Variations in normal human laryngeal anatomy and physiology as viewed fiberscopically

The purpose of this study was to observe and document variations in configuration and movement of the lower vocal tract and selected laryngeal structures in a sample of normal speakers. Ten men and ten women, ranging in age from 21 to 33 years, judged to have normal voices, were examined fiber-optically. Each subject engaged in a set protocol of phonatory and nonphonatory tasks and all examinations were videotaped. Judges reviewed these recordings with special attention to the following structures: pharyngeal wall, epiglottis, pyriform sinuses, ventricular folds, true vocal folds and the arytenoid complex. Extensive variability among these normals was observed anatomically and physiologically.     

CNDO/2 molecular orbital calculations of the hemi-Dewar and valene structures of naphthalene

CNDO/2 molecular orbital calculations have been carried out on the hemi-Dewar and valene structures of naphthalene in order to determine the configuration of minimum energy.     

The effect of cholesterol on the adsorption of phenyltin compounds onto phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin liposome membranes

Organometallic compounds are widely spread in the human environment sometimes, causing a substantial health risk. Their amphiphilic character enables them to intercalate and penetrate cell membranes, potentially affecting various vital cell functions. Compound adsorption onto the membrane depends on the compound properties, as well as on the membrane composition and state. When adsorbing onto the lipidic surface, phenyltins localize at areas where lipid bilayer organization is compatible with compound spatial requirements. The lipid bilayer is a dynamic and laterally nonuniform structure with complex local and global architecture correlated with a variety of cell functions. The selective binding of a toxic compound to selected membrane areas may, therefore, interfere with some types of cellular process. We present experimental results concerning phenyltin adsorption onto the lipid bilayer surface measured with the fluorescent probe fluorescein‐PE. Model lipid bilayers were formed from lipid mixtures mimicking various plasma membrane regions. The adsorption of Ph₃SnCl and P₂SnCl₂ onto the phosphatidylcholine–cholesterol bilayer was qualitatively different from sphingomyelin–cholesterol. The results presented indicate that phenyltins are likely to accumulate in areas containing phosphatidylcholine, outside of lipid rafts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of montmorillonite modification on optical properties of heterogeneous nematic liquid crystal - clay mineral nanocomposites

Investigations of montmorillonite (MMT) clay mineral modification effects on electro-optical properties of nanocomposites, based on the nematic liquid crystal 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and MMT have been carried out. Only the composite with MMT modified by an organic surface-active substance, dioctadecyldimethylammonium chloride, has been shown to manifest electro-optical memory effect and contrast. A polar dopant (acetone), added to the mixture, significantly increases composite homogeneity. Results of IR spectroscopy measurements lead to the conclusion, that there is a mutual influence of components on each other in organoclay systems, which appears as an alignment of near-surface layers of both the organic and inorganic components of the composite. Due to such interactions these systems show electro-optical contrast and memory effect. A composite with organophobic Na-MMT does not show these electro-optical properties, due to the absence of component interactions, as shown by IR spectroscopic data.     

Absorption spectra of dysprosium compounds in nonaqueous solutions. Spectral intensity analysis

Absorption spectra of dysprosium compounds were measured in amides and D₂O within the 5500–35000 cm^?1 region and in alcohols within the 7000–34300 cm^?1 region. The oscillator strengths of f-f absorptions bands below 35000 cm^?1 were determined. The intensities of the Dy³⁺ ground state absorption were analyzed according to the Judd-Ofelt theory of forced electric dipole transitions.A good fit to the measurements was obtained with the intensity parameter given in Tables 4–6. The polarizability effect on the intensity of the f-f transition with high value matrix elements U⁽⁴⁾ and U⁽⁶⁾ were considered.     

Pitfalls and problems in flexible fiberoptic videolaryngoscopy

The flexible fiberoptic laryngoscope is a valuable tool in the examination of laryngeal and supraglottic structure and function. Nevertheless, persistent questions remain about the validity of the perceived image, and a variety of concerns arise relative to the equipment used, the difficult to examine patient, and the difficulty in obtaining measurable objective data. All of these areas are discussed. Distortions of the video image that result from the wideangle lens effect are described. Given an awareness of the distortions that may be present in the fiberoptic video image, it is clear that it is necessary to exercise caution in making judgments of anatomic or physiologic integrity based on fiberoptic information alone.     

Geometry and ergodic theory of non-recurrent elliptic functions

We explore the class of elliptic functions whose critical points all contained in the Julia set are non-recurrent and whose ω-limit sets form compact subsets of the complex plane. In particular, this class comprises hyperbolic, subhyperbolic and parabolic elliptic maps. Leth be the Hausdorff dimension of the Julia set of such an elliptic functionf. We construct an atomlessh-conformal measurem and show that theh-dimensional Hausdorff measure of the Julia set off vanishes unless the Julia set is equal to the entire complex plane ℂ. Theh-dimensional packing measure is positive and is finite if and only if there are no rationally indifferent periodic points. Furthermore, we prove the existence of a (unique up to a multiplicative constant) σ-finitef-invariant measure μ equivalent tom. The measure μ is shown to be ergodic and conservative, and we identify the set of points whose open neighborhoods all have infinite measure μ. In particular, we show that ∞ is not among them. The research of the first author was supported in part by the Foundation for Polish Science, the Polish KBN Grant No 2 PO3A 034 25 and TUW Grant no 503G 112000442200. She also wishes to thank the University of North Texas where this research was conducted. The research of the second author was supported in part by the NSF Grant DMS 0100078. Both authors were supported in part by the NSF/PAN grant INT-0306004.     

On the nature of electron donor-acceptor interactions: 2. Mulliken's charge-transfer theory and the problem of the increase in intensity of the infrared band associated with iodine-base complexes

A relation between the enthalpy of formation and the rate of change with normal coordinate of the dipole moment contribution due to the charge-transfer phenomenon is derived for electron donor-acceptor complexes formed between halogen and organic molecules. The relation is found to hold for a number of iodine complexes.