Efficacy of the accent method of voice therapy

The management of voice disorders may follow one of four approaches: surgical, pharmacological, technical aid, and/or voice therapy. The latter approach offers a wide variety of techniques, each based on certain theoretical beliefs. One of these techniques is the Smith Accent Method. The principles and goals of the Accent Method are presented. The results of its application are discussed. This technique proved effective for cases of functional voice disorders, vocal nodules, and some degrees of vocal fold paralysis.     

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     

Chromatography of plasmid DNA

Liquid chromatography plays a central role in process-scale manufacturing of therapeutic plasmid DNA (pDNA) for gene therapy and DNA vaccination. Apart from its use as a preparative purification step, it is also very useful as an analytical tool to monitor and control pDNA quality during processing and in final formulations. This paper gives an overview of the use of pDNA chromatography. The specificity of pDNA purification and the consequent limitations to the performance of chromatography are described. Strategies currently used to overcome those limitations, as well as other possible solutions are presented. Applications of the different types of chromatography to the purification of therapeutic pDNA are reviewed, and the main advantages and disadvantages behind each technique highlighted.     

Progress on phthalocyanine-conjugated Ag and Au nanoparticles: Synthesis,characterization, and photo-physicochemical properties

Phthalocyanine (Pc) complexes are an important class of dyes with numerous (e.g., biological, photophysical, and analytical) applications. Among the methods used to improve the properties of these complexes, one should mention the introduction of different substituents, variation of the central metal ion, ligand exchange, and conjugation to nanomaterials (e.g., carbon-based nanomaterials and metal nanoparticles (NPs)). This work briefly reviews Pc complex conjugation to Ag and Au NPs, highlights the different NP shapes, and discusses the diversity of conjugation approaches. Moreover, the use of UV–Vis spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to characterize Pc-NP hybrids is summarized. The effect of conjugation on Pc photo-physicochemical properties (fluorescence, singlet oxygen generation, triplet state formation, and optical limiting behavior) is discussed, and future perspectives for the synthesis and applications of new hybrids are provided.     

Relative Abundance of Alpha-Amylase/Trypsin Inhibitors in Selected Sorghum Cultivars

Sorghum is of growing interest and considered as a safe food for wheat related disorders. Besides the gluten, α-amylase/trypsin-inhibitors (ATIs) have been identified as probable candidates for these disorders. Several studies focused on wheat-ATIs although there is still a lack of data referring to the relative abundance of sorghum-ATIs. The objective of this work was therefore to contribute to the characterization of sorghum ATI profiles by targeted proteomics tools. Fifteen sorghum cultivars from different regions were investigated with raw proteins ranging from 7.9 to 17.0 g/100 g. Ammonium bicarbonate buffer in combination with urea was applied for protein extraction, with concentration from 0.588 ± 0.047 to 4.140 ± 0.066 mg/mL. Corresponding electrophoresis data showed different protein profiles. UniProtKB data base research reveals two sorghum ATIs, {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"P81367","term_id":"3913899","term_text":"P81367"}}P81367 and {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"P81368","term_id":"3913900","term_text":"P81368"}}P81368; both reviewed and a targeted LC–MS/MS method was developed to analyze these. Quantifier peptides ELAAVPSR ({"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"P81367","term_id":"3913899","term_text":"P81367"}}P81367) and TYMVR ({"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"P81368","term_id":"3913900","term_text":"P81368"}}P81368) were identified and retained as biomarkers for relative quantification. Different reducing and alkylating agents were assessed and combination of tris (2 carboxyethyl) phosphine/iodoacetamide gave the best response. Linearity was demonstrated for the quantifier peptides with standard recovery between 92.2 and 107.6%. Nine sorghum cultivars presented up to 60 times lower ATI contents as compared to wheat samples. This data suggests that sorghum can effectively be considered as a good alternative to wheat.     

LyP-1 peptide-functionalized gold nanoprisms for SERRS imaging and tumor growth suppressing by PTT induced-hyperthermia

The gold nanoprisms (GNPs) have exhibited special plasmonic properties for biomedical applications because of their unique shapes and dimensions. Based on their optical performance, the NIR dye IR780 not only enabled the GNPs-based nanosystem as SERRS nanoparticles for Raman-encoded molecular imaging, but also enhanced the plasmonic photothermal property by laser irradiation. Meanwhile, the GNPs/IR780-Lyp-1 by introduction of tumor-homing peptide segment LyP-1, which presents high affinity to p32 protein, demonstrated the increased enrichment in tumor region and enhanced photothermal therapy efficacy.     

微量元素锡与健康

随着经济的发展，锡及其化合物越来越多地用于现代生活。综述了锡对人体健康的影响，包括：锡的性质、存在，环境污染、抗癌作用以及毒性等方面。     

农业供应链金融能有效缓解企业的融资约束？——涉农企业参与精准扶贫的实证研究

农业供应链金融为涉农企业融资难问题提供了新思路。本文以上市涉农上市企业2016~2018年的财务数据为样本,探讨了农业供应链金融对缓解企业融资约束的影响,以及涉农企业参与精准扶贫对缓解融资约束的调节作用。研究发现:涉农企业普遍面临融资约束问题,而农业供应链金融显著缓解了涉农企业的融资约束,且对参与精准扶贫企业的融资约束缓解更为显著。本文揭示了:农业供应链金融能有效缓解涉农企业的融资约束问题,再次证明了农业供应链金融缓解涉农企业融资约束的重要性和必要性,拓展了供应链金融研究的领域,同时对企业参与精准扶贫,响应新时期涉农企业社会责任的具体要求,形成政府、企业等共同承担社会责任的多元化减贫治理机制,助力乡村振兴提供相应借鉴。     

Oxidation of ascorbic acid in the presence of phthalocyanine metal complexes. Chemical aspects of catalytic anticancer therapy. 1. Catalysis of oxidation by cobalt octacarboxyphthalocyanine

The kinetics of oxidation of ascorbic acid in the presence of cobalt octa-4,5-carboxyphthalocyanine sodium salt (Teraphthal) was studied. A kinetic equation was obtained and a scheme of the process was proposed. According to the scheme, the first stage is the formation of a complex of the catalyst with dioxygen, and the limiting stage is the reaction of dioxygen with the ascorbate monoanion. The influence of the pH of the medium and the presence of a transport protein (albumin) on the state and catalytic activity of Teraphthal was studied. The involvement of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen-centered radicals in the catalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid was proved.     

Polyethylenimine （PEI）-g-comb-poly（ethylene glycol）-transferrin（Ⅰ）： Tumor-targeted Vector for Gene Delivery In.vitro

The work described the synthesis and evaluation of PEI-g-comb-PEG-transferrin as a potential system for gene therapy in vitro. The MW of PEG was 10KDa, and PEI was 2KDa. Its structure was identified by NMR, FT-IR and TGA spectroscopy. MTT assay found that at concentration up to 4000 n mol/L of the polymer, cell viability was over 85%. The bio-character of polymer/DNA complex was characterized by agarose gel electrophoresis, ethidium bromide exclusion and zeta-potential assay. The polymer could retardate DNA at N/P ratio 3.0-3.5 （mol/mol）. The particle size of the polymer/DNA complex was less than 300 nm. Transfection efficiency of the complex was studied in COS7 and NT2 cell lines.