Segmental Units Research Articles

Predicting L2 Speaking Proficiency Using Syntactic Complexity Measures: A Corpus-Based Study

This paper discusses the syntactic complexity factors contributing to the achievement of a higher proficiency level in English speech. Here I have examined complexification at the sentential, clausal, phrasal and nominal level of syntactic organisation in a Korean learner spoken corpus using quantitative measures and compared the scores with holistic ratings of learners’ overall speaking quality. After the normality assumption analysis confirmed that the logistic regression was appropriate, an analysis was performed to ascertain the effects of complexity measures on participants’ L2 proficiency. First, length-based complexity features, namely, MLT and coordinated phrases, namely, CPT and CPC were found to be predictors for English speaking proficiency. Next, the logistic regression model was statistically significant and explained 36.3% of the variance in classification according to L2 proficiency and correctly classified 75.4% of cases. Results also showed that when learners come to use the coordinated phrases per clause proficiently, they were over 24 times more likely to achieve higher proficiency in spoken English. Finally, an effective equation was proposed to help educators classify EFL learners according to proficiency in L2 speech after gauging the selected complexity dimensions. However, more comprehensive studies which consider other methods of unit segmentation for spoken data or include more measures to predict L2 speech proficiency, are necessary to verify the results of this study. Keywords: Learner spoken corpus; Syntactic complexity; Monologue; EFL; Logistic regression

Molecular Segmentation of the Spinal Trigeminal Nucleus in the Adult Mouse Brain.

The trigeminal column is a hindbrain structure formed by second order sensory neurons that receive afferences from trigeminal primary (ganglionic) nerve fibers. Classical studies subdivide it into the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus located next to the pontine nerve root, and the spinal trigeminal nucleus which in turn consists of oral, interpolar and caudal subnuclei. On the other hand, according to the prosomeric model, this column would be subdivided into segmental units derived from respective rhombomeres. Experimental studies have mapped the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus to pontine rhombomeres (r) r2-r3 in the mouse. The spinal trigeminal nucleus emerges as a plurisegmental formation covering several rhombomeres (r4 to r11 in mice) across pontine, retropontine and medullary hindbrain regions. In the present work we reexamined the issue of rhombomeric vs. classical subdivisions of this column. To this end, we analyzed its subdivisions in an AZIN2-lacZ transgenic mouse, known as a reference model for hindbrain topography, together with transgenic reporter lines for trigeminal fibers. We screened as well for genes differentially expressed along the axial dimension of this structure in the adult and juvenile mouse brain. This analysis yielded genes from multiple functional families that display transverse domains fitting the mentioned rhombomeric map. The spinal trigeminal nucleus thus represents a plurisegmental structure with a series of distinct neuromeric units having unique combinatorial molecular profiles.

Blood unit segments accurately represent the biophysical properties of red blood cells in blood bags but not hemolysis.

The biophysical properties of red blood cells (RBCs) provide potential biomarkers for the quality of donated blood. Blood unit segments provide a simple and nondestructive way to sample RBCs in clinical studies of transfusion efficacy, but it is not known whether RBCs sampled from segments accurately represent the biophysical properties of RBCs in blood bags. RBCs were sampled from blood bags and segments every two weeks during 8 weeks of storage at 4°C. RBC deformability was measured by deformability-based sorting using the microfluidic ratchet device in order to derive a rigidity score. Standard hematological parameters, including mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red cell distribution width (RDW), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and hemolysis were measured at the same time points. Deformability of RBCs stored in blood bags was retained over 4 weeks storage, but a progressive loss of deformability was observed at weeks 6 and 8. This trend was mirrored in blood unit segments with a strong correlation to the blood bag data. Strong correlations were also observed between blood bag and segment for MCV, MCHC, and MCH but not for hemolysis. RBCs sampled from blood unit segments accurately represent the biophysical properties of RBCs in blood bags but not hemolysis. Blood unit segments provide a simple and nondestructive sample for measuring RBC biophysical properties in clinical studies.

