Acoustic Measures of Emotion in School-Age Children Who Stutter: Findings From a Single Subject

Purpose The purpose of this study was to encourage and justify the examination of acoustic measures of emotion (mean fundamental frequency [F0], F0 range, jitter, and shimmer) from school-age children who stutter (CWS) in a novel procedure combining psychophysiological measures of stress with acoustic analysis. Method One school-age CWS (aged 11;9 [years;months]) completed a cognitively stressful speech-language task and a control speech-language task. Vocal acoustic samples were collected during the stressful task and the control task. These samples were later analyzed for F0, F0 range, jitter, and shimmer. Physiological measures of emotional arousal, including electrodermal response frequency and electrodermal response amplitude, were also recorded prior to, during, and after each condition for manipulation check purposes. Physiological measures of emotion regulation, indexed by mean heart rate variability, were also collected prior to and after each condition for manipulation check purposes. Results Findings from the psychophysiological measures suggest that the CWS experienced increased stress during the stress-inducing task. Acoustic measures indicate that the CWS reduced rather than increased her mean F0, F0 range, jitter, and shimmer only for high vowels /i u/ during the control task compared to stressful task. Conclusions Overall, these pilot findings support the need for further study of vocal acoustic and psychophysiological measures of emotion from CWS as well as children who do not stutter.

Photon diagnostics at the FLASH THz beamline

The THz beamline at FLASH, DESY, provides both tunable (1–300 THz) narrow-bandwidth (∼10%) and broad-bandwidth intense (up to 150 uJ) THz pulses delivered in 1 MHz bursts and naturally synchronized with free-electron laser X-ray pulses. Combination of these pulses, along with the auxiliary NIR and VIS ultrashort lasers, supports a plethora of dynamic investigations in physics, material science and biology. The unique features of the FLASH THz pulses and the accelerator source, however, bring along a set of challenges in the diagnostics of their key parameters: pulse energy, spectral, temporal and spatial profiles. Here, these challenges are discussed and the pulse diagnostic tools developed at FLASH are presented. In particular, a radiometric power measurement is presented that enables the derivation of the average pulse energy within a pulse burst across the spectral range, jitter-corrected electro-optical sampling for the full spectro-temporal pulse characterization, spatial beam profiling along the beam transport line and at the sample, and a lamellar grating based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer for the on-line assessment of the average THz pulse spectra. Corresponding measurement results provide a comprehensive insight into the THz beamline capabilities.

Duration and Frequency Characteristics of Speech and Voice following Supracricoid Partial Laryngectomy

Selected characteristics were compared in the speech and voice of 28 patients treated with a supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) and of 14 normal adult laryngeal (NAL) speakers. Tape-recorded speech samples were measured for durational features with a stopwatch. Frequency features were analyzed with the Computerized Speech Lab and a multidimensional voice program. The SCPL speech proved comparable to NAL speech in average fundamental frequency. The SCPL speech and voice were statistically less efficient than NAL speech in fundamental frequency range, jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonics ratio, maximum phonation time, speech rate, and phrase grouping. The completion of an arytenoid cartilage resection did not statistically modify the duration and frequency features of SCPL speakers. Among SCPL speakers 1) the average fundamental frequency was statistically higher (p = .02) in patients who underwent a cricohyoidoepiglottopexy when compared to patients who underwent a cricohyoidopexy, 2) the maximum phonation time was statistically related to the patient's age (p = .002), and 3) the jitter and shimmer values were statistically related (p = .01 and p = .005) to the time elapsed since SCPL completion. Explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.