The Advent of Sound in Motion Pictures

This study traced the developments which led to the advent of sound in motion pictures. The hypothesis that the advent of sound in motion pictures was the result of many technical developments made between 1894 and 1930 was supported by this work. Following a historical methodology the research focused on four questions: 1) How did motion pictures evolve? 2) How did sound become involved with the presentation of motion pictures? 3) What were the technological developments that led to the advent of sound? 4) What were the events that led to the acceptance of the advent of sound? This study found that the idea of motion pictures has roots in the past. The Chinese Shadow Ball was used as a form of entertainment from 6000-1500 B.C. Leonardo da Vinci described the camera obscura in 1500 A.O. In 1646, Anthanasius Kirchner devised the magic lantern which was developed from da Vinci\u27s ideas. Many inventors modified the magic lantern and photography, developed in the mid 1800s, was applied toward creating the illusion of motion. The first actual motion picture machines were peep-show devices such as Thomas Edison\u27s Kinetoscope. Sound was a part of motion pictures from the beginning. Even ancient magic lantern shows had musical accompanient. Thomas Edison added his phonograph to the Kinetoscope to provide synchronized accompaniment for his peep-show machines. During the first three decades of the twentieth century many inventors experimented with two main methods of sound accompaniment: the sound on disc and the sound on film. Inventors met two main technological problems, synchronization and amplication. When film projectors were improved large audiences could view the pictures, then amplication problems had to be solved. Lee DeForest solved the sound problem by applying the audion tube to his Phonofilm system in 1923. With the right combination of showmanship and public relations the idea of sound films was sold to the public and to the film industry. By 1926 the public was getting accustomed to the medium of sound as a form of entertainment because of the phonograph and the radio. Warner Brothers invested in Vitaphone, a sound on disc system. Their first film, Don Juan became a box office hit. The real turning point in the advent of sound in motion pictures came when Warner Brothers presented their second sound film, The Jazz Singer. The showmanship and magnetism of the star, Al Jolson, excited audiences everywhere. Now the film industry was convinced that there was an audience demand for sound films. All of the major film producers jumped on the bandwagon and ordered sound equipment. Almost overnight Hollywood changed. Many musical films soon followed and by 1930 the silent film era had passed. Sound films were here to stay

Does High Medial Elbow Stress During Pitching Compromise the Dynamic Stabilizers of The Elbow?

# Background The flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) are thought to provide dynamic stability to the medial elbow, with a lesser contribution from the pronator teres (PT). # Hypothesis/Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine if baseball pitchers with higher valgus elbow torque experience greater FCU and FDS strength loss. # Study Design Controlled Laboratory Study # Methods A pilot study was performed to determine if middle and ring finger flexion strength tests preferentially activated the FCU and FDS versus the PT (10 men age 36±12 yr). EMG amplitudes, expressed as percent of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) were compared between tests and muscles. In a field study of college baseball pitchers, middle finger, ring finger and grip strength were tested prior to, immediately after, and one day after 14 pitching performances in 10 pitchers (21±2 yr). Elbow valgus torque was measured from an inertial measurement unit, housed in a compression sleeve and pitchers were categorized as having high or low valgus torque. # Results For the pilot study EMG activations were 74% FDS, 66% FCU and 35% PT for the middle finger test (muscle effect p=0.032) and 93% FCU, 61% FDS and 23% PT for the ring finger test (muscle effect p=0.005). In the field study, pitchers with high valgus torque showed marked post-game middle finger fatigue (88% of baseline) and incomplete recovery the following day (95%), while pitchers with low valgus torque showed no strength loss (107% post game, 106% a day later; group x time p=0.022). Results were similar for ring finger strength (high torque: 94% post game 96% a day later; low torque: 114% post game 107% a day later; group x time p=0.048). By contrast, grip strength was not different between pitchers with high versus low valgus torque (p=0.143). # Conclusion High medial elbow stress during pitching fatigues the dynamic stabilizers of the medial elbow. # Level of Evidence Level 3 ©The Author(s

