Developmental trends in voice onset time: some evidence for sex differences

This study reports on an investigation into the voice onset time (VOT) patterns of the plosives /p b t d/ in a group of 30 children aged 7 (n = 10), 9 (n = 10) and 11 (n = 10) years. Equal numbers of girls and boys participated in the study. Each child named a series of letter objects to elicit /p b t d/ in a syllable onset position with a fixed vowel context. VOT data were examined for age, sex and plosive differences with the following hypotheses: Firstly, that there would be sex differences in the VOT patterns of preadolescent children. Secondly, that the sex differences in VOT patterns would be linked to age and development, and that these would eventually become marked by the age of 11 years, by which time adult-like VOT values should have been achieved. Finally, that the extent of sex and age differences would be dependent upon the plosive being investigated. Results indicated patterns of decrease with age in the VOT values of /p b/ for the boys, with some evidence of increases in the VOT values of /t/ for the girls. In addition, 'voiced' and 'voiceless' cognates showed a more marked bimodal distribution in the girls' VOT patterns. This bimodal distribution was investigated by examining the degree of difference between the VOT values of voiced and voiceless cognate pairs /p b/ and /t d/, and examining the effects of age, sex and cognate pair. These results indicated that more marked sex differences in the 'voiced'/'voiceless' contrast emerged between the data of the 9- and 11-year-olds, a pattern, which was more marked for the alveolar plosives. These preliminary results confirmed all three hypotheses. The findings are presented and discussed both within a developmental and sociophonetic framework

Speech characteristics of monozygotic twins and a same-sex sibling: an acoustic case study of coarticulation patterns in read speech

This case study reports on an acoustic investigation of the motor speech characteristics of a set of young adult male monozygotic (MZ) twins and compares them to those of an age- and sex-matched sibling who participated in the study 2 years later to match for demographic factors. Coarticulation patterns were investigated from read samples of consonant-vowel sequences in monosyllabic words containing a variety of consonants and vowels. This was done by examining F2 vowel onsets and F2 vowel targets, plotted as F2 locus equations. Data were processed for between-sibling differences using a number of statistical tests. Results indicated that the MZ twins displayed F2 parameters and coarticulation patterns which were more similar than those of their age- and sex-matched sibling. The results of this case study therefore suggest that acoustic phonetic parameters used to index coarticulation patterns have the potential to profile some of the similarities and differences in the speech characteristics of genetically related individuals

Templates and temporality: an investigation of rhythmic motor production in a young man with Down Syndrome and hearing impairment

The musical rhythmic abilities of people with Down Syndrome (DS) reportedly exceed their general cognitive abilities. Although they display atypical rhythmic production in musical motor tasks, little is known about how their developmental and cognitive differences affect temporal perception or production. Additionally, hearing impairment often excludes potential participants from studies, further limiting our understanding. This case study examined the rhythmic ability of one young adult with DS and moderate-severe hearing impairment when producing limb-motor movements to music in auditory-only and auditory-visual conditions. His temporal accuracy was observed for gross-motor movements to music. Measurements were made of his temporal accuracy and stability when tapping on a drum at three tempi, and when tapping to non-isochronous rhythms. Results revealed temporal deficits in all tasks. However, production improved in tasks that were augmented with visuo-spatial stimuli, and in isochronous beat entrainment at the fastest tempo. Findings were compared to the participant’s cognitive and perceptual profile. Results suggest that his production was limited by developmental factors, but that auditory memory deficits and hearing may account for instability in isochronous entrainment tasks and delayed onset of timing. Recommendations are made for supporting skills in production and perception of auditory rhythms within the DS population

Analyses of Sustained Vowels in Down Syndrome (DS): A Case Study Using Spectrograms and Perturbation Data to Investigate Voice Quality in Four Adults With DS

