Unusual Prosodic Descriptors in Young, Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study aimed to determine which prosodic descriptors best characterized the speech of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and whether these descriptors (e.g., sing-song and monotone) are acoustically different. Two listeners\u27 auditory perceptions of the speech of the children with ASD and the pitch of the speech samples were analyzed. The results suggest that individual children are characterized by a variety of prosodic descriptors. Some thought groups were described as both sing-song and monotone, however, most children appear to be either more monotone or more sing-song. Furthermore, the subjective and acoustic data suggest a strong relationship between atypical intonation and sing-song perceptions as well as atypical rhythm and monotone perceptions. Implications for an earlier diagnosis of ASD and for the development of therapy tasks to target these deficits are discussed

Assessing the Effects of Riverbank Inducement on a Shallow Aquifer in Southeastern Wisconsin

The state of Wisconsin is heavily reliant upon groundwater resources. In order to induce river water, implementation of shallow wells with close proximity to river systems is being used as a method to augment groundwater supplies in portions of southeastern Wisconsin. However, river bank wells (RBI) are vulnerable to contamination due to their close interaction with the surface water. The vulnerability increases when induced surface waters contain municipally treated waste water. The objective of this study was to determine the current and potential influences of riverbank inducement, recharge mechanisms of the well field, and to discriminate the sources of sodium and chloride entering the well field. This was accomplished through the use of tracers and groundwater modeling. The tracer suite included major ions, hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes, bacteria, and personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PPCPs). Inducement of river water into the RBI wells was calculated to be 44-52%. The flow mechanisms were too complex to be explained by dispersivity alone, so the assumption of plug flow was abandoned. Recharge was found to occur in the spring. Sucralose and acesulfame were found to be the most suitable tracers for this system and proved that waste water effluent enters both RBI wells. Waste water effluent was found to be the major source of salt entering the well field with small contribution from road salt runoff. No pathogenic bacteria were entering the well field

NEWS AND CIVIC LITERACY;WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

poster abstractThe Center for Civic Literacy (CCL) at IUPUI is a Signature Center Grant recipient. CCL is a multi-disciplinary research center established to examine the causes and dimensions of Americans’ low levels of civic knowledge, and to investigate the consequences of personal, social, and political civic ignorance. CCL takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the causes and effects of deficits in civic literacy, while also examining best practices that combat civic deficits across sectors of society, including public affairs, science, education, business, and healthcare. The latest project from the center investigates how low levels of civic and news literacy intersect; what’s the connection and why does it matter? A study from America University states, “news habits tend to be formed early; if young people turn away from the news, it may lead to a less informed citizenry and make it less likely that there will be a critical mass of news consumers to sustain the high-quality journalism and information production crucial to a healthy democracy” (Hayes, 2014, p.222). The center is currently gathering such research to make the case for an IPS program in high schools which would teach both news and civic literacy

Conversational Discourse: Attention Training following Closed Head Injury

Preliminary data is presented from a study in progress investigating whether speech-language pathology (SLP) intervention for a specific cognitive deficit (attention) will facilitate improvement of functional communication skills (conversational discourse) for individuals with closed head injury (CHI) at an acute rehabilitation phase. A randomized design was used to create treatment and control groups. Results from one individual are analyzed utilizing two procedures to determine which may be more useful in characterizing conversational ability of individuals in this population. The results will assist in research procedures for the remaining data. This study may lead to treatment recommendations for individuals with CHI

Systemwide Clinical Ultrasound Program Development: An Expert Consensus Model.

