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Languages in the Samogo group display a phenomenon referred to as “floating” or “latent” nasals. Though belonging to the end of a word (either synchronically or diachronically) in coda position, latent nasals more often appear as mutations or modifications to either the initial consonant of the following morpheme or the preceding vowel. This paper draws together extant descriptive data on Samogo nasals and considers them in the broader typology of consonant and vowel nasality in Mande. Finally, the question of phonological representation vs. phonetic realization is considered with preliminary acoustic data from Seenku [sos]; the weak surface realization of the nasal raises questions about an analysis in which it is floating and suggests that recent developments in Gradient Symbolic Representation (Smolensky & Goldrick 2016) may be applicable to the data.

Abstract Background Gendered patterns of physical activity behaviours may help explaining health inequalities between men and women. However, evidence on such patterns in the working population is sparse. This study aimed at documenting and comparing compositions of sitting, standing and moving at work and during leisure among male and female office workers of different age. Methods Sitting (including lying), standing and moving were measured using accelerometry for, on average, four working days in 55 male and 57 female Swedish office workers. Behaviours were described in terms of time spent in four exhaustive categories: sitting in short (

Essential oils (EOs) have often a major compound, which content is important for the industry. Thus, rapid techniques suitable to analyze the EOs composition are of great interest. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has proven suitable solutions for many similar targets. NIRS depends on multivariate correlation methods, which were designed for the real space, with values comprised between - ∞ and + ∞. However, essential oils compounds are compositional data (CoDa), restricted to a simplex space. These are co-dependent data, therefore their multivariate correlation with the spectral variables needs specific methods. This study evaluates predictive models of the contents of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol methyl-ether and thymol, respectively in EOs of cinnamon, clove and thyme, built by using CoDa method. This last was the isometric log-ratio transformation (ILR). Besides, the calibrations set without CoDa methods, were assessed. The results showed clearly the best prediction in external validation exercises was by using ILR. This predictive exercise pointed out the compositional method provided better model robustness than the calibration without this.

The purpose of this article is to study the syllable boundaries (codas) in the Albanian language The end of a syllable boundary {coda} is seen as a possible component of the syllable showing some of the features associated with the way the units that build it are organized and is the strongest consonantal position. The final syllable structures in Albanian are various which depend not only on the number of elements but also on the possibilities of their combination. What is to be noted is that, concerning the ability to emerge in the coda position, there are no restrictions on the consonants of the Albanian language, which can occupy all this position either as a single component or as a branched component. Possible combinations of Albanian final clusters are regulated by phonological constraints. The last element of the syllable can consist of either a consonant only, which is the most often encountered pattern, or two consonants, ending in rarer formations of groups of three consonants, and thus giving us a variety of syllable boundaries in Albanian. All consonant segments can emerge as a single element at the end of the syllable making the end structures of the separated syllables in Albanian appear very rich. In Albanian, several combinations of codes appear and consequently, the double groups at the end position of the rhymes are numerous. The most common combinations are S + O and S + F, the less common ones are O + S and F + S combinations and the least common is the O - O and F - F groups. In Albanian, there is also the presence of the three-element end groups, which are part of the clearly defined and phonetically inseparable end-syllable structures. The binary features of the segments included in the double and triple sets of codes in Albanian are: σ O R N C [-syllabic] [-syllabic] [-syllabic] [±sonorant] [-sonorant] [-sonorant] [- contin.] [± contin.] [+ contin.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of 'Choosing Wisely,' we present a four-step action plan to reduce unnecessary pathology testing and the associated patient harm (blood loss through repeated phlebotomy), economic cost and environmental impact. The authors are experts from the CODA group; a medical education and health-promotion charity that aims to build on the Choosing Wisely initiative to provide meaningful and sustainable actions to reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare, globally. Pathology testing is expensive and carbon-intensive, with as many as half of all tests being not clinically indicated. Reducing unnecessary testing is the only effective way to decrease the carbon footprint and other associated costs, as opportunities to reuse and recycle pathology specimens are limited. The four key steps for action are (i) auditing local practice; (ii) defining unnecessary testing including developing a clinical guideline for rational ordering; (iii) educating stakeholders; and (iv) measuring the impact of the intervention through re-audit. This proven method is designed to be used in any healthcare setting around the world; having a small group of passionate 'champions' is thought to be as important as strong clinical governance and more important than access to sophisticated equipment. Electronic medical record systems and other technological solutions offer new ways to help establish a sustainability mindset and reduce unnecessary testing. The Codachange.org/coda-earth/ website provides a dynamic crowdsourcing platform through which we can collectively learn to meet the diverse needs of our international medical community. Self-reported outcomes are gamified through collaborative feedback, amplification via social media and the ability to earn rewards, be uploaded to the CODA website, or added to the template as a success story. By combining our existing local networks with the emerging international CODA community, we can initiate meaningful change now and enter the era of environmental stewardship. What is known about the topic? Pathology testing is expensive and carbon-intensive. Up to half of all tests are unnecessary, and rationalising testing is easily achievable. What does this paper add? We present a simple four-step action plan to reduce unnecessary pathology testing and the associated patient harm, economic and environmental costs, and offer a unique platform to facilitate international collaboration. What are the implications for practitioners? This practical template with associated helpful links and resources allows practitioners to improve their environmental stewardship and build a network of like-minded peers across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was an attempt to investigate the probable differences between narratives as rehearsed by EFL language learners of two different English proficiencies. It aimed to find out how narrative elements (abstract, orientation, main action, results, and coda) are recounted differently by EFL language learners of different English proficiencies. To this end, 250 personal oral narratives were recorded through classroom discussions and interviews. Two hundred participants were asked to narrate a personal story in the classroom, and the other 50 were interviewed. The analysis focused on narratives structure to discover how knowledge of target language might affect the way language learners construct English narratives. The collected data were interpreted according to Labov and Waletzky’s (1967) and Labov’s (1972) analytical models. The results revealed that upper-intermediate language learners reported more organized, chronological, logical, and to the point stories than pre-intermediate ones. The difference was in orientation, main action, and result parts. Neither group of language learners expressed the abstract and coda sections.

