Matthew Blanco

Experimental Investigation of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Silica Nanoparticle-Reinforced Poly(acrylamide) Nanocomposite Hydrogels

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.

High speed digital phonoscopy of selected extreme vocalization (Conference Presentation)

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.

3-D rendition (Conference Presentation)

Growl, a style of extreme vocalization used for the production of bizarre and scary voice by heavy metal singes captured by HSDP is simply fascinating and shows that this sound is produced predominantly by the supraglottic structures. To enhance our understanding of how this process is accomplished. The obtained images were processed to be viewed in 3-D. The results are shown and discussed.

Analysis of laryngeal amyloidosis using high speed digital phonoscopy and acoustics (Conference Presentation)

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.