• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.57-66
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• 2021

This study focuses on the issue of automatic severity classification of dysarthric speakers based on speech intelligibility. Speech intelligibility is a complex measure that is affected by the features of multiple speech dimensions. However, most previous studies are restricted to using features from a single speech dimension. To effectively capture the characteristics of the speech disorder, we extracted features of multiple speech dimensions: voice quality, prosody, and pronunciation. Voice quality consists of jitter, shimmer, Harmonic to Noise Ratio (HNR), number of voice breaks, and degree of voice breaks. Prosody includes speech rate (total duration, speech duration, speaking rate, articulation rate), pitch (F0 mean/std/min/max/med/25quartile/75 quartile), and rhythm (%V, deltas, Varcos, rPVIs, nPVIs). Pronunciation contains Percentage of Correct Phonemes (Percentage of Correct Consonants/Vowels/Total phonemes) and degree of vowel distortion (Vowel Space Area, Formant Centralized Ratio, Vowel Articulatory Index, F2-Ratio). Experiments were conducted using various feature combinations. The experimental results indicate that using features from all three speech dimensions gives the best result, with a 80.15 F1-score, compared to using features from just one or two speech dimensions. The result implies voice quality, prosody, and pronunciation features should all be considered in automatic severity classification of dysarthria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2011

Background and Objectives : The aim of this study is to introduce Korea version of pediatric VHI and to compare pVHI-K scores between children with dysphonia and children without voice problems before pVHI-K is developed as a preliminary study. Additionally, the relationship between pVHI and acoustic measures were investigated. Materials and Methods : pVHI-K scores in normal group were obtained from 15 parents who have children with no present or past history of a voice disorder, hearing loss, or related disability that can affect the their voice or speech. Dysphonia group consisted of 15 parents who have children with bilateral vocal fold nodule's at Department of Otolaryngology, the Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH). pVHI-K and acoustic parameters were measured in two group. Results : The mean pVHI scores (total, functional, physical, emotional) in normal group were 2.33 (T), 0.80 (F) 1.33 (P) and 0.27 (E), respectively whereas those of pVHI in children group with dysphonia were 23.13 (T), 11.07 (F), 5.73 (P) and 6.13 (E), respectively and significant differences were revealed in total pVHI score as well as in all of the sub-pVHI scores. Moreover, significant correlation between pVHI-K parameters (T, F, P) and acoustic measures [Shimmer(%)] were shown in children in dysphonia group. Conclusion : Reported by parents can be useful as a supplementary clinical tool for diagnosing and measuring treatment effectiveness in young children with dysphonia.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.81-90
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• 2023

Auditory perceptual assessment and acoustic analysis are commonly used in clinical practice for voice evaluation. This study aims to explore the effects of speech task context on auditory perceptual assessment and acoustic measures in patients with voice disorders. Sustained vowel phonations (/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /ɯ/, /ʌ/) and connected speech (a standardized paragraph 'kaeul' and nine sub-sentences) were obtained from a total of 22 patients with voice disorders. GRBAS ('G', 'R', 'B', 'A', 'S') and CAPE-V ('OS', 'R', 'B', 'S', 'P', 'L') auditory-perceptual assessment were evaluated by two certified speech language pathologists specializing in voice disorders using blind and random voice samples. Additionally, spectral and cepstral measures were analyzed using the analysis of dysphonia in speech and voice model (ADSV).When assessing voice quality with the GRBAS scale, it was not significantly affected by the vowel type except for 'B', while the 'OS', 'R' and 'B' in CAPE-V were affected by the vowel type (p<.05). In addition, measurements of CPP and L/H ratio were influenced by vowel types and sentence positions. CPP values in the standard paragraph showed significant negative correlations with all vowels, with the highest correlation observed for /e/ vowel (r=-.739). The CPP of the second sentence had the strongest correlation with all vowels. Depending on the speech stimulus, CAPE-V may have a greater impact on auditory-perceptual assessment than GRBAS, vowel types and sentence position with consonants influenced the 'B' scale, CPP, and L/H ratio. When using vowels in the voice assessment of patients with voice disorders, it would be beneficial to use not only /a/, but also the vowel /i/, which is acoustically highly correlated with 'breathy'. In addition, the /e/ vowel was highly correlated acoustically with the standardized passage and sub-sentences. Furthermore, given that most dysphonic signals are aperiodic, 2nd sentence of the 'kaeul' passage, which is the most acoustically correlated with all vowels, can be used with CPP. These results provide clinical evidence of the impact of speech tasks on auditory perceptual and acoustic measures, which may help to provide guidelines for voice evaluation in patients with voice disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 1999

