Stressed vowel duration and phonemic length contrast

As far as phonemic length contrast is concerned, we observe a high degree of durational overlap between phonemically long and short vowels in monosyllabic CVC words (which is enforced by a greater pitch excursion), whereas in polysyllables the differences seem to be perceptually non-salient (>40 ms, cf. Lehiste 1970). This suggests that the differences in vowel duration are not significant enough to underlie phonological length contrast

Is Metrical Foot a Phonetic Object?

The assumption behind this pilot study is that metrical feet are not ‘groups of syllables’ or ‘interstress intervals’ but rather ‘groups of vowels’ extracted from the phonetic material contained between two stresses. We analysed the duration, pitch, intensity and acoustic energy of all vowels in isolated pronunciations of 72 initially stressed items (mono-, di- and trisyllables). The results reveal that pre-fortis clipping of the stressed vowel and final lengthening are interrelated, which suggests that stressed and unstressed final vowels are able to ‘negotiate’ their durations. Such ‘communication’ between the stressed vowels and the final unstressed ones is possible only if a mediating constituent (the foot) is postulated. Most importantly, we found no significant differences (p < .05) between the total acoustic energy and the total vowel duration in words having a different number of syllables, which supports the assumption of foot-level isochrony in English. It was also observed that the significant increase in vowel duration in stressed CVC monosyllables co-occurs with a significantly greater pitch slope, which we interpret to be a tonally driven implementation of minimal foot binarity requirement

Komponent fonologiczny w gramatyce kognitywnej: fonem, sylaba, stopa

Autor w poniższym artykule chce przedstawić dwa scenariusze omawiające konieczność włączenia fonologii w nurt kognitywistyczny, aspirujący do miana ogólnej teorii językowej. Pytaniem jednak jest to, czy to fonologia potrzebuje orientacji kognitywnej, by bardziej przekonująco wyjaśniać procesy natury fonologicznej, czy też to gramatyka kognitywna potrzebuje fonologii, by osiągnąć status ogólnej teorii języka.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Current based Normalized Triple Covariance as a bearings diagnostic feature in induction motor

Diagnosis of induction motors, conducted remotely by measuring and analyzing the supply current is attractive with the lack of access to the engine. So far there is no solution, based on analysis of current, the credibility of which allow use in industry. Statistics of IM bearing failures of induction motors indicate, that they constitute more than 40% of IM damage, therefore bearing diagnosis is so important. The article provides an overview of selected methods of diagnosis of induction motor bearings, based on measurement of the supply current. The problem here is the high disturbance components level of the motor current in relation to diagnostic components. The paper presents the new approach to signal analysis solutions, based on statistical methods, which have been adapted to be used by this diagnostic system. First experimental results with use of this method are also presented, they confirm the advantages of this method

Value choices in European COVID-19 vaccination schedules : how vaccination prioritization differs from other forms of priority setting

With the limited initial availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the first months of 2021, decision-makers had to determine the order in which different groups were prioritized. Our aim was to find out what normative approaches to the allocation of scarce preventive resources were embedded in the national COVID-19 vaccination schedules. We systematically reviewed and compared prioritization regulations in 27 members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Israel. We differentiated between two types of priority categories: groups that have increased infection fatality rate (IFR) compared to the average for the general population and groups chosen because their members experience increased risk of being infected (ROI). Our findings show a clear trend: all researched schedules prioritized criteria referring to IFR (being over 65 years old and coexisting health conditions) over the ROI criteria (eg occupation and housing conditions). This is surprising since, in the context of treatment, it is common and justifiable to adopt different allocation principles (eg introducing a saving more life-year approach or prioritizing younger patients). We discuss how utilitarian, prioritarian, and egalitarian principles can be applied to interpret normative differences between the allocation of curative and preventive interventions

Conscientious Refusal of Abortion in Emergency Life-Threatening Circumstances and Contested Judgments of Conscience

