The article describes how my research has applied the analysis-by-synthesis strategy to (1) the composition of melodies in the style of nursery tunes, (2) music performance and (3) vocal singing. The ...descriptions are formulated as generative grammars, which consist of a set of ordered, context-dependent rules capable of producing sound examples. These examples readily reveal observable weaknesses in the descriptions, the origins of which can be traced in the rule system and eliminated. The grammar describing the compositional style of the nursery tunes demonstrates the paramount relevance of a hierarchical structure. Principles underlying the transformation from a music score file to a synthesized performance are derived from recommendations by a violinist and music performance coach, and can thus be regarded as a description of his professional skills as musician and pedagogue. Also in this case the grammar demonstrates the relevance of a hierarchical structure in terms of grouping, and reflects the role of expectation in music listening. The rule system describing singing voice synthesis specifies acoustic characteristics of performance details. The descriptions are complemented by sound examples illustrating the effects of identified compositional and performance rules in the genres analysed.
Work on voice sciences over recent decades has led to a proliferation of acoustic parameters that are used quite selectively and are not always extracted in a similar fashion. With many independent ...teams working in different research areas, shared standards become an essential safeguard to ensure compliance with state-of-the-art methods allowing appropriate comparison of results across studies and potential integration and combination of extraction and recognition systems. In this paper we propose a basic standard acoustic parameter set for various areas of automatic voice analysis, such as paralinguistic or clinical speech analysis. In contrast to a large brute-force parameter set, we present a minimalistic set of voice parameters here. These were selected based on a) their potential to index affective physiological changes in voice production, b) their proven value in former studies as well as their automatic extractability, and c) their theoretical significance. The set is intended to provide a common baseline for evaluation of future research and eliminate differences caused by varying parameter sets or even different implementations of the same parameters. Our implementation is publicly available with the openSMILE toolkit. Comparative evaluations of the proposed feature set and large baseline feature sets of INTERSPEECH challenges show a high performance of the proposed set in relation to its size.
Summary Objectives Subglottal pressure ( P s ) is strongly correlated with sound pressure level (SPL) and is easy to measure by means of commonly available equipment. The SPL/Ps ratio is strongly ...dependent on the efficiency of the phonatory apparatus and should be of great relevance to clinical practice. However, published normative data are still missing. Method The subjects produced sequences of the syllable pæ, and P s was measured as the oral pressure during the p occlusion. The P s to SPL relationship was determined at four pitches produced by 16 female and 15 male healthy voices and analyzed by means of regression analysis. Average correlation between P s and SPL, average SPL produced with a P s of 10 cm H2 O, and average SPL increase produced by a doubling of P s were calculated for the female and for the male subjects. The significance of sex and pitch conditions was analyzed by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results Pitch was found to be an insignificant condition. The average correlation between P s and SPL was 0.83 and did not differ significantly between the female and male subjects. In female and male subjects, P s = 10 cm H2 O produced 78.1 dB and 80.0 dB SPL at 0.3 m, and a doubling of P s generated 11.1 dB and 9.3 dB increase of SPL. Both these gender differences were statistically significant. Conclusions The relationship between P s and SPL can be reliably established from series of repetitions of the syllable pæ produced with a continuously changing degree of vocal loudness. Male subjects produce slightly higher SPL for a given pressure than female subjects but gain less for a doubling of P s . As these relationships appear to be affected by phonation type, it seems possible that in the future, the method can be used for documenting degree of phonatory hypofunction and hyperfunction.
Purpose
Healing outcome after Achilles Tendon Rupture (ATR) is variable and unsatisfactory. Many ATR patients still exhibit pain, functional deficits and limitations in walking one-year post-surgery. ...The present study was designed to investigate the association between the expression of healing biomarkers and patient outcome after ATR.
Methods
Tendon biopsies were collected from 25 ATR patients during surgery. At 1-year post surgery, all patients completed questionnaires; Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) and Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS), and were tested for functional outcomes by heel-rise test. In biopsies,
FGF
,
COL III
,
FN
,
COL I
and
MMP-9
mRNA levels were assessed by quantitative RT-PCR while protein expression was studied by immunohistochemistry (IHC).
Results
Our analysis confirmed the presence of
FGF
,
COL III
,
FN
,
COL I
and
MMP-9
at mRNA and protein levels in tendon biopsies.
FGF
gene expression associated positively with improved total ATRS and better functional outcomes. Additionally,
FGF
mRNA levels were associated with less pain, less running limitations and less loss in physical activity. In addition, higher
COL III
mRNA expression was associated with more tendon strength.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that
FGF
gene expression is associated with improved patient-reported outcome. FGF expression in surgical biopsies could potentially be used to assist the prognostic evaluation of patient outcome and may be used as a predictor for healing. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the role of FGF in Achilles tendon healing.
