Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting the Perceptual Consequences of Hidden Hearing Loss

Recent physiological studies in several rodent species have revealed that permanent damage can occur to the auditory system after exposure to a noise that produces only a temporary shift in absolute thresholds. The damage has been found to occur in the synapses between the cochlea’s inner hair cells and the auditory nerve, effectively severing part of the connection between the ear and the brain. This synaptopathy has been termed hidden hearing loss because its effects are not thought to be revealed in standard clinical, behavioral, or physiological measures of absolute threshold. It is currently unknown whether humans suffer from similar deficits after noise exposure. Even if synaptopathy occurs in humans, it remains unclear what the perceptual consequences might be or how they should best be measured. Here, we apply a simple theoretical model, taken from signal detection theory, to provide some predictions for what perceptual effects could be expected for a given loss of synapses. Predictions are made for a number of basic perceptual tasks, including tone detection in quiet and in noise, frequency discrimination, level discrimination, and binaural lateralization. The model’s predictions are in line with the empirical observations that a 50% loss of synapses leads to changes in threshold that are too small to be reliably measured. Overall, the model provides a simple initial quantitative framework for understanding and predicting the perceptual effects of synaptopathy in humans.
Excessive Supraventricular Ectopic Activity Is Indicative of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Cerebral Ischemia

Background Detecting paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in patients with cerebral ischemia is challenging. Frequent premature atrial complexes (PAC/h) and the longest supraventricular run on 24-h-Holter (SV-run24 h), summarised as excessive supraventricular ectopic activity (ESVEA), may help selecting patients for extended ECG-monitoring, especially in combination with echocardiographic marker LAVI/a’ (left atrial volume index/late diastolic tissue Doppler velocity). Methods Retrospective analysis from the prospective monocentric observational trial Find-AF (ISRCTN-46104198). Patients with acute stroke or TIA were enrolled at the University Hospital Göttingen, Germany. Those with sinus rhythm at presentation received 7-day Holter-monitoring. ESVEA was quantified in one 24-hour interval free from PAF. Echocardiographic parameters were assessed prospectively. Results PAF was detected in 23/208 patients (11.1%). The median was 4 [IQR 1; 22] for PAC/h and 5 [IQR 0; 9] for SV-run24 h. PAF was more prevalent in patients with ESVEA: 19.6% vs. 2.8% for PAC/h >4 vs. ≤4 (p<0.001); 17.0% vs. 4.9% for SV-run24 h >5 vs. ≤5 beats (p = 0.003). Patients with PAF showed more supraventricular ectopic activity: 29 PAC/h [IQR 9; 143] vs. 4 PAC/h [1]; [14] and longest SV-run24 h = 10 [5]; [21] vs. 0 [0; 8] beats (both p<0.001). Both markers discriminated between the PAF- and the Non-PAF-group (area under receiver-operator-characteristics-curve 0.763 [95% CI 0.667; 0.858] and 0.716 [0.600; 0.832]). In multivariate analyses log(PAC/h) and log(SV-run24 h) were independently indicative of PAF. In Patients with PAC/h ≤4 and normal LAVI/a’ PAF was excluded, whereas those with PAC/h >4 and abnormal LAVI/a’ showed high PAF-rates. Conclusions ESVEA discriminated PAF from non-PAF beyond clinical factors including LAVI/a’ in patients with cerebral ischemia. Normal LAVI/a’+PAC/h ≤4 ruled out PAF, while prevalence was high in those with abnormal LAVI/a’+PAC/h >4.
Comparison of Calcaneal Exposure Through the Extensile Lateral and Sinus Tarsi Approaches

