Acoustic-Perceptual Factors Both Maintain and Account for the Rarity of the Czech Trill-Fricative

Czech has a sibilant inventory that contrasts at three places of articulation: Alveolar, a pre-post-alveolar, and palato-alveolar. The specific aim of this study is to examine the perception of the typologically rare Czech sibilant inventory and to determine whether acoustic-perceptual characteristics play a role in the maintenance of the Czech trill-fricative. These results are compared to a more common three-way sibilant inventory, Polish. Native Czech listeners performed an auditory AX discrimination task in two blocks: A Czech block and a Polish block. Stimuli were embedded in varying levels of noise to increase task difficulty. Signal-to-noise ratio differences affected the perception of the Czech sibilants more than Polish sibilants. Moreover, a multidimensional scaling analysis revealed less perceptual dispersion for the Czech inventory than the Polish inventory. These results suggest that there is greater difficulty maintaining the Czech inventory considering the signal-to-noise comparisons and that this a factor that contributes to its rarity; however, similarities in perceptual dispersion indicate that maintenance across several acoustic-perceptual cues is possible, and Czech shows few signs of losing this typologically rare contrast.

Comparison of the Universities in Turkey with Multidimensional Scaling Analysis

Higher education institutions are among the keystones of a country. Besides being the primary institutions of a country that expand overseas, universities are the most important organizations representing it at the international level. It is an undeniable fact that a university benefits the country in which it is located in many ways. It is crucial to examine the performances of universities, which are among the major drivers of global change. As such, the positions of the Turkish universities during the 2008–2009 and 2018–2019 periods were examined by multidimensional scaling analysis. Especially the change in the positions of the recently-opened universities and their proximity or distance to the established universities constitute the primary focus of this study. The universities in Turkey were analyzed through multidimensional scaling analysis by using the variables of the number of students at associate and undergraduate level, the number of academic staff, the number of doctoral students, the total number of publications, and the number of graduate students. No significant difference was found between the positions of the universities that were opened under the policy of “one university for each city”.

Visual discrimination of primate species based on faces in chimpanzees

Many primate studies have investigated discrimination of individual faces within the same species. However, few studies have looked at discrimination between primate species faces at the categorical level. This study systematically examined the factors important for visual discrimination between primate species faces in chimpanzees, including: colour, orientation, familiarity and perceptual similarity. Five adult female chimpanzees were tested on their ability to discriminate identical and categorical (non-identical) images of different primate species faces in a series of touchscreen matching-to-sample experiments. Discrimination performance for chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan faces was better in colour than in greyscale. An inversion effect was also found, with higher accuracy for upright than inverted faces. Discrimination performance for unfamiliar (baboon and capuchin monkey) and highly familiar (chimpanzee and human) but perceptually different species was equally high. After excluding effects of colour and familiarity, difficulty in discriminating between different species faces can be best explained by their perceptual similarity to each other. Categorical discrimination performance for unfamiliar, perceptually similar faces (gorilla and orangutan) was significantly worse than unfamiliar, perceptually different faces (baboon and capuchin monkey). Moreover, Multidimensional Scaling analysis of the image similarity data based on local feature matching revealed greater similarity between chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan faces than between human, baboon and capuchin monkey faces. We conclude our chimpanzees appear to perceive similarity in primate faces in a similar way to humans. Information about perceptual similarity is likely prioritised over the potential influence of previous experience or a conceptual representation of species for categorical discrimination between species faces.

