Psychometric Properties of the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire in Kannada Among Teachers

BACKGROUND

As the literature review suggests, most professional voice users, such as teachers and singers, are prone to vocal abuse or misuse and frequently experience vocal fatigue. Therefore, validating the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire among professional voice users with and without the symptoms of vocal fatigue might provide appropriate external validity of the questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to validate the Kannada version of the Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire (VFHQ-K) among a cohort of Kannada-speaking primary and secondary school teachers with and without self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a validation study.

METHOD

The study consisted of two groups of participants. Group 1 included 40 teachers with self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms, and Group 2 included 57 teachers without self-reported vocal fatigue symptoms. The VFHQ-K was administered to each participant after obtaining informed consent. The questionnaire was again readministered between 1 and 2 weeks to assess the test-retest reliability. All the responses that were obtained were tabulated for analysis.

RESULTS

The VFHQ-K demonstrated good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and acceptable discriminant validity. The cutoff value of VFHQ-K obtained in the present study between the teachers with and without self-reported symptoms of vocal fatigue was much less than the cutoff values reported by the earlier version of VFHQ-K.

CONCLUSION

The VFHQ-K can be a helpful tool in the early identification of teachers with vocal fatigue and in improving the vocal health of professional voice users.

An Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of EAT-10: A Malayalam Version

The Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) is a 10-item self-administered questionnaire that assesses the severity of dysphagia symptoms, the impact of dysphagia on quality of life and treatment efficacy. EAT-10 has been adapted into several languages, including Malayalam. However, the information on the psychometric properties of EAT-10 MALAYALAM is not known. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EAT-10 MALAYALAM. EAT-10 MALAYALAM questionnaire was administered to two groups of native Malayalam-speaking participants. Group 1 consisted of a total of 110 participants (76 males and 34 females) with a mean age of 52.9 ± 13.5 years diagnosed with oropharyngeal dysphagia. Group 2 consisted of 110 age and gender-matched healthy participants with normal swallow function and no history and symptoms of swallowing disorders. The test-retest reliability was assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the test and the retest scores; internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and Known groups validity was evaluated by comparing the EAT-10 MALAYALAM scores between the participants of both groups. The results of Spearman's correlation coefficient showed 0.99, indicating that the EAT-10-MALAYALAM has excellent test-retest reliability. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.94, indicating strong internal consistency. Mann-Whitney U test showed significant differences in the scores of EAT-10-MALAYALAM between the participants of both groups. Therefore, it was inferred that EAT-10-MALAYALAM had good known groups validity. The EAT-10-MALAYALAM is a valid and reliable tool for screening Malayalam-speaking dysphagia patients.

Cross-Linguistic Adaptation of Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire into Kannada (VFHQ-K)

BACKGROUND

It is often considered appropriate to assess vocal fatigue using a self-reported tool or a subjective measure, as vocal fatigue is primarily described through self-reported symptoms. The vocal fatigue handicap questionnaire (VFHQ) is a self-rated questionnaire that addresses the concern of vocal fatigue in persons with voice disorders. Adapting and validating this questionnaire into the Kannada language can be helpful in assessing the physical, emotional, and functional effects of vocal fatigue among Kannada-speaking individuals.

OBJECTIVE

Adaptation and Validation of the VFHQ into the Kannada language.

STUDY DESIGN

A validation study.

METHOD

Initially, the VFHQ was translated into Kannada. The translated questionnaire was given to two SLPs and two Linguists for content validation and to assess the cultural and linguistic equivalency. 65 participants (34 males and 31 females) were diagnosed with voice disorders, and 65 participants who were age and gender-matched and had healthy voices were administered the Kannada version of VFHQ (VFHQ-K).

RESULTS

The results showed that the VFHQ-K had good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and known groups' discriminative validity. The cut-off point of the VFHQ-K was equal to 26.50, indicating that the VFHQ-K had acceptable discrimination between the patients with and without dysphonia.

CONCLUSION

VFHQ-K is a valid, reliable, and sensitive questionnaire to assess the emotional, physical, and functional effects of vocal fatigue in the Kannada-speaking population.

Adaptation and Validation of the Voice Symptom Scale into Kannada (VoiSS-K)

BACKGROUND

The Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) is a self-assessment tool that assesses vocal symptoms and measures the effect of dysphonia. Adapting VoiSS into Kannada can be beneficial in evaluating dysphonia-related symptoms, especially in the Kannada-speaking population.

