Psychometric Functions of Vowel Detection and Identification in Long-Term Speech-Shaped Noise.

Purpose The goal of this study was to investigate vowel detection and identification in noise and provide baseline data regarding how vowel perception changed with signal-to-noise ratios. Psychometric functions of vowel detection and identification for 12 American English isolated vowels in long-term speech-shaped noise were examined for young listeners with normal hearing in this study. Method Vowel detection was measured at sensation levels from -10 to +5 dB (re: thresholds of vowel detection from the study of Liu and Eddins, 2008a ) with a 4-interval forced-choice procedure.

[Development of a Play Toolkit for Supporting Infant and Toddler Development in Kyrgyzstan with a Focus on the Symbolic Functioning and Fine Motor Development of Infants 6 to 36 Months Old].

Purpose: The study aimed to develop a play toolkit to facilitate infants' and toddlers' symbolic thought and fine motor development.

Methods: This study used a methodological study design including two phases of development and evaluation. After reviewing the play culture and developmental health issues in Kyrgyzstan through a literature review and interviews with local experts and parents, the toolkit was developed and evaluated using content validity and utilization tests.

English Consonant Identification in Multi-Talker Babble: Effects of Chinese-Native Listeners' English Experience.

The identification of English consonants in quiet and multi-talker babble was examined for three groups of young adult listeners: Chinese in China, Chinese in the USA (CNU), and English-native listeners. As expected, native listeners outperformed non-native listeners. The two non-native groups had similar performance in quiet, whereas CNU listeners performed significantly better than Chinese in China listeners in babble.

Actin-binding LIM protein 1 regulates receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-mediated osteoclast differentiation and motility.

Actin-binding LIM protein 1 (ABLIM1), a member of the LIM-domain protein family, mediates interactions between actin filaments and cytoplasmic targets. However, the role of ABLIM1 in osteoclast and bone metabolism has not been reported. In the present study, we investigated the role of ABLIM1 in the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)- mediated osteoclastogenesis.

Pueraria lobate Inhibits RANKL-Mediated Osteoclastogenesis Via Downregulation of CREB/PGC1β/c-Fos/NFATc1 Signaling.

Puerariae radix, the dried root of Pueraria lobate Ohwi, is known to prevent bone loss in ovariectomized mice; however, the precise molecular mechanisms are not understood. In this study, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of action of Puerariae radix extract (PRE) on receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis. PRE dose-dependently inhibited osteoclast differentiation and formation, decreased the bone-resorbing activity of osteoclasts, and downregulated the expression of osteoclast differentiation marker genes.

Cytosolic malate dehydrogenase regulates RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis via AMPK/c-Fos/NFATc1 signaling.

Cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (malate dehydrogenase 1, MDH1) plays pivotal roles in the malate/aspartate shuttle that might modulate metabolism between the cytosol and mitochondria. In this study, we investigated the role of MDH1 in osteoclast differentiation and formation. MDH1 expression was induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) treatment.

Auditory detection of non-speech and speech stimuli in noise: Effects of listeners' native language background.

This study investigated whether native listeners processed speech differently from non-native listeners in a speech detection task. Detection thresholds of Mandarin Chinese and Korean vowels and non-speech sounds in noise, frequency selectivity, and the nativeness of Mandarin Chinese and Korean vowels were measured for Mandarin Chinese- and Korean-native listeners. The two groups of listeners exhibited similar non-speech sound detection and frequency selectivity; however, the Korean listeners had better detection thresholds of Korean vowels than Chinese listeners, while the Chinese listeners performed no better at Chinese vowel detection than the Korean listeners.

English vowel identification in quiet and noise: effects of listeners' native language background.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of listener's native language (L1) and the types of noise on English vowel identification in noise.

Method: Identification of 12 English vowels was measured in quiet and in long-term speech-shaped noise and multi-talker babble (MTB) noise for English- (EN), Chinese- (CN) and Korean-native (KN) listeners at various signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).

Results: Compared to non-native listeners, EN listeners performed significantly better in quiet and in noise.

The effects of aging on speech perception in noise: comparison between normal-hearing and cochlear-implant listeners.

Background: Speech understanding in noise is comparatively more problematic for older listeners with and without hearing loss, and age-related changes in temporal resolution might be associated with reduced speech recognition in complex noise.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aging on temporal processing and speech perception in noise for normal-hearing (NH) and cochlear-implant (CI) listeners.

Research Design: All participants completed three experimental procedures: (1) amplitude modulation (AM) detection thresholds, (2) sentence recognition in quiet, and (3) speech recognition in steady or modulating noise.

Durations of American English vowels by native and non-native speakers: acoustic analyses and perceptual effects.

The goal of this study was to examine durations of American English vowels produced by English-, Chinese-, and Korean-native speakers and the effects of vowel duration on vowel intelligibility. Twelve American English vowels were recorded in the /hVd/ phonetic context by native speakers and non-native speakers. The English vowel duration patterns as a function of vowel produced by non-native speakers were generally similar to those produced by native speakers.

