Laryngeal Gestures During Stop Production Using High-Speed Digital Images

On acoustic and fiberscopic studies of stop consonants, voice onset time and glottal width have been shown to be greatest in heavily aspirated stops, next greater for slightly aspirated stops, and least for unaspirated stops. Integrated activity of the thyroarytenoid and posterior cricoarytenoid muscles has been reported to be involved in differentiating aspirate characteristics of the stops. However, the fine movement of mucosal edges of vocal folds during the production of stops has not been well documented. In recent years, a new method for high-speed digital recording of laryngeal dynamics has made this possible. In the current study, the movements of vocal fold edges were documented during the period of stop production using a fiberscopic system of high-speed digital images. By observing the glottal width and the visual vibratory movements of vocal folds before voice onset, the heavily aspirated stop was characterized as being more prominent and dynamic than the slightly aspirated and unaspirated stops.     

Hyaluronic Acid: Its Role in Voice

The extracellular matrix (ECM), once regarded simply as a structural scaffold, is now recognized as an important modulator of cellular behavior and function. One component that plays a prominent role in this process is hyaluronic acid (HA)--a molecule found in many different tissues. Research into the roles of HA indicates that it plays a key role in tissue viscosity, shock absorption, and space filling. Specifically, research into the role of HA in laryngology indicates that it has profound effects on the structure and viscosity of vocal folds. This article provides an introduction to the structure and biological functions of HA and its importance in voice. In addition, an overview of the pharmaceutical applications of HA is discussed.     

Vocal Nodules and Laryngeal Morphology

Our purpose was to study the occurrence of vocal fold nodules under conditions of habitual vocal abuse associated with increased laryngeal muscle tension, to identify the existence of a relationship between vocal nodules and laryngeal morphology. We studied one group of 30 subjects with vocal nodules, 18 to 50 years old, who were compared with two control groups, one of females and one of males, consisting of 30 subjects each. The parameters evaluated were: type of vocal folds coaptation, glottic proportion (GP) and abduction angle (AA), obtained by videotelelaryngoscopy. In the nodules group, the larynges presented a mean value of GP similar to that of the female group, both of which were lower than the mean GP value of the male group. On the other hand, the mean AA was lower than the one in the female group, and closer to the one in the male group. We concluded that vocal nodules were present only in larynges with a predominantly young female morphology, with functional limitations of abduction.     

Effect of ultrasound frequency on antioxidant activity,total phenolic and anthocyanin content of red raspberry puree

Ultrasound in the 20–1000 kHz range show unique propagation characteristics in fluid media and possess energy that can break down fruit matrices to facilitate the extraction of valuable bioactive compounds. Red raspberries carry significant amounts of specific antioxidants, including ellagitannins and anthocyanins that are important for human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ultrasound frequencies associated with cavitation (20 kHz) and microstreaming (490 and 986 kHz) on total antioxidant activity (AOA), total phenolics content (TPC), and total monomeric anthocyanin content (ACY) of red raspberry puree prepared from crushed berries. The pureed fruit was subjected to high-intensity (20 kHz) and higher frequency-low intensity (490 and 986 kHz) ultrasound for 30 min. The temperature of treated purees increased to a maximum of 56 °C with 986 kHz. Sonication at 20 and 490 kHz significantly (p < 0.05) affected the AOA, ACY, and TPC of red raspberry puree, while 986 kHz had no significant effect on ACY and AOA (p < 0.05). In all cases, ultrasound treatment had significant and positive effect on at least one of the measured parameters up to 30 min. Sonication beyond 10 min (and up to 30 min) using 20 kHz either produced no change or caused a drop in AOA and ACY. However, for 986 and 20 kHz, TPC, increased by 10% and 9.5%, respectively after 30 min (p < 0.05) compared to the control. At 20 kHz, AOA and ACY increased by 17.3% and 12.6% after 10 min. It was demonstrated that 20 kHz ultrasound treatment, when limited to 10 min, was the most effective for extraction of bioactive compounds in red raspberry compared to 490 and 986 kHz although the effect could be similar at the higher frequencies if different amplitudes are used.     

Simultaneous LC–MS/MS determination of aflatoxin M<Subscript>1</Subscript>, ochratoxin A,deoxynivalenol, de-epoxydeoxynivalenol, α and β-zearalenols and fumonisin B<Subscript>1</Subscript> in urine as a multi-biomarker method to assess exposure to mycotoxins

