Applying andragogy for integrating a MOOC into a formal online learning experience in computer engineering.

In this paper, we present the results of a research experience of implementing andragogy in a learning environment designed to better meet the needs of adult learners studying part-time at a distance university. The learning environment was composed of a learning experience on a formal distance university online course that has been enriched with a non-formal component based on students' participation in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) related to the same topic. The non-formal experience was designed to consolidate the learning of specific content that involved difficult concepts and foster collaborative skills.

Fundamental frequency disturbances in female and male singers' pitch glides through long tube with varied resistances.

Source-filter interaction can disturb vocal fold vibration frequency. Resonance frequency/bandwidth ratios (Q-values) may affect such interaction. Occurrences of fundamental frequency (fo) disturbances were measured in ascending pitch glides produced by four female and five male singers phonating into a 70 cm long tube.

Potential ambient NO abatement by applying photocatalytic materials in a Spanish city and analysis of short-term effect on human mortality.

Road traffic is the main contributor to NO emissions in many European cities, causing that the current limit values for the protection of human health are exceeded. The use of photocatalytic compounds that incorporate titanium dioxide (TiO) is frequently proposed as abatement technology but its depolluting effectiveness on a real scale is still being investigated. In this work, the potential removal capacity of NO that selected TiO-based materials would have if they were implemented in a street in the municipality of Alcobendas (Community of Madrid, Spain) has been evaluated.

The role of BDNF and NGF plasma levels in first-episode schizophrenia: A longitudinal study.

Neurotrophins have been proposed to be involved in biological mechanisms which might underlie different clinical outcomes in schizophrenia. The aims of the present study were to examine the BDNF/NGF plasma levels in a cohort of first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients in remission as potential biological predictors of relapse; to study the associations between these neurotrophins and the symptomatology severity through different stages after a FES in two independent cohorts. 2EPs-Cohort: 69 first-episode in clinical remission were included.

Kulning: Acoustic and Perceptual Characteristics of a Calling Style Used Within the Scandinavian Herding Tradition.

Kulning, a loud, high-pitched vocal calling technique pertaining to the Scandinavian herding system, has attracted several researchers' attention, mainly focusing on cultural, phonatory and musical aspects. Less attention has been paid to the spectral and physiological properties that characterize Kulning tones, and also if there is a physiologically optimum pitch range. We analyzed tones produced by ten participants with varying experience in Kulning.

An approach to evaluating and benchmarking the mechanical behavior of a surgical mesh prototype designed for the repair of abdominal wall defects.

Ventral hernia repair is a common surgical procedure in abdominal surgery in which surgical mesh has become an essential tool to improve outcomes. To avoid recurrences the mesh needs to mimic the mechanical behavior of the abdominal wall. In this scenario the mechanical properties at the interface between the mesh and its surrounding tissue is critical for the performance of the device and, therefore, the success after surgery.

Long-Term Average Spectrum Characteristics of Portuguese Fado-Canção from Coimbra.

Descriptions of acoustical characteristics of Fado, a Portuguese urban style sung in Lisbon and Oporto, are scarce, particularly concerning Fado-Canção, a related style sung in Coimbra. The present study aims at describing long-term average spectrum (LTAS) parameters of 16 professional singers while singing and reading the lyrics of a typical Fado-Canção. LTAS parameters were investigated in terms of: (1) equivalent sound level (L); (2) spectral differences between 3 frequency bands 0-2, 2-5, and 5-8 kHz; and (3) quantification of spectral prominence between 2 and 4 kHz, calculated as the level difference between the peak in this frequency region and a reference trendline between 1 and 5 kHz, henceforth Formant Cluster Prominence (FCP).

Glottal Airflow and Glottal Area Waveform Characteristics of Flow Phonation in Untrained Vocally Healthy Adults.

Objective: To examine flow phonation characteristics with regard to vocal fold vibration and voice source properties in vocally healthy adults using multimodality voice measurements across various phonation types (breathy, neutral, flow, and pressed) and loudness conditions (typical, loud, and soft).

Participants And Methods: Vocal fold vibration, airflow, acoustic, and subglottal pressure was analyzed in 13 untrained voices (six female and seven male). Participants repeated the syllable / pæ:/ using breathy, neutral, flow, and pressed phonation during typical, loud, and soft loudness conditions.

What Voice-Related Metrics Change With Menopause? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study.

Voice complaints associated with menopause have been reported by a substantial number of studies. However, to assess the clinical relevance of menopause to voice is still difficult as the extent to which menopausal symptoms are reflected on voice metrics remains unclear. A comprehensive review and meta-analysis were carried out to identify voice-related metrics that change with menopause and to quantify the magnitude of those changes.

Authentic Leadership and Employees' Innovative Behaviour: A Multilevel Investigation in Three Countries.

The innovativeness of individual employees is a vital source of competitive advantage of firms, contributing to societal development. Therefore, the aim of this multilevel study was to examine how entrepreneurial firm owners' authentic leadership relates to their employees' innovative behaviour. Our conceptual model postulates that the relationship between business owners' authentic leadership (as perceived by their employees) and their employees' innovative behaviour is mediated by employees' personal initiative and their work engagement.

Influence of social cognition as a mediator between cognitive reserve and psychosocial functioning in patients with first episode psychosis.

Background: Social cognition has been associated with functional outcome in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP). Social cognition has also been associated with neurocognition and cognitive reserve. Although cognitive reserve, neurocognitive functioning, social cognition, and functional outcome are related, the direction of their associations is not clear.

Quality of Life and Health: Influence of Preparation for Retirement Behaviors through the Serial Mediation of Losses and Gains.

The dynamic theory of resources is a recent approach that provides a theoretical framework for understanding, forecasting, and examining the relationships between people's resources and their adaptation to retirement. This article focuses on the transition to retirement in order to better understand how retirees' perceptions of their gains and losses when they approach retirement significantly explain their well-being after retirement. Moreover, we explore the relationship between people's preparation behaviors before retirement (T1) and their quality of life and health after retirement (T3), taking into consideration the mediating role of perceived gains and losses in retirement (T2).

Job Crafting as a Mediator between Work Engagement and Wellbeing Outcomes: A Time-Lagged Study.

This time-lagged study, using the framework of the JD-R model, tested the mediating role of job crafting measuring: at T1, work engagement, workaholism and emotional exhaustion; at T2, job crafting; and, at T3, flourishing, job performance and job satisfaction. Respondents were 443 Spanish employees working in different companies. Results show that job crafting mediates the relationship between work engagement and some of its outcomes (job performance and flourishing).

Predicting Entrepreneurial Career Intentions: Values and the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Integrating predictions from the theory of human values with the theory of planned behavior (TPB), our primary goal is to investigate mechanisms through which individual values are related to entrepreneurial career intentions using a sample of 823 students from four European countries. We find that openness and self-enhancement values relate positively to entrepreneurial career intentions and that these relationships are partly mediated by attitudes toward entrepreneurship, self-efficacy, and, to a lesser extent, by social norms. Values and TPB constructs partially mediated cross-country differences in entrepreneurial intentions.