Sensation Level Research Articles

Supremacy of Auditory Versus Visual Input in Somatic Empathy and Perceived Pain Level

BackgroundPrevious studies support the role of both auditory and visual stimuli in the evocation of empathy, but no research to date has explored the relative effectiveness of each on any type of empathy. AimsThe present study compared how auditory and visual presentation influence somatic empathic arousal and perceived pain level. DesignExposure to auditory and/or visual information about an individual in pain was manipulated between groups of participants. MethodsStudents (N = 125) in several classes were randomly assigned in groups to one of three conditions—audio-only, video-only, or audio-video—each portraying an elderly man suffering from a painful kidney stone. Participants indicated his perceived pain and level of danger and relevant physical sensations and completed an empathy status scale. ResultsConsistent with the hypothesis, the results indicated that participants who were presented with an auditory stimulus (audio-only and audio-video conditions) estimated higher and more accurate pain and danger level for the patient compared with those in the visual-only group. Participants in the audio groups also reported experiencing physical sensations, whereas the visual-only group had no such report. ConclusionsThe study found that auditory information is more impactful in eliciting perceptions of pain in others compared with visual information. Experiences of clinical empathy and patient care may be improved by focusing on patients’ auditory pain communications.

Auditory Evoked Responses in Older Adults With Normal Hearing, Untreated, and Treated Age-Related Hearing Loss.

The goal of this study was to identify the effects of auditory deprivation (age-related hearing loss) and auditory stimulation (history of hearing aid use) on the neural registration of sound across two stimulus presentation conditions: (1) equal sound pressure level and (2) equal sensation level. We used a between-groups design, involving three groups of 14 older adults (n = 42; 62 to 84 years): (1) clinically defined normal hearing (≤25 dB from 250 to 8000 Hz, bilaterally), (2) bilateral mild-moderate/moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss who have never used hearing aids, and (3) bilateral mild-moderate/moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss who have worn bilateral hearing aids for at least the past 2 years. There were significant delays in the auditory P1-N1-P2 complex in older adults with hearing loss compared with their normal hearing peers when using equal sound pressure levels for all participants. However, when the degree and configuration of hearing loss were accounted for through the presentation of equal sensation level stimuli, no latency delays were observed. These results suggest that stimulus audibility modulates P1-N1-P2 morphology and should be controlled for when defining deprivation and stimulus-related neuroplasticity in people with hearing loss. Moreover, a history of auditory stimulation, in the form of hearing aid use, does not appreciably alter the neural registration of unaided auditory evoked brain activity when quantified by the P1-N1-P2. When comparing auditory cortical responses in older adults with and without hearing loss, stimulus audibility, and not hearing loss-related neurophysiological changes, results in delayed response latency for those with age-related hearing loss. Future studies should carefully consider stimulus presentation levels when drawing conclusions about deprivation- and stimulation-related neuroplasticity. Additionally, auditory stimulation, in the form of a history of hearing aid use, does not significantly affect the neural registration of sound when quantified using the P1-N1-P2-evoked response.

Effect of age on envelope regularity discrimination.

The ability to discriminate irregular from regular amplitude modulation was compared for young and older adults with audiometric thresholds within the normal range for frequencies from 250 to 8000 Hz, using the "envelope regularity discrimination" (ERD) test. The amount of irregularity was parametrically varied and quantified by an "irregularity index." The carrier frequency was 2000 Hz, the modulation rate was 8 Hz, and the baseline modulation index was 0.3. Stimuli were presented both at 80 dB sound pressure level (SPL) and at 20 dB sensation level (SL) in the presence of a threshold-equalizing noise. There was a significant effect of level, performance being better at 80 dB SPL than at 20 dB SL. There was also a significant effect of age, performance being worse for the older subjects. There was no significant interaction of level and age. The thresholds for the ERD test were not significantly correlated with absolute thresholds at the test carrier frequency of 2000 Hz, for either group, or for the two groups combined. The worse envelope regularity discrimination for the older group may be related to the age-related synaptopathy that has been established from recent studies of human temporal bones.

