Discrimination of Phonemic Vowel Length by Japanese Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Yutaka; Sogabe, Yuko; Mazuka, Reiko

2010-01-01

Japanese has a vowel duration contrast as one component of its language-specific phonemic repertory to distinguish word meanings. It is not clear, however, how a sensitivity to vowel duration can develop in a linguistic context. In the present study, using the visual habituation-dishabituation method, the authors evaluated infants' abilities to…

Fully optimized discrimination of physiological responses to auditory stimuli

PubMed Central

Kruglikov, Stepan Y; Chari, Sharmila; Rapp, Paul E; Weinstein, Steven L; Given, Barbara K; Schiff, Steven J

2008-01-01

The use of multivariate measurements to characterize brain activity (electrical, magnetic, optical) is widespread. The most common approaches to reduce the complexity of such observations include principal and independent component analyses (PCA and ICA), which are not well suited for discrimination tasks. We addressed two questions: first, how do the neurophysiological responses to elongated phonemes relate to tone and phoneme responses in normal children, and, second, how discriminable are these responses. We employed fully optimized linear discrimination analysis to maximally separate the multi-electrode responses to tones and phonemes, and classified the response to elongated phonemes. We find that discrimination between tones and phonemes is dependent upon responses from associative regions of the brain apparently distinct from the primary sensory cortices typically emphasized by PCA or ICA, and that the neuronal correlates corresponding to elongated phonemes are highly variable in normal children (about half respond with neural correlates of tones and half as phonemes). Our approach is made feasible by the increase in computational power of ordinary personal computers and has significant advantages for a wide range of neuronal imaging modalities. PMID:18430975

Word segmentation in phonemically identical and prosodically different sequences using cochlear implants: A case study.

PubMed

Basirat, Anahita

2017-01-01

Cochlear implant (CI) users frequently achieve good speech understanding based on phoneme and word recognition. However, there is a significant variability between CI users in processing prosody. The aim of this study was to examine the abilities of an excellent CI user to segment continuous speech using intonational cues. A post-lingually deafened adult CI user and 22 normal hearing (NH) subjects segmented phonemically identical and prosodically different sequences in French such as 'l'affiche' (the poster) versus 'la fiche' (the sheet), both [lafiʃ]. All participants also completed a minimal pair discrimination task. Stimuli were presented in auditory-only and audiovisual presentation modalities. The performance of the CI user in the minimal pair discrimination task was 97% in the auditory-only and 100% in the audiovisual condition. In the segmentation task, contrary to the NH participants, the performance of the CI user did not differ from the chance level. Visual speech did not improve word segmentation. This result suggests that word segmentation based on intonational cues is challenging when using CIs even when phoneme/word recognition is very well rehabilitated. This finding points to the importance of the assessment of CI users' skills in prosody processing and the need for specific interventions focusing on this aspect of speech communication.

The relationship between pronunciation and listening discrimination when Japanese natives are learning English

PubMed Central

Shimamune, Satoru; Smith, Stacey L.

1995-01-01

Two Japanese students were taught to pronounce and discriminate English words that contain unfamiliar phonemic contrasts (e.g., rock and lock). Teaching pronunciation was found to be easier than teaching listening discrimination. Teaching listening discrimination resulted in collateral improvement in pronunciation and, to a lesser extent, vice versa. PMID:16795883

Phonemes: Lexical access and beyond.

PubMed

Kazanina, Nina; Bowers, Jeffrey S; Idsardi, William

2018-04-01

Phonemes play a central role in traditional theories as units of speech perception and access codes to lexical representations. Phonemes have two essential properties: they are 'segment-sized' (the size of a consonant or vowel) and abstract (a single phoneme may be have different acoustic realisations). Nevertheless, there is a long history of challenging the phoneme hypothesis, with some theorists arguing for differently sized phonological units (e.g. features or syllables) and others rejecting abstract codes in favour of representations that encode detailed acoustic properties of the stimulus. The phoneme hypothesis is the minority view today. We defend the phoneme hypothesis in two complementary ways. First, we show that rejection of phonemes is based on a flawed interpretation of empirical findings. For example, it is commonly argued that the failure to find acoustic invariances for phonemes rules out phonemes. However, the lack of invariance is only a problem on the assumption that speech perception is a bottom-up process. If learned sublexical codes are modified by top-down constraints (which they are), then this argument loses all force. Second, we provide strong positive evidence for phonemes on the basis of linguistic data. Almost all findings that are taken (incorrectly) as evidence against phonemes are based on psycholinguistic studies of single words. However, phonemes were first introduced in linguistics, and the best evidence for phonemes comes from linguistic analyses of complex word forms and sentences. In short, the rejection of phonemes is based on a false analysis and a too-narrow consideration of the relevant data.

Transcranial direct current stimulation over Broca's region improves phonemic and semantic fluency in healthy individuals.

PubMed

Cattaneo, Z; Pisoni, A; Papagno, C

2011-06-02

Previous studies have demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be proficiently used to modulate attentional and cognitive functions. For instance, in the language domain there is evidence that tDCS can fasten picture naming in both healthy individuals and aphasic patients, or improve grammar learning. In this study, we investigated whether tDCS can be used to increase healthy subjects' performance in phonemic and semantic fluency tasks, that are typically used in clinical assessment of language. Ten healthy individuals performed a semantic and a phonemic fluency task following anodal tDCS applied over Broca's region. Each participant underwent a real and a sham tDCS session. Participants were found to produce more words following real anodal tDCS both in the phonemic and in the semantic fluency. Control experiments ascertained that this finding did not depend upon unspecific effects of tDCS over levels of general arousal or attention or upon participants' expectations. These data confirm the efficacy of tDCS in transiently improving language functions by showing that anodal stimulation of Broca's region can enhance verbal fluency. Implications of these results for the treatment of language functions in aphasia are considered. Copyright © 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cortical oscillations related to processing congruent and incongruent grapheme-phoneme pairs.

PubMed

Herdman, Anthony T; Fujioka, Takako; Chau, Wilkin; Ross, Bernhard; Pantev, Christo; Picton, Terence W

2006-05-15

In this study, we investigated changes in cortical oscillations following congruent and incongruent grapheme-phoneme stimuli. Hiragana graphemes and phonemes were simultaneously presented as congruent or incongruent audiovisual stimuli to native Japanese-speaking participants. The discriminative reaction time was 57 ms shorter for congruent than incongruent stimuli. Analysis of MEG responses using synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) revealed that congruent stimuli evoked larger 2-10 Hz activity in the left auditory cortex within the first 250 ms after stimulus onset, and smaller 2-16 Hz activity in bilateral visual cortices between 250 and 500 ms. These results indicate that congruent visual input can modify cortical activity in the left auditory cortex.

Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS) [R]. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2008

2008-01-01

The Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS)[R] program (formerly called the Auditory Discrimination in Depth[R] [ADD] program) is designed to teach students skills to decode words and to identify individual sounds and blends in words. The program is individualized to meet student needs and is often used with students who have learning disabilities or…

Phonemic awareness of English second language learners

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background The PA skills of phonological blending and segmentation and auditory word discrimination relate directly to literacy and may be weak in English second language (EL2) learners. In South Africa, literacy skills have been found to be poor in especially EL2 learners. Objectives The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of vowel perception and production intervention on phonemic awareness (PA) and literacy skills of Setswana first language (L1) learners. These learners are English second language (EL2) learners in Grade 3. Method The present study employed a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test design. Results The findings of low–literacy skill levels concurred with previous investigations. However, post-test results of intervention in PA seemed to improve the literacy skills of EL2 learners. Conclusion PA skills should be a crucial part of the literacy curriculum in South Africa. PMID:28155282

Phonetic Transcription Training Improves Adults' Explicit Phonemic Awareness: Evidence from Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werfel, Krystal L.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of phonetic transcription training on the explicit phonemic awareness of adults. Fifty undergraduate students enrolled in a phonetic transcription course and 107 control undergraduate students completed a paper-and-pencil measure of explicit phonemic awareness on the first and last days of…

Neural speech recognition: continuous phoneme decoding using spatiotemporal representations of human cortical activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, David A.; Mesgarani, Nima; Leonard, Matthew K.; Chang, Edward F.

2016-10-01

Objective. The superior temporal gyrus (STG) and neighboring brain regions play a key role in human language processing. Previous studies have attempted to reconstruct speech information from brain activity in the STG, but few of them incorporate the probabilistic framework and engineering methodology used in modern speech recognition systems. In this work, we describe the initial efforts toward the design of a neural speech recognition (NSR) system that performs continuous phoneme recognition on English stimuli with arbitrary vocabulary sizes using the high gamma band power of local field potentials in the STG and neighboring cortical areas obtained via electrocorticography. Approach. The system implements a Viterbi decoder that incorporates phoneme likelihood estimates from a linear discriminant analysis model and transition probabilities from an n-gram phonemic language model. Grid searches were used in an attempt to determine optimal parameterizations of the feature vectors and Viterbi decoder. Main results. The performance of the system was significantly improved by using spatiotemporal representations of the neural activity (as opposed to purely spatial representations) and by including language modeling and Viterbi decoding in the NSR system. Significance. These results emphasize the importance of modeling the temporal dynamics of neural responses when analyzing their variations with respect to varying stimuli and demonstrate that speech recognition techniques can be successfully leveraged when decoding speech from neural signals. Guided by the results detailed in this work, further development of the NSR system could have applications in the fields of automatic speech recognition and neural prosthetics.

The relationship between maternal education and the neural substrates of phoneme perception in children: Interactions between socioeconomic status and proficiency level.

PubMed

Conant, Lisa L; Liebenthal, Einat; Desai, Anjali; Binder, Jeffrey R

2017-08-01

Relationships between maternal education (ME) and both behavioral performances and brain activation during the discrimination of phonemic and nonphonemic sounds were examined using fMRI in children with different levels of phoneme categorization proficiency (CP). Significant relationships were found between ME and intellectual functioning and vocabulary, with a trend for phonological awareness. A significant interaction between CP and ME was seen for nonverbal reasoning abilities. In addition, fMRI analyses revealed a significant interaction between CP and ME for phonemic discrimination in left prefrontal cortex. Thus, ME was associated with differential patterns of both neuropsychological performance and brain activation contingent on the level of CP. These results highlight the importance of examining SES effects at different proficiency levels. The pattern of results may suggest the presence of neurobiological differences in the children with low CP that affect the nature of relationships with ME. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural indices of phonemic discrimination and sentence-level speech intelligibility in quiet and noise: A P3 study.

PubMed

Koerner, Tess K; Zhang, Yang; Nelson, Peggy B; Wang, Boxiang; Zou, Hui

2017-07-01

This study examined how speech babble noise differentially affected the auditory P3 responses and the associated neural oscillatory activities for consonant and vowel discrimination in relation to segmental- and sentence-level speech perception in noise. The data were collected from 16 normal-hearing participants in a double-oddball paradigm that contained a consonant (/ba/ to /da/) and vowel (/ba/ to /bu/) change in quiet and noise (speech-babble background at a -3 dB signal-to-noise ratio) conditions. Time-frequency analysis was applied to obtain inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) and event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) measures in delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands for the P3 response. Behavioral measures included percent correct phoneme detection and reaction time as well as percent correct IEEE sentence recognition in quiet and in noise. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to determine possible brain-behavior correlates. A significant noise-induced reduction in P3 amplitude was found, accompanied by significantly longer P3 latency and decreases in ITPC across all frequency bands of interest. There was a differential effect of noise on consonant discrimination and vowel discrimination in both ERP and behavioral measures, such that noise impacted the detection of the consonant change more than the vowel change. The P3 amplitude and some of the ITPC and ERSP measures were significant predictors of speech perception at segmental- and sentence-levels across listening conditions and stimuli. These data demonstrate that the P3 response with its associated cortical oscillations represents a potential neurophysiological marker for speech perception in noise. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emotion to emotion speech conversion in phoneme level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulut, Murtaza; Yildirim, Serdar; Busso, Carlos; Lee, Chul Min; Kazemzadeh, Ebrahim; Lee, Sungbok; Narayanan, Shrikanth

2004-10-01

Having an ability to synthesize emotional speech can make human-machine interaction more natural in spoken dialogue management. This study investigates the effectiveness of prosodic and spectral modification in phoneme level on emotion-to-emotion speech conversion. The prosody modification is performed with the TD-PSOLA algorithm (Moulines and Charpentier, 1990). We also transform the spectral envelopes of source phonemes to match those of target phonemes using LPC-based spectral transformation approach (Kain, 2001). Prosodic speech parameters (F0, duration, and energy) for target phonemes are estimated from the statistics obtained from the analysis of an emotional speech database of happy, angry, sad, and neutral utterances collected from actors. Listening experiments conducted with native American English speakers indicate that the modification of prosody only or spectrum only is not sufficient to elicit targeted emotions. The simultaneous modification of both prosody and spectrum results in higher acceptance rates of target emotions, suggesting that not only modeling speech prosody but also modeling spectral patterns that reflect underlying speech articulations are equally important to synthesize emotional speech with good quality. We are investigating suprasegmental level modifications for further improvement in speech quality and expressiveness.

Strategic Deployment of Orthographic Knowledge in Phoneme Detection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutler, Anne; Treiman, Rebecca; van Ooijen, Brit

2010-01-01

The phoneme detection task is widely used in spoken-word recognition research. Alphabetically literate participants, however, are more used to explicit representations of letters than of phonemes. The present study explored whether phoneme detection is sensitive to how target phonemes are, or may be, orthographically realized. Listeners detected…

Assessing the Double Phonemic Representation in Bilingual Speakers of Spanish and English: An Electrophysiological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Sierra, Adrian; Ramirez-Esparza, Nairan; Silva-Pereyra, Juan; Siard, Jennifer; Champlin, Craig A.

2012-01-01

Event Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded from Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 10) to test pre-attentive speech discrimination in two language contexts. ERPs were recorded while participants silently read magazines in English or Spanish. Two speech contrast conditions were recorded in each language context. In the "phonemic in English"…

Homophone Dominance Modulates the Phonemic-Masking Effect.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berent, Iris; Van Orden, Guy C.

2000-01-01

Finds (1) positive phonemic-masking effects occurred for dominant homophones; (2) null phonemic-masking effects occurred for subordinate homophones; and (3) subordinate homophones were much more likely to be falsely identified as their dominant mate. Suggests the source of these null phonemic-masking is itself a phonology effect. Concludes…

Improving Preservice Teachers' Phonemic Awareness, Morphological Awareness and Orthographic Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNeill, Brigid C.

2018-01-01

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of methods to develop preservice teachers' phonemic, morphological and orthographic awareness for spelling instruction. Preservice teachers (n = 86) participated in 10 hours of metalinguistic coursework. The coursework focused on: phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness…

Investigating lexical competition and the cost of phonemic restoration.

PubMed

Balling, Laura Winther; Morris, David Jackson; Tøndering, John

2017-12-01

Due to phonemic restoration, listeners can reliably perceive words when a phoneme is replaced with noise. The cost associated with this process was investigated along with the effect of lexical uniqueness on phonemic restoration, using data from a lexical decision experiment where noise replaced phonemes that were either uniqueness points (the phoneme at which a word deviates from all nonrelated words that share the same onset) or phonemes immediately prior to these. A baseline condition was also included with no noise-interrupted stimuli. Results showed a significant cost of phonemic restoration, with 100 ms longer word identification times and a 14% decrease in word identification accuracy for interrupted stimuli compared to the baseline. Regression analysis of response times from the interrupted conditions showed no effect of whether the interrupted phoneme was a uniqueness point, but significant effects for several temporal attributes of the stimuli, including the duration and position of the interrupted segment. These results indicate that uniqueness points are not distinct breakpoints in the cohort reduction that occurs during lexical processing, but that temporal properties of the interrupted stimuli are central to auditory word recognition. These results are interpreted in the context of models of speech perception.

Parietotemporal Stimulation Affects Acquisition of Novel Grapheme-Phoneme Mappings in Adult Readers

PubMed Central

Younger, Jessica W.; Booth, James R.

2018-01-01

Neuroimaging work from developmental and reading intervention research has suggested a cause of reading failure may be lack of engagement of parietotemporal cortex during initial acquisition of grapheme-phoneme (letter-sound) mappings. Parietotemporal activation increases following grapheme-phoneme learning and successful reading intervention. Further, stimulation of parietotemporal cortex improves reading skill in lower ability adults. However, it is unclear whether these improvements following stimulation are due to enhanced grapheme-phoneme mapping abilities. To test this hypothesis, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to manipulate parietotemporal function in adult readers as they learned a novel artificial orthography with new grapheme-phoneme mappings. Participants received real or sham stimulation to the left inferior parietal lobe (L IPL) for 20 min before training. They received explicit training over the course of 3 days on 10 novel words each day. Learning of the artificial orthography was assessed at a pre-training baseline session, the end of each of the three training sessions, an immediate post-training session and a delayed post-training session about 4 weeks after training. Stimulation interacted with baseline reading skill to affect learning of trained words and transfer to untrained words. Lower skill readers showed better acquisition, whereas higher skill readers showed worse acquisition, when training was paired with real stimulation, as compared to readers who received sham stimulation. However, readers of all skill levels showed better maintenance of trained material following parietotemporal stimulation, indicating a differential effect of stimulation on initial learning and consolidation. Overall, these results indicate that parietotemporal stimulation can enhance learning of new grapheme-phoneme relationships in readers with lower reading skill. Yet, while parietotemporal function is critical to new learning, its role in

The relationship between articulatory control and improved phonemic accuracy in childhood apraxia of speech: A longitudinal case study

PubMed Central

Grigos, Maria I.; Kolenda, Nicole

2010-01-01

Jaw movement patterns were examined longitudinally in a 3-year-old male with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and compared with a typically developing control group. The child with CAS was followed for 8 months, until he began accurately and consistently producing the bilabial phonemes /p/, /b/, and /m/. A movement tracking system was used to study jaw duration, displacement, velocity, and stability. A transcription analysis determined the percentage of phoneme errors and consistency. Results showed phoneme-specific changes which included increases in jaw velocity and stability over time, as well as decreases in duration. Kinematic parameters became more similar to patterns seen in the controls during final sessions where tokens were produced most accurately and consistently. Closing velocity and stability, however, were the only measures to fall within a 95% confidence interval established for the controls across all three target phonemes. These findings suggest that motor processes may differ between children with CAS and their typically developing peers. PMID:20030551

Learning Phonemes with a Proto-Lexicon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Andrew; Peperkamp, Sharon; Dupoux, Emmanuel

2013-01-01

Before the end of the first year of life, infants begin to lose the ability to perceive distinctions between sounds that are not phonemic in their native language. It is typically assumed that this developmental change reflects the construction of language-specific phoneme categories, but how these categories are learned largely remains a mystery.…

Strategic deployment of orthographic knowledge in phoneme detection.

PubMed

Cutler, Anne; Treiman, Rebecca; van Ooijen, Brit

2010-01-01

The phoneme detection task is widely used in spoken-word recognition research. Alphabetically literate participants, however, are more used to explicit representations of letters than of phonemes. The present study explored whether phoneme detection is sensitive to how target phonemes are, or may be, orthographically realized. Listeners detected the target sounds [b, m, t, f, s, k] in word-initial position in sequences of isolated English words. Response times were faster to the targets [b, m, t], which have consistent word-initial spelling, than to the targets [f, s, k], which are inconsistently spelled, but only when spelling was rendered salient by the presence in the experiment of many irregularly spelled filler words. Within the inconsistent targets [f, s, k], there was no significant difference between responses to targets in words with more usual (foam, seed, cattle) versus less usual (phone, cede, kettle) spellings. Phoneme detection is thus not necessarily sensitive to orthographic effects; knowledge of spelling stored in the lexical representations of words does not automatically become available as word candidates are activated. However, salient orthographic manipulations in experimental input can induce such sensitivity. We attribute this to listeners' experience of the value of spelling in everyday situations that encourage phonemic decisions (such as learning new names).

Psychoacoustic Assessment of Speech Communication Systems. The Diagnostic Discrimination Test.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grether, Craig Blaine

The present report traces the rationale, development and experimental evaluation of the Diagnostic Discrimination Test (DDT). The DDT is a three-choice test of consonant discriminability of the perceptual/acoustic dimensions of consonant phonemes within specific vowel contexts. The DDT was created and developed in an attempt to provide a…

Adapted cuing technique: facilitating sequential phoneme production.

PubMed

Klick, S L

1994-09-01

ACT is a visual cuing technique designed to facilitate dyspraxic speech by highlighting the sequential production of phonemes. In using ACT, cues are presented in such a way as to suggest sequential, coarticulatory movement in an overall pattern of motion. While using ACT, the facilitator's hand moves forward and back along the side of her (or his) own face. Finger movements signal specific speech sounds in formations loosely based on the manual alphabet for the hearing impaired. The best movements suggest the flowing, interactive nature of coarticulated phonemes. The synergistic nature of speech is suggested by coordinated hand motions which tighten and relax, move quickly or slowly, reflecting the motions of the vocal tract at various points during production of phonemic sequences. General principles involved in using ACT include a primary focus on speech-in-motion, the monitoring and fading of cues, and the presentation of stimuli based on motor-task analysis of phonemic sequences. Phonemic sequences are cued along three dimensions: place, manner, and vowel-related mandibular motion. Cuing vowels is a central feature of ACT. Two parameters of vowel production, focal point of resonance and mandibular closure, are cued. The facilitator's hand motions reflect the changing shape of the vocal tract and the trajectory of the tongue that result from the coarticulation of vowels and consonants. Rigid presentation of the phonemes is secondary to the facilitator's primary focus on presenting the overall sequential movement. The facilitator's goal is to self-tailor ACT in response to the changing needs and abilities of the client.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A comparison of worldwide phonemic and genetic variation in human populations

PubMed Central

Creanza, Nicole; Ruhlen, Merritt; Pemberton, Trevor J.; Rosenberg, Noah A.; Feldman, Marcus W.; Ramachandran, Sohini

2015-01-01

Worldwide patterns of genetic variation are driven by human demographic history. Here, we test whether this demographic history has left similar signatures on phonemes—sound units that distinguish meaning between words in languages—to those it has left on genes. We analyze, jointly and in parallel, phoneme inventories from 2,082 worldwide languages and microsatellite polymorphisms from 246 worldwide populations. On a global scale, both genetic distance and phonemic distance between populations are significantly correlated with geographic distance. Geographically close language pairs share significantly more phonemes than distant language pairs, whether or not the languages are closely related. The regional geographic axes of greatest phonemic differentiation correspond to axes of genetic differentiation, suggesting that there is a relationship between human dispersal and linguistic variation. However, the geographic distribution of phoneme inventory sizes does not follow the predictions of a serial founder effect during human expansion out of Africa. Furthermore, although geographically isolated populations lose genetic diversity via genetic drift, phonemes are not subject to drift in the same way: within a given geographic radius, languages that are relatively isolated exhibit more variance in number of phonemes than languages with many neighbors. This finding suggests that relatively isolated languages are more susceptible to phonemic change than languages with many neighbors. Within a language family, phoneme evolution along genetic, geographic, or cognate-based linguistic trees predicts similar ancestral phoneme states to those predicted from ancient sources. More genetic sampling could further elucidate the relative roles of vertical and horizontal transmission in phoneme evolution. PMID:25605893

The Effect of Adaptive Nonlinear Frequency Compression on Phoneme Perception.

PubMed

Glista, Danielle; Hawkins, Marianne; Bohnert, Andrea; Rehmann, Julia; Wolfe, Jace; Scollie, Susan

2017-12-12

This study implemented a fitting method, developed for use with frequency lowering hearing aids, across multiple testing sites, participants, and hearing aid conditions to evaluate speech perception with a novel type of frequency lowering. A total of 8 participants, including children and young adults, participated in real-world hearing aid trials. A blinded crossover design, including posttrial withdrawal testing, was used to assess aided phoneme perception. The hearing aid conditions included adaptive nonlinear frequency compression (NFC), static NFC, and conventional processing. Enabling either adaptive NFC or static NFC improved group-level detection and recognition results for some high-frequency phonemes, when compared with conventional processing. Mean results for the distinction component of the Phoneme Perception Test (Schmitt, Winkler, Boretzki, & Holube, 2016) were similar to those obtained with conventional processing. Findings suggest that both types of NFC tested in this study provided a similar amount of speech perception benefit, when compared with group-level performance with conventional hearing aid technology. Individual-level results are presented with discussion around patterns of results that differ from the group average.

Speaker-independent phoneme recognition with a binaural auditory image model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francis, Keith Ivan

1997-09-01

This dissertation presents phoneme recognition techniques based on a binaural fusion of outputs of the auditory image model and subsequent azimuth-selective phoneme recognition in a noisy environment. Background information concerning speech variations, phoneme recognition, current binaural fusion techniques and auditory modeling issues is explained. The research is constrained to sources in the frontal azimuthal plane of a simulated listener. A new method based on coincidence detection of neural activity patterns from the auditory image model of Patterson is used for azimuth-selective phoneme recognition. The method is tested in various levels of noise and the results are reported in contrast to binaural fusion methods based on various forms of correlation to demonstrate the potential of coincidence- based binaural phoneme recognition. This method overcomes smearing of fine speech detail typical of correlation based methods. Nevertheless, coincidence is able to measure similarity of left and right inputs and fuse them into useful feature vectors for phoneme recognition in noise.

Statistical properties of Chinese phonemic networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shuiyuan; Liu, Haitao; Xu, Chunshan

2011-04-01

The study of properties of speech sound systems is of great significance in understanding the human cognitive mechanism and the working principles of speech sound systems. Some properties of speech sound systems, such as the listener-oriented feature and the talker-oriented feature, have been unveiled with the statistical study of phonemes in human languages and the research of the interrelations between human articulatory gestures and the corresponding acoustic parameters. With all the phonemes of speech sound systems treated as a coherent whole, our research, which focuses on the dynamic properties of speech sound systems in operation, investigates some statistical parameters of Chinese phoneme networks based on real text and dictionaries. The findings are as follows: phonemic networks have high connectivity degrees and short average distances; the degrees obey normal distribution and the weighted degrees obey power law distribution; vowels enjoy higher priority than consonants in the actual operation of speech sound systems; the phonemic networks have high robustness against targeted attacks and random errors. In addition, for investigating the structural properties of a speech sound system, a statistical study of dictionaries is conducted, which shows the higher frequency of shorter words and syllables and the tendency that the longer a word is, the shorter the syllables composing it are. From these structural properties and dynamic properties one can derive the following conclusion: the static structure of a speech sound system tends to promote communication efficiency and save articulation effort while the dynamic operation of this system gives preference to reliable transmission and easy recognition. In short, a speech sound system is an effective, efficient and reliable communication system optimized in many aspects.

The Linguistic Affiliation Constraint and Phoneme Recognition in Diglossic Arabic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saiegh-Haddad, Elinor; Levin, Iris; Hende, Nareman; Ziv, Margalit

2011-01-01

This study tested the effect of the phoneme's linguistic affiliation (Standard Arabic versus Spoken Arabic) on phoneme recognition among five-year-old Arabic native speaking kindergarteners (N=60). Using a picture selection task of words beginning with the same phoneme, and through careful manipulation of the phonological properties of target…

Assessing Specific Grapho-Phonemic Skills in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robbins, Kelly P.; Hosp, John L.; Hosp, Michelle K.; Flynn, Lindsay J.

2010-01-01

This study examines the relation between decoding and spelling performance on tasks that represent identical specific grapho-phonemic patterns. Elementary students (N = 206) were administered a 597 pseudoword decoding inventory representing 12 specific grapho-phonemic patterns and a 104 real-word spelling inventory representing identical…

Confusability of Consonant Phonemes in Sound Discrimination Tasks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudegeair, Robert E.

The findings of Marsh and Sherman's investigation, in 1970, of the speech sound discrimination ability of kindergarten subjects, are discussed in this paper. In the study a comparison was made between performance when speech sounds were presented in isolation and when speech sounds were presented in a word context, using minimal sound contrasts.…

Explicit Instruction in Phonemic Awareness and Phonemically Based Decoding Skills as an Intervention Strategy for Struggling Readers in Whole Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryder, Janice F.; Tunmer, William E.; Greaney, Keith T.

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonemically based decoding skills would be an effective intervention strategy for children with early reading difficulties in a whole language instructional environment. Twenty-four 6- and 7-year-old struggling readers were randomly assigned to an…

Functions of graphemic and phonemic codes in visual word-recognition.

PubMed

Meyer, D E; Schvaneveldt, R W; Ruddy, M G

1974-03-01

Previous investigators have argued that printed words are recognized directly from visual representations and/or phonological representations obtained through phonemic recoding. The present research tested these hypotheses by manipulating graphemic and phonemic relations within various pairs of letter strings. Ss in two experiments classified the pairs as words or nonwords. Reaction times and error rates were relatively small for word pairs (e.g., BRIBE-TRIBE) that were both graphemically, and phonemically similar. Graphemic similarity alone inhibited performance on other word pairs (e.g., COUCH-TOUCH). These and other results suggest that phonological representations play a significant role in visual word recognition and that there is a dependence between successive phonemic-encoding operations. An encoding-bias model is proposed to explain the data.

Receptive Vocabulary and Cross-Language Transfer of Phonemic Awareness in Kindergarten Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atwill, Kim; Blanchard, Jay; Gorin, Joanna S.; Burstein, Karen

2007-01-01

The authors investigated the influence of language proficiency on the cross-language transfer (CLT) of phonemic awareness in Spanish-speaking kindergarten students and assessed Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and phonemic awareness abilities. Correlation results indicated positive correlations between phonemic awareness across languages;…

Visual Speech Fills in Both Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Herve

2018-01-01

To communicate, children must discriminate and identify speech sounds. Because visual speech plays an important role in this process, we explored how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification by children. Critical items had intact visual speech (e.g. baez) coupled to non-intact (excised onsets) auditory speech (signified…

Nurturing Phonemic Awareness and Alphabetic Knowledge in Pre-Kindergartners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinhaus, Patricia L.

Reading research continues to identify phonemic awareness and knowledge of the alphabetic principle as key factors in the literacy acquisition process and to indicate that they greatly facilitate decoding efforts. While research indicates that phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge are necessary to literacy acquisition, many early childhood…

Phoneme Similarity and Confusability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, T.M.; Hahn, U.

2005-01-01

Similarity between component speech sounds influences language processing in numerous ways. Explanation and detailed prediction of linguistic performance consequently requires an understanding of these basic similarities. The research reported in this paper contrasts two broad classes of approach to the issue of phoneme similarity-theoretically…

Dating the Origin of Language Using Phonemic Diversity

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Language is a key adaptation of our species, yet we do not know when it evolved. Here, we use data on language phonemic diversity to estimate a minimum date for the origin of language. We take advantage of the fact that phonemic diversity evolves slowly and use it as a clock to calculate how long the oldest African languages would have to have been around in order to accumulate the number of phonemes they possess today. We use a natural experiment, the colonization of Southeast Asia and Andaman Islands, to estimate the rate at which phonemic diversity increases through time. Using this rate, we estimate that present-day languages date back to the Middle Stone Age in Africa. Our analysis is consistent with the archaeological evidence suggesting that complex human behavior evolved during the Middle Stone Age in Africa, and does not support the view that language is a recent adaptation that has sparked the dispersal of humans out of Africa. While some of our assumptions require testing and our results rely at present on a single case-study, our analysis constitutes the first estimate of when language evolved that is directly based on linguistic data. PMID:22558135

What Does the Right Hemisphere Know about Phoneme Categories?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolmetz, Michael; Poeppel, David; Rapp, Brenda

2011-01-01

Innate auditory sensitivities and familiarity with the sounds of language give rise to clear influences of phonemic categories on adult perception of speech. With few exceptions, current models endorse highly left-hemisphere-lateralized mechanisms responsible for the influence of phonemic category on speech perception, based primarily on results…

Fee, Fie, Phonemic Awareness: 130 Prereading Activities for Preschoolers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hohmann, Mary

Noting that phonemic awareness has been identified as an essential skill that prepares children for reading, this book contains 130 phonemic awareness activities suitable for small-group learning in preschools, prekindergarten programs, Head Start programs, child care centers, and home-based programs. Reflecting the teaching strategies of the…

Computer game as a tool for training the identification of phonemic length.

PubMed

Pennala, Riitta; Richardson, Ulla; Ylinen, Sari; Lyytinen, Heikki; Martin, Maisa

2014-12-01

Computer-assisted training of Finnish phonemic length was conducted with 7-year-old Russian-speaking second-language learners of Finnish. Phonemic length plays a different role in these two languages. The training included game activities with two- and three-syllable word and pseudo-word minimal pairs with prototypical vowel durations. The lowest accuracy scores were recorded for two-syllable words. Accuracy scores were higher for the minimal pairs with larger rather than smaller differences in duration. Accuracy scores were lower for long duration than for short duration. The ability to identify quantity degree was generalized to stimuli used in the identification test in two of the children. Ideas for improving the game are introduced.

THE PHONEMES OF OKINAWAN.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LUELSDORFF, PHILIP A.

THE LANGUAGES OF OKINAWAN MAY BE DIVIDED INTO THREE MUTUALLY UNINTELLIGIBLE REGIONAL DIALECTS, CORRESPONDING GEOGRAPHICALLY TO THE THREE GROUPS OF ISLANDS OF THE RYUUKYUU ARCHIPELAGO. AS REPRESENTATIVE MODEL OF THE REGIONAL DIALECTS, AGENA-GUCHI IS ANALYZED WITH RESPECT TO PHONEMIC SYSTEMS, OKINAWAN MORPHOPHONEMICS, AND OKINAWAN SYLLABLE STRUCTURE…

Modulating phonemic fluency performance in healthy subjects with transcranial magnetic stimulation over the left or right lateral frontal cortex.

PubMed

Smirni, Daniela; Turriziani, Patrizia; Mangano, Giuseppa Renata; Bracco, Martina; Oliveri, Massimiliano; Cipolotti, Lisa

2017-07-28

A growing body of evidence have suggested that non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), can improve the performance of aphasic patients in language tasks. For example, application of inhibitory rTMS or tDCs over the right frontal lobe of dysphasic patients resulted in improved naming abilities. Several studies have also reported that in healthy controls (HC) tDCS application over the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) improve performance in naming and semantic fluency tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate in HC, for the first time, the effects of inhibitory repetitive TMS (rTMS) over left and right lateral frontal cortex (BA 47) on two phonemic fluency tasks (FAS or FPL). 44 right-handed HCs were administered rTMS or sham over the left or right lateral frontal cortex in two separate testing sessions, with a 24h interval, followed by the two phonemic fluency tasks. To account for possible practice effects, an additional 22 HCs were tested on only the phonemic fluency task across two sessions with no stimulation. We found that rTMS-inhibition over the left lateral frontal cortex significantly worsened phonemic fluency performance when compared to sham. In contrast, rTMS-inhibition over the right lateral frontal cortex significantly improved phonemic fluency performance when compared to sham. These results were not accounted for practice effects. We speculated that rTMS over the right lateral frontal cortex may induce plastic neural changes to the left lateral frontal cortex by suppressing interhemispheric inhibitory interactions. This resulted in an increased excitability (disinhibition) of the contralateral unstimulated left lateral frontal cortex, consequently enhancing phonemic fluency performance. Conversely, application of rTMS over the left lateral frontal cortex may induce a temporary, virtual lesion, with effects similar to those reported in left frontal

The Nature of Phoneme Representation in Spoken Word Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaskell, M. Gareth; Quinlan, Philip T.; Tamminen, Jakke; Cleland, Alexandra A.

2008-01-01

Four experiments used the psychological refractory period logic to examine whether integration of multiple sources of phonemic information has a decisional locus. All experiments made use of a dual-task paradigm in which participants made forced-choice color categorization (Task 1) and phoneme categorization (Task 2) decisions at varying stimulus…

Analyzing Distributional Learning of Phonemic Categories in Unsupervised Deep Neural Networks

PubMed Central

Räsänen, Okko; Nagamine, Tasha; Mesgarani, Nima

2017-01-01

Infants’ speech perception adapts to the phonemic categories of their native language, a process assumed to be driven by the distributional properties of speech. This study investigates whether deep neural networks (DNNs), the current state-of-the-art in distributional feature learning, are capable of learning phoneme-like representations of speech in an unsupervised manner. We trained DNNs with unlabeled and labeled speech and analyzed the activations of each layer with respect to the phones in the input segments. The analyses reveal that the emergence of phonemic invariance in DNNs is dependent on the availability of phonemic labeling of the input during the training. No increased phonemic selectivity of the hidden layers was observed in the purely unsupervised networks despite successful learning of low-dimensional representations for speech. This suggests that additional learning constraints or more sophisticated models are needed to account for the emergence of phone-like categories in distributional learning operating on natural speech. PMID:29359204

Initial Insights into Phoneme Awareness Intervention for Children with Complex Communication Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clendon, Sally; Gillon, Gail; Yoder, David

2005-01-01

This study provides insights into the benefits of phoneme awareness intervention for children with complex communication needs (CCN). The specific aims of the study were: (1) to determine whether phoneme awareness skills can be successfully trained in children with CCN; and (2) to observe any transfer effects to phoneme awareness tasks not…

Phonemic Code Dependence Varies with Previous Exposure to Words.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabin, Jeffrey L.; Zecker, Steven G.

Reading researchers and theorists are sharply divided as to how meaning is obtained from the printed word. Three current explanations are that (1) meaning is accessed directly, without any intermediate processes; (2) meaning is accessed only through an intermediate phonemic stage; and (3) both direct access and phonemic mediation can occur. To…

The effect of listening experience on the discrimination of /ba/ and /pa/ in Hebrew-learning and Arabic-learning infants.

PubMed

Segal, Osnat; Hejli-Assi, Saja; Kishon-Rabin, Liat

2016-02-01

Infant speech discrimination can follow multiple trajectories depending on the language and the specific phonemes involved. Two understudied languages in terms of the development of infants' speech discrimination are Arabic and Hebrew. The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of listening experience with the native language on the discrimination of the voicing contrast /ba-pa/ in Arabic-learning infants whose native language includes only the phoneme /b/ and in Hebrew-learning infants whose native language includes both phonemes. 128 Arabic-learning infants and Hebrew-learning infants, 4-to-6 and 10-to-12-month-old infants, were tested with the Visual Habituation Procedure. The results showed that 4-to-6-month-old infants discriminated between /ba-pa/ regardless of their native language and order of presentation. However, only 10-to-12-month-old infants learning Hebrew retained this ability. 10-to-12-month-old infants learning Arabic did not discriminate the change from /ba/ to /pa/ but showed a tendency for discriminating the change from /pa/ to /ba/. This is the first study to report on the reduced discrimination of /ba-pa/ in older infants learning Arabic. Our findings are consistent with the notion that experience with the native language changes discrimination abilities and alters sensitivity to non-native contrasts, thus providing evidence for 'top-down' processing in young infants. The directional asymmetry in older infants learning Arabic can be explained by assimilation of the non-native consonant /p/ to the native Arabic category /b/ as predicted by current speech perception models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phonetic basis of phonemic paraphasias in aphasia: Evidence for cascading activation.

PubMed

Kurowski, Kathleen; Blumstein, Sheila E

2016-02-01

Phonemic paraphasias are a common presenting symptom in aphasia and are thought to reflect a deficit in which selecting an incorrect phonemic segment results in the clear-cut substitution of one phonemic segment for another. The current study re-examines the basis of these paraphasias. Seven left hemisphere-damaged aphasics with a range of left hemisphere lesions and clinical diagnoses including Broca's, Conduction, and Wernicke's aphasia, were asked to produce syllable-initial voiced and voiceless fricative consonants, [z] and [s], in CV syllables followed by one of five vowels [i e a o u] in isolation and in a carrier phrase. Acoustic analyses were conducted focusing on two acoustic parameters signaling voicing in fricative consonants: duration and amplitude properties of the fricative noise. Results show that for all participants, regardless of clinical diagnosis or lesion site, phonemic paraphasias leave an acoustic trace of the original target in the error production. These findings challenge the view that phonemic paraphasias arise from a mis-selection of phonemic units followed by its correct implementation, as traditionally proposed. Rather, they appear to derive from a common mechanism with speech errors reflecting the co-activation of a target and competitor resulting in speech output that has some phonetic properties of both segments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assimilation of L2 vowels to L1 phonemes governs L2 learning in adulthood: a behavioral and ERP study

PubMed Central

Grimaldi, Mirko; Sisinni, Bianca; Gili Fivela, Barbara; Invitto, Sara; Resta, Donatella; Alku, Paavo; Brattico, Elvira

2014-01-01

According to the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM), articulatory similarity/dissimilarity between sounds of the second language (L2) and the native language (L1) governs L2 learnability in adulthood and predicts L2 sound perception by naïve listeners. We performed behavioral and neurophysiological experiments on two groups of university students at the first and fifth years of the English language curriculum and on a group of naïve listeners. Categorization and discrimination tests, as well as the mismatch negativity (MMN) brain response to L2 sound changes, showed that the discriminatory capabilities of the students did not significantly differ from those of the naïve subjects. In line with the PAM model, we extend the findings of previous behavioral studies showing that, at the neural level, classroom instruction in adulthood relies on assimilation of L2 vowels to L1 phoneme categories and does not trigger improvement in L2 phonetic discrimination. Implications for L2 classroom teaching practices are discussed. PMID:24860470

A real-time phoneme counting algorithm and application for speech rate monitoring.

PubMed

Aharonson, Vered; Aharonson, Eran; Raichlin-Levi, Katia; Sotzianu, Aviv; Amir, Ofer; Ovadia-Blechman, Zehava

2017-03-01

Adults who stutter can learn to control and improve their speech fluency by modifying their speaking rate. Existing speech therapy technologies can assist this practice by monitoring speaking rate and providing feedback to the patient, but cannot provide an accurate, quantitative measurement of speaking rate. Moreover, most technologies are too complex and costly to be used for home practice. We developed an algorithm and a smartphone application that monitor a patient's speaking rate in real time and provide user-friendly feedback to both patient and therapist. Our speaking rate computation is performed by a phoneme counting algorithm which implements spectral transition measure extraction to estimate phoneme boundaries. The algorithm is implemented in real time in a mobile application that presents its results in a user-friendly interface. The application incorporates two modes: one provides the patient with visual feedback of his/her speech rate for self-practice and another provides the speech therapist with recordings, speech rate analysis and tools to manage the patient's practice. The algorithm's phoneme counting accuracy was validated on ten healthy subjects who read a paragraph at slow, normal and fast paces, and was compared to manual counting of speech experts. Test-retest and intra-counter reliability were assessed. Preliminary results indicate differences of -4% to 11% between automatic and human phoneme counting. Differences were largest for slow speech. The application can thus provide reliable, user-friendly, real-time feedback for speaking rate control practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Face adaptation improves gender discrimination.

PubMed

Yang, Hua; Shen, Jianhong; Chen, Juan; Fang, Fang

2011-01-01

Adaptation to a visual pattern can alter the sensitivities of neuronal populations encoding the pattern. However, the functional roles of adaptation, especially in high-level vision, are still equivocal. In the present study, we performed three experiments to investigate if face gender adaptation could affect gender discrimination. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that adapting to a male/female face could selectively enhance discrimination for male/female faces. Experiment 3 showed that the discrimination enhancement induced by face adaptation could transfer across a substantial change in three-dimensional face viewpoint. These results provide further evidence suggesting that, similar to low-level vision, adaptation in high-level vision could calibrate the visual system to current inputs of complex shapes (i.e. face) and improve discrimination at the adapted characteristic. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of emotion on different phoneme classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chul Min; Yildirim, Serdar; Bulut, Murtaza; Busso, Carlos; Kazemzadeh, Abe; Lee, Sungbok; Narayanan, Shrikanth

2004-10-01

This study investigates the effects of emotion on different phoneme classes using short-term spectral features. In the research on emotion in speech, most studies have focused on prosodic features of speech. In this study, based on the hypothesis that different emotions have varying effects on the properties of the different speech sounds, we investigate the usefulness of phoneme-class level acoustic modeling for automatic emotion classification. Hidden Markov models (HMM) based on short-term spectral features for five broad phonetic classes are used for this purpose using data obtained from recordings of two actresses. Each speaker produces 211 sentences with four different emotions (neutral, sad, angry, happy). Using the speech material we trained and compared the performances of two sets of HMM classifiers: a generic set of ``emotional speech'' HMMs (one for each emotion) and a set of broad phonetic-class based HMMs (vowel, glide, nasal, stop, fricative) for each emotion type considered. Comparison of classification results indicates that different phoneme classes were affected differently by emotional change and that the vowel sounds are the most important indicator of emotions in speech. Detailed results and their implications on the underlying speech articulation will be discussed.

Relating Pitch Awareness to Phonemic Awareness in Children: Implications for Tone-Deafness and Dyslexia

PubMed Central

Loui, Psyche; Kroog, Kenneth; Zuk, Jennifer; Winner, Ellen; Schlaug, Gottfried

2011-01-01

Language and music are complex cognitive and neural functions that rely on awareness of one's own sound productions. Information on the awareness of vocal pitch, and its relation to phonemic awareness which is crucial for learning to read, will be important for understanding the relationship between tone-deafness and developmental language disorders such as dyslexia. Here we show that phonemic awareness skills are positively correlated with pitch perception–production skills in children. Children between the ages of seven and nine were tested on pitch perception and production, phonemic awareness, and IQ. Results showed a significant positive correlation between pitch perception–production and phonemic awareness, suggesting that the relationship between musical and linguistic sound processing is intimately linked to awareness at the level of pitch and phonemes. Since tone-deafness is a pitch-related impairment and dyslexia is a deficit of phonemic awareness, we suggest that dyslexia and tone-deafness may have a shared and/or common neural basis. PMID:21687467

Phonemic accuracy development in children with cochlear implants up to five years of age by using Levenshtein distance.

PubMed

Faes, Jolien; Gillis, Joris; Gillis, Steven

2016-01-01

Phonemic accuracy of children with cochlear implants (CI) is often reported to be lower in comparison with normally hearing (NH) age-matched children. In this study, we compare phonemic accuracy development in the spontaneous speech of Dutch-speaking children with CI and NH age-matched peers. A dynamic cost model of Levenshtein distance is used to compute the accuracy of each word token. We set up a longitudinal design with monthly data for comparisons up to age two and a cross-sectional design with yearly data between three and five years of age. The main finding is that phonemic accuracy steadily increases throughout the period studied. Children with CI's accuracy is lower than that of their NH age mates, but this difference is not statistically significant in the earliest stages of lexical development. But accuracy of children with CI initially improves significantly less steeply than that of NH peers. Furthermore, the number of syllables in the target word and target word's complexity influence children's accuracy, as longer and more complex target words are less accurately produced. Up to age four, children with CI are significantly less accurate than NH children with increasing word length and word complexity. This difference has disappeared at age five. Finally, hearing age is shown to influence accuracy development of children with CI, while age of implant activation is not. This article informs the reader about phonemic accuracy development in children. The reader will be able to (a) discuss different metrics to measure phonemic accuracy development, (b) discuss phonemic accuracy of children with CI up to five years of age and compare them with NH children, (c) discuss the influence of target word's complexity and target word's syllable length on phonemic accuracy, (d) discuss the influence of hearing experience and age of implantation on phonemic accuracy of children with CI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teacher Candidates' Mastery of Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence: Massed versus Distributed Practice in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayeski, Kristin L.; Earle, Gentry A.; Eslinger, R. Paige; Whitenton, Jessy N.

2017-01-01

Matching phonemes (speech sounds) to graphemes (letters and letter combinations) is an important aspect of decoding (translating print to speech) and encoding (translating speech to print). Yet, many teacher candidates do not receive explicit training in phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Difficulty with accurate phoneme production and/or lack of…

Varying acoustic-phonemic ambiguity reveals that talker normalization is obligatory in speech processing.

PubMed

Choi, Ja Young; Hu, Elly R; Perrachione, Tyler K

2018-04-01

The nondeterministic relationship between speech acoustics and abstract phonemic representations imposes a challenge for listeners to maintain perceptual constancy despite the highly variable acoustic realization of speech. Talker normalization facilitates speech processing by reducing the degrees of freedom for mapping between encountered speech and phonemic representations. While this process has been proposed to facilitate the perception of ambiguous speech sounds, it is currently unknown whether talker normalization is affected by the degree of potential ambiguity in acoustic-phonemic mapping. We explored the effects of talker normalization on speech processing in a series of speeded classification paradigms, parametrically manipulating the potential for inconsistent acoustic-phonemic relationships across talkers for both consonants and vowels. Listeners identified words with varying potential acoustic-phonemic ambiguity across talkers (e.g., beet/boat vs. boot/boat) spoken by single or mixed talkers. Auditory categorization of words was always slower when listening to mixed talkers compared to a single talker, even when there was no potential acoustic ambiguity between target sounds. Moreover, the processing cost imposed by mixed talkers was greatest when words had the most potential acoustic-phonemic overlap across talkers. Models of acoustic dissimilarity between target speech sounds did not account for the pattern of results. These results suggest (a) that talker normalization incurs the greatest processing cost when disambiguating highly confusable sounds and (b) that talker normalization appears to be an obligatory component of speech perception, taking place even when the acoustic-phonemic relationships across sounds are unambiguous.

Evolution of phonemic word fluency performance in post-stroke aphasia.

PubMed

Sarno, Martha Taylor; Postman, Whitney Anne; Cho, Young Susan; Norman, Robert G

2005-01-01

In this longitudinal study, quantitative and qualitative changes in responses of people with aphasia were examined on a phonemic fluency task. Eighteen patients were tested at 3-month intervals on the letters F-A-S while they received comprehensive, intensive treatment from 3 to 12 months post-stroke. They returned for a follow-up evaluation at an average of 10 months post-intervention. Mean group scores improved significantly from beginning to end of treatment, but declined post-intervention. Patients produced a significantly greater number and proportion of modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) between the beginning and end of treatment, with no decline afterwards, implying that they had access to a wider range of grammatical categories over time. Moreover, patients used significantly more phonemic clusters in generating word lists by the end of treatment. These gains may be attributed to the combined effects of time since onset and the linguistic and cognitive stimulation that patients received in therapy. Readers of this paper should (1) gain a better understanding of verbal fluency performance in the assessment of aphasia, (2) recognize the importance of analyzing qualitative aspects of single word production in aphasia, and (3) contribute to their clinical judgment of long term improvement in aphasia.

Implementation and Evaluation of Computer-Aided Mandarin Phonemes Training System for Hearing-Impaired Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Hui-Jen; Lay, Yun-Long

2005-01-01

A computer-aided Mandarin phonemes training (CAMPT) system was developed and evaluated for training hearing-impaired students in their pronunciation of Mandarin phonemes. Deaf or hearing-impaired people have difficulty hearing their own voice, hence most of them cannot learn how to speak. Phonemes are the basis for learning to read and speak in…

Universal and Language-Specific Constraints on Phonemic Awareness: Evidence from Russian-Hebrew Bilingual Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saiegh-Haddad, Elinor; Kogan, Nadya; Walters, Joel

2010-01-01

The study tested phonemic awareness in the two languages of Russian (L1)-Hebrew (L2) sequential bilingual children (N = 20) using phoneme deletion tasks where the phoneme to be deleted occurred word initial, word final, as a singleton, or part of a cluster, in long and short words and stressed and unstressed syllables. The experiments were…

How do associative and phonemic overlap interact to boost illusory recollection?

PubMed

Hutchison, Keith A; Meade, Michelle L; Williams, Nikolas S; Manley, Krista D; McNabb, Jaimie C

2018-05-01

This project investigated the underlying mechanisms that boost false remember responses when participants receive study words that are both semantically and phonologically similar to a critical lure. Participants completed a memory task in which they were presented with a list of words all associated with a critical lure. Included within the list of semantic associates was a target that was either semantically associated (e.g., yawn) to the critical lure (e.g., sleep) or shared the initial (e.g., slam) or final (e.g., beep) phoneme(s) with the critical lure. After hearing the list, participants recalled each list item and indicated whether they just knew it was on the list or if they instead recollected specific contextual details of that item's presentation. We found that inserting an initial phonemic overlap target boosted experiences of recollection, but only when semantically related associates were presented beforehand. The results are consistent with models of spoken word recognition and show that established semantic context plus initial phonemic overlap play important roles in boosting false recollection.

Visual speech discrimination and identification of natural and synthetic consonant stimuli

PubMed Central

Files, Benjamin T.; Tjan, Bosco S.; Jiang, Jintao; Bernstein, Lynne E.

2015-01-01

From phonetic features to connected discourse, every level of psycholinguistic structure including prosody can be perceived through viewing the talking face. Yet a longstanding notion in the literature is that visual speech perceptual categories comprise groups of phonemes (referred to as visemes), such as /p, b, m/ and /f, v/, whose internal structure is not informative to the visual speech perceiver. This conclusion has not to our knowledge been evaluated using a psychophysical discrimination paradigm. We hypothesized that perceivers can discriminate the phonemes within typical viseme groups, and that discrimination measured with d-prime (d’) and response latency is related to visual stimulus dissimilarities between consonant segments. In Experiment 1, participants performed speeded discrimination for pairs of consonant-vowel spoken nonsense syllables that were predicted to be same, near, or far in their perceptual distances, and that were presented as natural or synthesized video. Near pairs were within-viseme consonants. Natural within-viseme stimulus pairs were discriminated significantly above chance (except for /k/-/h/). Sensitivity (d’) increased and response times decreased with distance. Discrimination and identification were superior with natural stimuli, which comprised more phonetic information. We suggest that the notion of the viseme as a unitary perceptual category is incorrect. Experiment 2 probed the perceptual basis for visual speech discrimination by inverting the stimuli. Overall reductions in d’ with inverted stimuli but a persistent pattern of larger d’ for far than for near stimulus pairs are interpreted as evidence that visual speech is represented by both its motion and configural attributes. The methods and results of this investigation open up avenues for understanding the neural and perceptual bases for visual and audiovisual speech perception and for development of practical applications such as visual lipreading

Stochastic Model for Phonemes Uncovers an Author-Dependency of Their Usage.