OBJECTIVES

To adapt the VoiSS into Kannada and to assess the reliability, validity, and cut-off values of the VoiSS Kannada version (VoiSS-K).

STUDY DESIGN

The study used a prospective nonrandomized standard group comparison.

METHODS

Initially, the VoiSS was translated into Kannada. The VoiSS-K was administered to 76 participants (34 females and 42 males) with a mean age of 46.4 ± 14.5 years having voice disorders. The VoiSS-K was also administered to 76 respondents having clinically normal voice who were age and gender-matched to the participants with voice disorders.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha was utilized to evaluate the internal consistency, and the intraclass correlation coefficient to evaluate the test-retest reliability. The findings indicated that the VoiSS-K had excellent test-retest reliability and internal consistency. The study group participants had significantly higher VoiSS-K scores than the control group participants. Thus, the outcomes indicated that the VoiSS-K had good discriminative validity. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted, and the cut-off score of VoiSS-K was 40.50.

CONCLUSION

As the VoiSS-K is a rigorous, robust, and detailed self-assessment questionnaire, it can be used as a clinically sensitive tool to evaluate voice symptoms in Kannada-speaking individuals.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire Into Kannada

PURPOSE

As there are no questionnaires to assess the experience and proficiency of bilingual/multilingual Kannada speakers, this study aimed to adapt and validate the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) into the Kannada language cross-culturally.

METHOD

A nonrandomized, prospective cross-sectional design with purposive sampling was used in the study. The cross-cultural adaptation was performed using a standard guideline for developing the questionnaire. The Kannada version of the LEAP-Q (KLEAP-Q) was administered to three groups of participants. Group 1 included 200 bilingual participants (first language [L1]-Kannada, second language [L2]-English), Group 2 included 25 participants with good proficiency in Kannada, and Group 3 consisted of 25 participants with Telugu as L1, English as L2, and Kannada as third language. Responses from the participants were further tabulated and subjected to various statistical analyses to assess the psychometric properties of the questionnaire.

RESULTS

Results showed a high test-retest reliability for the KLEAP-Q. The factor analysis results yielded eight factors with eigenvalues of more than 1.8 and had a Cronbach's alpha ranging from .61 to .95, signifying a good internal consistency of the KLEAP-Q. Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant differences between the speakers with good proficiency and speakers with low proficiency in Kannada, indicating a good known groups discriminant validity.

CONCLUSION

As the KLEAP-Q has good reliability and validity, it can be used as a supplementary tool with other objective measures to document the experience and proficiency of Kannada-speaking bilingual individuals.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23631519.

Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Vocal Performance Questionnaire into Kannada

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ) is a short and convenient tool with one-dimensional consistency to evaluate the vocal performance. Developing the Kannada version of VPQ can be a useful self-assessment clinical tool for evaluating dysphonia symptoms in Kannada-speaking patients. Hence, the objective of the study was to translate the VPQ into Kannada and to evaluate the psychometric properties and the cutoff scores for the Kannada version of the VPQ (VPQ-K).

STUDY DESIGN

This investigation deployed a non-randomised, prospective standard group comparison.

METHODS

VPQ was translated to Kannada and administered to 71 participants (37 males and 34 females) diagnosed with voice disorder with a mean age of 43.94 ± 15.31 years and 71 age and gender-matched participants with a clinically normal voice.

RESULTS

The test-retest reliability of the VPQ-K was measured through Intra class correlation, and the results indicated excellent test-retest reliability. The Internal consistency of VPQ-K was determined using the Split half reliability by calculating the Spearmen-Brown coefficient, and the results revealed that VPQ-K had very strong internal consistency. Results also indicated that the participants in the control group had significantly lower VPQ-K scores compared to the participants in the study groups, indicating that VPQ-K had good construct validity. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed a cutoff point of 18.50 for VPQ-K.

CONCLUSIONS

As VPQ-K is a quick, easy to fill and low-burden self-assessment tool, VPQ-K can be proposed as a sensitive clinical tool to assess the vocal performance in Kannada-speaking patients with voice disorders and to evaluate the treatment outcome.

Adaptation and Validation of the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure into Kannada

BACKGROUND

Earlier researchers have developed various objective tools to document the impact of dysphonia on the patient's daily living and quality of life. Of all these available tools, Voice Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) is one of the essential self-reported tools to document the quality of life related to voice. Thus, developing the Kannada version of V-RQOL can be a useful tool in the clinical assessment of Kannada-speaking dysphonic patients.

