Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The High Rate CIS Auditory Brainstem Implant for Restoration of Hearing in NF-2 Patients.

AIM Hearing preservation is one of the major goals of acoustic neuroma surgery. In NF-2 patients, bilateral hearing loss is frequently caused by the disease or results from its treatment. Several implant devices for electrical stimulation of the cochlear nucleus have been developed to restore serviceable hearing in these patients. We report our experience and results using a high rate continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) auditory brainstem implant (ABI). METHODS Between June 1997 and May 2004, 24 NF-2 patients were managed by our group. In 20 patients an ABI was implanted successfully. The cochlear nucleus was located using anatomical landmarks and E-ABR recordings after resection of the neuroma via a retrosigmoid approach in the semi-sitting position. The 12-channel stimulating electrode array was inserted and fixed in the lateral recess. There were no surgical complications related to implantation apart from pseudomeningo that were managed by lumbar drainage. RESULTS In one patient the electrode array became dislocated and this necessitated revision surgery which was successful. One patient failed to gain benefit from the implant. Overall, 70% of electrodes were found to be serviceable for auditory stimulation, 5.3% of electrodes were primarily nonauditory, and in 7.8% side effects during stimulation were observed. Lip reading was improved by more than 100% as a result of the additional auditory input. For many patients, comprehension of open speech was restored to a useful level. Almost all patients were able to perceive environmental sounds and tinnitus was masked. CONCLUSIONS Restoration of hearing using ABIs in NF-2 patients is a safe and promising procedure for those who would otherwise be totally deaf. The high rate CIS speech processing strategy has proven to be very useful and effective in direct cochlear nucleus stimulation.
The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES): psychometric properties of a new tool for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers

Background Despite the fact that labour market flexibility has resulted in an expansion of precarious employment in industrialised countries, to date there is limited empirical evidence concerning its health consequences. The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) is a newly developed, theory-based, multidimensional questionnaire specifically devised for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers. Objective To assess the acceptability, reliability and construct validity of EPRES in a sample of waged and salaried workers in Spain. Methods A sample of 6968 temporary and permanent workers from a population-based survey carried out in 2004–2005 was analysed. The survey questionnaire was interviewer administered and included the six EPRES subscales, and measures of the psychosocial work environment (COPSOQ ISTAS21) and perceived general and mental health (SF-36). Results A high response rate to all EPRES items indicated good acceptability; Cronbach's α coefficients, over 0.70 for all subscales and the global score, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability; exploratory factor analysis using principal axis analysis and varimax rotation confirmed the six-subscale structure and the theoretical allocation of all items. Patterns across known groups and correlation coefficients with psychosocial work environment measures and perceived health demonstrated the expected relations, providing evidence of construct validity. Conclusions Our results provide evidence in support of the psychometric properties of EPRES, which appears to be a promising tool for the measurement of employment precariousness in public health research.
Commentary on: Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research

Background and Aims Survey-based studies often fail to take into account the predictive value of a test, in other words, the probability of a person having (or not having) the disease when scoring positive (or negative) on the given screening test. Methods We re-visited the theory and basic calculations of diagnostic accuracy. Results In general, the lower the prevalence the worse the predictive value is. When the disorder is relatively rare, a positive test finding is typically not useful in confirming its presence given the high proportion of false positive cases. For example, using the Compulsive Buying Scale (Faber & O’Guinn, 1992) three in four people classified as having compulsive buying disorder will in fact not have the disorder. Conclusions Screening tests are limited to serve as an early detection “gate” and only clinical (interview-based) studies are suitable to claim that a certain behaviour is truly “pathological”.
Physical activity and health

“Of all the causes which conspire to render the life of man short and miserable, none have greater influence than the want of proper exercise. ”1 Recent epidemiological and clinical evidence support this observation by the 18th century Scottish physician Dr William Buchan. Studies suggest causal associations between regular physical activity and reduced rates of coronary heart disease, hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, colon cancer, anxiety, and depression.2 The most persuasive proof concerns coronary heart disease. People who are regularly active have about half the risk of those who are sedentary.3 4 Unfortunately, in the United States, Britain, and most other developed nations fewer than half of adults are regularly active.5 6 7 An estimated third of deaths from coronary heart disease in the United States (about 160 000 deaths per year) are attributable to insufficient physical activity.8 In response to the accumulated research and the widespread recognition that physical inactivity is a major public health issue, the United States National Institutes of Health convened a consensus development conference on physical activity and cardiovascular health last December. After two and a half days of scientific presentations and public …
Antarctic site testing – microthermal measurements of surface-layer seeing at the South Pole

