Evaluation of Hearing-Impaired Listeners Using a Nonsense-Syllable Test I. Test Reliability

1982 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy R. Dubno ◽  
Donald D. Dirks
Keyword(s):  
Nonsense Syllable ◽  
Covariance Structure ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Test Reliability ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Individual Subject ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recognition Ability

The reliability of a closed-set Nonsense-Syllable Test was determined on a group of 38 listeners with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Eight randomizations of the 91-item test (four trials on each of two days) were presented monaurally, under earphones, at 90 dB SPL with a cafeteria background noise set at a +20-dB S/N ratio. Performance under these conditions ranged from 21.4 to 91.2%, reflecting the wide range of syllable-recognition ability of these subjects. Reliability of the eight measurements was determined by analysis of variance and analysis of covariance structure (parallel-test modelling) for the entire test and each of 11 subtests. Overall and individual subject results failed to show any systematic differences in scores over eight trials. Likewise, no significant differences were found in performance on individual syllables, nor were changes in the relative occurrence of specific syllable confusions noted. This test is highly reliable when evaluating hearing-impaired subjects, and thus is appropriate for use in investigations where identical items are administered under multiple experimental conditions.

Evaluation of Hearing-Impaired Listeners Using a Nonsense-Syllable Test II. Syllable Recognition and Consonant Confusion Patterns

1982 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy R. Dubno ◽  
Donald D. Dirks ◽  
Laurn R. Langhofer
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Nonsense Syllable ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
Systematic Relationship ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Potential Use

Syllable recognition ability and consonant confusion patterns were evaluated for 38 listeners with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss using the closed-set Nonsense-Syllable Test (NST). Performance for these materials varies as a function of consonant voicing, the position of the consonant in the syllable, and the accompanying vowel. Scores for listeners with steeply sloping audiometric configurations were consistently poorer than those for listeners with gradually sloping or flat audiograms. Consonant confusion analyses revealed place of articulation errors to be the most frequent, regardless of the listener's audiometric configuration. Analysis of consonant confusion patterns indicates the existence of a systematic relationship between consonant confusions and audiometric configuration. The NST findings are discussed in terms of the test's potential use and are compared to the results of existing confusion analyses.

Predicting Audiovisual Consonant Recognition Performance of Hearing-Impaired Adults

1974 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian E. Walden ◽  
Robert A. Prosek ◽  
Don W. Worthington
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Value ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Information Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Consonant Recognition ◽  
Recognition Ability

The redundancy between the auditory and visual recognition of consonants was studied in 100 hearing-impaired subjects who demonstrated a wide range of speech-discrimination abilities. Twenty English consonants, recorded in CV combination with the vowel /a/, were presented to the subjects for auditory, visual, and audiovisual identification. There was relatively little variation among subjects in the visual recognition of consonants. A measure of the expected degree of redundancy between an observer’s auditory and visual confusions among consonants was used in an effort to predict audiovisual consonant recognition ability. This redundancy measure was based on an information analysis of an observer’s auditory confusions among consonants and expressed the degree to which his auditory confusions fell within categories of visually homophenous consonants. The measure was found to have moderate predictive value in estimating an observer’s audiovisual consonant recognition score. These results suggest that the degree of redundancy between an observer’s auditory and visual confusions of speech elements is a determinant in the benefit that visual cues offer to that observer.

Head Position Identification

1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 438-448
Author(s):  
H. N. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Roc Curve ◽  
Head Position ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Partial Explanation ◽  
Complex Sounds ◽  
Binaural Cues ◽  
Criterion Behavior ◽  
Stimulus Degradation

A binaural recording of traffic sounds that reached an artificial head oriented in five different positions was presented to five subjects, each of whom responded under four different criteria. The results showed that it is possible to examine the ability of listeners to localize sound while listening through earphones and that the criterion adopted by an individual listener is independent of his performance. For the experimental conditions used, the Type II ROC curve generated by manipulating criterion behavior was linear and consistent with a guessing model. Further experiments involving different degrees of stimulus degradation suggested a partial explanation for this finding and illustrated the various types of monaural and binaural cues used by normal and hearing-impaired listeners to localize complex sounds.

