bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Auditory Learning in Children With Cochlear Implants
Authors: Mishra Srikanta K. , Boddupally Shiva P. , Rayapati Deeksha 
Published: March 2015

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine and characterize the training-induced changes in speech-in-noise perception in children with congenital deafness who have cochlear implants (CIs).MethodTwenty-seven children with congenital deafness who have CIs were studied. Eleven children with CIs were trained on a speech-in-noise task, number recognition in white noise, at home for 5 weeks (total 40 hr). Speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) in the trained, partially trained (numbers in speech-shaped noise), and untrained (digit triplets in speech-shaped noise) conditions were measured before, immediately after, and 3 weeks after training completion. Data were also collected from children (n= 13) and adults (n= 5) with normal hearing for comparison.ResultsAnalyses indicated that following training, the performance of children with CIs improved for all speech-in-noise tasks (∆SRT was approximately 3 dB). Training-induced improvements in speech-in-noise performance were retained for 3 weeks following cessation of training. Untrained children with CIs showed no such improvements. The performance of children with CIs, even after intensive training, was significantly lower than children and adults with normal hearing.ConclusionsTraining enhances speech-in-noise performance for children with congenital deafness who have CIs. Learning effects were stable and generalized to similar but untrained conditions. Current findings are encouraging for the consideration of home-based auditory training to be included in the pediatric CI habilitation programs.
Development of Morphosyntactic Accuracy and Grammatical Complexity in Dutch School-Age Children With SLI
Authors: Zwitserlood Rob , van Weerdenburg Marjolijn , Verhoeven Ludo , Wijnen Frank 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify the development of morphosyntactic accuracy and grammatical complexity in Dutch school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI).

Method
Morphosyntactic accuracy, the use of dummy auxiliaries, and complex syntax were assessed using a narrative task that was administered at three points in time (T1, T2, T3) with 12-month intervals during a 2-year period. Participants were 30 monolingual Dutch children with SLI, age 6;5 (years;months) at T1; 30 typically developing peers, age 6;6 at T1; and 30 typically developing language-matched children, age 4;7 at T1.

Results
On the morphosyntactic accuracy measures, the group with SLI performed more poorly than both control groups. Error rates in the group with SLI were much higher than expected on the basis of mean length of T-units and scores on standardized language tests. Percentages of dummy auxiliaries remained high over time. No group differences were found for grammatical complexity, except at T3, when the group with SLI used fewer relative clauses than the typically developing peer group.

Conclusions
The narrative analysis demonstrates different developmental trajectories for morphosyntactic accuracy and grammatical complexity in children with SLI and typically developing peer and language-matched children. In the group with SLI, grammatical skills continue to develop.
Effects of Lingual Effort on Swallow Pressures Following Radiation Treatment
Authors: Lenius Kerry , Stierwalt Julie , LaPointe Leonard L. , Bourgeois Michelle , Carnaby Giselle , Crary Michael 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
This article investigated the effects of increased oral lingual pressure on pharyngeal pressures during swallowing in patients who have undergone radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. It was hypothesized that increased oral lingual pressure would result in increased pharyngeal pressures.

Method
A within-subject experimental design was used with 20 participants who were status post external beam radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Participants completed typical swallows and swallows with increased lingual force during manofluoroscopic swallow studies. The swallow condition order was randomized across participants.

Results
Manometric data revealed significant differences in swallow pressure by condition at the base of tongue and upper esophageal sphincter sensor locations without significant pressure differences in the lower pharynx. The effortful lingual swallows resulted in higher mean pressures at all locations.

Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that use of a maneuver designed to increase oral tongue effort can also increase pharyngeal tongue base pressure. Therefore, therapeutic activities used to generate greater pressure of the oral tongue may also alter pharyngeal response. Further research is needed to determine the direct clinical effect on swallow function for individuals with head and neck cancer.
The Effect of Intensified Language Exposure on Accommodating Talker Variability
Authors: Antoniou Mark , Wong Patrick C. M. , Wang Suiping 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
This study systematically examined the role of intensified exposure to a second language on accommodating talker variability.

Method

English native listeners (
n
= 37) were compared with Mandarin listeners who had either lived in the United States for an extended period of time (
n
= 33) or had lived only in China (
n
= 44). Listeners responded to target words in an English word-monitoring task in which sequences of words were randomized. Half of the sequences were spoken by a single talker and the other half by multiple talkers.

