Porcine-derived xenogeneic extracellular matrix (ECM) has been successfully used as a scaffold for tissue repair and reconstruction in numerous preclinical animal studies and human applications. These scaffolds are completely and rapidly degraded and replaced by host-derived tissues that frequently mimic the original tissue composition and architecture. The purpose of the present study was to examine the morphology of ECM scaffolds after their use for laryngeal reconstruction. Thirty adult female dogs were subjected to a partial hemilaryngectomy. The right thyroid cartilage and vocal fold were replaced with ECM scaffold, and the dogs were painlessly sacrificed from 1 week to 12 months after surgery. Histologic examination of the reconstructed tissue showed the presence of a simple squamous epithelial lining, organized glandular structures within the submucosa, reconstructed thyroid cartilage, and bundles of skeletal muscle by 3 months after surgery. We conclude that ECM scaffolds are promising templates for constructive remodeling of laryngeal tissue.

In this study, we examined whether the slowing of responses that has been observed with increasing age is associated with physiological status. Adults differing on physiological status were administered a choice reaction time task with difficult and easy trials. The results indicated that choice reaction time was related to physiological status in the following manner: on difficult choice reaction time trials, high-fit adults responded faster than did low-fit adults. The present results suggested that low levels of physiological fitness may be associated with behavioral slowing on tasks requiring speeded responses and that the contribution of physiological factors to overall cognitive functioning might be more limited than has previously been thought.

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Trained singers and nonsingers vocally shadowed sequences of rapidly changing tones. Tone changes within the sequences were unpredictable in terms of direction and extent of frequency change. Subjects' responses to the shadowing task could be evaluated for accuracy of frequency matching, and for time and speed of voice frequency change. In addition, subjects' transitions between tones could be classified as hit, overshoot, undershoot, or oscillate. The two groups were equally accurate in matching the pitches of tones comprising the sequences. Similarly, pitch lowering was faster than pitch raising for both groups of subjects, while speeds for both lowering and raising increased with increases in size of the interval between tones. However, singers required less time than nonsingers in effecting transitions, apparently because they achieved faster peak speeds and took more direct paths between tones. Implications of the data for physiological and mechanical aspects of voice frequency control are discussed.

It seems appropriate to indicate the direction in which our past research now leads us. We are planning a longitudinal study involving 200 elderly male subjects to further investigate the influence of the subjects' physiological status on their phonatory and auditory performances. Subject evaluations will be conducted at three different times throughout the course of the investigation. The research protocol will include comprehensive physiological and biochemical evaluations along with state-of-the-art voice acoustic and auditory assessments. Those aspects of subject performance to be sampled will include (1) measures of voice fundamental frequency, duration, intensity, jitter and shimmer, harmonics/noise ratios, and listener perceptions of vocal quality; (2) measures of auditory sensitivity, discrimination, and acoustic immittance; and (3) measures of hemodynamic, pulmonary, metabolic, and biochemical function. Relationships among these variables will be probed through univariate and multivariate statistical approaches. A special feature of this study will allow for the classification of subjects in accordance with a fitness criterion which precludes the necessity of excluding elderly subjects who are unable to participate in the exercise tests frequently required for determination of physical fitness. By taking into consideration physiological status in addition to chronological age, groups will be defined more appropriately, thus reducing intragroup variability and increasing our ability to detect important changes in auditory and acoustic performance that occur in senescence. We anticipate that this study will contribute to the normative base on senescent changes of voice and will serve to clarify the relationship of such changes to general and certain specific aspects of health status. The longitudinal nature of the study will provide information whereby the extent to which changes in laryngeal function can be predicted by measures of physiological status. Better knowledge of the normative aspects of aging and of the impact of degenerative processes on communicative processes will also facilitate a deeper understanding of the basic mechanisms that underly control of the laryngeal mechanism.

