The Effect of Experience on Response Time When Judging Synthesized Voice Quality.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of level and type of experience on response time and the number of replays needed when judging voice quality.

Study Design: This was a within-subjects group design.

Methods: Speech-language pathologists, singing voice teachers, speech-language pathology graduate students with and without experience with a voice client, graduate students who have completed a voice pedagogy course, and inexperienced listeners (n = 60) rated stimuli with systematically altered measurements of jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR) on a visual analog scale ranging from mild to severe for overall severity, roughness, breathiness, strain, and pitch.

The effect of experience on perceptual spaces when judging synthesized voice quality: a multidimensional scaling study.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of experience on the perceptual space of listeners when judging voice quality.

Study Design: This was a within-subjects group design.

Method: Speech-language pathologists, singing voice teachers, speech-language pathology graduate students with and without experience with a voice client, graduate students who have completed a voice pedagogy course, and inexperienced served as listeners.

The effect of levels and types of experience on judgment of synthesized voice quality.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of level and type of experience on the judgment of voice quality and to examine the correlation among acoustical measurements and perceptions of voice quality.

Study Design: This was a within-subjects group design.

Methods: Speech-language pathologists, singing voice teachers (SVTs), speech-language pathology graduate students with and without experience with a voice client, graduate students who have completed a voice pedagogy course, and inexperienced listeners (IEs) rated stimuli with systematically altered measurements of jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR) on a visual analog scale ranging from mild to severe for overall severity, roughness, breathiness, strain, and pitch.

How to perform combined cutting balloon and high pressure balloon valvuloplasty for dogs with subaortic stenosis.

Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) is one of the most common congenital cardiac malformations in dogs. Unfortunately, the long term success rate and survival data following either open heart surgery or catheter based intervention has been disappointing in dogs with severe subaortic stenosis. Medical therapy is currently the only standard recommended treatment option.

The effect of experience on classification of voice quality.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare the agreement among several groups of listeners with different types of experience in regard to classifying voice quality.

Study Design: This is a retrospective cross-sectional quasi-experimental design.

Method: This study compared three groups: speech-language pathologists who specialize in voice, singing voice teachers, and inexperienced listeners.

Successful closure of left-to-right patent ductus arteriosus in three dogs with concurrent pulmonary hypertension.

Closure of reversed patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is generally accepted to be contraindicated due to case based evidence of worsened outcomes, but little is known about closure of left-to-right PDA with concurrent pulmonary hypertension (PH). This report describes three dogs presenting with varying severity of PH and clinical signs, all with documented left-to-right PDA. The PDA was closed in each case; either by surgical ligation or transarterial device occlusion, and follow up was available for a minimum of 8 months.

Electrical cardioversion of sustained ventricular tachycardia in three Boxers.

Case Description: 2 spayed female (8 and 9 years old) and 1 sexually intact male (6.5 years old) Boxers were treated because of sustained ventricular tachycardia by electrical cardioversion.

Clinical Findings: Physical examination of the 8-year-old female Boxer revealed tachycardia (heart rate, 250 beats/min), weak femoral pulses, pale mucous membranes, panting, and lethargy.

Assessment of serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentration for differentiation of congestive heart failure from primary respiratory tract disease as the cause of respiratory signs in dogs.

Objective: To determine whether serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration is useful in discriminating between cardiac and noncardiac (ie, primary respiratory tract disease) causes of respiratory signs (ie, coughing, stertor, stridor, excessive panting, increased respiratory effort, tachypnea, or overt respiratory distress) in dogs.

Design: Multicenter cross-sectional study.

Animals: P 115 dogs with respiratory signs.

Evaluation of pacing site in dogs with naturally occurring complete heart block.

Objective: To compare left ventricular synchronization and systolic performance with transvenous pacing of the right ventricular apex (RVA), left ventricular free wall (LVF) or simultaneous pacing of the RVA and LVF (BiV).

Animals, Materials And Methods: Seven canine patients with complete heart block. Prospective study evaluating effect of pacing site.

Effect of routine cardiovascular catheterization on cardiac troponin I concentration in dogs.

Objective: To determine changes in cardiac troponin I concentration (cTnI) associated with cardiovascular catheterization in dogs.

Animals, Materials And Methods: cTnI was measured after transarterial coil embolization of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), balloon valvuloplasty (BV), and pacemaker implantation (PACE). Dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy (OHE) were used as a control, with 15 animals in each group.

