DISCUSSION: ALTERNATIVES TO THE LOCAL PROPERTY TAX FOR EDUCATIONAL FINANCE

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Transurethral resection and surveillance of bladder cancer supported by 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescence endoscopy

Purpose: We determined whether neoplastic disease, which was missed under white light can be found during transurethral resection of bladder cancer by 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced porphyrin fluorescence. Materials and Methods: 5-Aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescence endoscopy was carried out in 328 cases. A 3% 5-aminolevulinic acid solution was instilled intravesically in a mean time of 2.8 h before endoscopy, The fluorescence was excited by a special incoherent light source which provided blue light in addition to white light. Results: In 82 (25%) cases additional neoplastic lesions were found only because of their red porphyrin fluorescence which was induced by 5-aminolevulinic acid. 31% of these neoplastic foci which were found in normal and nonspecific inflamed mucosa had a poorly differentiated histology. Conclusions: 5-Aminolevulinjc acid facilitates detection of neoplastic disease during transurethral resection of bladder cancer and increases the accuracy of diagnosis

Electromyographic control of prosthetic voice after total laryngectomy

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-43).The electrolarynx (EL) is a common rehabilitative speech aid for individuals who have undergone laryngectomy, but typical devices lack pitch control and require the exclusive use of one hand. This study investigated the viability of surface electromyography (sEMG) to control the onset and offset of an EMG-controlled EL (EMG-EL) while attending to real-time sEMG biofeedback using sEMG collected from seven locations across the ventral neck and face surface in eight individuals at least 1 year past total laryngectomy.Speech performance was assessed as the percentage of fully voiced words and successfully produced pauses. During use of the EMG-EL with biofeedback participants increased the sEMG during words and decreased the sEMG during pauses. Electrodes on the superior ventral neck, submental surface, and below the comer of the mouth showed consistently high performance across all participants. These results indicate promise for the applicability of the EMG-EL across a large segment of the laryngectomy population.by Cara Elizabeth Stepp.S.M

Surface electromyographic control of a novel phonemic interface for speech synthesis

Many individuals with minimal movement capabilities use AAC to communicate. These individuals require both an interface with which to construct a message (e.g., a grid of letters) and an input modality with which to select targets. This study evaluated the interaction of two such systems: (a) an input modality using surface electromyography (sEMG) of spared facial musculature, and (b) an onscreen interface from which users select phonemic targets. These systems were evaluated in two experiments: (a) participants without motor impairments used the systems during a series of eight training sessions, and (b) one individual who uses AAC used the systems for two sessions. Both the phonemic interface and the electromyographic cursor show promise for future AAC applications.F31 DC014872 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC002852 - NIDCD NIH HHS; R01 DC007683 - NIDCD NIH HHS; T90 DA032484 - NIDA NIH HHShttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Surface+electromyographic+control+of+a+novel+phonemic+interface+for+speech+synthesishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Surface+electromyographic+control+of+a+novel+phonemic+interface+for+speech+synthesisPublished versio

How caloric restriction extends life

Abstract only availablePeople have always wanted to know how to live longer lives. Researchers have found that caloric restriction allows this in most animals. Caloric restriction (CR) is defined as the restriction of food but still enough to maintain life. It is not known how CR slows aging. Aging occurs when cells can no longer divide and they malfunction or die. We hypothesized that CR slows aging by reducing rates of mitosis. In this research, mice were caloric restricted by reducing calories by at least twenty percent for two weeks. CR and CRC (control) mice were all injected with BrdU in order to visualize the dividing cells. Tissue sections were taken in order to observe and calculate the mitotic rate of the CR and CRC mice. The number of BrdU-labelled cells in the epithelial layer of the skin was 58/mm in control mice and 34/mm in caloric restricted mice. This means that caloric restriction caused the mitotic rate of skin cells to decrease by 41%. Our results suggest that caloric restriction extends lifespan by slowing the average rate of mitosis in cells.NSF-REU Biology & Biochemistr