bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voice Amplification Versus Vocal Hygiene Instruction for Teachers With Voice Disorders
Authors: Roy Nelson , Weinrich Barbara , Gray Steven D. , Tanner Kristine , Toledo Sue Walker , Dove Heather , Corbin-Lewis Kim , Stemple Joseph C.
Published: April 2006

Voice problems are common among schoolteachers. This prospective, randomized clinical trial used patient-based treatment outcomes measures combined with acoustic analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of two treatment programs. Fortyfour voice-disordered teachers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: voice amplification using the ChatterVox portable amplifier (VA,
n
=15), vocal hygiene (VH,
n
=15), and a nontreatment control group (
n
=14). Before and after a 6-week treatment phase, all teachers completed: (a) the Voice Handicap Index (VHI), an instrument designed to appraise the self-perceived psychosocial consequences of voice disorders; (b) a voice severity self-rating scale; and (c) an audiorecording for later acoustic analysis. Based on pre- and posttreatment comparisons, only the amplification group experienced significant reductions on mean VHI scores (
p
=.045), voice severity self-ratings (
p
=.012), and the acoustic measures of percent jitter (
p
=.031) and shimmer (
p
=.008). The nontreatment control group reported a significant increase in level of vocal handicap as assessed by the VHI (
p
=.012). Although most pre- to posttreatment changes were in the desired direction, no significant improvements were observed within the VH group on any of the dependent measures.

Between-group comparisons involving the three possible pairings of the groups revealed a pattern of results to suggest that: (a) compared to the control group, both treatment groups (i.e., VA and VH) experienced significantly more improvement on specific outcomes measures and (b) there were no significant differences between the VA and VH groups to indicate superiority of one treatment over another. Results, however, from a posttreatment questionnaire regarding the perceived benefits of treatment revealed that, compared to the VH group, the VA group reported more clarity of their speaking and singing voice (
p
=.061), greater ease of voice production (
p
=.001), and greater compliance with the treatment program (
p
=.045). These findings clearly support the clinical utility of voice amplification as an alternative for the treatment of voice problems in teachers.
Self-Esteem in Children With Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Jerome Annette C. , Fujiki Martin , Brinton Bonnie , James Shane L.
Published: April 2006

The purpose of this preliminary study was to probe the self-perceptions of a group of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their typically developing peers. A measure of self-esteem was administered to 46 children between the ages of 6 and 9 years old and 34 children between the ages 10 and 13. In the younger group, there were no statistically significant differences between children with SLI and typically developing children in the way they perceived themselves across domains of competence and acceptance. In the older group, children with SLI perceived themselves more negatively in scholastic competence, social acceptance, and behavioral conduct than did children with typical language development. Differences were evident in areas that were most affected by language impairment.
Acoustic Variations in Reading Produced by Speakers With Spasmodic Dysphonia Pre-Botox Injection and Within Early Stages of Post-Botox Injection
Authors: Sapienza Christine M. , Cannito Michael P. , Murry Thomas , Branski Ryan , Woodson Gayle
Published: April 2006

Acoustic analysis of a reading passage was used to identify the abnormal phonatory events associated with adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) preand postinjection of Botulinum Toxin A (Botox). Thirty-one patients (age 22 to 74 years) diagnosed with ADSD were included for study. All patients were new recipients of Botox, and the examination of their voice occurred before and after their initial injection of Botox. Acoustic events were identified from reading samples of the Rainbow Passage produced by each of the patients. These events were examined from sentences containing primarily voiced sound segments. Dependent variables included the number of phonatory breaks, frequency shifts, and aperiodic segments—all variables previously defined by the investigators. Additionally, calculated variables were made of the percentage of time these events occurred relative to the duration of the cumulative voiced segments. A sexand age-matched control group (±2 years) was included for statistical comparison. Results indicated that those with ADSD produced more aberrant acoustic events than the controls. Aperiodicity was the predominant acoustic event produced during the reading, followed by frequency shifts and phonatory breaks. Within the ADSD group, the number of atypical acoustic events decreased following Botox injection. It is important that the occurrence of specific abnormal acoustic events was sufficient to differentiate the disordered speakers from the controlsfollowingas well as preceding initial Botox injection, as indicated by discriminant function analysis. This paper complements our previous work using this acoustic analysis method for defining the abnormal events present in the voice of those with ADSD and further suggests that these measures can be used in conjunction with perceptual impressions to differentiate speakers on the basis of initial severity.
Intonation Abilities of Children With Speech and Language Impairments
Authors: Wells Bill , Peppé Sue
Published: April 2006