Most popular models of narratives and narrative analyses have been drawn on native stories, yet EFL learners’ narratives have not received due narrative analysis. The present study then aims at scrutinizing the structure of personal English stories as told by EFL learners. To this aim, three hundred narratives were collected through classroom discussions and interviews. Qualitative analysis methods were utilized to find how narratives were recounted. The results of data analyses indicated that EFL learners’ narratives consisted of 4 parts with the abstract and coda sections absent from them. Besides, there were other differences between the collected narratives and those told by English native speakers.

En este trabajo autoetnográfico relato cómo la adquisición tardía de una lengua de signos permite un proceso de reparación y de reapropiación de una identidad CODA (Children Of Deaf Adults). Se trata de una investigación reflexiva sobre una vivencia singular como hija mayor de padres sordos, con el fin de resaltar sus complejidades y enlazarlas con conceptos sociales, culturales y psicológicos. En ese particular proceso de contar la propia historia, escribo en primera persona fusionando el “sujeto” y “objeto” de la investigación. Cada persona crea la realidad social y cultural al tiempo que se inspira de ella para construir su propia identidad. Así, la elección deliberada de la lengua de signos refleja una voluntad de transformación vital tanto a nivel personal como social, es una acción política. Las tiras de cómic permiten ilustrar las problemáticas y representar la investigación de forma accesible con objeto de alcanzar cierto grado de generalización.

