Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test-Retest Reliability of the Coordinate Response Measure in Adults with Normal Hearing or Cochlear Implants

Background: Speech perception in noise is especially challenging for cochlear implant (CI) recipients; thus, speech in noise tests are used to clinically evaluate functional hearing with CIs. The coordinate response measure (CRM) corpus can be utilized in an adaptive speech perception test with competing speakers as the masker. Determining the critical difference for CRM thresholds can enable it to be used to evaluate changes in CI outcomes for clinical and research purposes. If a change in CRM exceeds the critical difference, then this would indicate significant improvement or decrement in speech perception. Additionally, this information provides figures for power calculations that could be used for planning studies and clinical trials [Bland JM: An Introduction to Medical Statistics, 2000]. Objectives: This study determined the test-retest reliability of the CRM for adults with normal hearing (NH) and adults with CIs. The replicability, variability, and repeatability of the CRM were evaluated for the two groups separately. Method: Thirty-three NH adults and thirteen adult CI recipients were recruited and tested with the CRM twice, 1 month apart. The CI group was tested with two talkers only, while the NH group was tested with seven talkers as well as two talkers. Results: CRM had better replicability, repeatability and lower variability for the CI adults compared to NH adults. The critical difference (at p < 0.05) in the two-talker CRM speech reception thresholds (SRTs) among CI users was >5.2 dB, and it was >6.2 dB for the NH if an individual were to be tested under two different conditions. The critical difference (at p < 0.05) in the seven-talker CRM SRT was >6.49. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that CI recipients’ CRM scores’ variance (Mdn = −0.94) was significantly less than the NH group’s (Mdn = 2.2) (U = 54, p < 0.0001). Although the NH had significantly better SRTs in the two-talker condition than in the seven-talker condition (t = −20.29, df = 65, p < 0.0001), the Wilcoxon signed ranks test showed no significant difference between the CRM scores’ variance in the two conditions (Z = −1, N = 33, p = 0.08). Conclusions: NH adults had significantly lower CRM SRTs than the CI recipients; t (31.16) = −23.91, p < 0.001. CRM had better replicability, stability and lower variability for the CI adults compared to NH adults.
Swallowing outcomes following division of pseudo‐epiglottis resulting from vertical pharyngeal closure in laryngectomy

Vertical closure of the pharynx after laryngectomy can result in an outpouch of the anterior wall of the neopharynx below the tongue base, called a pseudo‐diverticulum. The prolapsed mucosa that separates the rest of the neopharynx from the pseudo‐diverticulum is termed a pseudo‐epiglottis.
A Role for KCNQ Channels on Cell Type-Specific Plasticity in Mouse Auditory Cortex after Peripheral Damage

Damage to sensory organs triggers compensatory plasticity mechanisms in sensory cortices. These plasticity mechanisms result in restored cortical responses, despite reduced peripheral input, and contribute to the remarkable recovery of perceptual detection thresholds to sensory stimuli. Overall, peripheral damage is associated with a reduction of cortical GABAergic inhibition; however, less is known about changes in intrinsic properties and the underlying biophysical mechanisms. To study these mechanisms, we used a model of noise-induced peripheral damage in male and female mice. We uncovered a rapid, cell type-specific reduction in the intrinsic excitability of parvalbumin-expressing neurons (PVs) in layer (L) 2/3 of auditory cortex. No changes in the intrinsic excitability of either L2/3 somatostatin-expressing or L2/3 principal neurons (PNs) were observed. The decrease in L2/3 PV excitability was observed 1, but not 7, d after noise exposure, and was evidenced by a hyperpolarization of the resting membrane potential, depolarization of the action potential threshold, and reduction in firing frequency in response to depolarizing current. To uncover the underlying biophysical mechanisms, we recorded potassium currents. We found an increase in KCNQ potassium channel activity in L2/3 PVs of auditory cortex 1 d after noise exposure, associated with a hyperpolarizing shift in the minimal voltage activation of KCNQ channels. This increase contributes to the decreased intrinsic excitability of PVs. Our results highlight cell-type- and channel-specific mechanisms of plasticity after noise-induced hearing loss and will aid in understanding the pathologic processes involved in hearing loss and hearing loss-related disorders, such as tinnitus and hyperacusis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Noise-induced damage to the peripheral auditory system triggers central plasticity that compensates for the reduced peripheral input. The mechanisms of this plasticity are not fully understood. In the auditory cortex, this plasticity likely contributes to the recovery of sound-evoked responses and perceptual hearing thresholds. Importantly, other functional aspects of hearing do not recover, and peripheral damage may also lead to maladaptive plasticity-related disorders, such as tinnitus and hyperacusis. Here, after noise-induced peripheral damage, we highlight a rapid, transient, and cell type-specific reduction in the excitability of layer 2/3 parvalbumin-expressing neurons, which is due, at least in part, to increased KCNQ potassium channel activity. These studies may highlight novel strategies for enhancing perceptual recovery after hearing loss and mitigating hyperacusis and tinnitus.
In‐silico structural characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Nucleoside diphosphate kinase: A novel antiapoptotic protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis

The Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK) protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) plays a crucial role in immune evasion and inhibition of apoptosis in host cells and has the potential to cause cancer. However, its structure has not yet been characterized. We used an in‐silico approach to determine the 3D structure of the P. gingivalis NDK. Furthermore, structural characterization and functional annotation were performed using computational approaches. The 3D structure of NDK was predicted through homology modeling. The structural domains predicted for the model protein belong to the NDK family. Structural alignment of prokaryotic and eukaryotic NDKs with the model protein revealed the conservation of the domain region. Structure‐based phylogenetic analysis depicted a significant evolutionary relationship between the model protein and the prokaryotic NDK. Functional annotation of the model confirmed structural homology, exhibiting similar enzymatic functions as NDK, including ATP binding and nucleoside diphosphate kinase activity. Furthermore, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation technique stabilized the model structure and provides a thermo‐stable protein structure that can be used as a therapeutic target for further studies.
Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Patients With Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND Patients with cancer may be particularly vulnerable to psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied the prevalence and evolution of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in patients with cancer during the pandemic waves, and we investigated factors associated with high symptoms. METHODS COVIPACT is a 1-year longitudinal prospective study of French patients with solid/hematologic malignancies receiving treatment during the first nationwide lockdown. PTSS were measured every 3 months from April 2020 using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Patients also completed questionnaires on their quality of life, cognitive complaints, insomnia, and COVID-19 lockdown experience. RESULTS Longitudinal analyses involved 386 patients with at least one PTSS assessment after baseline (median age, 63 years; 76% female). Among them, 21.5% had moderate/severe PTSS during the first lockdown. The rate of patients reporting PTSS decreased at lockdown release (13.6%), increased again at second lockdown (23.2%), and slightly declined from the second release period (22.7%) to the third lockdown (17.5%). Patients were grouped into 3 trajectories of evolution. Most patients had stable low symptoms throughout the period, 6% had high baseline symptoms slowly decreasing over time, and 17.6% had moderate symptoms worsening during the second lockdown. Female sex, feeling socially isolated, worrying about COVID-19 infection, and using psychotropic drugs were associated with PTSS. PTSS were associated with impaired quality of life, sleep, and cognition. CONCLUSIONS Approximately one-fourth of patients with cancer experienced high and persistent PTSS over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and may benefit from psychological support. CLINICALTRIALS gov identifier: NCT04366154.
Tunable electronic structures of graphene/boron nitride heterobilayers

Using first-principles calculations, we show that the band gap and electron effective mass (EEM) of graphene/boron nitride heterobilayers (C/BN HBLs) can be modulated effectively by tuning the interlayer spacing and stacking arrangement. The HBLs have smaller EEM than that of graphene bilayers (GBLs), and thus higher carrier mobility. For specific stacking patterns, the nearly linear band dispersion relation of graphene monolayer can be preserved in the HBLs accompanied by a small band-gap opening. The tunable band gap and high carrier mobility of these C/BN HBLs are promising for building high-performance nanodevices.
The role of the Kyrenia Range Lineament, Cyprus, in the geological evolution of the eastern Mediterranean area

