Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing a Quality of Experience (QoE) Model of Loudspeaker-Based Spatial Speech Reproduction

This study introduces a Quality of Experience (QoE) model of loudspeaker-based spatial speech reproduction, which specifies quality elements and quality features relevant to overall listening experience and Quality of Service (QoS), respectively. Assumptions about the relations between selected quality elements and quality features were validated in a listening-only test. Participants had the task to behaviorally identify the voices of two talkers and provided subjective judgments on category rating scales. Sentences uttered by the two talkers were alternately presented through only a central loudspeaker (non-spatial mode) versus through either the central or one talker-specific lateral loudspeaker (spatial mode). The transmitted speech signals were clean, superimposed with background noise or bandpass-filtered. Results showed that transmission quality, but not reproduction mode significantly affected evaluative (speech quality, speech intelligibility), immersion (voice naturalness, spatial presence, social presence) and task-related (voice similarity, talker identification effort) aspects of overall listening experience. Contrary to previous findings, the spatial mode did not reduce the effort of talker identification. This suggested that noticeable advantages from spatial reproduction may not be evident in relatively simple listening situations, but could manifest if complexity is increased. Besides their task-related influence, noise and spectral distortion should be mitigated when targeting a higher level of immersion.
Image Restoration for Low-Dose CT via Transfer Learning and Residual Network

Deep learning has recently been extensively investigated to remove artifacts in low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). However, the power of transfer learning for medical image denoising tasks has not been fully explored. In this work, we proposed a transfer learning residual convolutional neural network (TLR-CNN) to restore LDCT images at single and blind noise levels. A residual network was implemented to effectively estimate the difference between denoised image and its original map, and a noise-free image was obtained by subtracting the residual map from the LDCT image. The results were compared to competing baseline denoising methods in terms of quantitative metrics including the PSNR, RMSE, SSIM and FSIM. For the single noise level, the proposed method demonstrated better denoising performance than the other algorithms for both simulation data and clinical data. As for the blind denoising, the image qualities were improved for all noise levels for all the quantitative metrics, but such improvements were decreasing as the noise level decrease (higher mAs). Comparative experiments suggested that the proposed network could effectively suppress artifacts and preserve image details with faster converge rate and reduced computational time.
Dynamic human MutSα–MutLα complexes compact mismatched DNA

Significance Mismatch repair is the process that corrects replication errors. Mutations in the proteins MutSα and MutLα that initiate MMR are responsible for Lynch syndrome, the most common hereditary cancer. We present results showing surprising stoichiometries and conformations of human MutSα and MutLα mismatch repair initiation complexes. Moreover, these multimeric MutSα–MutLα complexes reconfigure the DNA in the vicinity of the mismatch. These complexes may not only mark the position of the mismatch but also could protect it from nucleosome reloading and potentially remodel adjacent nucleosomes. These results contrast with current models in the field, which envision mobile 1:1 MutSα–MutLα complexes that leave the mismatch. Our results provide a framework for thinking about MMR initiation. DNA mismatch repair (MMR) corrects errors that occur during DNA replication. In humans, mutations in the proteins MutSα and MutLα that initiate MMR cause Lynch syndrome, the most common hereditary cancer. MutSα surveilles the DNA, and upon recognition of a replication error it undergoes adenosine triphosphate-dependent conformational changes and recruits MutLα. Subsequently, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) activates MutLα to nick the error-containing strand to allow excision and resynthesis. The structure–function properties of these obligate MutSα–MutLα complexes remain mostly unexplored in higher eukaryotes, and models are predominately based on studies of prokaryotic proteins. Here, we utilize atomic force microscopy (AFM) coupled with other methods to reveal time- and concentration-dependent stoichiometries and conformations of assembling human MutSα–MutLα–DNA complexes. We find that they assemble into multimeric complexes comprising three to eight proteins around a mismatch on DNA. On the timescale of a few minutes, these complexes rearrange, folding and compacting the DNA. These observations contrast with dominant models of MMR initiation that envision diffusive MutS–MutL complexes that move away from the mismatch. Our results suggest MutSα localizes MutLα near the mismatch and promotes DNA configurations that could enhance MMR efficiency by facilitating MutLα nicking the DNA at multiple sites around the mismatch. In addition, such complexes may also protect the mismatch region from nucleosome reassembly until repair occurs, and they could potentially remodel adjacent nucleosomes.
Selection in the presence of a genotype by environment interaction : response in environmental sensitivity