Level of evidence
II
Phonation type, a phonatory dimension ranging from hypofunctional/breathy to hyperfunctional/pressed, is important both from a clinical and acoustical point of view; hyperfunctional voice can lead to ...voice disorders and hypofunctional voice reduces text intelligibility. Five male singers sang diminuendo sequences of the syllable /pae/ and three of them also produced speech or singing samples with different phonation types which were rated for phonatory pressedness by a panel of voice experts. The sequences were analyzed by inverse filtering and the associated subglottal pressures were estimated as the oral pressures during the /p/ occlusion. The results showed strong quasi-linear correlations between the peak-to-peak amplitude of the flow glottogram (henceforth pulse amplitude) and mean subglottal pressure, mean airflow, and the level difference between the first and second voice source partials L1–L2. These correlations were found to vary systematically with phonation type. Regardless of phonation type, the correlation between the pulse amplitude and the amplitude of the voice source fundamental frequency was very close to 1.0. The level difference between the first and second spectrum partials L1–L2 in narrow-band long-term-average spectra of speech and singing was found to vary systematically with phonation type in a manner related to voice experts’ ratings of perceived degree of pressedness. The findings support the assumption that the combination of subglottal pressure and level of the voice source fundamental is useful for an objective measure of phonation type.
Purpose
Exercise training is an effective and safe way to counteract cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). High-intensity interval training has proven ...beneficial for the health of clinical populations. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to compare the effects of resistance and high-intensity interval training (RT–HIIT), and moderate-intensity aerobic and high-intensity interval training (AT–HIIT) to usual care (UC) in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was CRF and the secondary endpoints were HRQoL and cancer treatment-related symptoms.
Methods
Two hundred and forty women planned to undergo chemotherapy were randomized to supervised RT–HIIT, AT–HIIT, or UC. Measurements were performed at baseline and at 16 weeks. Questionnaires included Piper Fatigue Scale, EORTC-QLQ-C30, and Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale.
Results
The RT–HIIT group was superior to UC for CRF: total CRF (
p
= 0.02), behavior/daily life (
p
= 0.01), and sensory/physical (
p
= 0.03) CRF. Role functioning significantly improved while cognitive functioning was unchanged for RT–HIIT compared to declines shown in the UC group (
p
= 0.04). AT–HIIT significantly improved emotional functioning versus UC (
p
= 0.01) and was superior to UC for pain symptoms (
p
= 0.03). RT–HIIT reported a reduced symptom burden, while AT–HIIT remained stable compared to deteriorations shown by UC (
p
< 0.01). Only RT–HIIT was superior to UC for total symptoms (
p
< 0.01).
Conclusions
16 weeks of resistance and HIIT was effective in preventing increases in CRF and in reducing symptom burden for patients during chemotherapy for breast cancer. These findings add to a growing body of evidence supporting the inclusion of structured exercise prescriptions, including HIIT, as a vital component of cancer rehabilitation.
Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov Registration Number: NCT02522260.
The vocal tract shape is crucial to voice production. Its lower part seems particularly relevant for voice timbre. This study analyzes the detailed morphology of parts of the epilaryngeal tube and ...the hypopharynx for the sustained German vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/ by thirteen male singer subjects who were at the beginning of their academic singing studies. Analysis was based on two different phonatory conditions: a natural, speech-like phonation and a singing phonation, like in classical singing. 3D models of the vocal tract were derived from magnetic resonance imaging and compared with long-term average spectrum analysis of audio recordings from the same subjects. Comparison of singing to the speech-like phonation, which served as reference, showed significant adjustments of the lower vocal tract: an average lowering of the larynx by 8 mm and an increase of the hypopharyngeal cross-sectional area (+ 21:9%) and volume (+ 16:8%). Changes in the analyzed epilaryngeal portion of the vocal tract were not significant. Consequently, lower larynx-to-hypopharynx area and volume ratios were found in singing compared to the speech-like phonation. All evaluated measures of the lower vocal tract varied significantly with vowel quality. Acoustically, an increase of high frequency energy in singing correlated with a wider hypopharyngeal area. The findings offer an explanation how classical male singers might succeed in producing a voice timbre with increased high frequency energy, creating a singer`s formant cluster.
