Accurate Analysis of the Pitch Pulse-Based Magnitude/Phase Structure of Natural Vowels and Assessment of Three Lightweight Time/Frequency Voicing Restoration Methods.

This paper addresses two challenges that are intertwined and are key in informing signal processing methods restoring natural (voiced) speech from whispered speech. The first challenge involves characterizing and modeling the evolution of the harmonic phase/magnitude structure of a sequence of individual pitch periods in a voiced region of natural speech comprising sustained or co-articulated vowels. A novel algorithm segmenting individual pitch pulses is proposed, which is then used to obtain illustrative results highlighting important differences between sustained and co-articulated vowels, and suggesting practical synthetic voicing approaches.

Parapharyngeal abscess in children: five year retrospective study.

Unlabelled: Lateropharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses are potentially life threatening infections in children

Aim: To review the etiologic, clinical, and imaging signs of lateropharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses in children as well as treatment-outcomes and complications using a surgical trans-oral approach.

Method: Retrospective analysis of 11 children, hospitalized in the last 5 years, with a diagnosis of lateropharyngeal (n = 8) and retropharyngeal (n = 3) abscesses, ages ranging from 0 to 12 years old. Charts and CT scans were reviewed.