The effect of selection for high phenotypic value in the presence of a genotype by environment interaction (G ✕ E, i.e. genetic variation for environmental sensitivity) and an improving environment was studied in a simulation. Environmental sensitivity was evaluated by using reaction norms, which describe the phenotype expressed by a genotype as a function of the environment. Three types of reaction norms (linear, quadratic and sigmoid), and two selection schemes (mass selection and progeny test selection) were studied. Environmental sensitivity was measured as the weighted average of the absolute value of the first derivative of the reaction norm function. Results showed that environmental sensitivity increased in response to selection for high phenotypic value in the presence of G ✕ E and an improving environment when reaction norms were linear or quadratic. For sigmoid reaction norms, approximating threshold characters, environmental sensitivity increased within the environmental range encompassing the threshold. With mass selection and/or non-linear reaction norms, environmental sensitivity increased even without environmental change.
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) Identification of five new phenolic compounds involved in the olive tree (Olea europea var. Sigoise) resistance to Verticillium dahliae

Verticillium wilt is a vascular disease caused by Verticillium dahliae which represents a serious threat for olive growing in Algeria. Many studies have shown the potential involvement of phenolic compounds in the reaction of plants to pathogens. Our study shows that the presence of Verticillium wilt induces a high production of polyphenols in infected olive trees compared to uninfected ones. The presence of high concentrations of flavonoids (3.45%) and alkaloids (0.44%) in the infected trees suggests that flavonoids and alkaloids may play a role in the olive tree resistance to verticillium wilt. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed the presence of five phenolic compounds: oleuropeine, luteonine, catechin, and for the first time verbascoside, apigenine-7-glycoside and some derivatives hydroxycinnamic compounds. These substances are good resistance markers and should help to make efficient strategies for the biocontrol of verticillium wilt.
The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is non‐randomly distributed across amphibian breeding habitats

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated as the causative agent of mass mortalities, population declines, and the extinctions of stream‐breeding amphibian species worldwide. While the factors that limit the distribution and abundance of B. dendrobatidis across large geographical regions are fairly well understood, little is known about the distribution of the fungus within localized areas such as individual catchments. The accurate identification of amphibian populations likely to be exposed to the fungus is urgently required for effective disease management. We conducted disease surveys of frogs representing five ecological guilds in south‐east Queensland, Australia, and hypothesized that if B. dendrobatidis were responsible for the disappearance of stream‐breeding amphibian populations, infection prevalence and intensity would be greatest in frogs breeding in permanent, flowing water. Overall, 30.3% of the 519 frogs we sampled were infected with B. dendrobatidis. However, infections were not evenly distributed across the ecological guilds, being almost completely restricted to frogs breeding at permanent waterbodies. Of these, stream breeders were significantly more likely to be infected than were pond breeders, though the intensity of frogs’ infections did not differ significantly between the two guilds. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was detected on only one of the 117 frogs that were found at ephemeral ponds, ephemeral streams, or terrestrial sites. These findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that B. dendrobatidis was responsible for many of the unexplained disappearances of stream‐breeding amphibian populations in recent decades, and will enable wildlife managers to more accurately focus conservation efforts on those species at highest risk of disease‐related decline.
Association between Reflux Esophagitis Incidence and Palmar Hyperhidrosis

The autonomic dysfunction in palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) includes not only sympathetic overactivity but also parasympathetic impairment. A decrease of parasympathetic tone has been noted in gastroesophageal reflux disease of neonates and adults. Patients with reflux esophagitis have a defective anti-reflux barrier. The association between reflux esophagitis and PH is deliberated in this article. The National Health Insurance Database in Taiwan was used. At first-time visits, PH patients were identified by the International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification disease code of 780.8 without endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. Patients were matched by age and gender as control groups. The reflux esophagitis incidence was assessed using disease codes 530.11, 530.81, and 530.85. The factors related to reflux esophagitis were established by the Cox proportional regression model. The risk of reflux esophagitis in PH patients had a hazard ratio of 3.457 (95% confidence interval: 3.043–3.928) after adjustment of the other factors. We confirmed the association between reflux esophagitis and PH. Health care providers must be alerted to this relationship and other risk factors of reflux esophagitis to support suitable treatments to improve the quality of life of patients.
Accelerated loss of hypoxia response in zebrafish with familial Alzheimer’s disease-like mutation of Presenilin 1

Ageing is the major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a condition involving brain hypoxia. The majority of early onset familial AD (EOfAD) cases involve dominant mutations in the gene PSEN1. PSEN1 null mutations do not cause EOfAD. We exploited putative hypomorphic and EOfAD-like mutations in the zebrafish psen1 gene to explore the effects of age and genotype on brain responses to acute hypoxia. Both mutations accelerate age-dependent changes in hypoxia-sensitive gene expression supporting that ageing is necessary, but insufficient, for AD occurrence. Curiously, the responses to acute hypoxia become inverted in extremely aged fish. This is associated with an apparent inability to upregulate glycolysis. Wild type PSEN1 allele expression is reduced in post-mortem brains of human EOfAD mutation carriers (and extremely aged fish), possibly contributing to EOfAD pathogenesis. We also observed that age-dependent loss of HIF1 stabilisation under hypoxia is a phenomenon conserved across vertebrate classes.
A qualitative exploration of the sociology of poststroke visual impairments and the associated health inequalities

