bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CPAP IMPACT: a protocol for a randomised trial of bubble continuous positive airway pressure versus standard care for high-risk children with severe pneumonia using adaptive design methods
Authors: Smith Andrew G , Eckerle Michelle , Mvalo Tisungane , Weir Brian , Martinson Francis , Chalira Alfred , Lufesi Norman , Mofolo Innocent , Hosseinipour Mina , McCollum Eric D
Published: July 2017

Introduction

Pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality among children in low-resource settings. Mortality is greatest among children with high-risk conditions including HIV infection or exposure, severe malnutrition and/or severe hypoxaemia. WHO treatment recommendations include low-flow oxygen for children with severe pneumonia. Bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) is a non-invasive support modality that provides positive end-expiratory pressure and oxygen. bCPAP is effective in the treatment of neonates in low-resource settings; its efficacy is unknown for high-risk children with severe pneumonia in low-resource settings.

Methods and analysis

CPAP IMPACT is a randomised clinical trial comparing bCPAP to low-flow oxygen in the treatment of severe pneumonia among high-risk children 1–59 months of age. High-risk children are stratified into two subgroups: (1) HIV infection or exposure and/or severe malnutrition; (2) severe hypoxaemia. The trial is being conducted in a Malawi district hospital and will enrol 900 participants. The primary outcome is in-hospital mortality rate of children treated with standard care as compared with bCPAP.

Ethics and dissemination

CPAP IMPACT has approval from the Institutional Review Boards of all investigators. An urgent need exists to determine whether bCPAP decreases mortality among high-risk children with severe pneumonia to inform resource utilisation in low-resource settings.

Trial registration number

NCT02484183; Pre-results.
Team Training of Inter-Professional Students (TTIPS) for improving teamwork
Authors: Paige John T. , Garbee Deborah D. , Yu Qingzhao , Rusnak Vadym
Published: July 2017

Objective

In surgery, dysfunctional teamwork is perpetuated by a ‘silo’ mentality modelled by students. Interprofessional education using high-fidelity simulation-based training (SBT) may counteract such modelling. We sought to determine whether SBT of interprofessional student teams (1) changes long-term teamwork attitudes and (2) is an effective form of team training.

Design

A quasiexperimental, pre/postintervention comparison design was employed at an academic health sciences institution. High-fidelity simulation-based training of 42 interprofessional teams of third year surgery clerkship medical students and senior undergraduate nursing students was undertaken using a two-scenario format with immediate after action debriefing. Pre/postintervention TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes questionnaires (5 subscales, 30 items, Likert type) were given to the medical student and undergraduate nursing student classes. Pre/postsession Readiness for Inter-Professional Learning (RIPL; 19 items, Likert type) surveys and postscenario participant-rated and observer-rated Teamwork Assessment Scales (3 subscales, 11 items, Likert type) were given during each training session. Mean TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire, RIPL and Teamwork Assessment Scales scores were calculated; matched pre/postscore differences and trained versus non-trained TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire scores were compared using paired t-test or analysis of variance.

Results

Both student groups had 10 significantly improved RIPL items as well as TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (TTAQ) mutual support subscales. Medical students had a significantly improved TTAQ team structure subscale. Over a simulation-based training session, each observer-rated Teamwork Assessment Scales subscale and two self-rated Teamwork Assessment Scales subscales significantly improved. Trained students had significantly higher TTAQ team structure subscales than non-trained students.

Conclusions

Interprofessional education using high-fidelity simulation-based training of students is effective at teaching teamwork, changing interprofessional attitudes and improving long-term teamwork attitudes.
Seasonality in airborne bacterial, fungal, and (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentrations in two indoor laboratory animal rooms
Authors: Hwang Sungho , Ko Yeji , Park Donguk , Yoon Chungsik
Published: July 2017

Aims

The purpose of this study was to assess the temporal changes in the concentrations of bioaerosols in a laboratory mouse room (LMR) and laboratory rabbit room (LRR), and to determine environmental factors associated with the culturable bacteria, fungi and (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentrations.

Method

The concentrations of culturable airborne bacteria, fungi and (1→3)-β-D-glucan in the LMR and LRR were sampled once a month from March 2011 to February 2012. A single-stage viable cascade impactor was used to sample bacteria and fungi, while a two-stage cyclone bioaerosol sampler was used to collect airborne (1→3)-β-D-glucan.

Results

The culturable bacterial concentrations in the LMR showed a gradual increase during the summer. The culturable fungal concentrations showed similar seasonal patterns of change in the LMR and LRR with a noticeable increase during the summer. The (1→3)-β-D-glucan concentrations were highest during the warmer spring and summer months. Relative humidity (RH) was the environmental factor most associated with the concentrations of culturable bacteria and fungi. The overall airborne microbe concentrations were significantly higher in the LRR than in the LMR.

