The uncertainty in standardised sound power measurements: complying with ISO 17025

In the context of “testing laboratory” one of the most important aspect to deal with is the measurement result. Whenever decisions are based on measurement results, it is important to have some indication of the quality of the results. In every area concerning with noise measurement many standards are available but without an expression of uncertainty, it is impossible to judge whether two results are in compliance or not. ISO/IEC 17025 is an international standard related with the competence of calibration and testing laboratories. It contains the requirements that testing and calibration laboratories have to meet if they wish to demonstrate that they operate to a quality system, are technically competent and are able to generate technically valid results. ISO/IEC 17025 deals specifically with the requirements for the competence of laboratories performing testing and calibration and for the reporting of the results, which may or may not contain opinions and interpretations of the results. The standard requires appropriate methods of analysis to be used for estimating uncertainty of measurement. In this point of view, for a testing laboratory performing sound power measurement according to specific ISO standards and European Directives, the measurement of uncertainties is the most important factor to deal with. Sound power level measurement, according to ISO 3744:1994 , performed with a limited number of microphones distributed over a surface enveloping a source is affected by a certain systematic error and a related standard deviation. Making a comparison of measurement carried out with different microphone arrays is difficult because results are affected by systematic errors and standard deviation that are peculiarities of the number of microphones disposed on the surface, their spatial position and the complexity of the sound field. A statistical approach could give an overview of the difference between sound power level evaluated with different microphone arrays and an evaluation of errors that afflict this kind of measurement. Despite the classical approach that tend to follow the ISO GUM this thesis present a different point of view of the problem related to the comparison of result obtained from different microphone arrays.

Strati, piano, rizoma. John Cage e la filosofia di Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari

In base ad una recensione esaustiva dei riferimenti alla musica e al sonoro nella produzione filosofica di Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari, la presente ricerca s’incentra sulla posizione che il pensiero musicale di John Cage occupa in alcuni testi deleuziani. Il primo capitolo tratta del periodo creativo di Cage fra il 1939 e il 1952, focalizzandosi su due aspetti principali: la struttura micro-macrocosmica che contraddistingue i suoi primi lavori, e i quattro elementi che in questo momento sintetizzano per Cage la composizione musicale. Questi ultimi sono considerati in riferimento alla teoria della doppia articolazione che Deleuze e Guattari riprendono da Hjelmslev; entrambi gli aspetti rimandano al sistema degli strati e della stratificazione esposta su Mille piani. Il secondo capitolo analizza la musica dei decenni centrali della produzione cagiana alla luce del luogo in Mille piani dove Cage è messo in rapporto al concetto di “piano fisso sonoro”. Un’attenzione particolare è posta al modo in cui Cage concepisce il rapporto fra durata e materiali sonori, e al grado variabile in cui sono presenti il caso e l’indeterminazione. Le composizioni del periodo in questione sono inoltre viste in riferimento al concetto deleuzo-guattariano di cartografia, e nelle loro implicazioni per il tempo musicale. L’ultimo quindicennio della produzione di Cage è considerata attraverso il concetto di rizoma inteso come teoria delle molteplicità. In primo luogo è esaminata la partitura di Sylvano Bussotti che figura all’inizio di Mille piani; in seguito, i lavori testuali e musicali di Cage sono considerati secondo le procedure compositive cagiane del mesostico, delle parentesi di tempo che concorrono a formare una struttura variabile, e dell’armonia anarchica dell’ultimo Cage.

"The sound of democracy - the sound of freedom" - Jazz-Rezeption in Deutschland (1945 - 1963)

Im Mittelpunkt der Studie "The Sound of Democracy - the Sound of Freedom". Jazzrezeption in Deutschland (1945 - 1963) steht ein Korpus von 16 Oral-History-Interviews mit Zeitzeugen der deutschen Jazzszene. Interviewt wurden Musiker ebenso wie bildende Künstler, Journalisten, Clubbesitzer und Jazzfans, die die Jazzszene in den 1950ern bildeten. Die Interviews werden in einen Kontext zeitgenössischer Quellen gestellt: Zeitschriftenartikel (hauptsächlich aus dem "Jazz Podium" ebenso wie Radiomanuskripte des Bayerischen Rundfunks.rnDie Ausgangsüberlegung ist die Frage, was der Jazz für sein Publikum bedeutete, mit anderen Worten, warum wählte eine studentische, sich selbst als elitär wahrnehmende Schicht aus dem großen Fundus an kulturellen Ausdrucksformen, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg aus den USA nach Deutschland strömten, ausgerechnet den Jazz als persönliche Ausdrucksform? Worin bestand seine symbolische Strahlkraft für diese jungen Menschen?rnIn Zusammenhang mit dieser Frage steht die Überlegung: In welchem Maße wurde Jazz als dezidiert amerikanische Ausdrucksform wahrgenommen und welche Amerikabilder wurden durch den Jazz transportiert? Wurde Jazz bewusst als Werkzeug der Besatzer zur demokratischen Umerziehung des deutschen Volkes eingesetzt und wenn ja, in welcher Form, beziehungsweise in welchem Maß? Wie stark war die Symbolleistung und metaphorische Bedeutung des Jazz für das deutsche Publikum und in welchem Zusammenhang steht die Symbolleistung des Jazz mit der Symbolleistung der USA als Besetzungs- bzw. Befreiungsmacht? rn

