Crowdsourcing Language Change with Smartphone Applications.

Crowdsourcing linguistic phenomena with smartphone applications is relatively new. In linguistics, apps have predominantly been developed to create pronunciation dictionaries, to train acoustic models, and to archive endangered languages. This paper presents the first account of how apps can be used to collect data suitable for documenting language change: we created an app, Dialäkt Äpp (DÄ), which predicts users' dialects.

Steady-state low thermal resistance characterization apparatus: The bulk thermal tester.

The reliability of microelectronic devices is largely dependent on electronic packaging, which includes heat removal. The appropriate packaging design therefore necessitates precise knowledge of the relevant material properties, including thermal resistance and thermal conductivity. Thin materials and high conductivity layers make their thermal characterization challenging.

Rhythmic variability between speakers: articulatory, prosodic, and linguistic factors.

Between-speaker variability of acoustically measurable speech rhythm [%V, ΔV(ln), ΔC(ln), and Δpeak(ln)] was investigated when within-speaker variability of (a) articulation rate and (b) linguistic structural characteristics was introduced. To study (a), 12 speakers of Standard German read seven lexically identical sentences under five different intended tempo conditions (very slow, slow, normal, fast, very fast). To study (b), 16 speakers of Zurich Swiss German produced 16 spontaneous utterances each (256 in total) for which transcripts were made and then read by all speakers (4096 sentences; 16 speaker × 256 sentences).

Speaker-individuality in suprasegmental temporal features: Implications for forensic voice comparison.

Everyday experience tells us that it is often possible to identify a familiar speaker solely by his/her voice. Such observations reveal that speakers carry individual features in their voices. The present study examines how suprasegmental temporal features contribute to speaker-individuality.

Limb-salvage angioplasty in poor surgical chronic liver disease and diabetic patients.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) in high surgical risk patients with chronic liver diseases has a grave prognosis with a one-year mortality rate of 20% and a one-year amputation rate of 25% after the initial diagnosis. According to Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC)-II Guidelines, revascularization (surgical & endovascular) is the treatment of choice for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). The primary goal of revascularization is to relieve ischemic rest pain, heal ulcers, prevent amputation, improve patient's quality of life (limb salvage) and secondary goal was the periprocedural complications.