Die Sprachentwicklung von Ein-und Zweieiigen Zwillingen und die Vererbung von Sprachstörungen

The genetic roots of speech development in children are being investigated. On the basis of observations in the development of speech in 12 monozygotic twin pairs it could be shown that not only the retarded but also the normal development of speech is an idiotypic characteristic. It must be considered however, that we are not dealing with a simple characteristic, but with the result of a whole complex (intelligence, type of immagination, fine-motor and vitality) of the mentioned root. Further examinations regard the disposition for stammering. On the basis of research with monozygotic twins, of which one partner during the examination presented only signs of cluttering, the other one, however, clonic-tonic stammering, while both twins had a pathologic electroencephalogram, the hereditary basis of speech defects and stammering is shown. However, only in half of the cases of monozygotic twins one can find a disposition for dyslalia, which can be of a very different (periphercentral) natur

DESIGN TOOLS FOR INFLATABLE STRUCTURES

This paper shows different tools and approaches that can be useful for the definition of the design of pneumatic structures. Some of these tools have been applied for the design of a Tensairity® hull

Tracing Spasmodic Dysphonia: the source of Ludwig Traube’s priority

Objectives: Since the mid-20th century, one citation is given historical priority as the first description of Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD): Ludwig Traube’s 1871 case of the “spastic form of nervous hoarseness”. Our objective is to understand how this case serves as the foundation of understanding laryngeal movement disorders. Methods: The original German paper was located and translated. Bibliographical and bibliometric methods are used to determine the citation history of this original source over the past 140 years. Results: Although secondary citations in contemporary publications typically credit Traube for establishing the clinical entity SD, his case does not conform to currently accepted diagnostic features. Citation patterns indicate the source of Traube’s priority is publications by Arnold and Luchsinger, mid-20th century ENT clinician, particularly their influential 1965 textbook used to train US and UK clinicians on voice disorders for several generations. Conclusions: Sometimes secondary citations in medical literature lead to the inadvertent perpetuation of factual misrepresentation. The clinical picture of Traube’s original case does not represent what clinicians would recognize as SD today. The rich 19th century literature on voice disorders is a valuable resource for present day clinicians

Muonium as a hydrogen analogue in silicon and germanium; quantum effects and hyperfine parameters

We report a first-principles theoretical study of hyperfine interactions, zero-point effects and defect energetics of muonium and hydrogen impurities in silicon and germanium. The spin-polarized density functional method is used, with the crystalline orbitals expanded in all-electron Gaussian basis sets. The behaviour of hydrogen and muonium impurities at both the tetrahedral and bond-centred sites is investigated within a supercell approximation. To describe the zero-point motion of the impurities, a double adiabatic approximation is employed in which the electron, muon/proton and host lattice degrees of freedom are decoupled. Within this approximation the relaxation of the atoms of the host lattice may differ for the muon and proton, although in practice the difference is found to be slight. With the inclusion of zero-point motion the tetrahedral site is energetically preferred over the bond-centred site in both silicon and germanium. The hyperfine and superhyperfine parameters, calculated as averages over the motion of the muon, agree reasonably well with the available data from muon spin resonance experiments.Comment: 20 pages, including 9 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Energetics of rocked inhomogeneous ratchets

We study the efficiency of frictional thermal ratchets driven by finite frequency driving force and in contact with a heat bath. The efficiency exhibits varied behavior with driving frequency. Both nonmonotonic and monotonic behavior have been observed. In particular the magnitude of efficiency in finite frequency regime may be more than the efficiency in the adiabatic regime. This is our central result for rocked ratchets. We also show that for the simple potential we have chosen, the presence of only spatial asymmetry (homogeneous system) or only frictional ratchet (symmetric potential profile), the adiabatic efficiency is always more than in the nonadiabatic case.Comment: 5 figure

Measuring sub-mm structural displacements using QDaedalus: a digital clip-on measuring system developed for total stations

The monitoring of rigid structures of modal frequencies greater than 5 Hz and sub-mm displacement is mainly based so far on relative quantities from accelerometers, strain gauges etc. Additionally geodetic techniques such as GPS and Robotic Total Stations (RTS) are constrained by their low accuracy (few mm) and their low sampling rates. In this study the application of QDaedalus is presented, which constitutes a measuring system developed at the Geodesy and Geodynamics Lab, ETH Zurich and consists of a small CCD camera and Total Station, for the monitoring of the oscillations of a rigid structure. In collaboration with the Institute of Structural Engineering of ETH Zurich and EMPA, the QDaedalus system was used for monitoring of the sub-mm displacement of a rigid prototype beam and the estimation of its modal frequencies up to 30 Hz. The results of the QDaedalus data analysis were compared to those of accelerometers and proved to hold sufficient accuracy and suitably supplementing the existing monitoring techniques