Conclusions

Airborne microbe concentrations in the LMR and LRR varied greatly depending on season, and these changes were affected by environmental factors.
Cardiometabolic risk factors in primary centred and rotator cuff-related shoulder osteoarthritis: a comparative study
Authors: Juge Pierre-Antoine , Berard Laure , Kotti Salma , Doursounian Levon , Sautet Alain , Simon Tabassome , Berenbaum Francis , Nourissat Geoffroy , Sellam Jérémie
Published: July 2017

Background

Risk factors for shoulder osteoarthritis (SOA) have been poorly studied. SOA has two anatomical subtypes: primary centred SOA (centred SOA) and rotator cuff-related OA (non-centred SOA). We examined whether cardiometabolic risk factors are preferentially associated with centred than mechanical-induced non-centred SOA.

Methods

This 2004–2012 retrospective multicentric study included patients with SOA. Data on clinical characteristics, especially cardiometabolic risk factors, were collected. We compared patients with radiographic-centred and non-centred SOA and tested the association between cardiometabolic risk factors and subtypes of SOA.

Results

We included 147 patients (101 women (68.7%); mean age 75.8±10 years); 99 had centred SOA. As compared with patients with non-centred SOA, those with centred SOA were older (77.5±9 vs 72.4±11 years; p=0.004) with no difference in cardiometabolic disturbances or their accumulation. Multivariable analyses indicated that older age was independently associated with centred SOA (OR 1.06;95% CI 1.02 to 1.1; p=0.004), and cardiovascular diseases were less associated with this subtype (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.089 to 0.824; p=0.02) than with the non-centred one.

Conclusion

Cardiometabolic risk factors were not more prevalent with primary centred than rotator cuff-related SOA. They may participate in the pathophysiology of both SOA subtypes through cartilage and tendon disruption.
The prevalence of illicit cigarette consumption and related factors in Turkey
Authors: Kaplan Bekir , Navas-Acien Ana , Cohen Joanna E
Published: July 2017

Background

The tobacco industry claims that high cigarette taxes drive illicit trade and that governments should therefore not increase tobacco tax because it will increase the level of illicit trade. This study examines illicit cigarette consumption in Turkey after a tobacco tax increase and its related factors.

Method

This national cross-sectional survey was conducted in March-June 2013 and 9717 people aged ≥18 years participated in the interviewer-administered survey. Smokers were asked to show their last used cigarette pack to the interviewers and price paid for their cigarettes. Factors associated with smoking cigarettes with a tobacco tax stamp and paying ≥5 TL (Turkish lira) for a pack of cigarettes were analysed with logistic regression.

Results

Among the observed cigarette packs, 12.1% did not have the Turkish tax stamp. More illicit cigarettes were observed in the East region than in other regions (p<0.001). The reported average amount paid for a pack of cigarettes was €2.12 (€2.15 for men and €1.97 for women, p<0.001). The amount paid for cigarettes with a tax stamp (€2.15) was higher than the amount paid for cigarettes without tax stamp (€1.08) (per cigarette pack) (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Just over 1 in 10 smokers (12%) had an illicit cigarette pack about 5 months after the final tax increase; this was most common in the East region of Turkey. Estimates are comparable to those in previous studies and do not indicate that an increase occurred in the prevalence of illicit cigarette use compared with before the tobacco tax increase.
Whole-Genome and Epigenomic Landscapes of Etiologically Distinct Subtypes of Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Jusakul Apinya , Cutcutache Ioana , Yong Chern Han , Lim Jing Quan , Huang Mi Ni , Padmanabhan Nisha , Nellore Vishwa , Kongpetch Sarinya , Ng Alvin Wei Tian , Ng Ley Moy , Choo Su Pin , Myint Swe Swe , Thanan Raynoo , Nagarajan Sanjanaa , Lim Weng Khong , Ng Cedric Chuan Young , Boot Arnoud , Liu Mo , Ong Choon Kiat , Rajasegaran Vikneswari , Lie Stefanus , Lim Alvin Soon Tiong , Lim Tse Hui , Tan Jing , Loh Jia Liang , McPherson John R. , Khuntikeo Narong , Bhudhisawasdi Vajaraphongsa , Yongvanit Puangrat , Wongkham Sopit , Totoki Yasushi , Nakamura Hiromi , Arai Yasuhito , Yamasaki Satoshi , Chow Pierce Kah-Hoe , Chung Alexander Yaw Fui , Ooi London Lucien Peng Jin , Lim Kiat Hon , Dima Simona , Duda Dan G. , Popescu Irinel , Broet Philippe , Hsieh Sen-Yung , Yu Ming-Chin , Scarpa Aldo , Lai Jiaming , Luo Di-Xian , Carvalho André Lopes , Vettore André Luiz , Rhee Hyungjin , Park Young Nyun , Alexandrov Ludmil B. , Gordân Raluca , Rozen Steven G. , Shibata Tatsuhiro , Pairojkul Chawalit , Teh Bin Tean , Tan Patrick
Published: July 2017