Histrionics of the Pulpit

AbstractThe eighteenth-century Atlantic world was swept with a radical new form of Christian preaching that aimed to engage the feelings and sensations of mass audiences. In the nineteenth century, this heart-centered preaching became a mainstream form of American Christianity, but in its first hundred years, it was widely regarded as perverse, effeminate, and depraved. Early evangelical Christianity threatened to destabilize social and political orders, to drive the masses “out of their senses,” and to throw gender norms into chaos. This article argues that attention to “trans tonality”—an investigation of trans at the level of tone, expression, and sensation—offers a surprising trans history of early American culture and opens up an archive rich with accounts of gender and sensory variance.

Neural effects of hand-grip-activity induced fatigue sensation on appetite: a magnetoencephalography study

It has been reported that physical activity not only increases energy expenditure, but also affects appetite. However, little remains known about the effects of physical activity-induced fatigue sensation on appetite. In the present study, classical conditioning related to fatigue sensation was used to dissociate fatigue sensation from physical activity. The participants were 20 healthy male volunteers. After overnight fasting, on day 1, the participants performed hand-grip task trials for 10 min with listening to a sound. The next day, they viewed food images with (target task) and without (control task) listening to the sound identical to that used on day 1, and their neural activity during the tasks were recorded using magnetoencephalography. The subjective levels of appetite and fatigue sensation were assessed using a visual analog scale. The subjective level of fatigue increased and that of appetite for fatty foods showed a tendency toward increase in the target task while the subjective level of fatigue and that of appetite for fatty foods were not altered in the control task. In the target task, the decrease of theta (4–8 Hz) band power in the supplementary motor area (SMA), which was observed in the control task, was suppressed, and the suppression was positively correlated with appetite for fatty foods, suggesting hand grip activity-induced fatigue sensation may increase the appetite for fatty food; this increase could be related to neural activity in the SMA. These findings are expected to contribute to the understanding of the neural mechanisms of appetite in relation to fatigue.

Dry Eye Disease Is More Prevalent in Children with Diabetes than in Those without Diabetes

ABSTRACTPurpose: To compare the prevalence of dry eye disease between children with and without diabetes, and analyze the factors associated with dry eye disease in children with diabetes.Materials and methods: 38 children with diabetes were selected as cases, and 40 children without diabetes constituted the control group. The prevalence of dry eye disease in both groups was statistically analyzed. Related factors of dry eye disease were analyzed in children with diabetes.Results: The prevalence of dry eye disease in the case group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < .01), with the attributable proportion among the exposed (0.827) and the population attributable fraction (0.700). Univariate analysis showed that the diabetes duration, best-corrected visual acuity, corneal sensation, and levels of glycosylated hemoglobin were associated with dry eye disease in children with diabetes. Logistic regression analysis revealed that only diabetes duration and corneal sensation were independent factors associated with dry eye disease. The diabetes duration was significantly higher and the level of corneal sensation was significantly lower in subjects with dry eye disease than in those without dry eye disease.Conclusions: Early screening and close follow-up of dry eye disease in children with diabetes should be strictly implemented, especially in children with a long duration of diabetes and those with peripheral neuropathy.

Value of auditory perception of alphabet letters test (Arabic standardized version) in evaluation of Arabic speaking CI children

Background: Cochlear implant (CI) is a hearing device that helps hearing impaired children who did not benefit from conventional hearing aids to restore a satisfactory level of auditory sensation. The proper verification of their auditory speech and language performance helps gain the best outcomes. Speech perception tests are basic assessment tools. They are considered as supra-threshold tests that use different speech materials that are reliable for hearing impaired children.Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the correlation between the different speech perception tests and auditory skills, language acquisition and speech parameters for cases with CI children in Zagazig University Hospitals. This will help develop an appropriate battery for verification of CI children.Design: This study was applied on 21 children with CI who had implanted before the data collection period. For all participants aided thresholds, APAL, WIPI and PBKG tests were done in the audio-vestibular medicine unit for assessment of audiological outcomes. Assessment of auditory skills, language acquisition and speech parameters were done in the Phoniatric Unit. The results were collected and statistically analyzed.Results: There was a strong positive correlation between APAL and TLA, auditory skills and intelligibility of speech, which was superior to other speech perception tests.Conclusion: APAL can be used as a reliable speech discrimination test that can anticipate the progress in different skills of pre-lingual CI children.

