Models and analysis of vocal emissions for biomedical applications: 5th International Workshop: December 13-15, 2007, Firenze, Italy

The MAVEBA Workshop proceedings, held on a biannual basis, collect the scientific papers presented both as oral and poster contributions, during the conference. The main subjects are: development of theoretical and mechanical models as an aid to the study of main phonatory dysfunctions, as well as the biomedical engineering methods for the analysis of voice signals and images, as a support to clinical diagnosis and classification of vocal pathologies. The Workshop has the sponsorship of: Ente Cassa Risparmio di Firenze, COST Action 2103, Biomedical Signal Processing and Control Journal (Elsevier Eds.), IEEE Biomedical Engineering Soc. Special Issues of International Journals have been, and will be, published, collecting selected papers from the conference

Models and analysis of vocal emissions for biomedical applications

This book of Proceedings collects the papers presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications, MAVEBA 2003, held 10-12 December 2003, Firenze, Italy. The workshop is organised every two years, and aims to stimulate contacts between specialists active in research and industrial developments, in the area of voice analysis for biomedical applications. The scope of the Workshop includes all aspects of voice modelling and analysis, ranging from fundamental research to all kinds of biomedical applications and related established and advanced technologies

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 128, May 1974

This special bibliography lists 282 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1974

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) came into being in 1999 from the particularly felt need of sharing know-how, objectives and results between areas that until then seemed quite distinct such as bioengineering, medicine and singing. MAVEBA deals with all aspects concerning the study of the human voice with applications ranging from the newborn to the adult and elderly. Over the years the initial issues have grown and spread also in other fields of research such as occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. MAVEBA takes place every two years in Firenze, Italy. This edition celebrates twenty-two years of uninterrupted and successful research in the field of voice analysis

Pan European Voice Conference - PEVOC 11

The Pan European VOice Conference (PEVOC) was born in 1995 and therefore in 2015 it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its establishment: an important milestone that clearly expresses the strength and interest of the scientific community for the topics of this conference. The most significant themes of PEVOC are singing pedagogy and art, but also occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. PEVOC takes place in different European cities every two years (www.pevoc.org). The PEVOC 11 conference includes a symposium of the Collegium Medicorum Theatri (www.comet collegium.com

INVESTIGATION OF EMBODIED LANGUAGE PROCESSING ON COMMAND-SWALLOW PERFORMANCE

In the command swallow condition, which is routinely employed during videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing, patients commonly are told to hold a bolus in their mouth until they are told to swallow. Both components of the command swallow, bolus hold and swallowing in response to a command, could influence the act of swallowing. The focus of the current study was to examine the linguistic influences of the verbal command on swallowing. In fact, the language induced motor facilitation theory suggests the linguistic processes associated with the verbal command should facilitate the voluntary component of swallowing. This study investigated whether language induced motor facilitation was evident under the command swallow condition as reflected in suprahyoid muscle activity measured by surface electromyography. During the experiment, 20 healthy young participants held a 5 ml liquid bolus in their mouth and swallowed the bolus after hearing 5 acoustic stimuli presented randomly: congruent action word (swallow), incongruent action word (cough), congruent pseudo-word (spallow), incongruent pseudo-word (pough), and non-verbal stimulus (1000 Hz pure-tone). Swallow latencies following the congruent action word were shorter than swallows following the non-verbal stimulus, indicating that suprahyoid muscle activity occurred earlier for following the word swallow than for the pure-tone. Longer latencies for the pseudo-words than real words also supported the language induced motor facilitation theory, but it was not clear whether the observed differences were due to reduced linguistic facilitation or longer processing-time associated with interference. Stronger support for the theory captured by lexical directionality was not evident when the words swallow and cough were compared. The facilitation effects of swallow-related action words may not have sufficient sensitivity and strength among effectors, and the incongruent word in the study may not have represented a true incongruent action against the act of swallowing. There also was no facilitation effect on peak suprahyoid muscle activity amplitude. The evidence from this study advances our understanding of the links between language and movement for behaviors that are not entirely under voluntary control. Linguistic inducement of swallowing could be useful as a swallow compensatory technique for patients with difficulty initiating oropharyngeal swallows including patients with Parkinson’s disease

AN EVALUATION OF COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH VELOPHARYNGEAL INSUFFICIENCY

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the communication apprehension (CA) of adolescents with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). Phase one of the study involved completion of the MECA, a measure of CA, by 28 adolescents (14 from the VPI group and 14 from the control group) followed by voice recordings of speech phrases. Phase two of the study involved conducting a perceptual assessment of the speech samples provided by participants in phase one using the ACPA. Phase one and phase two of the study were conducted to answer two experimental questions: 1) Do adolescents with VPI experience higher levels of CA than adolescents who do not have a speech/voice disorder? 2) What is the relationship between MECA scores and perceptual assessment of voice quality scores? In addition, reliability of the MECA and the ACPA were also investigated. Results indicated good reliability of the MECA, and poor-to-good inter-rater and good-to-excellent intra-rater reliability of the ACPA. The VPI group reported statistically significant higher levels of CA than the control group. Finally, a statistically significant fair positive correlation was found between the MECA and the velopharyngeal function variable. Results of the study are discussed with special consideration given to the literature. Keywords: Communication Apprehension, MECA, ACPA, Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI), Perceptual Assessment