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a hepatobiliary malignancy exhibiting high incidence in countries with endemic liver-fluke infection. We analyzed 489 CCAs from 10 countries, combining whole-genome (71 cases), targeted/exome, copy-number, gene expression, and DNA methylation information. Integrative clustering defined 4 CCA clusters—fluke-positive CCAs (clusters 1/2) are enriched in ERBB2 amplifications and TP53 mutations; conversely, fluke-negative CCAs (clusters 3/4) exhibit high copy-number alterations and PD-1/PD-L2 expression, or epigenetic mutations (IDH1/2, BAP1) and FGFR/PRKA-related gene rearrangements. Whole-genome analysis highlighted FGFR2 3′ untranslated region deletion as a mechanism of FGFR2 upregulation. Integration of noncoding promoter mutations with protein–DNA binding profiles demonstrates pervasive modulation of H3K27me3-associated sites in CCA. Clusters 1 and 4 exhibit distinct DNA hypermethylation patterns targeting either CpG islands or shores—mutation signature and subclonality analysis suggests that these reflect different mutational pathways. Our results exemplify how genetics, epigenetics, and environmental carcinogens can interplay across different geographies to generate distinct molecular subtypes of cancer.

Significance: Integrated whole-genome and epigenomic analysis of CCA on an international scale identifies new CCA driver genes, noncoding promoter mutations, and structural variants. CCA molecular landscapes differ radically by etiology, underscoring how distinct cancer subtypes in the same organ may arise through different extrinsic and intrinsic carcinogenic processes. Cancer Discov; 7(10); 1116–35. ©2017 AACR.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1047
Interleukin-10 Inhibits Bone Marrow Fibroblast Progenitor Cell–Mediated Cardiac Fibrosis in Pressure-Overloaded Myocardium
Authors: Verma Suresh K. , Garikipati Venkata N.S. , Krishnamurthy Prasanna , Schumacher Sarah M. , Grisanti Laurel A. , Cimini Maria , Cheng Zhongjian , Khan Mohsin , Yue Yujia , Benedict Cindy , Truongcao May M. , Rabinowitz Joseph E. , Goukassian David A. , Tilley Douglas , Koch Walter J. , Kishore Raj
Published: July 2017

Background:

Activated fibroblasts (myofibroblasts) play a critical role in cardiac fibrosis; however, their origin in the diseased heart remains unclear, warranting further investigation. Recent studies suggest the contribution of bone marrow fibroblast progenitor cells (BM-FPCs) in pressure overload–induced cardiac fibrosis. We have previously shown that interleukin-10 (IL10) suppresses pressure overload–induced cardiac fibrosis; however, the role of IL10 in inhibition of BM-FPC–mediated cardiac fibrosis is not known. We hypothesized that IL10 inhibits pressure overload–induced homing of BM-FPCs to the heart and their transdifferentiation to myofibroblasts and thus attenuates cardiac fibrosis.

Methods:

Pressure overload was induced in wild-type (WT) and IL10 knockout (IL10KO) mice by transverse aortic constriction. To determine the bone marrow origin, chimeric mice were created with enhanced green fluorescent protein WT mice marrow to the IL10KO mice. For mechanistic studies, FPCs were isolated from mouse bone marrow.

Results:

Pressure overload enhanced BM-FPC mobilization and homing in IL10KO mice compared with WT mice. Furthermore, WT bone marrow (from enhanced green fluorescent protein mice) transplantation in bone marrow–depleted IL10KO mice (IL10KO chimeric mice) reduced transverse aortic constriction–induced BM-FPC mobilization compared with IL10KO mice. Green fluorescent protein costaining with α-smooth muscle actin or collagen 1α in left ventricular tissue sections of IL10KO chimeric mice suggests that myofibroblasts were derived from bone marrow after transverse aortic constriction. Finally, WT bone marrow transplantation in IL10KO mice inhibited transverse aortic constriction–induced cardiac fibrosis and improved heart function. At the molecular level, IL10 treatment significantly inhibited transforming growth factor-β–induced transdifferentiation and fibrotic signaling in WT BM-FPCs in vitro. Furthermore, fibrosis-associated microRNA (miRNA) expression was highly upregulated in IL10KO-FPCs compared with WT-FPCs. Polymerase chain reaction–based selective miRNA analysis revealed that transforming growth factor-β–induced enhanced expression of fibrosis-associated miRNAs (miRNA-21, -145, and -208) was significantly inhibited by IL10. Restoration of miRNA-21 levels suppressed the IL10 effects on transforming growth factor-β–induced fibrotic signaling in BM-FPCs.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that IL10 inhibits BM-FPC homing and transdifferentiation to myofibroblasts in pressure-overloaded myocardium. Mechanistically, we show for the first time that IL10 suppresses Smad–miRNA-21–mediated activation of BM-FPCs and thus modulates cardiac fibrosis.
Early Prediction of Delayed Ischemia and Functional Outcome in Acute Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Fragata Isabel , Alves Marta , Papoila Ana Luísa , Nunes Ana Paiva , Ferreira Patrícia , Canto-Moreira Nuno , Canhão Patrícia
Published: July 2017

Background and Purpose—

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters are markers of cerebral lesion in some diseases. In patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), we investigated whether DTI parameters measured at <72 hours might be associated with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and with poor functional outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin Scale score ≥3).

Methods—

DTI was performed in a prospective cohort of 60 patients with nontraumatic SAH at <72 hours. Association of fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient values at <72 hours with the occurrence of DCI and outcome at 3 months was evaluated with logistic regression models, adjusting for known predictors of prognosis.

