Her Foot In It

Spontaneous Motor Tempo: Investigating Psychological, Chronobiological, and Demographic Factors in a Large-Scale Online Tapping Experiment.

The spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) describes the pace of regular and repeated movements such as hand clapping or walking. It is typically measured by letting people tap with their index finger at a pace that feels most natural and comfortable to them. A number of factors have been suggested to influence the SMT, such as age, time of the day, arousal, and potentially musical experience. This study aimed at investigating the effects of these factors in a combined and out-of-the-lab context by implementing the finger-tapping paradigm in an online experiment using a self-developed web application. Due to statistical multimodality in the distribution of participants' SMT (N = 3,576), showing peaks at modes of around 250 ms, a Gaussian mixture model was applied that grouped participants into six clusters, ranging from Very Fast (M = 265 ms, SD = 74) to Very Slow (M = 1,757 ms, SD = 166). These SMT clusters differed in terms of age, suggesting that older participants had a slower SMT, and time of the day, showing that the earlier it was, the slower participants' SMT. While arousal did not differ between the SMT clusters, more aroused participants showed faster SMTs across all normalized SMT clusters. Effects of musical experience were inconclusive. With a large international sample, these results provide insights into factors influencing the SMT irrespective of cultural background, which can be seen as a window into human timing processes.

The City Opposite Nineveh

The City Opposite Nineveh Varun Ravindran (bio) Keywords Varun, Ravindran, San Francisco, harbor, sea, variations, rivers Pier 7, San Francisco Then came the white sisters clappingto the waves' progress,and that was Emancipation— jubilation, O jubilation—vanishing swiftlyas the sea's lace dries in the sun… Derek Walcott VARIATION ONE Lovely as milk, smooth as a knell,bodiless and made of breaths,a blue bed of pollen, lace, mesh, the sea ranlike a prayered tongue, the wavesshining where they fell like eyes of needles. VARIATION TWO The sea around the bridge: streaks of wet pastelsmudged on or between delaminated glass.Sound of one hand clapping, the sea of commas. The sea tarnished beneath the cliff.It marbled and fleeced and breathedjasmine unravelling in a skittish wind. VARIATION THREE The sea was drying its lacesin the sun. The bored windnosed one corner of translucent [End Page 237] paper. From the pier, threelines went down into the brassysea which shone in belted buckles. VARIATION FOUR The sea heavy as a trombone.Out of this sea the man yankeda long silver fish which glared and shook and shone. Another man readingThe New YorkTimes brought homehis line invisible in the sun. Bodies in the glare were dark commas on the bench.In Mosul, said the paper, the garbagemen have againstarted work and rake through human remains. VARIATION FIVE The whipping marbling fleecing sea drovewind up my nostrils.My body in the glare was a bead the wind and the light threaded the wind crept back out the mouth of methe light blew throughthe singing gaps of me. The wind crept back out the mouthsof two of me with the seaslaughtering between them the light blew throughthe singing gapsof them. One buckled butthe other wassinging— [End Page 238] VARIATION SIX The other was singing, buckling:O lovely in milk, in wreaths,lovely in breaths, the sea shivers like a prayered tongue—jubilation,O jubilation, vanishing swiftly,as the sea dries its laces in the sun drying in the sun the refuse of faces facesnot there no longer therewhere the sea was where I was on a bent green benchholding and pouringa singing where I was— VARIATION SEVEN Where I was wasMosul.Where I was was Mosul by the TigrisMosul the GreenMosul Mosul the PearlMosulMosul the Remaining City steeped in stink and human remains.But where an I waswas all the waves. [End Page 239] VARIATION EIGHT Burl of the gnarled greensea in its milkskins, beneath the bridgewrinkling like grapeskin. Where I was, all the waves.Each falling into the sea.Each a knock-kneed lamb. [End Page 240] Varun Ravindran varun ravindran was born in India and lives in Pittsburgh. Copyright © 2021 The Massachusetts Review, Inc.

