Laryngeal Anatomy, Molecular Biology, Cause, and Risk Factors for Laryngeal Cancer.

Laryngeal cancer is declining in incidence in many parts of the world, as smoking becomes a less common habit. However, challenging cases of laryngeal cancer still exist and require expertise from otolaryngologists. This article reviews the relevant anatomy and lymphatic drainage pathways of the larynx because they pertain to cancer spread.

Quantifying and Improving the Performance of Speech Recognition Systems on Dysphonic Speech.

Objective: This study seeks to quantify how current speech recognition systems perform on dysphonic input and if they can be improved.

Study Design: Experimental machine learning methods based on a retrospective database.

Setting: Single academic voice center.

Defining the Performance of Clinician's Ability to Screen for Laryngeal Mass From Voice.

Objective: Defining a clinician's ability to perceptually identify mass from voice will inform the feasibility, design priorities, and performance standards for tools developed to screen for laryngeal mass from voice. This study defined clinician ability of and examined the impact of expertise on screening for laryngeal mass from voice.

Study Design: Task comparison study between experts and nonexperts rating voices for the probability of a laryngeal mass.

A Computer Simulation Model to Analyze the Application Process for Competitive Residency Programs.

Background: The residency match process for competitive specialties hinders programs' ability to holistically review applications.

Objective: A computer simulation model of the residency application process was created to test the hypotheses that (1) it is advantageous to medical students to apply to the maximum number of programs under the current system, and (2) including a medical student's residency program preferences at the beginning of the application process improves the efficiency of the system for applicants and programs as quantified by the number of interview invitations received.

Methods: The study was conducted in 2016 using 2014 Otolaryngology Match data.

Native State Volume Fluctuations in Proteins as a Mechanism for Dynamic Allostery.

Allostery enables tight regulation of protein function in the cellular environment. Although existing models of allostery are firmly rooted in the current structure-function paradigm, the mechanistic basis for allostery in the absence of structural change remains unclear. In this study, we show that a typical globular protein is able to undergo significant changes in volume under native conditions while exhibiting no additional changes in protein structure.

Conservation of side-chain dynamics within a protein family.

The question of protein dynamics and its relevance to function is currently a topic of great interest. Proteins are particularly dynamic at the side-chain level on the time scale of picoseconds to nanoseconds. Here, we present a comparison of NMR-monitored side-chain motion between three PDZ domains of approximately 30% sequence identity and show that the side-chain dynamics display nontrivial conservation.

CspA regulates pigment production in Staphylococcus aureus through a SigB-dependent mechanism.

We report that the cold shock protein CspA of Staphylococcus aureus is required for maximal production of pigment. Results from transcriptional studies revealed that loss of CspA resulted in decreased expression of genes needed for the biosynthesis of 4,4'-diaponeurosporene and the alternative sigma factor SigB.