Sex differences in human cardiovascular responses to external excitation

Summary The purpose of this study was to investigate the sex particularities in human cardiovascular responses to different external influences using the traditional physiological approach and non-traditional methods of dynamical systems theory. Measurements were taken in 21 healthy women and 15 men exposed to noise stress, passive coping, and in 35 women and 25 men exposed to double mental arithmetic stress, active coping. Results showed that, firstly, cardiovascular reactivity in men and women was determined by the type of stress. Thus, in a majority of humans heart rate did not change during noise but increased during mental stress, blood pressure decreased during noise but increased during mental stress. Secondly, results demonstrated the significant sex differences in the basal and stress cardiovascular activity. So, the women showing the greater basal and stress heart rate displayed the hypotensive responses to passive coping more often and the hypertensive responses to active coping less often than men. Thirdly, the changes in normalized entropy of the electrocardiogram signal, reflecting the changes in heart physiological variability, also depended on the sex of subjects and the nature of stress. During noise normalized entropy increased in a majority of women but decreased in a majority of men. Mental stress caused both decreases and increases in normalized entropy in men and women. But the increases in normalized entropy during stress and especially during recovery were greater in women than in men. Normalized entropy was demonstrated to be a more sensitive marker of sex and individual differences in cardiovascular responses to stress than heart rate and blood pressure. Results suggest that the lower blood pressure reactions and the greater increases in normalized entropy,i.e. in physiological heart variability, may partly result in higher cardiovascular stress resistance in women relative to men. Paper presented at the International Workshop ?Fluctuations in Physics and Biology: Stochastic Resonance, Signal Processing and Related Phenomena?, Elba, 5–10 June 1994.     

Sex differences in judging self-orientation: the morphological horizon and body pitch

Background  

Sex differences exist for many spatial tasks. This is true for circular vection, field dependence, and perception of veridical vertical with body tilt. However, explanations for these sex differences is lacking in the literature. In this study, we investigated the nature of individual differences in the perception of self-orientation in humans. Male and female participants were asked to identify their Morphological Horizon (i.e., line perpendicular to saggital plane at eye-level) in different body orientations relative to gravity (i.e., 45 deg and 135 deg body pitch) with and without prior whole body rotation.     

Thick skin in neutron/proton-rich sodium isotopes

Nucleon (both neutron and proton) density distributions of the chain of sodium isotopes are calculated using a semi-phenomenological model of nuclear density which incorporates correctly the asymptotic behaviour and the behaviour near the centre. The experimental charge root-mean-square radii and the single neutron and proton separation energies, required as input, are used. The calculated interaction cross-sections using these densities in the Glauber model agree well with the experiment. The calculated neutron rms radii r _n and the nuclear skin thickness ( r _n - r _p) closely agree with the corresponding experimental values and also are consistent with the Relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) calculations. Received: 24 April 2001 / Accepted: 28 June 2001     

Sex differences in the relationship between white matter microstructure and impulsivity in adolescents

Rapid maturational brain changes occur during adolescence--a time associated with risk-taking behaviors and improvements in cognition. The present study examined the relationship between white matter (WM) microstructure, impulsive behavior and response inhibition in female and male adolescents. Twenty-one healthy adolescents underwent diffusion tensor imaging using a 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging system. Impulse control was assessed using the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth Version. Response inhibition was assessed using the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test. Fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of WM coherence, and trace, a measure of overall diffusivity, were determined from voxels manually placed in the midline and in the left and right forward-projecting arms of the genu and the splenium of the corpus callosum. Sex-specific differences were observed for the relationship between FA and impulsive behavior in the right anterior callosum for males and in the splenium for females. Males, compared to females, displayed significantly higher FA in the left WM region. Although trace was not associated with impulse control, trace in the genu (for females) and splenium (males and females) was associated with Stroop performance. Regional differences in trace also were evident, with lower values in the splenium observed than in all other regions. Although the latter significantly improved with age, no sex differences in impulse control or in Stroop performance were detected. The present findings provide supporting evidence for sex-related differences in the development of WM microstructure during adolescence. These data further suggest a neurobiological mechanism underlying some of the emotional and cognitive changes commonly observed in males versus females during the adolescent period.     

