Swallowing Mechanics Associated With Artificial Airways, Bolus Properties, and Penetration–Aspiration Status in Trauma Patients

Purpose

Artificial airway procedures such as intubation and tracheotomy are common in the treatment of traumatic injuries, and bolus modifications may be implemented to help manage swallowing disorders. This study assessed artificial airway status, bolus properties (volume and viscosity), and the occurrence of laryngeal penetration and/or aspiration in relation to mechanical features of swallowing.

Method

Coordinates of anatomical landmarks were extracted at minimum and maximum hyolaryngeal excursion from 228 videofluoroscopic swallowing studies representing 69 traumatically injured U.S. military service members with dysphagia. Morphometric canonical variate and regression analyses examined associations between swallowing mechanics and bolus properties based on artificial airway and penetration–aspiration status.

Results

Significant differences in swallowing mechanics were detected between extubated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.32, p < .0001), extubated versus decannulated (D = 1.74, p < .0001), and decannulated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.24, p < .0001) groups per post hoc discriminant function analysis. Tracheotomy-in-situ and decannulated subgroups exhibited increased head/neck extension and posterior relocation of the larynx. Swallowing mechanics associated with (a) penetration–aspiration status and (b) bolus properties were moderately related for extubated and decannulated subgroups, but not the tracheotomized subgroup, per morphometric regression analysis.

Conclusion

Specific differences in swallowing mechanics associated with artificial airway status and certain bolus properties may guide therapeutic intervention in trauma-based dysphagia.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0431/2649304/Swallowing-Mechanics-Associated-With-Artificial
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Author Impact Metrics in Communication Sciences and Disorder Research

Purpose

The purpose was to examine author-level impact metrics for faculty in the communication sciences and disorder research field across a variety of databases.

Method

Author-level impact metrics were collected for faculty from 257 accredited universities in the United States and Canada. Three databases (i.e., Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus) were utilized.

Results

Faculty expertise was in audiology (24.4%; n = 490) and speech-language pathology (75.6%; n = 1,520). Women comprised 68.1% of faculty, and men comprised 31.9% of faculty. The percentage of faculty in the field of communication sciences and disorders identified in each database was 10.5% (n = 212), 44.0% (n = 885), and 84.4% (n = 1,696) for Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus, respectively. In general, author-level impact metrics were positively skewed. Metric values increased significantly with increasing academic rank (p < .05), were greater for men versus women (p < .05), and were greater for those in audiology versus speech-language pathology (p < .05). There were statistically significant positive correlations between all author-level metrics (p < .01).

Conclusions

These author-level metrics may serve as a benchmark for scholarly production of those in the field of communication sciences and disorders and may assist with professional identity management, tenure and promotion review, grant applications, and employment.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-H-16-0458/2650586/Author-Impact-Metrics-in-Communication-Sciences
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Semantic and Phonological Encoding in Adults Who Stutter: Silent Responses to Pictorial Stimuli

Purpose

Research on language planning in adult stuttering is relatively sparse and offers diverging arguments about a potential causative relationship between semantic and phonological encoding and fluency breakdowns. This study further investigated semantic and phonological encoding efficiency in adults who stutter (AWS) by means of silent category and phoneme identification, respectively.

Method

Fifteen AWS and 15 age- and sex-matched adults who do not stutter (ANS) participated. The groups were compared on the basis of the accuracy and speed of superordinate category (animal vs. object) and initial phoneme (vowel vs. consonant) decisions, which were indicated manually during silent viewing of pictorial stimuli. Movement execution latency was accounted for, and no other cognitive, linguistic, or motor demands were posed on participants' responses. Therefore, category identification accuracy and speed were considered indirect measures of semantic encoding efficiency and phoneme identification accuracy and speed of phonological encoding efficiency.

Results

For category decisions, AWS were slower but not less accurate than ANS, with objects eliciting more errors and slower responses than animals in both groups. For phoneme decisions, the groups did not differ in accuracy, with consonant errors outnumbering vowel errors in both groups, and AWS were slower than ANS in consonant but not vowel identification, with consonant response time lagging behind vowel response time in AWS only.

Conclusions

AWS were less efficient than ANS in semantic encoding, and they might harbor a consonant-specific phonological encoding weakness. Future independent studies are warranted to discover if these positive findings are replicable and a marker for persistent stuttering.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0323/2650587/Semantic-and-Phonological-Encoding-in-Adults-Who
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Analysis of Item-Level Bias in the Bayley-III Language Subscales: The Validity and Utility of Standardized Language Assessment in a Multilingual Setting

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to improve standardized language assessments among bilingual toddlers by investigating and removing the effects of bias due to unfamiliarity with cultural norms or a distributed language system.

