scholarly journals Managing Speech Perception Data Sets

Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Shani Dettman ◽  
Dawn Choo ◽  
Agnes Au ◽  
Amy Luu ◽  
Richard Dowell

Purpose This retrospective study aimed to amass large data sets to enable statistical comparisons of communication outcomes for infants receiving cochlear implants (CIs) before 9 months of age compared to groups who received their first CI between 9 months and 3.5 years of age. Method Speech perception scores and experienced clinicians' observations were used to refine the Categories of Auditory Performance Index (CAPI), thus creating its revised version, namely, the CAPI-Revised (CAPI-R). Standardized and criterion-referenced language data were used to create the novel Categories of Linguistic Performance (CLIP). The association between CAPI-R and CLIP data at two time points post implant (at 2 years of device experience and at 5 years of age) was examined in a large unselected cohort stratified for age at first implant: before 9 months (Group 1), between 9 and 12 months (Group 2), between 13 and 18 months (Group 3), between 19 and 24 months (Group 4), between 25 and 30 months (Group 5), between 31 and 36 months (Group 6), and between 37 and 42 months (Group 7). Results CAPI-R medians were 5 at 2 years of device experience, and 6 at 5 years of age. At 2 years of device experience, there was no significant difference in CAPI-R medians for children who received their first CI before 9 months compared to all other age-at-implant groups. At 5 years of age, a significantly better CAPI-R median was demonstrated by Group 1 (CI before 9 months) compared to Groups 4, 5, 6, and 7. CLIP medians were 3 at 2 years of device experience, and at 5 years of age. At 2 years device experience, and at 5 years of age, the Group 1 CLIP medians were significantly better than later age-at-implant groups. Conclusion Median CAPI-R outcomes supported access to CIs before 18 months of age for speech perception, and median CLIP outcomes supported access to CIs before 9 months of age for optimum language development.


Author(s):  
John A. Hunt

Spectrum-imaging is a useful technique for comparing different processing methods on very large data sets which are identical for each method. This paper is concerned with comparing methods of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) quantitative analysis on the Al-Li system. The spectrum-image analyzed here was obtained from an Al-10at%Li foil aged to produce δ' precipitates that can span the foil thickness. Two 1024 channel EELS spectra offset in energy by 1 eV were recorded and stored at each pixel in the 80x80 spectrum-image (25 Mbytes). An energy range of 39-89eV (20 channels/eV) are represented. During processing the spectra are either subtracted to create an artifact corrected difference spectrum, or the energy offset is numerically removed and the spectra are added to create a normal spectrum. The spectrum-images are processed into 2D floating-point images using methods and software described in [1].


Author(s):  
Mark Ellisman ◽  
Maryann Martone ◽  
Gabriel Soto ◽  
Eleizer Masliah ◽  
David Hessler ◽  
...  

Structurally-oriented biologists examine cells, tissues, organelles and macromolecules in order to gain insight into cellular and molecular physiology by relating structure to function. The understanding of these structures can be greatly enhanced by the use of techniques for the visualization and quantitative analysis of three-dimensional structure. Three projects from current research activities will be presented in order to illustrate both the present capabilities of computer aided techniques as well as their limitations and future possibilities.The first project concerns the three-dimensional reconstruction of the neuritic plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. We have developed a software package “Synu” for investigation of 3D data sets which has been used in conjunction with laser confocal light microscopy to study the structure of the neuritic plaque. Tissue sections of autopsy samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease were double-labeled for tau, a cytoskeletal marker for abnormal neurites, and synaptophysin, a marker of presynaptic terminals.


Author(s):  
Douglas L. Dorset

The quantitative use of electron diffraction intensity data for the determination of crystal structures represents the pioneering achievement in the electron crystallography of organic molecules, an effort largely begun by B. K. Vainshtein and his co-workers. However, despite numerous representative structure analyses yielding results consistent with X-ray determination, this entire effort was viewed with considerable mistrust by many crystallographers. This was no doubt due to the rather high crystallographic R-factors reported for some structures and, more importantly, the failure to convince many skeptics that the measured intensity data were adequate for ab initio structure determinations.We have recently demonstrated the utility of these data sets for structure analyses by direct phase determination based on the probabilistic estimate of three- and four-phase structure invariant sums. Examples include the structure of diketopiperazine using Vainshtein's 3D data, a similar 3D analysis of the room temperature structure of thiourea, and a zonal determination of the urea structure, the latter also based on data collected by the Moscow group.


