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In recent years, the growing interest in automatic speech recognition (ASR) has been driven by its wide-ranging applications across various domains. Integrating speech recognition technologies into smart systems highlights the pivotal role of human-machine interaction. This study introduces a robust ASR system that leverages convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in conjunction with Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs). The model's architecture was improved by extensively examining hyperparameters, effectively recognizing ten different spoken commands. The model conducted training and evaluation using the Google Speech dataset, comprising 65,000 audio clips collected from a wide range of speakers across the globe. This dataset accurately represents the natural variations in speech found in real-world scenarios. The design comprises eight storage layers, encompassing convolutional and fully connected layers. It consists of a total of 183,345 weights and utilizes ReLU activation. It is worth mentioning that the average F1-score obtained during the training, validation, and testing stages is 99.06 %, 94.68%, and 95.27%, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed model exhibits about 1.3% improvement in experimental test accuracy over existing methods, confirming its effectiveness in real-world applications.

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Recent research by Lavan et al. explores how individuals form complex impressions from voices. Using electroencephalography and behavioral measures, the study identifies distinct time courses for discerning traits, with early acoustic processing preceding higher-order perception. These findings shed light on the temporal dynamics of voice-based person perception and its neural underpinnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers often communicate their attitudes and opinions with others, and such word of mouth has an important impact on what others think, buy, and do. But might the way consumers communicate their attitudes (i.e. through speaking or writing) shape the attitudes they express? And, as a result, the impact of what they share? While a great deal of research has begun to examine drivers of word of mouth, there has been less attention to how communication modality might shape sharing. Six studies, conducted in the laboratory and field, demonstrate that compared to speaking, writing leads consumers to express less emotional attitudes. The effect is driven by deliberation. Writing offers more time to deliberate about what to say, which reduces emotionality. The studies also demonstrate a downstream consequence of this effect: by shaping the attitudes expressed, the modality consumers communicate through can influence the impact of their communication. This work sheds light on word of mouth, effects of communication modality, and the role of language in communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehumanization refers to the act of likening others to objects or animals. This, in turn, mitigates feelings of conscience, guilt, and moral obligation in the face of behaviors such as violence, mistreatment, or discrimination against the dehumanized individuals. The aim of this study is to determine the extent of which women with mismatching vocal tone, occupation and appearance to their gender expectations are dehumanized by others. To achieve this, we conducted a between-groups factorial design experiment. In the experiment, participants looked at the photo and listened to the voice of a target woman with either a gender congruent or incongruent vocal tone, occupation, or appearance. Participants indicated the extent to which human attributes were appropriate for this individual. The results revealed that the main effects of vocal tone and occupation were significant for both mechanistic and animalistic dehumanization. A target woman with a mismatched vocal tone and occupation was more dehumanized compared to those with a matched vocal tone and occupation. However, the interaction effect of vocal tone, occupation type, and appearance was found to be significant only for mechanistic dehumanization. Our study provides evidence to recent concerns that women may experience dehumanization due to their vocal tone and occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Management of benign vocal fold lesions (BVFLs) is variable with individuals receiving surgery, voice therapy, or a combination of these approaches. Some evidence suggests that the best outcomes may be achieved when patients are offered pre- and post-operative voice therapy in addition to phonosurgery, but what constitutes pre- and post-operative voice therapy is poorly described. The pre- and post-operative voice therapy (PAPOV) intervention has been developed and described according to the TIDieR checklist and Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS) for voice. The PAPOV intervention is delivered by specialist speech and language therapists trained in the intervention and comprises 7 essential and 4 additional components, delivered in voice therapy sessions with patients who are having surgery on their vocal folds for removal of BVFLs. Study design: Non-randomised, multicentre feasibility trial with embedded process evaluation. Method: Forty patients from two sites who are due to undergo phonosurgery will be recruited to receive the PAPOV intervention. Measures of feasibility, including recruitment, retention, and adherence, will be assessed. The feasibility of gathering clinical and cost effectiveness data will be measured pre-treatment, then at 3 and 6 months post-operatively. An embedded process evaluation will be undertaken to explain feasibility findings. Discussion: This study will assess the feasibility of delivering a described voice therapy intervention protocol to patients who are undergoing surgery for removal of BVFLs. Findings will be used to inform the development and implementation of a subsequent effectiveness trial, should this be feasible. Trial registration: This trial has been prospectively registered on ISRCTN (date 4th January 2023), registration number 17438192, and can be viewed here: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17438192. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and affects millions of people. Accurate diagnosis and subsequent treatment in the early stages can slow down disease progression. However, making an accurate diagnosis of PD at an early stage is challenging. Previous studies have revealed that even for movement disorder specialists, it was difficult to differentiate patients with PD from healthy individuals until the average modified Hoehn-Yahr staging (mH&Y) reached 1.8. Recent researches have shown that dysarthria provides good indicators for computer-assisted diagnosis of patients with PD. However, few studies have focused on diagnosing patients with PD in the early stages, specifically those with mH&Y ≥ 1.5. Method: We used a machine learning algorithm to analyze voice features and developed diagnostic models for differentiating between healthy controls (HCs) and patients with PD, and for differentiating between HCs and patients with mild PD (mH&Y ≥ 1.5). The models were independently validated using separate datasets. Results: Our results demonstrate that, a remarkable diagnostic performance of the model in identifying patients with mild PD (mH&Y ≥ 1.5) and HCs, with area under the ROC curve 0.93 (95% CI: 0.851.00), accuracy 0.85, sensitivity 0.95, and specificity 0.75. Conclusion: The results of our study are helpful for screening PD in the early stages in the community and primary medical institutions where there is a lack of movement disorder specialists and special equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voice conversion is the task of changing the speaker characteristics of input speech while preserving its linguistic content. It can be used in various areas, such as entertainment, medicine, and education. The quality of the converted speech is crucial for voice conversion algorithms to be useful in these various applications. Deep learning-based voice conversion algorithms, which have been showing promising results recently, generally consist of three modules: a feature extractor, feature converter, and vocoder. The feature extractor accepts the waveform as the input and extracts speech feature vectors for further processing. These speech feature vectors are later synthesized back into waveforms by the vocoder. The feature converter module performs the actual voice conversion; therefore, many previous studies separately focused on improving this module. These works combined the separately trained vocoder to synthesize the final waveform. Since the feature converter and the vocoder are trained independently, the output of the converter may not be compatible with the input of the vocoder, which causes performance degradation. Furthermore, most voice conversion algorithms utilize mel-spectrogram-based speech feature vectors without modification. These feature vectors have performed well in a variety of speech-processing areas but could be further optimized for voice conversion tasks. To address these problems, we propose a novel wave-to-wave (wav2wav) voice conversion method that integrates the feature extractor, the feature converter, and the vocoder into a single module and trains the system in an end-to-end manner. We evaluated the efficiency of the proposed method using the VCC2018 dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) reliably ameliorates cardinal motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). However, the effects of DBS on speech, voice and language have been inconsistent and have not been examined comprehensively in a single study. Objective: We conducted a systematic analysis of literature by reviewing studies that examined the effects of DBS on speech, voice and language in PD and ET. Methods: A total of 675 publications were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Scopus databases. Based on our selection criteria, 90 papers were included in our analysis. The selected publications were categorized into four subcategories: Fluency, Word production, Articulation and phonology and Voice quality. Results: The results suggested a long-term decline in verbal fluency, with more studies reporting deficits in phonemic fluency than semantic fluency following DBS. Additionally, high frequency stimulation, left-sided and bilateral DBS were associated with worse verbal fluency outcomes. Naming improved in the short-term following DBS-ON compared to DBS-OFF, with no long-term differences between the two conditions. Bilateral and low-frequency DBS demonstrated a relative improvement for phonation and articulation. Nonetheless, long-term DBS exacerbated phonation and articulation deficits. The effect of DBS on voice was highly variable, with both improvements and deterioration in different measures of voice. Conclusion: This was the first study that aimed to combine the outcome of speech, voice, and language following DBS in a single systematic review. The findings revealed a heterogeneous pattern of results for speech, voice, and language across DBS studies, and provided directions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on social exchange theory, this study investigates whether supervisor-subordinate guanxi(SSG) promotes voice behavior in university teachers. Posting organizational identification as a mediator and traditionality as a moderator, we constructed a moderated mediation model. A sample of 218 Chinese university teachers completed a two-stage questionnaire, and the data obtained were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings reveal that SSG can positively predict the voice behavior of university teachers, and organizational identification partially mediates the relationship between SSG and voice behavior. Moreover, traditionality negatively moderates the relationship of SSG on voice behavior via organizational identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research attention to the concept of mindfulness has been increasing in recent years, and numerous scholars have shown that mindfulness is associated with positive work behavior. This paper takes employee trait mindfulness as the starting point for studying constructive voice and explores the impact of employee trait mindfulness on constructive voice. Using SPSS and Mplus software, empirical tests were performed on the paired data of 335 employees and 88 leaders obtained from a questionnaire survey at two time points. The results of the analysis indicate that employee trait mindfulness has a positive impact on constructive voice. In addition, felt obligation for constructive change fully mediates the relationship between employee trait mindfulness and constructive voice. Moreover, perceived overqualification moderates the relationship between employee trait mindfulness and felt obligation for constructive change, and moderates the mediating effect of felt obligation for constructive change. In other words, when employees have a higher level of perceived overqualification, trait mindfulness has a greater positive impact on felt obligation for constructive change, and the positive effect of employee trait mindfulness on constructive voice via felt obligation for constructive change is more significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A song is composed of a series of tones that form a melody and support musical elements. It uses the tones of a human voice to beautifully and meaningfully express thoughts or feelings The combination of a song with a lively poem (text) can stir up a lot of emotions in the audience and have a major effect on their soul. This study aims to explore the emotions evoked by Kemas Anwar Beck's lyrics for his song Nasib Kulo and how his experiences show up in using language and wordplay to give his lyrics a unique and appealing quality. The study focuses on analyzing the content of the song lyrics and interpreting their meaning in a qualitative descriptive manner. A semiotic theory is used to decipher the meaning of the lyrics that were penned in polite Palembang Alus language. Moreover, a musicology approach is also used to analyze the musical form. The results show that the song Nasib Kulo uses two types of symbols, namely, verbal meaning in the form of poetry or lyrics and non-verbal meaning in the form of song elements, that is, chord progression, melody, tempo, and dynamics. As a result of the creativity of the