Evaluation of the effects of transvenous pacing site on left ventricular function and synchrony in healthy anesthetized dogs.

OBJECTIVE-To compare the acute effects of cardiac pacing from various transvenous pacing sites on left ventricular (LV) function and synchrony in clinically normal dogs. ANIMALS-10 healthy adult mixed-breed dogs. PROCEDURES-Dogs were anesthetized, and dual-chamber transvenous biventricular pacing systems were implanted.

Carvedilol in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by reduced systolic function, heightened sympathetic tone, and high morbidity and mortality. Little is known regarding the safety and efficacy of beta-blocker treatment in dogs with DCM.

Hypothesis: Carvedilol improves echocardiographic and neurohormonal variables in dogs with DCM over a 4-month treatment period.

Safety and feasibility of transesophageal pacing in a dog.

This study investigated the feasibility of using a modified transesophageal atrial pacing system for dogs requiring temporary ventricular pacing. Atrial pacing was readily achieved in the one dog studied, but it caused considerable diaphragmatic movement. Ventricular pacing could not be achieved at any lead configuration or energy stimulation.

Distinguishing cardiac and noncardiac dyspnea in 48 dogs using plasma atrial natriuretic factor, B-type natriuretic factor, endothelin, and cardiac troponin-I.

Background: It is challenging to differentiate congestive heart failure (CHF) from noncardiac cause of dyspnea.

Hypothesis: Circulating concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin-I (ET-1), and cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) can be used to help distinguish between cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea in dogs.

Animals: Forty-eight client-owned dogs admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital for respiratory distress.

Cardiac evaluation of anesthetized Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi).

Objective: To determine ECG and echocardiographic measurements in healthy anesthetized Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi).

Animals: 20 healthy zebras.

Procedures: Auscultation, base-apex ECG, and echocardiography were performed on anesthetized zebras.

Correlation of mitochondrial protein expression in complexes I to V with natural and induced forms of canine idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objective: To identify qualitative and quantitative differences in cardiac mitochondrial protein expression in complexes I to V between healthy dogs and dogs with natural or induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Sample Population: Left ventricle samples were obtained from 7 healthy dogs, 7 Doberman Pinschers with naturally occurring DCM, and 7 dogs with DCM induced by rapid right ventricular pacing.

Procedures: Fresh and frozen mitochondrial fractions were isolated from the left ventricular free wall and analyzed by 2-dimensional electrophoresis.

Characterization of canine mitochondrial protein expression in natural and induced forms of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objective: To map canine mitochondrial proteins and identify qualitative and quantitative differences in heart mitochondrial protein expression between healthy dogs and dogs with naturally occurring and induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Sample Population: Left ventricle samples were obtained from 7 healthy dogs, 7 Doberman Pinschers with naturally occurring DCM, and 7 dogs with induced DCM.

Procedures: Fresh and frozen mitochondrial fractions were isolated from the left ventricular free wall and analyzed by 2-dimensional electrophoresis.

Vocal tract area functions to assist in determining voiced epochs in esophageal speech.

Esophageal talkers may have reduced intelligibility due to both time domain and frequency domain variability. The unpredictable nature of esophageal speech can cause problems when automatic procedures are used in applications such as long-distance telephone messages. The current study compared a standard coding algorithm (LPC-10e) with a novel approach to determining voiced periods (vocal tract area functions) in the speech of esophageal talkers.

Plasma endothelin-1 immunoreactivity in normal dogs and dogs with acquired heart disease.

We sought to measure plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentrations in normal dogs and to compare them with those measured in dogs with acquired heart disease with or without pulmonary edema. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit was validated and used to measure ET-1 immunoreactivity in plasma samples obtained from 32 normal dogs and 46 dogs with either dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, n = 27) or degenerative valvular disease (CDVD, n = 19) with (n = 30) or without (n = 16) overt congestive heart failure (CHF). Plasma ET-1 concentrations (geometric mean, 95% confidence interval of geometric mean) were 1.

Measurements of plasma endothelin immunoreactivity in healthy cats and cats with cardiomyopathy.

Plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1), the most potent endogenous pressor substance discovered to date, are abnormally high in humans with congestive heart failure (CHF), and they correlate with the degree of functional impairment. We sought first to validate a human sandwich ELISA kit that targets that portion of the amino acid sequence that is identical in cats. The assay demonstrated linearity (R2 = .