Diatom Species That Characterize Saline Ponds (South of Spain) With The Description of A New Navicula Species

The south of the Iberian Peninsula has a high number of saline ponds where electric conductivity (EC) is an important factor that affects directly aquatic organisms, influencing their distribution and abundance. Environmental factors (such as pH, EC and temperature) were measured and diatom assemblages were sampled in 15 saline shallow ponds in the south of Spain along a range of electric conductivity (1.4 mS to 51.6 mS cm-1) between spring of 2004 to early summer of 2006. Three groups of ponds were defined based on conductivity (oligosaline 1.4 to 5.3 mScm-1, mesosaline 10.9 to 17.3 mScm-1 and euhaline 32.3 to 51.6 mScm-1) and diatom assemblages were studied. PERMANOVA analysis showed significant differences in diatom community composition between the three groups of ponds. Multidimensional scaling analysis (nMDS) showed distinct clusters of diatom assemblages in oligosaline and mesosaline ponds. Dominant diatom species in the eusaline ponds were Tryblionella pararostrata, Halamphora cf. petrusa, Halamphora sp.1 and Cocconeis euglypta; in the mesosaline ponds Navicula veneta, Nitzschia elegantula and Planothidium delicatulum were dominant taxa and the oligosaline ponds were dominated by Navicula veneta, Pseudostaurosira brevistriata and Nitzschia inconspicua. A new diatom species was described in ponds with high electric conductivity (32-56 mS cm-1) and named N. maiorpargemina.A detailed description of N. maiorpargemina sp. nov. is presented in this study based on light and scanning electron microscopy after comparison with morphologically and ecologically related taxa.

Phylogeography of the Central american red brocket deer, Mazama temama (Artiodactyla, Cervidae) in southeastern Mexico

Anthropogenic threats have increasingly isolated the populations of Mazama temama (Erxleben, 1777) and limited the gene flow in this species. Knowledge of the phylogeographic structure of this species is therefore essential for its conservation. Thus, in this study, we describe the phylogeographic structure of two M. temama populations of Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. We sequenced the D-Loop region of the mitochondrial DNA of 16 individuals, in order to estimate the diversity and genetic differentiation (FST), Tajima’s D index, "Mismatch distribution" test; a phylogram and a haplotype network was constructed and we performed multidimensional scaling analysis to test the hypothesis of association between geographic distance and genetic diversity. The haplotypic and nucleotide diversity was high, indicating divergent populations (FST = 0.223), while the Tajima’s D index (-1,03300; P > 0.10) determined disequilibrium in the D-Loop region, derived from a population expansion that was evidenced in the "Mismatch distribution" test and confirmed with the haplotype network in the form of a star. Four lineages were identified in the phylogram (Veracruz n = 3, Oaxaca n = 1), evidencing geographic and reproductive isolation between the two populations. This was confirmed by the multidimensional scaling analysis, which evidenced recent evolutionary divergence between the populations analyzed, which are considered evolutionary units of conservation.

POSITIONING FLOWER BOUQUET DENGAN MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING BERDASARKAN PERSEPSI KONSUMEN DI LACHERIE FLORIST

The purpose of this study is to determine the position of flower bouquet on ​​the consumer perception in Lacherie Florist by using multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS). The sample in this research were 104 respondents of Lacherie Florist. Data collection used a questionnaire through Google forms. The validity test results stated that all statements were valid as well as the reliability test showed that all parameters were reliable. The results obtained from the bouquet flower were divided into four different positioning groups based on consumer perception. The results indicated that (1) Bloom Box was most different from other types of bouquet flower (2) Bloom Bag, Artificial Flowers and Snack Bouquet have similarities because they were in the same quadrant (3) Mixed Money and Flowers and Money Bouquet were the most similar type because of the position closest to each other. (4) Fresh flowers have similarities with Mix Money Bouquet and Flowers but located in different quadrant.Keywords: Bouquet flower, consumer, perception, multidimensional scaling, positioning

Tingkat keberlanjutan terhadap aspek pengelolaan sumur tua secara tradisional di Bojonegoro Jawa Timur

This study aims to determine the sustainability status of the Re-Opening Oil Wells of Bojonegoro Regency, East Java, Indonesia. The method used in this research is Multidimensional Scaling analysis which is implemented using Rap-Re-Opening Oil Wells software. Existing status of Wells Bojonegoro Re-Opening Oil Sustainability Less Sustainable with the weighting value of each dimension is 34.56%, 39.73%, 45.25%, 37.90%, 57.00%. The strategy to increase the addition of status values from the 5 dimensions of the Sustainability Index, evaluated only one dimension that is sustainable with a fairly good status. The results obtained from the improvement scenario obtained by the respective percentage figures as follows; Ecology 41.44%, Economics 61.62%, Social and Culture 45.25%, Technology 42.02%, Institutional 61, 29%. Thus the strategy to increase sustainable status can be improved by the Oil Wells Rap-Re-Opening Method.

