Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate... more
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate immunity, as biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of presymptomatic and symptomatic genetic FTD mutation carriers. Methods We measured the complement proteins C1q and C3b in CSF by ELISAs in 224 presymptomatic and symptomatic GRN, C9orf72 or MAPT mutation carriers and non-carriers participating in the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative (GENFI), a multicentre cohort study. Next, we used multiplex immunoassays to measure a panel of 14 complement proteins in plasma of 431 GENFI participants. We correlated complement protein levels with corresponding clinical and neuroimaging data, neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results CSF C1q and C3b, as well as plasma C2 and C3, were elevated in symptomatic ...
Research Interests:
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral... more
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral versus central auditory deficits in different dementias.MethodsUsing a novel psychoacoustic battery – the Queen Square Tests of Auditory Cognition (QSTAC)– we combined pre-existing and novel measures of peripheral and central hearing functions, to charac- terise discrete ‘auditory phenotypes’ across dementia syndromes. Customised auditory symptom ques- tionnaires (completed by patients’ caregivers) were used to capture daily-life hearing-related disability and care burden. Patient groups: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and control. Neuroanatomical associations of specific hearing deficits were assessed using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsSyndromic signatures of peripheral and central auditory dysfunction ...
Research Interests:
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water... more
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water fluxes.. Nonuniform application of water through center pivots can lead to under- or over-irrigation at parts of the field, which can lead to water stress and yield reductions or loss of limited water resources and leaching of applied chemicals, respectively. In this study, irrigation uniformity tests were performed to determine the application uniformity and conveyance efficiency of 24 center pivots in western Oklahoma. The average coefficient of uniformity and low quarter distribution uniformity of the tested systems were 78% and 69%, respectively. These values indicate an overall borderline acceptable application uniformity. The average water conveyance efficiency was 93%, indicating that 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface....
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social... more
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social cognition to date. We start with a brief history of the rise of neuroaesthetics as the scientific study of art perception and appreciation, in relation to developments in contemporary art practice and theory during the same period. Building further on a growing awareness of the importance of social context in art production and appreciation, we then set out how art engages the social brain and outline candidate components of the “artistic brain connectome.” We explain how our functional model for art as a social brain phenomenon may operate when engaging with artworks. We call for closer collaborations between the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics and arts professionals, cultural institutions and diverse audiences in order to fully delineate and context...
Research Interests:
This file includes additional and complementary text as well as supplementary figures. (PDF 1444 kb)
Research Interests:
of Behavioural and neuroanatomical correlates of auditory speech analysis in primary progressive aphasias
Is a figure showing statistical parametric maps of disease-associated grey matter atrophy in each patient group relative to healthy controls, based on a voxel-based morphometric analysis. (PDF 49 kb)
Description of BCPPA program (TIDieR). (DOCX 24 kb)
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
BACKGROUND Reduced empathy is a common symptom in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although empathy deficits have been extensively researched in sporadic cases, few studies have explored the differences in familial forms of FTD. METHODS... more
BACKGROUND Reduced empathy is a common symptom in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although empathy deficits have been extensively researched in sporadic cases, few studies have explored the differences in familial forms of FTD. METHODS Empathy was examined using a modified version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (mIRI) in 676 participants from the Genetic FTD Initiative: 216 mutation-negative controls, 192 C9orf72 expansion carriers, 193 GRN mutation carriers and 75 MAPT mutation carriers. Using global scores from the CDR® plus NACC FTLD, mutation carriers were divided into three groups, asymptomatic (0), very mildly symptomatic/prodromal (.5), or fully symptomatic (1 or more). The mIRI Total score, as well as the subscores of Empathic Concern (EC) and Perspective Taking (PT) were assessed. Linear regression models with bootstrapping were used to assess empathy ratings across genetic groups, as well as across phenotypes in the symptomatic carriers. Neural correlates of empathy deficits were examined using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis. RESULTS All fully symptomatic groups scored lower on the mIRI Total, EC, and PT when compared to controls and their asymptomatic or prodromal counterparts (all p < .001). Prodromal C9orf72 expansion carriers also scored significantly lower than controls on the mIRI Total score (p = .046). In the phenotype analysis, all groups (behavioural variant FTD, primary progressive aphasia and FTD with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) scored significantly lower than controls (all p < .007). VBM revealed an overlapping neural correlate of the mIRI Total score across genetic groups in the orbitofrontal lobe but with additional involvement in the temporal lobe, insula and basal ganglia in both the GRN and MAPT groups, and uniquely more posterior regions such as the parietal lobe and thalamus in the GRN group, and medial temporal structures in the MAPT group. CONCLUSIONS Significant empathy deficits present in genetic FTD, particularly in symptomatic individuals and those with a bvFTD phenotype, while prodromal deficits are only seen using the mIRI in C9orf72 expansion carriers.
