A Generative Method for a Laryngeal Biosignal.

The Glottal Area Waveform (GAW) is an important component in quantitative clinical voice assessment, providing valuable insights into vocal fold function. In this study, we introduce a novel method employing Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) to generate synthetic GAWs. Our approach enables the creation of synthetic GAWs that closely replicate real-world data, offering a versatile tool for researchers and clinicians. We elucidate the process of manipulating the VAE latent space using the Glottal Opening Vector (GlOVe). The GlOVe allows precise control over the synthetic closure and opening of the vocal folds. By utilizing the GlOVe, we generate synthetic laryngeal biosignals. These biosignals accurately reflect vocal fold behavior, allowing for the emulation of realistic glottal opening changes. This manipulation extends to the introduction of arbitrary oscillations in the vocal folds, closely resembling real vocal fold oscillations. The range of factor coefficient values enables the generation of diverse biosignals with varying frequencies and amplitudes. Our results demonstrate that this approach yields highly accurate laryngeal biosignals, with the Normalized Mean Absolute Error values for various frequencies ranging from 9.6 â‹… 10-3 to 1.20 â‹… 10-2 for different experimented frequencies, alongside a remarkable training effectiveness, reflected in reductions of up to approximately 89.52% in key loss components. This proposed method may have implications for downstream speech synthesis and phonetics research, offering the potential for advanced and natural-sounding speech technologies.

Effect of Polyethylene Film Thickness on the Antimicrobial Activity of Embedded Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles.

Microbial contamination of most foods occurs primarily at the surface during postprocessing and handling; therefore, preventing cross-contamination by incorporation of antimicrobial substances in contact with the surface of the product is an efficient strategy in reducing food contamination risks. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been used widely to achieve antimicrobial films in various applications including the food industry. This work describes the fabrication of antimicrobial polymeric films containing ZnONPs produced by the coextrusion and dip-coating techniques. Effects of skin layer thicknesses containing ZnONPs on the antimicrobial effectiveness of the film by their capability to inactivate Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were studied for both methods. The antimicrobial properties of the coextruded multilayer LLDPE/ZnONP nanocomposite films evidenced antimicrobial activity in the range 0.5-1.5 log reductions, while in the case of a sandblasted multilayer film, it showed high antimicrobial properties as around 99.99%. The optical properties of coextruded multilayer films were measured and discussed. Furthermore, to achieve a thinner LLDPE thickness, ZnONPs were coated with different concentrations of LLDPE solution by the dip-coating method. TEM confirmed that a homogeneous layer is formed on the surface of ZnONPs. The thickness of the LLDPE layer estimated by TEM was about 2 nm and film produced 3 log and 4 log reductions for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. The results show that developed films have the potential to be used as food packaging films and can extend shelf life, maintain quality, and assure the safety of food. The antimicrobial mechanisms of ZnONPs were also investigated. It was found that direct contact of particles with products is necessary to assure high antibacterial activity of the films.