artist, the mindset of life conception and lifestyle are reflected in his artwork. In conclusion, the song Nasib Kulo that is written in Palembang Alus language is very influential for individuals and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic influence on human vocal pitch in tonal and non-tonal languages remains largely unknown. In tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, pitch changes differentiate word meanings, whereas in non-tonal languages, such as Icelandic, pitch is used to convey intonation. We addressed this question by searching for genetic associations with interindividual variation in median pitch in a Chinese major depression case-control cohort and compared our results with a genome-wide association study from Iceland. The same genetic variant, rs11046212-T in an intron of the ABCC9 gene, was one of the most strongly associated loci with median pitch in both samples. Our meta-analysis revealed four genome-wide significant hits, including two novel associations. The discovery of genetic variants influencing vocal pitch across both tonal and non-tonal languages suggests the possibility of a common genetic contribution to the human vocal system shared in two distinct populations with languages that differ in tonality (Icelandic and Mandarin). A GWAS finds genetic link in ABCC9 gene affecting vocal pitch in both Mandarin and Icelandic speakers, suggesting a shared genetic influence on human vocal systems across populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore whether teachers' voice behavior is triggered by the leadership of the principal or the teachers themselves. Two conceptual frameworks are proposed to guide this research. In addition, the current study analyzes separately two dimensions of teachers' voice behavior, namely, promotive voice and prohibitive voice. Data collected from 884 teachers in Taiwan were analyzed to test the moderated mediation model. Results of the first conceptual framework revealed that under identity leadership, teacher agency moderated significantly the relationship of psychological empowerment with prohibitive voice, but not significantly with promotive voice. Findings of the second conceptual framework confirmed that under teacher agency, identity leadership did not significantly moderate the relationships of psychological empowerment with promotive voice and prohibitive voice. Most important, this study discovered that teacher agency is the main trigger for teachers exhibiting promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors. Finally, implications and limitations of this study are presented. Practitioner points: Teacher agency can moderate the relationship of psychological empowerment with prohibitive voice, but cannot moderate the relationship of psychological empowerment with promotive voice.Identity leadership cannot moderate the relationships of psychological empowerment with promotive voice and prohibitive voice.Teachers' voice behavior is mainly triggered by teachers themselves rather than principal's leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals make faster left responses to small/er numbers and faster right responses to large/r numbers than vice versa. This "spatial–numerical association of response codes" (SNARC) effect represents evidence for an overlap between the cognitive representations of number and space. Theories of the SNARC effect differ in whether they predict bidirectional S-R associations between number and space or not. We investigated the reciprocity of S-R priming effects between number and location in three experiments with vocal responses. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants completed a number–location task, with digits as stimuli and location words as responses, and a location–number task, with physical locations as stimuli and number words as responses. In addition, we varied the S-R mapping in each task. Results revealed a strong SNARC effect in the number–location task, but no reciprocal SNARC effect in the location–number task. In Experiment 3, we replaced physical location stimuli with location words and digit stimuli with number words. Results revealed a regular and a reciprocal SNARC effect of similar size. Reciprocal SNARC effects thus seem to emerge with verbal location stimuli and vocal responses, but not with physical location stimuli and vocal responses. The S-R associations underlying the SNARC effect with vocal responses thus appear bidirectional and symmetrical for some combinations of stimulus and response sets, but not for others. This has implications for theoretical accounts of the SNARC effect which need to explain how stimulus mode affects the emergence of reciprocal but not regular SNARC effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of hearing voices is common to an estimated 7% of the general population, with the presence of negative content being the best predictor of whether individuals will require clinical support. Whilst largely neglected in the literature to date, there are calls to consider the significance of voice content for reducing voice‐related distress. However, no quantitative and comprehensive measure of voice content with suitability for research and clinical use exists. This pilot study aimed to demonstrate preliminary psychometric properties of a newly developed measure, the Perth Voice Content Questionnaire (PVCQ), designed to measure the intensity and themes of positively and negatively valenced voice content, primarily of the dominant voice. The PVCQ and measures of voice severity and related beliefs were completed by 47 voice‐hearing participants. The measure was found to be internally consistent, loaded onto two distinct factors of positive and negative content, and these factors were associated with voice‐related distress and negative beliefs about voices and positive beliefs about voices, respectively, indicating good validity. The PVCQ offers the first self‐report measure of voice content, with preliminary psychometric properties indicating its suitability for clinical and research use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To systematically evaluate the evidence for the reliability, sensitivity and specificity of existing measures of vowel-initial voice onset. Methods: A literature search was conducted across electronic databases for published studies (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PubMed Central, IEEE Xplore) and grey literature (ProQuest for unpublished dissertations) measuring vowel onset. Eligibility criteria included research of any study design type or context focused on measuring human voice onset on an initial vowel. Two independent reviewers were involved at each stage of title and abstract screening, data extraction and analysis. Data extracted included measures used, their reliability, sensitivity and specificity. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE as the data of interest was extracted. Results: The search retrieved 6,983 records. Titles and abstracts were screened against the inclusion criteria by two independent reviewers, with a third reviewer responsible for conflict resolution. Thirty-five papers were included in the review, which identified five categories of voice onset measurement: auditory perceptual, acoustic, aerodynamic, physiological and visual imaging. Reliability was explored in 14 papers with varied reliability ratings, while sensitivity was rarely assessed, and no assessment of specificity was conducted across any of the included records. Certainty of evidence ranged from very low to moderate with high variability in methodology and voice onset measures used. Conclusions: A range of vowel-initial voice onset measurements have been applied throughout the literature, however, there is a lack of evidence regarding their sensitivity, specificity and reliability in the detection and discrimination of voice onset types. Heterogeneity in study populations and methods used preclude conclusions on the most valid measures. There is a clear need for standardisation of research methodology, and for future studies to examine the practicality of these measures in research and clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was conducted to present the long-term functional outcomes of injection laryngoplasty (IL) with hyaluronic acid/dextranomer (HA/D) in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent HA/D injection for UVFP were enrolled. The acoustic analysis of the voice was evaluated with jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, maximum phonation time, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and fundamental frequency. The psychosocial effect of the voice was determined using the Voice Handicap Index-10. Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was performed and 2 scales were used for quantification: a modified penetration-aspiration scale and a dysphagia score. All measurements were performed at preoperative day and postoperative months 1, 6, and 24. Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed for all of the evaluated parameters except the maximum phonation time for postoperative months 1, 6, and 24 (P <.05). In the evaluation of the maximum phonation time, although there was a significant improvement for the postoperative months 1 and 6, no significant difference was observed between the postoperative 24th month and the preoperative value. Conclusions: HA/D injection laryngoplasty is an effective method both in the short- and long-term to improve voice and swallowing functions in patients with UVFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the construction of the speaking subject in Justin's First Apology and Tatian's To the Greeks, two interlocking texts (often associated with the problematic genre of Christian apologetics). Bracketing questions of biographical reality, it explores the fictionalising techniques Justin and Tatian adopt to magnify their own authority, co-opt well-known narrative models (including martyrologies and imitatio Christi) in the service of their own self-fashioning. I take their autobiographies as stylised self-dramatisations, rather than guides to historical realities. There are strong parallels with the kind of self-modelling that we see in the works of pagan sophists of the era, notably Dio Chrysostom. Reading these two authors in this way blurs the sharp distinctions they seek to draw between Christian and pagan. It also requires a reading of their texts, in line with recent scholarship, as generically complex, sophisticated and absorbent, and open to the opportunistic appropriation of elements characteristic of pagan literature of the era. Foucault has argued that the voice of early Christianity was characterised by its confessional quality, which was new, confident and distinctive; this article argues, by contrast, that Justin and Tatian at any rate were intellectual bricoleurs and experimentalists, and had much more in common with their pagan peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Assessing phonatory disorders due to laryngeal biomechanical alterations requires aerodynamic analysis, assessing subglottic pressure, transglottic flow, and laryngeal resistance. This study explores whether the acoustic parameter, the relative fundamental frequency (RFF), can be studied using the current acoustic analysis protocol at the University of Navarra's voice laboratory and its association with pathologies linked to laryngeal biomechanical alterations. (2) Methods: A retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with muscular tension dysphonia, organic lesions of the vocal fold, and vocal fold paralysis (VFP) at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra from 2019 to 2021. Each patient underwent endoscopic laryngeal exploration, followed by acoustic study, RFF calculation, and an aerodynamic study. Additionally, a control group was recruited. (3) Results: 79 patients and 22 controls were studied. Two-way ANOVA showed significant effects for groups and cycles in offset and onset cycles. Statistically significant differences were observed in cycle 1 onset among all groups and in cycles 1 and 2 between the control group and non-healthy groups. (4) Conclusions: RFF is a valuable indicator of phonatory biomechanics, distinguishing healthy and pathological voices and different disorders. RFF in onset cycles offers a cost-effective, accurate method for assessing biomechanical disorders without complex aerodynamic analyses. This study describes RFF values in VFP for the first time, revealing differences regardless of aerodynamic patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroticism's impact on psychopathological and physical health issues has significant public health implications. Multiple studies confirm its predictive effect on suicide risk among depressed patients. However, previous research lacks a standardized criterion for assessing neuroticism through speech, often relying on simple features (such as pitch, loudness and MFCCs). This study aims to improve upon this by extracting features using advanced pre-trained speaker embedding models (i-vector and x-vector extractors). Additionally, unlike prior studies utilizing general population data, we explore neuroticism prediction in depressed and non-depressed subgroups. We collected edited discourse data from clinical interviews of 3580 depressed individuals and 4016 healthy individuals from the CONVERGE study. Instead of solely extracting Low-Level Acoustic Descriptors, we incorporated i-vector and x-vector features. We compared the performance of three different features in predicting neuroticism and explored their combination to enhance model accuracy. The SVR model, combining three speech features with downscaled features to 300, exhibited the highest performance in predicting neuroticism scores. It achieved a coefficient of determination (R-squared) of 0.3 or higher and a correlation of 0.56 between predicted and actual values. The predictive classification accuracy of speech features for neuroticism in specific populations (healthy and depressed) exceeded 60 %. This study included only women. Combining diverse speech features enhances the predictive capacity of models using speech features to assess neuroticism, particularly in specific populations. This study lays the foundation for future exploration of speech features in neuroticism prediction. • Shows effectiveness of speech features in assessing specific populations (depressed and non-depressed groups). • Introduces advanced pre-trained speaker embedding models (i-vector, x-vector) for assessing neuroticism. • Combination