This study focuses on an unexplored aspect of the performance of algorithms for blind reverberation time (
T
) estimation – on the effect that speech signal’s phonetic content has on the value of the ...estimate of
T
that is obtained from the reverberant version of that signal. To this end, the performance of three algorithms is assessed on a set of logatome recordings artificially reverberated with room impulse responses from four rooms, with their
T
20
value in the 0.18, 0.55 s interval. Analyses of variance showed that the null hypotheses of equal means of estimation errors can be rejected at the significance level of 0.05 for the interaction terms between the factors “vowel”, “consonant”, and “room”, while the results of Tukey’s multiple comparison procedure revealed that there are both some similarities in the behaviour of the algorithms and some differences, where the latter are stemming from the differences in the details of algorithms’ implementation such as the number of frequency bands and whether
T
is estimated continuously or only on the selected, the so-called speech decay, segments of the signal.
Audiovježbe Andrijašević, Andrea; Čulina, Mirta
Zbornik Veleučilišta u Rijeci,
2023, Letnik:
11, Številka:
1
Journal Article, Paper
Recenzirano
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Gubitak sluha i tinitus svakodnevno u znatnoj mjeri otežavaju govornu komunikaciju pogođenim osobama. Teškoće slušanja uzrokovane njima mogu se ublažiti različitim terapijskim pristupima, međutim ...rehabilitacijski postupci usmjereni na poboljšanje slušanja kod odrasle populacije slabo su zastupljeni u zdravstvenom sektoru. U novije vrijeme, računalni programi za tretiranje različitih zdravstvenih teškoća sve više pokazuju potencijal, no često uz naknadu za korištenje. U ovom radu, spoznaje iz područja audiologije i audiorehabilitacije primijenjene su pri izradi besplatnog računalnog programa na hrvatskom jeziku namijenjenog odrasloj populaciji s teškoćama razumijevanja govora zbog stečenog oštećenja sluha ili izazvanih pojavom tonskog tinitusa. Izbor vježbi i način prezentacije zadataka u izrađenom programu vođeni su suvremenim terapijskim pristupima, a oslanjaju se i na primjere modernih računalnih programa za rehabilitaciju slušanja. Program sadrži dvanaest slušnih vježbi različitog stupnja zahtjevnosti za testiranje slušne razabirljivosti prilikom čijeg dizajniranja su se slijedili osnovni verbotonalni principi, stoga se pristupa prepoznavanju poznatih pojmova prije nepoznatih i optimalnim uvjetima slušanja prije neoptimalnih. Osim vježbi slušanja, program omogućava korisniku identifikaciju frekvencije tonskog tinitusa te terapiju Tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) terapijom glazbom, koja za cilj ima smanjenje njegovog intenziteta. Izrađeni program može poslužiti kao dodatak standardnim udiorehabilitacijskim postupcima kod osoba sa stečenim oštećenjem sluha, a, osim terapijske funkcije, može pomoći i pripadnicima opće populacije u objektivnijoj samoprocjeni njihovog slušnog funkcioniranja.
Hearing loss and tinnitus represent a significant challenge for affected individuals in everyday spokencommunication. Hearing difficulties caused by them can be alleviated through different therapeuticapproaches, however hearing therapy approaches aimed at hearing improvement in the adultpopulation are not very common in the health sector. In recent years, desktop and mobile applicationsfor the treatment of a variety of health difficulties have shown potential, but unfortunately they arestill rarely available at no charge. In this paper, the knowledge in the area of audiology and hearingtherapy has been applied in designing a computer program for the Croatian speaking adult populationwith speech intelligibility difficulties caused by acquired hearing impairment and tonal tinnitus. Thetypes of exercises and their representation have been modelled based on the conventional hearingtherapy methods as well as on currently available web, mobile and desktop apps. The programcontains twelve listening exercises that differ in their degree of complexity, whose design was guidedby the fundamental principles of the verbotonal method. Accordingly, the exercises start with familiarterms before advancing to the unfamiliar ones and with optimal hearing conditions before movingon to the nonoptimal ones. In addition to these exercises, the program offers tonal tinnitus frequencyidentification and sound therapy for its loudness reduction based on the Tailor-made notched musictraining (TMNMT) principles. The program can serve as an addition to the conventional hearingtherapy for individuals in the later stages of adaptation to hearing aids or cochlear implants, as wellas help the non-diagnosed individuals to assess their hearing more objectively and, if necessary, seekprofessional help.