The outdoor thermal comfort assessment of different urban configurations within Akure City, Nigeria

The outdoor thermal comfort condition of Akure city has been assessed in this study. Four locations within the city (Airport, Ijapo, Alagbaka and Oja Oba) with varying urban settings were the focus in this study. The monthly and diurnal variation of thermal comfort within these locations were reported, as well as the frequency of occurrence of each thermal comfort sensation class. Temperature Humidity Index (THI) was used to compute the comfort values and determine sensation levels using air temperature and relative humidity data obtained during the field measurement campaign from January to December 2009. Results from the study showed that thermal comfort varies monthly. March was observed to be the most thermally stressed month, while August was the least. Diurnal variation showed that the period between 1400 and 1600 h was the least comfortable time of the day as the condition reached “hot” thermal sensation level. The comparative analysis between the stations showed that the locations within the Central Business District (CBD) were more thermally discomforting as they had a higher frequency of warm and hot sensations compared to the other locations. This study clearly reveals that thermal comfort conditions have varying thresholds at different locations within the urban area.

Psychometric Functions of Vowel Detection and Identification in Long-Term Speech-Shaped Noise.

Purpose The goal of this study was to investigate vowel detection and identification in noise and provide baseline data regarding how vowel perception changed with signal-to-noise ratios. Psychometric functions of vowel detection and identification for 12 American English isolated vowels in long-term speech-shaped noise were examined for young listeners with normal hearing in this study. Method Vowel detection was measured at sensation levels from -10 to +5 dB (re: thresholds of vowel detection from the study of Liu and Eddins, 2008a ) with a 4-interval forced-choice procedure. Thresholds of vowel detection were computed for each listener as the speech level at which 70.7% correct performance was reached. Vowel identification was then examined at sensation levels from 0 to 12 dB relative to detection thresholds for each listener. Thresholds of vowel identification were calculated as the speech level with vowel identifiability ( d') equals to 1. Results Thresholds of vowel detection and identification were significantly affected by vowel category. Slopes of psychometric functions of vowel identification were significantly dependent on vowel category, whereas slopes of psychometric functions of vowel detection were not. Conclusions These results suggest that, given the same sensation levels, especially at low sensation levels, vowel sounds are not equally perceivable in terms of identifiability.

Clinical feasibility of auditory processing tests in Japanese older adults: a pilot study

Background: Difficulty in listening comprehension is a major audiological complaint of older adults. Behavioural auditory processing tests (APTs) may evaluate it.Aims/Objectives: The aim was to assess the feasibility of administering Japanese APTs to older adults at otolaryngology clinics.Material and Methods: Using computer programs interfaced with an audiometer, APTs (dichotic listening test; fast speech test, FST; gap detection test, GDT; speech in noise test; rapidly alternating speech perception test) were administered to 20 older adults (65–84 years old; mean 75.3 years) and 20 young adults at the 40 dB sensation level. Monosyllable speech perception (MSP) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were evaluated.Results: APT results except for GDT were significantly correlated with MSP. The performance on each APT was worse in older adults than in young adults (p < .01). The older adults with good MSP ≥ 80% (n = 13) or excellent cognitive function (MMSE ≥ 28; n = 11) also did worse on APTs (p < .05). A ceiling effect was noted in the APT data, with FST showing a minimum ceiling effect and reflecting interindividual variations of data.Conclusions and Significance: It is feasible to administer APTs to older adults who visit otolaryngology clinics. Among our Japanese APTs, FST may be suitable for further large-scale clinical studies.

Viruses Going Viral: Impact of Fear-Arousing Sensationalist Social Media Messages on User Engagement

Social media presents a promising yet competitive communication landscape for health practitioners and organizations during the rapid spread of an emerging infectious disease. The current study examined the association between the level of fear-arousing sensationalism and user engagement in 800 Facebook posts regarding the 2016 Zika virus outbreak. Results revealed that the majority of nonnews posts completely lacked sensationalist elements, and that user engagement increased significantly as the level of fear-arousing sensationalism increased from low levels. We discuss the potential value of message design that can engender an appropriate level of public concern and increase user engagement on social media.

