Letter visual similarity of Japanese hiragana and katakana based on reaction times

AbstractLetter similarity (i.e., perceptual distance) is a critical measure to better understand letter perception and literacy development. Despite its importance, however, measurements of letter similarity for non-alphabetic scripts are limited, and the shortage of letter similarity for non-alphabetic script interferes with the identification of the universality and the uniqueness of letter perception systems across different scripts. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive matrix of letter similarity for Japanese kana letters (hiragana and katakana). We obtained the discrimination reaction times for simultaneously presented letter pairs and calculated the perceptual distance of 4,278 letter pairs by inversing the time. The matrix showed significant correlations with previously obtained letter similarity for hiragana and katakana. An additional experiment showed that letter pairs for the same sounds (え–エ) produced significantly slower responses compared with those for different sounds (え–コ). However, the differences in reaction times between the same and different sound conditions were smaller than the sequentially presented conditions, suggesting that the matrix was partially attributable to knowledge-based factors (e.g., letter-sound knowledge). This first comprehensive matrix of letter similarity (i.e., perceptual distance) for Japanese kana letters (hiragana and katakana) will be useful for researchers interested in letter perception and literacy development.

Application of Geoinformation Technology to the Management of Community-Based Natural Resources for Tourism Development in Northern Tanzania

The approaches to natural resources management have evolved. Disparities in their adoption are likely to produce a long-lasting negative impact on the resources and the livelihood security of the community depending on them. The use of geoinformation by the local community is a critical measure to the sustainability of its resources. Nonetheless, the application of geoinformation technologies to the community-based natural resources for the tourism industry is highly unknown. This chapter reviewed the application of geoinformation technology to the management of community-based natural resources in the Pangani District of Northern Tanzania. It considers how geoinformation technology is used in the management of tourism activities for community development. Specifically, the chapter discusses community developments resulting from that as well as challenges associated with the use of geographical information systems and remote sensing technologies. The chapter concludes with key recommendations for improving those challenges.

COVID-19 Vaccines Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: A Scenario for Iran

COVID-19 vaccines are supposed to be critical measure for ending the pandemic. Governments had to decide on the type of vaccine to provide for their population. In this decision-making process, cost-effectiveness analysis is considered a helpful tool. This study is a cost-effectiveness analysis utilized to calculate the incremental cost per averted disability-adjusted life year (DALY) by vaccination compared to no vaccination for different COVID-19 vaccines. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for a vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines was estimated at 6.2 to 121.2 USD to avert one DALY and 566.8 to 10,957.7 USD per one death. The lowest and highest ICERs belong to Ad26.COV2.S and CoronaVac, respectively. Considering the scenario of Iran, vaccines that are recommended include ad26.cov2.s, chadox1-S, rAd26-S + rAd5-S, and BNT162b2 in the order of recommendation.

Bayesian Additive Modeling of Maternal Mortality In Ghana

Maternal mortality is a critical measure for quality of health system in any country and hence many countries have made concerted efforts to check its occurrence. Various stakeholders involved in the management of health system in Ghana have been tasked to ensure women do not die whilst giving birth. This study was conducted on a sample of 1,052 women selected from all the ten administrative regions of Ghana in which 188 maternal deaths occurred. Two main analytical tools, namely the Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression and Bayesian Additive Posterior Modeling using IN LA were used. Age at death, Marital Status, and Place of Death emerged as the most significant determinants of maternal mortality in Ghana. It was realized that high number of maternal deaths were recorded in the least developed regions with Northern Region having the highest number of Maternal Deaths. It is therefore important for stakeholders to devise a road map of getting health workers to accept postings to the rural areas and also provide well resourced health facilities to stem this menace.

Three-dimensional semi-automated volumetric assessment of the pulp space of teeth following regenerative dental procedures

The volumetric change that occurs in the pulp space over time represents a critical measure when it comes to determining the secondary outcomes of regenerative endodontic procedures (REPs). However, to date, only a few studies have investigated the accuracy of the available domain-specialized medical imaging tools with regard to three-dimensional (3D) volumetric assessment. This study sought to compare the accuracy of two different artificial intelligence-based medical imaging programs namely OsiriX MD (v 9.0, Pixmeo SARL, Bernex Switzerland, https://www.osirix-viewer.com) and 3D Slicer (http://www.slicer.org), in terms of estimating the volume of the pulp space following a REP. An Invitro assessment was performed to check the reliability and sensitivity of the two medical imaging programs in use. For the subsequent clinical application, pre- and post-procedure cone beam computed tomography scans of 35 immature permanent teeth with necrotic pulp and periradicular pathosis that had been treated with a cell-homing concept-based REP were processed using the two biomedical DICOM software programs (OsiriX MD and 3D Slicer). The volumetric changes in the teeth’s pulp spaces were assessed using semi-automated techniques in both programs. The data were statistically analyzed using t-tests and paired t-tests (P = 0.05). The pulp space volumes measured using both programs revealed a statistically significant decrease in the pulp space volume following the REP (P < 0.05), with no significant difference being found between the two programs (P > 0.05). The mean decreases in the pulp space volumes measured using OsiriX MD and 3D Slicer were 25.06% ± 19.45% and 26.10% ± 18.90%, respectively. The open-source software (3D Slicer) was found to be as accurate as the commercially available software with regard to the volumetric assessment of the post-REP pulp space. This study was the first to demonstrate the step-by-step application of 3D Slicer, a user-friendly and easily accessible open-source multiplatform software program for the segmentation and volume estimation of the pulp spaces of teeth treated with REPs.