Pretic-I was a safe and effective artificial cervical disc prosthesis--a retrospective and comparative study with 5-year follow-up

BackgroundThe newly designed cervical disc prosthesis, Pretic-I, had been finished its limited clinical use for over 5 years. At a short-term follow-up of 2 years, we obtained satisfactory clinical results. The long-term clinical efficacy and safety of Pretic-I will now be analyzed.MethodsPeri-operative parameters included intra-operative blood loss, operation time, off-bed time. Clinical parameters included visual analogue scale (VAS) for arm and neck, neck disability index (NDI), and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score. Radiological parameters included C2–7 Cobb angle, Shell angle, and the range of motion (ROM) of C2–7, functional segment unit (FSU), and adjacent FSU. The CDA-related complications included adjacent segment degeneration (ASDeg), adjacent segment disease (ASDis), heterotopic ossification (HO), prosthesis subsidence, prosthesis displacement, and dysphagia.ResultsA total 64 patients from two independent centers received a single-level CDA with Discover (n = 32) and Pretic-I (n = 32), and all of patients finished a 5-year follow-up. There’re no significant differences between two groups in peri-operative parameters. The clinical parameters improved greatly in Pretic-I group (p<0.0001), and there’s no statistical difference from Discover group. Furthermore, Pretic-I could slightly improve the cervical curvature (15.08 ± 11.75 to 18.00 ± 10.61, p = 0.3079) and perfectly maintain the Shell angle (3.03 ± 3.68 to 2.23 ± 4.10, p = 0.1988), cervical ROM (52.48 ± 14.31 to 53.30 ± 11.71, p = 0.8062) and FSU ROM (12.20 ± 4.52 to 10.73 ± 4.45, p = 0.2002). The incidence of high-grade HO (Grade III-IV) at the final follow-up was significantly lower in Pretic-I group than in Discover group (12.50% vs. 34.38%, p = 0.0389, Statistical Power = 95.36%). The incidences of other CDA-related complications in Pretic-I group were also well-accepted, comparable to the Discover group, without significant differences.ConclusionCDA with Pretic-I demonstrated a well-accepted and sustained clinical outcome, with a significantly lower incidence of high-grade HO. This newly designed prosthesis is expected to become an alternative choice for cervical disc prosthesis in the future.

Importance of Solvent in Guiding the Conformational Properties of an Intrinsically Disordered Peptide.

Aggregated form of α-synuclein in the brain has been found to be the major component of Lewy bodies that are hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most devastating neurodegenerative disorder. We have carried out room-temperature all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of an ensemble of widely different α-synuclein1-95 peptide monomer conformations in aqueous solution. Attempts have been made to obtain a generic understanding of the local conformational motions of different repeat unit segments, namely R1-R7, of the peptide and the correlated properties of the solvent at the interface. The analyses revealed relatively greater rigidity of the hydrophobic R6 unit as compared to the other repeat units of the peptide. Besides, water molecules around R6 have been found to be less structured and weakly interacting with the peptide. These are important observations as the R6 unit with reduced conformational motions can act as the nucleation site for the aggregation process, while less structured weakly interacting water around it can become displaced easily, thereby facilitating the hydrophobic collapse of the peptide monomers and their association during the nucleation phase at higher concentrations. In addition, we demonstrated presence of doubly coordinated highly ordered as well as triply coordinated relatively disordered water molecules at the interface. We believe that while the ordered water molecules can favor water-mediated interactions between different peptide monomers, the randomly ordered ones on the other hand are likely to be expelled easily from the interface, thereby facilitating direct peptide-peptide interactions during the aggregation process.

Improved Automatic License Plate Recognition in Jordan Based on Ceiling Analysis

The main challenge of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems is that the overall performance is highly dependent upon the results of each component in the system’s pipeline. This paper proposes an improved ALPR system for the Jordanian license plates. Ceiling analysis is carried out to identify potential enhancements in each processing stage of a previously reported ALPR system. Based on the obtained ceiling analysis results, several enhancements are then suggested to improve the overall performance of the system under study. These improvements are (i) vertical-edge histogram analysis and size estimation of the candidate regions in the detection stage and (ii) de-rotation of the misaligned license plate images in the segmentation unit. These enhancements have resulted in significant improvements in the overall system performance despite a &lt;1% increase in the execution time. The performance of the developed ALPR is assessed experimentally using a dataset of 500 images for parked and moving vehicles. The obtained results are found to be superior to those reported in equivalent systems, with a plate detection accuracy of 94.4%, character segmentation accuracy of 91.9%, and character recognition accuracy of 91.5%.