Photography, Contemplation, and the Worship of Sri Ramakrishna

Examining the worship of Sri Ramakrishna's photograph provides insight into how a photograph becomes a sacrament—its status transformed from mundane to metaphysical. Sri Ramakrishna's image generates highly contemplative and interior experiences for his devotees. During the aarati worship service, the photograph is phenomenal. It is encountered on levels of bodily sensation that are the very substance of devotional activity—touching, tasting, hearing, smelling, and seeing. In particular, it is the act of devotional singing that finally renders the living presence of the photograph into something that can be experienced. The aarati hymns not only contain expressions of worship and faith. The very act of singing and making sound brings an immediacy to the experience of the living presence of Sri Ramakrishna's photograph.

The Effects of Manufacturer's Prefit and Real-Ear Fitting on the Predicted Speech Perception of Children with Severe to Profound Hearing Loss.

The use of probe microphone measures in hearing aid verification is often neglected or not fully used by practitioners. Some practitioners rely on simulated gain and output provided by manufacturer's fitting software to verify hearing aids. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of manufacturer's prefit procedure in matching the prescribed real-ear targets. It also aims to study its correlated impact on the predicted speech perception in children with severe and profound hearing loss. This cross-sectional experiment was carried out by measuring the output of hearing aids based on prefit versus real-ear at low-, moderate-, and high-input levels. The predicted speech perception for different hearing aid fittings was determined based on the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII). Sixteen children (28 ears) aged between 4 and 7 yr, with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss took part in the study. Two different types of hearing aids (Phonak and Unitron) were programmed based on their respective manufacturers' Desired Sensation Levels (DSL) v5 Child procedure. The hearing aids were then verified using coupler-based measurements and individual real-ear-to-coupler differences. The prefit outputs were compared with the DSL v5 Child-prescribed outputs at low-, moderate-, and high-input levels. The hearing aids were then adjusted to closely match the prescribed output. The SIIs were calculated for the fittings before and after adjustment. Sixty four percent of fittings that were based on the prefit procedure achieved the optimal fit-to-targets, with less than 5-dB RMS deviations from the DSL v5 Child targets. After adjusting the hearing aids to attempt to meet the DSL v5 Child targets, 75% of the ears tested achieved the optimal fit-to-targets. On average, hearing aid outputs generated by the manufacturer's prefit procedure had good and reasonable agreement with the DSL v5 Child-prescribed outputs at low- and mid-frequencies. Nonetheless, at 4000 Hz, the hearing aid output mostly fell below the DSL v5 Child-prescribed outputs. This was still the case even after the hearing aid was adjusted to attempt to match with the targets. At low input level, some prefit outputs were found to be higher than the prescribed outputs. The deviations of prefit outputs from the prescribed outputs were dependent on the type of hearing aid and input levels. There was no significant difference between the SII calculated for fittings based on the prefit and adjusted fit. Prefit procedure tends to produce outputs that were below the DSL v5 Child-prescribed outputs, with the largest mean difference at 4000 Hz. Even though the hearing aid gains were adjusted to attempt to match with the targets, the outputs were still below the targets. The limitations of hearing aids to match the DSL v5 Child targets at high-frequency region have resulted in no improvement in the children's predicted speech perception.

