Susanne Fuchs - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Susanne Fuchs

Beim problemzentrierten Interview handelt es sich um eine offene, halbstrukturierte Befragung, di... more Beim problemzentrierten Interview handelt es sich um eine offene, halbstrukturierte Befragung, die die Befragten möglichst frei zu Wort kommen lässt, aber auf eine bestimmte Problemstellung zentriert ist, auf die der oder die Interviewleiterln immer wieder zurückführt (Hölzl 1994). Diese Interviewform geht auf Witzel zurück, der sie als Teil einer Methodenkombination aus Interview, biographischer Methode, Gruppendiskussion und Fallanalyse im Rahmen eines problemzentrierten Forschungsprojekts entwickelte (Witzel 1982). Ähnlich wie beim narrativen Interview steht beim problemzentrierten Interview das Erzählprinzip im Vordergrund, der/die Interviewerin lenkt das Gespräch aber immer wieder zur zugrunde liegenden Problemstellung hin und bezieht Begründungen, Erklärungen, Urteile und Meinungen der Auskunftsperson explizit in die Befragung mit ein (Kepper 1994). Der/die Interviewerin gibt also seine/ihre im narrativen Interview geforderte Zurückhaltung teilweise auf, erzielt dadurch jedoch...

Pediatric Emergency Care, 2004

In this study we provide transillumination data on the laryngeal gestures of Moroccan Arabic simp... more In this study we provide transillumination data on the laryngeal gestures of Moroccan Arabic simple and geminate obstruents produced in [VCi(Ci)V-] context. Our data showed that the geminate obstruents are produced with a larger maximal glottal opening (MGO) than their simple cognates (214% for fricatives; 163% for the plosives). Additionally, the values for peak velocity of glottal abduction and adduction gestures are higher during geminates than during simple obstruents. The relative duration of acceleration and deceleration phases of the adduction gesture show that the latter is strongly influenced by aerodynamic parameters. Results are discussed with respect to the question of whether durational differences in the laryngeal gestures between simple and geminate obstruents are only a passive consequence of other control parameters (e.g. stiffness or aerodynamic parameters) or are explained by an active control ('intragestural and intergestural timing').

It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the s... more It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the scope of planning is influenced by task-and speaker specific constraints. To test this, an experiment is presented examining the effects of linguistic structure and working memory on speech planning, as evidenced in pause duration and F0 peaks. Twenty speakers of German performed two tasks. In the first task, speakers' working memory span was evaluated. In the second, a reading task which was acoustically recorded, the influence of phrasal length on pause duration and on the utterance initial F0 peak was tested. The hypothesis is that speakers with higher WM span will show evidence for larger scopes of planning compared to speakers with low WM span, such that they will have longer pause duration and their F0 will start higher. Results show an effect of phrase length and of WM span on F0. The implications of these findings for models of speech planning are discussed.

