Identification of phonological processes in preschool children's single-word productions

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) often refer to phonological data norms as part of their assessment protocols in evaluating the communication skills of the pre-school child. There is a variety of norms available and although broadly similar, differences are embedded within their definitions of mastery of the adult target system. Presence of velar fronting, stopping of affricates and [s] reduction in the dataset was found to mirror previous research. However, there was a lower than expected incidence by age groups of palato-alveolar fronting, stopping of fricatives and obstruent cluster reduction

Designing and implementing usable and useful Accountable-eHealth systems

This tutorial primarily focuses on the technical challenges surrounding the design and implementation of Accountable-eHealth (AeH) systems. The potential benefits of shared eHealth records systems are promising for the future of improved healthcare; however, their uptake is hindered by concerns over the privacy and security of patient information. In the current eHealth environment, there are competing requirements between healthcare consumers' (i.e. patients) requirements and healthcare professionals' requirements. While consumers want control over their information, healthcare professionals want access to as much information as required in order to make well informed decisions. This conflict is evident in the review of Australia's PCEHR system. Accountable-eHealth systems aim to balance these concerns by implementing Information Accountability (IA) mechanisms. AeH systems create an eHealth environment where health information is available to the right person at the right time without rigid barriers whilst empowering the consumers with information control and transparency, thus, enabling the creation of shared eHealth records that can be useful to both patients and HCPs. In this half-day tutorial, we will discuss and describe the technical challenges surrounding the implementation of AeH systems and the solutions we have devised. A prototype AeH system will be used to demonstrate the functionality of AeH systems, and illustrate some of the proposed solutions. The topics that will be covered include: designing for usability in AeH systems, the privacy and security of audit mechanisms, providing for diversity of users, the scalability of AeH systems, and finally the challenges of enabling research and Big Data Analytics on shared eHealth Records while ensuring accountability and privacy are maintained

The effect of magnesium vacancies on the intraband scattering in MgxB2 as determined by point contact Andreev reflection

In order to introduce structural defects into the band with minimal distortions in the band, bulk samples of varying magnesium content were prepared. Point contact Andreev reflection measurements reveal that the density of states of the band and the behavior of the energy gaps in field imply a relative increase of band to band scattering with increasing magnesium deficiency. The results are consistent with the observed increase of the low temperature Hc2 value in magnesium deficient MgB2

Ingressive speech errors: a service evaluation of speech sound therapy for a child aged 4;6

Background: A pattern of ingressive substitutions for word-final sibilants can be identified in a small number of cases in child speech disorder, with growing evidence suggesting it is a phonological difficulty, despite the unusual surface form. Phonological difficulty implies a problem with the cognitive process of organising speech in to sound contrasts. Aims: To evaluate phonological therapy approaches in the remediation of non-pulmonic speech errors. Thus, adding to evidence concerning the nature of ingressive substitutions and their remediation, whilst highlighting their occurrence within child speech disorder population for practising and training Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs). Methods & Procedures: Child KO, a boy aged 4;6, was identified through a screening of speech, language and communication needs at his school. Word-final, non-pulmonic-egressive substitutes for fricatives and plosives were identified using the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP). Treatment took place in five, weekly school-based sessions with a care-giver present, and targeted two phonemes /f/ and /ʃ/ in word-final position. Word-final /s/ was monitored throughout to capture any change in other word-final fricatives. Phonemes /ɡ/ and /p/ were used as controls, as no change was expected in word-final plosives as a result of therapy targeting fricatives. Production of single-words in the DEAP, pre and post therapy were transcribed by two independent therapists, (transcription agreement was 86.6% (pre) and 83.7% (post), with all 140 consonants within the DEAP transcribed), and change in consonants correct was analysed using a Wilcoxon test. Picture description tasks and telling of familiar stories, were videoed post therapy to analyse use of word-final fricative egression in connected speech. Outcome & results: Percentage consonants correct in single words post-treatment was significantly higher than pre-treatment at single-word level. Generalisation of target fricatives into connected speech, and modest generalisation of non-target phonemes occurred. Conclusions & Implications: Although ingressive speech sounds are largely absent in the sound system of English, they do occur as speech sound errors in child speech disorder and respond to phonological therapy within the context of home and school environment. Therefore, training in the phonetic identification of speech sounds outside the system of English is essential. Additionally, non-lexical factors associated with ingression also influence the child’s intelligibility and should be explored further in future research

