The Gradient Nature of S-Lenition in Caleño Spanish

Previous studies of s-weakening in Spanish have relied almost exclusively on the impressionistic coding of /s/. Not only is auditory transcription invariably influenced by the transcriber’s background, but temporal and gradient acoustic details about the sound are concealed when tokens are represented symbolically. The present study examines the production of /s/ by eight females from Cali, Colombia during informal sociolinguistic interviews. We propose a metric for quantifying s-realization by employing three scalar dependent variables: s-duration, centroid, and voicelessness. The results of linear regressions indicate that the dependent variables are significantly conditioned by local speaking rate, lexical frequency, stress, word position, and the preceding and following phonological contexts. This study sheds light on how each independent variable impacts s-realization acoustically. For example, as local speaking rate increases, duration, centroid, and voicelessness decrease, indicative of lenition. We discuss the advantages of opting for instrumental measurements over symbolic representation

Princeton Fusion Power Plant superconducting magnet system and costs

The Princeton University Reference Design of a proposed fusion power plant has been previously described. This paper describes details of the superconducting magnet system consisting of toroidal field, divertor, ohmic heating, equilibrium field and control field magnets, all of which are wound of Nb$sub 3$Sn conductor. The toroidal field coils are of the moment-free, ''D'' type, previously described. The toroidal field magnet is comprised of 48 discrete ''D'' coils, 12m x 19m bore. The magnet has a stored energy of 250 x 10$sup 9$ joules. The magnet which is operated at a maximum field of 16T is described in detail. Fault conditions are calculated and design conditions based on maximum fault forces are outlined. In addition, the Dewar System, the refrigeration plant (requiring 280 kW of refrigeration), the safety system, and the coil protection system for the magnets are described. Finally, an overview of the helium-steam generating plant and detailed cost data for the plant, the nuclear island and the magnet are presented. (auth

The variable effect of form and lemma frequencies on phonetic variation: evidence from /s/ realization in two varieties of Colombian Spanish

Research has shown that frequency conditions the variable realization of sounds. However, the literature has not addressed whether the frequency of the individual word forms, or form frequency, has a larger conditioning effect than the combined frequencies of the members of the paradigm to which the forms belong, or lemma frequency. Monofactorial correlation tests and monofactorial and multifactorial linear regression analyses are performed on 2,734 tokens of Spanish /s/ in sociolinguistic interviews conducted in Cali and Barranquilla, Colombia. Two findings are highlighted: (1) frequency is only significant in the variety of Spanish that has low overall rates of /s/ reduction, Cali, and (2) form frequency is more influential than lemma frequency

Test facility for PLT TF coils

Past experience with the model C stellerator and other toroidal field devices indicates that mechanical and electrical tests of a toroidal field coil prior to maximum field operation of the device is prudent and desirable. This paper describes a test program for the PLT-TF coils. The test stand consists of one test coil, two background coils and a steel supporting structure. The three coil configuration produces a 67.5 kG field at the inner conductor (38 kG at the bore center) and simulates a 1/R field distribution in the bore of the test coil. The resolution of the field force system and resultant stresses within the test structure are discussed. A test procedure is described which maximizes the information obtained from a 100,000 pulse program. (auth

Increase in Pneumococcus Macrolide Resistance, United States

During year 6 of the study, the incidence rate rose from ≈30% to 35.3%

The Biological Standard of Living in the two Germanies.

Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, there were substantial social differences in physical stature in East-Germany. Social differences in height were greater in the East among females, and less among males than in the West. The difficulties experienced by the East-German population after 1961 is evident in the increase in social inequality of physical stature thereafter, as well as in the increasing gap relative to the height of the West-German population. After unification, however, there is a tendency for East-German males, but not of females, to catch up with their West-German counterparts

The storage of indenical information across segmental length utterances

This study examines the ability of listeners to store and recall indexical properties in segmental- length utterances, including details regarding the socially-constructed category “gender” as well as information about individual voices. The idea that indexical properties are irrelevant to speech recognition is a core assumption of generative phonological theory, which emphasizes the role of abstraction and categorization in identifying symbolic-like phonemic strings that are serially ordered. On the other hand, Pisoni (1997) and subsequent work have shown convincingly that this is not the case; indexical information is highly relevant and stored in lexical memory, evidenced by the fact that speakers recognize words uttered by familiar voices faster than unfamiliar voices. This study reports on a simple listening task, in which participants heard segmental-length stimuli (a-i-r-l-m-n-z-s) produced by both familiar and unfamiliar voices. Our results show that listeners store information regarding both gender classification and individual gestural behavior on utterances even as small as the segment. Higher correct identification scores are reported for the voiced sound /z/ than the voiceless /s/, indicating that listeners store information regarding individual speakers’ fundamental frequency and/or vocal cord physiology. At the same time, the identification scores for the voiceless sound /s/ was well above chance, indicating that listeners also store information regarding the configuration of individual speaker’s oral tracts. Our findings contribute to the growing body of research that phonological representation goes well beyond serially-ordered abstract symbols; it is rich and detailed (Pisoni, 1997; Port, 2010). At the same time, our results could also be taken as supportive of the Motor Theory of phonological representation, given that our results indicate storage of physiological differences and gestural properties of meaningless sounds (Galantucci et al., 2006). We also report an unexpected, albeit preliminary finding: Female listeners seem to recall more accurately acoustic detail regarding other female voices, as their identification scores for female stimuli were significantly higher than the scores achieved by male listeners