Keistimewaan Israel sebagai bangsa pilihan Tuhan tidaklah membuat hati bangsa ini terpaut dan taat kepada Allah. Israel di masa Perjanjian Lama ternyata sulit melepaskan diri dari keterikatan penyembahan Baal. Hingga akhir masa keruntuhan Kerajaan Israel Utara dan Selatan disertai dengan masa pembuangan Babel membuat praktek penyembahan ilah asing ini perlahan surut secara drastis. Pemahaman mengenai fenomena ini di dalam konteks teologis normatif biasanya melihat penyembahan Baal sebagai dosa yang muncul begitu saja tanpa melihat proses asimilasi dan akulturasi keyakinan Israel. Tetapi pendekatan dari sisi sosioteologisakan membuat pemahaman mengenai fenomena penyembahan Baal di Israel Kuno menjadi lebih jelas. Baal sebagai dewa kesuburan orang Kanaan sudah dikenal luas hingga ke Mesir Kuno terutama di bagian utara. Adopsi Baal sebagai dewa kesuburan memiliki aspek politis bagi Mesir Kuno untuk membangun aliansi dengan bangsa sekitar, selain karena aspek spiritual dalam politeisme yang mereka bangun. Perbudakan Israel di Mesir mempengaruhi pola pikir Israel dan kecenderungan perilaku mereka untuk kompromi terhadap penyembahan ilah asing. Kuatnya budaya asing masuk ke dalam Israel karena proses asimilasi bertahap dari pernikahan hingga puncaknya menjadi dewa nasional orang Israel di zaman Ahab. The excellence of Israel as God's chosen nation does not make the hearts of this nation attached to and obey God. Israel in Old Testament times found it difficult to break away from the idolatry of Baal worship. Until the end of the Kingdoms of Northern and Southern Israel, accompanied by the Babylonian exile, this foreign god-worshiping practice gradually declined drastically. Understanding this phenomenon in a normative theological context usually sees Baal worship as a sin that just arises without seeing the process of assimilation and acculturation of Israeli beliefs. But a socio-theological approach will make the understanding of the phenomenon of Baal worship in Ancient Israel clearer. Baal as the god of fertility of the Canaanites was widely known to Ancient Egypt, especially in the north. The adoption of Baal as a fertility god had a political aspect for Ancient Egyptians to build alliances with surrounding nations, apart from the spiritual aspect of the polytheism they built. Israel's slavery in Egypt influenced the mindset of Israelis and their behavioral tendency to compromise the worship of foreign gods. The strength of foreign culture entered Israel due to the gradual assimilation process from marriage to the climax of becoming the national god of the Israelites in Ahab's day.

To assess the role of oral sensation in the execution of a stuttering moment, six adult male stutterers, ranging in severity, provided samples of spontaneous speech in three experiment conditions: control, anesthetic, and placebo. In the anesthetic condition, sensory deprivation of the oral cavity was achieved by means of a series of nerve-block injections. The placebo condition involved insertions of a hypodermic needle but no anesthetic solution was injected. The speech samples were analyzed for frequency of stuttering by dysfluency type. In addition, severity ratings were made for all identified dysfluencies. The results indicated that oral sensory deprivation was associated with a significant increase in the frequency and severity of stuttering. This effect was particularly evident in the class of dysfluencies termed “prolonged articulatory postures.” The results for the control and placebo conditions were not observed to differ. These findings were interpreted as evidence of both open-loop and feedback-dependent regulation processes during the moment of stuttering.

Normative data for oral region texture discrimination are reported. Following a magnitude estimation paradigm, 24 normal speaking subjects assigned smoothness values to stimuli of varying textures after evaluating them with selected oral and non-oral structures. The results suggest characteristic patterns of response for the structures evaluated in relation to the texture of the stimuli and power function exponents representative of these patterns were determined. The data suggest certain limits on the texture judgment capabilities of the structures studied.

Various oral structures were evaluated in 25 normal subjects, in order to gather normative data for selected parameters of tactile perception. Results revealed a significant progression of maximal to minimal discriminatory capacity and a tendency toward increased discriminatory ability at the midline aspect of the structures.