Automatically Recognising European Portuguese Children's Speech

International audienceThis paper reports findings from an analysis of errors made by an automatic speech recogniser trained and tested with 3-10-year-old European Portuguese children's speech. We expected and were able to identify frequent pronunciation error patterns in the children's speech. Furthermore, we were able to correlate some of these pronunciation error patterns and automatic speech recognition errors. The findings reported in this paper are of phonetic interest but will also be useful for improving the performance of automatic speech recognisers aimed at children representing the target population of the study

Understanding clinical and biological heterogeneity to advance precision medicine in paediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome

Paediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome that is associated with high rates of mortality and long-term morbidity. Factors that distinguish PARDS from adult acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) include changes in developmental stage and lung maturation with age, precipitating factors, and comorbidities. No specific treatment is available for PARDS and management is largely supportive, but methods to identify patients who would benefit from specific ventilation strategies or ancillary treatments, such as prone positioning, are needed. Understanding of the clinical and biological heterogeneity of PARDS, and of differences in clinical features and clinical course, pathobiology, response to treatment, and outcomes between PARDS and adult ARDS, will be key to the development of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies and a precision medicine approach to care. Studies in which clinical, biomarker, and transcriptomic data, as well as informatics, are used to unpack the biological and phenotypic heterogeneity of PARDS, and implementation of methods to better identify patients with PARDS, including methods to rapidly identify subphenotypes and endotypes at the point of care, will drive progress on the path to precision medicine.</p

How should children with speech sound disorders be classified? A review and critical evaluation of current classification systems

Background Children with speech sound disorders (SSD) form a heterogeneous group who differ in terms of the severity of their condition, underlying cause, speech errors, involvement of other aspects of the linguistic system and treatment response. To date there is no universal and agreed-upon classification system. Instead, a number of theoretically differing classification systems have been proposed based on either an aetiological (medical) approach, a descriptive–linguistic approach or a processing approach. Aims To describe and review the supporting evidence, and to provide a critical evaluation of the current childhood SSD classification systems. Methods & Procedures Descriptions of the major specific approaches to classification are reviewed and research papers supporting the reliability and validity of the systems are evaluated. Main Contribution Three specific paediatric SSD classification systems; the aetiologic-based Speech Disorders Classification System, the descriptive–linguistic Differential Diagnosis system, and the processing-based Psycholinguistic Framework are identified as potentially useful in classifying children with SSD into homogeneous subgroups. The Differential Diagnosis system has a growing body of empirical support from clinical population studies, across language error pattern studies and treatment efficacy studies. The Speech Disorders Classification System is currently a research tool with eight proposed subgroups. The Psycholinguistic Framework is a potential bridge to linking cause and surface level speech errors. Conclusions & Implications There is a need for a universally agreed-upon classification system that is useful to clinicians and researchers. The resulting classification system needs to be robust, reliable and valid. A universal classification system would allow for improved tailoring of treatments to subgroups of SSD which may, in turn, lead to improved treatment efficacy

Extracting the diffusivity ratio from point contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy and upper critical field measurements in MgB2

The di®usivity ratio ´, which measures the relative intraband scattering in the ¼ and ¾ bands in MgB2 has been determined by ¯tting the Hc2(T) at T » Tc and by Point Contact Andreev Re°ection. We ¯nd a satisfactory agreement between the values for ´ obtained by both methods for c-axis orientated MgB2 thin ¯lms. Point contact Andreev Re°ection was then applied to bulk MgB2 containing Mg vacancies. Spectra obtained in zero ¯eld indicate a distribution of the two gaps ¢¾;¼ but no merging of the values with increased magnesium de¯ciency. Spectra ¯tted as a function of ¯eld are consistent with an increase in ¼ intraband scattering with increasing magnesium de¯ciency. Measurement of the point contact Andreev re°ection spectra as a function of temperature revealed features not immediately expected from current theoretical models

Automatically Recognising European Portuguese Children's Speech

This paper reports findings from an analysis of errors made by an automatic speech recogniser trained and tested with 3-10-year-old European Portuguese children's speech. We expected and were able to identify frequent pronunciation error patterns in the children's speech. Furthermore, we were able to correlate some of these pronunciation error patterns and automatic speech recognition errors. The findings reported in this paper are of phonetic interest but will also be useful for improving the performance of automatic speech recognisers aimed at children representing the target population of the study