The purpose of this study was to compare the exposure of the posterior facet with the extensile lateral (EL) approach compared with the sinus tarsi (ST) approach. We hypothesized that the ST approach will provide a similar exposure of the posterior calcaneal facet. A total of 8 sequential ST then EL approaches were performed on cadavers. Calcaneal landmarks were identified by visualization or palpation. Calibrated digital photographs of the posterior facet and lateral calcaneal body were obtained from standardized positions and used to calculate the exposed surface area. No significant difference was found in the average square area of the posterior facet exposed with the 2 approaches. Significantly more of the lateral calcaneal body was seen with the EL approach. Excluding the posterior facet superomedial quadrant, all the landmarks were visualized in 100% of approaches. The superomedial corner was visualized in significantly more of the cadavers with the EL approach and was palpable in 12.5% of the remaining cadavers in both approaches. Whereas the ST approach exposes less of the lateral wall of the calcaneus, it exposes similar amounts of the posterior facet when compared with the EL approach. Levels of Evidence: Therapeutic, Level V
Limited Phylogeographic Signal in Sex-Linked and Autosomal Loci Despite Geographically, Ecologically, and Phenotypically Concordant Structure of mtDNA Variation in the Holarctic Avian Genus Eremophila

Phylogeographic studies of Holarctic birds are challenging because they involve vast geographic scale, complex glacial history, extensive phenotypic variation, and heterogeneous taxonomic treatment across countries, all of which require large sample sizes. Knowledge about the quality of phylogeographic information provided by different loci is crucial for study design. We use sequences of one mtDNA gene, one sex-linked intron, and one autosomal intron to elucidate large scale phylogeographic patterns in the Holarctic lark genus Eremophila. The mtDNA ND2 gene identified six geographically, ecologically, and phenotypically concordant clades in the Palearctic that diverged in the Early - Middle Pleistocene and suggested paraphyly of the horned lark (E. alpestris) with respect to the Temminck's lark (E. bilopha). In the Nearctic, ND2 identified five subclades which diverged in the Late Pleistocene. They overlapped geographically and were not concordant phenotypically or ecologically. Nuclear alleles provided little information on geographic structuring of genetic variation in horned larks beyond supporting the monophyly of Eremophila and paraphyly of the horned lark. Multilocus species trees based on two nuclear or all three loci provided poor support for haplogroups identified by mtDNA. The node ages calculated using mtDNA were consistent with the available paleontological data, whereas individual nuclear loci and multilocus species trees appeared to underestimate node ages. We argue that mtDNA is capable of discovering independent evolutionary units within avian taxa and can provide a reasonable phylogeographic hypothesis when geographic scale, geologic history, and phenotypic variation in the study system are too complex for proposing reasonable a priori hypotheses required for multilocus methods. Finally, we suggest splitting the currently recognized horned lark into five Palearctic and one Nearctic species.
Testing the role of ecology and life history in structuring genetic variation across a landscape: a trait‐based phylogeographic approach

Hypotheses to explain phylogeographic structure traditionally invoke geographic features, but often fail to provide a general explanation for spatial patterns of genetic variation. Organisms' intrinsic characteristics might play more important roles than landscape features in determining phylogeographic structure. We developed a novel comparative approach to explore the role of ecological and life‐history variables in determining spatial genetic variation and tested it on frog communities in Panama. We quantified spatial genetic variation within 31 anuran species based on mitochondrial DNA sequences, for which hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation analyses rejected simultaneous divergence over a common landscape. Regressing ecological variables, on genetic divergence allowed us to test the importance of individual variables revealing that body size, current landscape resistance, geographic range, biogeographic origin and reproductive mode were significant predictors of spatial genetic variation. Our results support the idea that phylogeographic structure represents the outcome of an interaction between organisms and their environment, and suggest a conceptual integration we refer to as trait‐based phylogeography.
Investigations of the reactive co-sputtering deposition of Cu(In 1-x,Ga x)(S 1-y,Se y) 2 absorber layers for thin film solar cells

