Seven and up: individual differences in male voice fundamental frequency emerge before puberty and remain stable throughout adulthood.

Voice pitch (the perceptual correlate of fundamental frequency, 0) varies considerably even among individuals of the same sex and age, communicating a host of socially and evolutionarily relevant information. However, due to the almost exclusive utilization of cross-sectional designs in previous studies, it remains unknown whether these individual differences in voice pitch emerge before, during or after sexual maturation, and whether voice pitch remains stable into adulthood. Here, we measured the 0 parameters of men who were recorded once every 7 years from age 7 to 56 as they participated in the British television documentary .

Relative effect of APOE ε4 on neuroimaging biomarker changes across the lifespan.

Objective: To provide a comprehensive understanding of APOE ε4 effects across the lifespan on the 3 main neuroimaging biomarkers.

Methods: Two hundred seven community-dwelling, cognitively normal APOE ε4 carriers and noncarriers aged 20-87 years were involved in this study. They underwent structural MRI, fluorodeoxyglucose-PET, and florbetapir-PET scans.

Chronic low back pain among French healthcare workers and prognostic factors of return to work (RTW): a non-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Many factors influence the return to work of workers with chronic low back pain (CLBP). They have been said to vary according to socio-professional group. This study first aimed to compare prognostic factors influencing the return to work of CLBP healthcare workers (HCWs) and other workers (non-HCWs) after rehabilitation coupled with an occupational intervention.

Interaction between years of education and APOE ε4 status on frontal and temporal metabolism.

Objective: To examine interactions between years of education and APOE ε4 status on gray matter volume and metabolism in cognitively healthy participants.

Methods: Seventy-two healthy participants (28 APOE ε4 carriers and 44 noncarriers; from 23 to 84 years of age) with FDG-PET and structural MRI were included. A subgroup also underwent florbetapir-PET.

Imaging brain effects of APOE4 in cognitively normal individuals across the lifespan.

The ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE4) is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hence, several studies have compared the brain characteristics of APOE4 carriers versus non-carriers in presymptomatic stages to determine early AD biomarkers. The present review provides an overview on APOE4-related brain changes in cognitively normal individuals, focusing on the main neuroimaging biomarkers for AD, i.

A new proposal for evaluation of the pharyngoesophageal segment and its relation with the narrow-band spectrogram in tracheoesophageal speakers.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between pharyngoesophageal segment (PES) configuration and narrow-band spectrogram of tracheoesophageal voices.

Methods: This study included 30 total laryngectomees tracheoesophageal speakers. Patients were assessed by videofluoroscopy (VF), during deglutition and voicing, and the vowel /a/ was recorded for spectrographic analysis.

Morphological brain plasticity induced by musical expertise is accompanied by modulation of functional connectivity at rest.

The aim of this study was to explore whether musical practice-related gray matter increases in brain regions are accompanied by modifications in their resting-state functional connectivity. 16 young musically experienced adults and 17 matched nonmusicians underwent an anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI). A whole-brain two-sample t test run on the T1-weighted structural images revealed four clusters exhibiting significant increases in gray matter (GM) volume in the musician group, located within the right posterior and middle cingulate gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and right inferior orbitofrontal gyrus.

Neuroimaging biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in asymptomatic APOE4 carriers.

Introduction: The E4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE4) is the major known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), with a dramatic increase in the risk of developing AD as the number of APOE4 alleles increases from 0 to 2. For this reason, asymptomatic APOE4 carriers as a group offer a great opportunity to search for the presence of early biomarkers for AD. The present article reviews neuroimaging studies on APOE4 carriers, focusing on cognitively normal individuals and on the main neuroimaging biomarkers for AD, i.

Age effect on the default mode network, inner thoughts, and cognitive abilities.

Age-related effects on the default mode network (DMN) connectivity as measured at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are now well described. Little is known however about the relationships between these changes and age-related effects on cognition or on the unconstrained thoughts which occur during the resting-state scan, called inner experience. Brain resting-state activity, inner experience, and cognitive ability measurements were obtained in 70 participants aged 19-80 years.

Growth of ultrahigh density single-walled carbon nanotube forests by improved catalyst design.

We have grown vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotube forests with an area density of 1.5 × 10(13) cm(-2), the highest yet achieved, by reducing the average diameter of the nanotubes. We use a nanolaminate Fe-Al(2)O(3) catalyst design consisting of three layers of Al(2)O(3), Fe, and Al(2)O(3), in which the lower Al(2)O(3) layer is densified by an oxygen plasma treatment to increase its diffusion barrier properties, to allow a thinner catalyst layer to be used.

[Five years follow-up of infections with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacteriaceae].

Introduction: Actually, epidemiology of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing enterobacteriaceae is increasing worldwide, especially in urinary tract infections (UTI). The objective of the study was to investigate the epidemiology of ESBL producers in a department of urology.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective, monocentric study, which included all patients with positive culture showing an ESBL producing enterobacteriaceae in a department of urology between 2005 and 2009 included.

Role of hippocampal CA1 atrophy in memory encoding deficits in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Identifying the specific substrates of memory deficits in early Alzheimer's disease would help to develop clinically-relevant therapies. The present study assesses the relationships between encoding versus retrieval deficits in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and atrophy specifically within the hippocampus and throughout the white matter. Twenty-two aMCI patients underwent T1-weighted MRI scans and neuropsychological testing.

