The overall maturation of the middle ear can result in a lower reflectance at higher frequencies and a higher reflectance at lower frequencies. This could be explained by known changes in ear-canal and/or middle-ear structures across this time period, which could lead to changes in mass and resistance. An increase in volume in the middle-ear cavity, reduction of middle-ear debris, and overall decrease in resistive elements might be contributing to these changes. Significant differences were observed between each visit, which could warrant the use of age-specific norms when applying WAI data to infants less than 6 mo of age.

Results from Blind Test Series 1, part of the Collaborative Computational Project in Wave Structure Interaction (CCP-WSI), are presented. Participants, with a range of numerical methods, simulate blindly the interaction between a fixed structure and focused waves ranging in steepness and direction. Numerical results are compared against corresponding physical data. The predictive capability of each method is assessed based on pressure and run-up measurements. In general, all methods perform well in the cases considered, however, there is notable variation in the results (even between similar methods). Recommendations are made for appropriate considerations and analysis in future comparative studies.

Abstract. The applications of digital chaotic maps in discrete-time chaotic cryptography and pseudo-random coding are widely studied recently. However, the statistical properties of digital chaotic maps are rather different from the continuous ones, which impedes the theoretical analyses of the digital chaotic ciphers and pseudo-random coding. This paper detailedly investigates the statistical properties of a class of digital piecewise linear chaotic map (PLCM), and rigorously proves some useful results. Based on the proved results, we further discuss some notable problems in chaotic cryptography and pseudo-random coding employing digital PLCM-s. Since the analytic methods proposed in this paper can essentially extended to a large number of PLCM-s, they will be valuable for the research on the performance of such maps in chaotic cryptography and pseudo-random coding.

Bacteria play an important role in water purification in drinking water treatment systems. On one hand, bacteria present in the untreated water may help in its purification through biodegradation of the contaminants. On the other hand, some bacteria may be human pathogens and pose a threat to consumers. The present study investigated bacterial communities using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and their functions were predicted using PICRUSt in a treatment system, including the biofilms on sand filters and biological activated carbon (BAC) filters, in 4 months. In addition, quantitative analyses of specific bacterial populations were performed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The bacterial community composition of post-ozonation effluent, BAC effluent and disinfected water varied with sampling time. However, the bacterial community structures at other treatment steps were relatively stable, despite great variations of source water quality, resulting in stable treatment performance. Illumina MiSeq sequencing illustrated that Proteobacteria was dominant bacterial phylum. Chlorine disinfection significantly influenced the microbial community structure, while other treatment processes were synergetic. Bacterial communities in water and biofilms were distinct, and distinctions of bacterial communities also existed between different biofilms. By contrast, the functional composition of biofilms on different filters were similar. Some functional genes related to pollutant degradation were found widely distributed throughout the treatment processes. The distributions of Mycobacterium spp. and Legionella spp. in water and biofilms were revealed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Most bacteria, including potential pathogens, could be effectively removed by chlorine disinfection. However, some bacteria presented great resistance to chlorine. qPCRs showed that Mycobacterium spp. could not be effectively removed by chlorine. These resistant bacteria and, especially potential pathogens should receive more attention. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that turbidity, ammonia nitrogen and total organic carbon (TOC) exerted significant effects on community profiles. Overall, this study provides insight into variations of microbial communities in the treatment processes and aids the optimization of drinking water treatment plant design and operation for public health.