An Update On Red Light Camera Research: The Need For Federal Standards In The Interest Of Public Safety,
2011
University of North Florida
An Update On Red Light Camera Research: The Need For Federal Standards In The Interest Of Public Safety, Barbara Langland-Orban, John T. Large, Etienne E. Pracht
Florida Public Health Review
Since publishing our critique of red light camera (RLC) studies in 2008, we have gained increased insights on the controversy over RLCs. Herein we provide additional information on RLCs, and use a question-and-answer format to address frequently asked questions. This update includes the rationale given for ignoring fatalities at RLC sites, the convergence in findings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's compendium of best RLC studies, common violations of research methods in RLC evaluations, the RLC cost-to-benefit implications for motorists, an explanation for the increase in rear-end crashes at RLC sites, and why RLCs may be ineffective in reducing …
Decreasing Unwanted Pregnancies By Increasing Use Of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (Ecps): A Leadership Approach,
2011
University of North Florida
Decreasing Unwanted Pregnancies By Increasing Use Of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (Ecps): A Leadership Approach, Kara Mcginnis
Florida Public Health Review
Unwanted pregnancies burden the U.S. healthcare system, as well as create challenges for women, families, and children. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) can prevent a large percentage of unwanted pregnancies if used appropriately. Factors contributing to non-use of ECPs include the negative social environment created by views on sexual health, misunderstanding concerning the mechanism ofaction, women’s misperceptions oftheir risks ofgetting pregnant and how ECPs work, barriers to obtaining ECPs, and lack of counseling about ECPs from healthcare providers. Leadership is needed to address these factors contributing to the problem. Health educators are in a unique position to lead the field in …
Qualification Versus Validation Of Biomarkers,
2011
Bond University
Qualification Versus Validation Of Biomarkers, Jenny Doust
Jenny Doust
The phases of research used to evaluate new drugs provide a useful reference point for determining the studies that need to be conducted to evaluate new biomarkers. However, biomarkers do not have a single pathway for changing health outcomes and may be used for a variety of purposes, such as improving diagnostic criteria, improving prognosis, improving the monitoring of disease or as a measurement of health outcomes. The impact on health outcomes is also less direct and is dependent on the sequence of actions taken as a consequence of the test results. The different purposes of biomarkers and the less …
Ebm Journal Clubs In General Practice,
2011
University of Queensland
Ebm Journal Clubs In General Practice, Jenny Doust, Chris Del Mar, Brett Montgomery, Clare Heal, Rachel Bidgood, David Jeacoke, Gary Bourke, Geoffrey Spurling
Jenny Doust
Evidence based medicine (EBM) changes the way medicine is practised by integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence and patient values. In hospitals, clinicians can incorporate evidence into clinical decision making during ward rounds and team consultations. In general practice however, this can be more challenging; consultations are shorter (often with patients backed up waiting to be seen), clinical decision making is more solitary, and there is less access to library services. Searching for and using evidence during the consultation process is only rarely feasible. One solution is the establishment of EBM journal clubs.
Vaccines For Preventing Influenza In The Elderly,
2011
The Cochrane Collaboration, Italy
Vaccines For Preventing Influenza In The Elderly, Tom Jefferson, Carlo Di Pietrantonj, Lubna Al-Ansary, Eliana Ferroni, Sarah Thorning, Roger Thomas
Sarah Thorning
Background
Vaccines have been the main global weapon to minimise the impact of influenza in the elderly for the last four decades and are recommended worldwide for individuals aged 65 years or older. The primary goal of influenza vaccination in the elderly is to reduce the risk of complications among persons who are most vulnerable.
Objectives
To assess the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing influenza, influenza-like illness (ILI), hospital admissions, complications and mortality in the elderly. To identify and appraise comparative studies evaluating the effects of influenza vaccines in the elderly. To document types and frequency of adverse effects associated …
Advising Patients To Increase Fluid Intake For Treating Acute Respiratory Infections,
2011
University of New England
Advising Patients To Increase Fluid Intake For Treating Acute Respiratory Infections, Michelle Guppy, Sharon Mickan, Chris Del Mar, Sarah Thorning
Sarah Thorning
Background
Acute respiratory infection is a common reason for people to present for medical care. Advice to increase fluid intake is a frequent treatment recommendation. Attributed benefits of fluids include replacing increased insensible fluid losses, correcting dehydration from reduced intake and reducing the viscosity of mucus. However, there are theoretical reasons for increased fluid intake to cause harm. Anti-diuretic hormone secretion is increased in lower respiratory tract infections of various aetiologies. This systematic examination of the evidence sought to determine the benefit versus harm from increasing fluid intake.
