A Pilot Survey of Vocal Health in Young Singers

The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of vocal problems in young choir singers and to correlate vocal problems with demographic and behavioral information. A questionnaire addressing vocal habits and hygiene was offered to 571 young choir singers, up to 25 years of age, who sing at least weekly; 129 (22.6%) responded. More than one-half of the respondents had experienced vocal difficulty, particularly older adolescents. Detrimental behaviors and circumstances surveyed were not reflective of the incidence of vocal difficulty, except for morning hoarseness, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and female gender after puberty. Voice care professionals should be aware that self-reported voice difficulties are common among young choral singers, especially postpubescent girls, and children with symptoms consistent with reflux (morning hoarseness) and emotional stress (insomnia). Laryngologists should communicate with choral conductors and singing teachers to enhance early identification and treatment of children with voice complaints, and to develop choral educational strategies that help decrease their incidence.     

Structure and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline ferromagnets (II)

The role of magnetoelastic coupling effects in nanocrystalline ferromagnets is investigated by means of high-field magnetization and Doppler-broadening spectrum measurements. For the nanocrystalline Fe_{73 5}Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ alloy, the results show that the pinning effects resulting from the quasidislocation dipole intensely influence the movement of domain wall; by coupling with the magnetostriction the defects-induced stress fields determine the magnetic properties at the early stage of crystallization. In view of the effective anisotropy and magnetoelastic coupling energy the optimal annealing conditions of alloys are discussed.     

Directed metalation/ligand coupling approach to the enantioselective synthesis of 1,1′-binaphthyls

Introduction of a 2-isopropoxycarbonyl or 2-NN-dimethylcarbamoyl group into homochiral 1-p-tolyl- or 1-t-butyl-sulfinylnaphthalenes, via directed metalation reaction, followed by ligand coupling reaction with 1-naphthylmagnesium bromide, furnished atropisomeric 1,1′-binaphthyls in 82–95% enantiomeric excess (e.e.).     

The Thresholds of Survival for ann-Dimensional Food Chain Model in a Polluted Environment

The effects of toxicants on the populations for ann-dimensional food chain model in a polluted environment are studied. The thresholds between persistence and extinction of the populations are obtained as functions of model parameters and a time-varying chemical concentration.     

钙钛矿型复合氧化物LaNi_(1-x)Mn_xO_3晶体结构与催化性能的关系

用XRD、IR和TPR等技术研究了钙钛矿型复合氧化物的晶体结构及其反应性能.整个组成范围内,LaNi_(i-x)Mn_xO_3(0.0≤x≤1.0)体系都生成单一钙钛矿相;x=0.0,0.6≤X≤1.0时为菱形晶系,0.2≤x≤0.5为立方晶系.IR和TPR研究表明,晶体结构对B—O键合作用存在较大影响.CO微反考察表明,本体系的催化活性与晶系存在密切关系,晶体对称性越高,反应活性越低.说明钙钛矿型复合氧化物的催化活性与体系活性中心的B—O键合作用能力有关.     

Miscible blends of modified poly(aryl ether ketones) with aromatic polyimides

The phase behavior of binary blends of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), sulfonated PEEK, and sulfamidated PEEK with aromatic polyimides is reported. PEEK was determined to be immiscible with a poly(amide imide) (TORLON 4000T). Blends of sulfonated and sulfamidated PEEK with this poly(amide imide), however, are reported here to be miscible in all proportions. Blends of sulfonated PEEK and a poly(ether imide) (ULTEM 1000) are also reported to be miscible. Spectroscopic investigations of the intermolecular interactions suggest that formation of electron donoracceptor complexes between the sulfonated/sulfamidated phenylene rings of the PEEKs and the n-phenylene units of the polyimides are responsible for this miscibility. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reflection of Surface Plasmon Polaritons by a Corner Reflector of Negative Index Materials

A novel type of corner reflector for the reflection of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) is proposed. The reflector consists of two layers of compensatory media whose permittivity and permeability take opposite signs to that of the corresponding layer of the SP waveguide. By rigorously solving Maxwell's equations, the reflected SPP is proved to exist. The transverse wave vector of the reflected SPP is always antiparallel to that of the incident SPP and no phase retardation is introduced.     

Effect of borohydride as reducing agent on the structures and electrochemical properties of Pt/C catalyst

In this paper, we found that boron deposited on the surface of support when sodium borohydride used as reducing agent during the preparation of Pt/C catalyst. The deposition of boron markedly reduces particle size of Pt, raises electrochemical active surface (EAS) area of catalyst and electrochemical activity for hydrogen evolution or oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) compared with which prepared using other reducing agents (hydrogen and formaldehyde).     

The optical properties of planar waveguides in LiB3O5 crystals formed by Cu implantation

A planar optical waveguide has been formed in a LiB₃O₅ crystal using 6.0 MeV Cu⁺-ions with a dose of 1 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm² at room temperature. Possible propagating modes were measured at a wavelength of 633 nm using the prism-coupling method. The refractive index profiles of the waveguide were reconstructed by an effective refractive index method and the beam propagation method was used to investigate the properties of the propagation modes in the formed waveguide. The results suggest that the fundamental TE₀ and TM₀ modes may be well-confined and propagate a longer distance inside the waveguide. The implantation process was also simulated using the transport of ions in matter code (TRIM), which indicates that the nuclear energy deposition may be the main factor for the refractive index change.