ii in the absorber layer. The best solar cell achieved an efficiency of 10.6% with an open circuit voltage of 876 mV for a bandgap of 1.72 eV. Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber layers for solar cells could be reproducibly deposited by using a 1-stage deposition sequence with Cu-poor supply conditions during the whole process. Due to significant re-evaporation of indium the composition is self-adjusted to a [Cu]/([In]+[Ga]) ratio close to 1 and good solar cells can be prepared with a relatively wide range of supply ratios from the CuGa and In target. With such a simple process maximum efficiencies of 9.3% on normal Mo back contacts and 11.7% on sodium doped Mo back contacts (Mo:Na) could be achieved. The higher efficiency on Mo:Na substrates is not only caused by the additional Na doping but also by the less pronounced re-evaporation, which leads to a Cu-poorer final composition. Temperature-dependent measurements of the open circuit voltage Voc indicate an increased interface recombination for a too high final [Cu]/([In]+[Ga]) ratio of the films, which also deteriorates Voc and FF of the solar cells with a too high CuGa to In supply ratio during the deposition. However, a better material quality (larger grains and larger diffusion length as deduced from the spectral response in the long wavelength region) and higher short circuit current densities (Jsc) are obtained for Cu-richer deposition conditions. Therefore, it was tried in first experiments to reduce the [Cu]/([In]+[Ga]) ratio of an intermediate (nearly) Cu-rich film with a final Cu-poor stage similar to typical co-evaporation processes. In order to avoid In re-evaporation, the substrate temperature was reduced, or the H2Se content increased. This led to cells, which achieved high Jsc and high Voc at the same time with a maximum efficiency of 12.2% (Voc = 558 mV, Jsc = 31.1 mA/cm2, FF = 70.6%). Although this result is significantly below the efficiencies of above 20% for champion solar cells achieved for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber films from co-evaporation processes, it nevertheless shows, for the relatively short time (1.5 years) of research on this specific process, the high potential of the reactive magnetron sputtering technology.
Angular sensitivity for a Fabry-Perot structure incorporating different dielectric materials

Color filters based on different Fabry-Perot structures are investigated extensively, and incident angle dependency is an important characteristic in practical applications. Here, we investigated a color filter incorporating a Fabry-Perot structure, discussing its reflective angular sensitivity related to refractive index of its dielectric material. By finite difference time domain(FDTD) theory, the refractive index of the dielectric material is found to influence the angular sensitivity greatly while the optical thickness keeps constant. The simulated results shows that the higher the dielectric layer’s refractive index is, the more angular insensitive of the reflection will be obtained and a good angular insensitive will achieved when the refractive index is larger than 2.1. Finally, samples with different dielectric layer are fabricated in experiment and the measured results verify influence of the refractive index of dielectric layer on the spectra angular sensitivity, which is helpful for the application of color filter in color display, image sensors and decoration.
MiRNA profiling of gastrointestinal stromal tumors by next-generation sequencing

Deregulation of miRNAs has been observed virtually in all major types of cancer, whereas the miRNA signature in GIST is not well characterized yet. In this study the first high-throughput miRNA profiling of 15 paired GIST and adjacent normal tissue samples was performed using small RNA-seq approach and differentially expressed miRNAs as well as isomiRNAs were defined. Highly significantly deregulated miRNAs were selected for validation by Taq-Man low-density array in replication group of 40 paired samples. Validated miRNAs were further subjected to enrichment analysis, which revealed significantly enriched KEGG pathways in the main GIST associated pathways. Further, we used an integrated analysis of miRNA-mRNA correlations for KIT and PDGFRA target genes and found a significant correlation between all of the enriched miRNAs and their target gene KIT. Results of the phenotype analysis showed miR-509-3p to be up-regulated in epithelioid and mixed cell types compared to spindle type, whereas miR-215-5p showed negative correlation with risk grade of GIST. These data reveal a detailed miRNA profile of GIST and highlight new candidates that may be important in the development of malignant disease.
Several adaptor proteins promote intracellular localisation of the transporter MRP4/ABCC4 in platelets and haematopoietic cells