Objectives
To answer the following questions.
(1)Does recommending increased fluid intake as …
Linking Ambulance, Emergency Department And Hospital Admissions Data: Understanding The Emergency Journey,
2011
Queensland Health
Linking Ambulance, Emergency Department And Hospital Admissions Data: Understanding The Emergency Journey, Julia Crilly, John O'Dwyer, Marilla O'Dwyer, James Lind, Julia Peters, Vivienne Tippett, Marianne Wallis, Nerolie Bost, Gerben Keijzers
Gerben Keijzers
Objective: To assess the accuracy of data linkage across the spectrum of emergency care in the absence of a unique patient identifier, and to use the linked data to examine service delivery outcomes in an emergency department (ED) setting.
Design: Automated data linkage and manual data linkage were compared to determine their relative accuracy. Data were extracted from three separate health information systems: ambulance, ED and hospital inpatients, then linked to provide information about the emergency journey of each patient. The linking was done manually through physical review of records and automatically using a data linking tool (Health Data Integration) …
Phonemic Resetting Versus Postural Adjustments In The Speech Of Cochlear Implant Users: An Exploration Of Voice-Onset Time,
2011
Northeastern University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Phonemic Resetting Versus Postural Adjustments In The Speech Of Cochlear Implant Users: An Exploration Of Voice-Onset Time, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell
Harlan Lane
Voice-onset time (VOT) was measured in plosive-initial syllables uttered by five cochlear implant users prior to and repeatedly at intervals after activation of their speech processors. In "short-term" experiments, the elicitation set was read after the subject's processor had been off for 24 h, then turned on, then off again. Four out of five implant users increased voiceless and/or voiced VOTc (VOT corrected for changes in syllable duration) from preimplant baselines to final recordings made 1–3 years later. Measured acoustic correlates of speech "posture" (average SPL, F0, and low-frequency spectral slope) changed concurrently. Results in the short-term study were largely …
The Distinctness Of Speakers' Productions Of Vowel Contrasts Is Related To Their Discrimination Of The Contrasts,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Distinctness Of Speakers' Productions Of Vowel Contrasts Is Related To Their Discrimination Of The Contrasts, Joseph Perkell, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour
Harlan Lane
This study addresses the hypothesis that the more accurately a speaker discriminates a vowel contrast, the more distinctly the speaker produces that contrast. Measures of speech production and perception were collected from 19 young adult speakers of American English. In the production experiment, speakers repeated the words cod, cud, who'd, and hood in a carrier phrase at normal, clear, and fast rates. Articulatory movements and the associated acoustic signal were recorded, yielding measures of contrast distance between /ɑ/ and /ʌ/ and between /u/ and /ʊ/. In the discrimination experiment, sets of seven natural-sounding stimuli ranging from cod to cud and …
Changes In Sound Pressure And Fundamental Frequency Contours Following Changes In Hearing Status,
2011
Northeastern University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Changes In Sound Pressure And Fundamental Frequency Contours Following Changes In Hearing Status, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Melanie Matthies, Mario Svirsky, Joseph Perkell, Michael O'Connell, Joyce Manzella
Harlan Lane
Sound-pressure level (SPL) and fundamental frequency (F0) contours were obtained from four postlingually deafened adults who received cochlear implants and from a subject with Neurofibromatosis-2 (NF2) who had her hearing severely reduced following surgery to remove an auditory-nerve tumor and to implant an auditory brainstem implant. SPL and F0 contours for each phrase in passages read before and after changes in hearing were averaged over repeated readings and then normalized with respect to the highest SPL or F0 value in the contour. The regularity of each average contour was measured by calculating differences between successive syllable means and averaging the …
Effects Of Bite Blocks And Hearing Status On Vowel Production,
2011
Northeastern University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Effects Of Bite Blocks And Hearing Status On Vowel Production, Harlan Lane, Margaret Denny, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Lucie Ménard, Joseph Perkell, Ellen Stockmann, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour
Harlan Lane