Sex differences in the length of the organ of Corti in humans

Sato et al. [Acta. Otolaryngol. 111 (6), 1037-1040 (1991)] reported that the human cochlea is, on average, 15% longer for males than females. This corresponds to 4.7 mm in length and to 2.78 standard deviations (SD). Anatomical measurements of the lengths of cochleas from 148 heads (194 cochleas) from eleven sources are reviewed and summarized. A sex difference of 3.36% is observed. This corresponds to 1.11 mm in length and to 0.49 SD. The mean lengths of the male and female cochleas are approximately 34 and 33 mm, respectively, and the population SD is 2.28 mm. The statistical significance of the observed difference is questionable.     

Comparing behavioral and physiological measures of combination tones: Sex and race differences

Both distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and performance in an auditory-masking task involving combination tones were measured in the same frequency region in the same ears. In the behavioral task, a signal of 3.6?kHz (duration 300?ms, rise/fall time 20?ms) was masked by a 3.0-kHz tone (62?dB SPL, continuously presented). These two frequencies can produce a combination tone at 2.4?kHz. When a narrowband noise (2.0-2.8?kHz, 17?dB spectrum level) was added as a second masker, detection of the 3.6-kHz signal worsened by 6-9?dB (the Greenwood effect), revealing that listeners had been using the combination tone at 2.4?kHz as a cue for detection at 3.6?kHz. Several outcomes differed markedly by sex and racial background. The Greenwood effect was substantially larger in females than in males, but only for the White group. When the magnitude of the Greenwood effect was compared with the magnitude of the DPOAE measured in the 2.4?kHz region, the correlations typically were modest, but were high for Non-White males. For many subjects, then, most of the DPOAE measured in the ear canal apparently is not related to the combination-tone cue that is masked by the narrowband noise.     

激光驻波场中钠原子沉积图样的理论研究

原子在近共振激光驻波场中受光的作用力汇聚沉积，形成以激光半波长为周期的光栅结构. 利用半经典模型对钠原子束在不饱和驻波场中的运动行为进行了理论研究，用数值方法模拟出在考虑横向温度、纵向速度和自由飞程后钠原子沉积的光栅结构，通过半高宽、对比度对最终沉积图样进行表征，分析了这些因素对沉积的影响，为正在开展的原子光刻实验提供了必要的理论依据. 关键词： 原子沉积 半经典模型 激光驻波场     

The effects of sodium in ITO by pulsed laser deposition on organic light-emitting diodes

The depth profile of ITO on glass was measured by the time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOFSIMS) which revealed high sodium (Na) ion concentration at the ITO surface as well as at the ITO–glass interface as a result of out diffusion with substrate heating. Effects of Na ions on the performance of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) were studied by etching away a few tens of nanometers off the ITO surface with a dilute aquaregia solution of HNO₃:HCl:H₂O. A single-layer, molecularly doped ITO/(PVK+TPD+Alq₃)/Al OLEDs were fabricated on bare and etched ITO samples. Although the removal of a 10-nm layer of ITO surface increased the voltage range, brightness, and lifetime, it was insufficient to correlate these improvements with solely to the Na ion reduction without considering the surface roughness.     

