Voice pathology refers to a problem arising from abnormal conditions, such as dysphonia, paralysis, cysts, and even cancer, that cause abnormal vibrations in the vocal cords (or vocal folds). In this context, voice pathology detection (VPD) has received much attention as a non-invasive way to automatically detect voice problems. It consists of two processing modules: a feature extraction module to characterize normal voices and a voice detection module to detect abnormal ones. Machine learning methods like support vector machines (SVM) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been successfully utilized as pathological voice detection modules to achieve good VPD performance. Also, a self-supervised, pretrained model can learn generic and rich speech feature representation, instead of explicit speech features, which further improves its VPD abilities. However, fine-tuning these models for VPD leads to an overfitting problem, due to a domain shift from conversation speech to the VPD task. As a result, the ...
GSK has announced results from a survey revealing that parents are less knowledgeable about meningitis compared to other childhood infectious diseases. The multi-country GSK-commissioned and funded survey conducted by Ipsos revealed that 72% of over 4,000 parents said they were somewhat knowledgeable or knew a lot about meningitis. However, this result was significantly lower compared to other infectious diseases, including COVID-19 (95%), influenza (94%), measles (86%), pneumonia (82%) and whooping cough (74%). Additionally, 93% of parents across the US, Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, the UK and Italy surveyed said they could not identify the three most common symptoms of the condition: fever, headache and stiff neck. Annually, 2.5 million people are diagnosed with meningitis globally, of which 1.2 million cases are invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). Despite 88% of parents considering meningitis to be a serious childhood illness, only 38% said they believed that their child was at risk of catching ...
By George Kramb Pictured: Man preparing Ozempic injection/iStock, imyskin Thanks to TikTok, Ozempic has emerged as this year’s go-to weight loss drug. The current debate revolves around a need to understand Ozempic’s true benefits, unmarred by the overshadowing emphasis on weight loss. Ozempic is not a weight loss drug. It is an injectable prescription medicine used “along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults with type 2 diabetes,” according to its label. As such, it is crucial to recognize its multifaceted nature and the responsible approach it demands. Ozempic’s role in the evolving world of healthcare—and inadvertently weight loss—involves both medical benefits and societal perceptions. The Authentic Benefits of Ozempic Amidst the clamor surrounding Ozempic’s media coverage, it’s imperative to redirect the focus to its true advantages when employed for its designated purposes. Ozempic’s primary function lies in regulating blood sugar levels, offering crucial assistance to ...
People with early Alzheimer’s disease have difficulty turning when walking, according to a new study using virtual reality led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Current Biology, used a computational model to further explore the intricacies of navigational errors previously observed in Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers, led by Professor Neil Burgess and colleagues in the Space and Memory group* at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, grouped participants into three categories: healthy younger participants (31 total), healthy elderly participants (36 total) and patients with mild cognitive impairment (43 total). They then asked them to complete a task while wearing virtual reality goggles, which allowed them to make real movements. In the trial, participants walked an outbound route guided by numbered cones, consisting of two straight legs connected by a turn. They then had to return to their starting position unguided. The task was performed under three different environmental conditions aimed ...
By Tristan Manalac Pictured: Alnylam headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts/iStock, hapabapa The FDA on Monday denied approval of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ siRNA therapy Onpattro (patisiran) for the treatment of cardiomyopathy of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis. In its Complete Response Letter (CRL), the regulator said that Alnylam had not provided enough evidence of the therapy’s benefit in the proposed indication. At the same time, the FDA did not flag any problems with patisiran’s clinical safety, drug quality, manufacturing processes or study conduct. “The CRL indicated that the clinical meaningfulness of patisiran’s treatment effects for the cardiomyopathy of ATTR amyloidosis had not been established,” according to the company’s announcement. In light of the rejection, Alnylam will no long work toward an expanded label for Onpattro in the U.S. Monday’s CRL runs counter to the recommendations of the FDA’s own panel of external advisers. In September 2023, the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-3 in ...