In an election, the vote shares by party for a given subdivision of a territory form a compositional vector (positive components adding up to 1). Conventional multiple linear regression models are not adapted to explain this composition due to the constraint on the sum of the components and the potential spatial autocorrelation across territorial units. We develop a simultaneous spatial autoregressive model for compositional data that allows for both spatial correlation and correlations across equations. Using simulations and a data set from the 2015 French departmental election, we illustrate its estimation by two-stage and three-stage least squares methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syllables consist of vocal sounds, and the syllable numbers of words are determined by the number of vocal sounds. A syllable can contain only one vocal sound. They are important in the occurrence of features. In this study, syllable types in Zazaki were analyzed. The syllables in zazaki are classified in different ways according to the characteristics of vocal and consonant sounds. The aim of this study is to divide the syllables in Zazaki into sections according to the distribution of vocal and consonant sounds, to determine the sounds in the coda and onsets of words, to analyze the properties of these syllables. In the study, other syllables were expressed according to this ideal syllable. With the drop of vocal sounds in the coda and onsette, geminate consonant sounds come into play. These sounds were first identified in this study. In some mouths of the Zaza, diftonguas occur besides the geminant consonants. However, this type is not an independent syllable and the hinterland of these syllables is not wide. While explaining the syllable types in the study, we can easily identify these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purposes of this research work are to estimate the coda–Q values using linear (log–log) and nonlinear (Gauss–Newton) regression techniques and to generate synthetic seismogram by white Gaussian noise modulated with an attenuation factor (e−kt) and a geomechanical spreading factor using a single backscattered model. A comparative study is carried out, for the estimation of coda–Q values from synthetic seismogram and from digital seismogram provided by three events recorded in three different seismic stations, namely Tezpur (TZR), Dokmok (DMK) and Seijusa (SJA) that occurred in Tezpur region, Assam, India. Here, both the models are compared in terms of outputs and accuracy as a function of lapse time and frequencies. Generally, linear model is used in most of seismological practices. But in this study, I am trying to use both linear and nonlinear models. Here, the main challenge is the estimation of coda–Q values using the nonlinear model. During the analysis, it was observed that, at the final part of the coda where the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than and equal to 5, the estimated coda–Q values have no significant difference for both linear and nonlinear models. But on the decreasing signal-to-noise ratio less than 5, the coda–Q values are overestimated in the linear model as compared to the nonlinear model. These observations are made for both the synthetic and digital seismograms. Through this study, I am trying to conclude that the coda–Q values are dependent on lapse time in both the linear and nonlinear models but are less pronounced in nonlinear techniques for both synthetic and digital seismograms. This effect is more evident when different coda durations are obtained by fixing the start time of coda analysis and increasing the end time of the same coda. This pattern is observed for all three events in Tezpur region and synthetic seismogram. Finally, the conclusion was drawn that the coda–Q values are dependent on lapse time and central frequencies for both the models. But, the significance levels are less in the case of nonlinear model for both synthetic and digital seismograms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the propagation of SH wavelet intensity through the random distribution of aligned line cracks in a two-dimensional (2-D) homogeneous medium as the simplest mathematical model of the heterogeneous Earth medium. The scattering process of a single line crack is described by Mathieu functions. The random distribution of cracks is well represented by the scattering coefficient, that is, the scattering power per unit area. Two methods are proposed for the derivation of the space–time distribution of the intensity Green function for the unit isotropic radiation from a point source: one is the single scattering approximation and the other is the Monte Carlo simulation. The former and the latter are deterministic and stochastic methods, respectively. In the case that the wavenumber is larger than the reciprocal of the crack length, synthesized time traces show that direct wavelets near the ray direction parallel to the line cracks decrease according to the geometrical decay with increasing travel distance as if there exists a transparent channel along the crack line direction; however, those near the direction normal to the line cracks decrease more rapidly because of strong scattering attenuation. At large lapse times, multiple scattering produces a swelling around the source location, which is prolonged to the crack line direction. Those characteristics well reflect the anisotropy of the line crack scattering. The Monte Carlo simulation presented here could be a fundamental base for the study of more realistic crack scattering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this autoethnographic work I relate how the late acquisition of a sign language allows a process of repair and re-appropriation of a CODA (Children Of Deaf Adults) identity. This is a reflective research on a singular experience as the eldest daughter of deaf parents in order to highlight its complexities and link them with social, cultural and psychological concepts. In this particular process of telling one's story, I write in the first person by fusing the "subject" and "object" of the investigation. Each person creates the social and cultural reality while drawing inspiration from it to build his or her own identity. Thus, the deliberate choice of sign language reflects a will for vital transformation both at the personal and social level, it is a political action. The comic strips allow to illustrate the issues and represent the research in an accessible way in order to reach a certain degree of generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable estimates of moment magnitude and source mechanism for seismic events in the Middle East can be challenging due to a small number of openly available stations, the complex tectonic setting, and regions of high attenuation. Access to high-quality waveform data from well-calibrated regional seismic stations is fundamental in producing robust and stable estimates of earthquake source parameters, particularly when measurements of absolute ground motion amplitudes are required. Earthquake source mechanism and moment magnitude are invaluable information in the assessment of seismic hazard, plate motions, and the characterization of faults and regional stress field. The expansion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s national seismic network in the past several decades provides an opportunity to develop the capabilities of routine focal mechanism and moment magnitude estimations. In this study, we use time-domain full waveform moment tensor inversion and coda envelope–derived amplitude measurements to solve for earthquake source mechanism, moment magnitudes, and their source type. We compared the moment magnitudes calculated from the two methods and publicly available earthquake catalogs and discuss the implications of the obtained source parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the geosciences it is still uncommon to include measurement uncertainties into statistical methods such as discriminant analysis, but, especially for trace elements, measurement uncertainties are frequently of relevant size. Uncertainties can be reported by each measured variable, by each observation or by individual cells (i.e., each observation has an individual uncertainty for each variable). Most methods incorporating uncertainties use the uncertainties as weights for the variables or observations of the data set. The method proposed in this contribution uses variance additivity properties and generalised least squares to calculate better estimates of group variances and group means, which then influence the decision rules of linear and quadratic discrimination algorithms. This methodological framework allows incorporation of cell-wise uncertainties, and would be largely valid if the information about co-dependency between variable errors within each observation were reported. The method is also appropriate for incorporating uncertainties into compositional data sets—for example, those formed by concentrations, proportions, percentages or any other form of information about the relative abundance of a set of components forming a whole—even if such uncertainties are nearly never reported considering this compositional nature. The methods are illustrated by means of case studies with simulated data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to describe specific aspects of deaf parenting of hearing children, based on an interpretation of research findings concerning the target group. Deaf parents, isolated from the verbally communicating majority by their sensory disability, face the challenge of raising and preparing hearing children for life. Our research based on semi-structured interviews with both deaf parents and hearing children demonstrates, however, that these parents do not primarily describe their parenthood as difficult or complicated. They are reconciled to their handicap and its consequences and use tools in the social environment to overcome the disadvantages of deaf parenting. Some “children” (all our respondents were adults reflecting on their childhood) describe, in contrast, their experience as a gradual reverse of natural family roles, with children eventually navigating their parents around the hearing world. These results indicate the need for further activities with these target groups in social work.

ABSTRACT Since the turn of the century, technological advances have made it possible to obtain the molecular profile of any tissue in a cost-effective manner. Among these advances are sophisticated high-throughput assays that measure the relative abundances of microorganisms, RNA molecules, and metabolites. While these data are most often collected to gain new insights into biological systems, they can also be used as biomarkers to create clinically useful diagnostic classifiers. How best to classify high-dimensional -omics data remains an area of active research. However, few explicitly model the relative nature of these data and instead rely on cumbersome normalizations. This report (i) emphasizes the relative nature of health biomarkers, (ii) discusses the literature surrounding the classification of relative data, and (iii) benchmarks how different transformations perform for regularized logistic regression across multiple biomarker types. We show how an interpretable set of log contrasts, called balances, can prepare data for classification. We propose a simple procedure, called discriminative balance analysis, to select groups of 2 and 3 bacteria that can together discriminate between experimental conditions. Discriminative balance analysis is a fast, accurate, and interpretable alternative to data normalization. IMPORTANCE High-throughput sequencing provides an easy and cost-effective way to measure the relative abundance of bacteria in any environmental or biological sample. When these samples come from humans, the microbiome signatures can act as biomarkers for disease prediction. However, because bacterial abundance is measured as a composition, the data have unique properties that make conventional analyses inappropriate. To overcome this, analysts often use cumbersome normalizations. This article proposes an alternative method that identifies pairs and trios of bacteria whose stoichiometric presence can differentiate between diseased and nondiseased samples. By using interpretable log contrasts called balances, we developed an entirely normalization-free classification procedure that reduces the feature space and improves the interpretability, without sacrificing classifier performance.

