Assisting Cluster Munition Victims: A New International Standard

The Convention on Cluster Munitions adopted a number of innovative approaches to victim assistance which are, nonetheless, firmly rooted in long-standing experience in this field. By addressing human suffering in a disarmament treaty and linking its provisions to human rights and humanitarian law, the CCM truly constitutes a milestone in the efforts of the international community toward humanitarian disarmament. The CCM contains an entire package of provisions that aim to assist cluster munition victims and establish clear responsibilities for doing so. Now the crucial phase of implementing the legal text begins

Second Language Accent Faking Ability Depends on Musical Abilities, Not on Working Memory

Studies involving direct language imitation tasks have shown that pronunciation ability is related to musical competence and working memory capacities. However, this type of task may measure individual differences in many different linguistic dimensions, other than just phonetic ones. The present study uses an indirect imitation task by asking participants to a fake a foreign accent in order to specifically target individual differences in phonetic abilities. Its aim is to investigate whether musical expertise and working memory capacities relate to phonological awareness (i.e., participants’ implicit knowledge about the phonological system of the target language and its structural properties at the segmental, suprasegmental, and phonotactic levels) as measured on this task. To this end, French native listeners (N = 36) graded how well German native imitators (N = 25) faked a French accent while speaking in German. The imitators also performed a musicality test, a self-assessment of their singing abilities and working memory tasks. The results indicate that the ability to fake a French accent correlates with singing ability and musical perceptual abilities, but not with working memory capacities. This suggests that heightened musical abilities may lead to an increased phonological awareness probably by providing participants with highly efficient memorization strategies and highly accurate long-term phonetic representations of foreign sounds. Comparison with data of previous studies shows that working memory could be implicated in the pronunciation learning process which direct imitation tasks target, whereas musical expertise influences both storing of knowledge and later retrieval here assessed via an indirect imitation task

Early vs late histological confirmation of coeliac disease in children with new-onset type 1 diabetes

AIM Screening for coeliac disease in asymptomatic children with new-onset type 1 diabetes is controversial. The aim of this study was to analyse whether the confirmation of coeliac disease in children with new-onset type 1 diabetes and positive screening results can be postponed. METHODS This was a multicentre population-based cohort study based on the German/Austrian/Swiss/Luxembourgian Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry (Diabetes Patienten Verlaufsdokumentation [DPV]). Participants aged ≤18 years diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between 1995 and June 2021 and with elevated IgA tissue transglutaminase antibodies (anti-tTGA) at diabetes onset on screening for coeliac disease were included. We compared outcomes of participants with a diabetes duration of more than 1 year between those in whom coeliac disease was confirmed histologically within the first 6 months and those in whom coeliac disease was confirmed between 6 and 36 months after diabetes diagnosis. RESULTS Of 92,278 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, 26,952 (29.2%) had documented anti-tTGA data at diabetes onset. Of these, 2340 (8.7%) had an elevated anti-tTGA level. Individuals who screened positive were younger (median age 9.0 vs 9.8 years, p<0.001) and more often female (53.1% vs 44.4%, p<0.001). A total of 533 participants (22.8% of those who screened positive) had a documented biopsy, of whom 444 had documented histological confirmation of coeliac disease. Of 411 participants with biopsy-proven coeliac disease within the first 36 months of diabetes and follow-up data, histological confirmation was performed in 264 (64.2%) within the first 6 months and in 147 (35.8%) between 6 and 36 months after diabetes onset. At follow-up (median diabetes duration 5.3 years and 5.1 years, respectively), estimated median HbA1c levels (62.8 mmol/mol vs 62.2 mmol/mol [7.9% vs 7.8%]), cardiovascular risk markers (lipids, rate of microalbuminuria, blood pressure), rates of acute diabetes complications (diabetic ketoacidosis, severe hypoglycaemia) and the proportions of participants reaching anti-tTGA levels within the normal range did not differ between groups. Participants with delayed histological confirmation of coeliac disease showed no negative effects on growth or weight gain during the observation period. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the histological confirmation of coeliac disease in asymptomatic individuals with new-onset type 1 diabetes could be postponed

Tape casting of magnesium oxide.

