Motor Learning Guided Treatment for Acquired Apraxia of Speech

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to expand the evidence on the effectiveness of motor learning guided approach for the treatment of acquired apraxia of speech. This study investigated the influence of practice frequency and number of targets per practice set on transfer of speech motor learning. Method: This is a multiple baseline single-case study across two treatment cycles involving two individuals with chronic acquired apraxia of speech. Treatment Cycle 1 investigated the influence of self-controlled practice on speech motor learning through two conditions of practice. Treatment Cycle 2 investigated the influence of number of targets on transfer of learning. Results: There was a treatment effect for both participants in both treatment cycles. In Treatment Cycle 1, both participants demonstrated speech motor learning on treated stimuli in all practice conditions and no transfer of learning to untrained phrases. In Treatment Cycle 2, the number of targets was reduced. A change in speech motor learning was demonstrated by both participants on the trained phrases as well as a transfer of learning as measured by performance on untrained set of phrases. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study contribute to the growing evidence supporting the effectiveness of motor learning guided treatment for acquired apraxia of speech

Reported Barriers to AAC Service Delivery & Post-Professional Learning Preferences Among Speech-Language Pathologists

This mixed methods experimental study used a survey to identify speech-language pathologists’ perceptions, including preparedness to provide augmentative-alternative communication (AAC) services to individuals with complex communication needs and learning preferences for post-professional training. Following certification standard changes in 2005 and 2014, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) now requires instruction and clinical experiences during graduate studies across nine major content areas, including the use of AAC modalities. Prior to this change, the number of preservice programs reported to offer at least one AAC course increased from 62% (Ratcliff & Beukelman, 1995) to 72% (Ratcliff, Koul, & Lloyd, 2008). Since the certification standard changes, the trend continued with 86% of preservice programs reported to offer at least one dedicated AAC course (Johnson & Prebor, 2019). Despite improvements in preservice training coursework, the confidence and competence to provide AAC services to individuals with CCN remains a concern. Only 51% of graduate programs feel that at least half of students are prepared for AAC service delivery at the time of graduation (Johnson & Prebor, 2019). More than 70% of speech-language pathologists report inadequate preparation to delivery AAC services (Costigan & Light, 2010; Marvin, Montano, Fusco, & Gould, 2003) and 60% report having limited or poor comfort with AAC (Marvin et al., 2003). This study identified caseload, time, and knowledge as primary barriers for AAC service delivery. Speech-language pathologists reported learning preferences for on-the-spot training related to AAC evaluation and specific AAC interventions. Further, participants reported preferences for In-service, webinar, and conference training formats. Based on these results, trainings for post-professional speech-language pathologists can be designed to reflect both training preferences and current service delivery barriers.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gradposters2020_healthsciences/1006/thumbnail.jp

A Comparison of Outcome Measures for Speech Motor Learning in Acquired Apraxia of Speech Using Motor Learning Guided Treatment

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate potential benefits of using a qualitative and quantitative outcome measure of articulation accuracy and suprasegmental characteristics in isolation for speech motor learning in acquired apraxia of speech (AOS). Methods: Baseline, retention, and maintenance measures from an oral reading task of 2 speakers with chronic AOS and aphasia were rated using an 11-point multidimensional rating scale accounting for articulation and immediacy and a hybrid scale measuring number of correctly produced words, presence of distortions in correctly produced words, and immediacy of the production. Participants received motor learning guided treatment two days a week for eighteen sessions. Results: The multidimensional rating scale and the hybrid scale comparably represented speech motor changes related to articulation accuracy and immediacy of the production across the duration of the intervention. The hybrid scale provided a sensitive measure for individual differences in immediacy and presence of distortions not represented in the multidimensional rating scale. Conclusions: The results of this pilot study provide evidence to support the benefit of using a qualitative and quantitative outcome measure for speech motor changes in acquired AOS. The individual differences identified through the hybrid scale have clinical and research implications

Biochemical Properties of a Decoy Oligodeoxynucleotide Inhibitor of STAT3 Transcription Factor.