of diverse speech features boost predictive capacity for neuroticism assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Anomia, or word-finding difficulty, is a prevalent and persistent feature of aphasia, a neurogenic language disorder affecting millions of people in the United States. Anomia assessments are essential for measuring performance and monitoring outcomes in clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate the reliability of response time (RT) annotation based on spectrograms and assess the predictive utility of proxy RTs collected during computerized naming tests. Method: Archival data from 10 people with aphasia were used. Trained research assistants phonemically transcribed participants’ responses, and RTs were generated from the onset of picture stimulus to the initial phoneme of the first complete attempt. RTs were measured in two ways: hand-generated RTs (from spectrograms) and proxy RTs (automatically extracted online). Interrater agreement was evaluated based on interclass correlation coefficients and generalizability theory tools including variance partitioning and the ϕ-coefficient. The predictive utility of proxy RTs was evaluated within a linear mixed-effects framework. Results: RT annotation reliability showed near-perfect agreement across research assistants (ϕ-coefficient = .93), and the variance accounted for by raters was negligible. Furthermore, proxy RTs significantly and strongly predicted handannotated RTs (R² = ~0.82), suggesting their utility as an alternative measure. Conclusions: The study confirms the reliability of RT annotation and demonstrates the predictive utility of proxy RTs in estimating RTs during computerized naming tests. Incorporating proxy RTs can enhance clinical assessments, providing additional information for cognitive measurement. Further research with larger samples and exploring the impact of using proxy RTs in different psychometric models could optimize clinical protocols and improve communication interventions for individuals with aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Surface electromyography (sEMG) has been used to evaluate extrinsic laryngeal muscle activity during swallowing and phonation. In the current study, sEMG amplitudes were measured from the infrahyoid and suprahyoid muscles during phonation through a tube submerged in water. Method: The sEMG amplitude values measured from the extrinsic laryngeal muscles and the electroglottographic contact quotient (CQ) were obtained simultaneously from 62 healthy participants (31 men, 31 women) during phonation through a tube at six different depths (2, 4, 7, 10, 15, and 20 cm) while using two tubes with different diameters (1 and 0.5 cm). Results: With increasing depth, the sEMG amplitude for the suprahyoid muscles increased in men and women. However, sEMG amplitudes for the infrahyoid muscles increased significantly only in men. Tube diameter had a significant effect on the suprahyoid sEMG amplitudes only for men, with higher sEMG amplitudes when phonating with a 1.0-cm tube. CQ values increased with submerged depth for both men and women. Tube diameter affected results such than CQ values were higher for men when using the wider tube and for women with the narrower tube. Conclusions: Vocal fold vibratory patterns changed with the depth of tube submersion in water for both men and women, but the patterns of muscle activation differed between the sexes. This suggests that men and women use different strategies when confronted with increased intraoral pressure during semioccluded vocal tract exercises. In this study, sEMG provided insight into the mechanism for differences between vocally normal individuals and could help detect compensatory muscle activation during tube phonation in water for people with voice disorders [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High‐risk newborns, such as premature or severely ill infants, often experience painful treatments and separation from their parents. While previous studies have focused on the positive impacts of a mother's voice on newborns' physiology and pain response, research on the father's voice and vocal acoustics in high‐risk newborns is limited. Aim: To examine whether parents' voices reduce heel puncture pain in high‐risk newborns and the relationship between parents' vocal acoustics, physiological parameters and pain response. Study Design: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted with 105 high‐risk newborn–parent dyads. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: recorded mother's voice, recorded father's voice or control group without any recorded voice. Outcome measures included heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and pain response assessed using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale. Data analysis utilized generalized estimation equations, and parents' vocal acoustics were analysed using Praat voice credit software. Results: The mother's voice group exhibited significantly lower heart rates at 1, 5 and 10 min after the procedure, along with lower respiratory rates and pain levels at 5 and 10 min after the procedure compared with the control group. Similarly, the father's voice group demonstrated significantly lower heart rates at 1 and 5 min after the procedure, decreased respiratory rates at 5 and 10 min after the procedure and reduced pain levels at 1 and 5 to 10 min after the procedure compared with the control group. Higher minimum and mean pitches in parents' voices correlated with slower heart rates, while slower parental speech was associated with reduced newborn pain. Conclusion: Both maternal and paternal vocal interventions alleviated pain during heel puncture procedures among high‐risk newborns. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The noninvasive intervention serves as a reference for parental participation in care. Nurses can help parents to intervene with the acoustic characteristics that alleviate pain among high‐risk newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is in the spirit of viewing autotheory as an unsettled genre that dramatizes the mind's own unsettlement, that I want to experiment with the implications for clinical writing. In this paper, I include a clinical case that I wrote in two channels – one is a straightforward clinical style, while the other is a series of more personal reflections. I italicized the personal voice in order to experiment with rhythms and tones that would have been lost if the piece had to cohere in a stylistically continuous way. After my experiment with clinical writing, I will offer some thoughts on Lyndon's own contributions to this emerging genre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, gender-ambiguous (nonbinary) voices have been added to voice assistants to combat gender stereotypes and foster inclusion. However, if people react negatively to such voices, these laudable efforts may be counterproductive. In five preregistered studies (N = 3,684 adult participants) we found that people do react negatively, rating products described by narrators with gender-ambiguous voices less favorably than when they are described by clearly male or female narrators. The voices create a feeling of unease, or social disfluency, that affects evaluations of the products