Inequalities have been found to exist within the visually impaired stroke population on an individual level, in relation to demographic differences, unequal access to vision services, transport, employment, and financial repercussions. The long‐term impact of living with poststroke visual impairments must be explored, in order to identify complications accessing NHS services and to inform possible changes to service planning and delivery in order to tackle such complications.
Dark Induction of the Non-Photochemical Quenching of Chlorophyll Fluorescence by Acetate in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Addition of acetate to a suspension of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells in darkness induced transient and biphasic non-photochemical quenching of Chi fluorescence (qN) due to -dpH-dependen t down-regulatio n of PSII and the transition from state 1 to state 2. We propose that acetate-induced stimulation of the chlororespiratory electron flow triggers the regulation of PSII.
Introduced Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) in Western Canada: Has Their Ecology Diverged?

Abstract Organisms can diverge in life history when introduced outside their native range due to release from predators, competitors, and parasites, and also due to genetic drift and local adaptation. We studied the ecology of the American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) in its introduced range in British Columbia (BC). To assess differences between introduced and native populations, we compared the population ecology of BC bullfrogs to published life-history parameters from the bullfrog's extensive native range in eastern North America. In BC, bullfrogs emerged from hibernation in late April and early May. Breeding choruses developed fully when air temperatures exceeded 20°C. Eggs were laid from mid-June to mid-July when the mean water temperature was 20°C. Mean egg mass size was 13,014 ± 7,296 eggs (mean ± standard deviation). Tadpoles hatched in 3 to 5 days and overwintered the first year as tadpoles. Approximately 68% of the tadpoles metamorphosed at the end of the following summer, but the remaining spent a second winter in the pond. Bullfrogs were large enough to attain sexual maturity 2 yr after metamorphosis. Bullfrog population density among ponds varied from 4.1 to 530 frogs/ha. Terrestrial insects were the primary prey item of bullfrogs < 150 g, whereas frogs were the primary prey item of larger bullfrogs. The life-history parameter values estimated for BC bullfrogs were within the range observed for bullfrogs in their native habitats. Due to milder weather conditions in southwestern BC, the seasonal pattern and growth rate of bullfrogs were similar to lower latitude populations in Kentucky and Missouri. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that when released from native predators and parasites bullfrogs build up to unusually high population densities or attain significantly larger sizes in their introduced range.
Solid-Contact Potentiometric Sensors Based on Stimulus-Responsive Imprinted Polymers for Reversible Detection of Neutral Dopamine

Herein, we present for the first time a novel potentiometric sensor based on the stimulus-responsive molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as a selective receptor for neutral dopamine determination. This smart receptor can change its capabilities to recognize according to external environmental stimuli. Therefore, MIP-binding sites can be regenerated in the polymeric membrane by stimulating with stimulus after each measurement. Based on this effect, reversible detection of the analyte via potentiometric transduction can be achieved. MIPs based on 4-vinylphenylboronic acid as the functional monomer were prepared as the selective receptor. This monomer can successfully bind to dopamine via covalent binding and forming a five- or six-membered cyclic ester in a weakly alkaline aqueous solution. In acidic medium, the produced ester dissociates and regenerates new binding sites in the polymeric membrane. The proposed smart sensor exhibited fast response and good sensitivity towards dopamine with a limit of detection 0.15 µM over the linear range 0.2–10 µM. The selectivity pattern of the proposed ISEs was also evaluated and revealed an enhanced selectivity towards dopamine over several phenolic compounds. Constant-current chronopotentiometry is used for evaluating the short-term potential stability of the proposed ISEs. The obtained results confirm that the stimulus-responsive MIPs provide an attractive way towards reversible MIP-based electrochemical sensors designation.
Voluntary modification of rapid tactile-motor responses during reaching differs from its visuo-motor counterpart

People commonly hold and manipulate a variety of objects in everyday life, and these objects have different physical properties. In order to successfully control this wide range of objects, people must associate new patterns of tactile stimuli with appropriate motor outputs. We performed a series of experiments investigating the extent to which people can voluntarily modify tactile-motor associations in the context of a rapid tactile-motor response guiding the hand to a moving target (previously described in Pruszynski et al. 2016) by using an anti-reach paradigm in which participants were instructed to move their hands in the opposite direction of a target jump. We compared performance to that observed when people make visually guided reaches to a moving target (cf. Day & Lyon 2000, Pisella et al. 2000). When participants had visual feedback, motor responses during the anti-reach task showed early automatic responses toward the moving target before voluntary modification to move in the instructed direction. When the same participants had only tactile feedback, however, they were able to suppress this early phase of the motor response, which occurs less than 100 ms after the target jump. Our results indicate that, while the tactile motor and visual motor systems both support rapid responses that appear similar under some conditions, these responses show sharp distinctions in terms of their malleability.
Severe chronic spontaneous urticaria in children – treatment options according to the guidelines and beyond – a 10 years review