Intelligibility of American English vowels and consonants spoken by international students in the United States.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the intelligibility of English consonants and vowels produced by Chinese-native (CN), and Korean-native (KN) students enrolled in American universities. METHOD 16 English-native (EN), 32 CN, and 32 KN speakers participated in this study. The intelligibility of 16 American English consonants and 16 vowels spoken by native and nonnative speakers of English was evaluated by EN listeners.

Masking release and modulation interference in cochlear implant and simulation listeners.

Purpose: To examine the effects of temporal and spectral interference of masking noise on sentence recognition for listeners with cochlear implants (CI) and normal-hearing persons listening to vocoded signals that simulate signals processed through a CI (NH-Sim).

Method: NH-Sim and CI listeners participated in the experiments using speech and noise that were processed by bandpass filters. Depending on the experimental condition, the spectra of the maskers relative to that of speech were set to be completely embedded with, partially overlapping, or completely separate from, the speech.

Hearing conservation program for marching band members: a risk for noise-induced hearing loss?

Purpose: To examine the risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in university marching band members and to provide an overview of a hearing conservation program for a marching band.

Method: Sound levels during band rehearsals were recorded and audiometric hearing thresholds and transient otoacoustic emission were measured over a 3-year period. Musician's earplugs and information about hearing loss were provided to the students.

English vowel identification in long-term speech-shaped noise and multi-talker babble for English and Chinese listeners.

The identification of 12 English vowels was measured in quiet and in long-term speech-shaped noise (LTSSN) and multi-talker babble for English-native (EN) listeners and Chinese-native listeners in the U.S. (CNU) and China (CNC).

The vowel inherent spectral change of English vowels spoken by native and non-native speakers.

The current study examined Vowel Inherent Spectral Change (VISC) of English vowels spoken by English-, Chinese-, and Korean-native speakers. Two metrics, spectral distance (amount of spectral shift) and spectral angle (direction of spectral shift) of formant movement from the onset to the offset, were measured for 12 English monophthongs produced in a /hvd/ context. While Chinese speakers showed significantly greater spectral distances of vowels than English and Korean speakers, there was no significant speakers' native language effect on spectral angles.

English sentence recognition in speech-shaped noise and multi-talker babble for English-, Chinese-, and Korean-native listeners.

This study aimed to investigate English sentence recognition in quiet and two types of maskers, multi-talker babble (MTB) and long-term speech-shaped noise (LTSSN), with varied signal-to-noise ratios, for English-, Chinese-, and Korean-native listeners. Results showed that first, sentence recognition for non-native listeners was affected more by background noise than that for native listeners; second, the masking effects of LTSSN were similar between Chinese and Korean listeners, but the masking effects of MTB were greater for Chinese than for Korean listeners, suggesting possible interaction effects between the non-native listener's native language and speech-like competing noise in sentence recognition.

Audibility of American English vowels produced by English-, Chinese-, and Korean-native speakers in long-term speech-shaped noise.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there were significant differences in audibility of American English vowels in noise produced by non-native and native speakers. Detection thresholds for 12 English vowels with equalized durations of 170 ms produced by 10 English-, Chinese- and Korean-native speakers were measured for young normal-hearing English-native listeners in the presence of speech-shaped noise presented at 70 dB SPL. Similar patterns of vowel detection thresholds as a function of the vowel category were found for native and non-native speakers, with the highest thresholds for /u/ and /ʊ/ and lowest thresholds for /i/ and /e/.

Interrupted speech perception: the effects of hearing sensitivity and frequency resolution.

Jin & Nelson (2006) found that although amplified speech recognition performance of hearing-impaired (HI) listeners was equal to that of normal-hearing (NH) listeners in quiet and in steady noise, nevertheless HI listeners' performance was significantly poorer in modulated noise. As a follow-up, the current study investigated whether three factors, auditory integration, low-mid frequency audibility and auditory filter bandwidths, might contribute to reduced sentence recognition of HI listeners in the presence of modulated interference. Three findings emerged.

Speech perception in gated noise: the effects of temporal resolution.

Previous investigations have suggested that hearing-impaired (HI) listeners have reduced masking release (MR) compared to normal hearing listeners (NH) when they listen in modulated noise. The current study examined the following questions that have not been clearly answered: First, when HI listeners are amplified so that their performance is equal to that of NH listeners in quiet and in steady noise, do HI listeners still show reduced MR with modulated noise when compared to NH listeners? Second, is the masking release the same for sentences and CV syllables? Third, does forward masking significantly contribute to the variability in performance among HI listeners? To compensate for reduced hearing sensitivity for HI listeners, the spectrum levels of both speech and noise were adjusted based on the individual hearing loss. There was no significant difference between the performance of NH listeners and that of HI listeners in steady noise and in quiet.

Factors affecting speech understanding in gated interference: cochlear implant users and normal-hearing listeners.

Previous work [Nelson, Jin, Carney, and Nelson (2003), J. Acoust. Soc.

Understanding speech in modulated interference: cochlear implant users and normal-hearing listeners.

Many competing noises in real environments are modulated or fluctuating in level. Listeners with normal hearing are able to take advantage of temporal gaps in fluctuating maskers. Listeners with sensorineural hearing loss show less benefit from modulated maskers.