Results
Mandarin listeners living in China were slower and less accurate than both English listeners and Mandarin listeners living in the United States. Mandarin listeners living in the United States were less accurate than English natives only in the more cognitively demanding mixed-talker condition.

Conclusions
Mixed-talker speech affects processing in native and nonnative listeners alike, although the decrement is larger in nonnatives and further exaggerated in less proficient listeners. Language immersion improves listeners' ability to resolve talker variability, and this suggests that immersion may automatize nonnative processing, freeing cognitive resources that may play a crucial role in speech perception. These results lend support to the active control model of speech perception.
Using Direct Instruction: Teaching Preposition Use to Students With Intellectual Disability
Authors: Hicks S. Christy , Rivera Christopher J. , Wood Charles L. 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
Students with intellectual disability often struggle with significant language delays or impairments and can require explicit instruction in language skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of direct instruction on the use of and response to prepositions by 3 elementary school students with intellectual disability.

Method
A multiple-baseline design across prepositions was used in this study with replication across students.

Results
Results of this study found that students were able to use and respond to prepositions consistently after receiving direct instruction on each of the 3 target prepositions. Furthermore, all 3 students demonstrated maintenance and generalization of the prepositions.

Conclusion
These results have implications for practice that could influence preposition acquisition for students with intellectual disability, providing educators with a simple, efficient instructional approach.
Symmetric and asymmetric transformer based cascaded multilevel inverter with minimum number of components
Authors: Farakhor Amir , Reza Ahrabi Rouzbeh , Ardi Hossein , Najafi Ravadanegh Sajad 
Published: March 2015

In this study, a novel transformer based cascaded multilevel inverter is presented. The proposed inverter can operate in both symmetric and asymmetric topologies. The presented inverter benefits from the advantages such as reduced number of power switches and reduced total peak inverse voltage of the switching components. The numbers of insulated gate driver circuits are also decreased with respect to the power switches. Furthermore, the presented topology requires just a single DC source. In addition, the numbers of on‐state switches in the current paths are reduced. Therefore the voltage drops across the switches are mitigated and as a result the efficiency of the presented inverter is improved. The mentioned advantages cause the implementation cost to be reduced. The operation of the converter is discussed thoroughly for both symmetric and asymmetric operations. The feasibility of the presented inverter topology is validated using the simulation results. Experimental results under 1.5 kW are also added to justify the theoretical analyses.
The challenge of modelling and mapping the future distribution and impact of invasive alien species.
Authors: Venette R. C. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

Invasions from alien species can jeopardize the economic, environmental or social benefits derived from biological systems. Biosecurity measures seek to protect those systems from accidental or intentional introductions of species that might become injurious. Pest risk maps convey how the probability of invasion by an alien species or the potential consequences of that invasion vary spatially. These maps inform strategic and tactical decisions for invasive species management. Pest risk modellers must contend with the challenges of developing models that forecast the course or consequence of invasions and are more meaningful than could be obtained by chance, of demonstrating the validity of those models and of portraying results on maps in ways that will be useful for decision makers. Frequently, these forecasts depend on extrapolations from limited information to project how a species might be affected, for example, by changes in commerce, exposure to novel environments or associations with new dispersal vectors, or how these species might affect resident species or ecological processes. Consequently, pest risk maps often focus on one phase of the invasion process: arrival, establishment, spread or impact. Risk assessors use different analytical tools and information sources to address each phase. To be certain that pest risk models and maps are fully fit for purpose, models and maps must be critically evaluated at each stage of the development process. Invariably, errors will be revealed. The International Pest Risk Mapping Workgroup has offered a number of suggestions to improve the development of pest risk models and maps. In addition, short-term improvements are likely to be achieved through critical, objective assessments of model performance and greater transparency about model development.
The NCSU/APHIS plant pest forecasting system (NAPPFAST).
Authors: Magarey R. D. , Borchert D. M. , Fowler G. A. , Hong S. C. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