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Research Interests: Economics and Groundwater
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate... more
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate immunity, as biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of presymptomatic and symptomatic genetic FTD mutation carriers. Methods We measured the complement proteins C1q and C3b in CSF by ELISAs in 224 presymptomatic and symptomatic GRN, C9orf72 or MAPT mutation carriers and non-carriers participating in the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative (GENFI), a multicentre cohort study. Next, we used multiplex immunoassays to measure a panel of 14 complement proteins in plasma of 431 GENFI participants. We correlated complement protein levels with corresponding clinical and neuroimaging data, neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results CSF C1q and C3b, as well as plasma C2 and C3, were elevated in symptomatic ...
Research Interests:
The location and motion of sounds in space are important cues for encoding the auditory world. Spatial processing is a core component of auditory scene analysis, a cognitively demanding function that is vulnerable in Alzheimer’s disease.... more
The location and motion of sounds in space are important cues for encoding the auditory world. Spatial processing is a core component of auditory scene analysis, a cognitively demanding function that is vulnerable in Alzheimer’s disease. Here we designed a novel neuropsychological battery based on a virtual space paradigm to assess auditory spatial processing in patient cohorts with clinically typical Alzheimer’s disease (n = 20) and its major variant syndrome, posterior cortical atrophy (n = 12) in relation to healthy older controls (n = 26). We assessed three dimensions of auditory spatial function: externalized versus non-externalized sound discrimination, moving versus stationary sound discrimination and stationary auditory spatial position discrimination, together with non-spatial auditory and visual spatial control tasks. Neuroanatomical correlates of auditory spatial processing were assessed using voxel-based morphometry. Relative to healthy older controls, both patient group...
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
Non-verbal sound processing in the primary progressive aphasias
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The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
March 20, 2012 9am to 4pm OSU-OKC Agriculture Resource Center, 400 N. Portland Ave., Room 196, Oklahoma City, OK 73107 Register online today by March 2 for $35. After March 2 or at the door registration is $50 Agricultural educators,... more
March 20, 2012 9am to 4pm OSU-OKC Agriculture Resource Center, 400 N. Portland Ave., Room 196, Oklahoma City, OK 73107 Register online today by March 2 for $35. After March 2 or at the door registration is $50 Agricultural educators, public agencies, consultant s and extension agents are seeing a new type of producer. Many of these producers don’t have a traditional background in agriculture, requiring industry professionals to adapt their outreach and education methods. Who are these new producers? What works? How do you incorporate social media? Get answers at a one-day workshop, hosted by the Oklahoma Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Without traditional agricultural backgrounds, these emerging producers face many challenges in learning the skills necessary to successfully manag e a modern farming operation. As agents, educators and consultants serving the state's producers, we must change with the times and learn how to reach out to and serve the needs of t...
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BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral... more
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral versus central auditory deficits in different dementias.MethodsUsing a novel psychoacoustic battery – the Queen Square Tests of Auditory Cognition (QSTAC)– we combined pre-existing and novel measures of peripheral and central hearing functions, to charac- terise discrete ‘auditory phenotypes’ across dementia syndromes. Customised auditory symptom ques- tionnaires (completed by patients’ caregivers) were used to capture daily-life hearing-related disability and care burden. Patient groups: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and control. Neuroanatomical associations of specific hearing deficits were assessed using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsSyndromic signatures of peripheral and central auditory dysfunction ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water... more
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water fluxes.. Nonuniform application of water through center pivots can lead to under- or over-irrigation at parts of the field, which can lead to water stress and yield reductions or loss of limited water resources and leaching of applied chemicals, respectively. In this study, irrigation uniformity tests were performed to determine the application uniformity and conveyance efficiency of 24 center pivots in western Oklahoma. The average coefficient of uniformity and low quarter distribution uniformity of the tested systems were 78% and 69%, respectively. These values indicate an overall borderline acceptable application uniformity. The average water conveyance efficiency was 93%, indicating that 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface....
Research Interests:
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate... more
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate immunity, as biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of presymptomatic and symptomatic genetic FTD mutation carriers. Methods We measured the complement proteins C1q and C3b in CSF by ELISAs in 224 presymptomatic and symptomatic GRN, C9orf72 or MAPT mutation carriers and non-carriers participating in the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative (GENFI), a multicentre cohort study. Next, we used multiplex immunoassays to measure a panel of 14 complement proteins in plasma of 431 GENFI participants. We correlated complement protein levels with corresponding clinical and neuroimaging data, neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results CSF C1q and C3b, as well as plasma C2 and C3, were elevated in symptomatic ...