PubMed

Deng, Weibing; Allahverdyan, Armen E

2016-01-01

We study rank-frequency relations for phonemes, the minimal units that still relate to linguistic meaning. We show that these relations can be described by the Dirichlet distribution, a direct analogue of the ideal-gas model in statistical mechanics. This description allows us to demonstrate that the rank-frequency relations for phonemes of a text do depend on its author. The author-dependency effect is not caused by the author's vocabulary (common words used in different texts), and is confirmed by several alternative means. This suggests that it can be directly related to phonemes. These features contrast to rank-frequency relations for words, which are both author and text independent and are governed by the Zipf's law.

Hemispheric specialization for language according to grapho-phonemic transformation and gender. A divided visual field experiment.

PubMed

Cousin, Emilie; Perrone, Marcela; Baciu, Monica

2009-04-01

This behavioral study aimed at assessing the effect of two variables on the degree of hemispheric specialization for language. One of them was the grapho-phonemic translation (transformation) (letter-sound mapping) and the other was the participants'gender. The experiment was conducted with healthy volunteers. A divided visual field procedure has been used to perform a phoneme detection task implying either regular (transparent) grapho-phonemic translation (letter-sound mapping consistency) or irregular (non-transparent) grapho-phonemic translation (letter-sound mapping inconsistency). Our results reveal a significant effect of grapho-phonemic translation on the degree of hemispheric dominance for language. The phoneme detection on items with transparent translation (TT) was performed faster than phoneme detection on items with non-transparent translation (NTT). This effect seems to be due to faster identification of TT than NTT when the items were presented in the left visual field (LVF)-right hemisphere (RH). There was no difference between TT and NTT for stimuli presented in the right visual field (RVF)-left hemisphere (LH). This result suggests that grapho-phonemic translation or the degree of transparency can affect the degree of hemispheric specialization, by modulating the right hemisphere activity. With respect to gender, male participants were significantly more lateralized than female participants but no interaction was observed between gender and degree of transparency.

Teacher candidates' mastery of phoneme-grapheme correspondence: massed versus distributed practice in teacher education.

PubMed

Sayeski, Kristin L; Earle, Gentry A; Eslinger, R Paige; Whitenton, Jessy N

2017-04-01

Matching phonemes (speech sounds) to graphemes (letters and letter combinations) is an important aspect of decoding (translating print to speech) and encoding (translating speech to print). Yet, many teacher candidates do not receive explicit training in phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Difficulty with accurate phoneme production and/or lack of understanding of sound-symbol correspondence can make it challenging for teachers to (a) identify student errors on common assessments and (b) serve as a model for students when teaching beginning reading or providing remedial reading instruction. For students with dyslexia, lack of teacher proficiency in this area is particularly problematic. This study examined differences between two learning conditions (massed and distributed practice) on teacher candidates' development of phoneme-grapheme correspondence knowledge and skills. An experimental, pretest-posttest-delayed test design was employed with teacher candidates (n = 52) to compare a massed practice condition (one, 60-min session) to a distributed practice condition (four, 15-min sessions distributed over 4 weeks) for learning phonemes associated with letters and letter combinations. Participants in the distributed practice condition significantly outperformed participants in the massed practice condition on their ability to correctly produce phonemes associated with different letters and letter combinations. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.

Can a linguistic serial founder effect originating in Africa explain the worldwide phonemic cline?

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

It has been proposed that a serial founder effect could have caused the present observed pattern of global phonemic diversity. Here we present a model that simulates the human range expansion out of Africa and the subsequent spatial linguistic dynamics until today. It does not assume copying errors, Darwinian competition, reduced contrastive possibilities or any other specific linguistic mechanism. We show that the decrease of linguistic diversity with distance (from the presumed origin of the expansion) arises under three assumptions, previously introduced by other authors: (i) an accumulation rate for phonemes; (ii) small phonemic inventories for the languages spoken before the out-of-Africa dispersal; (iii) an increase in the phonemic accumulation rate with the number of speakers per unit area. Numerical simulations show that the predictions of the model agree with the observed decrease of linguistic diversity with increasing distance from the most likely origin of the out-of-Africa dispersal. Thus, the proposal that a serial founder effect could have caused the present observed pattern of global phonemic diversity is viable, if three strong assumptions are satisfied. PMID:27122180

Phonemic Awareness: A Step by Step Approach for Success in Early Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez, Idalia Rodriguez

2008-01-01

This guide will help teach phonemic awareness to Pre K-3 students. It presents phonemic awareness as a sophisticated branch of phonological awareness through interactive activities that allows the student to succeed in learning the sounds represented by the letters of the alphabet. The book is designed to provide easy-to-follow suggestions for:…

When Variability Matters More than Meaning: The Effect of Lexical Forms on Use of Phonemic Contrasts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thiessen, Erik D.

2011-01-01

During the first half of the 2nd year of life, infants struggle to use phonemic distinctions in label-object association tasks. Prior experiments have demonstrated that exposure to the phonemes in distinct lexical forms (e.g., /"d"/ and /"t"/ in "daddy" and "tiger", respectively) facilitates infants' use of phonemic contrasts but also that they…

Automatic Recognition of Phonemes Using a Syntactic Processor for Error Correction.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-01

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Phoneme Restoration Methods Reveal Prosodic Influences on Syntactic Parsing: Data from Bulgarian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoyneshka-Raleva, Iglika

2013-01-01

This dissertation introduces and evaluates a new methodology for studying aspects of human language processing and the factors to which it is sensitive. It makes use of the phoneme restoration illusion (Warren, 1970). A small portion of a spoken sentence is replaced by a burst of noise. Listeners typically mentally restore the missing phoneme(s),…

Listeners Retune Phoneme Categories across Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinisch, Eva; Weber, Andrea; Mitterer, Holger

2013-01-01

Native listeners adapt to noncanonically produced speech by retuning phoneme boundaries by means of lexical knowledge. We asked whether a second language lexicon can also guide category retuning and whether perceptual learning transfers from a second language (L2) to the native language (L1). During a Dutch lexical-decision task, German and Dutch…

A Short Report: Word-Level Phonological and Lexical Characteristics Interact to Influence Phoneme Awareness

PubMed Central

Hogan, Tiffany P.

2010-01-01

In this study, we examined the influence of word-level phonological and lexical characteristics on early phoneme awareness. Typically-developing children, ages 61–78 months, completed a phoneme-based, odd-one-out task that included consonant-vowel-consonant word sets (e.g., “chair-chain-ship”) that varied orthogonally by a phonological characteristic, sound-contrast similarity (similar vs. dissimilar), and a lexical characteristic, neighborhood density (dense vs. sparse). In a subsample of the participants – those with the highest vocabularies – results were in line with a predicted interactive effect of phonological and lexical characteristics on phoneme awareness performance: word sets contrasting similar sounds were less likely to yield correct responses in words from sparse neighborhoods than words from dense neighborhoods. Word sets contrasting dissimilar sounds were most likely to yield correct responses regardless of the words’ neighborhood density. Based on these findings, theories of early phoneme awareness development should consider both word-level (e.g., phonological and lexical characteristics) and child-level (e.g., vocabulary knowledge) influences on phoneme awareness performance. Attention to these word-level item influences is predicted to result in more sensitive and specific measures of reading risk. PMID:20574064

Analysis of Phonemes, Graphemes, Onset-Rimes, and Words with Braille-Learning Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Shauna; Elliott, Robert T.

2007-01-01

Six primary school-aged braille students were taught to name 4 to 10 braille letters as phonemes and another 4 to 10 braille letters as graphemes (Study 1). They were then taught to name 10 braille words as onset-rimes and another 10 braille words as whole words (Study 2). Instruction in phonemes and onset rimes resulted in fewer trials and a…

Enhanced neural and behavioural processing of a nonnative phonemic contrast in professional musicians.

PubMed

Dittinger, Eva; D'Imperio, Mariapaola; Besson, Mireille

2018-05-12

Based on growing evidence suggesting that professional music training facilitates foreign language perception and learning, we examined the impact of musical expertise on the categorisation of syllables including phonemes that did (/p/, /b/) or did not (/p h /) belong to the French repertoire by analysing both behaviour (error rates and reaction times) and Event-Related brain Potentials (N200 and P300 components). Professional musicians and nonmusicians categorised syllables either as /ba/ or /pa/ (voicing task), or as /pa/ or /p h a/ with /p h / being a nonnative phoneme for French speakers (aspiration task). In line with our hypotheses, results showed that musicians outperformed nonmusicians in the aspiration task but not in the voicing task. Moreover, the difference between the native (/p/) and the nonnative phoneme (/p h /), as reflected in N200 and P300 amplitudes, was larger in musicians than in nonmusicians in the aspiration task but not in the voicing task. These results show that behaviour and brain activity associated to nonnative phoneme perception are influenced by musical expertise and that these effects are task-dependent. The implications of these findings for current models of phoneme perception and for understanding the qualitative and quantitative differences found on the N200 and P300 components are discussed. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of Eye Movements, Auditory Perception, and Phonemic Awareness in the Reading Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Megino-Elvira, Laura; Martín-Lobo, Pilar; Vergara-Moragues, Esperanza

2016-01-01

The authors' aim was to analyze the relationship of eye movements, auditory perception, and phonemic awareness with the reading process. The instruments used were the King-Devick Test (saccade eye movements), the PAF test (auditory perception), the PFC (phonemic awareness), the PROLEC-R (lexical process), the Canals reading speed test, and the…

Tucker Signing as a Phonics Instruction Tool to Develop Phonemic Awareness in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valbuena, Amanda Carolina

2014-01-01

To develop reading acquisition in an effective way, it is necessary to take into account three goals during the process: automatic word recognition, or development of phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, and a desire for reading. This article focuses on promoting phonemic awareness in English as a second language through a program called…

Apathy, not depressive symptoms, as a predictor of semantic and phonemic fluency task performance in stroke and transient ischemic attack.

PubMed

Fishman, Keera N; Ashbaugh, Andrea R; Lanctôt, Krista L; Cayley, Megan L; Herrmann, Nathan; Murray, Brian J; Sicard, Michelle; Lien, Karen; Sahlas, Demetrios J; Swartz, Richard H

2018-06-01

This study examined the relationship between apathy and cognition in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Apathy may result from damage to frontal subcortical circuits causing dysexecutive syndromes, but apathy is also related to depression. We assessed the ability of apathy to predict phonemic fluency and semantic fluency performance after controlling for depressive symptoms in 282 individuals with stroke and/or transient ischemic attack. Participants (N = 282) completed the Phonemic Fluency Test, Semantic Fluency Test, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Apathy Evaluation Scale. A cross-sectional correlational design was utilized. Using hierarchical linear regressions, apathy scores significantly predicted semantic fluency performance (β = -.159, p = .020), but not phonemic fluency performance (β = -.112, p = .129) after scaling scores by age and years of education and controlling for depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms entered into the first step of both hierarchical linear regressions did not predict semantic fluency (β = -.035, p = .554) or phonemic fluency (β = -.081, p = .173). Apathy and depressive symptoms were moderately correlated, r(280) = .58, p < .001. The results of this study are consistent with research supporting a differentiation between phonemic and semantic fluency tasks, whereby phonemic fluency tasks primarily involve frontal regions, and semantic fluency tasks involve recruitment of more extended networks. The results also highlight a distinction between apathy and depressive symptoms and suggest that apathy may be a more reliable predictor of cognitive deficits than measures of mood in individuals with cerebrovascular disease. Apathy may also be more related to cognition due to overlapping motivational and cognitive frontal subcortical circuitry. Future research should explore whether treatments for apathy could be a novel target for improving cognitive outcomes after stroke.

Prediction of cognitive outcome based on the progression of auditory discrimination during coma.

PubMed

Juan, Elsa; De Lucia, Marzia; Tzovara, Athina; Beaud, Valérie; Oddo, Mauro; Clarke, Stephanie; Rossetti, Andrea O

2016-09-01

To date, no clinical test is able to predict cognitive and functional outcome of cardiac arrest survivors. Improvement of auditory discrimination in acute coma indicates survival with high specificity. Whether the degree of this improvement is indicative of recovery remains unknown. Here we investigated if progression of auditory discrimination can predict cognitive and functional outcome. We prospectively recorded electroencephalography responses to auditory stimuli of post-anoxic comatose patients on the first and second day after admission. For each recording, auditory discrimination was quantified and its evolution over the two recordings was used to classify survivors as "predicted" when it increased vs. "other" if not. Cognitive functions were tested on awakening and functional outcome was assessed at 3 months using the Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC) scale. Thirty-two patients were included, 14 "predicted survivors" and 18 "other survivors". "Predicted survivors" were more likely to recover basic cognitive functions shortly after awakening (ability to follow a standardized neuropsychological battery: 86% vs. 44%; p=0.03 (Fisher)) and to show a very good functional outcome at 3 months (CPC 1: 86% vs. 33%; p=0.004 (Fisher)). Moreover, progression of auditory discrimination during coma was strongly correlated with cognitive performance on awakening (phonemic verbal fluency: rs=0.48; p=0.009 (Spearman)). Progression of auditory discrimination during coma provides early indication of future recovery of cognitive functions. The degree of improvement is informative of the degree of functional impairment. If confirmed in a larger cohort, this test would be the first to predict detailed outcome at the single-patient level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role of Phoneme and Onset-Rime Awareness in Second Language Reading Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haigh, Corinne A.; Savage, Robert; Erdos, Caroline; Genesee, Fred

2011-01-01

This study investigated the link between phoneme and onset-rime awareness and reading outcomes in children learning to read in a second language (L2). Closely matched phoneme and onset-rime awareness tasks were administered in English and French in the spring of kindergarten to English-dominant children in French immersion programmes (n=98).…

Evidence for a Simplicity Principle: Teaching Common Complex Grapheme-to-Phonemes Improves Reading and Motivation in At-Risk Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Victoria; Savage, Robert S.

2014-01-01

This study examines the effects of teaching common complex grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) on reading and reading motivation for at-risk readers using a randomised control trial design with taught intervention and control conditions. One reading programme taught children complex GPCs ordered by their frequency of occurrence in…

Phoneme restoration and empirical coverage of interactive activation and adaptive resonance models of human speech processing

PubMed Central

Magnuson, James S.

2015-01-01

Grossberg and Kazerounian [(2011). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130, 440–460] present a model of sequence representation for spoken word recognition, the cARTWORD model, which simulates essential aspects of phoneme restoration. Grossberg and Kazerounian also include simulations with the TRACE model presented by McClelland and Elman [(1986). Cognit. Psychol. 18, 1–86] that seem to indicate that TRACE cannot simulate phoneme restoration. Grossberg and Kazerounian also claim cARTWORD should be preferred to TRACE because of TRACE's implausible approach to sequence representation (reduplication of time-specific units) and use of non-modulatory feedback (i.e., without position-specific bottom-up support). This paper responds to Grossberg and Kazerounian first with TRACE simulations that account for phoneme restoration when appropriately constructed noise is used (and with minor changes to TRACE phoneme definitions), then reviews the case for reduplicated units and feedback as implemented in TRACE, as well as TRACE's broad and deep coverage of empirical data. Finally, it is argued that cARTWORD is not comparable to TRACE because cARTWORD cannot represent sequences with repeated elements, has only been implemented with small phoneme and lexical inventories, and has been applied to only one phenomenon (phoneme restoration). Without evidence that cARTWORD captures a similar range and detail of human spoken language processing as alternative models, it is premature to prefer cARTWORD to TRACE. PMID:25786959

The Influence of Specific Phonemic Awareness Processes on the Reading Comprehension of African American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Oliver W.; Taub, Gordon E.

2016-01-01

Research indicates the primary difference between strong and weak readers is their phonemic awareness skills. However, there is no consensus regarding which specific components of phonemic awareness contribute most robustly to reading comprehension. In this study, the relationship among sound blending, sound segmentation, and reading comprehension…

Zipf’s Law and the Frequency of Kazak Phonemes in Word Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Ruiqing; Li, Yonghong; Yu, Hongzhi

2018-03-01

Zipf’s Law is the basis of the principle of Least Effort, and is widely applicable in all natural fields. The occurring frequency of each phoneme in all Kazak words has been counted to testify the application of Zipf’s law in Kazak. Due to the limitation of the sample size, deviation is unavoidable, but overall results indicate that the occurring frequency and the reciprocal rank of each phoneme in Kazak words formation are in line with Zipf’s distribution.

Semantic and Phonemic Verbal Fluency in Blinds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nejati, Vahid; Asadi, Anoosh

2010-01-01

A person who has suffered the total loss of a sensory system has, indirectly, suffered a brain lesion. Semantic and phonologic verbal fluency are used for evaluation of executive function and language. The aim of this study is evaluation and comparison of phonemic and semantic verbal fluency in acquired blinds. We compare 137 blinds and 124…

Music and Phonemic Awareness: The Kindergarten Connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newland, Cheyrl M.

2013-01-01

With the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), schools have become aware of the consequences of successfully teaching children to read. A major building block in early childhood education includes the decoding of phonemes, rhymes, and the rhythm of spoken and written word. As reading is crucial to success in any subject area or career…

Subliminal repetition primes help detection of phonemes in a picture: Evidence for a phonological level of the priming effects.

PubMed

Manoiloff, Laura; Segui, Juan; Hallé, Pierre

2016-01-01

In this research, we combine a cross-form word-picture visual masked priming procedure with an internal phoneme monitoring task to examine repetition priming effects. In this paradigm, participants have to respond to pictures whose names begin with a prespecified target phoneme. This task unambiguously requires retrieving the word-form of the target picture's name and implicitly orients participants' attention towards a phonological level of representation. The experiments were conducted within Spanish, whose highly transparent orthography presumably promotes fast and automatic phonological recoding of subliminal, masked visual word primes. Experiments 1 and 2 show that repetition primes speed up internal phoneme monitoring in the target, compared to primes beginning with a different phoneme from the target, or sharing only their first phoneme with the target. This suggests that repetition primes preactivate the phonological code of the entire target picture's name, hereby speeding up internal monitoring, which is necessarily based on such a code. To further qualify the nature of the phonological code underlying internal phoneme monitoring, a concurrent articulation task was used in Experiment 3. This task did not affect the repetition priming effect. We propose that internal phoneme monitoring is based on an abstract phonological code, prior to its translation into articulation.

Neural Network Classifier Architectures for Phoneme Recognition. CRC Technical Note No. CRC-TN-92-001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treurniet, William

A study applied artificial neural networks, trained with the back-propagation learning algorithm, to modelling phonemes extracted from the DARPA TIMIT multi-speaker, continuous speech data base. A number of proposed network architectures were applied to the phoneme classification task, ranging from the simple feedforward multilayer network to more…

Visual discrimination training improves Humphrey perimetry in chronic cortically induced blindness.

PubMed

Cavanaugh, Matthew R; Huxlin, Krystel R

2017-05-09

To assess if visual discrimination training improves performance on visual perimetry tests in chronic stroke patients with visual cortex involvement. 24-2 and 10-2 Humphrey visual fields were analyzed for 17 chronic cortically blind stroke patients prior to and following visual discrimination training, as well as in 5 untrained, cortically blind controls. Trained patients practiced direction discrimination, orientation discrimination, or both, at nonoverlapping, blind field locations. All pretraining and posttraining discrimination performance and Humphrey fields were collected with online eye tracking, ensuring gaze-contingent stimulus presentation. Trained patients recovered ∼108 degrees 2 of vision on average, while untrained patients spontaneously improved over an area of ∼16 degrees 2 . Improvement was not affected by patient age, time since lesion, size of initial deficit, or training type, but was proportional to the amount of training performed. Untrained patients counterbalanced their improvements with worsening of sensitivity over ∼9 degrees 2 of their visual field. Worsening was minimal in trained patients. Finally, although discrimination performance improved at all trained locations, changes in Humphrey sensitivity occurred both within trained regions and beyond, extending over a larger area along the blind field border. In adults with chronic cortical visual impairment, the blind field border appears to have enhanced plastic potential, which can be recruited by gaze-controlled visual discrimination training to expand the visible field. Our findings underscore a critical need for future studies to measure the effects of vision restoration approaches on perimetry in larger cohorts of patients. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.

Neural mechanisms of phonemic restoration for speech comprehension revealed by magnetoencephalography.

PubMed

Sunami, Kishiko; Ishii, Akira; Takano, Sakurako; Yamamoto, Hidefumi; Sakashita, Tetsushi; Tanaka, Masaaki; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi; Yamane, Hideo

2013-11-06

In daily communication, we can usually still hear the spoken words as if they had not been masked and can comprehend the speech when spoken words are masked by background noise. This phenomenon is known as phonemic restoration. Since little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying phonemic restoration for speech comprehension, we aimed to identify the neural mechanisms using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Twelve healthy male volunteers with normal hearing participated in the study. Participants were requested to carefully listen to and understand recorded spoken Japanese stories, which were either played forward (forward condition) or in reverse (reverse condition), with their eyes closed. Several syllables of spoken words were replaced by 300-ms white-noise stimuli with an inter-stimulus interval of 1.6-20.3s. We compared MEG responses to white-noise stimuli during the forward condition with those during the reverse condition using time-frequency analyses. Increased 3-5 Hz band power in the forward condition compared with the reverse condition was continuously observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann's areas (BAs) 45, 46, and 47] and decreased 18-22 Hz band powers caused by white-noise stimuli were seen in the left transverse temporal gyrus (BA 42) and superior temporal gyrus (BA 22). These results suggest that the left inferior frontal gyrus and left transverse and superior temporal gyri are involved in phonemic restoration for speech comprehension. Our findings may help clarify the neural mechanisms of phonemic restoration as well as develop innovative treatment methods for individuals suffering from impaired speech comprehension, particularly in noisy environments. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Phoneme Awareness Instruction on Students in Small Group and Whole Class Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanBoden, Angelique Fleurette

2011-01-01

Phoneme awareness instruction plays a crucial role in reading acquisition for young children. While this early literacy topic has been studied for over 30 years, and cited by the National Reading Panel Report (2000) as an important area for further research, no reports to date explore the influence of instructional group size on phoneme awareness…

Paced Reading in Semantic Dementia: Word Knowledge Contributes to Phoneme Binding in Rapid Speech Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferies, Elizabeth; Grogan, John; Mapelli, Cristina; Isella, Valeria

2012-01-01

Patients with semantic dementia (SD) show deficits in phoneme binding in immediate serial recall: when attempting to reproduce a sequence of words that they no longer fully understand, they show frequent migrations of phonemes between items (e.g., cap, frog recalled as "frap, cog"). This suggests that verbal short-term memory emerges directly from…

Score-moment combined linear discrimination analysis (SMC-LDA) as an improved discrimination method.

PubMed

Han, Jintae; Chung, Hoeil; Han, Sung-Hwan; Yoon, Moon-Young

2007-01-01

A new discrimination method called the score-moment combined linear discrimination analysis (SMC-LDA) has been developed and its performance has been evaluated using three practical spectroscopic datasets. The key concept of SMC-LDA was to use not only the score from principal component analysis (PCA), but also the moment of the spectrum, as inputs for LDA to improve discrimination. Along with conventional score, moment is used in spectroscopic fields as an effective alternative for spectral feature representation. Three different approaches were considered. Initially, the score generated from PCA was projected onto a two-dimensional feature space by maximizing Fisher's criterion function (conventional PCA-LDA). Next, the same procedure was performed using only moment. Finally, both score and moment were utilized simultaneously for LDA. To evaluate discrimination performances, three different spectroscopic datasets were employed: (1) infrared (IR) spectra of normal and malignant stomach tissue, (2) near-infrared (NIR) spectra of diesel and light gas oil (LGO) and (3) Raman spectra of Chinese and Korean ginseng. For each case, the best discrimination results were achieved when both score and moment were used for LDA (SMC-LDA). Since the spectral representation character of moment was different from that of score, inclusion of both score and moment for LDA provided more diversified and descriptive information.

Acute Moderate Exercise Improves Mnemonic Discrimination in Young Adults

PubMed Central

Suwabe, Kazuya; Hyodo, Kazuki; Byun, Kyeongho; Ochi, Genta; Yassa, Michael A.; Soya, Hideaki

2018-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that regular moderate exercise increases neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus and improves memory functions in both humans and animals. The DG is known to play a role in pattern separation, which is the ability to discriminate among similar experiences, a fundamental component of episodic memory. While long-term voluntary exercise improves pattern separation, there is little evidence of alterations in DG function after an acute exercise session. Our previous studies showing acute moderate exercise-enhanced DG activation in rats, and acute moderate exercise-enhanced prefrontal activation and executive function in humans, led us to postulate that acute moderate exercise may also activate the hippocampus, including more specifically the DG, thus improving pattern separation. We thus investigated the effects of a 10-min moderate exercise (50% V̇O2peak) session, the recommended intensity for health promotion, on mnemonic discrimination (a behavioral index of pattern separation) in young adults. An acute bout of moderate exercise improved mnemonic discrimination performance in high similarity lures. These results support our hypothesis that acute moderate exercise improves DG-mediated pattern separation in humans, proposing a useful human acute-exercise model for analyzing the neuronal substrate underlying acute and regular exercise-enhanced episodic memory based on the hippocampus. PMID:27997992

Improved density discrimination using agfacontour film

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodding, R. A.

1973-01-01

A technique was developed for obtaining tone separations from black and white photographic materials. Agfacontour film and photographic derivatives are utilized to improve the density discrimination and decrease the density range from 0.45 to 0.08 units. This increase in capability extends the usefulness of tone separations to a wider range of subject matter and problem areas.

Teaching Phonemic Awareness through Children's Literature and Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurenka, Nancy

2006-01-01

Teaching phonemic awareness can be boring and repetitive in the hands of a teacher who wishes to just use a workbook approach. This delightful book packs loads of fun into 75 lesson plans, providing educators with myriad creative strategies for integrating word study with children's picture books. Each lesson includes a read-aloud book…

Speech Rate Normalization and Phonemic Boundary Perception in Cochlear-Implant Users.

PubMed

Jaekel, Brittany N; Newman, Rochelle S; Goupell, Matthew J

2017-05-24

Normal-hearing (NH) listeners rate normalize, temporarily remapping phonemic category boundaries to account for a talker's speech rate. It is unknown if adults who use auditory prostheses called cochlear implants (CI) can rate normalize, as CIs transmit degraded speech signals to the auditory nerve. Ineffective adjustment to rate information could explain some of the variability in this population's speech perception outcomes. Phonemes with manipulated voice-onset-time (VOT) durations were embedded in sentences with different speech rates. Twenty-three CI and 29 NH participants performed a phoneme identification task. NH participants heard the same unprocessed stimuli as the CI participants or stimuli degraded by a sine vocoder, simulating aspects of CI processing. CI participants showed larger rate normalization effects (6.6 ms) than the NH participants (3.7 ms) and had shallower (less reliable) category boundary slopes. NH participants showed similarly shallow slopes when presented acoustically degraded vocoded signals, but an equal or smaller rate effect in response to reductions in available spectral and temporal information. CI participants can rate normalize, despite their degraded speech input, and show a larger rate effect compared to NH participants. CI participants may particularly rely on rate normalization to better maintain perceptual constancy of the speech signal.

Speech Rate Normalization and Phonemic Boundary Perception in Cochlear-Implant Users

PubMed Central

Newman, Rochelle S.; Goupell, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

Purpose Normal-hearing (NH) listeners rate normalize, temporarily remapping phonemic category boundaries to account for a talker's speech rate. It is unknown if adults who use auditory prostheses called cochlear implants (CI) can rate normalize, as CIs transmit degraded speech signals to the auditory nerve. Ineffective adjustment to rate information could explain some of the variability in this population's speech perception outcomes. Method Phonemes with manipulated voice-onset-time (VOT) durations were embedded in sentences with different speech rates. Twenty-three CI and 29 NH participants performed a phoneme identification task. NH participants heard the same unprocessed stimuli as the CI participants or stimuli degraded by a sine vocoder, simulating aspects of CI processing. Results CI participants showed larger rate normalization effects (6.6 ms) than the NH participants (3.7 ms) and had shallower (less reliable) category boundary slopes. NH participants showed similarly shallow slopes when presented acoustically degraded vocoded signals, but an equal or smaller rate effect in response to reductions in available spectral and temporal information. Conclusion CI participants can rate normalize, despite their degraded speech input, and show a larger rate effect compared to NH participants. CI participants may particularly rely on rate normalization to better maintain perceptual constancy of the speech signal. PMID:28395319

The absoluteness of semantic processing: lessons from the analysis of temporal clusters in phonemic verbal fluency.

PubMed

Vonberg, Isabelle; Ehlen, Felicitas; Fromm, Ortwin; Klostermann, Fabian

2014-01-01

For word production, we may consciously pursue semantic or phonological search strategies, but it is uncertain whether we can retrieve the different aspects of lexical information independently from each other. We therefore studied the spread of semantic information into words produced under exclusively phonemic task demands. 42 subjects participated in a letter verbal fluency task, demanding the production of as many s-words as possible in two minutes. Based on curve fittings for the time courses of word production, output spurts (temporal clusters) considered to reflect rapid lexical retrieval based on automatic activation spread, were identified. Semantic and phonemic word relatedness within versus between these clusters was assessed by respective scores (0 meaning no relation, 4 maximum relation). Subjects produced 27.5 (±9.4) words belonging to 6.7 (±2.4) clusters. Both phonemically and semantically words were more related within clusters than between clusters (phon: 0.33±0.22 vs. 0.19±0.17, p<.01; sem: 0.65±0.29 vs. 0.37±0.29, p<.01). Whereas the extent of phonemic relatedness correlated with high task performance, the contrary was the case for the extent of semantic relatedness. The results indicate that semantic information spread occurs, even if the consciously pursued word search strategy is purely phonological. This, together with the negative correlation between semantic relatedness and verbal output suits the idea of a semantic default mode of lexical search, acting against rapid task performance in the given scenario of phonemic verbal fluency. The simultaneity of enhanced semantic and phonemic word relatedness within the same temporal cluster boundaries suggests an interaction between content and sound-related information whenever a new semantic field has been opened.

Acute moderate exercise improves mnemonic discrimination in young adults.

PubMed

Suwabe, Kazuya; Hyodo, Kazuki; Byun, Kyeongho; Ochi, Genta; Yassa, Michael A; Soya, Hideaki

2017-03-01

Increasing evidence suggests that regular moderate exercise increases neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus and improves memory functions in both humans and animals. The DG is known to play a role in pattern separation, which is the ability to discriminate among similar experiences, a fundamental component of episodic memory. While long-term voluntary exercise improves pattern separation, there is little evidence of alterations in DG function after an acute exercise session. Our previous studies showing acute moderate exercise-enhanced DG activation in rats, and acute moderate exercise-enhanced prefrontal activation and executive function in humans, led us to postulate that acute moderate exercise may also activate the hippocampus, including more specifically the DG, thus improving pattern separation. We thus investigated the effects of a 10-min moderate exercise (50% V̇O 2peak ) session, the recommended intensity for health promotion, on mnemonic discrimination (a behavioral index of pattern separation) in young adults. An acute bout of moderate exercise improved mnemonic discrimination performance in high similarity lures. These results support our hypothesis that acute moderate exercise improves DG-mediated pattern separation in humans, proposing a useful human acute-exercise model for analyzing the neuronal substrate underlying acute and regular exercise-enhanced episodic memory based on the hippocampus. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Techniques for decoding speech phonemes and sounds: A concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lokerson, D. C.; Holby, H. G.

1975-01-01

Techniques studied involve conversion of speech sounds into machine-compatible pulse trains. (1) Voltage-level quantizer produces number of output pulses proportional to amplitude characteristics of vowel-type phoneme waveforms. (2) Pulses produced by quantizer of first speech formants are compared with pulses produced by second formants.

The status of the concept of 'phoneme' in psycholinguistics.

PubMed

Uppstad, Per Henning; Tønnessen, Finn Egil

2010-10-01

The notion of the phoneme counts as a break-through of modern theoretical linguistics in the early twentieth century. It paved the way for descriptions of distinctive features at different levels in linguistics. Although it has since then had a turbulent existence across altering theoretical positions, it remains a powerful concept of a fundamental unit in spoken language. At the same time, its conceptual status remains highly unclear. The present article aims to clarify the status of the concept of 'phoneme' in psycholinguistics, based on the scientific concepts of description, understanding and explanation. Theoretical linguistics has provided mainly descriptions. The ideas underlying this article are, first, that these descriptions may not be directly relevant to psycholinguistics and, second, that psycholinguistics in this sense is not a sub-discipline of theoretical linguistics. Rather, these two disciplines operate with different sets of features and with different orientations when it comes to the scientific concepts of description, understanding and explanation.

Is Sensitivity to Rhyme a Developmental Precursor to Sensitivity to Phoneme?: Evidence from Individuals with Down Syndrome.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardoso-Martins, Claudia; Michalick, Mirelle Franca; Pollo, Tatiana Cury

2002-01-01

Investigates sensitivity to rhyme and phoneme among readers and nonreaders with Down Syndrome (DS) and normally developing children. Evaluates a rhyme detection task and initial and middle phoneme detection tasks. Concludes the rhyme detection task was the easiest for nonreaders without DS and most difficult for readers with DS. (PM)

Preschool Teacher Knowledge and Skills: Phonemic Awareness and Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Billow, Cecilia

2017-01-01

The extent of phonemic awareness knowledge and skills early childhood teachers bring to beginning literacy instruction lays the foundation upon which reading success is built for preschool children in their care. A significant number of preschool children receive their first literacy instruction in community-based or Head Start preschools.…

The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names.

PubMed

Slepian, Michael L; Galinsky, Adam D

2016-04-01

Although it is known that certain names gain popularity within a culture because of historical events, it is unknown how names become associated with different social categories in the first place. We propose that vocal cord vibration during the pronunciation of an initial phoneme plays a critical role in explaining which names are assigned to males versus females. This produces a voiced gendered name effect, whereby voiced phonemes (vibration of the vocal cords) are more associated with male names, and unvoiced phonemes (no vibration of the vocal cords) are more associated with female names. Eleven studies test this association between voiced names and gender (a) using 270 million names (more than 80,000 unique names) given to children over 75 years, (b) names across 2 cultures (the U.S. and India), and (c) hundreds of novel names. The voiced gendered name effect was mediated through how hard or soft names sounded, and moderated by gender stereotype endorsement. Although extensive work has demonstrated morphological and physical cues to gender (e.g., facial, bodily, vocal), this work provides a systematic account of name-based cues to gender. Overall, the current research extends work on sound symbolism to names; the way in which a name sounds can be symbolically related to stereotypes associated with its social category. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Status of the Concept of "Phoneme" in Psycholinguistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uppstad, Per Henning; Tonnessen, Finn Egil

2010-01-01

The notion of the phoneme counts as a break-through of modern theoretical linguistics in the early twentieth century. It paved the way for descriptions of distinctive features at different levels in linguistics. Although it has since then had a turbulent existence across altering theoretical positions, it remains a powerful concept of a…

Training Phoneme Blending Skills in Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgoyne, Kelly; Duff, Fiona; Snowling, Maggie; Buckley, Sue; Hulme, Charles

2013-01-01

This article reports the evaluation of a 6-week programme of teaching designed to support the development of phoneme blending skills in children with Down syndrome (DS). Teaching assistants (TAs) were trained to deliver the intervention to individual children in daily 10-15-minute sessions, within a broader context of reading and language…

Improved Discrimination of Visual Stimuli Following Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

PubMed Central

Waterston, Michael L.; Pack, Christopher C.

2010-01-01

Background Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at certain frequencies increases thresholds for motor-evoked potentials and phosphenes following stimulation of cortex. Consequently rTMS is often assumed to introduce a “virtual lesion” in stimulated brain regions, with correspondingly diminished behavioral performance. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we investigated the effects of rTMS to visual cortex on subjects' ability to perform visual psychophysical tasks. Contrary to expectations of a visual deficit, we find that rTMS often improves the discrimination of visual features. For coarse orientation tasks, discrimination of a static stimulus improved consistently following theta-burst stimulation of the occipital lobe. Using a reaction-time task, we found that these improvements occurred throughout the visual field and lasted beyond one hour post-rTMS. Low-frequency (1 Hz) stimulation yielded similar improvements. In contrast, we did not find consistent effects of rTMS on performance in a fine orientation discrimination task. Conclusions/Significance Overall our results suggest that rTMS generally improves or has no effect on visual acuity, with the nature of the effect depending on the type of stimulation and the task. We interpret our results in the context of an ideal-observer model of visual perception. PMID:20442776

An Investigation of Treatment Scheduling for Phonemic Awareness with Kindergartners Who Are at Risk for Reading Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ukrainetz, Teresa A.; Ross, Catherine L.; Harm, Heide M.

2009-01-01

Purpose: This study examined 2 schedules of treatment for phonemic awareness. Method: Forty-one 5- to 6-year-old kindergartners, including 22 English learners, with low letter-name and first-sound knowledge received 11 hr of phonemic awareness treatment: concentrated (CP, 3x/wk to December), dispersed (DP, 1x/wk to March), and dispersed vocabulary…

Text-to-phonemic transcription and parsing into mono-syllables of English text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jusgir Mullick, Yugal; Agrawal, S. S.; Tayal, Smita; Goswami, Manisha

2004-05-01

The present paper describes a program that converts the English text (entered through the normal computer keyboard) into its phonemic representation and then parses it into mono-syllables. For every letter a set of context based rules is defined in lexical order. A default rule is also defined separately for each letter. Beginning from the first letter of the word the rules are checked and the most appropriate rule is applied on the letter to find its actual orthographic representation. If no matching rule is found, then the default rule is applied. Current rule sets the next position to be analyzed. Proceeding in the same manner orthographic representation for each word can be found. For example, ``reading'' is represented as ``rEdiNX'' by applying the following rules: r-->r move 1 position ahead ead-->Ed move 3 position ahead i-->i move 1 position ahead ng-->NX move 2 position ahead, i.e., end of word. The phonemic representations obtained from the above procedure are parsed to get mono-syllabic representation for various combinations such as CVC, CVCC, CV, CVCVC, etc. For example, the above phonemic representation will be parsed as rEdiNX---> /rE/ /diNX/. This study is a part of developing TTS for Indian English.

First-Year Teacher Knowledge of Phonemic Awareness and Its Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheesman, Elaine A.; McGuire, Joan M.; Shankweiler, Donald; Coyne, Michael

2009-01-01

Converging evidence has identified phonemic awareness (PA) as one of five essential components of beginning reading instruction. Evidence suggests that many teachers do not have the recommended knowledge or skills sufficient to provide effective PA instruction within the context of scientifically validated reading education. This study examines…

Modelling acquired dyslexia: a software tool for developing grapheme-phoneme correspondences.

PubMed Central

D'Autrechy, C. L.; Reggia, J. A.; Berndt, R. S.

1991-01-01

In extending a computer model of acquired dyslexia, it has become necessary to develop a way to group printed characters in a word so that the character groups essentially have a one-to-one correspondence with the word's phonemes (speech sounds). This requires deriving a set of correspondences (legal character groupings, legal associations of character groups with phonemes, etc.) that yield a single grouping or "segmentation" of characters when applied to any English word. To facilitate and partially automate this task, a segmentation program has been developed that uses an interchangeable set of correspondences. The program segments words according to these correspondences and tabulates their success over large sets of words. The program has been used successfully to segment a 20,000 word corpus, demonstrating that this approach can be used effectively and efficiently. PMID:1807611

Human phoneme recognition depending on speech-intrinsic variability.

PubMed

Meyer, Bernd T; Jürgens, Tim; Wesker, Thorsten; Brand, Thomas; Kollmeier, Birger

2010-11-01

The influence of different sources of speech-intrinsic variation (speaking rate, effort, style and dialect or accent) on human speech perception was investigated. In listening experiments with 16 listeners, confusions of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) and vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) sounds in speech-weighted noise were analyzed. Experiments were based on the OLLO logatome speech database, which was designed for a man-machine comparison. It contains utterances spoken by 50 speakers from five dialect/accent regions and covers several intrinsic variations. By comparing results depending on intrinsic and extrinsic variations (i.e., different levels of masking noise), the degradation induced by variabilities can be expressed in terms of the SNR. The spectral level distance between the respective speech segment and the long-term spectrum of the masking noise was found to be a good predictor for recognition rates, while phoneme confusions were influenced by the distance to spectrally close phonemes. An analysis based on transmitted information of articulatory features showed that voicing and manner of articulation are comparatively robust cues in the presence of intrinsic variations, whereas the coding of place is more degraded. The database and detailed results have been made available for comparisons between human speech recognition (HSR) and automatic speech recognizers (ASR).

Lexical exposure to native language dialects can improve non-native phonetic discrimination.

PubMed

Olmstead, Annie J; Viswanathan, Navin

2018-04-01

Nonnative phonetic learning is an area of great interest for language researchers, learners, and educators alike. In two studies, we examined whether nonnative phonetic discrimination of Hindi dental and retroflex stops can be improved by exposure to lexical items bearing the critical nonnative stops. We extend the lexical retuning paradigm of Norris, McQueen, and Cutler (Cognitive Psychology, 47, 204-238, 2003) by having naive American English (AE)-speaking participants perform a pretest-training-posttest procedure. They performed an AXB discrimination task with the Hindi retroflex and dental stops before and after transcribing naturally produced words from an Indian English speaker that either contained these tokens or not. Only those participants who heard words with the critical nonnative phones improved in their posttest discrimination. This finding suggests that exposure to nonnative phones in native lexical contexts supports learning of difficult nonnative phonetic discrimination.

High frequency repetitive sensory stimulation improves temporal discrimination in healthy subjects.

PubMed

Erro, Roberto; Rocchi, Lorenzo; Antelmi, Elena; Palladino, Raffaele; Tinazzi, Michele; Rothwell, John; Bhatia, Kailash P

2016-01-01

High frequency electrical stimulation of an area of skin on a finger improves two-point spatial discrimination in the stimulated area, likely depending on plastic changes in the somatosensory cortex. However, it is unknown whether improvement also applies to temporal discrimination. Twelve young and ten elderly volunteers underwent the stimulation protocol onto the palmar skin of the right index finger. Somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) was evaluated before and immediately after stimulation as well as 2.5h and 24h later. There was a significant reduction in somatosensory temporal threshold only on the stimulated finger. The effect was reversible, with STDT returning to the baseline values within 24h, and was smaller in the elderly than in the young participants. High frequency stimulation of the skin focally improves temporal discrimination in the area of stimulation. Given previous suggestions that the perceptual effects rely on plastic changes in the somatosensory cortex, our results are consistent with the idea that the timing of sensory stimuli is, at least partially, encoded in the primary somatosensory cortex. Such a protocol could potentially be used as a therapeutic intervention to ameliorate physiological decline in the elderly or in other disorders of sensorimotor integration. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Brief Critique of Chomsky's Challenge to Classical Phonemic Phonology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ngar-Fun

1994-01-01

Phonemic phonology became important because it provided a descriptive account of dialects and languages that had never been transcribed before, and it derives its greatest strength from its practical orientation, which has proved beneficial to language teaching and learning. Noam Chomsky's criticisms of it are largely unjust because he has not…

Multisensory speech perception in autism spectrum disorder: From phoneme to whole-word perception.

PubMed

Stevenson, Ryan A; Baum, Sarah H; Segers, Magali; Ferber, Susanne; Barense, Morgan D; Wallace, Mark T

2017-07-01

Speech perception in noisy environments is boosted when a listener can see the speaker's mouth and integrate the auditory and visual speech information. Autistic children have a diminished capacity to integrate sensory information across modalities, which contributes to core symptoms of autism, such as impairments in social communication. We investigated the abilities of autistic and typically-developing (TD) children to integrate auditory and visual speech stimuli in various signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Measurements of both whole-word and phoneme recognition were recorded. At the level of whole-word recognition, autistic children exhibited reduced performance in both the auditory and audiovisual modalities. Importantly, autistic children showed reduced behavioral benefit from multisensory integration with whole-word recognition, specifically at low SNRs. At the level of phoneme recognition, autistic children exhibited reduced performance relative to their TD peers in auditory, visual, and audiovisual modalities. However, and in contrast to their performance at the level of whole-word recognition, both autistic and TD children showed benefits from multisensory integration for phoneme recognition. In accordance with the principle of inverse effectiveness, both groups exhibited greater benefit at low SNRs relative to high SNRs. Thus, while autistic children showed typical multisensory benefits during phoneme recognition, these benefits did not translate to typical multisensory benefit of whole-word recognition in noisy environments. We hypothesize that sensory impairments in autistic children raise the SNR threshold needed to extract meaningful information from a given sensory input, resulting in subsequent failure to exhibit behavioral benefits from additional sensory information at the level of whole-word recognition. Autism Res 2017. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1280-1290. © 2017 International

Phoneme Awareness, Visual-Verbal Paired-Associate Learning, and Rapid Automatized Naming as Predictors of Individual Differences in Reading Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warmington, Meesha; Hulme, Charles

2012-01-01

This study examines the concurrent relationships between phoneme awareness, visual-verbal paired-associate learning, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading skills in 7- to 11-year-old children. Path analyses showed that visual-verbal paired-associate learning and RAN, but not phoneme awareness, were unique predictors of word recognition,…

Spatial-Gain Improvement Resulting from Left/Right Discriminating Elements of an Underwater Towed Array

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-15

DISCRIMINATING ELEMENTS OF AN UNDERWATER TOWED ARRAY rsil RONALD A. WAGSTAFF and PIETRO MANASCA D TIC": L• ’" .... 4"•’.,, 15 SEPTEMBER 1981...IMPROVEMENT RESULTING FROM LEFT/RIGHT DISCRIMINATING ELEMENTS OF AN UNDERWATER TOWED ARRAY by Ronald A. Wagstaff and Pietro Zanasca 15 September 1981 F...RESULTING FROM LEFT/RIGHT DISCRIMINATING ELEMENTS OF AN UNDERWATER TOWED ARRAY by Ronald A. Wagstaff and Pietro Zanasca ABSTRACT The improvement in

Detection of target phonemes in spontaneous and read speech.

PubMed

Mehta, G; Cutler, A

1988-01-01

Although spontaneous speech occurs more frequently in most listeners' experience than read speech, laboratory studies of human speech recognition typically use carefully controlled materials read from a script. The phonological and prosodic characteristics of spontaneous and read speech differ considerably, however, which suggests that laboratory results may not generalise to the recognition of spontaneous speech. In the present study listeners were presented with both spontaneous and read speech materials, and their response time to detect word-initial target phonemes was measured. Responses were, overall, equally fast in each speech mode. However, analysis of effects previously reported in phoneme detection studies revealed significant differences between speech modes. In read speech but not in spontaneous speech, later targets were detected more rapidly than targets preceded by short words. In contrast, in spontaneous speech but not in read speech, targets were detected more rapidly in accented than in unaccented words and in strong than in weak syllables. An explanation for this pattern is offered in terms of characteristic prosodic differences between spontaneous and read speech. The results support claims from previous work that listeners pay great attention to prosodic information in the process of recognising speech.

Real-Time Palpation Imaging for Improved Detection and Discrimination of Breast Abnormalities

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-01

useful tool for improving the discrimination between benign and malignant breast tumors. The scope of the effort in our first year of funding was to...lesion area measured in B-mode versus strain images we find complete discrimination between benign and malignant lesions.

Understanding native Russian listeners' errors on an English word recognition test: model-based analysis of phoneme confusion.

PubMed

Shi, Lu-Feng; Morozova, Natalia

2012-08-01

Word recognition is a basic component in a comprehensive hearing evaluation, but data are lacking for listeners speaking two languages. This study obtained such data for Russian natives in the US and analysed the data using the perceptual assimilation model (PAM) and speech learning model (SLM). Listeners were randomly presented 200 NU-6 words in quiet. Listeners responded verbally and in writing. Performance was scored on words and phonemes (word-initial consonants, vowels, and word-final consonants). Seven normal-hearing, adult monolingual English natives (NM), 16 English-dominant (ED), and 15 Russian-dominant (RD) Russian natives participated. ED and RD listeners differed significantly in their language background. Consistent with the SLM, NM outperformed ED listeners and ED outperformed RD listeners, whether responses were scored on words or phonemes. NM and ED listeners shared similar phoneme error patterns, whereas RD listeners' errors had unique patterns that could be largely understood via the PAM. RD listeners had particular difficulty differentiating vowel contrasts /i-I/, /æ-ε/, and /ɑ-Λ/, word-initial consonant contrasts /p-h/ and /b-f/, and word-final contrasts /f-v/. Both first-language phonology and second-language learning history affect word and phoneme recognition. Current findings may help clinicians differentiate word recognition errors due to language background from hearing pathologies.

Changes in Articulator Movement Variability during Phonemic Development: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grigos, Maria I.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The present study explored articulator movement variability during voicing contrast acquisition. The purpose was to examine whether oral articulator movement trajectories associated with the production of voiced/voiceless bilabial phonemes in children became less variable over time. Method: Jaw, lower lip, and upper lip movements were…

Age and Schooling Effects on Early Literacy and Phoneme Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Anna; Carroll, Julia

2011-01-01

Previous research on age and schooling effects is largely restricted to studies of children who begin formal schooling at 6 years of age, and the measures of phoneme awareness used have typically lacked sensitivity for beginning readers. Our study addresses these issues by testing 4 to 6 year-olds (first 2 years of formal schooling in the United…

Musical experience and Mandarin tone discrimination and imitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gottfried, Terry L.; Staby, Ann M.; Ziemer, Christine J.

2004-05-01

Previous work [T. L. Gottfried and D. Riester, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 108, 2604 (2000)] showed that native speakers of American English with musical training performed better than nonmusicians when identifying the four distinctive tones of Mandarin Chinese (high-level, mid-rising, low-dipping, high-falling). Accuracy for both groups was relatively low since listeners were not trained on the phonemic contrasts. Current research compares musicians and nonmusicians on discrimination and imitation of unfamiliar tones. Listeners were presented with two different Mandarin words that had either the same or different tones; listeners indicated whether the tones were same or different. Thus, they were required to determine a categorical match (same or different tone), rather than an auditory match. All listeners had significantly more difficulty discriminating between mid-rising and low-dipping tones than with other contrasts. Listeners with more musical training showed significantly greater accuracy in their discrimination. Likewise, musicians' spoken imitations of Mandarin tones (model tokens presented by a native speaker) were rated as significantly more native-like than those of nonmusicians. These findings suggest that musicians may have abilities or training that facilitate their perception and production of Mandarin tones. However, further research is needed to determine whether this advantage transfers to language learning situations.

Speech Rate Normalization and Phonemic Boundary Perception in Cochlear-Implant Users

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaekel, Brittany N.; Newman, Rochelle S.; Goupell, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Normal-hearing (NH) listeners rate normalize, temporarily remapping phonemic category boundaries to account for a talker's speech rate. It is unknown if adults who use auditory prostheses called cochlear implants (CI) can rate normalize, as CIs transmit degraded speech signals to the auditory nerve. Ineffective adjustment to rate…

The Influence of Spanish Vocabulary and Phonemic Awareness on Beginning English Reading Development: A Three-Year (K-2nd) Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Michael F.; Roe, Mary; Blanchard, Jay; Atwill, Kim

2015-01-01

This investigation examined the influence of varying levels of Spanish receptive vocabulary and phonemic awareness ability on beginning English vocabulary, phonemic awareness, word reading fluency, and reading comprehension development across kindergarten through second grade. The 80 respondents were Spanish speaking children with no English…

Phonemic Awareness and the Teaching of Reading. A Position Statement from the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Reading Association, Newark, DE.

This position paper considers the complex relation between phonemic awareness and reading. The paper seeks to define phonemic awareness (although there is no single definition), stating that it is typically described as an insight about oral language and in particular about the segmentation of sounds that are used in speech communication. It also…

Assessing the Effectiveness of Two Theoretically Motivated Computer-Assisted Reading Interventions in the United Kingdom: GG Rime and GG Phoneme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyle, Fiona; Kujala, Janne; Richardson, Ulla; Lyytinen, Heikki; Goswami, Usha

2013-01-01

We report an empirical comparison of the effectiveness of two theoretically motivated computer-assisted reading interventions (CARI) based on the Finnish GraphoGame CARI: English GraphoGame Rime (GG Rime) and English GraphoGame Phoneme (GG Phoneme). Participants were 6-7-year-old students who had been identified by their teachers as being…

Assessing the Effects of the "McGraw Hill Phonemic Awareness" Program with Preschool Children with Developmental Delays: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isakson, Lisa; Marchand-Martella, Nancy; Martella, Ronald C.

2011-01-01

This study assessed the effects of "McGraw Hill Phonemic Awareness" on the phonemic awareness skills of 5 preschool children with developmental delays. The children received 60 of the 110 lessons included in this program over 5 months. They were pre- and posttested using the kindergarten level Initial Sound Fluency and Phoneme…

Improved pulse shape discrimination in EJ-301 liquid scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, R. F.; Masson, D.; Pienaar, J.; Röttger, S.

