Review of prognostic factors for esophageal voice

Plan A of this study was completed. Plan B of the study is the subject for future research. A review of the laryngectomy literature, from the earliest mention of the laryngectomy surgical procedure to the present was conducted; with specific emphasis upon factors pertinent to laryngectomee rehabilitation and esophageal speech development. Psychological, idiosyncratic, social, therapeutic and physiological factors were reported as affecting esophageal voice development. There were a great diversity of variables that might be predictive in judging acquisition of esophageal voice. However, much of the information regarding predictive variables was based on subjective reports, poorly controlled statistical research, or insignificant correlations. A Preliminary Esophageal Voice Checklist was developed to provide a systematic survey of variables frequently reported in the literature as affecting esophageal voice development. A proposal for experimental study, Plan B, was made for development of a pre-intervention assessment tool. Such a tool would allow the clinician to judge a laryngectomee\u27s potential for esophageal development or an alternate form of communication. [Keywords: Alaryngeal speech; Esophageal speech or voice; Esophagus; Laryngectomee; Laryngectomy; Larynx

Human-machine networks: Towards a typology and profiling framework

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. In this paper we outline an initial typology and framework for the purpose of profiling human-machine networks, that is, collective structures where humans and machines interact to produce synergistic effects. Profiling a humanmachine network along the dimensions of the typology is intended to facilitate access to relevant design knowledge and experience. In this way the profiling of an envisioned or existing human-machine network will both facilitate relevant design discussions and, more importantly, serve to identify the network type. We present experiences and results from two case trials: a crisis management system and a peerto- peer reselling network. Based on the lessons learnt from the case trials we suggest potential benefits and challenges, and point out needed future work

Coupling to short linear motifs creates versatile PME-1 activities in PP2A holoenzyme demethylation and inhibition

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) holoenzymes target broad substrates by recognizing short motifs via regulatory subunits. PP2A methylesterase 1 (PME-1) is a cancer-promoting enzyme and undergoes methylesterase activation upon binding to the PP2A core enzyme. Here, we showed that PME-1 readily demethylates different families of PP2A holoenzymes and blocks substrate recognition in vitro. The high-resolution cryoelectron microscopy structure of a PP2A-B56 holoenzyme–PME-1 complex reveals that PME-1 disordered regions, including a substrate-mimicking motif, tether to the B56 regulatory subunit at remote sites. They occupy the holoenzyme substrate-binding groove and allow large structural shifts in both holoenzyme and PME-1 to enable multipartite contacts at structured cores to activate the methylesterase. B56 interface mutations selectively block PME-1 activity toward PP2A-B56 holoenzymes and affect the methylation of a fraction of total cellular PP2A. The B56 interface mutations allow us to uncover B56-specific PME-1 functions in p53 signaling. Our studies reveal multiple mechanisms of PME-1 in suppressing holoenzyme functions and versatile PME-1 activities derived from coupling substrate-mimicking motifs to dynamic structured cores

Performance analysis of multi-hop framed ALOHA systems with virtual antenna arrays

We consider a multi-hop virtual multiple-input-multiple-output system, which uses the framed ALOHA technique to select the radio resource at each hop. In this scenario, the source, destination and relaying nodes cooperate with neighboring devices to exploit spatial diversity by means of the concept of virtual antenna array. We investigate both the optimum number of slots per frame in the slotted structure and once the source-destination distance is fixed, the impact of the number of hops on the system performance. A comparison with deterministic, centralized re-use strategies is also presented. Outage probability, average throughput, and energy efficiency are the metrics used to evaluate the performance. Two approximated mathematical expressions are given for the outage probability, which represent lower bounds for the exact metric derived in the paper

Energy Efficiency Comparison of MIMO-Based and Multihop Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) demand the implementation of energy-aware techniques and low-complexity protocols in all layers. Recently, a MIMO-based structure has been proposed to offer enhanced energy savings in WSNs. In this paper, we examine and compare MIMO-based WSN with a multihop transmission in terms of energy efficiency. The results depend on the network density, the channel conditions, and the distance to the destination node. We reach analytical expressions to calculate threshold values of these parameters, which determine the areas where the MIMO-based structure outperforms multihop transmission. Moreover, we present a detailed analysis of the dissipated power during a sensor node_s operation, to prove that as microelectronics develops, the MIMO-based architecture will outperform the equivalent multihop structure for most of the cases examined. Finally, we implement a simple cooperative node selection algorithm to achieve higher energy gains in the MIMO approach, and we examine how this algorithm affects the calculated thresholds

Síndrome de Pancoast e infiltración tumoral endobronquial como primera manifestación de un linfoma de Hodgkin

La causa más frecuente del síndrome de Pancoast es un carcinoma broncogénico. Otras causas menos frecuentes son metástasis de tumores sólidos, otros tumores intratorácicos, infecciones y neoplasias de estirpe hematológica. El síndrome de Pancoast por un linfoma es muy raro y los casos descritos corresponden fundamentalmente a linfomas no hodgkinianos. En una revisión de la bibliografía encontramos un único caso de linfoma de Hodgkin, pero que se manifestó durante la recidiva de la enfermedad. Nosotros aportamos un caso de linfoma de Hodgkin de tipo esclerosis nodular cuya primera manifestación clínica fue este síndrome y cuyo diagnóstico inicial se realizó mediante biopsia bronquial

Understanding human-machine networks: a cross-disciplinary survey

In the current hyper-connected era, modern Information and Communication Technology systems form sophisticated networks where not only do people interact with other people, but also machines take an increasingly visible and participatory role. Such human-machine networks (HMNs) are embedded in the daily lives of people, both or personal and professional use. They can have a significant impact by producing synergy and innovations. The challenge in designing successful HMNs is that they cannot be developed and implemented in the same manner as networks of machines nodes alone, nor following a wholly human-centric view of the network. The problem requires an interdisciplinary approach. Here, we review current research of relevance to HMNs across many disciplines. Extending the previous theoretical concepts of socio-technical systems, actor-network theory, and social machines, we concentrate on the interactions among humans and between humans and machines. We identify eight types of HMNs: public-resource computing, crowdsourcing, web search engines, crowdsensing, online markets, social media, multiplayer online games and virtual worlds, and mass collaboration. We systematically select literature on each of these types and review it with a focus on implications for designing HMNs. Moreover, we discuss risks associated with HMNs and identify emerging design and development trends

Understanding human-machine networks: a cross-disciplinary survey

In the current hyper-connected era, modern Information and Communication Technology systems form sophisticated networks where not only do people interact with other people, but also machines take an increasingly visible and participatory role. Such human-machine networks (HMNs) are embedded in the daily lives of people, both or personal and professional use. They can have a significant impact by producing synergy and innovations. The challenge in designing successful HMNs is that they cannot be developed and implemented in the same manner as networks of machines nodes alone, nor following a wholly human-centric view of the network. The problem requires an interdisciplinary approach. Here, we review current research of relevance to HMNs across many disciplines. Extending the previous theoretical concepts of socio-technical systems, actor-network theory, and social machines, we concentrate on the interactions among humans and between humans and machines. We identify eight types of HMNs: public-resource computing, crowdsourcing, web search engines, crowdsensing, online markets, social media, multiplayer online games and virtual worlds, and mass collaboration. We systematically select literature on each of these types and review it with a focus on implications for designing HMNs. Moreover, we discuss risks associated with HMNs and identify emerging design and development trends