Episodic paroxysmal laryngospasm: Voice and pulmonary function assessment and management

Episodic paroxysmal laryngospasm (EPL) is a sign of laryngeal dysfunction, often without a specific organic etiology, which can masquerade as asthma, vocal fold paralysis, or a functional voice disorder. The intermittent respiratory distress of EPL may precipitate an apparent upper airway obstructive emergency, resulting in unnecessary endotracheal intubation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or tracheostomy. During 27 months, seven women and three men, ages 30–76 years, were assessed by a high diagnostic index of suspicion, an intensive history including psychosocial factors, physical examination of the airways, provocative asthma testing, and swallowing studies. Videolaryngoscopy, stroboscopy, and pulmonary flow-volume loop testing were definitive. The classic appearance was paradoxic inspiratory adduction of the anterior vocal folds with a posterior diamond-shaped glottic gap. During an attack of stridor or wheezing, attenuation of the inspiratory flow rate as depicted by the flow-volume loop suggested partial extrathoracic upper airway obstruction. Swallowing evaluation by videolaryngoscopy and videoesophagography may uncover gastroesophageal reflux disease. Hallmarks of management include patient and family education by observation of laryngoscopic videos, a specific speech therapy program, psychotherapy, and medical treatment of associated disorders. Electromyography may become a valuable future adjunct. Unlike laryngeal dystonia, patients with EPL do not benefit from botulinum toxin type A.     

Changes in laryngeal airway resistance in young adult men and women as a function of vocal sound pressure level and syllable context

A noninvasive pressure-flow technique was used to assess laryngeal airway resistance (R_law) in eight young adult women and seven men. Syllable structures used were consonant-vowel (/pi/) and consonant-vowel-consonant (/bip/). The data were obtained from oscillographic records of intraoral air pressure and transglottal airflow over 2 consecutive days. Repetitions of each syllable context were produced at each subject's 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of vocal sound pressure level. No significant differences in R_law were found across days for the two groups. Women had significantly greater R_law than did men for the /pi/ and /bip/ contexts. Men showed a significantly greater average airflow rate than did women for both syllable contexts. Airflow, air pressure, and the ratio R_law increased as the sound pressure level of voice increased. The technique appears to be useful for characterizing certain features of laryngeal airway resistance for men and women.     

Effects of stimulation techniques on vocal responses: Implications for assessment and treatment

During voice evaluation and treatment it is customary for clinicians to elicit samples of the vowel /a/ from clients using various elicitation techniques. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of four commonly used stimulation tasks on the laryngeal mechanism. Eleven female singing students, studying at a university music school, served as subjects for the study. The subjects phonated the vowel /a/ using 4 vocal stimulation techniques: yawn-sigh, gentle onset, focus, and the use of the voiceless fricative. Videoendoscopic and acoustic evaluations of their productions were done. Results show that, in the first 100 ms following the end of the formant transition, these techniques affected voice differently. The fundamental frequency was found to be highest in the yawn-sigh condition, whereas the maximum frequency perturbation was obtained for the voiceless fricative condition. Planned comparisons were made by comparing the data across 2 dimensions: (1) vowels elicited with voiced contexts versus those elicited with voiceless consonantal contexts and (2) vowels elicited with obstruent versus vowels elicited with nonobstruent consonantal contexts. Some changes in acoustic parameters brought about by these stimulation techniques may be explained on the basis of coarticulatory effects of the consonantal context.     

The perception of two vocal qualities in a synthesized vocal utterance: ring and pressed voice

Two vocal qualities, ringquality and pressed quality, were analyzed perceptually. Listeners were asked to rate (on a scale from 0 to 10) the “amount of ring” in one listening and the “amount of pressedness” in another listening. The stimulus was the synthesized utterance /ya-ya-ya-ya-ya/. In the continuum representation of ring, the skewing quotient and the cross section of the epilaryngeal tube area were systematically varied, independently and by a covariation rule. In the continuum representation of pressed, the flow amplitude and open quotient were similarly varied. Results indicated that the crossover point between ring and no ring occurred with an epilaryngeal area of around 1.0 cm², and the crossover point between pressed and not pressed quality occurred at an open quotient of about 0.4. Fundamental frequency also had an effect on the perceptions, with a higher fundamental frequency receiving higher ratings of ring and pressed for otherwise the same parameters. Listeners demonstrated highly variable perceptions in both continua with poor intersubject, intrasubject, and intergroup reliability.     