2017-06-01

Digital pulse shape discrimination has become readily available to distinguish nuclear recoil and electronic recoil events in scintillation detectors. We evaluate digital implementations of pulse shape discrimination algorithms discussed in the literature, namely the Charge Comparison Method, Pulse-Gradient Analysis, Fourier Series and Standard Event Fitting. In addition, we present a novel algorithm based on a Laplace Transform. Instead of comparing the performance of these algorithms based on a single Figure of Merit, we evaluate them as a function of recoil energy. Specifically, using commercial EJ-301 liquid scintillators, we examined both the resulting acceptance of nuclear recoils at a given rejection level of electronic recoils, as well as the purity of the selected nuclear recoil event samples. We find that both a Standard Event fit and a Laplace Transform can be used to significantly improve the discrimination capabilities over the whole considered energy range of 0 - 800keVee . Furthermore, we show that the Charge Comparison Method performs poorly in accurately identifying nuclear recoils.

Elegant Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence: A Periodic Chart and Singularity Generalization Unify Decoding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gates, Louis

2018-01-01

The accompanying article introduces highly transparent grapheme-phoneme relationships embodied within a Periodic table of decoding cells, which arguably presents the quintessential transparent decoding elements. The study then folds these cells into one highly transparent but simply stated singularity generalization--this generalization unifies…

Improving UXO Detection and Discrimination in Magnetic Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

Krahenbuhl, Todd Meglich Center for Gravity, Electrical , & Magnetic Studies Department of Geophysics Colorado School of Mines Doug Oldenburg, Len...NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Colorado School of Mines,Department of Geophysics,Center for Gravity, Electrical , & Magnetic Studies,Golden,CO,80401 8...SERDP Project MM-1414 Improving UXO Detection and Discrimination in Magnetic Environments Final Report Center for Gravity, Electrical , & Magnetic Studies

Combining spatial and spectral information to improve crop/weed discrimination algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, L.; Jones, G.; Villette, S.; Paoli, J. N.; Gée, C.

2012-01-01

Reduction of herbicide spraying is an important key to environmentally and economically improve weed management. To achieve this, remote sensors such as imaging systems are commonly used to detect weed plants. We developed spatial algorithms that detect the crop rows to discriminate crop from weeds. These algorithms have been thoroughly tested and provide robust and accurate results without learning process but their detection is limited to inter-row areas. Crop/Weed discrimination using spectral information is able to detect intra-row weeds but generally needs a prior learning process. We propose a method based on spatial and spectral information to enhance the discrimination and overcome the limitations of both algorithms. The classification from the spatial algorithm is used to build the training set for the spectral discrimination method. With this approach we are able to improve the range of weed detection in the entire field (inter and intra-row). To test the efficiency of these algorithms, a relevant database of virtual images issued from SimAField model has been used and combined to LOPEX93 spectral database. The developed method based is evaluated and compared with the initial method in this paper and shows an important enhancement from 86% of weed detection to more than 95%.

Phonemic Awareness and Middle-Ear Disease among Bedouin Arabs in Israel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu-Rabia, Salim

2002-01-01

Investigates the effect of middle-ear infections on phonemic awareness on first-grade Bedouin Arab elementary school children in northern Israel. Divides 49 children who were screened according to their infant medical records into two groups: one with repeated middle-ear infection and one without. Indicates a nonsignificant effect of middle-ear…

Serotonin 2C receptor antagonist improves fear discrimination and subsequent safety signal recall

PubMed Central

Foilb, Allison R.; Christianson, John P.

2015-01-01

The capacity to discriminate between safety and danger is fundamental for survival, but is disrupted in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Acute stressors cause a release of serotonin (5-HT) in the forebrain, which is one mechanism for enhanced fear and anxiety; these effects are mediated by the 5-HT2C receptor. Using a fear discrimination paradigm where a danger signal conditioned stimulus (CS+) coterminates with a mild footshock and a safety signal (CS-) indicates the absence of shock, we demonstrate that danger/safety discrimination and fear inhibition develops over the course of 4 daily conditioning sessions. Systemic administration of the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB 242084 (0.25 or 1.0 mg/kg) prior to conditioning reduced behavioral freezing during conditioning, improved learning and subsequent inhibition of fear by the safety signal. Discrimination was apparent in the first recall test, and discrimination during training was evident after 3 days of conditioning versus 5 days in the vehicle treated controls. These results suggest a novel therapeutic use for 5-HT2C receptor antagonists to improve learning under stressful circumstances. Potential anatomical loci for 5-HT2C receptor modulation of fear discrimination learning and cognitive performance enhancement are discussed. PMID:26344640

Fluency Training in Phoneme Blending: A Preliminary Study of Generalized Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martens, Brian K.; Werder, Candace S.; Hier, Bridget O.; Koenig, Elizabeth A.

2013-01-01

We examined the generalized effects of training children to fluently blend phonemes of words containing target vowel teams on their reading of trained and untrained words in lists and passages. Three second-grade students participated. A subset of words containing each of 3 target vowel teams ("aw," "oi," and "au") was trained in lists, and…

First Language Grapheme-Phoneme Transparency Effects in Adult Second Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ijalba, Elizabeth; Obler, Loraine K.

2015-01-01

The Spanish writing system has consistent grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPC), rendering it more transparent than English. We compared first-language (L1) orthographic transparency on how monolingual English- and Spanish-readers learned a novel writing system with a 1:1 (LT) and a 1:2 (LO) GPC. Our dependent variables were learning time,…

Interaction between Phonemic Abilities and Syllable Congruency Effect in Young Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chetail, Fabienne; Mathey, Stephanie

2013-01-01

This study investigated whether and to what extent phonemic abilities of young readers (Grade 5) influence syllabic effects in reading. More precisely, the syllable congruency effect was tested in the lexical decision task combined with masked priming in eleven-year-old children. Target words were preceded by a pseudo-word prime sharing the first…

Phonemic carryover perseveration: word blends.

PubMed

Buckingham, Hugh W; Christman, Sarah S

2004-11-01

This article will outline and describe the aphasic disorder of recurrent perseveration and will demonstrate how it interacts with the retrieval and production of spoken words in the language of fluent aphasic patients who have sustained damage to the left (dominant) posterior temporoparietal lobe. We will concentrate on the various kinds of sublexical segmental perseverations (the so-called phonemic carryovers of Santo Pietro and Rigrodsky) that most often play a role in the generation of word blendings. We will show how perseverative blends allow the clinician to better understand the dynamics of word and syllable production in fluent aphasia by scrutinizing the "onset/rime" and "onset/superrime" constituents of monosyllabic and polysyllabic words, respectively. We will demonstrate to the speech language pathologist the importance of the trochee stress pattern and the possibility that its metrical template may constitute a structural unit that can be perseverated.

Neural Correlates in the Processing of Phoneme-Level Complexity in Vowel Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Haeil; Iverson, Gregory K.; Park, Hae-Jeong

2011-01-01

We investigated how articulatory complexity at the phoneme level is manifested neurobiologically in an overt production task. fMRI images were acquired from young Korean-speaking adults as they pronounced bisyllabic pseudowords in which we manipulated phonological complexity defined in terms of vowel duration and instability (viz., COMPLEX:…

What a Nonnative Speaker of English Needs to Learn through Listening.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohlken, Robert; Macias, Lori

Teaching nonnative speakers of English to listen for the discriminating nuances of the language is an important but neglected aspect of American English language training. A discriminating listening process follows a sequence of distinguishing phonemes, supra segmental phonemes, morphemes, and syntax. Certain phonetic differences can be noted…

The Categorical Perception Deficit in Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noordenbos, Mark W.; Serniclaes, Willy

2015-01-01

Speech perception in dyslexia is characterized by a categorical perception (CP) deficit, demonstrated by weaker discrimination of acoustic differences between phonemic categories in conjunction with better discrimination of acoustic differences within phonemic categories. We performed a meta-analysis of studies that examined the reliability of the…

Phoneme Error Pattern by Heritage Speakers of Spanish on an English Word Recognition Test.

PubMed

Shi, Lu-Feng

2017-04-01

Heritage speakers acquire their native language from home use in their early childhood. As the native language is typically a minority language in the society, these individuals receive their formal education in the majority language and eventually develop greater competency with the majority than their native language. To date, there have not been specific research attempts to understand word recognition by heritage speakers. It is not clear if and to what degree we may infer from evidence based on bilingual listeners in general. This preliminary study investigated how heritage speakers of Spanish perform on an English word recognition test and analyzed their phoneme errors. A prospective, cross-sectional, observational design was employed. Twelve normal-hearing adult Spanish heritage speakers (four men, eight women, 20-38 yr old) participated in the study. Their language background was obtained through the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire. Nine English monolingual listeners (three men, six women, 20-41 yr old) were also included for comparison purposes. Listeners were presented with 200 Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 words in quiet. They repeated each word orally and in writing. Their responses were scored by word, word-initial consonant, vowel, and word-final consonant. Performance was compared between groups with Student's t test or analysis of variance. Group-specific error patterns were primarily descriptive, but intergroup comparisons were made using 95% or 99% confidence intervals for proportional data. The two groups of listeners yielded comparable scores when their responses were examined by word, vowel, and final consonant. However, heritage speakers of Spanish misidentified significantly more word-initial consonants and had significantly more difficulty with initial /p, b, h/ than their monolingual peers. The two groups yielded similar patterns for vowel and word-final consonants, but heritage speakers made significantly

Differential Prefrontal and Frontotemporal Oxygenation Patterns during Phonemic and Semantic Verbal Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tupak, Sara V.; Badewien, Meike; Dresler, Thomas; Hahn, Tim; Ernst, Lena H.; Herrmann, Martin J.; Fallgatter, Andreas J.; Ehlis, Ann-Christine

2012-01-01

Movement artifacts are still considered a problematic issue for imaging research on overt language production. This motion-sensitivity can be overcome by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In the present study, 50 healthy subjects performed a combined phonemic and semantic overt verbal fluency task while frontal and temporal cortex…

Phoneme Awareness, Vocabulary and Word Decoding in Monolingual and Bilingual Dutch Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janssen, Marije; Bosman, Anna M. T.; Leseman, Paul P. M.

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether bilingually raised children in the Netherlands, who receive literacy instruction in their second language only, show an advantage on Dutch phoneme-awareness tasks compared with monolingual Dutch-speaking children. Language performance of a group of 47 immigrant first-grade children with various…

Phoneme Monitoring in Silent Naming and Perception in Adults Who Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasisekaran, Jayanthi; De Nil, Luc F.

2006-01-01

The present study investigated phonological encoding skills in persons who stutter (PWS). Participants were 10 PWS (M=31.8 years, S.D.=5.9) matched for age, gender, and handedness with 12 persons who do not stutter (PNS) (M=24.3 years, S.D.=4.3). The groups were compared in a phoneme monitoring task performed during silent picture naming. The…

The Role of Hypercorrection in the Acquisition of L2 Phonemic Contrasts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckman, Fred R.; Iverson, Gregory K.; Song, Jae Yung

2013-01-01

This article reports empirical findings from an ongoing investigation into the acquisition of second-language (L2) phonemic contrasts. Specifically, we consider the status and role of the phenomenon of hypercorrection in the various stages through which L2 learners develop and internalize a target language (TL) contrast. We adopt the prevailing…

Contemporary Issues in Phoneme Production by Hearing-Impaired Persons: Physiological and Acoustic Aspects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGarr, Nancy S.; Whitehead, Robert

1992-01-01

This paper on physiologic correlates of speech production in children and youth with hearing impairments focuses specifically on the production of phonemes and includes data on respiration for speech production, phonation, speech aerodynamics, articulation, and acoustic analyses of speech by hearing-impaired persons. (Author/DB)

The Persian version of auditory word discrimination test (P-AWDT) for children: Development, validity, and reliability.

PubMed

Hashemi, Nassim; Ghorbani, Ali; Soleymani, Zahra; Kamali, Mohmmad; Ahmadi, Zohreh Ziatabar; Mahmoudian, Saeid

2018-07-01

Auditory discrimination of speech sounds is an important perceptual ability and a precursor to the acquisition of language. Auditory information is at least partially necessary for the acquisition and organization of phonological rules. There are few standardized behavioral tests to evaluate phonemic distinctive features in children with or without speech and language disorders. The main objective of the present study was the development, validity, and reliability of the Persian version of auditory word discrimination test (P-AWDT) for 4-8-year-old children. A total of 120 typical children and 40 children with speech sound disorder (SSD) participated in the present study. The test comprised of 160 monosyllabic paired-words distributed in the Forms A-1 and the Form A-2 for the initial consonants (80 words) and the Forms B-1 and the Form B-2 for the final consonants (80 words). Moreover, the discrimination of vowels was randomly included in all forms. Content validity was calculated and 50 children repeated the test twice with two weeks of interval (test-retest reliability). Further analysis was also implemented including validity, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Cronbach's alpha (internal consistency), age groups, and gender. The content validity index (CVI) and the test-retest reliability of the P-AWDT were achieved 63%-86% and 81%-96%, respectively. Moreover, the total Cronbach's alpha for the internal consistency was estimated relatively high (0.93). Comparison of the mean scores of the P-AWDT in the typical children and the children with SSD revealed a significant difference. The results revealed that the group with SSD had greater severity of deficit than the typical group in auditory word discrimination. In addition, the difference between the age groups was statistically significant, especially in 4-4.11-year-old children. The performance of the two gender groups was relatively same. The comparison of the P-AWDT scores between the typical children

Perception of Vowel Length by Japanese- and English-Learning Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mugitani, Ryoko; Pons, Ferran; Fais, Laurel; Dietrich, Christiane; Werker, Janet F.; Amano, Shigeaki

2009-01-01

This study investigated vowel length discrimination in infants from 2 language backgrounds, Japanese and English, in which vowel length is either phonemic or nonphonemic. Experiment 1 revealed that English 18-month-olds discriminate short and long vowels although vowel length is not phonemically contrastive in English. Experiments 2 and 3 revealed…

The Perception of Second Language Sounds in Early Bilinguals: New Evidence from an Implicit Measure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Navarra, Jordi; Sebastian-Galles, Nuria; Soto-Faraco, Salvador

2005-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that nonnative (L2) linguistic sounds are accommodated to native language (L1) phonemic categories. However, this conclusion may be compromised by the use of explicit discrimination tests. The present study provides an implicit measure of L2 phoneme discrimination in early bilinguals (Catalan and Spanish).…

Word-Level Reading Achievement and Behavioral Inattention: Exploring Their Overlap and Relations with Naming Speed and Phonemic Awareness in a Community Sample of Children

PubMed Central

Martinussen, Rhonda; Grimbos, Teresa; Ferrari, Julia L. S.

2014-01-01

This study investigated the contribution of naming speed and phonemic awareness to teacher inattention ratings and word-level reading proficiency in 79 first grade children (43 boys, 36 girls). Participants completed the cognitive and reading measures midway through the school year. Teacher ratings of inattention were obtained for each child at the same time point. A path analysis revealed that behavioral inattention had a significant direct effect on word reading proficiency as well as significant indirect effects through phonemic awareness and naming speed. For pseudoword reading proficiency, the effects of inattention were indirect only through phonemic awareness and naming speed. A regression analysis indicated that naming speed, but not phonemic awareness, was significantly associated with teacher inattention ratings controlling for word reading proficiency. The findings highlight the need to better understand the role of behavioral inattention in the development of emergent literacy skills and reading proficiency. PMID:25178628

Prosodic and Phonemic Awareness in Children's Reading of Long and Short Words

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wade-Woolley, Lesly

2016-01-01

Phonemic and prosodic awareness are both phonological processes that operate at different levels: the former at the level of the individual sound segment and the latter at the suprasegmental level across syllables. Both have been shown to be related to word reading in young readers. In this study we examine how these processes are differentially…

Improving Dorsal Stream Function in Dyslexics by Training Figure/Ground Motion Discrimination Improves Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory

PubMed Central

Lawton, Teri

2016-01-01

There is an ongoing debate about whether the cause of dyslexia is based on linguistic, auditory, or visual timing deficits. To investigate this issue three interventions were compared in 58 dyslexics in second grade (7 years on average), two targeting the temporal dynamics (timing) of either the auditory or visual pathways with a third reading intervention (control group) targeting linguistic word building. Visual pathway training in dyslexics to improve direction-discrimination of moving test patterns relative to a stationary background (figure/ground discrimination) significantly improved attention, reading fluency, both speed and comprehension, phonological processing, and both auditory and visual working memory relative to controls, whereas auditory training to improve phonological processing did not improve these academic skills significantly more than found for controls. This study supports the hypothesis that faulty timing in synchronizing the activity of magnocellular with parvocellular visual pathways is a fundamental cause of dyslexia, and argues against the assumption that reading deficiencies in dyslexia are caused by phonological deficits. This study demonstrates that visual movement direction-discrimination can be used to not only detect dyslexia early, but also for its successful treatment, so that reading problems do not prevent children from readily learning. PMID:27551263

Improving Dorsal Stream Function in Dyslexics by Training Figure/Ground Motion Discrimination Improves Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory.

PubMed

Lawton, Teri

2016-01-01

There is an ongoing debate about whether the cause of dyslexia is based on linguistic, auditory, or visual timing deficits. To investigate this issue three interventions were compared in 58 dyslexics in second grade (7 years on average), two targeting the temporal dynamics (timing) of either the auditory or visual pathways with a third reading intervention (control group) targeting linguistic word building. Visual pathway training in dyslexics to improve direction-discrimination of moving test patterns relative to a stationary background (figure/ground discrimination) significantly improved attention, reading fluency, both speed and comprehension, phonological processing, and both auditory and visual working memory relative to controls, whereas auditory training to improve phonological processing did not improve these academic skills significantly more than found for controls. This study supports the hypothesis that faulty timing in synchronizing the activity of magnocellular with parvocellular visual pathways is a fundamental cause of dyslexia, and argues against the assumption that reading deficiencies in dyslexia are caused by phonological deficits. This study demonstrates that visual movement direction-discrimination can be used to not only detect dyslexia early, but also for its successful treatment, so that reading problems do not prevent children from readily learning.

The Phoneme Identification Test for Assessment of Spectral and Temporal Discrimination Skills in Children: Development, Normative Data, and Test-Retest Reliability Studies.

PubMed

Cameron, Sharon; Chong-White, Nicky; Mealings, Kiri; Beechey, Tim; Dillon, Harvey; Young, Taegan

2018-02-01

that resulted in uncertain responses was 33% in quiet and 40% in noise. There was a significant effect of age on the width of this UR (p < 0.00001) in both quiet and noise, with performance becoming adult like by age 9 on the PIT Q and age 10 on the PIT N. A skewed distribution toward negative performance occurred in both quiet (p = 0.01) and noise (p = 0.006). Median UR scores were significantly wider in noise than in quiet (T = 2041, p < 0.0000001). Performance (z scores) across the two tests was significantly correlated (r = 0.36, p = 0.000009). Test-retest z scores were significantly correlated in both quiet and noise (r = 0.4 and 0.37, respectively, p < 0.0001). The PIT normative data show that the ability to identify phonemes based on changes in formant transitions improves with age, and that some children in the general population have performance much worse than their age peers. In children, uncertainty increases when the stimuli are presented in noise. The test is suitable for use in planned studies in a clinical population. American Academy of Audiology

How Important Is Teaching Phonemic Awareness to Children Learning to Read in Spanish?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldenberg, Claude; Tolar, Tammy D.; Reese, Leslie; Francis, David J.; Bazán, Antonio Ray; Mejía-Arauz, Rebeca

2014-01-01

This comparative study examines relationships between phonemic awareness and Spanish reading skill acquisition among three groups of Spanish-speaking first and second graders: children in Mexico receiving reading instruction in Spanish and children in the United States receiving reading instruction in either Spanish or English. Children were…

The Recognition of Words from Phonemes in Continuous Speech.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

C A BAKER UNCLASSIFIED AFIT/GE/EE/810ŝ NL EEEEEEIIEEEEI EEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEIIEEEIIEI IIIEEEEIIEIIEE EIEEEEEEEEIIEE IIIEIIEEEEEEEE r- ~. 7 c ~ F IVV...82 06 16 011 AFIT/GE/EE/ 81 D -9 THE RECOGNITION OF WORDS FROM PHONEMES IN CONTINUOUS SPEECH THESIS AFIT/GE/EE/81D-9 Claude A. Baker Captain USAF...33. OU Qbey 14. ZX zoo 34. UX foot 15. SH 5h e 35. UU b.Qt 16. ZH azure 36. UH up 17. MX me 37. UH about 18. NX no 38. ER woQrd 19. NG sinkg 39. XX NA

Odour discrimination and identification are improved in early blindness.

PubMed

Cuevas, Isabel; Plaza, Paula; Rombaux, Philippe; De Volder, Anne G; Renier, Laurent

2009-12-01

Previous studies showed that early blind humans develop superior abilities in the use of their remaining senses, hypothetically due to a functional reorganization of the deprived visual brain areas. While auditory and tactile functions have been investigated for long, little is known about the effects of early visual deprivation on olfactory processing. However, blind humans make an extensive use of olfactory information in their daily life. Here we investigated olfactory discrimination and identification abilities in early blind subjects and age-matched sighted controls. Three levels of cuing were used in the identification task, i.e., free-identification (no cue), categorization (semantic cues) and multiple choice (semantic and phonological cues). Early blind subjects significantly outperformed the controls in odour discrimination, free-identification and categorization. In addition, the larger group difference was observed in the free-identification as compared to the categorization and the multiple choice conditions. This indicated that a better access to the semantic information from odour perception accounted for part of the improved olfactory performances in odour identification in the blind. We concluded that early blind subjects have both improved perceptual abilities and a better access to the information stored in semantic memory than sighted subjects.

Word-level reading achievement and behavioral inattention: exploring their overlap and relations with naming speed and phonemic awareness in a community sample of children.

PubMed

Martinussen, Rhonda; Grimbos, Teresa; Ferrari, Julia L S

2014-11-01

This study investigated the contribution of naming speed and phonemic awareness to teacher inattention ratings and word-level reading proficiency in 79 first grade children (43 boys, 36 girls). Participants completed the cognitive and reading measures midway through the school year. Teacher ratings of inattention were obtained for each child at the same time point. A path analysis revealed that behavioral inattention had a significant direct effect on word reading proficiency as well as significant indirect effects through phonemic awareness and naming speed. For pseudoword reading proficiency, the effects of inattention were indirect only through phonemic awareness and naming speed. A regression analysis indicated that naming speed, but not phonemic awareness, was significantly associated with teacher inattention ratings controlling for word reading proficiency. The findings highlight the need to better understand the role of behavioral inattention in the development of emergent literacy skills and reading proficiency. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Early Orthographic Influences on Phonemic Awareness Tasks: Evidence from a Preschool Training Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castles, Anne; Wilson, Katherine; Coltheart, Max

2011-01-01

Experienced readers show influences of orthographic knowledge on tasks ostensibly tapping phonemic awareness. Here we draw on data from an experimental training study to demonstrate that even preschoolers show influences of their emerging orthographic abilities in such tasks. A total of 40 children were taught some letter-sound correspondences but…

Structure of Preschool Phonological Sensitivity: Overlapping Sensitivity to Rhyme, Words, Syllables, and Phonemes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anthony, Jason L.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Burgess, Stephen R.; Driscoll, Kimberly; Phillips, Beth M.; Cantor, Brenlee G.

2002-01-01

This study examined relations among sensitivity to words, syllables, rhymes, and phonemes in older and younger preschoolers. Confirmatory factor analyses found that a one-factor model best explained the date from both groups of children. Only variance common to all phonological sensitivity skills was related to print knowledge and rudimentary…

Functional connectivity in resting state as a phonemic fluency ability measure.

PubMed

Miró-Padilla, Anna; Bueichekú, Elisenda; Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Palomar-García, María-Ángeles; Ávila, César

2017-03-01

There is some evidence that functional connectivity (FC) measures obtained at rest may reflect individual differences in cognitive capabilities. We tested this possibility by using the FAS test as a measure of phonemic fluency. Seed regions of the main brain areas involved in this task were extracted from meta-analysis results (Wagner et al., 2014) and used for pairwise resting-state FC analysis. Ninety-three undergraduates completed the FAS test outside the scanner. A correlation analysis was conducted between the F-A-S scores (behavioral testing) and the pairwise FC pattern of verbal fluency regions of interest. Results showed that the higher FC between the thalamus and the cerebellum, and the lower FCs between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right insula and between the supplementary motor area and the right insula were associated with better performance on the FAS test. Regression analyses revealed that the first two FCs contributed independently to this better phonemic fluency, reflecting a more general attentional factor (FC between thalamus and cerebellum) and a more specific fluency factor (FC between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right insula). The results support the Spontaneous Trait Reactivation hypothesis, which explains how resting-state derived measures may reflect individual differences in cognitive abilities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence for the Impact of Regional Variation on Phoneme Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunelliere, Angele; Dufour, Sophie; Nguyen, Noel; Frauenfelder, Ulrich Hans

2009-01-01

This event-related potential (ERP) study examined the impact of phonological variation resulting from a vowel merger on phoneme perception. The perception of the /e/-/[epsilon]/ contrast which does not exist in Southern French-speaking regions, and which is in the process of merging in Northern French-speaking regions, was compared to the…

African American English Dialect and Performance on Nonword Spelling and Phonemic Awareness Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohler, Candida T.; Bahr, Ruth Huntley; Silliman, Elaine R.; Bryant, Judith Becker; Apel, Kenn; Wilkinson, Louise C.

2007-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the role of dialect on phonemic awareness and nonword spelling tasks. These tasks were selected for their reliance on phonological and orthographic processing, which may be influenced by dialect use. Method: Eighty typically developing African American children in Grades 1 and 3 were first screened for dialect use and then…

Present and past: Can writing abilities in school children be associated with their auditory discrimination capacities in infancy?

PubMed

Schaadt, Gesa; Männel, Claudia; van der Meer, Elke; Pannekamp, Ann; Oberecker, Regine; Friederici, Angela D

2015-12-01

Literacy acquisition is highly associated with auditory processing abilities, such as auditory discrimination. The event-related potential Mismatch Response (MMR) is an indicator for cortical auditory discrimination abilities and it has been found to be reduced in individuals with reading and writing impairments and also in infants at risk for these impairments. The goal of the present study was to analyze the relationship between auditory speech discrimination in infancy and writing abilities at school age within subjects, and to determine when auditory speech discrimination differences, relevant for later writing abilities, start to develop. We analyzed the MMR registered in response to natural syllables in German children with and without writing problems at two points during development, that is, at school age and at infancy, namely at age 1 month and 5 months. We observed MMR related auditory discrimination differences between infants with and without later writing problems, starting to develop at age 5 months-an age when infants begin to establish language-specific phoneme representations. At school age, these children with and without writing problems also showed auditory discrimination differences, reflected in the MMR, confirming a relationship between writing and auditory speech processing skills. Thus, writing problems at school age are, at least, partly grounded in auditory discrimination problems developing already during the first months of life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates in the processing of phoneme-level complexity in vowel production.

PubMed

Park, Haeil; Iverson, Gregory K; Park, Hae-Jeong

2011-12-01

We investigated how articulatory complexity at the phoneme level is manifested neurobiologically in an overt production task. fMRI images were acquired from young Korean-speaking adults as they pronounced bisyllabic pseudowords in which we manipulated phonological complexity defined in terms of vowel duration and instability (viz., COMPLEX: /tiɯi/ > MID-COMPLEX: /tiye/ > SIMPLE: /tii/). Increased activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann Areas (BA) 44 and 47), supplementary motor area and anterior insula was observed for the articulation of COMPLEX sequences relative to MID-COMPLEX; this was the case with the articulation of MID-COMPLEX relative to SIMPLE, except that the pars orbitalis (BA 47) was dominantly identified in the Broca's area. The differentiation indicates that phonological complexity is reflected in the neural processing of distinct phonemic representations, both by recruiting brain regions associated with retrieval of phonological information from memory and via articulatory rehearsal for the production of COMPLEX vowels. In addition, the finding that increased complexity engages greater areas of the brain suggests that brain activation can be a neurobiological measure of articulo-phonological complexity, complementing, if not substituting for, biomechanical measurements of speech motor activity. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigating the Phonological Similarity Effect: Syllable Structure and the Position of Common Phonemes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nimmo, Lisa M.; Roodenrys, Steven

2004-01-01

The aim of the present research was to determine whether the effect that phonological similarity has on immediate serial recall is influenced by the consistency and position of phonemes within words. In comparison to phonologically dissimilar lists, when the stimulus lists rhyme there is a facilitative effect on the recall of item information and…

Serotonin 2C receptor antagonist improves fear discrimination and subsequent safety signal recall.

PubMed

Foilb, Allison R; Christianson, John P

2016-02-04

The capacity to discriminate between safety and danger is fundamental for survival, but is disrupted in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Acute stressors cause a release of serotonin (5-HT) in the forebrain, which is one mechanism for enhanced fear and anxiety; these effects are mediated by the 5-HT2Creceptor. Using a fear discrimination paradigm where a danger signal conditioned stimulus (CS+) co-terminates with a mild footshock and a safety signal (CS-) indicates the absence of shock, we demonstrate that danger/safety discrimination and fear inhibition develop over the course of 4 daily conditioning sessions. Systemic administration of the 5-HT2Creceptor antagonist SB 242084 (0.25 or 1.0mg/kg) prior to conditioning reduced behavioral freezing during conditioning, and improved learning and subsequent inhibition of fear by the safety signal. Discrimination was apparent in the first recall test, and discrimination during training was evident after 3days of conditioning versus 5days in the vehicle treated controls. These results suggest a novel therapeutic use for 5-HT2Creceptor antagonists to improve learning under stressful circumstances. Potential anatomical loci for 5-HT2Creceptor modulation of fear discrimination learning and cognitive performance enhancement are discussed. John P. Christianson and Allison R. Foilb, the authors, verify that animal research was carried out in accordance with the National Institute of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH Publications No. 80-23) and all procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Boston College Animal Care and Use Committee. All efforts were made to limit the number of animals used and their suffering. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Error Variability and the Differentiation between Apraxia of Speech and Aphasia with Phonemic Paraphasia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haley, Katarina L.; Jacks, Adam; Cunningham, Kevin T.

2013-01-01

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical utility of error variability for differentiating between apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia with phonemic paraphasia. Method: Participants were 32 individuals with aphasia after left cerebral injury. Diagnostic groups were formed on the basis of operationalized measures of recognized…

Phonological Processing of Second Language Phonemes: A Selective Deficit in a Bilingual Aphasic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eviatar, Zohar; Leikin, Mark; Ibrahim, Raphiq

1999-01-01

A case study of a Russian-Hebrew bilingual woman with transcortical sensory aphasia showed that overall, aphasic symptoms were similar in the two languages, with Hebrew somewhat more impaired. The woman revealed a difference in her ability to perceive phonemes in the context of Hebrew words that depended on whether they were presented in a Russian…

Chronic antioxidant and mitochondrial cofactor administration improves discrimination learning in aged but not young dogs.

PubMed

Siwak, Christina T; Tapp, P Dwight; Head, Elizabeth; Zicker, Steven C; Murphey, Heather L; Muggenburg, Bruce A; Ikeda-Douglas, Candace J; Cotman, Carl W; Milgram, Norton W

2005-03-01

The present experiment was part of a 3-year longitudinal study examining the effects of age and antioxidant treatment on cognitive decline in beagles. Two size-concept tasks were administered following pretraining on a series of two-choice (six subtests) and three-choice size discrimination tasks. Thirty-nine young and aged dogs were matched for age and cognitive ability then divided into four treatment groups. A combined antioxidant-mitochondrial cofactor treatment led to significantly improved performance in aged dogs on the first subtest of the two-choice size discrimination series. Treated aged dogs did not significantly differ from the young. Aged dogs on the antioxidant diet continued to perform better than aged controls on the second and third subtests, but these effects did not achieve significance. Young dogs performed significantly better than the aged dogs on the second and third subtests. The remaining two-choice tasks of the discrimination series were comparatively easy, leading to a floor effect. The antioxidant animals performed better on the three-choice size discrimination, but not on the two size-concept tasks. Antioxidants improved the performance of aged dogs on the initial learning tests, suggesting a selective improvement of factors related to the aging process and specific cognitive processes rather than general cognitive enhancement.

Sounds activate visual cortex and improve visual discrimination.

PubMed

Feng, Wenfeng; Störmer, Viola S; Martinez, Antigona; McDonald, John J; Hillyard, Steven A

2014-07-16

A recent study in humans (McDonald et al., 2013) found that peripheral, task-irrelevant sounds activated contralateral visual cortex automatically as revealed by an auditory-evoked contralateral occipital positivity (ACOP) recorded from the scalp. The present study investigated the functional significance of this cross-modal activation of visual cortex, in particular whether the sound-evoked ACOP is predictive of improved perceptual processing of a subsequent visual target. A trial-by-trial analysis showed that the ACOP amplitude was markedly larger preceding correct than incorrect pattern discriminations of visual targets that were colocalized with the preceding sound. Dipole modeling of the scalp topography of the ACOP localized its neural generators to the ventrolateral extrastriate visual cortex. These results provide direct evidence that the cross-modal activation of contralateral visual cortex by a spatially nonpredictive but salient sound facilitates the discriminative processing of a subsequent visual target event at the location of the sound. Recordings of event-related potentials to the targets support the hypothesis that the ACOP is a neural consequence of the automatic orienting of visual attention to the location of the sound. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/349817-08$15.00/0.

Sounds Activate Visual Cortex and Improve Visual Discrimination

PubMed Central

Störmer, Viola S.; Martinez, Antigona; McDonald, John J.; Hillyard, Steven A.

2014-01-01

A recent study in humans (McDonald et al., 2013) found that peripheral, task-irrelevant sounds activated contralateral visual cortex automatically as revealed by an auditory-evoked contralateral occipital positivity (ACOP) recorded from the scalp. The present study investigated the functional significance of this cross-modal activation of visual cortex, in particular whether the sound-evoked ACOP is predictive of improved perceptual processing of a subsequent visual target. A trial-by-trial analysis showed that the ACOP amplitude was markedly larger preceding correct than incorrect pattern discriminations of visual targets that were colocalized with the preceding sound. Dipole modeling of the scalp topography of the ACOP localized its neural generators to the ventrolateral extrastriate visual cortex. These results provide direct evidence that the cross-modal activation of contralateral visual cortex by a spatially nonpredictive but salient sound facilitates the discriminative processing of a subsequent visual target event at the location of the sound. Recordings of event-related potentials to the targets support the hypothesis that the ACOP is a neural consequence of the automatic orienting of visual attention to the location of the sound. PMID:25031419

Performance of Brazilian children on phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks

PubMed Central

Charchat-Fichman, Helenice; Oliveira, Rosinda Martins; da Silva, Andreza Morais

2011-01-01

The most used verbal fluency paradigms are semantic and letter fluency tasks. Studies suggest that these paradigms access semantic memory and executive function and are sensitive to frontal lobe disturbances. There are few studies in Brazilian samples on these paradigms. Objective The present study investigated performance, and the effects of age, on verbal fluency tasks in Brazilian children. The results were compared with those of other studies, and the consistency of the scoring criteria data is presented. Methods A sample of 119 children (7 to 10 years old) was submitted to the three phonemic fluency (F, A, M) tasks and three semantic fluency (animals, clothes, fruits) tasks. The results of thirty subjects were scored by two independent examiners. Results A significant positive correlation was found between the scores calculated by the two independent examiners. Significant positive correlations were found between performance on the semantic fluency task and the phonemic fluency task. The effect of age was significant for both tasks, and a significant difference was found between the 7- and 9-year-old subjects and between the 7- and 10-year-old subjects. The 8-year-old group did not differ to any of the other age groups. Conclusion The pattern of results was similar to that observed in previous Brazilian and international studies. PMID:29213727

[On the improvement of discrimination of vibration stimuli by training in late aquired deafness (author's transl)].

PubMed

Schultz-Coulon, H J; Borghorst, U

1982-03-01

Acoustic signals of low frequencies can be percepted by the tactile sense as vibrations to a limited extent. In educating deaf children one takes trouble to combine tactile and visual speech perception in order to improve speech discrimination. The question of this study was, whether an improvement of tactile discrimination can be achieved even by patients with late aquired deafness. In a 45 years old female patient who had become deaf after adolescence the tactile discrimination of instrumental sounds (electric organ) within the frequency area c3-c4 (131-262 cps) as well as of speech sounds (30 mono- and multisyllabic words) was trained by means of the SIEMENS-Fonator. After two training courses of ten hours each (à 45 min) the patient was not only able to recognize pitch differences of two half steps and more as well as the tones of the scale with few errors only, but could also identify the words to a high percentage; in monosyllables she reached an identification rate of 75.6% and in words with 3 syllables of 85%. Additionally, a marked improvement of speech discrimination by lip reading was observed when using the Fonator. Accordingly, even in patients with late aquired deafness it appears to be worthwhile to train the tactile discrimination of vibration stimuli as to support lip reading.

Nonword Repetition and Phoneme Elision in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Courtney T.; Vallely, Megann; Anderson, Julie D.; Sussman, Harvey

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to explore the phonological working memory of adults who stutter through the use of a non-word repetition and a phoneme elision task. Participants were 14 adults who stutter (M = 28 years) and 14 age/gender matched adults who do not stutter (M = 28 years). For the non-word repetition task, the participants had…

Using a Multimodal Approach to Facilitate Articulation, Phonemic Awareness, and Literacy in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pieretti, Robert A.; Kaul, Sandra D.; Zarchy, Razi M.; O'Hanlon, Laureen M.

2015-01-01

The primary focus of this research study was to examine the benefit of a using a multimodal approach to speech sound correction with preschool children. The approach uses the auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic modalities and includes a unique, interactive visual focus that attempts to provide a visual representation of a phonemic category. The…

Phonological Competition within the Word: Evidence from the Phoneme Similarity Effect in Spoken Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen-Goldberg, Ariel M.

2012-01-01

Theories of spoken production have not specifically addressed whether the phonemes of a word compete with each other for selection during phonological encoding (e.g., whether /t/ competes with /k/ in cat). Spoken production theories were evaluated and found to fall into three classes, theories positing (1) no competition, (2) competition among…

Learning of a Formation Principle for the Secondary Phonemic Function of a Syllabic Orthography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher-Flinn, Claire M.; Thompson, G. Brian; Yamada, Megumi; Meissel, Kane

2014-01-01

It has been observed in Japanese children learning to read that there is an early and rapid shift from exclusive reading of hiragana as syllabograms to the dual-use convention in which some hiragana also represent phonemic elements. Such rapid initial learning appears contrary to the standard theories of reading acquisition that require…

Pronounceability: a measure of language samples based on children's mastery of the phonemes employed in them.

PubMed

Whissell, Cynthia

2003-06-01

56 samples (n > half a million phonemes) of names (e.g., men's, women's jets'), song lyrics (e.g., Paul Simon's, rap, Beatles'), poems (frequently anthologized English poems), and children's materials (books directed at children ages 3-10 years) were used to study a proposed new measure of English language samples--Pronounceability-based on children's mastery of some phonemes in advance of others. This measure was provisionally equated with greater "youthfulness" and "playfulness" in language samples and with less "maturity." Findings include the facts that women's names were less pronounceable than men's and that poetry was less pronounceable than song lyrics or children's materials. In a supplementary study, 13 university student volunteers' assessments of the youth of randomly constructed names was linearly related to how pronounceable each name was (eta = .8), providing construct validity for the interpretation of Pronounceability as a measure of Youthfulness.

Design of Phoneme MIDI Codes Using the MIDI Encoding Tool “Auto-F” and Realizing Voice Synthesizing Functions Based on Musical Sounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modegi, Toshio

Using our previously developed audio to MIDI code converter tool “Auto-F”, from given vocal acoustic signals we can create MIDI data, which enable to playback the voice-like signals with a standard MIDI synthesizer. Applying this tool, we are constructing a MIDI database, which consists of previously converted simple harmonic structured MIDI codes from a set of 71 Japanese male and female syllable recorded signals. And we are developing a novel voice synthesizing system based on harmonically synthesizing musical sounds, which can generate MIDI data and playback voice signals with a MIDI synthesizer by giving Japanese plain (kana) texts, referring to the syllable MIDI code database. In this paper, we propose an improved MIDI converter tool, which can produce temporally higher-resolution MIDI codes. Then we propose an algorithm separating a set of 20 consonant and vowel phoneme MIDI codes from 71 syllable MIDI converted codes in order to construct a voice synthesizing system. And, we present the evaluation results of voice synthesizing quality between these separated phoneme MIDI codes and their original syllable MIDI codes by our developed 4-syllable word listening tests.

Teaching Phoneme Awareness to Pre-Literate Children with Speech Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hesketh, Anne; Dima, Evgenia; Nelson, Veronica

2007-01-01

Background: Awareness of individual phonemes in words is a late-acquired level of phonological awareness that usually develops in the early school years. It is generally agreed to have a close relationship with early literacy development, but its role in speech change is less well understood. Speech and language therapy for children with speech…

Visemic Processing in Audiovisual Discrimination of Natural Speech: A Simultaneous fMRI-EEG Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dubois, Cyril; Otzenberger, Helene; Gounot, Daniel; Sock, Rudolph; Metz-Lutz, Marie-Noelle

2012-01-01

In a noisy environment, visual perception of articulatory movements improves natural speech intelligibility. Parallel to phonemic processing based on auditory signal, visemic processing constitutes a counterpart based on "visemes", the distinctive visual units of speech. Aiming at investigating the neural substrates of visemic processing in a…

Deficits in discrimination after experimental frontal brain injury are mediated by motivation and can be improved by nicotinamide administration.

PubMed

Vonder Haar, Cole; Maass, William R; Jacobs, Eric A; Hoane, Michael R

2014-10-15

One of the largest challenges in experimental neurotrauma work is the development of models relevant to the human condition. This includes both creating similar pathophysiology as well as the generation of relevant behavioral deficits. Recent studies have shown that there is a large potential for the use of discrimination tasks in rats to detect injury-induced deficits. The literature on discrimination and TBI is still limited, however. The current study investigated motivational and motor factors that could potentially contribute to deficits in discrimination. In addition, the efficacy of a neuroprotective agent, nicotinamide, was assessed. Rats were trained on a discrimination task and motivation task, given a bilateral frontal controlled cortical impact TBI (+3.0 AP, 0.0 ML from bregma), and then reassessed. They were also assessed on motor ability and Morris water maze (MWM) performance. Experiment 1 showed that TBI resulted in large deficits in discrimination and motivation. No deficits were observed on gross motor measures; however, the vehicle group showed impairments in fine motor control. Both injured groups were impaired on the reference memory MWM, but only nicotinamide-treated rats were impaired on the working memory MWM. Nicotinamide administration improved performance on discrimination and motivation measures. Experiment 2 evaluated retraining on the discrimination task and suggested that motivation may be a large factor underlying discrimination deficits. Retrained rats improved considerably on the discrimination task. The tasks evaluated in this study demonstrate robust deficits and may improve the detection of pharmaceutical effects by being very sensitive to pervasive cognitive deficits that occur after frontal TBI.

Speech sound discrimination training improves auditory cortex responses in a rat model of autism

PubMed Central

Engineer, Crystal T.; Centanni, Tracy M.; Im, Kwok W.; Kilgard, Michael P.

2014-01-01

Children with autism often have language impairments and degraded cortical responses to speech. Extensive behavioral interventions can improve language outcomes and cortical responses. Prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) increases the risk for autism and language impairment. Prenatal exposure to VPA also causes weaker and delayed auditory cortex responses in rats. In this study, we document speech sound discrimination ability in VPA exposed rats and document the effect of extensive speech training on auditory cortex responses. VPA exposed rats were significantly impaired at consonant, but not vowel, discrimination. Extensive speech training resulted in both stronger and faster anterior auditory field (AAF) responses compared to untrained VPA exposed rats, and restored responses to control levels. This neural response improvement generalized to non-trained sounds. The rodent VPA model of autism may be used to improve the understanding of speech processing in autism and contribute to improving language outcomes. PMID:25140133

Discriminative analysis of lip motion features for speaker identification and speech-reading.

PubMed

Cetingül, H Ertan; Yemez, Yücel; Erzin, Engin; Tekalp, A Murat

2006-10-01

There have been several studies that jointly use audio, lip intensity, and lip geometry information for speaker identification and speech-reading applications. This paper proposes using explicit lip motion information, instead of or in addition to lip intensity and/or geometry information, for speaker identification and speech-reading within a unified feature selection and discrimination analysis framework, and addresses two important issues: 1) Is using explicit lip motion information useful, and, 2) if so, what are the best lip motion features for these two applications? The best lip motion features for speaker identification are considered to be those that result in the highest discrimination of individual speakers in a population, whereas for speech-reading, the best features are those providing the highest phoneme/word/phrase recognition rate. Several lip motion feature candidates have been considered including dense motion features within a bounding box about the lip, lip contour motion features, and combination of these with lip shape features. Furthermore, a novel two-stage, spatial, and temporal discrimination analysis is introduced to select the best lip motion features for speaker identification and speech-reading applications. Experimental results using an hidden-Markov-model-based recognition system indicate that using explicit lip motion information provides additional performance gains in both applications, and lip motion features prove more valuable in the case of speech-reading application.

Facial expressions as a model to test the role of the sensorimotor system in the visual perception of the actions.

PubMed

Mele, Sonia; Ghirardi, Valentina; Craighero, Laila

2017-12-01

A long-term debate concerns whether the sensorimotor coding carried out during transitive actions observation reflects the low-level movement implementation details or the movement goals. On the contrary, phonemes and emotional facial expressions are intransitive actions that do not fall into this debate. The investigation of phonemes discrimination has proven to be a good model to demonstrate that the sensorimotor system plays a role in understanding actions acoustically presented. In the present study, we adapted the experimental paradigms already used in phonemes discrimination during face posture manipulation, to the discrimination of emotional facial expressions. We submitted participants to a lower or to an upper face posture manipulation during the execution of a four alternative labelling task of pictures randomly taken from four morphed continua between two emotional facial expressions. The results showed that the implementation of low-level movement details influence the discrimination of ambiguous facial expressions differing for a specific involvement of those movement details. These findings indicate that facial expressions discrimination is a good model to test the role of the sensorimotor system in the perception of actions visually presented.

Variability of word discrimination scores in clinical practice and consequences on their sensitivity to hearing loss.

PubMed

Moulin, Annie; Bernard, André; Tordella, Laurent; Vergne, Judith; Gisbert, Annie; Martin, Christian; Richard, Céline

2017-05-01

Speech perception scores are widely used to assess patient's functional hearing, yet most linguistic material used in these audiometric tests dates to before the availability of large computerized linguistic databases. In an ENT clinic population of 120 patients with median hearing loss of 43-dB HL, we quantified the variability and the sensitivity of speech perception scores to hearing loss, measured using disyllabic word lists, as a function of both the number of ten-word lists and type of scoring used (word, syllables or phonemes). The mean word recognition scores varied significantly across lists from 54 to 68%. The median of the variability of the word recognition score ranged from 30% for one ten-word list down to 20% for three ten-word lists. Syllabic and phonemic scores showed much less variability with standard deviations decreasing by 1.15 with the use of syllabic scores and by 1.45 with phonemic scores. The sensitivity of each list to hearing loss and distortions varied significantly. There was an increase in the minimum effect size that could be seen for syllabic scores compared to word scores, with no significant further improvement with phonemic scores. The use of at least two ten-word lists, quoted in syllables rather than in whole words, contributed to a large decrease in variability and an increase in sensitivity to hearing loss. However, those results emphasize the need of using updated linguistic material for clinical speech score assessments.

A study on fast digital discrimination of neutron and gamma-ray for improvement neutron emission profile measurementa)

PubMed Central

Uchida, Y.; Takada, E.; Fujisaki, A.; Isobe, M.; Shinohara, K.; Tomita, H.; Kawarabayashi, J.; Iguchi, T.

2014-01-01

Neutron and γ-ray (n-γ) discrimination with a digital signal processing system has been used to measure the neutron emission profile in magnetic confinement fusion devices. However, a sampling rate must be set low to extend the measurement time because the memory storage is limited. Time jitter decreases a discrimination quality due to a low sampling rate. As described in this paper, a new charge comparison method was developed. Furthermore, automatic n-γ discrimination method was examined using a probabilistic approach. Analysis results were investigated using the figure of merit. Results show that the discrimination quality was improved. Automatic discrimination was applied using the EM algorithm and k-means algorithm. PMID:25430297

Improved (10)B-loaded liquid scintillator with pulse-shape discrimination.

PubMed

Greenwood, L R; Chellew, N R

1979-04-01

An improved (10)B-loaded liquid scintillator solution has been developed containing trimethylborate, 1-methylnaphthalene, and 9,10-diphenylanthracene. Cells up to 5 cm in diameter by 15.2 cm long have been prepared and tested with (10)B-loadings up to 7.2% by weight (80% trimethylborate). The solution has excellent light output and pulse-shape discrimination properties and is stable at temperatures as low as -17 degrees C. Neutron efficiency calculations are also presented.

Improvement and decline in tactile discrimination behavior after cortical plasticity induced by passive tactile coactivation.

PubMed

Hodzic, Amra; Veit, Ralf; Karim, Ahmed A; Erb, Michael; Godde, Ben

2004-01-14

Perceptual learning can be induced by passive tactile coactivation without attention or reinforcement. We used functional MRI (fMRI) and psychophysics to investigate in detail the specificity of this type of learning for different tactile discrimination tasks and the underlying cortical reorganization. We found that a few hours of Hebbian coactivation evoked a significant increase of primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortical areas representing the stimulated body parts. The amount of plastic changes was strongly correlated with improvement in spatial discrimination performance. However, in the same subjects, frequency discrimination was impaired after coactivation, indicating that even maladaptive processes can be induced by intense passive sensory stimulation.

Effect of speech-intrinsic variations on human and automatic recognition of spoken phonemes.

PubMed

Meyer, Bernd T; Brand, Thomas; Kollmeier, Birger

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to quantify the gap between the recognition performance of human listeners and an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system with special focus on intrinsic variations of speech, such as speaking rate and effort, altered pitch, and the presence of dialect and accent. Second, it is investigated if the most common ASR features contain all information required to recognize speech in noisy environments by using resynthesized ASR features in listening experiments. For the phoneme recognition task, the ASR system achieved the human performance level only when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was increased by 15 dB, which is an estimate for the human-machine gap in terms of the SNR. The major part of this gap is attributed to the feature extraction stage, since human listeners achieve comparable recognition scores when the SNR difference between unaltered and resynthesized utterances is 10 dB. Intrinsic variabilities result in strong increases of error rates, both in human speech recognition (HSR) and ASR (with a relative increase of up to 120%). An analysis of phoneme duration and recognition rates indicates that human listeners are better able to identify temporal cues than the machine at low SNRs, which suggests incorporating information about the temporal dynamics of speech into ASR systems.

Syllabic discrimination in premature human infants prior to complete formation of cortical layers

PubMed Central

Mahmoudzadeh, Mahdi; Dehaene-Lambertz, Ghislaine; Fournier, Marc; Kongolo, Guy; Goudjil, Sabrina; Dubois, Jessica; Grebe, Reinhard; Wallois, Fabrice

2013-01-01

The ontogeny of linguistic functions in the human brain remains elusive. Although some auditory capacities are described before term, whether and how such immature cortical circuits might process speech are unknown. Here we used functional optical imaging to evaluate the cerebral responses to syllables at the earliest age at which cortical responses to external stimuli can be recorded in humans (28- to 32-wk gestational age). At this age, the cortical organization in layers is not completed. Many neurons are still located in the subplate and in the process of migrating to their final location. Nevertheless, we observed several points of similarity with the adult linguistic network. First, whereas syllables elicited larger right than left responses, the posterior temporal region escaped this general pattern, showing faster and more sustained responses over the left than over the right hemisphere. Second, discrimination responses to a change of phoneme (ba vs. ga) and a change of human voice (male vs. female) were already present and involved inferior frontal areas, even in the youngest infants (29-wk gestational age). Third, whereas both types of changes elicited responses in the right frontal region, the left frontal region only reacted to a change of phoneme. These results demonstrate a sophisticated organization of perisylvian areas at the very onset of cortical circuitry, 3 mo before term. They emphasize the influence of innate factors on regions involved in linguistic processing and social communication in humans. PMID:23440196

Visual speech alters the discrimination and identification of non-intact auditory speech in children with hearing loss.

PubMed

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F; McAlpine, Rachel P; Abdi, Hervé

2017-03-01

Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/-B/aa or/-B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread/B/or difficult-to-speechread/G/onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/-B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same-as opposed to different-responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g.,/-B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz-as opposed to az- responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Performance in the audiovisual mode showed more same

Visual Speech Alters the Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children with Hearing Loss

PubMed Central

Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Hervé

2017-01-01

Objectives Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Methods Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/–B/aa or /–B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread /B/ or difficult-to-speechread /G/ onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/–B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same—as opposed to different—responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g., /–B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz—as opposed to az— responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Results

Phonemic verbal fluency task in adults with high-level literacy.