Strongly Coupled Redox-Linked Conformational Switching at the Active Site of the Non-Heme Iron-Dependent Dioxygenase, TauD

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher John ◽  
Greg M. Swain ◽  
Robert P. Hausinger ◽  
Denis A. Proshlyakov
Keyword(s):  
Active Site ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Heme Iron ◽  
Chemical Transformations ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Strongly Coupled ◽  
Non Heme Iron ◽  
Reversible Redox ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complex Structural

2-Oxoglutarate (2OG)-dependent dioxygenases catalyze C-H activation while performing a wide range of chemical transformations. In contrast to their heme analogues, non-heme iron centers afford greater structural flexibility with important implications for their diverse catalytic mechanisms. We characterize an <i>in situ</i> structural model of the putative transient ferric intermediate of 2OG:taurine dioxygenase (TauD) by using a combination of spectroelectrochemical and semi-empirical computational methods, demonstrating that the Fe (III/II) transition involves a substantial, fully reversible, redox-linked conformational change at the active site. This rearrangement alters the apparent redox potential of the active site between -127 mV for reduction of the ferric state and 171 mV for oxidation of the ferrous state of the 2OG-Fe-TauD complex. Structural perturbations exhibit limited sensitivity to mediator concentrations and potential pulse duration. Similar changes were observed in the Fe-TauD and taurine-2OG-Fe-TauD complexes, thus attributing the reorganization to the protein moiety rather than the cosubstrates. Redox difference infrared spectra indicate a reorganization of the protein backbone in addition to the involvement of carboxylate and histidine ligands. Quantitative modeling of the transient redox response using two alternative reaction schemes across a variety of experimental conditions strongly supports the proposal for intrinsic protein reorganization as the origin of the experimental observations.

scholarly journals Low-Energy Electron Damage to Condensed-Phase DNA and Its Constituents

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7879
Author(s):  
Yingxia Gao ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Léon Sanche
Keyword(s):  
Condensed Phase ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Dna Lesions ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Wide Range

The complex physical and chemical reactions between the large number of low-energy (0–30 eV) electrons (LEEs) released by high energy radiation interacting with genetic material can lead to the formation of various DNA lesions such as crosslinks, single strand breaks, base modifications, and cleavage, as well as double strand breaks and other cluster damages. When crosslinks and cluster damages cannot be repaired by the cell, they can cause genetic loss of information, mutations, apoptosis, and promote genomic instability. Through the efforts of many research groups in the past two decades, the study of the interaction between LEEs and DNA under different experimental conditions has unveiled some of the main mechanisms responsible for these damages. In the present review, we focus on experimental investigations in the condensed phase that range from fundamental DNA constituents to oligonucleotides, synthetic duplex DNA, and bacterial (i.e., plasmid) DNA. These targets were irradiated either with LEEs from a monoenergetic-electron or photoelectron source, as sub-monolayer, monolayer, or multilayer films and within clusters or water solutions. Each type of experiment is briefly described, and the observed DNA damages are reported, along with the proposed mechanisms. Defining the role of LEEs within the sequence of events leading to radiobiological lesions contributes to our understanding of the action of radiation on living organisms, over a wide range of initial radiation energies. Applications of the interaction of LEEs with DNA to radiotherapy are briefly summarized.

scholarly journals Review of the Upright Balance Assessment Based on the Force Plate

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2696
Author(s):  
Baoliang Chen ◽  
Peng Liu ◽  
Feiyun Xiao ◽  
Zhengshi Liu ◽  
Yong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Postural Balance ◽  
Force Plate ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Balance Assessment ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Methodological Research ◽  
Assessment Tests ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Foot Posture ◽  
Plate System

Quantitative assessment is crucial for the evaluation of human postural balance. The force plate system is the key quantitative balance assessment method. The purpose of this study is to review the important concepts in balance assessment and analyze the experimental conditions, parameter variables, and application scope based on force plate technology. As there is a wide range of balance assessment tests and a variety of commercial force plate systems to choose from, there is room for further improvement of the test details and evaluation variables of the balance assessment. The recommendations presented in this article are the foundation and key part of the postural balance assessment; these recommendations focus on the type of force plate, the subject’s foot posture, and the choice of assessment variables, which further enriches the content of posturography. In order to promote a more reasonable balance assessment method based on force plates, further methodological research and a stronger consensus are still needed.

scholarly journals Towards Reduced CNNs for De-Noising Phase Images Corrupted with Speckle Noise

Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Marie Tahon ◽  
Silvio Montresor ◽  
Pascal Picart
Keyword(s):  
Phase Error ◽  
Speckle Noise ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Benchmark Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Phase Images ◽  
Different Depths ◽  
Phase Data ◽  
Do So

