A summary of the 2012 JHU CLSP Workshop on Zero Resource Speech Technologies and Models of Early Language Acquisition

We summarize the accomplishments of a multi-disciplinary workshop exploring the computational and scientific issues surrounding zero resource (unsupervised) speech technologies and related models of early language acquisition. Centered around the tasks of phonetic and lexical discovery, we consider unified evaluation metrics, present two new approaches for improving speaker independence in the absence of supervision, and evaluate the application of Bayesian word segmentation algorithms to automatic subword unit tokenizations. Finally, we present two strategies for integrating zero resource techniques into supervised settings, demonstrating the potential of unsupervised methods to improve mainstream technologies.5 page(s

Effect of Hybrid Learning on Students’ Academic Performance at the Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques of Oujda

Following the restrictive security measures imposed by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, education, like all other social sectors, has been radically disrupted. All educational systems have been urged to adopt distance learning to guarantee the continuation of training. The present study aims to determine the effect of the mode of learning used in training on students’ academic performance at the Higher Institutes of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques (HINPHT) of Oujda in Morocco. Academic results and collected using an exploitation form are compared between two groups of students registered at the institution. The first group includes students who enrolled in September 2019 and were admitted during the COVID-19 containment period. These students initially received face-to-face training in the first semester but were later transitioned to online training during the lockdown period (n = 185). The second comparison group comprises students who received face-to-face training throughout (n = 413). The results of the present study reveal a significant increase in the average number of students who benefited from the hybrid training mode in all semesters. However, failure and dropout rates have increased in the hybrid mode compared to the face-to-face mode. This decrease in the number of students graduating within six semesters is notable in the hybrid mode compared to the control group. Further research can be conducted to examine the effect technological teaching devices may have on learner motivation and sense of control during training

Phoneme learning is influenced by the taxonomic organization of the semantic referents

International audienceWord learning relies on the ability to master the sound contrasts that are phonemic (i.e., signal meaning difference) in a given language. Though the timeline of phoneme development has been studied extensively over the past few decades, the mechanism of this development is poorly understood. Previous work has shown that human learners rely on referential information to differentiate similar sounds, but largely ignored the problem of taxonomic ambiguity at the semantic level (two different objects may be described by one or two words depending on how abstract the meaning intended by the speaker is). In this study, we varied the taxonomic distance of pairs of objects and tested how adult learners judged the phonemic status of the sound contrast associated with each of these pairs. We found that judgments were sensitive to gradients in the taxonomic structure, suggesting that learners use probabilistic information at the semantic level to optimize the accuracy of their judgements at the phonological level. The findings provide evidence for an interaction between phonological learning and meaning generalization, raising important questions about how these two important processes of language acquisition are related

Benchmarking LLMs for Mimicking Child-Caregiver Language in Interaction

Child-directed speech (CDS) is characterized by its adaptive nature: Caregivers not only talk to children, but engage in dy- namic interactions with them. The adaptive/interactive nature of this type of language is understudied in computational mod- eling research, particularly given the limited availability of nat- uralistic data. While recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated potential for generating viable syn- thetic dialogue data in various domains, their ability to capture the dynamics of child-caregiver communication remains un- explored. This paper introduces a systematic framework for evaluating LLMs' capacity to generate developmentally ap- propriate CDS in interaction, examining both static linguistic features and dynamic conversational patterns. We evaluated state-of-the-art LLMs (GPT-4o and Llama 3) against natural interactions from the CHILDES dataset using both single- and multi-turn testing approaches. In single-turn evaluation, mod- els generated responses to individual child utterances, enabling direct comparison with actual caregiver responses. Multi-turn testing assessed sustained interaction capabilities through sim- ulated child-caregiver dialogues. Our results show that while LLMs can successfully approximate surface-level linguistic patterns after few-shot prompting, they struggle with higher- level communicative aspects, with excessive alignment and re- duced diversity compared to natural interactions. Our bench- marking framework elucidates both the potential and limita- tions of LLMs in generating data that preserves the essential properties of child-caregiver language in interactions