Results from experiments measuring the optical seeing in the surface layer at the South Pole Station are presented. Seeing measurements were taken over 49 data runs between April and August 1994, using microthermal sensors placed at 3 levels on a 27 m-high mast. The seeing contribution from this region was quite large in comparison with similar experiments performed at other sites, with a mean value measured over this period of 0:64 00 . However, there is often a signicant decrease in the optical turbulence over the height of the mast, with mean values of 0:37 00 and 0:46 00 measured in the upper (17 27 m) and lower (7 17 m) sections respectively. These measurements coincide with a large and highly variable temperature inversion, the behaviour of which is often well correlated with the observed turbulence prole. The results can be roughly separated into four or ve categories, characterised by the temperature inversion alone. Further analysis of the data should provide some predictive power about the likely optical turbulence prole of the surface layer in given observing conditions.
Acute Glucocorticoid Administration Rapidly Suppresses Basal and Stress-Induced Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity is subject to negative feedback control by glucocorticoids. Although the rapid component of this feedback is widely considered to contribute to regulation of dynamic HPA activity, few in vivo data exist on the temporal and pharmacological characteristics of this phenomenon. Thus, frequent automated blood sampling was undertaken in rats to determine the effects of acute glucocorticoid administration on basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion. The glucocorticoid agonist methylprednisolone (5–2000 μg) or dexamethasone (5–500 μg) injected iv at the peak of the diurnal rhythm caused dose-dependent suppression of basal corticosterone secretion, which was attenuated by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486. With 50 μg methylprednisolone, the onset of this suppression occurred at 40 min and remained significant for 120 min. However, although higher doses led to a greater and more sustained suppression of endogenous corticosterone, the response was delayed by the emergence of an initial stimulatory response that imposed a finite minimum delay. A corticosterone response to injection of CRH (1 μg, iv) during the period of maximal suppression indicated a suprapituitary site for the inhibitory effect glucocorticoid activation. This mechanism was supported by glucocorticoid injection immediately before a psychological stress (30 min, white noise); methylprednisolone caused dose-dependent attenuation of stress-induced corticosterone release and expression of the activity marker c-fos mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus but did not block the pituitary response to CRH. Thus, in rats, glucocorticoid receptor activation rapidly suppresses basal and stress-induced HPA activity that operates, at least in part, through a central mechanism of action.
An imaging system of incipient slip for modelling how human perceives slip of a fingertip

This paper presents the structure and performance of the newly developed fingerprint imaging system, and the outline of the image processing for the quantification of incipient slip. Incipient slip, that is considered to have direct relation with slip perception, is visualized as distortion of a fingerprint pattern. A force sensor for the contact force measurements are also newly developed. Thus this system enables highly accurate incipient slip and fingertip contact force measurements.
Exploring the miRNAs Profile in Dark-Cutting Beef

In an animal production system, different stressors may cause the depletion of muscle glycogen stores, resulting in an elevated pH at 24 h post mortem (pH24), which leads to cell metabolism alterations that affect the conversion of muscle into meat, causing meat quality defects, such as dark-cutting beef, also known as dark, firm, and dry (DFD) beef. This process may involve the alteration of small non-coding RNAs (miRNAs), which play critical regulatory roles in cellular processes. Here, we determined whether differential miRNA expression in the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from the Asturiana de los Valles breed at 24 h post mortem could serve as an early indicator of beef quality defects. Following total RNA extraction, complete miRNAome sequencing revealed 12 miRNAs that were significantly upregulated (p < 0.001) in DFD beef compared to the levels in CONTROL beef. These miRNAs are mainly involved in the cellular responses to redox imbalances and apoptosis. Among these, four miRNAs known to be related to oxidative stress (bta-miR-1246, bta-miR-2332, bta-miR-23b-5p, and bta-miR-2411-3p) were validated via quantitative RT-PCR. Some of their target proteins were also analyzed using Western blotting. High 70 kDa heat shock protein and low Caspase-9 expressions (p < 0.01) were found in DFD beef, suggesting the downregulation of apoptosis. These results suggest the importance of miRNAs in regulating stress in muscle cells during early post mortem, as differences in the abundance of some of these miRNAs are still observed at 24 h post mortem. These changes lead to an inadequate conversion of muscle into meat, resulting in meats with quality defects.
POPULATION DIFFERENTIATION DECREASES WITH DEPTH IN DEEP‐SEA BIVALVES