PubMed

Opasso, Patrícia Romano; Barreto, Simone Dos Santos; Ortiz, Karin Zazo

2016-01-01

To establish normative parameters for the F-A-S form of the phonemic verbal fluency test, in a population of Brazilian Portuguese speaking adults with high-level literacy. The sample comprised 40 male and female volunteers aged 19 to 59 years, and at least 8 years of formal education. Volunteers were first submitted to the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Clock Drawing cognitive screening tests, then to the F-A-S Verbal Phonemic Fluency Test; in this test, examinees were given 60 seconds to generate as many words as possible beginning with each of the three test letters. The means for number of words beginning the letters F, A and S and for total number of words beginning with either letter generated per minute corresponded to 15.3, 14.4, 13.9 and 43.5, respectively. Reference values obtained from young adults with high levels of literacy submitted to the F-A-S Verbal Phonemic Fluency Test in this study were similar to those reported in the international literature. These reference values can be used for clinical assessment of language disorder and neuropsychological evaluation. Obter parâmetros de normalidade na tarefa de fluência verbal fonêmica, versão F-A-S, em uma população de alto letramento de adultos falantes do português brasileiro. A amostra foi constituída por 40 voluntários, de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 19 e 59 anos, e com mais de 8 anos de estudo. Todos os voluntários foram inicialmente submetidos ao Miniexame do Estado Mental e ao Teste do Desenho do Relógio, para fins de rastreio cognitivo, e, então, ao Teste de Fluência Verbal Fonêmica F-A-S. Neste último, os indivíduos foram orientados a produzirem o maior número de palavras que conseguissem, iniciadas com cada uma das três letras ditas pelo examinador, em um intervalo de 60 segundos cada. As médias das palavras produzidas com as letras F-A-S foram as seguintes: "F" = 15,3 palavras por minuto; "A" = 14,4 palavras por minuto; e "S" = 13,9 palavras por minuto. A m

Large-Corpus Phoneme and Word Recognition and the Generality of Lexical Context in CVC Word Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gelfand, Jessica T.; Christie, Robert E.; Gelfand, Stanley A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: Speech recognition may be analyzed in terms of recognition probabilities for perceptual wholes (e.g., words) and parts (e.g., phonemes), where j or the j-factor reveals the number of independent perceptual units required for recognition of the whole (Boothroyd, 1968b; Boothroyd & Nittrouer, 1988; Nittrouer & Boothroyd, 1990). For…

Hemispheric Specialization for Language According to Grapho-Phonemic Transformation and Gender. A Divided Visual Field Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cousin, Emilie; Perrone, Marcela; Baciu, Monica

2009-01-01

This behavioral study aimed at assessing the effect of two variables on the degree of hemispheric specialization for language. One of them was the "grapho-phonemic translation (transformation)" (letter-sound mapping) and the other was the participants' "gender". The experiment was conducted with healthy volunteers. A divided visual field procedure…

A pulse-shape discrimination method for improving Gamma-ray spectrometry based on a new digital shaping filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Zhang-jian; Chen, Chuan; Luo, Jun-song; Xie, Xing-hong; Ge, Liang-quan; Wu, Qi-fan

2018-04-01

It is a usual practice for improving spectrum quality by the mean of designing a good shaping filter to improve signal-noise ratio in development of nuclear spectroscopy. Another method is proposed in the paper based on discriminating pulse-shape and discarding the bad pulse whose shape is distorted as a result of abnormal noise, unusual ballistic deficit or bad pulse pile-up. An Exponentially Decaying Pulse (EDP) generated in nuclear particle detectors can be transformed into a Mexican Hat Wavelet Pulse (MHWP) and the derivation process of the transform is given. After the transform is performed, the baseline drift is removed in the new MHWP. Moreover, the MHWP-shape can be discriminated with the three parameters: the time difference between the two minima of the MHWP, and the two ratios which are from the amplitude of the two minima respectively divided by the amplitude of the maximum in the MHWP. A new type of nuclear spectroscopy was implemented based on the new digital shaping filter and the Gamma-ray spectra were acquired with a variety of pulse-shape discrimination levels. It had manifested that the energy resolution and the peak-Compton ratio were both improved after the pulse-shape discrimination method was used.

Illuminations that improve color discrimination ability of people with red-green color vision deficiency.

PubMed

Flinkman, Mika; Nakauchi, Shigeki

2017-10-01

In this research, three illuminants that improve color discrimination ability of people with red-green color vision deficiency were developed. The illuminants are close to daylight-colored and were produced by using spectral optimization. Deutans were the focus of this research, but a few protans were also tested for reference. The illuminants were produced by combining different types of LEDs, and their effects were tested with several test subjects with and without color vision deficiency using the Ishihara color vision test and the Farnsworth Panel D-15 test. The illuminant with the most powerful effect provided near perfect results with the Ishihara test for deutans, while the other two illuminants produced smaller improvements. The Farnsworth Panel D-15 test produced results that were similar to the Ishihara test though generally the color discrimination of blue hues was weaker under the most powerful illuminant.

Phonemic Awareness Is a More Important Predictor of Orthographic Processing than Rapid Serial Naming: Evidence from Russian

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rakhlin, Natalia; Cardoso-Martins, Cláudia; Grigorenko, Elena L.

2014-01-01

We studied the relationship between rapid serial naming (RSN) and orthographic processing in Russian, an asymmetrically transparent orthography. Ninety-six students (M age = 13.73) completed tests of word and pseudoword reading fluency, spelling, orthographic choice, phonological choice, phoneme awareness (PA), and RSN. PA was a better predictor…

Improved neutron-gamma discrimination for a 3He neutron detector using subspace learning methods

DOE PAGES

Wang, C. L.; Funk, L. L.; Riedel, R. A.; ...

2017-02-10

3He gas based neutron linear-position-sensitive detectors (LPSDs) have been applied for many neutron scattering instruments. Traditional Pulse-Height Analysis (PHA) for Neutron-Gamma Discrimination (NGD) resulted in the neutron-gamma efficiency ratio on the orders of 10 5-10 6. The NGD ratios of 3He detectors need to be improved for even better scientific results from neutron scattering. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) analyses of waveforms were proposed for obtaining better NGD ratios, based on features extracted from rise-time, pulse amplitude, charge integration, a simplified Wiener filter, and the cross-correlation between individual and template waveforms of neutron and gamma events. Fisher linear discriminant analysis (FLDA)more » and three multivariate analyses (MVAs) of the features were performed. The NGD ratios are improved by about 10 2-10 3 times compared with the traditional PHA method. Finally, our results indicate the NGD capabilities of 3He tube detectors can be significantly improved with subspace-learning based methods, which may result in a reduced data-collection time and better data quality for further data reduction.« less

The Effects of Phonemic Awareness Instruction on the Writing Ability of First Grade At Risk Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carro, Dorothy J.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of increased phonemic awareness instruction on the writing ability of At Risk first graders. Twenty-three students from a suburban first grade classroom in Central New Jersey were involved in the study. Twelve at risk students were divided into two groups, each of which received one half hour of…

Solidarity through shared disadvantage: Highlighting shared experiences of discrimination improves relations between stigmatized groups.

PubMed

Cortland, Clarissa I; Craig, Maureen A; Shapiro, Jenessa R; Richeson, Jennifer A; Neel, Rebecca; Goldstein, Noah J

2017-10-01

Intergroup relations research has largely focused on relations between members of dominant groups and members of disadvantaged groups. The small body of work examining intraminority intergroup relations, or relations between members of different disadvantaged groups, reveals that salient experiences of ingroup discrimination promote positive relations between groups that share a dimension of identity (e.g., 2 different racial minority groups) and negative relations between groups that do not share a dimension of identity (e.g., a racial minority group and a sexual minority group). In the present work, we propose that shared experiences of discrimination between groups that do not share an identity dimension can be used as a lever to facilitate positive intraminority intergroup relations. Five experiments examining relations among 4 different disadvantaged groups supported this hypothesis. Both blatant (Experiments 1 and 3) and subtle (Experiments 2, 3, and 4) connections to shared experiences of discrimination, or inducing a similarity-seeking mindset in the context of discrimination faced by one's ingroup (Experiment 5), increased support for policies benefiting the outgroup (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) and reduced intergroup bias (Experiments 3, 4, and 5). Taken together, these experiments provide converging evidence that highlighting shared experiences of discrimination can improve intergroup outcomes between stigmatized groups across dimensions of social identity. Implications of these findings for intraminority intergroup relations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Framewise phoneme classification with bidirectional LSTM and other neural network architectures.

PubMed

Graves, Alex; Schmidhuber, Jürgen

2005-01-01

In this paper, we present bidirectional Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and a modified, full gradient version of the LSTM learning algorithm. We evaluate Bidirectional LSTM (BLSTM) and several other network architectures on the benchmark task of framewise phoneme classification, using the TIMIT database. Our main findings are that bidirectional networks outperform unidirectional ones, and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) is much faster and also more accurate than both standard Recurrent Neural Nets (RNNs) and time-windowed Multilayer Perceptrons (MLPs). Our results support the view that contextual information is crucial to speech processing, and suggest that BLSTM is an effective architecture with which to exploit it.

Phoneme Segmenting Alignment with the Common Core Foundational Skills Standard Two: Grades K-1. Technical Report #1227

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sáez, Leilani; Irvin, P. Shawn; Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

2012-01-01

In 2006, the easyCBM reading assessment system was developed to support the progress monitoring of phoneme segmenting, letter names and sounds recognition, word reading, passage reading fluency, and comprehension skill development in elementary schools. More recently, the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts have been introduced as a…

A Nanoparticle-Lectin Immunoassay Improves Discrimination of Serum CA125 from Malignant and Benign Sources.

PubMed

Gidwani, Kamlesh; Huhtinen, Kaisa; Kekki, Henna; van Vliet, Sandra; Hynninen, Johanna; Koivuviita, Niina; Perheentupa, Antti; Poutanen, Matti; Auranen, Annika; Grenman, Seija; Lamminmäki, Urpo; Carpen, Olli; van Kooyk, Yvette; Pettersson, Kim

2016-10-01

Measurement of serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is the standard approach for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) diagnostics and follow-up. However, the clinical specificity is not optimal because increased values are also detected in healthy controls and in benign diseases. CA125 is known to be differentially glycosylated in EOC, potentially offering a way to construct CA125 assays with improved cancer specificity. Our goal was to identify carbohydrate-reactive lectins for discriminating between CA125 originating from EOC and noncancerous sources. CA125 from the OVCAR-3 cancer cell line, placental homogenate, and ascites fluid from patients with cirrhosis were captured on anti-CA125 antibody immobilized on microtitration wells. A panel of lectins, each coated onto fluorescent europium-chelate-doped 97-nm nanoparticles (Eu(+3)-NPs), was tested for detection of the immobilized CA125. Serum samples from high-grade serous EOC or patients with endometriosis and healthy controls were analyzed. By using macrophage galactose-type lectin (MGL)-coated Eu(+3)-NPs, an analytically sensitive CA125 assay (CA125(MGL)) was achieved that specifically recognized the CA125 isoform produced by EOC, whereas the recognition of CA125 from nonmalignant conditions was reduced. Serum CA125(MGL) measurement better discriminated patients with EOC from endometriosis compared to conventional immunoassay. The discrimination was particularly improved for marginally increased CA125 values and for earlier detection of EOC progression. The new CA125(MGL) assay concept could help reduce the false-positive rates of conventional CA125 immunoassays. The improved analytical specificity of this test approach is dependent on a discriminating lectin immobilized in large numbers on Eu(+3)-NPs, providing both an avidity effect and signal amplification. © 2016 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Sequential lineup presentation promotes less-biased criterion setting but does not improve discriminability.

PubMed

Palmer, Matthew A; Brewer, Neil

2012-06-01

When compared with simultaneous lineup presentation, sequential presentation has been shown to reduce false identifications to a greater extent than it reduces correct identifications. However, there has been much debate about whether this difference in identification performance represents improved discriminability or more conservative responding. In this research, data from 22 experiments that compared sequential and simultaneous lineups were analyzed using a compound signal-detection model, which is specifically designed to describe decision-making performance on tasks such as eyewitness identification tests. Sequential (cf. simultaneous) presentation did not influence discriminability, but produced a conservative shift in response bias that resulted in less-biased choosing for sequential than simultaneous lineups. These results inform understanding of the effects of lineup presentation mode on eyewitness identification decisions.

Do Adults with Cochlear Implants Rely on Different Acoustic Cues for Phoneme Perception than Adults with Normal Hearing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moberly, Aaron C.; Lowenstein, Joanna H.; Tarr, Eric; Caldwell-Tarr, Amanda; Welling, D. Bradley; Shahin, Antoine J.; Nittrouer, Susan

2014-01-01

Purpose: Several acoustic cues specify any single phonemic contrast. Nonetheless, adult, native speakers of a language share weighting strategies, showing preferential attention to some properties over others. Cochlear implant (CI) signal processing disrupts the salience of some cues: In general, amplitude structure remains readily available, but…

Evolution of a Rapidly Learned Representation for Speech.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakisa, Ramin Charles; Plunkett, Kim

1998-01-01

Describes a connectionist model accounting for newborn infants' ability to finely discriminate almost all human speech contrasts and the fact that their phonemic category boundaries are identical, even for phonemes outside their target language. The model posits an innately guided learning in which an artificial neural network is stored in a…

Contribution of Phonemic Segmentation Instruction with Letters and Articulation Pictures to Word Reading and Spelling in Beginners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyer, Nancy; Ehri, Linnea C.

2011-01-01

English-speaking preschoolers who knew letters but were nonreaders (M = 4 years 9 months; n = 60) were taught to segment consonant-vowel (CV), VC, and CVC words into phonemes either with letters and pictures of articulatory gestures (the LPA condition) or with letters only (the LO condition). A control group received no treatment. Both trained…

A Study of the Knowledge of Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, and Developmental Spelling Ability in Primary Non-Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Susan

Since one way to study a non-reading primary child's phonics knowledge is to examine his/her invented spelling, a researcher's quandary led to a quasi-experimental design study, employed to answer three questions: (1) Do primary non-readers possess phonics knowledge? (2) Do primary non-readers possess phonemic awareness? and (3) Do primary…

The Effects of Intervention in Phonemic Awareness on the Reading Achievement of English Language Learners in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Nancy

2010-01-01

Students entering school with little knowledge of English do not have the foundation in place to develop reading skills. This lack of foundation puts English Learners at a disadvantage that they struggle to overcome. The purpose of the quantitative study was twofold: (a) to determine whether measures of phonemic awareness are predictive of end of…

Recurrent Coupling Improves Discrimination of Temporal Spike Patterns

PubMed Central

Yuan, Chun-Wei; Leibold, Christian

2012-01-01

Despite the ubiquitous presence of recurrent synaptic connections in sensory neuronal systems, their general functional purpose is not well understood. A recent conceptual advance has been achieved by theories of reservoir computing in which recurrent networks have been proposed to generate short-term memory as well as to improve neuronal representation of the sensory input for subsequent computations. Here, we present a numerical study on the distinct effects of inhibitory and excitatory recurrence in a canonical linear classification task. It is found that both types of coupling improve the ability to discriminate temporal spike patterns as compared to a purely feed-forward system, although in different ways. For a large class of inhibitory networks, the network’s performance is optimal as long as a fraction of roughly 50% of neurons per stimulus is active in the resulting population code. Thereby the contribution of inactive neurons to the neural code is found to be even more informative than that of the active neurons, generating an inherent robustness of classification performance against temporal jitter of the input spikes. Excitatory couplings are found to not only produce a short-term memory buffer but also to improve linear separability of the population patterns by evoking more irregular firing as compared to the purely inhibitory case. As the excitatory connectivity becomes more sparse, firing becomes more variable, and pattern separability improves. We argue that the proposed paradigm is particularly well-suited as a conceptual framework for processing of sensory information in the auditory pathway. PMID:22586392

Improved Discrimination for Brassica Vegetables Treated with Agricultural Fertilizers Using a Combined Chemometric Approach.

PubMed

Yuan, Yuwei; Hu, Guixian; Chen, Tianjin; Zhao, Ming; Zhang, Yongzhi; Li, Yong; Xu, Xiahong; Shao, Shengzhi; Zhu, Jiahong; Wang, Qiang; Rogers, Karyne M

2016-07-20

Multielement and stable isotope (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, δ(2)H, δ(18)O, (207)Pb/(206)Pb, and (208)Pb/(206)Pb) analyses were combined to provide a new chemometric approach to improve the discrimination between organic and conventional Brassica vegetable production. Different combinations of organic and conventional fertilizer treatments were used to demonstrate this authentication approach using Brassica chinensis planted in experimental test pots. Stable isotope analyses (δ(15)N and δ(13)C) of B. chinensis using elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry easily distinguished organic and chemical fertilizer treatments. However, for low-level application fertilizer treatments, this dual isotope approach became indistinguishable over time. Using a chemometric approach (combined isotope and elemental approach), organic and chemical fertilizer mixes and low-level applications of synthetic and organic fertilizers were detectable in B. chinensis and their associated soils, improving the detection limit beyond the capacity of individual isotopes or elemental characterization. LDA shows strong promise as an improved method to discriminate genuine organic Brassica vegetables from produce treated with chemical fertilizers and could be used as a robust test for organic produce authentication.

Improving discrimination in antepartum depression screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

PubMed

Venkatesh, Kartik K; Kaimal, Anjali J; Castro, Victor M; Perlis, Roy H

2017-05-01

Universal screening of pregnant women for postpartum depression has recently been recommended; however, optimal application of depression screening tools in stratifying risk has not been defined. The current study examines new approaches to improve the ability of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to stratify risk for postpartum depression, including alternate cut points, use of a continuous measure, and incorporation of other putative risk factors. An observational cohort study of 4939 women screened both antepartum and postpartum with a negative EPDS screen antepartum(i.e. EPDS<10). The primary outcome was a probable postpartum major depressive episode(EPDS cut-off ≥10). Area under the receiver operating characteristics curve(AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated. 287 women(5.8%) screened positive for postpartum depression. An antepartum EPDS cut-off<5 optimally identified women with a low risk of postpartum depression with a negative predictive value of 97.6%; however, overall discrimination was modest(AUC 0.66, 95%CI: 0.64-0.69); sensitivity was 78.7%, and specificity was 53.8%, and the positive predictive value was low at 9.5%. The negative predictive values were similar(>95%) at all antepartum EPDS cut-off values from 4 to 8. Discrimination was improved(AUC ranging from 0.70 to 0.73) when the antepartum EPDS was combined with a prior history of major depressive disorder before pregnancy. An inability to assess EPDS subscales and a relatively low prevalence of depression in this cohort. Though an antepartum EPDS cut-off score <5 yielded the greatest discrimination identifying women at low risk for postpartum depression, the negative predictive value was insufficient to substitute for postpartum screening. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Effects of Phonemic Awareness Instruction in First Grade on the Reading Scores of Rural Primary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornton, Linda H.; Vinzant, Rebecca S.

A study investigated the effect of phonemic awareness instruction on the reading ability of first and second grade students. Participants were 100 second graders who had been in 5 first grades at Westside Elementary in Searcy, Arkansas. Using a posttest only control group design and a t test for independent samples, it was found that second grade…

The Relation between Speech Perception and Phonemic Awareness: Evidence from Low-SES Children and Children with Chronic OM.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nittrouer, Susan

1996-01-01

This study of 41 children (ages 7 and 8) studied the effects of low socioeconomic status (SES) and chronic otitis media (OM) on speech perception and phonemic awareness. Findings indicated the children with low SES did poorly on both kinds of tasks whether or not they had chronic OM. (CR)

Third-Degree Price Discrimination Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwon, Youngsun

2006-01-01

The author derives the probability that price discrimination improves social welfare, using a simple model of third-degree price discrimination assuming two independent linear demands. The probability that price discrimination raises social welfare increases as the preferences or incomes of consumer groups become more heterogeneous. He derives the…

Electrophysiological correlates of grapheme-phoneme conversion.

PubMed

Huang, Koongliang; Itoh, Kosuke; Suwazono, Shugo; Nakada, Tsutomu

2004-08-19

The cortical processes underlying grapheme-phoneme conversion were investigated by event-related potentials (ERPs). The task consisted of silent reading or vowel-matching of three Japanese hiragana characters, each representing a consonant-vowel syllable. At earlier latencies, typical components of the visual ERP, namely, P1 (110 ms), N1 (170 ms) and P2 (300 ms), were elicited in the temporo-occipital area for both tasks as well as control task (observing the orthographic shapes of three Korean characters). Following these earlier components, two sustained negativities were identified. The earlier sustained negativity, referred here to as SN1, was found in both the silent-reading and vowel-matching task but not in the control task. The scalp distribution of SN1 was over the left occipito-temporal area, with maximum amplitude over O1. The amplitude of SN1 was larger in the vowel-matching task compared to the silent-reading task, consistent with previous reports that ERP amplitude correlates with task difficulty. SN2, the later sustained negativity, was only observed in the vowel-matching task. The scalp distribution of SN2 was over the midsagittal centro-parietal area with maximum amplitude over Cz. Elicitation of SN2 in the vowel-matching task suggested that the vowel-matching task requires a wider range of neural activities exceeding the established conventional area of language processing.

Race-specific perceptual discrimination improvement following short individuation training with faces

PubMed Central

McGugin, Rankin Williams; Tanaka, James W.; Lebrecht, Sophie; Tarr, Michael J.; Gauthier, Isabel

2010-01-01

This study explores the effect of individuation training on the acquisition of race-specific expertise. First, we investigated whether practice individuating other-race faces yields improvement in perceptual discrimination for novel faces of that race. Second, we asked whether there was similar improvement for novel faces of a different race for which participants received equal practice, but in an orthogonal task that did not require individuation. Caucasian participants were trained to individuate faces of one race (African American or Hispanic) and to make difficult eye luminance judgments on faces of the other race. By equating these tasks we are able to rule out raw experience, visual attention or performance/success-induced positivity as the critical factors that produce race-specific improvements. These results indicate that individuation practice is one mechanism through which cognitive, perceptual, and/or social processes promote growth of the own-race face recognition advantage. PMID:21429002

Psychometric Functions for Shortened Administrations of a Speech Recognition Approach Using Tri-Word Presentations and Phonemic Scoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gelfand, Stanley A.; Gelfand, Jessica T.

2012-01-01

Method: Complete psychometric functions for phoneme and word recognition scores at 8 signal-to-noise ratios from -15 dB to 20 dB were generated for the first 10, 20, and 25, as well as all 50, three-word presentations of the Tri-Word or Computer Assisted Speech Recognition Assessment (CASRA) Test (Gelfand, 1998) based on the results of 12…

Identification and discrimination of Spanish front vowels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castellanos, Isabel; Lopez-Bascuas, Luis E.

2004-05-01

The idea that vowels are perceived less categorically than consonants is widely accepted. Ades [Psychol. Rev. 84, 524-530 (1977)] tried to explain this fact on the basis of the Durlach and Braida [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 46, 372-383 (1969)] theory of intensity resolution. Since vowels seem to cover a broader perceptual range, context-coding noise for vowels should be greater than for consonants leading to a less categorical performance on the vocalic segments. However, relatively recent work by Macmillan et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 84, 1262-1280 (1988)] has cast doubt on the assumption of different perceptual ranges for vowels and consonants even though context variance is acknowledged to be greater for the former. A possibility is that context variance increases as number of long-term phonemic categories also increases. To test this hypothesis we focused on Spanish as the target language. Spanish has less vowel categories than English and the implication is that Spanish vowels will be more categorically perceived. Identification and discrimination experiments were conducted on a synthetic /i/-/e/ continuum and the obtained functions were studied to assess whether Spanish vowels are more categorically perceived than English vowels. The results are discussed in the context of different theories of speech perception.

Onomatopoeias: a new perspective around space, image schemas and phoneme clusters.

PubMed

Catricalà, Maria; Guidi, Annarita

2015-09-01

Onomatopoeias (phonemes and phoneme clusters, while visual patterns correspond to different image schemas. The association between specific categories of pseudo-onomatopoeias and specific spatial/movement patterns is also the object of an experiment focused on onomatopoeia interpretation. Most part of data confirms a correlation between image schemas as CONTAINER/CONTAINMENT (crunch, plop) or SOURCE-PATH-GOAL (tattarrattat 'shots') and an occlusive consonant, while liquid

28 CFR 42.203 - Discrimination prohibited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Discrimination prohibited. 42.203 Section...) of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979 § 42.203 Discrimination prohibited. (a) No person in... participation in, be denied the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in...

28 CFR 42.203 - Discrimination prohibited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Discrimination prohibited. 42.203 Section...) of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979 § 42.203 Discrimination prohibited. (a) No person in... participation in, be denied the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in...

28 CFR 42.203 - Discrimination prohibited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Discrimination prohibited. 42.203 Section...) of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979 § 42.203 Discrimination prohibited. (a) No person in... participation in, be denied the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in...

28 CFR 42.203 - Discrimination prohibited.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Discrimination prohibited. 42.203 Section...) of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979 § 42.203 Discrimination prohibited. (a) No person in... participation in, be denied the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or denied employment in...

The Effect of a Suggested Multisensory Phonics Program on Developing Kindergarten Pre-Service Teachers' EFL Reading Accuracy and Phonemic Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghoneim, Nahed Mohammed Mahmoud; Elghotmy, Heba Elsayed Abdelsalam

2015-01-01

The current study investigates the effect of a suggested multisensory phonics program on developing kindergarten pre-service teachers' EFL reading accuracy and phonemic awareness. A total of 40 fourth year kindergarten pre-service teachers, Faculty of Education, participated in the study that involved one group experimental design. Pre-post tests…

The Effect of Word Frequency on Phonemic Accuracy in Children with Cochlear Implants and Peers with Typical Levels of Hearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faes, Jolien; Gillis, Joris; Gillis, Steven

2017-01-01

The frequency of occurrence of words and sounds has a pervasive influence on typically developing children's language acquisition. For instance, highly frequent words appear earliest in a child's lexicon, and highly frequent phonemes are produced more accurately. This study evaluates (a) whether word frequency influences word accuracy and (b)…

Auditory Discrimination Learning: Role of Working Memory.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu-Xuan; Moore, David R; Guiraud, Jeanne; Molloy, Katharine; Yan, Ting-Ting; Amitay, Sygal

2016-01-01

Perceptual training is generally assumed to improve perception by modifying the encoding or decoding of sensory information. However, this assumption is incompatible with recent demonstrations that transfer of learning can be enhanced by across-trial variation of training stimuli or task. Here we present three lines of evidence from healthy adults in support of the idea that the enhanced transfer of auditory discrimination learning is mediated by working memory (WM). First, the ability to discriminate small differences in tone frequency or duration was correlated with WM measured with a tone n-back task. Second, training frequency discrimination around a variable frequency transferred to and from WM learning, but training around a fixed frequency did not. The transfer of learning in both directions was correlated with a reduction of the influence of stimulus variation in the discrimination task, linking WM and its improvement to across-trial stimulus interaction in auditory discrimination. Third, while WM training transferred broadly to other WM and auditory discrimination tasks, variable-frequency training on duration discrimination did not improve WM, indicating that stimulus variation challenges and trains WM only if the task demands stimulus updating in the varied dimension. The results provide empirical evidence as well as a theoretic framework for interactions between cognitive and sensory plasticity during perceptual experience.

Auditory Discrimination Learning: Role of Working Memory

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yu-Xuan; Moore, David R.; Guiraud, Jeanne; Molloy, Katharine; Yan, Ting-Ting; Amitay, Sygal

2016-01-01

Perceptual training is generally assumed to improve perception by modifying the encoding or decoding of sensory information. However, this assumption is incompatible with recent demonstrations that transfer of learning can be enhanced by across-trial variation of training stimuli or task. Here we present three lines of evidence from healthy adults in support of the idea that the enhanced transfer of auditory discrimination learning is mediated by working memory (WM). First, the ability to discriminate small differences in tone frequency or duration was correlated with WM measured with a tone n-back task. Second, training frequency discrimination around a variable frequency transferred to and from WM learning, but training around a fixed frequency did not. The transfer of learning in both directions was correlated with a reduction of the influence of stimulus variation in the discrimination task, linking WM and its improvement to across-trial stimulus interaction in auditory discrimination. Third, while WM training transferred broadly to other WM and auditory discrimination tasks, variable-frequency training on duration discrimination did not improve WM, indicating that stimulus variation challenges and trains WM only if the task demands stimulus updating in the varied dimension. The results provide empirical evidence as well as a theoretic framework for interactions between cognitive and sensory plasticity during perceptual experience. PMID:26799068

Improved pulse shape discriminator for fast neutron-gamma ray detection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lockwood, J. A.; St. Onge, R.

1969-01-01

Discriminator in nuclear particle detection system distinguishes nuclear particle type and energy among many different nuclear particles. Discriminator incorporates passive, linear circuit elements so that it will operate over a wide dynamic range.

A knowledge-based potential with an accurate description of local interactions improves discrimination between native and near-native protein conformations.

PubMed

Ferrada, Evandro; Vergara, Ismael A; Melo, Francisco

2007-01-01

The correct discrimination between native and near-native protein conformations is essential for achieving accurate computer-based protein structure prediction. However, this has proven to be a difficult task, since currently available physical energy functions, empirical potentials and statistical scoring functions are still limited in achieving this goal consistently. In this work, we assess and compare the ability of different full atom knowledge-based potentials to discriminate between native protein structures and near-native protein conformations generated by comparative modeling. Using a benchmark of 152 near-native protein models and their corresponding native structures that encompass several different folds, we demonstrate that the incorporation of close non-bonded pairwise atom terms improves the discriminating power of the empirical potentials. Since the direct and unbiased derivation of close non-bonded terms from current experimental data is not possible, we obtained and used those terms from the corresponding pseudo-energy functions of a non-local knowledge-based potential. It is shown that this methodology significantly improves the discrimination between native and near-native protein conformations, suggesting that a proper description of close non-bonded terms is important to achieve a more complete and accurate description of native protein conformations. Some external knowledge-based energy functions that are widely used in model assessment performed poorly, indicating that the benchmark of models and the specific discrimination task tested in this work constitutes a difficult challenge.

Variable corneal compensation improves discrimination between normal and glaucomatous eyes with the scanning laser polarimeter.

PubMed

Tannenbaum, Dana P; Hoffman, Douglas; Lemij, Hans G; Garway-Heath, David F; Greenfield, David S; Caprioli, Joseph

2004-02-01

The presently available scanning laser polarimeter (SLP) has a fixed corneal compensator (FCC) that neutralizes corneal birefringence only in eyes with birefringence that matches the population mode. A prototype variable corneal compensator (VCC) provides neutralization of individual corneal birefringence based on individual macular retardation patterns. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative ability of the SLP with the FCC and with the VCC to discriminate between normal and glaucomatous eyes. Prospective, nonrandomized, comparative case series. Algorithm-generating set consisting of 56 normal eyes and 55 glaucomatous eyes and an independent data set consisting of 83 normal eyes and 56 glaucomatous eyes. Sixteen retardation measurements were obtained with the SLP with the FCC and the VCC from all subjects. Dependency of parameters on age, gender, ethnic origin, and eye side was sought. Logistic regression was used to evaluate how well the various parameters could detect glaucoma. Discriminant functions were generated, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was determined. Discrimination between normal and glaucomatous eyes on the basis of single parameters was significantly better with the VCC than with the FCC for 6 retardation parameters: nasal average (P = 0.0003), superior maximum (P = 0.0003), ellipse average (P = 0.002), average thickness (P = 0.003), superior average (P = 0.010), and inferior average (P = 0.010). Discriminant analysis identified the optimal combination of parameters for the FCC and for the VCC. When the discriminant functions were applied to the independent data set, areas under the ROC curve were 0.84 for the FCC and 0.90 for the VCC (P<0.021). When the discriminant functions were applied to a subset of patients with early visual field loss, areas under the ROC curve were 0.82 for the FCC and 0.90 for the VCC (P<0.016). Individual correction for corneal birefringence with the VCC significantly

Characterization of local complex structures in a recurrence plot to improve nonlinear dynamic discriminant analysis.

PubMed

Ding, Hang

2014-01-01

Structures in recurrence plots (RPs), preserving the rich information of nonlinear invariants and trajectory characteristics, have been increasingly analyzed in dynamic discrimination studies. The conventional analysis of RPs is mainly focused on quantifying the overall diagonal and vertical line structures through a method, called recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). This study extensively explores the information in RPs by quantifying local complex RP structures. To do this, an approach was developed to analyze the combination of three major RQA variables: determinism, laminarity, and recurrence rate (DLR) in a metawindow moving over a RP. It was then evaluated in two experiments discriminating (1) ideal nonlinear dynamic series emulated from the Lorenz system with different control parameters and (2) data sets of human heart rate regulations with normal sinus rhythms (n = 18) and congestive heart failure (n = 29). Finally, the DLR was compared with seven major RQA variables in terms of discriminatory power, measured by standardized mean difference (DSMD). In the two experiments, DLR resulted in the highest discriminatory power with DSMD = 2.53 and 0.98, respectively, which were 7.41 and 2.09 times the best performance from RQA. The study also revealed that the optimal RP structures for the discriminations were neither typical diagonal structures nor vertical structures. These findings indicate that local complex RP structures contain some rich information unexploited by RQA. Therefore, future research to extensively analyze complex RP structures would potentially improve the effectiveness of the RP analysis in dynamic discrimination studies.

Cortical Measures of Phoneme-Level Speech Encoding Correlate with the Perceived Clarity of Natural Speech

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Abstract In real-world environments, humans comprehend speech by actively integrating prior knowledge (P) and expectations with sensory input. Recent studies have revealed effects of prior information in temporal and frontal cortical areas and have suggested that these effects are underpinned by enhanced encoding of speech-specific features, rather than a broad enhancement or suppression of cortical activity. However, in terms of the specific hierarchical stages of processing involved in speech comprehension, the effects of integrating bottom-up sensory responses and top-down predictions are still unclear. In addition, it is unclear whether the predictability that comes with prior information may differentially affect speech encoding relative to the perceptual enhancement that comes with that prediction. One way to investigate these issues is through examining the impact of P on indices of cortical tracking of continuous speech features. Here, we did this by presenting participants with degraded speech sentences that either were or were not preceded by a clear recording of the same sentences while recording non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG). We assessed the impact of prior information on an isolated index of cortical tracking that reflected phoneme-level processing. Our findings suggest the possibility that prior information affects the early encoding of natural speech in a dual manner. Firstly, the availability of prior information, as hypothesized, enhanced the perceived clarity of degraded speech, which was positively correlated with changes in phoneme-level encoding across subjects. In addition, P induced an overall reduction of this cortical measure, which we interpret as resulting from the increase in predictability. PMID:29662947

Discrimination Report: ESTCP UXO Discrimination Study, ESTCPProject #MM-0437

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gasperikova, Erika; Smith, J. Torquil; Morrison, H. Frank

2007-12-21

The FY06 Defense Appropriation contains funding for the 'Development of Advanced, Sophisticated, Discrimination Technologies for UXO Cleanup' in the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. In 2003, the Defense Science Board observed: 'The problem is that instruments that can detect the buried UXOs also detect numerous scrap metal objects and other artifacts, which leads to an enormous amount of expensive digging. Typically 100 holes may be dug before a real UXO is unearthed! The Task Force assessment is that much of this wasteful digging can be eliminated by the use of more advanced technology instruments that exploit modern digital processing andmore » advanced multi-mode sensors to achieve an improved level of discrimination of scrap from UXOs.' Significant progress has been made in discrimination technology. To date, testing of these approaches has been primarily limited to test sites with only limited application at live sites. Acceptance of discrimination technologies requires demonstration of system capabilities at real UXO sites under real world conditions. Any attempt to declare detected anomalies to be harmless and requiring no further investigation require demonstration to regulators of not only individual technologies, but of an entire decision making process. This discrimination study was be the first phase in what is expected to be a continuing effort that will span several years.« less

The Effectiveness of Using a Content Acquisition Podcast to Teach Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonics to Preservice Special Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlisle, Abigail A.; Thomas, Cathy Newman; McCathren, Rebecca B.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using a content acquisition podcast (CAP) to teach phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics (PA) to preservice special education teachers. Fifty undergraduate preservice special education teachers over 2 years were randomly assigned to either the CAP group or a comparison group…

The Relative Predictive Contribution and Causal Role of Phoneme Awareness, Rhyme Awareness and Verbal Short-Term Memory in Reading Skills: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melby-Lervag, Monica

2012-01-01

The acknowledgement that educational achievement is highly dependent on successful reading development, has led to extensive research on its underlying factors. Evidence clearly suggests that the relation between reading skills, phoneme awareness, rhyme awareness, and verbal short-term memory is more than a mere association. A strong argument has…

Why Does Rebalancing Class-Unbalanced Data Improve AUC for Linear Discriminant Analysis?

PubMed

Xue, Jing-Hao; Hall, Peter

2015-05-01

Many established classifiers fail to identify the minority class when it is much smaller than the majority class. To tackle this problem, researchers often first rebalance the class sizes in the training dataset, through oversampling the minority class or undersampling the majority class, and then use the rebalanced data to train the classifiers. This leads to interesting empirical patterns. In particular, using the rebalanced training data can often improve the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the original, unbalanced test data. The AUC is a widely-used quantitative measure of classification performance, but the property that it increases with rebalancing has, as yet, no theoretical explanation. In this note, using Gaussian-based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as the classifier, we demonstrate that, at least for LDA, there is an intrinsic, positive relationship between the rebalancing of class sizes and the improvement of AUC. We show that the largest improvement of AUC is achieved, asymptotically, when the two classes are fully rebalanced to be of equal sizes.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Stimulating Phoneme Awareness vs. Other Linguistic Skills in Preschoolers with Co-Occurring Speech and Language Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyler, Ann A.; Gillon, Gail; Macrae, Toby; Johnson, Roberta L.

2011-01-01

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an integrated phoneme awareness/speech intervention in comparison to an alternating speech/morphosyntax intervention for specific areas targeted by the different interventions, as well as the extent of indirect gains in nontargeted areas. Method: A total of 30 children with co-occurring…

Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge of Phonemic Awareness: Relationship to Perceived Knowledge, Self-Efficacy Beliefs, and Exposure to a Multimedia-Enhanced Lecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinussen, Rhonda; Ferrari, Julia; Aitken, Madison; Willows, Dale

2015-01-01

This study examined the relations among perceived and actual knowledge of phonemic awareness (PA), exposure to PA instruction during practicum, and self-efficacy for teaching PA in a sample of 54 teacher candidates (TCs) enrolled in a 1-year Bachelor of Education program in a Canadian university. It also assessed the effects of a brief…

Paintings discrimination by mice: Different strategies for different paintings.

PubMed

Watanabe, Shigeru

2017-09-01

C57BL/6 mice were trained on simultaneous discrimination of paintings with multiple exemplars, using an operant chamber with a touch screen. The number of exemplars was successively increased up to six. Those mice trained in Kandinsky/Mondrian discrimination showed improved learning and generalization, whereas those trained in Picasso/Renoir discrimination showed no improvements in learning or generalization. These results suggest category-like discrimination in the Kandinsky/Mondrian task, but item-to-item discrimination in the Picasso/Renoir task. Mice maintained their discriminative behavior in a pixelization test with various paintings; however, mice in the Picasso/Renoir task showed poor performance in a test that employed scrambling processing. These results do not indicate that discrimination strategy for any Kandinsky/Mondrian combinations differed from that for any Picasso/Monet combinations but suggest the mice employed different strategies of discrimination tasks depending upon stimuli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Relative Predictive Contribution and Causal Role of Phoneme Awareness, Rhyme Awareness, and Verbal Short-Term Memory in Reading Skills: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melby-Lervag, Monica

2012-01-01

The acknowledgement that educational achievement is highly dependent on successful reading development has led to extensive research on its underlying factors. A strong argument has been made for a causal relationship between reading and phoneme awareness; similarly, causal relations have been suggested for reading with short-term memory and rhyme…

Teaching Reading to Youth with Fragile X Syndrome: Should Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Instruction Be Used? EBP Briefs. Volume 9, Issue 6

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brazendale, Allison; Adlof, Suzanne; Klusek, Jessica; Roberts, Jane

2015-01-01

Clinical Question: Would a child with fragile X syndrome benefit more from phonemic awareness and phonics instruction or whole-word training to increase reading skills? Method: Systematic review. Study Sources: PsycINFO. Search Terms: fragile X OR Down syndrome OR cognitive impairment OR cognitive deficit OR cognitive disability OR intellectual…

Is inhibitory control involved in discriminating pseudowords that contain the reversible letters b and d?

PubMed

Brault Foisy, Lorie-Marlène; Ahr, Emmanuel; Masson, Steve; Houdé, Olivier; Borst, Grégoire

2017-10-01

Children tend to confuse reversible letters such as b and d when they start learning to read. According to some authors, mirror errors are a consequence of the mirror generalization (MG) process that allows one to recognize objects independently of their left-right orientation. Although MG is advantageous for the visual recognition of objects, it is detrimental for the visual recognition of reversible letters. Previous studies comparing novice and expert readers demonstrated that MG must be inhibited to discriminate reversible single letters. In this study, we investigated whether MG must also be inhibited by novice readers to discriminate between two pseudowords containing reversible letters. Readable pseudowords, rather than words, were used to mimic early non-automatic stages of reading when reading is achieved by decoding words through grapheme-phoneme pairing and combination. We designed a negative priming paradigm in which school-aged children (10-year-olds) were asked to judge whether two pseudowords were identical on the prime and whether two animals were identical on the probe. Children required more time to determine that two animals were mirror images of each other when preceded by pseudowords containing the reversible letter b or d than when preceded by different pseudowords containing the control letter f or t (Experiment 1) or by different pseudowords that differed only by the target letter f or k (Experiment 2). These results suggest that MG must be inhibited to discriminate between pseudowords containing reversible letters, generalizing the findings regarding single letters to a context more representative of the early stages of reading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fundamental frequency discrimination and speech perception in noise in cochlear implant simulationsa)

PubMed Central

Carroll, Jeff; Zeng, Fan-Gang

2007-01-01

Increasing the number of channels at low frequencies improves discrimination of fundamental frequency (F0) in cochlear implants [Geurts and Wouters 2004]. We conducted three experiments to test whether improved F0 discrimination can be translated into increased speech intelligibility in noise in a cochlear implant simulation. The first experiment measured F0 discrimination and speech intelligibility in quiet as a function of channel density over different frequency regions. The results from this experiment showed a tradeoff in performance between F0 discrimination and speech intelligibility with a limited number of channels. The second experiment tested whether improved F0 discrimination and optimizing this tradeoff could improve speech performance with a competing talker. However, improved F0 discrimination did not improve speech intelligibility in noise. The third experiment identified the critical number of channels needed at low frequencies to improve speech intelligibility in noise. The result showed that, while 16 channels below 500 Hz were needed to observe any improvement in speech intelligibility in noise, even 32 channels did not achieve normal performance. Theoretically, these results suggest that without accurate spectral coding, F0 discrimination and speech perception in noise are two independent processes. Practically, the present results illustrate the need to increase the number of independent channels in cochlear implants. PMID:17604581

Health state after treatment: a reason for discrimination?

PubMed

Abellan-Perpiñan, J M; Pinto-Prades, J L

1999-12-01

In this paper the issue of discrimination between patients based on the health improvement that each can achieve is addressed. Previous research in this area by Nord has shown that, in this context, society's preferences may be quite opposite to the principle of health maximization present in cost utility analysis. Using a different experimental design from that used by Nord, some results are achieved which suggest that social preferences may be somewhere in between two opposite extremes, which are that discrimination based on the degree of health improvement is never acceptable and that discrimination based on the degree of health improvement is always acceptable. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tongue corticospinal modulation during attended verbal stimuli: priming and coarticulation effects.

PubMed

D'Ausilio, Alessandro; Jarmolowska, Joanna; Busan, Pierpaolo; Bufalari, Ilaria; Craighero, Laila

2011-11-01

Humans perceive continuous speech through interruptions or brief noise bursts cancelling entire phonemes. This robust phenomenon has been classically associated with mechanisms of perceptual restoration. In parallel, recent experimental evidence suggests that the motor system may actively participate in speech perception, even contributing to phoneme discrimination. In the present study we intended to verify if the motor system has a specific role in speech perceptual restoration as well. To this aim we recorded tongue corticospinal excitability during phoneme expectation induced by contextual information. Results showed that phoneme expectation determines an involvement of the individual's motor system specifically implicated in the production of the attended phoneme, exactly as it happens during actual listening of that phoneme, suggesting the presence of a speech imagery-like process. Very interestingly, this motoric phoneme expectation is also modulated by subtle coarticulation cues of which the listener is not consciously aware. Present data indicate that the rehearsal of a specific phoneme requires the contribution of the motor system exactly as it happens during the rehearsal of actions executed by the limbs, and that this process is abolished when an incongruent phonemic cue is presented, as similarly occurs during observation of anomalous hand actions. We propose that altogether these effects indicate that during speech listening an attentional-like mechanism driven by the motor system, based on a feed-forward anticipatory mechanism constantly verifying incoming information, is working allowing perceptual restoration. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calibration of Attenuation Structure in Eurasia to Improve Discrimination and Yield

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

and travel-times over large and tectonically complicated regions. As a result regional discrimination methods (e.g., high-frequency P/S, Ms:mb) and...a poor job of predicting both regional amplitudes and travel-times over large and tectonically complicated regions. As a result regional...regions. Earthquake-explosion discrimination using high-frequency regional P/S amplitude ratios over large and tectonically complicated regions can only

Improving Depth, Energy and Timing Estimation in PET Detectors with Deconvolution and Maximum Likelihood Pulse Shape Discrimination

PubMed Central

Berg, Eric; Roncali, Emilie; Hutchcroft, Will; Qi, Jinyi; Cherry, Simon R.

2016-01-01

In a scintillation detector, the light generated in the scintillator by a gamma interaction is converted to photoelectrons by a photodetector and produces a time-dependent waveform, the shape of which depends on the scintillator properties and the photodetector response. Several depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding strategies have been developed that manipulate the scintillator’s temporal response along the crystal length and therefore require pulse shape discrimination techniques to differentiate waveform shapes. In this work, we demonstrate how maximum likelihood (ML) estimation methods can be applied to pulse shape discrimination to better estimate deposited energy, DOI and interaction time (for time-of-flight (TOF) PET) of a gamma ray in a scintillation detector. We developed likelihood models based on either the estimated detection times of individual photoelectrons or the number of photoelectrons in discrete time bins, and applied to two phosphor-coated crystals (LFS and LYSO) used in a previously developed TOF-DOI detector concept. Compared with conventional analytical methods, ML pulse shape discrimination improved DOI encoding by 27% for both crystals. Using the ML DOI estimate, we were able to counter depth-dependent changes in light collection inherent to long scintillator crystals and recover the energy resolution measured with fixed depth irradiation (~11.5% for both crystals). Lastly, we demonstrated how the Richardson-Lucy algorithm, an iterative, ML-based deconvolution technique, can be applied to the digitized waveforms to deconvolve the photodetector’s single photoelectron response and produce waveforms with a faster rising edge. After deconvolution and applying DOI and time-walk corrections, we demonstrated a 13% improvement in coincidence timing resolution (from 290 to 254 ps) with the LFS crystal and an 8% improvement (323 to 297 ps) with the LYSO crystal. PMID:27295658

Improving Depth, Energy and Timing Estimation in PET Detectors with Deconvolution and Maximum Likelihood Pulse Shape Discrimination.

PubMed

Berg, Eric; Roncali, Emilie; Hutchcroft, Will; Qi, Jinyi; Cherry, Simon R

2016-11-01

In a scintillation detector, the light generated in the scintillator by a gamma interaction is converted to photoelectrons by a photodetector and produces a time-dependent waveform, the shape of which depends on the scintillator properties and the photodetector response. Several depth-of-interaction (DOI) encoding strategies have been developed that manipulate the scintillator's temporal response along the crystal length and therefore require pulse shape discrimination techniques to differentiate waveform shapes. In this work, we demonstrate how maximum likelihood (ML) estimation methods can be applied to pulse shape discrimination to better estimate deposited energy, DOI and interaction time (for time-of-flight (TOF) PET) of a gamma ray in a scintillation detector. We developed likelihood models based on either the estimated detection times of individual photoelectrons or the number of photoelectrons in discrete time bins, and applied to two phosphor-coated crystals (LFS and LYSO) used in a previously developed TOF-DOI detector concept. Compared with conventional analytical methods, ML pulse shape discrimination improved DOI encoding by 27% for both crystals. Using the ML DOI estimate, we were able to counter depth-dependent changes in light collection inherent to long scintillator crystals and recover the energy resolution measured with fixed depth irradiation (~11.5% for both crystals). Lastly, we demonstrated how the Richardson-Lucy algorithm, an iterative, ML-based deconvolution technique, can be applied to the digitized waveforms to deconvolve the photodetector's single photoelectron response and produce waveforms with a faster rising edge. After deconvolution and applying DOI and time-walk corrections, we demonstrated a 13% improvement in coincidence timing resolution (from 290 to 254 ps) with the LFS crystal and an 8% improvement (323 to 297 ps) with the LYSO crystal.

Dissociable processes for orientation discrimination learning and contextual illusion magnitude.

PubMed

Wilks, Charlotte Elizabeth Holmes; Rees, Geraint; Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Samuel

2014-01-01

Previous research suggests an inverse relationship between human orientation discrimination sensitivity and tilt illusion magnitude. To test whether these perceptual functions are inherently linked, we measured both orientation discrimination sensitivity and the magnitude of the tilt illusion before and after participants had been trained for three days on an orientation discrimination task. Discrimination sensitivity improved with training and this improvement remained one month after the initial learning. However, tilt illusion magnitude remained unchanged before and after orientation training, at either trained or untrained orientations. Our results suggest that orientation discrimination sensitivity and illusion magnitude are not inherently linked. They also provide further evidence that, at least for the training periods we employed, perceptual learning of orientation discrimination may involve high-level processes.

Dissociable Processes for Orientation Discrimination Learning and Contextual Illusion Magnitude

PubMed Central

Wilks, Charlotte Elizabeth Holmes; Rees, Geraint; Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Samuel

2014-01-01

Previous research suggests an inverse relationship between human orientation discrimination sensitivity and tilt illusion magnitude. To test whether these perceptual functions are inherently linked, we measured both orientation discrimination sensitivity and the magnitude of the tilt illusion before and after participants had been trained for three days on an orientation discrimination task. Discrimination sensitivity improved with training and this improvement remained one month after the initial learning. However, tilt illusion magnitude remained unchanged before and after orientation training, at either trained or untrained orientations. Our results suggest that orientation discrimination sensitivity and illusion magnitude are not inherently linked. They also provide further evidence that, at least for the training periods we employed, perceptual learning of orientation discrimination may involve high-level processes. PMID:25061816

Investigation on the music perception skills of Italian children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Scorpecci, Alessandro; Zagari, Felicia; Mari, Giorgia; Giannantonio, Sara; D'Alatri, Lucia; Di Nardo, Walter; Paludetti, Gaetano

2012-10-01

To compare the music perception skills of a group of Italian-speaking children with cochlear implants to those of a group of normal hearing children; to analyze possible correlations between implanted children's musical skills and their demographics, clinical characteristics, phonological perception, and speech recognition and production abilities. 18 implanted children aged 5-12 years and a reference group of 23 normal-hearing subjects with typical language development were enrolled. Both groups received a melody identification test and a song (i.e. original version) identification test. The implanted children also received a test battery aimed at assessing speech recognition, speech production and phoneme discrimination. The implanted children scored significantly worse than the normal hearing subjects in both musical tests. In the cochlear implant group, phoneme discrimination abilities were significantly correlated with both melody and song identification skills, and length of device use was significantly correlated with song identification skills. Experience with device use and phonological perception had a moderate-to-strong correlation to implanted children's music perception abilities. In the light of these findings, it is reasonable to assume that a rehabilitation program specifically aimed at improving phonological perception could help pediatric cochlear implant recipients better understand the basic elements of music; moreover, a training aimed at improving the comprehension of the spectral elements of music could enhance implanted children's phonological skills. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Task-irrelevant emotion facilitates face discrimination learning.

PubMed

Lorenzino, Martina; Caudek, Corrado

2015-03-01

We understand poorly how the ability to discriminate faces from one another is shaped by visual experience. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether face discrimination learning can be facilitated by facial emotions. To answer this question, we used a task-irrelevant perceptual learning paradigm because it closely mimics the learning processes that, in daily life, occur without a conscious intention to learn and without an attentional focus on specific facial features. We measured face discrimination thresholds before and after training. During the training phase (4 days), participants performed a contrast discrimination task on face images. They were not informed that we introduced (task-irrelevant) subtle variations in the face images from trial to trial. For the Identity group, the task-irrelevant features were variations along a morphing continuum of facial identity. For the Emotion group, the task-irrelevant features were variations along an emotional expression morphing continuum. The Control group did not undergo contrast discrimination learning and only performed the pre-training and post-training tests, with the same temporal gap between them as the other two groups. Results indicate that face discrimination improved, but only for the Emotion group. Participants in the Emotion group, moreover, showed face discrimination improvements also for stimulus variations along the facial identity dimension, even if these (task-irrelevant) stimulus features had not been presented during training. The present results highlight the importance of emotions for face discrimination learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How discriminating are discriminative instruments?

PubMed

Hankins, Matthew

2008-05-27

The McMaster framework introduced by Kirshner & Guyatt is the dominant paradigm for the development of measures of health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL). The framework defines the functions of such instruments as evaluative, predictive or discriminative. Evaluative instruments are required to be sensitive to change (responsiveness), but there is no corresponding index of the degree to which discriminative instruments are sensitive to cross-sectional differences. This paper argues that indices of validity and reliability are not sufficient to demonstrate that a discriminative instrument performs its function of discriminating between individuals, and that the McMaster framework would be augmented by the addition of a separate index of discrimination. The coefficient proposed by Ferguson (Delta) is easily adapted to HRQL instruments and is a direct, non-parametric index of the degree to which an instrument distinguishes between individuals. While Delta should prove useful in the development and evaluation of discriminative instruments, further research is required to elucidate the relationship between the measurement properties of discrimination, reliability and responsiveness.

