Assessment of the Formant Frequencies in Normal and Laryngectomized Individuals Using Linear Predictive Coding

The objective of this study was to assess the difference in voice quality as defined by acoustical analysis using sustained vowel in laryngectomized patients in comparison with normal volunteers. This was designed as a retrospective single center cohort study. An adult tertiary referral unit formed the setting of this study. Fifty patients (40 males) who underwent total laryngectomy and 31 normal volunteers (18 male) participated. Group comparisons with the first three formant frequencies (F1, F2, and F3) using linear predictive coding (LPC) (Laryngograph Ltd, London, UK) was performed. The existence of any significant difference of F1, F2, and F3 between the two groups using the sustained vowel /i/ and the effects of other factors namely, tumor stage (T), chemoradiotherapy, pharyngectomy, cricothyroid myotomy, closure of pharyngoesophageal segment, and postoperative complication were analyzed. Formant frequencies F1, F2, and F3 were significantly different in male laryngectomees compared to controls: F1 (P<0.001, Mann-Whitney U test), F2 (P<0.001, Student's t test), and F3 (P=0.008, Student's t test). There was no significant difference between females in both groups for all three formant frequencies. Chemoradiotherapy and postoperative complications (pharyngocutaneous fistula) caused a significantly lower formant F1 in men, but showed little effect in F2 and F3. Laryngectomized males produced significantly higher formant frequencies, F1, F2, and F3, compared to normal volunteers, and this is consistent with literature. Chemoradiotherapy and postoperative complications significantly influenced the formant scores in the laryngectomee population. This study shows that robust and reliable data could be obtained using electroglottography and LPC in normal volunteers and laryngectomees using a sustained vowel.     

Stability studies of transition-metal linkage isomers using quantum mechanical methods. Groups 11 and 12 transition metals

Several hypotheses to elucidate the linkage isomer preference of the thiocyanate (SCN(-)) ion have been offered. For complexes with small coordination numbers (i.e., 1 and 2) and groups 11 (Cu-triad) and 12 (Zn-triad) metals, different levels of theory and a variety of basis sets have been employed to study linkage isomerism. Similar results are obtained for all density functionals tested, pure and hybrid. Overall, good agreement, vis-à-vis experimentally identified linkage isomers, is achieved for ab initio techniques, whereas semiempirical quantum mechanical methods show a bias toward S-ligated isomers. Despite the seeming ease for the a priori prediction of the most stable thiocyanate isomers using acid/base principles, this research highlights the sensitivity of quantitative calculations of transition-metal linkage isomerism to the choice of basis set and electron correlation, particularly with post-Hartree-Fock treatments.     

Triosmium clusters derived from the reactions of thioureas with dodecacarbonyltriosmium: Crystal structures of [Os3(CO)11{η 1-SC(NMe2)2}], [Os3(CO)9(μ-OH)(μ-OMeOCO){η 1-SC(NMe2)2}] and [(μ-H)Os3(CO)9{μ 3-NHC(S)NH2}]

The reaction of [Os₃(CO)₁₂] with tetramethylthiourea in the presence of a methanolic solution of Me₃NO·2H₂O at 60° yields the compounds [Os₃(CO)₁₁{η ¹-SC(NMe₂)₂}] (1) in 56% yield and [Os₃(CO)₉(μ-OH)(μ-MeOCO){η ¹-SC(NMe₂)₂}] (2) in 10% yield in which the tetramethylthiourea ligand is coordinatedvia the sulfur atom at an equatorial position. Compound2 is a 50 e^? cluster with two metal-metal bonds and the hydroxy and methoxycarbonyl ligands bridging the open metal-metal edge. In contrast, the analogous reaction of [Os₃(CO)₁₂] with thiourea gives the compounts [(μ-H)Os₃(CO)₁₀{μ-NHC(S)NH₂}] (3) in 8% yield and [(μ-H)Os₃(CO)₉{₃-NHC(S)NH₂}] (4) in 30% yield. In3, the thioureato ligand bridges two osmium atomsvia the sulfur atom, whereas in4 in addition to the sulfur bridge, one of the nitrogen atoms of thioureato moiety bonds to the remaining osmium atom. The decacarbonyl compounds 3 can also be obtained in 50% yield from the reaction of [Os₃(CO)₁₀(MeCN)₂] with thiourea at ambient temperature. Compound3 converts to4 (65%) photochemically. Compound1 reacts with PPh₃ and acetonitrile at ambient temperature to give the simple substitution products [Os₃(CO)₁₁(PPh₃)] and [Os₃(CO)₁₁(MeCN)], respectively, while with pyridine, the oxidative addition product [(μ-H)Os₃(CO)₁₀(μ-NC₅H₄] is formed at 80°C. All the new compounds are characterized by IR,¹-H-NMR and elemental analysis together with the X-ray crystal structures of1,2 and4. Compound1 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P $P\bar 1$ with unit cell parametersa = 8.626(3) Å,b = 11.639(3) Å,c = 12.568(3_ Å,α = 84.67(2)°,β = 75.36(2)°,γ = 79.49(3)°,V = 1199(1) ų, andZ = 2. Least-squares refinement of 4585 reflections gave a final agreement factor ofR = 0.0766 (R _w = 0.0823). Compound2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2_1/n with unit cell parametersa = 9.149(5) Å,b = 17.483(5) Å,c = 15.094(4) Å,β = 91.75(2)°,V = 2413(2) ų, andZ = 4. Least-squares refinement of 3632 reflections gave a final agreement factor ofR = 0.0603 (R _w = 0.0802). Compound4 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell parametersa = 13.915(7) Å,b = 14.718(6) Å,c = 17.109(6) Å,β = 100.44(3)°,V = 3446(5) ų, andZ = 8. Least-squares refinement of 2910 reflections gave a final agreement factor ofR = 0.0763 (R _w = 0.0863).     

