bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Acoustic Study of the Tongue Root Contrast in Degema Vowels
Authors: Fulop S.A. , Kari E. , Ladefoged P. 
Published: April 2003

Abstract
Degema is an Edoid language of Nigeria whose ten vowels are organized phonologically into two sets of five. The two sets are thought to be differentiated by the degree of tongue root advancing. This paper examines the acoustic nature of these vowels as represented in field recordings of six speakers. The most consistent acoustic correlate of the tongue root contrast was found to be the first formant frequency which consistently distinguishes four of the five vowel pairs, the exception being the two low vowels. Three of the five pairs could also be distinguished by F<sub>2</sub>, though the direction of the difference was not consistent. Additionally, a comparison of corresponding advanced and retracted vowels using a normalized measure of relative formant intensity demonstrated that this correlate could also distinguish them in general, but only operated reliably in two of the five vowel pairs. The pair of low vowels could not be distinguished from each other by any of these measures. Finally, a perceptual study was conducted which demonstrates that Degema speakers do not classify their vowels very well using formant frequencies as the sole acoustic variable; only the two pairs of mid vowels were reliably singled out by native listeners from an array of synthesized vowels.
Effects of Contrastive Emphasis on Jaw Opening
Authors: Erickson Donna 
Published: April 2003

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of contrastive emphasis on the amount of vertical jaw displacement, as measured from X-ray microbeam data, for 3 American English speakers. Jaw opening in short utterances with one word emphasized (in initial, middle, and final positions) was compared with that of similar utterances with no words emphasized. The results suggest that emphasis involves not only a significant increase in jaw opening on the word emphasized but also possibly a reduction of jaw opening on the word following emphasis. Emphasis in addition may affect the amount of jaw opening of the utterance as a whole, in terms of a decrement in jaw opening on all the remaining words in the utterance following the emphasized word. The relationship between jaw opening and hierarchical levels of prosodic structure is tentatively discussed.
Acoustic Characteristics of Greek Vowels
Authors: Fourakis Marios , Botinis Antonis , Katsaiti Maria 
Published: April 2003

Abstract
Five male speakers produced the vowels of Greek at slow and fast tempo, in lexically stressed and unstressed syllables, and in lexically stressed syllables of words appearing in focus position. Duration, fundamental frequency (F₀), amplitude, and the frequencies of the first (F<sub>1</sub>) and second formant (F<sub>2</sub>) were measured. The effects on these variables of the phonemic category of the vowel, tempo, stress, and focus were examined. The results indicated that the vowel system of Greek follows universal tendencies in terms of duration but not in terms of F₀ and amplitude. Vowels in focus position, when plotted by their F<sub>1</sub> and F<sub>2</sub> frequencies, defined a vowel space larger than that defined by vowels in any other condition.
A Cross-Language Comparison of Speaking Rate Effects on the Production of Voice Onset Time in English and Spanish
Authors: Magloire Joël , Green Kerry P. 
Published: April 2003

Abstract
Of interest in the current study was how voice inset time (VOT) was influenced by changes in speaking rate across Spanish and English. Three groups of subjects (English monolinguals, Spanish monolinguals and early Spanish-English bilinguals) produced sentences containing voiced and voiceless bilabial stops at different speaking rates. As in previous research, English monolinguals showed rate-dependent effects on their VOT productions: VOT increased as speaking rate decreased. Spanish monolinguals showed a large effect of speaking rate on the duration of prevoicing of the voiced stops. However, they showed only a small effect of rate on the VOT of their voiceless stops. The bilinguals produced VOT values in each language that were nearly identical to their monolingual counterparts. The results from this study indicate that short-lag stops experience minimal variation as a function of speaking rate regardless of the other contrasting phonetic categories within a particular language. In addition, early bilinguals showed evidence of separate representations for voiced and voiceless stops for English and Spanish.
Emotive Transforms
Authors: Sundberg Johan 
Published: April 2003