ANALISIS ISI SENSASIONALISME BERITA KRIMINAL (STUDI KASUS PROGRAM INEWS DAN KOMPAS SULSEL)

ABSTRACTThis study discusses the Analysis of the Content of Sensationalism in Criminal News (Case Study of the Inews Program of South Sulawesi and KompasSulsel). The basis of this research began because of the fierce competition between television, newspapers and radio and the limitations of the medium, making television shift from the emphasis on public conversation leading to entertainment. There was a tight competition in the Market News. This condition provides an increase in a phenomenon called "sensationalism". Criminal news is classified into sensational news because the topics and images displayed include sensationalism. In addition, criminal news also has the ability to attract the attention of the public. This study aims to compare the level of sensationalism in news programs, especially criminal news on InewsTv and KompasTv, through the InewsSulsel and KompasSulsel programs. From these comparisons, the research method used is content analysis by comparing messages from different sources. This can be seen in the news of Inews-Sulsel and Kompas-Sulsel which are packaged with the selection of certain words in the title, the use of graphics, interesting drawings and information, the borrowing of expert mouths to convey ideas, angle setting for media presentation, music use, songs and repetitive effects so that they are familiar and determine the agenda agenda [agenda setting]. The results showed that the Inews-sulsel news program was more sensational in presenting news about the chaotic case of the Kingdom of Gowa compared to the Kompas-sulsel program.&#x0D; Keywords: Analysi; Sensationalism; Criminal News; Television News

Effect of change in ambient temperature on core temperature of female subjects during the daytime and its sex differences.

Tympanic temperature (Tty), skin temperature, and regional dry heat loss were measured continuously in eight female subjects under three conditions: (1) stepwise increases in ambient temperature (Ta) from 26°C at 09:00 to 30°C at 18:00, (2) steady Ta at 28°C from 09:00 to 18:00, and (3) stepwise decreases in Ta from 30°C at 09:00 to 26°C at 18:00. Oxygen consumption, body weight loss, thermal sensation, and comfort levels were periodically recorded. The Tty increased significantly (p < 0.01) from 36.1 ± 0.36°C to 36.6 ± 0.23°C at 18:00 under condition 1 but remained virtually unchanged under conditions 2 and 3. Thermal comfort was observed at 15:00 and 17:00 under condition 3, whereas subjects reported that they felt slightly cool at 15:00. The rate of body heat storage (S), changes in Tty, mean skin temperature ([Formula: see text]sk), and mean body temperature during each period were calculated, and confirmed that changes in [Formula: see text]sk was correlated with S. Diurnal changes in core temperature (Tc) appeared to be more dependent on diurnal rhythm than on changes in Ta, except when Ta increased continuously. Thus, it may be difficult to predict diurnal changes in women's Tc using a body-heat-balance equation during thermal transient.

Effect of High Fructose Syrup (HFS) Addition on Chemical and Organoleptic Properies of Green Coconut Water Kefir

This research aims to determine the effect of High Fructose Syrup (HFS) addition to carbon dioxide (CO2) content, ethanol content and organoleptic properties of green coconut water kefir, and to determine the ideal HFS concentration for green coconut water kefir. Complete Randomized Design is used in this research with 5 treatments and 4 replications i.e. T0 (0% v/v HFS), T1 (2.5% v/v HFS), T2 (5% v/v HFS), T3 (7.5% v/v HFS), and T4 (10% v/v HFS). The CO2 content is measured by sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) titration, ethanol content is measured by distillation, while the organoleptic properties that included level of sourness, level of sweetness, soda sensation, sour aroma, and viscosity are done by 25 panelists. The results show that the addition of HFS is statistically gave significant effect to the CO2 content and organoleptic properties (P&lt;0,05). However, the ethanol content, which analyzed using empirical model of quadratic polynomial regression, show that the addition of HFS is incompatible to the ethanol content of green coconut water kefir. The most optimal HFS concentration is 7.5% v/v, resulting CO2 content of 0.096%; ethanol content 1.545%; and desirable organoleptic properties, which are low level of sourness, high level of sweetness, very high soda sensation, low sour aroma, and high viscosity.

