Effects of Vibratory Source on Auditory-Perceptual and Bio-Inspired Computational Measures of Pediatric Voice Quality.

Objective: The vibratory source for voicing in children with dysphonia is classified into three categories including a glottal vibratory source (GVS) observed in those with vocal lesions or hyperfunction; supraglottal vibratory sources (SGVS) observed secondary to laryngeal airway injuries, malformations, or reconstruction surgeries; and a combination of both glottal and supraglottal vibratory sources called mixed vibratory source (MVS). This study evaluated the effects of vibratory source on three primary dimensions of voice quality (breathiness, roughness, and strain) in children with GVS, SGVS, and MVS using single-variable matching tasks and computational measures obtained from bio-inspired auditory models.

Methods: A total of 44 dysphonic voice samples from children aged 4-11 years were selected.

Nasalance Scores for Normal Speakers of American English Obtained by the Nasometer II Using the MacKay-Kummer SNAP-R Test.

Objective: To establish nasalance score norms for adolescent and young adult native speakers of American English and also determine age-group and gender differences using the Simplified Nasometric Assessment Procedures (SNAP) Test-R and Nasometer II.

Design: Prospective study using a randomly selected sample of participants.

Setting: Greater Cincinnati area and Miami University of Ohio.

Endoscopic Findings in Male Prepubertal Choir Singers.

Objectives/hypothesis: The male singing voice through puberty undergoes many changes that present challenges for the singer and choral director. The purpose of this study was to discuss the endoscopic findings seen in prepubescent choir singers.

Study Design: Single-institution prospective study.

Perceptual Measures of Boychoir Voices During the Phases of Pubertal Voice Mutation.

Background/objectives: Vocal changes in the male singing voice associated with puberty are variable and often unpredictable resulting in challenges for the singer and the choral director. Limited knowledge regarding the physiologic changes in the vocal mechanism as they correlate to perceptual variations observed in the male adolescent singer exists in the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine pitch breaks and perceptual characteristics of vocal quality during singing tasks for boys in various stages of the male changing voice.

Influence of preoperative voice assessment on treatment plan prior to airway surgery.

Objectives/hypothesis: Voice quality has emerged as an additional long-term outcome measure for patients with a history of airway surgery. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of preoperative voice assessment on the surgical management of patients who required complex airway surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Feasibility of Clinical Endoscopy and Stroboscopy in Children With Bilateral Vocal Fold Lesions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of flexible and rigid endoscopy and stroboscopy for the identification of anatomical and physiological features in children with bilateral vocal fold lesions. The secondary purpose was to describe the age distribution of patients who could tolerate use of the different types of endoscopes.

Method: This cross-sectional clinic-based study included 38 children (ages 5 to 12 years) diagnosed with bilateral vocal fold lesions via videoendoscopy.

Examining the Impact of Video Modeling Techniques on the Efficacy of Clinical Voice Assessment.

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not presenting patients with a video model improves efficacy of the assessment as defined by efficiency and decreased variability in trials during the acoustic component of voice evaluations.

Methods: Twenty pediatric participants with a mean age of 7.6 years (SD = 1.

Assessment of Vibratory Characteristics in Children Following Airway Reconstruction Using Flexible and Rigid Endoscopy and Stroboscopy.

Importance: Up to half of children have substantial dysphonia after airway reconstruction. Visual assessment of vocal function is valuable. Feasibility of flexible and rigid endoscopy has been reported; however, the clinical utility of stroboscopy has not been examined.

Reported vocal habits of first-year undergraduate musical theater majors in a preprofessional training program: a 10-year retrospective study.

Objective: Collegiate-level musical theater performance students are a specialized group of vocal performers, who rely on frequent and optimal voice use for their academic advancement and ultimate livelihood. The purpose of this study was to gather information to develop a greater understanding of vocal health and practice patterns of incoming collegiate-level musical theater performers.

Study Design: Data obtained from questionnaires completed by freshman musical theater majors were retrospectively analyzed to gather information about baseline vocal habits of the participants.

Association of maternal and nutrient supply line factors with DNA methylation at the imprinted IGF2/H19 locus in multiple tissues of newborn twins.

Epigenetic events are crucial for early development, but can be influenced by environmental factors, potentially programming the genome for later adverse health outcomes. The insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2)/H19 locus is crucial for prenatal growth and the epigenetic state at this locus is environmentally labile. Recent studies have implicated maternal factors, including folate intake and smoking, in the regulation of DNA methylation at this locus, although data are often conflicting in the direction and magnitude of effect.

Decreased cortical muscarinic M1 receptors in schizophrenia are associated with changes in gene promoter methylation, mRNA and gene targeting microRNA.

Many studies have shown decreased cortical muscarinic M1 receptors (CHRM1) in schizophrenia (Sz), with one study showing Sz can be separated into two populations based on a marked loss of CHRM1 (-75%) in -25% of people (Def-Sz) with the disorder. To better understand the mechanism contributing to the loss of CHRM1 in Def-Sz, we measured specific markers of gene expression in the cortex of people with Sz as a whole, people differentiated into Def-Sz and people with Sz that do not have a deficit in cortical CHRM1 (Non-Def-Sz) and health controls. We now report that cortical CHRM1 gene promoter methylation and CHRM1 mRNA are decrease in Sz, Def-Sz and Non-Def-Sz but levels of the micro RNA (miR)-107, a CHRM1 targeting miR, are increased only in Def-Sz.

Pediatric normative data for the KayPENTAX phonatory aerodynamic system model 6600.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) establish a preliminary pediatric normative database for the KayPENTAX Phonatory Aerodynamic System (PAS) Model 6600 (KayPENTAX Corp, Montvale, NJ) and (2) identify whether the data obtained were age- and/or gender-dependent.