That Female Sound: Uptalk and Vocal Fry

This paper presents an analysis of women's voices, with a particular focus on how they are often criticized, and a discussion about two linguistic trends popular among them: uptalk and vocal fry

Non-Gaussianities from a sudden change in the inflaton speed of sound

Il concetto di inflazione e' stato introdotto nei primi anni ’80 per risolvere alcuni problemi del modello cosmologico standard, quali quello dell’orizzonte e quello della piattezza. Le predizioni dei piu' semplici modelli inflazionari sono in buon accordo con le osservazioni cosmologiche piu'recenti, che confermano sezioni spaziali piatte e uno spettro di fluttuazioni primordiali con statistica vicina a quella gaussiana. I piu' recenti dati di Planck, pur in ottimo accordo con una semplice legge di potenza per lo spettro a scale k > 0.08 Mpc−1 , sembrano indicare possibili devi- azioni a scale maggiori, seppur non a un livello statisticamente significativo a causa della varianza cosmica. Queste deviazioni nello spettro possono essere spiegate da modelli inflazionari che includono una violazione della condizione di lento rotolamento (slow-roll ) e che hanno precise predizioni per lo spettro. Per uno dei primi modelli, caratterizzato da una discontinuita' nella derivata prima del potenziale proposto da Starobinsky, lo spettro ed il bispettro delle fluttuazioni primordiali sono noti analiticamente. In questa tesi estenderemo tale modello a termini cinetici non standard, calcolandone analiticamente il bispettro e confrontando i risultati ottenuti con quanto presente in letteratura. In particolare, l’introduzione di un termine cinetico non standard permettera' di ottenere una velocita' del suono per l’inflatone non banale, che consentira' di estendere i risultati noti, riguardanti il bispettro, per questo modello. Innanzitutto studieremo le correzioni al bispettro noto in letteratura dovute al fatto che in questo caso la velocita' del suono e' una funzione dipendente dal tempo; successivamente, cercheremo di calcolare analiticamente un ulteriore contributo al bispettro proporzionale alla derivata prima della velocita' del suono (che per il modello originale e' nullo).

Inconsistencies in the planning of the duration of anticoagulation among outpatients with acute deep-vein thrombosis. Results from the OTIS-DVT Registry

Three-month anticoagulation is recommended to treat provoked or first distal deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), and indefinite-duration anticoagulation should be considered for patients with unprovoked proximal, unprovoked recurrent, or cancer-associated DVT. In the prospective Outpatient Treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Switzerland (OTIS-DVT) Registry of 502 patients with acute objectively confirmed lower extremity DVT (59% provoked or first distal DVT; 41% unprovoked proximal, unprovoked recurrent, or cancer-associated DVT) from 53 private practices and 11 hospitals, we investigated the planned duration of anticoagulation at the time of treatment initiation. The decision to administer limited-duration anticoagulation therapy was made in 343 (68%) patients with a median duration of 107 (interquartile range 91-182) days for provoked or first distal DVT, and 182 (interquartile range 111-184) days for unprovoked proximal, unprovoked recurrent, or cancer-associated DVT. Among patients with provoked or first distal DVT, anticoagulation was recommended for < 3 months in 11%, 3 months in 63%, and for an indefinite period in 26%. Among patients with unprovoked proximal, unprovoked recurrent, or cancer-associated DVT, anticoagulation was recommended for < 6 months in 22%, 6-12 months in 38%, and for an indefinite period in 40%. Overall, there was more frequent planning of indefinite-duration therapy from hospital physicians as compared with private practice physicians (39% vs. 28%; p=0.019). Considerable inconsistency in planning the duration of anticoagulation therapy mandates an improvement in risk stratification of outpatients with acute DVT.

Determination of Pelvic Orientation from Ultrasound Images Using Patch-SSMs and a Hierarchical Speed of Sound Compensation Strategy

In the field of computer assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS) the anterior pelvic plane (APP) is a common concept to determine the pelvic orientation by digitizing distinct pelvic landmarks. As percutaneous palpation is - especially for obese patients - known to be error-prone, B-mode ultrasound (US) imaging could provide an alternative means. Several concepts of using ultrasound imaging to determine the APP landmarks have been introduced. In this paper we present a novel technique, which uses local patch statistical shape models (SSMs) and a hierarchical speed of sound compensation strategy for an accurate determination of the APP. These patches are independently matched and instantiated with respect to associated point clouds derived from the acquired ultrasound images. Potential inaccuracies due to the assumption of a constant speed of sound are compensated by an extended reconstruction scheme. We validated our method with in-vitro studies using a plastic bone covered with a soft-tissue simulation phantom and with a preliminary cadaver trial.