Emerging Designs of Aggregation-Induced Emission Agents for Enhanced Phototherapy Applications

Emerging Designs of Aggregation-Induced Emission Agents for Enhanced Phototherapy Applications

Impact of moisture curing conditions on the chemical structure and rheological and ultimate adhesion properties of polyurethane adhesives based on castor oil and cellulose acetate

On account of the heavy reliance of the adhesive industry on petrochemical derivatives, there is a particular interest in the development of bio-sourced polyurethane adhesives. In this context, a moisture-curable polyurethane adhesive has been synthesized from cellulose acetate and castor oil, using 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate as a crosslinker. In particular, this research delves into the rheological and adhesion properties achieved by bio-inspired polyurethanes cured at 20 °C and under different relative humidity conditions (11, 33, 64, and 90.4%). Green shear and peeling strengths on wood and stainless steel as well as chemical structure variations were monitored over curing time. Moreover, fully cured polyurethane-urea adhesives were thermally (thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric analyses) and rheologically characterized within the linear viscoelastic region. The results corroborated the noteworthy impact of environmental humidity throughout the curing process of the synthesized bio-sourced adhesives, favoring the formation of urea linkages, while sharply reducing the crystalline/amorphous ratio. All the bio-based polyurethane-urea copolymers showed a predominant elastic behavior and the time-Temperature superposition principle was found to be applicable up to around 120 °C, due to the thermal rearrangement of the hard segment units. The crosslinking density of the resulting supramolecular structure depends on the humidity-driven balance between the urethane and urea linkages production. As a consequence of the balance between the establishment of bidentate hydrogen bonds and the curing rate, moisture curable polyurethane adhesive cured at 33% relative humidity exhibited the most appropriate shear adhesion performance on wood, while the debonding shear strength on stainless steel increased with the relative humidity due to the higher urea:urethane ratio and larger proportions of non-bonded urethane and urea groups, thus enhancing secondary interactions. Therefore, on the basis of the present study results, it might be concluded that the synthesis of bio-inspired moisture-curable polyurethane can be tuned according to its end-use application through the control of the environmental conditions, and thereby optimizing their adhesion performance, while meeting the Green Chemistry tenets.

Block cutting and searching method of fractured rock mass based on topological matrix

Aiming at the problem of block cutting and searching in fractured rock mass, a method of block cutting and searching in fractured rock mass based on topological matrix is proposed. According to the structural characteristics of fractured rock mass, the data structure of the model is established, which only contains node coordinates (vectors) and a numbering system; the line segments are divided into line segment units, which only intersect at the boundary by the algorithm of line segment intersection and discretization. The number matrix describing the topological relationship of points and lines system is constructed with the intersection and line segment as the core. According to the number matrix and geometric characteristics of spatial line segments, the number matrix for block search is obtained by cutting a non-closed polygon; without any geometric operation, only the index of the number in the matrix is used to search the blocks and form a seamless rock mass model; according to the spatial relationship between the clipped line segment and the block, the block reflecting the internal fracture is generated to form the final fractured rock mass model. Results indicate that this method can identify the distribution of complex blocks and their internal joints and fissures. It also has a great application prospect in the analysis of fractured rock mass.