Abstract
Emotional expressivity in singing is examined by comparing neutral and expressive performances of a set of music excerpts as performed by a professional baritone singer. Both the neutral and the expressive versions showed considerable deviations from the nominal description represented by the score. Much of these differences can be accounted for in terms of the application of two basic principles, grouping, i.e. marking of the hierarchical structure, and differentiation, i.e. enhancing the differences between tone categories. The expressive versions differed from the neutral versions with respect to a number of acoustic characteristics. In the expressive versions, the structure and the tone category differences were marked more clearly. Furthermore, the singer emphasized semantically important words in the lyrics in the expressive versions. Comparing the means used by the singer for the purpose of emphasis with those used by a professional actor and voice coach revealed striking similarities.
Adaptive Dispersion in Vowel Perception
Authors: Johnson Keith 
Published: April 2003

Abstract
The ‘hyperspace effect’ in vowel perception may be taken as evidence that adaptive dispersion is an active perceptual process. However, a previous study tested for adaptive dispersion in isolated vowel stimuli spoken in a voice unfamiliar to the listeners. The experiment reported in this paper addressed both of these potential concerns and found that both consonant context and talker familiarity modulate the hyperspace effect. However, the reductions induced by context and familiarity were slight. Listeners’ preferred perceptual spaces remained hyperarticulated relative to the production vowel space.
Intraventricular Pressure Dynamics in Patients with Ventriculopleural Shunts: A Telemetric Study
Authors: Munshi Ilyas , Lathrop Dawn , Madsen Joseph R. , Frim David M. 
Published: April 2003

Extracranial CSF shunting to the pleural absorptive surface is sometimes used as an alternative to ventriculoperitoneal shunting. The pressure dynamics of this type of shunt would be expected to differ from peritoneal shunting due to active changes in pleural pressures caused by the ventilatory cycle. We have had opportunity to examine the in vivo intraventricular pressure (IVP) dynamics of ventriculopleural shunts utilizing a commercially available implantable telemonitor (Telesensor; Radionics, Burlington, Mass.). Four patients with ventriculopleural shunts were monitored telemetrically while supine and at increments of head elevation to 90°. Two patients with ‘medium’ grade differential pressure valves exhibited IVPs which were never greater than zero. One patient with an in-line antisiphoning device in the shunt system appeared to have IVPs closely resembling those seen in shunting to the peritoneal space. Another patient with valve opening pressure set at 19 cm of water consistently had supine intraventricular pressures less than 10 cm of water that readily fell to zero with minimal head elevation. We conclude that the negative intrapleural pressures generated by the ventilatory cycle tend to cause IVPs in ventriculopleural shunts to be lower than those expected in peritoneal shunting. This observation suggests that ventriculopleural shunts may be appropriate for patients requiring very low intraventricular pressures in order to resolve their hydrocephalic symptoms.
Death in Shunted Hydrocephalic Children in the 1990s
Authors: Iskandar Bermans J. , Tubbs Shane , Mapstone Timothy B. , Grabb Paul A. , Bartolucci Alfred A. , Oakes W. Jerry 
Published: April 2003

Using a combined search of the Children’s Hospital (Birmingham, Ala., USA) medical records and the Jefferson County Health Department death records, we reviewed all shunt-related deaths that occurred between January 1990 and July 1996. Of these, we excluded patients who died of nonhydrocephalus-related reasons, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, as well as patients who had other serious neurological illnesses such as brain tumor and hydranencephaly. Twenty-eight patients died of shunt-related causes in the 6.5-year period. A survival analysis showed that 96% survived 32 months after first shunting. Of 28 patients, 23 were beyond help prior to medical evaluation. However, at least 10 of these patients had symptoms suggestive of shunt failure at least 24 h and as long as 2 weeks prior to their demise. We conclude that hydrocephalic children still die of shunt failure despite the modern technology of the 1990s. Some of these causes may be avoidable through early detection of symptoms. Guidelines to patients, families, and primary caregivers should be emphasized.
Myelitis: A Rare Presentation of Mumps
Authors: Bansal R. , Kalita J. , Misra U.K. , Kishore J. 
Published: April 2003

