Perceptual Assessment Research Articles

Treating Velopharyngeal Insufficiency in a Case of Substance Abuse: A New Client Population

Objective:A case study is presented to illustrate the management of a patient who presented with significant tissue damage of the soft palate due to substance abuse, which involved the inhalation of drugs.Method:The patient was seen in a university medical center cleft palate clinic upon referral from a mental health facility with reported speech and swallowing problems. Perceptual and physiologic speech testing, a behavioral swallowing assessment, and other interdisciplinary assessments were conducted to confirm the patient's complaints and develop a treatment plan.Results:A speech appliance was fabricated to correct the defect and follow-up testing showed improvement in both speech and swallowing skills. Perceptual assessment indicated improved resonance balance and reduction in audible nasal emission, while physiologic testing revealed decreased nasal airflow. The team successfully implemented a plan to correct the patient's speech, resonance, and swallowing problems.Conclusions:Substance abuse is now a significant national crisis and patients may need a range of services depending on their complex of problems. Some individuals may need assistance with speech, resonance, and swallowing disorders and require prosthetic intervention provided via interdisciplinary management from a cleft palate team.

Can preoperative results predict the need for future reintervention following injection laryngoplasty for unilateral vocal fold paralysis?

PurposeThe objective was to investigate whether a patient’s preoperative test results can predict the need for future reoperation in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP).MethodsA single-centre retrospective study was performed. The study group consisted of 18 patients with UVFP who had been treated with injection laryngoplasty but who required further treatment and were augmentated again within 36 months. The control group consisted of 33 injected patients who had not required reintervention up to 36 months later.ResultsOnly glottal gap was associated with a relative risk for reinjection. Glottal gap was found to be severe in 77.8% of the patients from the study group compared to 42.4% of the controls, and the difference was statistically significant. The kind of injected material (calcium hydroxylapatite or hyaluronic acid), age, and voice assessment (perceptual, objective, or subjective) did not seem to affect the likelihood of reoperation being needed. There were no between-group statistically significant differences in individual aspects of the GRBAS scale. The global score was slightly higher in the study group, but it did not reach statistical significance (U = 198.5; p = 0.09). A comparison of VHI scores did not yield statistically significant differences between the study and control groups. No significant differences in objective acoustic voice parameters were observed between the groups.ConclusionOnly glottal gap occurred to be associated with a relative risk for reinjection. A kind of injected material (CaHA or HA), age, perceptual, objective and subjective voice assessment do not seem to impact the likelihood of reoperation in patients with UVFP.

Are source-filter interactions detectable in classical singing during vowel glides?

In recent studies, it has been assumed that vocal tract formants (Fn) and the voice source could interact. However, there are only few studies analyzing this assumption in vivo. Here, the vowel transition /i/-/a/-/u/-/i/ of 12 professional classical singers (6 females, 6 males) when phonating on the pitch D4 [fundamental frequency (ƒo) ca. 294 Hz] were analyzed using transnasal high speed videoendoscopy (20.000 fps), electroglottography (EGG), and audio recordings. Fn data were calculated using a cepstral method. Source-filter interaction candidates (SFICs) were determined by (a) algorithmic detection of major intersections of Fn/nƒo and (b) perceptual assessment of the EGG signal. Although the open quotient showed some increase for the /i-a/ and /u-i/ transitions, there were no clear effects at the expected Fn/nƒo intersections. In contrast, ƒo adjustments and changes in the phonovibrogram occurred at perceptually derived SFICs, suggesting level-two interactions. In some cases, these were constituted by intersections between higher nƒo and Fn. The presented data partially corroborates that vowel transitions may result in level-two interactions also in professional singers. However, the lack of systematically detectable effects suggests either the absence of a strong interaction or existence of confounding factors, which may potentially counterbalance the level-two-interactions.

Vocal Disorders in Patients with COVID 19 in Egypt.

