Application of Automatic Speech Recognition Technology for Dysphonic Speech Assessment

Dysphonia is a communication disorder secondary to a problem with voice production. Speakers with dysphonia often report decreased intelligibility, particularly in a noisy communication environment. Intelligibility is the primary measure of a speaker’s communicative ability; however, it is not routinely assessed in clinical settings today. This lack of intelligibility assessment can be partly attributed to the time-consuming, labor-intensive nature of manually transcribing a speaker’s utterance. Recent advances in automatic speech recognition technology have significantly increased the ease and accuracy of speech-to-text transcription, and incorporation of this technology may dramatically increase efficiency in clinical intelligibility assessment. Therefore, this project examined the feasibility of an automatic speech-to-text transcription program for describing speech production abnormalities among speakers with dysphonia. Audio recordings of the Rainbow Passage from 30 adult female speakers with normal voice and 23 adult female speakers with dysphonic voice were transcribed using IBM Watson speech-to-text transcription service. Differences between the groups were evaluated based on three measures: 1) error rate in transcribed words, 2) confidence level of transcribed words, and 3) number of possible alternatives for transcribed words. The results indicated that the confidence level was significantly lower, and the number of possible alternatives was significantly higher in the dysphonic group. Interestingly, there was no significant between-group difference in the error rate. Clinical implications of these findings and future direction will be discussed.Ope

The Composition of Titan's Lower Atmosphere and Simple Surface Volatiles as Measured by the Cassini-Huygens Probe Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Experiment

The Cassini-Huygens Probe Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) determined the composition of the Titan atmosphere from ~140km altitude to the surface. After landing, it returned composition data of gases evaporated from the surface. Height profiles of molecular nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4) and molecular hydrogen (H2) were determined. Traces were detected on the surface of evaporating methane, ethane (C2H6), acetylene (C2H2), cyanogen (C2N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The methane data showed evidence that methane precipitation occurred recently. The methane mole fraction was (1.48+/-0.09) x 10(exp -2) in the lower stratosphere (139.8 km to 75.5 km) and (5.65+/-0.18) x 10(exp -2) near the surface (6.7 km to the surface). The molecular hydrogen mole fraction was (1.01+/-0.16) x 10(exp -3) in the atmosphere and (9.90+/-0.17) x 10(exp -4) on the surface. Isotope ratios were 167.7+/-0.6 for N-14/N-15 in molecular nitrogen, 91.1+/-1.4 for C-12/C-13 in methane and (1.35+/-0.30) x 10(exp -4) for D/H in molecular hydrogen. The mole fractions of Ar-36 and radiogenic Ar-40 are (2.1+/-0.8) x 10(exp -7) and (3.39 +/-0.12) x 10(exp -5) respectively. Ne-22 has been tentatively identified at a mole fraction of (2.8+/-2.1) x 10(exp -7) Krypton and xenon were below the detection threshold of 1 x 10(exp -8) mole fraction. Science data were not retrieved from the gas chromatograph subsystem as the abundance of the organic trace gases in the atmosphere and on the ground did not reach the detection threshold. Results previously published from the GCMS experiment are superseded by this publication

The abundances of constituents of Titan's atmosphere from the GCMS instrument on the Huygens probe

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, remains an enigma, explored only by remote sensing from Earth, and by the Voyager and Cassini spacecraft. The most puzzling aspects include the origin of the molecular nitrogen and methane in its atmosphere, and the mechanism(s) by which methane is maintained in the face of rapid destruction by photolysis. The Huygens probe, launched from the Cassini spacecraft, has made the first direct observations of the satellite's surface and lower atmosphere. Here we report direct atmospheric measurements from the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS), including altitude profiles of the constituents, isotopic ratios and trace species ( including organic compounds). The primary constituents were confirmed to be nitrogen and methane. Noble gases other than argon were not detected. The argon includes primordial Ar-36, and the radiogenic isotope Ar-40, providing an important constraint on the outgassing history of Titan. Trace organic species, including cyanogen and ethane, were found in surface measurements.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62703/1/nature04122.pd

Consensus standards of healthcare for adults and children with inflammatory bowel disease in the UK

Objective Symptoms and clinical course during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) vary among individuals. Personalised care is therefore essential to effective management, delivered by a strong patient-centred multidisciplinary team, working within a well-designed service. This study aimed to fully rewrite the UK Standards for the healthcare of adults and children with IBD, and to develop an IBD Service Benchmarking Tool to support current and future personalised care models. Design Led by IBD UK, a national multidisciplinary alliance of patients and nominated representatives from all major stakeholders in IBD care, Standards requirements were defined by survey data collated from 689 patients and 151 healthcare professionals. Standards were drafted and refined over three rounds of modified electronic-Delphi. Results Consensus was achieved for 59 Standards covering seven clinical domains; (1) design and delivery of the multidisciplinary IBD service; (2) prediagnostic referral pathways, protocols and timeframes; (3) holistic care of the newly diagnosed patient; (4) flare management to support patient empowerment, self-management and access to specialists where required; (5) surgery including appropriate expertise, preoperative information, psychological support and postoperative care; (6) inpatient medical care delivery (7) and ongoing long-term care in the outpatient department and primary care setting including shared care. Using these patient-centred Standards and informed by the IBD Quality Improvement Project (IBDQIP), this paper presents a national benchmarking framework. Conclusions The Standards and Benchmarking Tool provide a framework for healthcare providers and patients to rate the quality of their service. This will recognise excellent care, and promote quality improvement, audit and service development in IBD

Detection of Epstein-Barr virus genomes in normal human lacrimal glands.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated in several ocular diseases; however, detection of the EBV genome in ocular tissues has not been documented. We report the detection of amplified EBV genomic sequences in 11 of 26 normal lacrimal gland DNA samples by using the polymerase chain reaction. Serum was available for 19 of the lacrimal gland donors. All 19 were EBV seropositive, although of the 19 lacrimal gland-seropositive patients, EBV sequences were detected in only 10 of the samples. Further, amplified EBV sequences were not detected in circulating lymphocyte DNA from normal seropositive volunteers, most likely because of the low frequency of circulating EBV-infected B cells. Amplification of EBV from cadaver lacrimal gland DNA was possible with minute quantities of DNA, whereas peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA from normal volunteers did not amplify EBV sequences. Interestingly, the peripheral blood mononuclear cell polymerase chain reactions contained approximately 100 times more DNA than the lacrimal gland polymerase chain reactions. We conclude that the lacrimal gland may be a site for EBV persistence and that positive EBV serology is not an indicator of which individuals may have EBV harbored within their lacrimal glands