424 research outputs found
C-PROM
No full textC-PROM is a French segmented and annotated corpus, for prominence study. 24 recordings within 7 speaking styles are included. Speakers are from Belgium, France and Switzerland.C-PROM est un corpus aligné et annoté, développé pour l'étude des proéminences syllabiques en français. Il inclut 24 enregistrements échantillonnés en 7 genres (ou styles) de parole et produits par des locuteurs francophones (issus de Belgique, de France et de Suisse). Les données sonores (au format wav) sont accompagnées de fichiers d'annotation multi-niveaux (TextGrid) et de détection de F0 (Pitch)
The development of a science, technology and society phenomenon-based learning model for promoting grade 12 students’ problem-solving in geohazard
No full textThis research aimed to: a) synthesize the Science, Technology, and Society Phenomenon-based Learning Model (STS-PhBL) for teaching Geoharzard to students; and b) compare students’ problem-solving skills prior to and after the STS-PhBL lessons on the Geoharzard topic. The sample consisted of 39 Grade 12 students enrolled in the first semester of the 2021 academic year at one secondary school in Surin Province, Thailand. The data collection methods included the panel of experts’ evaluation of STS-PhBL lesson plans and the Problem-Solving Skills Test. The Index of Item-Objective-Congruence (IOC) of STS-PhBL lesson plans on Geoharzard was calculated. Also, the students’ problem-solving skills prior to and after the STS-PhBL lessons in the Geoharzard topic were analyzed by using the paired-samples t-test. The researchers synthesized a new STS-PhBL model from the intensive literature review, consisting of seven teaching steps: a) stimulate the phenomenon; b) identify problems in the phenomenon; c) explore the answer to the targeted problem; d) construct new knowledge; e) reflect on learning; f) exchange and share learning; and g) apply knowledge. The STS-PhBL lesson plans on Geoharzard met the IOC requirements. After learning STS-PhBL lessons, the students significantly improved their problem-solving skills at the 0.05 statistically significant level
Decentralizing infrastructure : for good or ill?
No full textThe author examines the many faces of infrastructure decentralization: the costs and benefits, the government structure (constraint or variable?), the"polycentric"approach, and how to make decentralization work (for whom?). He proposes basic principles and guidelines for policy design, for both small projects and large. Broadly, these guidelines are summed up in a few propositions. In all countries, some critical infrastructure is provided through a decentralized political structure. Current trends make that likely to be more true in the future. Decentralization, however defined, in and of itself had no necessary implications for good or evil so far as infrastructure is concerned: its effects depend on the incentives various decisionmakers face. The key to ensuring that these incentives are conducive to"good"decisions (about design, siting, timing, finance, pricing, operation, maintenance, and use of infrastructure) is to ensure that those who made the decisions bear the financial (and political) consequences, as much as possible. Politically, this means that political leaders at all levels should be responsive and responsible to their constituents, and that those constituents are fully informed about the consequences of all decisions. Making politicians bear the consequences of their own mistakes is as close as one can get to a"hard"political budget constraint. Economically, it must be difficult for local residents to shift cost to nonresidents who do not receive benefits and to make local decisionmakers fully responsible to their citizens for the use they make of revenues collected from them (through local taxes), to users of infrastructure (local or otherwise) for the use made of the revenues they contribute (through user charges of various sorts), and to taxpayers in general for the use made of any transfers (or subsidized loans) they receive. Administratively, what such a system requires is a clear set of"framework"laws (on local budgeting, financial reporting, taxation, contracting, dispute settlement, rules to be followed in designing user charges and so on), as well as adequate institutional support for localities to operate in this environment. To the extent that these conditions are not met, the perverse incentives that too often exist because of the structure and finance of the public sector in many countries will probably be exacerbated by the current tendency to decentralize more and more decisions in the public sector.National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research
Chronic fatigue syndrome and quality of life