The existential sentence is a noncanonical sentence type that is used crosslinguistically to assert the (non)existence of one or more entities. It consists of a set of syntactic items that includes an expletive, pivot, and coda. Two different syntactic analyses have been identified in the literature for the existential construction. The first type of analysis, the standard analysis, treats the existential sentence as a nonraising counterpart of copular sentences. In this analysis, both existential and copular sentences are derived from a single underlying structure, which takes the pivot as a subject and the coda as a predicate. The other type of analysis, the nonstandard analysis, treats the existential sentence differently from the copular sentence. In this analysis, the copular verb takes the pivot NP as its complement, and the coda is treated as an adjunct. The purpose of this paper is to examine the syntactic status of the three syntactic items, namely, the expletive fiih, the pivot NP, and the coda XP, in the existential construction in the dialect of Najdi Arabic (NA). Using the nonstandard analysis, I propose that the existential pronoun fiih is an NP merged in the Spec, vP, the pivot is an NP complement selected by a copular verb, and the coda is an adjunct that serves as either an internal or external modifier. This work about NA existentials may fruitfully contribute to the ongoing discussion on the syntax of existential constructions. Examining existential constructions in various unrelated languages may help obtain a better understanding of this interesting syntactic phenomenon, thereby enabling a more plausible analysis.

Abstract Background Count data generated by next-generation sequencing assays do not measure absolute transcript abundances. Instead, the data are constrained to an arbitrary “library size” by the sequencing depth of the assay, and typically must be normalized prior to statistical analysis. The constrained nature of these data means one could alternatively use a log-ratio transformation in lieu of normalization, as often done when testing for differential abundance (DA) of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in 16S rRNA data. Therefore, we benchmark how well the ALDEx2 package, a transformation-based DA tool, detects differential expression in high-throughput RNA-sequencing data (RNA-Seq), compared to conventional RNA-Seq methods such as edgeR and DESeq2. Results To evaluate the performance of log-ratio transformation-based tools, we apply the ALDEx2 package to two simulated, and two real, RNA-Seq data sets. One of the latter was previously used to benchmark dozens of conventional RNA-Seq differential expression methods, enabling us to directly compare transformation-based approaches. We show that ALDEx2, widely used in meta-genomics research, identifies differentially expressed genes (and transcripts) from RNA-Seq data with high precision and, given sufficient sample sizes, high recall too (regardless of the alignment and quantification procedure used). Although we show that the choice in log-ratio transformation can affect performance, ALDEx2 has high precision (i.e., few false positives) across all transformations. Finally, we present a novel, iterative log-ratio transformation (now implemented in ALDEx2) that further improves performance in simulations. Conclusions Our results suggest that log-ratio transformation-based methods can work to measure differential expression from RNA-Seq data, provided that certain assumptions are met. Moreover, these methods have very high precision (i.e., few false positives) in simulations and perform well on real data too. With previously demonstrated applicability to 16S rRNA data, ALDEx2 can thus serve as a single tool for data from multiple sequencing modalities.

Abstract Background Data on time spent in physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep during a day is compositional in nature, i.e. they add up to a constant value. Compositional data have fundamentally different properties from unconstrained data in real space, and require other analytical procedures, referred to as compositional data analysis (CoDA). Most physical activity and sedentary behavior studies, however, still apply analytical procedures adapted to data in real space, which can lead to misleading results. The present study describes a comparison of time spent sedentary and in physical activity between age groups and sexes, and investigates the extent to which results obtained by CoDA differ from those obtained using standard analytical procedures. Methods Time spent sedentary, standing, and in physical activity (walking/running/stair climbing/cycling) during work and leisure was determined for 1–4 days among 677 blue-collar workers using accelerometry. Differences between sexes and age groups were tested using MANOVA, using both a standard and a CoDA approach based on isometric log-ratio transformed data. Results When determining differences between sexes for different activities time at work, the effect size using standard analysis (η2 = 0.045, p

Bu makalede, CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) olarak tanımlanan işitme engelli ebeveynlerin işiten çocuklarının aile ve iletişim deneyimleri neticesinde edindikleri CODA Kimliğinin gelişiminin incelenmesi ve analiz edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaçla 4 kadın ve 7 erkek CODA ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Görüşmelerde elde edilen bulgular; “CODA Kimliği” teması ile CODA Kimliği gelişimini şekillendiren deneyimlerini içeren “Sosyal Farklılaşma ve Çift Kültürlülük”, “İşaret Dili” ve “Ebeveyn Sorumluluğu ve Rol Değişimi” alt kategorileri altında toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda CODA’ların aile ve iletişim deneyimleri neticesinde CODA Kimliği gelişiminde üç örüntüyü takip ettikleri görülmüştür: Kendini iki kültür arasında konumlandırma ve bu duruma bağlı kimlik gelişimi; işitme engelli kültürüne ait hissetme ve işitme engelli kimliği ile özdeşim kurma ve bir sosyal kimlik ve grup kimliği olarak CODA Kimliğini tanımlama ve kabullenme.

