Arlindo Neto Montagnoli

Comparative Analysis of the Closed Quotient for Lip and Tongue Trills in Relation to the Sustained Vowel /ε/

Various types of trill exercises have been used for a long time as a tool in the treatment and preparation of the voice. Although they are reported to produce vocal benefits in most subjects, their physiology has not yet been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to compare the mean and standard deviation of the closed quotient in exercises of lip and tongue trills with the sustained vowel /ε/ in opera singers. Ten professional classical (operatic) singers, reportedly in perfect laryngeal health, served as subjects for this study and underwent electroglottography. During the examination, the subjects were instructed to deliver the sustained vowel /ε/ and lip and tongue trills in a same preestablished frequency and intensity. The mean values and standard deviation of the closed quotient were obtained using the software developed for this purpose. The comparison of the results was intrasubjects; maximum intensities were compared only among them and so were minimum intensities. The means of closed quotient were statistically significant only in the strong intensities, and the lip trill was different from the tongue trill and the sustained vowel /ε/. The standard deviation of the closed quotient distinguished the sustained vowel /ε/ from the lip and tongue trills in the two intensities. We concluded that there is oscillation of the closed quotient during the exercises of tongue and lip trills, and the closed quotient is higher during the performance of exercises of the lip trill, when compared with the two other utterances, only in the strong intensities.

Software para análise quantitativa da deglutição

OBJECTIVE: The present paper is aimed at introducing a software to allow a detailed analysis of the swallowing dynamics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample included ten (six male and four female) stroke patients, with mean age of 57.6 years. Swallowing videofluoroscopy was performed and images were digitized for posterior analysis of the pharyngeal transit time with the aid of a chronometer and the software. RESULTS: Differences were observed in the average pharyngeal swallowing transit time as a result of measurements with chronometer and software. CONCLUSION: This software is a useful tool for the analysis of parameters such as swallowing time and speed, allowing a better understanding of the swallowing dynamics, both in the clinical approach of patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia and for scientific research purposes.

Autoregressive decomposition and pole tracking applied to vocal fold nodule signals

This letter describes a novel algorithm that is based on autoregressive decomposition and pole tracking used to recognize two patterns of speech data: normal voice and disphonic voice caused by nodules. The presented method relates the poles and the peaks of the signal spectrum which represent the periodic components of the voice. The results show that the perturbation contained in the signal is clearly depicted by poles positions. Their variability is related to jitter and shimmer. The pole dispersion for pathological voices is about 20% higher than for normal voices, therefore, the proposed approach is a more trustworthy measure than the classical ones.

Classification of normal swallowing and oropharyngeal dysphagia using wavelet

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is characterized by any alteration in swallowing dynamics which may lead to malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia. Early diagnosis is crucial for the prognosis of patients with dysphagia, and the best method for swallowing dynamics assessment is swallowing videofluoroscopy, an exam performed with X-rays. Because it exposes patients to radiation, videofluoroscopy should not be performed frequently nor should it be prolonged. This study presents a non-invasive method for the pre-diagnosis of dysphagia based on the analysis of the swallowing acoustics, where the discrete wavelet transform plays an important role to increase sensitivity and specificity in the identification of dysphagic patients.

A generalized alternating-direction implicit scheme for incompressible magnetohydrodynamic viscous flows at low magnetic Reynolds number

Abstract This paper presents numerical simulations of incompressible fluid flows in the presence of a magnetic field at low magnetic Reynolds number. The equations governing the flow are the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid motion coupled with Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetics. The study of fluid flows under the influence of a magnetic field and with no free electric charges or electric fields is known as magnetohydrodynamics. The magnetohydrodynamics approximation is considered for the formulation of the non-dimensional problem and for the characterization of similarity parameters. A finite-difference technique is used to discretize the equations. In particular, an extension of the generalized Peaceman and Rachford alternating-direction implicit (ADI) scheme for simulating two-dimensional fluid flows is presented. The discretized conservation equations are solved in stream function–vorticity formulation. We compare the ADI and generalized ADI schemes, and show that the latter is more efficient in simulating low Reynolds number and magnetic Reynolds number problems. Numerical results demonstrating the applicability of this technique are also presented. The simulation of incompressible magnetohydrodynamic fluid flows is illustrated by numerical solution for two-dimensional cases.