Pediatrics, Jun 1, 1989

Because of a nationally apparent increased interest in emergency medical services for children an... more Because of a nationally apparent increased interest in emergency medical services for children and the need for a greater understanding of the relationship between office pediatric and emergency department care of children, a questionnaire was mailed to practitioners to (1) describe office physician involvement with emergent conditions, and (2) evaluate physician office preparedness for pediatric emergencies. Responses were received from 280 pediatricians and family practitioners, including information regarding the availability of equipment and medication, physician training, and practice characteristics. Of the responding physicians, 62% reported that they assessed in their offices more than one child each week who required hospitalization or urgent treatment. A preparedness score was developed and multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between this score and physician and practice characteristics. The mean overall preparedness score was 53.7 of a possible 156 (range 5 to 136, SD = 31.3). Characteristics related to this score were type of practice and advanced cardiac life support certification. Large multispecialty practices and practices with physicians trained in advanced cardiac life support tended to have better preparedness scores. Family practitioners tended to have more complete stock of medications than pediatricians. The data presented suggested that critically ill children who enter the medical system via the office setting may have a better than even chance of finding the office unprepared to treat the emergency: in fewer than one third of the offices in which it was reported that at least one patient was seen weekly with asthma, anaphylaxis, sickle cell vasoocclusive crisis, status epilepticus, and sepsis were they fully equipped to treat emergencies related to these conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Glottal abduction amplitude and duration during normal and loud speech were investigated by means... more Glottal abduction amplitude and duration during normal and loud speech were investigated by means of simultaneous recordings of transillumination, fiberoptic films and acoustics. Three German speakers were recorded producing several voiceless consonants and consonants clusters in word initial and word medial position. The aim of our study was to extend previous work on Danish /p/ (Andersen 1981) and test his model. Andersen proposed that loudness variations would coincide with a larger glottal opening amplitude for louder speech, but with no differences in the overall glottal opening duration. Our results concerning the production of voiceless consonants in word initial position are generally in agreement with Andersen's proposal. However, results for glottal opening in word medial position did not show similar differences. The amplitude of glottal opening in this position is considerably reduced for both normal and loud speech so that differences often diminish. Another intruigung question arises, although limited to our results in word initial position: Are the observed differences in glottal aperture controlled by the neural nervous system or are they due to physical factors (increased subglottal pressure in loud speech) or both? Further modelling work on this issue is presented in Van Hirtum (submitted to this conference).

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006

than men (75.5% vs 57.7%) and through randomisation got their preference more often (48.7% vs. 26... more than men (75.5% vs 57.7%) and through randomisation got their preference more often (48.7% vs. 26.7%, p 0.04). The effects of patient preference on outcome was similar in men and women, furthermore the overall results of this study were independent of gender. Patients who had previously received an IS were more likely to express a preference (83.1% vs. 60.4%, p=0.003), but were less likely to receive it (32.7% vs. 50.9%, p=0.002). Adjusting for previous intra-articular injections did not significantly affect the overall results. Conclusions: In this study, which demonstrated significant improvements for TI compared to IS, patient preference was also a strong independent predictor of outcome. Those who did not express a treatment preference obtained the best outcome and those did not receive their preference did not benefit from the treatments given. Previous studies suggesting that patient preference influences outcome have been conducted on treatments with long term therapies and as such differences have been attributed to adherence with treatment. This study of a single baseline intervention suggests that compliance is not the only reason and hence these findings have major implications for clinical practice and for the design of future RCT's.

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fibre-optic films and acoustic recordings. This language allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several combinations of /s/ and /k/ clusters including singleton and geminate consonants were examined. We focused on the number of glottal-opening gestures, the influence of manner of articulation and effects of word boundaries. Results of this study provide evidence that the manner of articulation of segments and their position in the clusters have a major impact both on the number and on the location of glottal abduction movements. Word boundaries did not influence laryngeal adjustment to the same extent. FIGURE 16.8.

Motor control

This paper presents a comparative conceptual review of speech and limb motor control. Speech is e... more This paper presents a comparative conceptual review of speech and limb motor control. Speech is essentially cognitive in nature and constrained by the rules of language, while limb movement is often oriented to physical objects. We discuss the issue of intrinsic vs. extrinsic variables underlying the representations of motor goals as well as whether motor goals specify terminal postures or entire trajectories. Timing and coordination is recognized as an area of strong interchange between the two domains. Although coordination among different motor acts within a sequence and coarticulation are central to speech motor control, they have received only limited attention in manipulatory movements. The biomechanics of speech production is characterized by the presence of soft tissue, a variable number of degrees of freedom, and the challenges of high rates of production, while limb movements deal more typically with inertial constraints from manipulated objects. This comparative review thus leads us to identify many strands of thinking that are shared across the two domains, but also points us to issues on which approaches in the two domains differ. We conclude that conceptual interchange between the fields of limb and speech motor control has been useful in the past and promises continued benefit.