A tape casting procedure for fabricating ceramic magnesium oxide tapes has been developed as a method to produce flat sheets of sintered MgO that are thin and porous. Thickness of single layer tapes is in the range of 200-400 {micro}m with corresponding surface roughness values in the range of 10-20 {micro}m as measured by laser profilometry. Development of the tape casting technique required optimization of pretreatment for the starting magnesium oxide (MgO) powder as well as a detailed study of the casting slurry preparation and subsequent heat treatments for sintering and final tape flattening. Milling time of the ceramic powder, plasticizer, and binder mixture was identified as a primary factor affecting surface morphology of the tapes. In general, longer milling times resulted in green tapes with a noticeably smoother surface. This work demonstrates that meticulous control of the entire tape casting operation is necessary to obtain high-quality MgO tapes

Hemodynamic effects of intraoperative 30% versus 80% oxygen concentrations: an exploratory analysis

BackgroundSupplemental oxygen leads to an increase in peripheral vascular resistance which finally increases systemic blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, undergoing heart surgery, and with sepsis. However, it is unknown whether this effect can also be observed in anesthetized patients having surgery. Thus, we evaluated in this exploratory analysis of a randomized controlled trial the effect of 80% versus 30% oxygen on intraoperative blood pressure and heart rate.MethodsWe present data from a previous study including 258 patients, who were randomized to a perioperative inspiratory FiO2 of 0.8 (128 patients) versus 0.3 (130 patients) for major abdominal surgery. Continuous arterial blood pressure values were recorded every three seconds and were exported from the electronic anesthesia record system. We calculated time-weighted average (TWA) and Average Real Variability (ARV) of mean arterial blood pressure and of heart rate.ResultsThere was no significant difference in TWA of mean arterial pressure between the 80% (80 mmHg [76, 85]) and 30% (81 mmHg [77, 86]) oxygen group (effect estimate −0.16 mmHg, CI –1.83 to 1.51; p = 0.85). There was also no significant difference in TWA of heart rate between the 80 and 30% oxygen group (median TWA of heart rate in the 80% oxygen group: 65 beats.min−1 [58, 72], and in the 30% oxygen group: 64 beats.min−1 [58; 70]; effect estimate: 0.12 beats.min−1, CI –2.55 to 2.8, p = 0.94). Also for ARV values, no significant differences between groups could be detected.ConclusionIn contrast to previous results, we did not observe a significant increase in blood pressure or a significant decrease in heart rate in patients, who received 80% oxygen as compared to patients, who received 30% oxygen during surgery and for the first two postoperative hours. Thus, hemodynamic effects of supplemental oxygen might play a negligible role in anesthetized patients.Clinical Trail Registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03366857?term=vienna&amp;cond=oxygen&amp;draw=2&amp;rank=

[Insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring].

This Guideline represents the recommendations of the Austrian Diabetes Association (ÖDG) on the use of diabetes technology (insulin pump therapy; continuous glucose monitoring, CGM; hybrid closed-loop systems, HCL; diabetes apps) and access to these technological innovations for people with diabetes mellitus based on current scientific evidence

Buckling of Micropiles

Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in engl. SpracheMikropfähle werden als Gründungs- und Nachgründungselement eingesetzt und kommen vor allem bei beengten Platzverhältnissen zum Einsatz.Aufgrund der hohen Schlankheit (D In bestehenden österreichischen Normen werden nur Knicksicherheitsnachweise für Mikropfähle in Böden mit undränierter Scherfestigkeit kleiner 10 kN/m² gefordert. Aufgetretene Schadensfälle wurden zum Anlass genommen, sich mit der Thematik Knicken von Mikropfählen genauer zu befassen. Zu Beginn dieser Diplomarbeit werden verschiedene Arten von Mikropfählen vorgestellt. In Österreich kommen größtenteils Verbundpfähle zum Einsatz, das sind mit Zementmörtel verpresste Pfähle mit zentrisch versetzten Stahltraggliedern (Rohre oder Vollstäbe).Auf Basis der erörterten geotechnischen Grundlagen, werden im Abschnitt 7 veröffentlichte Berechnungsmethoden bzw. Lösungsansätze für die Ermittlung der Knick- bzw. Traglast von Mikropfählen beschrieben. Dabei werden Ermittlungsverfahren vorgestellt, mit denen die Knicklast mit oder ohne Ansatz einer stützenden Wirkung durch den seitlich anstehenden Boden (seitliche Bettung) berechnet werden kann. Bei Berechnungsverfahren mit seitlicher Bettung wird wiederum zwischen elastischen, plastischen und elasto-plastischen Modellen unterschieden.Um diese Modelle beurteilen zu können und um diese in weiterer Folge miteinander vergleichen zu können, wurden jene, bei denen eine Berechnung ohne spezielle Software möglich ist, in Excel programmiert und am Beispiel eines Duktilpfahles und eines GEWI-Pfahles vergleichende Berechnungen durchgeführt.Gleichzeitig wurde jeweils ein Vergleich mit der plastischen Normalkrafttragfähigkeit (plastische Grenzlast Npl) des Stahltragglieds angestellt, da diese oft als Maß für die Tragfähigkeit des Mikropfahles herangezogen wird.Im Einzelnen handelt es sich um folgende Rechenmodelle:* Modell Meek * Modell Wimmer/Ettinger * Modell Ofner/Wimmer * Modell Vogt/Vogt/Kellner * Knicklast für elastisch gebettete Stäbe * Modell Bergfelt * Modell Wenz * Knicklast für ungebettete Stäbe nach Euler * Biegeknickbeanspruchbarkeit für ungebettete Knickstäbe nach ÖNORM EN 1993-1-1 Die durchgeführten Berechnungen verdeutlichen, dass die undränierte Scherfestigkeit des Bodens und das Trägheitsmoment des Stahltraggliedes den wesentlichsten Einfluss auf die Knicklast haben. Aber auch der Durchmesser des Verpresskörpers und die Festigkeit des Traggliedes beeinflussen die Berechnungsergebnisse maßgeblich.Die erhaltenen Resultate lassen darauf schließen, dass bei allen Mikropfählen aber ganz besonders bei Mikropfählen mit geringem Trägheitsmoment des Stahltraggliedes die zulässigen Traglasten überschätzt werden. Dies trifft besonders auf Querschnitte mit Vollprofilen zu, da diese auch bei gleicher Querschnittsfläche, und somit bei gleicher plastischer Grenzlast Npl, ein wesentlich geringeres Trägheitsmoment aufweisen und sich somit auch vergleichsweise geringere Knicklasten ergeben. Die Ergebnisse der durchführten Untersuchungen der Berechnungsverfahren deuten darauf hin, dass eine Knickgefährdung auch bei in Böden mit cu >10 kN/m² gebetteten Pfählen vorhanden ist.Da diese Berechnungsmodelle größtenteils nur auf theoretischer Basis aufgestellt wurden und noch keine umfangreichen projektbezogenen Erfahrungen vorliegen, sollten die Forschungen noch intensiviert werden, um gesicherte Aussagen über das Stabilitätsverhalten von Mikropfählen machen zu können.Bis zum Vorliegen weiterer Erkenntnisse wird empfohlen, bereits in der Planung einer Pfahlgründungsmaßnahme mit Mikropfählen eine Untersuchung auf eine mögliche Knickgefährdung auch bei undränierten Scherfestigkeiten > 10 kN/m² durchzuführen.18

