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Genetic studies have presented increasing indications about the complexity of the interactions between Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans, during Pleistocene. The results indicate potential replacement or admixture of the groups of hominins that lived in the same region at different times. Recently, the time of separation among these hominins in relation to the Last Common Ancestor – LCA has been reasonably well established. Events of mixing with emphasis on the Neanderthal gene flow into H. sapiens outside Africa, Denisovans into H. sapiens ancestors in Oceania and continental Asia, Neanderthals into Denisovans, as well as the origin of some phenotypic features in specific populations such as the color of the skin, eyes, hair and predisposition to develop certain kinds of diseases have also been found. The current information supports the existence of both replacement and interbreeding events, and indicates the need to revise the two main explanatory models, the Multiregional and the Out-of-Africa hypotheses, about the origin and evolution of H. sapiens and its co-relatives. There is definitely no longer the possibility of justifying only one model over the other. This paper aims to provide a brief review and update on the debate around this issue, considering the advances brought about by the recent genetic as well as morphological traits analyses.

This study examined food insecurity in the Quilombola community of Imbiral Cabeça-Branca, in Maranhão, Brazil, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the last quarter of 2021 with 25 household heads from the community. Most participants were women (52.0%) with low schooling and were unemployed (68.0%), and 76.0% received a Federal Emergency Aid. The mean household density was four people, and houses were predominantly made of rammed earth, lacking basic sanitation. The consumed water came from artesian wells, and most houses had electricity. Food insecurity was identified in all households, with 12.0% classified as mild, 24.0% as moderate, and 64.0% as severe. The severe form was more common in households headed by single men (75%), older adults, less-educated individuals (78.7%), and the unemployed (64.7%). Food insecurity in the Quilombola community and other similar communities in the country results from substandard living conditions, unemployment, food deprivation, and lack of land titling. These factors also contribute to the perpetuation of institutional and environmental racism faced by these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to review systematically the literature and to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation in treating dysphonia. This is a systematic review. The publications indexed on the MEDLINE, LILACS, PubMed, Web of Science, and SciELO databases were searched. Original articles with experimental, clinical trial and randomized studies involving a control group and approaching dysphonia treatment with electrical stimulation in humans, regardless of age, gender, or race were included. Those excluded were theses, editorials, comments and opinions, reflexive articles, case studies, experimental studies with animals, models, projects, reports and technical reports, and review articles, as well as articles approaching other alterations, not related to dysphonia. Eleven articles were found and it evaluated the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on dysphonia caused by vocal fold paralysis, spasmodic dysphonia, behavioral dysphonia, and in patients with vocal fold nodules. The methodological analysis of the articles through the PEDro scale resulted in a mean score of 5.18; the studies were classified as either high quality (N = 3) or fair quality (N = 8). The results indicated that electrical stimulation had a therapeutic effect on various aspects of dysphonia. However, due to the high risk of bias and the heterogeneity of the studies, it is not possible to state the effectiveness of electrical stimulation in treating dysphonia. Using electrical stimulation as an evidence-based conventional rehabilitation therapy in the treatment of dysphonia cannot yet be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients undergoing maxillectomies may present alterations in the stomatognathic functions involved in oral communication. Rehabilitative treatment should favor the rescue of these functions, through surgical flaps, obturator prostheses or both. The present study aims to present the impact of the use of the palatal obturator on the oropharyngeal geometry and on the voice of patients undergoing maxillectomies, after adaptation to trans-surgical palatine obturators (TPO). Twelve patients treated at a Cancer Hospital, submitted to maxillectomy and rehabilitated during surgery were evaluated. The oropharyngeal geometry was measured by acoustic pharyngometry and the vocal parameters were evaluated through auditory-perceptual and acoustic analyses. The comparison between the results with and without TPO was analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and the correlation between oropharyngeal measurements and acoustic parameters using Spearman's correlation coefficient, all with a significance level of 5%. There was a decrease in the following oropharyngeal measurements with the use of TPO: length of the pharyngeal cavity and vocal tract, volume of the oral cavity, pharyngeal and vocal tract and area of ​​the oropharyngeal junction. There was no difference in the length of the oral cavity and in the glottic area between situations with and without TPO. In the vocal evaluation, changes in intelligibility and resonance were observed in the situation without TPO and, in only one