Summary The multidrug resistance protein 4 (MRP4/ABCC4) has been identified as an important transporter for signalling molecules including cyclic nucleotides and several lipid mediators in platelets and may thus represent a novel target to interfere with platelet function. Besides its localisation in the plasma membrane, MRP4 has been also detected in the membrane of dense granules in resting platelets. In polarised cells it is localised at the basolateral or apical plasma membrane. To date, the mechanism of MRP4 trafficking has not been elucidated; protein interactions may regulate both the localisation and function of this transporter. We approached this issue by searching for interacting proteins by in vitro binding assays, followed by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, and by visualising their co-localisation in platelets and haematopoietic cells. We identified the PDZ domain containing scaffold proteins ezrin-binding protein 50 (EBP50/NHERF1), postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), and sorting nexin 27 (SNX27), but also the adaptor protein complex 3 subunit β3A (AP3B1) and the heat shock protein HSP90 as putative interaction partners of MRP4. The knockdown of SNX27, PSD95, and AP3B1 by siRNA in megakaryoblastic leuk aemia cells led to a redistribution of MRP4 from intracellular structures to the plasma membrane. Inhibition of HSP90 led to a diminished expression and retention of MRP4 in the endoplasmic reticulum. These results indicate that MRP4 localisation and function are regulated by multiple protein interactions. Changes in the adaptor proteins can hence lead to altered localisation and function of the transporter. Supplementary Material to this article is available at www.thrombosis-online.com.
A Model for Visual Memory Encoding

Memory encoding engages multiple concurrent and sequential processes. While the individual processes involved in successful encoding have been examined in many studies, a sequence of events and the importance of modules associated with memory encoding has not been established. For this reason, we sought to perform a comprehensive examination of the network for memory encoding using data driven methods and to determine the directionality of the information flow in order to build a viable model of visual memory encoding. Forty healthy controls ages 19–59 performed a visual scene encoding task. FMRI data were preprocessed using SPM8 and then processed using independent component analysis (ICA) with the reliability of the identified components confirmed using ICASSO as implemented in GIFT. The directionality of the information flow was examined using Granger causality analyses (GCA). All participants performed the fMRI task well above the chance level (>90% correct on both active and control conditions) and the post-fMRI testing recall revealed correct memory encoding at 86.33±5.83%. ICA identified involvement of components of five different networks in the process of memory encoding, and the GCA allowed for the directionality of the information flow to be assessed, from visual cortex via ventral stream to the attention network and then to the default mode network (DMN). Two additional networks involved in this process were the cerebellar and the auditory-insular network. This study provides evidence that successful visual memory encoding is dependent on multiple modules that are part of other networks that are only indirectly related to the main process. This model may help to identify the node(s) of the network that are affected by a specific disease processes and explain the presence of memory encoding difficulties in patients in whom focal or global network dysfunction exists.
Shifting species interactions in terrestrial dryland ecosystems under altered water availability and climate change

Species interactions play key roles in linking the responses of populations, communities, and ecosystems to environmental change. For instance, species interactions are an important determinant of the complexity of changes in trophic biomass with variation in resources. Water resources are a major driver of terrestrial ecology and climate change is expected to greatly alter the distribution of this critical resource. While previous studies have documented strong effects of global environmental change on species interactions in general, responses can vary from region to region. Dryland ecosystems occupy more than one‐third of the Earth's land mass, are greatly affected by changes in water availability, and are predicted to be hotspots of climate change. Thus, it is imperative to understand the effects of environmental change on these globally significant ecosystems.
Electronic Structure of Novel Two-dimensional Materials and Graphene Heterostructures