Full three-dimensional imaging via ground penetrating radar: assessment in controlled conditions and on field for archaeological prospecting

This paper deals with an advanced microwave tomographic approach capable of providing full 3D images of buried targets from scattered field data gathered by means of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems. The approach is based on an approximated model of the scattering phenomenon and it is capable of accounting for the vectorial nature of the interactions occurring between electromagnetic waves and probed materials. Moreover, the Truncated Singular Value Decomposition inversion scheme is exploited to solve the involved linear inverse scattering problem in a stable and accurate way. The advantages offered by the full 3D inversion algorithm with respect to a commonly adopted strategy, which produces 3D images by interpolating 2D reconstructions, are assessed against GPR data gathered in laboratory controlled conditions. Moreover, to provide an example of the full 3D imaging capabilities in on field conditions, we report on a GPR measurement campaign carried out at Grotte dell’Angelo, Pertosa, (SA), Southern Italy, one of the most famous sites of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano geopark.     

The Effect of Noise on Computer-Aided Measures of Voice: A Comparison of CSpeechSP and the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program Software Using the CSL 4300B Module and Multi-Speech for Windows

The effect of noise on computer-derived samples of voice was compared across three different hardware/software configurations. The hardware/software systems included a stand-alone A/D converter (CSL Module 4300B) coupled to a custom Pentium PC used in conjunction with the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) software, and a Creative Labs A/D converter coupled to the same custom PC under software control of MDVP/Multispeech and CSpeechSP. Voice samples were taken from 10 female subjects, then mixed with computer fan noise creating three different signal-to-noise (S/N) levels. Mixed signals were analyzed on the three hardware/software systems. Results revealed that fundamental frequency was most resistant to the degradation effect of noise across systems; jitter and shimmer values, however, were more variable across all configurations. Jitter and shimmer values were significantly higher under certain S/N levels for the MDVP 4300B based system as compared to MDVP for Multi-Speech and CSpeechSP. The findings punctuate the need for sensitivity to recording environments, careful selection of hardware/software equipment arrays, and the establishment of minimal recording conditions (>25 dBA S/N) for voice sampling and analysis using computer-assisted methods.     

Sonochemical degradation of trimethoprim in water matrices: Effect of operating conditions,identification of transformation products and toxicity assessment

The sonochemical degradation of trimethoprim (TMP), a widely used antibiotic, in various water matrices was investigated. The effect of several parameters, such as initial TMP concentration (0.5–3 mg/L), actual power density (20–60 W/L), initial solution pH (3–10), inorganic ions, humic acid and water matrix on degradation kinetics was examined. The pseudo-first order degradation rate of TMP was found to increase with increasing power density and decreasing pH, water complexity (ultrapure water > bottled water > secondary wastewater) and initial TMP concentration.TMP degradation is accompanied by the formation of several transformation products (TPs) as evidenced by LC-QToF-MS analysis. Nine such TPs were successfully identified and their time-trend profiles during degradation were followed. An in silico toxicity evaluation was performed showing that several TPs could potentially be more toxic than the parent compound towards Daphnia magna, Pimephales promelas and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata.     

The False Vocal Folds: Shape and Size in Frontal View During Phonation Based on Laminagraphic Tracings

The geometry of the false vocal fold region during phonation is important to the understanding of the aerodynamics and acoustics of voice. The shape and dimensions of this region during phonation were estimated using laminagraphic tracings of the larynx. Laminagrams from two previous studies, one with non-singer subjects (Experiment I, Hollien and Colton, 1969) and the other with singers (Experiment II, Wilson, 1972), were traced, photocopied, and measured. Statistical analysis showed significantly greater false vocal fold height in males than females for both experiments. The false vocal fold gap was also significantly greater in males than females for Experiment II, but reached only borderline significance for Experiment I. For each gender, most of the linear measures were greater in Experiment I when compared to Experiment II; these differences may be passive in nature (due to actual differences in subject size) or active (due to muscle contraction that displaced the false vocal folds during singing).     

Magneto-transport in series coupled Aharonov-Bohm rings: The proximity effect and related issues

We present an exact analysis of one electron transport across a coupled system of model mesoscopic rings threaded by a uniform magnetic flux. In particular, we examine the effect of the proximity of the rings on the transmission characteristics within a tight binding formulation where, the ‘proximity’ is controlled by varying the inter-ring hopping integral. We show that such a system exhibits very interesting transmission characteristics, including flux controlled switching mechanism, a feature that may be observed in recently proposed molecular bridge systems.     