Results—

At <72 hours after SAH, fractional anisotropy values at the cerebellum were associated with DCI occurrence (78% less odds of DCI for each 0.1 increase in fractional anisotropy;
P
=0.019). Early apparent diffusion coefficient values were not associated with DCI. After adjusting for confounding variables, an increase of 10 U in apparent diffusion coefficient at the frontal centrum semiovale corresponded to 15% increased odds of poor outcome (
P
=0.061).

Conclusions—

DTI parameters at <72 hours post-SAH are independently associated with the occurrence of DCI and functional outcome. These preliminary results suggest the role of DTI parameters as surrogate markers of prognosis in nontraumatic SAH.
A Review of Current and New Measurement Techniques Used in Hot Die Forging Processes
Authors: Hawryluk Marek , Ziemba Jacek , Sadowski Przemysław
Published: July 2017

The work presents the possibilities of applying modern measuring techniques, classic and coordinate measuring techniques in the forging industry (various stages of technological sequence), with the use of various measuring tools, instruments and machines applied in workshop metrology. The work points to different aspects of measuring techniques used mainly for two groups of objects, emphasizing their important role in the context of safety (achieved forgings—products) and the significant measurement problems due to the extreme conditions in industrial hot forging processes. The first group comprises various measurements of forgings (control during and after forging and mechanical treatment). The second group includes measurements of the forging equipment involving a broadly understood quality control (geometrical characteristics, surface quality etc.), often combined with comprehensive control and durability analysis of forging tools. The work analyzes the possibility and validity of applying scanning techniques for direct control of the quality and change of the geometry of the tools in industrial forging processes, without the necessity of their disassembly, and also measurement systems of temperature, forces and displacement in forging processes.
The Interface Between Beliefs and Behavior
Authors: Walker Stephen G.
Published: July 2017

This paper examines the interface between Henry Kissinger's operational code and his bargaining behavior during the Vietnam conflict. Kissinger's position at the pinnacle of the American foreign affairs hierarchy, amidst the existence of competing policy recommendations, may be regarded as necessary conditions to test the impact of his operational code upon American foreign policy. A comparison of his academic writings and his conduct of the Vietnam negotiations reveals a congruent relationship between his operational code and his bargaining behavior. Taken collectively, the code's components approximate game theory's “prisoner's dilemma” description of politics and specify a “general preference relation” that prescribes a consistent, predictable, metagame repertoire of responses.
Some Possibilities in Speech Synthesis
Authors: Ladefoged Peter
Published: July 2017

Speech synthesizers may operate in terms of acoustic analogue signals (Haskins PB2), acoustic parameters (PAT, OVE II), physiological analogue signals (DAVO), or physiological parameters. The main difficulty in the latter possibility is in devising parametric characterizations of the vocal tract shape; these parameters should reflect the anatomical constraints, which are not yet fully known. Data on the positions of the muscles of the tongue on one subject have been collected. As a result we have a hypothesis concerning the forces exerted by the muscles in a number of vowels. This hypothesis, which may form the basis for a physiological characterization of speech, will be verified by the construction of a working replica of the vocal organs. The advantages of this form of physiological speech synthesizer in comparison with a computer simulation are discussed.
Lip Positions in American English Vowels
Authors: Fromkin Victoria
Published: July 2017

Three kinds of data were used in an attempt to determine the parameters of characteristic lip positions in a range of American English vowels: (1) standardized simultaneous frontal and lateral photographs; (2) lateral x-rays; (3) plaster casts of a subject's lips. Among the measurements taken were the following: (1) distance between the corners of the mouth (width); (2) height of the opening on the midline; (3) area as measured on a frontal view; (4) protrusion; (5) retraction of the corners of the mouth. As a check on the consistency of measurement and performance, these data were used to compare a single subject's production of the set of vowels on a number of occasions. Comparisons with other subjects were also made. The interrelationships of these variables are discussed.
Sound-Meaning Correlations Among 1,000 English Words
Authors: Heise David R.
Published: July 2017

From a theoretic standpoint, phonetic symbolism experiments thus far have dealt with “phonemic symbolism”; there are two hypotheses, not one, under investigation. This study focuses on the hypothesis that attitudinal meanings of macro-units in language co-vary to some degree with the attitudinal meanings of micro-units composing them. Using semantic differential ratings and phonemic transcriptions for 1,000 English words, it is shown that: (1) words in which certain phonemes occur do tend to have characteristic attitudinal meanings; (2) attitudinal meanings predicted for words from their phonemic content do correlate with the actual attitudinal meanings ( r's range from 0.21 to 0.27; all are significant with p < 0.001). It is found that phoneme meanings derived from the ratings of natural words and those derived previously from ratings of artificial words do not correlate; various possible interpretations of this finding are discussed.
Performance of Normal and Retarded Boys on Berko's Test of Morphology
Authors: Dever Richard B. , Gardner William I.
Published: July 2017