COVID-19 is considered a respiratory disease which has many symptoms associated with the larynx and the lungs infections. COVID-19 has wide spectrum of clinical features starting from mild symptoms to severe illness. Otolaryngological symptoms as nasal obstruction, loss of smell, taste dysfunction, sore throat, sticky mucus, and dysphagia are common in COVID-19 patients. Other vocal symptoms as dysphonia and phonesthenia are common in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to detect the occurrence of vocal symptoms in COVID-19 patients in Egypt and to investigate the videolaryngoscopic findings associated with these symptoms. A total number of 106 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were randomly assessed for vocal symptoms. The following epidemiological and clinical data were collected: age, gender, smoking consumption, general symptoms, otolaryngological and vocal symptoms as dysphonia and phonesthenia. Auditory perceptual assessment of voice and videolaryngoscopic examination were done. The occurrence of dysphonia and phonesthenia were observed in COVID -19 patients. Of the 106 patients, 84 patients (79%) were dysphonic, 20 (18.8%) patients were phonesthenic. The correlation of the different otolaryngological symptoms with dysphonia and phonesthenia were reported. A significant correlation was found between dysphonic patients and rhinorrhea, taste dysfunction, sore throat, and cough. A significant correlation was found between phonesthenic patients and allergic rhinitis. Videolaryngoscopic findings were detected in COVID-19 patients. Vocal fold congestion was found in 42 patients (39.6%), benign vocal fold swellings was found in 18 patients (16.9%), ventricular hypertrophy was found in 6 patients (0.05%), unilateral vocal fold immobility was found in 14 patients (13.2%), and vocal fold congestion associated with ventricular fold hypertrophy was found in 20 patients (18.8%).There was significant correlation of dysphonia and phonesthenia with vocal fold congestion (P value:0.001, P value:0.039 respectively).There was a significant correlation between cough and vocal fold congestion (P value: 0.000). Benign vocal fold swellings were associated with 18 patients (16.9%), but it was not statistically significant (P value: 0.931). Dysphonia and phonesthenia were observed in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.The vocal symptoms were associated with different laryngoscopic findings, in which, vocal fold congestion was the commonest.

A perceptual outcome measure of velopharyngeal function based on the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented (CAPS-A VPC-Sum): Validation through a speech osteotomy study.

The status of the velopharyngeal mechanism can be inferred from perceptual ratings of specified speech parameters. Several studies have proposed the measure of an overall velopharyngeal composite score based on these perceptual ratings and have reported good validity. The Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech-Augmented (CAPS-A) is a validated and reliable perceptual framework for the assessment of cleft speech and velopharyngeal function used by all Regional Cleft Services in the UK and Ireland. An overall velopharyngeal composite summary score based on the CAPS-A would serve as an important surgical outcome measure of speech. To develop and validate a velopharyngeal composite summary score based on perceptual ratings made on the CAPS-A (CAPS-A VPC-Sum) using data from a maxillary osteotomy (MO) study. There were two surgical groups: a cleft lip and palate (CLP) (N = 20) group and a non-CLP group (N = 10), and a normal control group (N = 20). Participants in groups 1 and 2 were seen for perceptual and instrumental assessments of speech and velopharyngeal function preoperatively (T1), 3 months (T2) and 12 months (T3) postoperatively. Perceptual speech data were collected and rated by independent listeners using CAPS-A. Moderate to strong interrater reliability for perceptual data (rs = 0.503-1.000, all p < 0.01) and strong to very strong reliability for videofluoroscopic measurements (rs = 0.746-0.947) were found. Construct validity of the CAPS-A VPC-Sum was shown by an increase in postoperative scores for the CLP group only ϰ2 (2) = 9.769, p = 0.008 and significant differences between the CLP and the other two groups at T2 and T3 using independent t-tests. Convergent and divergent validity was indicated by a positive moderate correlation with related parameters (e.g., hypernasality rs = 0.869, p < 0.01) and a weak correlation with unrelated parameters (e.g., amount of forward advancement rs = 0.160, p = 0.526). Criterion validity was found by a moderate correlation between closure ratio rs = -0.541, p = 0.020 and CAPS-A VPC-Sum. A velopharyngeal composite score based on perceptually rated parameters serves as an important surgical speech outcome measure. The CAPS-A VPC-Sum is a useful, reliable and valid outcome measure of velopharyngeal function. There are added positive implications for other clinicians using geographically and language-specific adapted versions of the CAPS-A internationally. What is already known on this subject Velopharyngeal composite scores based on perceptually rated speech parameters have been shown to have both clinical and research utility, serving as a useful surgical outcome measure. However, such a composite score must be specifically validated on the perceptual speech framework upon which it is based, as there are differences in measurement methods and terminology across cleft speech perceptual frameworks internationally. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The CAPS-A is a nationally used tool in the UK and Ireland for audit and research purposes with validated and adapted international versions. This paper reports on the validation of the derived velopharyngeal composite score measure based on the CAPS-A and an English-speaking sample, providing evidence of its validity through a speech osteotomy study. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This work provides CLP teams who use CAPS-A with a validated surgical speech outcome measure of velopharyngeal function. It has positive implications also for adapted versions of the CAPS-A internationally.

