The present study aimed to investigate the effects of different-sized nasogastric tubes on swallowing speed and function in 10 young normal volunteers. Using X-ray visualization, liquid barium swallows were recorded on video (videofluoroscopy) under three experimental conditions: no nasogastric tube, fine-bore nasogastric tube, and wide-bore nasogastric tube. Nasogastric tubes slowed swallowing but did not alter swallowing function, namely bolus transit and clearance, and airway protection. The presence of a wide-bore nasogastric tube caused significant duration changes in several swallowing measures, namely duration of stage transition, duration of pharyngeal response, duration of pharyngeal transit, and duration of upper esophageal sphincter opening. Similar trends were seen for the fine-bore tube. The implications for nonoral feeding of patients with swallowing disorders are discussed.

Early development has been the focus of considerable research in the past few decades.However, only minimal information has been obtained on the phonological developmentamong the speakers of Southern African indigenous languages, most particularly Xhosa.

This study is based on corpus collected from 10 Xhosa-speaking children aged J 2 to 36months, for the period of J2 months, recording their spontaneous vocalisations. Languageand speech acquisition of Xhosa does not seem to follow the patterns of many Indo Europeanlanguages studied. Xhosa possesses a large repertoire of phenomenon, such as clicks, whichare unknown in other languages. The similarities and differences in existing data on otherlanguages and their significance for professions such as Speech-Therapy and Education areidentified and discussed.

Die afgelope paar dekades het 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid navorsing die fokus veral op vroeetaalontwikkeling laat val. Baie min inligting is egter ingewin oor die fonologieseontwikkeling van sprekers van die inheemse tale van Suidelike Afrika, veral van Xhosa.

Die artikel gee in hooflrekke 'n oorsig oor navorsing wat oor 'n tydperk van J2 maande op10 Xhosasprekende kinders tussen die ouderdomme 12 en 36 maande gedoen is. Diespontane klankuitinge van die kinders is gedurende hierdie tydperk opgeneem. Dievoorlopige bevindinge gee te kenne dat dit nie lyk asof taalverwerwing van uitlatings inXhosa dieselfde patrone volg as baie Indo-Europese tale wat bestudeer is nie. Xhosa het 'nlrye repertoire verskynsels, soos klikgeluide, wat onbekend is in Indo-Europese tale.

Hierdie artikel identifiseer en bespreek ooreenkomste en verskille wat tydens hierdienavorsing vasgestel is asook bestaande data oor ander tale. Dit dui ook op die belang vanhierdie navorsing vir professies soos Spraakterapie en die Onderlrys.

Cochlear implantation is an expensive but effective lifelong intervention for individuals with a severe-to-profound hearing loss. The primary aim of this study was to survey the short-and long-term costs of cochlear implantation. Individuals (N=154) using cochlear implants obtained from the University of Stellenbosch-Tygerberg Hospital Cochlear Implant Unit in Cape Town, South Africa were surveyed using a questionnaire and patient record review. The questionnaire used a combination of closed and open-ended questions to gather both quantitative and qualitative information. Costs were categorised as short-and long-term costs. All costs were converted to constant rands (June 2010) using the Consumer Price Index to allow for comparison in real terms over time. In the first 10 years of implantation the average estimated costs incurred by adults totalled R379 626, and by children R455 225. The initial purchase of the implant system was the most substantial cost, followed by upgrading of the processor. Travel and accommodation costs peaked in the first 2 years. On average the participants spent R2 550 per year on batteries and spares. Rehabilitation for children cost an average of R7 200. Insurance costs averaged R4 040 per year, and processor repairs R3 000 each. In addition to the upfront expense of obtaining the cochlear implant system, individuals using a cochlear implant in South Africa should be prepared for the long-term costs of maintenance, accessing the unit, support services and additional costs associated with use. Knowledge of these costs is important to ensure that individuals are successful users of their cochlear implants in the long term.

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Tuomi, S. K. (1993). Evaluation of the effectiveness of voice therapy with a male-to-female transsexual subject. Scand J Log Phon, 18: 105-109.The benefits of voice therapy with a 44-year-old male-to-female transsexual subject were investigated. Voice therapy was aimed at increasing the subject's fundamental trequcncy to approximatc that of a female's. Spectrographic analysis revealed that the subject's average fundamental frequency increased from 100.7 Hz to 135.4 Hz.Perceptual analysis of the subject's voice, by a group of raters, indicated that after thcrapy, her' voice sounded less masculine and more feminine than before therapy. The results and their implications are discussed, particularly in light of the structural constraints of the male larynx on the success of voice therapy.

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This study attempted to define perceptually salient characteristics in the voices of 30 young adult females, as perceived by female and male listeners. The listeners were asked to rate the voices on 20 individual seven point semantic differential scales representing unique vocal features. The ratings were subjected to factor analysis involving both orthogonal and oblique rotation of the data. Both groups of listeners identified two similar factors, one of which appeared to describe "passive", traditionally feminine characteristics such as soft, gentle, sweet and feminine while the other consisted of "active" characteristics such as lively, colourful, interesting, and sexy. The female listeners found the "active" characteristics more salient while the male listeners preferred the "passive" characteristics. Interestingly the stereotyped association of lowness and breathiness with sexiness was not found in this study. Implications of the results for future voice research are discussed.

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