Berko's test of morphology was administered to two groups of educable mentally retarded public school boys who were matched on chronological age and mental age respectively to groups of normal public school boys. Results were analysed using teachers' responses as criteria for " correctness ". In general, neither group of EMRs performed as well as the normal boys. Criticisms of the test on the basis of the obtained results as well as suggestions for modifications and further research needs are presented.
A Developmental Analysis of the " Psychological " Subject and Predicate of the Sentence
Authors: Hornby Peter A. , Hass Wilbur A. , Feldman Carol F.
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this investigation was to study the early development of the distinction between the "psychological" subject and predicate and to determine its relationship to the grammatical subject and predicate distinction. In the first task, kindergarten and 2nd grade subjects were asked to select the most important word in each of several sentences. In the second task, two more groups of children at the same age levels were asked to produce opposites for the same set of sentences. It was found that, whereas the younger children's responses may be accounted for by factors of semantic features of individual words, the older subjects consistently centred on the grammatical predicate as the locus of opposition and most important word. Furthermore, this shift to the predicate in the older children was characterized by an emphasis on the verb.
Phoneme Repetition in the Structure of Languages
Authors: Mackay Donald G.
Published: July 2017

The structure of phoneme repetition in Croatian and Hawaiian was found to be remarkably similar. In both languages, immediate repetition of phonemes as in AACHEN was very infrequent, but phoneme repetition after some degree of separation as in PROPER was significantly more frequent than chance expectation.

The degree of separation for maximum probability of repetition was slightly different for vowels and consonants in both languages. This pattern of phoneme repetition was unrelated to syllable length, word length or word frequency in these languages.

The hypothesis was advanced that this pattern of repetition resulted from an evolutionary process, reflected not only in recorded phonological changes in the history of languages, but also in errors in speech, and phonetic changes at rapid rates of speech, all of which frequently involve repeated phonemes.
Classifying Allophones
Authors: Tatham Marcel A.A.
Published: July 2017

This paper discusses the basis for the categories ' intrinsic ' and ' extrinsic ' allophones, that is articulatory effects which are neuro-physiologically determined and those which are language-specific, and argues the need for introducing a third category to include effects which are the result of inhibiting an 'intrinsic' influence on articulation.
Lack of Perceptual Reality of the Phoneme for Hearing Handicapped Children
Authors: Schultz Martin C. , Kraat Arlene W.
Published: July 2017

The assumption that the phoneme is the perceptual speech unit was tested with a group of moderately hearing impaired subjects. The subjects responded to nonsense syllables, using any of eight consonants with either of two vowels, by forced choice consonant identification. Vocalic environment affects the consonant selected, rejected, found ambiguous or incorrectly accepted. The syllable appears to be the minimal perceptual unit of speech for such a population.
A Measure of Preference for Speaking Rather than Writing and its Relationship To Expressive Language Skills in Adolescents
Authors: Davis Diana , Taft Ronald
Published: July 2017

A description is given of the development of a 15 item inventory for measuring the degree of preference for speaking versus writing (SWPI) in a variety of situations appropriate to secondary school students. Preference for speaking was correlated positively with sociability and with the quality of oral expression but not with the quality of written expression. There was no relationship between preference for speaking or writing and the following variables: sex, social class, intelligence level or capacity in listening and reading comprehension. It was concluded that a preference for speaking may arise from enjoyment of the company of people, but where this enjoyment is limited, or where oral competence is poor, a person will prefer to communicate in Writing.
Children's Comprehension of Metaphor: a Piagetian Interpretation
Authors: Smith J.W.A.
Published: July 2017

Metaphors selected from fifth grade readers were presented to 80 upper socio-economic status grade six and grade eight children. A descriptive interpretation of responses from the highest and lowest scoring protocols within a Piagetian framework suggested that the poorest interpretations showed characteristics of concrete and pre-operational thinking while the best interpretations showed characteristics of formal operational thought.
Relationships Between Hesitation Phenomena, Anxiety, and Self-Control in a Normal Communication Situation
Authors: Ragsdale J. Donald
Published: July 2017

This study investigated relationships between three categories of hesitation phenomena, anxiety as measured by Welsh's Anxiety Index, and self-control as measured by Welsh's Internalization Ratio. The three categories of hesitation phenomena were ah and its variants, non-ah (stutters, repetitions, etc.), and silent pause. Since previous research had concentrated primarily upon psychiatric interviews, this study focused on a normal, interpersonal communication situation. Previous research also had not utilized Welsh's Internalization Ratio. Subjects were 15 male and 15 female undergraduate beginning speech students engaged in small-group discussion. It was hypothesized that data from these subjects, as with that from subjects in a clinical communication situation, would reveal that non-ah phenomena would be positively correlated with anxiety, but that there would be no other significant correlations among the variables. The findings confirmed the hypotheses, except that a significant r was found for the relationship between non-ah phenomena and the Internalization Ratio. The normal subjects in this study exhibited behaviour quite similar to that of the clinical subjects of previous research. As their Anxiety Indexes and Internalization Ratios increased, so did their stutters, repetitions, sentence changes, and the like.
Early Acquisition of Linguistic Designations for Time
Authors: Weber Jack L. , Weber Susan E.
Published: July 2017