Tashlhiyt Berber has been proposed as a language in which any consonant can be syllabic, even a v... more Tashlhiyt Berber has been proposed as a language in which any consonant can be syllabic, even a voiceless stop. This analysis has been challenged by different authors who argue that the so-called consonant-only syllables are produced with epenthetic schwa vowels. This study aims to determine whether voiceless schwa is a segment at the level of phonetic representations in Tashlhiyt Berber. Based mainly on photoelectroglottographic data, results show that contrary to what has been observed during the production of Japanese voiceless clusters containing devoiced vowels, glottal opening in Tashlhiyt Berber voiceless words displays smooth transitions from the target of one obstruent to the next without any deviation towards a hypothesized devoiced vowel.

This work investigates the relationships among between thoracic volume changes, measured via Resp... more This work investigates the relationships among between thoracic volume changes, measured via Respitrace, subglottal pressure variation, and sentence stress in ten speakers of German. The plateau of the intraoral pressure (Pio) during productions of /t/ in target words, measured via a pressure transducer on the palate, was taken as an indication of subglottal pressure. Acoustic measures of vowel duration and intensity verified that speakers realized the stress as intended (viz., left-focused, right-focused, or not focused). The Pio data showed that sentential stress patterns were reflected in the Pio peak measures and in the Pio slope in the target t#t sequence; respitrace measures of thoracic volume did not show reliable differences across focus conditions, perhaps because the method is not sufficiently sensitive.

It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the s... more It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the scope of planning is influenced by task- and speaker specific constraints. To test this, an experiment is presented examining the effects of linguistic structure and working memory on speech planning, as evidenced in pause duration and F0 peaks. Twenty speakers of German performed two tasks. In the first task, speakers’ working memory span was evaluated. In the second, a reading task which was acoustically recorded, the influence of phrasal length on pause duration and on the utterance initial F0 peak was tested. The hypothesis is that speakers with higher WM span will show evidence for larger scopes of planning compared to speakers with low WM span, such that they will have longer pause duration and their F0 will start higher. Results show an effect of phrase length and of WM span on F0. The implications of these findings for models of speech planning are discussed.

BMC cancer, 2006

The risk of metastasis and the survival in patients with primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas i... more The risk of metastasis and the survival in patients with primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas is worse when tumour size is large and the grade of malignancy is high. Such tumours may receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy (RTX) for optimising local control. Irradiation can either be applied preoperatively or after tumour resection. The question arises if the kind of RTX in the absence of chemotherapy influences the outcome concerning local control, metastatic disease, survival and complications. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcome of 233 patients with a primary extremity soft tissue sarcoma treated between 1990 - 2000 with a mean follow-up of 35.8 (4-120) months in our institute. 41 patients had high grade, deep and large tumours (>8 cm), an AJCC stage III (no evidence of metastasis prior to treatment) and were treated with limb salvage surgery and irradiation but stayed without additional chemotherapy. Two groups of patients were compared: the first group r...

An important challenge in the study of speech production is to gain theoretical understanding of ... more An important challenge in the study of speech production is to gain theoretical understanding of how laryngeal and supralaryngeal movements are coordinated, and to determine which factors influence this coordination. This study investigates how these movements are coordinated during the production of completely voiceless words and sentences in Tashlhiyt Berber. Results show that the glottis does not simply remain open

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fibre-optic films and acoustic recordings. This lan- guage allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several combinations of /s/ and /k/ clusters including singleton and geminate consonants were examined. We focused on the number of glottal-opening gestures, the influence of manner of articulation

In this paper, we present an attempt to describe o w past the glottis and to predict the pressure... more In this paper, we present an attempt to describe o w past the glottis and to predict the pressure inside the vocal tract during phonation. Different theoretical models to describe the pressure distribution inside the whole vocal tract will be presented and compared. The- oretical models will be validated on 'in-vitro' measurements per- formed on a mechanical replica of the

