bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Practical Guide to Applying Lean Tools and Management Principles to Health Care Improvement Projects
Authors: Simon Ross W. , Canacari Elena G. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractManufacturing organizations have used Lean management principles for years to help eliminate waste, streamline processes, and cut costs. This pragmatic approach to structured problem solving can be applied to health care process improvement projects. Health care leaders can use a step‐by‐step approach to document processes and then identify problems and opportunities for improvement using a value stream process map. Leaders can help a team identify problems and root causes and consider additional problems associated with methods, materials, manpower, machinery, and the environment by using a cause‐and‐effect diagram. The team then can organize the problems identified into logical groups and prioritize the groups by impact and difficulty. Leaders must manage action items carefully to instill a sense of accountability in those tasked to complete the work. Finally, the team leaders must ensure that a plan is in place to hold the gains.
Kaizen: A Process Improvement Model for the Business of Health Care and Perioperative Nursing Professionals
Authors: Tetteh Hassan A. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractKaizen is a proven management technique that has a practical application for health care in the context of health care reform and the 2010 Institute of Medicine landmark report on the future of nursing. Compounded productivity is the unique benefit of kaizen, and its principles are change, efficiency, performance of key essential steps, and the elimination of waste through small and continuous process improvements. The kaizen model offers specific instruction for perioperative nurses to achieve process improvement in a five‐step framework that includes teamwork, personal discipline, improved morale, quality circles, and suggestions for improvement.
JSBML: a flexible and entirely Java-based library for working with SBML
Authors: Jouraku Akiya , Le Novère Nicolas , Zell Andreas , Hucka Michael , Rodriguez Nicolas , Dumousseau Marine , Dräger Andreas , Wrzodek Clemens , Dörr Alexander , Keating Sarah 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThe XML-based Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is the de facto standard file format for the storage and exchange of biochemical network models, and is supported by more than 180 software packages to date. Much of this success is due to its clearly defined specifications and the availability of libSBML, a portable, robust, and easy-to-use library.LibSBML provides many methods for manipulating and validating SBML files through its Application Programming Interface (API). Originally written in C and C++, libSBML also provides automatically-generated language bindings for Java, MATLAB, Perl, and many more. However, the platform independence of Java is compromised in libSBML due to the fact that the language binding is a wrapper around the C/C++ core. The real-world experiences of many software developers has been that the deployment of portable libSBML-based Java applications is difficult. Further, the libSBML API and type hierarchy are not sufficiently intuitive from a Java programmer's perspective just because they were not designed directly for Java. For these reasons, several groups in the SBML community have mounted an open-source effort to develop a pure Java library for SBML. Here we present the JSBML project, whose products are freely available at the web site http://sourceforge.net/projects/jsbml.
Genetic and Environmental Effects on Vocal Symptoms and Their Intercorrelations
Authors: Nybacka Ida , Simberg Susanna , Santtila Pekka , Sala Eeva , Sandnabba N. Kenneth 
Published: December 2011

PurposeRecently, Simberg et al. (2009) found genetic effectson a composite variable consisting of 6 vocal symptom items measuring dysphonia. The purpose of the present study was to determine genetic and environmental effects on the individual vocal symptoms in a population-based sample of Finnish twins.MethodThe sample comprised 1,728 twins (125 monozygotic and 108 dizygotic twin pairs) born between 1961 and 1989, who completed a questionnaire concerning 6 vocal symptoms. Values for additive genetic, dominant genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental components were computed separately for all symptoms. Multivariate analyses to determine genetic and environmental associations between the vocal symptoms were also performed.ResultsVariance was explained by significant additive genetic effects (27%) in only one of the vocal symptoms, namely,voice gets low or hoarse,whereas the variance of one of the vocal symptoms,voice gets strained or tires,could be explained by nonshared environmental influence alone. Multivariate analyses showed that the correlations for most of the symptom combinations were significant.ConclusionsBoth genetic and environmental components influence vocal symptoms. Genetic and environmental influences seem to be differently balanced in different vocal symptoms. Genetic effects are moderate, whereas environmental effects seem to be the most important factor contributing to the presence of vocal symptoms.
Phonology and Language Development in Italian Children: An Analysis of Production and Accuracy
Authors: Zanobini Mirella , Viterbori Paola , Saraceno Francesca 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
The principal aims of this study were to detect phonetic measures (consonant inventory, intelligibility, frequency, and types of phonological errors) associated with lexical and morphosyntactic ability and to analyze the types of phonological processes in children with different language skills.