Glycine betaine (GB) plays a crucial role in plant response to abiotic stress, and its accumulation in chloroplasts is more effective than in the cytosol in improving the resistance of transgenic plants. Here, we report that the codA gene from Arthrobacter globiformis , which encodes a choline oxidase catalysing the conversion of choline to GB, was successfully introduced into the plastid genome of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Transgenic plants with plastid expression of codA showed increased tolerance to low temperature stress compared with the wild type (WT). Further studies revealed that under low temperature stress condition, transgenic plants presented a significantly higher photosynthetic performance by regulating the electron transport and energy distribution in PSII, and higher antioxidant enzyme activities and lower O2– and H2O2 accumulation than did the WT plants. A higher expression of the COR genes was also observed in transgenic plants. Our results suggest that chloroplast biosynthesis of GB could be an effective strategy for the engineering of plants with increased resistance to low temperature stress. Potatoes, which are the staple food in most countries and the fourth largest food crop worldwide, are native to subtropical regions and are particularly sensitive to cold stress. Our results showed that endogenous glycine betaine can protect plant photosynthetic systems, improve the antioxidant capacity and cold resistance of potatoes. This study enriches existing methods to improve potato cold resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a concurrent‐operant demand assessment (CODA) to identify a hierarchy of preference for demands in 17 individuals who exhibited problem behavior. We presented demands in pairs, with selection between demands serving as the dependent variable. The reinforcing efficacy of escape from the most‐ and least‐selected demands from the CODA was evaluated for 7 participants using progressive‐ratio (PR) schedules. Outcomes from the PR analysis corresponded with the rank order of demands from the CODA. Four of these seven participants were subsequently exposed to a brief CODA with only two items, which consisted of successive presentations of the most‐ and least‐selected demands from the CODA. Outcomes of the brief CODA corresponded with the PR and CODA for 3 out of 4 participants. These results suggest that the CODA might be an effective technology to determine a hierarchy of preference for demands for assessment and treatment purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastroschisis and omphalocele are the two most common abdominal wall birth defects, and epidemiologic characteristics and frequency of occurrence as part of a syndromic condition suggest distinct etiologies between the two defects. We assessed complex patterns of defect co‐occurrence with these defects separately using the Texas Birth Defects Registry. We used co‐occurring defect analysis (CODA) to compute adjusted observed‐to‐expected (O/E) ratios for all observed birth defect patterns. There were 2,998 non‐syndromic (i.e., no documented syndrome diagnosis identified) cases with gastroschisis and 789 (26%) of these had additional co‐occurring defects. There were 720 non‐syndromic cases with omphalocele, and 404 (56%) had additional co‐occurring defects. Among the top 30 adjusted O/E ratios for gastroschisis, most of the co‐occurring defects were related to the gastrointestinal system, though cardiovascular and kidney anomalies were also present. Several of the top 30 combinations co‐occurring with omphalocele appeared suggestive of OEIS (omphalocele, exstrophy of cloaca, imperforate anus, spinal defects) complex. After the exclusion of additional cases with features suggestive of OEIS in a post‐hoc sensitivity analysis, the top combinations involving defects associated with OEIS (e.g., spina bifida) were no longer present. The remaining top combinations involving omphalocele included cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and urogenital defects. In summary, we identified complex patterns of defects that co‐occurred more frequently than expected with gastroschisis and omphalocele using a novel software platform. Better understanding differences in the patterns between gastroschisis and omphalocele could lead to additional etiologic insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study assessed the effects of four types of teaching instruction for Hangul learning in Korean kindergartners. Forty-five four-year-old children participated in a Hangul learning experiment where they were taught 6 new Korean Guljas (Korean written syllable) in each of four conditions–whole Gulja, alphabet letter, CV (consonant + vowel) body and coda subsyllabic units, and copying. Participants were separated across three reading levels, namely, emergent readers, novice readers who could read regular Hangul words, and good readers who could read regular and irregular words. Effective training methods were different depending on children's reading level. Holistic whole Gulja instructions were effective for Hangul Gulja learning in emergent readers, whereas copying and analytic CV-coda instructions facilitated Hangul learning in novices. However, there were no differences among the four types of instructions among good readers. Copying apparently facilitates learning to read Hangul, but the effect of letter instruction is limited to the beginning level of Hangul learning. These results highlight the effectiveness of teaching instructions depending on children's reading level and the characteristics of Hangul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to describe specific aspects of deaf parenting of hearing children, based on an interpretation of research findings concerning the target group. Deaf parents, isolated from the verbally communicating majority by their sensory disability, face the challenge of raising and preparing hearing children for life. Our research based on semi-structured interviews with both deaf parents and hearing children demonstrates, however, that these parents do not primarily describe their parenthood as difficult or complicated. They are reconciled to their handicap and its consequences and use tools in the social environment to overcome the disadvantages of deaf parenting. Some "children" (all our respondents were adults reflecting on their childhood) describe, in contrast, their experience as a gradual reverse of natural family roles, with children eventually navigating their parents around the hearing world. These results indicate the need for further activities with these target groups in social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gendered patterns of physical activity behaviours may help explaining health inequalities between men and women. However, evidence on such patterns in the working population is sparse. This study aimed at documenting and comparing compositions of sitting, standing and moving at work and during leisure among male and female office workers of different age.Methods: Sitting (including lying), standing and moving were measured using accelerometry for, on average, four working days in 55 male and 57 female Swedish office workers. Behaviours were described in terms of time spent in four exhaustive categories: sitting in short (< 30 min) and long (≥30 min) bouts, standing, and moving. In a compositional data analysis approach, isometric log-ratios (ilr) were calculated for time sitting relative to non-sitting, time in short relative to long sitting bouts, and time in standing relative to moving. Differences between genders (men vs. women), domains (work vs. leisure), and according to age were examined for each ilr using ANOVA.Results: At work, time spent sitting in short bouts, sitting in long bouts, standing, and moving was, on average, 29, 43, 21 and 7% among men, and 28, 38, 26 and 7% among women. Corresponding proportions during leisure were 34, 27, 27 and 13% among men and 28, 27, 32 and 13% among women. Men spent more time sitting relative to non-sitting ([Formula: see text] =0.04, p = 0.03) than women, and less time standing relative to moving ([Formula: see text] =0.07, p = 0.01). At work compared to during leisure, both genders spent more time sitting relative to non-sitting ([Formula: see text] =0.47, p < 0.01); within sitting more time was spent in long relative to short sitting bouts ([Formula: see text] =0.26, p < 0.01), and within non-sitting, more time was spent standing than moving ([Formula: see text] =0.12, p < 0.01). Older workers spent less of their non-sitting time moving than younger workers ([Formula: see text] =0.07, p = 0.01).Conclusion: Male office workers spent more time sitting relative to non-sitting than female workers, and more time moving relative to standing. Both genders were sitting more at work than during leisure. Older workers moved less than younger. These workers could likely benefit from interventions to reduce or break up prolonged sitting time, preferably by moving more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A laboratory study was carried out using a vibrating system (SyGAVib) to produce aerosols from four soils collected in the central Tunisian region around Sfax. The aim of this device is to mimic dust emission by natural wind erosion. Using compositional analysis, the dust produced was compared to (i) dust generated in a wind tunnel by the same soils, (ii) fine sieved and (iii) original bulk soils, and (iv) naturally occurring aerosol samples collected in the same area. The relative quartz content strongly decreases from bulk to fine soils, and again from fine soils to both wind tunnel and vibration‐generated aerosols. Compositional data analysis (CoDA) clearly shows (i) a silica dilution effect in bulk soils, and (ii) that if silica is removed from the composition, the elemental compositions of fine soils and generated aerosols are similar but differ from bulk soils. Both aerosol generation methods produce material with chemical compositions that are also close to those measured in field‐sampled aerosols, and the fine soil composition is much closer to that of field and laboratory aerosols than to the parent soil. Aerosols generated from soils in the laboratory, either using a vibrating system or a wind tunnel, can be used as surrogates of the particles collected directly in the field. Plain Language Summary: A laboratory study was carried out using a vibrating system (SyGAVib) to produce particles from four soils collected in the central Tunisian region around Sfax. The aim of this device is to mimic dust emission by natural wind erosion. The chemical composition of the dust produced was compared to another dust generator (a wind tunnel), fine‐sieved soil, original bulk soils, and finally naturally occurring dust found in the same area. Both dust generators produce similar samples which look very different from bulk soils. Key Points: Compositional analysis using biplots and Aitchison distance is a valuable tool for chemical variation comparisonsDust aerosol can be extracted from soil using vibrations as well as wind frictionFigures of merit of a new small size dust generator system for fast extraction of dust from parent soil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperm whales communicate using codas (stereotyped click sequences). Females and juveniles live in long‐term social units, and units with similar coda repertoires share vocal clan membership. Vocal clans exhibit culturally defined differences in their multilevel social structure. Here, we aimed to identify different social units among sperm whales in Mauritius in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and to describe and compare their coda repertoires to investigate the presence of different vocal clans. We conducted six boat‐based surveys between 2008 and 2013, during which 101 different individuals were photo‐identified. Analysis of associations between 22 resighted individuals divided them into four candidate social units, but a lack of resightings impedes solid delineation of social units. Based on number and rhythm of clicks, at least 24 discrete coda types were detected among 4,767 analyzed codas using two different classification methods. Comparison of coda repertoires recorded from seven sperm whale groupings revealed the possible existence of two sympatric vocal clans, but the size differences of recorded repertoires warrant caution of interpretation. To further evaluate social structuring and the presence of different vocal clans in this region, future surveys should aim at obtaining long‐term sighting and acoustic data, and cover a more extensive area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EDUKACJA Quarterly is the property of Educational Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of EDUKACJA Quarterly is the property of Educational Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper describes a method for calculating the earthquake energy class for the Kamchatka region from coda records in the 0.8–1.8 Hz frequency band. The method is based on an empirical correlative relationship between the coda level and the Fedotov earthquake class. The coda level is found as the mean power of the ground velocity in an interval of 30 s. Five seismic dipping zones have been identified in Kamchatka, each having its own expression for converting the coda level to the energy class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral characteristics of the medium around 23 digital strong-motion seismic stations of Kamchatka region have been studied from local earthquake data relative to a reference bedrock station (Petropavlovsk, PET). Spectra are determined by multiband filtering. In each band peak velocity amplitudes, levels of Fourier S-spectra and mean-square coda amplitudes were compared. Average Fourier spectra were obtained from S-wave energy using Parseval's equation. The difference in hypocentral distances for pairs of stations was compensated by empirical S-wave attenuation functions. Records of more than 300 events were processed, with M = 5--6 and hypocentral distances mainly 100--600 km. The spectral ratios estimated by the three methods show behavior diversity. Some non-rock stations show expected spectral characteristics at high frequencies. The conditions at other stations can be considered similar to those at PET. Some stations show amplifications of up to 10 times in the 20--30 Hz frequency range. In general, the obtained spectral characteristics within 3--5 Hz are consistent with the expected trends corresponding to known local geology around strong-motion stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sintagma: Revista de Linguistica is the property of Sintagma: Revista de Linguistica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Various multivariate control charts (CCs) are applied to monitor compositional data (CoDa) processes post an isometric log-ratio (ilr) transformation aimed at assessing in-control or out-of-control (OOC) conditions. While optimal multivariate CCs effectively detect shifts in the overall mean vector, challenges arise when shifts occur in specific variables rather than the overall mean vector. This complexity in signal interpretation using traditional multivariate CCs prompts the need for improved approaches. To address this issue, this study introduces the application of a multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN) with back-propagation (BP) learning to interpret OOC signals in Hotelling's T 2 CC for CoDa. The proposed model aids practitioners in identifying atypical variables responsible for OOC situations instead of focusing solely on mean shifts. This capability to detect atypical variables enhances process control strategies, leading to more efficient industrial operations. The model's performance is assessed through two cases: one involving p = 3 -part CoDa and another with p = 5 -part CoDa. Shifts are introduced by altering variable means using various combinations. For comparison, the study also presents results obtained from multivariate data analysis using MLPNN with BP. The results demonstrate that the MLPNN consistently provides more accurate outcomes in the case of CoDa than multivariate data. Applying the ilr transformation improves the MLPNN's efficacy in accurately interpreting OOC signals within the CoDa domain. An application is reported to interpret the OOC signal during the working hours of machine operators in an industry. • The Hotelling T C 2 CC to CoDa using ilr transformation. • Analysis of OOC signal in T C 2 CC for CoDa using the BP technique in an MLPNN. • Identification of atypical variables responsible for OOC situations. • The performance assessment in diverse scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires are natural ecological processes that generate high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that are dispersed into the atmosphere. PM2.5 could be a potential health problem due to its size. Having adequate numerical models to predict the spatial and temporal distribution of PM2.5 helps to mitigate the impact on human health. The compositional data approach is widely used in the environmental sciences and concentration analyses (parts of a whole). This numerical approach in the modelling process avoids one common statistical problem: the spurious correlation. PM2.5 is a part of the atmospheric composition. In this way, this study developed an hourly spatio-temporal PM2.5 model based on the dynamic linear modelling framework (DLM) with a compositional approach. The results of the model are extended using a Gaussian–Mattern field. The modelling of PM2.5 using a compositional approach presented adequate quality model indices (NSE = 0.82, RMSE = 0.23, and a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91); however, the correlation range showed a slightly lower value than the conventional/traditional approach. The proposed method could be used in spatial prediction in places without monitoring stations.