Research Interests:
Background A detailed understanding of the pathological processes involved in genetic frontotemporal dementia is critical in order to provide the patients with an optimal future treatment. Protein levels in CSF have the potential to... more
Background A detailed understanding of the pathological processes involved in genetic frontotemporal dementia is critical in order to provide the patients with an optimal future treatment. Protein levels in CSF have the potential to reflect different pathophysiological processes in the brain. We aimed to identify and evaluate panels of CSF proteins with potential to separate symptomatic individuals from individuals without clinical symptoms (unaffected), as well as presymptomatic individuals from mutation non-carriers. Methods A multiplexed antibody-based suspension bead array was used to analyse levels of 111 proteins in CSF samples from 221 individuals from families with genetic frontotemporal dementia. The data was explored using LASSO and Random forest. Results When comparing affected individuals with unaffected individuals, 14 proteins were identified as potentially important for the separation. Among these, four were identified as most important, namely neurofilament medium po...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate... more
Background Neuroinflammation is emerging as an important pathological process in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but biomarkers are lacking. We aimed to determine the value of complement proteins, which are key components of innate immunity, as biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of presymptomatic and symptomatic genetic FTD mutation carriers. Methods We measured the complement proteins C1q and C3b in CSF by ELISAs in 224 presymptomatic and symptomatic GRN, C9orf72 or MAPT mutation carriers and non-carriers participating in the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative (GENFI), a multicentre cohort study. Next, we used multiplex immunoassays to measure a panel of 14 complement proteins in plasma of 431 GENFI participants. We correlated complement protein levels with corresponding clinical and neuroimaging data, neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results CSF C1q and C3b, as well as plasma C2 and C3, were elevated in symptomatic ...
Research Interests:
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral... more
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral versus central auditory deficits in different dementias.MethodsUsing a novel psychoacoustic battery – the Queen Square Tests of Auditory Cognition (QSTAC)– we combined pre-existing and novel measures of peripheral and central hearing functions, to charac- terise discrete ‘auditory phenotypes’ across dementia syndromes. Customised auditory symptom ques- tionnaires (completed by patients’ caregivers) were used to capture daily-life hearing-related disability and care burden. Patient groups: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and control. Neuroanatomical associations of specific hearing deficits were assessed using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsSyndromic signatures of peripheral and central auditory dysfunction ...
Research Interests:
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social... more
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social cognition to date. We start with a brief history of the rise of neuroaesthetics as the scientific study of art perception and appreciation, in relation to developments in contemporary art practice and theory during the same period. Building further on a growing awareness of the importance of social context in art production and appreciation, we then set out how art engages the social brain and outline candidate components of the “artistic brain connectome.” We explain how our functional model for art as a social brain phenomenon may operate when engaging with artworks. We call for closer collaborations between the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics and arts professionals, cultural institutions and diverse audiences in order to fully delineate and context...
Research Interests:
Background Although social cognitive dysfunction is a major feature of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), it has been poorly studied in familial forms. A key goal of studies is to detect early cognitive impairment using validated measures in... more
Background Although social cognitive dysfunction is a major feature of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), it has been poorly studied in familial forms. A key goal of studies is to detect early cognitive impairment using validated measures in large patient cohorts. Methods We used the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS) as a measure of socioemotional sensitivity in 730 participants from the genetic FTD initiative (GENFI) observational study: 269 mutation-negative healthy controls, 193 C9orf72 expansion carriers, 193 GRN mutation carriers and 75 MAPT mutation carriers. All participants underwent the standardised GENFI clinical assessment including the ‘CDR® plus NACC FTLD’ scale and RSMS. The RSMS total score and its two subscores, socioemotional expressiveness (EX score) and modification of self-presentation (SP score) were measured. Volumetric T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was available from 377 mutation carriers for voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis. Results The RSMS was...
Research Interests:
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State... more
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at libscua@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-6311
This file includes additional and complementary text as well as supplementary figures. (PDF 1444 kb)
Research Interests:
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water... more
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water fluxes.. Nonuniform application of water through center pivots can lead to under- or over-irrigation at parts of the field, which can lead to water stress and yield reductions or loss of limited water resources and leaching of applied chemicals, respectively. In this study, irrigation uniformity tests were performed to determine the application uniformity and conveyance efficiency of 24 center pivots in western Oklahoma. The average coefficient of uniformity and low quarter distribution uniformity of the tested systems were 78% and 69%, respectively. These values indicate an overall borderline acceptable application uniformity. The average water conveyance efficiency was 93%, indicating that 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface....