A study of voice quality in obese Egyptian children

BackgroundObesity is considered a health problem that affects many systems of the body among which the respiration and voice. The objective of the study was to analyze the impact of obesity in children on quality of their voice. Thirty obese children were included in this cross-sectional study and compared to 30 age- and sex-matched healthy children as a control group. Voice of cases and controls were assessed subjectively by auditory perceptual assessment and objectively by studying acoustic parameters using Computerized Speech Lab. Flexible laryngoscopy was done for cases with dysphonia.ResultsDysphonia perceived in 60% of cases, voice analysis revealed increased jitter and noise to harmonic ratio with significant difference than controls.ConclusionThe voice of children with morbid obesity reveals significant modifications pertaining to vocal characteristics in comparison to non-obese persons, so voice hygiene and voice therapy could be added to their therapy program as prophylactic or therapeutic management of voice disorder.

Is High-Intensity Speech Intervention Better? A Comparison of High-Intensity Intervention Versus Low-Intensity Intervention in Children With a Cleft Palate.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of speech intervention provided with a low intensity with speech intervention provided with a high intensity on the speech and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Dutch-speaking children with a cleft palate with or without a cleft lip (CP ± L) between 4 and 12 years. Method A longitudinal, prospective, randomized controlled trial with a multiple baseline design was used. Twelve children with a CP ± L (M age = 8.0 years, SD = 1.54) were divided into two groups using block randomization stratified by age and gender: One group received low-intensity speech intervention (LISI; n = 6) and one group received high-intensity speech intervention (HISI; n = 6). Children in the LISI group received intervention with a session duration of 1 hr, a dose frequency of 1 session per week, and a total intervention duration of 10 weeks. Children in the HISI group received intervention with a session duration of 1 hr, a dose frequency of 5 sessions per week, and a total intervention duration of 2 weeks. The cumulative intervention intensity was kept constant. Both groups received identical therapy programs provided by the same experienced speech therapist. Perceptual speech assessments were performed on baseline and posttreatment data points. Changes in HRQoL were assessed using the Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Effects on Life Outcomes (VELO) questionnaire. Both groups were compared over time using (generalized) linear mixed models. Results No significant Time × Group interactions were observed for the percentage of correctly produced consonants at the word and sentence levels, indicating no differences in evolution over time among the two groups. The variables speech understandability, speech acceptability, and the total VELO scores significantly improved following HISI, but not following LISI. Conclusions Children in the HISI group made equal and, for some variables, even superior progress in only 2 weeks of therapy compared to children in the LISI group who received 10 weeks of therapy. HISI is a promising strategy to improve speech outcomes and HRQoL in a shorter time period.

ICE-Talk 2: Interface for Controllable Expressive TTS with perceptual assessment tool

In this paper, we present open-source 1https://github.com/noetits/ICE-Talk.1https://github.com/noetits/ICE-Talk. tools that facilitates the use of controllable TTS systems in experiments, towards the democratization of TTS systems across domains. ICE-Talk is a web-based GUI that allows the use of a TTS system with controllable parameters via a text field and a clickable 2D plot. It enables the study of latent spaces for controllable TTS. A tool to design a perceptual experiment is provided and consists of three steps: pre-synthesizing samples covering the 2D plot representing controllable dimensions, including this interface inside a template question, and integrate it in a Mechanical Turk system called turkle.

