Increase In F0 Research Articles

Linear effects of glucose levels on voice fundamental frequency in type 2 diabetes and individuals with normoglycemia

Glucose levels in the body have been hypothesized to affect voice characteristics. One of the primary justifications for voice changes are due to Hooke’s law, in which a variation in the tension, mass, or length of the vocal folds, mediated by the body’s glucose levels, results in an alteration in their vibrational frequency. To explore this hypothesis, 505 participants were fitted with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and instructed to record their voice using a custom mobile application up to six times daily for 2 weeks. Glucose values from CGM were paired to voice recordings to create a sampled dataset that closely resembled the glucose profile of the comprehensive CGM dataset. Glucose levels and fundamental frequency (F0) had a significant positive association within an individual, and a 1 mg/dL increase in CGM recorded glucose corresponded to a 0.02 Hz increase in F0 (CI 0.01–0.03 Hz, P < 0.001). This effect was also observed when the participants were split into non-diabetic, prediabetic, and Type 2 Diabetic classifications (P = 0.03, P = 0.01, & P = 0.01 respectively). Vocal F0 increased with blood glucose levels, but future predictive models of glucose levels based on voice may need to be personalized due to high intraclass correlation.

The Effects of Sleep Inertia on the Acoustic and Perceptual Voice Changes in Adult University Students

Background: Sleep inertia, characterized by reduced alertness and cognitive functioning upon waking, has been well-researched in its effects on cognitive and motor abilities. However, its impact on voice quality remains less clear. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep inertia following nocturnal sleep and changes in acoustic and perceptual voice parameters in adults. Methods: Ninety healthy participants (45 females, 45 males, ages: 18 - 30 years) took part in a pre-post study using convenience sampling. Their voices were recorded before and after nocturnal sleep across multiple tasks, including vowel /a/ phonation, spontaneous speech, text reading, and maximum phonation time (MPT). Recordings were made in a quiet room using a Zoom H6 recorder at a 44.1 kHz rate. The acoustic analysis included measures of fundamental frequency (F0), standard deviation of F0 (SD F0), vocal intensity, harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), cepstral peak prominence smoothed (CPPS), jitter, shimmer, and formant frequencies. Auditory-perceptual evaluation was conducted using the GRBAS Scale. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-19. The Shapiro-Wilk test assessed normality, and a paired t-test compared variables, separately for males and females at a 0.05 significance level. Results: Acoustic analysis revealed that both females and males experienced a decrease in mean F0, mean intensity, HNR, and CPPS, and an increase in jitter, shimmer, and SD F0 across most voice samples after sleeping. These changes were particularly significant for females in all voice samples (P &lt; 0.001). Perceptual analysis also showed a significant increase in grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain for both genders after sleep (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that sleep inertia negatively impacts vocal performance, resulting in a decline in voice quality for both genders after sleep compared to before. Notably, this decline in voice quality was more pronounced in women than in men.

Surveillance of mosquitoes harnessing their buzzing sound

Mosquito surveillance for vector-borne disease management relies on traditional morphological and molecular techniques, which are tedious, time-consuming, and costly. The present study describes a simple and efficient recording device that analyzes mosquito sound to estimate species composition, male-female ratio, fed-unfed status, and harmonic convergence interaction using fundamental frequency (F0) bandwidth, harmonics, amplitude, and combinations of these parameters. The study examined a total of 19 mosquito species, including 3 species of Aedes, 7 species of Anopheles, 1 species of Armigeres, 5 species of Culex, 1 species of Hulecoetomyia, and 2 species of Mansonia. Among them, the F0 ranges between 269.09 ± 2.96 Hz (Anopheles culiciformis) to 567.51 ± 3.82 Hz (Aedes vittatus) and the harmonic band (hb) number ranges from 5 (An. culiciformis) to 12 (Ae. albopictus). In terms of species identification, the success rate was 95.32 % with F0, 84.79 % with F0-bandwidth, 84.79 % with harmonic band (hb) diversity, and 49.7 % with amplitude (dB). The species identification rate has gone up to 96.50 % and 97.66 % with the ratio and multiplication of F0 and hb, respectively. This is because of the matrices that combine multiple sound attributes. Comparatively, combinations of the amplitude of the F0 and the higher harmonic frequency band were non-significant for species identification (60.82 %). The fed females have shown a considerable increase in F0 in comparison to the unfed. The males of all the species possessed significantly higher frequencies with respect to the females. Interestingly, the presence of male-female of Ae. vittatus together showed harmonic convergence between the 2nd and 3rd harmonic bands. In conclusion, the sound-based technology is simple, precise, and cost-effective and provides better resolution for species, sex, and fed-unfed status detection in comparison to conventional methods. Real-time surveillance of mosquitoes could potentially utilize this technology.