Method

The Expressive and Receptive Bayley-III language scales were adapted for use in a multilingual country (Singapore). Differential item functioning (DIF) was applied to data from 459 two-year-olds without atypical language development. This involved investigating if the probability of success on each item varied according to language exposure while holding latent language ability, gender, and socioeconomic status constant. Associations with language, behavioral, and emotional problems were also examined.

Results

Five of 16 items showed DIF, 1 of which may be attributed to cultural bias and another to a distributed language system. The remaining 3 items favored toddlers with higher bilingual exposure. Removal of DIF items reduced associations between language scales and emotional and language problems, but improved the validity of the expressive scale from poor to good.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate the importance of considering cultural and distributed language bias in standardized language assessments. We discuss possible mechanisms influencing performance on items favoring bilingual exposure, including the potential role of inhibitory processing.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0196/2649302/Analysis-of-ItemLevel-Bias-in-the-BayleyIII
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Swallowing Mechanics Associated With Artificial Airways, Bolus Properties, and Penetration–Aspiration Status in Trauma Patients

Purpose

Artificial airway procedures such as intubation and tracheotomy are common in the treatment of traumatic injuries, and bolus modifications may be implemented to help manage swallowing disorders. This study assessed artificial airway status, bolus properties (volume and viscosity), and the occurrence of laryngeal penetration and/or aspiration in relation to mechanical features of swallowing.

Method

Coordinates of anatomical landmarks were extracted at minimum and maximum hyolaryngeal excursion from 228 videofluoroscopic swallowing studies representing 69 traumatically injured U.S. military service members with dysphagia. Morphometric canonical variate and regression analyses examined associations between swallowing mechanics and bolus properties based on artificial airway and penetration–aspiration status.

Results

Significant differences in swallowing mechanics were detected between extubated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.32, p < .0001), extubated versus decannulated (D = 1.74, p < .0001), and decannulated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.24, p < .0001) groups per post hoc discriminant function analysis. Tracheotomy-in-situ and decannulated subgroups exhibited increased head/neck extension and posterior relocation of the larynx. Swallowing mechanics associated with (a) penetration–aspiration status and (b) bolus properties were moderately related for extubated and decannulated subgroups, but not the tracheotomized subgroup, per morphometric regression analysis.

Conclusion

Specific differences in swallowing mechanics associated with artificial airway status and certain bolus properties may guide therapeutic intervention in trauma-based dysphagia.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0431/2649304/Swallowing-Mechanics-Associated-With-Artificial
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Author Impact Metrics in Communication Sciences and Disorder Research

Purpose

The purpose was to examine author-level impact metrics for faculty in the communication sciences and disorder research field across a variety of databases.

Method

Author-level impact metrics were collected for faculty from 257 accredited universities in the United States and Canada. Three databases (i.e., Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus) were utilized.

Results

Faculty expertise was in audiology (24.4%; n = 490) and speech-language pathology (75.6%; n = 1,520). Women comprised 68.1% of faculty, and men comprised 31.9% of faculty. The percentage of faculty in the field of communication sciences and disorders identified in each database was 10.5% (n = 212), 44.0% (n = 885), and 84.4% (n = 1,696) for Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus, respectively. In general, author-level impact metrics were positively skewed. Metric values increased significantly with increasing academic rank (p < .05), were greater for men versus women (p < .05), and were greater for those in audiology versus speech-language pathology (p < .05). There were statistically significant positive correlations between all author-level metrics (p < .01).

Conclusions

These author-level metrics may serve as a benchmark for scholarly production of those in the field of communication sciences and disorders and may assist with professional identity management, tenure and promotion review, grant applications, and employment.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-H-16-0458/2650586/Author-Impact-Metrics-in-Communication-Sciences
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Semantic and Phonological Encoding in Adults Who Stutter: Silent Responses to Pictorial Stimuli

Purpose

Research on language planning in adult stuttering is relatively sparse and offers diverging arguments about a potential causative relationship between semantic and phonological encoding and fluency breakdowns. This study further investigated semantic and phonological encoding efficiency in adults who stutter (AWS) by means of silent category and phoneme identification, respectively.

