Reliability of perceptions of voice quality: evidence from a problem asthma clinic population

<p>Introduction: Methods of perceptual voice evaluation have yet to achieve satisfactory consistency; complete acceptance of a recognised clinical protocol is still some way off.</p> <p>Materials and methods: Three speech and language therapists rated the voices of 43 patients attending the problem asthma clinic of a teaching hospital, according to the grade-roughness-breathiness-asthenicity-strain (GRBAS) scale and other perceptual categories.</p> <p>Results and analysis: Use of the GRBAS scale achieved only a 64.7 per cent inter-rater reliability and a 69.6 per cent intra-rater reliability for the grade component. One rater achieved a higher degree of consistency. Improved concordance on the GRBAS scale was observed for subjects with laryngeal abnormalities. Raters failed to reach any useful level of agreement in the other categories employed, except for perceived gender.</p> <p>Discussion: These results should sound a note of caution regarding routine adoption of the GRBAS scale for characterising voice quality for clinical purposes. The importance of training and the use of perceptual anchors for reliable perceptual rating need to be further investigated.</p&gt

Intractable policy failure: the case of bovine TB and badgers

The failure to eliminate bovine TB from the English and Welsh cattle herd represents a long-term intractable policy failure. Cattle-to-cattle transmission of the disease has been underemphasised in the debate compared with transmission from badgers despite a contested evidence base. Archival evidence shows that mythical constructions of the badger have shaped the policy debate. Relevant evidence was incomplete and contested; alternative framings of the policy problem were polarised and difficult to reconcile; and this rendered normal techniques of stakeholder management through co-option and mediation of little assistance

The INTELSAT Experience with Reconditioning of NiH2 Batteries

INTELSAT has been reconditioning NiH2 batteries since 1983 when the INTELSAT V F-6 geosynchronous communications satellite was launched. This was the first commercial use of NiH2 batteries. INTELSAT has continued this practice on all 46 NiH2 batteries it has operated in-orbit. The batteries are of several types including the classic INTELSAT cell, the HAC re-circulating design, and the Gates Mantech design. Reconditioning is performed twice each year, prior to the Eclipse Season. At this time Water Migration problems, if present, are dealt with. Temperature limits are imposed for the discharge and charge cycles as a safety precaution. In support of in-orbit operations, it is INTELSAT's practice to perform ground based life tests. In-orbit data and ground tests results are presented and the benefits of reconditioning noted

Balancing Safety and Developmental Potency: Assessing the Effect of Antioxidants and TET on Genomic Imprinting Stability.

Developmental potency represents the ability of undifferentiated cells to undergo transformation into differentiated cells, with specialised functions. The inner cell mass (ICM) of a blastocyst represents the most developmentally potent cells of the body. The ICM, along with the naïve embryonic stem cells derived from it, possess remarkably low levels of global DNA methylation; a trait that is intrinsic to their pluripotent phenotype and when artificially induced can help re-program differentiated cells back into a naïve state. Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes actively remove DNA methylation in a Fe2+-dependent fashion. By assisting Fe2+ recycling, the antioxidant ascorbate has been shown to increase TET enzymatic activity and enhance reprogramming of differentiated cells to the naïve state. However, it is currently unclear if TET activation via ascorbate, or other antioxidants, can cause unwanted demethylation at imprint control regions; regulatory elements that control parent-of-origin specific gene expression. Loss of methylation at these regulatory groups results in the biallelic expression of the genes under their control. This phenomenon has been implicated in the formation of a range of cancers, as well as Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a congenital overgrowth disorder. In this project, I aimed to test what effect the antioxidants ascorbate and hydroquinone have on the stability of imprint control regions through the activation of TET proteins, and in doing so, assess the safety and practicality of using naïve embryonic stem cells for future medical applications. I grew several naïve embryonic stem cell lines, including a TET triple knockout line with inducible TET expression, in varying concentrations of ascorbate or hydroquinone. Bisulfite amplicon sequencing and florescence activated cell sorting techniques were used to assess methylation patterns at the KCNQ1ot1 imprinted loci in the presence or absence of increased TET activity. While the study has been hampered by technical difficulties (i.e. clonal amplification was detected, particularly in TET knockout cell lines), I have shown that ascorbate causes significant demethylation of the KCNQ1ot1 imprinted region at 25 ng/μL of ascorbate. While other concentrations, (12.5 ng/μL and 50 ng/μL of ascorbate) were not statistically significant there appeared to be a trend of decreasing methylation which may have become more obvious had the cells been cultured with ascorbate for longer. Interestingly this effect was not seen at 100 ng/μL of ascorbate, indicating there is an optimal concentration range for TET-induced demethylation at the KCNQ1ot1 locus. In contrast, hydroquinone had no significant effect. Ultimately, these results add to the current literature describing the effects of different culture media constituents on naïve embryonic stem cells. This may allow for the rational design of culture media that can improve both the efficiency and safety of naïve embryonic stem cells and embryos used in regenerative medicine, mammalian transgenics and IVF

Ecology good, aut-ecology better; Improving the sustainability of designed plantings

© 2015 European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools (ECLAS). This paper explores how contemporary ecological science, and aut-ecology in particular, can improve the sustainability of designed vegetation. It is proposed that ecological understanding can be applied to design at three levels: 1) as representation, 2) as process, and 3) as aut-ecology, representing a gradient from the least to the most profound. Key ecological interactions that determine the success of designed plantings are explored via a review of relevant ecological research, challenging some widely held but unhelpful constructs about how both semi-natural and designed vegetation actually function. The paper concludes that there are real benefits to integrating aut-ecological understanding in the design of vegetation at all scales but that this will require ecological theory to be taught as a design toolkit rather than largely as descriptive knowledge

Ni-H2 cell characterization for INTELSAT programs

Various Ni/H2 cell designs manufactured for INTELSAT Programs during the past decade have been characterized electrically as a function of temperature. The resulting data for these INTELSAT V, VI, VII and VIIA cells are assembled in a manner which allows ready comparison of performance. Also included is a detailed description of each design

Oil pollution in the North Sea: the impact of governance measures on oil pollution over several decades

Oil pollution entering the marine environment has been an issue of concern for many decades. It can come from riverine or land-based sources, accidental and intentional discharges from ships, or as a by-product of offshore oil extraction. Growing awareness of the impact of oil pollution on the marine environment has led, since the late 1960s, to the introduction of measures to reduce or eliminate pollution from shipping and the offshore oil industry. A framework for environmental protection of the North Sea has developed over many decades through international agreements, regional cooperation, and national measures, while education has also played an important role with modern-day sailors being given due training to understand that dumping waste at sea is illegal in many areas, and is harmful to the marine environment. This paper presents data on trends in pollution from ships and oil installations. While significant reductions in oil pollution have been identified over more than two decades, there remain some areas where action is needed to reduce inputs still further, especially from oil and gas platforms