OBJECTIVES

To translate the V-RQOL into Kannada and to evaluate the psychometric properties and the cut off scores for the Kannada version of the V-RQOL.

STUDY DESIGN

This investigation deployed a non-randomized, prospective standard group comparison.

METHODS

V-RQOL was translated to Kannada and was administered to 70 patients with voice disorders (42 males and 28 females) with a mean age of 43.2 ± 15.8 years, and 70 age and gender-matched participants with a clinically normal voice.

RESULTS

Spearman's correlation coefficient was more than 0.94 indicating a good test-retest reliability. Therefore, the Kannada version of VRQOL had a good level of reproducibility. The test also showed a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.92, indicating a strong internal consistency of the Kannada version of VRQOL. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the cut off score for the Kannada version of VRQOL was 93.75 indicating that Kannada version of VRQOL had an excellent construct validity.

CONCLUSION

The present study findings revealed that the Kannada version of VRQOL is a reliable, valid and sensitive self-assessment tool to document the impact of voice problems on the patient's quality of life.

Multiparametric analysis of voice following prolonged voice use and voice rest in teachers: evidence from discriminant analysis

PURPOSE

Even though recent investigations have used multiparametric protocol, the set of robust parameters in determining the effects of vocal fatigue and voice rest in teachers is not clear. The first objective of the study was to document the impact of prolonged voice use and voice rest on the subjective and objective voice parameters among Indian secondary school teachers. The second objective was to determine the set voice parameters sensitive to vocal changes resulting from continuous voice use and voice rest.

METHOD

The study included 15 male and 15 female secondary school teachers with a clinically normal voice and no history of voice disorders. Phonation samples were recorded in three different conditions, i.e., condition 1 (before voice use), condition 2 (following voice use), and condition 3 (following voice rest). The vocal Fatigue Index (version 2) was administered before the voice recordings in all three conditions. The objective parameters, namely fundamental frequency, range of fundamental frequency, jitter (%), shimmer (%), harmonic to noise ratio, and smoothened cepstral peak prominence, were extracted.

RESULTS

Results revealed that fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, Harmonic to noise ratio, and smoothened cepstral peak prominence were significantly different across the three conditions. The discriminant analysis revealed that only three parameters classified 98.3% of samples accurately between the three conditions.

CONCLUSION

Further research on the correlation between the other subjective and the objective parameters of voice after vocal fatigue would provide more penetrating and ample in-depth insights into the assessment and quantification of vocal fatigue.

Correlation Between Subjective and Objective Parameters of Voice in Elderly Male Speakers

INTRODUCTION

Literature review suggests that the analysis of acoustic, cepstral, and spectral parameters of voice offers excellent discrimination between the normal and pathological voices and strongly correlates with the perception of voice quality. Although the correlation between the subjective and objective voice measures can facilitate the clinician to distinguish pathological voices from normal voices, only a handful of investigations have examined the relationship between these measures in aging voices.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the differences in the subjective and objective parameters (acoustic, spectral, and cepstral parameters) of the voice in elderly male speakers with and without symptoms of dysphonia, and to document the correlation between the subjective and objective parameters in the voice of elderly male speakers.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective standard group comparison study.

METHODS

Phonation and speech samples were collected from 30 elderly male participants having no vocal symptoms related to dysphonia and 30 elderly male participants with the self-reported presence of vocal symptoms related to dysphonia. The subjective, acoustic, spectral, and cepstral parameters were analyzed from all the voice samples.

RESULTS

Results revealed significant differences in subjective, acoustic, cepstral, and spectral parameters of voice between the voice samples of the elderly individuals with and without dysphonic symptoms. Perceptual parameters showed a weak and moderate correlation with acoustic parameters and a strong correlation with spectral and cepstral parameters of voice.

CONCLUSION

Further studies on the correlation between the subjective and objective parameters of voice in elderly male speakers with various types of laryngeal pathologies would throw light on distinguishing the voice of normal aging from the impact of any associated laryngeal pathology to make diagnostic distinctions.

Multiparameter Voice Assessment in Dysphonics: Correlation Between Objective and Perceptual Parameters

BACKGROUND

Perceptual assessment and objective measures of voice provide a quantifiable tool for determining the degree of glottal closure, thus helping to distinguish dysphonic voices from normal voices. The correlation between the perceptual and objective parameters of voice in dysphonic can enable the voice pathologist to be more effective in differentiating the normal voices from dysphonic voices. However, only a few studies have investigated the correlation between these measures.