Nelson (2018) criticizes conscientious objection to abortion statutes as far as they permit health care providers to escape criminal liability for what would otherwise be the legally wrongful taking of a pregnant woman’s life by refusing treatment. While agreeing with the main thesis of the article, we believe that the author’s argument neither vindicates his claim, nor explains why those who believe that fetuses are equally protectable human beings do not have the right to refuse to perform an abortion in life-threatening emergency circumstances. Therefore, our main aim is to outline, by referring to our earlier works on conscientious objection in health care (Żuradzki 2016) and cultural exemptions (Ciszewski 2016), a better and universalizable argumentative path that would lead to the same conclusion

Value choices in European COVID-19 vaccination schedules: how vaccination prioritization differs from other forms of priority setting

With the limited initial availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the first months of 2021, decision-makers had to determine the order in which different groups were prioritized. Our aim was to find out what normative approaches to the allocation of scarce preventive resources were embedded in the national COVID-19 vaccination schedules. We systematically reviewed and compared prioritization regulations in 27 members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Israel. We differentiated between two types of priority categories: groups that have increased infection fatality rate (IFR) compared to the average for the general population and groups chosen because their members experience increased risk of being infected (ROI). Our findings show a clear trend: all researched schedules prioritized criteria referring to IFR (being over 65 years old and coexisting health conditions) over the ROI criteria (eg occupation and housing conditions). This is surprising since, in the context of treatment, it is common and justifiable to adopt different allocation principles (eg introducing a saving more life-year approach or prioritizing younger patients). We discuss how utilitarian, prioritarian, and egalitarian principles can be applied to interpret normative differences between the allocation of curative and preventive interventions

Evaluation of symptoms of anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer after breast amputation or conservation treated with adjuvant chemotherapy

Introduction Evaluation of the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in women treated for breast cancer who underwent surgical procedure using one of two alternative methods, either radical mastectomy or breast conserving treatment (BCT). Material and Methods A questionnaire survey involved 85 patients treated in a conservative way and 94 patients after breast amputation. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and depression degree evaluation questionnaire were used in the study. The patients’ responses were statistically analyzed. Results Based on the HADS questionnaire, the total anxiety level in the group of women treated with BCT was 6.96 points, while in the group of patients who had undergone mastectomy the value was 7.8 points. The observed results were statistically significant. In the case of depression, the following values were found: patients after amputation had 8.04 scale value points, and those after BCT had 6.8 scale value points. The observed differences were statistically significant. Negative correlation was found between the level of anxiety and depression. The total level of depression evaluated using the Beck scale was 16.3 points in the BCT group, which means that they suffered from mild depression, while in the mastectomy group the level was 19.6 points, which corresponds to moderate depression. Conclusions The level of anxiety and depression among women with breast cancer was influenced by the type of the applied surgical procedure and adjuvant chemotherapy. Demographic variables did not influence the level of anxiety and depression

Life quality of women with breast cancer after mastectomy or breast conserving therapy treated with adjuvant chemotherapy

Introduction Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant neoplasm in women. The evaluation of the quality of life has become a treatment parameter as important as survival. Objective The aim of the study was evaluation of the quality of life among women treated for breast cancer who underwent surgical procedures using two alternative methods: mastectomy or breast conserving therapy (BCT). Material and Methods 85 patients treated with BCT and 94 patients who underwent mastectomy were evaluated. Standard questionnaires for the evaluation of the quality of life of cancer patients were used – QLQ-C30 (Quality of life questionnaire – core 30) with QLQ-BR23 (Breast Cancer Module). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was also applied. Results Social and demographic factors (age, education, marital status) influenced the evaluation of the life quality among both groups. Obtained data was also dependent on the type of surgical procedure and chemical treatment. The level of anxiety and depression also influenced the general quality of life and was higher in women who underwent mastectomy. Conclusions Quality of life plays an important role in the treatment process. Women after BCT declared a higher quality of life compared to patients after mastectomy. The process of making the decision concerning the planned surgical procedure should take into consideration the influence of the intervention on the quality of patients’ future life