being described. These effects are best explained by low familiarity with voices that sound ambiguous. Thus, initial negative reactions can be overcome with more exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech recognition becomes increasingly important in the modern society, especially for human–machine interactions, but its deployment is still severely thwarted by the struggle of machines to recognize voiced commands in challenging real‐life settings: oftentimes, ambient noise drowns the acoustic sound signals, and walls, face masks or other obstacles hide the mouth motion from optical sensors. To address these formidable challenges, an experimental prototype of a microwave speech recognizer empowered by programmable metasurface is presented here that can remotely recognize human voice commands and speaker identities even in noisy environments and if the speaker's mouth is hidden behind a wall or face mask. The programmable metasurface is the pivotal hardware ingredient of the system because its large aperture and huge number of degrees of freedom allows the system to perform a complex sequence of sensing tasks, orchestrated by artificial‐intelligence tools. Relying solely on microwave data, the system avoids visual privacy infringements. The developed microwave speech recognizer can enable privacy‐respecting voice‐commanded human–machine interactions is experimentally demonstrated in many important but to‐date inaccessible application scenarios. The presented strategy will unlock new possibilities and have expectations for future smart homes, ambient‐assisted health monitoring, as well as intelligent surveillance and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) is characterized by involuntary laryngeal muscle spasms. Due to the lack of a quantitative evaluation method, most measurements have demonstrated difficulty in validity and reliability for diagnosing ADSD. This study aimed to establish a novel indicator for ADSD and determine its diagnostic effects. Methods: We investigated 98 voice samples from 49 patients with ADSD and 49 healthy participants. A sustained vowel was recorded by a high-definition audio recorder. Voice samples underwent regular acoustic evaluation and a novel global dimension (GD) method. GD, Jitter, Shimmer, HNR, Frequency shift, and CPPS were measured for both groups. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that the GD method effectively differentiated ADSD patients from healthy participants (p < 0.001, D′>0.8). Subsequent multiclass receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that GD possessed the most significant classification accuracy (area under the curve = 0.988) compared with other acoustic parameters. Conclusion: GD was an effective metric for objective differentiation between ADSD patients and healthy participants. This metric could assist clinicians in the diagnosis of ADSD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a growing health concern that affects several systems in the body, among which is the phonatory apparatus. Voice may be affected in view of the high prevalence of myopathy and neuropathy in diseased subjects. The authors aimed to answer the following question: does type 2 diabetes have an effect on voice? Methods: The systematic review included search terms such as "speech, voice, larynx, glucose, diabetes, and hyperglycemia." The search strategy yielded 221 articles, only five of which satisfied the inclusion criteria. Articles were considered for inclusion using the PRISMA method. Analysis included 321 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 171 controls. All studies included were case-control studies except for one study which was an observational cohort. Six parameters were chosen as endpoints for the systematic review and meta-analysis: the presence/absence of voice complaints, fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and maximum phonation time. Results: There was no significant difference in the prevalence of voice complaints (i.e., hoarseness) between diabetic patients and control groups. There was also no significant difference in any of the acoustic and aerodynamic measures between patients with type 2 diabetes and controls. These findings can be ascribed to the high resilience of the laryngeal muscles to the adverse effect of systemic diseases. Conclusion: There is no consensus in the literature that the prevalence of voice symptoms in diabetic patients is significantly higher than that reported in healthy subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes findings of a transdisciplinary scoping literature review process that acknowledges assistive technology-users' contributions to disability arts by clarifying the key concepts of 'voice', 'communication technology', 'disability', and 'art'. Driven by the early stages of a participatory research project involving young disabled artists, the literature search was carried out between April 2019 and August 2019. The studies selected for this review (n = 14) were analyzed through a thematic narrative approach, which revealed seven overlapping themes that reflect the inseparability and transdisciplinarity of the key concepts. Later consultation with young disabled artists based on this literature review prompted changes in our research process. We conclude that nuanced research related to voice, communication technology, disability, and art is better situated in the radical expression of artists themselves, rather than in formalized research labs and codified studies such as that which housed this inquiry. Persons who use assistive technology contribute to disability arts and arts-related research but are underrepresented in literature about these topics This article synthesizes the findings of 14 research articles on the overlapping concepts of 'voice', 'communication technology', 'disability', and 'art' This article considers the six main steps of a scoping literature review, and argues that the final step of community consultation is most significant This synthesis of academic literature shows that people who communicate in many ways make significant contributions to disability arts, and the greatest predictors of knowledge in this area are found in the expressions of artists themselves—even more so than might be documented in academic literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Arytenoid adduction as an addition to medialisation thyroplasty is highly advocated by some surgeons in selected cases but deemed less necessary by others in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. This study aims to evaluate the additional benefits on voice outcome of arytenoid adduction in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis undergoing medialisation thyroplasty using intra-operative voice measurements. Design/methods: A prospective study was conducted. Voice audio recordings were obtained at 4 moments; 1. direct prior to the start of surgery, 2. during surgery after medialisation thyroplasty, 3. during surgery after medialisation and arytenoid adduction, 3 months postoperative. At these same timepoints patients rated their own voice on a numeric rating scale between 0 and 10. The blinded recordings were rated by consensus in a team of experienced listeners, using the Grade of the GRBAS scale. Furthermore, the