This chapter describes the North-Carolina-State-University/Animal-and-Plant-Health-Inspection-Service Plant Pest Forecasting System (NAPPFAST). NAPPFAST, developed for pest risk modelling and mapping, was formerly used to support pest detection, emergency response and risk analysis for the US Department of Agriculture. NAPPFAST employs an internet-based graphical user interface to link weather databases with interactive biological model templates. The weather databases include historical daily weather databases for North America and the world. The templates include degree-days, generic empirical models, infection periods and the Generic Pest Forecast System (GPFS). The GPFS, currently in development, is a model that uses hourly inputs and includes modules for development rate, hot and cold mortality, population and potential damage. In this chapter, three examples illustrate the capabilities of NAPPFAST: (i) pathway analysis for Lymantria dispar asiatica (Asian gypsy moth); (ii) epidemiological modelling for Phytophthora ramorum (the cause of sudden oak death and other plant diseases); and (iii) simple population modelling for Bactrocera dorsalis (oriental fruit fly). One advanced feature of NAPPFAST is cyber-infrastructure that supports the sharing of products and data between modellers and end users. The infrastructure includes tools for managing user access, uploading and correcting geographic coordinates for pest observations, and an interactive geographic information system environment for viewing input data and model products. NAPPFAST was used by the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, although access has been granted to government and university cooperators working on risk analysis of invasive alien species.
Modelling the spread of invasive species to support pest risk assessment: principles and application of a suite of generic models.
Authors: Robinet C. , Kehlenbeck H. , Werf W. van der 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

The estimation of rates and patterns of spread is one of the key steps in a pest risk assessment. Pest risk analysts across the world wish to make quantitative, scientifically defensible assessments of likely spread by invasive alien species. However, data and time to develop detailed models for pest invasions are usually lacking and the resources to test those models in practice are not available. Therefore, generic and simple models are needed. A generic spread module composed of four models has been developed to assess the spread of plant pests. Four different models were developed to represent differences in objectives, available data and assumptions underlying the assessment of spread. The most complex of the models simulates spread in time and space and has four biological parameters, representing population growth and dispersal. The simplest of the models has only one parameter and considers only geographic range expansion. A third model assumes logistic growth of invaded area and a fourth model assumes logistic growth of population density in invaded cells. All models consider climatic suitability and presence of hosts. Consideration of economic value is optional. This chapter describes concepts and application of these models. They are illustrated by case studies for western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, in Europe.
Estimating spread rates of non-native species: the gypsy moth as a case study.
Authors: Tobin P. C. , Liebhold A. M. , Roberts E. A. , Blackburn L. M. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

Estimating rates of spread and generating projections of future range expansion for invasive alien species is a key process in the development of management guidelines and policy. Critical needs to estimate spread rates include the availability of surveys to characterize the spatial distribution of an invading species and the application of analytical methods to interpret survey data. In this chapter, we demonstrate the use of three methods, (i) square-root area regression, (ii) distance regression and (iii) boundary displacement, to estimate the rate of spread in the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, in the USA. The gypsy moth is a non-native species currently invading North America. An extensive amount of spatial and temporal distributional data exists for this invader. Consequently, it provides an ideal case study to demonstrate the use of methods to estimate spread rates. We rely on two sources of data: (i) polygonal data obtained from county quarantine records describing the geographical extent of gypsy moth establishment; and (ii) point data consisting of counts of male gypsy moths captured in pheromone-baited traps used to detect and monitor newly established gypsy moth populations. Both data sources were compiled during the gypsy moth's invasion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, USA. We show that even with spatially crude county records of infestation, spread rates can still be estimated using relatively simple mathematical approaches. We also demon strate how the boundary displacement method can be used to characterize the spatial and temporal dynamics of spread.
Spatial modelling approaches for understanding and predicting the impacts of invasive alien species on native species and ecosystems.
Authors: Allen C. R. , Uden D. R. , Johnson A. R. , Angeler D. G. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

Biological invasions threaten native species and ecosystems worldwide. Estimating the level of risk that an invasive alien species poses to native species across landscapes is important for prioritizing mitigation efforts. We describe a risk assessment approach that incorporates spatial heterogeneity in effects and illustrate this method by considering the risk that the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) presents to two native birds. The common ground-dove (Columbina passerina), an oviparous, ground-nesting species with altricial young that prefers open habitats, is more susceptible to impacts from fire ants than the swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus), which occupies closed-canopy forests, nests high in trees, is oviparous and has altricial young. Risk approaches that consider land scapes and that are spatially explicit are of particular relevance as remaining un-developed lands become increasingly un common, disjointed and more important for the management and recovery of native species and ecosystems.
Making invasion models useful for decision makers: incorporating uncertainty, knowledge gaps and decision-making preferences.
Authors: Yemshanov D. , Koch F. H. , Ducey M. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