Epilepsie et Handicap

Epilepsy is a chronic disease, often causing a significant handicap. This handicap has several components, which can be characterized by the International Classification of Functioning health and disability. Deficiencies caused by epilepsy may be temporary, in connection with the seizure or sustainable in relation to associated disorders, the causal disease or treatment adverse effects. Activity limitations are mainly motivated by insecurity linked to the risk of seizure, leading to a progressive restriction of participation in social and professional life. The identification of this epileptic disability and its various components is the basis of a comprehensive care to improve the quality of life of the patient in his social environment.L’épilepsie est une maladie chronique, souvent à l’origine d’un handicap non négligeable. Ce handicap présente plusieurs composantes, qui peuvent être caractérisées grâce à la classification internationale du fonctionnement de la santé et du handicap. Les déficiences engendrées par l’épilepsie peuvent être temporaires, en rapport avec la crise ou durables en rapport avec les troubles associés, la pathologie causale ou encore les effets indésirables des traitements. Les limitations d’activités sont essentiellement motivées par le sentiment d’insécurité lié au risque de crise, aboutissant à une restriction progressive de la participation à la vie sociale et professionnelle. L’identification de ce handicap épileptique et de ses différentes composantes est à la base d’une prise en charge globale visant l’amélioration de la qualité de vie du patient dans son environnement social

Phoneme learning is influenced by the taxonomic organization of the semantic referents

International audienceWord learning relies on the ability to master the sound contrasts that are phonemic (i.e., signal meaning difference) in a given language. Though the timeline of phoneme development has been studied extensively over the past few decades, the mechanism of this development is poorly understood. Previous work has shown that human learners rely on referential information to differentiate similar sounds, but largely ignored the problem of taxonomic ambiguity at the semantic level (two different objects may be described by one or two words depending on how abstract the meaning intended by the speaker is). In this study, we varied the taxonomic distance of pairs of objects and tested how adult learners judged the phonemic status of the sound contrast associated with each of these pairs. We found that judgments were sensitive to gradients in the taxonomic structure, suggesting that learners use probabilistic information at the semantic level to optimize the accuracy of their judgements at the phonological level. The findings provide evidence for an interaction between phonological learning and meaning generalization, raising important questions about how these two important processes of language acquisition are related

Acute pseudo-septic arthritis following viscosuplementation of the knee

A 70-year-old woman with a history of medial femoro-tibial compartment of knee osteoarthritis was admitted for acute arthritis six days after a second intra-articular injection of Hyaluronic acid. The joint fluid was inflammatory, with no crystals, and laboratory tests showed marked inflammation leading to antibiotic treatment for suspected septic arthritis. The persistent symptoms and negative results of joint fluid and blood cultures led to discontinuation of the antibiotic therapy after 10 days. Anti-inflammatory with rehabilitation therapy of the knee relieved the symptoms, and the patient was discharged home 3 weeks after her admission. Aseptic arthritis induced by repeated Hyaluronic acid injection is the most likely diagnosis. Physicians should be conscious of this extremely severe complication.Pan African Medical Journal 2012; 12:4

Les champs de compétence de l'orthophoniste en réadaptation neurologique chez l'adulte

L'orthophoniste spécialisé en réadaptation neurologique chez les adultes joue un rôle essentiel au sein de l'équipe multidisciplinaire de réadaptation, en évaluant et en prenant en charge les personnes atteintes de troubles neurologiques tels que les AVC, les traumatismes crâniens, les tumeurs cérébrales et les maladies neuro-dégénératives comme l’Alzheimer et la maladie de Parkinson.Dans le domaine de la réadaptation neurologique, l'orthophoniste se concentre sur la réadaptation des fonctions langagières, de la parole, de la voix et de la déglutition chez les adultes. Grâce à des évaluations approfondies, il identifie les troubles spécifiques et établit un plan de traitement personnalisé. Son objectif est d'améliorer la compréhension et l'expression du langage, de restaurer les capacités de communication orale, de rééduquer la déglutition et, si nécessaire, d'adapter les techniques de communication augmentative et alternative.En tant que professionnel de la santé spécialisé en réadaptation, l'orthophoniste en réadaptation neurologique chez l'adulte évalue et prend en charge les troubles de la communication et de la déglutition liés aux troubles neurologiques. Son rôle essentiel dans la réadaptation des patients adultes consiste à restaurer les fonctions langagières, de la parole, de la voix et de la déglutition. Grâce à une approche multidisciplinaire et à une formation continue, l'orthophoniste vise à améliorer la qualité de vie des patients et à favoriser leur autonomie dans les activités quotidiennes.Cet article met en évidence l'importance de l'orthophonie et les différentes approches utilisées pour la réadaptation neurologique des adultes au Maroc