Voice Handicap Index was administered before and at 3 months after surgery. Results: Ten patients who underwent medialisation and arytenoid adduction at our tertiary referral hospital between 2021 and 2022, were included. One patient was excluded after surgery. The intraoperative measurements showed a Grade score of 1.4 preoperatively, improving to 1.2 after medialisation, 1.2 after medialisation and arytenoid adduction, and further improving to 0.4 at 3 months postoperative, which was a not statistically significant improvement (p = 0.2). The intraoperative subjective numeric rating scale showed a statistically significant improvement from 3.9 preoperatively, to 6.1 after medialisation, 7.1 after medialisation and arytenoid adduction and a 7.6 at 3 months postoperative (p = 0.001). The Voice Handicap Index total score showed a statistically significant improvement from 71 points before surgery to 13 at 3 months after surgery (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Our study using intraoperative voice measurements indicate that the addition of arytenoid adduction to medialisation thyroplasty is a benefit in selected patients although more studies are needed due to the many limitations inherent to this field of investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Motor deficits are widely documented among autistic individuals, and speech characteristics consistent with a motor speech disorder have been reported in prior literature. We conducted an auditory-perceptual analysis of speech production skills in low and minimally verbal autistic individuals as a step toward clarifying the nature of speech production impairments in this population and the potential link between oromotor functioning and language development. Method: Fifty-four low or minimally verbal autistic individuals aged 4–18 years were video-recorded performing nonspeech oromotor tasks and producing phonemes, syllables, and words in imitation. Three trained speech-language pathologists provided auditory perceptual ratings of 11 speech features reflecting speech subsystem performance and overall speech production ability. The presence, attributes, and severity of signs of oromotor dysfunction were analyzed, as were relative performance on nonspeech and speech tasks and correlations between perceptual speech features and language skills. Results and Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence of a motor speech disorder in this population, characterized by perceptual speech features including reduced intelligibility, decreased consonant and vowel precision, and impairments of speech coordination and consistency. Speech deficits were more associated with articulation than with other speech subsystems. Speech production was more impaired than nonspeech oromotor abilities in a subgroup of the sample. Oromotor deficits were significantly associated with expressive and receptive language skills. Findings are interpreted in the context of known characteristics of the pediatric motor speech disorders childhood apraxia of speech and childhood dysarthria. These results, if replicated in future studies, have significant potential to improve the early detection of language impairments, inform the development of speech and language interventions, and aid in the identification of neurobiological mechanisms influencing communication development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study of gender and speech has historically excluded studies of transmasculine individuals. Consequently, generalizations about speech and gender are based on cisgender individuals. This lack of representation hinders clinical training and clinical service delivery, particularly by speech-language pathologists providing gender-affirming communication services. This letter describes a new corpus of the speech of American English–speaking transmasculine men, transmasculine nonbinary people, and cisgender men that is open and available to clinicians and researchers. Method: Twenty masculine-presenting native English speakers from the Upper Midwestern United States (including cisgender men, transmasculine men, and transmasculine nonbinary people) were recorded, producing three sets of speech materials: Consensus Auditory–Perceptual Evaluation of Voice sentences, the Rainbow Passage, and a novel set of sentences developed for this project. Acoustic measures vowels (overall formant frequency scaling, vowel– space dispersion, fundamental frequency, breathiness), consonants (voice onset time of word-initial voiceless stops, spectral moments of word-initial/s/), and the entire sentence (rate of speech) that were made. Results: The acoustic measures reveal a wide range for all dependent measures and low correlations among the measures. Results show that many of the voices depart considerably from the norms for men’s speech in published studies. Conclusion: This new corpus can be used to illustrate different ways of sounding masculine by speech-language pathologists performing gender-affirming communication services and by higher education teachers as examples of diverse ways of sounding masculine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined whether the “Three Bears Passage” (TB), a standard Mandarin reading passage, could elicit significant vocal range variations in individuals with voice disorders. Relative sensitivity of TB versus another existing standard reading passage, “Passage in Mandarin” (PM), for differentiating between individuals with and without voice disorders was also evaluated. Method: Forty-two individuals with normal voice and 30 individuals with voice disorders participated in the study. Maximum fundamental frequency (f0), minimum f0, mean f0, f0 range, maximum vocal intensity, minimum intensity, mean intensity, and intensity range of all participants reading aloud the two passages were measured with Praat to construct speech range profiles (SRPs). Results: Significantly larger vocal range was found for TB than for PM in individuals with voice disorders, including significantly higher maximum f0, mean f0, maximum intensity, mean intensity, and significantly larger f0 range and intensity range. Significantly more limited vocal range was observed in individuals with voice disorders than those without, with more obviously restricted SRPs while reading aloud TB compared to PM. Receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that TB was more sensitive than PM in distinguishing between individuals with and without voice disorders. Conclusions: Our findings supported the potential of TB as a standard clinical assessment tool for evaluating pathological changes in vocal range. Future studies should explore if therapeutic approaches based on the passage or variations of it could be developed for overcoming functional limitations and restrictions in vocal range for specific voice disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evaluate long-term voice outcome after bilateral medialisation thyroplasty in glottic insufficiency due to vocal fold atrophy with or without sulcus. Methods: Patients after medialisation thyroplasty for vocal fold atrophy with or without sulcus were identified. Long-term post-operative subjective voice outcomes (> 1 year) using Voice Handicap Index-30, subjective ratings on voice aspects and