The Significant Influence of Hoarseness Levels in Connected Speech on the Voice-Related Disability Evaluated Using Voice Handicap Index-10.

Objectives: This retrospective study examines the influence of voice quality in connected speech (CS) and sustained vowels (SV) on the voice-related disability in patients' daily living documented by Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10).

Methods: A total of 500 voice recordings of CS and SV samples from 338 patients with voice disturbances were included, along with the patients' age, diagnoses, maximum phonation time, and VHI-10. Dataset-1 comprised of 338 untreated patients, whereas Dataset-2 included 162 patients before and after phonosurgeries.

Automatic Segmentation of the Paranasal Sinus from Computer Tomography Images Using a Probabilistic Atlas and a Fully Convolutional Network.

In this paper, we present an automatic approach to paranasal sinus segmentation in computed tomography (CT) images. The proposed method combines a probabilistic atlas and a fully convolutional network (FCN). The probabilistic atlas was used to automatically localize the paranasal sinus and determine its bounding box.

Acoustic Breathiness Index for the Japanese-Speaking Population: Validation Study and Exploration of Affecting Factors.

Objectives The purposes of this study were to validate the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) for the Japanese-speaking population and to determine whether it is independent of factors such as sex, age, and perceptual ratings of roughness. Method First, the concurrent validity of the ABI for perceptual breathiness was evaluated on the concatenations of continuous speech and sustained vowels from 288 patients with varying degrees of dysphonia. The diagnostic accuracy was examined on 343 samples with 55 additional normophonic speakers.

Design of Soft Robotic Actuation for Supporting Eyelid Closure Movement.

We have been developing a facial wearable robot to support the eyelid movements of patients with facial paralysis, especially on one side of the face [1]. This robot has a mechanism for supporting eyelid movements, made from a soft material, which is called the eyelid gating mechanism (ELGM). The ELGM deforms by simple rotational actuation inputs and its deformation is customized to the eyelid movements.

Intertext Variability of Smoothed Cepstral Peak Prominence, Methods to Control It, and Its Diagnostic Properties.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the intertext variability of smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS), examine whether sound-processing techniques improved its variability and diagnostic capability, and evaluate the degree of intertext variability in detail with reference to the CPPS variabilities in sustained vowels.

Study Design: This was a retrospective study.

Methods: Text readings of 58 Japanese syllables were recorded from 210 speakers with different diagnoses and varying degrees of dysphonia, and were divided into six passages.

The Acoustic Voice Quality Index Version 03.01 for the Japanese-speaking Population.

Objectives: We aimed to determine the most appropriate syllable number for analyzing the Acoustic Voice Quality Index for the Japanese-speaking population (AVQIv3-JP) and to validate AVQIv3-JP using the determined syllable number.

Methods: First, we counted how many syllables should be included in each continuous speech (CS) sample to achieve time-balanced analysis between CS and sustained vowel samples using our previous dataset including 336 CS samples with 58 syllables. From the descriptive statistics of the counted syllable numbers, the most appropriate syllable number was identified.

Validation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index in the Japanese Language.

Objectives: The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) is a multivariate construct for quantification of overall voice quality based on the analysis of continuous speech and sustained vowel. The stability and validity of the AVQI is well established in several language families. However, the Japanese language has distinct characteristics with respect to several parameters of articulatory and phonatory physiology.

Ramsay hunt syndrome in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis after treatment with infliximab.

A 39-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis developed Ramsay Hunt syndrome after infliximab treatment. This condition is caused by the reactivation of varicella zoster virus infection in the geniculate ganglion of facial nerve in the host's immunosuppression. She was treated immediately with valaciclovir and hydrocortisone, and the complete recovery was achieved at 6 months after the onset.

[A case of advanced adenocarcinoma of the ethmoid sinus treated by chemoradiation with S-1].

We report a case of advanced adenocarcinoma in the left ethmoid sinus invading the frontal sinus, the frontal skull base and the orbits(T4bN0M0 and Stage IVB). With the goal of functional preservation, we carried out radiation therapy with total 60 Gy irradiation and chemotherapy with S-1 80 mg/body/day before a radical operation. The tumor clinically disappeared without surgical treatment, and there was no sign of recurrence for 2.

[Audiological effect of bone-anchored hearing aid].

The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) has proved to be a valuable alternative to conventional air and bone conduction hearing aids for patients suffering from chronic otitis media or bilateral aural atresia. The BAHA gave better sound quality and greater comfort than conventional hearing aids (HAs), but only 1 study has been done in Japan. We implanted BAHAs in 6 hard-of-hearing patients in the last 2 years.

Ménière's disease is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human potassium channel genes, KCNE1 and KCNE3.

Although the bases for both the sporadic and inherited forms of Ménière's disease (MD) remain undefined, it is likely to be multifactorial, one of the factors being a genetic predisposition. Recently, genetic association studies on complex diseases have become very popular and most of them are case-control studies using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers. Mutations/polymorphisms in KCNE potassium channel genes might play a causative role in MD, because KCNE potassium channels have been suggested to be present and active in transmembrane ion and water transports in the inner ear.

Comparison of speech perception between monaural and binaural hearing in cochlear implant patients.

Objective: To assess the advantages of binaural hearing for cochlear implant (CI) users using a hearing aid (HA) for the contralateral ear.

Material And Methods: The subjects comprised 3 males and 3 females (age range 48-84 years). All of them had been using a CI and HA for > 6 months.

[Four cases of hypopharyngeal cancer treated with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU followed by radiotherapy and/or neck dissection].

We treated 4 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer, each of whom had a complete response after 2 cycles of chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU followed by radiation and/or neck dissection. Twenty-one months to 2 years after this therapy, 3 patients had no recurrence and no metastasis with their laryngeal framework and function preserved. Chemotherapy including docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU is a useful treatment for early head and neck cancer.

Evidence of a founder effect for the 235delC mutation of GJB2 (connexin 26) in east Asians.

Mutations in the GJB2 gene encoding connexin 26 (Cx26) are a major cause of autosomal recessive and sporadic cases of congenital deafness in most populations. The 235delC mutation of GJB2 is the most frequent known mutation in some east Asian populations, with a carrier frequency of approximately 1%. In order to study the origin of 235delC among east Asians, we analyzed single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the coding region of GJB2 and flanking the 235delC mutation.

[Binaural advantage on usage of hearing aid together with cochlear implant--examination on speech perception (Japanese monosyllable word list 67-S and Japanese HINT)].

Six cochlear implant recipients with hearing aids in the opposite ear were studied to survey binaural advantage. They were examined in separate tests by using a hearing aid alone, cochlear implant alone, and by using both devices (bimodal condition). Test items used were the Japanese monosyllable word list 67--S and Japanese HINT.

Successful cochlear implantation in prelingual profound deafness resulting from the common 233delC mutation of the GJB2 gene in the Japanese.

Objectives: Recently, we identified three novel mutations of the GJB2 gene in Japanese families with autosomal-recessive non-syndromic deafness.1 Seven of 11 mutated chromosomes (63.6%) contained a 233delC allele, suggesting that the 233delC mutation is the most common mutation of the GJB2 gene in the Japanese population.