Ounce’s $5.2 million in seed funding was co-led by Meridian Street Capital and Flare Capital and included participation from Chelsea Clinton’s Metrodora Ventures, Wilshire Lane Capital, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta and Unite Us Co-founder Taylor Justice. By MARISSA PLESCIA Ounce, a startup that aims to “bridge the gap” between health and housing, announced Thursday that it has secured $5.2 million in seed funding. In addition, the company announced its first set of partners: AmeriHealth Caritas D.C. and National Housing Trust. Washington, D.C.-based Ounce works with payers and affordable housing properties. It has a team of community health workers who work within affordable housing properties to support their residents. The workers evaluate residents for gaps in care and offer onsite health clinics and screenings. They also help residents enroll in public benefits like Medicaid or SNAP. In addition, the workers will direct them to healthcare and social services, including scheduling primary ...
A brand-new kind of drug, tested in mice, shows promising new results that could lead to the development of a new weight-loss drug that mimics exercise. The new compound, developed and tested by a University of Florida professor of pharmacy and his colleagues, leads obese mice to lose weight by convincing the body’s muscles that they are exercising more than they really are, boosting the animals’ metabolism. It also increases endurance, helping mice run nearly 50% further than they could before. All without the mice lifting a paw. The drug belongs to a class known as “exercise mimetics,” which provide some of the benefits of exercise without increasing physical activity. The new treatment is in the early stages of development but could one day be tested in people to treat diseases like obesity, diabetes, and age-related muscle loss. The research comes as drugs like Ozempic have provided a breakthrough in ...
Emotional support and tangible aid for caregivers benefited all families during the COVID-19 pandemic, not just those facing higher stress levels, according to a study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families experienced social isolation, economic hardship, and disruptions in daily routines. Communities of color suffered higher infection rates and greater financial hardship and disruption. ECHO researchers wanted to learn how these stressors on caregivers affected their children. Researchers looked separately at a subset of Black participants, who likely experienced unique discrimination during the pandemic. They found caregiver experiences of discrimination strengthened the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic stress and child behavior problems, specifically those related to anxiety and depression. The study found that higher levels of support for caregivers were associated with fewer behavior problems overall. On the other hand, higher amounts of stress ...
The universal vaccine could protect people against more strains of flu The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it has begun dosing patients in a phase 1 clinical trial of a new influenza (flu) vaccine candidate, FluMos-v2, to evaluate the vaccine for safety and its ability to elicit an immune response. Designed by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’s (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC), FluMos-v2 works to induce antibodies against various influenza strains by displaying part of the influenza virus haemagglutinin (HA) protein in repeating patterns on self-assembling nanoparticle scaffolds, preparing the immune system to recognise and fight the actual virus. Sponsored by NIAID, the trial is expected to enrol 24 healthy individuals, aged 18 to 50 years, to receive two intramuscular injections of the vaccine candidate, 16 weeks apart. The researchers aim to enrol 12 participants in a lower dose group (60mcg per ...
Mere hours after it surfaced that Lonza’s CEO, Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, will step down, the Swiss CDMO has lost another major executive. And this time, the exec is jumping ship to U.S. contract manufacturing rival Catalent. Monday, Catalent named Lonza’s David McErlane group president of its biologics segment. McErlane, who most recently served as Lonza’s senior vice president and head of the bioscience business, will take up his post at Catalent on Sept. 25, a source familiar with the matter told Fierce Pharma. McErlane’s hiring represents one of the first major strategic grabs since Catalent caved in to activist investor Elliott Management last August. The New Jersey CDMO is now working to rejuvenate its business after a difficult stretch of manufacturing snares, executive turnover and dwindling revenues. Before joining Catalent, McErlane led a Lonza department that provides specialty raw materials and technology solutions for cell and gene therapies, injectable drugs, vaccines ...
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