Nasopharyngeal Polyp in a Patient With Submucous Cleft Palate

Encountering a nasopharyngeal polyp in a patient with submucous cleft palate (SMCP) is a difficult problem, as the lesion could support the weak palate. Removal of this lesion may unmask the SMCP with consequent worsening of speech nasality. Nasal septal polyp protruding to the nasopharynx in a patient with SMCP has not been reported before in the literature. This report describes a septal polyp arising from the posterior border of the nasal septum and protruding in the nasopharynx in a 16-year-old girl with submucous cleft palate. The polyp appeared to support the weak palate, and they acted as a ball and socket during speech articulation. Removal of this polyp may result in velopharyngeal insufficiency. Trans-nasal endoscopic removal of the polyp with obturation of the velopharyngeal port with a superiorly-based pharyngeal flap was performed in the same sitting. Pre- and postoperative speech evaluation using auditory perceptual assessment and nasometry revealed no worsening of nasality, also the patient reported improvement of her nasal breathing. We concluded that, the presence of a nasopharyngeal polyp in a patient with SMCP may compensate the speech problem. Removal of the polyp and treatment of SMCP by a pharyngeal flap in one-sitting is an effective procedure without adverse effect on patient’s speech.

Sound Environments in Large Public Buildings for Crowd Transit: A Systematic Review

Sound environments in large public buildings are likely to be different from those of performance spaces, as well as those not specifically designed for acoustic “performance”, but where sounds still play an important role because of the function they can promote (or disrupt). The aim of this study was identifying common strategies and empirical approaches researchers have been implementing for these acoustically complex enclosures and to provide some methodological indications for future studies on the topic. Studies conducted in three building types for crowd transit, such as museums/exhibition spaces, shopping malls, and transportation hubs/stations, which were collecting data about either physical outcomes or individual responses for such sound environments, were selected. The Scopus databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal papers published in English without time limitations. An additional manual search was performed on the reference lists of the retrieved items. The general consideration on inclusion was to meet the requirement that the case belonged to the three building types, and then the specific inclusion criteria were: (1) including at least an objective acoustic measure of the space; or (2) including at least a subjective measure of the space. The search returned 1060 results; after removing duplicates, two authors screened titles and abstracts and selected 117 papers for further analysis. Twenty-six studies were eventually included. Due to the limited number of items and differences in measures across studies, a quantitative meta-analysis could not be performed, and a qualitative approach was adopted instead. The most commonly used objective measures were SPL, and more specifically often considered as LAeq, and T. The intervals across studies were currently of inconsistency, and the selection is recommended to take space scale factor into account. The used subjective measures can be classified into four categories as annoyance, affective quality, room-acoustic quality, and acoustic spatiality. Four basic perceptual assessments concerning dynamic contents are accordingly suggested as “annoying-not annoying”, “crowded-uncrowded”, “long-short (reverberation)”, and “far away-nearby”. The other descriptors can be project-specific. The methodologies involve measurement, questionnaire/interview, listening test, and software simulation. It is necessary for the former two to consider temporal and spatial features of such spaces, and the adoption of the latter two will lead to better understanding of users’ exposure in such spaces, e.g., acoustic sequences and user amount. The outputs of investigations inform that background noise level, e.g., 90 dB in museum/exhibition spaces, and sound reverberation, e.g., 4.0 to 5.0 s in shopping malls and transportation hubs/station, are of fundamental importance to the design of such spaces. Sufficient acoustic comfort can be achieved with integrated design of indoor soundscape.

Does Abrupt Weight Loss Caused by Bariatric Surgery Compromise the Voice in Women?