Uncertainty is inherent in model-based forecasts of ecological invasions. In this chapter, we explore how the perceptions of that uncertainty can be incorporated into the pest risk assessment process. Uncertainty changes a decision maker's perceptions of risk; therefore, the direct incorporation of uncertainty may provide a more appropriate depiction of risk. Our methodology borrows basic concepts from portfolio valuation theory that were originally developed for the allocation of financial investments under uncertainty. In our case, we treat the model-based estimates of a pest invasion at individual geographical locations as analogous to a set of individual investment asset types that constitute a 'portfolio'. We then estimate the highest levels of pest invasion risk by finding the subset of geographical locations with the 'worst' combinations of a high likelihood of invasion and/or high uncertainty in the likelihood estimate. We illustrate the technique using a case study that applies a spatial pest transmission model to assess the likelihood that Canadian municipalities will receive invasive forest insects with commercial freight transported via trucks. The approach provides a viable strategy for dealing with the typical lack of knowledge about the behaviour of new invasive species and generally high uncertainty in model-based forecasts of ecological invasions. The technique is especially useful for under taking comparative risk assessments such as identification of geographical hot spots of pest invasion risk in large landscapes, or assessments for multiple species and alternative pest management options.
Assessing the quality of pest risk models.
Authors: Venette S. J. 
Published: March 2015

Abstract

The quality of pest risk models depends on their reliability and validity. Reliability refers to the model's trustworthiness and dependability, but the concept is extended to consistency and stability. Approaches to help establish and test consistency are described. Validity assures that models actually portray the expectations or assertions of the model design. Elements of validity can be characterized as face, criterion, content, concurrent and construct validity; and the merits of these elements are presented. In the social sciences, factor analysis has become the favoured method for evaluating reliability and validity. Factor analysis is especially useful when models group variables into indices. This chapter discusses the rationale and interpretation of components of factor analysis and suggests how this analysis might be incorporated into pest risk analysis in the future. Studies in communication reveal that non-technical end users can better understand and trust risk assessments when the assessments contain the best information presented in real language rather than mathematical expressions.
A Meta‐analysis of Food Demand Elasticities for China
Authors: Chen Danhong , Abler David , Zhou De , Yu Xiaohua , Thompson Wyatt 
Published: March 2015

AbstractWe conducted a meta‐analysis of food and agricultural demand elasticities for China, and used the results to derive estimates of income, own‐price, and cross‐price elasticities of demand that can be used in models of food and agricultural markets. Consistent with expectations, we find that income elasticities of demand for many food products decline as per capita income increases. The declines are relatively large for alcohol and tobacco, and smaller for livestock products. Contrary to expectations, own‐price elasticities for some products become more price‐elastic as per capita income increases. One explanation may be that economic development brings with it improvements in food supply chains that provide people more choices with respect to food products than those traditionally consumed in rural villages, leading to greater substitution possibilities and more price‐elastic demands. Estimates for 2011 of income and own‐price demand elasticities are generally reasonable, whereas deriving reliable estimates of cross‐price elasticities is difficult. The estimates suggest that China's meat and dairy demands, and in turn livestock feed demands, will continue growing strongly. Policy‐makers should continue to monitor the evolution of demand for these products with an eye toward ensuring food security, particularly given the sheer size of the population and relatively tight domestic food supply situation in China.
KeBABS: an R package for kernel-based analysis of biological sequences
Authors: Palme Johannes , Hochreiter Sepp , Bodenhofer Ulrich 
Published: March 2015

Abstract
Summary: KeBABS provides a powerful, flexible and easy to use framework for kernel-based analysis of biological sequences in R. It includes efficient implementations of the most important sequence kernels, also including variants that allow for taking sequence annotations and positional information into account. KeBABS seamlessly integrates three common support vector machine (SVM) implementations with a unified interface. It allows for hyperparameter selection by cross validation, nested cross validation and also features grouped cross validation. The biological interpretation of SVM models is supported by (1) the computation of weights of sequence patterns and (2) prediction profiles that highlight the contributions of individual sequence positions or sections.
Availability and implementation: The R package kebabs is available via the Bioconductor project: http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/kebabs.html. Further information and the R code of the example in this paper are available at http://www.bioinf.jku.at/software/kebabs/.
Contact: kebabs@bioinf.jku.at or bodenhofer@bioinf.jku.at