Kleine-Levin syndrome: a systematic review of 186 cases in the literature. Brain

Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS) is a rare disorder with symptoms that include periodic hypersomnia, cognitive and behavioural disturbances. Large series of patients are lacking. In order to report on various KLS symptoms, identify risk factors and analyse treatment response, we performed a systematic review of 195 articles, written in English and non-English languages, which are available on Medline dating from 1962 to 2004. Doubtful or duplicate cases, case series without individual details and reviews (n = 56 articles) were excluded. In addition, the details of 186 patients from 139 articles were compiled. Primary KLS cases (n = 168) were found mostly in men (68%) and occurred sporadically worldwide. The median age of onset was 15 years (range 4-82 years, 81% during the second decade) and the syndrome lasted 8 years, with seven episodes of 10 days, recurring every 3.5 months (median values) with the disease lasting longer in women and in patients with less frequent episodes during the first year. It was precipitated most frequently by infections (38.2%), head trauma (9%), or alcohol consumption (5.4%). Common symptoms were hypersomnia (100%), cognitive changes (96%, including a specific feeling of derealization), eating disturbances (80%), hypersexuality (43%), compulsions (29%), and depressed mood (48%). In 75 treated patients (213 trials), somnolence decreased using stimulants (mainly amphetamines) in 40% of cases, while neuroleptics and antidepressants were of poor benefit. Only lithium (but not carbamazepine or other antiepileptics) had a higher reported response rate (41%) for stopping relapses when compared to medical abstention (19%). Secondary KLS (n = 18) patients were older and had more frequent and longer episodes, but had clinical symptoms and treatment responses similar to primary cases. In conclusion, KLS is a unique disease which may be more severe in female and secondary cases

Time to Clinical Stability in Patients with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Treated with Linezolid versus Vancomycin: Results from the IMPACT-HAP Study

Background: Time to clinical stability is a well-defined early clinical outcome in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia, but it has not been evaluated in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The objective of this study was to compare time to clinical stability in patients with MRSA VAP treated with linezolid versus vancomycin. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the IMPACT-HAP study database. VAP was defined according to CDC criteria. MRSA VAP was considered when MRSA was isolated from a tracheal aspirate or bronchoalveolar lavage. A patient was considered to reach clinical stability the day that the following four criteria were met: 1) Afebrile for 24 hours, 2) Decrease in WBC \u3e10% or WBC within normal range, 3) Improving of PaO2/FiO2 ratio of \u3e 20%, or PaO2/FiO2 ratio \u3e 250, or extubation, or FiO2 ≤ 30% if extubated, and 4) Systolic blood pressure \u3e90 mmHg. Time to clinical stability for linezolid and vancomycin were compared using the Chi-Squared and Student’s t-tests. Results: A total of 89 patients treated with linezolid and 75 patients treated with vancomycin met study criteria. From the population of linezolid treated patients, 79% reached clinical stability, compared to 75% of the population of vancomycin treated patients (P=0.463). Median time to clinical stability was 6 days (IQR 8) for patients treated with linezolid, versus 7 days (IQR 12) for patients treated with vancomycin (P=0.490). Conclusions: This study failed to demonstrate a statistically significant difference in time to clinical stability in patients with MRSA VAP treated with linezolid or vancomycin. The number of days for patients to reach clinical stability can be used as an early clinical outcome in patients with VAP

Changes in undergraduate student alcohol consumption as they progress through university

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy alcohol use amongst university students is a major public health concern. Although previous studies suggest a raised level of consumption amongst the UK student population there is little consistent information available about the pattern of alcohol consumption as they progress through university. The aim of the current research was to describe drinking patterns of UK full-time undergraduate students as they progress through their degree course. METHOD: Data were collected over three years from 5895 undergraduate students who began their studies in either 2000 or 2001. Longitudinal data (i.e. Years 1–3) were available from 225 students. The remaining 5670 students all responded to at least one of the three surveys (Year 1 n = 2843; Year 2 n = 2219; Year 3 n = 1805). Results: Students reported consuming significantly more units of alcohol per week at Year 1 than at Years 2 or 3 of their degree. Male students reported a higher consumption of units of alcohol than their female peers. When alcohol intake was classified using the Royal College of Physicians guidelines [1] there was no difference between male and females students in terms of the percentage exceeding recommended limits. Compared to those who were low level consumers students who reported drinking above low levels at Year 1 had at least 10 times the odds of continuing to consume above low levels at year 3. Students who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to report that alcohol had a negative impact on their studies, finances and physical health. Consistent with the reduction in units over time students reported lower levels of negative impact during Year 3 when compared to Year 1. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that student alcohol consumption declines over their undergraduate studies; however weekly levels of consumption at Year 3 remain high for a substantial number of students. The persistence of high levels of consumption in a large population of students suggests the need for effective preventative and treatment interventions for all year groups