The Relationship Between Cepstral Peak Prominence and Selected Parameters of Dysphonia

Traditional measures of dysphonia vary in their reliability and in their correlations with perceptions of grade. Measurements of cepstral peak prominence (CPP) have been shown to correlate well with perceptions of breathiness. Because it is a measure of periodicity, CPP should also predict roughness. The ability of CPP and other acoustic measures to predict overall dysphonia and the subcategories of breathiness and roughness in pathological voice samples is explored. Preoperative and postoperative speech samples from 19 patients with unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis who underwent operative intervention were analyzed by trained listeners and by measures of smoothed CPP (CPPS), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), amplitude perturbation quotient (APQ), relative average perturbation (RAP), and smoothed pitch perturbation quotient (sPPQ). The data were analyzed with bivariate Pearson correlation statistics. Grade of dysphonia and breathiness ratings correlated better with measurements of CPPS than with the other measures. CPPS from samples of connected speech (CPPS-s) best predicted overall dysphonia. None of the measures were useful in predicting roughness.     

Laryngeal and Other Otolaryngologic Manifestations of Crohn''s Disease

Laryngeal and other otolaryngologic manifestations of Crohn's disease are uncommon and may be subtle. Crohn's disease is a well-known inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology marked by relapsing and remitting granulomatous inflammation of the alimentary tract. Extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease may appear anytime during the course of the disease process and may be the initial symptom. Findings are nonspecific, primarily edema and ulcerations, and may be confused with a multitude of other disease processes. Awareness of these manifestations in the head and neck will prevent misdiagnosis or a delay in diagnosis.     

Measurement of isomeric yield ratios for 93Nb(??,4n)89m,gNb and natMo(??,xn1p)95m,gNb reactions with 50-, 60-, and 70-MeV bremsstrahlung

We measured the isomeric yield ratios for the photonuclear reactions of ⁹³Nb(??,4n)^89m,gNb and ^natMo(??,xnp)^95m,gNb by using the activation method. The high-purity ⁹³Nb and ^natMo metallic foils in disc shape were irradiated with uncollimated bremsstrahlung beams of 50-, 60-, and 70-MeV generated from an electron linear accelerator in Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The induced activities in the irradiated foils were measured by the high-resolution ??-ray spectrometry with a calibrated high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detector coupled to a PC-based 4?K multichannel analyzer. The reaction ⁹³Nb(??,4n)^89m,gNb was studied for the first time which has no comparable literature data. The result of ^95m,gNb isomeric pair was measured based on (??,p), (??,np), and (??,2np) reactions which is the first measurement at the intermediate energy region of 50?C70-MeV with a ^natMo target.     

EFFECT OF COMPOSITION AND PROCESSING CONDITION ON MICROSTRUCTURAL PROPERTIES AND DURABILITY OF FLUOROPOLYMER/ACRYLIC BLENDS

Fluoropolymer blends have been widely used as binders for exterior coatings because of their excellent resistance to ultra-violet (UV) radiation as well as to many corrosive chemical agents.It is known that the fluorinated component usually has a lower glass transition temperature and easily crystallizes in the final structure depending upon the blend composition and sample annealing condition.We investigated the effect of blend composition and annealing process (slow and fast cooling) on the surface mor...     

Bridging a Century-Old Problem: The Pathophysiology and Molecular Mechanisms of HA Filler-Induced Vascular Occlusion (FIVO)—Implications for Therapeutic Interventions

Biocompatible hyaluronic acid (HA, hyaluronan) gel implants have altered the therapeutic landscape of surgery and medicine, fostering an array of innovative products that include viscosurgical aids, synovial supplements, and drug-eluting nanomaterials. However, it is perhaps the explosive growth in the cosmetic applications of injectable dermal fillers that has captured the brightest spotlight, emerging as the dominant modality in plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine. The popularity surge with which injectable HA fillers have risen to in vogue status has also brought a concomitant increase in the incidence of once-rare iatrogenic vaso-occlusive injuries ranging from disfiguring facial skin necrosis to disabling neuro-ophthalmological sequelae. As our understanding of the pathophysiology of these injuries has evolved, supplemented by more than a century of astute observations, the formulation of novel therapeutic and preventative strategies has permitted the amelioration of this burdensome complication. In this special issue article, we review the relevant mechanisms underlying HA filler-induced vascular occlusion (FIVO), with particular emphasis on the rheo-mechanical aspects of vascular blockade; the thromboembolic potential of HA mixtures; and the tissue-specific ischemic susceptibility of microvascular networks, which leads to underperfusion, hypoxia, and ultimate injury. In addition, recent therapeutic advances and novel considerations on the prevention and management of muco-cutaneous and neuro-ophthalmological complications are examined.     