Method

Fifteen AWS and 15 age- and sex-matched adults who do not stutter (ANS) participated. The groups were compared on the basis of the accuracy and speed of superordinate category (animal vs. object) and initial phoneme (vowel vs. consonant) decisions, which were indicated manually during silent viewing of pictorial stimuli. Movement execution latency was accounted for, and no other cognitive, linguistic, or motor demands were posed on participants' responses. Therefore, category identification accuracy and speed were considered indirect measures of semantic encoding efficiency and phoneme identification accuracy and speed of phonological encoding efficiency.

Results

For category decisions, AWS were slower but not less accurate than ANS, with objects eliciting more errors and slower responses than animals in both groups. For phoneme decisions, the groups did not differ in accuracy, with consonant errors outnumbering vowel errors in both groups, and AWS were slower than ANS in consonant but not vowel identification, with consonant response time lagging behind vowel response time in AWS only.

Conclusions

AWS were less efficient than ANS in semantic encoding, and they might harbor a consonant-specific phonological encoding weakness. Future independent studies are warranted to discover if these positive findings are replicable and a marker for persistent stuttering.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0323/2650587/Semantic-and-Phonological-Encoding-in-Adults-Who
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Analysis of Item-Level Bias in the Bayley-III Language Subscales: The Validity and Utility of Standardized Language Assessment in a Multilingual Setting

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to improve standardized language assessments among bilingual toddlers by investigating and removing the effects of bias due to unfamiliarity with cultural norms or a distributed language system.

Method

The Expressive and Receptive Bayley-III language scales were adapted for use in a multilingual country (Singapore). Differential item functioning (DIF) was applied to data from 459 two-year-olds without atypical language development. This involved investigating if the probability of success on each item varied according to language exposure while holding latent language ability, gender, and socioeconomic status constant. Associations with language, behavioral, and emotional problems were also examined.

Results

Five of 16 items showed DIF, 1 of which may be attributed to cultural bias and another to a distributed language system. The remaining 3 items favored toddlers with higher bilingual exposure. Removal of DIF items reduced associations between language scales and emotional and language problems, but improved the validity of the expressive scale from poor to good.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate the importance of considering cultural and distributed language bias in standardized language assessments. We discuss possible mechanisms influencing performance on items favoring bilingual exposure, including the potential role of inhibitory processing.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0196/2649302/Analysis-of-ItemLevel-Bias-in-the-BayleyIII
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Swallowing Mechanics Associated With Artificial Airways, Bolus Properties, and Penetration–Aspiration Status in Trauma Patients

Purpose

Artificial airway procedures such as intubation and tracheotomy are common in the treatment of traumatic injuries, and bolus modifications may be implemented to help manage swallowing disorders. This study assessed artificial airway status, bolus properties (volume and viscosity), and the occurrence of laryngeal penetration and/or aspiration in relation to mechanical features of swallowing.

Method

Coordinates of anatomical landmarks were extracted at minimum and maximum hyolaryngeal excursion from 228 videofluoroscopic swallowing studies representing 69 traumatically injured U.S. military service members with dysphagia. Morphometric canonical variate and regression analyses examined associations between swallowing mechanics and bolus properties based on artificial airway and penetration–aspiration status.

Results

Significant differences in swallowing mechanics were detected between extubated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.32, p < .0001), extubated versus decannulated (D = 1.74, p < .0001), and decannulated versus tracheotomized (D = 1.24, p < .0001) groups per post hoc discriminant function analysis. Tracheotomy-in-situ and decannulated subgroups exhibited increased head/neck extension and posterior relocation of the larynx. Swallowing mechanics associated with (a) penetration–aspiration status and (b) bolus properties were moderately related for extubated and decannulated subgroups, but not the tracheotomized subgroup, per morphometric regression analysis.

Conclusion

Specific differences in swallowing mechanics associated with artificial airway status and certain bolus properties may guide therapeutic intervention in trauma-based dysphagia.

from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0431/2649304/Swallowing-Mechanics-Associated-With-Artificial
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Author Impact Metrics in Communication Sciences and Disorder Research

Purpose

The purpose was to examine author-level impact metrics for faculty in the communication sciences and disorder research field across a variety of databases.

Method

Author-level impact metrics were collected for faculty from 257 accredited universities in the United States and Canada. Three databases (i.e., Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus) were utilized.