OBJECTIVE

To document the differences in the perceptual and objective parameters of voice in participants with dysphonia and normal controls and to investigate the correlation between the perceptual and objective parameters of voice among participants with dysphonia.

STUDY DESIGN

This investigation deployed standard group comparison and a retrospective study.

METHODS

Two groups of participants were included in the study. Participants in group 1 were diagnosed as having a voice disorder secondary to organic pathologies and group 2 participants had a clinically normal voice. Phonation samples of all the participants were collected and perceptual analysis was carried out using the GRBAS rating scale. As part of the objective measures, acoustic and cepstral measures were extracted from the phonation samples.

RESULTS

The analysis of the results revealed significant differences in perceptual ratings between the normal (control) and dysphonic groups. The mean values of all the objective measures of voice presented significant differences between participants of both groups. The perceptual ratings of grade, breathiness, and roughness showed better correlations with the cepstral measures than with the time-based acoustic measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Further foraging research on the correlation between perceptual and objective measures of voice in various degrees of dysphonia will improve reliability while discriminating and quantifying hoarse, harsh and breathy voices from modal voices.

A novel technique to monitor thermal discharges using thermal infrared imaging

Coastal temperature is an important indicator of water quality, particularly in regions where delicate ecosystems sensitive to water temperature are present. Remote sensing methods are highly reliable for assessing the thermal dispersion. The plume dispersion from the thermal outfall of the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam, on the southeast coast of India, was investigated from March to December 2011 using thermal infrared images along with field measurements. The absolute temperature as provided by the thermal infrared (TIR) images is used in the Arc GIS environment for generating a spatial pattern of the plume movement. Good correlation of the temperature measured by the TIR camera with the field data (r(2) = 0.89) make it a reliable method for the thermal monitoring of the power plant effluents. The study portrays that the remote sensing technique provides an effective means of monitoring the thermal distribution pattern in coastal waters.

Dissolution of synthetic uranium dibutyl phosphate deposits in oxidizing and reducing chemical formulations

Permanganate and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) based dilute chemical formulations were evaluated for the dissolution of uranium dibutyl phosphate (U-DBP), a compound that deposits over the surfaces of nuclear reprocessing plants and waste storage tanks. A combination of an acidic, oxidizing treatment (nitric acid with permanganate) followed by reducing treatment (NTA based formulation) efficiently dissolved the U-DBP deposits. The dissolution isotherm of U-DBP in its as precipitated form followed a logarithmic fit. The same chemical treatment was also effective in dissolving U-DBP coated on the surface of 304-stainless steel, while resulting in minimal corrosion of the stainless steel substrate material. Investigation of uranium recovery from the resulting decontamination solutions by ion exchange with a bed of mixed anion and cation resins showed quantitative removal of uranium.

Biofouling and microbial corrosion problem in the thermo-fluid heat exchanger and cooling water system of a nuclear test reactor

This article discusses aspects of biofouling and corrosion in the thermo-fluid heat exchanger (TFHX) and in the cooling water system of a nuclear test reactor. During inspection, it was observed that >90% of the TFHX tube bundle was clogged with thick fouling deposits. Both X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer analyses of the fouling deposit demonstrated iron corrosion products. The exterior of the tubercle showed the presence of a calcium and magnesium carbonate mixture along with iron oxides. Raman spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of calcium carbonate scale in the calcite phase. The interior of the tubercle contained significant iron sulphide, magnetite and iron-oxy-hydroxide. A microbiological assay showed a considerable population of iron oxidizing bacteria and sulphate reducing bacteria (10(5) to 10(6) cfu g(-1) of deposit). As the temperature of the TFHX is in the range of 45-50 degrees C, the microbiota isolated/assayed from the fouling deposit are designated as thermo-tolerant bacteria. The mean corrosion rate of the CS coupons exposed online was approximately 2.0 mpy and the microbial counts of various corrosion causing bacteria were in the range 10(3) to 10(5) cfu ml(-1) in the cooling water and 10(6) to 10(8) cfu ml(-1) in the biofilm.