Clinical ultrasound (CUS) is integral to the practice of an increasing number of medical specialties. Guidelines are needed to ensure effective CUS utilization across health systems. Such guidelines should address all aspects of CUS within a hospital or health system. These include leadership, training, competency, credentialing, quality assurance and improvement, documentation, archiving, workflow, equipment, and infrastructure issues relating to communication and information technology. To meet this need, a group of CUS subject matter experts, who have been involved in institution- and/or systemwide clinical ultrasound (SWCUS) program development convened. The purpose of this paper was to create a model for SWCUS development and implementation

The ADVANCE network: accelerating data value across a national community health center network

The ADVANCE (Accelerating Data Value Across a National Community Health Center Network) clinical data research network (CDRN) is led by the OCHIN Community Health Information Network in partnership with Health Choice Network and Fenway Health. The ADVANCE CDRN will ‘horizontally’ integrate outpatient electronic health record data for over one million federally qualified health center patients, and ‘vertically’ integrate hospital, health plan, and community data for these patients, often under-represented in research studies. Patient investigators, community investigators, and academic investigators with diverse expertise will work together to meet project goals related to data integration, patient engagement and recruitment, and the development of streamlined regulatory policies. By enhancing the data and research infrastructure of participating organizations, the ADVANCE CDRN will serve as a ‘community laboratory’ for including disadvantaged and vulnerable patients in patient-centered outcomes research that is aligned with the priorities of patients, clinics, and communities in our network

Investigation of risk factors for introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 infection among commercial turkey operations in the United States, 2022: a case-control study

Introduction: The 2022–2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in the United States (U.S.) is the largest and most costly animal health event in U.S. history. Approximately 70% of commercial farms affected during this outbreak have been turkey farms. Methods: We conducted a case-control study to identify potential risk factors for introduction of HPAI virus onto commercial meat turkey operations. Data were collected from 66 case farms and 59 control farms in 12 states. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to compare management and biosecurity factors on case and control farms. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of infection included being in an existing control zone, having both brooders and growers, having toms, seeing wild waterfowl or shorebirds in the closest field, and using rendering for dead bird disposal. Protective factors included having a restroom facility, including portable, available to crews that visit the farm and workers having access and using a shower at least some of the time when entering a specified barn. Discussion: Study results provide a better understanding of risk factors for HPAI infection and can be used to inform prevention and control measures for HPAI on U.S. turkey farms

External fishing effort regulates positive effects of no-take marine protected areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established across the globe to mitigate the effects of multiple stressors on marine communities. In many locations, MPAs have generated positive effects on fish communities, but the impacts of fishing pressure—the primary stressor MPAs seek to manage—have not been well investigated. We examined changes in fish biomass inside and outside of no-take MPAs over 14 years in central California, USA. Using data from the community-based science program, the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program, we tested which environmental and human-induced stressors most influence the strength of MPA responses. While temperature and productivity were included in the best fit model, we found that fine-scale fishing effort data, following reserve implementation, best explained the spatial variation in fish community responses to MPAs. Specifically, differences in fish biomass between MPAs and sites open to fishing were larger for reserves near heavily fished locations and these areas exhibited the highest rate of change in fish biomass, indicating strong positive effects of the MPA on the most heavily exploited fish communities. As MPAs continue to be used as a prominent conservation strategy in coastal systems, managers should consider both the suite of human-induced (socio-ecological interactions) and environmental conditions that may alter MPA success as well as establish long-term monitoring programs to fully assess the functionality of marine reserves into the future

Investigation of risk factors for introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus onto table egg farms in the United States, 2022: a case–control study

Introduction: The 2022–2023 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in the United States (U.S.) is the most geographically extensive and costly animal health event in U.S. history. In 2022 alone, over 57 million commercial and backyard poultry in 47 U.S. states were affected. Over 75% of affected poultry were part of the commercial table egg production sector. Methods: We conducted a case–control study to identify potential risk factors for introduction of HPAI virus onto commercial table egg operations. Univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to compare farm characteristics, management, and biosecurity factors on case and control farms. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of infection included being in an existing control zone, sightings of wild waterfowl, mowing or bush hogging vegetation less than 4 times a month, having an off-site method of daily mortality disposal (off-site composting or burial, rendering, or landfill), and wild bird access to feed/feed ingredients at least some of the time. Protective factors included a high level of vehicle washing for trucks and trailers entering the farm (a composite variable that included having a permanent wash station), having designated personnel assigned to specific barns, having a farm entrance gate, and requiring a change of clothing for workers entering poultry barns. Discussion: Study results improve our understanding of risk factors for HPAI infection and control measures for preventing HPAI on commercial U.S. table egg farms