To evaluate vocal symptoms, voice characteristics and videolaryngoscopy in obese women before and after bariatric surgery. Obese patients (18 to 59 years old), candidates for bariatric surgery were recruited. Evaluation times: T1 (preoperative), T2 (after six months), T3 (after 12 months). Evaluated parameters: weight, height, body mass index, abdominal and neck circumference, vocal self-assessment, perceptual and acoustic vocal assessment, and videolaryngoscopy. A total of 37 obese women were included, average age 40.8 years. There was a decrease in anthropometric measurements between the preoperative assessment and after 12 months: weight (121.18 ± 15.4 kg; 77.1 ± 11.6 kg), BMI (46.6 ± 6.95 kg/m2; 30 ± kg/m2), abdominal circumference (128 ± 16.1; 99.1 ± 12.1), and neck circumference (41.1 ± 5.85; 36.6 ± 3.02). Gastroesophageal (21.6%) and vocal symptoms (27%) prevailed. No difference was identified in vocal self-assessment between the evaluations. In the acoustic analysis, f0 increased and the soft phonation index decreased. The perceptual analysis registered lower scores for the degree of dysphonia (G) and voice instability (I). The maximum phonation time values increased without changing the s/z ratio. Videolaryngoscopies showed a posterior middle cleft and improvement in the signs of reflux. Bariatric surgery led to an important and gradual decrease in anthropometric parameters. The voice became less hoarse, with higher pitch and more stable, with an improvement in maximum phonation time, however with slight breathiness. Such changes were not noticed by the patients.

Perceptual Quality Assessment of Compressed Vibrotactile Signals Through Comparative Judgment.

In this article, we present a comprehensive scheme for the quality assessment of compressed vibrotactile signals with human assessors. Inspired by the multiple stimulus test with hidden reference and anchors (MUSHRA) from the audio domain, we designed a method in which each compressed signal is compared to its original signal and rated on a numerical scale. For each signal tested, the hidden reference and two anchor signals are used to validate the results and provide assessor screening criteria. Differing from previous approaches, our method is hierarchically structured and strictly timed in a sequential manner to avoid experimental confounds and provide precise psychophysical assessments. We validated our method in an experiment with 20 human participants in which we compared two state-of-the-art lossy codecs. The results show that, with our approach, the performance of different codecs can be compared effectively. Furthermore, the method also provides a measure of subjective quality at different data compression rates. The proposed procedure can be easily adapted to evaluate other vibrotactile codecs.

Creating psychometric scales for perceptual assessment of fruit juices’ refreshing and thickness attributes

Persons look for beverages to satisfy thirst (refresh) and feel fulfilled (thick). However, refreshing and thickness are concepts that lack a measurement instrument that captures an accurate judgment of consumers' perceptions. This research aims to propose a tool to assess consumers' refreshing and thickness expectations of fruit juices. Items were developed through a two-stage qualitative-exploratory study, followed by a quantitative study describing the scale's composition using an Item Response Theory approach. Hence, we suggest a set of items to consider when measuring both concepts from a perception task. Moreover, results show that thickness and refreshing are distinct and independent ideas. We provide a theoretical contribution defining each construct and recognizing the attributes that best describe refreshing and thickness for five different fruit juices. Our methodological contribution is creating a scale for each of the concepts. Practically, developing a thickness and refreshing scale is useful for product developers and marketers who expect to satisfy consumers' needs for soft drinks.

Clinical Application of Stromal Vascular Fraction Gel in Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

To investigate the therapeutic effect of the stromal vascular fraction gel (SVF gel) in unilateral vocal fold paralysis. A retrospective study was performed on 22 patients who underwent SVF gel autotransplantation for unilateral vocal fold paralysis between June 2017 and December 2018. Fat was removed from the medial thigh under anesthesia and the SVF gel was prepared using standard techniques and injected using a suspension microlaryngoscopy. The SVF gel was transplanted into the vocal fold muscle and the paraglottic space, and subjective and perceptual assessments, aerodynamic and acoustic assessments, and a videostroboscopic assessment were evaluated pre- and postoperatively at 1day, 12 months and 18 months. The GRBAS evaluation results showed that the voice quality of the patients at 12 and 18 months after the operation was significantly improved, and voice analysis showed that in males maximum speech time (MPT) increased and the normalized noise energy decreased 1 day after surgery. The voice quality parameters at 12 months and 18 months after surgery improved significantly compared to preoperatively (P < 0.05), except for the fundamental frequency (F0), at 12 months, which was similar to the values before surgery. In females, the MPT and amplitude (shimmer) at 1 day after the surgery were significantly different from before the surgery, and the MPT, fundamental frequency (jitter), shimmer, and normalized noise energy at 12 months and 18 months after the surgery were significantly improved compared to before the surgery while the F0 was not significant. SVF gel autotransplantation can effectively improve the voice quality in unilateral vocal fold paralysis, and the long-term effect is stable.