Effect of reactive atmosphere of synthesis on properties of nano-ceria

Ceria is an important rare-earth oxide with ever increasing applications. In nanocrystalline form, ceria exhibits novel and improved properties compared to its microcrystalline counterpart. The variation in the properties was observed to be a function of lowering particle size. This was also attributable to the presence and extent of Ce in 3+ state in ceria. Thermal decomposition of a thermally less stable cerium metal salt is an useful and simple method for the synthesis of nanocrystalline ceria. As atmosphere under which the decomposition occurs is expected to alter the Ce3+ content and thus the property, the present study is to investigate the effect of reactive atmosphere of decomposition vis-à-vis the particle size on the property of nanocrystalline ceria. Nanocrystalline ceria was synthesized by controlled thermal decomposition of cerium nitrate under four different atmospheres and the products were analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Laser Raman Spectroscopy. The observed property variation was found to be more dependent on the Ce3+ content thus the synthesis atmosphere rather than the particle size.

Spectroscopic characterization of nanocrystalline chromium nitride (CrN)

Nanocrystalline chromiuim nitride has been synthesised by direct gas phase nitridation of nanocrystalline chromia at 1100 degrees C in ammonia-atmosphere. XRD of this material showed formation of single phase CrN with particle size around 20 nm. AFM studies showed particle distribution along with some soft agglomerated nanostructures. Nanocrystalline Cr2O3 and partially-as well as fully--converted nanocrystalline CrN were also investigated using various spectroscopic techniques like XPS, FT-IR, and Raman for gaining insight into the conversion pathways. Spectroscopic investigations of these materials clearly indicate that complete conversion of CrN occurs by nitriding at 1100 degrees C for 4 hrs. The salient spectroscopic features of these nanocrystalline materials with respect to their microcrystalline counterparts are discussed.

Biodegradation of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and ferric-NTA complex by aerobic microbial granules

Development of mixed-culture microbial granules under aerobic conditions in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), capable of completely degrading a recalcitrant metal chelating agent is reported. In laboratory-scale reactor studies, the microbial granules degraded 2mM of free nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and Fe(III)-NTA completely in 14 and 40 h, respectively. Free NTA was degraded at a specific rate of 0.7 mM (gMLSS)(-1)h(-1), while Fe(III)-NTA was degraded at a specific rate of 0.37 mM (gMLSS)(-1)h(-1). Achievement of significant degradation rates of NTA and ferric-NTA in double-distilled water suggests that the microbial metabolism is not constrained by lack of essential elements. Efficient degradation of recalcitrant synthetic chelating agents by aerobic microbial granules suggests their potential application in a variety of situations where heavy metals or radionuclides are to be co-disposed with metal chelating agents.

Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy of the growth of silver nanoparticles

Results obtained from the optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy experiments have shown the formation of excitons in the silver-exchanged glass samples. These findings are reported here for the first time. Further, we investigate the dramatic changes in the photoemission properties of the silver-exchanged glass samples as a function of postannealing temperature. Observed changes are thought to be due to the structural rearrangements of silver and oxygen bonding during the heat treatments of the glass matrix. In fact, photoelectron spectroscopy does reveal these chemical transformations of silver-exchanged soda glass samples caused by the thermal effects of annealing in a high vacuum atmosphere. An important correlation between temperature-induced changes of the PL intensity and thermal growth of the silver nanoparticles has been established in this Letter through precise spectroscopic studies.

Software simulation of the EEG

The literature contains many examples of digital procedures for the analytical treatment of electroencephalograms, but there is as yet no standard by which those techniques may be judged or compared. This paper proposes one method of generating an EEG, based on a computer program for Zetterberg's simulation. It is assumed that the statistical properties of an EEG may be represented by stationary processes having rational transfer functions and achieved by a system of software filters and random number generators. The model represents neither the neurological mechanism response for generating the EEG, nor any particular type of EEG record; transient phenomena such as spikes, sharp waves and alpha bursts also are excluded. The basis of the program is a valid 'partial' statistical description of the EEG; that description is then used to produce a digital representation of a signal which, if plotted sequentially, might or might not by chance resemble an EEG, that is unimportant. What is important is that the statistical properties of the series remain those of a real EEG; it is in this sense that the output is a simulation of the EEG. There is considerable flexibility in the form of the output, i.e. its alpha, beta and delta content, which may be selected by the user, the same selected parameters always producing the same statistical output. The filtered outputs from the random number sequences may be scaled to provide realistic power distributions in the accepted EEG frequency bands and then summed to create a digital output signal, the 'stationary EEG'.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)