Vocal Effort and Acoustic Analysis of Gargle Phonation Versus Water Swallow in Patients With Muscle Tension Dysphonia: A Clinical Trial

PurposeTo determine the effects of gargle phonation (GP) on self-perceived vocal improvement, vocal effort, acoustic parameters, and speech rate in patients with muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). We hypothesized that GP would improve voice, reduce phonatory effort, and alter acoustic and speech measures. Study designProspective randomized, single-blind cross-over clinical trial Methods34 participants (26 females, 8 males; average age 53 years) who were diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia completed the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and were assigned three study conditions: Baseline (B), GP, and Water Swallow (WS; sham), presented in one of two counterbalanced orders B-WS-GP (WS1st) or B-GP-WS (GP1st). Participants recorded stimuli from the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) and rated their perceived vocal effort and vocal improvement. F0, vocal intensity, cepstral peak prominence (CPP), and speaking rate were measured. ResultsAverage VHI-10 scores by group were 16 (min/max 2-29) for WS1st and 15 (min/max 3-40) for GP1st. 73.53% reported more vocal improvement after GP, 17.65% after WS, and 8.8% noted no difference between conditions. Reduced effort was reported after GP, compared to B (p<0.001) and WS (p=0.005). Lower effort was also reported after the WS condition, compared to B (p=0.011). Key acoustic findings included an increase in F0 after GP for sustained /i/ for females. CPP was significantly higher for females reading CAPE-V sentences after GP, when GP preceded WS, compared to B (p=0.004) and WS (p=0.003). Speech rate was faster for females after GP versus B (p=0.029). ConclusionsGP may be beneficial in the treatment of muscle tension dysphonia. CPP may be a useful marker for vocal improvement after GP for women with mild MTD. Further studies would benefit from having more male participants and those with moderate and severe MTD.

The Impact of Visual Estimates of Talker-to-Listener Distance on Fundamental Frequency in Noise

Lombard speech is an involuntary adaptive changes in voicing under the influence of noise. In the current work we examine the relationship between involuntary auditory-speech control, common for the Lombard speech, and voluntary control of phonation which occurs as a result of the visual estimation of the distance to the listener. Fundamental frequencies (F0) were estimated in 9 Russian normally hearing female speakers aged 20–35 years. An increase in F0 was obtained when the communicative conditions became more complex in both increase in surrounding background noise level and growth of talker-to-listener distance cases. In quiet and in noise of 60 and 72 dB the increase in talker-to-listener distance led to F0 increments of 14, 18 and 15 Hz, which did not differ significantly from each other (p 0.05, n = 288). When the communicative distance held constant, babble noise of different levels led to significantly different values of ΔF0: for 1 m distance – 14 and 32 Hz (p 0.001, n = 288), and for 4 m – 18 and 33 Hz (p 0.001, n = 288), respectively. The data obtained evidence independent and additive impact of noise and communicative distance on phonation.