White Matter Hyperintensities and Cognition: Testing the Reserve Hypothesis

OBJECTIVE: White matter hyperintensities (WMH), visualized on T2-weighted MRI, are thought to reflect small-vessel vascular disease. Much like other markers of brain disease, the association between WMH and cognition is imperfect. The concept of reserve may account for this imperfect relationship. The purpose of this study was to test the reserve hypothesis in the association between WMH severity and cognition. We hypothesized that individuals with higher amounts of reserve would be able to tolerate greater amounts of pathology than those with lower reserve. METHODS: Neurologically healthy older adults (n=717) from a community-based study received structural MRI, neuropsychological assessment, and evaluation of reserve. WMH volume was quantified algorithmically. We derived latent constructs representing four neuropsychological domains, a measure of cognitive reserve, and a measure of brain reserve. Measures of cognitive and brain reserve consisted of psychosocial (e.g., education) and anthropometric (e.g., craniometry) variables, respectively. RESULTS: Increased WMH volume was associated with poorer cognition and higher cognitive and brain reserve were associated with better cognition. Controlling for speed/executive function or for language function, those with higher estimates of cognitive reserve had significantly greater degrees of WMH volume, particularly among women. Controlling for cognitive functioning across all domains, individuals with higher estimates of brain reserve had significantly greater WMH volume. CONCLUSIONS: For any given level of cognitive function, those with higher reserve had more pathology in the form of WMH, suggesting that they are better able to cope with pathology than those with lower reserve. Both brain reserve and cognitive reserve appear to mitigate the impact of pathology on cognition

Morell Mackenzie’s contribution to the description of spasmodic dysphonia

Objectives: Since the middle of the 20th century most discussions of Spasmodic Dysphonia reference a paper by Ludwig Traube published in1871 as the first historical citation, crediting him with priority for this clinical syndrome. However, our recent research has determined that the original observation by Traube was published in 1864 and does not in fact describe what is currently recognized as SD. It appears that many clinics throughout Europe and North America were investigating and publishing observations on a range of voice disorders.. Methods: The wider context of work on laryngeal disorders in the 1860s-1870s is considered. One of Traube’s contemporaries, Morell Mackenzie made significant contributions to the understanding of laryngeal movement disorder and its consequences for the voice. These will be examined to gain a clearer focus on the characterization of this disorder. Results: The clinical descriptions published by Morrell Mackenzie in the 1860s provide details which conform quite closely to our current day understanding of SD. Conclusions: The citation of Traube’s “hysterical” patient links to mid-20th century views of the functional nature of SD and the utility of psychiatric treatment. The description presented by Mackenzie is consistent with current views of SD as a movement disorder

Noise-assisted classical adiabatic pumping in a symmetric periodic potential

We consider a classical overdamped Brownian particle moving in a symmetric periodic potential. We show that a net particle flow can be produced by adiabatically changing two external periodic potentials with a spatial and a temporal phase difference. The classical pumped current is found to be independent of the friction and to vanish both in the limit of low and high temperature. Below a critical temperature, adiabatic pumping appears to be more efficient than transport due to a constant external force.Comment: six pages, 3 figure

Regional white matter hyperintensity volume, not hippocampal atrophy, predicts incident Alzheimer disease in the community

Background: New-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) is often attributed to degenerative changes in the hippocampus. However, the contribution of regionally distributed small vessel cerebrovascular disease, visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on magnetic resonance imaging, remains unclear. Objective: To determine whether regional WMHs and hippocampal volume predict incident AD in an epidemiological study. Design: A longitudinal community-based epidemiological study of older adults from northern Manhattan, New York. Setting: The Washington Heights/Inwood Columbia Aging Project. Participants: Between 2005 and 2007, 717 participants without dementia received magnetic resonance imaging scans. A mean (SD) of 40.28 (9.77) months later, 503 returned for follow-up clinical examination and 46 met criteria for incident dementia (45 with AD). Regional WMHs and relative hippocampal volumes were derived. Three Cox proportional hazards models were run to predict incident dementia, controlling for relevant variables. The first included all WMH measurements; the second included relative hippocampal volume; and the third combined the 2 measurements. Main Outcome: Measure Incident AD. Results: White matter hyperintensity volume in the parietal lobe predicted time to incident dementia (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.194; P = .03). Relative hippocampal volume did not predict incident dementia when considered alone (HR = 0.419; P = .77) or with the WMH measures included in the model (HR = 0.302; P = .70). Including hippocampal volume in the model did not notably alter the predictive utility of parietal lobe WMHs (HR = 1.197; P = .049). Conclusions: The findings highlight the regional specificity of the association of WMHs with AD. It is not clear whether parietal WMHs solely represent a marker for cerebrovascular burden or point to distinct injury compared with other regions. Future work should elucidate pathogenic mechanisms linking WMHs and AD pathology