Determination of antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds for basic standardization of Turkish propolis

This study aimed to determine the standard amount of antioxidant content and compounds of the propolis for the standardization of propolis. For this purpose, the total flavonoids, total phenolic, CUPRAC antioxidant capacity content and the diversity of phenolic and flavonoid components of these propolis samples were found by HPLC determined at the 23 propolis samples which were collected different regions of Turkey. Beside that, the similarities and differences of these 23 provinces to each other according to their antioxidant capacities were investigated by multidimensional scaling analysis. The total flavonoid content in the propolis samples were determined between 21.28 and 152.56 mg CE/g. The total phenolic content in the propolis samples was found between 34.53 mg and 259.4 mg GAE/g. CUPRAC antioxidant capacity of the propolis samples and antioxidant range was found from 95.35 to 710.43 mg TE/g. Also, 4 flavonoid [Quercetin (min.1.12–max.4.14 mg/g), Galangin (min.0.72–max.40.79 mg/g), Apigenin (min.1.07–max.17.35 mg/g), Pinocembrin (min.1.32–max.39.92 mg/g] and 6 phenolic acid [Caffeic acid (min.1.20–max.7.6 mg/g), p-Coumaric acid (min.1.26–max.4.47 mg/g), trans-Ferulic acid (min.1.28–max.4.92 mg/g), Protocatechuic acid (1.78 mg/g), trans-Cinnamic acid (min.1.05–max.3.83 mg/g), Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) (min.1.41–max.30.15 mg/g)] components were detected as mg/g, in different ratios in propolis samples collected from different regions. The feature of this study, so far, is to have the maximum number of samples representing the Turkish propolis, and so is thought to help to national and international propolis standard workings.

The Analysis of the Effect of Covid 19 on Macroeconomic Indicators via MDS and Clustering Methods

BackgroundCovid 19, which emerged in China in December 2019 and affected the whole world in a short period, caused serious contractions in the world economy. Analyzing these effects is important in terms of reducing economic losses and measuring the effectiveness of the measures taken.MethodsThe aim of this study, covering the period 2019: q1- 2020q3 is to is to analyze the volatility in macroeconomic indicators caused by the pandemic process, taking into account the % changes in macroeconomic indicators and whether OECD countries show similar tendencies in terms of volatilities during the pandemic process. The period 2019: q1-2019: q3 represents the pre-pandemic period, while the period 2019: q4-2020: q3 represents the pandemic process. By using cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis, countries that have similar characteristics in terms of the change in macroeconomic indicators for each period were grouped, and it was investigated whether this grouping changed during the pandemic process. Clustering and multidimensional scaling analysis are the most appropriate methods for the purpose of the study. Exports, imports, inflation, unemployment, private consumption and economic growth are macroeconomic indicators used in the model. ResultsAccording to the results of the analysis, although most OECD countries showed similar characteristics in terms of economic impact before the pandemic, countries such as Turkey, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Mexico differ significantly from other countries in terms of economic impact during the pandemic process. The separation in question continues throughout the period discussed for Turkey. In addition, it was concluded that Spain, Britain, Mexico and Colombia suffered the most economic losses due to COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2020, when the pandemic was felt the most. ConclusionThe economic variable that has seen the most contraction is the volume of foreign trade. Unemployment rates have increased more slowly in countries where employment is sought to protect with employment packages, while unemployment rates have increased more in other countries. The contraction in the volume of production and consumption also negatively affected economic growth. Differences in economic impact have diversified the cluster between countries.