Time-related verbalizations of a three year old were analysed in order to gain insight into how children develop linguistic forms to designate time. This study went beyond mere descriptions of the time designators used by the child, and went on to discover what were the limits of his own understanding when adult time terminology was directed at him. Therefore, both the expressive and receptive modalities (output and input) were awarded equal attention. The development of a semantic aspect was inferred by noting gradual changes in both expressive and receptive proficiency that evolved over a period of eleven months. In other words, we have isolated and defined one small area of semantic evolution. The results showed receptive proficiency ahead of expressive in the areas of Time Markers (e.g., - ed morpheme), Time Units (e.g., 'day', 'year') and Time Continuum. For the latter, two time slots at age 2.9 evolved into 10 time slots on the receptive continuum and 9 time slots on the expressive continuum by age 3.8.
Phonological Learning By Children and Adults in a Laboratory Setting
Authors: McCrae Cochrane R. , Sachs Jacqueline
Published: July 2017

Adults and 7-year-old children were compared in their ability to acquire new speech sound patterns under conditions of equal exposure. Thirty-two non-Spanish speaking subjects imitated Spanish words that had been recorded by a native speaker of Spanish, and read other words designed to assess their knowledge of Spanish stress patterns. Performance of the children in imitating the Spanish words excelled that of adults. No differences were found in the degree to which adults and children generalized Spanish stress patterns to unpresented words, but children showed less interference from English stress patterns than did adults.
Individual Differences in Second-Language Ability: a Factor-Analytic Study
Authors: Snow Catherine E. , Hoefnagel-Höhle Marian
Published: July 2017

The second-language abilities of 51 English speakers learning Dutch naturalistically were tested at three points during their first year in the second-language environment. The tests used reflected abilities in pronunciation, auditory discrimination, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, comprehension of running speech, fluency, and metalinguistic judgments. Factor analyses of the results revealed the emergence during the year of two major second language factors: grammar plus vocabulary and phonological ability. The vocabulary tests correlated highly with tests of syntax and morphology at all test sessions. These results are related to hypotheses concerning individual differences in strategies of first-and second-language acquisition.
An Experimental Study of the Relative Importance of Acoustic Parameters for Auditory Speaker Recognition
Authors: Brown Roger
Published: July 2017

Many previous experimenters, by manipulating parameters in isolation, have examined the potentiality of these parameters as speaker-characterizing features, not their relative habitual importance for speaker recognition in everyday life. The two experiments reported here investigate this relative importance by the simultaneous manipulation of parameters. Using synthetic speech in a voice similarity judgment format, the first experiment employs eight factors in a restricted factorial design, and the second a subset of four of these factors in a full factorial design. Results indicate that (i) fundamental-frequency mean, formant mean and formant bandwidth are the most important parameters, among those investigated, for speaker recognition, and (ii) although listeners differ in the average score recorded, they may be treated as reacting identically to changes in the factors. Implications for perception theory are outlined.
Perception of Speech Rate as a Function of Vocal Intensity and Frequency
Authors: Feldstein Stanley , Bond Ronald N.
Published: July 2017

The study was designed to examine the possibility that vocal frequency and vocal intensity influence the perception of speech rate. One 30-second segment of spontaneous speech was used to produce nine stimulus segments that factorially varied three levels of vocal frequency and three levels of vocal intensity but were identical in speech rate. The segments were recorded backwards in pairs such that the first member of each pair was the original segment and the second was the altered segment. Eighty-eight judges were then asked to compare the speech rate of the second member of each pair with that of the first in terms of a seven-point scale that varied from "much slower" to "much faster." The results indicate that vocal frequency and intensity both separately and jointly influenced the perception of speech rate.
Perceptual Structure of Monophthongs and Diphthongs in English
Authors: Fox Robert Allen
Published: July 2017

This multidimensional scaling investigation seeks to determine the dimensions underlying the perception of diphthongs in American English and whether such dimensions are radically different from those found in studies utilizing monophthongal vowels. Dissimilarity data were obtained from subjects' paired comparison judgments of 15 English vowels [i e ε æ a o u i at a ju]. INDSCAL analysis of the data revealed that the perceptual structure of the vowels was best modeled in terms of four perceptual dimensions labeled front/back, high/low, low-back onset, and mid/nonmid. Regression analyses demonstrated that the perceptual structure of the vowels was most significantly related to the first two formants of the stimulus vowels. No dimensions relating to dynamic acoustic information (such as direction and/or extent of formant change over time) were found. Separate regression analyses demonstrated that these empirically derived dimensions were significantly related to the distinctive features relating to tongue position and, in particular, that the high/low dimension was better predicted by Ladefoged's multivalued Height feature than by Chomsky and Halle's binary High, Low, and Tense.
Testing the Reality of Focus Domains
Authors: Gussenhoven Carlos
Published: July 2017

An experiment was carried out which was aimed at testing the hypothesis that, in English, prominence on a predicate contains no information about the "given-new" status of that predicate if it is followed by a (lexical) object that carries a sentence accent. The results are taken to lend support to a view of English prosody whereby (a) prosodic structure is not (fully) predictable from syntactic structure, and (b) the relation between "new"-ness and a sentence accent is indirect.
Effects of Antecedent Distance and Intervening Text Structure in the Interpretation of Ellipses
Authors: Garnham A.
Published: July 2017

