Behavioral therapy for spasmodic dysphonia

This paper presents a general schema for classifying treatment approaches for both functional and organic voice disorders. It's use is illustrated by a review of treatments for Spasmodic Dysphonia. Most behavioral approaches have been found to be unsuccessful except for mild cases. Inhalation speech as a compensatory technique has been reported as somewhat successful for those mild/moderate cases for whom medical/surgical treatment has not been available. The fact that organic treatment levels have been more successful in the treatment of Spasmodic Dysphonia may lend support to an organic etiology     

Possible application of X-ray optical elements for reducing the spectral bandwidth of an X-ray SASE FEL

A new design for a single pass X-ray Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) FEL is proposed. The scheme consists of two undulators and an X-ray monochromator located between them. The first stage of the FEL amplifier operates in the SASE linear regime. After the exit of the first undulator the electron bunch is guided through a non-isochronous bypass and the X-ray beam enters the monochromator. The main function of the bypass is to suppress the modulation of the electron beam induced in the first undulator. This is possible because of the finite value of the natural energy spread in the beam. At the entrance to the second undulator the radiation power from the monochromator dominates significantly over the shot noise and the residual electron bunching. As a result the second stage of the FEL amplifier operates in the steady-state regime when the input signal bandwidth is small with respect to that of the FEL amplifier. Integral losses of the radiation power in the monochromator are relatively small because grazing incidence optics can be used. The proposed scheme is illustrated for the example of the 6 nm option SASE FEL at the TESLA Test Facility under construction at DESY. As shown in this paper the spectral bandwidth of such a two-stage SASE FEL (Δλ/λ 5 × 10⁻⁵) is close to the limit defined by the finite duration of the radiation pulse. The average brilliance is equal to 7 × 10²⁴ photons/(s × mrad² × mm² × 0.1% bandw.) which is by two orders of magnitude higher than the value which could be reached by the conventional SASE FEL. The monochromatization of the radiation is performed at a low level of radiation power (about 500 times less than the saturation level) which allows one to use conventional X-ray optical elements (grazing incidence grating and mirrors) for the monochromator design.     

A critical analysis of Helmholtz's argument against Weber's electrodynamics

We present Helmholtz's argument against Weber's electrodynamics. It is related with a fixed charged nonconducting spherical shell and a charged particle moving inside it. Then we utilize Weber's electrodynamics plus Schrödinger's expression for gravitational interactions in order to obtain the equation of motion and to study this situation. We show that this approach avoids the problems pointed out by Helmholtz. Moreover, it indicates that the effective inertial mass of the charged particle will depend not only on the electrostatic potential of the shell but also on its velocity. This is a relevant aspect of Weber's theory.     

Identification of peroxyacetic acid uroporphyrin I in the urine of patients with congenital erythropoietic porphyria by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

A new porphyrin, peroxyacetic acid uroporphyrin I, has been isolated from the urine of patients with congenital erythropoietic porphyria by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The porphyrin was characterized by high resolution mass spectrometry and by typical chemical reactions of a peroxyacid.     

Intramolecular motion and isotope effects in muonium‐substituted chloroalkyl radicals

Muon irradiation of pure liquid 3‐chloropropene, CH₂=CH-CH₂Cl, yields a primary radical, \dot\mboxCH₂-CHMu-CH₂Cl, and a secondary radical, MuCH₂-\rm\dot\mboxCH-CH₂Cl. 2‐methyl‐3‐chloropropene yields only the tertiary radical, MuCH₂-\rm\dot\mboxC(CH₃)-CH₂Cl. These three chloroalkyl radicals have been characterized by μSR and μLCR, and the hyperfine coupling constants (hfcs) have been determined over a range of temperatures, either in the pure liquid precursor or in concentrated solution. The temperature variation of the hfcs has been analyzed to obtain estimates of the barrier to internal rotation about the C_\alpha-C_\beta axis for various alkyl groups, and also their minimum energy conformations, i.e. their orientations with respect to the axis of the 2p_z orbital of the unpaired electron. The tertiary radical is particularly interesting because all three methyl‐like groups, -CH₃,-CH₂Cl and -CH₂Mu, are represented. The results can be compared to electron spin resonance data for analogous radicals, to provide information on the effects of Mu substitution for H. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mechanosynthesis of YIG and GdIG: A Structural and Mössbauer Study

We have investigated the mechanosynthesis of gadolinium and yttrium iron garnets by high-energy ball-milling of α-Fe₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃ or α-Fe₂O₃ and Y₂O₃, respectively, followed by short thermal annealings conducted at moderate temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy, in order to determine the influence of the milling time and annealing conditions on the final products. For as-milled samples of each rare-earth system, the results revealed the formation of perovskite phases, in relative amounts that depend on the milling time. The formation of garnet phases was observed in as-annealed samples treated at 1000°C for 2 h or 1100°C for 3 h, i.e., at very modest annealing requirements when compared with ordinary solid-state-reaction processes performed without previous high-energy milling. Also, the occurrence was verified of a milling time for which the relative amount of garnet phases formed by annealing was maximized. This time depends on the rare-earth composing the garnet phase and on the annealing temperature.     

Laser-induced breakdown of soda-lime glass microspheres using Nd:YAG laser

The Nd:YAG laser-induced breakdown of 20 μm glass microspheres was investigated using time-resolved optical shadow and Schlieren images. Time-resolved imaging showed the location of the initial breakdown and the shockwave motion over its first 400 μm of expansion. Measured shockwave velocities were in the range of 1–10 km/s and showed a linear dependency on laser fluence within 30 ns.     

Low-energy ion-assisted control of interfacial structures in metallic multilayers

A molecular dynamics method has been used to simulate the argon ion-assisted deposition of Cu/Co/Cu multilayers and to explore ion beam assistance strategies that can be used during or after the growth of each layer to control interfacial structures. A low-argon ion energy of 5–10 eV was found to minimize a combination of interfacial roughness and interlayer mixing (alloying) during the ion-assisted deposition of multilayers. However, complete flattening with simultaneous ion assistance could not be achieved without some mixing between the layers when a constant ion energy approach was used. It was found that multilayers with lower interfacial roughness and intermixing could be grown either by modulating the ion energy during the growth of each metal layer or by utilizing ion assistance only after the completion of each layers deposition. In these latter approaches, relatively high-energy ions could be used since the interface is buried and less susceptible to intermixing. The interlayer mixing dependence upon the thickness of the over layer has been determined as a function of ion energy.     

Aggregated colloids under flow

Summary We have recently reported on a new scaling theory of the rupture of colloid aggregates. The scaling theory is compared with a simulation study of the transient response of sheared 2d aggregates. In this paper we discuss the origins of deviations from the predicted scaling behaviour. We also report some of the steady-state configurations formed post rupture. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.