Intonation has been little studied in children with speech and language impairments, although deficits in related aspects of prosody have been hypothesized to underlie specific language impairment. In this study a new intonation battery, the Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems-Child version (PEPS-C), was administered to 18 children with speech and/or language impairments (LI). PEPS-C comprises 16 tasks (8 x 8, Input x Output) tapping phonetic and functional aspects of intonation in four areas: grammar, affect, interaction, and pragmatics. Scores were compared to a chronological age (CA) matched group of 28 children and a group of 18 children matched for language comprehension (LC). Measures of language comprehension, expressive language, nonverbal intelligence, and segmental phonology were also taken. The LI group did not score significantly below the LC group on any PEPS-C task. On 5 of 16 tasks, the LI group scored significantly lower than the CA group. In the LI group, there were just 2 significant correlations between a PEPS-C task and 1 of the nonprosodic measures. The results support the view that intonation is relatively discrete from other levels of speech and language while suggesting some specific areas of possible vulnerability: auditory memory for longer prosodic strings and the use of prosody for pragmatic/interactional purposes.
Accuracy and Variability of Isochronous Rhythmic Timing Across Motor Systems in Stuttering Versus Nonstuttering Individuals
Authors: Max Ludo , Yudman Elana M.
Published: April 2006

Ten adults who stutter and ten adults who do not stutter completed speech, orofacial nonspeech, and finger isochronous rhythmic timing tasks in a synchronization-continuation paradigm with auditory stimuli and with 450 ms, 650 ms, and 850 ms interstimulus onset intervals. Responses consisted of bilabial contact in the syllable /pa/ during a speech task, bilabial contact in an orofacial nonspeech task, and thumb-index finger contact in a finger movement task. Effector movements were transduced, and time points associated with minima in the derived lip or finger aperture signals were automatically extracted. Multiple analyses of timing accuracy and variability were completed for both the synchronization and continuation phases, including decomposition of total timing variance into central clock and motor implementation variance according to the Wing-Kristofferson model. The combined results from descriptive comparisons, statistical significance testing, and effect size computations suggest that the stuttering and nonstuttering participants showed highly similar levels of both timing accuracy and timing variability. This was true (a) for all three motor tasks, b) at all movement rates, and (c) for synchronization as well as continuation movements. As one component of a systematic approach to investigating the role, if any, of timing difficulties in stuttering, these findings extend growing evidence that stuttering individuals do not differ from nonstuttering individuals in the ability to generate temporal movement patterns with a simple isochronous rhythm. We present some hypotheses about the implications that may follow from brain imaging and clinical neurological studies that have investigated the neural substrates recruited by this particular experimental task.
Perception of Place of Articulation by Children With Cleft Palate and Posterior Placement
Authors: Whitehill Tara L. , Francis Alexander L. , Ching Christine K-Y.
Published: April 2006

The aim of this study was to determine if children with repaired cleft palate who demonstrate posterior placement of alveolar targets (e.g., /t
h
/ → [k
h
]), known as Group P, differ from children with cleft palate without such an error pattern Group NP) and from normally developing children without cleft palate (Group N) in the perception of /t
h
/ and /k
h
/. Ten age-matched children in each of these three groups identified 8 synthetic stimuli along an acoustic continuum ranging from /t
h
/ to /k
h
/. The children with posterior placement performed at random levels, appearing unable to distinguish /t
h
/ from /k
h
/. In contrast, both groups of children without posterior placement demonstrated a clear identification pattern. These results, which suggest that children with cleft palate and posterior placement have a perceptual deficit, contribute to discussion of the possible etiology of speech deficits in this population.
Changes in the Nature of Sentence Production During the Period of Grammatical Development
Authors: Rispoli Matthew
Published: April 2006

The sentence production capabilities of young children undergo major changes during the same period in which grammar develops. This article reports data from a cross-sectional sample of 52 children between the ages of 1;10 (years; months) and 4;0, and looks specifically at the dichotomy betweenstalls, sentence disruptions that are the result of glitches in sentence production, andrevisions, sentence disruptions that involve self-monitoring and the rapid replacement of words or morphosyntactic alternatives. It was found that revision rate increased with level of grammatical development, but that stall rate was not related to grammatical development. These results indicate that children's capacities for self-monitoring and maintenance of multiple linguistic alternatives increase during the period of grammatical development.
The Lidcombe Behavioral Data Language of Stuttering
Authors: Teesson Kathryn , Packman Ann , Onslow Mark
Published: April 2006

The Lidcombe Behavioral Data Language (LBDL; K. Bryant & A. Packman, 1999; A. Packman & M. Onslow, 1998; A. Packman, M. Onslow, & K. Bryant, 2000) is a recently developed taxonomy of stuttering. It fills a void in stuttering research because most current descriptive systems are taxonomies of disfluencies, not stuttering alone, and are not behaviorally based. This study is an investigation of intrajudge and interjudge agreement for the LBDL. Ten experienced speech-language pathologists and 10 undergraduate students received brief instruction in the LBDL and then applied it to 15 intervals of stuttered speech on 2 occasions. The speakers were children and adults. Intrajudge agreement was high for both groups but only experienced judges achieved satisfactory interjudge agreement. Results suggest that some stuttering behaviors may be easier to categorize than others. Possible applications of the LBDL to research and clinical practice in stuttering are discussed.
Working Memory Capacity and Language Processes in Children With Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Marton Klara , Schwartz Richard G.
Published: April 2006