Prehospital Emergency Care, 2014

There is a need for rigorously designed pediatric disaster triage (PDT) training simulations for ... more There is a need for rigorously designed pediatric disaster triage (PDT) training simulations for paramedics. First, we sought to design three multiple patient incidents for EMS provider training simulations. Our second objective was to determine the appropriate interventions and triage level for each victim in each of the simulations and develop evaluation instruments for each simulation. The final objective was to ensure that each simulation and evaluation tool was free of bias toward any specific PDT strategy. We created mixed-methods disaster simulation scenarios with pediatric victims: a school shooting, a school bus crash, and a multiple-victim house fire. Standardized patients, high-fidelity manikins, and low-fidelity manikins were used to portray the victims. Each simulation had similar acuity of injuries and 10 victims. Examples include children with special health-care needs, gunshot wounds, and smoke inhalation. Checklist-based evaluation tools and behaviorally anchored global assessments of function were created for each simulation. Eight physicians and paramedics from areas with differing PDT strategies were recruited as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for a modified Delphi iterative critique of the simulations and evaluation tools. The modified Delphi was managed with an online survey tool. The SMEs provided an expected triage category for each patient. The target for modified Delphi consensus was ≥85%. Using Likert scales and free text, the SMEs assessed the validity of the simulations, including instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy, clarity of learning objectives, and the correlation of the evaluation tools to the learning objectives and scenarios. After two rounds of the modified Delphi, consensus for expected triage level was >85% for 28 of 30 victims, with the remaining two achieving >85% consensus after three Delphi iterations. To achieve consensus, we amended 11 instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy and corrected 10 instances of noncorrelation between evaluations and simulation. The modified Delphi process, used to derive novel PDT simulation and evaluation tools, yielded a high degree of consensus among the SMEs, and eliminated biases toward specific PDT strategies in the evaluations. The simulations and evaluation tools may now be tested for reliability and validity as part of a prehospital PDT curriculum.

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006

Objective: Prospective assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of intra-articular sodium hyal... more Objective: Prospective assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of intra-articular sodium hyaluronate (SH; Ostenil Ò mini) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA; Volon Ò A10) for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb in a 26-week, controlled, randomized, on an intention to treat, masked-observer study.

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fiberoptic films and acoustic recordings. This language allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several ...

Beim problemzentrierten Interview handelt es sich um eine offene, halbstrukturierte Befragung, di... more Beim problemzentrierten Interview handelt es sich um eine offene, halbstrukturierte Befragung, die die Befragten möglichst frei zu Wort kommen lässt, aber auf eine bestimmte Problemstellung zentriert ist, auf die der oder die Interviewleiterln immer wieder zurückführt (Hölzl 1994). Diese Interviewform geht auf Witzel zurück, der sie als Teil einer Methodenkombination aus Interview, biographischer Methode, Gruppendiskussion und Fallanalyse im Rahmen eines problemzentrierten Forschungsprojekts entwickelte (Witzel 1982). Ähnlich wie beim narrativen Interview steht beim problemzentrierten Interview das Erzählprinzip im Vordergrund, der/die Interviewerin lenkt das Gespräch aber immer wieder zur zugrunde liegenden Problemstellung hin und bezieht Begründungen, Erklärungen, Urteile und Meinungen der Auskunftsperson explizit in die Befragung mit ein (Kepper 1994). Der/die Interviewerin gibt also seine/ihre im narrativen Interview geforderte Zurückhaltung teilweise auf, erzielt dadurch jedoch...

Pediatric Emergency Care, 2004

In this study we provide transillumination data on the laryngeal gestures of Moroccan Arabic simp... more In this study we provide transillumination data on the laryngeal gestures of Moroccan Arabic simple and geminate obstruents produced in [VCi(Ci)V-] context. Our data showed that the geminate obstruents are produced with a larger maximal glottal opening (MGO) than their simple cognates (214% for fricatives; 163% for the plosives). Additionally, the values for peak velocity of glottal abduction and adduction gestures are higher during geminates than during simple obstruents. The relative duration of acceleration and deceleration phases of the adduction gesture show that the latter is strongly influenced by aerodynamic parameters. Results are discussed with respect to the question of whether durational differences in the laryngeal gestures between simple and geminate obstruents are only a passive consequence of other control parameters (e.g. stiffness or aerodynamic parameters) or are explained by an active control ('intragestural and intergestural timing').