Characteristics investigation on heat transfer growth of sonochemically synthesized ZnO-DW based nanofluids inside square heat exchanger

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In recent decades, the growth of heat transfer using nanomaterials in the conventional&nbsp;base fluid has caught the attention of researchers...     

Extraction of iridium(IV) from hydrochloric acid media with crown ether in chloroform, and its determination by ICP–AES

A new method for the quantitative extraction and determination of trace amounts of iridium from hydrochloric acid media has been established based on the formation of an ion-association complex of iridium hexachloro anion IrCl₆ ^2– with dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 (DC18C6) oxonium cation in chloroform, then determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES). The effect of various factors (solvent, acid concentration, crown ether, reagent concentration, shaking time, composition of the extracted species, foreign ions, etc.) on the extraction and back-extraction of iridium has been investigated. The procedure was used to determine traces of iridium in palladium chloride and rhodium chloride.     

Microwave Irradiation and Glutamic Acid-Assisted Phytotreatment of Tannery and Surgical Industrial Wastewater by Sorghum

We investigated how different doses of microwave irradiation (MR) affect seed germination in Sorghum, including the level of remediation against textile and surgical wastewater (WW) by modulating biochemical and morpho-physiological mechanisms under glutamic acid (GA) application. The experiment was conducted to determine the impact of foliar-applied GA on Sorghum under wastewater conditions. Plants were treated with or without microwave irradiation (30 s, 2.45 GHz), GA (5 and 10 mM), and wastewater (0, 25, 50, and 100). Growth and photosynthetic pigments were significantly decreased in plants only treated with various concentrations of WW. GA significantly improved the plant growth characteristics both in MR-treated and -untreated plants compared with respective controls. HMs stress increased electrolyte leakage (EL), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content; however, the GA chelation significantly improved the antioxidant enzymes activities such as ascorbate oxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) both in MR-treated and -untreated plants under WW stress compared with respective controls. The results suggested that the MR-treated plants accumulate higher levels of HMs under GA addition in comparison to the WW-only-treated and MR-untreated plants. The maximum increase in Cd accumulation was observed in the range of 14–629% in the roots, 15–2964% in the stems, and 26–4020% in the leaves; the accumulation of Cu was 18–2757% in the roots, 15–4506% in the stems, and 23–4605% in the leaves; and the accumulation of Pb was 13–4122% in the roots, 21–3588% in the stems, and 21–4990% in the leaves under 10 mM GA and MR-treated plants. These findings confirmed that MR-treated sorghum plants had a higher capacity for HMs uptake under GA and could be used as a potential candidate for wastewater treatment.     

Evaluating the mobility of toxic metals in untreated industrial wastewater sludge using a BCR sequential extraction procedure and a leaching test

The distribution and speciation of toxic metals in industrial wastewater sludge (IWS) was investigated. In this work, the modified BCR three-stage sequential extraction procedure was applied to the fractionation of Cr Pb Ni, and Cd in untreated industrial wastewater sludge from industrial sites in Hyderabad (Pakistan). The extracts were analyzed using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The procedure was evaluated using a certified reference material for soil mixed with sewage sludge BCR 483. The results from the partitioning study indicate that more easily mobilized forms (acid exchangeable) of Cd were dominant. The oxidizable fraction was dominant for all four toxic metals. Metal recovery was good, with <4% difference between the total metal recovered through the extractant steps and the total metal determined after microwave digestion. Lixiviation tests (DIN 38414-S4) were used to evaluate the leaching of toxic species from IWS, and it was observed that levels of leachable toxic metals were low compared to the amount of metal extracted in the exchangeable fraction of the BCR protocol.     

A novel synthetic approach towards pyrazole-4-carboxamides using N-(3-(dimethylamino)-2-formylacryloyl)formamide

Abstract  

A novel synthesis of pyrazole-4-carboxamides is reported. The reaction of N-(3-(dimethylamino)-2-formylacryloyl)formamide, an intermediate obtained by Vilsmeier–Haack formylation of acetonitrile, with hydrazine hydrate or monosubstituted hydrazines provides such compounds in good yields. This method has advantages over other methods for construction of such ring systems previously described in the literature.     

Speciation of arsenic in ground water samples: A comparative study of CE-UV, HG-AAS and LC-ICP-MS

The performance of capillary electrophoresis-ultraviolet detector (CE-UV), hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) and liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) have been compared for the speciation of arsenic (As) in groundwater samples. Two inorganic As species, arsenite (As^III), arsenate (As^V) and one organo species dimethyl arsenic acid (DMA) were mainly considered for this study as these are known to be predominant in water. Under optimal analytical conditions, limits of detection (LD) ranging from 0.10 (As^III, AsT) to 0.19 (DMA) μg/l for HG-AAS, 100 (As^III, DMA) to 500 (As^V) μg/l for CE-UV and 0.1 (DMA, MMA) to 0.2 (As^III, As^V) μg/l for LC-ICP-MS, allowed the determination of the above three species present in these samples. Results obtained by all the three methods are well correlated (r² = 0.996*** for total As) with the precision of <5% R.S.D. except CE-UV. The effect of interfering ions (e.g. Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻) commonly found in ground water on separation and estimation of As species were studied and corrected for. Spike recovery was tested and found to be 80-110% at 0.5 μg/l As standard except CE-UV where only 50% of the analyte was recovered. Comparison of these results shows that LC-ICP-MS is the best choice for routine analysis of As species in ground water samples.