Induction chlorophyll fluorescence indicators in lentil depending on seed pre-treatment and extraroot nutrients

The article contains the results of many years of research on the formation of basic and calculated indicators of chlorophyll fluorescence induction depending on the options for inoculation, treatment of seeds with microelements and use of various options for foliar fertilization for growing lentils. There was applied the generally accepted methodological protocol to determine and calculate the main and derivative parameters of chlorophyll flowering induction during dark adaptation of the assimilation apparatus of plants. The indicator reaction of changes in the basic parameters – initial flowering (F0), flowering of the plateau zone (Fpl), maximum flowering (Fm) and stationary flowering (Fst) to the optimization of the lentil nutrition system both at the stage of pre-sowing seed preparation and at the stage of carrying out single and binary foliar fertilizing with microfertilizers. The significance of the reaction was noted due to the corresponding increase in F0, Fpl, Fm, Fst indicators by 52.6%, 69.1%, 91.4% and 36.2%, respectively, for the combination of seed inoculation, pre-sowing treatment with trace elements and the use of two-time foliar fertilization in comparison with the control variant. The use of derived calculation indices based on the basic indicators of the induction of chlorophyll flowering proved the possibility and expediency of using such an indicator method in the assessment of the abiotic-adaptive state of plants and the optimality of applied agrotechnological measures in the cultivation of lentils.

How children speak with their voice assistant Sila depends on what they think about her

Children encounter artificial intelligence, e.g., voice assistants, at an increasingly younger age. However, we know far too little about children's communicative behavior with a voice-only interaction partner and whether and how their assumptions about the interaction partner predict how they communicate. To address these aspects, we ran a treasure hunt game with 50 5-6-year-olds who were guided through the hunt by a voice-only interaction partner “Sila” – acted by a human and connected via loudspeakers. Crucially, Sila was introduced either as a human or a voice assistant. We employed easy communication trials in which communication went smoothly and challenging communication trials that contained staged misunderstandings. Results showed that at the group level, children differed in the way they adjusted their speech across experimental phases – both in quantity (fewer grounding turns and fewer syllables in speech directed to voice assistants) and quality (reduced increase in f0 and intensity in speech directed to voice assistants). Notably, the communicative behavior was predicted by children's individual parasocial relationship with their voice-only interaction partner. We discuss the relevance of our findings for developmental science at the interface with communication science and phonetics, and the direct practical implications we can infer for speech technology.

Effects of Liuzijue Qigong Posture on Aerodynamics of Phonation in Healthy Volunteers

To verify the possible function of Liuzijue Qigong (LQG), a kind of traditional Chinese health exercise, in improving phonation. A total of 30 healthy volunteers (10 males, 20 females) without voice disorders were included. The subjects were asked to have phonation tasks at the sitting and LQG postures. Aerodynamic, electroglottographic, and acoustic parameters were measured. Expiratory Volume (FVC); Subglottic Pressure at comfortable phonation (SGP), Glottal Resistance (GR), Glottal Efficiency (GE); Contact Quotient (CQ), Mean Flow (MF), Fundamental frequency (F0), Mean Sound Pressure Level (SPL); Phonation Threshold Pressure (PTP); and Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) were measured and analyzed. In total subjects, the analysis showed a significant increase in FVC (P = 0.020), SGP (P = 0.043), F0 (P = 0.021), and PTP (P = 0.000) at the LQG posture when compared with the sitting posture, and there is no difference in CQ, MF, SPL, GR, GE, and MPT. The results showed LQG posture increased the respiratory support and glottal closure, while induced the respiratory system and vocal system in coordination to improve phonation. It is logical to postulate that LQG has potential in the management of voice disorders with glottal closure insufficiency.

