Close approximations to the sound of a cochlear implant.

Cochlear implant (CI) systems differ in terms of electrode design and signal processing. It is likely that patients fit with different implant systems will experience different percepts when presented speech via their implant. The sound quality of speech can be evaluated by asking single-sided-deaf (SSD) listeners fit with a cochlear implant (CI) to modify clean signals presented to their typically hearing ear to match the sound quality of signals presented to their CI ear.

A multi-resolution ensemble model of three decision-tree-based algorithms to predict daily NO concentration in France 2005-2022.

Understanding and managing the health effects of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO) requires high resolution spatiotemporal exposure maps. Here, we developed a multi-stage multi-resolution ensemble model that predicts daily NO concentration across continental France from 2005 to 2022. Innovations of this work include the computation of daily predictions at a 200 m resolution in large urban areas and the use of a spatio-temporal blocking procedure to avoid data leakage and ensure fair performance estimation.

Synchronizing Automatic Gain Control in Bilateral Cochlear Implants Mitigates Dynamic Localization Deficits Introduced by Independent Bilateral Compression.

Objectives: The independence of left and right automatic gain controls (AGCs) used in cochlear implants can distort interaural level differences and thereby compromise dynamic sound source localization. We assessed the degree to which synchronizing left and right AGCs mitigates those difficulties as indicated by listeners' ability to use the changes in interaural level differences that come with head movements to avoid front-back reversals (FBRs).

Design: Broadband noise stimuli were presented from one of six equally spaced loudspeakers surrounding the listener.

Spatial Heterogeneity Effects on Meta-Community Stability of Annual Plants from a Coastal Dune Ecosystem.

Spatial heterogeneity affects plant community composition and diversity. It is particularly noticeable in annual plant communities, which vary in space and time over short distances and periods, forming meta-communities at the regional scale. This study was conducted at the coastal dune ecosystem in Nizzanim nature reserve, Israel.

Predicting fine-scale daily NO over Mexico City using an ensemble modeling approach.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in developing air pollution prediction models to reduce exposure measurement error in epidemiologic studies. However, efforts for localized, fine-scale prediction models have been predominantly focused in the United States and Europe. Furthermore, the availability of new satellite instruments such as the TROPOsopheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) provides novel opportunities for modeling efforts.

A sensitive soil biological indicator to changes in land-use in regions with Mediterranean climate.

The demand for reliable indicators to quantify soil health has increased recently. We propose and test the use of soil microbial functional diversity as an indicator of multifunctional performance in agriculturally important areas. Agricultural fields in the Mediterranean and semiarid regions of Israel were selected as test sites and measured in Spring and Autumn seasons.

AzBio Sentence test in Hebrew (HeBio): development, preliminary validation, and the effect of noise.

The AzBio sentence test is widely used to assess speech perception pre- and post-cochlear implantation. This study created and validated a Hebrew version of AzBio (HeBio) and tested its intelligibility amidst background noise. In Experiment 1, 1,000 recorded Hebrew sentences were presented via five-channel vocoder to 10 normal hearing (NH) listeners for intelligibility testing.

Nature and happiness in an individualist and a collectivist culture.

According to the attention restoration theory, exposure to nature (ETN) renews one's capacity to focus attention, which decreases cognitive fatigue and therefore may increase positive emotions. Indeed, natural settings have been associated with high prevalence of happy facial expressions (HFE). However, how universal the association is, remains unclear.

Upward Shifts in the Internal Representation of Frequency Can Persist Over a 3-Year Period for Cochlear Implant Patients Fit With a Relatively Short Electrode Array.

Patients fit with cochlear implants (CIs) commonly indicate at the time of device fitting and for some time after, that the speech signal sounds abnormal. A high pitch or timbre is one component of the abnormal percept. In this project, our aim was to determine whether a number of years of CI use reduced perceived upshifts in frequency spectrum and/or voice fundamental frequency.

A 1-km hourly air-temperature model for 13 northeastern U.S. states using remotely sensed and ground-based measurements.

Background: Accurate and precise estimates of ambient air temperatures that can capture fine-scale within-day variability are necessary for studies of air temperature and health.

Method: We developed statistical models to predict temperature at each hour in each cell of a 927-m square grid across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States from 2003 to 2019, across ~4000 meteorological stations from the Integrated Mesonet, using inputs such as elevation, an inverse-distance-weighted interpolation of temperature, and satellite-based vegetation and land surface temperature. We used a rigorous spatial cross-validation scheme and spatially weighted the errors to estimate how well model predictions would generalize to new cell-days.

Effects of Bilateral Automatic Gain Control Synchronization in Cochlear Implants With and Without Head Movements: Sound Source Localization in the Frontal Hemifield.

Purpose For bilaterally implanted patients, the automatic gain control (AGC) in both left and right cochlear implant (CI) processors is usually neither linked nor synchronized. At high AGC compression ratios, this lack of coordination between the two processors can distort interaural level differences, the only useful interaural difference cue available to CI patients. This study assessed the improvement, if any, in the utility of interaural level differences for sound source localization in the frontal hemifield when AGCs were synchronized versus independent and when listeners were stationary versus allowed to move their heads.

Development and Validation of the Spanish AzBio Sentence Corpus.

Objective: To create and validate a Spanish sentence test for evaluation of speech understanding of Spanish-speaking listeners with hearing loss or cochlear implants (CI).

