bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“Change Deafness” Arising from Inter-feature Masking within a Single Auditory Object
Authors: Barascud Nicolas , Griffiths Timothy D. , McAlpine David , Chait Maria 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Our ability to detect prominent changes in complex acoustic scenes depends not only on the ear's sensitivity but also on the capacity of the brain to process competing incoming information. Here, employing a combination of psychophysics and magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigate listeners' sensitivity in situations when two features belonging to the same auditory object change in close succession. The auditory object under investigation is a sequence of tone pips characterized by a regularly repeating frequency pattern. Signals consisted of an initial, regularly alternating sequence of three short (60 msec) pure tone pips (in the form ABCABC…) followed by a long pure tone with a frequency that is either expected based on the on-going regular pattern (“LONG expected”—i.e., “LONG-expected”) or constitutes a pattern violation (“LONG-unexpected”). The change in LONG-expected is manifest as a change in duration (when the long pure tone exceeds the established duration of a tone pip), whereas the change in LONG-unexpected is manifest as a change in both the frequency pattern and a change in the duration. Our results reveal a form of “change deafness,” in that although changes in both the frequency pattern and the expected duration appear to be processed effectively by the auditory system—cortical signatures of both changes are evident in the MEG data—listeners often fail to detect changes in the frequency pattern when that change is closely followed by a change in duration. By systematically manipulating the properties of the changing features and measuring behavioral and MEG responses, we demonstrate that feature changes within the same auditory object, which occur close together in time, appear to compete for perceptual resources.
TMS over M1 Reveals Expression and Selective Suppression of Conflicting Action Impulses
Authors: van Campen A. Dilene , Keuken Max C. , van den Wildenberg Wery P. M. , Ridderinkhof K. Richard 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Goal-directed action control comes into play when selecting between competing action alternatives. Response capture reflects the susceptibility of the motor system to incitement by task-irrelevant action impulses; the subsequent selective suppression of incorrect action impulses aims to counteract response capture and facilitate the desired response. The goal of this experiment was to clarify physiological mechanisms of response capture and suppression of action impulses during conflict at the level of the motor system. We administered single-pulse TMS at various intervals preceding speeded choice responses. The correct response side was designated by stimulus color, whereas stimulus location (which could match or conflict with response side) was to be ignored. TMS pulses triggered motor evoked potential and silent period, providing sensitive indices of cortico-spinal excitation and inhibition. Motor evoked potential data showed the typical progressive increase in cortico-spinal motor excitability leading up to the imminent (correct) response, which started earlier on nonconflict than on conflict trials. On conflict trials, the irrelevant stimulus location captured the incorrect response, as expressed by an early and transient rise in excitability. Silent period data showed that, already early during the response process, inhibition of the incorrect response was stronger for conflict than for nonconflict trials. Furthermore, inhibition decreased over time for nonconflict trials facilitating the imminent correct response while maintaining higher levels of inhibition on conflict trials. In conclusion, dynamic patterns of cortico-spinal excitability provide unique physiological evidence for the expression and selective suppression of action impulses captured by competing action alternatives.
Task- and Experience-dependent Cortical Selectivity to Features Informative for Categorization
Authors: van der Linden Marieke , Wegman Joost , Fernández Guillén 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
In this study, we bridge the gap between monkey electrophysiological recordings that showed selective responses to informative features and human fMRI data that demonstrated increased and selective responses to trained objects. Human participants trained with computer-generated fish stimuli. For each participant, two features of the fish were informative for category membership and two features were uninformative. After training, participants showed higher perceptual sensitivity to the informative dimensions. An fMRI adaptation paradigm revealed that during categorization the right inferior frontal gyrus and occipitotemporal cortex were selectively responsive to the informative features. These selective cortical responses were experience dependent; they were not present for the entire trained object, but specific for those features that were informative for categorization. Responses in the inferior frontal gyrus showed category selectivity. Moreover, selectivity to the informative features correlated with performance on the categorization task during scanning. This all suggests that the frontal cortex is involved in actively categorizing objects and that it uses informative features to do so while ignoring those features that do not contribute category information. Occipitotemporal cortex also showed selectivity to the informative features during the categorization task. Interestingly, this area showed a positive correlation of performance during training and selectivity to the informative features and a negative correlation with selectivity to the uninformative features. This indicates that training enhanced sensitivity to trained items and decreased sensitivity to uninformative features. The absence of sensitivity for informative features during a color change detection task indicates that there is a strong component of task-related processing of these features.