OBJECTIVES: Automatic acoustic measures of voice quality in people with Down syndrome (DS) do not reliably reflect perceived voice qualities. This study used acoustic data and visual spectral data to investigate the relationship between perceived voice qualities and acoustic measures. STUDY DESIGN: Participants were four young adults (two males, two females; mean age 23.8 years) with DS and severe learning disabilities, at least one of whom had a hearing impairment. METHODS: Participants imitated sustained /i/, /u/, and /a/ vowels at predetermined target pitches within their vocal range. Medial portions of vowels were analyzed, using Praat, for fundamental frequency, harmonics-to-noise ratio, jitter, and shimmer. Spectrograms were used to identify the presence and the duration of subharmonics at onset and offset, and mid-vowel. The presence of diplophonia was assessed by auditory evaluation. RESULTS: Perturbation data were highest for /a/ vowels and lowest for /u/ vowels. Intermittent productions of subharmonics were evident in spectrograms, some of which coincided with perceived diplophonia. The incidence, location, duration, and intensity of subharmonics differed between the four participants. CONCLUSIONS: Although the acoustic data do not clearly indicate atypical phonation, diplophonia and subharmonics reflect nonmodal phonation. The findings suggest that these may contribute to different perceived voice qualities in the study group and that these qualities may result from intermittent involvement of supraglottal structures. Further research is required to confirm the findings in the wider DS population, and to assess the relationships between voice quality, vowel type, and physiological measures

Diadochokinetic rate in Saudi and Bahraini arabic speakers : dialect and the influence of syllable type

Arabic is spoken by more than 420 million people worldwide and still there are a limited number of studies on dialects of the Gulf Arabic regions where most selected respondents are male speakers. This study aimed to explore and establish normative data for the Diadochokinetic Rate (DDK) for two dialects (Saudi Arabia’s Najdi and Bahrain’s Bahraini) speakers. Furthermore, it aimed to investigate whether there are differences between the two dialects and whether sex differences are evident. In addition, it investigated syllable type differences. The study used the monosyllables /ba, da, ga/ and the multisyllabic sequence /badaga/ to analyse the DDK rates. Acoustic analysis was carried out to obtain DDK rates for the syllables. A mixed model ANOVA was performed to investigate dialect and sex differences, in addition, to syllable type. The study included 40 males and 40 female speakers from each of the two dialects. Results showed that for DDK, Saudi speakers had faster DDK rates for the monosyllables /ba/, /da/, /ga/, than Bahrainis, while, no significant differences were observed for the multisyllabic sequences. However, there were no differences between male and female speakers with regard to the DDK rates. The syllable /ga/ showed the slowest DDK rate among the monosyllables while the multisyllabic sequences displayed the slowest DDK rates. In brief, normative data for DDK rates for clinic were determined for the Arabic Nadji and Bahrain’s Bahraini dialects. DDK rate was shown to be more sensitive to dialect differences for the monosyllable tasks. However, no sex differences were observed for the Arabic dialects in this study across all DDK tasks

Snappy App: a mobile continuous performance test with physical activity measurement for assessing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

A Continuous Performance Test (CPT) was incorporated into a smartphone application (App) to measure three symptom domains associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The App was pilot tested on 11 healthy adults over three test-ing sessions. No differences in performance were found between testing ses-sions suggesting good test consistency. A decrement in performance over time was only found for one measure of attention and on one testing session. The CPT showed some sensitivity to ADHD-related symptoms where self-reported impulsive behaviour was related to the CPT measures of impulsivity and activi-ty. User acceptability was good although some design improvements were sug-gested. Further pilot testing of the App in a clinical population is needed

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Sex differences in voice onset time : a developmental study of phonetic context effects in British English

Voice onset time (VOT) data for the plosives /p b t d k g/ in two vowel contexts (/i a/) for 5 groups of 46 boys and girls aged 5;8 to 13;2 years were investigated to examine patterns of sex differences. Results indicated that there was some evidence of females displaying longer VOT values than the males. In addition, these were found to be most marked for the data of the 13;2-year olds. Furthermore, the sex differences in the VOT values displayed phonetic context effects. For example, the greatest sex differences were observed for the voiceless plosives, and within the context of the vowel /i/