Assessing children's speech intelligibility and oral structures, and functions via an Internet-based telehealth system

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique C Waite ◽  
Deborah G Theodoros ◽  
Trevor G Russell ◽  
Louise M Cahill

We examined the validity and reliability of an Internet-based telehealth system for screening speech intelligibility and oro-motor structure, and function in children with speech disorders. Twenty children aged 4-9 years were assessed by a clinician in the conventional, face-to-face (FTF) manner; simultaneously, they were assessed by a second clinician via the videoconferencing system using a 128-kbit/s Internet connection. Speech intelligibility in conversation was rated and an informal assessment of oro-motor structure and function was conducted. There was a high level of agreement between the online and FTF speech intelligibility ratings, with 70% exact agreement and 100% close agreement (within ± point on a 5-point scale). The weighted kappa statistic revealed very good agreement between raters (kappa = 0.86). Data for online and FTF ratings of oro-motor function revealed overall exact agreement of 73%, close agreement of 96%, moderate or good strength of agreement for six variables (kappa = 0.48–0.74), and poor to fair agreement for six variables (kappa = 0.12–0.36). Intra- and inter-rater reliability measures (ICCs) were similar between the online and FTF assessments. Low levels of agreement for some oro-motor variables highlighted the subjectivity of this assessment. However, the overall results support the validity and reliability of Internet-based screening of speech intelligibility and oro-motor function in children with speech disorders.

Author(s):  
Nugroho Budhiwaluyo ◽  
Rayandra Asyhar ◽  
Bambang Hariyadi

  This research aims to produce a final product in the form of a performance-assessment instrument on Cell Structure and Function experiment. The development model is ADDIE. Based on expert's judgment, the instrument was valid and can be tested in the field. Field-test results shown that the product performs high validity and reliability value on measuring student performance on Cell Structure and Function experiment. Therefore, it is concluded that this performance-assessment instrument theoretically and practically has a good quality for measuring student performance in both process and product performance on Cell Structure and Function experiment. Keywords: Development, Performance-Assessment Instrument, Cell Structure and Function Experiment 


Author(s):  
I. V. Maev ◽  
E. V. Barkalova ◽  
M. A. Ovsepyan ◽  
D. N. Andreev ◽  
Yu. A. Kucheryavyi

Aim. The aim of the study is to analyze the regularities of changes in the basic indicators of esophageal pH-impedance monitoring and high-resolution manometry in patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), erosive reflux disease (ERD) and Barrett’s esophagus (BE) in comparison with healthy individuals.Materials and methods.  69 patients were examined, including 19 patients with NERD, 16 patients with ERD, 14 patients with BE and 20 individuals comprising the control group (CG). The gender structure was as follows: 44 male and 25 female patients. The average age of the examined patients was 46 years. All patients underwent 24-hour esophageal pH-impedance monitoring and high resolution manometry.Results.  According to the data of 24-hour pH-impedance monitoring, the total time in the esophagus with pH < 4 was 2.4 % in the control group, 9 % in the NERD group, 20.25 % in the ERD group and 23.5 % in the patients with BE (p < 0.05). The average number of acid refluxes was 22.5 in CG, 61 in the NERD group, 77 in the ERD group and 86 in patients with BE (p < 0.05). The time of chemical clearance was 1.7 minutes in CG, 2.2 minutes in the group of patients with NERD, 2.9 minutes in the ERD group and 3 minutes in the BE group (p < 0.05). The mean nocturnal baseline impedance was 2483.5 Ohm in CG, 1775.0 Ohm in the NERD group, 771.0 Ohm in the ERD group and 911.0 Ohm in the BE group (p < 0.05). The normal parameters of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) structure and function according to the data of highresolution manometry were observed among 85 % of the control group, 63 % of patients with NERD, 25 % of patients with ERD and 36 % of BE group. The presence of hiatal hernia (HH) and/or hypotension of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) was observed in 15 % of patients from the CG, in 37 % of patients with NERD, in 75 % of patients with ERD and in 64 % of patients with BE. The normal parameters of the motor function of the esophagus were observed in CG (85 %), as well as in patients with NERD (79 %). In patients with ERB and BE, normal motor activity was noted in 25 % and 29 % of the cases, respectively. Disturbances of the motor function of the thoracic esophagus in CG were represented in 10 % of the cases by ineffective peristalsis and hypercontractility in the form of distal esophagospasm in 5 % of the cases. In the NERD group, 16 % of patients had ineffective peristalsis and 5 % of patients had hypercontractility in the form of a hypercontractile esophagus. In patients of ERD and BE groups, the disorders of the motor function of the thoracic esophagus were predominantly represented by ineffective peristalsis, in 75 % and 50 % of the patients, respectively. In addition, in the group of patients with BE, in 21 % of the cases, motor function disorders were observed in the form of absence of thoracic esophagus contractions.Conclusion.  It is shown that such indicators as increased level of acid exposure, increased amount of acid reflux, slowed chemical clearance, lowered mean nocturnal baseline impedance, as well as disorders in the structure and function of the esophageal-gastric junction and motility of the thoracic esophagus are associated with the severity of GERD. 


2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (18) ◽  
pp. 3214-3223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao Mei Annie Chu ◽  
Mikyung Yun ◽  
David E Anderson ◽  
Harvey Sage ◽  
Hee-Won Park ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Etter

Traditionally, speech-language pathologists (SLP) have been trained to develop interventions based on a select number of perceptual characteristics of speech without or through minimal use of objective instrumental and physiologic assessment measures of the underlying articulatory subsystems. While indirect physiological assumptions can be made from perceptual assessment measures, the validity and reliability of those assumptions are tenuous at best. Considering that neurological damage will result in various degrees of aberrant speech physiology, the need for physiologic assessments appears highly warranted. In this context, do existing physiological measures found in the research literature have sufficient diagnostic resolution to provide distinct and differential data within and between etiological classifications of speech disorders and versus healthy controls? The goals of this paper are (a) to describe various physiological and movement-related techniques available to objectively study various dysarthrias and speech production disorders and (b) to develop an appreciation for the need for increased systematic research to better define physiologic features of dysarthria and speech production disorders and their relation to know perceptual characteristics.


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