Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Pseudobinaural Hearing to Real Binaural Hearing Rehabilitation After Cochlear Implantation in Patients With Unilateral Deafness and Tinnitus

Objective: Up to now, treatment modalities of unilateral deafness consist of no treatment, conventional contralateral routing of signal (CROS), or Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) hearing aid. Cochlear implantation makes a new treatment modality available for patients with single-sided deafness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of unilateral electrical stimulation with normal hearing on the contralateral side after a period of 6 months compared with the preoperative unaided situation, conventional CROS, or BAHA hearing aids. Study Design: Prospective design. Setting: Tertiary referral center; cochlear implant (CI) program. Patients: Eleven adult subjects with unilateral deafness of various causes were enrolled in the study. Only those patients were included in whom therapy with CROS hearing aid or BAHA was not successful and in whom the auditory nerve was found to be intact and the cochlea patent for cochlear implantation. Intervention: All subjects were fitted in random order with a BAHA Intenso mounted on the softband/tension clamp or with a CROS hearing aid. After test periods with both devices, the subjects received a CI. Main Outcome Measures: The Hochmair-Schulz-Moser sentence test and the Oldenburg sentence test were used to test speech comprehension in 3 presentation configurations in the unaided situation, with conventional CROS and BAHA hearing aids before cochlear implantation as well as after 6 months with CI. Localization was assessed using an array of 7 speakers at head level in a frontal semicircle. Subjective improvement in daily life was evaluated using the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale, the Health Utilities Index 3 and the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids questionnaires. Tinnitus distress was measured with a tinnitus scale before and after CI implantation. Results: The results show significant improvement in localization ability as well as in speech comprehension in most presentation configurations with the CI. Especially, there is no negative effect on speech comprehension if the noise is presented to the CI ear and speech to the normal hearing ear. With the CI, the summation and squelch effects are not significant, but a significant combined head shadow effect is seen. Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing results show an overall benefit of wearing the CI compared with the other treatment options. The tinnitus scale revealed a positive effect of CI stimulation in cases of preoperative tinnitus. Conclusion: The results in these patients suggest that cochlear implantation improves hearing abilities in people with single-sided deafness and is superior to the alternative treatment options. The use of the CI does not interfere with speech understanding in the normal hearing ear. Our data suggest that the binaural integration of electric and acoustic stimulation is possible even with unilateral normal hearing.
Synthetic post-translationally modified human A beta peptide exhibits a markedly increased tendency to form beta-pleated sheets in vitro.

The beta-amyloid peptide (A beta) is the major constituent of senile plaques, one of the hallmark neuropathological lesions of Alzheimer's disease. Recently a post-translationally modified analogue of the human beta-amyloid peptide, which contains isoaspartic residues in positions 1 and 7, was isolated from parenchyma and leptomeningeal microvasculature of Alzheimer's disease patients [Roher, A. E. , Lowenson, JD. , Clarke, S. , Wolkow, C. , Wang, R. , Cotter, R. J., Reardon, I. M. , Zürcher-Neely, H. A. , Heinrikson, R. L. , Ball, M. J. & Greenberg, B. D. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 3072-3083]. We used circular dichroism and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to characterize the conformational changes on human A beta upon substitution of Asp1 and Asp7 to isoaspartic residues. We found that the intermolecular beta-pleated-sheet content is markedly increased for the post-translationally modified peptide compared to that in the corresponding unmodified human or rodent A beta sequences both in aqueous solutions in the pH 7-12 range, and in membrane-mimicking solvents (such as aqueous octyl-beta-D-glucoside or aqueous acetonitrile solutions). These findings underline the importance of the originally alpha-helical N-terminal regions of the unmodified A beta peptides in defining its secondary structure and may offer an explanation for the selective aggregation and retention of the isomerized A beta peptide in Alzheimer's-disease-affected brains.
Performance optimization in single channel directional multi-interface IEEE 802.11s EDCA using beam prioritization

Single channel multi-interface IEEE 802.11s Wireless Mesh Network(WMN) is a promising technology for increasing spatial reuse of wireless channel using high gain directional antennas. Use of single channel in WMN is advantageous for providing different services (like community mesh networking, vehicular mesh networking etc.) by different frequency channels so that several wireless networking services can co-exist. However, for effective use of multi-interface multi-beam directional antennas in single channel environment, proper scheduling of interfaces and prioritization among different beams are required to minimize channel interference. In this paper a distributed mechanism is proposed to share bandwidth effectively among different interfaces in a probabilistic way based on local communication and interference information. A beam prioritization mechanism is used based on IEEE 802.11s EDCA to minimize under-use or overuse of channel bandwidth by a directional beam and maximize concurrent packet transmission. Simulation result shows that the proposed scheme improves efficiency of the network over standard IEEE 802.11s EDCA based MAC protocol.
EMG Controlled Hand Prosthesis: EMG Classification System