The Western Latin church as a place for music and preaching: An acoustic assessment

The history of Western architecture cannot be understood separately from the evolution followed by church types from the first Christian churches to the late baroque churches. But the fact is, in the absence of a specific architecture for music, the church has been the place which has long welcomed it as well as contributing to its development. In addition, during certain periods of history, the intelligibility of the word, primarily for preaching purposes, is an essential objective of its activity. This was the case in the beginnings of the first Christian churches, with the appearance of mendicant orders in the thirteenth century, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation movements in the sixteenth century, and more recently, after the Second Vatican Council. This article proposes a new approach, through an acoustic assessment of the church as a place for music and preaching.     

Geant4 simulations for sedimentary grains in infinite matrix conditions: The case of alpha dosimetry

Simulations based on the Geant4 toolkit have been performed in order to reproduce the electromagnetic interactions of alpha particles in a spherical grain embedded in an infinite radioactive matrix and to assess several dosimetric parameters; updated alpha attenuation factors have thus been calculated for a clay matrix. Their sensitivity to the chemical composition of both the coating matrix and the grain, as well as to the water content of the matrix, has also been investigated. Finally, differences between the energetic spectrum of the incident alpha particles and the deposited energy spectrum in the grain have been highlighted for fine and coarse grains, and their impact in terms of alpha dosimetry has been discussed.     

初始条件对囚禁离子云混沌行为的影响

考虑一个用周期力驱动的Duffing方程描叙的囚禁离子云系统,研究初始条件对其同宿轨道混沌行为的影响.结果表明,在各参数满足控制条件的情况下,初始条件的不同,将使轨道处于混沌或有序的不同状态.     

The importance of imaging conditions in scanning tunneling microscopy for the determination of surface texture and roughness

We show that the control conditions in the feedback loop of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) affect the values of the surface texture parameters, including fractal characterization, when they are calculated from STM images of the surface. The main surface texture parameters (such as the r.m.s. roughness, kurtosis, skewness, and average wavelength) show a strong dependence on the conditions used in the feedback loop for imaging. Fractal character changes also with feedback parameters. The quality of the STM images can be measured quantitatively by using some of the surface texture parameters.     

The self-absorption correction factors for 210Pb concentration in mining waste and influence on environmental radiation risk assessment

The radioactive lead isotope ²¹⁰Pb occurs in waste originating from metal smelting and refining industry, gas and oil extraction and sometimes from underground coal mines, which are deposited in natural environment very often. Radiation risk assessment requires accurate knowledge about the concentration of ²¹⁰Pb in such materials. Laboratory measurements seem to be the only reliable method applicable in environmental ²¹⁰Pb monitoring. One of the methods is gamma-ray spectrometry, which is a very fast and cost-effective method to determine ²¹⁰Pb concentration. On the other hand, the self-attenuation of gamma ray from ²¹⁰Pb (46.5 keV) in a sample is significant as it does not depend only on sample density but also on sample chemical composition (sample matrix). This phenomenon is responsible for the under-estimation of the ²¹⁰Pb activity concentration level often when gamma spectrometry is applied with no regard to relevant corrections. Finally, the corresponding radiation risk can be also improperly evaluated. Sixty samples of coal mining solid tailings (sediments created from underground mining water) were analysed. Slightly modified and adapted to the existing laboratory condition, a transmission method has been applied for the accurate measurement of ²¹⁰Pb concentration . The observed concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb range between 42.2?÷?11,700 Bq·kg^–1 of dry mass. Experimentally obtained correction factors related to a sample density and elemental composition range between 1.11 and 6.97. Neglecting this factor can cause a significant error or underestimations in radiological risk assessment. The obtained results have been used for environmental radiation risk assessment performed by use of the ERICA tool assuming exposure conditions typical for the final destination of such kind of waste.     