What do spelling errors look like in children with sign language knowledge but with variation in hearing background, and what strategies do these children rely on when they learn how to spell in written language? Earlier research suggests that the spelling of children with hearing loss is different, because of their lack of hearing, which requires them to rely on other strategies. In this study, we examine whether, and how, different variables such as hearing degree, sign language knowledge and bilingualism may affect the spelling strategies of children with Swedish sign language, Svenskt teckenspråk, (STS) knowledge, and whether these variables can be mirrored in these children’s spelling. The spelling process of nineteen children with STS knowledge (mean age: 10.9) with different hearing degrees, born into deaf families, is described and compared with a group of fourteen hearing children without STS knowledge (mean age: 10.9). Keystroke logging was used to investigate the participants’ writing process. The spelling behavior of the children was further analyzed and categorized into different spelling error categories. The results indicate that many children showed exceptionally few spelling errors compared to earlier studies, that may derive from their early exposure of STS, enabling them to use the fingerspelling strategy. All of the children also demonstrated similar typing skills. The deaf children showed a tendency to rely on a visual strategy during spelling, which may result in incorrect, but visually similar, words, i.e., a type of spelling errors not found in texts by hearing children with STS knowledge. The deaf children also showed direct transfer from STS in their spelling. It was found that hard-of-hearing children together with hearing children of deaf adults (CODAs), both with STS knowledge, used a sounding strategy, rather than a visual strategy. Overall, this study suggests that the ability to hear and to use sign language, together and respectively, play a significant role for the spelling patterns and spelling strategies used by the children with and without hearing loss.

