Poems in Praise of English Phonology

Our language is so very richthat you can set a part apartand still have quite enough with whichto sing some sort of song on pitch;it\u27s too arcane a form of artfor barbs that strike straight to the heart,but fun -- and certainly not kitsch.So study carefully this chart,then turn the page, and I will start

Robotic Inspection of Geometrically Complex Tank Systems

The goal of this project was to continue the development of a temporary rail system for a robotic tank inspection device. The tanks to be inspected are in a hazardous environment that is dangerous to work in and navigate. A remotely controlled robot could reduce the need for manual labor in the tanks to initial setup, final removal, and touch ups. Similar setups have been created for inspecting tanks, but they are permanent installations and are meant only for inspections. The goal of the current phase of the project was to employ a new concept for supporting the rail system, create a working prototype, and analyze the effects of loads on the design. The rail system must be economical, quickly deployable, and safe. By modifying a spring compressor, a bracket was created that securely clamps to a tank service flange. From the bracket, a hanger was attached that allows PVC to be used as the rail for the inspection robot. This design is an improvement in terms of ease of installation and removal, practicality, and simplicity. Some issues to be resolved include decreasing flange-to-rail clearance, making the rail more rigid, and wiring the robot to the cart that traverses the rails. When the system is put to use, it will create better working conditions for many laborers.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1126/thumbnail.jp

Linguistic Factors Affecting Moraic Duration in Spontaneous Japanese

Japanese is often referred to as a mora-timed language (Ladefoged 1975): the mora has been described as the psychological prosodic unit in the spoken language, and it is the metric unit of traditional poetry (Bloch 1950). However, it is clear that mo- rae are not strictly isochronous units (Beckman 1982). Thus, experimental studies have focused on detecting compensation effects that make average mora durations more equal through the modulation of the inherent duration of the segments involved (Han 1962; Port, Al-Ani, Maeda 1980; Homma 1981; Hoequist 1983a; 1983b; Warner, Arai 2001). Kawahara (2017) used the Corpus of Spontaneous Japanese to verify whether the dura- tional compensation effect within a /CV/ mora occurs in natural speech, in addition to read speech in the lab. He observed a statistically significant compensation effect of /CV/ morae, in which vowel duration tends to vary in response to the duration of the preced- ing consonant. However, as the same author has pointed out, the compensation is not absolute because there are several linguistic factors that potentially affect segments’ duration profiles. This study will support the idea that moraic isochrony does not occur in spontaneous Japanese by presenting empirical data on how linguistic factors can considerably affect variation in the average duration of morae

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

A manual of phonology

v, 246 p. ; 26 cm