This study examined the interaction between working memory and language comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI), focusing on the function of the central executive component and its interaction with the phonological loop (A. D. Baddeley, 1986) in complex working memory tasks. Thirteen children with SLI and 13 age-matched (age range=7;0 [years;months] to 10;0) children with typical language development participated. The tasks combined traditional nonword repetition tests and sentence comprehension by using sentences that differed in length and syntactic complexity. The children with SLI exhibited larger processing and attentional capacity limitations than their age-matched peers. Increased word length and syntactic complexity resulted in a large performance decrease in nonword repetition in both groups. There were some variations in the error pattern, which may indicate qualitative differences between the 2 groups. The performance of the children with SLI in nonword repetition, across the different tasks, indicated a limitation in simultaneous processing rather than difficulty in encoding and analyzing the phonological structure of the nonwords. Furthermore, syntactic complexity had a greater effect on performance accuracy than did sentence length.
Anxiety Levels in People Who Stutter
Authors: Craig Ashley , Hancock Karen , Tran Yvonne , Craig Magali
Published: April 2006

The question of whether people who stutter are generally more anxious than people who do not stutter has not yet been resolved. One major methodological barrier to determining whether differences exist has been the type of stuttering sample used. Studies investigating anxiety levels of those who stutter have mostly assessed people referred to stuttering therapy clinics, which is arguably a biased sample. To date, no studies have been published that have measured the anxiety levels of people who stutter in the community using random selection procedures. Such a sample is more likely to be representative of the population of people who stutter. The present study involved a random selection and telephone interview of people in 4,689 households. The telephone respondent was given a description of stuttering and asked if any person living in their household stuttered. If yes, a number of corroborative questions were asked, and permission was requested to tape the speech of the person believed to stutter over the telephone. A definite case of stuttering was based on (a) a positive detection of stuttering from the tape and (b) at least one of the corroborative questions supporting the diagnosis. A total of 87 people were identified as definite cases of stuttering across all ages, and 63 participants who were 15 years or older completed a trait anxiety questionnaire over the telephone. Mean trait anxiety levels were significantly higher than levels generally found in society, though differences were not large. Implications of these results are discussed.
Relations Among Linguistic and Cognitive Skills and Spoken Word Recognition in Adults With Cochlear Implants
Authors: Collison Elizabeth A. , Munson Benjamin , Carney Arlene Earley
Published: April 2006

This study examined spoken word recognition in adults with cochlear implants (CIs) to determine the extent to which linguistic and cognitive abilities predict variability in speech-perception performance. Both a traditional consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC)-repetition measure and a gated-word recognition measure (F. Grosjean, 1996) were used. Stimuli in the gated-word-recognition task varied in neighborhood density. Adults with CIs repeated CVC words less accurately than did age-matched adults with normal hearing sensitivity (NH). In addition, adults with CIs required more acoustic information to recognize gated words than did adults with NH. Neighborhood density had a smaller influence on gated-word recognition by adults with CIs than on recognition by adults with NH. With the exception of 1 outlying participant, standardized, norm-referenced measures of cognitive and linguistic abilities were not correlated with word-recognition measures. Taken together, these results do not support the hypothesis that cognitive and linguistic abilities predict variability in speech-perception performance in a heterogeneous group of adults with CIs. Findings are discussed in light of the potential role of auditory perception in mediating relations among cognitive and linguistic skill and spoken word recognition.
Simulation of Aphasic Naming Performance in Non-Brain-Damaged Adults
Authors: Silkes JoAnn P. , McNeil Malcolm R. , Drton Mathias
Published: April 2006

Discussion abounds in the literature as to whether aphasia is a deficit of linguistic competence or linguistic performance and, if it is a performance deficit, what are its precise mechanisms. Considerable evidence suggests that alteration of nonlinguistic factors can affect language performance in aphasia, a finding that raises questions about the modularity of language and the purity of linguistic mechanisms underlying the putative language deficits in persons with aphasia. This study investigated whether temporal stress plus additional cognitive demands placed on non-brain-damaged adults would produce aphasic-like performance on a picture naming task. Two groups of non-brain-damaged participants completed a picture naming task with additional cognitive demands (use of low frequency words and making semantic judgments about the stimuli). A control group performed this task at their own pace, and an experimental group was placed under time constraints. Naming errors were identified and coded by error type. Errors made by individuals with aphasia from a previous study (S. E. Kohn & H. Goodglass, 1985) were recoded with the coding system used in the present study and were then compared with the types of errors produced by the 2 non-brain-damaged groups. Results generally support the hypothesis that the language performance deficits seen in persons with aphasia exist on a continuum with the language performance of non-brain-damaged individuals. Some error type differences between groups warrant further investigation.