Real-Time Wavelength Discrimination for Improved Neutron Discrimination in CLYC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hornback, Donald Eric; Hu, Michael Z.; Bell, Zane W.

We investigated the effects of optical filters on the pulse shape discrimination properties of Cs 2LiYCl 6:Ce (CLYC) scintillator crystals. By viewing the scintillation light through various optical filters, we attempted to better distinguish between neutron and gamma ray events in the crystal. We applied commercial interference and colored glass filters in addition to fabricating quantum dot (QD) filters by suspending QDs in plastic films and glass. QD filters ultimately failed because of instability of the QDs with respect to oxidation when exposed to ambient air, and the tendency of the QDs to aggregate in the plastic. Of the commercialmore » filters, the best results were obtained with a bandpass interference filter covering the spectral region containing core-valence luminescence (CVL) light. However, the PSD response of filtered CLYC light was always poorer than the response exhibited by unfiltered light because filters always reduced the amount of light available for signal processing.« less

Vocal Accuracy and Neural Plasticity Following Micromelody-Discrimination Training

PubMed Central

Zarate, Jean Mary; Delhommeau, Karine; Wood, Sean; Zatorre, Robert J.

2010-01-01

Background Recent behavioral studies report correlational evidence to suggest that non-musicians with good pitch discrimination sing more accurately than those with poorer auditory skills. However, other studies have reported a dissociation between perceptual and vocal production skills. In order to elucidate the relationship between auditory discrimination skills and vocal accuracy, we administered an auditory-discrimination training paradigm to a group of non-musicians to determine whether training-enhanced auditory discrimination would specifically result in improved vocal accuracy. Methodology/Principal Findings We utilized micromelodies (i.e., melodies with seven different interval scales, each smaller than a semitone) as the main stimuli for auditory discrimination training and testing, and we used single-note and melodic singing tasks to assess vocal accuracy in two groups of non-musicians (experimental and control). To determine if any training-induced improvements in vocal accuracy would be accompanied by related modulations in cortical activity during singing, the experimental group of non-musicians also performed the singing tasks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Following training, the experimental group exhibited significant enhancements in micromelody discrimination compared to controls. However, we did not observe a correlated improvement in vocal accuracy during single-note or melodic singing, nor did we detect any training-induced changes in activity within brain regions associated with singing. Conclusions/Significance Given the observations from our auditory training regimen, we therefore conclude that perceptual discrimination training alone is not sufficient to improve vocal accuracy in non-musicians, supporting the suggested dissociation between auditory perception and vocal production. PMID:20567521

Neuronal pattern separation in the olfactory bulb improves odor discrimination learning

PubMed Central

Lagier, Samuel; Begnaud, Frédéric; Rodriguez, Ivan; Carleton, Alan

2015-01-01

Neuronal pattern separation is thought to enable the brain to disambiguate sensory stimuli with overlapping features thereby extracting valuable information. In the olfactory system, it remains unknown whether pattern separation acts as a driving force for sensory discrimination and the learning thereof. Here we show that overlapping odor-evoked input patterns to the mouse olfactory bulb (OB) are dynamically reformatted in the network at the timescale of a single breath, giving rise to separated patterns of activity in ensemble of output neurons (mitral/tufted cells; M/T). Strikingly, the extent of pattern separation in M/T assemblies predicts behavioral discrimination performance during the learning phase. Furthermore, exciting or inhibiting GABAergic OB interneurons, using optogenetics or pharmacogenetics, altered pattern separation and thereby odor discrimination learning in a bidirectional way. In conclusion, we propose that the OB network can act as a pattern separator facilitating olfactory stimuli distinction, a process that is sculpted by synaptic inhibition. PMID:26301325

Neuronal pattern separation in the olfactory bulb improves odor discrimination learning.

PubMed

Gschwend, Olivier; Abraham, Nixon M; Lagier, Samuel; Begnaud, Frédéric; Rodriguez, Ivan; Carleton, Alan

2015-10-01

Neuronal pattern separation is thought to enable the brain to disambiguate sensory stimuli with overlapping features, thereby extracting valuable information. In the olfactory system, it remains unknown whether pattern separation acts as a driving force for sensory discrimination and the learning thereof. We found that overlapping odor-evoked input patterns to the mouse olfactory bulb (OB) were dynamically reformatted in the network on the timescale of a single breath, giving rise to separated patterns of activity in an ensemble of output neurons, mitral/tufted (M/T) cells. Notably, the extent of pattern separation in M/T assemblies predicted behavioral discrimination performance during the learning phase. Furthermore, exciting or inhibiting GABAergic OB interneurons, using optogenetics or pharmacogenetics, altered pattern separation and thereby odor discrimination learning in a bidirectional way. In conclusion, we propose that the OB network can act as a pattern separator facilitating olfactory stimulus distinction, a process that is sculpted by synaptic inhibition.

Phonological Skills and Ability to Perceive Auditorily the Structure of a Word at the Level of a Single Phoneme at Ages 2-6

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suortti, Outi; Lipponen, Lasse

2014-01-01

The present study is the first part of a longitudinal research project investigating whether children become more aware of phonemes or rhyming when they learn letters or letter sounds or even begin to read, and if so how. For the present paper, the phonological awareness of young children aged 2-6 years was analyzed, particularly their auditory…

Microcounseling Skill Discrimination Scale: A Methodological Note

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokes, Joseph; Romer, Daniel

1977-01-01

Absolute ratings on the Microcounseling Skill Discrimination Scale (MSDS) confound the individual's use of the rating scale and actual ability to discriminate effective and ineffective counselor behaviors. This note suggests methods of scoring the MSDS that will eliminate variability attributable to response language and improve the validity of…

Perceptual Adaptation of Voice Gender Discrimination with Spectrally Shifted Vowels

PubMed Central

Li, Tianhao; Fu, Qian-Jie

2013-01-01

Purpose To determine whether perceptual adaptation improves voice gender discrimination of spectrally shifted vowels and, if so, which acoustic cues contribute to the improvement. Method Voice gender discrimination was measured for 10 normal-hearing subjects, during 5 days of adaptation to spectrally shifted vowels, produced by processing the speech of 5 male and 5 female talkers with 16-channel sine-wave vocoders. The subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups; one subjected to 50-Hz, and the other to 200-Hz, temporal envelope cutoff frequencies. No preview or feedback was provided. Results: There was significant adaptation in voice gender discrimination with the 200-Hz cutoff frequency, but significant improvement was observed only for 3 female talkers with F0 > 180 Hz and 3 male talkers with F0 < 170 Hz. There was no significant adaptation with the 50-Hz cutoff frequency. Conclusions Temporal envelope cues are important for voice gender discrimination under spectral shift conditions with perceptual adaptation, but spectral shift may limit the exclusive use of spectral information and/or the use of formant structure on voice gender discrimination. The results have implications for cochlear implant users and for understanding voice gender discrimination. PMID:21173392

Perceptual adaptation of voice gender discrimination with spectrally shifted vowels.

PubMed

Li, Tianhao; Fu, Qian-Jie

2011-08-01

To determine whether perceptual adaptation improves voice gender discrimination of spectrally shifted vowels and, if so, which acoustic cues contribute to the improvement. Voice gender discrimination was measured for 10 normal-hearing subjects, during 5 days of adaptation to spectrally shifted vowels, produced by processing the speech of 5 male and 5 female talkers with 16-channel sine-wave vocoders. The subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups; one subjected to 50-Hz, and the other to 200-Hz, temporal envelope cutoff frequencies. No preview or feedback was provided. There was significant adaptation in voice gender discrimination with the 200-Hz cutoff frequency, but significant improvement was observed only for 3 female talkers with F(0) > 180 Hz and 3 male talkers with F(0) < 170 Hz. There was no significant adaptation with the 50-Hz cutoff frequency. Temporal envelope cues are important for voice gender discrimination under spectral shift conditions with perceptual adaptation, but spectral shift may limit the exclusive use of spectral information and/or the use of formant structure on voice gender discrimination. The results have implications for cochlear implant users and for understanding voice gender discrimination.

Spatial Frequency Discrimination: Effects of Age, Reward, and Practice.

PubMed

van den Boomen, Carlijn; Peters, Judith Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interaction starts with perception of the world around you. This study investigated two fundamental issues regarding the development of discrimination of higher spatial frequencies, which are important building blocks of perception. Firstly, it mapped the typical developmental trajectory of higher spatial frequency discrimination. Secondly, it developed and validated a novel design that could be applied to improve atypically developed vision. Specifically, this study examined the effect of age and reward on task performance, practice effects, and motivation (i.e., number of trials completed) in a higher spatial frequency (reference frequency: 6 cycles per degree) discrimination task. We measured discrimination thresholds in children aged between 7 to 12 years and adults (N = 135). Reward was manipulated by presenting either positive reinforcement or punishment. Results showed a decrease in discrimination thresholds with age, thus revealing that higher spatial frequency discrimination continues to develop after 12 years of age. This development continues longer than previously shown for discrimination of lower spatial frequencies. Moreover, thresholds decreased during the run, indicating that discrimination abilities improved. Reward did not affect performance or improvement. However, in an additional group of 5-6 year-olds (N = 28) punishments resulted in the completion of fewer trials compared to reinforcements. In both reward conditions children aged 5-6 years completed only a fourth or half of the run (64 to 128 out of 254 trials) and were not motivated to continue. The design thus needs further adaptation before it can be applied to this age group. Children aged 7-12 years and adults completed the run, suggesting that the design is successful and motivating for children aged 7-12 years. This study thus presents developmental differences in higher spatial frequency discrimination thresholds. Furthermore, it presents a design that can be used in future

Temporal plasticity in auditory cortex improves neural discrimination of speech sounds

PubMed Central

Engineer, Crystal T.; Shetake, Jai A.; Engineer, Navzer D.; Vrana, Will A.; Wolf, Jordan T.; Kilgard, Michael P.

2017-01-01

Background Many individuals with language learning impairments exhibit temporal processing deficits and degraded neural responses to speech sounds. Auditory training can improve both the neural and behavioral deficits, though significant deficits remain. Recent evidence suggests that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitative therapies enhances both cortical plasticity and recovery of normal function. Objective/Hypothesis We predicted that pairing VNS with rapid tone trains would enhance the primary auditory cortex (A1) response to unpaired novel speech sounds. Methods VNS was paired with tone trains 300 times per day for 20 days in adult rats. Responses to isolated speech sounds, compressed speech sounds, word sequences, and compressed word sequences were recorded in A1 following the completion of VNS-tone train pairing. Results Pairing VNS with rapid tone trains resulted in stronger, faster, and more discriminable A1 responses to speech sounds presented at conversational rates. Conclusion This study extends previous findings by documenting that VNS paired with rapid tone trains altered the neural response to novel unpaired speech sounds. Future studies are necessary to determine whether pairing VNS with appropriate auditory stimuli could potentially be used to improve both neural responses to speech sounds and speech perception in individuals with receptive language disorders. PMID:28131520

Perceptual Adaptation of Voice Gender Discrimination with Spectrally Shifted Vowels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Tianhao; Fu, Qian-Jie

2011-01-01

Purpose: To determine whether perceptual adaptation improves voice gender discrimination of spectrally shifted vowels and, if so, which acoustic cues contribute to the improvement. Method: Voice gender discrimination was measured for 10 normal-hearing subjects, during 5 days of adaptation to spectrally shifted vowels, produced by processing the…

Casimir meets Poisson: improved quark/gluon discrimination with counting observables

DOE PAGES

Frye, Christopher; Larkoski, Andrew J.; Thaler, Jesse; ...

2017-09-19

Charged track multiplicity is among the most powerful observables for discriminating quark- from gluon-initiated jets. Despite its utility, it is not infrared and collinear (IRC) safe, so perturbative calculations are limited to studying the energy evolution of multiplicity moments. While IRC-safe observables, like jet mass, are perturbatively calculable, their distributions often exhibit Casimir scaling, such that their quark/gluon discrimination power is limited by the ratio of quark to gluon color factors. In this paper, we introduce new IRC-safe counting observables whose discrimination performance exceeds that of jet mass and approaches that of track multiplicity. The key observation is that trackmore » multiplicity is approximately Poisson distributed, with more suppressed tails than the Sudakov peak structure from jet mass. By using an iterated version of the soft drop jet grooming algorithm, we can define a “soft drop multiplicity” which is Poisson distributed at leading-logarithmic accuracy. In addition, we calculate the next-to-leading-logarithmic corrections to this Poisson structure. If we allow the soft drop groomer to proceed to the end of the jet branching history, we can define a collinear-unsafe (but still infrared-safe) counting observable. Exploiting the universality of the collinear limit, we define generalized fragmentation functions to study the perturbative energy evolution of collinear-unsafe multiplicity.« less

Casimir meets Poisson: improved quark/gluon discrimination with counting observables

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frye, Christopher; Larkoski, Andrew J.; Thaler, Jesse

Charged track multiplicity is among the most powerful observables for discriminating quark- from gluon-initiated jets. Despite its utility, it is not infrared and collinear (IRC) safe, so perturbative calculations are limited to studying the energy evolution of multiplicity moments. While IRC-safe observables, like jet mass, are perturbatively calculable, their distributions often exhibit Casimir scaling, such that their quark/gluon discrimination power is limited by the ratio of quark to gluon color factors. In this paper, we introduce new IRC-safe counting observables whose discrimination performance exceeds that of jet mass and approaches that of track multiplicity. The key observation is that trackmore » multiplicity is approximately Poisson distributed, with more suppressed tails than the Sudakov peak structure from jet mass. By using an iterated version of the soft drop jet grooming algorithm, we can define a “soft drop multiplicity” which is Poisson distributed at leading-logarithmic accuracy. In addition, we calculate the next-to-leading-logarithmic corrections to this Poisson structure. If we allow the soft drop groomer to proceed to the end of the jet branching history, we can define a collinear-unsafe (but still infrared-safe) counting observable. Exploiting the universality of the collinear limit, we define generalized fragmentation functions to study the perturbative energy evolution of collinear-unsafe multiplicity.« less

Direct Detection of Nucleic Acid with Minimizing Background and Improving Sensitivity Based on a Conformation-Discriminating Indicator.

PubMed

Zhu, Lixuan; Qing, Zhihe; Hou, Lina; Yang, Sheng; Zou, Zhen; Cao, Zhong; Yang, Ronghua

2017-08-25

As is well-known, the nucleic acid indicator-based strategy is one of the major approaches to monitor the nucleic acid hybridization-mediated recognition events in biochemical analysis, displaying obvious advantages including simplicity, low cost, convenience, and generality. However, conventional indicators either hold strong self-fluorescence or can be lighted by both ssDNA and dsDNA, lacking absolute selectivity for a certain conformation, always with high background interference and low sensitivity in sensing; and additional processing (e.g., nanomaterial-mediated background suppression, and enzyme-catalyzed signal amplification) is generally required to improve the detection performance. In this work, a carbazole derivative, EBCB, has been synthesized and screened as a dsDNA-specific fluorescent indicator. Compared with conventional indicators under the same conditions, EBCB displayed a much higher selective coefficient for dsDNA, with little self-fluorescence and negligible effect from ssDNA. Based on its superior capability in DNA conformation-discrimination, high sensitivity with minimizing background interference was demonstrated for direct detection of nucleic acid, and monitoring nucleic acid-based circuitry with good reversibity, resulting in low detection limit and high capability for discriminating base-mismatching. Thus, we expect that this highly specific DNA conformation-discriminating indicator will hold good potential for application in biochemical sensing and molecular logic switching.

Suppression of the µ rhythm during speech and non-speech discrimination revealed by independent component analysis: implications for sensorimotor integration in speech processing.

PubMed

Bowers, Andrew; Saltuklaroglu, Tim; Harkrider, Ashley; Cuellar, Megan

2013-01-01

Constructivist theories propose that articulatory hypotheses about incoming phonetic targets may function to enhance perception by limiting the possibilities for sensory analysis. To provide evidence for this proposal, it is necessary to map ongoing, high-temporal resolution changes in sensorimotor activity (i.e., the sensorimotor μ rhythm) to accurate speech and non-speech discrimination performance (i.e., correct trials.). Sixteen participants (15 female and 1 male) were asked to passively listen to or actively identify speech and tone-sweeps in a two-force choice discrimination task while the electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded from 32 channels. The stimuli were presented at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in which discrimination accuracy was high (i.e., 80-100%) and low SNRs producing discrimination performance at chance. EEG data were decomposed using independent component analysis and clustered across participants using principle component methods in EEGLAB. ICA revealed left and right sensorimotor µ components for 14/16 and 13/16 participants respectively that were identified on the basis of scalp topography, spectral peaks, and localization to the precentral and postcentral gyri. Time-frequency analysis of left and right lateralized µ component clusters revealed significant (pFDR<.05) suppression in the traditional beta frequency range (13-30 Hz) prior to, during, and following syllable discrimination trials. No significant differences from baseline were found for passive tasks. Tone conditions produced right µ beta suppression following stimulus onset only. For the left µ, significant differences in the magnitude of beta suppression were found for correct speech discrimination trials relative to chance trials following stimulus offset. Findings are consistent with constructivist, internal model theories proposing that early forward motor models generate predictions about likely phonemic units that are then synthesized with incoming sensory cues

Suppression of the µ Rhythm during Speech and Non-Speech Discrimination Revealed by Independent Component Analysis: Implications for Sensorimotor Integration in Speech Processing

PubMed Central

Bowers, Andrew; Saltuklaroglu, Tim; Harkrider, Ashley; Cuellar, Megan

2013-01-01

Background Constructivist theories propose that articulatory hypotheses about incoming phonetic targets may function to enhance perception by limiting the possibilities for sensory analysis. To provide evidence for this proposal, it is necessary to map ongoing, high-temporal resolution changes in sensorimotor activity (i.e., the sensorimotor μ rhythm) to accurate speech and non-speech discrimination performance (i.e., correct trials.) Methods Sixteen participants (15 female and 1 male) were asked to passively listen to or actively identify speech and tone-sweeps in a two-force choice discrimination task while the electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded from 32 channels. The stimuli were presented at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in which discrimination accuracy was high (i.e., 80–100%) and low SNRs producing discrimination performance at chance. EEG data were decomposed using independent component analysis and clustered across participants using principle component methods in EEGLAB. Results ICA revealed left and right sensorimotor µ components for 14/16 and 13/16 participants respectively that were identified on the basis of scalp topography, spectral peaks, and localization to the precentral and postcentral gyri. Time-frequency analysis of left and right lateralized µ component clusters revealed significant (pFDR<.05) suppression in the traditional beta frequency range (13–30 Hz) prior to, during, and following syllable discrimination trials. No significant differences from baseline were found for passive tasks. Tone conditions produced right µ beta suppression following stimulus onset only. For the left µ, significant differences in the magnitude of beta suppression were found for correct speech discrimination trials relative to chance trials following stimulus offset. Conclusions Findings are consistent with constructivist, internal model theories proposing that early forward motor models generate predictions about likely phonemic units that are then

The attentional blink is related to phonemic decoding, but not sight-word recognition, in typically reading adults.

PubMed

Tyson-Parry, Maree M; Sailah, Jessica; Boyes, Mark E; Badcock, Nicholas A

2015-10-01

This research investigated the relationship between the attentional blink (AB) and reading in typical adults. The AB is a deficit in the processing of the second of two rapidly presented targets when it occurs in close temporal proximity to the first target. Specifically, this experiment examined whether the AB was related to both phonological and sight-word reading abilities, and whether the relationship was mediated by accuracy on a single-target rapid serial visual processing task (single-target accuracy). Undergraduate university students completed a battery of tests measuring reading ability, non-verbal intelligence, and rapid automatised naming, in addition to rapid serial visual presentation tasks in which they were required to identify either two (AB task) or one (single target task) target/s (outlined shapes: circle, square, diamond, cross, and triangle) in a stream of random-dot distractors. The duration of the AB was related to phonological reading (n=41, β=-0.43): participants who exhibited longer ABs had poorer phonemic decoding skills. The AB was not related to sight-word reading. Single-target accuracy did not mediate the relationship between the AB and reading, but was significantly related to AB depth (non-linear fit, R(2)=.50): depth reflects the maximal cost in T2 reporting accuracy in the AB. The differential relationship between the AB and phonological versus sight-word reading implicates common resources used for phonemic decoding and target consolidation, which may be involved in cognitive control. The relationship between single-target accuracy and the AB is discussed in terms of cognitive preparation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced plastic scintillators for fast neutron discrimination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Patrick L; Anstey, Mitchell; Doty, F. Patrick

2014-09-01

The present work addresses the need for solid-state, fast neutron discriminating scintillators that possess higher light yields and faster decay kinetics than existing organic scintillators. These respective attributes are of critical importance for improving the gamma-rejection capabilities and increasing the neutron discrimination performance under high-rate conditions. Two key applications that will benefit from these improvements include large-volume passive detection scenarios as well as active interrogation search for special nuclear materials. Molecular design principles were employed throughout this work, resulting in synthetically tailored materials that possess the targeted scintillation properties.

An improved discriminative filter bank selection approach for motor imagery EEG signal classification using mutual information.

PubMed

Kumar, Shiu; Sharma, Alok; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko

2017-12-28

Common spatial pattern (CSP) has been an effective technique for feature extraction in electroencephalography (EEG) based brain computer interfaces (BCIs). However, motor imagery EEG signal feature extraction using CSP generally depends on the selection of the frequency bands to a great extent. In this study, we propose a mutual information based frequency band selection approach. The idea of the proposed method is to utilize the information from all the available channels for effectively selecting the most discriminative filter banks. CSP features are extracted from multiple overlapping sub-bands. An additional sub-band has been introduced that cover the wide frequency band (7-30 Hz) and two different types of features are extracted using CSP and common spatio-spectral pattern techniques, respectively. Mutual information is then computed from the extracted features of each of these bands and the top filter banks are selected for further processing. Linear discriminant analysis is applied to the features extracted from each of the filter banks. The scores are fused together, and classification is done using support vector machine. The proposed method is evaluated using BCI Competition III dataset IVa, BCI Competition IV dataset I and BCI Competition IV dataset IIb, and it outperformed all other competing methods achieving the lowest misclassification rate and the highest kappa coefficient on all three datasets. Introducing a wide sub-band and using mutual information for selecting the most discriminative sub-bands, the proposed method shows improvement in motor imagery EEG signal classification.

Racial Discrimination and Psychological Wellbeing of Pregnant Women.

PubMed

Giurgescu, Carmen; Zenk, Shannon N; Engeland, Christopher G; Garfield, Lindsey; Templin, Thomas N

African American women are more likely to be exposed to racial discrimination and to experience psychological distress compared with white women. Although studies have shown that social support is positively related to psychological wellbeing, little is known about the potential buffering effect of social support on the relationship between racial discrimination and psychological wellbeing of pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to determine if social support moderates effects of racial discrimination on psychological wellbeing among pregnant African American women. Using a cross-sectional design, 107 African American women between 15 and 26 weeks gestation from an urban university-based midwifery practice completed questionnaires. Women who reported more experiences of racial discrimination also reported lower levels of social support and psychological wellbeing (p <.05). Maternal child nurses should be aware that experiences of racial discrimination have negative effects on psychological wellbeing of pregnant African American women regardless of their levels of social support. However, social support can reduce psychological distress and improve wellbeing of pregnant women. Therefore, nurses need to provide pregnant women with positive and supportive experiences that may improve their psychological wellbeing.

Musical practice and cognitive aging: two cross-sectional studies point to phonemic fluency as a potential candidate for a use-dependent adaptation.

PubMed

Fauvel, Baptiste; Groussard, Mathilde; Mutlu, Justine; Arenaza-Urquijo, Eider M; Eustache, Francis; Desgranges, Béatrice; Platel, Hervé

2014-01-01

Because of permanent use-dependent brain plasticity, all lifelong individuals' experiences are believed to influence the cognitive aging quality. In older individuals, both former and current musical practices have been associated with better verbal skills, visual memory, processing speed, and planning function. This work sought for an interaction between musical practice and cognitive aging by comparing musician and non-musician individuals for two lifetime periods (middle and late adulthood). Long-term memory, auditory-verbal short-term memory, processing speed, non-verbal reasoning, and verbal fluencies were assessed. In Study 1, measures of processing speed and auditory-verbal short-term memory were significantly better performed by musicians compared with controls, but both groups displayed the same age-related differences. For verbal fluencies, musicians scored higher than controls and displayed different age effects. In Study 2, we found that lifetime period at training onset (childhood vs. adulthood) was associated with phonemic, but not semantic, fluency performances (musicians who had started to practice in adulthood did not perform better on phonemic fluency than non-musicians). Current frequency of training did not account for musicians' scores on either of these two measures. These patterns of results are discussed by setting the hypothesis of a transformative effect of musical practice against a non-causal explanation.

Spatial Frequency Discrimination: Effects of Age, Reward, and Practice

PubMed Central

Peters, Judith Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interaction starts with perception of the world around you. This study investigated two fundamental issues regarding the development of discrimination of higher spatial frequencies, which are important building blocks of perception. Firstly, it mapped the typical developmental trajectory of higher spatial frequency discrimination. Secondly, it developed and validated a novel design that could be applied to improve atypically developed vision. Specifically, this study examined the effect of age and reward on task performance, practice effects, and motivation (i.e., number of trials completed) in a higher spatial frequency (reference frequency: 6 cycles per degree) discrimination task. We measured discrimination thresholds in children aged between 7 to 12 years and adults (N = 135). Reward was manipulated by presenting either positive reinforcement or punishment. Results showed a decrease in discrimination thresholds with age, thus revealing that higher spatial frequency discrimination continues to develop after 12 years of age. This development continues longer than previously shown for discrimination of lower spatial frequencies. Moreover, thresholds decreased during the run, indicating that discrimination abilities improved. Reward did not affect performance or improvement. However, in an additional group of 5–6 year-olds (N = 28) punishments resulted in the completion of fewer trials compared to reinforcements. In both reward conditions children aged 5–6 years completed only a fourth or half of the run (64 to 128 out of 254 trials) and were not motivated to continue. The design thus needs further adaptation before it can be applied to this age group. Children aged 7–12 years and adults completed the run, suggesting that the design is successful and motivating for children aged 7–12 years. This study thus presents developmental differences in higher spatial frequency discrimination thresholds. Furthermore, it presents a design that can be used in

Elegant grapheme-phoneme correspondence: a periodic chart and singularity generalization unify decoding.

PubMed

Gates, Louis

2018-04-01

The accompanying article introduces highly transparent grapheme-phoneme relationships embodied within a Periodic table of decoding cells, which arguably presents the quintessential transparent decoding elements. The study then folds these cells into one highly transparent but simply stated singularity generalization-this generalization unifies the decoding cells (97% transparency). Deeper, the periodic table and singularity generalization together highlight the connectivity of the periodic cells. Moreover, these interrelated cells, coupled with the singularity generalization, clarify teaching targets and enable efficient learning of the letter-sound code. This singularity generalization, in turn, serves as a model for creating unified but easily stated subordinate generalizations for any one of the transparent cells or groups of cells shown within the tables. The article then expands the periodic cells into two tables of teacher-ready sample word lists-one table includes sample words for the basic and phonogram vowel cells, and the other table embraces word samples for the transparent consonant cells. The paper concludes with suggestions for teaching the cellular transparency embedded within reoccurring isolated words and running text to promote decoding automaticity of the periodic cells.

Short-Term Visual Deprivation, Tactile Acuity, and Haptic Solid Shape Discrimination

PubMed Central

Crabtree, Charles E.; Norman, J. Farley

2014-01-01

Previous psychophysical studies have reported conflicting results concerning the effects of short-term visual deprivation upon tactile acuity. Some studies have found that 45 to 90 minutes of total light deprivation produce significant improvements in participants' tactile acuity as measured with a grating orientation discrimination task. In contrast, a single 2011 study found no such improvement while attempting to replicate these earlier findings. A primary goal of the current experiment was to resolve this discrepancy in the literature by evaluating the effects of a 90-minute period of total light deprivation upon tactile grating orientation discrimination. We also evaluated the potential effect of short-term deprivation upon haptic 3-D shape discrimination using a set of naturally-shaped solid objects. According to previous research, short-term deprivation enhances performance in a tactile 2-D shape discrimination task – perhaps a similar improvement also occurs for haptic 3-D shape discrimination. The results of the current investigation demonstrate that not only does short-term visual deprivation not enhance tactile acuity, it additionally has no effect upon haptic 3-D shape discrimination. While visual deprivation had no effect in our study, there was a significant effect of experience and learning for the grating orientation task – the participants' tactile acuity improved over time, independent of whether they had, or had not, experienced visual deprivation. PMID:25397327

Short-term visual deprivation, tactile acuity, and haptic solid shape discrimination.

PubMed

Crabtree, Charles E; Norman, J Farley

2014-01-01

Previous psychophysical studies have reported conflicting results concerning the effects of short-term visual deprivation upon tactile acuity. Some studies have found that 45 to 90 minutes of total light deprivation produce significant improvements in participants' tactile acuity as measured with a grating orientation discrimination task. In contrast, a single 2011 study found no such improvement while attempting to replicate these earlier findings. A primary goal of the current experiment was to resolve this discrepancy in the literature by evaluating the effects of a 90-minute period of total light deprivation upon tactile grating orientation discrimination. We also evaluated the potential effect of short-term deprivation upon haptic 3-D shape discrimination using a set of naturally-shaped solid objects. According to previous research, short-term deprivation enhances performance in a tactile 2-D shape discrimination task - perhaps a similar improvement also occurs for haptic 3-D shape discrimination. The results of the current investigation demonstrate that not only does short-term visual deprivation not enhance tactile acuity, it additionally has no effect upon haptic 3-D shape discrimination. While visual deprivation had no effect in our study, there was a significant effect of experience and learning for the grating orientation task - the participants' tactile acuity improved over time, independent of whether they had, or had not, experienced visual deprivation.

A quantitative method for determining spatial discriminative capacity.

PubMed

Zhang, Zheng; Tannan, Vinay; Holden, Jameson K; Dennis, Robert G; Tommerdahl, Mark

2008-03-10

The traditional two-point discrimination (TPD) test, a widely used tactile spatial acuity measure, has been criticized as being imprecise because it is based on subjective criteria and involves a number of non-spatial cues. The results of a recent study showed that as two stimuli were delivered simultaneously, vibrotactile amplitude discrimination became worse when the two stimuli were positioned relatively close together and was significantly degraded when the probes were within a subject's two-point limen. The impairment of amplitude discrimination with decreasing inter-probe distance suggested that the metric of amplitude discrimination could possibly provide a means of objective and quantitative measurement of spatial discrimination capacity. A two alternative forced-choice (2AFC) tracking procedure was used to assess a subject's ability to discriminate the amplitude difference between two stimuli positioned at near-adjacent skin sites. Two 25 Hz flutter stimuli, identical except for a constant difference in amplitude, were delivered simultaneously to the hand dorsum. The stimuli were initially spaced 30 mm apart, and the inter-stimulus distance was modified on a trial-by-trial basis based on the subject's performance of discriminating the stimulus with higher intensity. The experiment was repeated via sequential, rather than simultaneous, delivery of the same vibrotactile stimuli. Results obtained from this study showed that the performance of the amplitude discrimination task was significantly degraded when the stimuli were delivered simultaneously and were near a subject's two-point limen. In contrast, subjects were able to correctly discriminate between the amplitudes of the two stimuli when they were sequentially delivered at all inter-probe distances (including those within the two-point limen), and improved when an adapting stimulus was delivered prior to simultaneously delivered stimuli. Subjects' capacity to discriminate the amplitude difference

Updating the OMERACT filter: discrimination and feasibility.

PubMed

Wells, George; Beaton, Dorcas E; Tugwell, Peter; Boers, Maarten; Kirwan, John R; Bingham, Clifton O; Boonen, Annelies; Brooks, Peter; Conaghan, Philip G; D'Agostino, Maria-Antonietta; Dougados, Maxime; Furst, Daniel E; Gossec, Laure; Guillemin, Francis; Helliwell, Philip; Hewlett, Sarah; Kvien, Tore K; Landewé, Robert B; March, Lyn; Mease, Philip J; Ostergaard, Mikkel; Simon, Lee; Singh, Jasvinder A; Strand, Vibeke; van der Heijde, Désirée M

2014-05-01

The "Discrimination" part of the OMERACT Filter asks whether a measure discriminates between situations that are of interest. "Feasibility" in the OMERACT Filter encompasses the practical considerations of using an instrument, including its ease of use, time to complete, monetary costs, and interpretability of the question(s) included in the instrument. Both the Discrimination and Reliability parts of the filter have been helpful but were agreed on primarily by consensus of OMERACT participants rather than through explicit evidence-based guidelines. In Filter 2.0 we wanted to improve this definition and provide specific guidance and advice to participants.

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory.

PubMed

Lawton, Teri; Shelley-Tremblay, John

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination ( PATH to Reading neurotraining) acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading ( Raz-Kids ( RK )). The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students) for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual movement

Training on Movement Figure-Ground Discrimination Remediates Low-Level Visual Timing Deficits in the Dorsal Stream, Improving High-Level Cognitive Functioning, Including Attention, Reading Fluency, and Working Memory

PubMed Central

Lawton, Teri; Shelley-Tremblay, John

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether neurotraining to discriminate a moving test pattern relative to a stationary background, figure-ground discrimination, improves vision and cognitive functioning in dyslexics, as well as typically-developing normal students. We predict that improving the speed and sensitivity of figure-ground movement discrimination (PATH to Reading neurotraining) acts to remediate visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream, thereby improving processing speed, reading fluency, and the executive control functions of attention and working memory in both dyslexic and normal students who had PATH neurotraining more than in those students who had no neurotraining. This prediction was evaluated by measuring whether dyslexic and normal students improved on standardized tests of cognitive skills following neurotraining exercises, more than following computer-based guided reading (Raz-Kids (RK)). The neurotraining used in this study was visually-based training designed to improve magnocellular function at both low and high levels in the dorsal stream: the input to the executive control networks coding working memory and attention. This approach represents a paradigm shift from the phonologically-based treatment for dyslexia, which concentrates on high-level speech and reading areas. This randomized controlled-validation study was conducted by training the entire second and third grade classrooms (42 students) for 30 min twice a week before guided reading. Standardized tests were administered at the beginning and end of 12-weeks of intervention training to evaluate improvements in academic skills. Only movement-discrimination training remediated both low-level visual timing deficits and high-level cognitive functioning, including selective and sustained attention, reading fluency and working memory for both dyslexic and normal students. Remediating visual timing deficits in the dorsal stream revealed the causal role of visual movement

The craving withdrawal model for alcoholism: towards the DSM-V. Improving the discriminant validity of alcohol use disorder diagnosis.

PubMed

de Bruijn, Carla; van den Brink, Wim; de Graaf, Ron; Vollebergh, Wilma A M

2005-01-01

To compare the discriminant validity of the DSM-IV and the ICD-10 classification of alcohol use disorders (AUD) with an alternative classification, the craving withdrawal model (CWM). CWM requires craving and withdrawal for the diagnosis of alcohol dependence and raises the alcohol abuse threshold to two DSM-IV AUD criteria. Data were derived from The Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study, a large representative sample of the general Dutch population. In the present study, only non-abstinent subjects were included (n=6041). Three diagnostic systems (DSM-IV, ICD-10, and CWM) were compared using the following discriminant variables: alcohol intake, psychiatric comorbidity, functional status, familial alcohol problems, and treatment sought. The year prevalence of CWM alcohol dependence was lower than the prevalence of ICD-10 and DSM-IV dependence (0.3% vs 1.4% and 1.4%). The year prevalence of abuse was similar for CWM and DSM-IV (4.7 and 4.9%), but lower for ICD-10 harmful use (1.7%). DSM-IV resulted in a poor distinction between normality and abuse and ICD-10 resulted in a poor distinction between harmful use and dependence. In contrast, the CWM distinctions between normality and abuse, and between abuse, and dependence were significant for most of the discriminant variables. This study indicates that CWM improves the discriminant validity of AUD diagnoses. The predictive validity of the CWM for alcohol and other substance use disorders remain to be studied.

EXTRACTING PRINCIPLE COMPONENTS FOR DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF FMRI IMAGES.

PubMed

Liu, Jingyu; Xu, Lai; Caprihan, Arvind; Calhoun, Vince D

2008-05-12

This paper presents an approach for selecting optimal components for discriminant analysis. Such an approach is useful when further detailed analyses for discrimination or characterization requires dimensionality reduction. Our approach can accommodate a categorical variable such as diagnosis (e.g. schizophrenic patient or healthy control), or a continuous variable like severity of the disorder. This information is utilized as a reference for measuring a component's discriminant power after principle component decomposition. After sorting each component according to its discriminant power, we extract the best components for discriminant analysis. An application of our reference selection approach is shown using a functional magnetic resonance imaging data set in which the sample size is much less than the dimensionality. The results show that the reference selection approach provides an improved discriminant component set as compared to other approaches. Our approach is general and provides a solid foundation for further discrimination and classification studies.

Discrimination and sleep: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Slopen, Natalie; Lewis, Tené T.; Williams, David R.

2015-01-01

An increasing body of literature indicates that discrimination has a negative impact on health; poor sleep may be an underlying mechanism. The primary objective of this review was to examine existing studies on the relationship between discrimination and sleep to clarify (a) the potential role of discrimination in shaping population patterns of sleep and sleep disparities, and (b) research needed to develop interventions at individual and institutional levels. We identified articles from English-language publications in Pubmed and Ebsco databases from inception through July 2014. We employed a broad definition of discrimination to include any form of unfair treatment and all self-reported and objectively-assessed sleep outcomes, including duration, difficulties, and sleep architecture. Seventeen studies were identified: four prospective, twelve cross-sectional, and one that utilized a daily-diary design. Fifteen of the 17 studies evaluated interpersonal discrimination as the exposure and the majority of studies included self-reported sleep as the outcome. Only four studies incorporated objective sleep assessments. All 17 studies identified at least one association between discrimination and a measure of poorer sleep, although studies with more detailed consideration of either discrimination or sleep architecture revealed some inconsistencies. Taken together, existing studies demonstrate consistent evidence that discrimination is associated with poorer sleep outcomes. This evidence base can be strengthened with additional prospective studies that incorporate objectively-measured aspects of sleep. We outline important extensions for this field of inquiry that can inform the development of interventions to improve sleep outcomes, and consequently promote wellbeing and reduce health inequities across the life course. PMID:25770043

Discrimination Report ESTCP Project #MM-0437

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gasperikova, Erika

2008-10-01

The FY06 Defense Appropriation contains funding for the 'Development of Advanced, Sophisticated, and Discrimination Technologies for UXO Cleanup' in the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. In 2003, the Defense Science Board observed: 'The...problem is that instruments that can detect the buried UXOs also detect numerous scrap metal objects and other artifacts, which leads to an enormous amount of expensive digging. Typically 100 holes may be dug before a real UXO is unearthed. The Task Force assessment is that much of this wasteful digging can be eliminated by the use of more advanced technology instruments that exploit modern digital processing andmore » advanced multi-mode sensors to achieve an improved level of discrimination of scrap from UXOs'. Significant progress has been made in discrimination technology. To date, testing of these approaches has been primarily limited to test sites with only limited application at live sites. Acceptance of discrimination technologies requires demonstration of system capabilities at UXO sites under real world conditions. FE Warren Air Force Base (AFB) in Cheyenne, WY is one such site. The demonstration objective was to determine the discrimination capabilities, cost and reliability of the Berkeley UXO Discriminator (BUD) in discrimination of UXO from scrap metal in real life conditions. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory performed a detection and discrimination survey of the Priority 1 area ({approx}5 acres) of the FE Warren AFB. The data included a system characterization with the emplaced calibration items and targets in the Geophysical Prove Out (GPO) area.« less

Learning for pitch and melody discrimination in congenital amusia.

PubMed

Whiteford, Kelly L; Oxenham, Andrew J

2018-06-01

Congenital amusia is currently thought to be a life-long neurogenetic disorder in music perception, impervious to training in pitch or melody discrimination. This study provides an explicit test of whether amusic deficits can be reduced with training. Twenty amusics and 20 matched controls participated in four sessions of psychophysical training involving either pure-tone (500 Hz) pitch discrimination or a control task of lateralization (interaural level differences for bandpass white noise). Pure-tone pitch discrimination at low, medium, and high frequencies (500, 2000, and 8000 Hz) was measured before and after training (pretest and posttest) to determine the specificity of learning. Melody discrimination was also assessed before and after training using the full Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia, the most widely used standardized test to diagnose amusia. Amusics performed more poorly than controls in pitch but not localization discrimination, but both groups improved with practice on the trained stimuli. Learning was broad, occurring across all three frequencies and melody discrimination for all groups, including those who trained on the non-pitch control task. Following training, 11 of 20 amusics no longer met the global diagnostic criteria for amusia. A separate group of untrained controls (n = 20), who also completed melody discrimination and pretest, improved by an equal amount as trained controls on all measures, suggesting that the bulk of learning for the control group occurred very rapidly from the pretest. Thirty-one trained participants (13 amusics) returned one year later to assess long-term maintenance of pitch and melody discrimination. On average, there was no change in performance between posttest and one-year follow-up, demonstrating that improvements on pitch- and melody-related tasks in amusics and controls can be maintained. The findings indicate that amusia is not always a life-long deficit when using the current standard

Discriminative motif optimization based on perceptron training

PubMed Central

Patel, Ronak Y.; Stormo, Gary D.

2014-01-01

Motivation: Generating accurate transcription factor (TF) binding site motifs from data generated using the next-generation sequencing, especially ChIP-seq, is challenging. The challenge arises because a typical experiment reports a large number of sequences bound by a TF, and the length of each sequence is relatively long. Most traditional motif finders are slow in handling such enormous amount of data. To overcome this limitation, tools have been developed that compromise accuracy with speed by using heuristic discrete search strategies or limited optimization of identified seed motifs. However, such strategies may not fully use the information in input sequences to generate motifs. Such motifs often form good seeds and can be further improved with appropriate scoring functions and rapid optimization. Results: We report a tool named discriminative motif optimizer (DiMO). DiMO takes a seed motif along with a positive and a negative database and improves the motif based on a discriminative strategy. We use area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) as a measure of discriminating power of motifs and a strategy based on perceptron training that maximizes AUC rapidly in a discriminative manner. Using DiMO, on a large test set of 87 TFs from human, drosophila and yeast, we show that it is possible to significantly improve motifs identified by nine motif finders. The motifs are generated/optimized using training sets and evaluated on test sets. The AUC is improved for almost 90% of the TFs on test sets and the magnitude of increase is up to 39%. Availability and implementation: DiMO is available at http://stormo.wustl.edu/DiMO Contact: rpatel@genetics.wustl.edu, ronakypatel@gmail.com PMID:24369152

Action Video Games Improve Direction Discrimination of Parafoveal Translational Global Motion but Not Reaction Times.

PubMed

Pavan, Andrea; Boyce, Matthew; Ghin, Filippo

2016-10-01

Playing action video games enhances visual motion perception. However, there is psychophysical evidence that action video games do not improve motion sensitivity for translational global moving patterns presented in fovea. This study investigates global motion perception in action video game players and compares their performance to that of non-action video game players and non-video game players. Stimuli were random dot kinematograms presented in the parafovea. Observers discriminated the motion direction of a target random dot kinematogram presented in one of the four visual quadrants. Action video game players showed lower motion coherence thresholds than the other groups. However, when the task was performed at threshold, we did not find differences between groups in terms of distributions of reaction times. These results suggest that action video games improve visual motion sensitivity in the near periphery of the visual field, rather than speed response. © The Author(s) 2016.

EXTRACTING PRINCIPLE COMPONENTS FOR DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF FMRI IMAGES

PubMed Central

Liu, Jingyu; Xu, Lai; Caprihan, Arvind; Calhoun, Vince D.

2009-01-01

This paper presents an approach for selecting optimal components for discriminant analysis. Such an approach is useful when further detailed analyses for discrimination or characterization requires dimensionality reduction. Our approach can accommodate a categorical variable such as diagnosis (e.g. schizophrenic patient or healthy control), or a continuous variable like severity of the disorder. This information is utilized as a reference for measuring a component’s discriminant power after principle component decomposition. After sorting each component according to its discriminant power, we extract the best components for discriminant analysis. An application of our reference selection approach is shown using a functional magnetic resonance imaging data set in which the sample size is much less than the dimensionality. The results show that the reference selection approach provides an improved discriminant component set as compared to other approaches. Our approach is general and provides a solid foundation for further discrimination and classification studies. PMID:20582334

Patient-reported Communication Quality and Perceived Discrimination in Maternity Care.

PubMed

Attanasio, Laura; Kozhimannil, Katy B

2015-10-01

High-quality communication and a positive patient-provider relationship are aspects of patient-centered care, a crucial component of quality. We assessed racial/ethnic disparities in patient-reported communication problems and perceived discrimination in maternity care among women nationally and measured racial/ethnic variation in the correlates of these outcomes. Data for this analysis came from the Listening to Mothers III survey, a national sample of women who gave birth to a singleton baby in a US hospital in 2011-2012. Outcomes were reluctance to ask questions and barriers to open discussion in prenatal care, and perceived discrimination during the birth hospitalization, assessed using multinomial and logistic regression. We also estimated models stratified by race/ethnicity. Over 40% of women reported communication problems in prenatal care, and 24% perceived discrimination during their hospitalization for birth. Having hypertension or diabetes was associated with higher levels of reluctance to ask questions and higher odds of reporting each type of perceived discrimination. Black and Hispanic (vs. white) women had higher odds of perceived discrimination due to race/ethnicity. Higher education was associated with more reported communication problems among black women only. Although having diabetes was associated with perceptions of discrimination among all women, associations were stronger for black women. Race/ethnicity was associated with perceived racial discrimination, but diabetes and hypertension were consistent predictors of communication problems and perceptions of discrimination. Efforts to improve communication and reduce perceived discrimination are an important area of focus for improving patient-centered care in maternity services.

When Hearing Is Tricky: Speech Processing Strategies in Prelingually Deafened Children and Adolescents with Cochlear Implants Having Good and Poor Speech Performance

PubMed Central

Ortmann, Magdalene; Zwitserlood, Pienie; Knief, Arne; Baare, Johanna; Brinkheetker, Stephanie; am Zehnhoff-Dinnesen, Antoinette; Dobel, Christian

2017-01-01

Cochlear implants provide individuals who are deaf with access to speech. Although substantial advancements have been made by novel technologies, there still is high variability in language development during childhood, depending on adaptation and neural plasticity. These factors have often been investigated in the auditory domain, with the mismatch negativity as an index for sensory and phonological processing. Several studies have demonstrated that the MMN is an electrophysiological correlate for hearing improvement with cochlear implants. In this study, two groups of cochlear implant users, both with very good basic hearing abilities but with non-overlapping speech performance (very good or very poor speech performance), were matched according to device experience and age at implantation. We tested the perception of phonemes in the context of specific other phonemes from which they were very hard to discriminate (e.g., the vowels in /bu/ vs. /bo/). The most difficult pair was individually determined for each participant. Using behavioral measures, both cochlear implants groups performed worse than matched controls, and the good performers performed better than the poor performers. Cochlear implant groups and controls did not differ during time intervals typically used for the mismatch negativity, but earlier: source analyses revealed increased activity in the region of the right supramarginal gyrus (220–260 ms) in good performers. Poor performers showed increased activity in the left occipital cortex (220–290 ms), which may be an index for cross-modal perception. The time course and the neural generators differ from data from our earlier studies, in which the same phonemes were assessed in an easy-to-discriminate context. The results demonstrate that the groups used different language processing strategies, depending on the success of language development and the particular language context. Overall, our data emphasize the role of neural plasticity and use

Discrimination and sleep: a systematic review.

PubMed

Slopen, Natalie; Lewis, Tené T; Williams, David R

2016-02-01

An increasing body of literature indicates that discrimination has a negative impact on health; poor sleep may be an underlying mechanism. The primary objective of this review was to examine existing studies on the relationship between discrimination and sleep to clarify (a) the potential role of discrimination in shaping population patterns of sleep and sleep disparities, and (b) the research needed to develop interventions at individual and institutional levels. We identified articles from English-language publications in PubMed and EBSCO databases from inception through July 2014. We employed a broad definition of discrimination to include any form of unfair treatment and all self-reported and objectively assessed sleep outcomes, including duration, difficulties, and sleep architecture. Seventeen studies were identified: four prospective, 12 cross-sectional, and one that utilized a daily-diary design. Fifteen of the 17 studies evaluated interpersonal discrimination as the exposure and the majority of studies included self-reported sleep as the outcome. Only four studies incorporated objective sleep assessments. All 17 studies identified at least one association between discrimination and a measure of poorer sleep, although studies with more detailed consideration of either discrimination or sleep architecture revealed some inconsistencies. Taken together, existing studies demonstrate consistent evidence that discrimination is associated with poorer sleep outcomes. This evidence base can be strengthened with additional prospective studies that incorporate objectively measured aspects of sleep. We outline important extensions for this field of inquiry that can inform the development of interventions to improve sleep outcomes, and consequently promote well-being and reduce health inequities across the life course. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial release from masking improves sound pattern discrimination along a biologically relevant pulse-rate continuum in gray treefrogs

PubMed Central

Ward, Jessica L.; Buerkle, Nathan P.; Bee, Mark A.

2013-01-01

Frogs form large choruses during the mating season in which males produce loud advertisement calls to attract females and repel rival males. High background noise levels in these social aggregations can impair vocal perception. In humans, spatial release from masking contributes to our ability to understand speech in noisy social groups. Here, we tested the hypothesis that spatial separation between target signals and ‘chorus-shaped noise’ improves the ability of female gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) to perform a behavioral discrimination task based on perceiving differences in the pulsatile structure of advertisement calls. We used two-stimulus choice tests to measure phonotaxis (approach toward sound) in response to calls differing in pulse rate along a biologically relevant continuum between conspecific (50 pulses s−1) and heterospecific (20 pulses s−1) calls. Signals were presented in quiet, in colocated noise, and in spatially separated noise. In quiet conditions, females exhibited robust preferences for calls with relatively faster pulse rates more typical of conspecific calls. Behavioral discrimination between calls differing in pulse rate was impaired in the presence of colocated noise but similar between quiet and spatially separated noise conditions. Our results indicate that spatial release from energetic masking facilitates a biologically important temporal discrimination task in frogs. We discuss these results in light of previous work on spatial release from masking in frogs and other animals. PMID:24055623

Analytic boosted boson discrimination

DOE PAGES

Larkoski, Andrew J.; Moult, Ian; Neill, Duff

2016-05-20

Observables which discriminate boosted topologies from massive QCD jets are of great importance for the success of the jet substructure program at the Large Hadron Collider. Such observables, while both widely and successfully used, have been studied almost exclusively with Monte Carlo simulations. In this paper we present the first all-orders factorization theorem for a two-prong discriminant based on a jet shape variable, D 2, valid for both signal and background jets. Our factorization theorem simultaneously describes the production of both collinear and soft subjets, and we introduce a novel zero-bin procedure to correctly describe the transition region between thesemore » limits. By proving an all orders factorization theorem, we enable a systematically improvable description, and allow for precision comparisons between data, Monte Carlo, and first principles QCD calculations for jet substructure observables. Using our factorization theorem, we present numerical results for the discrimination of a boosted Z boson from massive QCD background jets. We compare our results with Monte Carlo predictions which allows for a detailed understanding of the extent to which these generators accurately describe the formation of two-prong QCD jets, and informs their usage in substructure analyses. In conclusion, our calculation also provides considerable insight into the discrimination power and calculability of jet substructure observables in general.« less

Pre-service teachers' knowledge of phonemic awareness: relationship to perceived knowledge, self-efficacy beliefs, and exposure to a multimedia-enhanced lecture.

PubMed

Martinussen, Rhonda; Ferrari, Julia; Aitken, Madison; Willows, Dale

2015-10-01

This study examined the relations among perceived and actual knowledge of phonemic awareness (PA), exposure to PA instruction during practicum, and self-efficacy for teaching PA in a sample of 54 teacher candidates (TCs) enrolled in a 1-year Bachelor of Education program in a Canadian university. It also assessed the effects of a brief multimedia-enhanced lecture on TCs' actual knowledge of PA and efficacy ratings. Prior to the lecture, teacher candidates' scores on the PA assessment were relatively low with a mean percentage correct of 56.3%. Actual knowledge was not significantly correlated with perceived knowledge or self-efficacy ratings. Perceived knowledge was significantly and positively correlated with efficacy ratings and students' rating of their exposure to PA instruction during their practicum experience. A path analysis revealed that the relationship between exposure to PA instruction and self-efficacy beliefs was mediated by perceived knowledge controlling for actual knowledge and general prior experience working with young children. Analyses also revealed that TCs made significant gains in self-efficacy as well as actual knowledge when re-assessed after the lecture with a mean post-lecture score of 71.4%. Written feedback from the TCs indicated that the digital video clips included in the lecture provided clarity regarding the type of instructional practices that teachers could use to support phonemic awareness development in children. Implications for practice and future research on teacher preparation are discussed.