Study Design: Prospective data collection across groups.

Methods: A sample of 60 children (30 females and 30 males) with normal voices was divided into three age groups (6.

An examination of elicitation method on fundamental frequency and repeatability of average airflow measures in children age 4:0-5:11 years.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of task type on fundamental frequency (F(0)) and the short-term repeatability of average airflow values in preschool/kindergarten-age children.

Study Design: Prospective, experimental.

Methods: Thirty healthy children (age 4.

Update on pediatric voice and airway disorders: assessment and care.

Purpose Of Review: To investigate the status of the recent literature focused on studying the assessment and treatment of pediatric voice and airway disorders using both established and novel techniques.

Recent Findings: Recent research regarding voice assessment and treatment reveals the use of systematic and innovative approaches when collecting instrumental and perceptual voice data. There are recent advancements in certain surgical interventions designed to minimize complications.

Comparison of the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index with perceptual voice analysis in pediatric patients with vocal fold lesions.

Objective: To compare a subjective patient/family-derived voice handicap survey with an expert observer-derived method of evaluating voice disturbance in pediatric patients with vocal fold lesions (VFLs).

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Tertiary care referral center.

Voice outcomes following adult cricotracheal resection.

Objectives: Cricotracheal resection (CTR) is an effective treatment for moderate-to-severe laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) in adults. However, one of the potentially significant sequela of this procedure is postoperative dysphonia and permanent voice alteration. The objective of this study is to characterize voice changes in adult patients with subglottic stenosis who have undergone CTR.

Characterization of supraglottic phonation in children after airway reconstruction.

Objectives: We examined select acoustic (signal type), aerodynamic, and perceptual measures and associated surgical data in a cohort of children who were endoscopically identified as using supraglottic phonation after undergoing airway reconstruction.

Methods: Twenty-one children (4 to 18 years of age) who were seen in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for Pediatric Voice Disorders and identified as using supraglottic phonation were included in this study. According to standard protocol, each of these children underwent acoustic, aerodynamic, and perceptual analyses and laryngeal imaging.

Comparison of pediatric voice handicap index scores with perceptual voice analysis in patients following airway reconstruction.

Objectives: We performed a retrospective review to compare a subjective parental proxy-derived voice handicap survey to an observer-derived method of measuring voice perturbation in children who have undergone airway reconstruction. The main outcome measures were the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI) total score and the Overall Severity score on the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V).

Methods: The percent Overall Severity CAPE-V score (score divided by 100) and the percent pVHI score (score divided by 92) were calculated.

Wheel running and environmental enrichment differentially modify exon-specific BDNF expression in the hippocampus of wild-type and pre-motor symptomatic male and female Huntington's disease mice.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an essential neurotrophin and regulation of its expression is complex due to multiple 5' untranslated exons which are separately spliced to a common coding exon to form unique mRNA transcripts. Disruption of BDNF gene expression is a key to the development of symptoms in Huntington's disease (HD), a fatal neurodegenerative condition. Abnormal epigenetic modifications are associated with reduced gene expression in late-stage HD but such regulation of BDNF gene expression has yet to be investigated.

Aerodynamic and acoustic assessment in children following airway reconstruction: an assessment of feasibility.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of conducting aerodynamic and acoustic assessment in children following airway reconstruction. Underlying etiologies, co-morbidities and age related factors can present challenges for meaningful instrumental data collection in this population.

Methods: A chart review of 100 children who were seen for a complete voice evaluation at the Center for Pediatric Voice Disorders at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center was conducted.

Perceptual evaluation of severe pediatric voice disorders: rater reliability using the consensus auditory perceptual evaluation of voice.

The purpose of this nonrandomized prospective study was to quantify the inter- and intrarater reliability of experienced speech-language pathologist's perceptual ratings of voice in pediatric patients post-laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR). Moderate to severe dysphonia is common in this population. Using the sentence portion of the Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation-Voice (CAPE-V) rating scale, three experienced speech-language pathologists independently rated randomized voice samples of 50 participants ages 4-20 years, who had acquired or congenital airway conditions requiring at least one LTR on the six salient perceptual vocal attributes.

Aerodynamic changes as a result of vocal function exercises in elderly men.

Objectives/hypothesis: Voice therapy can improve the vocal quality of elderly patients with voice problems, but the changes in vocal aerodynamics associated with physiologic voice therapy are not well documented. The purpose of the present study was to determine the changes in vocal aerodynamics as a result of the management program known as Vocal Function Exercises (VFEs).

Study Design: Pre- and post-treatment differences in VFE maximum phonation times (MPT) and measures of vocal aerodynamics were analyzed.

Methylation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in human placenta and hypermethylation in choriocarcinoma cells.

Methylation of the human APC gene promoter is associated with several different types of cancers and has also been documented in some pre-cancerous tissues. We have examined the methylation of APC gene promoters in human placenta and choriocarcinoma cells. This revealed a general hypomethylation of the APC-1b promoter and a pattern with monoallelic methylation of the APC-1a promoter in full term placental tissue.

The effect of task type on fundamental frequency in children.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of task type on the fundamental frequency (F(0)) produced by young children. Fundamental frequency is a parameter which describes the rate of vocal fold vibration. The influence of task type on F(0) values is important for health professionals designing and implementing assessment protocols for children with voice disorders.

Vibratory source, vocal quality and fundamental frequency following pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Objective: Surgeons who perform pediatric laryngotracheal reconstruction (LTR) have traditionally measured outcomes based on successful airway restoration. Additional information regarding post-surgical vocal function may help guide outcomes toward optimal voice. This investigation documented the relationship between the site of vocal tract vibratory source (glottic versus supraglottic versus mixed) and vocal function in children following LTR.