Grammatical functions of tone in San Maka

The paper is an overview of the functions of tone in San Maka (Eastern Mande < Mande < Niger-Congo). In this language, tone has different grammatical functions in addition to distinguishing lexical meanings of words. The analysis of tone shows that its grammatical functions embrace different morpho-syntactic domains. Tonal oppositions are analyzed in the wide contexts of segmental morphology of the language. It is shown that tonal oppositions may distinguish paradigmatic word forms, which is primarily characteristic of a verb; tone is often the only distinctive feature that opposes neutral and perfective verbal forms. San Maka also displays verbal derivation by means of the tonal change. Tone oppositions are used in genitive constructions of the type N+N, where the tone of the second component rises. A special section is devoted to so-called floating tones. In San Maka, floating tones are allomorphs of segmental units: the 3sg pronoun à and the perfective predicative marker nə́, in certain contexts, are realized as tones.

Specialized morphology and material properties make a honey bee tongue both extendible and structurally stable

The honey bee, Apis mellifera ligustica, uses the specialized tongue structured by ∼120 segmental units, coated by bushy hairs, to dip varying concentration nectar flexibly at small scales. While dipping, the segmental units elongate by 20%, coordinated with rhythmical erection of hairs, the pattern of which is demonstrated to be capable of both increasing nectar intake rate and saving energy. The compliance in the segmental units allows extension of the tongue, which however, challenges the structural stability while traveling through the viscous fluid. In this combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we apply scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), micro-computed tomography scanning (micro-CT), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and mechanical models to reveal the structural and material specializations in a bee tongue for meeting the functionally contradictive demands. We find that each segmental unit is a complex structure, which is composed of an intersegmental membrane (ISM) and a ring-like hair base (RHB), with spatially distributed discrete changes in material properties. The combination of these two components makes the tongue multifunctional, in which the ISMs characterized by resilin-rich material make the segmental units compliant, while the RHBs with rigid sclerotized material provide stable supporting for hairs. Our study may enlighten deployable mechanisms with correlative functional components, especially the microscopic mechanisms applied in viscous fluid tranport. Statement of significanceThe honey bee tongue is a versatile tool that extends to probe into varying-shaped corollas, retracting with 3,000 glossal hairs staying erected to load nectar. The combined requirement of both deformability and structural stability imposes opposing demands on structural stiffness. Here we show that glossal hairs are supported by rigid continuum ring-like hair bases, embedded in the elastic resilient intersegmental membrane, making the whole tongue both flexible and rigid at the same time. Our findings extend our understanding of relationship between morphology, material composition and biomechanics of dynamic biological surfaces, which may inspire design paradigms of multifunctional deployable mechanisms coordinating deformability and structural stability.

Effect of the amide units in soft segment and urea units in hard segment on microstructures and physical properties of polyurethane elastomer

A new amino-terminated oligomer with amide units was synthesized by polycondensation reaction of diethyl oxalate and amino-terminated polypropylene oxide of 400 g/mol, which was used to prepare novel polyurethane elastomer containing amide units in soft segments and urea units in hard segments (PU-A2000). To explore the effects of amide and urea units on the physical properties and microstructures of polyurethane elastomers (PUEs), amino-terminated polypropylene oxide and polypropylene glycol based polyurethane elastomers (PU-D2000 and PU-PPG2000 respectively) were prepared and investigated. Characterization results exhibited that the urea units in the hard segments could distinctly enhance the mechanical properties of PUEs at elevated temperatures. Especially, the tear strength retention rate at 120 °C of PU-D2000 was 18.8% higher than that of PU-PPG2000 with only urethane based hard segments. More significantly, the tear and tensile strength of PU-D2000 and PU-A2000 with urea units in hard segments were invariable for nearly 3 h at 100 °C in comparison with the gradual decline in tear strength of PU-PPG2000. The amide units in the soft segments effectively weakened the intermolecular interaction between soft segments and hard segments and promoted the microphase separation, which further induced remarkably improved mechanical properties at high temperatures of PUEs, specifically, the tear strength retention rate at 120 °C of PU-A2000 was 17% higher than that of PU-D2000. On the whole, the tear strength retention rate of PU-A2000 at 120 °C was 35.6% higher than that of conventional PU-PPG2000, indicating that it is a promising strategy to enhance the mechanical properties at high temperatures of PUEs by incorporating urea units into the hard segments and amide units into the soft segments.