Growth of ultrahigh density vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests for interconnects.

We present a general catalyst design to synthesize ultrahigh density, aligned forests of carbon nanotubes by cyclic deposition and annealing of catalyst thin films. This leads to nanotube forests with an area density of at least 10(13) cm(-2), over 1 order of magnitude higher than existing values, and close to the limit of a fully dense forest. The technique consists of cycles of ultrathin metal film deposition, annealing, and immobilization.

Sequential relationships between grey matter and white matter atrophy and brain metabolic abnormalities in early Alzheimer's disease.

Hippocampal atrophy, posterior cingulate and frontal glucose hypometabolism, and white-matter tract disruption are well described early macroscopic events in Alzheimer's disease. The relationships between these three types of alterations have been documented in previous studies, but their chronology still remains to be established. The present study used multi-modal fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging longitudinal data to address this question in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Differential effect of age on hippocampal subfields assessed using a new high-resolution 3T MR sequence.

Recent advances in neuroimaging have highlighted the interest to differentiate hippocampal subfields for cognitive neurosciences and more notably in assessing the effects of normal and pathological aging. The main goal of the present study is to investigate the effects of normal aging onto the volume of the different hippocampal subfields. For this purpose, we developed a new magnetic resonance sequence together with reliable tracing guidelines to assess the volume of different subfields of the hippocampus using a 3 Tesla scanner, and estimated the validity of a simpler and less time-consuming method based on the widely-used automatic Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) technique.

A simple way to improve anatomical mapping of functional brain imaging.

Background And Purpose: Advances in functional neuroimaging studies have led to the need for improved anatomical precision to face with more and more specific challenges. Nevertheless, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (fMRI) suffers from geometrical distortions, which limit the matching between functional and anatomical data necessary to interpret fMRI results. The "FieldMap" method is the most widely used technique to correct for geometrical distortions but in some cases cannot be applied or provides unsatisfactory results.

Longitudinal brain metabolic changes from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

A sensitive marker for monitoring progression of early Alzheimer's disease would help to develop and test new therapeutic strategies. The present study is aimed at investigating brain metabolism changes over time, as a potential monitoring marker, in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, according to their clinical outcome (converters or non-converters), and in relation to their cognitive decline. Seventeen amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging and 18FDG-positron emission tomography scans both at inclusion and 18 months later.

Longitudinal optical phonons in metallic and semiconducting carbon nanotubes.

We analyze the high-energy Raman modes, G+ and G-, in a pair of one metallic and one semiconducting nanotubes. By combining Rayleigh scattering with Raman resonance profiles of the radial breathing mode and the high-energy modes, we show that the observed G- and G+ peaks can originate from longitudinal optical phonons of different tubes. The G- peak is the longitudinal mode of the metallic tube; it is broadened and downshifted due to strong electron-phonon coupling in the metallic nanotube.

Relation between videofluoroscopy of the esophagus and the quality of esophageal speech.

The goal of the current study was to compare the quality of esophageal speech and voice to videofluoroscopic features of the esophagus and pharyngoesophageal (PE) segment. The speech and voice characteristics of 30 laryngectomized patients were rated by 5 speech-language pathologists. Based on these ratings, patients were divided into 3 categories: fluent (n = 9), moderately fluent (n = 10) and nonfluent (n = 11).

Tracheostoma humidifier: influence on secretion and voice of patients with total laryngectomy.

Background: total laryngectomy has several consequences such as loss of the laryngeal voice and alterations in the respiratory system.

Aim: to evaluate the influence of a tracheostoma humidifier (heat moisture exchanger - HME) on the control of lung secretion and esophageal and tracheoesophageal vocal quality in patients with total laryngectomy.

Method: nine male individuals, aged between 46 to 67 years, submitted to total laryngectomy.

Three-dimensional surface mapping of hippocampal atrophy progression from MCI to AD and over normal aging as assessed using voxel-based morphometry.

The hippocampus is the brain structure of highest and earliest structural alteration in Alzheimer's disease (AD). New developments in neuroimaging methods recently made it possible to assess the respective involvement of the different hippocampal subfields by mapping atrophy on a 3D hippocampal surface view. In this longitudinal study on patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), we used such an approach to map the profile of hippocampal atrophy and its progression over an 18-month follow-up period in rapid converters to AD and "non-converters" compared to age-matched controls.

[Cerebral imaging and physiopathology of Alzheimer's disease].

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterised by macroscopic cerebral damages which can be studied in vivo with neuroimaging techniques, even at the earliest stage. Studies were conducted in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who best represent incipient AD. Right temporo-parietal hypometabolism, assessed by resting-state (18)FDG-PET, distinguishes patients who further develop AD from those who remain stable.

Initial in-orbit results from a low-cost atmospheric ozone monitor operating on board the FASat-Bravo microsatellite.

In 1994, a collaborative programme was set up between the University of Surrey and the Chilean Air Force to design and build a low-cost 50 kg microsatellite with instrumentation capable of monitoring the distribution and concentration of stratospheric ozone, particularly over Chilean territory. This resulted in the joint design and development of the ozone-layer monitoring experiment (OLME), which was flown on board the resultant FASat-Bravo microsatellite, launched in July 1998 into an 820 km altitude Sun-synchronous orbit. The nadir-pointing OLME measures the solar ultraviolet light backscattered from the atmosphere in four spectral bands.