The Music Online Competition Act of 2001: Moderate Change or Radical Reform?

On August 3, 2001 legislation was proposed to facilitate online broadcasting and distribution of music. The proposed Music Online Competition Act (MOCA) seeks to streamline the distribution of music over the Internet, increase competition, and avoid the monopolization of the online music industry by the record companies. This iBrief discusses several changes that MOCA would implement in the law and the reaction of the recording industry to these proposed changes

Speech recognition in reverberation in biomodal cochlear implant users

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of bimodal (implant plus hearing aid) listening on speech recognition in four different environment conditions. Results indicate that there was little difference in the cochlear implant only and bimodal conditions

Experiences in Embroidery: Stories from the High Fashion Embroidery Industry

Fashion embroidery has been an integral part of high fashion since before King Louis XV of France in the 18th century. Upon the development of haute couture in France, a professional fashion embroidery industry arose to serve the needs of the new high fashion designers. Despite significance of professional embroidery in high fashion, there is little documentation of the history of the fashion embroidery industry. Particularly scarce is information about the professional embroiderers working in the industry. The purpose of this qualitative study was to capture the life stories of the people working in the modern fashion embroidery industry in France, Italy, and England. This qualitative study utilized oral history methods for designing and conducting face-to-face interviews with 20 participants who worked in professional high fashion embroidery workshops in France, England, and Italy. The primary research question guiding the study was: How do professional embroiderers represent their work and life as an embroiderer? The participants were all professional embroidery professionals chosen via purposeful and snowball sampling methods. 16 participants took part in audio-recorded interviews, while 4 additional participants’ contributions were captured in field notes. All but 2 of the interviews took place in the participant’s embroidery workshop. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparative method of analysis. I uncovered 3 primary themes in the embroiderers’ conversations: education and career progress of embroiderers, evolution of the company and methods, and current challenges and future aspirations. Findings revealed that the embroiderer’s education or training was one of the most influential events in their lives. The embroiderer’s education not only shaped the future of the embroiderer, but also impacted the future of the embroiderer’s employing company. In addition to education, a company’s history and present working methods also strongly affect the company’s potential for future survival and ability to compete globally. The stories of the embroiderers also provide support for teaching embroidery history not only in European embroidery programs, but in American fashion design programs as well

Advantages of the new loop diuretic torasemide over furosemide in patients with cirrhosis and ascites

Torasemide is a new loop diuretic with a longer half-life and longer action than furosemide in healthy subjects. In order to evaluate the pharmacodynamic effects, single oral doses of furosemide (80 mg) and torasemide (20 mg), which were equipotent in healthy subjects, were given to 14 patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Before the study patients underwent an equilibration period of 4 days without diuretics. The drugs were alternated following a randomized double-blind cross-over design after a wash-out period of at least 2 days. Urine was collected at defined intervals for 24 h after drug administration and blood samples were taken before, 6 h and 24 h after medication. Torasemide induced greater cumulative 24 h diuresis (2863 ± 343 vs. 2111 ± 184 ml, p < 0.01) than furosemide. Torasemide did not differ from furosemide for cumulative 0–6 h sodium excretion (96 ± 17 vs. 92 ± 23 mmol sodium) but caused a more pronounced cumulative 6–24 h natriuresis (38 ± 11 vs. 17 ± 4 mmol, p < 0.05). Five patients exhibited a weak response to furosemide (0–36 mmol sodium/24 h, median 24 mmol; 690–1460 ml urinary volume/24 h, median 1325 ml). These patients showed significantly higher natriuresis and diuresis following torasemide (26–136 mmol sodium/24 h, median 78 mmol, p < 0.05; 1670–3610 ml urinary volume/24 h, median 2200 ml, p < 0.05). Twenty-four hours after administration of both drugs there were no significant changes in hemodynamic, renal or hormonal parameters. No adverse effects were noted with either treatment. These findings suggest that torasemide might be more advantageous than furosemide in the treatment of ascites due to cirrhosis

A Consolidated View of Context for Intelligent Systems

This paper's main objective is to consolidate the knowledge on context in the realm of intelligent systems, systems that are aware of their context and can adapt their behavior accordingly. We provide an overview and analysis of 36 context models that are heterogeneous and scattered throughout multiple fields of research. In our analysis, we identify five shared context categories: social context, location, time, physical context, and user context. In addition, we compare the context models with the context elements considered in the discourse on intelligent systems and find that the models do not properly represent the identified set of 3,741 unique context elements. As a result, we propose a consolidation of the findings from the 36 context models and the 3,741 unique context elements. The analysis reveals that there is a long tail of context categories that are considered only sporadically in context models. However, particularly these context elements in the long tail may be necessary for improving intelligent systems' context awareness