It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the s... more It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the scope of planning is influenced by task-and speaker specific constraints. To test this, an experiment is presented examining the effects of linguistic structure and working memory on speech planning, as evidenced in pause duration and F0 peaks. Twenty speakers of German performed two tasks. In the first task, speakers' working memory span was evaluated. In the second, a reading task which was acoustically recorded, the influence of phrasal length on pause duration and on the utterance initial F0 peak was tested. The hypothesis is that speakers with higher WM span will show evidence for larger scopes of planning compared to speakers with low WM span, such that they will have longer pause duration and their F0 will start higher. Results show an effect of phrase length and of WM span on F0. The implications of these findings for models of speech planning are discussed.

Pediatrics, Jun 1, 1989

Because of a nationally apparent increased interest in emergency medical services for children an... more Because of a nationally apparent increased interest in emergency medical services for children and the need for a greater understanding of the relationship between office pediatric and emergency department care of children, a questionnaire was mailed to practitioners to (1) describe office physician involvement with emergent conditions, and (2) evaluate physician office preparedness for pediatric emergencies. Responses were received from 280 pediatricians and family practitioners, including information regarding the availability of equipment and medication, physician training, and practice characteristics. Of the responding physicians, 62% reported that they assessed in their offices more than one child each week who required hospitalization or urgent treatment. A preparedness score was developed and multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between this score and physician and practice characteristics. The mean overall preparedness score was 53.7 of a possible 156 (range 5 to 136, SD = 31.3). Characteristics related to this score were type of practice and advanced cardiac life support certification. Large multispecialty practices and practices with physicians trained in advanced cardiac life support tended to have better preparedness scores. Family practitioners tended to have more complete stock of medications than pediatricians. The data presented suggested that critically ill children who enter the medical system via the office setting may have a better than even chance of finding the office unprepared to treat the emergency: in fewer than one third of the offices in which it was reported that at least one patient was seen weekly with asthma, anaphylaxis, sickle cell vasoocclusive crisis, status epilepticus, and sepsis were they fully equipped to treat emergencies related to these conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Glottal abduction amplitude and duration during normal and loud speech were investigated by means... more Glottal abduction amplitude and duration during normal and loud speech were investigated by means of simultaneous recordings of transillumination, fiberoptic films and acoustics. Three German speakers were recorded producing several voiceless consonants and consonants clusters in word initial and word medial position. The aim of our study was to extend previous work on Danish /p/ (Andersen 1981) and test his model. Andersen proposed that loudness variations would coincide with a larger glottal opening amplitude for louder speech, but with no differences in the overall glottal opening duration. Our results concerning the production of voiceless consonants in word initial position are generally in agreement with Andersen's proposal. However, results for glottal opening in word medial position did not show similar differences. The amplitude of glottal opening in this position is considerably reduced for both normal and loud speech so that differences often diminish. Another intruigung question arises, although limited to our results in word initial position: Are the observed differences in glottal aperture controlled by the neural nervous system or are they due to physical factors (increased subglottal pressure in loud speech) or both? Further modelling work on this issue is presented in Van Hirtum (submitted to this conference).

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006

than men (75.5% vs 57.7%) and through randomisation got their preference more often (48.7% vs. 26... more than men (75.5% vs 57.7%) and through randomisation got their preference more often (48.7% vs. 26.7%, p 0.04). The effects of patient preference on outcome was similar in men and women, furthermore the overall results of this study were independent of gender. Patients who had previously received an IS were more likely to express a preference (83.1% vs. 60.4%, p=0.003), but were less likely to receive it (32.7% vs. 50.9%, p=0.002). Adjusting for previous intra-articular injections did not significantly affect the overall results. Conclusions: In this study, which demonstrated significant improvements for TI compared to IS, patient preference was also a strong independent predictor of outcome. Those who did not express a treatment preference obtained the best outcome and those did not receive their preference did not benefit from the treatments given. Previous studies suggesting that patient preference influences outcome have been conducted on treatments with long term therapies and as such differences have been attributed to adherence with treatment. This study of a single baseline intervention suggests that compliance is not the only reason and hence these findings have major implications for clinical practice and for the design of future RCT's.