Results

Faculty expertise was in audiology (24.4%; n = 490) and speech-language pathology (75.6%; n = 1,520). Women comprised 68.1% of faculty, and men comprised 31.9% of faculty. The percentage of faculty in the field of communication sciences and disorders identified in each database was 10.5% (n = 212), 44.0% (n = 885), and 84.4% (n = 1,696) for Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Scopus, respectively. In general, author-level impact metrics were positively skewed. Metric values increased significantly with increasing academic rank (p < .05), were greater for men versus women (p < .05), and were greater for those in audiology versus speech-language pathology (p < .05). There were statistically significant positive correlations between all author-level metrics (p < .01).

Conclusions

These author-level metrics may serve as a benchmark for scholarly production of those in the field of communication sciences and disorders and may assist with professional identity management, tenure and promotion review, grant applications, and employment.

from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-H-16-0458/2650586/Author-Impact-Metrics-in-Communication-Sciences
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Semantic and Phonological Encoding in Adults Who Stutter: Silent Responses to Pictorial Stimuli

Purpose

Research on language planning in adult stuttering is relatively sparse and offers diverging arguments about a potential causative relationship between semantic and phonological encoding and fluency breakdowns. This study further investigated semantic and phonological encoding efficiency in adults who stutter (AWS) by means of silent category and phoneme identification, respectively.

Method

Fifteen AWS and 15 age- and sex-matched adults who do not stutter (ANS) participated. The groups were compared on the basis of the accuracy and speed of superordinate category (animal vs. object) and initial phoneme (vowel vs. consonant) decisions, which were indicated manually during silent viewing of pictorial stimuli. Movement execution latency was accounted for, and no other cognitive, linguistic, or motor demands were posed on participants' responses. Therefore, category identification accuracy and speed were considered indirect measures of semantic encoding efficiency and phoneme identification accuracy and speed of phonological encoding efficiency.

Results

For category decisions, AWS were slower but not less accurate than ANS, with objects eliciting more errors and slower responses than animals in both groups. For phoneme decisions, the groups did not differ in accuracy, with consonant errors outnumbering vowel errors in both groups, and AWS were slower than ANS in consonant but not vowel identification, with consonant response time lagging behind vowel response time in AWS only.

Conclusions

AWS were less efficient than ANS in semantic encoding, and they might harbor a consonant-specific phonological encoding weakness. Future independent studies are warranted to discover if these positive findings are replicable and a marker for persistent stuttering.

from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0323/2650587/Semantic-and-Phonological-Encoding-in-Adults-Who
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Analysis of Item-Level Bias in the Bayley-III Language Subscales: The Validity and Utility of Standardized Language Assessment in a Multilingual Setting

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to improve standardized language assessments among bilingual toddlers by investigating and removing the effects of bias due to unfamiliarity with cultural norms or a distributed language system.

Method

The Expressive and Receptive Bayley-III language scales were adapted for use in a multilingual country (Singapore). Differential item functioning (DIF) was applied to data from 459 two-year-olds without atypical language development. This involved investigating if the probability of success on each item varied according to language exposure while holding latent language ability, gender, and socioeconomic status constant. Associations with language, behavioral, and emotional problems were also examined.

Results

Five of 16 items showed DIF, 1 of which may be attributed to cultural bias and another to a distributed language system. The remaining 3 items favored toddlers with higher bilingual exposure. Removal of DIF items reduced associations between language scales and emotional and language problems, but improved the validity of the expressive scale from poor to good.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate the importance of considering cultural and distributed language bias in standardized language assessments. We discuss possible mechanisms influencing performance on items favoring bilingual exposure, including the potential role of inhibitory processing.

from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://article/doi/10.1044/2017_JSLHR-L-16-0196/2649302/Analysis-of-ItemLevel-Bias-in-the-BayleyIII
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Emerging Gene Therapies for Genetic Hearing Loss

Abstract

Gene therapy, or the treatment of human disease using genetic material, for inner ear dysfunction is coming of age. Recent progress in developing gene therapy treatments for genetic hearing loss has demonstrated tantalizing proof-of-principle in animal models. While successful translation of this progress into treatments for humans awaits, there is growing interest from patients, scientists, clinicians, and industry. Nonetheless, it is clear that a number of hurdles remain, and expectations for total restoration of auditory function should remain tempered until these challenges have been overcome. Here, we review progress, prospects, and challenges for gene therapy in the inner ear. We focus on technical aspects, including routes of gene delivery to the inner ear, choice of vectors, promoters, inner ear targets, therapeutic strategies, preliminary success stories, and points to consider for translating of these successes to the clinic.

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