The contribution of visual articulatory gestures and orthography to speech processing: Evidence from novel word learning.

Auditory speech appears to be linked to visual articulatory gestures and orthography through different mechanisms. Yet, both types of visual information have a strong influence on speech processing. The present study directly compared their contributions to speech processing using a novel word learning paradigm.

Orthography and second language word learning: Moving beyond "friend or foe?".

French participants learned English pseudowords either with the orthographic form displayed under the corresponding picture (Audio-Ortho) or without (Audio). In a naming task, pseudowords learned in the Audio-Ortho condition were produced faster and with fewer errors, providing a first piece of evidence that orthographic information facilitates the learning and on-line retrieval of productive vocabulary in a second language. Formant analyses, however, showed that productions from the Audio-Ortho condition were more French-like (i.

Dysarthria in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a protocol for a binational, cross-sectional, case-controlled study in French and European Portuguese (FraLusoPark).

Introduction: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) have to deal with several aspects of voice and speech decline and thus alteration of communication ability during the course of the disease. Among these communication impairments, 3 major challenges include: (1) dysarthria, consisting of orofacial motor dysfunction and dysprosody, which is linked to the neurodegenerative processes; (2) effects of the pharmacological treatment, which vary according to the disease stage; and (3) particular speech modifications that may be language-specific, that is, dependent on the language spoken by the patients. The main objective of the FraLusoPark project is to provide a thorough evaluation of changes in PD speech as a result of pharmacological treatment and disease duration in 2 different languages (French vs European Portuguese).

An intonational cue to word segmentation in phonemically identical sequences.

We investigated the use of language-specific intonational cues to word segmentation in French. Participants listened to phonemically identical sequences such as /selafi/, C'est la fiche/l'affiche "It's the sheet/poster." We modified the f0 of the first vowel /a/ of the natural consonant-initial production la fiche, so that it was equal to that of the natural vowel-initial production l'affiche (resynth-consonant-equal condition), higher (resynth-consonant-higher condition), or lower (resynth-consonant-lower condition).

Effects of pitch accent position, type, and status on focus projection.

This paper examines predictions made by two theories of the relationship between pitch accent and focus. The empirical evidence presented suggests that listeners are sensitive to a variety of factors that may affect the focus projection ability of pitch accents, that is the ability of a pitch accent on one word to mark focus on a larger constituent. The findings suggest that listeners' interpretation of focus structure is most sensitive to the presence or absence of a pitch accent on a focused constituent and the deaccenting of following unfocused material (pitch accent position).

Comparison of automated Difco ESP blood culture system with biphasic BBL Septi-Chek system for detection of bloodstream infections in pediatric patients.

We compared the Difco ESP 384 blood culture system with the pediatric Septi-Chek system for the detection of bloodstream infections in pediatric patients. A total of 10,762 blood culture sets included an ESP aerobic bottle and a Septi-Chek bottle. From these cultures, a total of 278 organisms classified as probable pathogens were isolated, including 237 from ESP bottles and 221 from Septi-Chek bottles.

Comparison of heparin and EDTA transport tubes for detection of cytomegalovirus in leukocytes by shell vial assay, pp65 antigenemia assay, and PCR.

The anticoagulants heparin and EDTA were compared for inhibitory effects on the detection of cytomegalovirus from washed leukocytes in specimen transport tubes. Evaluation was made by the centrifugation/shell vial culture technique, the pp65 antigenemia assay, and PCR. For each assay, the results with heparin and EDTA were equivalent.

Resistance to penicillin and non-beta-lactam antibiotics of Streptococcus pneumoniae at a children's hospital.

During a 12-month period we tested all isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from patients at St. Louis Children's Hospital for resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics. Twenty-seven (20%) of 136 had relative penicillin resistance (minimum inhibitory concentration 0.

Comparison of PCR and pp65 antigenemia assay with quantitative shell vial culture for detection of cytomegalovirus in blood leukocytes from solid-organ transplant recipients.

This study compared PCR and an assay for cytomegalovirus (CMV) pp65 antigenemia (CMV-vue; INCSTAR Corp.) with a quantitative shell vial culture (QSVC) technique for the detection of CMV in serial blood specimens from 46 solid-organ transplant recipients. In a comparison based on 535 specimens tested by PCR and QSVC, CMV was detected by PCR in 41 and by QSVC in 37 of 43 recipients at risk of CMV infection.

Evaluation of the pediatric Septi-Chek blood culture system.

The pediatric Septi-Chek blood culture system is a biphasic system that uses a 20-ml bottle of brain-heart infusion broth. We compared this system with a supplemented peptone broth tube (Vacutainer) for the recovery of aerobic organisms from blood cultures obtained from patients in a pediatric hospital. Blood specimens for culture were drawn into transport tubes containing sodium polyanetholsulfonate (SPS), and equal volumes were allocated into a Septi-Chek bottle and a Vacutainer tube which was vented for the first day of incubation.

Comparison of the Bactec Peds Plus pediatric blood culture vial with Roche pediatric Septi-Chek for blood cultures from pediatric patients.

Equal volumes of blood from 4,112 blood cultures were inoculated into one Bactec Peds Plus bottle and one Roche Septi-Chek bottle. There were no significant differences in the recoveries of bloodstream pathogens. Initial detection occurred earlier with Bactec Peds Plus, while growth on solid media occurred earlier with Roche Septi-Chek.