Genetic Discrimination

MedlinePlus

... the News Canadian 41 st Parliament Passes New Law, S-201 "Genetic Non-Discrimination Act" Canadian lawmakers passed ... Title II). Read more Genetic Discrimination and Other Laws Genetic Discrimination and Other Laws includes the Health ...

Blindness enhances tactile acuity and haptic 3-D shape discrimination.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Bartholomew, Ashley N

2011-10-01

This study compared the sensory and perceptual abilities of the blind and sighted. The 32 participants were required to perform two tasks: tactile grating orientation discrimination (to determine tactile acuity) and haptic three-dimensional (3-D) shape discrimination. The results indicated that the blind outperformed their sighted counterparts (individually matched for both age and sex) on both tactile tasks. The improvements in tactile acuity that accompanied blindness occurred for all blind groups (congenital, early, and late). However, the improvements in haptic 3-D shape discrimination only occurred for the early-onset and late-onset blindness groups; the performance of the congenitally blind was no better than that of the sighted controls. The results of the present study demonstrate that blindness does lead to an enhancement of tactile abilities, but they also suggest that early visual experience may play a role in facilitating haptic 3-D shape discrimination.

Impact of the "Like Minds, Like Mine" anti-stigma and discrimination campaign in New Zealand on anticipated and experienced discrimination.

PubMed

Thornicroft, Calum; Wyllie, Allan; Thornicroft, Graham; Mehta, Nisha

2014-04-01

The "Like Minds, Like Mine" anti-stigma and discrimination programme has been running in New Zealand since 1997. We aimed to investigate the nature and degree of anticipated and experienced discrimination reported by people with mental illness, and their views on whether the campaign was contributing to reductions in stigma and discrimination. Questionnaires were sent to randomly selected people who were representative of those who had recently used mental health services in New Zealand. The measure used was the modified Discrimination and Stigma Scale (DISC-12), adding questions on the effect of "Like Minds, Like Mine", and also assessing overall changes in discrimination in the previous 5 years. A total of 1135 participants completed the questionnaire. This included 225 Ma-ori, 196 Pacific, and 152 Asian persons. Over half of all participants reported improvement in discrimination over the previous 5 years, and 48% thought that the "Like Minds Like Mine" programme had assisted in reducing discrimination "moderately" or "a lot". Nevertheless, a clear majority (89%) reported experiencing at least "a little" unfair treatment in the previous 12 months due to their mental health problems. The primary source of both positive and negative discrimination was the family. Many (57%) participants had concealed or hidden their mental health problems from others, and 33% had stopped themselves from applying for work because they anticipated discrimination. Family, friendship, and social life were the most common areas of discrimination reported by the participants; however, many believed the overall level of discrimination had reduced over the previous 5 years. Overall, these results characterize the nature of stigma and discrimination anticipated and experienced by people with mental health problems and indicate modest but clear and positive recent progress in their reduction.

Fitting prelingually deafened adult cochlear implant users based on electrode discrimination performance.

PubMed

Debruyne, Joke A; Francart, Tom; Janssen, A Miranda L; Douma, Kim; Brokx, Jan P L

2017-03-01

This study investigated the hypotheses that (1) prelingually deafened CI users do not have perfect electrode discrimination ability and (2) the deactivation of non-discriminable electrodes can improve auditory performance. Electrode discrimination difference limens were determined for all electrodes of the array. The subjects' basic map was subsequently compared to an experimental map, which contained only discriminable electrodes, with respect to speech understanding in quiet and in noise, listening effort, spectral ripple discrimination and subjective appreciation. Subjects were six prelingually deafened, late implanted adults using the Nucleus cochlear implant. Electrode discrimination difference limens across all subjects and electrodes ranged from 0.5 to 7.125, with significantly larger limens for basal electrodes. No significant differences were found between the basic map and the experimental map on auditory tests. Subjective appreciation was found to be significantly poorer for the experimental map. Prelingually deafened CI users were unable to discriminate between all adjacent electrodes. There was no difference in auditory performance between the basic and experimental map. Potential factors contributing to the absence of improvement with the experimental map include the reduced number of maxima, incomplete adaptation to the new frequency allocation, and the mainly basal location of deactivated electrodes.

2015 Summer Design Challenge: Team A&E (2241) Additively Manufactured Discriminator.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, Sarah E.; Moore, Brandon James

Current discriminator designs are based on historical designs and traditional manufacturing methods. The goal of this project was to form non-traditional groups to create novel discriminator designs by taking advantage of additive manufacturing. These designs would expand current discriminator designs and provide insight on the applicability of additive manufacturing for future projects. Our design stretched the current abilities of additive manufacturing and noted desired improvements for the future. Through collaboration with NSC, we noted several additional technologies which work well with additive manufacturing such as topology optimization and CT scanning and determined how these technologies could be improved to bettermore » combine with additive manufacturing.« less

Optimum filter-based discrimination of neutrons and gamma rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amiri, Moslem; Prenosil, Vaclav; Cvachovec, Frantisek

2015-07-01

An optimum filter-based method for discrimination of neutrons and gamma-rays in a mixed radiation field is presented. The existing filter-based implementations of discriminators require sample pulse responses in advance of the experiment run to build the filter coefficients, which makes them less practical. Our novel technique creates the coefficients during the experiment and improves their quality gradually. Applied to several sets of mixed neutron and photon signals obtained through different digitizers using stilbene scintillator, this approach is analyzed and its discrimination quality is measured. (authors)

Asymmetries in Early Word Recognition: The Case of Stops and Fricatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Altvater-Mackensen, Nicole; van der Feest, Suzanne V. H.; Fikkert, Paula

2014-01-01

Toddlers' discrimination of native phonemic contrasts is generally unproblematic. Yet using those native contrasts in word learning and word recognition can be more challenging. In this article, we investigate perceptual versus phonological explanations for asymmetrical patterns found in early word recognition. We systematically investigated the…

Concurrent visuomotor behaviour improves form discrimination in a patient with visual form agnosia.

PubMed

Schenk, Thomas; Milner, A David

2006-09-01

It is now well established that the visual brain is divided into two visual streams, the ventral and the dorsal stream. Milner and Goodale have suggested that the ventral stream is dedicated for processing vision for perception and the dorsal stream vision for action [A.D. Milner & M.A. Goodale (1995) The Visual Brain in Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford]. However, it is possible that ongoing processes in the visuomotor stream will nevertheless have an effect on perceptual processes. This possibility was examined in the present study. We have examined the visual form-discrimination performance of the form-agnosic patient D.F. with and without a concurrent visuomotor task, and found that her performance was significantly improved in the former condition. This suggests that the visuomotor behaviour provides cues that enhance her ability to recognize the form of the target object. In control experiments we have ruled out proprioceptive and efferent cues, and therefore propose that D.F. can, to a significant degree, access the object's visuomotor representation in the dorsal stream. Moreover, we show that the grasping-induced perceptual improvement disappears if the target objects only differ with respect to their shape but not their width. This suggests that shape information per se is not used for this grasping task.

Improved mb-Ms Discrimination Using mb(P-coda) and MsU with Application to the Six North Korean Nuclear Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Napoli, V.; Yoo, S. H.; Russell, D. R.

2017-12-01

To improve discrimination of small explosions and earthquakes, we developed a new magnitude scale based on the standard Ms:mb discrimination method. In place of 20 second Ms measurements we developed a unified Rayleigh and Love wave magnitude scale (MsU) that is designed to maximize available information from single stations and then combine magnitude estimates into network averages. Additionally, in place of mb(P) measurements we developed an mb(P-Coda) magnitude scale as the properties of the coda make sparse network mb(P-Coda) more robust and less variable than network mb(P) estimates. A previous mb:MsU study conducted in 2013 in the Korean Peninsula shows that the use of MsU in place of standard 20 second Ms, leads to increased population separation and reduced scattering. The goals of a combined mb(P-coda):MsU scale are reducing scatter, ensuring applicability at small magnitudes with sparse networks, and improving the overall distribution for mb:Ms earthquake and explosion populations. To test this method we are calculating mb(P-coda)and MsU for a catalog earthquakes located in and near the Korean Peninsula, for the six North Korean nuclear tests (4.1 < mb < 6.3) and for the 3 aftershocks to date that occurred after the sixth test (2.6 < ML < 4.0). Compared to the previous 2013 study, we expect to see greater separation in the populations and less scattering with the inclusion of mb(P-coda) and with the implementation of additional filters for MsU to improve signal-to-noise levels; this includes S-transform filtering for polarization and off-azimuth signal reduction at regional distances. As we are expanding our database of mb(P-coda):MsU measurements in the Korean Peninsula to determine the earthquake and explosion distribution, this research will address the limitations and potential for discriminating small magnitude events using sparse networks.

Relation between minimum-error discrimination and optimum unambiguous discrimination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qiu Daowen; SQIG-Instituto de Telecomunicacoes, Departamento de Matematica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais PT-1049-001, Lisbon; Li Lvjun

2010-09-15

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the minimum-error probability Q{sub E} of ambiguous discrimination and the optimal inconclusive probability Q{sub U} of unambiguous discrimination. It is known that for discriminating two states, the inequality Q{sub U{>=}}2Q{sub E} has been proved in the literature. The main technical results are as follows: (1) We show that, for discriminating more than two states, Q{sub U{>=}}2Q{sub E} may not hold again, but the infimum of Q{sub U}/Q{sub E} is 1, and there is no supremum of Q{sub U}/Q{sub E}, which implies that the failure probabilities of the two schemes for discriminating somemore » states may be narrowly or widely gapped. (2) We derive two concrete formulas of the minimum-error probability Q{sub E} and the optimal inconclusive probability Q{sub U}, respectively, for ambiguous discrimination and unambiguous discrimination among arbitrary m simultaneously diagonalizable mixed quantum states with given prior probabilities. In addition, we show that Q{sub E} and Q{sub U} satisfy the relationship that Q{sub U{>=}}(m/m-1)Q{sub E}.« less

Discriminative Relational Topic Models.

PubMed

Chen, Ning; Zhu, Jun; Xia, Fei; Zhang, Bo

2015-05-01

Relational topic models (RTMs) provide a probabilistic generative process to describe both the link structure and document contents for document networks, and they have shown promise on predicting network structures and discovering latent topic representations. However, existing RTMs have limitations in both the restricted model expressiveness and incapability of dealing with imbalanced network data. To expand the scope and improve the inference accuracy of RTMs, this paper presents three extensions: 1) unlike the common link likelihood with a diagonal weight matrix that allows the-same-topic interactions only, we generalize it to use a full weight matrix that captures all pairwise topic interactions and is applicable to asymmetric networks; 2) instead of doing standard Bayesian inference, we perform regularized Bayesian inference (RegBayes) with a regularization parameter to deal with the imbalanced link structure issue in real networks and improve the discriminative ability of learned latent representations; and 3) instead of doing variational approximation with strict mean-field assumptions, we present collapsed Gibbs sampling algorithms for the generalized relational topic models by exploring data augmentation without making restricting assumptions. Under the generic RegBayes framework, we carefully investigate two popular discriminative loss functions, namely, the logistic log-loss and the max-margin hinge loss. Experimental results on several real network datasets demonstrate the significance of these extensions on improving prediction performance.

Brain potentials to native phoneme discrimination reveal the origin of individual differences in learning the sounds of a second language

PubMed Central

Díaz, Begoña; Baus, Cristina; Escera, Carles; Costa, Albert; Sebastián-Gallés, Núria

2008-01-01

Human beings differ in their ability to master the sounds of their second language (L2). Phonetic training studies have proposed that differences in phonetic learning stem from differences in psychoacoustic abilities rather than speech-specific capabilities. We aimed at finding the origin of individual differences in L2 phonetic acquisition in natural learning contexts. We consider two alternative explanations: a general psychoacoustic origin vs. a speech-specific one. For this purpose, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from two groups of early, proficient Spanish-Catalan bilinguals who differed in their mastery of the Catalan (L2) phonetic contrast /e-ε/. Brain activity in response to acoustic change detection was recorded in three different conditions involving tones of different length (duration condition), frequency (frequency condition), and presentation order (pattern condition). In addition, neural correlates of speech change detection were also assessed for both native (/o/-/e/) and nonnative (/o/-/ö/) phonetic contrasts (speech condition). Participants' discrimination accuracy, reflected electrically as a mismatch negativity (MMN), was similar between the two groups of participants in the three acoustic conditions. Conversely, the MMN was reduced in poor perceivers (PP) when they were presented with speech sounds. Therefore, our results support a speech-specific origin of individual variability in L2 phonetic mastery. PMID:18852470

Process Deficits in Learning Disabled Children and Implications for Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Doris J.

An exploration of specific deficits of learning disabled children, especially in the auditory system, is presented in this paper. Disorders of attention, perception, phonemic and visual discrimination, memory, and symbolization and conceptualization are considered. The paper develops several questions for teachers of learning disabled children to…

Improving the Ability of Qualitative Assessments to Discriminate Student Achievement Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mok, Jeffrey Chi Hoe; Toh, Anita Ann Lee

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the use of blind marking to increase the ability of criterion-referenced marking to discriminate students' varied levels of knowledge and skill mastery in a business communication skills course. Design/methodology/approach: The business communication course in this study involved more than 10 teachers and…

Direct discriminant locality preserving projection with Hammerstein polynomial expansion.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Zhang, Jiashu; Li, Defang

2012-12-01

Discriminant locality preserving projection (DLPP) is a linear approach that encodes discriminant information into the objective of locality preserving projection and improves its classification ability. To enhance the nonlinear description ability of DLPP, we can optimize the objective function of DLPP in reproducing kernel Hilbert space to form a kernel-based discriminant locality preserving projection (KDLPP). However, KDLPP suffers the following problems: 1) larger computational burden; 2) no explicit mapping functions in KDLPP, which results in more computational burden when projecting a new sample into the low-dimensional subspace; and 3) KDLPP cannot obtain optimal discriminant vectors, which exceedingly optimize the objective of DLPP. To overcome the weaknesses of KDLPP, in this paper, a direct discriminant locality preserving projection with Hammerstein polynomial expansion (HPDDLPP) is proposed. The proposed HPDDLPP directly implements the objective of DLPP in high-dimensional second-order Hammerstein polynomial space without matrix inverse, which extracts the optimal discriminant vectors for DLPP without larger computational burden. Compared with some other related classical methods, experimental results for face and palmprint recognition problems indicate the effectiveness of the proposed HPDDLPP.

Neural correlates of face gender discrimination learning.

PubMed

Su, Junzhu; Tan, Qingleng; Fang, Fang

2013-04-01

Using combined psychophysics and event-related potentials (ERPs), we investigated the effect of perceptual learning on face gender discrimination and probe the neural correlates of the learning effect. Human subjects were trained to perform a gender discrimination task with male or female faces. Before and after training, they were tested with the trained faces and other faces with the same and opposite genders. ERPs responding to these faces were recorded. Psychophysical results showed that training significantly improved subjects' discrimination performance and the improvement was specific to the trained gender, as well as to the trained identities. The training effect indicates that learning occurs at two levels-the category level (gender) and the exemplar level (identity). ERP analyses showed that the gender and identity learning was associated with the N170 latency reduction at the left occipital-temporal area and the N170 amplitude reduction at the right occipital-temporal area, respectively. These findings provide evidence for the facilitation model and the sharpening model on neuronal plasticity from visual experience, suggesting a faster processing speed and a sparser representation of face induced by perceptual learning.

IFACEwat: the interfacial water-implemented re-ranking algorithm to improve the discrimination of near native structures for protein rigid docking

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Protein-protein docking is an in silico method to predict the formation of protein complexes. Due to limited computational resources, the protein-protein docking approach has been developed under the assumption of rigid docking, in which one of the two protein partners remains rigid during the protein associations and water contribution is ignored or implicitly presented. Despite obtaining a number of acceptable complex predictions, it seems to-date that most initial rigid docking algorithms still find it difficult or even fail to discriminate successfully the correct predictions from the other incorrect or false positive ones. To improve the rigid docking results, re-ranking is one of the effective methods that help re-locate the correct predictions in top high ranks, discriminating them from the other incorrect ones. In this paper, we propose a new re-ranking technique using a new energy-based scoring function, namely IFACEwat - a combined Interface Atomic Contact Energy (IFACE) and water effect. The IFACEwat aims to further improve the discrimination of the near-native structures of the initial rigid docking algorithm ZDOCK3.0.2. Unlike other re-ranking techniques, the IFACEwat explicitly implements interfacial water into the protein interfaces to account for the water-mediated contacts during the protein interactions. Results Our results showed that the IFACEwat increased both the numbers of the near-native structures and improved their ranks as compared to the initial rigid docking ZDOCK3.0.2. In fact, the IFACEwat achieved a success rate of 83.8% for Antigen/Antibody complexes, which is 10% better than ZDOCK3.0.2. As compared to another re-ranking technique ZRANK, the IFACEwat obtains success rates of 92.3% (8% better) and 90% (5% better) respectively for medium and difficult cases. When comparing with the latest published re-ranking method F2Dock, the IFACEwat performed equivalently well or even better for several Antigen/Antibody complexes

Robust visual tracking via multiple discriminative models with object proposals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yuanqiang; Bi, Duyan; Zha, Yufei; Li, Huanyu; Ku, Tao; Wu, Min; Ding, Wenshan; Fan, Zunlin

2018-04-01

Model drift is an important reason for tracking failure. In this paper, multiple discriminative models with object proposals are used to improve the model discrimination for relieving this problem. Firstly, the target location and scale changing are captured by lots of high-quality object proposals, which are represented by deep convolutional features for target semantics. And then, through sharing a feature map obtained by a pre-trained network, ROI pooling is exploited to wrap the various sizes of object proposals into vectors of the same length, which are used to learn a discriminative model conveniently. Lastly, these historical snapshot vectors are trained by different lifetime models. Based on entropy decision mechanism, the bad model owing to model drift can be corrected by selecting the best discriminative model. This would improve the robustness of the tracker significantly. We extensively evaluate our tracker on two popular benchmarks, the OTB 2013 benchmark and UAV20L benchmark. On both benchmarks, our tracker achieves the best performance on precision and success rate compared with the state-of-the-art trackers.

Hemispheric association and dissociation of voice and speech information processing in stroke.

PubMed

Jones, Anna B; Farrall, Andrew J; Belin, Pascal; Pernet, Cyril R

2015-10-01

As we listen to someone speaking, we extract both linguistic and non-linguistic information. Knowing how these two sets of information are processed in the brain is fundamental for the general understanding of social communication, speech recognition and therapy of language impairments. We investigated the pattern of performances in phoneme versus gender categorization in left and right hemisphere stroke patients, and found an anatomo-functional dissociation in the right frontal cortex, establishing a new syndrome in voice discrimination abilities. In addition, phoneme and gender performances were most often associated than dissociated in the left hemisphere patients, suggesting a common neural underpinnings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a Pitch Discrimination Screening Test for Preschool Children.

PubMed

Abramson, Maria Kulick; Lloyd, Peter J

2016-04-01

There is a critical need for tests of auditory discrimination for young children as this skill plays a fundamental role in the development of speaking, prereading, reading, language, and more complex auditory processes. Frequency discrimination is important with regard to basic sensory processing affecting phonological processing, dyslexia, measurements of intelligence, auditory memory, Asperger syndrome, and specific language impairment. This study was performed to determine the clinical feasibility of the Pitch Discrimination Test (PDT) to screen the preschool child's ability to discriminate some of the acoustic demands of speech perception, primarily pitch discrimination, without linguistic content. The PDT used brief speech frequency tones to gather normative data from preschool children aged 3 to 5 yrs. A cross-sectional study was used to gather data regarding the pitch discrimination abilities of a sample of typically developing preschool children, between 3 and 5 yrs of age. The PDT consists of ten trials using two pure tones of 100-msec duration each, and was administered in an AA or AB forced-choice response format. Data from 90 typically developing preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 yrs were used to provide normative data. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-testing was used to examine the effects of age as a continuous variable on pitch discrimination. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the significance of age on performance on the PDT. Spearman rank was used to determine the correlation of age and performance on the PDT. Pitch discrimination of brief tones improved significantly from age 3 yrs to age 4 yrs, as well as from age 3 yrs to the age 4- and 5-yrs group. Results indicated that between ages 3 and 4 yrs, children's auditory discrimination of pitch improved on the PDT. The data showed that children can be screened for auditory discrimination of pitch beginning with age 4 yrs. The PDT proved to be a time efficient, feasible tool for

Perceived discrimination among Maghrebi users of health services in Tarragona (Spain).

PubMed

Rubio-Rico, Lourdes; Roca-Biosca, Alba; de Molina-Fernández, Inmaculada

2015-12-03

Discrimination in health services for reasons of nationality or ethnicity is not a rare occurrence. This work aims to qualitatively analyse the perceived discrimination among Maghrebi community in Tarragona (Spain) with regard to the healthcare services they receive. A qualitative study was carried by means of 12 semi-structured interviews and 10 focus groups with Maghrebi adults living in Tarragona. The scope of the study was public health services in the area. A content analysis was performed using open coding. Our results show that perceived discrimination is greater than actual discrimination because the deficiencies of the healthcare system are often interpreted as unfairness. However, our subjects also recounted incidents of clear discrimination against Maghrebi users of the healthcare system. The tendency to feel discriminated against is the culmination of an interaction between the group's low self-esteem and locals' often negative sentiments towards the group. We suggest addressing the shortcomings of the healthcare system in order to reduce this level of perceived discrimination and thus improve patient satisfaction. To improve this group's self-esteem and change how they are perceived, public policies should be put into effect which promote social inclusion and the respect for Maghrebis' rights as people, with actions taken on both fronts: in the host society and within the Maghrebi community itself. Furthermore, an active role for the patient with regard to his or her rights should be encouraged in order to minimize abuse from professionals and to facilitate institutional control of individual actions.

Subcortical Plasticity Following Perceptual Learning in a Pitch Discrimination Task

PubMed Central

Plack, Christopher J.

2010-01-01

Practice can lead to dramatic improvements in the discrimination of auditory stimuli. In this study, we investigated changes of the frequency-following response (FFR), a subcortical component of the auditory evoked potentials, after a period of pitch discrimination training. Twenty-seven adult listeners were trained for 10 h on a pitch discrimination task using one of three different complex tone stimuli. One had a static pitch contour, one had a rising pitch contour, and one had a falling pitch contour. Behavioral measures of pitch discrimination and FFRs for all the stimuli were measured before and after the training phase for these participants, as well as for an untrained control group (n = 12). Trained participants showed significant improvements in pitch discrimination compared to the control group for all three trained stimuli. These improvements were partly specific for stimuli with the same pitch modulation (dynamic vs. static) and with the same pitch trajectory (rising vs. falling) as the trained stimulus. Also, the robustness of FFR neural phase locking to the sound envelope increased significantly more in trained participants compared to the control group for the static and rising contour, but not for the falling contour. Changes in FFR strength were partly specific for stimuli with the same pitch modulation (dynamic vs. static) of the trained stimulus. Changes in FFR strength, however, were not specific for stimuli with the same pitch trajectory (rising vs. falling) as the trained stimulus. These findings indicate that even relatively low-level processes in the mature auditory system are subject to experience-related change. PMID:20878201

Subcortical plasticity following perceptual learning in a pitch discrimination task.

PubMed

Carcagno, Samuele; Plack, Christopher J

2011-02-01

Practice can lead to dramatic improvements in the discrimination of auditory stimuli. In this study, we investigated changes of the frequency-following response (FFR), a subcortical component of the auditory evoked potentials, after a period of pitch discrimination training. Twenty-seven adult listeners were trained for 10 h on a pitch discrimination task using one of three different complex tone stimuli. One had a static pitch contour, one had a rising pitch contour, and one had a falling pitch contour. Behavioral measures of pitch discrimination and FFRs for all the stimuli were measured before and after the training phase for these participants, as well as for an untrained control group (n = 12). Trained participants showed significant improvements in pitch discrimination compared to the control group for all three trained stimuli. These improvements were partly specific for stimuli with the same pitch modulation (dynamic vs. static) and with the same pitch trajectory (rising vs. falling) as the trained stimulus. Also, the robustness of FFR neural phase locking to the sound envelope increased significantly more in trained participants compared to the control group for the static and rising contour, but not for the falling contour. Changes in FFR strength were partly specific for stimuli with the same pitch modulation (dynamic vs. static) of the trained stimulus. Changes in FFR strength, however, were not specific for stimuli with the same pitch trajectory (rising vs. falling) as the trained stimulus. These findings indicate that even relatively low-level processes in the mature auditory system are subject to experience-related change.

Legitimating Racial Discrimination: Emotions, Not Beliefs, Best Predict Discrimination in a Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Talaska, Cara A.; Chaiken, Shelly

2013-01-01

Investigations of racial bias have emphasized stereotypes and other beliefs as central explanatory mechanisms and as legitimating discrimination. In recent theory and research, emotional prejudices have emerged as another, more direct predictor of discrimination. A new comprehensive meta-analysis of 57 racial attitude-discrimination studies finds a moderate relationship between overall attitudes and discrimination. Emotional prejudices are twices as closely related to racial discrimination as stereotypes and beliefs are. Moreover, emotional prejudices are closely related to both observed and self-reported discrimination, whereas stereotypes and beliefs are related only to self-reported discrimination. Implications for justifying discrimination are discussed. PMID:24052687

Discrimination and subjective well-being: protective influences of membership in a discriminated category.

PubMed

Hnilica, Karel

2011-03-01

Research reveals that discrimination has harmful effects on health and quality of life. Among the most frequent types of discrimination pertains gender and age discrimination. Research results show that discriminatory behaviours based on gender afflict predominantly women; age discrimination afflicts mainly older adults. At the same time, it has been found that members of these traditionally discriminated categories often use strategies that mitigate the effects of discrimination. Discrimination will have detrimental effects on subjective well-being. But its effects will be most harmful for persons who are not members of the traditionally discriminated categories. These hypotheses were tested on data from three waves of the European Social Survey that the Czech Republic also participated in. Data were analyzed in a series of multilevel random coefficients regression analyses with respondents nested within states and states nested within years of study. Both perceived gender discrimination and perceived age discrimination have negative effects on subjective well-being. However, gender discrimination had more harmful effects on the subjective well-being of men than women and age discrimination had the most harmful effects on the subjective well-being of people in their middle ages, not the elderly ones. Discrimination does not need to have most harmful effects on the quality of life of members of the categories that are discriminated against most often.

The effects of context and musical training on auditory temporal-interval discrimination.

PubMed

Banai, Karen; Fisher, Shirley; Ganot, Ron

2012-02-01

Non sensory factors such as stimulus context and musical experience are known to influence auditory frequency discrimination, but whether the context effect extends to auditory temporal processing remains unknown. Whether individual experiences such as musical training alter the context effect is also unknown. The goal of the present study was therefore to investigate the effects of stimulus context and musical experience on auditory temporal-interval discrimination. In experiment 1, temporal-interval discrimination was compared between fixed context conditions in which a single base temporal interval was presented repeatedly across all trials and variable context conditions in which one of two base intervals was randomly presented on each trial. Discrimination was significantly better in the fixed than in the variable context conditions. In experiment 2 temporal discrimination thresholds of musicians and non-musicians were compared across 3 conditions: a fixed context condition in which the target interval was presented repeatedly across trials, and two variable context conditions differing in the frequencies used for the tones marking the temporal intervals. Musicians outperformed non-musicians on all 3 conditions, but the effects of context were similar for the two groups. Overall, it appears that, like frequency discrimination, temporal-interval discrimination benefits from having a fixed reference. Musical experience, while improving performance, did not alter the context effect, suggesting that improved discrimination skills among musicians are probably not an outcome of more sensitive contextual facilitation or predictive coding mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Role for the Right Superior Temporal Sulcus in Categorical Perception of Musical Chords

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Mike E.; Zatorre, Robert J.

2011-01-01

Categorical perception (CP) is a mechanism whereby non-identical stimuli that have the same underlying meaning become invariantly represented in the brain. Through behavioral identification and discrimination tasks, CP has been demonstrated to occur broadly across the auditory modality, including in perception of speech (e.g. phonemes) and music…

Polystyrene-based scintillator with pulse-shape discrimination capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhmurin, P. N.; Lebedev, V. N.; Titskaya, V. D.; Adadurov, A. F.; Elyseev, D. A.; Pereymak, V. N.

2014-10-01

Polystyrene-based scintillators with 2-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylephenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (tert-BuPPD) or 2,5-di-(3-methylphenyl)-1,3,4 oxadiazole (m-DMePPD) are proposed for pulse-shape n/γ-discrimination. These scintillators have improved mechanical properties, long operational time and high n/γ discrimination parameter - figure of merit (1.49 and 1.81 in a wide energy region), so they can be used as detectors of fast neutrons in the presence of gamma radiation background.

Force, Torque and Stiffness: Interactions in Perceptual Discrimination

PubMed Central

Wu, Bing; Klatzky, Roberta L.; Hollis, Ralph L.

2011-01-01

Three experiments investigated whether force and torque cues interact in haptic discrimination of force, torque and stiffness, and if so, how. The statistical relation between force and torque was manipulated across four experimental conditions: Either one type of cue varied while the other was constant, or both varied so as to be positively correlated, negatively correlated, or uncorrelated. Experiment 1 showed that the subjects’ ability to discriminate force was improved by positively correlated torque but impaired with uncorrelated torque, as compared to the constant torque condition. Corresponding effects were found in Experiment 2 for the influence of force on torque discrimination. These findings indicate that force and torque are integrated in perception, rather than being processed as separate dimensions. A further experiment demonstrated facilitation of stiffness discrimination by correlated force and torque, whether the correlation was positive or negative. The findings suggest new means of augmenting haptic feedback to facilitate perception of the properties of soft objects. PMID:21359137

REGIONAL SEISMIC CHEMICAL AND NUCLEAR EXPLOSION DISCRIMINATION: WESTERN U.S. EXAMPLES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walter, W R; Taylor, S R; Matzel, E

2006-07-07

We continue exploring methodologies to improve regional explosion discrimination using the western U.S. as a natural laboratory. The western U.S. has abundant natural seismicity, historic nuclear explosion data, and widespread mine blasts, making it a good testing ground to study the performance of regional explosion discrimination techniques. We have assembled and measured a large set of these events to systematically explore how to best optimize discrimination performance. Nuclear explosions can be discriminated from a background of earthquakes using regional phase (Pn, Pg, Sn, Lg) amplitude measures such as high frequency P/S ratios. The discrimination performance is improved if the amplitudesmore » can be corrected for source size and path length effects. We show good results are achieved using earthquakes alone to calibrate for these effects with the MDAC technique (Walter and Taylor, 2001). We show significant further improvement is then possible by combining multiple MDAC amplitude ratios using an optimized weighting technique such as Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). However this requires data or models for both earthquakes and explosions. In many areas of the world regional distance nuclear explosion data is lacking, but mine blast data is available. Mine explosions are often designed to fracture and/or move rock, giving them different frequency and amplitude behavior than contained chemical shots, which seismically look like nuclear tests. Here we explore discrimination performance differences between explosion types, the possible disparity in the optimization parameters that would be chosen if only chemical explosions were available and the corresponding effect of that disparity on nuclear explosion discrimination. Even after correcting for average path and site effects, regional phase ratios contain a large amount of scatter. This scatter appears to be due to variations in source properties such as depth, focal mechanism, stress drop, in the near

Radar image processing for rock-type discrimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blom, R. G.; Daily, M.

1982-01-01

Image processing and enhancement techniques for improving the geologic utility of digital satellite radar images are reviewed. Preprocessing techniques such as mean and variance correction on a range or azimuth line by line basis to provide uniformly illuminated swaths, median value filtering for four-look imagery to eliminate speckle, and geometric rectification using a priori elevation data. Examples are presented of application of preprocessing methods to Seasat and Landsat data, and Seasat SAR imagery was coregistered with Landsat imagery to form composite scenes. A polynomial was developed to distort the radar picture to fit the Landsat image of a 90 x 90 km sq grid, using Landsat color ratios with Seasat intensities. Subsequent linear discrimination analysis was employed to discriminate rock types from known areas. Seasat additions to the Landsat data improved rock identification by 7%.

Physical activity discrimination improvement using accelerometers and wireless sensor network localization - biomed 2013.

PubMed

Bashford, Gregory R; Burnfield, Judith M; Perez, Lance C

2013-01-01

Automating documentation of physical activity data (e.g., duration and speed of walking or propelling a wheelchair) into the electronic medical record (EMR) offers promise for improving efficiency of documentation and understanding of best practices in the rehabilitation and home health settings. Commercially available devices which could be used to automate documentation of physical activities are either cumbersome to wear or lack the specificity required to differentiate activities. We have designed a novel system to differentiate and quantify physical activities, using inexpensive accelerometer-based biomechanical data technology and wireless sensor networks, a technology combination that has not been used in a rehabilitation setting to date. As a first step, a feasibility study was performed where 14 healthy young adults (mean age = 22.6 ± 2.5 years, mean height = 173 ± 10.0 cm, mean mass = 70.7 ± 11.3 kg) carried out eight different activities while wearing a biaxial accelerometer sensor. Activities were performed at each participant’s self-selected pace during a single testing session in a controlled environment. Linear discriminant analysis was performed by extracting spectral parameters from the subjects’ accelerometer patterns. It is shown that physical activity classification alone results in an average accuracy of 49.5%, but when combined with rule-based constraints using a wireless sensor network with localization capabilities in an in silico simulated room, accuracy improves to 99.3%. When fully implemented, our technology package is expected to improve goal setting, treatment interventions and patient outcomes by enhancing clinicians’ understanding of patients’ physical performance within a day and across the rehabilitation program.

Discriminating two nonorthogonal states against a noise channel by feed-forward control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Li-Sha; Xu, Bao-Ming; Zou, Jian; Wang, Chao-Quan; Li, Hai; Li, Jun-Gang; Shao, Bin

2015-02-01

We propose a scheme by using the feed-forward control (FFC) to realize a better effect of discrimination of two nonorthogonal states after passing a noise channel based on the minimum-error (ME) discrimination. We show that the application of our scheme can highly improve the effect of discrimination compared with the ME discrimination without the FFC for any pair of nonorthogonal states and any degree of amplitude damping. Especially, the effect of our optimal discrimination can reach that of the two initial nonorthogonal pure states in the presence of the noise channel in a deterministic way for equal a priori probabilities or even be better than that in a probabilistic way for unequal a priori probabilities.

Hard and soft age discrimination: the dual nature of workplace discrimination.

PubMed

Stypinska, Justyna; Turek, Konrad

2017-03-01

The paper concentrates on the problem of age discrimination in the labour market and the way it can be conceptualised and measured in a multi-disciplinary way. The approach proposed here combines two understandings of age discrimination-a sociological and legal one, what allows for a fuller and expanded understanding of ageism in the workplace. At the heart of the study is a survey carried out in Poland with a sample of 1000 men and women aged 45-65 years. The study takes a deeper and innovative look into the issue of age discrimination in employment. Confirmatory factor analysis with WLSMV estimation and logistic regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The study shows that age discrimination in labour market can take on different forms: hard and soft, where the hard type of age discrimination mirrors the legally prohibited types of behaviours and those which relate to the actual decisions of employers which can impact on the employee's career development. The soft discrimination corresponds with those occurrences, which are not inscribed in the legal system per se, are occurring predominantly in the interpersonal sphere, but can nevertheless have negative consequences. Soft discrimination was experienced more often (28.6% of respondents) than hard discrimination (15.7%) with higher occurrences among women, persons in precarious job situation or residents of urban areas. The role of education was not confirmed to influence the levels of perceived age discrimination.

Reading Fluency and Speech Perception Speed of Beginning Readers with Persistent Reading Problems: The Perception of Initial Stop Consonants and Consonant Clusters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snellings, Patrick; van der Leij, Aryan; Blok, Henk; de Jong, Peter F.

2010-01-01

This study investigated the role of speech perception accuracy and speed in fluent word decoding of reading disabled (RD) children. A same-different phoneme discrimination task with natural speech tested the perception of single consonants and consonant clusters by young but persistent RD children. RD children were slower than chronological age…

The Influence of Phonetic Dimensions on Aphasic Speech Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hessler, Dorte; Jonkers, Roel; Bastiaanse, Roelien

2010-01-01

Individuals with aphasia have more problems detecting small differences between speech sounds than larger ones. This paper reports how phonemic processing is impaired and how this is influenced by speechreading. A non-word discrimination task was carried out with "audiovisual", "auditory only" and "visual only" stimulus display. Subjects had to…

Social Status Correlates of Reporting Racial Discrimination and Gender Discrimination among Racially Diverse Women

PubMed Central

Ro, Annie E.; Choi, Kyung-Hee

2009-01-01

The growing body of research on discrimination and health indicates a deleterious effect of discrimination on various health outcomes. However, less is known about the sociodemographic correlates of reporting racial discrimination and gender discrimination among racially diverse women. We examined the associations of social status characteristics with lifetime experiences of racial discrimination and gender discrimination using a racially-diverse sample of 754 women attending family planning clinics in Northern California (11.4% African American, 16.8% Latina, 10.1% Asian and 61.7% Caucasian). A multivariate analysis revealed that race, financial difficulty and marital status were significantly correlated with higher reports of racial discrimination, while race, education, financial difficulty and nativity were significantly correlated with gender discrimination scores. Our findings suggest that the social patterning of perceiving racial discrimination is somewhat different from that of gender discrimination. This has implications in the realm of discrimination research and applied interventions, as different forms of discrimination may have unique covariates that should be accounted for in research analysis or program design. PMID:19485231

Social status correlates of reporting gender discrimination and racial discrimination among racially diverse women.

PubMed

Ro, Annie E; Choi, Kyung-Hee

2009-01-01

The growing body of research on discrimination and health indicates a deleterious effect of discrimination on various health outcomes. However, less is known about the sociodemographic correlates of reporting racial discrimination and gender discrimination among racially diverse women. We examined the associations of social status characteristics with lifetime experiences of racial discrimination and gender discrimination using a racially-diverse sample of 754 women attending family planning clinics in North California (11.4% African American, 16.8% Latina, 10.1% Asian and 61.7% Caucasian). A multivariate analysis revealed that race, financial difficulty and marital status were significantly correlated with higher reports of racial discrimination, while race, education, financial difficulty and nativity were significantly correlated with gender discrimination scores. Our findings suggest that the social patterning of perceiving racial discrimination is somewhat different from that of gender discrimination. This has implications in the realm of discrimination research and applied interventions, as different forms of discrimination may have unique covariates that should be accounted for in research analysis or program design.

The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets

PubMed Central

Pager, Devah; Shepherd, Hana

2010-01-01

Persistent racial inequality in employment, housing, and a wide range of other social domains has renewed interest in the possible role of discrimination. And yet, unlike in the pre–civil rights era, when racial prejudice and discrimination were overt and widespread, today discrimination is less readily identifiable, posing problems for social scientific conceptualization and measurement. This article reviews the relevant literature on discrimination, with an emphasis on racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit markets, and consumer interactions. We begin by defining discrimination and discussing relevant methods of measurement. We then provide an overview of major findings from studies of discrimination in each of the four domains; and, finally, we turn to a discussion of the individual, organizational, and structural mechanisms that may underlie contemporary forms of discrimination. This discussion seeks to orient readers to some of the key debates in the study of discrimination and to provide a roadmap for those interested in building upon this long and important line of research. PMID:20689680

Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Latina/o Adolescents of Immigrant Parents.

PubMed

Lopez, William D; LeBrón, Alana M W; Graham, Louis F; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew

2016-01-01

Discrimination is associated with negative mental health outcomes for Latina/o adolescents. While Latino/a adolescents experience discrimination from a number of sources and across contexts, little research considers how the source of discrimination and the context in which it occurs affect mental health outcomes among Latina/o children of immigrants. We examined the association between source-specific discrimination, racial or ethnic background of the source, and school ethnic context with depressive symptoms for Latina/o adolescents of immigrant parents. Using multilevel linear regression with time-varying covariates, we regressed depressive symptoms on source-specific discrimination, racial or ethnic background of the source of discrimination, and school percent Latina/o. Discrimination from teachers (β = 0.06, p < .05), students (β = 0.05, p < .05), Cubans (β = 0.19, p < .001), and Latinas/os (β = 0.19, p < .001) were positively associated with depressive symptoms. These associations were not moderated by school percent Latina/o. The findings indicate a need to reduce discrimination to improve Latina/o adolescents' mental health. © The Author(s) 2016.

Perceived discrimination and psychological distress among Asian Americans: does education matter?

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Hong, Seunghye

2013-10-01

Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, this work examines if and how perceived everyday discrimination is associated with psychological distress among Asian Americans and whether this association varies by important structural factors as education and place of education. Findings reveal that perception of discrimination is associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Most importantly, education moderates the discrimination-distress association such that the detrimental effect of discrimination is stronger for Asian Americans with college or more levels of education than for Asian Americans with less than college levels of education. Place of education further conditions the moderating effect of education: The foreign-educated Asian Americans with higher levels of education are affected most negatively by discrimination compared to others. This study highlights (1) the significant joint role of education and place of education in conditioning the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress, and (2) unique features of education in improving our understanding of Asian Americans' mental health.

Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Distress Among Asian Americans: Does Education Matter?

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wei; Hong, Seunghye

2017-01-01

Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, this work examines if and how perceived everyday discrimination is associated with psychological distress among Asian Americans and whether this association varies by important structural factors as education and place of education. Findings reveal that perception of discrimination is associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Most importantly, education moderates the discrimination-distress association such that the detrimental effect of discrimination is stronger for Asian Americans with college or more levels of education than for Asian Americans with less than college levels of education. Place of education further conditions the moderating effect of education: The foreign-educated Asian Americans with higher levels of education are affected most negatively by discrimination compared to others. This study highlights (1) the significant joint role of education and place of education in conditioning the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress, and (2) unique features of education in improving our understanding of Asian Americans’ mental health. PMID:22767300

Discriminative Multi-View Interactive Image Re-Ranking.

PubMed

Li, Jun; Xu, Chang; Yang, Wankou; Sun, Changyin; Tao, Dacheng

2017-07-01

Given an unreliable visual patterns and insufficient query information, content-based image retrieval is often suboptimal and requires image re-ranking using auxiliary information. In this paper, we propose a discriminative multi-view interactive image re-ranking (DMINTIR), which integrates user relevance feedback capturing users' intentions and multiple features that sufficiently describe the images. In DMINTIR, heterogeneous property features are incorporated in the multi-view learning scheme to exploit their complementarities. In addition, a discriminatively learned weight vector is obtained to reassign updated scores and target images for re-ranking. Compared with other multi-view learning techniques, our scheme not only generates a compact representation in the latent space from the redundant multi-view features but also maximally preserves the discriminative information in feature encoding by the large-margin principle. Furthermore, the generalization error bound of the proposed algorithm is theoretically analyzed and shown to be improved by the interactions between the latent space and discriminant function learning. Experimental results on two benchmark data sets demonstrate that our approach boosts baseline retrieval quality and is competitive with the other state-of-the-art re-ranking strategies.

A Meta-Analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, and Reading Comprehension Interventions.

PubMed

Suggate, Sebastian P

2016-01-01

Much is known about short-term--but very little about the long-term--effects of reading interventions. To rectify this, a detailed analysis of follow-up effects as a function of intervention, sample, and methodological variables was conducted. A total of 71 intervention-control groups were selected (N = 8,161 at posttest) from studies reporting posttest and follow-up data (M = 11.17 months) for previously established reading interventions. The posttest effect sizes indicated effects (dw = 0.37) that decreased to follow-up (dw = 0.22). Overall, comprehension and phonemic awareness interventions showed good maintenance of effect that transferred to nontargeted skills, whereas phonics and fluency interventions, and those for preschool and kindergarten children, tended not to. Several methodological features also related to effect sizes at follow-up, namely experimental design and dosage, and sample attrition, risk status, and gender balance. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

Racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and substance abuse among Latina/os nationwide.

PubMed

Otiniano Verissimo, Angie Denisse; Gee, Gilbert C; Ford, Chandra L; Iguchi, Martin Y

2014-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between discrimination and substance abuse among Latina/os, and further examines whether this relationship differs by gender and type of discrimination. Analyses focus on the Latina/o respondents (n = 1,039 men; n = 1,273 women) from the National Latino and Asian American Study carried out from 2002-2003. Outcomes were alcohol abuse and drug abuse measured using DSM-IV definitions and criteria. Additional covariates included immigrant characteristics and demographics. Analyses were completed using gender-stratified multinomial logistic regression. Men reported more discrimination (39.6% vs. 30.3%) and had higher prevalence of alcohol abuse (16.5% vs. 4.5%) and drug abuse (9.5% vs. 2.3%) than women. Discrimination was significantly associated with increased risk of alcohol abuse for women and increased risk of drug abuse for men. Men and women also varied in the types of discrimination (e.g., racial vs. gender) reported, and in the associations between these types of discrimination and substance abuse. These data indicate that discrimination is associated with different substance abuse outcomes between genders. Future research should consider the mechanisms that explain these differences.

Emergence of the Ability to Discriminate a Blue from Gray at One Month of Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maurer, Daphne; and Adams, Russell J.

1987-01-01

Two different methods which minimize achromatic cues were used to test the ability of one-month-olds to discriminate gray from broadband blue. Test data imply an improvement between birth and one month of age in the discrimination of gray from broadband blue. Possible physiological changes underlying this improvement are discussed. (Author/RWB)

Effects of High-Rate Pulse Trains on Electrode Discrimination in Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Runge-Samuelson, Christina L.

2009-01-01

Overcoming issues related to abnormally high neural synchrony in response to electrical stimulation is one aspect in improving hearing with a cochlear implant. Desynchronization of electrical stimuli have shown benefits in neural encoding of electrical signals and improvements in psychophysical tasks. In the present study, 10 participants with either CII or HiRes 90k Advanced Bionics devices were tested for the effects of desynchronizing constant-amplitude high-rate (5,000 Hz) pulse trains on electrode discrimination of sinusoidal stimuli (1,000 Hz). When averaged across the sinusoidal dynamic range, overall improvements in electrode discrimination with high-rate pulses were found for 8 of 10 participants. This effect was significant for the group (p = .003). Nonmonotonic patterns of electrode discrimination as a function of sinusoidal stimulation level were observed. By providing additional spectral channels, it is possible that clinical implementation of constant-amplitude high-rate pulse trains in a signal processing strategy may improve performance with the device. PMID:19447763

Speaker variability augments phonological processing in early word learning

PubMed Central

Rost, Gwyneth C.; McMurray, Bob

2010-01-01

Infants in the early stages of word learning have difficulty learning lexical neighbors (i.e., word pairs that differ by a single phoneme), despite the ability to discriminate the same contrast in a purely auditory task. While prior work has focused on top-down explanations for this failure (e.g. task demands, lexical competition), none has examined if bottom-up acoustic-phonetic factors play a role. We hypothesized that lexical neighbor learning could be improved by incorporating greater acoustic variability in the words being learned, as this may buttress still developing phonetic categories, and help infants identify the relevant contrastive dimension. Infants were exposed to pictures accompanied by labels spoken by either a single or multiple speakers. At test, infants in the single-speaker condition failed to recognize the difference between the two words, while infants who heard multiple speakers discriminated between them. PMID:19143806

Discrimination of correlated and entangling quantum channels with selective process tomography

DOE PAGES

Dumitrescu, Eugene; Humble, Travis S.

2016-10-10

The accurate and reliable characterization of quantum dynamical processes underlies efforts to validate quantum technologies, where discrimination between competing models of observed behaviors inform efforts to fabricate and operate qubit devices. We present a protocol for quantum channel discrimination that leverages advances in direct characterization of quantum dynamics (DCQD) codes. We demonstrate that DCQD codes enable selective process tomography to improve discrimination between entangling and correlated quantum dynamics. Numerical simulations show selective process tomography requires only a few measurement configurations to achieve a low false alarm rate and that the DCQD encoding improves the resilience of the protocol to hiddenmore » sources of noise. Lastly, our results show that selective process tomography with DCQD codes is useful for efficiently distinguishing sources of correlated crosstalk from uncorrelated noise in current and future experimental platforms.« less

Performance Improvements of the Phoneme Recognition Algorithm.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

VECTOR NUNDIRt"tIVECTj Beginning vector ; of speech to be extracted INDEX * MOD(IVECT,4) ICheck for vector being ; last vector in block 63 ILE u ((JUICT...1fIER0) ; Read header block. CALL CHECK(IERO) IHEADER(57) : ICOfP ; Change a of freq. components ICHECK : (IHEADER(56) - ([LENGTH - 1)) * ILENGTH...ICONT .Al. ICHECK ) GO TO 55 ; Check to make sure correct ;amount of vectors have been created# INCR u INCR + 32 ;Jump over last set of components

Meta-analytic review of the development of face discrimination in infancy: Face race, face gender, infant age, and methodology moderate face discrimination.

PubMed

Sugden, Nicole A; Marquis, Alexandra R

2017-11-01

Infants show facility for discriminating between individual faces within hours of birth. Over the first year of life, infants' face discrimination shows continued improvement with familiar face types, such as own-race faces, but not with unfamiliar face types, like other-race faces. The goal of this meta-analytic review is to provide an effect size for infants' face discrimination ability overall, with own-race faces, and with other-race faces within the first year of life, how this differs with age, and how it is influenced by task methodology. Inclusion criteria were (a) infant participants aged 0 to 12 months, (b) completing a human own- or other-race face discrimination task, (c) with discrimination being determined by infant looking. Our analysis included 30 works (165 samples, 1,926 participants participated in 2,623 tasks). The effect size for infants' face discrimination was small, 6.53% greater than chance (i.e., equal looking to the novel and familiar). There was a significant difference in discrimination by race, overall (own-race, 8.18%; other-race, 3.18%) and between ages (own-race: 0- to 4.5-month-olds, 7.32%; 5- to 7.5-month-olds, 9.17%; and 8- to 12-month-olds, 7.68%; other-race: 0- to 4.5-month-olds, 6.12%; 5- to 7.5-month-olds, 3.70%; and 8- to 12-month-olds, 2.79%). Multilevel linear (mixed-effects) models were used to predict face discrimination; infants' capacity to discriminate faces is sensitive to face characteristics including race, gender, and emotion as well as the methods used, including task timing, coding method, and visual angle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Discrimination and delusional ideation.

PubMed

Janssen, I; Hanssen, M; Bak, M; Bijl, R V; de Graaf, R; Vollebergh, W; McKenzie, K; van Os, J

2003-01-01

In the UK and The Netherlands, people with high rates of psychosis are chronically exposed to discrimination. To test whether perceived discrimination is associated longitudinally with onset of psychosis. A 3-year prospective study of cohorts with no history of psychosis and differential rates of reported discrimination on the basis of age, gender, disability, appearance, skin colour or ethnicity and sexual orientation was conducted in the Dutch general population (n=4076). The main outcome was onset of psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations). The rate of delusional ideation was 0.5% (n=19) in those who did not report discrimination, 0.9% (n=4) in those who reported discrimination in one domain, and 2.7% (n=3) in those who reported discrimination in more than one domain (exact P=0.027). This association remained after adjustment for possible confounders. No association was found between baseline discrimination and onset of hallucinatory experiences. Perceived discrimination may induce delusional ideation and thus contribute to the high observed rates of psychotic disorder in exposed minority populations.

Improved discrimination among similar agricultural plots using red-and-green-based pseudo-colour imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doi, Ryoichi

2016-04-01

The effects of a pseudo-colour imaging method were investigated by discriminating among similar agricultural plots in remote sensing images acquired using the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (Indiana, USA) and the Landsat 7 satellite (Fergana, Uzbekistan), and that provided by GoogleEarth (Toyama, Japan). From each dataset, red (R)-green (G)-R-G-blue yellow (RGrgbyB), and RGrgby-1B pseudo-colour images were prepared. From each, cyan, magenta, yellow, key black, L*, a*, and b* derivative grayscale images were generated. In the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer image, pixels were selected for corn no tillage (29 pixels), corn minimum tillage (27), and soybean (34) plots. Likewise, in the Landsat 7 image, pixels representing corn (73 pixels), cotton (110), and wheat (112) plots were selected, and in the GoogleEarth image, those representing soybean (118 pixels) and rice (151) were selected. When the 14 derivative grayscale images were used together with an RGB yellow grayscale image, the overall classification accuracy improved from 74 to 94% (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), 64 to 83% (Landsat), or 77 to 90% (GoogleEarth). As an indicator of discriminatory power, the kappa significance improved 1018-fold (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) or greater. The derivative grayscale images were found to increase the dimensionality and quantity of data. Herein, the details of the increases in dimensionality and quantity are further analysed and discussed.

Depth-of-processing effects on priming in stem completion: tests of the voluntary-contamination, conceptual-processing, and lexical-processing hypotheses.

PubMed

Richardson-Klavehn, A; Gardiner, J M

1998-05-01

Depth-of-processing effects on incidental perceptual memory tests could reflect (a) contamination by voluntary retrieval, (b) sensitivity of involuntary retrieval to prior conceptual processing, or (c) a deficit in lexical processing during graphemic study tasks that affects involuntary retrieval. The authors devised an extension of incidental test methodology--making conjunctive predictions about response times as well as response proportions--to discriminate among these alternatives. They used graphemic, phonemic, and semantic study tasks, and a word-stem completion test with incidental, intentional, and inclusion instructions. Semantic study processing was superior to phonemic study processing in the intentional and inclusion tests, but semantic and phonemic study processing produced equal priming in the incidental test, showing that priming was uncontaminated by voluntary retrieval--a conclusion reinforced by the response-time data--and that priming was insensitive to prior conceptual processing. The incidental test nevertheless showed a priming deficit following graphemic study processing, supporting the lexical-processing hypothesis. Adding a lexical decision to the 3 study tasks eliminated the priming deficit following graphemic study processing, but did not influence priming following phonemic and semantic processing. The results provide the first clear evidence that depth-of-processing effects on perceptual priming can reflect lexical processes, rather than voluntary contamination or conceptual processes.