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral... more
BackgroundHearing impairment has emerged as a potent association of cognitive decline in dementia and a promising treatment target. To realise this promise, we need to resolve fundamental questions concerning the roles of peripheral versus central auditory deficits in different dementias.MethodsUsing a novel psychoacoustic battery – the Queen Square Tests of Auditory Cognition (QSTAC)– we combined pre-existing and novel measures of peripheral and central hearing functions, to charac- terise discrete ‘auditory phenotypes’ across dementia syndromes. Customised auditory symptom ques- tionnaires (completed by patients’ caregivers) were used to capture daily-life hearing-related disability and care burden. Patient groups: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and control. Neuroanatomical associations of specific hearing deficits were assessed using voxel-based morphometry.ResultsSyndromic signatures of peripheral and central auditory dysfunction ...
Research Interests:
of Behavioural and neuroanatomical correlates of auditory speech analysis in primary progressive aphasias
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social... more
Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social cognition to date. We start with a brief history of the rise of neuroaesthetics as the scientific study of art perception and appreciation, in relation to developments in contemporary art practice and theory during the same period. Building further on a growing awareness of the importance of social context in art production and appreciation, we then set out how art engages the social brain and outline candidate components of the “artistic brain connectome.” We explain how our functional model for art as a social brain phenomenon may operate when engaging with artworks. We call for closer collaborations between the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics and arts professionals, cultural institutions and diverse audiences in order to fully delineate and context...
Research Interests:
Is a figure showing statistical parametric maps of disease-associated grey matter atrophy in each patient group relative to healthy controls, based on a voxel-based morphometric analysis. (PDF 49 kb)
The speech we hear every day is typically “degraded” by competing sounds and the idiosyncratic vocal characteristics of individual speakers. While the comprehension of “degraded” speech is normally automatic, it depends on dynamic and... more
The speech we hear every day is typically “degraded” by competing sounds and the idiosyncratic vocal characteristics of individual speakers. While the comprehension of “degraded” speech is normally automatic, it depends on dynamic and adaptive processing across distributed neural networks. This presents the brain with an immense computational challenge, making degraded speech processing vulnerable to a range of brain disorders. Therefore, it is likely to be a sensitive marker of neural circuit dysfunction and an index of retained neural plasticity. Considering experimental methods for studying degraded speech and factors that affect its processing in healthy individuals, we review the evidence for altered degraded speech processing in major neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injury and stroke. We develop a predictive coding framework for understanding deficits of degraded speech processing in these disorders, focussing on the “language-led dementias”—the primary progressive...
Research Interests:
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water... more
Highlights63% of the 24 center pivots tested in western Oklahoma had acceptable uniformity.On average, 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface.Irrigation nonuniformity can have major, yet variable effects on water fluxes.. Nonuniform application of water through center pivots can lead to under- or over-irrigation at parts of the field, which can lead to water stress and yield reductions or loss of limited water resources and leaching of applied chemicals, respectively. In this study, irrigation uniformity tests were performed to determine the application uniformity and conveyance efficiency of 24 center pivots in western Oklahoma. The average coefficient of uniformity and low quarter distribution uniformity of the tested systems were 78% and 69%, respectively. These values indicate an overall borderline acceptable application uniformity. The average water conveyance efficiency was 93%, indicating that 7% of pumped water was lost before reaching the soil surface....
Research Interests:
This file includes additional and complementary text as well as supplementary figures. (PDF 1444 kb)
Research Interests:
Description of BCPPA program (TIDieR). (DOCX 24 kb)
Research Interests:
The association between hearing impairment and dementia has emerged as a major public health challenge, with significant opportunities for earlier diagnosis, treatment and prevention. However, the nature of this association has not been... more
The association between hearing impairment and dementia has emerged as a major public health challenge, with significant opportunities for earlier diagnosis, treatment and prevention. However, the nature of this association has not been defined. We hear with our brains, particularly within the complex soundscapes of everyday life: neurodegenerative pathologies target the auditory brain, and are therefore predicted to damage hearing function early and profoundly. Here we present evidence for this proposition, based on structural and functional features of auditory brain organization that confer vulnerability to neurodegeneration, the extensive, reciprocal interplay between ‘peripheral’ and ‘central’ hearing dysfunction, and recently characterized auditory signatures of canonical neurodegenerative dementias (Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body disease and frontotemporal dementia). Moving beyond any simple dichotomy of ear and brain, we argue for a reappraisal of the role of auditory cognit...