A Mozart is not a Pavarotti: singers outperform instrumentalists on foreign accent imitation

Recent findings have shown that people with higher musical aptitude were also better in oral language imitation tasks. However, whether singing capacity and instrument playing contribute differently to the imitation of speech has been ignored so far. Research has just recently started to understand that instrumentalists develop quite distinct skills when compared to vocalists. In the same vein the role of the vocal motor system in language acquisition processes has poorly been investigated as most investigations (neurobiological and behavioral) favor to examine speech perception. We set out to test whether the vocal motor system can influence an ability to learn, produce and perceive new languages by contrasting instrumentalists and vocalists. Therefore, we investigated 96 participants, twenty-seven instrumentalists, thirty-three vocalists and thirty-six non-musicians/non-singers. They were tested for their abilities to imitate foreign speech: unknown language (Hindi), second language (English) and their musical aptitude. Results revealed that both instrumentalists and vocalists have a higher ability to imitate unintelligible speech and foreign accents than non-musicians/non-singers. Within the musician group, vocalists outperformed instrumentalists significantly. Conclusion: first, adaptive plasticity for speech imitation is not reliant on audition alone but also on vocal-motor induced processes. Second, vocal flexibility of singers goes together with higher speech imitation aptitude. Third, vocal motor training, as of singers, may speed up foreign language acquisition processes

Laserscanner zur Lichtraummessung: Präzise messen, effizient auswerten

Die Herbststürme Xavier und Herwart haben im vergangenen Herbst erhebliche Schäden am Schienennetz verursacht und so einmal mehr deutlich gemacht, wie wichtig eine engmaschige Überwachung des Lichtraumprofils an Bahnstrecken ist. Mobile Laserscanner werden seit fast 20 Jahren zur Lichtraummessung auf der Schiene eingesetzt. Seither sind die Systeme immer leistungsfähiger geworden: Sie liefern präzise Messdaten und können dank ihrer Schnelligkeit auf Messzügen im Regelverkehr eingesetzt werden. Zunehmende Bedeutung erlangt die Interpretation der Messdaten: Ziel ist es, möglichst viele Informationen aus den gewonnenen Daten zu generieren – als solide Datenbasis für die Planung und Ausführung von Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen beim Schienennetz

Combined glued laminated timber using hardwood and softwood lamellas

In this thesis, the behaviour of glued laminated timber combined with hardwood and softwood lamallae is investigated. The influence of hardwood in the tension and compression zone, in terms of strength and stiffness is evaluated.The basis of evaluation consists of determining the behaviour of beams with various combinations of hardwood solely in the tension zone along with beams with hardwood in the tension and compression zone. The influence of different amount of hardwood for both cases is studied my means of experimental and analytical methods.Experimental data attained by performing bending tests are evaluated for different combinations made from spruce and oak. By comparing the experimental and analytical data an increase in the strength and stiffness in various combinations is observed and potrayed which varies based on different wood species