This study explores the effects of hearing status and bite blocks on vowel production. Normal-hearing controls and postlingually deaf adults read elicitation lists of /hVd/ syllables with and without bite blocks and auditory feedback. Deaf participants' auditory feedback was provided by a cochlear prosthesis and interrupted by switching off their implant microphones. Recording sessions were held before prosthesis was provided and one month and one year after. Long-term absence of auditory feedback was associated with heightened dispersion of vowel tokens, which was inflated further by inserting bite blocks. The restoration of some hearing with prosthesis reduced dispersion. Deaf speakers' vowel …
An Investigation Of The Relation Between Sibilant Production And Somatosensory And Auditory Acuity,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
An Investigation Of The Relation Between Sibilant Production And Somatosensory And Auditory Acuity, Satrajit Ghosh, Melanie Matthies, Edwin Maas, Mark Tiede, Lucie Ménard, Frank Guenther, Harlan Lane, Joseph Perkell
Harlan Lane
The relation between auditory acuity, somatosensory acuity and the magnitude of produced sibilant contrast was investigated with data from 18 participants. To measure auditory acuity, stimuli from a synthetic sibilant continuum ([s]-[ʃ]) were used in a four-interval, two-alternative forced choice adaptive-staircase discrimination task. To measure somatosensory acuity, small plastic domes with grooves of different spacing were pressed against each participant's tongue tip and the participant was asked to identify one of four possible orientations of the grooves. Sibilant contrast magnitudes were estimated from productions of the words "said," "shed," "sid," and "shid." Multiple linear regression revealed a significant relation indicating …
The Effect Of Changes In Hearing Status On Speech Sound Level And Speech Breathing: A Study Conducted With Cochlear Implant Users And Nf-2 Patients,
2011
Northeastern University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Effect Of Changes In Hearing Status On Speech Sound Level And Speech Breathing: A Study Conducted With Cochlear Implant Users And Nf-2 Patients, Harlan Lane, Joseph Perkell, Jane Wozniak, Joyce Manzella, Peter Guiod, Melanie Matthies, Mia Maccollin, Jennell Vick
Harlan Lane
According to a dual-process theory of the role of hearing in speech production, hearing helps maintain an internal model used by the speech control mechanism to achieve phonemic goals. It also monitors the acoustic environment and guides relatively rapid adjustments in postural parameters, such as those underlying average speech sound level and rate, in order to achieve suprasegmental goals that are a compromise between intelligibility and economy of effort. In order to obtain evidence bearing on this theory, acoustic and aerodynamic measures were collected from seven adventitiously deaf speakers who received cochlear implants, three speakers who had severe reduction in …
Economy Of Effort In Different Speaking Conditions. I. A Preliminary Study Of Intersubject Differences And Modeling Issues,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Economy Of Effort In Different Speaking Conditions. I. A Preliminary Study Of Intersubject Differences And Modeling Issues, Joseph S. Perkell, Majid Zandipour, Melanie L. Matthies, Harlan Lane
Harlan Lane
This study explores the hypothesis that clear speech is produced with greater "articulatory effort" than normal speech. Kinematic and acoustic data were gathered from seven subjects as they pronounced multiple repetitions of utterances in different speaking conditions, including normal, fast, clear, and slow. Data were analyzed within a framework based on a dynamical model of single-axis frictionless movements, in which peak movement speed is used as a relative measure of articulatory effort (Nelson, 1983). There were differences in peak movement speed, distance and duration among the conditions and among the speakers. Three speakers produced the "clear" condition utterances with movements …
Time Course Of Speech Changes In Response To Unanticipated Short-Term Changes In Hearing State,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Boston University
Time Course Of Speech Changes In Response To Unanticipated Short-Term Changes In Hearing State, Joseph Perkell, Harlan Lane, Margaret Denny, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour, Jennell Vick, Ellen Burton
Harlan Lane