Perceptions of weight discrimination: prevalence and comparison to race and gender discrimination in America.

PubMed

Puhl, R M; Andreyeva, T; Brownell, K D

2008-06-01

Limited data are available on the prevalence and patterns of body weight discrimination from representative samples. This study examined experiences of weight/height discrimination in a nationally representative sample of US adults and compared their prevalence and patterns with discrimination experiences based on race and gender. Data were from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, a 1995-1996 community-based survey of English-speaking adults aged 25-74 (N=2290). Reported experiences of weight/height discrimination included a variety of institutional settings and interpersonal relationships. Multivariate regression analyses were used to predict weight/height discrimination controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and body weight status. The prevalence of weight/height discrimination ranged from 5% among men to 10% among women, but these average percentages obscure the much higher risk of weight discrimination among heavier individuals (40% for adults with body mass index (BMI) of 35 and above). Younger individuals with a higher BMI had a particularly high risk of weight/height discrimination regardless of their race, education and weight status. Women were at greater risk for weight/height discrimination than men, especially women with a BMI of 30-35 who were three times more likely to report weight/height discrimination compared to male peers of a similar weight. Weight/height discrimination is prevalent in American society and is relatively close to reported rates of racial discrimination, particularly among women. Both institutional forms of weight/height discrimination (for example, in employment settings) and interpersonal mistreatment due to weight/height (for example, being called names) were common, and in some cases were even more prevalent than discrimination due to gender and race.

Amplitude Rise Time Does Not Cue the /bɑ/–/wɑ/ Contrast for Adults or Children

PubMed Central

Nittrouer, Susan; Lowenstein, Joanna H.; Tarr, Eric

2013-01-01

Purpose Previous research has demonstrated that children weight the acoustic cues to many phonemic decisions differently than do adults and gradually shift those strategies as they gain language experience. However, that research has focused on spectral and duration cues rather than on amplitude cues. In the current study, the authors examined amplitude rise time (ART; an amplitude cue) and formant rise time (FRT; a spectral cue) in the /bɑ/–/wɑ/ manner contrast for adults and children, and related those speech decisions to outcomes of nonspeech discrimination tasks. Method Twenty adults and 30 children (ages 4–5 years) labeled natural and synthetic speech stimuli manipulated to vary ARTs and FRTs, and discriminated nonspeech analogs that varied only by ART in an AX paradigm. Results Three primary results were obtained. First, listeners in both age groups based speech labeling judgments on FRT, not on ART. Second, the fundamental frequency of the natural speech samples did not influence labeling judgments. Third, discrimination performance for the nonspeech stimuli did not predict how listeners would perform with the speech stimuli. Conclusion Even though both adults and children are sensitive to ART, it was not weighted in phonemic judgments by these typical listeners. PMID:22992704

On the nature of the speech perception deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

You, R S; Serniclaes, W; Rider, D; Chabane, N

2017-02-01

Previous studies have claimed to show deficits in the perception of speech sounds in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of the current study was to clarify the nature of such deficits. Children with ASD might only exhibit a lesser amount of precision in the perception of phoneme categories (CPR deficit). However, these children might further present an allophonic mode of speech perception, similar to the one evidenced in dyslexia, characterised by enhanced discrimination of acoustic differences within phoneme categories. Allophonic perception usually gives rise to a categorical perception (CP) deficit, characterised by a weaker coherence between discrimination and identification of speech sounds. The perceptual performance of ASD children was compared to that of control children of the same chronological age. Identification and discrimination data were collected for continua of natural vowels, synthetic vowels, and synthetic consonants. Results confirmed that children with ASD exhibit a CPR deficit for the three stimulus continua. These children further exhibited a trend toward allophonic perception that was, however, not accompanied by the usual CP deficit. These findings confirm that the commonly found CPR deficit is also present in ASD. Whether children with ASD also present allophonic perception requires further investigations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discriminative object tracking via sparse representation and online dictionary learning.

PubMed

Xie, Yuan; Zhang, Wensheng; Li, Cuihua; Lin, Shuyang; Qu, Yanyun; Zhang, Yinghua

2014-04-01

We propose a robust tracking algorithm based on local sparse coding with discriminative dictionary learning and new keypoint matching schema. This algorithm consists of two parts: the local sparse coding with online updated discriminative dictionary for tracking (SOD part), and the keypoint matching refinement for enhancing the tracking performance (KP part). In the SOD part, the local image patches of the target object and background are represented by their sparse codes using an over-complete discriminative dictionary. Such discriminative dictionary, which encodes the information of both the foreground and the background, may provide more discriminative power. Furthermore, in order to adapt the dictionary to the variation of the foreground and background during the tracking, an online learning method is employed to update the dictionary. The KP part utilizes refined keypoint matching schema to improve the performance of the SOD. With the help of sparse representation and online updated discriminative dictionary, the KP part are more robust than the traditional method to reject the incorrect matches and eliminate the outliers. The proposed method is embedded into a Bayesian inference framework for visual tracking. Experimental results on several challenging video sequences demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our approach.

Factors associated with experienced discrimination among people using mental health services in England.

PubMed

Hamilton, S; Corker, E; Weeks, C; Williams, P; Henderson, C; Pinfold, V; Rose, D; Thornicroft, G

2016-08-01

Research has found considerable variation in how far individuals with a diagnosis of mental illness experience discrimination. This study tested four hypotheses: (i) a diagnosis of schizophrenia will be associated with more discrimination than depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder; (ii) people with a history of involuntary treatment will report more discrimination than people without; (iii) higher levels of avoidance behaviour due to anticipated discrimination will be associated with higher levels of discrimination and (iv) longer time in contact with services will be associated with higher levels of discrimination. Three thousand five hundred and seventy-nine people using mental health services in England took part in structured telephone interviews about discrimination experiences. A multiple regression model found that study year, age, employment status, length of time in mental health services, disagreeing with the diagnosis, anticipating discrimination in personal relationships and feeling the need to conceal a diagnosis from others were significantly associated with higher levels of experienced discrimination. Findings suggest that discrimination is not related to specific diagnoses but rather is associated with mental health problems generally. An association between unemployment and discrimination may indicate that employment protects against experiences of discrimination, supporting efforts to improve access to employment among people with a diagnosis of mental illness.

Place of birth effects on self-reported discrimination: Variations by type of discrimination

PubMed Central

Brondolo, Elizabeth; Rahim, Reanne; Grimaldi, Stephanie; Ashraf, Amina; Bui, Nini; Schwartz, Joseph

2016-01-01

Researchers have suggested that perceptions of discrimination may vary depending on place of birth and the length of time spent living in the U.S., variables related to acculturation. However, the existing literature provides a mixed picture, with data suggesting that the effects of acculturation on perceptions of discrimination vary by race and other sociodemographic factors. This study evaluated the role of place of birth (POB: defined as U.S.-born vs. foreign-born), age at immigration, and length of residence in the U.S. on self-reported discrimination in a sample of urban-dwelling Asian and Black adults (n= 1454). Analyses examined POB effects on different types of discrimination including race-related stigmatization, exclusion, threat, and workplace discrimination. Sociodemographic variables (including age, gender, employment status and education level) were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between POB and discrimination. The results revealed a significant main effect for POB on discrimination, with U.S.-born individuals reporting significantly more discrimination than foreign-born individuals, although the effect was reduced when sociodemographic variables were controlled. Across the sample, POB effects were seen only for race-related stigmatization and exclusion, not for threat and workplace discrimination. With the exception of limited effects for gender, sociodemographic variables did not moderate these effects. Younger age at immigration and greater years of residence in the U.S. were also positively associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination. These findings suggest increasing acculturation may shape the experience and perception of racial and ethnic discrimination. PMID:27647943

Place of birth effects on self-reported discrimination: Variations by type of discrimination.

PubMed

Brondolo, Elizabeth; Rahim, Reanne; Grimaldi, Stephanie; Ashraf, Amina; Bui, Nini; Schwartz, Joseph

2015-11-01

Researchers have suggested that perceptions of discrimination may vary depending on place of birth and the length of time spent living in the U.S., variables related to acculturation. However, the existing literature provides a mixed picture, with data suggesting that the effects of acculturation on perceptions of discrimination vary by race and other sociodemographic factors. This study evaluated the role of place of birth (POB: defined as U.S.-born vs. foreign-born), age at immigration, and length of residence in the U.S. on self-reported discrimination in a sample of urban-dwelling Asian and Black adults (n= 1454). Analyses examined POB effects on different types of discrimination including race-related stigmatization, exclusion, threat, and workplace discrimination. Sociodemographic variables (including age, gender, employment status and education level) were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between POB and discrimination. The results revealed a significant main effect for POB on discrimination, with U.S.-born individuals reporting significantly more discrimination than foreign-born individuals, although the effect was reduced when sociodemographic variables were controlled. Across the sample, POB effects were seen only for race-related stigmatization and exclusion, not for threat and workplace discrimination. With the exception of limited effects for gender, sociodemographic variables did not moderate these effects. Younger age at immigration and greater years of residence in the U.S. were also positively associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination. These findings suggest increasing acculturation may shape the experience and perception of racial and ethnic discrimination.

Performance and strategy comparisons of human listeners and logistic regression in discriminating underwater targets.

PubMed

Yang, Lixue; Chen, Kean

2015-11-01

To improve the design of underwater target recognition systems based on auditory perception, this study compared human listeners with automatic classifiers. Performances measures and strategies in three discrimination experiments, including discriminations between man-made and natural targets, between ships and submarines, and among three types of ships, were used. In the experiments, the subjects were asked to assign a score to each sound based on how confident they were about the category to which it belonged, and logistic regression, which represents linear discriminative models, also completed three similar tasks by utilizing many auditory features. The results indicated that the performances of logistic regression improved as the ratio between inter- and intra-class differences became larger, whereas the performances of the human subjects were limited by their unfamiliarity with the targets. Logistic regression performed better than the human subjects in all tasks but the discrimination between man-made and natural targets, and the strategies employed by excellent human subjects were similar to that of logistic regression. Logistic regression and several human subjects demonstrated similar performances when discriminating man-made and natural targets, but in this case, their strategies were not similar. An appropriate fusion of their strategies led to further improvement in recognition accuracy.

The Influence of Eye Closure on Somatosensory Discrimination: A Trade-off Between Simple Perception and Discrimination.

PubMed

Götz, Theresa; Hanke, David; Huonker, Ralph; Weiss, Thomas; Klingner, Carsten; Brodoehl, Stefan; Baumbach, Philipp; Witte, Otto W

2017-06-01

We often close our eyes to improve perception. Recent results have shown a decrease of perception thresholds accompanied by an increase in somatosensory activity after eye closure. However, does somatosensory spatial discrimination also benefit from eye closure? We previously showed that spatial discrimination is accompanied by a reduction of somatosensory activity. Using magnetoencephalography, we analyzed the magnitude of primary somatosensory (somatosensory P50m) and primary auditory activity (auditory P50m) during a one-back discrimination task in 21 healthy volunteers. In complete darkness, participants were requested to pay attention to either the somatosensory or auditory stimulation and asked to open or close their eyes every 6.5 min. Somatosensory P50m was reduced during a task requiring the distinguishing of stimulus location changes at the distal phalanges of different fingers. The somatosensory P50m was further reduced and detection performance was higher during eyes open. A similar reduction was found for the auditory P50m during a task requiring the distinguishing of changing tones. The function of eye closure is more than controlling visual input. It might be advantageous for perception because it is an effective way to reduce interference from other modalities, but disadvantageous for spatial discrimination because it requires at least one top-down processing stage. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Enhancement of brain event-related potentials to speech sounds is associated with compensated reading skills in dyslexic children with familial risk for dyslexia.

PubMed

Lohvansuu, Kaisa; Hämäläinen, Jarmo A; Tanskanen, Annika; Ervast, Leena; Heikkinen, Elisa; Lyytinen, Heikki; Leppänen, Paavo H T

2014-12-01

Specific reading disability, dyslexia, is a prevalent and heritable disorder impairing reading acquisition characterized by a phonological deficit. However, the underlying mechanism of how the impaired phonological processing mediates resulting dyslexia or reading disabilities remains still unclear. Using ERPs we studied speech sound processing of 30 dyslexic children with familial risk for dyslexia, 51 typically reading children with familial risk for dyslexia, and 58 typically reading control children. We found enhanced brain responses to shortening of a phonemic length in pseudo-words (/at:a/ vs. /ata/) in dyslexic children with familial risk as compared to other groups. The enhanced brain responses were associated with better performance in behavioral phonemic length discrimination task, as well as with better reading and writing accuracy. Source analyses revealed that the brain responses of sub-group of dyslexic children with largest responses originated from a more posterior area of the right temporal cortex as compared to the responses of the other participants. This is the first electrophysiological evidence for a possible compensatory speech perception mechanism in dyslexia. The best readers within the dyslexic group have probably developed alternative strategies which employ compensatory mechanisms substituting their possible earlier deficit in phonological processing and might therefore be able to perform better in phonemic length discrimination and reading and writing accuracy tasks. However, we speculate that for reading fluency compensatory mechanisms are not that easily built and dyslexic children remain slow readers during their adult life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Auditory discrimination therapy (ADT) for tinnitus management.

PubMed

Herraiz, C; Diges, I; Cobo, P

2007-01-01

Auditory discrimination training (ADT) designs a procedure to increase cortical areas responding to trained frequencies (damaged cochlear areas with cortical misrepresentation) and to shrink the neighboring over-represented ones (tinnitus pitch). In a prospective descriptive study of 27 patients with high frequency tinnitus, the severity of the tinnitus was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI). Patients performed a 10-min auditory discrimination task twice a day during one month. Discontinuous 4 kHz pure tones were mixed randomly with short broadband noise sounds through an MP3 system. After the treatment mean VAS scores were reduced from 5.2 to 4.5 (p=0.000) and the THI decreased from 26.2% to 21.3% (p=0.000). Forty percent of the patients had improvement in tinnitus perception (RESP). Comparing the ADT group with a control group showed statistically significant improvement of their tinnitus as assessed by RESP, VAS, and THI.

Discrimination of gravitational stimuli

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, F. C.

1972-01-01

The construction and installation of an animal centrifuge and its electronic support system was completed. Experimental procedures for obtaining data on the relationship between the discriminability of g differences and location along the continuum of effective weight were initiated. Data were obtained under two successive discriminations showing discrimination among g levels. In addition, there was some indication that the discriminability of differences between g levels associated with reinforcement was the same at two locations along the g continuum, although there were differences in measures of absolute discrimination at these locations.

Tactile discrimination, but not tactile stimulation alone, reduces chronic limb pain.

PubMed

Moseley, G Lorimer; Zalucki, Nadia M; Wiech, Katja

2008-07-31

Chronic pain is often associated with reduced tactile acuity. A relationship exists between pain intensity, tactile acuity and cortical reorganisation. When pain resolves, tactile function improves and cortical organisation normalises. Tactile acuity can be improved in healthy controls when tactile stimulation is associated with a behavioural objective. We hypothesised that, in patients with chronic limb pain and decreased tactile acuity, discriminating between tactile stimuli would decrease pain and increase tactile acuity, but tactile stimulation alone would not. Thirteen patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) of one limb underwent a waiting period and then approximately 2 weeks of tactile stimulation under two conditions: stimulation alone or discrimination between stimuli according to their diameter and location. There was no change in pain (100 mm VAS) or two-point discrimination (TPD) during a no-treatment waiting period, nor during the stimulation phase (p > 0.32 for both). Pain and TPD were lower after the discrimination phase [mean (95% CI) effect size for pain VAS = 27 mm (14-40 mm) and for TPD = 5.7 mm (2.9-8. ), p < 0.015 for both]. These gains were maintained at three-month follow-up. We conclude that tactile stimulation can decrease pain and increase tactile acuity when patients are required to discriminate between the type and location of tactile stimuli.

A face and palmprint recognition approach based on discriminant DCT feature extraction.

PubMed

Jing, Xiao-Yuan; Zhang, David

2004-12-01

In the field of image processing and recognition, discrete cosine transform (DCT) and linear discrimination are two widely used techniques. Based on them, we present a new face and palmprint recognition approach in this paper. It first uses a two-dimensional separability judgment to select the DCT frequency bands with favorable linear separability. Then from the selected bands, it extracts the linear discriminative features by an improved Fisherface method and performs the classification by the nearest neighbor classifier. We detailedly analyze theoretical advantages of our approach in feature extraction. The experiments on face databases and palmprint database demonstrate that compared to the state-of-the-art linear discrimination methods, our approach obtains better classification performance. It can significantly improve the recognition rates for face and palmprint data and effectively reduce the dimension of feature space.

IFACEwat: the interfacial water-implemented re-ranking algorithm to improve the discrimination of near native structures for protein rigid docking.

PubMed

Su, Chinh; Nguyen, Thuy-Diem; Zheng, Jie; Kwoh, Chee-Keong

2014-01-01

Protein-protein docking is an in silico method to predict the formation of protein complexes. Due to limited computational resources, the protein-protein docking approach has been developed under the assumption of rigid docking, in which one of the two protein partners remains rigid during the protein associations and water contribution is ignored or implicitly presented. Despite obtaining a number of acceptable complex predictions, it seems to-date that most initial rigid docking algorithms still find it difficult or even fail to discriminate successfully the correct predictions from the other incorrect or false positive ones. To improve the rigid docking results, re-ranking is one of the effective methods that help re-locate the correct predictions in top high ranks, discriminating them from the other incorrect ones. Our results showed that the IFACEwat increased both the numbers of the near-native structures and improved their ranks as compared to the initial rigid docking ZDOCK3.0.2. In fact, the IFACEwat achieved a success rate of 83.8% for Antigen/Antibody complexes, which is 10% better than ZDOCK3.0.2. As compared to another re-ranking technique ZRANK, the IFACEwat obtains success rates of 92.3% (8% better) and 90% (5% better) respectively for medium and difficult cases. When comparing with the latest published re-ranking method F2Dock, the IFACEwat performed equivalently well or even better for several Antigen/Antibody complexes. With the inclusion of interfacial water, the IFACEwat improves mostly results of the initial rigid docking, especially for Antigen/Antibody complexes. The improvement is achieved by explicitly taking into account the contribution of water during the protein interactions, which was ignored or not fully presented by the initial rigid docking and other re-ranking techniques. In addition, the IFACEwat maintains sufficient computational efficiency of the initial docking algorithm, yet improves the ranks as well as the number of the near

Perceived discrimination and self-rated health in Canada: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Du Mont, Janice; Forte, Tonia

2016-08-08

Our objective was to explore whether the link between discrimination and self-rated health status differed as a function of discrimination type, including discrimination based on ethnicity/culture, race, physical appearance (other than skin colour), religion, age, and disability. A sample of 19,422 men and women aged 15 and older was included in this study. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to measure the association between perceived discrimination types and self-reported health status defined as excellent/good versus fair/poor. The prevalence of experiencing any discrimination in the past five years was higher among those who rated their health as fair or poor (21.8 %) compared to those who rated their health as excellent or good (14.5 %, p < 0.0001). After controlling for all other covariates, there was a positive association between poorer self-rated health and two of the six specific discrimination variables entered into the model: perceived discrimination based on physical appearance (other than skin colour) (OR = 1.79, 95 % CI: 1.24, 2.58) and perceived discrimination based on a having a disability (OR = 1.59, 95 % CI: 1.04, 2.41). Our main findings indicate that perceived discrimination based on physical appearance and disability may have an adverse impact on health. The results highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to improving health outcomes that should include policies that are targeted against specific types of discrimination.

Perceived discrimination and mental health symptoms among Black men with HIV.

PubMed

Bogart, Laura M; Wagner, Glenn J; Galvan, Frank H; Landrine, Hope; Klein, David J; Sticklor, Laurel A

2011-07-01

People living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit more severe mental health symptoms, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, than do members of the general public. We examined whether perceived discrimination, which has been associated with poor mental health in prior research, contributes to greater depression and PTSD symptoms among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at high risk for discrimination from multiple stigmatized characteristics (HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation). A total of 181 Black MSM living with HIV completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI) that included measures of mental health symptoms (depression, PTSD) and scales assessing perceived discrimination due to HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In bivariate tests, all three perceived discrimination scales were significantly associated with greater symptoms of depression and PTSD (i.e., reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal subscales; all p values < .05). The multivariate model for depression yielded a three-way interaction among all three discrimination types (p < .01), indicating that perceived racial discrimination was negatively associated with depression symptoms when considered in isolation from other forms of discrimination, but positively associated when all three types of discrimination were present. In multivariate tests, only perceived HIV-related discrimination was associated with PTSD symptoms (p < .05). Findings suggest that some types of perceived discrimination contribute to poor mental health among PLWH. Researchers need to take into account intersecting stigmata when developing interventions to improve mental health among PLWH.

Discrimination of Breast Cancer with Microcalcifications on Mammography by Deep Learning.

PubMed

Wang, Jinhua; Yang, Xi; Cai, Hongmin; Tan, Wanchang; Jin, Cangzheng; Li, Li

2016-06-07

Microcalcification is an effective indicator of early breast cancer. To improve the diagnostic accuracy of microcalcifications, this study evaluates the performance of deep learning-based models on large datasets for its discrimination. A semi-automated segmentation method was used to characterize all microcalcifications. A discrimination classifier model was constructed to assess the accuracies of microcalcifications and breast masses, either in isolation or combination, for classifying breast lesions. Performances were compared to benchmark models. Our deep learning model achieved a discriminative accuracy of 87.3% if microcalcifications were characterized alone, compared to 85.8% with a support vector machine. The accuracies were 61.3% for both methods with masses alone and improved to 89.7% and 85.8% after the combined analysis with microcalcifications. Image segmentation with our deep learning model yielded 15, 26 and 41 features for the three scenarios, respectively. Overall, deep learning based on large datasets was superior to standard methods for the discrimination of microcalcifications. Accuracy was increased by adopting a combinatorial approach to detect microcalcifications and masses simultaneously. This may have clinical value for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

Discrimination of Breast Cancer with Microcalcifications on Mammography by Deep Learning

PubMed Central

Wang, Jinhua; Yang, Xi; Cai, Hongmin; Tan, Wanchang; Jin, Cangzheng; Li, Li

2016-01-01

Microcalcification is an effective indicator of early breast cancer. To improve the diagnostic accuracy of microcalcifications, this study evaluates the performance of deep learning-based models on large datasets for its discrimination. A semi-automated segmentation method was used to characterize all microcalcifications. A discrimination classifier model was constructed to assess the accuracies of microcalcifications and breast masses, either in isolation or combination, for classifying breast lesions. Performances were compared to benchmark models. Our deep learning model achieved a discriminative accuracy of 87.3% if microcalcifications were characterized alone, compared to 85.8% with a support vector machine. The accuracies were 61.3% for both methods with masses alone and improved to 89.7% and 85.8% after the combined analysis with microcalcifications. Image segmentation with our deep learning model yielded 15, 26 and 41 features for the three scenarios, respectively. Overall, deep learning based on large datasets was superior to standard methods for the discrimination of microcalcifications. Accuracy was increased by adopting a combinatorial approach to detect microcalcifications and masses simultaneously. This may have clinical value for early detection and treatment of breast cancer. PMID:27273294

Estimating erosion risk on forest lands using improved methods of discriminant analysis

Treesearch

J. Lewis; R. M. Rice

1990-01-01

A population of 638 timber harvest areas in northwestern California was sampled for data related to the occurrence of critical amounts of erosion (>153 m3 within 0.81 ha). Separate analyses were done for forest roads and logged areas. Linear discriminant functions were computed in each analysis to contrast site conditions at critical plots with randomly selected...

Improving the discrimination of hand motor imagery via virtual reality based visual guidance.

PubMed

Liang, Shuang; Choi, Kup-Sze; Qin, Jing; Pang, Wai-Man; Wang, Qiong; Heng, Pheng-Ann

2016-08-01

While research on the brain-computer interface (BCI) has been active in recent years, how to get high-quality electrical brain signals to accurately recognize human intentions for reliable communication and interaction is still a challenging task. The evidence has shown that visually guided motor imagery (MI) can modulate sensorimotor electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in humans, but how to design and implement efficient visual guidance during MI in order to produce better event-related desynchronization (ERD) patterns is still unclear. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of using object-oriented movements in a virtual environment as visual guidance on the modulation of sensorimotor EEG rhythms generated by hand MI. To improve the classification accuracy on MI, we further propose an algorithm to automatically extract subject-specific optimal frequency and time bands for the discrimination of ERD patterns produced by left and right hand MI. The experimental results show that the average classification accuracy of object-directed scenarios is much better than that of non-object-directed scenarios (76.87% vs. 69.66%). The result of the t-test measuring the difference between them is statistically significant (p = 0.0207). When compared to algorithms based on fixed frequency and time bands, contralateral dominant ERD patterns can be enhanced by using the subject-specific optimal frequency and the time bands obtained by our proposed algorithm. These findings have the potential to improve the efficacy and robustness of MI-based BCI applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Military Discrimination.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Richard W.

1981-01-01

Argues that while a certain level of fairness is necessary in considering the equity of compulsory military service, the most important issue is that of "winning the war." Also asserts that sex, age, and race discrimination are more important than social class discrimination in military service. (Author/GC)

Racial/Ethnic Workplace Discrimination

PubMed Central

Chavez, Laura J.; Ornelas, India J.; Lyles, Courtney R.; Williams, Emily C.

2014-01-01

Background Experiences of discrimination are associated with tobacco and alcohol use, and work is a common setting where individuals experience racial/ethnic discrimination. Few studies have evaluated the association between workplace discrimination and these behaviors, and none have described associations across race/ethnicity. Purpose To examine the association between workplace discrimination and tobacco and alcohol use in a large, multistate sample of U.S. adult respondents to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey Reactions to Race Module (2004–2010). Methods Multivariable logistic regression analyses evaluated cross-sectional associations between self-reported workplace discrimination and tobacco (current and daily smoking) and alcohol use (any and heavy use, and binge drinking) among all participants and stratified by race/ethnicity, adjusting for relevant covariates. Data were analyzed in 2013. Results Among respondents, 70,080 completed the workplace discrimination measure. Discrimination was more common among black non-Hispanic (21%), Hispanic (12%), and other race respondents (11%) than white non-Hispanics (4%) (p<0.001). In the total sample, discrimination was associated with current smoking (risk ratio [RR]=1.32, 95% CI=1.19, 1.47), daily smoking (RR=1.41, 95% CI=1.24, 1.61), and heavy drinking (RR=1.11, 95% CI=1.01, 1.22), but not binge or any drinking. Among Hispanics, workplace discrimination was associated with increased heavy and binge drinking, but not any alcohol use or smoking. Workplace discrimination among black non-Hispanics and white Non-Hispanics was associated with increased current and daily smoking, but not alcohol outcomes. Conclusions Workplace discrimination is common, associated with smoking and alcohol use, and merits further policy attention given the impact of these behaviors on morbidity and mortality. PMID:25441232

Learning temporal context shapes prestimulus alpha oscillations and improves visual discrimination performance.

PubMed

Toosi, Tahereh; K Tousi, Ehsan; Esteky, Hossein

2017-08-01

Time is an inseparable component of every physical event that we perceive, yet it is not clear how the brain processes time or how the neuronal representation of time affects our perception of events. Here we asked subjects to perform a visual discrimination task while we changed the temporal context in which the stimuli were presented. We collected electroencephalography (EEG) signals in two temporal contexts. In predictable blocks stimuli were presented after a constant delay relative to a visual cue, and in unpredictable blocks stimuli were presented after variable delays relative to the visual cue. Four subsecond delays of 83, 150, 400, and 800 ms were used in the predictable and unpredictable blocks. We observed that predictability modulated the power of prestimulus alpha oscillations in the parieto-occipital sites: alpha power increased in the 300-ms window before stimulus onset in the predictable blocks compared with the unpredictable blocks. This modulation only occurred in the longest delay period, 800 ms, in which predictability also improved the behavioral performance of the subjects. Moreover, learning the temporal context shaped the prestimulus alpha power: modulation of prestimulus alpha power grew during the predictable block and correlated with performance enhancement. These results suggest that the brain is able to learn the subsecond temporal context of stimuli and use this to enhance sensory processing. Furthermore, the neural correlate of this temporal prediction is reflected in the alpha oscillations. NEW & NOTEWORTHY It is not well understood how the uncertainty in the timing of an external event affects its processing, particularly at subsecond scales. Here we demonstrate how a predictable timing scheme improves visual processing. We found that learning the predictable scheme gradually shaped the prestimulus alpha power. These findings indicate that the human brain is able to extract implicit subsecond patterns in the temporal context of

Auditory discrimination therapy (ADT) for tinnitus managment: preliminary results.

PubMed

Herraiz, C; Diges, I; Cobo, P; Plaza, G; Aparicio, J M

2006-12-01

This clinical assay has demonstrated the efficacy of auditory discrimination therapy (ADT) in tinnitus management compared with a waiting-list group. In all, 43% of the ADT patients improved their tinnitus, and its intensity together with its handicap were statistically decreased (EMB rating: B-2). To describe the effect of sound discrimination training on tinnitus. ADT designs a procedure to increase the cortical representation of trained frequencies (damaged cochlear areas with a secondary reduction of cortical stimulation) and to shrink the neighbouring over-represented ones (corresponding to tinnitus pitch). This prospective descriptive study included 14 patients with high frequency matched tinnitus. Tinnitus severity was measured according to a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). Patients performed a 10-min auditory discrimination task twice a day for 1 month. Discontinuous 8 kHz pure tones were randomly mixed with 500 ms 'white noise' sounds through a MP3 system. ADT group results were compared with a waiting-list group (n=21). In all, 43% of our patients had improvement in their tinnitus. A significant improvement in VAS (p=0.004) and THI mean scores was achieved (p=0.038). Statistical differences between ADT and the waiting-list group have been proved, considering patients' self-evaluations (p=0.043) and VAS scores (p=0.004). A non-significant reduction of THI was achieved (p=0.113).

The specter of discrimination: Fear of interpersonal racial discrimination among adolescents in Chicago.

PubMed

Herda, Daniel

2016-01-01

This analysis examines fear of interpersonal racial discrimination among Black, Hispanic, and White adolescents. The extent and correlates of these concerns are examined using survey data from the Project for Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Borrowing from the fear-of-crime literature, the contact hypothesis, and group threat theory, several hypotheses are developed linking discrimination fear to direct personal experience with discrimination, indirect or vicarious experience, and environmental signals of discrimination. Results show that about half of Blacks and Hispanics have feared discrimination in the past year. Multivariate results indicate that fear is most likely if one has experienced victimization first-hand and when one's parent is affected by discrimination. Further, a larger presence neighborhood outgroups produces greater fear. Overall, discrimination fear constitutes an additional obstacle for minority adolescents as they transition to adulthood. The phenomenon warrants increased scholarly attention and represents a fruitful avenue for future research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frequency discriminator/phase detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crow, R. B.

1974-01-01

Circuit provides dual function of frequency discriminator/phase detector which reduces frequency acquisition time without adding to circuit complexity. Both frequency discriminators, in evaluated frequency discriminator/phase detector circuits, are effective two decades above and below center frequency.

Discrimination and health inequities.

PubMed

Krieger, Nancy

2014-01-01

In 1999, only 20 studies in the public health literature employed instruments to measure self-reported experiences of discrimination. Fifteen years later, the number of empirical investigations on discrimination and health easily exceeds 500, with these studies increasingly global in scope and focused on major types of discrimination variously involving race/ethnicity, indigenous status, immigrant status, gender, sexuality, disability, and age, separately and in combination. And yet, as I also document, even as the number of investigations has dramatically expanded, the scope remains narrow: studies remain focused primarily on interpersonal discrimination, and scant research investigates the health impacts of structural discrimination, a gap consonant with the limited epidemiologic research on political systems and population health. Accordingly, to help advance the state of the field, this updated review article: (a) briefly reviews definitions of discrimination, illustrated with examples from the United States; (b) discusses theoretical insights useful for conceptualizing how discrimination can become embodied and produce health inequities, including via distortion of scientific knowledge; (c) concisely summarizes extant evidence--both robust and inconsistent--linking discrimination and health; and (d) addresses several key methodological controversies and challenges, including the need for careful attention to domains, pathways, level, and spatiotemporal scale, in historical context.

Inhibitory Mechanisms in Primary Somatosensory Cortex Mediate the Effects of Peripheral Electrical Stimulation on Tactile Spatial Discrimination.

PubMed

Saito, Kei; Otsuru, Naofumi; Inukai, Yasuto; Kojima, Sho; Miyaguchi, Shota; Tsuiki, Shota; Sasaki, Ryoki; Onishi, Hideaki

2018-06-01

Selective afferent activation can be used to improve somatosensory function, possibly by altering cortical inhibitory circuit activity. Peripheral electrical stimulation (PES) is widely used to induce selective afferent activation, and its effect may depend on PES intensity. Therefore, we investigated the effects of high- and low-intensity PES applied to the right index finger on tactile discrimination performance and cortical sensory-evoked potential paired-pulse depression (SEP-PPD) in 25 neurologically healthy subjects. In Experiment 1, a grating orientation task (GOT) was performed before and immediately after local high- and low-intensity PES (both delivered as 1-s, 20-Hz trains of 0.2-ms electrical pulses at 5-s intervals). In Experiment 2, PPD of SEP components N20/P25_SEP-PPD and N20_SEP-PPD, respectively, were assessed before and immediately after high- and low-intensity PES. Improved GOT discrimination performance after high-intensity PES (reduced discrimination threshold) was associated with lower baseline performance (higher baseline discrimination threshold). Subjects were classified into low and high (baseline) GOT performance groups. Improved GOT discrimination performance in the low GOT performance group was significantly associated with a greater N20_SEP-PPD decrease (weaker PPD). Subjects were also classified into GOT improvement and GOT decrement groups. High-intensity PES decreased N20_SEP-PPD in the GOT improvement group but increased N20_SEP-PPD in the GOT decrement group. Furthermore, a greater decrease in GOT discrimination threshold was significantly associated with a greater N20_SEP-PPD decrease in the GOT improvement group. These results suggest that high-intensity PES can improve sensory perception in subjects with low baseline function by modulating cortical inhibitory circuits in primary somatosensory cortex. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

/ae/ versus /?/: Vowel Fossilization in the Pronunciation of Turkish English Majors: Rehabilitation 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demirezen, Mehmet

2017-01-01

In North American English (NAE) and British English, [ae] and [?] are open vowel phonemes which are articulated by a speaker easily without a build-up of air pressure. Among all English vowels, the greatest problem for most Turkish majors of English is the discrimination of [ae] and [?]. In English, [ae] is called the "short a" or ash,…

Perceived Discrimination and Mental Health Symptoms among Black Men with HIV

PubMed Central

Bogart, Laura M.; Wagner, Glenn J.; Galvan, Frank H.; Landrine, Hope; Klein, David J.; Sticklor, Laurel A.

2011-01-01

Objective People living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit more severe mental health symptoms than do members of the general public (including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder/PTSD symptoms). We examined whether perceived discrimination, which has been associated with poor mental health in prior research, contributes to greater depression and PTSD symptoms among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at high risk for discrimination from multiple stigmatized characteristics (HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation). Method A total of 181 Black MSM living with HIV completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI) that included measures of mental health symptoms (depression, PTSD) and scales assessing perceived discrimination due to HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Results In bivariate tests, all three perceived discrimination scales were significantly associated with greater symptoms of depression and PTSD (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal subscales) (all p-values < .05). The multivariate model for depression yielded a three-way interaction among all three discrimination types (p < .01), indicating that perceived racial discrimination was negatively associated with depression symptoms when considered in isolation from other forms of discrimination, but positively associated when all three types of discrimination were present. In multivariate tests, only perceived HIV-related discrimination was associated with PTSD symptoms (p < .05). Conclusion Findings suggest that some types of perceived discrimination contribute to poor mental health among PLWH. Researchers need to take into account intersecting stigmas when developing interventions to improve mental health among PLWH. PMID:21787061

Experience of Discrimination Among U.S. Chinese Older Adults

PubMed Central

Chen, Ruijia; Simon, Melissa A.

2014-01-01

Background. Experiences of discrimination are detrimental to health and well-being. This study aimed to examine experiences of discrimination and responses to unfair treatment among community-dwelling U.S. Chinese older adults. Method. Guided by a community-based participatory research approach, 3,159 community-dwelling Chinese older adults aged 60 years and older in the Greater Chicago area were interviewed in person between 2011 and 2013. Results. Of the 3,159 participants interviewed, 58.9% were women and the mean age was 72.8 years. A total of 671 (21.3%) participants reported having experienced discrimination and 1,454 (48.2%) reported passive response to unfair treatment. Older adults living in Chicago’s Chinatown had the lowest prevalence of perceived discrimination compared with those living in other areas. Younger age, higher education, higher income, fewer children, more years in the United States, more years in the community, poorer health status, lower quality of life, and worsening health over the last year were associated with higher frequency of discrimination reported. Younger age, higher education, higher income, being married, living with more people, having fewer children, more years in the United States, and better health over the past year were associated with engaged responses to unfair treatment. Conclusion. U.S. Chinese older adults suffered considerable discrimination, but tended to have passive responses to unfair treatment. Future longitudinal studies are needed to improve our understanding of the risk factors and outcomes associated with discrimination among U.S. Chinese older adults. PMID:25326642

Paper spray mass spectrometry and PLS-DA improved by variable selection for the forensic discrimination of beers.

PubMed

Pereira, Hebert Vinicius; Amador, Victória Silva; Sena, Marcelo Martins; Augusti, Rodinei; Piccin, Evandro

2016-10-12

Paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied for the first time in a forensic context to a fast and effective differentiation of beers. Eight different brands of American standard lager beers produced by four different breweries (141 samples from 55 batches) were studied with the aim at performing a differentiation according to their market prices. The three leader brands in the Brazilian beer market, which have been subject to fraud, were modeled as the higher-price class, while the five brands most used for counterfeiting were modeled as the lower-price class. Parameters affecting the paper spray ionization were examined and optimized. The best MS signal stability and intensity was obtained while using the positive ion mode, with PS(+) mass spectra characterized by intense pairs of signals corresponding to sodium and potassium adducts of malto-oligosaccharides. Discrimination was not apparent neither by using visual inspection nor principal component analysis (PCA). However, supervised classification models provided high rates of sensitivity and specificity. A PLS-DA model using full scan mass spectra were improved by variable selection with ordered predictors selection (OPS), providing 100% of reliability rate and reducing the number of variables from 1701 to 60. This model was interpreted by detecting fifteen variables as the most significant VIP (variable importance in projection) scores, which were therefore considered diagnostic ions for this type of beer counterfeit. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural mechanisms of coarse-to-fine discrimination in the visual cortex.

PubMed

Purushothaman, Gopathy; Chen, Xin; Yampolsky, Dmitry; Casagrande, Vivien A

2014-12-01

Vision is a dynamic process that refines the spatial scale of analysis over time, as evidenced by a progressive improvement in the ability to detect and discriminate finer details. To understand coarse-to-fine discrimination, we studied the dynamics of spatial frequency (SF) response using reverse correlation in the primary visual cortex (V1) of the primate. In a majority of V1 cells studied, preferred SF either increased monotonically with time (group 1) or changed nonmonotonically, with an initial increase followed by a decrease (group 2). Monotonic shift in preferred SF occurred with or without an early suppression at low SFs. Late suppression at high SFs always accompanied nonmonotonic SF dynamics. Bayesian analysis showed that SF discrimination performance and best discriminable SF frequencies changed with time in different ways in the two groups of neurons. In group 1 neurons, SF discrimination performance peaked on both left and right flanks of the SF tuning curve at about the same time. In group 2 neurons, peak discrimination occurred on the right flank (high SFs) later than on the left flank (low SFs). Group 2 neurons were also better discriminators of high SFs. We examined the relationship between the time at which SF discrimination performance peaked on either flank of the SF tuning curve and the corresponding best discriminable SFs in both neuronal groups. This analysis showed that the population best discriminable SF increased with time in V1. These results suggest neural mechanisms for coarse-to-fine discrimination behavior and that this process originates in V1 or earlier. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Evaluating the sources and functions of gradiency in phoneme categorization: An individual differences approach.

PubMed

Kapnoula, Efthymia C; Winn, Matthew B; Kong, Eun Jong; Edwards, Jan; McMurray, Bob

2017-09-01

During spoken language comprehension listeners transform continuous acoustic cues into categories (e.g., /b/ and /p/). While long-standing research suggests that phonetic categories are activated in a gradient way, there are also clear individual differences in that more gradient categorization has been linked to various communication impairments such as dyslexia and specific language impairments (Joanisse, Manis, Keating, & Seidenberg, 2000; López-Zamora, Luque, Álvarez, & Cobos, 2012; Serniclaes, Van Heghe, Mousty, Carré, & Sprenger-Charolles, 2004; Werker & Tees, 1987). Crucially, most studies have used 2-alternative forced choice (2AFC) tasks to measure the sharpness of between-category boundaries. Here we propose an alternative paradigm that allows us to measure categorization gradiency in a more direct way. Furthermore, we follow an individual differences approach to (a) link this measure of gradiency to multiple cue integration, (b) explore its relationship to a set of other cognitive processes, and (c) evaluate its role in individuals' ability to perceive speech in noise. Our results provide validation for this new method of assessing phoneme categorization gradiency and offer preliminary insights into how different aspects of speech perception may be linked to each other and to more general cognitive processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Augmenting an observation network to facilitate flow and transport model discrimination.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Improving understanding of subsurface conditions includes performance comparison for competing models, independently developed or obtained via model abstraction. The model comparison and discrimination can be improved if additional observations will be included. The objective of this work was to i...

Using Mathematical Analyses Activities to Improve Manipulative Discrimination in Early Childhood Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ertle, Barbrina B.

2017-01-01

This article reports on the findings of manipulative analyses performed by preservice and in-service teachers in an early childhood teacher education program mathematics methods course. The activities are intended to model and promote mathematical analyses for better discrimination between mathematics manipulatives by early childhood teachers.…

Preserved Discrimination Performance and Neural Processing during Crossmodal Attention in Aging

PubMed Central

Mishra, Jyoti; Gazzaley, Adam

2013-01-01

In a recent study in younger adults (19-29 year olds) we showed evidence that distributed audiovisual attention resulted in improved discrimination performance for audiovisual stimuli compared to focused visual attention. Here, we extend our findings to healthy older adults (60-90 year olds), showing that performance benefits of distributed audiovisual attention in this population match those of younger adults. Specifically, improved performance was revealed in faster response times for semantically congruent audiovisual stimuli during distributed relative to focused visual attention, without any differences in accuracy. For semantically incongruent stimuli, discrimination accuracy was significantly improved during distributed relative to focused attention. Furthermore, event-related neural processing showed intact crossmodal integration in higher performing older adults similar to younger adults. Thus, there was insufficient evidence to support an age-related deficit in crossmodal attention. PMID:24278464

Self-reported racial discrimination and endothelial reactivity to acute stress in women.

PubMed

Wagner, Julie A; Tennen, Howard; Finan, Patrick H; Ghuman, Nimrta; Burg, Matthew M

2013-08-01

This study investigated the effect of self-reported racial discrimination on endothelial responses to acute laboratory mental stress among post-menopausal women. One-hundred thirteen women (n = 94 self-identified as White and n = 19 self-identified as racial/ethnic minority), 43% with type 2 diabetes, reported lifetime experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination. Repeated assessments of flow-mediated dilation were performed at baseline, immediately after 5 min of mental arithmetic and at 20-min recovery. Both White and racial/ethnic minority women reported lifetime discrimination, with rates significantly higher among minorities. Self-reported lifetime discrimination was associated with attenuated flow-mediated dilation at recovery. Confounding variables, including clinical characteristics, mood, personality traits, other life stressors and general distress, did not better account for the effect of racial discrimination. Neither race/ethnicity nor diabetes status moderated the effect. The perceived stressfulness of the mental arithmetic was not associated with the endothelial response. In conclusion, self-reported lifetime discrimination is associated with attenuated endothelial recovery from acute mental stress. Elucidating the effects of discrimination and the biological mechanisms through which it affects the vasculature may suggest interventions to improve health. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of appropriate and inappropriate stimulus color on odor discrimination.

PubMed

Stevenson, Richard J; Oaten, Megan

2008-05-01

Color can strongly affect participants' self-report of an odor's qualities. In Experiment 1, we examined whether color influences a more objective measure of odor quality, discrimination. Odor pairs, presented in their appropriate color (e.g., strawberry and cherry in red water), an inappropriate color (e.g., strawberry and cherry in green water), or uncolored water were presented for discrimination. Participants made significantly more errors when odors were discriminated in an inappropriate color. In Experiment 2, the same design was utilized, but with an articulatory suppression task (AST), to examine whether the effect of color was mediated by identification or by a more direct effect on the percept. Here, the AST significantly improved discrimination for the inappropriate color condition, relative to Experiment 1. Although color does affect a more objective measure of odor quality, this is mediated by conceptual, rather than perceptual, means.

MR PROSTATE SEGMENTATION VIA DISTRIBUTED DISCRIMINATIVE DICTIONARY (DDD) LEARNING.

PubMed

Guo, Yanrong; Zhan, Yiqiang; Gao, Yaozong; Jiang, Jianguo; Shen, Dinggang

2013-01-01

Segmenting prostate from MR images is important yet challenging. Due to non-Gaussian distribution of prostate appearances in MR images, the popular active appearance model (AAM) has its limited performance. Although the newly developed sparse dictionary learning method[1, 2] can model the image appearance in a non-parametric fashion, the learned dictionaries still lack the discriminative power between prostate and non-prostate tissues, which is critical for accurate prostate segmentation. In this paper, we propose to integrate deformable model with a novel learning scheme, namely the Distributed Discriminative Dictionary ( DDD ) learning, which can capture image appearance in a non-parametric and discriminative fashion. In particular, three strategies are designed to boost the tissue discriminative power of DDD. First , minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (mRMR) feature selection is performed to constrain the dictionary learning in a discriminative feature space. Second , linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is employed to assemble residuals from different dictionaries for optimal separation between prostate and non-prostate tissues. Third , instead of learning the global dictionaries, we learn a set of local dictionaries for the local regions (each with small appearance variations) along prostate boundary, thus achieving better tissue differentiation locally. In the application stage, DDDs will provide the appearance cues to robustly drive the deformable model onto the prostate boundary. Experiments on 50 MR prostate images show that our method can yield a Dice Ratio of 88% compared to the manual segmentations, and have 7% improvement over the conventional AAM.

Sub-pattern based multi-manifold discriminant analysis for face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Jiangyan; Guo, Changlu; Zhou, Wei; Shi, Yanjiao; Cong, Lin; Yi, Yugen

2018-04-01

In this paper, we present a Sub-pattern based Multi-manifold Discriminant Analysis (SpMMDA) algorithm for face recognition. Unlike existing Multi-manifold Discriminant Analysis (MMDA) approach which is based on holistic information of face image for recognition, SpMMDA operates on sub-images partitioned from the original face image and then extracts the discriminative local feature from the sub-images separately. Moreover, the structure information of different sub-images from the same face image is considered in the proposed method with the aim of further improve the recognition performance. Extensive experiments on three standard face databases (Extended YaleB, CMU PIE and AR) demonstrate that the proposed method is effective and outperforms some other sub-pattern based face recognition methods.

Optimal visuotactile integration for velocity discrimination of self-hand movements

PubMed Central

Chancel, M.; Blanchard, C.; Guerraz, M.; Montagnini, A.

2016-01-01

Illusory hand movements can be elicited by a textured disk or a visual pattern rotating under one's hand, while proprioceptive inputs convey immobility information (Blanchard C, Roll R, Roll JP, Kavounoudias A. PLoS One 8: e62475, 2013). Here, we investigated whether visuotactile integration can optimize velocity discrimination of illusory hand movements in line with Bayesian predictions. We induced illusory movements in 15 volunteers by visual and/or tactile stimulation delivered at six angular velocities. Participants had to compare hand illusion velocities with a 5°/s hand reference movement in an alternative forced choice paradigm. Results showed that the discrimination threshold decreased in the visuotactile condition compared with unimodal (visual or tactile) conditions, reflecting better bimodal discrimination. The perceptual strength (gain) of the illusions also increased: the stimulation required to give rise to a 5°/s illusory movement was slower in the visuotactile condition compared with each of the two unimodal conditions. The maximum likelihood estimation model satisfactorily predicted the improved discrimination threshold but not the increase in gain. When we added a zero-centered prior, reflecting immobility information, the Bayesian model did actually predict the gain increase but systematically overestimated it. Interestingly, the predicted gains better fit the visuotactile performances when a proprioceptive noise was generated by covibrating antagonist wrist muscles. These findings show that kinesthetic information of visual and tactile origins is optimally integrated to improve velocity discrimination of self-hand movements. However, a Bayesian model alone could not fully describe the illusory phenomenon pointing to the crucial importance of the omnipresent muscle proprioceptive cues with respect to other sensory cues for kinesthesia. PMID:27385802

HIV-Related discrimination in European health care settings.

PubMed

Nöstlinger, Christiana; Rojas Castro, Daniela; Platteau, Tom; Dias, Sonia; Le Gall, Jean

2014-03-01

This cross-sectional European study assessed self-reported HIV-related discrimination and its associated factors in health care settings. Socio-demographics, health status, support needs relating to sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and self-reported HIV-related discrimination were measured using an anonymous survey in a sample of 1549 people living with HIV from 14 countries. Thirty-two per cent of the participants had experienced HIV-related discrimination during the previous 3 years; almost half of them felt discriminated against by health care providers. For this type of discrimination, logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations with not being a migrant (OR: 2.0; IC 1.0-3.7; p<0.05), having been forced into sexual activities (OR: 1.6; IC 1.2-2.2; p<0.001), reporting lack of time to discuss SRH during service provision (OR: 1.7; IC 1.0-2.7; p<0.05), and insufficient openness among service providers to discuss SRH (OR: 2.0; IC 1.1-3.4; p<0.05). Other significant associations related to unmet support needs on safer sex practices (OR: 1.8; IC 1.0-3.2; p<0.05), partner communication about sexuality (OR: 2.0; IC 1.1-3.4; p<0.05), and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (OR: 1.7; IC 1.0-3.0; p<0.05). Female gender had a protective effect (OR: 0.2; IC 0.0-0.9; p<0.05). Being denied the opportunity to discuss SRH may translate in feelings of discrimination. Improving health care providers' communication skills, and fostering openness about SRH topics in HIV care could contribute to destigmatization of PLHIV.

Associations between intrusive thoughts, reality discrimination and hallucination-proneness in healthy young adults.

PubMed

Smailes, David; Meins, Elizabeth; Fernyhough, Charles

2015-01-01

People who experience intrusive thoughts are at increased risk of developing hallucinatory experiences, as are people who have weak reality discrimination skills. No study has yet examined whether these two factors interact to make a person especially prone to hallucinatory experiences. The present study examined this question in a non-clinical sample. Participants were 160 students, who completed a reality discrimination task, as well as self-report measures of cannabis use, negative affect, intrusive thoughts and auditory hallucination-proneness. The possibility of an interaction between reality discrimination performance and level of intrusive thoughts was assessed using multiple regression. The number of reality discrimination errors and level of intrusive thoughts were independent predictors of hallucination-proneness. The reality discrimination errors × intrusive thoughts interaction term was significant, with participants who made many reality discrimination errors and reported high levels of intrusive thoughts being especially prone to hallucinatory experiences. Hallucinatory experiences are more likely to occur in people who report high levels of intrusive thoughts and have weak reality discrimination skills. If applicable to clinical samples, these findings suggest that improving patients' reality discrimination skills and reducing the number of intrusive thoughts they experience may reduce the frequency of hallucinatory experiences.

Rock type discrimination techniques using Landsat and Seasat image data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blom, R.; Abrams, M.; Conrad, C.

1981-01-01

Results of a sedimentary rock type discrimination project using Seasat radar and Landsat multispectral image data of the San Rafael Swell, in eastern Utah, are presented, which has the goal of determining the potential contribution of radar image data to Landsat image data for rock type discrimination, particularly when the images are coregistered. The procedure employs several images processing techniques using the Landsat and Seasat data independently, and then both data sets are coregistered. The images are evaluated according to the ease with which contacts can be located and rock units (not just stratigraphically adjacent ones) separated. Results show that of the Landsat images evaluated, the image using a supervised classification scheme is the best for sedimentary rock type discrimination. Of less value, in decreasing order, are color ratio composites, principal components, and the standard color composite. In addition, for rock type discrimination, the black and white Seasat image is less useful than any of the Landsat color images by itself. However, it is found that the incorporation of the surface textural measures made from the Seasat image provides a considerable and worthwhile improvement in rock type discrimination.

Discriminability of Single and Multichannel Intracortical Microstimulation within Somatosensory Cortex

PubMed Central

Overstreet, Cynthia K.; Hellman, Randall B.; Ponce Wong, Ruben D.; Santos, Veronica J.; Helms Tillery, Stephen I.