Author(s):  
W. Shain ◽  
H. Ancin ◽  
H.C. Craighead ◽  
M. Isaacson ◽  
L. Kam ◽  
...  

Neural protheses have potential to restore nervous system functions lost by trauma or disease. Nanofabrication extends this approach to implants for stimulating and recording from single or small groups of neurons in the spinal cord and brain; however, tissue compatibility is a major limitation to their practical application. We are using a cell culture method for quantitatively measuring cell attachment to surfaces designed for nanofabricated neural prostheses.Silicon wafer test surfaces composed of 50-μm bars separated by aliphatic regions were fabricated using methods similar to a procedure described by Kleinfeld et al. Test surfaces contained either a single or double positive charge/residue. Cyanine dyes (diIC18(3)) stained the background and cell membranes (Fig 1); however, identification of individual cells at higher densities was difficult (Fig 2). Nuclear staining with acriflavine allowed discrimination of individual cells and permitted automated counting of nuclei using 3-D data sets from the confocal microscope (Fig 3). For cell attachment assays, LRM5 5 astroglial cells and astrocytes in primary cell culture were plated at increasing cell densities on test substrates, incubated for 24 hr, fixed, stained, mounted on coverslips, and imaged with a 10x objective.


Author(s):  
Thomas W. Shattuck ◽  
James R. Anderson ◽  
Neil W. Tindale ◽  
Peter R. Buseck

Individual particle analysis involves the study of tens of thousands of particles using automated scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis by energy-dispersive, x-ray emission spectroscopy (EDS). EDS produces large data sets that must be analyzed using multi-variate statistical techniques. A complete study uses cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and factor or principal components analysis (PCA). The three techniques are used in the study of particles sampled during the FeLine cruise to the mid-Pacific ocean in the summer of 1990. The mid-Pacific aerosol provides information on long range particle transport, iron deposition, sea salt ageing, and halogen chemistry.Aerosol particle data sets suffer from a number of difficulties for pattern recognition using cluster analysis. There is a great disparity in the number of observations per cluster and the range of the variables in each cluster. The variables are not normally distributed, they are subject to considerable experimental error, and many values are zero, because of finite detection limits. Many of the clusters show considerable overlap, because of natural variability, agglomeration, and chemical reactivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1270-1281
Author(s):  
Leah Fostick ◽  
Riki Taitelbaum-Swead ◽  
Shulamith Kreitler ◽  
Shelly Zokraut ◽  
Miriam Billig

Purpose Difficulty in understanding spoken speech is a common complaint among aging adults, even when hearing impairment is absent. Correlational studies point to a relationship between age, auditory temporal processing (ATP), and speech perception but cannot demonstrate causality unlike training studies. In the current study, we test (a) the causal relationship between a spatial–temporal ATP task (temporal order judgment [TOJ]) and speech perception among aging adults using a training design and (b) whether improvement in aging adult speech perception is accompanied by improved self-efficacy. Method Eighty-two participants aged 60–83 years were randomly assigned to a group receiving (a) ATP training (TOJ) over 14 days, (b) non-ATP training (intensity discrimination) over 14 days, or (c) no training. Results The data showed that TOJ training elicited improvement in all speech perception tests, which was accompanied by increased self-efficacy. Neither improvement in speech perception nor self-efficacy was evident following non-ATP training or no training. Conclusions There was no generalization of the improvement resulting from TOJ training to intensity discrimination or generalization of improvement resulting from intensity discrimination training to speech perception. These findings imply that the effect of TOJ training on speech perception is specific and such improvement is not simply the product of generally improved auditory perception. It provides support for the idea that temporal properties of speech are indeed crucial for speech perception. Clinically, the findings suggest that aging adults can be trained to improve their speech perception, specifically through computer-based auditory training, and this may improve perceived self-efficacy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan K. Saleh ◽  
Paula Folkeard ◽  
Ewan Macpherson ◽  
Susan Scollie