Hearing rehabilitation is a complex process comprised of various types of interventions. One of them, auditory training, is commonly offered to adults with hearing loss that either underwent cochlear ...implant surgery or adapt with difficulty to the prescribed behind-the-ear hearing aid. During this type of intervention, speech material saturated with phonemes of different spectral characteristics is presented to the patient. In this paper, text analysis and generation capabilities offered by the OpenAI's state-of-the-art GPT-4 model-based ChatGPT chatbot were assessed under a set of explicitly stated Croatian language rules and strict phonetic criteria, with the final objective of novel speech material generation. The results indicate that the chatbot can successfully generate isolated words of standard Croatian language for two target phoneme classes at saturation levels up to 80 %, and for the remaining three classes at levels up to 60 %. Moreover, as much as 90 % of sentences that it generated at the 50 % saturation level satisfy the stated phonetic criteria and, even though generally void of meaning, adhere to the Croatian language rules and, thus, can be used for auditory training exercises.
In this work, two closed spaces intended for speech will be compared on the basis of speech intelligibility level using two types of methods: subjective and objective ones. The first group of methods ...is represented with the logatome listening test. The results obtained with it (the percentages of correctly heard logatomes) are compared with the values of intelligibility correlated standardized acoustic parameters calculated from the acoustic impulse responses of the rooms. In the end the paper presents the comparison of the methods from the standpoints of time and money consumption and the conclusion regarding the suitability level of each room for speech.
•Burkholderia gladioli was identified as a cause of healthcare-associated bacteremia.•The investigation traced to the contaminated multidose vials with saline solution.•Isolates from blood and saline ...showed the same susceptibility patterns.•Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to genotype the strains.•PFGE profile of all B. gladioli isolates demonstrated clonal relatedness.
Burkholderia gladioli has been associated with infections in patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic granulomatous disease, and other immunocompromising conditions. The aim of this study was to better depict the outbreak of healthcare-associated bacteremia caused by B. gladioli due to exposure to contaminated multidose vials with saline solutions.
An environmental and epidemiologic investigation was conducted by the Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPCT) to identify the source of the outbreak in three Croatian hospitals.
During a 3-month period, 13 B. gladioli bacteremia episodes were identified in 10 patients in three Croatian hospitals. At the time of the outbreak, all three hospitals used saline products from the same manufacturer. Two 100-ml multidose vials with saline solutions and needleless dispensing pins were positive for B. gladioli. All 13 bacteremia isolates and two isolates from the saline showed the same antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profile, demonstrating clonal relatedness.
When an environmental pathogen causes an outbreak, contamination of intravenous products must be considered. Close communication between the local IPCT and the National Hospital Infection Control Advisory Committee is essential to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation and find the source of the outbreak.
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Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to investigate the efficiency and factorial validity of a newly developed vitality questionnaire (AMRJ) in women. Methods: In this randomized trial over six ...weeks, 161 women were randomly included. Each category of age represents one period of life as follows: 17.5 years (adolescence), 30 years (menstruation and sexual activity), 45 years (perimenopause) and 60 years (menopause). Opposed to subjective vitality status questionnaire (SVS), the AMRJ was designed to understand one's personal perception of posture, body tissue, breathing, self-perception of health, pain and quality of life. Results: For the AMJR, the two-factor solution explained 64% of variance among items, and all items loaded highly with their underlying factors (all λ > .55). A large effect size (d= - .89) was observed for 17.5-year-olds, and a medium effect size (d=- .50) was observed for 60-year-olds. Furthermore, current vitality ratings from the AMJR questionnaire were significantly larger as well after the intervention, but the interpretation of the significant interaction terms goes in another direction. In AMJR, the effects of the intervention increased with the participant’s age. The intervention effect had a medium effect size for 17.5-year-olds (d= .67), and a large effect size (d= - .92) for 60-year-olds. Conclusions: The AMJR questionnaire brings a new perspective on self-measured vitality and is published for the first time with the affiliated presentation of validity. It shows current and potential vitality associated with the physical domain. Potential point as a concrete individual fact brings objective goals and important motivational stimulus for vitality improvements.