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fibre-optic films and acoustic recordings. This language allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several combinations of /s/ and /k/ clusters including singleton and geminate consonants were examined. We focused on the number of glottal-opening gestures, the influence of manner of articulation and effects of word boundaries. Results of this study provide evidence that the manner of articulation of segments and their position in the clusters have a major impact both on the number and on the location of glottal abduction movements. Word boundaries did not influence laryngeal adjustment to the same extent. FIGURE 16.8.

Motor control

This paper presents a comparative conceptual review of speech and limb motor control. Speech is e... more This paper presents a comparative conceptual review of speech and limb motor control. Speech is essentially cognitive in nature and constrained by the rules of language, while limb movement is often oriented to physical objects. We discuss the issue of intrinsic vs. extrinsic variables underlying the representations of motor goals as well as whether motor goals specify terminal postures or entire trajectories. Timing and coordination is recognized as an area of strong interchange between the two domains. Although coordination among different motor acts within a sequence and coarticulation are central to speech motor control, they have received only limited attention in manipulatory movements. The biomechanics of speech production is characterized by the presence of soft tissue, a variable number of degrees of freedom, and the challenges of high rates of production, while limb movements deal more typically with inertial constraints from manipulated objects. This comparative review thus leads us to identify many strands of thinking that are shared across the two domains, but also points us to issues on which approaches in the two domains differ. We conclude that conceptual interchange between the fields of limb and speech motor control has been useful in the past and promises continued benefit.

Tashlhiyt Berber has been proposed as a language in which any consonant can be syllabic, even a v... more Tashlhiyt Berber has been proposed as a language in which any consonant can be syllabic, even a voiceless stop. This analysis has been challenged by different authors who argue that the so-called consonant-only syllables are produced with epenthetic schwa vowels. This study aims to determine whether voiceless schwa is a segment at the level of phonetic representations in Tashlhiyt Berber. Based mainly on photoelectroglottographic data, results show that contrary to what has been observed during the production of Japanese voiceless clusters containing devoiced vowels, glottal opening in Tashlhiyt Berber voiceless words displays smooth transitions from the target of one obstruent to the next without any deviation towards a hypothesized devoiced vowel.

This work investigates the relationships among between thoracic volume changes, measured via Resp... more This work investigates the relationships among between thoracic volume changes, measured via Respitrace, subglottal pressure variation, and sentence stress in ten speakers of German. The plateau of the intraoral pressure (Pio) during productions of /t/ in target words, measured via a pressure transducer on the palate, was taken as an indication of subglottal pressure. Acoustic measures of vowel duration and intensity verified that speakers realized the stress as intended (viz., left-focused, right-focused, or not focused). The Pio data showed that sentential stress patterns were reflected in the Pio peak measures and in the Pio slope in the target t#t sequence; respitrace measures of thoracic volume did not show reliable differences across focus conditions, perhaps because the method is not sufficiently sensitive.

It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the s... more It has recently been suggested that speakers vary in the amount of speech planning and that the scope of planning is influenced by task- and speaker specific constraints. To test this, an experiment is presented examining the effects of linguistic structure and working memory on speech planning, as evidenced in pause duration and F0 peaks. Twenty speakers of German performed two tasks. In the first task, speakers’ working memory span was evaluated. In the second, a reading task which was acoustically recorded, the influence of phrasal length on pause duration and on the utterance initial F0 peak was tested. The hypothesis is that speakers with higher WM span will show evidence for larger scopes of planning compared to speakers with low WM span, such that they will have longer pause duration and their F0 will start higher. Results show an effect of phrase length and of WM span on F0. The implications of these findings for models of speech planning are discussed.