Effects of Drought Stress on Key Enzymes of Carbon Metabolism, Photosynthetic Characteristics and Agronomic Traits of Soybean at the Flowering Stage under Different Soil Substrates

Soybean is an important legume food crop, and its seeds are rich in nutrients, providing humans and animals with edible oil and protein feed. However, soybean is sensitive to water requirements, and drought is an important factor limiting soybean yield and quality. This study used Heinong 84 (drought resistant variety) and Hefeng 46 (intermediate variety) as tested varieties planted in chernozem, albic, and black soils. The effects of drought stress on the activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism and photosynthetic characteristics of soybean were studied during the flowering stage, most sensitive to water. (1) The activities of SS-1, 6PGDH, and G6PDH enzymes in soybean leaves first increased and then decreased under drought stress. The enzyme activity was the highest under moderate drought stress and weakest in the blank group. (2) Drought stress increased Phi2, PhiNO, and Fm in soybean leaves and reached the highest value under severe drought; with the increase in drought stress, PhiNPQ and Fv/Fm of soybean leaves gradually decreased, reaching the lowest under severe drought. (3) With the increase in drought stress, F0 and Fs of soybean leaves showed a single peak curve, and the maximum was at moderate drought. (4) Correlation analysis showed that F0 was greatly affected by varieties and soil types; Fs, F0, and Fm soil varieties had a great influence, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were affected differently under drought stress with different drought degrees. (5) Drought stress changed the agronomic traits and yield of soybean. With the increase of drought degree, plant height, node number of main stem, effective pod number, 100-seed weight and total yield decreased continuously. (6) Drought stress affected the dry matter accumulation of soybean. With the increase of drought degree, the dry matter accumulation gradually decreased. Among them, the leaf was most seriously affected by drought, and SD decreased by about 55% compared with CK. Under the condition of black soil, the dry matter accumulation of soybean was least affected by drought.

Horizontal versus vertical force application: association with the change of direction performance in soccer players.

ABSTRACT This study examined which mechanical variables derived from a vertical jump (i.e. concentric peak force [ConcPF] and eccentric peak force [EccPF], flight time [FT]: contraction time [CT], eccentric deceleration rate of force development [EccDecRFD]) and linear sprint (i.e. theoretical maximal force [F0] and velocity [V0], maximal power output [Pmax], the peak ratio of the effective horizontal component [RFpeak], and the index of force application technique [DRF]) determined the change of direction (COD) performance to a greater extent. Sixteen male soccer players (age: 21.8 ± 2.9 years; height: 175.94 ± 6.88 cm; weight: 73.23 ± 9.59 kg) were assessed for a countermovement jump, the horizontal force velocity (FV) profile, and the COD ZigZag test. The horizontal FV profile parameters were significantly associated with COD performance, while jump mechanical variables did not show any significant association (r = 0.08–0.19; p > 0.05). Specifically, F0 (r = −0.56), Pmax (r = −0.68), and RFpeak (r = −0.54) were strongly associated with COD performance. Moreover, a 1 N·kg−1 increase in F0 was associated with −0.11 s to complete the ZigZag test, whereas 1 W·kg−1 and 1% increase in Pmax and RFpeak were associated with −0.05 and −0.03 s, respectively, to complete the COD test. Horizontal force production during sprinting might play a key role in COD performance. Assessing the horizontal FV profile might help coaches to prescribe a specific training programme to maximize sprint acceleration, which might improve COD performance.

Fundamental frequency-dependent changes in vowel-evoked envelope following responses

Scalp-recorded envelope following responses (EFRs) provide a non-invasive method to assess the encoding of the fundamental frequency (f0) of voice that is important for speech understanding. It is well-known that EFRs are influenced by voice f0. However, this effect of f0 has not been examined independent of concomitant changes in spectra or neural generators. We evaluated the effect of voice f0 on EFRs while controlling for vowel formant characteristics and potentially avoiding significant changes in dominant neural generators using a small f0 range. EFRs were elicited by a male-spoken vowel /u/ (average f0 = 100.4 Hz) and its lowered f0 version (average f0 = 91.9 Hz) with closely matched formant characteristics. Vowels were presented to each ear of 17 young adults with normal hearing. EFRs were simultaneously recorded between the vertex and the nape, and the vertex and the ipsilateral mastoid—the two most common electrode montages used for EFRs. Our results indicate that when vowel formant characteristics are matched, an increase in f0 by 8.5 Hz reduces EFR amplitude by 25 nV, phase coherence by 0.05 and signal-to-noise ratio by 3.5 dB, on average. The reduction in EFR characteristics was similar across ears of stimulation and the two montages used. These findings will help parse the influence of f0 or stimulus spectra on EFRs when both co-vary.