Background: Over 90% of Deaf parents have hearing children, but there are very few, if any, studies that have explored the life worlds of hearing children of Deaf adults (CODAs) in South Africa. This article is an account of part of the life experiences of a female hearing child who was born and raised by her Deaf parents in apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. Objectives: This study used auto-ethnography to explore the socialisation of a female coloured CODA during the height of South Africa’s apartheid era, in order to shed light on intersectional influences on identity and selfhood. The study was intended to contribute to the limited knowledge available on the life circumstances of CODAs in Global South contexts. Methods: Evocative auto-ethnography under a qualitative research paradigm was used to explore the life world of a now adult female hearing child of Deaf parents. Her thoughts, observations, reflections and involvements are articulated in a first person written narrative that is presented in this article. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse data, and the themes that emerged are: (1) CODAs as language brokers, (2) being bilingual and trilingual, (3) being bicultural, (4) role reversal and parentification and (5) issues of identity. A discussion of these themes is interwoven with the literature, in an effort to provide a rich and robust analysis that contributes to the body of knowledge. Results: Multiple identity markers that include disability, gender, race, age, nationality, culture and language intersect to frame the life world of a hearing child of Deaf parents who grew up in the apartheid era in South Africa. The result is both positive and negative life experiences, arising from being located simultaneously in both a hearing and Deaf world. Conclusion: This study suggests that, in part, the life world of a hearing child of Deaf parents is multi-layered, multidimensional and complex; hence, it cannot be presented with a single description. Recommendations that inform policy and practice are outlined in the concluding section of the article.