Study Design: Two thousand sentences were recorded from two male and two female speakers. The average intelligibility of each sentence was estimated as the mean score achieved by five listeners presented with a five-channel cochlear implant simulation.

Impact of Botulinum Toxin on Hirschsprung-Associated Enterocolitis After Primary Pull-Through.

Background: Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC) is a serious potential complication after primary pull-through surgery for Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). Administration of anal botulinum toxin (BT) injection may improve obstructive symptoms at the internal anal sphincter, leading to improved fecal passage. The timing of administration and effects on delay or prevention of HAEC are unknown.

Validating and Comparing Highly Resolved Commercial "Off the Shelf" PM Monitoring Sensors with Satellite Based Hybrid Models, for Improved Environmental Exposure Assessment.

Particulate matter is a common health hazard, and under certain conditions, an ecological threat. While many studies were conducted in regard to air pollution and potential effects, this paper serves as a pilot scale investigation into the spatial and temporal variability of particulate matter (PM) pollution in arid urban environments in general, and Beer-Sheva, Israel as a case study. We explore the use of commercially off the shelf (COTS) sensors, which provide an economical solution for spatio-temporal measurements.

The Benefit of Remote and On-Ear Directional Microphone Technology Persists in the Presence of Visual Information.

Background: Both the Roger remote microphone and on-ear, adaptive beamforming technologies (e.g., Phonak UltraZoom) have been shown to improve speech understanding in noise for cochlear implant (CI) listeners when tested in audio-only (A-only) test environments.

Effects of Head Movements on Sound-Source Localization in Single-Sided Deaf Patients With Their Cochlear Implant On Versus Off.

Objectives: We investigated the ability of single-sided deaf listeners implanted with a cochlear implant (SSD-CI) to (1) determine the front-back and left-right location of sound sources presented from loudspeakers surrounding the listener and (2) use small head rotations to further improve their localization performance. The resulting behavioral data were used for further analyses investigating the value of so-called "monaural" spectral shape cues for front-back sound source localization.

Design: Eight SSD-CI patients were tested with their cochlear implant (CI) on and off.

Associations between daily ambient temperature and sedentary time among children 4-6 years old in Mexico City.

Background: Sedentary behavior is a worldwide public health concern. There is consistent and growing evidence linking sedentary behavior to mortality and morbidity. Early monitoring and assessment of environmental factors associated with sedentary behaviors at a young age are important initial steps for understanding children's sedentary time and identifying pertinent interventions.

Advancing methodologies for applying machine learning and evaluating spatiotemporal models of fine particulate matter (PM) using satellite data over large regions.

Reconstructing the distribution of fine particulate matter (PM) in space and time, even far from ground monitoring sites, is an important exposure science contribution to epidemiologic analyses of PM health impacts. Flexible statistical methods for prediction have demonstrated the integration of satellite observations with other predictors, yet these algorithms are susceptible to overfitting the spatiotemporal structure of the training datasets. We present a new approach for predicting PM using machine-learning methods and evaluating prediction models for the goal of making predictions where they were not previously available.

Spatiotemporal distribution of autism spectrum disorder prevalence among birth cohorts during 2000-2011 in Israel.

Purpose: Studies indicate an apparent sharp increasing trend in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) incidence and prevalence worldwide. This nationwide study aims at depicting ASD prevalence distribution in Israel in both space and time.

Methods: Based on data from Israel National Insurance Institute, the study population included all children born in Israel 2000-2011 (n = 1,786,194), of whom 11,699 (0.

Prenatal exposure to ambient air temperature and risk of early delivery.

Background: Preterm birth is a major determinant of adverse health consequences, and early term births are also associated with increased risk of various outcomes. In light of climate change, the effect of ambient temperature on earlier delivery is an important factor to consider. Several studies have focused on associations of ambient air temperature (Ta) on preterm birth, but few have examined associations with early term births.

Bilateral Cochlear Implants Allow Listeners to Benefit from Visual Information When Talker Location is Varied.

Background: Previous research has found that when the location of a talker was varied and an auditory prompt indicated the location of the talker, the addition of visual information produced a significant and large improvement in speech understanding for listeners with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) but not with a unilateral CI. Presumably, the sound-source localization ability of the bilateral CI listeners allowed them to orient to the auditory prompt and benefit from visual information for the subsequent target sentence.

Purpose: The goal of this project was to assess the robustness of previous research by using a different test environment, a different CI, different test material, and a different response measure.

Approximations to the Voice of a Cochlear Implant: Explorations With Single-Sided Deaf Listeners.

Fourteen single-sided deaf listeners fit with an MED-EL cochlear implant (CI) judged the similarity of clean signals presented to their CI and modified signals presented to their normal-hearing ear. The signals to the normal-hearing ear were created by (a) filtering, (b) spectral smearing, (c) changing overall fundamental frequency (F0), (d) F0 contour flattening, (e) changing formant frequencies, (f) altering resonances and ring times to create a metallic sound quality, (g) using a noise vocoder, or (h) using a sine vocoder. The operations could be used singly or in any combination.

A multi-resolution air temperature model for France from MODIS and Landsat thermal data.

Understanding and managing the health effects of ambient temperature (T) in a warming, urbanizing world requires spatially- and temporally-resolved T at high resolutions. This is challenging in a large area like France which includes highly variable topography, rural areas with few weather stations, and heterogeneous urban areas where T can vary at fine spatial scales. We have modeled daily T from 2000 to 2016 at a base resolution of 1 km across continental France and at a 200 × 200 m resolution over large urban areas.