Burkholderia gladioli has been associated with infections in patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic granulomatous disease and other immunocompromising conditions. The aim of this study was to better ...depict the outbreak of healthcare-associated bacteremia caused by Burkholderia gladioli due to contaminated multi-dose vials with saline solutions.
An environmental and epidemiological investigation was conducted by the Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPCT) in order to identify the source of the outbreak in three Croatian hospitals.
During a three-month period, a total of thirteen B. gladioli bacteremia episodes were identified in ten patients in three Croatian hospitals. At the time of the outbreak, all three hospitals used saline products from the same manufacturer. Two 100 ml multi-dose vials with saline solutions and needleless dispensing pins were B. gladioli positive. All thirteen bacteremia isolates, as well as two isolates from the saline, showed the same antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profile demonstrating clonal relatedness.
When an environmental pathogen causes an outbreak, contamination of intravenous products must be considered. Close communication between local IPCT and the National Hospital Infection Control Advisory Committee is essential to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation and find the source of the outbreak.
Sports recreation area is on this issue largely ignored due to the lack of doping controls in the same extremely nontransparent terms. ...the work is on the one hand aimed at the general empirical ...clarification of the use of (not) allowed agents among recreationists, while the other side wants to empirically examine their motives for use. ...this paper addresses the issue of how to use permissible and impermissible supplementation. Gender and age differences in the relationship between Body Mass Index and perceived weight: Gender differences in relationships among perceived attractiveness, life satisfaction, and health in adults as a function of Body Mass Index and perceived weight.
The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and frequency of use (not) allowed supplementation among recreational users and other forms of fitness and recreational content. ...Domestic and foreign literature clearly indicates the existence of (not) allowed supplementation in sports recreation. It should be noted that the problem of using illegal supplementation in sport, in most of the literature generally, considered in the context of doping in professional sports. Sports recreation area is on this issue largely ignored due to the lack of doping controls in the same extremely nontransparent terms. Therefore, the work is on the one hand aimed at the general empirical clarification of the use of (not) allowed agents among recreationists, while the other side wants to empirically examine their motives for use. These findings ultimately serve the development of preventive and educational guidelines aimed at reducing the use of illegal supplementation. As permitted use of supplementation ( nutritional supplements ) according to the latest research (e.g. Kläber 2010a , 2010b ) is often only the first stage on the way to the use of illegal supplementation ( doping ), it is necessary to analyze the use of illegal supplementation in sports and recreation including an analysis of the use of permitted supplementation. Therefore, this paper addresses the issue of how to use permissible and impermissible supplementation.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: A workflow management tool is essential in order to help support consistent processes with transparency in next steps of the study process. Prior to this tool, staff has relied upon ...extensive training and coaching on the study process. While resources and guidelines exist, it requires additional time for staff to identify these resources and allows for confusion and rework. Implementation of a systematic workflow management tool was identified as a critical need in order to support streamlined processes, improve transparency and support business continuity, and to accelerate the study process. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This effort was undertaken as part of the Protocol Lifecycle Management effort to implement a comprehensive clinical trial management system for clinical research studies. Mayo Clinic has designed a workflow management tool within the Velos eResearch system. The workflow manager is dynamic and will present specific activities based on the study design and responses to data entered on the ad hoc forms. A Workflow Build group contributed to the design of the workflow in order to reflect appropriate, current operational processes. The workflow was vetted and validated with research teams. In addition to designing activities, planned dates and target timelines were established for relevant workflows to help promote transparency in the study start-up timelines and allow study staff to identify overdue activities. Study status controls were designed in the workflow to protect study staff from inadvertently changing the status until appropriate activities are complete. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A dynamic workflow has been designed and implemented in the Velos eResearch system to support Mayo Clinic research sites. This system will be implemented February 24, 2020 to all consenting studies. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The implementation of this workflow management tool is critical to help support research operations in a large, academic medical center. Benefits to implementation are expected to include improved transparency in the study status and next steps, reductions in rework due to confusion in next steps, better understanding from new staff in the appropriate study process, and improved timelines for study start-up. As we prepare for the implementation of the Velos eResearch system at Mayo Clinic, the workflow management tool has been identified in training sessions as a positive benefit.
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