Abstract This is a retrospective study of 18 children with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), where standard therapies, including up-dosing of antihistamines and omalizumab, were unable to cure the disease and where alternative strategies with experimental and off-label medication had to be used. Materials Being aware that our questionnaire is validated only for elder children or adults, we utilized the UAS7 to monitor disease control with the help of the parents. Results The UAS7 score decreased from a mean of 25 to an average of 13 after 8 weeks of therapy in 13 patients. Five patients had no significant reduction of UAS7 by week 8. In two of five patients, where periodic improvement was seen, omalizumab therapy was continued and showed complete response after 1–2 years. In three children, alternative treatments with cyclosporine and dupilumab, approved by the ethics committee, showed symptom improvement from a mean UAS7 of 29 to a mean value of 6. Conclusions When omalizumab therapy including up-dosing strategies or shortened interval shows no symptom improvement, alternative therapies, sometimes off-label have to be considered in time.
Dissection of synaptic pathways through the CSF biomarkers for predicting Alzheimer disease

Objective To assess the ability of a combination of synaptic CSF biomarkers to separate Alzheimer disease (AD) and non-AD disorders and to help in the differential diagnosis between neurocognitive diseases. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional monocentric study. All participants explored with CSF assessments for neurocognitive decline were invited to participate. After complete clinical and imaging evaluations, 243 patients were included. CSF synaptic (GAP-43, neurogranin, SNAP-25 total, SNAP-25aa40, synaptotagmin-1) and AD biomarkers were blindly quantified with ELISA or mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis compared CSF levels between the various groups of AD dementias (n = 81), mild cognitive impairment (MCI)–AD (n = 30), other MCI (n = 49), other dementias (OD) (n = 49), and neurologic controls (n = 35) and their discriminatory powers. Results All synaptic biomarkers were significantly increased in patients with MCI-AD and AD-dementia compared to the other groups. All synaptic biomarkers could efficiently discriminate AD dementias from OD (AUC ≥0.80). All but synaptotagmin were also able to discriminate patients with MCI-AD from controls (area under the curve [AUC] ≥0.85) and those with AD dementias from controls (AUC ≥0.80). Overall, CSF SNAP-25aa40 had the highest discriminative power (AUC 0.93 between patients with AD dementias and controls or OD, AUC 0.90 between those with MCI-AD and controls). Higher levels were associated with 2 alleles of APOE ε4. Conclusion All synaptic biomarkers tested had a good discriminatory power to distinguish patients with AD abnormal CSF from those with non-AD disorders. SNAP25aa40 demonstrated the highest power to discriminate AD CSF-positive patients from patients without AD and neurologic controls in this cohort. Classification of evidence This retrospective study provides Class II evidence that CSF synaptic biomarkers discriminate patients with AD from those without AD.
Effects of ACEi and ARB on post-exercise hypotension induced by exercises conducted at different times of day in hypertensive men

ABSTRACT Background Post-exercise hypotension (PEH) is greater after evening than morning exercise, but antihypertensive drugs may affect the evening potentiation of PEH. Objective: To compare morning and evening PEH in hypertensives receiving angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB). Methods Hypertensive men receiving ACEi (n = 14) or ARB (n = 15) underwent, in a random order, two maximal exercise tests (cycle ergometer, 15 watts/min until exhaustion) with one conducted in the morning (7 and 9 a.m.) and the other in the evening (8 and 10 p.m.). Auscultatory blood pressure (BP) was assessed in triplicate before and 30 min after the exercises. Changes in BP (post-exercise – pre-exercise) were compared between the groups and the sessions using a two-way mixed ANOVA and considering P < . 05 as significant. Results In the ARB group, systolic BP decrease was greater after the evening than the morning exercise, while in the ACEi group, it was not different after the exercises conducted at the different times of the day. Additionally, after the evening exercise, systolic BP decrease was lower in the ACEi than the ARB group (ARB = −11 ± 8 vs −6 ± 6 and ACEi = −6 ± 7 vs. −8 ± 5 mmHg, evening vs. morning, respectively, P for interaction = 0.014). Conclusions ACEi, but not ARB use, blunts the greater PEH that occurs after exercise conducted in the evening than in the morning.