case, mild hypernasality was detected in the situation with TPO. It is concluded that the use of TPO brought the oropharyngeal measurements closer to normal values ​​and provided an improvement in speech intelligibility and vocal resonance in maxilectomized individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to verify the immediate effect of a flexible resonance tube in water and of lip trill on oropharyngeal geometry and vocal acoustic parameters of singers without vocal symptoms. Twenty-two adult singers participated in the study. They had an average age of 27 (±4.8) years. Participants were split into two groups: a group composed of 12 singers who performed the flexible resonance tube (FRT) exercise and a group of 10 singers who performed the Lip Trill technique (LTT). Acoustic pharyngometry and acoustic analysis of the voice were used to assess oropharyngeal geometry before and after the exercises. After performing the techniques, the vocal tract length was longer in the group that performed the FRT, compared to the one that performed the LTT. In the acoustic evaluation, there was an improvement in the glottal to noise excitation ratio and a decrease in noise in the group of singers who performed the LTT. In the analysis by sex men had a longer oral cavity compared to women and after application of the techniques greater volume of the vocal tract. There was variation in the oropharyngeal geometry with the FRT, while the LTT had a positive effect on the vocal acoustic parameters related to glottal noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To verify the immediate effects of voiced gargling on the electrical activity of extrinsic laryngeal muscles and vocal self-assessment. A sample of 20 individuals of both sexes, mean age of 31.95 (±11.57) years, were equally divided in two groups according to the presence or absence of vocal complaint. Both groups were evaluated by surface electromyography of the suprahyoid (SH) and infrahyoid (IH) muscle areas during rest, phonation of the sustained vowel [Ɛ] in habitual and strong intensities; phonation of rising and falling glissando; and counting from 1 to 10. Surface electromyography was assessed before and after the voiced gargling exercise, which lasted 1 minute. All participants self-rated their voice and phonatory comfort after the exercise. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests were applied, as well as Fisher's exact test and linear-to-linear test. The level of significance was 5%. The percentage of electrical activity of the SH muscle area decreased in the glissando and counting tasks in the group with vocal complaint, as well as in phonation of sustained vowel in strong intensity in the group without complaint. Decrease was also observed in the right IH muscle area at rest and during sustained vowel phonation at habitual and strong intensities. Percentage of muscular electrical activity was lower in the group with complaint in the following situations: IH muscle area on both sides, at rest and during habitual phonation of sustained vowel and glissando before and after the exercise; right IH muscle area, during counting and strong phonation of sustained vowel before and after exercise; left IH muscle area, in the counting task, just after intervention. Most participants noticed improvement in voice (70%) and phonatory comfort (65%). Voiced gargling during 1 minute promotes immediate effects on the electrical activity of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles in individuals with or without vocal complaint. Most individuals reported improved voice and phonatory comfort after exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To verify whether the dimensions of different segments of the oropharyngeal cavity have different proportions between Parkinson's disease patients and vocally healthy subjects and investigate whether the measurements of these subjects' oropharyngeal geometry associate with their acoustic measurements of voice. Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective study with secondary data, approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee under no. 4.325.029. We used vocal samples and data from the oropharyngeal geometry of 40 subjects – 20 with Parkinson's disease stages I to III and 20 who formed the control group, matched for sex and age. Each group had 10 males and 10 females, mean age of 61 years (±6.0). Formant (F1, F2, and F3) and cepstral measures of the sustained vowel /ε/ were extracted and arranged in the database to determine their values using Praat software. The data were descriptively analyzed, with statistics generated with R software. The proportion of oropharyngeal geometry measurements was arranged by mean values and coefficients of variation. Pearson's linear correlation test was applied to relate voice parameters to oropharyngeal geometry, considering P < 0.05, and linear regression test, to justify F2. The Parkinson's disease group showed a linear relationship between oral cavity length and F1 in males (P = 0.04) and between glottal area and F2 in females (P = 0.00); linear relationships were established according to age in both groups, and a regression model for F2 was estimated (R2 = 0.61). There was no difference between pathological and healthy voices; there was a difference in the proportional relationship of oropharyngeal geometry between the groups. The proportional relationship of oropharyngeal geometry differs between the Parkinson's disease group and the control group, as well as the relationship between oropharyngeal geometry and formant and cepstral values of voice according to the subjects' sex and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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