KEY WORDS
: aphasia, language functions and disorders, anomia, verbal expression
The Impact of Lexical Factors on Children's Word-Finding Errors
Authors: German Diane J. , Newman Rochelle S.
Published: April 2006

This retrospective, exploratory investigation examined the types of target words that 30 children with word-finding difficulties (aged 8 to 12 years) had difficulty naming and the types of errors they made on these words. Words were studied with reference to lexical factors that might influence naming performance: word frequency, age of acquisition, familiarity, and lexical neighborhood. Findings indicated that neighborhood density predicted word-finding success, and target word substitutions and error patterns manifested were affected by the lexical factors under study. Students tended to produce substitutions that were higher in frequency, learned earlier, and that resided in neighborhoods of greater density and higher frequency than the target word. Lexical factors also influenced children’s error patterns. Neighborhood density predicted form-related errors: Children produced more blocked errors on words from sparse neighborhoods. Word frequency and neighborhood frequency predicted form-segment-related errors as phonologic errors occurred on rare words and words whose neighbors contained lower frequency, uncommon phonological patterns. This important first step in the examination of how lexical factors have an impact on word-finding errors in children suggests that different types of words are more likely to result in failures of lexical access at different stages of processing. Theoretical and practical implications of these preliminary findings are discussed.

KEY WORDS: word-finding difficulties, lexical access, language and learning disabilities, word frequency, lexical neighborhood
Learning of Dynamic Display AAC Technologies by Typically Developing 3-Year-Olds
Authors: Drager Kathryn D. R. , Light Janice C. , Carlson Rhonda , D'Silva Karen , Larsson Brittany , Pitkin Laura , Stopper Gini
Published: April 2006

The present study investigated the learning demands of dynamic display augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies that differed in system layout and menu page approaches for 3-year-old children. Ten typically developing children were randomly assigned to each of 3 technology approaches and were asked to located vocabulary items within a play context. Results indicated that the children had difficulty with all of the technologies on initial exposure. After the 1st learning session, children performed significantly better with AAC technologies in a contextual scene format than in a grid format. Some limited generalization to new vocabulary was evident. AAC technologies for young children need to be redesigned to better reflect the developmental models of children. Results are discussed with implications for practice and suggestions for future research.
Effects of Cognitive-Communication Stimulation for Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Treated With Donepezil
Authors: Chapman Sandra Bond , Weiner Myron F. , Rackley Audette , Hynan Linda S. , Zientz Jennifer
Published: April 2006

This randomized study evaluated the combined effect of a cognitive-communication program plus an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (donepezil; donepezil-plus-stimulation group;
n
= 26), as compared with donepezil alone (donepezil-only group;
n
= 28) in 54 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD; Mini-Mental Status Examination score of 12– 28) ranging in age from 54 to 91 years. It was hypothesized that cognitive-communication stimulation in combination with donepezil would positively affect the following: (a) relevance of discourse, (b) performance of functional abilities, (c) emotional symptoms, (d) quality of life, and (e) overall global function, as measured by caregiver and participant report and standardized measures. Cognitive-communication, neuropsychiatric, functional performance, and quality of life evaluations were conducted at baseline and Month 4, the month after the 2-month active stimulation period. Follow-up evaluations were performed at Months 8 and 12. The stimulation program consisted of 12 hr of intervention over an 8-week period and involved participant-led discussions requiring homework, interactive sessions about AD, and discussions using salient life stories. Additive effects of active stimulation with donepezil were examined in 2 ways: (1) comparing mean group performance over time and (2) evaluating change scores from baseline. A Group x Time interaction was found for the donepezil-plus-stimulation group in the emotional symptoms of apathy and irritability as compared with the donepezil-only group. Evaluation of change scores from baseline to 12 months revealed a positive effect for the donepezil-plus-stimulation group on discourse and functional abilities with a trend on apathy, irritability, and patient-reported quality of life. In sum, the research revealed benefits to the donepezil-plus-stimulation group in the areas of discourse abilities, functional abilities, emotional symptoms, and overall global performance. This study adds to growing evidence that active cognitive stimulation may slow the rate of verbal and functional decline and decrease negative emotional symptoms in AD when combined with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, indicating a need to advance research in the area of cognitive treatments. The fact that AD is a progressive brain disease should not preclude ameliorative treatment.
Methods for Minimizing the Confounding Effects of Word Length in the Analysis of Phonotactic Probability and Neighborhood Density
Authors: Storkel Holly L.
Published: April 2006