Abstract The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth. Recent exploration has revealed that it supports a highly diverse and endemic benthic invertebrate fauna, yet the evolutionary processes that generate this remarkable species richness are virtually unknown. Environmental heterogeneity, topographic complexity, and morphological divergence all tend to decrease with depth, suggesting that the potential for population differentiation may decrease with depth.To test this hypothesis, we use mitochondrial DNA (16S rRNA gene) to examine patterns of population differentiationin four species of protobranch bivalves (Nuculoma similis, Deminucula atacellana, Malletia abyssorum, and Ledellaultima) distributed along a depth gradient in the western North Atlantic. We sequenced 268 individuals from formalinfixed samples and found 45 haplotypes. The level of sequence divergence among haplotypes within species was similar, but shifted from between populations at bathyal depths to within populations at abyssal depths. Levels of population structure as measured by ST were considerably greater in the upper bathyal species (N. similis= 0.755 and D. atacellana= 0.931; 530–3834 m) than in the lower bathyal/abyssal species (M. abyssorum= 0.071 and L. ultima= 0.045; 2864–4970 m). Pairwise genetic distances among the samples within each species also decreased with depth. Population trees (UPGMA) based on modified coancestry coefficients and nested clade analysis both indicated strong population‐level divergence in the two upper bathyal species but little for the deeper species. The population genetic structure in these protobranch bivalves parallels depth‐related morphological divergence observed in deep‐sea gastropods.The higher level of genetic and morphological divergence, coupled with the strong biotic and abiotic heterogeneityal bathyal depths, suggests this region may be an active area of species formation. We suggest that the steep, topographically complex, and dynamic bathyal zone, which stretches as a narrow band along continental margins, plays a more important role in the evolutionary radiation of the deep‐sea fauna than the much more extensive abyss.
Bounded Memory and Biases in Information Processing

Before choosing among two actions with state‐dependent payoffs, a Bayesian decision‐maker with a finite memory sees a sequence of informative signals, ending each period with fixed chance. He summarizes information observed with a finite‐state automaton. I characterize the optimal protocol as an equilibrium of a dynamic game of imperfect recall; a new player runs each memory state each period. Players act as if maximizing expected payoffs in a common finite action decision problem. I characterize equilibrium play with many multinomial signals. The optimal protocol rationalizes many behavioral phenomena, like “stickiness,” salience, confirmation bias, and belief polarization.
Behavioral Effects of Corticosteroids in Steroid-sensitive Nephrotic Syndrome

Objectives. The objective of this study was to define the frequency and severity of steroid-related behavioral side effects in children with steroid-sensitive idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) during treatment for relapse. Study Design. We conducted a prospective, repeated- measures study in which 10 children with SSNS underwent behavioral assessment using the Child Behavior Checklist at baseline and during high dose prednisone therapy for relapse. Results. Of the 10 children, 8 had normal behavior at baseline. Of these 8 children, 5 had Child Behavior Checklist scores above the 95th percentile for anxious/depressive behavior and/or aggressive behavior during relapse. Such scores are in the range normally considered appropriate for referral to a mental health provider. The 2 children who had abnormal behavior at baseline also experienced a worsening of their behavior during relapse. The behavioral changes occurred almost exclusively at prednisone doses of 1 mg/kg every 48 hours or more. Regression analysis showed that prednisone dose was a strong predictor of abnormal behavior, especially increased aggression. Conclusion. Children with SSNS often experience serious problems with anxiety, depression, and increased aggression during high-dose prednisone therapy for relapse.
Comparing and contrasting consensus versus empirical domains

Background: Since the publication of the CFS case definition, there have been a number of other criteria proposed including the Canadian Consensus Criteria and the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria. Purpose: The current study compared these domains that were developed through consensus methods to one obtained through more empirical approaches using factor analysis. Methods: Using data mining, we compared and contrasted fundamental features of consensus-based criteria versus empirical latent factors. In general, these approaches found the domain of fatigue/post-exertional malaise as best differentiating patients from controls. Results: Findings indicated that the Fukuda et al. criteria had the worst sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions: These outcomes might help both theorists and researchers better determine which fundamental domains to be used for the case definition.
TDCM: An IP watermarking algorithm based on two dimensional chaotic mapping

With the rapid development of VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) circuit, IP (Intellectual Property) protection for reused technology is widely concerned. A watermarking scheme for IP protection is proposed on basis of a two dimensional chaotic mapping model (TDCM). The scheme utilizes a secure and controllable embedding model to compute the aggregation level of physical resource positions and the secure threshold of controllability. A two dimensional chaotic sequence is generated with the control of secure threshold. The first dimensional sequence is used to determine random watermark positions and the second dimensional sequence is to control watermark number in each position. Finally, the watermarks are inserted into corresponding places orderly. The experiments show that the proposed scheme has low resource overhead by comparing with other schemes. The resistance to attacks and robustness of the watermark are encouraging as well.
A Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between Harmonic Surprise and Preference in Popular Music