A tandem synthesis of 3-aroylcoumarinoflavones catalyzed by <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-proline and their antioxidant activity

A facile, convenient, efficient and high-yielding synthesis of 3-aroylcoumarinoflavones has been developed by the condensation of easily synthesized 7-hydroxy-8-formylflavones and benzoyl acetonitriles in the presence of catalytic amount of l-proline in ethanol reflux. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant activity. Some of the compounds showed very good activity compared to standard BHT.     

Coefficient estimates of negative powers and inverse coefficients for certain starlike functions

For ?1≤B<A≤1, let \(\mathcal {S}^{*}(A,B)\) denote the class of normalized analytic functions \(f(z)= z+{\sum }_{n=2}^{\infty }a_{n} z^{n}\) in |z|<1 which satisfy the subordination relation z f ^′(z)/f(z)?(1 + A z)/(1 + B z) and Σ^?(A,B) be the corresponding class of meromorphic functions in |z|>1. For \(f\in \mathcal {S}^{*}(A,B)\) and λ>0, we shall estimate the absolute value of the Taylor coefficients a _n (?λ,f) of the analytic function (f(z)/z)^?λ . Using this we shall determine the coefficient estimate for inverses of functions in the classes \(\mathcal {S}^{*}(A,B)\) and Σ^?(A,B).     

Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase

ABSTRACT

The synthesis and characterisation of several members of the 1,ω-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl) alkane (CBnCB) and the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-ω-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl) alkane (CBnOCB) homologous series are reported. The new odd members described CB5CB, CB13CB, CB4OCB, CB8OCB and CB10OCB all exhibit twist-bend nematic and nematic phases. The members of these series already reported in literature, CB7CB, CB9CB, CB11CB and CB6OCB, were also prepared in order to allow for a direct comparison of their transitional properties. The properties of these dimers are also compared to those of the corresponding members of the 1,ω-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4,-yloxy) alkanes (CBOnOCB). For any given total spacer length, for odd members of these series, the nematic–isotropic transition temperatures and associated entropy changes are greatest for the CBOnOCB dimer and lowest for the CBnCB dimer. These trends are understood in terms of molecular shape. For short spacer lengths, the twist-bend nematic–nematic transition temperature (T_NTBN) is higher for the CBnOCB series than for the CBnCB series but this is reversed as the spacer length increases. Of the CBOnOCB dimers, a virtual value of T_NTBN was estimated for CBO3OCB and T_NTBN was measured for CBO5OCB. These values are considerably lower than those observed for the corresponding members of the CBnCB or CBnOCB series. The dependence of T_NTBN on molecular structure is discussed not only in terms of the molecular curvature but also in the ability of the molecules to pack efficiently. As the temperature range of the preceding nematic phase increases, so the twist-bend nematic–nematic transition entropy change decreases and the transition approaches second order for the longer spacers. For comparative purposes, the transitional behaviour of the even-membered dimers CB6CB, CB5OCB and CBO4OCB is reported and differences accounted for in terms of molecular shape.     

The Prevalence of Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Benign Laryngeal Disorders

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is an accepted cause of chronic active gastritis and has a major causative role in peptic ulcers. It is a gastric carcinogen. Its role in nonulcer dyspepsia (NUD) is less clear, yet 50% of patients with NUD are infected with HP, and some recent literature demonstrates long-term improvement of symptoms following eradication. HP has been investigated in several other organ systems, but has not been investigated to any major degree in laryngeal disorders, a region that could be directly exposed to the bacterium from pharyngolaryngeal reflux. This study represents one arm of a larger study designed to investigate such a relationship. Of 101 patients with nonmalignant voice disorders presenting to our voice clinics, 54.5% tested positive for the H. pylori organism. Of the controls, 47.1% tested positive. When striated into age groups of < 45 years, 46–61 years, and > 62 years, and then age-matched with the controls, the likelihood of infection with the H. pylori organism was greater in both the experimental middle group, and in the middle group when combined with the elder group, than in the matched controls, and this difference demonstrated a trend approaching statistical significance. This finding is discussed in the light of other studies on HP and on gastroesophageal reflex (GER).