A risk assessment method based on Pythagorean fuzzy set and artificial-neuron-like evaluation node

Taking concepts from supply management, we developed a specification-assessment-compliance approach to obtain a transparent multi-criteria decision-making method. We designed an artificial-neuron-like node that allows the implementation of networks to represent hierarchies of evaluation criteria. A new graphical model based on functions in the unit segment uses the concept of Pythagorean fuzzy set (PFS). The specification PFSs’ entropies modulate the widths of one-sided triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs) with positive slopes that become the evaluation nodes’ activation functions. All the specifications refer to the same point to facilitate the evaluation and ensure coherence. One-sided TFNs with negative slopes biunivocally represent the assessment PFSs at the input layer of the network. A risk case study on the options for the outsourcing of an information technology development project shows the proposed method’s implementation. We compare the results with those of the application of two other previous methods.

Improving the Accuracy in Classification of Blood Pressure from Photoplethysmography Using Continuous Wavelet Transform and Deep Learning.

Background Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based scalogram can be used for photoplethysmography (PPG) signal transformation to classify blood pressure (BP) with deep learning. We aimed to investigate the determinants that can improve the accuracy of BP classification based on PPG and deep learning and establish a better algorithm for the prediction. Methods The dataset from PhysioNet was accessed to extract raw PPG signals for testing and its corresponding BPs as category labels. The BP category of normal or abnormal followed the criteria of the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Hypertension Guidelines. The PPG signals were transformed into 224 ∗ 224 ∗ 3-pixel scalogram via different CWTs and segment units. All of them are fed into different convolutional neural networks (CNN) for training and validation. The receiver-operating characteristic and loss and accuracy curves were used to evaluate and compare the performance of different methods. Results Both wavelet type and segment length could affect the accuracy, and Cgau1 wavelet and segment-300 revealed the best performance (accuracy 90%) without obvious overfitting. This method performed better than previously reported MATLAB Morse wavelet transformed scalogram on both of our proposed CNN and CNN-GoogLeNet. Conclusions We have established a new algorithm with high accuracy to predict BP classification from PPG via matching of CWT type and segment length, which is a promising solution for rapid prediction of BP classification from real-time processing of PPG signal on a wearable device.

CURRENT ISSUES OF FORMATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN CHERKASY REGION

Peculiarities of formation of program tasks of tourism development in Cherkasy region are investigated. The analysis of indicators for compiling and determining the results of the implementation of tourism development programs in Ukraine for a number of years is carried out. The main directions of tourism development in current business conditions are highlighted. The topical issues of formation and implementation of the program of tourism development in Cherkasy region are determined taking into account the influence of a complex of factors, in particular those of economic, ecological, social character.&#x0D; It is substantiated that in the basis of formation of program tasks for the purpose of assistance to the development of tourism in Cherkasy region it is necessary to consider strategic plans of development both of Ukraine as a whole, its regions, and features and priorities of separate administrative-territorial communities.&#x0D; Emphasis is placed on the need to develop appropriate identifiers and indicators to characterize individual general indicators of tourism development in the respective territories, cluster units and to form a single base of potential and actual subject-object units of the tourism segment of the region's economy.&#x0D; To this end, the article proposes a model for the formation of criteria for assessing the objectivity of the formation of strategic regional objectives in the field of tourism and the results of program tasks in the tourism segment of the region's economy.&#x0D; The analysis of methodology of the formation of program tasks at the state level and criteria of taking into account obligatory indicators of an estimation of their performance on the basis of the achievement of corresponding qualitative and quantitative indicators both at the all-Ukrainian, and at regional level is carried out.&#x0D; Proposals are made to improve the procedure taking into account the interests of local governments, administrative-territorial communities and professional public associations in the direction of improving adaptive program indicators for tourism development.

