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Amyloidosis is an unknown pathogenic process in which abnormally folded proteins are deposited in the extracellular space as macroscopic aggregates. Laryngeal deposits of these proteins are extremely rare, but primarily cause dysphonia in patients. High Speed Digital Phonoscopy (HSDP) was used to capture the kinematics of vocal folds in a patient with laryngeal amyloidosis. Acoustic data was also recorded and both HSDP and acoustics were processed using custom Vocalizer® software to help elucidate the physiological impact of amyloids in the larynx, especially in regards to effects on the voice.

We used HSDP (KayPENTAX Model 9710, NJ, USA) to capture the kinematics of vocal folds in the production of extreme vocalization used by heavy metal performers. The vibrations of the VF were captured at 4000 f/s using transoral rigid scope. Growl, scream and inhalatory phonations were recoded. Results showed that these extreme sounds are produced predominantly by supraglottic tissues rather than by the true vocal folds, which explains while these sounds do not injure the mucosa of the true vocal folds. In addition, the HSDI were processed using custom software (Vocalizer®) that clearly demonstrated the contribution of each vocal fold to the generation of the sound.

Current studies investigating properties of nanoparticle-reinforced polymers have shown that nanocomposites often exhibit improved properties compared to neat polymers. However, over two decades of research, using both experimental studies and modeling analyses, has not fully elucidated the mechanistic underpinnings behind these enhancements. Moreover, few studies have focused on developing an understanding among two or more polymer properties affected by incorporation of nanomaterials. In our study, we investigated the elastic and thermal properties of poly(acrylamide) hydrogels containing silica nanoparticles. Both nanoparticle concentration and size affected hydrogel properties, with similar trends in enhancements observed for elastic modulus and thermal diffusivity. We also observed significantly lower swellability for hydrogel nanocomposites relative to neat hydrogels, consistent with previous work suggesting that nanoparticles can mediate pseudo crosslinking within polymer networks. Collectively, these results indicate the ability to develop next-generation composite materials with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties by increasing the average crosslinking density using nanoparticles.

Candida spp. cause both local and disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients. Bloodstream infections of Candida spp., known as "candidemia," are associated with a high mortality rate (40%), which is mainly attributed to the long diagnostic time required by blood culture. We introduce a diagnostic platform based on T2 magnetic resonance (T2MR), which is capable of sensitive and rapid detection of fungal targets in whole blood. In our approach, blood-compatible polymerase chain reaction is followed by hybridization of the amplified pathogen DNA to capture probe-decorated nanoparticles. Hybridization yields nanoparticle microclusters that cause large changes in the sample's T2MR signal. With this T2MR-based method, Candida spp. can be detected directly in whole blood, thus eliminating the need for analyte purification. Using a small, portable T2MR detection device, we were able to rapidly, accurately, and reproducibly detect five Candida species within human whole blood with a limit of detection of 1 colony-forming unit/ml and a time to result of