The timing of changes in parameters of speech production was investigated in six cochlear implant users by switching their implant microphones off and on a number of times in a single experimental session. The subjects repeated four short, two-word utterances, /dV₁n#SV₂d/ (S=/s/ or /ʃ/), in quasi-random order. The changes between hearing and nonhearing states were introduced by a voice-activated switch at V1 onset. "Postural" measures were made of vowel sound pressure level (SPL), duration, F0; contrast measures were made of vowel separation (distance between pair members in the formant plane) and sibilant separation (difference in spectral means). Changes in parameter …
Effects Of Masking Noise On Vowel And Sibilant Contrasts In Normal-Hearing Speakers And Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Boston University
Effects Of Masking Noise On Vowel And Sibilant Contrasts In Normal-Hearing Speakers And Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users, Joseph Perkell, Margaret Denny, Harlan Lane, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour, Ellen Burton
Harlan Lane
The role of auditory feedback in speech production was investigated by examining speakers' phonemic contrasts produced under increases in the noise to signal ratio (N/S). Seven cochlear implant users and seven normal-hearing controls pronounced utterances containing the vowels /i/, /u/, /ε/ and /æ/ and the sibilants /s/ and /ʃ/ while hearing their speech mixed with noise at seven equally spaced levels between their thresholds of detection and discomfort. Speakers' average vowel duration and SPL generally rose with increasing N/S. Average vowel contrast was initially flat or rising; at higher N/S levels, it fell. A contrast increase is interpreted as reflecting …
Note On The Variability Hypothesis In Category Scaling,
2011
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Note On The Variability Hypothesis In Category Scaling, B. Schneider, H. Lane
Harlan Lane
The "variability hypothesis" attributes the nonlinear relation between category and magnitude scales to the growth of variability along the psychological continuum. The findings of some earlier research seemed to contradict the hypothesis. Now, an alternative interpretation of these findings is presented.
Speech Of Cochlear Implant Patients: A Longitudinal Study Of Vowel Production,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Speech Of Cochlear Implant Patients: A Longitudinal Study Of Vowel Production, Joseph Perkell, Harlan Lane, Mario Svirsky, Jane Webster
Harlan Lane
Acoustic parameters were measured for vowels spoken in /hVd/ context by four postlingually deafened recipients of multichannel (Ineraid) cochlear implants. Three of the subjects became totally deaf in adulthood after varying periods of partial hearing loss; the fourth became totally deaf at age four. The subjects received different degrees of perceptual benefit from the prosthesis. Recordings were made before, and at intervals following speech processor activation. The measured parameters included F1, F2, F0, SPL, duration, and amplitude difference between the first two harmonic peaks in the log magnitude spectrum (H1–H2). Numerous changes in parameter values were observed from pre- to …
A Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Cochlear Implants On The Production Of Sibilants,
2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Cochlear Implants On The Production Of Sibilants, Melanie L. Matthies, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan L. Lane, Joseph S. Perkell
Harlan Lane
The potential influence of auditory information in the production of /s/ and /ʃ/ was explored for postlingually deafened adults with four-channel Ineraid cochlear implants. Analyses of the spectra of the sibilant sounds were compared for speech obtained prior to implant activation, after early implant use and after 6 months of use. In addition, the output of the Ineraid device (measured at each of the four electrodes) was analyzed with pre- and postactivation speech samples to explore whether the speech production changes were potentially audible to the cochlear-implant user. Results indicated that subjects who showed abnormally low or incorrect contrast between …
Speech Deterioration In Postlingually Deafened Adults,
2011
Northeastern University
Speech Deterioration In Postlingually Deafened Adults, Harlan Lane, Jane Webster
Harlan Lane
Postlingually deafened adults reading the Rainbow Passage differed from hearing-control subjects in producing greater pitch variability and mean pitch on stressed and unstressed vowels, greater fluctuations in pitch within sentences, less correlation of intrinsic pitch with vowel height and slower temporal parameters. When reading the Phonetic Inventory Sentences, they revealed less differentiation of place of articulation in fricative and plosive consonants. The present findings, taken together with those of longitudinal and implant studies, are applied to constraining models of the role of self hearing in the elaboration of speech.