Rewarding insights into major crustal lineaments come from the integrated study of well exposed examples. One is the Kyrenia Range, a narrow arcuate lineament of several hundred kilometres in length comprising northern Cyprus and its offshore extension. The Kyrenia Range consists mostly of Mesozoic and Tertiary sedimentary and subordinate volcanic and metamorphic rocks, disposed in four rock groups separated by unconformities recording deformation events. The lineament is dominated by a steeply dipping composite thrust pile located partly along, and partly straddling, the abrupt northward termination of crust similar to the Troodos Igneous Complex at depth. The 200 Ma history of the lineament involved episodic rift, passive-margin, active-margin, strike-slip and uplift phases. The area was rifted off Gondwana in the late Triassic to form a southerly Turkish microcontinent capped by a gently subsiding carbonate platform. After formation of a small ocean basin to the south during the Cretaceous (Troodos ocean), northward subduction began (? Santonian). The first major deformation (D1) is attributed to pervasive (? dextral) strike-slip, which removed the Mesozoic passive margin and brecciated and metamorphosed the remaining platform. In the Maastrichtian and early Tertiary the area subsided and scree breccias were shed from scarps into pelagic carbonate-depositing seas, while bimodal within-plate-type lavas were erupted in an extensional setting influenced by strike-slip. By mid Eocene time, shortening, first evidence by flysch and olistostrome deposition, culminated in strong southward thrusting (D2) and localized metamorphism. Northward subduction south of Cyprus ensued and the range lay in an extensional fore-arc setting in late Eocene and Miocene time. The area then subsided dramatically and accumulated thick turbidite sequences derived from eroding Tauride Mountain areas to the northeast. Faulting and general uplift in the late Miocene was followed by renewed compressional deformation climaxing in mid Pliocene time (D3) with large-scale thrusting and tilting. Pulsed vertical uplift continued through the Quaternary. Similar volcanic and metamorphic rocks formed along the Kyrenia Lineament at intervals. Sedimentary rocks emerge as the most sensitive tectonic setting indicators. Long-lived lineaments like the Kyrenia Range are inherently very complicated, and perceived simple solutions in other cases should be viewed with some scepticism.
The giant arc statistics in the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe cosmological model

We use high-resolution N-body simulations to investigate the optical depth of giant arcs with length-to-width ratios larger than 7.5 and 10 in the 'standard' Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) model with sigma(8) = 0.9 and Omega(m,0) = 0.3 and a model based on three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data. We find that, in dark-matter-only simulations, the lensing probability in the three-year WMAP model (with sigma(8) = 0.74 and Omega(m,0) = 0.238) decreases by a factor of similar to 6 compared with that in the 'standard' Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda CDM) model. The effects of baryonic cooling, star formation and feedbacks are uncertain, but we argue that baryons will only increase the the lensing cross-section by a moderate factor, similar to 2. We conclude that the low central value of sigma(8) and Omega(m,0) preferred by the WMAP three-year data may be too low to be compatible with observations if the conventional assumptions of the background source population are correct.
Single-center, observational study of AML/MDS-EB with IDH1/2 mutations: genetic profile, immunophenotypes, mutational kinetics and outcomes

ABSTRACT Objective IDH1/2 mutations, intervening in epigenetic procedures, are frequently encountered in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Knowledge of the genetics, immunophenotypes, and mutational kinetics of IDH1/2-mutated AML can contribute to the understanding of AML clonal architecture and inform therapeutics and monitoring. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 50 IDH1/2-mutated AML/MDS-EB cases of our institution, to identify recurrent co-mutations, immunophenotypes, patterns of co-variance of IDH1/2 allele burdens with those of recurrent co-mutations, frequency of persistent IDH1/2 mutation as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) in remission and response to hypomethylating agents. Results Most frequently co-mutated genes were DNMT3A, SRSF2 and NPM1. Most cases with co-existent IDH1/2 and NPM1 mutations (11/13) showed an ‘APL-like’ immunophenotype (CD34-HLADR-). Allele burdens of mutated IDH1/2 were identical to mutated SRSF2 allele burdens at diagnosis and remission, but not always to mutated NPM1 allele burden in remission. We show persistence of significant mutIDH1/2 allele burden in approximately one-fourth of patients with deep remissions. IDH1/2 mutations were significantly more frequent among responders to first-line HMA-based regimens than among non-responders, in patients treated for myeloid neoplasms with excess blasts. Conclusions IDH1/2 mutations are most frequently accompanied by DNMT3A, SRSF2 and NPM1 mutations. NPM1-IDH1/2 mutated AML has a mature phenotype possibly amenable to differentiation therapies. IDH1/2 and SRSF2 mutations probably arise at the same developmental stage of the disease, as their allele burdens covariate. IDH1/2 mutation represents CHIP in a substantial proportion of cases and is therefore no reliable residual disease marker. The preferential presence of IDH1/2 mutations among HMA-responders could inform therapeutic decisions if confirmed in larger series.
Electrical stimulation to promote muscle and motor unit force and endurance after spinal cord injury