Outdoor thermal comfort in different urban settings of sub-tropical high-density cities: An approach of adopting local climate zone (LCZ) classification

Outdoor thermal comfort is determined by urban morphology and the geometry of outdoor urban spaces. The local climate zone (LCZ) classification system aims to characterise the urban and rural land cover based on various urban morphological parameters. It has been widely used in studies of the thermal environment, but the subjective thermal perception between LCZ classes has rarely been studied. This study evaluated the microclimatic conditions and subjective perception of the thermal environment in eight LCZs in Hong Kong, using questionnaire surveys and field measurements. An ANOVA test showed that the microclimatic conditions were significantly different across eight LCZs, and this could be attributed to the urban morphology and the geometry of the outdoor urban spaces. This does not only affect the critical conditions but also the variations in the thermal environment. The highest maximum temperature (38.9 °C) was found in LCZ 1, and the lowest maximum temperature (29.9 °C) was observed in land cover LCZs. Subjective assessment showed that compact or high-rise settings were associated with warmer thermal sensations reported by the respondents. The relationship between the level of thermal stress and subjective thermal sensation changed across LCZs. This study demonstrated that the LCZ classification provides a characterisation of both the physical and thermal environment. It is also one of the first attempts to examine the relationship between the thermal environment and subjective perceptions using the LCZ classification system. Further work is required to investigate how thermal comfort indicators can be used to represent the thermal comfort conditions in different LCZs.

An Investigation of the Effects of Changes in the Indoor Ambient Temperature on Arousal Level, Thermal Comfort, and Physiological Indices

Thermal factors not only affect the thermal comfort sensation of occupants, but also affect their arousal level, productivity, and health. Therefore, it is necessary to control thermal factors appropriately. In this study, we aim to design a thermal environment that improves both the arousal level and thermal comfort of the occupants. To this end, we investigated the relationships between the physiological indices, subjective evaluation values, and task performance under several conditions of changes in the indoor ambient temperature. In particular, we asked subjects to perform a mathematical task and subjective evaluation related to their thermal comfort sensation and drowsiness levels. Simultaneously, we measured their physiological parameters, such as skin temperature, respiration rate, electroencephalography, and electrocardiography, continuously. We investigated the relationship between the comfort sensation and drowsiness level of occupants, and the physiological indices. From the results, it was confirmed that changes in the indoor ambient temperature can improve both the thermal comfort and the arousal levels of occupants. Moreover, we proposed the evaluation indices of the thermal comfort and the drowsiness level of occupants using physiological indices.

Effects of age, modulation rate, and modulation depth on sentence recognition in speech-modulated noise

Speech is often heard in amplitude modulated backgrounds when speech is glimpsed during momentary masker dips. Increased masker modulation depth provides more improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of glimpsed speech, but also improves noise modulation detection for potentially greater modulation masking. Mechanisms of modulation masking and glimpsing may also depend on the overlap of the modulation spectra of the speech and noise. This study employed modulation filtering and noise amplitude compression to investigate the combined effects of noise modulation depth and modulation rate on speech recognition. Younger normal-hearing (YNH), older normal-hearing (ONH), and older hearing-impaired (OHI) adults listened to sentences in noise that were spectrally shaped to control for individual hearing thresholds. A second YNH group listened to sentences with the same spectral shaping as OHI listeners. Sentence recognition generally improved with greater noise modulation depth, especially at higher modulation rates. Results suggest that speech recognition for all groups is maximized when speech modulations &amp;lt;8 Hz are preserved, when noise modulation occurs at rates higher than this range, and with greater noise modulation depth. OHI listeners benefit similarly from these conditions, but their poorer overall performance may be due to reduced sensation levels. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD.]

Circling back on theories of sound localization

An important question of human perception is how we localize target objects in space. Through our eyes and skin, activation patterns on the sensory epithelium suffice to cue us about a target’s location. However, for our ears, the brain has to compute where a sound source is located. One important cue for computing sound direction is the time difference in arrival of acoustic energy reaching each ear, the interaural time difference (ITD). With behavioral experiments on sound lateralization as a function of sound intensity, we tested how the computation of sound location with ITDs is done. We tested twelve naïve normal-hearing listeners (ages 18–27, five females). Stimuli consisted of low-frequency noise tokens that were bandlimited from 300 to 122 Hz, from 5 to 25 dB sensation level. Without response feedback, listeners were initially trained to reliably judge the direction of a sound source and then tested on where they heard the sound. We found that softer sounds tend to be localized closer to midline as compared to louder sound. This finding raises doubt on one major theory of sound localization, the labeled-line theory, and supports another main contender, population rate based coding.