Since the 1970s, electromyographic control of a prosthetic device has been attempted in a number of different ways. It was only until recently, that the classification of electromyographic signals was possible through the use of neural networks. With the advent of more advanced techniques like support vector machines this type of control is becoming more realistic. This would initiate a great step in the development of prosthetic devices. It would become possible for more advanced control of these devices with a more natural interface. This project focuses on the development of an electromyographic classification system on an embedded platform for the specific use of controlling a prosthetic device.
THE ISOPROSTANES: THEIR QUANTIFICATION AS AN INDEX OF OXIDANT STRESS STATUS IN VIVO†

The F2 isoprostanes are a unique series of prostaglandinlike compounds formed in vivo from the free-radical-catalyzed peroxidation of arachidonic acid independent of the cyclooxygenase enzyme. The purpose of this review is to briefly summarize the status of our current knowledge regarding the isoprostanes. Novel aspects related to the biochemistry of isoprostane formation and methods by which these compounds are analyzed are discussed. The utility of measuring F2 isoprostanes as markers of lipid peroxidation in animal models of oxidant stress are then outlined. Finally, examples are provided in which quantification of isoprostanes have illuminated the role of oxidative injury in several human diseases.
Recruitment of a peptidyl‐tRNA hydrolase as a facilitator of group II intron splicing in chloroplasts

Group II introns are catalytic RNAs that have been proposed to be the evolutionary precursors to the spliceosome. Most group II introns require accessory factors to splice efficiently in vivo, but few such factors have been identified. We have cloned the maize nuclear gene crs2, which is required for the splicing of nine group II introns in chloroplasts. CRS2 is related to peptidyl‐tRNA hydrolase enzymes. However, CRS2 expression failed to rescue an Escherichia coli pthts mutant and CRS2 lacks several conserved amino acids that are important for the activity of the E.coli enzyme, indicating that it may lack peptidyl‐tRNA hydrolase activity. CRS2 is localized to the chloroplast stroma, where it is found in a large salt‐stable complex that contains RNA. CRS2 co‐sediments with group II intron RNA during centrifugation of stroma through sucrose gradients, suggesting that CRS2 facilitates splicing via direct interaction with intron RNA. Sequence comparisons indicate how evolutionary tinkering may have allowed an enzyme that interacts with peptidyl‐tRNAs to acquire a function in group II intron splicing.
Pilot Study to Evaluate Ecological Momentary Assessment of Tinnitus

Objectives: Because audiometric evaluation, symptom histories, questionnaires, and similar standard assessment tools may not adequately sample the effects of chronic tinnitus on day-to-day activities, there is a need for alternative methodological approaches to study the impact of tinnitus on day-to-day life. An innovative methodological approach that has shown great promise in the study of chronic health problems characterized by reported temporal and/or situational variability in symptoms and distress is known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA). EMA involves the real-time measurement of states, situational factors, and symptoms by individuals as they go about their day-to-day activities. The objective of this pilot investigation was to explore the feasibility of using EMA methods to examine within- and between-day effects of tinnitus. Design: This study was conducted in three phases: (1) design and development of an EMA methodology that could be used to assess effects of tinnitus; (2) refinement of the methodology through the use of two focus groups; and (3) field-test the methodology with individuals who experienced bothersome tinnitus. For Phase 3, each of the 24 participants wore, throughout their waking hours for 2 weeks, a personal digital assistant that produced alerts four times a day. The alerts prompted participants to respond to 19 questions, including 9 relating to situational and mood factors and 10 comprising the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory-Screening version (THI-S). To evaluate for potential reactive effects of performing the EMA protocol, each participant completed the paper-and-pencil version of the full 25-item THI before and after the 2-week EMA period. Results: Participants responded to the alerts with a 90% compliance rate, providing a total of 1210 completed surveys. At the time of their response, participants indicated that they were in their house or apartment (67.7%), alone (50.2%), happy (50%), and calm (54.5%). Across most responses, participants could hear their tinnitus (97%), and the loudness of their tinnitus averaged 4.7 on a 7-point increasing-loudness scale. The mean THI-S index score (out of a possible maximum 40 points for greatest tinnitus severity) was 17.0 (moderate self-perceived tinnitus handicap). Repeated THI-S index scores varied considerably both within and between participants. Mean 25-item THI scores were not significantly different before and after the EMA period, suggesting little reactivity of the EMA. Conclusions: The high compliance rate, positive feedback from participants, lack of reactivity as a result of performing the EMA protocol, and data collected indicate that EMA methodology is feasible with patients who have tinnitus. Outcome data obtained with this methodology cannot be obtained any other way because retrospective questionnaires cannot capture the day-to-day reactions. This methodology has the potential to provide more in-depth and accurate assessments of patients receiving therapy for tinnitus.
A local search approach for generating directional data