The overall slope of long-term-average spectrum (LTAS) decreases if vocal loudness increases. Therefore, changes of vocal loudness also affects the alpha measure, defined as the ratio of spectrum ...intensity above and below 1000 Hz. The effect on alpha of loudness variation was analyzed in 15 male and 16 female voices reading a text at different degrees of vocal loudness. The mean range of equivalent sound level (L(eq)) amounted to about 28 dB and the mean range of alpha to 19.0 and 11.7 dB for the female and male subjects. The L(eq) vs. alpha relationship could be approximated with a quadratic function, or by a linear equation, if softest phonation was excluded. Using such equations alpha was computed for all values of L(eq) observed for each subject and compared with observed values. The maximum and the mean absolute errors were 2.4 dB and between 0.1 and 0.6 dB. When softest phonation was disregarded and linear equations were used, the maximum error was less than 2 dB and the mean absolute errors were between 0.2 and 0.7 dB. The strong correlation between L(eq) and alpha indicates that for a voice L(eq) can be used for predicting alpha.
Background
Advanced therapeutic strategies are often accompanied by significant adverse effects, which warrant equally progressive countermeasures. Physical exercise has proven an effective ...intervention to improve physical function and reduce fatigue in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in this population are not well established although HIIT has proven effective in other clinical populations. The aim of the OptiTrain trial was to examine the effects of concurrent resistance and high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) or concurrent moderate-intensity aerobic and high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT), to usual care (UC) on pain sensitivity and physiological outcomes in patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy.
Methods
Two hundred and forty women were randomized to 16 weeks of RT-HIIT, AT-HIIT, or UC. Outcomes: cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, body mass, hemoglobin levels, and pressure-pain threshold.
Results
Pre- to post-intervention, RT-HIIT (ES = 0.41) and AT-HIIT (ES = 0.42) prevented the reduced cardiorespiratory fitness found with UC. Handgrip strength (surgery side: RT-HIIT vs. UC: ES = 0.41, RT-HIIT vs. AT-HIIT: ES = 0.28; non-surgery side: RT-HIIT vs. UC: ES = 0.35, RT-HIIT vs. AT-HIIT: ES = 0.22) and lower-limb muscle strength (RT-HIIT vs. UC: ES = 0.66, RT-HIIT vs. AT-HIIT: ES = 0.23) were significantly improved in the RT-HIIT. Increases in body mass were smaller in RT-HIIT (ES = − 0.16) and AT-HIIT (ES = − 0.16) versus UC. RT-HIIT reported higher pressure-pain thresholds than UC (trapezius: ES = 0.46, gluteus: ES = 0.53) and AT-HIIT (trapezius: ES = 0.30).
Conclusion
Sixteen weeks of RT-HIIT significantly improved muscle strength and reduced pain sensitivity. Both exercise programs were well tolerated and were equally efficient in preventing increases in body mass and in preventing declines in cardiorespiratory fitness. These results highlight the importance of implementing a combination of resistance and high-intensity interval training during chemotherapy for women with breast cancer.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of Tobacco Cessation on Prescription (TCP) compared to standard treatment in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Swedish primary healthcare (PHC).Study ...designA pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial, where randomization was conducted at the PHC center level using a computer-generated random allocation sequence.Setting18 PHC centers in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Stockholm.Participants250 adult daily tobacco users (56% female, 41% foreign born) with Swedish social security numbers and permanent resident permits, fluent in Swedish or Arabic, of which 140 responded to the follow-up at 6 months and 139 to the follow-up at 12 months. No blinding was applied.InterventionsTCP (tobacco cessation counseling for ≥10 minutes, an individualized prescription for tobacco cessation treatment and follow-up on ≥1 occasion) compared to standard treatment.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was self-reported 7-day abstinence at 6 months and the secondary outcomes included self-reported 7-day abstinence at 12 months and 3-month continued abstinence at 6 and 12 months follow-up.ResultsPHC centers were randomized to the intervention group (n = 8) and control group (n = 10). At the PHC centers, 250 patients (TCP n = 188, standard treatment n = 62) were recruited. There was a statistically significant effect of TCP compared to standard treatment for the outcomes 7-day abstinence at 6 months (OR adjusted 5.4, 95% CI 1.57 to 18.93) and 3-month continued abstinence at 6 (OR adjusted 6.4, 95% CI 1.30 to 31.27) and 12 months follow-up (OR adjusted 7.8, 95% CI 1.25 to 48.82).ConclusionsTCP may be effective in achieving abstinence from tobacco use compared to standard treatment in the given setting but due to several limitations, resulting in high attrition rates and a low statistical power in the study, more research is needed to evaluate this.Trial registrationISRCTN 11498135.
PDF
