Anatomical and Functional Correlates of Voice Quality in Tracheoesophageal Speech

The purpose of the current study was to assess the anatomic and functional correlates of voice quality in tracheoesophageal speech, with dynamic imaging studies of the neoglottis. Videofluoroscopy (providing a lateral view), digital high-speed endoscopy (providing a "birds-eye" view), and their relationships with perceptual evaluations of voice quality were investigated. Several significant relationships were found. Imaging with videofluoroscopy revealed that the following anatomic and functional parameters (established during phonation) are related to voice quality: presence of a neoglottic bar, regurgitation of barium, tonicity of the neoglottis, and minimal neoglottic distance. Furthermore, the index of the increase of the maximal subneoglottic distance from rest to phonation also showed a significant relationship with voice quality. Imaging with digital high-speed endoscopy revealed features relevant to voice quality, including amount of saliva, visibility of the origin of the neoglottis, shape of the neoglottis, and regularity of the vibration. Knowledge of the anatomic and functional correlates of tracheoesophageal voice quality provides prerequisite information for future (phono-) surgical and/or clinical improvements to the voice quality of postlaryngectomy (prosthetic) voice production.     

Voice Parameters in Children With Down Syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is the most frequent chromosomal disorder. Commonly, individuals with DS have difficulties with speech and show an unusual quality in the voice. Their phenotypic characteristics include general hypotonia and maxillary hypoplasia with relative macroglossia, and these contribute to particular acoustic alterations. Subjective perceptual and acoustic assessments of the voice (Praat-4.1 software) were performed in 66 children with DS, 36 boys and 30 girls, aged 3 to 8 years. These data were compared with those of an age-matched group of children from the general population. Perceptual evaluations showed significant differences in the group of children with DS. The voice of children with DS presented a lower fundamental frequency (F(0)) with elevated dispersion. The conjunction of frequencies for formants (F(1) and F(2)) revealed a decreased distinction between the vowels, reflecting the loss of articulatory processing. The DS vocalic anatomical functional ratio represents the main distinctive parameter between the two groups studied, and it may be useful in conducting assessments.     

Contribution of non-volatile and aroma fractions to in-mouth sensory properties of red wines: Wine reconstitution strategies and sensory sorting task

This work explores to what extent the aroma or the non-volatile fractions of red wines are responsible for the overall flavor differences perceived in-mouth. For this purpose, 14 samples (4 commercial and 10 reconstituted wines), were sorted by a panel of 30 trained assessors according to their sensory in-mouth similarities. Reconstituted wines were prepared by adding the same volatile fraction (coming from a red wine) to the non-volatile fraction of 10 different red wines showing large differences in perceived astringency. Sorting was performed under three different conditions: (a) no aroma perception: nose-close condition (NA), (b) retronasal aroma perception only (RA), and (c) allowing retro- and involuntary orthonasal aroma perception (ROA). Similarity estimates were derived from the sorting and submitted to multidimensional scaling (MDS) followed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Results have clearly shown that, globally, aroma perception is not the major driver of the in-mouth sensory perception of red wine, which is undoubtedly primarily driven by the perception of astringency and by the chemical compounds causing it, particularly protein precipitable proanthocyanidins (PAs). However, aroma perception plays a significant role on the perception of sweetness and bitterness. The impact of aroma seems to be more important whenever astringency, total polyphenols and protein precipitable PAs levels are smaller. Results also indicate that when a red-black fruit odor nuance is clearly perceived in conditions in which orthonasal odor perception is allowed, a strong reduction in astringency takes place. Such red-black fruit odor nuance seems to be the result of a specific aroma release pattern as a consequence of the interaction between aroma compounds and the non-volatile matrix.     

Kinetic theory of situated agents applied to pedestrian flow in a corridor

A situated agent-based model for simulation of pedestrian flow in a corridor is presented. In this model, pedestrians choose their paths freely and make decisions based on local criteria for solving collision conflicts. The crowd consists of multiple walking agents equipped with a function of perception as well as a competitive rule-based strategy that enables pedestrians to reach free access areas. Pedestrians in our model are autonomous entities capable of perceiving and making decisions. They apply socially accepted conventions, such as avoidance rules, as well as individual preferences such as the use of specific exit points, or the execution of eventual comfort turns resulting in spontaneous changes of walking speed. Periodic boundary conditions were considered in order to determine the density-average walking speed, and the density-average activity with respect to specific parameters: comfort angle turn and frequency of angle turn of walking agents. The main contribution of this work is an agent-based model where each pedestrian is represented as an autonomous agent. At the same time the pedestrian crowd dynamics is framed by the kinetic theory of biological systems.     