There is much evidence to suggest that there are at least two aspects of the mental encoding of a text — surface form and content. Long-term retention is of memory for content, but a representation of surface form is essential for the on-line interpretation of certain grammatical constructions, such as Verb-Phrase Ellipsis. Two experiments are reported that investigate the availability of surface representations. The first shows that an elliptical verb phrase is most easily interpreted if its antecedent is in the immediately preceding sentence. This result confirms previous findings on the importance of that sentence, and shows, even in a task where the retention of surface form is essential, that representation nevertheless rapidly becomes difficult to access. The second experiment shows that the results of the first cannot be explained in terms of the unnaturalness of the passages with distant antecedents, since distance has an effect even in passages judged to be more natural.
The Role of Parallelism in Strategies of Pronoun Comprehension
Authors: Stevenson Rosemary J. , Nelson Alexander W. R. , Stenning Keith
Published: July 2017

Two experiments investigated the role of parallelism in strategies of pronoun assignment and tested the proposition that a parallel function strategy and the subject assignment strategy jointly contribute to the interpretation of pronouns. The parallel function strategy interprets a pronoun as coreferential with a preceding noun phrase in the same grammatical role, while the subject assignment strategy interprets a pronoun as coreferential with a preceding subject noun phrase. The results of Experiment I showed that the subject assignment and parallel function strategies jointly constrained assignment. When both strategies yielded the same interpretation, as was the case for subject assignments with subject pronouns, subject assignment preferences were greater than when only the subject assignment strategy was available, as was the case with nonsubject pronouns in partially parallel sentences (i.e., sentences in which the pronoun and antecedent differed grammatically). When the two strategies yielded conflicting assignments, as was the case with nonsubject pronouns in fully parallel sentences, subject assignments were reduced even further and nonsubject assignments were preferred. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1 in isolated sentences rather than in short texts and ruled out the idea that a third “parallel order” strategy might be used in partially parallel sentences. We suggest that the subject assignment strategy reflects the topic status of the subject noun phrase, while parallel function reflects the use of correspondences between sentence structures in comprehension. We also suggest that the joint operation of heuristic strategies implies a model of discourse processing in which a number of constraints compete in the interpretation of noun phrases.
The Neighborhood Characteristics of Malapropisms
Authors: Vitevitch Michael S.
Published: July 2017

This study examined the phonological neighborhood characteristics (frequency, density, and neighborhood frequency) of 138 malapropisms. Malapropisms are whole word substitutions that are phonologically, but not semantically, related. A statistical analysis of a speech error corpus suggests that neighborhood density and word frequency differentially affected the number of malapropisms. Specifically, a greater number of malapropisms were found among high frequency words with dense neighborhoods than with sparse neighborhoods. Exactly the opposite pattern was found among low frequency words. That is, more errors were found among low frequency words with sparse neighborhoods than with dense neighborhoods. More malapropisms resided in low frequency neighborhoods than in high. The average word frequency, average neighborhood density, and average neighborhood frequency of the malapropisms were significantly lower than the same averages computed from randomly sampled control words. Finally, more target words were replaced by error words that had relatively higher frequency than by error words that had relatively lower frequency. The implications of these findings for models of lexical representation and processing are discussed.
Historical Laboratory Phonology—Investigating /p/>/f/>/h/ Changes
Authors: Foulkes Paul
Published: July 2017

This paper offers a contribution to laboratory phonology, extending experimental methods to the investigation of a cross-linguistic historical problem. The issue in question is the recurrent and unidirectional series of sound changes from /p/ > /f/ > /h/. A large sample of languages was surveyed, which revealed no evidence for direct changes from /p/ > /h/ (contrary to popular claims in the literature). Instead, an intervening /f/ stage appears mandatory. /p/ > /f/ changes are widely assumed to be articulatorily-motivated lenitions. By contrast, /f/ > /h/ changes have received little attention. The survey indicates that this change tends to be motivated in the proximity of /u/. A perceptual experiment was carried out to investigate this pattern, which shows that the change may be initiated due to the acoustic similarity of [fu] and [hu] sequences. Some implications of these findings for phonological theory are then briefly outlined.
Dialect Effects in Vowel Perception: The Role of Temporal Information in French
Authors: Miller Joanne L. , Grosjean Francois
Published: July 2017

The importance of vowel duration for specifying vowel contrasts differs across languages. In English, for example, a number of vowel pairs are acoustically differentiated by both temporal and spectral information, whereas in standard French temporal information plays a much more minor role. Gottfried and Beddor (1988) reported that the effectiveness of vowel duration in perception varies accordingly: For native speakers of English, but not native speakers of standard French, a change in vowel duration affected the perceptual identity of a vowel contrast. We tested the hypothesis that the relative prominence of vowel duration within different dialects of a given language also has perceptual consequences. Vowel duration plays a much more important role in the phonological system of Swiss French than standard French. Given this, we predicted that native speakers of Swiss French, unlike native speakers of standard French, would use temporal information when identifying vowels. Our prediction was confirmed. These findings indicate that just as there are cross-language differences in fundamental aspects of speech perception, so too are there cross-dialect differences, and they support the view that the perceptual mapping between acoustic signal and vowel category is sensitive to global aspects of the listener's phonological system.
Collaboration Strategies Reported by Teachers Providing Assistive Technology Services
Authors: McLaren Elizabeth M. , Bausch Margaret E. , Ault Melinda Jones
Published: July 2017

Collaboration between special educators and general education teachers is associated with academic and social success of students with disabilities who are included in the general education classroom. This study reports the findings from 96 interviews conducted with special and general education teachers regarding collaboration strategies to provide assistive technology services to students. Strategies such as collaborative consultation, problem solving, and teaming are discussed, and interview findings are provided. The results are presented as four themes that emerged during interview analysis: (a) current teacher collaboration practices, (b) teacher-reported barriers to collaboration, (c) teacher suggestions to improve collaboration, and (d) reasons why teachers do not practice collaboration.
The Learning Disabled Delinquent: Teaching Socially Appropriate Reactions to Confrontations for Negative Behaviors
Authors: Burnett Darrell J.
Published: July 2017

Learning disabled delinquents are often adjudicated when apprehended because of their socially inappropriate reactions at the time of apprehension. A private psychiatric hospital program is described which, in coordination with referring probation officers, attempts to develop socially appropriate reactions in learning disabled delinquents when they are confronted for their negative behaviors. The paper describes a case study involving systematic reinforcement, social skills training, and cognitive restructuring, in a token economy.
Educational Material Designed to Promote Hearing-Impaired Children's Social and Affective Skills
Authors: Murphy-Berman Virginia , Whobrey Linda
Published: July 2017

Four types of materials are described which were designed to promote the social/emotional learning skills of hearing-impaired children. The materials were used in conjunction with viewing captioned television programs but are amenable for use with other type of media as well. All the materials were tested with 80 hearing-impaired students from five schools for the deaf around the country. Specific techniques are described and implications for classroom use are discussed.
A Comparison of Teacher Approval and Disapproval Statements across Categories of Exceptionality
Authors: Gable Robert A. , Hendrickson Jo M. , Young Clifford C. , Shores Richard E. , Stowitschek Joseph J.
Published: July 2017

Researchers have long sought to identify teaching acts that have a predictable effect on learner performance. The contingent use of teacher praise is well documented for its positive influence on the social behavior of handicapped youngsters. However, results of the present study indicate that teachers of the mentally retarded, multihandicapped and learning disabled and/or behavior disordered make limited use of praise over criticism in managing classroom behavior. Even though the technology exists for training selected teacher competencies, e.g., use of contingent praise, it would appear that problems remain in connection with maintaining these skills in applied settings.
Monetary Policy in Poland in the Conditions of Upheavals in Global Markets and the Change of Internal Business Cycle
Authors: Nowak Alojzy Z.
Published: July 2017

The end of the nineties has brought many substantial changes on the world economic map. On the one hand, a considerable acceleration of globalization and integration process has taken place and the volume of transactions in financial markets increased enormously, whereas on the other hand, symptoms of financial crises become visible.

In the article, it is attempted to answer two basic questions: first. whether the financial perturbations of the late ‘nineties might result in monetary policy in Poland, and second, what has more contributed to the deterioration in the business situation in Poland in the late nineties, the above changes in world markets or the government policy of “cooling-down” domestic demand.

The analysis presented in the article shows that it was the continued policy of suppressing inflation using high interest rates which was the principal factor responsible for the worsening in business conditions. In conclusion, some proposals are suggested relative to instruments to be used in order to bring back and preserve the high rate of economic growth of Poland in years to come.
Book Review: Ecological Economics
Authors: Kula Erhun
Published: July 2017

Ecological Economics by Peter Soderbaum, Earthscan, London 2000, ISBN 1 85383 658 0 (paperback) 1 85383 686 9 (hardback).
The Impact of the Privatisation of Water Supply on Households in the City of Douala in Cameroon
Authors: Oumar Saidou Baba , Tewari Devi Datt
Published: July 2017

Many Cameroonian households are confronted with short supply of drinking water as the state-owned water corporation failed to meet the efficient water delivery objectives. As a result, the privatisation drive took place with of course some consequent impacts. The current study is an attempt to quantify these impacts. The major impacts are in terms of decreased access to water to households by 8 percent and exposure of more than 70 percent of households to irregular water supply for more than half a month. However, some 92 percent of the households rate the quality of water obtained from the private water company good. Also, 56 percent of the households prefer the service delivery by the private company over that of the state-operated water supply. Besides, both the minimum and maximum amount households wish to pay per cubic meter of water for continued private water provision exceeds the current rate by 5.59 and 225.99 percent, respectively.

JEL Codes: Q25, L33
Book Review: The Evergreen Tea House
Authors: Bernarde Bradley
Published: July 2017

The Evergreen Tea House by David T.K. Wong (Muse, £20)