No full textDeb Roberts Liverpool CFS Therapy Service, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool, UK Abstract: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is a challenging long-term condition (LTC) with complex and fluctuating symptoms. It is heterogeneous in presentation without diagnostic indicators; therefore, in health care encounters, insight must be gained from the patient’s perspective. One indicator of impact can be gained by measuring quality of life (QoL). By applying a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), professionals can gather insights with direct relevance to the patient questioned. Such a tool can act therapeutically tool to promote holistic and individualized professional interventions and interval measurement can inform commissioning of specialist services. Standard practice appears not fully to capture the experience of CFS, while a search of the literature turned up QoL patient-reported outcome tools, but failed to reveal a CFS/ME-specific measure. The author explores a valid and reliable PROM that can monitor change and evaluate the UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence rehabilitation program, as delivered by specialist National Health Service units. An alternative, the World Health Organization’s quality-of life instrument (WHOQoL)-Bref26, is reviewed for relevance to the condition, measuring treatment outcomes and the wider debate of measuring QoL in LTCs. Keywords: long-term conditions, patient perspective, assessment, quality of life, measuremen
Cultural Power and Utopianism in Laurie Halse Anderson\u27s Prom and M.T. Anderson\u27s Feed
No full textAuthor\u27s abstract: Resourcefully and responsibly obtaining a sense of power is central to quality young adult literature. Laurie Halse Anderson\u27s Prom and M.T. Anderson\u27s Feed show their adolescent protagonists\u27 struggles with identity formation, consumerism, and the adult world. In order to address power relationships, the two novels address the rise of a global electronic and print media system that collapses traditional notions of time and space and the excessive consumption associated with the culture such a system creates. However, these two novels explore postmodern consumer culture from different perspectives. Prom functions as a utopian, revisionist fairy tale in which the consequences of rampant consumerism are combated through individual agency and sustained community involvement, whereas Feed acts as an apocalyptic dystopia in which any quest for agency is thwarted by the rampant consumerism connected to the rise of a transnational, info-age economy. The extent to which these two novels fit within the theoretical framework of utopian/dystopian fiction illuminates their disparate approaches to the power struggles associated with the culture industry
The development and cognitive testing of the positive outcomes HIV PROM: A brief novel patient-reported outcome measure for adults living with HIV
No full text© 2020 The Author(s). Background: People living with HIV experience burdensome multidimensional symptoms and concerns requiring person-centred care. Routine use of patient reported outcome measures can improve outcomes. There is no brief patient reported outcome measure (PROM) that currently reflects the breadth of concerns for people living with HIV. This study aimed to develop and cognitively test a brief novel patient reported outcome measure for use within routine adult HIV care- the "Positive Outcomes"HIV PROM. Methods: Development followed the COSMIN taxonomy and guidance for relevance and comprehensiveness, and Rothrock guidance on development of valid patient reported outcome measures. The Positive Outcomes HIV PROM was developed by a steering group (people living with HIV, HIV professionals and health services researchers) using findings from a previously reported qualitative study of priority outcomes for people living with HIV. The prototype measure was cognitively tested with a purposive sample of people living with HIV. Results: The Positive Outcomes HIV PROM consists of 23 questions (22 structured, and one open question) informed by the priorities of key stakeholders (n = 28 people living with HIV, n = 21 HIV professionals and n = 8 HIV commissioners) to ensure face and content validity, and refined through cognitive testing (n = 6 people living with HIV). Cognitive testing demonstrated high levels of acceptability and accessibility. Conclusions: The Positive Outcomes HIV PROM is the first brief patient reported outcome measure reflecting the diverse needs of people living with HIV designed specifically for use in the clinical setting to support patient assessment and care, and drive service quality improvement. It is derived from primary data on the priority outcomes for people living with HIV and is comprehensive and acceptable. Further psychometric testing is required to ensure reliability and responsiveness
The effects of supplementation of β-carotene during the close-up period on cows, colostrum, and calves
No full textDue to consumer demands, the dairy industry needs to investigate ways to keep dairy cattle healthy, productive, and profitable while minimizing the use of drugs. One way to accomplish this may be by inclusion of antioxidants in the diet. An important antioxidant that should be considered is β-carotene. β-Carotene is found naturally in many plants and is a dual-purpose nutrient, having both provitamin A and antioxidative functions. Ingested β-carotene can be cleaved into two molecules of retinol if the animal is in need of retinoids. If vitamin A stores are sufficient, β-carotene will be used to help dispose of potentially harmful reactive oxygen species. Reducing oxidative stress may help cows restore their positive energy balance following parturition, as well as possibly decrease pneumonia in young calves. Our objective for this study was to determine the effects of β-carotene supplementation on the cow, her colostrum, and her calf. The trial was conducted on a large, commercial dairy farm