Parameters Acoustic and High-speed kymography identified effects of voiced vibration and vocal fry exercises

PURPOSE To analyze the difference between nonsmokers and smokers on the changes in the perceptions of smell and taste and to verify the influence of these aspects in the emergence of compensatory movements during swallowing. METHODS To evaluate these aspects, capabilities of olfactory and gustatory recognition were observed, as well as the compensation swallowing. Twenty-four patients were evaluated in each study group aged from 18 years, grouped in a stratified way. The olfactory evaluation consisted in presenting seven essences and one of three options should be chosen. For the taste test, 16 flavors were offered in a non-sequential and decreasing way in amount of solute. Swallowing solid and liquid was evaluated, in which aspects of compensation perioral muscles were observed. RESULTS Worst performance in olfactory and gustatory tests among smokers (p≤0.01) was found. Through the results of χ2 and Fishers exact tests, it was found that the contraction of the mentalis muscle is less observed in non-smokers, and smokers have an average degree of statistically significant change compared to nonsmokers. Furthermore, through the Spearman correlation coefficient, it was found that the worsening in the sensory tests implies increased compensation during swallowing in smokers. CONCLUSION These data allowed us to verify that the sensory changes have influence on swallowing pattern, indicating that these changes are aspects that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of changes in swallowing.PURPOSE To identify the immediate effects of voiced vibration and vocal fry exercises on healthy subjects by means of acoustic parameters and high-speed kymography. METHODS Thirty healthy subjects (18 women and 12 men, aged from 19 to 45 years old) participated in this study. The voices were recorded at the range of 44.100 samples/second, before and after of the vocal exercises. We developed a computational routine to extract jitter and shimmer. High-speed kymography was generated from laryngeal images for the analysis of the phase times: closed (CPh), open (OPh), of closing (cPh) and of opening (oPh) and used the paired t-Student test and the Mann-Whitney test, with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS After voiced vibrations, acoustic parameters showed reduced jitter for both genders (p=0.018 for men and p<0.01 for women) and reduced shimmer for female voices (p<0.01). There was a decrease in CPh (p=0.046) and cPh (p=0.026) and an increase in OPh (p=0.05) in female vocal folds. After vocal fry, we identified decreased jitter (p<0.01) in female voices and cPh (p=0.026) in male vocal folds. CONCLUSION We observed more positive immediate effects of the voiced vibrations, mainly in voice quality and vocal folds among females. Nevertheless, studies with larger male sample and investigation of the appropriate time of vocal fry are necessary to confirm the results of this search.

Residual signal auto-correlation to evaluate speech in Parkinson's disease patients

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the maximum residual signal auto-correlation also known as pitch amplitude (PA) values in patients with Parkinsons disease (PD) patients. METHOD The signals of 21 Parkinsons patients were compared with 15 healthy individuals, divided according age and gender. RESULTS Statistical difference was seen between groups for PA, 0.39 for controls and 0.25 for PD. Normal value threshold was set as 0.3; (p<0.001). In the Parkinsons group 80.77%, and in the control group only 12.28%, had a PA<0.3 demonstrating an association between these variables. The dispersion diagram for age and PA for PD individuals showed p=0.01 and r=0.54. There was no significant difference in relation to gender and PA between groups. CONCLUSION The significant differences in pitchs amplitude between PD patients and healthy individuals demonstrate the methods specificity. The results showed the need of prospective controlled studies to improve the use and indications of residual signal auto-correlation to evaluate speech in PD patients.