Recent research suggests that phonotactic probability (the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence) and neighborhood density (the number of words phonologically similar to a given word) influence spoken language processing and acquisition across the lifespan in both normal and clinical populations. The majority of research in this area has tended to focus on controlled laboratory studies rather than naturalistic data such as spontaneous speech samples or elicited probes. One difficulty in applying current measures of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density to more naturalistic samples is the significant correlation between these variables and word length. This study examines several alternative transformations of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density as a means of reducing or eliminating this correlation with word length. Computational analyses of the words in a large database and reanalysis of archival data supported the use ofzscores for the analysis of phonotactic probability as a continuous variable and the use of median transformation scores for the analysis of phonotactic probability as a dichotomous variable. Neighborhood density results were less clear with the conclusion that analysis of neighborhood density as a continuous variable warrants further investigation to differentiate the utility ofzscores in comparison to median transformation scores. Furthermore, balanced dichotomous coding of neighborhood density was difficult to achieve, suggesting that analysis of neighborhood density as a dichotomous variable should be approached with caution. Recommendations for future application and analyses are discussed.
Using Others’ Words
Authors: Hengst Julie A. , Frame Simone R. , Neuman-Stritzel Tiffany , Gannaway Rachel
Published: April 2006

Reported speech, wherein one quotes or paraphrases the speech of another, has been studied extensively as a set of linguistic and discourse practices. Researchers agree that reported speech is pervasive, found across languages, and used in diverse contexts. However, to date, there have been no studies of the use of reported speech among individuals with aphasia. Grounded in an interactional sociolinguistic perspective, the study presented here documents and analyzes the use of reported speech by 7 adults with mild to moderately severe aphasia and their routine communication partners. Each of the 7 pairs was videotaped in 4 everyday activities at home or around the community, yielding over 27 hr of conversational interaction for analysis. A coding scheme was developed that identified 5 types of explicitly marked reported speech: direct, indirect, projected, indexed, and undecided. Analysis of the data documented reported speech as a common discourse practice used successfully by the individuals with aphasia and their communication partners. All participants produced reported speech at least once, and across all observations the target pairs produced 400 reported speech episodes (RSEs), 149 by individuals with aphasia and 251 by their communication partners. For all participants, direct and indirect forms were the most prevalent (70% of RSEs). Situated discourse analysis of specific episodes of reported speech used by 3 of the pairs provides detailed portraits of the diverse interactional, referential, social, and discourse functions of reported speech and explores ways that the pairs used reported speech to successfully frame talk despite their ongoing management of aphasia.
Sentence Comprehension in Adolescents With Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Children
Authors: Miolo Giuliana , Chapman Robin S. , Sindberg Heidi A.
Published: April 2006

The authors evaluated the roles of auditory-verbal short-term memory, visual short-term memory, and group membership in predicting language comprehension, as measured by an experimental sentence comprehension task (SCT) and the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language—Third Edition (TACL-3; E. Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) in 38 participants: 19 with Down syndrome (DS), age 12 to 21 years, and 19 typically developing (TD) children, age 3 to 5 years, matched on syntax comprehension, as measured by TACL-3 Subtests II and III. Of the 5 dependent measures of comprehension, auditory-verbal short-term memory accounted for significant amounts of variance in 4; group membership, 1 (semantic role assignment); and visual short-term memory, 0. In the group with DS, hearing status predicted variation in Grammatical Morphemes (TACL-3 Subtest II). Using the SCT, the authors also investigated the effects of varying sentence voice and supporting visual context on sentence comprehension. SCT performance was significantly poorer in terms of (a) referent selection and semantic role assignment, for passive (vs. active) sentences in both groups, and (b) semantic role assignment in all sentences for the group with DS (vs. the TD group). Vocabulary strengths in the group with DS were found with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition (L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1997) but not the TACL-3 Vocabulary subtest.
Lexical Priming in Picture Naming of Young Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter
Authors: Pellowski Mark W. , Conture Edward G.
Published: April 2006

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the influence of lexical/semantic priming on the speech reaction time of young children who do and do not stutter during a picture-naming task. Participants were 23 children who stutter, age-matched (±4 months) to 23 children who do not stutter, ranging in age from 3;0 (years;months) to 5;11. Procedures involved a computer-assisted picture-naming task, during which each participant was presented with the same set of 28 pictures in each of 3 different conditions: (a) no-prime condition, in which no auditory stimulus was presented before picture display; (b) related-prime condition, in which a word, semantically related to the target picture, was presented auditorily 700 ms before picture display; and (c) unrelated-prime condition, in which a semantically unrelated word was presented auditorily 700 ms before picture display. Results indicated that when compared with a no-prime condition, presentation of semantically related words before the picture-naming response led to shorter or faster speech reaction times for children who do not stutter, but for children who stutter, it led to longer or slower speech reaction times. Moreover, children who do not stutter and who had higher receptive vocabulary scores exhibited faster speech reaction times and a greater semantic priming effect, whereas no such relationships were found for children who stutter. Findings were taken to suggest that children who stutter may exhibit subtle difficulties with lexical encoding and that this difficulty with speech-language planning may be one variable that contributes to childhood stuttering.
Effects of Computer-Based Intervention Through Acoustically Modified Speech (Fast ForWord) in Severe Mixed Receptive—Expressive Language Impairment
Authors: Cohen Wendy , Hodson Ann , O'Hare Anne , Boyle James , Durrani Tariq , McCartney Elspeth , Mattey Mike , Naftalin Lionel , Watson Jocelynne
Published: April 2006