TLD measurements and Monte Carlo simulations for glandular dose and scatter fraction assessment in mammography: A comparative study

The main purpose of this study was to validate and compare Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) values obtained using Monte Carlo simulations with experimental values obtained from Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) and depth dose measurements performed in a Hospital mammography unit. ESD and depth dose were measured using ThermoLuminescent Dosimeters (TLDs), and a tissue equivalent mammography phantom recommended by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations were also compared with the MGD calculated using the Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) system of the mammographic unit. In the simulations the Doppler energy broadening effect was also taken into account. The simulated ESD are about 5%–10% higher than the measured ESD values. The deviation between the measured and simulated MGD values in the phantom is of about 15%. The MGD evaluated using the AEC system is smaller both with respect to the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental result by a factor of about 15% and 25% respectively. Moreover the BackScatter Factor (BSF) estimated by Monte Carlo simulations was used for the MGD calculation according to the Wu’s method. Finally the inclusion of the energy broadening effect on MGD calculation produces negligible variations on the simulated results.     

The application of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of structural changes in laser irradiated titanium dioxide materials

The use of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy to investigate the effect of exposure to high power laser radiation on the crystalline phases of TiO₂ has been investigated. Measurement of the changes, over several time integrals, in the Raman and anti-stokes Raman of TiO₂ spectra with exposure to laser radiation is reported. Raman and anti-stokes Raman provide detail on both the structure and the kinetic process of changes in crystalline phases in the titania material. The effect of laser exposure resulted in the generation of increasing amounts of the rutile crystalline phase from the anatase crystalline phase during exposure. The Raman spectra displayed bands at 144 cm⁻¹ (A1g), 197 cm⁻¹ (Eg), 398 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 515 cm⁻¹ (A1g), and 640 cm⁻¹ (Eg) assigned to anatase which were replaced by bands at 143 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 235 cm⁻¹ (2 phonon process), 448 cm⁻¹ (Eg) and 612 cm⁻¹ (A1g) which were assigned to rutile. This indicated that laser irradiation of TiO₂ changes the crystalline phase from anatase to rutile. Raman and anti-stokes Raman are highly sensitive to the crystalline forms of TiO₂ and allow characterisation of the effect of laser irradiation upon TiO₂. This technique would also be applicable as an in situ method for monitoring changes during the laser irradiation process.     

One injection for one-week controlled release: In vitro and in vivo assessment of ultrasound-triggered drug release from injectable thermoresponsive biocompatible hydrogels

Episodic release of bioactive compounds is often necessary for appropriate biological effects under specific physiological conditions. Here, we aimed to develop an injectable, biocompatible, and thermosensitive hydrogel system for ultrasound (US)-triggered drug release. An mPEG-PLGA-BOX block copolymer hydrogel was synthesized. The viscosity of 15 wt% hydrogel is 0.03 Pa*s at 25 °C (liquid form) and 34.37 Pa*s at 37 °C (gel form). Baseline and US-responsive in vitro release profile of a small molecule (doxorubicin) and that of a large molecule (FITC-dextran), from the hydrogel, was tested. A constant baseline release was observed in vitro for 7 d. When triggered by US (1 MHz, continuous, 0.4 W/cm²), the release rate increased by approximately 70 times. Without US, the release rate returned to baseline. Baseline and US-responsive in vivo release profile of doxorubicin was tested by subcutaneous injection in the back of mice and rats. Following injection into the subcutaneous layer, in vivo results also suggested that the hydrogels remained in situ and provided a steady release for at least 7 d; in the presence of the US-trigger, in vivo release from the hydrogel increased by approximately 10 times. Therefore, the mPEG-PLGA-BOX block copolymer hydrogel may serve as an injectable, biocompatible, and thermosensitive hydrogel system that is applicable for US-triggered drug release.     

Einstein relation in n-i-p-i and microstructures of nonlinear optical, optoelectronic and related materials: Simplified theory, relative comparison and suggestions for an experimental determination

We investigate the Einstein relation for the diffusivity-mobility ratio (DMR) for n-i-p-i and the microstructures of nonlinear optical compounds on the basis of a newly formulated electron dispersion law. The corresponding results for III-V, ternary and quaternary materials form a special case of our generalized analysis. The respective DMRs for II-VI, IV-VI and stressed materials have been studied. It has been found that taking CdGeAs₂, Cd₃As₂, InAs, InSb, Hg_1−xCd_xTe, In_1−xGa_xAs_yP_1−y lattices matched to InP, CdS, PbTe, PbSnTe and Pb_1−xSn_xSe and stressed InSb as examples that the DMR increases with increasing electron concentration in various manners with different numerical magnitudes which reflect the different signatures of the n-i-p-i systems and the corresponding microstructures. We have suggested an experimental method of determining the DMR in this case and the present simplified analysis is in agreement with the suggested relationship. In addition, our results find three applications in the field of quantum effect devices.