Análise perceptivo-auditiva de vozes rugosas e soprosas: correspondência entre a escala visual analógica e a escala numérica

Purpose: To determine the cut-off values of different degrees of vocal roughness and breathiness in an analogical visual scale, from a numerical scale. Methods: We selected 150 voices from both genders, with quality ranging from neutrality to intense deviations, and predominance of breathiness or roughness. The auditory-perceptual assessment through two scales: 100-mm analogical visual scales and 4-point numerical scale. Intra and interrater reliability of auditory-perceptual ratings was analyzed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient. The cut-off values for graduation of roughness and breathiness voices were determinate using the analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, which is based on the sensitivity, specificity and efficiency. Results: The intra and interrater reliability of auditory-perceptual ratings was excellent on both scales. The cut-off values (mm) in the analogical visual scale, from the numeric scale, indicated a roughness distribution: 0-8.5 absence of the parameter; 8.5- 28.5 mild presence; 28.5- 59.5 moderate and 59.5- 100 intense. For breathiness, the distribution was: 0-8.5 absence of the parameter; 8.5-33.5 for mild presence; 33.5-52.5 moderate and 52.5-100 intense. Conclusion: The cut-off values found for the analogical visual scale conclude that the numerical scale zero, which represents the absence of parameter, corresponds to a small range of scores in the analogical visual scale. Furthermore, the third degree of the numerical scale corresponded to a wide range of the analogical visual scale.PURPOSE To determine the cut-off values of different degrees of vocal roughness and breathiness in an analogical visual scale, from a numerical scale. METHODS We selected 150 voices from both genders, with quality ranging from neutrality to intense deviations, and predominance of breathiness or roughness. The auditory-perceptual assessment through two scales: 100-mm analogical visual scales and 4-point numerical scale. Intra and interrater reliability of auditory-perceptual ratings was analyzed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient. The cut-off values for graduation of roughness and breathiness voices were determinate using the analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, which is based on the sensitivity, specificity and efficiency. RESULTS The intra and interrater reliability of auditory-perceptual ratings was excellent on both scales. The cut-off values (mm) in the analogical visual scale, from the numeric scale, indicated a roughness distribution: 0-8.5 absence of the parameter; 8.5- 28.5 mild presence; 28.5- 59.5 moderate and 59.5- 100 intense. For breathiness, the distribution was: 0-8.5 absence of the parameter; 8.5-33.5 for mild presence; 33.5-52.5 moderate and 52.5-100 intense. CONCLUSION The cut-off values found for the analogical visual scale conclude that the numerical scale zero, which represents the absence of parameter, corresponds to a small range of scores in the analogical visual scale. Furthermore, the third degree of the numerical scale corresponded to a wide range of the analogical visual scale.

Denoising swallowing sound to improve the evaluator's qualitative analysis

Swallowing dynamics involves the coordination and interaction of several muscles and nerves which allow correct food transport from mouth to stomach without laryngotracheal penetration or aspiration. Clinical swallowing assessment depends on the evaluators knowledge of anatomic structures and of neurophysiological processes involved in swallowing. Any alteration in those steps is denominated oropharyngeal dysphagia, which may have many causes, such as neurological or mechanical disorders. Videofluoroscopy of swallowing is presently considered to be the best exam to objectively assess the dynamics of swallowing, but the exam needs to be conducted under certain restrictions, due to patients exposure to radiation, which limits periodical repetition for monitoring swallowing therapy. Another method, called cervical auscultation, is a promising new diagnostic tool for the assessment of swallowing disorders. The potential to diagnose dysphagia in a noninvasive manner by assessing the sounds of swallowing is a highly attractive option for the dysphagia clinician. Even so, the captured sound has an amount of noise, which can hamper the evaluators decision. In that way, the present paper proposes the use of a filter to improve the quality of audible sound and facilitate the perception of examination. The wavelet denoising approach is used to decompose the noisy signal. The signal to noise ratio was evaluated to demonstrate the quantitative results of the proposed methodology.

Vocal Dynamic Visual Pattern for voice characterization

Voice assessment requires simple and painless exams. Modern technologies provide the necessary resources for voice signal processing. Techniques based on nonlinear dynamics seem to asses the complexity of voice more accurately than other methods. Vocal dynamic visual pattern (VDVP) is based on nonlinear methods and provides qualitative and quantitative information. Here we characterize healthy and Reinkes edema voices by means of perturbation measures and VDVP analysis. VDPD and jitter show different results for both groups, while amplitude perturbation has no difference. We suggest that VDPD analysis improve and complement the evaluation methods available for clinicians.