Digital holography is a very efficient technique for 3D imaging and the characterization of changes at the surfaces of objects. However, during the process of holographic interferometry, the reconstructed phase images suffer from speckle noise. In this paper, de-noising is addressed with phase images corrupted with speckle noise. To do so, DnCNN residual networks with different depths were built and trained with various holographic noisy phase data. The possibility of using a network pre-trained on natural images with Gaussian noise is also investigated. All models are evaluated in terms of phase error with HOLODEEP benchmark data and with three unseen images corresponding to different experimental conditions. The best results are obtained using a network with only four convolutional blocks and trained with a wide range of noisy phase patterns.

scholarly journals Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Bears and Other Gay Men: A Descriptive Study from Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1044
Author(s):  
Magdalena Mijas ◽  
Karolina Koziara ◽  
Andrzej Galbarczyk ◽  
Grazyna Jasienska
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cvd Risk Factors ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
Wide Range

A risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increased by multiple factors including psychosocial stress and health behaviors. Sexual minority men who identify as Bears form a subculture distinguished by characteristics associated with increased CVD risk such as elevated stress and high body weight. However, none of the previous studies comprehensively investigated CVD risk in this population. Our study compared Bears (N = 31) with other gay men (N = 105) across a wide range of CVD risk factors. Logistic regression and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were performed to compare both groups concerning behavioral (e.g., physical activity), medical (e.g., self-reported hypertension), and psychosocial (e.g., depressiveness) CVD risk factors. Bears were characterized by older age and higher body mass index (BMI) than the control group. We also observed higher resilience, self-esteem, as well as greater prevalence of self-reported hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia in Bears. None of these differences remained statistically significant after adjusting for age and, in the case of self-reported diagnosis of diabetes, both age and BMI. Our study demonstrates that Bears are characterized by increased CVD risk associated predominantly with older age and higher BMI. Health promotion interventions addressed to this community should be tailored to Bears’ subcultural norms and should encourage a healthier lifestyle instead of weight loss.

scholarly journals The genetical analysis of covariance structure

Heredity ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
N G Martin ◽  
L J Eaves
Keyword(s):  
Covariance Structure ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Genetical Analysis

scholarly journals Creep Behaviour and Microstructural Characterization of VAT 36 and VAT 32 Superalloys

Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vagner Gobbi ◽  
Silvio Gobbi ◽  
Danieli Reis ◽  
Jorge Ferreira ◽  
José Araújo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Creep Resistance ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Creep Behaviour ◽  
Ductile Failure ◽  
Microstructural Characterization ◽  
Dislocation Slip ◽  
Creep Tests ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Wide Range

Superalloys are used primarily for the aerospace, automotive, and petrochemical industries. These applications require materials with high creep resistance. In this work, evaluation of creep resistance and microstructural characterization were carried out at two new nickel intermediate content alloys for application in aerospace industry and in high performance valves for automotive applications (alloys VAT 32 and VAT 36). The alloys are based on a high nickel chromium austenitic matrix with dispersion of intermetallic L12 and phases containing different (Nb,Ti)C carbides. Creep tests were performed at constant load, in the temperature range of 675–750 °C and stress range of 500–600 MPa. Microstructural characterization and failure analysis of fractured surfaces of crept samples were carried out with optical and scanning electron microscopy with EDS. Phases were identified by Rietveld refinement. The results showed that the superalloy VAT 32 has higher creep resistance than the VAT 36. The superior creep resistance of the alloy VAT 32 is related to its higher fraction of carbides (Nb,Ti)C and intermetallic L12 provided by the amount of carbon, titanium, and niobium in its chemical composition and subsequent heat treatment. During creep deformation these precipitates produce anchoring effect of grain boundaries, hindering relative slide between grains and therefore inhibiting crack formation. These volume defects act also as obstacles to dislocation slip and climb, decreasing the creep rate. Failure analysis of surface fractures of crept samples showed intergranular failure mechanism at crack origin for both alloys VAT 36 and VAT 32. Intergranular fracture involves nucleation, growth, and subsequent binding of voids. The final fractured portion showed transgranular ductile failure, with dimples of different shapes, generated by the formation and coalescence of microcavities with dissimilar shape and sizes. The occurrence of a given creep mechanism depends on the test conditions. At creep tests of VAT 32 and VAT 36, for lower stresses and higher temperature, possible dislocation climb over carbides and precipitates would prevail. For higher stresses and intermediate temperatures shear mechanisms involving stacking faults presumably occur over a wide range of experimental conditions.

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