How does bimodal bilingualism—a signed and a spoken language—influence the writing process or the written product? The writing outcomes of twenty deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children and hearing children of deaf adults (CODA) (mean 11.6 years) with similar bimodal bilingual backgrounds were analyzed. During the writing of a narrative text, a keylogging tool was used that generated detailed information about the participants’ writing process and written product. Unlike earlier studies that have repeatedly shown that monolingual hearing children outperform their DHH peers in writing, there were few differences between the groups that likely were caused by their various hearing backgrounds, such as in their lexical density. Signing knowledge was negatively correlated with writing flow and pauses before words, and positively correlated with deleted characters, but these did not affect the written product negatively. Instead, they used different processes to reach similar texts. This study emphasizes the importance of including and comparing participants with similar language experience backgrounds. It may be deceptive to compare bilingual DHH children with hearing children with other language backgrounds, risking showing language differences. This should always be controlled for through including true control groups with similar language experience as the examined groups.

What do spelling errors look like in children with sign language knowledge but with variation in hearing background, and what strategies do these children rely on when they learn how to spell in written language? Earlier research suggests that the spelling of children with hearing loss is different, because of their lack of hearing, which requires them to rely on other strategies. In this study, we examine whether, and how, different variables such as hearing degree, sign language knowledge and bilingualism may affect the spelling strategies of children with Swedish sign language, Svenskt teckenspråk , (STS) knowledge, and whether these variables can be mirrored in these children's spelling. The spelling process of nineteen children with STS knowledge (mean age: 10.9) with different hearing degrees, born into deaf families, is described and compared with a group of fourteen hearing children without STS knowledge (mean age: 10.9). Keystroke logging was used to investigate the participants' writing process. The spelling behavior of the children was further analyzed and categorized into different spelling error categories. The results indicate that many children showed exceptionally few spelling errors compared to earlier studies, that may derive from their early exposure of STS, enabling them to use the fingerspelling strategy. All of the children also demonstrated similar typing skills. The deaf children showed a tendency to rely on a visual strategy during spelling, which may result in incorrect, but visually similar, words, i.e., a type of spelling errors not found in texts by hearing children with STS knowledge. The deaf children also showed direct transfer from STS in their spelling. It was found that hard-of-hearing children together with hearing children of deaf adults (CODAs), both with STS knowledge, used a sounding strategy, rather than a visual strategy. Overall, this study suggests that the ability to hear and to use sign language, together and respectively, play a significant role for the spelling patterns and spelling strategies used by the children with and without hearing loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narratological analysis helps the readers to understand the various ideas present in the text. Further, it also helps in a better understanding of the texts. This analysis could be made in any prose pieces such as essays, short stories or novels. Though, there are many narrative models available, the study pertains to the six major aspects in Labov's model, through which the narrative skill could be highlighted. For this study, I. K. Sharma's short story "Fashion Parade" is used. The research aims to highlight the power of storytelling by applying Labov's model to the story selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Old/Middle Chinese codas of the entering tone are well preserved in Sino-Korean except for Chinese *-t, which changed to Sino-Korean -l. This article claims that Old Chinese coda *-t changed to Sino-Korean -l because coda -t was not fully developed in Old Korean by the time the Sino-Korean phonological system was formed in the eighth century. This article also proposes that the syllabic structure of Old Sino-Korean was (C)V at the earliest stage and gradually changed to (C)V(C). Evidence is presented from place names of the Samguk sagi along with other relevant Old Sino-Korean materials. The results of this study suggest we must reject the views that Sino-Korean coda -l developed under the influence of similar changes that occurred in Chinese dialects, that Middle Chinese coda -t remained the same in Sino-Korean until the sixth century but changed to -l in the seventh century, or that it was realized as -r due to phonetic adjustment caused by released codas of Old Korean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]