In application fields such as linguistic and computer vision there is an increasing need of reference data for the empirical analysis of new methods and the assessment of different algorithms. Current evaluations are based on few real-life collections or on artificial data generators built on models that are too simplistic to cover real scenarios and to allow researchers to identify crucial limitations of their algorithms. We propose a flexible approach to generate high-dimensional vectors, with directional properties controlled by the distribution of their pair-wise cosine distances. The generation method is formulated as a non-linear continuous optimization problem, which is solved with a computationally efficient local search algorithm. We show with an empirical study that our approach can create large high-dimensional data collections with desired properties in reasonable time.
Scaling of gain bounds for switched adaptive control with large uncertainties

A wide class of MMAC with a finite lp (1 les p les infin) closed loop gain are shown to have an unboundedly increasing lp closed loop gain for a simple set of plants under increasing parametric uncertainty. A modification is proposed which achieves a quadratic closed loop gain function which is independent of the size of the uncertainty set.
'There's no such thing as raw data': exploring the socio-technical life of a government dataset

Under the UK government's open government data (OGD) initiative, departments have been encouraged to make non-personal government held datasets available online under open licenses and in standard formats, enabling the re-use of data to support transparency and accountability, improved public services and innovation and economic growth. This policy covers a wide range of government datasets, from core reference data and regularly collected performance indicators, to one-off research commissioned to support policy making. In arguments for open data, government datasets are commonly treated as if they are pre-existing artifacts waiting to be transferred from their current locations locked away on government hard drives, to public availability on websites and data-portals. However, in practice, many datasets are constructed in the process of being opened: whether as combinations of source material, or as derivative extracts of internal data systems. In this short paper we present a brief case study of one instance of open data release, focusing on a dataset related to the 'Digital Landscape Research' published in 2012 alongside a new Government Digital Strategy. We explore different factors influencing how the data came to be published, and question whether a simple call for 'raw data' best serves the cause of promoting data re-use.
Use of the conditional marketing authorization pathway for oncology medicines in Europe

Conditional marketing authorization (CMA) in the European Union (EU) is an early access pathway for medicines that show promising therapeutic effects, but for which comprehensive data are not available. Using a mixed quantitative‐qualitative research design, we evaluated how CMA has been used in marketing authorization of oncology medicines in the period 2006 to 2013. We show that compared to full marketing authorization, CMA is granted based on less comprehensive data. However, this is accompanied by significantly longer assessment times and less consensus among regulators about marketing authorization. Moreover, development time from first‐in‐human testing to marketing authorization did not differ between full marketing authorization and CMA, but was significantly longer for CMA compared to accelerated approved products in the United States (US). Results indicate that CMA is not used by companies as a prospectively planned pathway to obtain early access, but as a “rescue option” when submitted data are not strong enough to justify full marketing authorization.
Lesions in Phycoerythrin Chromophore Biosynthesis in Fremyella diplosiphon Reveal Coordinated Light Regulation of Apoprotein and Pigment Biosynthetic Enzyme Gene Expression Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.015016.

We have characterized the regulation of the expression of the pebAB operon, which encodes the enzymes required for phycoerythrobilin synthesis in the filamentous cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon. The expression of the pebAB operon was found to be regulated during complementary chromatic adaptation, the system that controls the light responsiveness of genes that encode several light-harvesting proteins in F. diplosiphon. Our analyses of pebA mutants demonstrated that although the levels of phycoerythrin and its associated linker proteins decreased in the absence of phycoerythrobilin, there was no significant modulation of the expression of pebAB and the genes that encode phycoerythrin. Instead, regulation of the expression of these genes is coordinated at the level of RNA accumulation by the recently discovered activator CpeR.
Distributed analytics technique for monitoring data

Monitoring the activity of equipment in datacenters is often a key element in designing large scale network and IT infrastructure. The information collected by direct parameter observations (such as total network traffic, CPU usage, etc.) represents a first step in the overall system performance optimization. A second one is denoted by data analytics and decision making strategies based on the values obtained in the (parameter) acquisition phase. The computing effort required to process the stored data can be sometimes important, setting a necessary but costly burden upon the existing datacenter analytics infrastructure. To address this issue, the present paper proposes a decentralized and cooperating architecture where end user machines will execute at least partially some of the data analytics code and return subsequently the results to managing server units in the datacenter.
Posterior Multilevel Vertebral Osteotomy for Correction of Severe and Rigid Neuromuscular Scoliosis: A Preliminary Study

