Effectiveness of Temporal Auditory Skills Training Associated With Conventional Auditory Training in the Auditory-Perceptual Judgment of Voice: Preliminary Data.

Objective: To verify whether there are differences in the performance and reliability of speech-language-hearing students between the moments of auditory-perceptual judgment (APJ) of voice before and after temporal auditory skills training and conventional auditory-perceptual training (APT).

Methods: Both trainings were applied to 30 speech-language pathology students, with the following stages: 1-Initial APJ of the general grade (GG), breathiness (GB), and roughness (GR) with 30 samples of the sustained vowel [Ɛ], plus 20% of repetitions (six samples), analyzed with a visual analog scale; 2-Temporal auditory skills training on the online platform Afinando o Cérebro, with a total duration of 4 hours; 3-APJ of GG, GR, and GB after training in Afinando o Cérebro; 4-APT in the classroom with a total duration of 6 hours; 5-APJ of GG, GR, and GB after APT.

Results: There was a significant difference in the students' performance in the APJ of GG after the training.

Different Performances of Machine Learning Models to Classify Dysphonic and Non-Dysphonic Voices.

Objective: To analyze the performance of 10 different machine learning (ML) classifiers for discrimination between dysphonic and non-dysphonic voices, using a variance threshold as a method for the selection and reduction of acoustic measurements used in the classifier.

Method: We analyzed 435 samples of individuals (337 female and 98 male), with a mean age of 41.07 ± 13.

Recognition of the Effect of Vocal Exercises by Fuzzy Triangular Naive Bayes, a Machine Learning Classifier: A Preliminary Analysis.

Objectives: Machine learning (ML) methods allow the development of expert systems for pattern recognition and predictive analysis of intervention outcomes. It has been used in Voice Sciences, mainly to discriminate between healthy and dysphonic voices. Parameter patterns of vocal acoustic analysis and vocal perceptual assessment can be evaluated by ML classifiers, such as the Fuzzy Triangular Naive Bayes (FTriangNB), after using techniques that improve the vocal quality of individuals with healthy or dysphonic voices.

Performance of Acoustic Measures for the Discrimination Among Healthy, Rough, Breathy, and Strained Voices Using the Feedforward Neural Network.

Objective: To identify and evaluate the best set of acoustic measures to discriminate among healthy, rough, breathy, and strained voices.

Methods: This study used the vocal samples of the sustained /ε/ vowel from 251 patients with the vocal complaints, among which 51, 80, 63, and 57 patients exhibited healthy, rough, breathy, and strained voices, respectively. Twenty-two acoustic measures were extracted, and feature selection was applied to reduce the number of combinations of acoustic measures and obtain an optimal subset of measures according to the information gain attribute ranking algorithm.

A new combination rule for Spatial Decision Support Systems for epidemiology.

Background: Decision making in the health area usually involves several factors, options and data. In addition, it should take into account technological, social and spatial aspects, among others. Decision making methodologies need to address this set of information , and there is a small group of them with focus on epidemiological purposes, in particular Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS).

Methylation profile of the ADRB3 gene and its association with lipid profile and nutritional status in adults.

Background: Defects in DNA methylation have been shown to be associated with metabolic diseases such as obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypercholesterolemia. To analyze the methylation profile of the ADRB3 gene and correlate it with lipid profile, lipid intake, and oxidative stress based on malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), homocysteine and folic acid levels, nutritional status, lifestyle, and socioeconomic variables in an adult population. A cross-sectional epidemiological study representative of the East and West regions of the municipality of João Pessoa, Paraíba state, Brazil, enrolled 265 adults of both genders.

Decrease of the DNA methylation levels of the ADRB3 gene in leukocytes is related with serum folate in eutrophic adults.

Background: DNA methylation has been evidenced as a potential epigenetic mechanism related to various candidate genes to development of obesity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the DNA methylation levels of the ADRB3 gene by body mass index (BMI) in a representative adult population, besides characterizing this population as to the lipid profile, oxidative stress and food intake.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional population-based study, involving 262 adults aged 20-59 years, of both genders, representative of the East and West regions of the municipality of João Pessoa, Paraíba state, Brazil, in that were evaluated lifestyle variables and performed nutritional, biochemical evaluation and DNA methylation levels of the ADRB3 gene using high resolution melting method.