Sex differences in the acoustic structure of vowel-like grunt vocalizations in baboons and their perceptual discrimination by baboon listeners

This study quantifies sex differences in the acoustic structure of vowel-like grunt vocalizations in baboons (Papio spp.) and tests the basic perceptual discriminability of these differences to baboon listeners. Acoustic analyses were performed on 1028 grunts recorded from 27 adult baboons (11 males and 16 females) in southern Africa, focusing specifically on the fundamental frequency (F0) and formant frequencies. The mean F0 and the mean frequencies of the first three formants were all significantly lower in males than they were in females, more dramatically so for F0. Experiments using standard psychophysical procedures subsequently tested the discriminability of adult male and adult female grunts. After learning to discriminate the grunt of one male from that of one female, five baboon subjects subsequently generalized this discrimination both to new call tokens from the same individuals and to grunts from novel males and females. These results are discussed in the context of both the possible vocal anatomical basis for sex differences in call structure and the potential perceptual mechanisms involved in their processing by listeners, particularly as these relate to analogous issues in human speech production and perception.     

Raman spectroscopy of Chinese human skin in vivo

A novel and compact near-infrared (NIR) Raman system is developed using 785-nm diode laser, volumephase technology (VPT) holographic system, and NIR intensified charge-coupled device (CCD). Signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) and resolution are improved compared with ordinary acquisition method by a specially designed optical fiber detector and the spectrograph image aberration correction with a parabolic-line fiber array. In 1-5 s, Raman spectra of different parts of Chinese human skin are acquired. Autofluorescence is subtracted from the raw spectrum by polynomial fitting and skin Raman spectrum is then smoothed for further analysis.     

Sex differences in voice onset time: a developmental study of phonetic context effects in British English

Voice onset time (VOT) data for the plosives /p b t d k g/ in two vowel contexts (/i a/) for 5 groups of 46 boys and girls aged 5; 8 (5 years, 8 months) to 13;2 years were investigated to examine patterns of sex differences. Results indicated that there was some evidence of females displaying longer VOT values than the males. In addition, these were found to be most marked for the data of the 13;2-year olds. Furthermore, the sex differences in the VOT values displayed phonetic context effects. For example, the greatest sex differences were observed for the voiceless plosives, and within the context of the vowel /i/.     

Ultra-high vacuum deposition of sodium on indium monoselenide: intercalation or chemical reaction?

A X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of the behaviour of sodium films deposited in ultra-high vacuum on InSe single-crystal or thin epitaxial films at room temperature and upon moderate annealings (up to 475 K) is reported. Major changes affect the substrate spectra, in particular indium, and clearly show the influence of the substrate morphology. For the InSe single-crystal substrate, annealing tends to restore the initial InSe surface as shown by XPS and RHEED, while for InSe films, no restoration occurs. In both cases, sodium has a partial ionic character and two phases are evidenced: one, [NaIn⁰Se_β], where indium is close to metal or covalent indium, and the other, Na_'[InSe], where indium is more ionic close to InSe. The results emphasize that interdiffusion and fast chemical reaction predominate for the thin film substrate; for the bulk substrate, interfacial reaction and surface diffusion are competitive.     

Influence of deposition pressure and power on characteristics of RF-Sputtered Mo films and investigation of sodium diffusion in the films

Mo films deposited by DC sputtering are widely used as back contact in CIGS and CZTS based thin film solar cells. However, there have been only a few studies on the deposition of Mo films by RF sputtering method. In this context, Mo films on SLG substrates were prepared as a function of deposition pressure and power by using RF magnetron sputtering method to contribute to this shortcoming. Mo films were deposited at 250 °C substrate temperature by using 20, 15, 10 mTorr Ar pressures at 120 W RF power and 10 mTorr Ar pressure at 100 W RF power. Structural, morphological and reflectivity properties of RF-sputtered Mo films were clarified by XRD, AFM, FE-SEM and UV–Vis measurements. In addition, due to sodium incorporation from SLG substrate to the absorber layer through Mo back contact layer is so essential in terms of improving the conversion efficiency values of CIGS and CZTS thin film solar cell devices, the effects of Na diffusion in the films were analyzed with SIMS depth profile. The electrical properties of the films such as mobility, carrier density and resistivity were determined by Hall Effect measurements. It was found that Mo films prepared at 120 W, 10 mtorr and 250 °C substrate temperature and then annealed at 500 °C for 30 min, had resistivity as low as 10⁻⁵ Ω cm, as well as higher amount of Na incorporation than other films.     