Fatigue is a common feature of paralysed skeletal muscle, hindering performance when subjected to functional electrical stimulation (ES) for movement. We asked whether (1) 20 Hz ES for 5% of each day (2.5 s on and 2.5 s off for 3 h) increases tibialis anterior and medial gastrocnemius muscle and motor unit (MU) endurance after paralysis by hemisection and deafferentation (HSDA), and (2) muscle length or loading affects their isometric contractile properties. The daily 5% ES increased muscle endurance, largely independent of muscle length or loading, but to a lesser extent than the daily 50% ES (2.5 s on and 2.5 s off for 24 h). The former was effective in counteracting the decline and slowing of muscle force promoted by the 50% ES. The altered muscle properties were confirmed at the MU level in final experiments once the properties had plateaued. Fast‐fatigable MUs were converted to fatigue‐intermediate and ‐resistant MUs that finally comprised ∼80% as compared to ∼10% of the total MU number in the daily 5% ES and the control normal groups, respectively. We conclude that the daily 5% ES regimen counteracts the fatigue of paralysed muscle without compromising contractile force, and thereby, is effective in conditioning muscle for effective movement.
Building a unified model of the Optional Infinitive Stage: Simulating the cross-linguistic pattern of verb-marking error in typically developing children and children with Developmental Language Disorder

Abstract Verb-marking errors are a characteristic feature of the speech of typically-developing (TD) children and are particularly prevalent in the speech of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). However, both the pattern of verb-marking error in TD children and the pattern of verb-marking deficit in DLD vary across languages and interact with the semantic and syntactic properties of the language being learned. In this paper, we review work using a computational model called MOSAIC. We show how this work allows us to understand several features of the cross-linguistic data that are otherwise difficult to explain. We also show how discrepancies between the developmental data and the quantitative predictions generated by MOSAIC can be used to identify weaknesses in our current understanding and lead to further theory development; and how the resulting model (MOSAIC+) helps us understand differences in the cross-linguistic patterning of verb-marking errors in TD children and children with DLD.
Functional connectivity based machine learning approach for autism detection in young children using MEG signals

Objective. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, and identifying early autism biomarkers plays a vital role in improving detection and subsequent life outcomes. This study aims to reveal hidden biomarkers in the patterns of functional brain connectivity as recorded by the neuro-magnetic brain responses in children with ASD. Approach. We recorded resting-state magnetoencephalogram signals from thirty children with ASD (4–7 years) and thirty age and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children. We used a complex coherency-based functional connectivity analysis to understand the interactions between different brain regions of the neural system. The work characterizes the large-scale neural activity at different brain oscillations using functional connectivity analysis and assesses the classification performance of coherence-based (COH) measures for autism detection in young children. A comparative study has also been carried out on COH-based connectivity networks both region-wise and sensor-wise to understand frequency-band-specific connectivity patterns and their connections with autism symptomatology. We used artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers in the machine learning framework with a five-fold CV technique. Main results. To classify ASD from TD children, the COH connectivity feature yields the highest classification accuracy of 91.66% in the high gamma (50–100 Hz) frequency band. In region-wise connectivity analysis, the second highest performance is in the delta band (1–4 Hz) after the gamma band. Combining the delta and gamma band features, we achieved a classification accuracy of 95.03% and 93.33% in the ANN and SVM classifiers, respectively. Using classification performance metrics and further statistical analysis, we show that ASD children demonstrate significant hyperconnectivity. Significance. Our findings support the weak central coherency theory in autism detection. Further, despite its lower complexity, we show that region-wise COH analysis outperforms the sensor-wise connectivity analysis. Altogether, these results demonstrate the functional brain connectivity patterns as an appropriate biomarker of autism in young children.
Etiology and clinical features of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae infection in an inland city in China

Non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) causes various illnesses ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening but were ignored previously. Knowledge of the NOVC infection, particularly bacteremia, is limited because of its rarity. Here, we retrospectively reported the demographic, clinical, and therapy characteristics of patients with NOVC infection. Isolated NOVC stains were identified by a series of biochemical, mass spectrometry, and serum agglutination tests. The results of 11 patients with NOVC infection (including eight with bacteremia) with a median age of 68 years were included in this report. Most isolated NOVC strains had antibiotic susceptibility. Patients with NOVC-positive were distributed in various departments, most occurring in gastroenterology (six cases). Hepatic disease was the most common comorbid disease, followed by diabetes (three cases) and biliary tract disease (three cases). Two cases were previously healthy. The most common symptom at presentation was fever. All patients presented with abnormal changes in hematology and inflammatory parameters. Cephalosporins were the most frequently used antibiotics. Ten patients had a favorable outcome after treatment; one died from complicated underlying diseases. In summary, we recommend the timely identification of NOVC strains using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The suspicion of NOVC bacteremia cannot be ruled out regardless of the host’s immune status. An alternative therapeutic regimen for this infection may be β-lactam antibiotics or combined with β-lactamase inhibitors. Regardless, the specific therapeutic regimen should be based on the antibiogram data.