Loading changes in time-based parameters of glottal flow waveforms in different ergonomic conditions

The effects of prolonged (5 x 45 min) reading in different environmental and ergonomic conditions on time-based glottal waveform parameters of normal female and male subjects (n = 80) were studied. The exposure groups (n = 5 females and males per cell) consisted of eight combinations of the following factors: (1) normal (< 65 dB) or high (> 65 dB) speech output level; (2) sitting or standing posture; (3) low (25 +/- 5%) or high (65 +/- 5%) relative humidity of ambient air. Two rest (morning and noon) and three loading (two in the morning and one in the afternoon) samples were recorded and analyzed. The glottal waveforms were obtained by inverse filtering of the acoustical signal using an automatic method. The following time based parameters were analyzed from the estimate glottal flow waveform: (1) length of fundamental period; (2) open quotient; (3) speed quotient, and (4) closing quotient. The analysis was based on inverse filtering of the first stressed syllable of 'paappa' word repeated 3 x 5 times with normal, maximally soft and maximally loud phonation. Humidity was a significant factor in several instances. The interactions between gender and the loading factors were striking.     

Protein, amino acid contents and protein efficiency ratio of Egyptian buffalo meat under different biological conditions

The effect of age, sex, season and cut variations on the protein, amino acids contents and protein efficiency ratio (P.E.R.) of Egyptian Buffalo meat was studied in 128 samples. Statistical analysis for the data obtained showed significant difference at 0.01 level for protein in relation to cut (abdomen and thigh, respectively), male in relation to season and dry season in relation to sex. There is also significant difference at 0.05 level in case of green season in relation to sex. Protein shows a significant difference at 0.1 level due to sex variation. There is a difference in the amino acids content of young and old animals during dry season in both cuts. Young animals show higher values than old ones in most of the amino acids investigated. There is also an obvious difference in the amino acids during green season between male and female animals, and also between both cuts. P.E.R. of Egyptian Buffalo meat as 10% protein level ranges between 3.02 and 2.35 according to seasonal, cut and age variations.     

Distribution of plasminogen activator forms in different fractions of buffalo milk

Neuronal growth cones, the sensory-motile structures at the tips of developing axons, navigate to their targets over distances that can be many times greater than their diameter. They may accomplish this impressive task by following spatial gradients of axon guidance molecules in their environment (Bonhoeffer & Gierer, 1984; Tessier-Lavigne & Placzek, 1991; Baier & Bonhoeffer, 1994). We calculate the optimal shape of a gradient and the distance over which it can be detected by a growth cone for two competing mechanistic models of axon guidance. The results are surprisingly simple: Regardless of the mechanism, the maximum distance is about 1 cm. Since gradients and growth cones have coevolved, we suggest that the shape of the gradient in situ will predict the mechanism of gradient detection. In addition, we show that the experimentally determined dissociation constants for receptor-ligand complexes implicated in axon guidance are about optimal with respect to maximizing guidance distance. The relevance of these results to the retinotectal system is discussed.     

Control of microvascular resistance in physiological conditions and reperfusion

Regulation of coronary microvascular resistance is not distributed uniformly, but varies across different segments of the vasculature. Differences in regulatory mechanisms, including metabolic, myogenic, alpha-adrenergic and endothelial cell mediated, help define a series of coronary vascular microdomains. Generally, small arterioles, those less than 100 microns in diameter, respond differently than large arterioles or small arteries. This segmental distribution suggests an integrative hypothesis of regulation whereby a variety of mechanisms play a role in the overall response. One pathology that disturbs these control mechanisms in the microcirculation of the heart is reperfusion injury. Reperfusion injury of the microcirculation has as its primary target the vascular endothelium. The mechanisms responsible for reduced endothelium-dependent relaxation, likely include a reduction in the levels of tetrahydrobiopterin, a co-factor of nitric oxide synthase. Manipulation of levels of tetrahydrobiopterin in endothelial cells may be beneficial in the prevention of the pathophysiological sequelae of reperfusion injury in the coronary microcirculation.     

Lipid parameters in blood of vegetarians

Psychotherapy for the handicapped might play an important role in helping these multiply stressed persons and their families. It can be put into practice much more easily than one may have presumed. It does not require any extreme specializations. Therefore, the gap between what is possible and the actual reality of a deep lack of efforts in this field calls for explanations, a part of which the author tries to outline.     