Method
The sample was composed of 30 children between the ages of 36 and 42 months. Two tests were administered, one investigating phonological ability and one investigating general linguistic ability.

Results
A strong relationship between phonetic measures and language performance was found. The proportion of unintelligible productions and simplified words correlated with all the linguistic measures considered. A comparison of the phonological processes used by children with low, average, and high linguistic performance showed that phonotactic structure errors discriminated better than did system errors between the three groups. In particular, the less competent talkers were more likely to delete weak syllables, omit consonants and vowels, reduce diphthongs, and make consonant harmony errors.

Conclusions
The results emphasize the importance of phonetic measures in explaining differences in language performance and suggest the possibility of identifying children with low linguistic competence on the basis of phonetic measures, such as the level of intelligibility and the type of errors committed.
Is Tongue Strength an Important Influence on Rate of Articulation in Diadochokinetic and Reading Tasks?
Authors: Neel Amy T. , Palmer Phyllis M. 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between tongue strength and rate of articulation in 2 speech tasks, diadochokinetic rates and reading aloud, in healthy men and women between 20 and 78 years of age.

Method
Diadochokinetic rates were measured for the syllables /pʌ/, /tʌ/, /kʌ/, and /pʌtəkə/, and articulation rates were calculated for a reading of the Rainbow Passage for 57 adult volunteers. The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (LLC Northwest) was used to obtain maximum tongue pressure, tongue pressure exerted during production of /tʌ/, and tongue endurance. Correlation analyses were performed to determine the relation among articulation rate and tongue pressure and endurance measures.

Results
Maximum tongue pressure, the pressure used to produce /tʌ/, the proportion of maximum pressure used to produce /tʌ/, and tongue endurance were poor predictors of diadochokinetic rates and articulation rate in reading for healthy speakers.

Discussion
Focus must remain on factors beyond strength, such as movement precision and coordination, to improve researchers' understanding of normal and disordered speech production in adults.
Are Syllabification and Resyllabification Strategies Phonotactically Directed in French Children With Dyslexia? A Preliminary Report
Authors: Maïonchi-Pino Norbert , de Cara Bruno , écalle Jean , Magnan Annie 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
In this study, the authors queried whether French-speaking children with dyslexia were sensitive to consonant sonority and position within syllable boundaries to influence a phonological syllable-based segmentation in silent reading.

Method

Participants included 15 French-speaking children with dyslexia, compared with 30 chronological age–matched and reading level–matched controls. Children were tested with an audiovisual recognition task. A target pseudoword (TOLPUDE) was simultaneously presented visually and auditorily and then was compared with a printed test pseudoword that either was identical or differed after the coda deletion (TOPUDE) or the onset deletion (TOLUDE). The intervocalic consonant sequences had either a
sonorant coda–sonorant onset
(TOR.LADE),
sonorant coda–obstruent onset
(TOL.PUDE),
obstruent coda–sonorant onset
(DOT.LIRE), or
obstruent coda–obstruent onset
(BIC.TADE) sonority profile.

Results
All children processed identity better than they processed deletion, especially with the optimal sonorant coda–obstruent onset sonority profile. However, children preserved syllabification (coda deletion; TO.PUDE) rather than resyllabification (onset deletion; TO.LUDE) with intervocalic consonant sequence reductions, especially when sonorant codas were deleted but the optimal intersyllable contact was respected.

Conclusions
It was surprising to find that although children with dyslexia generally exhibit phonological and acoustic–phonetic impairments (voicing), they showed sensitivity to the optimal sonority profile and a preference for preserved syllabification. The authors proposed a sonority-modulated explanation to account for phonological syllable-based processing. Educational implications are discussed.
Bilingual Listeners' Perception of Temporally Manipulated English Passages
Authors: Shi Lu-Feng , Farooq Nadia 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
The current study measured, objectively and subjectively, how changes in speech rate affect recognition of English passages in bilingual listeners.

Method
Ten native monolingual, 20 English-dominant bilingual, and 20 non-English-dominant bilingual listeners repeated target words in English passages at five speech rates (unprocessed, two expanded, and two compressed), in quiet and in noise. For noise conditions, performance was measured at a signal-to-noise ratio that was determined through an adaptive procedure to avoid ceiling and floor effects. Listeners also made subjective judgments of speech rate, speech clarity, and performance confidence.

Results
In noise, stepwise improvement was observed as rate slowed down. A similar effect was not found in quiet. This pattern in performance was largely comparable across listener groups but was most robust in English-dominant listeners. Changes in speech rate and presence of noise significantly affected listeners' subjective ratings; however, no intergroup differences were observed for any of the subjective ratings.