The peripheral perception and its relation with backline and front row players for Sulaimani handball adolescent

Perception is one of the mental processes, which plays an important role in the sport aspects. Therefore, it is one of the basic requirements for improving performance in various sports. The importance of this study is that, handball players should be attempt in such peripheral perception test in order to develop player’s performance and achieve a high altitude.As a researcher I thought that in the training session here is a lack of using scientific laboratories to evaluate the elevation of the player that would be guidance for coaches to maintain their training plan.Aim of the study:-To determine the amount of perception of the players, also the comparison of perception between the players of the back and front lines of the players of the participants.Method of the study:-Used descriptive method in the survey method appropriate to the research problem.&#x0D; the results of the perceptual assessment, through which the research objectives and hypotheses were achieved, and the researcher concluded that the research sample has (a field of vision, focus power, divided attention, reaction time, and emotional maturity) were approved, as there are Moral correlation relationship between the different playing positions and the perceptual variables (field of vision, concentration force, divided attention, reaction time, and emotional maturity).

Perceptual visual security assessment by fusing local and global feature similarity

Selective encryption is an effective technique for multimedia big data encryption. A perceptual metric that takes the human visual system (HVS) into account is necessary for evaluating the visual security degrees of selectively encrypted images. Existing metrics are mainly based on the similarity of structural information which is represented by local spatial contrast features. However, visual security is concerned with not only the distortion of structural information but also the leakage of important visual information. The local features cannot exactly express the leakage of important visual information. This paper presents a perceptual visual security assessment metric by fusing local and global feature similarity. Considering the HVS response, the proposed metric measures in three aspects: the distortion of structural information, the leakage of important visual information, and the changes of frequency components. To measure the distortion of structure information, local pattern similarity is calculated based on the normalized Hamming distance between the local binary pattern (LBP) binary codes. The similarity of the global LBP histogram is computed to evaluate the leakage of important visual information. A lowpass weighted discrete cosine transform (DCT) frequency similarity is presented to detect the changes of various frequency components. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed metric achieves significantly higher performance and stronger robustness than the state-of-the-art metrics.

Gaussian Process-based Feature-Enriched Blind Image Quality Assessment

The objective of blind-image quality assessment (BIQA) research is the prediction of perceptual quality of images, without reference information. The human’s perceptual assessment of quality of an image is the backbone of BIQA research. Therefore, human-provided, mean opinion score (perceptual quality) has been analyzed in detail, and it has been observed to follow the Gaussian distribution and thus can be ideally modeled by the same. In this paper, we have proposed an integrated two-stage Gaussian process-based hybrid-feature selection algorithm for the BIQA problem. Moreover, a new consolidated feature set (obtained from the proposed algorithm), consisting of momentous Natural Scene Statistics (NSS)-based features is used in combination with the Gaussian process regression algorithm for the design of a new blind-image quality evaluator, referred to as GPR-BIQA. The proposed evaluator is tested on eight IQA legacy databases, and it is found that the proposed evaluator proficiently correlate with the human opinion, and outperformed a substantial number of existing approaches.

