Background: Vibroacoustic disease (VAD) is a systematic pathology characterized by the abnormal growth of extra-cellular matrices in the absence of infl ammatory processes, namely collagen and elastin, both of which are abundant in the basement membrane zone of the vocal folds. VAD can develop due to long-term exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noise (ILFN, <500 Hz). Mendes et al. (2006Mendes et al. ( , 2008 revealed that ILFN-exposed males and females presented an increased fundamental frequency (F 0 ), decreased jitter %, and reduced maximum phonation frequency range, when compared with normative data. Temporal measures of maximum phonation time and S/Z ratio were generally reduced. Study Aims: Herein, the same voice acoustic parameters of 48 males, 36 airline pilots and 12 cabin crewmembers (age range 25-60 years) were studied, and the effects and interaction of age and years of ILFN exposure were investigated within those parameters. ILFN-exposure time (i.e. years of professional activity) ranged from 3.5 to 36 years. Materials and Methods: Spoken and sung phonatory tasks were recorded with a DA-P1 Tascam DAT and a C420III PP AKG head-worn microphone, positioned at 3 cm from the mouth. Acoustic analyses were performed using KayPENTAX Computer Speech Lab and Multi-Dimensional Voice Program. Results: Results revealed that even though pilots and cabin crewmembers were exposed to occupational environments with distinct (ILFN-rich) acoustical frequency distributions and sound pressure levels, differences in the vocal acoustic parameters were not evident. Analyzing data from both professional groups (N = 48) revealed that F 0 increased signifi cantly with the number of years of professional activity. Conclusion: These results strongly suggest that the number of years of professional activity (i.e. total ILFN exposure time) had a signifi cant effect on F 0 . Furthermore, they may refl ect the histological changes specifi cally observed on the vocal folds of ILFN-exposed professionals.
This paper describes the project I Aware my Stuttering, which is a system with a focus on a mobile application for smartphones directed to people who stutter. This software will allow users to register their stuttering related situations, registering, for example, the contexts in which they occur, the interlocutors and their reactions to the situations, and the emotions felt. The application provides a reporting module that includes charts to help visualizing how stuttering situations evolve according to several features. It will help promote daily self-monitoring of speech as a means of controlling stuttering, being personalized according to the user profile. The system also offers a module for the speech therapist, which can monitor and receive reports related to users which are her/his patients. This collected data will improve the therapeutic process by enhancing discussion about registers performed immediately after a real context situation. Additionally, this paper presents a first user study conducted to assess and validate the project's purpose and the central module for registration of stuttering related situations.
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