Conclusions
Bilingual listeners benefited from slow speech rates, more evidently so in noise than in quiet. Their performance, however, did not reach a monolingual level, even at the most favorable rate. Nonetheless, all listeners reported comparable confidence when processing temporally manipulated English passages.
Speech Recognition and Acoustic Features in Combined Electric and Acoustic Stimulation
Authors: Yoon Yang-soo , Li Yongxin , Fu Qian-Jie 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
In this study, the authors aimed to identify speech information processed by a hearing aid (HA) that is additive to information processed by a cochlear implant (CI) as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Method
Speech recognition was measured with CI alone, HA alone, and CI + HA. Ten participants were separated into 2 groups; good (aided pure-tone average [PTA] < 55 dB) and poor (aided PTA ≥ 55 dB) at audiometric frequencies ≤ 1 kHz in HA.

Results
Results showed that the good-aided PTA group derived a clear bimodal benefit (performance difference between CI + HA and CI alone) for vowel and sentence recognition in noise, whereas the poor-aided PTA group received little benefit across speech tests and SNRs. Results also showed that a better aided PTA helped in processing cues embedded in both low and high frequencies; none of these cues was significantly perceived by the poor-aided PTA group.

Conclusions
The aided PTA is an important indicator for bimodal advantage in speech perception. The lack of bimodal benefits in the poor group may be attributed to the nonoptimal HA fitting. Bimodal listening provides a synergistic effect for cues in both low- and high-frequency components in speech.
Perception of Speech Features by French-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants
Authors: Bouton Sophie , Serniclaes Willy , Bertoncini Josiane , Colé Pascale 
Published: December 2011

PurposeThe present study investigates the perception of phonological features in French-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs) compared with normal-hearing (NH) children matched for listening age.MethodScores for discrimination and identification of minimal pairs for all features defining consonants (e.g., place, voicing, manner, nasality) and vowels (e.g., frontness, nasality, aperture) were measured in each listener.ResultsThe results indicated no differences in “categorical perception,” specified as a similar difference between discrimination and identification between CI children and controls. However, CI children demonstrated a lower level of “categorical precision,” that is, lesser accuracy in both feature identification and discrimination, than NH children, with the magnitude of the deficit depending on the feature.ConclusionsIf sensitive periods of language development extend well beyond the moment of implantation, the consequences of hearing deprivation for the acquisition of categorical perception should be fairly important in comparison to categorical precision because categorical precision develops more slowly than categorical perception in NH children. These results do not support the idea that the sensitive period for development of categorical perception is restricted to the first 1–2 years of life. The sensitive period may be significantly longer. Differences in precision may reflect the acoustic limitations of the cochlear implant, such as coding for temporal fine structure and frequency resolution.
Perceptual Learning of Dysarthric Speech: A Review of Experimental Studies
Authors: Borrie Stephanie A. , McAuliffe Megan J. , Liss Julie M. 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
This review article provides a theoretical overview of the characteristics of perceptual learning, reviews perceptual learning studies that pertain to dysarthric populations, and identifies directions for future research that consider the application of perceptual learning to the management of dysarthria.

Method
A critical review of the literature was conducted that summarized and synthesized previously published research in the area of perceptual learning with atypical speech. Literature related to perceptual learning of neurologically degraded speech was emphasized with the aim of identifying key directions for future research with this population.

Conclusions
Familiarization with unfamiliar or ambiguous speech signals can facilitate perceptual learning of that same speech signal. There is a small but growing body of evidence that perceptual learning also occurs for listeners familiarized with dysarthric speech. Perceptual learning of the dysarthric signal is both theoretically and clinically significant. In order to establish the efficacy of exploiting perceptual learning paradigms for rehabilitative gain in dysarthria management, research is required to build on existing empirical evidence and develop a theoretical framework for learning to better recognize neurologically degraded speech.
How Children With Autism Extend New Words
Authors: McGregor Karla K. , Bean Allison 
Published: December 2011

Purpose
How do children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) extend a noun to the category of objects it labels? Given their tendency to perceive locally, their extensions might be too narrow. Given their social-communicative deficits and a context in which the knowledge of a social-communicative partner promotes narrow extensions, their extensions might be too broad.

Method
We tested these predictions by comparing 25 high-functioning school-aged children with ASD to 29 age-matched peers with typical development (TD) in a task that required extraction of commonalities of object referents and use of social-communicative context to support the category inference.

Results
The children with ASD readily extended a given noun to multiple exemplars, thereby demonstrating tacit knowledge that words label categories and the ability to override local perceptual biases they might have. However, unlike their peers with TD, those who had concomitant weaknesses in semantic and syntactic language ability formed broad categories when their social partner’s behavior suggested narrow categories.