Humans and animals can be simultaneously exposed through the diet to different mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and fumonisins, which are the most important. Evaluation of the frequency and levels of human and animal exposure to these mycotoxins can be performed by measuring the levels of the relevant biomarkers in urine. Available data on the toxicokinetics of these mycotoxins in animals suggest that aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁), ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON)/de-epoxydeoxynivalenol (DOM-1), alpha-zearalenol (α-ZOL)/beta-zearalenol (β-ZOL), and fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) can be used as urinary biomarkers. A liquid chromatographic–tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed for simultaneous determination of these mycotoxin biomarkers in human or animal urine. Urine samples were purified and concentrated by a double cleanup approach, using a multitoxin immunoaffinity column and a reversed-phase SPE Oasis HLB column. Separation of the biomarkers was performed by reversed-phase chromatography using a multi-step linear methanol–water gradient containing 0.5% acetic acid as mobile phase. Detection and quantification of the biomarkers were performed by triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS). The clean-up conditions were optimised to obtain maximum analyte recovery and high sensitivity. Recovery from spiked samples was performed at four levels in the range 0.03–12 ng mL⁻¹, using matrix-matched calibration curves for quantification. Mean recoveries of the biomarkers tested ranged from 62 to 96% with relative standard deviations of 3–20%. Enzymatic digestion with β-glucuronidase/sulfatase resulted in increased concentrations of the biomarkers, in both human and pig urine, in most samples containing measurable concentrations of DON, DOM-1, OTA, α-ZOL, or β-ZOL. A highly variable increase was observed between individuals. Co-occurrence of OTA and DON in human urine is reported herein for the first time.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of high spin M/Cu (M = Mn, Fe) heterobimetallic and Fe/Cu2 trimetallic phosphinoamides

The heterobimetallic complexes [Mn((i)PrNPPh(2))(3)Cu((i)PrNHPPh(2))] (1) and [Fe((i)PrNPPh(2))(3)Cu((i)PrNHPPh(2))] (2) have been synthesized by the one pot reaction of LiN(i)PrPPh(2), MCl(2) (M = Mn, Fe), and CuI in high yield. Addition of excess CuI into 2 or directly to the reaction mixture led to the formation of a heterotrimetallic [Fe((i)PrNPPh(2))(3)Cu(2)((i)PrNPPh(2))] (3) in good yield. Complexes 1-3 have been characterized by means of elemental analysis, paramagnetic (1)H NMR, UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and single crystal X-ray analysis. In all three complexes, Mn or Fe are in the +2 oxidation state and have a high spin electron configuration, as evidenced by solution Evans' method. In addition, the oxidation state of Fe in complex 3 is confirmed by zero-field (57)Fe M?ssbauer spectroscopy. X-ray crystallography reveals that the three coordinate Mn/Fe centers in the zwitterionic complexes 1-3 adopt an unusual trigonal planar geometry.     

Macroporous hydrogel micropillars for quantifying Met kinase activity in cancer cell lysates

Overactive and overexpressed kinases have been implicated in the cause and progression of many cancers. Kinase inhibitors offer a targeted approach for treating cancers associated with increased or deregulated kinase activity. Often, however, cancer cells exhibit initial resistance to these inhibitors or evolve to develop resistance during treatment. Additionally, cancers of any one tissue type are typically heterogeneous in their oncogenesis mechanisms, and thus diagnosis of a particular type of cancer does not necessarily provide insight into what kinase therapies may be effective. For example, while some lung cancer cells that overexpress the epidermal growth factor receptor (EFGR) respond to treatment with EGFR kinase inhibitors, overexpression or hyperactivity of Met kinase correlates with resistance to EGFR kinase inhibitors. Here we describe a microfluidic-based assay for quantifying Met kinase activity in cancer cell lysates with the eventual goals of predicting cancer cell responsiveness to kinase inhibitors and monitoring development of resistance to these inhibitors. In this assay, we immobilized a phosphorylation substrate for Met kinase into macroporous hydrogel micropillars. We then exposed the micropillars to a cancer cell lysate and detected substrate phosphorylation using a fluorescently conjugated antibody. This assay is able to quantify Met kinase activity in whole cell lysate from as few as 150 cancer cells. It can also detect cells expressing overactive Met kinase in a background of up to 75% non-cancerous cells. Additionally, the assay can quantify kinase inhibition by the Met-specific kinase inhibitors SU11274 and PHA665752, suggesting predictive capability for cellular response to kinase inhibitors.     

Structural analysis of the β-SiC(100)-(2 × 1) surface reconstruction by automated tensor LEED

The atomic structure of the β-SiC(100)-(2 × 1) surface was analyzed using dynamical calculations of low energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensities measured with a video camera. Surface composition was monitored using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The LEED calculations utilized our recently developed automated tensor LEED method. The results indicate that the surface is terminated by a monolayer of silicon with the topmost silicon atoms forming asymmetric, buckled dimers.     

Effects of Frequency Averaging on Estimates of Plasma Wave Coherence Spectra

The effects of frequency averaging (i. e., data smoothing) on digitally computed plasma-wave coherence-spectra are investigated. Such averaging, or smoothing, of the data is necessary to reduce the variance of the spectral estimators to acceptable levels. However, too much averaging results in a loss of frequency resolution and in an "artificial" reduction of the degree of coherence characterizing each wave in the fluctuation spectrum. This latter problem is the subject of this paper and is concluded that in order to avoid such difficulties, it is necessary: (1) that the averaging bandwidth be small compared to the spectral bandwidth of the wave packet, and (2) that the distance between the two spatial monitoring points be small compared to the coherence length of the wave packet.