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Speech, voice, language and cognition in individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)
No full textSpinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) constitute a group of genetically defined hereditary, degenerative, progressive diseases affecting the cerebellum and its connections. Few previous investigations have focused on how SCA affects different aspects of communication. The aim of the present investigation was to characterize speech and voice in individuals with SCA and to investigate the progression of speech and voice symptoms, using both perceptual and acoustic methodology. In addition, language and cognition in individuals with SCA were studied.Thirty-two individuals with spinocerebellar degenerative disease participated in the studies. The majority had been diagnosed with SCA using molecular genetic testing and the rest were clinically diagnosed by a specialist in neurology. Matched control subjects were included in study II and III.Speech and voice in individuals with SCA were assessed perceptually by a group of four speech-language pathologists with long experience of neurogenic communication disorders. Recorded speech samples from individuals with SCA were rated using visual analogue scales, VAS. Speech samples were also used for computer-based acoustic analysis. Speech and voice were characterized by the following perceptual parameters: Equalized stress, imprecise consonants, vocal instability, monotony, strained-strangled voice, stereotypic intonation and reduced speech rate. Factor analysis resulted in two main factors; one associated with temporal aspects of speech and the other with vocal quality. Acoustic analysis confirmed the perceptual findings. Rate of speech and sequential and alternating motion rates were reduced, and duration and variability of syllables and pauses during rapid syllable repetition were increased compared to matched control subjects. Inter-stress intervals (ISIs) were also longer and more variable in subjects with SCA compared to control subjects. Perceived vocal instability was confirmed acoustically by increased coefficient of variation of fundamental frequency, CV of F0, during sustained phonation. This was also found in individuals with SCA with otherwise close to normal speech.Speech and voice were followed in nine individuals with SCA during three years and speech samples were analyzed both perceptually and acoustically. Perceived imprecision of consonants and stereotypic intonation had increased during the three years. Some acoustic measures had also changed, e g duration of syllables in rapid syllable repetition and duration of inter-stress intervals. In addition, there was a trend towards change in several other perceptual and acoustic measures, especially measures related to temporal aspects. Changes were more substantial in individuals with early disease onset, regardless of disease duration. An increase of mean dysarthria scores was also found.Language and cognition were assessed in 20 individuals with SCA and control subjects matched for age, gender, length of formal education and estimated cognitive level. Executive functions and attention were most severely affected, but memory and lexicosemantic knowledge were also impaired, especially in individuals with more severely impaired estimated global cognitive level of functioning. Cognitive impairment correlated with low age at disease onset and also with impairment of motor speech function, but not with disease duration.It was concluded that dysarthria in SCA resembles previous descriptions of ataxic dysarthria, but also includes an element of strained-strangled voice. Equalized stress was more prominent and imprecision of vowels was less common compared to previous studies. Vocal instability may be an early sign of the disease. Progression of symptoms can be seen over a three-year period, especially as increased perceived imprecision of consonants and stereotypic intonation, but also measured with a clinical dysarthria test. Cognition was impaired in individuals with SCA, especially executive functions and attention. Assessment by speech-language pathologists should include testing of cognition and language as it may have implications for treatment. Keywords: Spinocerebellar ataxia, ataxic dysarthria, perceptual analysis, acoustic analysis, cerebellar degenerative disorders, cognitive impairment, language impairment, executive dysfunction, progression of neurological disease.List of scientific papersI. Schalling E, Hartelius L (2004). "Acoustic analysis of speech tasks performed by three individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia." Folia Phoniatr Logop 56(6): 367-80 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15557775II. Schalling E, Hammarberg B, Hartelius L (2007). "Perceptual and acoustic analysis of speech in individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)." Logoped Phoniatr Vocol 32(1): 31-46 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17454658III. Schalling E, Tallberg IM (2007). "Executive dysfunction dominates cognitive impairment in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)." (Submitted)IV. Schalling E, Hammarberg B, Hartelius L (2007). "A longitudinal study of speech and voice in spinocerebellar ataxia - acoustic and perceptual analysis." (Submitted)</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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