A Global Ecological Classification of Coastal Segment Units to Complement Marine Biodiversity Observation Network Assessments

A new data layer provides Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) labels for global coastal segments at 1 km or shorter resolution. These characteristics are summarized for six US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) sites and one MBON Pole to Pole of the Americas site in Argentina. The global coastlines CMECS classifications were produced from a partitioning of a 30 m Landsat-derived shoreline vector that was segmented into 4 million 1 km or shorter segments. Each segment was attributed with values from 10 variables that represent the ecological settings in which the coastline occurs, including properties of the adjacent water, adjacent land, and coastline itself. The 4 million segments were classified into 81,000 coastal segment units (CSUs) as unique combinations of variable classes. We summarize the process to develop the CSUs and derive summary descriptions for the seven MBON case study sites. We discuss the intended application of the new CSU data for research and management in coastal areas.

Modeling and experimental analysis of U-shaped segmented unidirectional heat pipe array cogeneration unit

The Solar collectors and cogeneration units have gained increasing attention in research recently, while being developed and deployed rapidly. However, due to the instability of the solar energy, the heat flux input of solar collectors is unstable potentially causing an adverse effect on the cogeneration unit. This paper presents the mathematical models for two cogeneration units: (a) the thermal series U-shaped segmented unidirectional heat pipe array cogeneration unit with thermoelectric generator (TEG-TSUSUHP) and (b) the thermal parallel U-shaped segmented unidirectional heat pipe array cogeneration unit with thermoelectric generator (TEG-TPUSUHP). The proposed models have been validated by a series of experiments. Further, the cogeneration unit is then optimized using the proposed models. The results show that the heat loss rate of the TEG-TSUSUHP cogeneration unit is lower than that of the TEG-TPUSUHP cogeneration unit, and the lowest heat loss rate is 15.56%. Moreover, the cogeneration unit designed in this work has good thermal insulation performance with a high thermal storage efficiency of up to 80.53%. Therefore, the U-shape segmented unidirectional heat pipe array cogeneration units with thermoelectric generator (TEG-USUHP) proposed in this paper can promote the development of solar cogeneration units significantly.

Segmentation of Rhythmic Units in Word Speech by Japanese Infants and Toddlers.

When infants and toddlers are confronted with sequences of sounds, they are required to segment the sounds into meaningful units to achieve sufficient understanding. Rhythm has been regarded as a crucial cue for segmentation of speech sounds. Although previous intermodal methods indicated that infants and toddlers could detect differences in speech sounds based on stress-timed and syllable-timed units, these methods could not clearly indicate how infants and toddlers perform sound segmentation. Thus, the present study examined whether Japanese infants and toddlers could segment word speech sounds comprising basic morae (i.e., rhythm units similar to syllables), on the basis of concurrent basic mora units within syllable units, using the new intermodal matching procedure. The results indicated that, regardless of their ages and linguistic abilities, Japanese infants and toddlers aged 6–25 months tended to segment Japanese words comprising basic morae sounds on the basis of concurrent basic mora units within syllable units. This implies that infants' and toddlers' use of syllable units for segmentation of speech sounds at an early age could be evident among many infants and toddlers learning various languages. Although this finding should be interpreted carefully, the present study demonstrated the utility of the new intermodal matching procedure for examining segmentation of speech sounds and word sounds by infants and toddlers, on the basis of specific rhythm units.

Accessible System for Sign Language Computation

Sign Language is most accepted and purposeful way of communication for deaf and mute folks of the society. signing uses gestures, head/body movements and facial expressions for communication. it's a strong manner of Non-Verbal communication among humans. each country has its own developed signing. The language which is employed in Bharat is named as “Indian Sign Language (ISL)”. terribly lessresearch work has been carried out during this space as ISL has standardized recently. presently several researchers have primarily focused on gesture recognition that has been recorded underneath static hand gesture. solely few works have been reported for recognition of dynamic hand gesture. several ways are developed to recognize alphabets and numbers of ISL. The major steps concerned in planning such a system area unit gesture acquisition, trailing and segmentation, feature extraction and gesture recognition. This paper presents a survey on varied hand gesture recognition approaches for ISL. General Terms : Hand Gesture Recognition, Human computer interaction, YOLO3

Segment unit shuffling layer in deep neural networks for text-independent speaker verification

Segment unit shuffling layer in deep neural networks for text-independent speaker verification