Role of vascular nitric oxide in physiological and pathological conditions

This review describes the ability of certain diseases, such as essential hypertension, atherosclerosis, angina, and vasospasm, to reduce vascular nitric oxide (NO) formation or to increase its metabolism. In contrast, others, such as hypotension, sepsis, stroke, myocardial depression, and inflammatory responses, increase NO synthesis. The mechanism implicated in the changes in the formation and metabolism of NO are described. To prevent or treat these pathological processes, in which a deficiency in vascular NO formation plays a causative role, NO may be provided through methods such as direct NO administration or indirect NO supply through either NO donors or L-arginine, which facilitates NO formation.     

Influence of the nature of the ingested blood on the gonotrophic parameters of Phlebotomus perniciosus under laboratory conditions

A laboratory study was conducted about the duration of developmental stages and the productivity connected with the type of blood meal ingested by the female of Phlebotomus perniciosus. The pre-oviposition and egg incubation periods are not affected whatever the blood ingested by the female. The shorter time required to achieve larval development (rabbit) and pupal development (hamster) governs the generation time, shorter than in the other hosts (dog and man). The productivity is greater when blood is ingested from the rabbit and the dog. This is mainly due to the smaller number of eggs retained in females with these hosts.     

Some conditions of anxiety extinction.

Four procedures for extinguishing anxiety were tested with rats as Ss. The results support the following conclusions: 1. Remaining away from an anxiety-eliciting situation for a short period of time does not bring about extinction of anxiety; 2. The Pavlovian extinction operation does weaken the strength of conditioned anxiety; 3. The anxiety extinction process is accelerated by the pairing, during the extinction operation, of the anxiety-producing stimulus with a positive reinforcer (a cage mate stimulus animal); and tentatively, 4. An additional emotionalizing operation (blocking of escape) that is concurrent with the extinction operation will impede the extinction process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some interactive computer applications in a physiological psychology laboratory.

Discusses some analytical and interactive computational applications of minicomputers in a laboratory of physiological psychology, using the PDP-11 and PDP-12 computers as examples. Applications considered range from instrumental conditioning of cats to training of ongoing EEGs in psychophysiology, and the physiological measures employed range from EMGs and heart rates to EEGs and single-cell and multiple neural units. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some physiological correlates of Rorschach body image productions.

"The relationship between surface characteristics of Rorschach responses and physiological measures was investigated in order to test the hypothesis that the projected perception of one's body is related to the patterning of physiological responses… . Physiological indices related to bodily exterior (muscle potential, skin resistance, cardiovascular peripheral resistance) and bodily interior (pulse rate, stroke volume, cardiac output) physiological responsivity were abstracted… . The results indicate that the tendency to give impermeable or protective characteristics to Rorschach percepts is related to heightened physiological reactivity at an exterior body site and that the absence… is related to the heightened physiological response on interior indices… under stress." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of myocardial blood flow with oxygen-15 labelled water: comparison of different administration protocols

Positron emission tomography (PET) in conjunction with C15O2 or H215O can be used to measure myocardial blood flow (MBF) and tissue fraction (TF), i.e. the fraction of the tissue mass in the volume of the region of interest. However, with C15O2 inhalation, the tissue fraction in the septum is overestimated. Bolus injection of H215O together with arterial cannulation gives very precise results but is invasive. The purpose of this study was to develop a method which circumvents these problems. A four-parameter model with parameters for MBF, TF and spill-over fractions from both left and right ventricular cavities was developed. This method was compared with a three-parameter model (no right ventricular cavity spill-over) in both septal and non-septal regions of interest for three different administration protocols: bolus injection of H215O, infusion of H215O and inhalation of C15O2. It was found that MBF can be measured with intravenous administration of H215O without the requirement for arterial cannulation. The four-parameter protocol with bolus injection was stable in clinical studies. The four-parameter model proved essential for the septum, where it gave highly significantly better fits than did the three-parameter model (P<0.00003 in each of 15 subjects). Administration of H215O together with this four-parameter model also circumvented the problem of overestimation of TF in the septum seen with C15O2 inhalation. In addition, the radiation dose of H215O protocols is lower than that of C15O2 inhalation. Using a left atrial input curve instead of a left ventricular cavity input curve gave the same mean MBF and TF.