Background and Objectives : The common cause of voice disorders may be bad habits of phonation. faulty vocal habits might aggravate the voice disorder or make the dysphonia. Authors thought the analysis of faulty vocal habits might help to evaluate the causes and to choose the treatment methods in patients with dysphonia. Authors studied to evaluate which vocal habits were used in patients with dysphonia. Materials and Methods : Patients with dysphonia(N= 32) and person without dysphonia(N=20) were evaluated through pre-evaluation test by otolaryngologist and SLP. All subjects were evaluated accordingly Posture of body, expansion of cervical vein, excessive movements of thyroide prominence, position of tongue, tension of lower lip, tension of jaw, breathing pattern related with phonation. Results : In dysphonia group, we found 23 cases with tension of jaw, 15 cases with expansion of cervical vein, 7 cases with bad position of tongue, 3 cases with excessive movement of thyroid prominence and a lot of cases with bad breathing Pattern on Phonation. In control group, only 3 cases with bad position of tongue, 2 cases with tension of lower lip, 1 case with tension of jaw were found. Conclusions : More faulty vocal habits were found in dysphonia group. Authors thought faulty vocal habits could be the cause of dysphonia and aggravate the dysphonia and the control of vocal habits would be very important in patients with dysphonia.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1979.05a
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• pp.7.2-8
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• 1979

The tests related to air usage are valuable for evaluating phonatory function of clinical cases having glottic incompetence. Measurement of mean air flow rate, maximum phonation time and phonation quotient are important test for voice disorder. Stroboscopy is very useful for clinical evaluation of abnormality in the mode of vocal cord vibration. Author obtained following clinical result from 56 cases of laryngeal disorders in Kurume medical school in Japan. 1) Unilateral laryngeal lesions, are 35 cases (62.5%) and bilateral laryngeal lesions are 21 cases (37.5%). 2) Sex ratio is 39 cases (69.8%) of male and 17 cases (30.2%) of female. 3) In maximum phonation time below 10 seconds are 26 cases (46.4%) and above 10 seconds are 30 cases (53.6%). 4) In phonation quotient below 300 ml/sec are 33cases (58.9%). and above 300ml/sec are 23 cases (41.0%). 5) In mean air flow rate below 300ml/sec are 37 cases (66.1%) and above 300ml/sec are 19 cases (33.9%). 6) Symmetry of vibratory movement of the vocal cord, regularity of vibration, amplitude of vibration, wave on the mucosa and glottic closures are observed by stroboscopic examination. 7) Postoperative voice test and stroboscopic examination revealed good result in compare pre-operation with post-operation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.191-206
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• 2018

Purpose : This study investigated the correlation between speech intelligibility and acoustic measurements of speech sounds produced by the children with speech sound disorders and children without any diagnosed speech sound disorder. Methods : A total of 60 children with and without speech sound disorders were the subjects of this study. Speech samples were obtained by having the subjects? speak meaningful words. Acoustic measurements were analyzed on a spectrogram using the Multi-speech 3700 program. Speech intelligibility was determined according to a listener's perceptual judgment. Results : Children with speech sound disorders had significantly lower speech intelligibility than those without speech sound disorders. The intensity of the vowel /u/, the duration of the vowel /${\omega}$/, and the second formant of the vowel /${\omega}$/ were significantly different between both groups. There was no difference in voice onset time between the groups. There was a correlation between acoustic measurements and speech intelligibility. Conclusion : The results of this study showed that the speech intelligibility of children with speech sound disorders was affected by intensity, word duration, and formant frequency. It is necessary to complement clinical setting results using acoustic measurements in addition to evaluation of speech intelligibility.

• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Pubescent Angelica is generally used in musculoskeletal diseases of lower extremity, itching, external contraction (外感) and furuncle, with the effect of dispelling wind, draining dampness, dispersing the external (解表) and stopping pain. The disease parts of Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine (東醫寶鑑) contain 121 examples of the usage of Pubescent Angelica. Cases of musculoskeletal diseases and itching are mainly in the External Bodily Elements section (外形篇), and those of external contraction and furuncle are mainly in the Miscellaneous Disorder section (雜病篇). Internal Bodily Elements section (內景篇) has 10 prescriptions that involve Pubescent Angelica, in Dreams (2), Voice (1), Uterus (4), Parasites (1), and Feces (2) chapters. Their specific symptoms are insomnia and sleep paralysis (Dreams), loss of voice due to external contraction (Voice), uterine hemorrhage (Uterus), phthisis (Parasites), and constipation and diarrhea (Feces). It is not easy for students beginning their clinical training to link the effects of Pubescent Angelica and its actual usage, especially in the area of internal medicine. By Analyzing the whole cases of Pubescent Angelica in the Treasured Mirror, we found various usages out of reach of basic knowledge of the herb. Such method can be utilized not only in developing herbal knowledge-based products, but also in improving Korean medicine education, by enhancing the occupational competency bridging basic and clinical knowledge.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2011