Purpose The original Connected Speech Test (CST; Cox et al., 1987) is a well-regarded and often utilized speech perception test. The aim of this study was to develop a new version of the CST using a neutral North American accent and to assess the use of this updated CST on participants with normal hearing. Method A female English speaker was recruited to read the original CST passages, which were recorded as the new CST stimuli. A study was designed to assess the newly recorded CST passages' equivalence and conduct normalization. The study included 19 Western University students (11 females and eight males) with normal hearing and with English as a first language. Results Raw scores for the 48 tested passages were converted to rationalized arcsine units, and average passage scores more than 1 rationalized arcsine unit standard deviation from the mean were excluded. The internal reliability of the 32 remaining passages was assessed, and the two-way random effects intraclass correlation was .944. Conclusion The aim of our study was to create new CST stimuli with a more general North American accent in order to minimize accent effects on the speech perception scores. The study resulted in 32 passages of equivalent difficulty for listeners with normal hearing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 2245-2254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianrong Wang ◽  
Yumeng Zhu ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Abdilbar Mamat ◽  
Mei Yu ◽  
...  

Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to explore the audiovisual speech perception strategies.80.23.47 adopted by normal-hearing and deaf people in processing familiar and unfamiliar languages. Our primary hypothesis was that they would adopt different perception strategies due to different sensory experiences at an early age, limitations of the physical device, and the developmental gap of language, and others. Method Thirty normal-hearing adults and 33 prelingually deaf adults participated in the study. They were asked to perform judgment and listening tasks while watching videos of a Uygur–Mandarin bilingual speaker in a familiar language (Standard Chinese) or an unfamiliar language (Modern Uygur) while their eye movements were recorded by eye-tracking technology. Results Task had a slight influence on the distribution of selective attention, whereas subject and language had significant influences. To be specific, the normal-hearing and the d10eaf participants mainly gazed at the speaker's eyes and mouth, respectively, in the experiment; moreover, while the normal-hearing participants had to stare longer at the speaker's mouth when they confronted with the unfamiliar language Modern Uygur, the deaf participant did not change their attention allocation pattern when perceiving the two languages. Conclusions Normal-hearing and deaf adults adopt different audiovisual speech perception strategies: Normal-hearing adults mainly look at the eyes, and deaf adults mainly look at the mouth. Additionally, language and task can also modulate the speech perception strategy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-498
Author(s):  
Puisan Wong ◽  
Man Wai Cheng

Purpose Theoretical models and substantial research have proposed that general auditory sensitivity is a developmental foundation for speech perception and language acquisition. Nonetheless, controversies exist about the effectiveness of general auditory training in improving speech and language skills. This research investigated the relationships among general auditory sensitivity, phonemic speech perception, and word-level speech perception via the examination of pitch and lexical tone perception in children. Method Forty-eight typically developing 4- to 6-year-old Cantonese-speaking children were tested on the discrimination of the pitch patterns of lexical tones in synthetic stimuli, discrimination of naturally produced lexical tones, and identification of lexical tone in familiar words. Results The findings revealed that accurate lexical tone discrimination and identification did not necessarily entail the accurate discrimination of nonlinguistic stimuli that followed the pitch levels and pitch shapes of lexical tones. Although pitch discrimination and tone discrimination abilities were strongly correlated, accuracy in pitch discrimination was lower than that in tone discrimination, and nonspeech pitch discrimination ability did not precede linguistic tone discrimination in the developmental trajectory. Conclusions Contradicting the theoretical models, the findings of this study suggest that general auditory sensitivity and speech perception may not be causally or hierarchically related. The finding that accuracy in pitch discrimination is lower than that in tone discrimination suggests that comparable nonlinguistic auditory perceptual ability may not be necessary for accurate speech perception and language learning. The results cast doubt on the use of nonlinguistic auditory perceptual training to improve children's speech, language, and literacy abilities.


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