We report a rare case of mumps myelitis in which parotid swelling appeared 3 days after the symptoms of myelitis. A 10-year-old boy presented with acute paraplegia of grade I–II on MRC (Medical Research Council) scale and retention of urine with normal sensations. Central motor conduction to tibialis anterior (CMCT-TA) on the right side was 32 ms and 24 ms on the left side. Spinal MRI revealed hyperintense signal changes extending from C3 to T12. After 5 days of methylprednisolone therapy, there was marked improvement in weakness, micturition normalized and CMCT-TA also returned to normal. MRI repeated after 1 month was also normal. This response seems to be due to antiedema and to the antiinflammatory effect of methylprednisolone, because of a temporal relationship between MPS and clinical improvement. However, the possibility of natural recovery cannot be ruled out.
An Assessment of Observer Bias in the Shunt Design Trial
Authors: Kestle J. , Milner R. , Drake D. 
Published: April 2003

<i>Introduction:</i> An international multicenter randomized trial comparing standard pressure differential valves, Orbis Sigma valves and PS Medical Delta valves, for children with newly diagnosed hydrocephalus failed to show a difference in the time to first shunt failure (power 80%). In order to avoid observer bias, the primary endpoint, shunt failure, was defined by detailed clinical and radiological criteria. Surgeons notified the data center when their patient reached endpoint. Their decision was blindly reviewed by a centralized adjudication process. The current analysis asks: (1) Did the surgeons and the blinded adjudication process agree on the presence of shunt failure? (2) Do the shunt survival curves change when the surgeons’ assessment of outcome is used? <i>Methods:</i> The two methods of outcome assessment (surgeons’ decision and adjudication process) were compared with a kappa statistic for the presence of shunt failure and a log rank statistic for time to shunt failure. <i>Results:</i> The surgeon and the adjudication process agreed on the presence of the primary outcome in 313/344 patients in the trial (kappa = 0.81). The 31 cases of disagreement were evenly distributed among the three shunts. The survival curves generated from the surgeons’ decision were not significantly different from those generated by the adjudication process (log rank = 0.70, p = 0.37) and did not alter the study conclusions. <i>Discussion:</i> Observer bias in the assessment of outcome is always a concern in an unblinded clinical trial such as this one. We did not detect an observer bias of sufficient magnitude to alter the study conclusions.
Is Indomethacin Harmful in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment?
Authors: Guven Mehmet Bahadir , Cirak Bayram , Yuceer Nurullah , Ozveren Faik 
Published: April 2003

This study was designed to analyze the effect of early indomethacin on the lipid peroxidation after spinal cord injury in rats. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs to affect delayed and secondary injury after trauma to the spinal cord has now become a matter of standard clinical practice. However, spinal cord injury remains an enormous clinical problem and research that may lead to improved treatment is to be encouraged and commended. Three experimental groups consisting of 40 rats each were formed. Using microsurgical technique, total laminectomy between T5 and T10 was performed. Spinal cord injury was achieved with an epidural aneurysm clip, and pharmacological treatment immediate after the injury was performed by injecting indomethacin intraperitoneally (i.p.) at a dose of 3 mg/kg to indomethacin-treated group. The three main groups were divided into subgroups of 8 rats each. It was planned to stop the biochemical reactions at a different time in each of these subgroups, by the application of liquid nitrogen to the spinal cord and paravertebral structures at the end of the 1st, 15th, 30th, 60th, and 90th minutes. All the spinal cords were removed and protected from further reactions by immersing in the liquid nitrogen tank. The lipid peroxidation levels were assessed by determining thiobarbituric acid reactive substances formation. The results of the study showed that the administration of 3 mg/kg indomethacin immediately after spinal cord injury induces lipid peroxidation to a significant degree (p < 0.05 one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests) when compared to the saline-treated group. This result suggests that early posttraumatic indomethacin treatment may be harmful in spinal cord injury.
Propofol for Sedation and Control of Intracranial Pressure in Children
Authors: Spitzfaden Andrew C. , Jimenez David F. , Tobias Joseph D. 
Published: April 2003

Following central nervous system insults, control of intracranial pressure may lessen the incidence of morbidity and mortality. Therapies to control intracranial pressure include osmolar agents, prevention of and control of seizures, drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, hypothermia, and barbiturates. Control of agitation and excessive patient movement are additional components in the management of ICP. Although opioids and benzodiazepines are generally effective, in a small subset of patients, alternative agents may be necessary. The authors present 2 children with increased ICP in whom propofol was used to provide sedation and control ICP. The use of propofol in this setting and its possible applications in the children with increased ICP are discussed.
Delayed Repair of Open Depressed Skull Fracture
Authors: Curry Daniel J. , Frim David M. 
Published: April 2003