Photosynthetic performance of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) after exposure to a gradual drought stress followed by a recovery period

Drought is an abiotic scourge, one of the major environmental stress factors that adversely affect plant growth and photosynthesis machinery through a disruption of cell organelles, arrangement thylakoid membranes and the electron transport chain. Herein, we probed the effect of drought stress on photosynthetic performance of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Beforehand, plants were subjected to water deficit (as 15% Field Capacity, FC) for one (D-1W) or two weeks (D-2W), and were then re-watered at 95% FC for 2 weeks. Light and electron microscopy analysis of leaves showed no apparent changes in mesophyll cell organization and chloroplast ultrastructure after one week of drought stress, while a swelling of thylakoids and starch accumulation were observed after the prolonged drought (D-2W). The latter induced a decrease in both PSI and PSII quantum yields which was accompanied by an increase in F0 (minimum fluorescence) and a decline in Fm (maximum fluorescence). Drought stress influenced the fluorescence transients, where the major changes at the OJIP prompt FI level were detected in the OJ and IP phases. Prolonged drought induced a decrease in chl a fluorescence at IP phase which was readjusted and established back after re-watering and even more an increase was observed after 2 weeks of recovery. The maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry (φPo) was unaffected by the different drought stress regimes. Drought induced an increase in the ABS/RC and DI0/RC ratios which was concurrent to a stable φPo (maximum quantum yield of PSII primary photochemistry). A substantial decrease in PI(ABS) was detected especially, during severe drought stress (D-2W) suggesting a drop in the PSII efficiency and the level of electron transport through the plastoquinone pool (PQ pool) towards oxidized PSI RCs (P700+). The immunoblot analysis of the main PSII proteins revealed considerable changes in the D1, D2, CP47, OEC, PsbQ and LHCII proteins under drought. These changes depend on the stress duration and recovery period. The main message of this investigation is the elevated recovery capacities of PSII and PSI photochemical activities after re-watering.

Immediate Effects of Straw Phonation in Water Exercises on Parameters of Vocal Loading in Carnatic Classical Singers

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of vocal loading and the immediate effects of straw phonation in water exercises on parameters of vocal loading in Carnatic classical singers. A within-subject pretest-posttest design. Twelve healthy Carnatic classical singers participated in the vocal loading experiment for 2 days, referred to as no-treatment and treatment conditions. The vocal loading task consisted of 1 hour of continuous singing in the presence of background noise. For the treatment condition, the participants followed a 10-minute straw phonation in water exercises before the vocal loading task. Acoustic, electroglottographic, and self-rated perceptual voice measures were recorded before and after the vocal loading task on both days. Pretest and posttest comparison of various outcome measures during no-treatment day suggested a significant increase in shimmer percent, decrease in maximum phonation duration of vowel /a/, and increase in perceived phonatory effort, perceived vocal effort, and Evaluation of Ability to Sing Easily scores. Pretest and posttest comparisons during treatment day showed a significant increase in Mean F0, Highest F0, and Lowest F0, perceived phonatory effort, and perceived vocal effort scores. However, changes in Mean F0, Highest F0, and Lowest F0 measures were small in the posttest condition compared to pretest. The present results suggest that vocal loading did induce changes in Carnatic classical singers' voices. However, there is no substantial evidence that straw phonation is effective in reducing the vocal loading in Carnatic classical singers. Further studies are required to corroborate the current findings.