Conclusions
Some, but not all, people with ASD fail to use social context to support inferences about word extension. The direction of any causal relationship between failure to use social contextual cues and language deficits awaits determination.
Fast large-scale clustering of protein structures using Gauss integrals
Authors: Harder Tim , Borg Mikael , Boomsma Wouter , Røgen Peter , Hamelryck Thomas 
Published: December 2011

Abstract
Motivation: Clustering protein structures is an important task in structural bioinformatics. De novo structure prediction, for example, often involves a clustering step for finding the best prediction. Other applications include assigning proteins to fold families and analyzing molecular dynamics trajectories.
Results: We present Pleiades, a novel approach to clustering protein structures with a rigorous mathematical underpinning. The method approximates clustering based on the root mean square deviation by first mapping structures to Gauss integral vectors—which were introduced by Røgen and co-workers—and subsequently performing K-means clustering.
Conclusions: Compared to current methods, Pleiades dramatically improves on the time needed to perform clustering, and can cluster a significantly larger number of structures, while providing state-of-the-art results. The number of low energy structures generated in a typical folding study, which is in the order of 50 000 structures, can be clustered within seconds to minutes.
Contact: thamelry@binf.ku.dk; harder@binf.ku.dk
Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Modeling mechanistic biological networks: An advanced Boolean approach
Authors: Handorf T. , Klipp E. 
Published: December 2011

Abstract
Motivation: The understanding of the molecular sources for diseases like cancer can be significantly improved by computational models. Recently, Boolean networks have become very popular for modeling signaling and regulatory networks. However, such models rely on a set of Boolean functions that are in general not known. Unfortunately, while detailed information on the molecular interactions becomes available in large scale through electronic databases, the information on the Boolean functions does not become available simultaneously and has to be included manually into the models, if at all known.
Results: We propose a new Boolean approach which can directly utilize the mechanistic network information available through modern databases. The Boolean function is implicitly defined by the reaction mechanisms. Special care has been taken for the treatment of kinetic features like inhibition. The method has been applied to a signaling model combining the Wnt and MAPK pathway.
Availability: A sample C++ implementation of the proposed method is available for Linux and compatible systems through http://code.google.com/p/libscopes/wiki/Paper2011
Contact: handorf@physik.hu-berlin.de
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
MeQA: a pipeline for MeDIP-seq data quality assessment and analysis
Authors: Huang J. , Renault V. , Sengenès J. , Touleimat N. , Michel S. , Lathrop M. , Tost J. 
Published: December 2011

Abstract
Motivation: We present a pipeline for the pre-processing, quality assessment, read distribution and methylation estimation for methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP)-sequence datasets. This is the first MeDIP-seq-specific analytic pipeline that starts at the output of the sequencers. This pipeline will reduce the data analysis load on staff and allows the easy and straightforward analysis of sequencing data for DNA methylation. The pipeline integrates customized scripting and several existing tools, which can deal with both paired and single end data.
Availability: The package and extensive documentation, and comparison to public data is available at http://life.tongji.edu.cn/meqa/
Contact: jhuang@cephb.fr
Dietary Supplement Intake by 6‐month‐old Taiwanese Infants
Authors: Chuang Chao‐Hua , Yang Shwu‐Huey , Chang Pei‐Jen , Chen Pau‐Chung , Chen Yi Chun 
Published: December 2011

ABSTRACTObjectives:The objective of the present study was to investigate the types of dietary supplements administered to healthy 6‐month‐old infants and to identify the factors influencing the use of such supplements.Subjects and Methods:The present study was based on the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study database. Questionnaires were used to collect information on the use of dietary supplements from birth, infant feeding practices, and other covariates at 6 months of age. We excluded low‐birth‐weight, preterm babies, and those whose caregivers returned incomplete questionnaires, leaving a sample size of 18,658. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the characteristics capable of predicting the use of supplements in this population. A total of 34.9% of infants were fed dietary supplements from birth.Results:The most common types of supplements administered to infants were probiotics, calcium, and multivitamin/mineral supplements. Formula feeding, earlier weaning, and earlier complementary feeding were positively related to the use of several supplements.Conclusions:The present study demonstrates that the use of pediatric dietary supplements is relatively common among infants in Taiwan, even in the earliest stages of life. For infants whose diet is adequate, no need exists for dietary supplements, and excessive intake can adversely influence health. Communication between health professionals and child caregivers should be promoted to increase understanding of infant feeding, as well as the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements.