Perception or synthesized voice quality in connected speech by Cantonese speakers

Perceptual voice analysis is a subjective process. However, despite reports of varying degrees of intrajudge and interjudge reliability, it is widely used in clinical voice evaluation. One of the ways to improve the reliability of this procedure is to provide judges with signals as external standards so that comparison can be made in relation to these anchor signals. The present study used a Klatt speech synthesizer to create a set of speech signals with varying degree of three different voice qualities based on a Cantonese sentence. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether different abnormal voice qualities could be synthesized using the built-in synthesis parameters using a perceptual study. The second objective was to determine the relationship between acoustic characteristics of the synthesized signals and perceptual judgment. Twenty Cantonese-speaking speech pathologists with at least three years of clinical experience in perceptual voice evaluation were asked to undertake two tasks. The first was to decide whether the voice quality of the synthesized signals was normal or not. The second was to decide whether the abnormal signals should be described as rough, breathy, or vocal fry. The results showed that signals generated with a small degree of aspiration noise were perceived as breathiness while signals with a small degree of flutter or double pulsing were perceived as roughness. When the flutter or double pulsing increased further, tremor and vocal fry, rather than roughness, were perceived. Furthermore, the amount of aspiration noise, flutter, or double pulsing required for male voice stimuli was different from that required for the female voice stimuli with a similar level of perceptual breathiness and roughness. These findings showed that changes in perceived vocal quality could be achieved by systematic modifications of synthesis parameters. This opens up the possibility of using synthesized voice signals as external standards or anchors to improve the reliability of clinical perceptual voice evaluation. (C) 2002 Acoustical Society of America.

Sensory Processing in Aquatic Environments

Research on sensory processing or the way animals see, hear, smell, taste, feel and electrically and magnetically sense their environment has advanced a great deal over the last fifteen years. This book discusses the most important themes that have emerged from recent research and provides a summary of likely future directions. The book starts with two sections on the detection of sensory signals over long and short ranges by aquatic animals, covering the topics of navigation, communication, and finding food and other localized sources. The next section, the co-evolution of signal and sense, deals with how animals decide whether the source is prey, predator or mate by utilizing receptors that have evolved to take full advantage of the acoustical properties of the signal. Organisms living in the deep-sea environment have also received a lot of recent attention, so the next section deals with visual adaptations to limited light environments where sunlight is replaced by bioluminescence and the visual system has undergone changes to optimize light capture and sensitivity. The last section on central co-ordination of sensory systems covers how signals are processed and filtered for use by the animal. This book will be essential reading for all researchers and graduate students interested in sensory systems.

Accommodative communication as a mediator to the negative effects of cultural identity on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate

This Study examines whether cultural identity has an impact on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate. Based on social identity theory as a conceptual framework, it is assumed that the salience of cultural identity leads to in-group bias in interpreting organisational events. This study also examines whether managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediates these relationships. In a multinational organisation, employees see the foreign company as a symbol, and the person that deals with them in everyday working relationships in the organisation is their direct leader. It is argued that the salience of cultural identity wiU depend on employees' perceptions of the way managers attach meaning to foreign managerial practices and communicate it to them. Interaction with managers who create a distance with their employees and who fail to Usten to what employees need may be a socially appropriate way to invoke the salience of cultural identity in the working relationship. The participants were 206 Indonesian employees from three multinational organisations. Using a questionnaire, this study shows that participants with strong cultural identity had more negative perceptions of foreign management practices and organisational climate. Furthermore, this study indicates that managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediated these relationships.

A medial to lateral shift in pre-movement cortical activity in hemi-Parkinson's disease

Objective: Recent evidence suggests that cortical activity associated with voluntary movement is relatively shifted from medial to lateral premotor areas in Parkinson's disease. This shift occurs bilaterally even for unilateral responses. It is not clear whether the shift in processing reflects an overall change in movement strategy, thereby involving alternate cortical areas, or reflects a compensatory change whereby, given the appropriate conditions, less impaired cortical areas are able to provide a similar function in compensation for those areas which are more impaired. This issue was examined in patients with hemi-Parkinson's disease, in whom basal ganglia impairment is most pronounced in one hemisphere. Methods: Fourteen patients with hemi-Parkinson's disease and 15 age-matched control subjects performed a Go/NoGo finger movement task and the contingent negative variation (CNV) was recorded from 21 scalp positions. Results and conclusions: Maximal CNV amplitudes were found over central medial regions for control subjects, but were shifted more frontally for Parkinson's disease patients, reduced in amplitude over the midline and lateralized towards the side ipsilateral to the greatest basal ganglia impairment. This shift in cortical activity from medial to lateral areas in Parkinson's disease patients appears to reflect a compensatory mechanism operating predominantly on the side of greatest basal ganglia impairment. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methadone maintenance therapy for opioid dependence - A guide to appropriate use

Opioid dependence is a chronic, relapsing condition that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Methadone maintenance therapy involves the provision of a controlled supply of an orally administered opioid, thereby stabilising the opioid-dependent patient. Research studies have shown that methadone maintenance reduces illicit opioid use, opioid-related crime, premature mortality and the risk of HIV infection. It is most effective when prescribed at an adequate dosage (usually 60 to 100 mg/day) and when long term maintenance on methadone is the goal of treatment rather than detoxification from all drugs including methadone. Successful long term methadone maintenance is more likely when it takes place within the context of a well established therapeutic relationship and when the medical, social and psychological needs of patients are met either through direct assistance or referral.