Today a well-equipped library of two-dimensional materials can be synthesized or exfoliated, ranging from insulating hexagonal boron nitride, to semi-metallic graphene, and metallic as well as superconducting transition metal dichalcogenides and many others. Due to strong intra-layer covalent bondings, but weak inter-layer Van-derWaals interactions, these layered materials can be stacked in a Lego-like fashion to artificial heterostructures which do not occur in nature. Thereby, these novel systems offer the possibility to combine specific properties of each of its constituents to tailor the heterostructure’s properties on demand which might allow for completely new device classes. In fact, these kind of systems are already constructed and studied in labs around the world. In order to guide these efforts, we need an in-depth understanding of these complex heterostructures starting with its smallest components, namely the different twodimensional materials and their mutual interactions. To this end, we study electronic and optical properties of novel two-dimensional materials in this thesis. In more detail, we here aim to investigate functionalized graphene, graphene heterostructures and doped or optically excited molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayers for which we combine ab initio based models with many-body or multi-scale approaches. The first part is devoted to functionalized graphene and is subdivided into the investigation of disorder-induced optical effects of fluorographene and into a detailed study of the Coulomb interaction in graphene heterostructures in form of multilayer graphene, intercalated graphite and few-layer graphene within a dielectric environment. In the case of fluorographene we use a multi-scale approach to study the effects of realistic disorder patterns to the optical conductivity. Thereby, we provide important insights into the role of non-perfect fluorination of graphene. Regarding the graphene heterostructures we present a novel approach to easily and reliably derive Coulombinteraction matrix elements in these structures. This method is used to study the robustness of bilayer graphene’s ground state to changes in its dielectric surrounding. In the second part of the thesis we study a variety of many-body effects that arise in doped and optically excited MoS2 monolayers. Once again, by deriving simplified yet accurate models from first-principles we are able to investigate many-body excitations like plasmons or excitons as well as many-body instabilities like superconductivity or charge-density wave phases. Regarding the latter, we are able to extend the electrondoping phase diagram of MoS2 by the formation of a charge-density-wave phase and reveal its potential coexistence with the superconducting state. In the field of manybody excitations we study in detail excitonic line shifts upon optical excitations and
Automatic Pixel Boosting for Face Enhancement in Dim Light

Images in dim light cause many problems such as illumination variation which includes shadow effects. The enhancement of dim faces is difficult and challenging. Image enhancement can be useful for face detection and recognition. In this paper we contribute a new method called ‘Automatic Pixel Boosting’ to access and boost each pixel individually by using curve fitting. Eigencurves are used for improving the enhanced images. Skin probability ratio test is used for APB evaluation. Eigenfaces and Karhunen-Loeve algorithm and FaceSDK software are used for evaluating the performance of APB in comparison to Histogram Equalization by using a small database.
Kiln-drying of 9- by 9-inch cants for log home manufacturers

Air-drying raw material for log homes requires at least 1 year to reach an acceptable moisture content (MC) of 15 percent. As a result, large inventories are necessary to provide a steady flow of material. The objective of this pilot study was to determine the time required to dry large Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) cants, measuring 9- by 9-inches, at various kiln temperatures to an average MC of 15 percent, and to determine whether stress reduction via steaming could minimize final check width.
Blood Biochemical Profile and Cortisol Level in Toggenberg Goat during Lactation

The investigation was undertaken to study some blood biochemical parameters and cortisol levels during different stages in different lactations in Toggenberg goats. These included control group, consisting of dry goats and group I, II, III and IV containing goats in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th lactation period. The total protein concentration showed an increasing trend from early to late lactation stages. There was an increasing levels of albumin in group I, II and IV and globulin in group II and III. Lowest total protein concentration was observed in third lactation (group III). Albumin and globulin ratio was higher in early lactation in group III (third lactation); whereas, in group II and IV, highest ratio was observed during mid lactation. Glucose concentration showed a definite increasing trend from early to late lactation stages in different lactations. Significantly lower (P<0.05) glucose levels were found in early as well as mid lactations as compared to late stage in all the four groups. Increasing trend of urea concentration was observed from early to late stage of lactation in all the lactating groups. The Total protein, globulin, glucose and urea levels were found higher in lactating goats as compared to dry animals. The cortisol level showed a decreasing trend from early to late stage of lactation, Again, the cortisol levels of lactating goats were significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of dry goats. Among different stages of lactation, early and mid stages are more stressful when compared to late stage.