Accelerated muscle recovery in baseball pitchers using phase change material cooling

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document recovery following a pitching performance and determine if prolonged post-game phase change material (PCM) cooling of the shoulder and forearm accelerates recovery. Methods: Strength, soreness and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity were assessed prior to, and on the two days following pitching performances in 16 college pitchers. Pitchers were randomized to receive either post-game PCM cooling packs on the shoulder and forearm, or no cooling (control). PCM packs were applied inside compression shirts and delivered cooling at a constant temperature of 15°C for 3 hours. Strength was assessed for shoulder internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER), empty can test (EC) and grip. Results: Total pitch count was 60±16 for 23 PCM cooling games and 62±17 for 24 control games (P=.679). On the days following pitching IR strength (P=.006) and grip strength (P=.036) were higher in the PCM cooling group versus control. One day after pitching IR strength was 95±14 of baseline with PCM cooling versus 83±13 for control (P=.008, effect size d 0.91) and 107±9 versus 95±10 for grip strength (P=.022, effect size d 1.29). There was a trend for greater ER strength with PCM cooling (P=.091, effect size d 0.51). The EC strength was not impaired after pitching (P=.147) and was therefore unaffected by PCM cooling (P=.168). Elevations in soreness and CK were not different between treatments (Treatment by Time CK P=.139, shoulder soreness P=.885, forearm soreness P=.206). Conclusion: This is one of the first studies to document impairments in muscle function on the days following baseball pitching, and the first study showing a novel cryotherapy intervention that accelerates recovery of muscle function in baseball pitchers following a game

Spot sputum samples are at least as good as early morning samples for identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Supported by the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (Grant IP.2007.32011.011), US Agency for International Development, UK Department for International Development, Directorate General for International Cooperation of the Netherlands, Irish Aid, Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, National Institutes of Health, AIDS Clinical Trials Group. The study was also supported by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (UM1AI068634, UM1 AI068636, and UM1AI106701) and by NIAID grants to the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) site 31422 (1U01AI069469); to the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, South Africa, ACTG site 12301 (1U01AI069453); and to the Durban International Clinical Trials Unit, South Africa, ACTG site 11201 (1U01AI069426). Bayer Healthcare for donated moxifloxacin and Sanofi donated rifampin.Background:  The use of early morning sputum samples (EMS) to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) can result in treatment delay given the need for the patient to return to the clinic with the EMS, increasing the chance of patients being lost during their diagnostic workup. However, there is little evidence to support the superiority of EMS over spot sputum samples. In this new analysis of the REMoxTB study, we compare the diagnostic accuracy of EMS with spot samples for identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis pre- and post-treatment. Methods:  Patients who were smear positive at screening were enrolled into the study. Paired sputum samples (one EMS and one spot) were collected at each trial visit pre- and post-treatment. Microscopy and culture on solid LJ and liquid MGIT media were performed on all samples; those missing corresponding paired results were excluded from the analyses. Results:  Data from 1115 pre- and 2995 post-treatment paired samples from 1931 patients enrolled in the REMoxTB study were analysed. Patients were recruited from South Africa (47%), East Africa (21%), India (20%), Asia (11%), and North America (1%); 70% were male, median age 31 years (IQR 24–41), 139 (7%) co-infected with HIV with a median CD4 cell count of 399 cells/μL (IQR 318–535). Pre-treatment spot samples had a higher yield of positive Ziehl–Neelsen smears (98% vs. 97%, P = 0.02) and LJ cultures (87% vs. 82%, P = 0.006) than EMS, but there was no difference for positivity by MGIT (93% vs. 95%, P = 0.18). Contaminated and false-positive MGIT were found more often with EMS rather than spot samples. Surprisingly, pre-treatment EMS had a higher smear grading and shorter time-to-positivity, by 1 day, than spot samples in MGIT culture (4.5 vs. 5.5 days, P < 0.001). There were no differences in time to positivity in pre-treatment LJ culture, or in post-treatment MGIT or LJ cultures. Comparing EMS and spot samples in those with unfavourable outcomes, there were no differences in smear or culture results, and positive results were not detected earlier in Kaplan–Meier analyses in either EMS or spot samples. Conclusions:  Our data do not support the hypothesis that EMS samples are superior to spot sputum samples in a clinical trial of patients with smear positive pulmonary TB. Observed small differences in mycobacterial burden are of uncertain significance and EMS samples do not detect post-treatment positives any sooner than spot samples.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