The effects of lung volume initiation on speech: a perceptual study

Audio recordings were made while six vocally untrained individuals read sentences aloud after breathing to three different lung volume levels-typical, high, and low. A perceptual experiment was conducted on these speech samples. The perceptual experiment consisted of a two-alternative forced-choice design, in which listeners heard matched pairs of sentences and were asked to identify which sentence in the pair departed from normal sounding speech. The results of the perceptual experiment showed that listeners can accurately discriminate between speech produced at both lung volume extremes. The percentage of correct identification was higher for speech produced at low lung volumes than that for high lung volumes. Factors such as order of presentation and removal of SPL as an acoustic cue made little difference in the ability of listeners to discriminate lung volume level from the speech signals.     

Effects of Family Therapy on Children''s Voices

The families of nine children with deviant voice qualities were selected for family treatment according to the SYGESTI model. Recordings of the children's speech were made before and after therapy. Perceptual evaluation of their voice quality showed significant improvement in various perceptual parameters after the therapy. Acoustical analysis confirmed changes of voice quality and mean fundamental frequency in speech. The therapy also was found to improve relations between family members, conflict management and other aspects of communication. The results suggest that these children's deviant voices were related to family conditions.     

Vocal Projection in Actors: The Long-Term Average Spectral Features That Distinguish Comfortable Acting Voice From Voicing With Maximal Projection in Male Actors

This study explored whether acoustic and perceptual features could distinguish comfortable from maximally projected acting voice. Thirteen professional male actors performed a passage from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar twice. The first delivery used their comfortably projected voices, whereas the second used maximal projection. Acoustic measures, expert ratings, and self-ratings of projection and voice quality were investigated. Long-term average spectra (LTAS) and sound pressure level (SPL) analyses were conducted. Perceptual variables included projection, breathiness, roughness, and strain. When comparing the intensity difference between the higher (2-4 kHz) and lower (0-2 kHz) regions of the spectrum in voice samples from the maximal projected condition, LTAS analyses demonstrated increased acoustic energy in the higher part of the spectrum. This LTAS pattern was not as evident in the comfortable projected condition. These findings offered some preliminary support for the existence of an actor's formant (prominent peak in the upper part of the spectrum) during maximal projection.     

Acoustical analysis and perceptual evaluation of tracheoesophageal prosthetic voice

Voice analysis was performed on 21 “standard” laryngectomized, male patients with a Provox® voice prosthesis, along with an age- and sex-matched control group of 20 normal speakers, using acoustical analyses (MDVP and CSL, Kay Elemetrics Corp.), maximum phonation time measurements, and perceptual evaluations. Comparison between MDVP and CSL revealed that the latter was not useful for the analysis of laryngectomized prosthetic voices. In contrast, MDVP seems suitable for this purpose, and contains a large number of parameters that significantly differentiate between patient and control speakers, as did the perceptual ratings and the maximum phonation time. Fundamental frequency appeared to be comparable for patients and control speakers. A significant influence of stoma occlusion and age was found for some voice parameters. Factor analyses showed correlations between the different MDVP parameters and correlations between the MDVP parameters and the perceptual ratings.     

The Impact of Specific Exertion on the Efficiency and Ease of the Voice: A Pilot Study

Even though most singers and other professional voice users are encouraged to relax to optimize the quality and performance of the voice, observations of acclaimed singers, actors, and public speakers would suggest otherwise. These successful vocal performers appear to be energized, actively working and exerting themselves. For this reason, a study was designed to explore the role of exertion in maintaining and optimizing the voice. The focus of this study was the possibility that increasing exertion could improve the voice and might result in the voice user experiencing less strain and, therefore, more comfort and ease. Ten subjects were recorded before and after completing a workshop to develop their skills with precise use of effort involving selected parameters of the larynx and vocal tract. Self-reported ratings of degree of exertion and level of comfort were collected at the time of each recording. The preworkshop and postworkshop recordings were analyzed acoustically and perceptually to compare the degree of noise in the signal that corresponds with the efficiency of the voice. The results indicated that, for all subjects, the quality of the voice improved with an increase in the use of specific exertion. Furthermore, ease and comfort also significantly increased.