Aircraft noise, air pollution, and mortality from myocardial infarction

Objective: Myocardial infarction has been associated with both transportation noise and air pollution. We examined residential exposure to aircraft noise and mortality from myocardial infarction, taking air pollution into account. Methods: We analyzed the Swiss National Cohort, which includes geocoded information on residence. Exposure to aircraft noise and air pollution was determined based on geospatial noise and air-pollution (PM10) models and distance to major roads. We used Cox proportional hazard models, with age as the timescale. We compared the risk of death across categories of A-weighted sound pressure levels (dB(A)) and by duration of living in exposed corridors, adjusting for PM10 levels, distance to major roads, sex, education, and socioeconomic position of the municipality. Results: We analyzed 4.6 million persons older than 30 years who were followed from near the end of 2000 through December 2005, including 15,532 deaths from myocardial infarction (ICD-10 codes I 21, I 22). Mortality increased with increasing level and duration of aircraft noise. The adjusted hazard ratio comparing ≥60 dB(A) with <45 dB(A) was 1.3 (95% confidence interval = 0.96-1.7) overall, and 1.5 (1.0-2.2) in persons who had lived at the same place for at least 15 years. None of the other endpoints (mortality from all causes, all circulatory disease, cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and lung cancer) was associated with aircraft noise. Conclusion: Aircraft noise was associated with mortality from myocardial infarction, with a dose-response relationship for level and duration of exposure. The association does not appear to be explained by exposure to particulate matter air pollution, education, or socioeconomic status of the municipality.

Heart valve sound of various mechanical composite grafts, and the impact on patients' quality of life

The closing sounds of mechanical heart valves can be disturbing for patients and their closest relatives. Although some investigations into mechanical heart valve sounds have been performed, the particularities of the valve sound when it is attached to a vascular prosthesis to replace the aortic root and the ascending aorta has not been studied to date. The study aim was to compare the closing sounds of three various mechanical composite graft prostheses, and to analyze the impact of such sounds on the patients' quality of life.

[Evaluation of a preschool program to promote phonological awareness and letter-sound correspondence--long-term effects in the prevention of dyslexia at the end of the 3rd and 4th grades]

The present study evaluates the long-term effects of a preschool training in phonological awareness and letter- sound correspondence.

Measurement issues in trials of pediatric acute diarrheal diseases: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, diarrheal diseases rank second among conditions that afflict children. Despite the disease burden, there is limited consensus on how to define and measure pediatric acute diarrhea in trials. OBJECTIVES: In RCTs of children involving acute diarrhea as the primary outcome, we documented (1) how acute diarrhea and its resolution were defined, (2) all primary outcomes, (3) the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure acute diarrhea and (4) the methodologic quality of included trials, as reported. METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, Embase, Global Health, and Medline from inception to February 2009. English-language RCTs of children younger than 19 years that measured acute diarrhea as a primary outcome were chosen. RESULTS: We identified 138 RCTs reporting on 1 or more primary outcomes related to pediatric acute diarrhea/diseases. Included trials used 64 unique definitions of diarrhea, 69 unique definitions of diarrhea resolution, and 46 unique primary outcomes. The majority of included trials evaluated short-term clinical disease activity (incidence and duration of diarrhea), laboratory outcomes, or a composite of these end points. Thirty-two trials used instruments (eg, single and multidomain scoring systems) to support assessment of disease activity. Of these, 3 trials stated that their instrument was valid; however, none of the trials (or their citations) reported evidence of this validity. The overall methodologic quality of included trials was good. CONCLUSIONS: Even in what would be considered methodologically sound clinical trials, definitions of diarrhea, primary outcomes, and instruments employed in RCTs of pediatric acute diarrhea are heterogeneous, lack evidence of validity, and focus on indices that may not be important to participants.

Factors predicting protracted improvement after pallidal DBS for primary dystonia: the role of age and disease duration

In many patients, optimal results after pallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS) for primary dystonia may appear over several months, possibly beyond 1 year after implant. In order to elucidate the factors predicting such protracted clinical effect, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 44 patients with primary dystonia and bilateral pallidal DBS implants. Patients with fixed skeletal deformities, as well as those with a history of prior ablative procedures, were excluded. The Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS) scores at baseline, 1 and 3 years after DBS were used to evaluate clinical outcome. All subjects showed a significant improvement after DBS implants (mean BFMDRS improvement of 74.9% at 1 year and 82.6% at 3 years). Disease duration (DD, median 15 years, range 2-42) and age at surgery (AS, median 31 years, range 10-59) showed a significant negative correlation with DBS outcome at 1 and 3 years. A partition analysis, using DD and AS, clustered subjects into three groups: (1) younger subjects with shorter DD (n = 19, AS < 27, DD ? 17); (2) older subjects with shorter DD (n = 8, DD ? 17, AS ? 27); (3) older subjects with longer DD (n = 17, DD > 17, AS ? 27). Younger patients with short DD benefitted more and faster than older patients, who however continued to improve 10% on average 1 year after DBS implants. Our data suggest that subjects with short DD may expect to achieve a better general outcome than those with longer DD and that AS may influence the time necessary to achieve maximal clinical response.