"Cognitive Penetrability" - Ch 3 of Seemings and Epistemic Justification

In this chapter I introduce the thesis that perceptual appearances are cognitively penetrable and analyse cases made against phenomenal conservatism hinging on this thesis. In particular, I focus on objections coming from the externalist reliabilist camp and the internalist inferentialist camp. I conclude that cognitive penetrability doesn’t yield lethal or substantive difficulties for phenomenal conservatism

Tuberculosis diagnostics and biomarkers: needs, challenges, recent advances, and opportunities

Tuberculosis is unique among the major infectious diseases in that it lacks accurate rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. Failure to control the spread of tuberculosis is largely due to our inability to detect and treat all infectious cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in a timely fashion, allowing continued Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission within communities. Currently recommended gold-standard diagnostic tests for tuberculosis are laboratory based, and multiple investigations may be necessary over a period of weeks or months before a diagnosis is made. Several new diagnostic tests have recently become available for detecting active tuberculosis disease, screening for latent M. tuberculosis infection, and identifying drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. However, progress toward a robust point-of-care test has been limited, and novel biomarker discovery remains challenging. In the absence of effective prevention strategies, high rates of early case detection and subsequent cure are required for global tuberculosis control. Early case detection is dependent on test accuracy, accessibility, cost, and complexity, but also depends on the political will and funder investment to deliver optimal, sustainable care to those worst affected by the tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus epidemics. This review highlights unanswered questions, challenges, recent advances, unresolved operational and technical issues, needs, and opportunities related to tuberculosis diagnostics

Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors

Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in quantum-state preparation

Upper limits on the strength of periodic gravitational waves from PSR J1939+2134

The first science run of the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave detectors presented the opportunity to test methods of searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars. Here we present new direct upper limits on the strength of waves from the pulsar PSR J1939+2134 using two independent analysis methods, one in the frequency domain using frequentist statistics and one in the time domain using Bayesian inference. Both methods show that the strain amplitude at Earth from this pulsar is less than a few times $10^{-22}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, Tirrenia, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200

Improving the sensitivity to gravitational-wave sources by modifying the input-output optics of advanced interferometers

We study frequency dependent (FD) input-output schemes for signal-recycling interferometers, the baseline design of Advanced LIGO and the current configuration of GEO 600. Complementary to a recent proposal by Harms et al. to use FD input squeezing and ordinary homodyne detection, we explore a scheme which uses ordinary squeezed vacuum, but FD readout. Both schemes, which are sub-optimal among all possible input-output schemes, provide a global noise suppression by the power squeeze factor, while being realizable by using detuned Fabry-Perot cavities as input/output filters. At high frequencies, the two schemes are shown to be equivalent, while at low frequencies our scheme gives better performance than that of Harms et al., and is nearly fully optimal. We then study the sensitivity improvement achievable by these schemes in Advanced LIGO era (with 30-m filter cavities and current estimates of filter-mirror losses and thermal noise), for neutron star binary inspirals, and for narrowband GW sources such as low-mass X-ray binaries and known radio pulsars. Optical losses are shown to be a major obstacle for the actual implementation of these techniques in Advanced LIGO. On time scales of third-generation interferometers, like EURO/LIGO-III (~2012), with kilometer-scale filter cavities, a signal-recycling interferometer with the FD readout scheme explored in this paper can have performances comparable to existing proposals. [abridged]Comment: Figs. 9 and 12 corrected; Appendix added for narrowband data analysi