Influence of the C677T Polymorphism of the Gene on Oxidative Stress in Women With Overweight or Obesity: Response to a Dietary Folate Intervention.

The C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene () is related to folate metabolism and can alter the levels of biochemical markers.: Investigate the influence of the C677T polymorphism on the effects of a dietary folate intervention on oxidative stress in women with overweight or obesity.: Forty-eight adult women with overweight or obesity were subjected to a 24-hour dietary recall, anthropometric measurements, biochemical analysis, and genotyping of the C677T polymorphism.

Effect of a diet containing folate and hazelnut oil capsule on the methylation level of the gene, lipid profile and oxidative stress in overweight or obese women.

Background: Studies of genes that play an important role in the development of obesity are needed, especially studies focusing on genes that regulate food intake and affect nutrient metabolism. For example, the beta-3 adrenergic receptor () responds to noradrenaline and mediates lipolysis in adipocytes.

Methods: This was a controlled intervention study involving 40 overweight and obese adult women in which food intake, anthropometric measurements, biochemical analyses, and methylation levels of the gene were evaluated before and after intervention.

BMI, overweight status and obesity adjusted by various factors in all age groups in the population of a city in Northeastern Brazil.

Objective: In Brazil, demographic, socioeconomic and epidemiological changes over time have led to a transition in nutritional standards, resulting in a gradual reduction of malnutrition and an increased prevalence of overweight and obese individuals, similar to the situation in developed countries in previous decades. This study assessed the body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of an overweight status and obesity, adjusted for various factors, in a population in northeastern Brazil including all age groups.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study using single sampling procedure composed of levels.

Association between waist-to-height ratio, isolated and combined morbidities and C-reactive protein in the elderly: a clinical-epidemiological study.

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the elderly (considering their most prevalent morbidities and lifestyles), to investigate the relationship between this anthropometric index and the presence of the most prevalent morbidities (isolated or combined), and to identify which morbidities (analyzed individually) would have greater associations with WHtR. This cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study of a stratified sampling comprised 170 elderly individuals between 60 and 90 years of age (both genders). Home visits were used to administer questionnaires and to perform anthropometric measurements and blood collection.

Association between obesity and calcium:phosphorus ratio in the habitual diets of adults in a city of Northeastern Brazil: an epidemiological study.

Background: Low calcium:phosphorus ratios (Ca:P ratio) in habitual diet have been observed worldwide, and it has been shown to be harmful to the bone health of the population. However, no study associating this ratio with obesity was found. Thus, considering that the intake of calcium and phosphorus will generate a ratio between them, which may be associated with obesity, this research seeks at evaluating the relation between obesity and the Ca:P ratio in the habitual diet of adults.

Relationship between hemoglobin, serum retinol and habitual meat consumption in the elderly: a population-based study.

Considering the scarcity of data on the relationship between hemoglobin, serum retinol and habitual meat consumption in the elderly, a cross-sectional population-based study was performed, which was representative of the population of a state capital in Northeastern Brazil, including 176 elderly aged between 60 and 90 years, who responded to questionnaires about habitual food consumption and socioeconomic aspects. Blood counts and serum retinol analyses were carried out. The prevalence of anemia was 9.

Relation between glucose levels, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), body mass index (BMI) and serum and dietary retinol in elderly in population-based study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between fasting glucose levels, hs-CRP, BMI and serum retinol and diet in elderly people. For this study, a cross-sectional, epidemiological, population-based format was adopted. One hundred and sixty-three individuals between 60 and 90 years of age participated; the participants were from different socioeconomic and health backgrounds, except for the individuals diagnosed with diabetes.

Online training evaluation in VR simulators using Gaussian Mixture Models.

A new approach to evaluate training in simulators based on virtual reality is proposed. This approach uses Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) for modeling and classification of the simulation in pre-defined classes of training.