<i>Introduction:</i> Elevation and repair of an open depressed skull fracture is often thought of as an emergency procedure. Common indications for emergent elevation of a depressed skull fracture have been dural tear, seizure, gross contamination or mass effect from bone or a sizable underlying intracerebral hematoma. As treatment of head injury moves towards management of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) rather than intracranial pressure (ICP), we sought a way to maximize CPP in the initial treatment of head-injured patients with depressed skull fractures that would eventually require surgery by delaying surgery, when possible, until after the initial period of elevated ICP. <i>Methods:</i> Over a 12-month period, 7 patients (all male, ages 1–15 years) were admitted to our institution with the diagnosis of open depressed skull fracture without significant mass effect requiring urgent decompression. All had significant head trauma with altered mental status and a Glasgow Coma Score of 3–12. Patients were treated with antibiotic prophylaxis (nafcillin, ceftriaxone, metronidazole), seizure prophylaxis (phenytoin) and underwent CPP management in an intensive care unit setting as indicated by intracranial pressure monitoring or clinical assessment. Length of medical management of CPP ranged from 4 to 12 days. Upon stabilization of CPP, patients were operated for repair of their dural, bone and scalp injuries. <i>Results:</i> All 7 patients treated in the above manner suffered no ill effects from their delayed surgery: there was no meningitis, no late seizures, and no cerebrospinal fluid leak. Complications attributable to delay were not present at follow-up ranging from 12 to 24 months. <i>Conclusions:</i> We have delayed surgery for repair of open depressed skull fractures in order to maximize medical management of CPP in the setting of acute trauma. Among other considerations, the risk of intraoperative hypotension occurring at a time of acutely raised ICP was avoided by this delay. We conclude that there is a role, in this specifically defined subset of head trauma patients, for delayed surgical repair of open depressed skull fractures.
Evaluation of Shunt Malfunction Using Shunt Site Reservoir
Authors: Sood S. , Canady A.I. , Ham Steven D. 
Published: April 2003

<i>Objective:</i> To determine the usefulness of a separate reservoir placed at the site of the shunt in evaluation of shunt malfunction. <i>Methods and Materials:</i> A ventricular catheter was placed alongside the proximal catheter of the shunt and connected to a subgaleal reservoir in 17 patients, in 9 a double-lumen catheter with integrated reservoir and in 13 patients a dual catheter with a double-port reservoir was used. At presentation of suspected shunt malfunction, a standard shunt function evaluation using shunt tap, CT scan or shunt injection was performed, and subsequently, the pressure from the tap of the reservoir was obtained. <i>Results:</i> Thirty-three patients presented with symptoms of malfunction at an interval of 2.3 ± 3 months (range 2–429 days). The pretest probability of shunt malfunction in this population was 73%. Posttest probability of shunt malfunction was 82.5% with standard evaluation and improved to 100% by the separate reservoir tap pressure measurement. In 4 patients in whom the shunt tap was dry, shunt infection was diagnosed prior to revision using CSF obtained at the reservoir tap. In 5 patients with proximal malfunction and bradycardia, the reservoir tap allowed early ventricular decompression. <i>Conclusion:</i> This study shows that a reservoir placed at the site of the shunt remains patient even when the shunt malfunctions, suggesting that flow rather than catheter position is important in proximal malfunction. It is superior to shunt tap for detection of shunt malfunction and infection, and it allows early ventricular decompression in a sick patient awaiting surgery for shunt revision.
Synergistic Action of Genistein and Cisplatin on Growth Inhibition and Cytotoxicity of Human Medulloblastoma Cells
Authors: Khoshyomn Sami , Manske Gregory C. , Lew Sean M. , Wald Steven L. , Penar Paul L. 
Published: April 2003