Seventy-seven children between the ages of 6 and 10 years, with severe mixed receptive-expressive specific language impairment (SLI), participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Fast ForWord (FFW; Scientific Learning Corporation, 1997, 2001). FFW is a computer-based intervention for treating SLI using acoustically enhanced speech stimuli. These stimuli are modified to exaggerate their time and intensity properties as part of an adaptive training process. All children who participated in the RCT maintained their regular speech and language therapy and school regime throughout the trial. Standardized measures of receptive and expressive language were used to assess performance at baseline and to measure outcome from treatment at 9 weeks and 6 months. Children were allocated to 1 of 3 groups. Group A (
n
=23) received the FFWintervention as a home-based therapy for 6 weeks. Group B (
n
=27) received commercially available computer-based activities designed to promote language as a control for computer games exposure. Group C (
n
=27) received no additional study intervention. Each group made significant gains in language scores, but there was no additional effect for either computer intervention. Thus, the findings from this RCT do not support the efficacy of FFW as an intervention for children with severe mixed receptive-expressive SLI.
Aided and Unaided Speech Supplementation Strategies
Authors: Hustad Katherine C. , Garcia Jane Mertz
Published: April 2006

Purpose:
This study compared the influence of speaker-implemented iconic hand gestures and alphabet cues on speech intelligibility scores and strategy helpfulness ratings for 3 adults with cerebral palsy and dysarthria who differed from one another in their overall motor abilities.

Method:
A total of 144 listeners (48 per speaker) orthographically transcribed sentences spoken with alphabet cues (aided), iconic hand gestures (unaided), and a habitual speech control condition; scores were compared within audio-visual and audio-only listening formats.

Results:
When listeners were presented with simultaneous audio and visual information, both alphabet cues and hand gestures resulted in higher intelligibility scores and higher helpfulness ratings than the no-cues control condition for each of the 3 speakers. When listeners were presented with only the audio signal, alphabet cues and gestures again resulted in higher intelligibility scores than no cues for 2 of the 3 speakers. Temporal acoustic analyses showed that alphabet cues had consistent effects on speech production, including reduced speech rate, reduced articulation rate, and increased frequency and duration of pauses. Findings for gestures were less consistent, with marked differences noted among speakers.

Conclusions:
Results illustrate that individual differences play an important role in the value of supplemental augmentative and alternative communication strategies and that aided and unaided strategies can have similar positive effects on the communication of speakers with global motor impairment.
Effects of Prelinguistic Communication Levels on Initiation and Repair of Communication in Children With Disabilities
Authors: Brady Nancy C. , Steeples Tammy , Fleming Kandace
Published: April 2006

Purpose:
This study examined the effects of expressive and receptive language levels on initiated and repaired communication acts by prelinguistic children with developmental disabilities.

Method:
In this descriptive study, participants were 45 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who had severe delays in expressive communication. Some children communicated with 12 or fewer spoken words; others communicated exclusively with gestures and vocalizations. Participants also had delays in receptive language, and 41 of the 45 had below average IQ scores. The children participated in a scripted interaction with examiners that was designed to provide opportunities to initiate requests and comments, and to repair communication breakdowns. Videotapes of these interactions were later coded for analysis.

Results:
Regression models indicated that differences in children's expressive communication levels and receptive language scores significantly predicted children's commenting communication acts during the scripted interaction, even after the authors accounted for child IQ. Expressive communication level was also a significant predictor of initiated requests when the authors controlled for IQ. Expressive communication level contributed to the variance in children's repairs following communication breakdowns; however, this contribution was not significant.

Conclusion:
Differences in levels of prelinguistic communication development predict commenting abilities in children with developmental disabilities but do not appear to predict likelihood to repair communication breakdowns.
Microscopic dynamics of thin hard rods
Authors: Otto Matthias , Aspelmeier Timo , Zippelius Annette
Published: April 2006

We analyze the microscopic dynamics and transport properties of a gas of thin hard rods. Based on the collision rules for hard needles we derive a hydrodynamic equation that determines the coupled translational and rotational dynamics of a tagged thin rod in an ensemble of identical rods. Specifically, based on a pseudo-Liouville operator for binary collisions between rods, the Mori-Zwanzig projection formalism is used to derive a continued fraction representation for the correlation function of the tagged particle’s density, specifying its position and orientation. Truncation of the continued fraction gives rise to a generalized Enskog equation, which can be compared to the phenomenological Perrin equation for anisotropic diffusion. Only for sufficiently large density do we observe anisotropic diffusion, as indicated by an anisotropic mean-square displacement, growing linearly with time. For lower densities, the Perrin equation is shown to be an insufficient hydrodynamic description for hard needles interacting via binary collisions. We compare our results to simulations and find excellent quantitative agreement for low densities and qualtitative agreement for higher densities.
Quantum mechanical and quasiclassical trajectory scattering calculations for the C(D1)+H2 reaction on the second excited 1A″1 potential energy surface
Authors: Honvault P. , Bussery-Honvault B. , Launay J.-M. , Aoiz F. J. , Bañares L.
Published: April 2006

Time-independent quantum mechanical (QM) and quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) scattering calculations have been carried out for the C(D1)+H2→CH+H reaction at a collision energy of 80meV on a newly developed ab initio potential energy surface [B. Bussery-Honvault et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 7, 1476 (2005)] of 1A″1 symmetry, corresponding to the second singlet state 1B11 of CH2. A general good agreement has been found between the QM and QCT rotational distributions and differential cross sections (DCSs). In both cases, DCSs are strongly peaked in the forward direction with a small contribution in the backward direction in contrast with those obtained on the 1A′1 surface, which are nearly symmetric. Rotational distributions obtained on the 1A″1 surface are somewhat colder than those calculated on the 1A′1 surface. The specific dynamics and the contribution of the 1A″1 surface to the overall reactivity of this system are discussed.
Epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films fabricated by chemical solution deposition
Authors: Singh S. K. , Kim Y. K. , Funakubo H. , Ishiwara H.
Published: April 2006

Epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films were fabricated on (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented single-crystal SrRuO3(SRO)∕SrTiO3(STO) structures by chemical solution deposition. X-ray diffraction indicates the formation of an epitaxial single-phase perovskite structure and pole figure measurement confirms the cube-on-cube epitaxial relationship of BFO‖SRO‖STO. Chemical-solution-deposited BFO films have a rhombohedral structure with lattice parameter of 0.395nm, which is the same structure as that of a bulk single crystal. The remanent polarization of approximately 50μC∕cm2 was observed in BFO (001) thin films at 80K.
Extensive individual variation in L1 retrotransposition capability contributes to human genetic diversity
Authors: Seleme Maria del Carmen , Vetter Melissa R. , Cordaux Richard , Bastone Laurel , Batzer Mark A. , Kazazian Haig H.
Published: April 2006

Despite being scarce in the human genome, active L1 retrotransposons continue to play a significant role in its evolution. Because of their recent expansion, many L1s are not fixed in humans, and, when present, their mobilization potential can vary among individuals. Previously, we showed that the great majority of retrotransposition events in humans are caused by highly active, or hot, L1s. Here, in four populations of diverse geographic origins (160 haploid genomes), we investigated the degree of sequence polymorphism of three hot L1s and the extent of individual variation in mobilization capability of their allelic variants. For each locus, we found one previously uncharacterized allele in every three to five genomes, including some with nonsense and insertion/deletion mutations. Single or multiple nucleotide substitutions drastically affected the retrotransposition efficiency of some alleles. One-third of elements were no longer hot, and these so-called cool alleles substantially increased the range of individual susceptibility to retrotransposition events. Adding the activity of the three elements in each individual resulted in a surprising degree of variation in mobilization capability, ranging from 0% to 390% of a reference L1. These data suggest that individual variation in retrotransposition potential makes an important contribution to human genetic diversity.
Influenza Vaccine: Immunization Rates, Knowledge, and Attitudes of Resident Physicians in an Urban Teaching Hospital
Authors: Wodi A. Patricia , Samy Sawsan , Ezeanolue Echezona , Lamour Rytza , Patel Rakesh , Budnick Lawrence D. , Dashefsky Barry
Published: April 2006

Background:

Because resident physicians (RPs) frequently have direct patient contact, those who are unimmunized against influenza potentially subject patients to unnecessary risk of infection.

Objective:

To determine the rates of, knowledge regarding, and attitudes toward influenza immunization among RPs. We hypothesized that rates of and knowledge about influenza immunization did not differ between primary care (PC) and non-PC RPs.

Methods:

A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of 300 RPs (150 PC and 150 non-PC). The questionnaire requested influenza immunization status in the 2003-2004 and previous seasons and factors influencing respondents' decisions whether to be immunized. It included a 20-item test of knowledge about influenza immunization.

Results:

Two hundred five (68.3%) of 300 distributed questionnaires (196 that were evaluable) were returned. Response rates of PC and non-PC RPs did not differ (P = .79). The overall immunization rate of RPs in 2003-2004 was 38.3% and rates did not differ between PC (38.9%) and non-PC (37.6%) RPs. RPs most often cited “self-protection” as a reason for electing (93.3%) and “lack of time” for declining (47.1%) influenza immunization. Their ability to correctly answer questions about influenza immunization varied; their mean knowledge score was 13.7 (perfect = 20). PC and non-PC trainees did not differ by knowledge score (P = .48). However, RPs “ever vaccinated” had a higher knowledge score than those “never vaccinated” (P = .01).