Cyclic STAT3 decoy (CS3D) is a second-generation, double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) that mimics a genomic response element for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), an oncogenic transcription factor. CS3D competitively inhibits STAT3 binding to target gene promoters, resulting in decreased expression of proteins that promote cellular proliferation and survival. Previous studies have demonstrated antitumor activity of CS3D in preclinical models of solid tumors. However, prior to entering human clinical trials, the efficiency of generating the CS3D molecule and its stability in biological fluids should be determined. CS3D is synthesized as a single-stranded ODN and must have its free ends ligated to generate the final cyclic form. In this study, we report a ligation efficiency of nearly 95 percent. The ligated CS3D demonstrated a half-life of 7.9 h in human serum, indicating adequate stability for intravenous delivery. These results provide requisite biochemical characterization of CS3D that will inform upcoming clinical trials

Motor Learning Guided Treatment for Acquired Apraxia of Speech: Factors That Influence Treatment Outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that might influence the treatment effectiveness of motor learning guided (MLG) treatment approach for apraxia of speech (AOS). Specifically, this study examined the effects home practice and the stimuli selection on speech production. Method: This is a case study across two treatment cycles involving a 52 year-old male five months post left CVA (due to a carotid artery dissection). Each treatment cycle used three conditions of practice to investigate the influence of practice frequency on treatment outcomes. The personal relevance of stimuli within and across treatment conditions differed in the treatment cycles to investigate stimuli selection influence on treatment outcomes. Results: Changes in speech motor learning occurred in all conditions of practice only after therapy began. Phrases practiced in therapy and at home met criterion for mastery in fewer sessions than therapy only and untrained phrases. The content of the stimuli did not appear to have a direct influence on speech motor learning. Conclusion: This case study contributes to the growing evidence on the effectiveness of MLG treatment for acquired AOS. Future studies using an experimental design are needed to advance and strengthen the evidence for MLG

Lens Model and Time Delay Predictions for the Sextuply Lensed Quasar SDSS J2222+2745

SDSS J2222+2745 is a galaxy cluster at z=0.49, strongly lensing a quasar at z=2.805 into six widely separated images. In recent HST imaging of the field, we identify additional multiply lensed galaxies, and confirm the sixth quasar image that was identified by Dahle et al. (2013). We used the Gemini North telescope to measure a spectroscopic redshift of z=4.56 of one of the secondary lensed galaxies. These data are used to refine the lens model of SDSS J2222+2745, compute the time delay and magnifications of the lensed quasar images, and reconstruct the source image of the quasar host and a second lensed galaxy at z=2.3. This second galaxy also appears in absorption in our Gemini spectra of the lensed quasar, at a projected distance of 34 kpc. Our model is in agreement with the recent time delay measurements of Dahle et al. (2015), who found tAB=47.7+/-6.0 days and tAC=-722+/-24 days. We use the observed time delays to further constrain the model, and find that the model-predicted time delays of the three faint images of the quasar are tAD=502+/-68 days, tAE=611+/-75 days, and tAF=415+/-72 days. We have initiated a follow-up campaign to measure these time delays with Gemini North. Finally, we present initial results from an X-ray monitoring program with Swift, indicating the presence of hard X-ray emission from the lensed quasar, as well as extended X-ray emission from the cluster itself, which is consistent with the lensing mass measurement and the cluster velocity dispersion.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; submitted to Ap

The Effects of Stellar Companions on the Observed Transiting Exoplanet Radius Distribution

Understanding the distribution and occurrence rate of small planets was a fundamental goal of the Kepler transiting exoplanet mission, and could be improved with K2 and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Deriving accurate exoplanetary radii requires accurate measurements of the host star radii and the planetary transit depths, including accounting for any "third light" in the system due to nearby bound companions or background stars. High-resolution imaging of Kepler and K2 planet candidate hosts to detect very close (within ~0.”5) background or bound stellar companions has been crucial for both confirming the planetary nature of candidates, and the determination of accurate planetary radii and mean densities. Here we present an investigation of the effect of close companions, both detected and undetected, on the observed (raw count) exoplanet radius distribution. We demonstrate that the recently detected "gap" in the observed radius distribution (also seen in the completeness-corrected distribution) is fairly robust to undetected stellar companions, given that all of the systems in the sample have undergone some kind of vetting with high-resolution imaging. However, while the gap in the observed sample is not erased or shifted, it is partially filled in after accounting for possible undetected stellar companions. These findings have implications for the most likely core composition, and thus formation location, of super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets. Furthermore, we show that without high-resolution imaging of planet candidate host stars, the shape of the observed exoplanet radius distribution will be incorrectly inferred, for both Kepler- and TESS-detected systems