Speech Quality Improvement of TV-Sets for Hearing-Impaired Older Adults

Flat TV-sets sacrifice space for built-in loudspeakers and this implies a degradation of the speech quality, especially for hearing-impaired older adults. Many elderly people report having difficulty understanding speech on TV, even with hearing aids. In the study, a Transfer Function (TF) that improves the listening experience for the above categories of listeners is validated for Rai, the Italian TV broadcasting company. A Digital Audio Optimizer dynamically equalizes the sound level, in real-time, before the transmission to the broadcasting tower. It implements a TF that amplifies the frequency range between 14, which is more important for speech intelligibility, with a particular boosting of the one-third octave band of 4. Subjective tests of the proposed TF have been carried out in a laboratory in compliance with the standard ITU-R BS.1116-3 with 31 hearing-impaired older adults and a commercial flat-screen TV-set. Results showed a statistically significant slight improvement in the perceived audio quality of 24.3%, over three genres, i.e.", Speech"", Singing and Music" and "Sport". This work follows a previous study on 72 normal-hearing subjects where the same methodology was applied, which involved three commercial flat-screen TV-sets and the same genres. The perceived audio quality was judged improved by the 25.3% on average

Four lectures on secant varieties

This paper is based on the first author's lectures at the 2012 University of Regina Workshop "Connections Between Algebra and Geometry". Its aim is to provide an introduction to the theory of higher secant varieties and their applications. Several references and solved exercises are also included.Comment: Lectures notes to appear in PROMS (Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics), Springer/Birkhause

Pirfenidone safety and adverse event management in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Pirfenidone is one of two approved therapies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Randomised controlled clinical trials an

Therapeutic approaches to sinonasal NUT carcinoma: a systematic review

PurposeSinonasal nuclear protein in testis carcinoma (SNUTC) is a rare, aggressive malignancy caused by genetic rearrangements in the NUTM1 gene. The prognosis of SNUTC ranks among the most unfavorable within the naso-sinusal district, with an overall survival of 9.7 months. This systematic review aimed to determine the best therapeutic strategy for SNUTC.MethodsWe reviewed eligible articles for patient demographics, TNM and stage at presentation, best response after primary treatment, disease-free survival and overall survival (OS) times, other following therapy lines, and final outcomes.ResultsAmong 472 unique citations, 17 studies were considered eligible, with reported treatment data for 25 patients. Most studies (n = 12) were case reports. The most frequently administered treatment regimen was surgery as primary treatment and combined radiochemotherapy as second-line or adjuvant treatment. Four patients were alive at follow-up.ConclusionBasing on the existing literature, a standardized line in the treatment of SNUTC is not yet well delineated. A self-personalized strategy of therapy should be drawn on each patient affected by SNUTC

Genetic parameters of beef quality traits for Piemontese cattle

The aim of this study was to estimate heritability of beef quality traits in Piemontese cattle. A total of 804 young bulls, progeny of 109 AI sires, were sampled from 124 fattening farms (FF) and slaughtered in different days at the same commercial abattoir. At slaughter, bulls were 523±73 d old and average carcasses weight (CW) was 417±45 kg. Carcasses were scored for fleshiness (EUS) and fatness. An individual beef sample was collected from Longissimus Thoracis 24 h after slaughter and held refrigerated at 4 °C for 8 d. Measured traits were pH at ageing (pH8d), beef colour (L*, a*, b*, Hue and Chroma), shear force (SF), drip (DL) and cooking loss (CL). A REML linear animal model including the fixed effects of FF, slaughter age and CW class and the random effect of the bull was used. The estimated heritability for EUS, SF, DL, Hue, L* and a* was of intermediate magnitude (from 0.22 to 0.49) whereas heritabilities for all other traits were low (from 0.04 to 0.16)

A data-driven synthesis of research evidence for domains of hearing loss, as reported by adults with hearing loss and their communication partners

A number of assessment tools exist to evaluate the impact of hearing loss, with little consensus among researchers as to either preference or psychometric adequacy. The item content of hearing loss assessment tools should seek to capture the impact of hearing loss on everyday life, but to date no one has synthesized the range of hearing loss complaints from the perspectives of the person with hearing loss and their communication partner. The current review aims to synthesize the evidence on person with hearing loss- and communication partner-reported complaints of hearing loss. Searches were conducted in Cos Conference Papers Index, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Excerpta Medica Database, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify publications from May 1982 to August 2015. A manual search of four relevant journals updated the search to May 2017. Of the 9,516 titles identified, 78 records (comprising 20,306 participants) met inclusion criteria and were taken through to data collection. Data were analyzed using meta-ethnography to form domains representing the person with hearing loss- and communication partner-reported complaints of hearing loss as reported in research. Domains and subdomains mutual to both perspectives are related to ‘‘Auditory’’ (listening, communicating, and speaking), ‘‘Social’’ (relationships, isolation, social life, occupational, and interventions), and ‘‘Self’’ (effort and fatigue, emotions, identity, and stigma). Our framework contributes fundamental new knowledge and a unique resource that enables researchers and clinicians to consider the broader impacts of hearing loss. Our findings can also be used to guide questions during diagnostic assessment and to evaluate existing measures of hearing loss