BMC cancer, 2006

The risk of metastasis and the survival in patients with primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas i... more The risk of metastasis and the survival in patients with primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas is worse when tumour size is large and the grade of malignancy is high. Such tumours may receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy (RTX) for optimising local control. Irradiation can either be applied preoperatively or after tumour resection. The question arises if the kind of RTX in the absence of chemotherapy influences the outcome concerning local control, metastatic disease, survival and complications. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcome of 233 patients with a primary extremity soft tissue sarcoma treated between 1990 - 2000 with a mean follow-up of 35.8 (4-120) months in our institute. 41 patients had high grade, deep and large tumours (>8 cm), an AJCC stage III (no evidence of metastasis prior to treatment) and were treated with limb salvage surgery and irradiation but stayed without additional chemotherapy. Two groups of patients were compared: the first group r...

An important challenge in the study of speech production is to gain theoretical understanding of ... more An important challenge in the study of speech production is to gain theoretical understanding of how laryngeal and supralaryngeal movements are coordinated, and to determine which factors influence this coordination. This study investigates how these movements are coordinated during the production of completely voiceless words and sentences in Tashlhiyt Berber. Results show that the glottis does not simply remain open

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fibre-optic films and acoustic recordings. This lan- guage allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several combinations of /s/ and /k/ clusters including singleton and geminate consonants were examined. We focused on the number of glottal-opening gestures, the influence of manner of articulation

In this paper, we present an attempt to describe o w past the glottis and to predict the pressure... more In this paper, we present an attempt to describe o w past the glottis and to predict the pressure inside the vocal tract during phonation. Different theoretical models to describe the pressure distribution inside the whole vocal tract will be presented and compared. The- oretical models will be validated on 'in-vitro' measurements per- formed on a mechanical replica of the

Prehospital Emergency Care, 2014

There is a need for rigorously designed pediatric disaster triage (PDT) training simulations for ... more There is a need for rigorously designed pediatric disaster triage (PDT) training simulations for paramedics. First, we sought to design three multiple patient incidents for EMS provider training simulations. Our second objective was to determine the appropriate interventions and triage level for each victim in each of the simulations and develop evaluation instruments for each simulation. The final objective was to ensure that each simulation and evaluation tool was free of bias toward any specific PDT strategy. We created mixed-methods disaster simulation scenarios with pediatric victims: a school shooting, a school bus crash, and a multiple-victim house fire. Standardized patients, high-fidelity manikins, and low-fidelity manikins were used to portray the victims. Each simulation had similar acuity of injuries and 10 victims. Examples include children with special health-care needs, gunshot wounds, and smoke inhalation. Checklist-based evaluation tools and behaviorally anchored global assessments of function were created for each simulation. Eight physicians and paramedics from areas with differing PDT strategies were recruited as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for a modified Delphi iterative critique of the simulations and evaluation tools. The modified Delphi was managed with an online survey tool. The SMEs provided an expected triage category for each patient. The target for modified Delphi consensus was ≥85%. Using Likert scales and free text, the SMEs assessed the validity of the simulations, including instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy, clarity of learning objectives, and the correlation of the evaluation tools to the learning objectives and scenarios. After two rounds of the modified Delphi, consensus for expected triage level was >85% for 28 of 30 victims, with the remaining two achieving >85% consensus after three Delphi iterations. To achieve consensus, we amended 11 instances of bias toward a specific PDT strategy and corrected 10 instances of noncorrelation between evaluations and simulation. The modified Delphi process, used to derive novel PDT simulation and evaluation tools, yielded a high degree of consensus among the SMEs, and eliminated biases toward specific PDT strategies in the evaluations. The simulations and evaluation tools may now be tested for reliability and validity as part of a prehospital PDT curriculum.

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 2006

Objective: Prospective assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of intra-articular sodium hyal... more Objective: Prospective assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of intra-articular sodium hyaluronate (SH; Ostenil Ò mini) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA; Volon Ò A10) for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb in a 26-week, controlled, randomized, on an intention to treat, masked-observer study.

Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means ... more Laryngeal adjustments in voiceless obstruent clusters in Tashlhiyt Berber were examined by means of simultaneous transillumination, fiberoptic films and acoustic recordings. This language allows a rich variety of voiceless clusters naturally. Several ...