Electroglottography (EGG) is a common method for providing non-invasive measurements of glottal activity. EGG has been used in vocal pathology as a clinical or research tool to measure vocal fold contact. This paper presents the results of pitch, jitter, and closed quotient (CQ) measurements in electroglottographic signals of young (mean = 22.7 years) and elderly (mean = 74.3 years) male and female subjects. The sustained corner vowels /i/, /a/, and /u/ were measured at around 70 dB SPL since the most notable among EGG variables is the phonation intensity, which showed positive correlation with closed phase. The aim of this paper was to measure EGG data according to age and gender. In CQ, there was a significant difference between young and elderly female subjects while there was no significant difference between young and elderly male subjects. The mean value for young males was higher than that for elderly males while the mean value for young females was lower than that for elderly females. Thus, it can be said that in mean values, increased CQ was related to decreased age for females, while CQ decreased for males as the speaker's age decreased. Although the laryngeal degeneration due to increased age seems to occur to a lesser extent in females, the significant increase of CQ in elderly female voices could not be explained in terms of age-related physiological changes. In standard deviation of pitch and jitter, the mean values for young and elderly males were higher than that for young and elderly females. That is, male subjects showed higher in mean values of voice variables than female subjects. This result could be considered as a sign of vocal instability in males. It was suggested that these results may provide powerful insights into the control and regulation of normal phonation and into the detection and characterization of pathology.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.43-57
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• 2011

Chronic mental-handicapped people are lacking in non-verbal expression such as eye contact, intonation, voice volume, facial expression, and gesture as well as the contents of speech, speak with a monotonous voice, fail to be vivid and clear in voice, and have absence of expression, thereby bringing about difficulty even for social adjustment and about low self-esteem. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine effectiveness for enhancing self-expression and self-esteem by applying music therapy to the chronic mental-handicapped. The subjects were the chronic mental-handicapped who receive rehabilitation service at the community rehabilitation center, and who have over 10 years in the duration of disease. 1he music therapy activity was progressed with totally 14 sessions during 7 weeks with twice a week. This study confirmed t-test that is verification of difference in the mean, in order to examine difference between before and after music therapy in self-expression and self-esteem of the chronic mental-handicapped, and researched into qualitative case. The findings are as follows. First, as a result of score in self-expression scale, the significant improvement was shown after music therapy compared to before music therapy. The significant difference was indicated in verbal self-expression, phonetic self-expression, and non-verbal self-expression, which are its sub-spheres. Thus, the conclusion was obtained as saying that music therapy is effective for enhancing self-expression. Second, as a result of score in self-esteem scale, the significant difference was shown after music therapy compared to before music therapy. Thus, the conclusion was obtained as saying that music therapy is effective for enhancing self-esteem. Through the above results, the music therapy showed effectiveness of self-expression ability and self-esteem in the chronic mental-handicapped at the community rehabilitation center, thereby having been confirmed to be possibly utilized as rehabilitation program for the social skill ability and the social adjustment of the chronic mental-handicapped.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.35-43
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• 2022

This paper studies how to improve the identification rate of laryngeal disability speech data by convolutional neural network (CNN) and machine learning ensemble learning methods. In general, the number of laryngeal dysfunction speech data is small, so even if identifiers are constructed by statistical methods, the phenomenon caused by overfitting depending on the training method can lead to a decrease the identification rate when exposed to external data. In this work, we try to combine results derived from CNN models and machine learning models with various accuracy in a multi-voting manner to ensure improved classification efficiency compared to the original trained models. The Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH) dataset was used to train and validate algorithms. The dataset contains normal voice and voice data of benign and malignant tumors. In the experiment, an attempt was made to distinguish between normal and benign tumors and malignant tumors. As a result of the experiment, the random forest method was found to be the best ensemble method and showed an identification rate of 85%.