in northern Indiana. Ninety-four multiparous Holstein cows were assigned to either a treatment or control group. Each cow individually received a concentrate mix topdressed on to her TMR while in a headlock each morning beginning 21 d prior to expected calving and ending at calving. The treatment group was supplemented with 8 g of Rovimix (800 mg of β-carotene) in the topdress. Body condition score was taken on day of enrollment (d -21) and upon trial completion (d 7). Blood samples were obtained from cows on d -21, -7, 0, and 7 relative to calving. All samples were protected from light. Whole blood samples were analyzed for β-carotene using an iCheck (BioAnalyt; Teltow, Germany) immediately following collection. Serum samples were frozen at -20ºC for later analysis. Similarly, blood samples were collected from the calves at d 0, 1, 7, and 60. Samples were immediately analyzed for concentrations of β-carotene and total protein prior to the serum being frozen. Calves were fed 3.78 L of dam-specific colostrum and colostrum was sampled immediately following parturition. Fresh samples were used for immediate BRIX and β-carotene analysis, as well as for component and colorimeter analysis. Feed samples were collected weekly throughout the trial and nutrient composition of forage and TMR samples was determined. Health records for the animals were collected from DairyComp305. The farm staff was responsible for all care of the animals. Colostrum, serum, and feed samples were analyzed for concentrations of vitamin A, vitamin E, and β-carotene. A full metabolite profile was determined in serum from cows and calves. Proc Mixed, Proc Glimmix, and Proc Freq, among others, in SAS 9.4 were used to analyze the collected data. The rations were adequate for vitamin A, with concentrations in the TMR exceeding NRC requirements by 20% and 276% for close-up and fresh diets, respectively. Vitamin E in the TMR was just under requirements at 92.2% and 93.0% of NRC requirements for close-up and fresh diets, respectively. β-Carotene supplementation significantly increased (P = 0.023) serum concentrations of vitamin A in cows, indicating that the high amounts of supplemented vitamin A in the diet were still not enough to release β-carotene from its provitamin A role. Serum vitamin E concentrations were not affected, indicating that there was no interaction between it and β-carotene. Serum β-carotene concentrations were significantly greater (P < 0.01) for the treatment group on all days when compared with the control group. The concentration of TP was higher (P = 0.045) in β-carotene supplemented cows. β-Carotene supplementation also decreased the concentration of albumin (P = 0.029), increased the concentration of globulin (P <0.01), and affected the ratio between the two (P < 0.01), but these results were confounded by a significant or trending interaction of treatment and parity. No significant effects were detected in reproductive, health, or milk yield variables extracted from DairyComp305. Supplementation of β-carotene increased the concentrations of β-carotene (P < 0.01) and fat (P = 0.042) in colostrum. It also increased the colorimetric values for a* (P = 0.014) and b* (P< 0.01), which indicates that the β-carotene-rich colostrum was significantly more red-yellow in color than the colostrum from control cows. The effects of β-carotene supplementation to the dam were negligible in calves. There were no differences in the concentrations of vitamins A and E in calf serum. Significant effects or trends were observed for concentrations of gamma-glutamyl transferase (P < 0.01), blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.044), β-hydroxybutyrate (P = 0.097), and phosphorus (P = 0.088), but, with the exception of phosphorus, these results were confounded by significant or trending treatment by parity interactions. There was also a significant interaction of treatment by time for gamma-glutamyltransferase (P < 0.01). The majority of calf serum samples had β-carotene below detectable levels. Because of this, Proc Freq was used to determine if there was a treatment difference in the number of calves above or below the detection threshold of 0.05 g/mL. There were 28 samples above the threshold at 24 h of age, with 89.3% (P < 0.01) of the calves with detectable β-carotene concentrations being from β-carotene-supplemented dams. At d 7, there were only 7 calves with detectable concentrations. Of the 7 calves, 85.7% (P = 0.045) were from β-carotene-supplemented dams. Only one sample at d 0 had detectable β-carotene concentration and none did at d 60. This fleeting response shows that supplementing the dam with β-carotene does not substantially affect the calf and direct β-carotene supplementation to the calf should be considered.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2018-08-01The student, Crystal Prom, accepted the attached license on 2016-07-14 at 13:06.The student, Crystal Prom, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2016-07-14 at 13:11.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2016-07-15 at 09:21.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9942 on 2016-11-10 at 12:25:27Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-10T18:43:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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TRANSCULTURAL ADAPTATION AND VALIDATION OF THE 4-DOMAIN SPORTS PROM INTO ITALIAN.