Studies have shown that some musical pieces may preferentially activate reward centers in the brain. Less is known, however, about the structural aspects of music that are associated with this activation. Based on the music cognition literature, we propose two hypotheses for why some musical pieces are preferred over others. The first, the Absolute-Surprise Hypothesis, states that unexpected events in music directly lead to pleasure. The second, the Contrastive-Surprise Hypothesis, proposes that the juxtaposition of unexpected events and subsequent expected events leads to an overall rewarding response. We tested these hypotheses within the framework of information theory, using the measure of “surprise. ” This information-theoretic variable mathematically describes how improbable an event is given a known distribution. We performed a statistical investigation of surprise in the harmonic structure of songs within a representative corpus of Western popular music, namely, the McGill Billboard Project corpus. We found that chords of songs in the top quartile of the Billboard chart showed greater average surprise than those in the bottom quartile. We also found that the different sections within top-quartile songs varied more in their average surprise than the sections within bottom-quartile songs. The results of this study are consistent with both the Absolute- and Contrastive-Surprise Hypotheses. Although these hypotheses seem contradictory to one another, we cannot yet discard the possibility that both absolute and contrastive types of surprise play roles in the enjoyment of popular music. We call this possibility the Hybrid-Surprise Hypothesis. The results of this statistical investigation have implications for both music cognition and the human neural mechanisms of esthetic judgments.
Joint source-channel coding for progressive transmission of embedded source coders

We present a scheme for joint source-channel coding for transmission of sources compressed by embedded source coders over a memoryless noisy channel. We find an exact solution to the problem of optimal channel code allocation. Then we investigate the properties of the solution which allow us to transmit the source progressively while retaining the optimality at intermediate and final transmission rates, using rate-compatible codes.
Hypercatabolism in dialysis patients

Purpose of reviewThis article will provide a comprehensive review and update on recent advances in the field of protein-energy wasting and protein kinetics in patients with end-stage renal disease. Recent findingsHypercatabolism in dialysis patients is related to intradialytic loss of amino acids as well as cytokine activation. Interleukin-6 pays a central role in regulating whole-body, muscle and hepatic protein turnover during hemodialysis. Amino acids released from the muscle protein catabolism are taken up by the liver for de-novo protein synthesis during hemodialysis. Intradialytic nutrient supplementation increases protein synthesis, but does not attenuate muscle protein catabolism. SummaryProtein-energy wasting observed in end-stage renal disease is a maladaptive metabolic state, which often coexists with inflammation. Cytokine–adipokine signaling plays an important role in protein-energy wasting. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells and skeletal muscle are important sources of interleukin-6 during hemodialysis. In addition to contributing to intradialytic protein catabolism, interleukin-6 impairs effective utilization of amino acids for protein synthesis. Although muscle protein breakdown increases during hemodialysis, whole-body proteolysis is not increased. The dissociation between regional and whole-body protein kinetics in end-stage renal disease is due to somatic–hepatic recycling of amino acids. Net anabolism during hemodialysis may be achieved only by providing nutrients as well as inhibiting overt inflammatory signals.
Exhaled nitric oxide is elevated in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis without interstitial lung disease.

BACKGROUND Progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is a multisystem disorder of unknown etiology. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a major cause of mortality in this condition, and a major challenge in this regard is to identify parameters that would predict the onset or progression of ILD in patients with PSS. Abnormal cellularity of BAL fluid (BALF) has been demonstrated in patients with PSS without ILD. STUDY OBJECTIVES We investigated exhaled nitric oxide (NO) as a noninvasive marker of pulmonary inflammation in patients with PSS with and without clinical and radiologic evidence of ILD. This was compared with the cellularity of BALF. Our hypothesis was that exhaled NO was elevated in patients with PSS without ILD who had abnormal BALF cellularity. SETTING Pulmonology and rheumatology units of a university-based, tertiary referral hospital in Durban, South AFRICA: STUDY METHODS Exhaled NO was measured using a chemiluminescence analyzer in 12 patients with PSS and ILD and in 12 patients without clinical or radiologic evidence of ILD and in 30 healthy control subjects. BAL was performed in patients with PSS with and without the presence of ILD and in six healthy control subjects. RESULTS Subclinical inflammation was confirmed by increased inflammatory cell counts in BALF from patients with PSS without ILD. Exhaled NO (mean [SEM]) was elevated in patients with PSS without ILD at 9.6 (0.7) parts per billion (ppb) compared to patients with PSS and ILD at 6.2 (0.6) ppb (p < 0.001) and healthy control subjects at 6.3 (0.2) ppb (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Exhaled NO may therefore be an important noninvasive surrogate marker of inflammation in patients with PSS without ILD.