Classification of speech nasality of individuals with cleft lip and palate with distinct ordinal scales.

Purpose: To investigate whether there is a difference in the classification of speech hypernasality by inexperienced listeners using different ordinal scales; to verify the agreement of the listeners in the analyses when using these scales; and to verify whether the order in which the scales are presented influences the results.

Methods: Twenty Speech-Language Pathology students classified the degrees of hypernasality of 40 (oral) samples from patients with cleft lip and palate. Ten performed the classifications using a 4-point scale (absent, mild, moderate, and severe) and, after two weeks, using a 3-point scale (absent, slightly hypernasal, and very hypernasal).

Acoustic Measurements Through the Life Span: Jitter, Shimmer, and Standard Deviation of Fundamental Frequency.

Objective: To verify changes in acoustic parameters, namely jitter, shimmer, and standard deviation of the fundamental frequency (dp f), through the life span of vocally healthy Brazilian Portuguese speakers.

Method: In total, 526 voice recordings of subjects without complaints and without vocal disorders, aged between 5 and 93 years old, were included. The recordings were divided into 12 age groups (5 to 7, 8 to 9, 10 to 11, 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 18, 19 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70 to 93 years old).

Structural dynamics of calcium and integrin-binding protein 2 (CIB2) reveal uncommon flexibility and heterogeneous calcium and magnesium loading.

Calcium- and Integrin-Binding protein 2 (CIB2) is a widely expressed protein with an uncertain biological role. Two of its four EF-hand motifs bind Mg(II) and/or Ca(II), thus triggering conformational changes. Although previous studies suggested that CIB2 preferentially binds Mg(II) over Ca(II) under physiological conditions, an atomic level characterization of CIB2 in the presence of both cations was lacking.

Perceived hand size and perceived hand weight.

The dimensions of objects and our body parts influence our perception of the weight of objects in our surroundings. It has been recently described a dramatic underestimation of the perceived weight of the hand. However, little is known on how perceived size informs the perceived weight of our own body parts.