A Case of Exacerbation of Subclinical Hyperthyroidism after First Administration of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

COVID-19 vaccines are the most critical measure for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic; however, we have little information on their complications. We experienced a case of a patient who developed hyperthyroidism complicated with atrial fibrillation and heart failure on the sixth day after the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination. This case report shows the importance of considering hyperthyroidism as a possible complication after COVID-19 vaccination.

Size Matters, but Species Do Not: No Evidence for Species-Specific Swimming Performance in Co-Occurring Great Basin Stream Fishes

For fishes, swimming performance is an important predictor of habitat use and a critical measure for the design of effective fish passage systems. Few studies have examined burst and prolonged types of swimming performance among several co-occurring species, and swimming performance in many fish communities is undocumented. In this study, we characterize both burst (c-start velocity) and prolonged speed (critical swim speed) across a poorly documented, co-occurring group of stream fishes within the Great Basin of the western USA. We documented the variation in swim speed associated with species, habitat, and body size. Body size had an overwhelming effect on both burst speed and prolonged speed, whereas habitat use and species identity were not significant predictors. Among species, there is no evidence of a trade-off between burst swim speed and prolonged swim speed. Lack of a trade-off in performance between burst swim speed and prolonged swim speed among species may be due to unexpectedly high prolonged swim speeds exhibited by species that used substrate-bracing behaviors. Incorporating body size and variation in behavior, such as substrate-bracing behaviors, into fish passage models will likely be sufficient to ensure the passage of all species without the need to account for species-specific swimming abilities. However, these results characterize the swimming performance for threatened and common fish species such that other comparisons can be made and species-specific studies can access accurate data.

Characterization of the Genetic Basis and Biological Significance of Heteroblasty in Soybean

Leaf morphology, as a critical measure of plant architecture, has been associated with soybean yield and quality. As yet, conclusive investigations into the genetic basis and biological significance of heteroblasty in soybean remain sparse. To identify and biologically characterize the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing heteroblasty in soybean, 11 traits associated with leaf morphology, seed quality, and grain yield were observed for two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations grown in two environments. Values of broad-sense heritability (H2) for leaf traits in two RIL populations varied from 0.62 to 0.99. These high heritabilities, taken together with the Kurtosis and Skewness values indicate that the phenotypic variation in leaf morphology observed for both RIL populations are mainly controlled by quantitative traits. The three observed leaf morphology traits exhibited significant correlations (P < 0.05) with more than half of the grain yield and seed quality traits, with correlation coefficients varying from − 0.40 to 0.43, which suggests that leaf morphology can significantly influence soybean yield and quality. A total of 11 QTLs were detected for leaf morphology, with logarithm of odds (LOD) values ranging from 3.40 to 89.6, which accounted for 1.38 ~ 74.53% of genetic variation. Eight of these loci for leaf morphology co-located with those for seed quality and grain yield, which coincided large and extensive leaf morphologies that contributed to seed quality and grain yield formation. Overall, these results provide important information for breeding high yielding crop varieties with improved quality traits produced through optimization of leaf morphology.

An Active Set Trust-Region Method for Bound-Constrained Optimization

This paper discusses an active set trust-region algorithm for bound-constrained optimization problems. A sufficient descent condition is used as a computational measure to identify whether the function value is reduced or not. To get our complexity result, a critical measure is used which is computationally better than the other known critical measures. Under the positive definiteness of approximated Hessian matrices restricted to the subspace of non-active variables, it will be shown that unlimited zigzagging cannot occur. It is shown that our algorithm is competitive in comparison with the state-of-the-art solvers for solving an ill-conditioned bound-constrained least-squares problem.

Marginal mandibular nerve — a wandering enigma and ways to tackle it

Background This study aims to propose surgical approaches intended to localize and preserve the marginal mandibular nerve (MMN) during routinely performed head and neck surgical procedures. Main body of abstract Preservation of the functional integrity of the MMN is a critical measure in the success of orofacial surgeries involving the submandibular triangle. This study systematically reviews the anatomical description of the nerve including origin, course relative to fascial planes, relation to the parotid gland and facial pedicle, branching pattern and anastomosis of nerve and consolidate the findings of several significant studies to determine the “surgically safe” approaches to avoid iatrogenic injury to MMN. Short conclusion The systematic approaches described in this study have helped the authors precisely determine which particular MMN preserving approach to be adopted for each aspect of head and neck surgery. This has definitely enhanced the quality of surgery performed and the postoperative satisfaction of the patients.