No full textThis work aims to evaluate and validate the process of cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the 4-Domain Sports PROM (4-DSP) into Italian, assessing its understandability and reproducibility in all questionnaire domains for Italian-speaking patients. Cross-sectional study, level of evidence II. The questionnaire was self-administered by 100 patients (80 males and 20 females) who had undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and had a one-year minimum follow-up. The mean age and standard deviation (SD) was 31.20 ± 12.65 years. According to their level of sports participation, 51% were recreational, 31% were regional, 12% were national, and 6% were international athletes. All patients filled in the 4-DSP questionnaire without direct supervision of their trainer/coach or researcher. All data were collected and processed anonymously. The translation and cultural adaptation of the 4-DSP involved six phases: (1) translation, (2) synthesis, (3) back-translation, (4) pre-test, (5) expert committee review, (6) final version approval by the author of the original version for publication. The cross-cultural validation of the questionnaire 4-DSP into Italian presented a global Cronbach's ALPHA of 0.65, Conceptual equivalence to translation and relevance were 99.09% and 99.81%, respectively, and the percentage of agreement was 99.09%. The cross-culturally validated version of the 4-DSP into Italian proved to be adequately understandable and reproducible in all questionnaire domains and can be safely and reliably used in Italian-speaking patients. Study level II. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Comparative Study of Process Mining Tools: FlexFringe, ProM, MINT and PRINS
No full textNowadays, software is an integral part of many companies. However, the codebase can grow large and complicated and is often insufficiently documented. To gain insight, tools have been made to infer state machines and process models from software logs. These tools produce different types of models such as automata and Petri nets. The main objective of this research is to determine which tool is the optimal choice for inferring a readable and correct model within reasonable time. Currently, Petri nets and automata are not compared to each other and not all key performance indicators are applicable to both model types. To compare these different concepts, suitable metrics must be identified.For this work, 8 configurations of 4 programs will be compared. Finite State Machines (FSMs) will be inferred with FlexFringe (AIC), MINT and PRINS (using MINT internally). Petri nets will be mined with ProM using the Inductive Miner, Inductive Miner Infrequent - All Operators, Hybrid-ILP and the Directly Follows miner. The configurations will use 5-folds cross validation to infer models on 9 software logs. Negative traces were synthesised as they were not available. The quality of the models will be measured though inference time, complexity, F2-score, balanced accuracy, fitness and perplexity.Some of the used metrics were adequate, but others were not suitable. Inference time, F2-score, balanced accuracy could be measured for both FSMs and Petri nets. The complexity was measured with the Petri net metric and the Cyclomatic complexity CC. The eCFC does not properly express complexity on FSMs. Furthermore, Petri nets can model parallelism, which introduces extra complexity compared to an FSM. This was not adequately expressed by either of these metrics. To measure fitness, both token-based replay and alignment fitness were used. FSMs were converted to Petri nets. Token-based replay (TBR) fitness was not an expressive metric for the FSMs, as the concept of tokens did not carry over well. In addition to this, the external implementation of TBR fitness was flawed for the specific structure of the converted FSMs. Alignment-based fitness is the superior fitness metric as it does not rely on the notion of tokens, which the FSMs do not have. Unfortunately, the time and memory needed for alignment computations was too large for some models. Lastly, the perplexity FSM metric was successfully adapted for Petri nets. It expresses the difference in structure and could be tailored even further for the purposes of comparison by adjusting its parameters.The results of the comparison showed that almost all configurations could complete inference in feasible time and memory. The time out was set at 4 hours and the available memory was \texttt{16GB}. The MINT and PRINS ran out of memory on one of the larger logs and timed out for one other set. Hybrid-ILP timed out for 2 sets. All other configurations completed inference for all data sets in under 40 seconds. PRINS and MINT boasted excellent performance across all correctness metrics, and were only outperformed by FlexFringe and the Directly Follows miner on perplexity. PRINS and MINT were most suitable for modelling traces of data sets with a low trace similarity and generalising to identify new traces. However, MINT models were a lot larger than those of any other configurations and PRINS models are generally many times larger than MINT models. So, if complexity of models is a big concern, FlexFringe and the Directly Follows miner offer the smaller models, at the cost of a small amount of performance for most sets. However, these two tools perform poorly on sets that are both incomplete and contain dissimilar traces. If time is of the essence, one should use FlexFringe, the Directly Follows miner of one of the Inductive Miners. The Petri net miners used, were not designed to introduce new behaviour in a model. Therefore, FlexFringe is preferable for modelling an incomplete log.Computer Scienc
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