Application of fairness theory to service failures and service recovery

This article presents a fairness theory-based conceptual framework for studying and managing consumers’ emotions during service recovery attempts. The conceptual framework highlights the central role played by counterfactual thinking and accountability. Findings from five focus groups are also presented to lend further support to the conceptual framework. Essentially, the article argues that a service failure event triggers an emotional response in the consumer, and from here the consumer commences an assessment of the situation, considering procedural justice, interactional justice, and distributive justice elements, while engaging in counterfactual thinking and apportioning accountability. More specifically, the customer assesses whether the service provider could and should have done something more to remedy the problem and how the customer would have felt had these actions been taken. The authors argue that during this process situational effort is taken into account when assessing accountability. When service providers do not appear to exhibit an appropriate level of effort, consumers attribute this to the service provider not caring. This in turn leads to the customer feeling more negative emotions, such as anger and frustration. Managerial implications of the study are discussed.

A randomized controlled trial to assess sunscreen application and beta carotene supplementation in the prevention of solar keratoses

Background: Solar keratoses (SKs) are among the strongest determinants of skin cancer, but little is known about the success of measures to control these common skin tumors. Objective: To determine whether daily sunscreen application and/or beta carotene supplementation retards the rate of occurrence of SKs in adults in the medium term. Design: Randomized controlled trial conducted between February 1992 and August 1996. Setting: General community of the subtropical township of Nambour, Australia (latitude, 26degrees south). Participants: A total of 1621 adults aged 25 to 74 years. Interventions: Participants were randomized to daily use of sunscreen (application of a high-protection sunscreen to their head, neck, arms, and hands every morning) or application of sunscreen at their usual discretionary rate. They were also randomly assigned to take either one 30-mg tablet of beta carotene or one placebo tablet each day. Main Outcome Measure: Change in the prevalent number of SKs in the intervention group relative to change in the control group. Results: The ratio of SK counts in 1994 relative to 1992 was lower in people randomized to daily sunscreen use (1.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.39) than in those randomized to discretionary sunscreen use (1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.35-1.84). This 24% reduction is equivalent to the prevention of an average of I additional SK per person over that time. A reduction in the rate of change of SK prevalence was also seen in the sunscreen intervention group relative to the discretionary sunscreen group between 1994 and 1996, but it was not significant. No effect on the rate of change of prevalent SK counts was seen among those taking beta carotene supplements relative. to those taking placebo tablets. Conclusions: Daily application of sunscreen retarded the rate of SK acquisition among adults in a subtropical environment, while a beta carotene supplementation of 30 mg/d had no influence on the occurrence of SKs.

Molecular introduction to head and neck cancer (HNSCC) carcinogenesis

Of all human cancers, HNSCC is the most distressing affecting pain, disfigurement, speech and the basic survival functions of breathing and swallowing. Mortality rates have not significantly changed in the last 40 years despite advances in radiotherapy and surgical treatment. Molecular markers are currently being identified that can determine prognosis preoperatively by routine tumour biopsy Leading to improved management of HNSCC patients. The approach could help decide which early stage patient should have adjuvant neck dissection and radiotherapy, and whether Later stage patients with operable lesions would benefit from resection and reconstructive surgery or adopt a conservative approach to patients with poor prognosis regardless of treatment. In the future, understanding these basic genetic changes in HNSCC would be important for the management of HNSCC. (C) 2004 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An invitation to an alcohol industry lobby to help decide public funding of alcohol research and professional training: a decision that should be reversed

No Abstract

Encouraging practitioners to use resources: evaluation of the national implementation of a resource to improve the clinical management of alcohol-related problems in Indigenous primary care settings

This paper reports on the evaluation of the implementation of the National Recommendations for the Clinical Management of Alcohol-Related Problems in Indigenous Primary Care Settings undertaken in 2001 through 74 standardized workshops, which sought to determine: ( 1) whether this approach to implementation influenced the likelihood that the National Recommendations would be used; ( 2) whether it influenced participants' willingness to engage with Indigenous patients regarding alcohol-related issues; and ( 3) whether the implementation as a whole influenced both practice and clinicians' willingness to engage. Evaluation included pre-/post-workshop and follow-up questionnaires and a focus group. The findings presented indicate that distribution of clinical resources alone is not sufficient to ensure use and that, particularly for medical practitioners, appropriate introduction not only increases use but also positively influences willingness to engage with alcohol-related problems as part of primary clinical care. Further, the enthusiasm for guideline production should be tempered by the need to develop effective implementation strategies.

Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus neurons regulate medullary catecholamine cell responses to restraint stress

Both physical and psychological stressors recruit catecholamine cells (CA) located in the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). In the case of physical stressors, this effect is initiated by signals that first access the central nervous system at or below the level of the medulla. For psychological stressors, however, CA cell recruitment depends on higher structures within the neuraxis. Indeed, we have recently provided evidence of a pivotal role for the medial amygdala (MeA) in this regard, although such a role must involve a relay, as MeA neurons do not project directly to the medulla. However, some of the MeA neurons that respond to psychological stress have been found to project to the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a structure that provides significant input to the medulla. To determine whether the PVN might regulate medullary CA cell responses to psychological stress, animals were prepared with unilateral injections of the neurotoxin ibotenic acid into the PVN (Experiment 1), or with unilateral injections of the retrograde tracer wheat germ agglutinin-gold (WGA-Au) into the CA cell columns of the VLM or NTS (Experiment 2). Seven days later, animals were subjected to a psychological stressor (restraint; 15 minutes), and their brains were subsequently processed for Fos plus appropriate cytoplasmic markers (Experiment 1), or Fos plus WGA-Au (Experiment 2). PVN lesions significantly suppressed the stress-related induction of Fos in both VLM and NTS CA cells, whereas tracer deposits in the VLM or NTS retrogradely labeled substantial numbers of PVN cells that were also Fos-positive after stress. Considered in concert with previous results, these data suggest that the activation of medullary CA cells in response to psychological stress may involve a critical input from the PVN. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.