<i>Objective:</i> Recent experimental data have shown that dietary soy isoflavones such as genistein can significantly suppress invasiveness and growth of a number of human malignancies. In this study we examined whether genistein, at a concentration typical of plasma levels following soy formula intake, in combination with cisplatin or vincristine exhibited an additive or synergistic inhibitory effect on the growth of medulloblastoma cells. <i>Methods:</i> Three human medulloblastomas cell lines (HTB-186, CRL-8805 and MED-1) were treated with genistein at 6 μ<i>M</i>, the maximum reported dietary plasma level in children, combined with cisplatin (0–10 μ<i>M</i>) or vincristine (0–1 μ<i>M</i>). Monolayer cell growth and cytotoxicity, as measured by colonigenic survival in soft agarose, were then compared in control and drug-treated cultures. Presence of apoptosis, using the DNA ladder assay and laser scanning cytometry, was investigated in all cell lines at those concentrations at which an enhancement of antiproliferative effect of cisplatin and vincristine in presence of genistein was observed. <i>Results:</i> Genistein at 6 μ<i>M</i> led to a 2.8-fold increase in the monolayer growth inhibitory effect of cisplatin (0.05 μ<i>M</i>) in HTB-186 cells (p = 4.5 × 10<sup>–4</sup> by one-tailed t test). Genistein increased colonigenic survival inhibition of HTB-186 2.6-fold at the same cisplatin concentration (p = 1.5 × 10<sup>–4</sup>). Genistein caused a 1.3-fold increase in antiproliferative effect of cisplatin (0.5 μ<i>M</i>) in CRL-8805 cells (p = 3.1 × 10<sup>–4</sup>). Similarly the inhibition of colonigenic survival was enhanced 2.0-fold in CRL-8805 (p = 1.22 × 10<sup>–5</sup>). The addition of genistein to 0.5 μ<i>M</i> cisplatin led to a 1.7-fold increase in monolayer growth inhibition and 2.4-fold increase in colonigenic survival inhibition of MED-1 cells (p = 8.3 × 10<sup>–4</sup> and p = 1.1 × 10<sup>–4</sup> respectively). These effects were primarily synergistic but also additive in nature. The combination of genistein and vincristine, as compared to vincristine alone, caused a minimal-to-modest increase in antiproliferative effect on medulloblastoma cells studied here. We were unable to detect apoptosis by two methodologies in any of the medulloblastoma lines when genistein was combined with cisplatin or vincristine. <i>Conclusion:</i> These results indicate that genistein at typical dietary plasma levels can significantly enhance the antiproliferative and cytotoxic action of cisplatin and, to a lesser extent, vincristine. The implication for treatment of medulloblastomas of early childhood may be a reduction in the chemotherapeutic dose recommendations of these agents and subsequently a decrease in the risk of treatment sequelae for these patients.
Comparison of Delusions among Schizophrenics in Austria and in Pakistan
Authors: Stompe T. , Friedman A. , Ortwein G. , Strobl R. , Chaudhry H.R. , Najam N. , Chaudhry M.R. 
Published: April 2003

One of the central purposes of cross-cultural psychiatry is to scrutinize the sociocultural influences on the phenomenology of psychiatric diseases. On the other hand it is possible to lay bare a nucleus of symptoms, common to all cultures, which, independently of all influences, occupies a central position for an understanding of the disease considered. In this study an attempt was made to approach this problem by means of investigating the contents of delusion of schizophrenic patients in Austria and Pakistan. The contents of delusion among 126 Austrian and 108 Pakistani patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia according to DSM-III-R (art. 295) were compared following the classification of Huber and Gross. Additionally the kind of persecution and the type of the persecutor were registered. However it appeared that only a few contents of delusion are frequent in both countries. In both countries persecution was the most frequently mentioned content of delusion. The comparison of the contents of delusion revealed significantly higher frequencies of delusions of grandeur, guilt and religious delusions in Austrian patients. Significant differences could also be found with the kind of persecution and the persecutor’s type. Cultural factors seem to have a decisive influence on shaping the contents of delusion.
Recurring Short Delirium with Postpartum Onset in Two Sisters
Authors: Sieche Angelika , Giedke Henner 
Published: April 2003

We report on a 30-year-old woman who twice developed a short postpartum psychosis with organic signs, but without obvious organic cause. Extensive investigations only yielded a state of moderate hypercoagulability. Her sister had developed similar signs and symptoms during her second puerperium and died 5 days after her delivery. We discuss the combination of various precipitating factors for postpartum psychosis, the possible impact of the findings on its cause and its classification.