The double-edged sword of RP: the contrasting roles of a pronunciation model in both native and non-native environments

The observations I make are largely based on my MA research, which is now being modified for the purposes of my Ph.D. I asked undergraduate students of English in England and the Czech Republic to evaluate seven voices ranging from the clearly regional to the unquestionably RP. The objective was to discover which sounds are considered to fall within the scope of RP by students in both countries, which approach avoids treating RP as though it were to include only the sounds ‘allowed by a preconceived model’ (Upton 2000: 78). Further, the respondents were asked to comment on the most salient features in the recordings: what they opted to comment on reveals a marked difference in the role of RP as a model accent in the given countries. Societies which lack a prestigious non-regional accent are often oblivious to the social connotations RP carries. Whilst it seems technically impossible to replace the model accent in all teaching materials all over the world, creating awareness of the fact that a rather outmoded model of RP found in many textbooks may not always be the best option is a necessary step towards ensuring that non-English speaking students are not only understood but that their speech will attract no adverse judgements

Sub-0.1 degree phase locking of a single-photon interferometer

We report a single-photon Mach-Zehnder interferometer stabilized to a phase precision of 0.05 degrees over 15 hours. To lock the phase, we employ an auxiliary reference light at a different wavelength than the quantum signal. The developed phase locking operates continuously, with negligible crosstalk, and for an arbitrary phase of the quantum signal. Moreover, its performance is independent of intensity fluctuations of the reference. Since the presented method can be used in a vast majority of quantum interferometric networks it can significantly improve phase-sensitive applications in quantum communication and quantum metrology

High-resolution coincidence counting system for large-scale photonics applications

The increasing complexity of the recent photonic experiments challenges developing efficient multi-channel coincidence counting systems with high-level functionality. Here, we report a coincidence unit able to count detection events ranging from singles to 16-fold coincidences with full channel-number resolution. The device operates within sub-100~ps coincidence time windows, with a maximum input frequency of 1.5~GHz and an overall jitter of less than 10~ps. The unit high-level timing performance renders it suitable for quantum photonic experiments employing low-timing-jitter single-photon detectors. Additionally, the unit can be used in complex photonic systems to drive feed-forward loops. We have demonstrated the developed coincidence counting unit in photon-number-resolving detection to directly quantify the statistical properties of light, specifically coherent and thermal states, with a fidelity exceeding 0.999 up to 60~photons.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Uloga ultrazvučne elastografije u dijagnostici patoloških stanja testisa i skrotuma

Several years ago, elastography emerged as a potentially very useful ultrasound technique that is currently used in diagnostic workup of the breast, liver and some other organ systems, whereas for other ones it is still mainly in the phase of research. The aim of the study was to compare elasticity index (EI) of testicles using strain elastography in healthy subjects and those with pathologic changes of testicles/scrotum. A total of 117 patients were included in the study. Measurements were performed on a Logiq E9 ultrasound system using strain elastography. In healthy subjects, the mean EI value was 1.34±0.35 for right testis and 1.49±0.47 for left testis. Increased mean EI values were found in the following six conditions: patients with varicocele, infertile patients, solitary testis after orchidectomy of the other testicle because of tumor, patients with testicular tumors, patients after orchidopexy of undescended testicle, and patients with congenitally smaller testicle. There is a paucity of literature data on the use of elastography in testes, as well as on normal elastography values in testicular tissue. Strain elastography was demonstrated to be a valuable method to acquire additional information in patients with pathologic changes in testicles/scrotum. These data provide reference values for further research in a larger sample of subjects.Prije nekoliko godina pojavila se elastografija kao potencijalno vrlo korisna ultrazvučna metoda koja je danas u svakodnevnoj upotrebi u dijagnostici dojke, jetre i drugih organskih sustava, dok je za druge organe još u fazi istraživanja i evaluacije. Cilj istraživanja bio je usporediti indeks elastičnosti (EI) testisa u zdravih ispitanika i bolesnika s patološkim promjenama testisa i skrotuma. Istraživanje je provedeno kod ukupno 117 ispitanika od kojih je bilo 40 zdravih i 77 ispitanika s patološkim promjenama testisa i skrotuma. Mjerenja su provedena na ultrazvučnom aparatu Logiq E9 primjenom programa za sonoelastografska mjerenja. Kod zdravih ispitanika vrijednosti EI bile su 1,34±0,35 za desni testis i 1,49±0,47 za lijevi testis. Prema vrijednosti EI, pojačana tvrdoća tkiva testisa uočena je kod sljedećih stanja: varikokele, neplodnosti, ostatnog testisa kod stanja nakon orhidektomije drugog testisa, tumora testisa, stanja nakon orhidopeksije nespuštenog testisa i kongenitalno manjeg testisa. Malo je podataka u literaturi o elastografiji testisa, kao i o normalnim elastografskim vrijednostima tkiva testisa. Elastografija testisa se u našem ispitivanju pokazala korisnom metodom za dobivanje dodatnih dijagnostičkih informacija kod bolesnika s patološkim promjenama testisa i skrotuma, no potrebna su daljnja istraživanja s većim skupinama bolesnika