Effects of noise on human efficiency and some individual differences

This paper begins with a brief review of research on the way in which loud noise affects the efficiency of human work, leading to an examination of some differences between individuals in the extent to which efficiency is affected. Noise is regarded as producing a narrowing of attention towards work components of high priority, an effect which is seen as providing a basis for understanding previous contradictory interpretations in this area. Extroverted people seem more susceptible to this narrowing of attention, while the performance of introverts is more stable. Some related research on individual differences in performance, and preference for noisy environments is also discussed.     

High-resolution spectroscopic imaging of the human skin

High-resolution water, fat and chemical shift artefact-free images of different areas of the skin were obtained on a whole-body MR unit (1.5 T) with commercial receiver surface coil with a diameter of 25 mm and high-power gradients (23 mT/m). Sufficient signal-to-noise ratio was achieved by lowering receiver bandwidth to +/-10 kHz or lower and shortening the echo time to 11 (13) ms. Spectroscopic image data sets were acquired with resolution 0.102 x 0.133 mm in plane and slice thickness 0.5 mm. The results demonstrate that it is possible to produce high-quality water and fat micro-images of the skin layers using only a few chemical shift encoding steps in a clinically reasonable time (approximately 2 minutes per slice).     

Role of epidermis in the optics and thermal physics of human skin

Some engineering approaches to the problems of optics and thermophysics of biological tissues have been developed. The light fields both within and beyond biological medium have been studied. The role of the epidermis in the formation of these fields is revealed. It is shown that in the general case epidermis cannot be considered as a spectral filter that only absorbs and does not scatter light. A convenient approximation of the fluence rate in a two-layer (epidermis and dermis) tissue is proposed, which is the sum of two exponential functions of depth in the epidermis. This approximation made it possible to obtain an analytical solution to the problem of heating biological tissues by an external narrow light beam. It is found that epidermis only slightly affects the temperature fields under blue light irradiation. However, when an external source of red light is used, the epidermis works as a heater and can increase several times the dermis temperature in comparison with a single-layer tissue. The reasons for these heating features are discussed. Examples of corresponding calculations are given.     

Multiple-reflection model of human skin and estimation of pigment concentrations

We describe a new method for estimating the concentrations of pigments in the human skin using surface spectral reflectance. We derive an equation that expresses the surface spectral reflectance of the human skin. First, we propose an optical model of the human skin that accounts for the stratum corneum. We also consider the difference between the scattering coefficient of the epidermis and that of the dermis. We then derive an equation by applying the Kubelka-Munk theory to an optical model of the human skin. Unlike a model developed in a recent study, the present equation considers pigments as well as multiple reflections and the thicknesses of the skin layers as factors that affect the color of the human skin. In two experiments, we estimate the pigment concentrations using the measured surface spectral reflectances. Finally, we confirm the feasibility of the concentrations estimated by the proposed method by evaluating the estimated pigment concentrations in the skin.     

Pulsed laser deposition of bioceramic thin films from human tooth

The possibility of pulsed laser deposition of thin films from human tooth targets was studied, since bioceramic thin film coatings on dental and orthopaedic implants may have their surface characteristics for biointegration improved. Pellets were pressed from tooth powder at different pressures and ablated with pulses of ArF (=193 nm) and KrF (=248 nm) excimer lasers with fluences up to 4.5 and 12 J/cm², respectively. Layers were deposited onto heated (250 °C) titanium, glass, and KBr substrates. The increase of the pellet pressing pressure from 150 to 450 MPa enhanced the roughness of the deposited films. IR spectroscopic measurements showed that the chemical composition of the films were close to that of original tooth material under appropriate fluence. The adherence of the layers to the substrates could be significantly improved by post annealing at 550 °C. PACS 81.15.Fg; 68.55.Jk; 87.68.+z