2016-01-01

The addition of tactile and proprioceptive feedback to neuroprosthetic limbs is expected to significantly improve the control of these devices. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex is a promising method of delivering this sensory feedback. To date, the main focus of somatosensory ICMS studies has been to deliver discriminable signals, corresponding to varying intensity, to a single location in cortex. However, multiple independent and simultaneous streams of sensory information will need to be encoded by ICMS to provide functionally relevant feedback for a neuroprosthetic limb (e.g., encoding contact events and pressure on multiple digits). In this study, we evaluated the ability of an awake, behaving non-human primate (Macaca mulatta) to discriminate ICMS stimuli delivered on multiple electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex. We delivered serial stimulation on single electrodes to evaluate the discriminability of sensations corresponding to ICMS of distinct cortical locations. Additionally, we delivered trains of multichannel stimulation, derived from a tactile sensor, synchronously across multiple electrodes. Our results indicate that discrimination of multiple ICMS stimuli is a challenging task, but that discriminable sensory percepts can be elicited by both single and multichannel ICMS on electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex. PMID:27995126

Discriminability of Single and Multichannel Intracortical Microstimulation within Somatosensory Cortex.

PubMed

Overstreet, Cynthia K; Hellman, Randall B; Ponce Wong, Ruben D; Santos, Veronica J; Helms Tillery, Stephen I

2016-01-01

The addition of tactile and proprioceptive feedback to neuroprosthetic limbs is expected to significantly improve the control of these devices. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex is a promising method of delivering this sensory feedback. To date, the main focus of somatosensory ICMS studies has been to deliver discriminable signals, corresponding to varying intensity, to a single location in cortex. However, multiple independent and simultaneous streams of sensory information will need to be encoded by ICMS to provide functionally relevant feedback for a neuroprosthetic limb (e.g., encoding contact events and pressure on multiple digits). In this study, we evaluated the ability of an awake, behaving non-human primate ( Macaca mulatta ) to discriminate ICMS stimuli delivered on multiple electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex. We delivered serial stimulation on single electrodes to evaluate the discriminability of sensations corresponding to ICMS of distinct cortical locations. Additionally, we delivered trains of multichannel stimulation, derived from a tactile sensor, synchronously across multiple electrodes. Our results indicate that discrimination of multiple ICMS stimuli is a challenging task, but that discriminable sensory percepts can be elicited by both single and multichannel ICMS on electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex.

Insiders' Insight: Discrimination against Indigenous Peoples through the Eyes of Health Care Professionals.

PubMed

Wylie, Lloy; McConkey, Stephanie

2018-05-07

Discrimination in the health care system has a direct negative impact on health and wellbeing. Experiences of discrimination are considered a root cause for the health inequalities that exist among Indigenous peoples. Experiences of discrimination are commonplace, with patients noting abusive treatment, stereotyping, and a lack of quality in the care provided, which discourage Indigenous people from accessing care. This research project examined the perspectives of health care providers and decision-makers to identify what challenges they see facing Indigenous patients and families when accessing health services in a large city in southern Ontario. Discrimination against Indigenous people was identified as major challenges by respondents, noting that it is widespread. This paper discusses the three key discrimination subthemes that were identified, including an unwelcoming environment, stereotyping and stigma, and practice informed by racism. These findings point to the conclusion that in order to improve health care access for Indigenous peoples, we need to go beyond simply making health services more welcoming and inclusive. Practice norms shaped by biases informed by discrimination against Indigenous people are widespread and compromise standards of care. Therefore, the problem needs to be addressed throughout the health care system as part of a quality improvement strategy. This will require not only a significant shift in the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of health care providers, but also the establishment of accountabilities for health care organizations to ensure equitable health services for Indigenous peoples.

Different faces of discrimination: perceived discrimination among homeless adults with mental illness in healthcare settings.

PubMed

Skosireva, Anna; O'Campo, Patricia; Zerger, Suzanne; Chambers, Catharine; Gapka, Susan; Stergiopoulos, Vicky

2014-09-07

Research on discrimination in healthcare settings has primarily focused on health implications of race-based discrimination among ethno-racial minority groups. Little is known about discrimination experiences of other marginalized populations, particularly groups facing multiple disadvantages who may be subjected to other/multiple forms of discrimination. (1) To examine the prevalence of perceived discrimination due to homelessness/poverty, mental illness/alcohol/drug related problems, and race/ethnicity/skin color while seeking healthcare in the past year among racially diverse homeless adults with mental illness; (2) To identify whether perceiving certain types of discrimination is associated with increased likelihood of perceiving other kinds of discrimination; and (3) To examine association of these perceived discrimination experiences with socio-demographic characteristics, self-reported measures of psychiatric symptomatology and substance use, and Emergency Department utilization. We used baseline data from the Toronto site of the At Home/Chez Soi randomized controlled trial of Housing First for homeless adults with mental illness (n = 550). Bivariate statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were used for the analysis. Perceived discrimination related to homelessness/poverty (30.4%) and mental illness/alcohol/substance use (32.5%) is prevalent among ethnically diverse homeless adults with mental illness in healthcare settings. Only 15% of the total participants reported discrimination due to race/ethnicity/skin color. After controlling for relevant confounders and presence of psychosis, all types of discrimination in healthcare settings were associated with more frequent ED use, a greater - 3 - severity of lifetime substance abuse, and mental health problems. Perceiving discrimination of one type was associated with increased likelihood of perceiving other kinds of discrimination. Understanding the experience of discrimination in healthcare

Development of Neural Sensitivity to Face Identity Correlates with Perceptual Discriminability

PubMed Central

Barnett, Michael A.; Hartley, Jake; Gomez, Jesse; Stigliani, Anthony; Grill-Spector, Kalanit

2016-01-01

Face perception is subserved by a series of face-selective regions in the human ventral stream, which undergo prolonged development from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown how neural development of these regions relates to the development of face-perception abilities. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses of ventral occipitotemporal regions in children (ages, 5–12 years) and adults (ages, 19–34 years) when they viewed faces that parametrically varied in dissimilarity. Since similar faces generate lower responses than dissimilar faces due to fMRI adaptation, this design objectively evaluates neural sensitivity to face identity across development. Additionally, a subset of subjects participated in a behavioral experiment to assess perceptual discriminability of face identity. Our data reveal three main findings: (1) neural sensitivity to face identity increases with age in face-selective but not object-selective regions; (2) the amplitude of responses to faces increases with age in both face-selective and object-selective regions; and (3) perceptual discriminability of face identity is correlated with the neural sensitivity to face identity of face-selective regions. In contrast, perceptual discriminability is not correlated with the amplitude of response in face-selective regions or of responses of object-selective regions. These data suggest that developmental increases in neural sensitivity to face identity in face-selective regions improve perceptual discriminability of faces. Our findings significantly advance the understanding of the neural mechanisms of development of face perception and open new avenues for using fMRI adaptation to study the neural development of high-level visual and cognitive functions more broadly. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Face perception, which is critical for daily social interactions, develops from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown what developmental changes in

Development of Neural Sensitivity to Face Identity Correlates with Perceptual Discriminability.

PubMed

Natu, Vaidehi S; Barnett, Michael A; Hartley, Jake; Gomez, Jesse; Stigliani, Anthony; Grill-Spector, Kalanit

2016-10-19

Face perception is subserved by a series of face-selective regions in the human ventral stream, which undergo prolonged development from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown how neural development of these regions relates to the development of face-perception abilities. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses of ventral occipitotemporal regions in children (ages, 5-12 years) and adults (ages, 19-34 years) when they viewed faces that parametrically varied in dissimilarity. Since similar faces generate lower responses than dissimilar faces due to fMRI adaptation, this design objectively evaluates neural sensitivity to face identity across development. Additionally, a subset of subjects participated in a behavioral experiment to assess perceptual discriminability of face identity. Our data reveal three main findings: (1) neural sensitivity to face identity increases with age in face-selective but not object-selective regions; (2) the amplitude of responses to faces increases with age in both face-selective and object-selective regions; and (3) perceptual discriminability of face identity is correlated with the neural sensitivity to face identity of face-selective regions. In contrast, perceptual discriminability is not correlated with the amplitude of response in face-selective regions or of responses of object-selective regions. These data suggest that developmental increases in neural sensitivity to face identity in face-selective regions improve perceptual discriminability of faces. Our findings significantly advance the understanding of the neural mechanisms of development of face perception and open new avenues for using fMRI adaptation to study the neural development of high-level visual and cognitive functions more broadly. Face perception, which is critical for daily social interactions, develops from childhood to adulthood. However, it is unknown what developmental changes in the brain lead to improved

Discrimination Enhancement with Transient Feature Analysis of a Graphene Chemical Sensor.

PubMed

Nallon, Eric C; Schnee, Vincent P; Bright, Collin J; Polcha, Michael P; Li, Qiliang

2016-01-19

A graphene chemical sensor is subjected to a set of structurally and chemically similar hydrocarbon compounds consisting of toluene, o-xylene, p-xylene, and mesitylene. The fractional change in resistance of the sensor upon exposure to these compounds exhibits a similar response magnitude among compounds, whereas large variation is observed within repetitions for each compound, causing a response overlap. Therefore, traditional features depending on maximum response change will cause confusion during further discrimination and classification analysis. More robust features that are less sensitive to concentration, sampling, and drift variability would provide higher quality information. In this work, we have explored the advantage of using transient-based exponential fitting coefficients to enhance the discrimination of similar compounds. The advantages of such feature analysis to discriminate each compound is evaluated using principle component analysis (PCA). In addition, machine learning-based classification algorithms were used to compare the prediction accuracies when using fitting coefficients as features. The additional features greatly enhanced the discrimination between compounds while performing PCA and also improved the prediction accuracy by 34% when using linear discrimination analysis.

Optical Spectroscopic Analysis for the Discrimination of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

PubMed

McReynolds, Naomi; Auñón Garcia, Juan M; Guengerich, Zoe; Smith, Terry K; Dholakia, Kishan

2016-11-01

We demonstrate the ability to discriminate between five brands of commercially available extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) using Raman spectroscopy or fluorescence spectroscopy. Data was taken on both a 'bulk optics' free space system and on a compact handheld device, each capable of taking both Raman and fluorescence data. With the compact Raman device we achieved an average sensitivity and specificity of 98.4% and 99.6% for discrimination, respectively. Our approach illustrates that both Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy can be used for portable discrimination of EVOOs. This technique may enable detection of EVOO that has undergone counterfeiting or adulteration. The main challenge with this technique is that oxidation of EVOO causes a shift in the Raman signal over time. It would therefore be necessary to retrain the database regularly. We demonstrate preliminary data to address this issue, which may enable successful discrimination over time. We show that by discarding the first principal component, which contains information on the variations due to oxidation, we can improve discrimination efficiency. © The Author(s) 2016.

A proposed mechanism for rapid adaptation to spectrally distorted speech.

PubMed

Azadpour, Mahan; Balaban, Evan

2015-07-01

The mechanisms underlying perceptual adaptation to severely spectrally-distorted speech were studied by training participants to comprehend spectrally-rotated speech, which is obtained by inverting the speech spectrum. Spectral-rotation produces severe distortion confined to the spectral domain while preserving temporal trajectories. During five 1-hour training sessions, pairs of participants attempted to extract spoken messages from the spectrally-rotated speech of their training partner. Data on training-induced changes in comprehension of spectrally-rotated sentences and identification/discrimination of spectrally-rotated phonemes were used to evaluate the plausibility of three different classes of underlying perceptual mechanisms: (1) phonemic remapping (the formation of new phonemic categories that specifically incorporate spectrally-rotated acoustic information); (2) experience-dependent generation of a perceptual "inverse-transform" that compensates for spectral-rotation; and (3) changes in cue weighting (the identification of sets of acoustic cues least affected by spectral-rotation, followed by a rapid shift in perceptual emphasis to favour those cues, combined with the recruitment of the same type of "perceptual filling-in" mechanisms used to disambiguate speech-in-noise). Results exclusively support the third mechanism, which is the only one predicting that learning would specifically target temporally-dynamic cues that were transmitting phonetic information most stably in spite of spectral-distortion. No support was found for phonemic remapping or for inverse-transform generation.

Workplace discrimination: experiences of practicing physicians.

PubMed

Coombs, Alice A Tolbert; King, Roderick K

2005-04-01

In response to a growing concern regarding physician discrimination in the workplace, this study was developed to: (1) describe the types of discrimination that exist for the practicing physician and (2) determine which groups of physicians are more likely to experience the various forms of discrimination. Surveys were mailed to 1930 practicing physicians in Massachusetts. Participants were asked if they had encountered discrimination, how significant the discrimination was against a specific group, the frequency of personal discrimination, and the type of discrimination. Factor analysis identified four types of discrimination: career advancement, punitive behaviors, practice barriers and hiring barriers. A total of 445 responses were received (a 24% response rate). Sixty-three percent of responding physicians had experienced some form of discrimination. Respondents were women (46%), racial/ethnic minorities (42%) and international medical graduates (IMGs) (40%). In addition, 26% of those classified as white were also IMGs. Over 60% of respondents believed discrimination against IMGs was very or somewhat significant. Almost 27% of males acknowledged that gender bias against females was very or somewhat significant. IMGs were more likely to indicate that discrimination against IMGs was significant in their current organization. Of U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) 44% reported that discrimination against IMGs in their current organization was significant. Nonwhites were more likely to report that discrimination based on race/ethnicity was significant. Nearly 29% of white respondents also believed that such discrimination was very or somewhat significant. Physicians practicing in academic, research, and private practice sectors experience discrimination based on gender, ethnic/racial, and IMG status.

Enamel surface topography analysis for diet discrimination. A methodology to enhance and select discriminative parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francisco, Arthur; Blondel, Cécile; Brunetière, Noël; Ramdarshan, Anusha; Merceron, Gildas

2018-03-01

Tooth wear and, more specifically, dental microwear texture is a dietary proxy that has been used for years in vertebrate paleoecology and ecology. DMTA, dental microwear texture analysis, relies on a few parameters related to the surface complexity, anisotropy and heterogeneity of the enamel facets at the micrometric scale. Working with few but physically meaningful parameters helps in comparing published results and in defining levels for classification purposes. Other dental microwear approaches are based on ISO parameters and coupled with statistical tests to find the more relevant ones. The present study roughly utilizes most of the aforementioned parameters in their more or less modified form. But more than parameters, we here propose a new approach: instead of a single parameter characterizing the whole surface, we sample the surface and thus generate 9 derived parameters in order to broaden the parameter set. The identification of the most discriminative parameters is performed with an automated procedure which is an extended and refined version of the workflows encountered in some studies. The procedure in its initial form includes the most common tools, like the ANOVA and the correlation analysis, along with the required mathematical tests. The discrimination results show that a simplified form of the procedure is able to more efficiently identify the desired number of discriminative parameters. Also highlighted are some trends like the relevance of working with both height and spatial parameters, as well as the potential benefits of dimensionless surfaces. On a set of 45 surfaces issued from 45 specimens of three modern ruminants with differences in feeding preferences (grazing, leaf-browsing and fruit-eating), it is clearly shown that the level of wear discrimination is improved with the new methodology compared to the other ones.

Health Consequences of Racist and Antigay Discrimination for Multiple Minority Adolescents

PubMed Central

Thoma, Brian C.; Huebner, David M.

2014-01-01

Individuals who belong to a marginalized group and who perceive discrimination based on that group membership suffer from a variety of poor health outcomes. Many people belong to more than one marginalized group, and much less is known about the influence of multiple forms of discrimination on health outcomes. Drawing on literature describing the influence of multiple stressors, three models of combined forms of discrimination are discussed: additive, prominence, and exacerbation. The current study examined the influence of multiple forms of discrimination in a sample of African American lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adolescents ages 14–19. Each of the three models of combined stressors were tested to determine which best describes how racist and antigay discrimination combine to predict depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and substance use. Participants were included in this analysis if they identified their ethnicity as either African American (n = 156) or African American mixed (n = 120). Mean age was 17.45 years (SD = 1.36). Results revealed both forms of mistreatment were associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among African American LGB adolescents. Racism was more strongly associated with substance use. Future intervention efforts should be targeted toward reducing discrimination and improving the social context of multiple minority adolescents, and future research with multiple minority individuals should be attuned to the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by these individuals within their environments. PMID:23731232

Discrimination and Delayed Health Care Among Transgender Women and Men: Implications for Improving Medical Education and Health Care Delivery.

PubMed

Jaffee, Kim D; Shires, Deirdre A; Stroumsa, Daphna

2016-11-01

The transgender community experiences health care discrimination and approximately 1 in 4 transgender people were denied equal treatment in health care settings. Discrimination is one of the many factors significantly associated with health care utilization and delayed care. We assessed factors associated with delayed medical care due to discrimination among transgender patients, and evaluated the relationship between perceived provider knowledge and delayed care using Anderson's behavioral model of health services utilization. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to test whether predisposing, enabling, and health system factors were associated with delaying needed care for transgender women and transgender men. A sample of 3486 transgender participants who took part in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey in 2008 and 2009. Predisposing, enabling, and health system environment factors, and delayed needed health care. Overall, 30.8% of transgender participants delayed or did not seek needed health care due to discrimination. Respondents who had to teach health care providers about transgender people were 4 times more likely to delay needed health care due to discrimination. Transgender patients who need to teach their providers about transgender people are significantly more likely to postpone or not seek needed care. Systemic changes in provider education and training, along with health care system adaptations to ensure appropriate, safe, and respectful care, are necessary to close the knowledge and treatment gaps and prevent delayed care with its ensuing long-term health implications.

From discrimination to internalized mental illness stigma: The mediating roles of anticipated discrimination and anticipated stigma.

PubMed

Quinn, Diane M; Williams, Michelle K; Weisz, Bradley M

2015-06-01

Internalizing mental illness stigma is related to poorer well-being, but less is known about the factors that predict levels of internalized stigma. This study explored how experiences of discrimination relate to greater anticipation of discrimination and devaluation in the future and how anticipation of stigma in turn predicts greater stigma internalization. Participants were 105 adults with mental illness who self-reported their experiences of discrimination based on their mental illness, their anticipation of discrimination and social devaluation from others in the future, and their level of internalized stigma. Participants were approached in several locations and completed surveys on laptop computers. Correlational analyses indicated that more experiences of discrimination due to one's mental illness were related to increased anticipated discrimination in the future, increased anticipated social stigma from others, and greater internalized stigma. Multiple serial mediator analyses showed that the effect of experiences of discrimination on internalized stigma was fully mediated by increased anticipated discrimination and anticipated stigma. Experiences of discrimination over one's lifetime may influence not only how much future discrimination people with mental illness are concerned with but also how much they internalize negative feelings about the self. Mental health professionals may need to address concerns with future discrimination and devaluation in order to decrease internalized stigma. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Hidden discriminative features extraction for supervised high-order time series modeling.

PubMed

Nguyen, Ngoc Anh Thi; Yang, Hyung-Jeong; Kim, Sunhee

2016-11-01

In this paper, an orthogonal Tucker-decomposition-based extraction of high-order discriminative subspaces from a tensor-based time series data structure is presented, named as Tensor Discriminative Feature Extraction (TDFE). TDFE relies on the employment of category information for the maximization of the between-class scatter and the minimization of the within-class scatter to extract optimal hidden discriminative feature subspaces that are simultaneously spanned by every modality for supervised tensor modeling. In this context, the proposed tensor-decomposition method provides the following benefits: i) reduces dimensionality while robustly mining the underlying discriminative features, ii) results in effective interpretable features that lead to an improved classification and visualization, and iii) reduces the processing time during the training stage and the filtering of the projection by solving the generalized eigenvalue issue at each alternation step. Two real third-order tensor-structures of time series datasets (an epilepsy electroencephalogram (EEG) that is modeled as channel×frequency bin×time frame and a microarray data that is modeled as gene×sample×time) were used for the evaluation of the TDFE. The experiment results corroborate the advantages of the proposed method with averages of 98.26% and 89.63% for the classification accuracies of the epilepsy dataset and the microarray dataset, respectively. These performance averages represent an improvement on those of the matrix-based algorithms and recent tensor-based, discriminant-decomposition approaches; this is especially the case considering the small number of samples that are used in practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improved neutron-gamma discrimination for a 6Li-glass neutron detector using digital signal analysis methods

DOE PAGES

Wang, Cai -Lin; Riedel, Richard A.

2016-01-14

A 6Li-glass scintillator (GS20) based neutron Anger camera was developed for time-of-flight single-crystal diffraction instruments at SNS. Traditional pulse-height analysis (PHA) for neutron-gamma discrimination (NGD) resulted in the neutron-gamma efficiency ratio (defined as NGD ratio) on the order of 10 4. The NGD ratios of Anger cameras need to be improved for broader applications including neutron reflectometers. For this purpose, five digital signal analysis methods of individual waveforms from PMTs were proposed using: i). pulse-amplitude histogram; ii). power spectrum analysis combined with the maximum pulse amplitude; iii). two event parameters (a 1, b 0) obtained from Wiener filter; iv). anmore » effective amplitude (m) obtained from an adaptive least-mean-square (LMS) filter; and v). a cross-correlation (CC) coefficient between an individual waveform and a reference. The NGD ratios can be 1-102 times those from traditional PHA method. A brighter scintillator GS2 has better NGD ratio than GS20, but lower neutron detection efficiency. The ultimate NGD ratio is related to the ambient, high-energy background events. Moreover, our results indicate the NGD capability of neutron Anger cameras can be improved using digital signal analysis methods and brighter neutron scintillators.« less

Perceived weight discrimination and obesity.

PubMed

Sutin, Angelina R; Terracciano, Antonio

2013-01-01

Weight discrimination is prevalent in American society. Although associated consistently with psychological and economic outcomes, less is known about whether weight discrimination is associated with longitudinal changes in obesity. The objectives of this research are (1) to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of becoming obese (Body Mass Index≥30; BMI) by follow-up among those not obese at baseline, and (2) to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of remaining obese at follow-up among those already obese at baseline. Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of community-dwelling US residents. A total of 6,157 participants (58.6% female) completed the discrimination measure and had weight and height available from the 2006 and 2010 assessments. Participants who experienced weight discrimination were approximately 2.5 times more likely to become obese by follow-up (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.58-4.08) and participants who were obese at baseline were three times more likely to remain obese at follow up (OR = 3.20, 95% CI = 2.06-4.97) than those who had not experienced such discrimination. These effects held when controlling for demographic factors (age, sex, ethnicity, education) and when baseline BMI was included as a covariate. These effects were also specific to weight discrimination; other forms of discrimination (e.g., sex, race) were unrelated to risk of obesity at follow-up. The present research demonstrates that, in addition to poorer mental health outcomes, weight discrimination has implications for obesity. Rather than motivating individuals to lose weight, weight discrimination increases risk for obesity.

Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women's physical and emotional health.

PubMed

Pavalko, Eliza K; Mossakowski, Krysia N; Hamilton, Vanessa J

2003-03-01

This study uses longitudinal data to examine the causal relationships between perceived work discrimination and women's physical and emotional health. Using data on 1,778 employed women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we investigate the structural and individual characteristics that predict later perceptions of discrimination and the effects of those perceptions on subsequent health. We find that perceptions of discrimination are influenced by job attitudes, prior experiences of discrimination, and work contexts, but prior health is not related to later perceptions. However, perceptions of discrimination do impact subsequent health, and these effects remain significant after controlling for prior emotional health, physical health limitations, discrimination, and job characteristics. Overall, the results provide even stronger support for the health impact of workplace discrimination and suggest a need for further longitudinal analyses of causes and consequences of perceived discrimination.

Workplace discrimination: experiences of practicing physicians.

PubMed Central

Coombs, Alice A. Tolbert; King, Roderick K.

2005-01-01

BACKGROUND: In response to a growing concern regarding physician discrimination in the workplace, this study was developed to: (1) describe the types of discrimination that exist for the practicing physician and (2) determine which groups of physicians are more likely to experience the various forms of discrimination. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to 1930 practicing physicians in Massachusetts. Participants were asked if they had encountered discrimination, how significant the discrimination was against a specific group, the frequency of personal discrimination, and the type of discrimination. Factor analysis identified four types of discrimination: career advancement, punitive behaviors, practice barriers and hiring barriers. RESULTS: A total of 445 responses were received (a 24% response rate). Sixty-three percent of responding physicians had experienced some form of discrimination. Respondents were women (46%), racial/ethnic minorities (42%) and international medical graduates (IMGs) (40%). In addition, 26% of those classified as white were also IMGs. Over 60% of respondents believed discrimination against IMGs was very or somewhat significant. Almost 27% of males acknowledged that gender bias against females was very or somewhat significant. IMGs were more likely to indicate that discrimination against IMGs was significant in their current organization. Of U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) 44% reported that discrimination against IMGs in their current organization was significant. Nonwhites were more likely to report that discrimination based on race/ethnicity was significant. Nearly 29% of white respondents also believed that such discrimination was very or somewhat significant. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians practicing in academic, research, and private practice sectors experience discrimination based on gender, ethnic/racial, and IMG status. Images Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 PMID:15868767

Influence of musical and psychoacoustical training on pitch discrimination.

PubMed

Micheyl, Christophe; Delhommeau, Karine; Perrot, Xavier; Oxenham, Andrew J

2006-09-01

This study compared the influence of musical and psychoacoustical training on auditory pitch discrimination abilities. In a first experiment, pitch discrimination thresholds for pure and complex tones were measured in 30 classical musicians and 30 non-musicians, none of whom had prior psychoacoustical training. The non-musicians' mean thresholds were more than six times larger than those of the classical musicians initially, and still about four times larger after 2h of training using an adaptive two-interval forced-choice procedure; this difference is two to three times larger than suggested by previous studies. The musicians' thresholds were close to those measured in earlier psychoacoustical studies using highly trained listeners, and showed little improvement with training; this suggests that classical musical training can lead to optimal or nearly optimal pitch discrimination performance. A second experiment was performed to determine how much additional training was required for the non-musicians to obtain thresholds as low as those of the classical musicians from experiment 1. Eight new non-musicians with no prior training practiced the frequency discrimination task for a total of 14 h. It took between 4 and 8h of training for their thresholds to become as small as those measured in the classical musicians from experiment 1. These findings supplement and qualify earlier data in the literature regarding the respective influence of musical and psychoacoustical training on pitch discrimination performance.

Improved neutron-gamma discrimination for a {sup 6}Li-glass neutron detector using digital signal analysis methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, C. L., E-mail: wangc@ornl.gov; Riedel, R. A.

2016-01-15

A {sup 6}Li-glass scintillator (GS20) based neutron Anger camera was developed for time-of-flight single-crystal diffraction instruments at Spallation Neutron Source. Traditional Pulse-Height Analysis (PHA) for Neutron-Gamma Discrimination (NGD) resulted in the neutron-gamma efficiency ratio (defined as NGD ratio) on the order of 10{sup 4}. The NGD ratios of Anger cameras need to be improved for broader applications including neutron reflectometers. For this purpose, six digital signal analysis methods of individual waveforms acquired from photomultiplier tubes were proposed using (i) charge integration, (ii) pulse-amplitude histograms, (iii) power spectrum analysis combined with the maximum pulse-amplitude, (iv) two event parameters (a{sub 1}, b{submore » 0}) obtained from a Wiener filter, (v) an effective amplitude (m) obtained from an adaptive least-mean-square filter, and (vi) a cross-correlation coefficient between individual and reference waveforms. The NGD ratios are about 70 times those from the traditional PHA method. Our results indicate the NGD capabilities of neutron Anger cameras based on GS20 scintillators can be significantly improved with digital signal analysis methods.« less

Weighted Discriminative Dictionary Learning based on Low-rank Representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Heyou; Zheng, Hao

2017-01-01

Low-rank representation has been widely used in the field of pattern classification, especially when both training and testing images are corrupted with large noise. Dictionary plays an important role in low-rank representation. With respect to the semantic dictionary, the optimal representation matrix should be block-diagonal. However, traditional low-rank representation based dictionary learning methods cannot effectively exploit the discriminative information between data and dictionary. To address this problem, this paper proposed weighted discriminative dictionary learning based on low-rank representation, where a weighted representation regularization term is constructed. The regularization associates label information of both training samples and dictionary atoms, and encourages to generate a discriminative representation with class-wise block-diagonal structure, which can further improve the classification performance where both training and testing images are corrupted with large noise. Experimental results demonstrate advantages of the proposed method over the state-of-the-art methods.

The development of global motion discrimination in school aged children

PubMed Central

Bogfjellmo, Lotte-Guri; Bex, Peter J.; Falkenberg, Helle K.

2014-01-01

Global motion perception matures during childhood and involves the detection of local directional signals that are integrated across space. We examine the maturation of local directional selectivity and global motion integration with an equivalent noise paradigm applied to direction discrimination. One hundred and three observers (6–17 years) identified the global direction of motion in a 2AFC task. The 8° central stimuli consisted of 100 dots of 10% Michelson contrast moving 2.8°/s or 9.8°/s. Local directional selectivity and global sampling efficiency were estimated from direction discrimination thresholds as a function of external directional noise, speed, and age. Direction discrimination thresholds improved gradually until the age of 14 years (linear regression, p < 0.05) for both speeds. This improvement was associated with a gradual increase in sampling efficiency (linear regression, p < 0.05), with no significant change in internal noise. Direction sensitivity was lower for dots moving at 2.8°/s than at 9.8°/s for all ages (paired t test, p < 0.05) and is mainly due to lower sampling efficiency. Global motion perception improves gradually during development and matures by age 14. There was no change in internal noise after the age of 6, suggesting that local direction selectivity is mature by that age. The improvement in global motion perception is underpinned by a steady increase in the efficiency with which direction signals are pooled, suggesting that global motion pooling processes mature for longer and later than local motion processing. PMID:24569985

From Discrimination to Internalized Mental Illness Stigma: The Mediating Roles of Anticipated Discrimination and Anticipated Stigma

PubMed Central

Quinn, Diane M.; Williams, Michelle K.; Weisz, Bradley M.

2015-01-01

Objective Internalizing mental illness stigma is related to poorer well-being, but less is known about the factors that predict levels of internalized stigma. This study explored how experiences of discrimination relate to greater anticipation of discrimination and devaluation in the future, and how anticipation of stigma, in turn predicts greater stigma internalization. Method Participants were 105 adults with mental illness who self-reported their experiences of discrimination based on their mental illness, their anticipation of discrimination and social devaluation from others in the future, and their level of internalized stigma. Participants were approached in several locations and completed surveys on laptop computers. Results Correlational analyses indicated that more experiences of discrimination due to one’s mental illness were related to increased anticipated discrimination in the future, increased anticipated social stigma from others, and greater internalized stigma. Multiple serial mediator analyses showed that the effect of experiences of discrimination on internalized stigma was fully mediated by increased anticipated discrimination and anticipated stigma. Conclusion and Implications for Practice Experiences of discrimination over the lifetime may influence not only how much future discrimination people with mental illness are concerned with but also how much they internalize negative feelings about the self. Mental health professionals may need to address concerns with future discrimination and devaluation in order to decrease internalized stigma. PMID:25844910

Sources of Phoneme Errors in Repetition: Perseverative, Neologistic, and Lesion Patterns in Jargon Aphasia

PubMed Central

Pilkington, Emma; Keidel, James; Kendrick, Luke T.; Saddy, James D.; Sage, Karen; Robson, Holly

2017-01-01

This study examined patterns of neologistic and perseverative errors during word repetition in fluent Jargon aphasia. The principal hypotheses accounting for Jargon production indicate that poor activation of a target stimulus leads to weakly activated target phoneme segments, which are outcompeted at the phonological encoding level. Voxel-lesion symptom mapping studies of word repetition errors suggest a breakdown in the translation from auditory-phonological analysis to motor activation. Behavioral analyses of repetition data were used to analyse the target relatedness (Phonological Overlap Index: POI) of neologistic errors and patterns of perseveration in 25 individuals with Jargon aphasia. Lesion-symptom analyses explored the relationship between neurological damage and jargon repetition in a group of 38 aphasia participants. Behavioral results showed that neologisms produced by 23 jargon individuals contained greater degrees of target lexico-phonological information than predicted by chance and that neologistic and perseverative production were closely associated. A significant relationship between jargon production and lesions to temporoparietal regions was identified. Region of interest regression analyses suggested that damage to the posterior superior temporal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus in combination was best predictive of a Jargon aphasia profile. Taken together, these results suggest that poor phonological encoding, secondary to impairment in sensory-motor integration, alongside impairments in self-monitoring result in jargon repetition. Insights for clinical management and future directions are discussed. PMID:28522967

Perceived discrimination, social support, and perceived stress among people living with HIV/AIDS in China.

PubMed

Su, Xiaoyou; Lau, Joseph T F; Mak, Winnie W S; Chen, Lin; Choi, K C; Song, Junmin; Zhang, Yan; Zhao, Guanglu; Feng, Tiejian; Chen, Xi; Liu, Chuliang; Liu, Jun; Liu, De; Cheng, Jinquan

2013-01-01

Perceived stress among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) was associated with severe mental health problems and risk behaviors. Discrimination toward PLWH in China is prevalent. Both perceived discrimination and social supports are determinants of the stress level among PLWH. Psychological support services for PLWH in China are scarce. It is unknown whether social support is a buffer between the perceived discrimination and perceived stress. With written consent, this study surveyed 258 PLWH recruited from multiple sources in two cities in China. Instruments were validated in previous or the present study, including the perceived stress scale for PLWH (PSSHIV), the perceived social support scale (PSSS), and the perceived discrimination scale for PLWH (PDSHIV). Pearson correlations and multiple regression models were fit. PDSHIV was associated with the Overall Scale and all subscales of PSSHIV, whilst lower socioeconomic status in general and lower scores of PSSS were associated with various subscales of PSSHIV. The interaction item (PSSS×PSDHIV) was nonsignificant in modeling PSSHIV, hence no significant moderating effect was detected. Whilst perceived discrimination is a major source of stress and social support can reduce stress among PLWH in China, improved social support cannot buffer the stressful consequences due to perceived discrimination. The results highlight the importance to reduce discrimination toward PLWH and the difficulty to alleviate its negative consequences. It is warranted to improve mental health among PLWH in China and it is still important to foster social support among PLWH as it has direct effects on perceived stress.

The discrimination of honey origin using melissopalynology and Raman spectroscopy techniques coupled with multivariate analysis.

PubMed

Corvucci, Francesca; Nobili, Lara; Melucci, Dora; Grillenzoni, Francesca-Vittoria

2015-02-15

Honey traceability to food quality is required by consumers and food control institutions. Melissopalynologists traditionally use percentages of nectariferous pollens to discriminate the botanical origin and the entire pollen spectrum (presence/absence, type and quantities and association of some pollen types) to determinate the geographical origin of honeys. To improve melissopalynological routine analysis, principal components analysis (PCA) was used. A remarkable and innovative result was that the most significant pollens for the traditional discrimination of the botanical and geographical origin of honeys were the same as those individuated with the chemometric model. The reliability of assignments of samples to honey classes was estimated through explained variance (85%). This confirms that the chemometric model properly describes the melissopalynological data. With the aim to improve honey discrimination, FT-microRaman spectrography and multivariate analysis were also applied. Well performing PCA models and good agreement with known classes were achieved. Encouraging results were obtained for botanical discrimination. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does testing with feedback improve adult spelling skills relative to copying and reading?

PubMed

Pan, Steven C; Rubin, Benjamin R; Rickard, Timothy C

2015-12-01

We examined testing's ability to enhance adult spelling acquisition, relative to copying and reading. Across 3 experiments in which testing with feedback was compared with copying, the spelling improvement after testing matched that following the same amount of time spent copying. A potent testing advantage, however, was observed for spelling words free-recalled. In the fourth experiment, a large testing advantage for both word free recall and spelling was observed, versus reading. Subjects also generally preferred testing and rated it as more effective than copying or reading. The equivalent performance of testing and copying for spelling contrasts with prior work involving children and suggests that retrieval practice may not be the only effective mechanism for spelling skill acquisition. Rather, we suggest that the critical learning event for spelling is focused study on phoneme-to-grapheme mappings for previously unlearned letter sequences. For adults with extensive spelling expertise, focused study is more automatic during both copying and testing with feedback than for individuals with beginning spelling skills. Reading, however, would not be expected to produce efficient focused study of phoneme-to-grapheme mappings, regardless of expertise level. Overall, adult spelling skill acquisition benefits both from testing and copying, and substantially less from reading. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

MATRIX DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS WITH APPLICATION TO COLORIMETRIC SENSOR ARRAY DATA

PubMed Central

Suslick, Kenneth S.

2014-01-01

With the rapid development of nano-technology, a “colorimetric sensor array” (CSA) which is referred to as an optical electronic nose has been developed for the identification of toxicants. Unlike traditional sensors which rely on a single chemical interaction, CSA can measure multiple chemical interactions by using chemo-responsive dyes. The color changes of the chemo-responsive dyes are recorded before and after exposure to toxicants and serve as a template for classification. The color changes are digitalized in the form of a matrix with rows representing dye effects and columns representing the spectrum of colors. Thus, matrix-classification methods are highly desirable. In this article, we develop a novel classification method, matrix discriminant analysis (MDA), which is a generalization of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for the data in matrix form. By incorporating the intrinsic matrix-structure of the data in discriminant analysis, the proposed method can improve CSA’s sensitivity and more importantly, specificity. A penalized MDA method, PMDA, is also introduced to further incorporate sparsity structure in discriminant function. Numerical studies suggest that the proposed MDA and PMDA methods outperform LDA and other competing discriminant methods for matrix predictors. The asymptotic consistency of MDA is also established. R code and data are available online as supplementary material. PMID:26783371

Theory-Guided Selection of Discrimination Measures for Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities Research among Older Adults

PubMed Central

Thrasher, Angela D.; Clay, Olivio J.; Ford, Chandra L.; Stewart, Anita L.

2013-01-01

Objectives Discrimination may contribute to health disparities among older adults. Existing measures of perceived discrimination have provided important insights but may have limitations when used in studies of older adults. This paper illustrates the process of assessing the appropriateness of existing measures for theory-based research on perceived discrimination and health. Methods First we describe three theoretical frameworks that are relevant to the study of perceived discrimination and health – stress-process models, life course models, and the Public Health Critical Race praxis. We then review four widely-used measures of discrimination, comparing their content and describing how well they address key aspects of each theory, and discussing potential areas of modification. Discussion Using theory to guide measure selection can help improve understanding of how perceived discrimination may contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities among older adults. PMID:22451527

A "ton of feathers": gender discrimination in academic medical careers and how to manage it.

PubMed

Carr, Phyllis L; Szalacha, Laura; Barnett, Rosalind; Caswell, Cheryl; Inui, Thomas

2003-12-01

To evaluate the experience of gender discrimination among a limited sample of women in academic medicine, specifically, the role of discrimination in hindering careers, coping mechanisms, and perceptions of what institutions and leaders of academic medicine can do to improve the professional workplace climate for women. In-depth, semistructured telephonic individual interviews of 18 women faculty who experienced or may have experienced discrimination in the course of their professional academic medical careers from 13 of the 24 institutions of the National Faculty Survey. A consensus taxonomy for classifying content evolved from comparisons of coding. Themes expressed by multiple faculty were studied for patterns of connection and grouped into broader categories. Forty percent of respondents ranked gender discrimination first out of 11 possible choices for hindering their career in academic medicine. Thirty-five percent ranked gender discrimination second to either "limited time for professional work" or "lack of mentoring." Respondents rated themselves as poorly prepared to deal with gender discrimination and noted effects on professional self-confidence, self-esteem, collegiality, isolation, and career satisfaction. The hierarchical structure in academe is perceived to work against women, as there are few women at the top. Women faculty who have experienced gender discrimination perceive that little can be done to directly address this issue. Institutions need to be proactive and recurrently evaluate the gender climate, as well as provide transparent information and fair scrutiny of promotion and salary decisions. According to this subset of women who perceive that they have been discriminated against based on gender, sexual bias and discrimination are subtly pervasive and powerful. Such environments may have consequences for both women faculty and academic medicine, affecting morale and dissuading younger trainees from entering academic careers. Medical schools

Flash-Type Discrimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshak, William J.

2010-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes the significant progress made in the flash-type discrimination algorithm development. The contents include: 1) Highlights of Progress for GLM-R3 Flash-Type discrimination Algorithm Development; 2) Maximum Group Area (MGA) Data; 3) Retrieval Errors from Simulations; and 4) Preliminary Global-scale Retrieval.

Perceived racial, socioeconomic and gender discrimination and its impact on contraceptive choice.

PubMed

Kossler, Karla; Kuroki, Lindsay M; Allsworth, Jenifer E; Secura, Gina M; Roehl, Kimberly A; Peipert, Jeffrey F

2011-09-01

The study was conducted to determine whether perceived racial, economic and gender discrimination has an impact on contraception use and choice of method. We analyzed the first 2,500 women aged 14-45 years enrolled in the Contraceptive CHOICE Project, a prospective cohort study aimed to reduce barriers to obtaining long-acting reversible contraception. Items from the "Experiences of Discrimination" (EOD) scale measured experienced race-, gender- and economic-based discrimination. Overall, 57% of women reported a history of discrimination. Thirty-three percent reported gender- or race-based discrimination, and 24% reported discrimination attributed to socioeconomic status (SES). Prior to study enrollment, women reporting discrimination were more likely to report any contraception use (61% vs. 52%, p<.001) but were more likely to use less effective methods (e.g., barrier methods, natural family planning or withdrawal; 41% vs. 32%, p<.001). In adjusted analyses, gender-, race- or SES-based discrimination were associated with increased current use of less effective methods [adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.41; aRR 1.25, CI 1.08-1.45; aRR 1.23, CI 1.06-1.43, respectively]. After enrollment, 66% of women with a history of experience of discrimination chose a long-acting reversible contraceptive method (intrauterine device or implantable) and 35% chose a depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate or contraceptive pill, patch or ring. Discrimination negatively impacts a woman's use of contraception. However, after financial and structural barriers to contraceptive use were eliminated, women with EOD overwhelmingly selected effective methods of contraception. Future interventions to improve access and utilization of contraception should focus on eliminating barriers and targeting interventions that encompass race-, gender- and economic-based discrimination. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health consequences of racist and antigay discrimination for multiple minority adolescents.

PubMed

Thoma, Brian C; Huebner, David M

2013-10-01

Individuals who belong to a marginalized group and who perceive discrimination based on that group membership suffer from a variety of poor health outcomes. Many people belong to more than one marginalized group, and much less is known about the influence of multiple forms of discrimination on health outcomes. Drawing on literature describing the influence of multiple stressors, three models of combined forms of discrimination are discussed: additive, prominence, and exacerbation. The current study examined the influence of multiple forms of discrimination in a sample of African American lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) adolescents ages 14-19. Each of the three models of combined stressors were tested to determine which best describes how racist and antigay discrimination combine to predict depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and substance use. Participants were included in this analysis if they identified their ethnicity as either African American (n = 156) or African American mixed (n = 120). Mean age was 17.45 years (SD = 1.36). Results revealed both forms of mistreatment were associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among African American LGB adolescents. Racism was more strongly associated with substance use. Future intervention efforts should be targeted toward reducing discrimination and improving the social context of multiple minority adolescents, and future research with multiple minority individuals should be attuned to the multiple forms of discrimination experienced by these individuals within their environments. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Race/ethnicity and workplace discrimination: results of a national survey of physicians.

PubMed

Nunez-Smith, Marcella; Pilgrim, Nanlesta; Wynia, Matthew; Desai, Mayur M; Jones, Beth A; Bright, Cedric; Krumholz, Harlan M; Bradley, Elizabeth H

2009-11-01

Promoting racial/ethnic diversity within the physician workforce is a national priority. However, the extent of racial/ethnic discrimination reported by physicians from diverse backgrounds in today's health-care workplace is unknown. To determine the prevalence of physician experiences of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination at work and to explore physician views about race and discussions regarding race/ethnicity in the workplace. Cross-sectional, national survey conducted in 2006-2007. Practicing physicians (total n = 529) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in the United States. We examined physicians' experience of racial/ethnic discrimination over their career course, their experience of discrimination in their current work setting, and their views about race/ethnicity and discrimination at work. The proportion of physicians who reported that they had experienced racial/ethnic discrimination "sometimes, often, or very often" during their medical career was substantial among non-majority physicians (71% of black physicians, 45% of Asian physicians, 63% of "other" race physicians, and 27% of Hispanic/Latino(a) physicians, compared with 7% of white physicians, all p < 0.05). Similarly, the proportion of non-majority physicians who reported that they experienced discrimination in their current work setting was substantial (59% of black, 39% of Asian, 35% of "other" race, 24% of Hispanic/Latino(a) physicians, and 21% of white physicians). Physician views about the role of race/ethnicity at work varied significantly by respondent race/ethnicity. Many non-majority physicians report experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination in the workplace. Opportunities exist for health-care organizations and diverse physicians to work together to improve the climate of perceived discrimination where they work.

Discrimination of inflammatory bowel disease using Raman spectroscopy and linear discriminant analysis methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hao; Cao, Ming; DuPont, Andrew W.; Scott, Larry D.; Guha, Sushovan; Singhal, Shashideep; Younes, Mamoun; Pence, Isaac; Herline, Alan; Schwartz, David; Xu, Hua; Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita; Bi, Xiaohong

2016-03-01

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic disease that is typically characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Recently much effort has been devoted to the development of novel diagnostic tools that can assist physicians for fast, accurate, and automated diagnosis of the disease. Previous research based on Raman spectroscopy has shown promising results in differentiating IBD patients from normal screening cases. In the current study, we examined IBD patients in vivo through a colonoscope-coupled Raman system. Optical diagnosis for IBD discrimination was conducted based on full-range spectra using multivariate statistical methods. Further, we incorporated several feature selection methods in machine learning into the classification model. The diagnostic performance for disease differentiation was significantly improved after feature selection. Our results showed that improved IBD diagnosis can be achieved using Raman spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis and feature selection.

Mass discrimination during weightlessness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, H.

1981-01-01

An experiment concerned with the ability of astronauts to discriminate between the mass of objects when both the objects and the astronauts are in weightless states is described. The main object of the experiment is to compare the threshold for weight-discrimination on Earth with that for mass-discrimination in orbit. Tests will be conducted premission and postmission and early and late during the mission while the crew is experiencing weightlessness. A comparison of early and late tests inflight and postflight will reveal the rate of adaptation to zero-gravity and 1-g. The mass discrimination box holds 24 balls which the astronaut will compare to one another in a random routine.

Improved discrimination between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants for weed control based on the blue-green region of ultraviolet-induced fluorescence spectra.

PubMed

Panneton, Bernard; Guillaume, Serge; Roger, Jean-Michel; Samson, Guy

2010-01-01

Precision weeding by spot spraying in real time requires sensors to discriminate between weeds and crop without contact. Among the optical based solutions, the ultraviolet (UV) induced fluorescence of the plants appears as a promising alternative. In a first paper, the feasibility of discriminating between corn hybrids, monocotyledonous, and dicotyledonous weeds was demonstrated on the basis of the complete spectra. Some considerations about the different sources of fluorescence oriented the focus to the blue-green fluorescence (BGF) part, ignoring the chlorophyll fluorescence that is inherently more variable in time. This paper investigates the potential of performing weed/crop discrimination on the basis of several large spectral bands in the BGF area. A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was performed on a set of 1908 spectra of corn and weed plants over 3 years and various growing conditions. The discrimination between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants based on the blue-green fluorescence yielded robust models (classification error between 1.3 and 4.6% for between-year validation). On the basis of the analysis of the PLS-DA model, two large bands were chosen in the blue-green fluorescence zone (400-425 nm and 425-490 nm). A linear discriminant analysis based on the signal from these two bands also provided very robust inter-year results (classification error from 1.5% to 5.2%). The same selection process was applied to discriminate between monocotyledonous weeds and maize but yielded no robust models (up to 50% inter-year error). Further work will be required to solve this problem and provide a complete UV fluorescence based sensor for weed-maize discrimination.

Patients’ perceptions of discrimination during hospitalization

PubMed Central

Hudelson, Patricia; Kolly, Véronique; Perneger, Thomas

2009-01-01

Abstract Objective  To identify sources of perceived discrimination during hospitalization and examine the relationship of perceived discrimination to patient and hospital stay characteristics, and to patient ratings of care. Background  Patient experiences of discrimination within the health‐care system are associated with delays in care seeking, non‐adherence to medical advice and poorer health status. Most research to date has focused on race and ethnicity‐based discrimination, and few studies have included hospitalized patients. Methods  Questions about patients’ experiences of discrimination were added to a regular patient opinion survey conducted at the Geneva University Hospitals. Participants were 1537 adult residents of Switzerland discharged from the hospital between 15 February and 15 March 2007. Results  A total of 171 (11.1%) respondents reported at least one source of discrimination. Most (93, 54.4%) reported a single cause of discrimination. The most frequent causes of discrimination were language, age, nationality and having a disease that is viewed negatively by others. Fifteen percentage of non‐European respondents reported at least one of the following types of discrimination: language, nationality, religion and skin colour. Reporting discrimination from any cause was associated with higher Picker Patient Experience problem scores, and patients who reported discrimination were less likely to describe their care as very good or excellent and less likely to recommend the hospital to others. Conclusions  Patient experiences of discrimination during hospitalization are relatively frequent and are associated with lower patient ratings of care. Collection of data on patient experiences of discrimination may contribute to the development of interventions aimed at ensuring respectful, quality care for all patients. PMID:19788555

Associations of racial discrimination and parental discrimination coping messages with African American adolescent racial identity.

PubMed

Richardson, Bridget L; Macon, Tamarie A; Mustafaa, Faheemah N; Bogan, Erin D; Cole-Lewis, Yasmin; Chavous, Tabbye M

2015-06-01

Research links racial identity to important developmental outcomes among African American adolescents, but less is known about the contextual experiences that shape youths' racial identity. In a sample of 491 African American adolescents (48% female), associations of youth-reported experiences of racial discrimination and parental messages about preparation for racial bias with adolescents' later racial identity were examined. Cluster analysis resulted in four profiles of adolescents varying in reported frequency of racial discrimination from teachers and peers at school and frequency of parental racial discrimination coping messages during adolescents' 8th grade year. Boys were disproportionately over-represented in the cluster of youth experiencing more frequent discrimination but receiving fewer parental discrimination coping messages, relative to the overall sample. Also examined were clusters of adolescents' 11th grade racial identity attitudes about the importance of race (centrality), personal group affect (private regard), and perceptions of societal beliefs about African Americans (public regard). Girls and boys did not differ in their representation in racial identity clusters, but 8th grade discrimination/parent messages clusters were associated with 11th grade racial identity cluster membership, and these associations varied across gender groups. Boys experiencing more frequent discrimination but fewer parental coping messages were over-represented in the racial identity cluster characterized by low centrality, low private regard, and average public regard. The findings suggest that adolescents who experience racial discrimination but receive fewer parental supports for negotiating and coping with discrimination may be at heightened risk for internalizing stigmatizing experiences. Also, the findings suggest the need to consider the context of gender in adolescents' racial discrimination and parental racial socialization.

Colour discrimination ellipses in choroideremia.

PubMed

Seitz, Immanuel P; Jolly, Jasleen K; Dominik Fischer, M; Simunovic, Matthew P

2018-04-01

The purpose of this study was to characterise alterations in colour discrimination in a cohort of patients with choroideremia prior to gene therapy, using a test previously validated for use in patients with retinal dystrophies. We tested 20 eyes of 10 patients with a diagnosis of choroideremia and an age-matched cohort of 10 eyes of 10 normal controls using the "Cambridge Colour Test" (CCT), in which subjects are required to distinguish the gap in a C presented in one of 4 orientations in a Stilling-type array. Colour discrimination was probed along eight axes in the CIE L*u*v* colour space, and the resulting data were plotted in the CIE 1976 chromaticity diagram and fitted with least-squares ellipses. Subsequently, we estimated the achromatic area for each subject by calculating the area of the resultant discrimination ellipse and calculated sensitivity thresholds along relevant colour confusion axes. Colour discrimination-as quantified by log 10 of the ellipse area expressed in square 1/1000th 2 units in CIE 1976-was 2.26 (range 1.82 to 2.67) for normal subjects and 3.85 (range 2.35 to 5.41) for choroideremia patients. There was a statistically significant correlation between both achromatic area and red-green colour discrimination at the CCT and BCVA, and to a lesser degree between blue colour discrimination at the CCT and BCVA. The majority of ellipses in choroideremia were aligned close to the tritan axis, and loss of sensitivity was significantly larger in the tritan direction than in the red-green. The majority of our patients demonstrated greater loss in tritan discrimination than in red-green colour discrimination using the CCT. There was a significant correlation between achromatic area and BCVA. In keeping with our current understanding of the machinery of colour vision, there was a significant correlation between BCVA and colour discrimination thresholds, which was stronger for red-green colour discrimination, than for tritan colour discrimination. We

20 CFR 405.30 - Discrimination complaints.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Discrimination complaints. 405.30 Section 405... INITIAL DISABILITY CLAIMS Introduction, General Description, and Definitions § 405.30 Discrimination... that an adjudicator has improperly discriminated against you, you may file a discrimination complaint...

20 CFR 405.30 - Discrimination complaints.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Discrimination complaints. 405.30 Section 405... INITIAL DISABILITY CLAIMS Introduction, General Description, and Definitions § 405.30 Discrimination... that an adjudicator has improperly discriminated against you, you may file a discrimination complaint...

20 CFR 405.30 - Discrimination complaints.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01