Flexible single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerators with MXene/PDMS composite film for biomechanical motion sensors

The increasing demand of portable electronics requires modern power sources to be flexible, wearable, durable, and waterproof. This work reports a flexible single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator composed of MXene/polydimethylsiloxane film. The effect of (MXene) content (wt%) and compressive force on the output performance of the as-prepared devices are systematically studied. A peak-to-peak open-circuit voltage of 225 V, short-circuit current density of 30 μA cm −2 , and a maximum power density of 10 mW cm −2 on a load resistance of 100 MΩ are obtained by periodically hand hammering a 2 × 4 cm 2 smart textile-based composite. The high output directly powers 80 green light emitting diodes connected in series without any additional power source. In addition to its application as a triboelectric nanogenerator, the textile-based composite is also implemented as a human motion sensor, detecting various human motions such as finger tapping, hand clapping, and hand hammering. Such lightweight smart textiles provide potential opportunities for multifunctional power sources and hence have promising applications in self-powered wearable electronics. • The flexible single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator was successfully fabricated. • The STENG device with area of 2×4 cm 2 under the periodic hand hammering can light up at least 80 LEDs. • The as-prepared device can behave as a human motion sensor.

Hand clapping in a group with external timing cue of clap sounds

Hand clapping in a group with external timing cue of clap sounds

The Holy Communion and African rituals: An encounter between African religion and Christianity

African lifestyle is informed, influenced and guided by African cosmology or cosmologies. These cosmologies (especially from the AmaZulu tribes, who are the focus of this study) shape social norms that are drawn from and explained by various indigenous knowledge systems that view the cosmology as intertwined. Consequently, according to this view, the spiritual world is not necessarily divorced from the physical world. This configuration of rationality could be observed during traditional and cultural gatherings in which myth is not only orally narrated but re-lived through rituals. In such cases, rituals provide a sphere where both the human world and the spiritual world converge in sharing a mythic experience represented in meals, drinks, songs, clapping of hands and dances. This convergence of God, amadlozi or badimo (generally translated as ‘ancestors’ or ‘predecessors’) brings the lived experience of the previous generation to reality. Therefore, the main argument in this contribution would be that the story of Jesus could still be re-lived through its most significant rituals such as the Holy Communion. This article reflects on the ritual of Holy Communion, which more emphatically addresses African cosmological views. The question of exclusivism of participation in this ritual is addressed to probe their individualistic pattern, which is perhaps more Western than African.

The context of chest beating and hand clapping in wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Loud auditory gestures that are produced by repetitively percussing body parts are rare in primate repertoires and have been mostly observed in captive settings. Gorillas produce two of the most conspicuous long-range signals of this type: chest beating and hand clapping. Here we present the first systematic analysis of chest beating (n = 63) and hand clapping (n = 88) in wild western gorillas to assess the behavioral contexts in which they emerged, the flexibility of their use, and the age-sex classes that produced them. Data were collected at the Mondika Research Center, Republic of Congo, from a habituated gorilla group during two separate collection periods (June-August 2007; May 2009-June 2010). Our results show that both signals are highly context specific, with chest beating used only during display and/or play and hand clapping used only during vigilance and/or play. Age-sex classes differed in their use and production of these signals in that immature individuals used both signals only when playing, the male only used chest beating when displaying and never hand clapped, and adult females used both signals flexibly in two contexts instead of one. This study confirms previous anecdotal accounts of loud auditory gestures in western gorillas and adds crucial information on their flexibility across age categories. While chest beating has been described in both gorilla species, hand clapping as a way to communicate potential danger is unique to western gorillas. Further studies should focus on determining the variations in frequency and use across geographically distant populations.

Facilitating Temporal Synchronous Target Selection through User Behavior Modeling

Temporal synchronous target selection is an association-free selection technique: users select a target by generating signals (e.g., finger taps and hand claps) in sync with its unique temporal pattern. However, classical pattern set design and input recognition algorithm of such techniques did not leverage users' behavioral information, which limits their robustness to imprecise inputs. In this paper, we improve these two key components by modeling users' interaction behavior. In the first user study, we asked users to tap a finger in sync with blinking patterns with various period and delay, and modeled their finger tapping ability using Gaussian distribution. Based on the results, we generated pattern sets for up to 22 targets that minimized the possibility of confusion due to imprecise inputs. In the second user study, we validated that the optimized pattern sets could reduce error rate from 23% to 7% for the classical Correlation recognizer. We also tested a novel Bayesian, which achieved higher selection accuracy than the Correlation recognizer when the input sequence is short. The informal evaluation results show that the selection technique can be effectively scaled to different modalities and sensing techniques.

“Their Prayer at the House Is Nothing but Whistling and Clapping of Hands” (Q al-Anfāl 8:35): Negotiating Processions in the Qurʾān

“Their Prayer at the House Is Nothing but Whistling and Clapping of Hands” (Q al-Anfāl 8:35): Negotiating Processions in the Qurʾān