The role of ACC deaminase producing bacteria in improving sweet corn (Zea mays L. var saccharata) productivity under limited availability of irrigation water

Accumulation of stress ethylene in plants due to osmotic stress is a major challenge for the achievement of optimum sweet corn crop yield with limited availability of irrigation water. A significant increase in earth’s temperature is also making the conditions more crucial regarding the availability of ample quantity of irrigation water for crops production. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can play an imperative role in this regard. Inoculation of rhizobacteria can provide resistance and adaptability to crops against osmotic stress. In addition, these rhizobacteria also have potential to solve future food security issues. That's why the current study was planned to examine the efficacious functioning of Pseudomonas fluorescens strains on yields and physiological characteristics of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var saccharata) under different levels of irrigation. Three irrigation levels i.e., 100% (I100 no stress), 80% (I80), and 60% (I60) were used during sweet corn cultivation. However, there were four rhizobacteria strains i.e., P. fluorescens P1, P. fluorescens P3, P. fluorescens P8, P. fluorescens P14 which were used in the experiment. The results showed that severe water stress (60% of plant water requirement) decreased chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll contents, Fv/Fm ratio and nutrients uptake. A significant increase in F0, Fm, proline, total soluble sugars, catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX) activity led to less ear yield and canned seed yield. Combination of four strains significantly increased the yield traits of sweet corn i.e., ear and (44%) and canned seed yield (27%) over control. The highest promoting effect was observed in the combination of four strains treatment and followed by P1 strain in reducing the harmful effects of drought stress and improving sweet corn productivity. However, P14 gave minimum improvement in growth and yield indices under limited availability of water. In conclusion, combination of four strains inoculation is an efficacious approach for the achievement of better yield of sweet corn under osmotic stress.

The acoustic correlates of stress and tone in Chácobo (Pano): A production study.

This paper investigates the acoustic correlates of word initial prominence and tone in Chácobo, a southern Pano language of the northern Bolivian Amazon. This paper reports the results of a production study with five speakers producing trisyllabic words with a word final high tone. It tests a claim found in the literature that there is an additional word-initial prominence in such forms and determines its acoustic correlates compared with high tone. This study used trisyllabic forms in morphophonological contexts where these forms would appear with a final high tone. In such forms, high tone and word-initial prominence do not overlap (e.g., "panaß̞í" "asaí"). The paper takes into account five acoustic correlates across the three syllables of these words: F1, F2, F0, duration, intensity. The paper finds that the initial syllable in these words shows a statistically significant increase in intensity. There is significant speaker variation with respect to whether duration is a correlation of initial stress and the results do not provide clear evidence that initial stress is marked with duration. The final high-tone marked syllables are distinguished based on an increase in F0 and secondarily with vowel duration. Whether pitch is also a correlate of stress requires future research. The paper interprets these results as suggesting that Chácobo is a language in which tone and stress co-exist. The study thus provides instrumental evidence for a phenomenon suggested to occur in some Pano languages. The limitations of this study, including the fact the results have more than one interpretation in light of current discussions concerning stress and tone, are also discussed.

Effects of Gender, Parental Role, and Time on Infant- and Adult-Directed Read and Spontaneous Speech.

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.

Effect of Vocal Fold Implant Placement on Depth of Vibration and Vocal Output.

Most type 1 thyroplasty implants and some common injectable materials are mechanically stiff. Placing them close to the supple vocal fold mucosa can potentially dampen vibration and adversely impact phonation, yet this effect has not been systematically investigated. This study aims to examine the effect of implant depth on vocal fold vibration and vocal output. Computational simulation. Voice production was simulated with a fiber-gel finite element computational model that incorporates a three-layer vocal fold composition (superficial lamina propria, vocal ligament, thyroarytenoid muscle). Implants of various depths were simulated, with a "deeper" or more medial implant positioned closer to the vocal fold mucosa and replacing more muscle elements. Trajectories of surface and within-tissue nodal points during vibration were produced. Outcome measures were the trajectory radii, fundamental frequency (F0 ), sound pressure level (SPL), and smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) as a function of implant depth. Amplitude of vibration at the vocal fold medial surface was reduced by an implant depth of as little as 14% of the total transverse vocal fold depth. Increase in F0 and decrease in CPPS were noted beyond 30% to 40% implant depth, and SPL decreased beyond 40% to 60% implant depth. Commonly used implants can dampen vibration "from a distance," ie, even without being immediately adjacent to vocal fold mucosa. Since implants are typically placed at depths examined in this study, stiff implants likely have a negative vocal impact in a subset of patients. Softer materials may be preferable, especially in bilateral medialization procedures. N/A Laryngoscope, 130:2192-2198, 2020.