No-Reference Stereoscopic Image Quality Assessment Based on Binocular Statistical Features and Machine Learning

Learning a deep structure representation for complex information networks is a vital research area, and assessing the quality of stereoscopic images or videos is challenging due to complex 3D quality factors. In this paper, we explore how to extract effective features to enhance the prediction accuracy of perceptual quality assessment. Inspired by the structure representation of the human visual system and the machine learning technique, we propose a no-reference quality assessment scheme for stereoscopic images. More specifically, the statistical features of the gradient magnitude and Laplacian of Gaussian responses are extracted to form binocular quality-predictive features. After feature extraction, these features of distorted stereoscopic image and its human perceptual score are used to construct a statistical regression model with the machine learning technique. Experimental results on the benchmark databases show that the proposed model generates image quality prediction well correlated with the human visual perception and delivers highly competitive performance with the typical and representative methods. The proposed scheme can be further applied to the real-world applications on video broadcasting and 3D multimedia industry.

Presbyphonia as an Individual Process of Voice Change

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to determine the individual variability of the severity of dysphonia in the population of older women and men using the initial perceptual voice assessment (GRBAS) and objective diagnosis of the clinical form of Presbyphonia with laryngeal visualization technique (High-Speed Digital Imaging [HSDI]) and acoustic voice analysis (Diagnoscope Specjalista). MethodsThe study included 302 elderly women and men. Application of perceptual GRBAS scale allowed to extract 230 subjects with voice disorders (Group I). Remaining 72 elderly subjects without the symptoms of dysphonia consisted Group II. Group III included 50 subjects with euphonic voice. In the assessment of dysphonia, visualization technique (HSDI) as well as acoustic method (Diagnoscope Specjalista). The observation of real vibration of vocal folds using HSDI technique and HS camera allowed to examine symmetricity (Shaw-Deliyski scale), periodicity and amplitude of vibration, Mucosal Wave (MW) morphology, Glottal Closure Type, and value of Open Quotient (OQ). Acoustic analysis allowed to assess value of Fundamental Frequency (F0), Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) as well as Jitter, Shimmer, Noise-to-Harmonics Ratio (NHR) parameters. Narrowband Spectrography was performed. ResultsHSDI technique allowed to register in elderly women with voice disorders a mild asymmetry and aperiodicity of vibrations, MW reduction, amplitude increase and glottal insufficiency in the posterior segment of glottis which indicated edematous changes in the larynx. In 90% of men in this group, moderate asymmetry and aperiodicity were observed as well as amplitude decrease, significant limitation of MW and glottal insufficiency in the middle segment of the glottis which indicated atrophic changes in the larynx. In remaining 10% of men, amplitude of vibration was increased which indicated the existence of hypofunctional dysphonia. Objective confirmation of glottal insufficiency in women with edematous changes was high value of OQ in posterior segment of the glottis registered with HSDI technique. In men with larynx atrophy, the value of OQ was the highest in the middle segment of the glottis. Glottal insufficiency, especially in the middle segment, coexisted with the increase of NHR parameter observed in acoustic examination and with numerous nonharmonic components in the scope of high frequencies revealed in narrowband spectrography, especially in men with larynx atrophy. What is more, in men, the increase of F0 and reduction of MPT was registered. In women with edematous changes of the larynx, acoustic analysis revealed decrease of F0 value, increase of Jitter, Shimmer, NHR as well as reduction of MPT. Narrowband sopectrography revealed not only harmonic components but also nonharmonics in the range of low, medium, and high frequencies. ConclusionsThe course of Presbyphonia varies individually in the elderly. In many subjects, the process of aging does not influence the quality of voice. Crucial importance in the diagnosis of Presbyphonia is assigned to High-Speed Digital Imaging technique which confirms the existence of edematous changes in the larynx in women as well as atrophy and hypofunctional dysphonia in men. The acoustic examination of voice confirmed the individual variability of the severity of Presbyphonia in the elderly depending on the clinical form of dysphonia determined by the gender of the diagnosed person.

Banding defect detection and image quality classification

Banding has been regarded as one of the most severe defects affecting the overall image quality in the printing industry. There has been a lot of research on it, but most of them focused on uniform pages or specific test images. Aiming at detecting banding on customer’s content pages, this paper proposes a banding processing pipeline that can automatically detect banding, identify periodic and isolated banding, and estimate the periodic interval. In addition, based on the detected banding characteristics, the pipeline predicts the overall quality of printed customer’s content pages and obtains predictions similar to human perceptual assessment.