Study Design. Prospective study. Objective. To determine the effectiveness and correction with posterior multilevel vertebral osteotomy in severe and rigid curves without anterior release. Summary of Background Data. For the correction of severe and rigid scoliotic curve, anterior-posterior combined or posterior vertebral column resection (PVCR) procedures are used. Anterior procedure might compromise pulmonary functions, and PVCR might carry risk of neurologic injuries. Therefore, authors developed a new technique, which reduces both. Methods. Thirteen neuromuscular patients (7 cerebral palsy, 2 Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and 4 spinal muscular atrophy) who had rigid curve >100° were prospectively selected. All were operated with posterior-only approach using pedicle screw construct. To achieve desired correction, posterior multilevel vertebral osteotomies were performed at 3 to 5 levels (apex, and 1–2 levels above and below apex) through partial laminotomy sites connecting from concave to convex side, just above the pedicle; and repeated cantilever manipulation was applied over temporary short-segment fixation, above and below the apex, on convex side. On concave side, rod was assembled with screws and rod-derotation maneuver was performed. Finally, short-segment fixation on convex side was replaced with full-length construct. Intraoperative MEP monitoring was applied in all. Results. Mean age was 21 years and average follow-up was 25 months. Average preoperative flexibility was 20.3% (24.1°). Average Cobb’s angle, pelvic obliquity, and apical rotation were 118.2°, 16.7°, and 57° preoperatively, respectively, and 48.8°, 8°, and 43° after surgery showing significant correction of 59.4%, 46.1%, and 24.5%. Average number of osteotomy level was 4.2 and average blood loss was 3356 ± 884 mL. Mean operation time was 330 ± 46 minutes. None of the patient required postoperative ventilator support or displayed any signs of neurologic or vascular injuries during or after the operation. Conclusion. This technique should be recommended because (1) it provides release of anterior column without anterior approach and (2) our results supports its superiority as a technique.
Differential Effects of Chromatin and Gcn4 on the 50-Fold Range of Expression among Individual Yeast Ty1 Retrotransposons

ABSTRACT Approximately 30 copies of the Ty1 retrotransposon are present in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previous studies gave insights into the global regulation of Ty1 transcription but provided no information on the behavior of individual genomic elements. This work shows that the expression of 31 individual Ty1 elements in S288C varies over a 50-fold range. Their transcription is repressed by chromatin structures, which are antagonized by the Swi/Snf and SAGA chromatin-modifying complexes in highly expressed Ty1 elements. These elements carry five potential Gcn4 binding sites in their promoter regions that are mostly absent in weakly expressed Ty1 copies. Consistent with this observation, Gcn4 activates the transcription of highly expressed Ty1 elements only. One of the potential Gcn4 binding sites acts as an upstream activating sequence in vivo and interacts with Gcn4 in vitro. Since Gcn4 has been shown to interact with Swi/Snf and SAGA, we predict that Gcn4 activates Ty1 transcription by targeting these complexes to specific Ty1 promoters.
P-glycoprotein and transporter MRP1 reduce HIV protease inhibitor uptake in CD4 cells: potential for accelerated viral drug resistance?

BackgroundThe multidrug transporters P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and MRP1 are functionally expressed in several subclasses of lymphocytes. HIV-1 protease inhibitors interact with both; consequently the transporters could reduce the local concentration of HIV-1 protease inhibitors and, thus, influence the selection of viral mutants. ObjectivesTo study the effect of the expression of P-gp and MRP1 on the transport and accumulation of HIV-1 protease inhibitors in human lymphocytes and to study the effects of specific P-gp and MRP1 inhibitors. MethodsThe initial rate and the steady-state intracellular accumulation of radiolabelled ritonavir, indinavir, saquinavir and nelfinavir was measured in three human lymphocyte cell lines: control CEM cells, CEM-MDR cells, which express 30-fold more P-gp than CEM cells, and CEM-MRP cells, which express fivefold more MRP1 protein than CEM cells. The effect of specific inhibitors of P-gp (GF 120918) and MRP1 (MK 571) was also examined. ResultsCompared with CEM cells, the initial rates of uptake and the steady-state intracellular concentrations of all protease inhibitors are significantly reduced in CEM-MDR cells. The intracellular concentrations of the protease inhibitors are increased upon co-administration with GF 120918, in some cases to levels approaching those in CEM cells. The intracellular concentrations of the protease inhibitors are also significantly reduced in CEM-MRP cells. Co-administration with MK -571 can partially overcome these effects. ConclusionsThe overexpression of multidrug transporters significantly reduces the accumulation of protease inhibitors at this major site of virus replication, which, potentially, could accelerate the acquisition of viral resistance. Targeted inhibition of P-gp may represent an important strategy by which this problem can be overcome.