Response of short-term heat shock on photosynthetic activity of soil crust cyanobacteria.

Short-term heat exposure in tropical regions can generate severe stress in the photosynthetic activity of soil crust cyanobacteria. We investigated the responses of two filamentous cyanobacteria, Scytonema tolypothrichoides and Tolypothrix bouteillei, to 1hr exposure at 35, 45, and 55°C using variable chlorophyll fluorescence. Protocols for maximum quantum yield (FV/FM) and dark recovery of chlorophyll a fluorescence (OJIP) transient were applied. Heat exposure caused damage to the donor side of PSII, indicated by a decrease in FV/FM and a rapid increase in F0. After heat stress, photochemical energy utilization (φPo, φETo, and φRE1o) declined and energy dissipation (φDIo) increased. At 45°C, the photosynthetic apparatus was reversibly damaged, since full recovery was observed after 7days of relaxation. S. tolypothrichoides was more resistant to heat stress than T. bouteillei, confirming better adaptation to higher temperatures as observed in growth experiments.

Vocal arousal: a physiological correlate of body distress in women with overweight and obesity.

Numerous studies highlight the relevance of body image in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity mostly using self-reported data. Given the importance of physiological assessment methods, the present study aimed at investigating vocally encoded emotional arousal as a correlate of body distress in women with overweight and obesity. Cognitions of women with overweight and obesity (OW; n = 22) as well as normal weight controls (NW; n = 22) were assessed by means of a thought-sampling procedure during a mirror exposure and a control condition. Fundamental frequency (f0) as a marker of vocally encoded emotional arousal as well as verbalized body-related cognitions were analyzed during this experimental task. A stronger increase in f0 between the control and the mirror exposure condition was found in OW compared to NW. Furthermore, there were significant positive correlations between vocally encoded emotional arousal and various measures of body image. The findings support the utility of vocally encoded emotional arousal as an objective physiological correlate of the evaluative dimension of body image in women with overweight and obesity. Level I, experimental study.

Source Parameters and Scaling Relations of Local Earthquakes from a Strong Motion Network in Izmir, Western Turkey

This study reports the estimation of source parameters in and around Izmir, western Anatolia (Turkey), using data recorded by 18 strong motion stations belonging to the local accelerometer array (IzmirNET). The displacement spectra of SH waves are calculated for 55 earthquakes with a moment magnitude range (Mw) of 3.4 to 5.7 recorded by at least ten stations. The corner frequency (f0), spectral level and fmax are acquired from the displacement spectra in order to analyse the source characteristics of the events using Brune’s source model. Seismic moment (M0) values are computed between 12.74 and 17.93 Nm, spectral level (Ω0) values are detected between 3.17 and 6.44 nm s, source radius (r) values are calculated from 0.45 to 2.28 km, and seismic energy values are estimated between 2.07 × 1013 and 6.45 × 1020 erg. Computed stress drop (Δσ) values vary from 0.72 to 346.9 bar, and this result is significantly lower than the values of 0.017 and 647.6 bar reported for the Marmara region, northwestern Anatolia (Turkey), and slightly lower than the source sizes of the events of between 0.0862 and 5.1042 km. However, similar results were found for seismic moments (Koseoglu et al., in J Seismol 18:651–669, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-014-9435-2 , 2014). From the results of the present study, it is concluded that scattering in seismic moment, stress drop and hypocentral distance during large earthquakes is observed by an increase in f0 and fmax , which is related to the complex tectonism of the study area.