Conclusion:

RPs have low immunization rates and significant gaps in knowledge regarding influenza immunization. These problems should be addressed during their training by education on the importance, effectiveness, and safety of influenza vaccine for them and their patients.
Influenza Vaccination of Healthcare Workers and Vaccine Allocation for Healthcare Workers During Vaccine Shortages
Authors: Talbot Thomas R. , Bradley Suzanne F. , Cosgrove Sara E. , Ruef Christian , Siegel Jane D. , Weber David J.
Published: April 2006

Influenza causes substantial morbidity and mortality annually, particularly in high-risk groups such as the elderly, young children, immunosuppressed individuals, and individuals with chronic illnesses. Healthcare-associated transmission of influenza contributes to this burden but is often under-recognized except in the setting of large outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended annual influenza vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs) with direct patient contact since 1984 and for all HCWs since 1993. The rationale for these recommendations is to reduce the chance that HCWs serve as vectors for healthcare-associated influenza due to their close contact with high-risk patients and to enhance both HCW and patient safety. Despite these recommendations as well as the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase HCW vaccination rates, the percentage of HCWs vaccinated annually remains unacceptably low. Ironically, at the same time that campaigns have sought to increase HCW vaccination rates, vaccine shortages, such as the shortage during the 2004-2005 influenza season, present challenges regarding allocation of available vaccine supplies to both patients and HCWs. This two-part document outlines the position of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America on influenza vaccination for HCWs and provides guidance for the allocation of influenza vaccine to HCWs during a vaccine shortage based on influenza transmission routes and the essential need for a practical and adaptive strategy for allocation. These recommendations apply to all types of healthcare facilities, including acute care hospitals, long-term-care facilities, and ambulatory care settings.
The replicative polymerases PolC and DnaE are required for theta replication of the Bacillus subtilis plasmid pBS72
Authors: Titok Marina , Suski Catherine , Dalmais Bérengère , Ehrlich S. Dusko , Jannière Laurent
Published: April 2006

Plasmids are the tools of choice for studying bacterial functions involved in DNA maintenance. Here a genetic study on the replication of a novel, low-copy-number,Bacillus subtilisplasmid, pBS72, is reported. The results show that two plasmid elements, the initiator protein RepA and an iteron-containing origin, and at least nine host-encoded replication proteins, the primosomal proteins DnaB, DnaC, DnaD, DnaG and DnaI, the DNA polymerases DnaE and PolC, and the polymerase cofactors DnaN and DnaX, are required for pBS72 replication. On the contrary, the cellular initiators DnaA and PriA, the helicase PcrA and DNA polymerase I are dispensable. From this, it is inferred that pBS72 replication is of the theta type and is initiated by an original mechanism. Indirect evidence suggests that during this process the DnaC helicase might be delivered to the plasmid origin by the weakly active DnaD pathway stimulated by a predicted interaction between DnaC and a domain of RepA homologous to the major DnaC-binding domain of the cellular initiator DnaA. The plasmid pBS72 replication fork appears to require the same functions as the bacterial chromosome and the unrelated plasmid pAMβ1. Most importantly, this replication machinery contains the two type C polymerases, PolC and DnaE. As the mechanism of initiation of the three genomes is substantially different, this suggests that both type C polymerases might be required in any Cairns replication inB. subtilisand presumably in other bacteria encoding PolC and DnaE.
Surface plasmon resonance-based interaction studies reveal competition of Streptomyces lividans type I signal peptidases for binding preproteins
Authors: Geukens Nick , Rao C. V. Smitha , Mellado Rafael P. , Frederix Filip , Reekmans Gunter , De Keersmaeker Sophie , Vrancken Kristof , Bonroy Kristien , Van Mellaert Lieve , Lammertyn Elke , Anné Jozef
Published: April 2006

Type I signal peptidases (SPases) are responsible for the cleavage of signal peptides from secretory proteins.Streptomyces lividanscontains four different SPases, denoted SipW, SipX, SipY and SipZ, having at least some differences in their substrate specificity. In this reportin vitropreprotein binding/processing and protein secretion in single SPase mutants was determined to gain more insight into the substrate specificity of the different SPases and the underlying molecular basis. Results indicated that preproteins do not preferentially bind to a particular SPase, suggesting SPase competition for binding preproteins. This observation, together with the fact that each SPase could process each preprotein tested with a similar efficiency in anin vitroassay, suggested that there is no real specificity in substrate binding and processing, and that they are all actively involved in preprotein processingin vivo. Although this seems to be the case for some proteins tested, high-level secretion of others was clearly dependent on only one particular SPase demonstrating clear differences in substrate preference at thein vivoprocessing level. Hence, these results strongly suggest that there are additional factors other than the cleavage requirements of the enzymes that strongly affect the substrate preference of SPasesin vivo.