study-specific questionnaire were compared to pre-operative and shorter-term (1 year) values. Results: Thirty-six patients were identified, of which 26 were included (16 atrophy, 10 sulcus) with median follow up of 6.7 years. Mean Voice Handicap Index score at > 1 year (40.0) showed clinically relevant (≥ 15 for groups) and statistically significant improvement compared to pre-operative score (58.1) and remained stable compared to post-operative score (35.7) at one year. Ten patients (56 per cent) reported clinically relevant improvement (≥ 10) after more than five years. Conclusion: Long-term improvement in subjective voice outcomes is attainable in a significant proportion of patients undergoing bilateral medialisation thyroplasty for atrophy with or without sulcus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Much published research writing is dull and dry at best, impenetrable and off‐putting at worst. This state of affairs both frustrates readers and impedes research uptake. Scientific conventions of objectivity and neutrality contribute to the problem, implying that 'good' research writing should have no discernible authorial 'voice'. Yet some research writers have a distinctive voice in their work that may contribute to their scholarly influence. In this study, we explore this notion of voice, examining what strong research writers aim for with their voice and what strategies they use. Methods: Using a combination of purposive, snowball and theoretical sampling, we recruited 21 scholars working in health professions education or adjacent health research fields, representing varied career stages, research paradigms and geographical locations. We interviewed participants about their approaches to writing and asked each to provide one to three illustrative publications. Iterative data collection and analysis followed constructivist grounded theory principles. We analysed interview transcripts thematically and examined publications for evidence of the writers' described approaches. Results: Participants shared goals of a voice that was clear and logical, and that engaged readers and held their attention. They accomplished these goals using approaches both conventional and unconventional. Conventional approaches included attention to coherence through signposting, symmetry and metacommentary. Unconventional approaches included using language that was evocative (metaphor, imagery), provocative (pointed critique), plainspoken ('non‐academic' phrasing), playful (including humour) and lyrical (attending to cadence and sound). Unconventional elements were more prominent in non‐standard genres (e.g. commentaries), but also appeared in empiric papers. Discussion: What readers interpret as 'voice' reflects strategic use of a repertoire of writing techniques. Conventional techniques, used expertly, can make for compelling reading, but strong writers also draw on unconventional strategies. A broadened writing repertoire might assist health professions education research writers in effectively communicating their work. Make your next research manuscript more engaging & memorable. This qualitative study of 21 health research writers offers a repertoire of conventional & unconventional strategies you can try. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research is emerging on how the emotional state of voice users can impact voice quality and production, the emotion of shame has been underrepresented in that research. This paper examines what research currently exists regarding shame and offers future directions for future research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the benefits of semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTEs) in voice training and rehabilitation have been extolled, most especially how SOVTEs impact phonation. However, a second important, yet neglected aspect of SOVTEs identified in numerous research studies is how they affect the shape of the vocal tract. This article highlights how SOVTEs can passively expand the airway, alleviating unintended constrictions, freeing singers from attempting to "open the throat" through direct muscular activation. This expansion can serve as a vocal tract "reset," allowing singers to selectively shape the vocal tract, facilitatating the wide-narrow contrasts needed for singing in a variety of musical genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This column proposes a six-question framework to help the voice teacher critically appraise science-informed voice pedagogy publications. The evaluation framework addresses: (1) the Singing-Voice-Production-Chain (SVPC) describing the teacher's possibilities for affecting the student's voice production; (2) descriptive, correlational, and causal types of observations; (3) subjective versus objective information; (4) factual correctness; (5) describing how singing is or how it should be; and (6) usefulness of the information in a teaching situation. This framework will empower the reader to scrutinize the structure and quality of science-informed voice pedagogy texts more deeply, thus helping to move toward evidence-based information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Registration in singing has long been considered to have its basis in adjustments of the intrinsic laryngeal musculature, but most pedagogues also agree that there is an acoustic or resonance component to the production or perception of vocal registers. Shifts in thinking about register adjustment may have led some pedagogues to concentrate on resonance adjustments to produce a particular quality, sometimes without adequate attention to balanced muscle use. This article provides some context for pedagogic consideration of pitch/register adjustment and examples of what can happen if muscular balance is not optimized in singing training for all genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An issue that voice teachers face, particularly in the early stages of their career or when encountering a unique compositional style, is determining the difficulty level of a song. Various voice pedagogues have developed grading rubrics to guide teachers in making informed repertoire decisions. Two small comparative studies of six grading rubrics were conducted in order to understand how songs are currently evaluated, what criteria are used, what the challenges are for assessing difficulty, and to determine whether or not there should be a standardized grading rubric. The utility of tailoring a rubric to a specific composer or genre is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighteenth-century vocal literature abounds with trills, so approaching this skill methodically is advised. This article includes a literature review of four eighteenth-century vocal treatises (Tosi, Agricola, Mancini, Hiller), which agree about the importance of mastering the trill, but neglect practical suggestions about how to develop it. Four nineteenth-century vocal methods (Vaccai, Panofka, Lütgen, Marchesi) are discussed, including plans for how to practice the trill. Mozart's opera Così fan tutte is utilized as a case study in the synthesis of vocal treatises and vocal method books. Musical examples from each role are complemented with links to recordings of well-produced trills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]