Trade-off between Capacity and Precision in Visuospatial Working Memory
Authors: Roggeman Chantal , Klingberg Torkel , Feenstra Heleen E. M. , Compte Albert , Almeida Rita 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Limitations in the performance of working memory (WM) tasks have been characterized in terms of the number of items retained (capacity) and in terms of the precision with which the information is retained. The neural mechanisms behind these limitations are still unclear. Here we used a biological constrained computational model to study the capacity and precision of visuospatial WM. The model consists of two connected networks of spiking neurons. One network is responsible for storage of information. The other provides a nonselective excitatory input to the storage network. Simulations showed that this excitation boost could temporarily increase storage capacity but also predicted that this would be associated with a decrease in precision of the memory. This prediction was subsequently tested in a behavioral (38 participants) and fMRI (22 participants) experiment. The behavioral results confirmed the trade-off effect, and the fMRI results suggest that a frontal region might be engaged in the trial-by-trial control of WM performance. The average effects were small, but individuals differed in the amount of trade-off, and these differences correlated with the frontal activation. These results support a two-module model of WM where performance is determined both by storage capacity and by top–down influence, which can vary on a trial-by-trial basis, affecting both the capacity and precision of WM.
Neural Network Configuration and Efficiency Underlies Individual Differences in Spatial Orientation Ability
Authors: Arnold Aiden E. G. F. , Protzner Andrea B. , Bray Signe , Levy Richard M. , Iaria Giuseppe 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Spatial orientation is a complex cognitive process requiring the integration of information processed in a distributed system of brain regions. Current models on the neural basis of spatial orientation are based primarily on the functional role of single brain regions, with limited understanding of how interaction among these brain regions relates to behavior. In this study, we investigated two sources of variability in the neural networks that support spatial orientation—network configuration and efficiency—and assessed whether variability in these topological properties relates to individual differences in orientation accuracy. Participants with higher accuracy were shown to express greater activity in the right supramarginal gyrus, the right precentral cortex, and the left hippocampus, over and above a core network engaged by the whole group. Additionally, high-performing individuals had increased levels of global efficiency within a resting-state network composed of brain regions engaged during orientation and increased levels of node centrality in the right supramarginal gyrus, the right primary motor cortex, and the left hippocampus. These results indicate that individual differences in the configuration of task-related networks and their efficiency measured at rest relate to the ability to spatially orient. Our findings advance systems neuroscience models of orientation and navigation by providing insight into the role of functional integration in shaping orientation behavior.
La señal electrodérmica mediante Sociograph: metodología para medir la actividad grupal
Authors: Aiger Montserrat , Palacín María , Cornejo José-Manuel 
Published: September 2013

Se presenta esta metodología desde la perspectiva de la Neurociencia Social, mediante el uso de la actividad electrodérmica (EDA) como marcador somático para medir la conducta grupal. Sociograph mide el comportamiento atencional (EDLg) y emocional (EDRg) durante la actividad grupal. Sociograph permite realizar en tiempo real y continuo el registro psicofisológico de la actividad grupal de la interacción, interdependencia e intercambio grupal. La señal grupal (EDAg) se da en secuencias de “Módulos de actividad' en medidas continuas temporales. Se presenta el ejemplo donde se aplica la metodología en la actividad grupal denominada “Tangram” a 18 grupos con 5 personas por grupo. Los resultados ilustran la existencia de un patrón de activación psicofisiológico propio de la actividad grupal y la metodología utilizada verifica que el grupo reacciona de manera diferente a contextos estimulares distintos. La EDAg resulta un buen indicador somático para evaluar el comportamiento psicosocial, y resulta apropiado para el estudio del comportamiento grupal (intragrupal).
Variability Common to First Leaf Dates and Snowpack in the Western Conterminous United States
Authors: McCabe Gregory J. , Betancourt Julio L. , Pederson Gregory T. , Schwartz Mark D. 
Published: September 2013

Abstract
Singular value decomposition is used to identify the common variability in first leaf dates (FLDs) and 1 April snow water equivalent (SWE) for the western United States during the period 1900–2012. Results indicate two modes of joint variability that explain 57% of the variability in FLD and 69% of the variability in SWE. The first mode of joint variability is related to widespread late winter–spring warming or cooling across the entire west. The second mode can be described as a north–south dipole in temperature for FLD, as well as in cool season temperature and precipitation for SWE, that is closely correlated to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Additionally, both modes of variability indicate a relation with the Pacific–North American atmospheric pattern. These results indicate that there is a substantial amount of common variance in FLD and SWE that is related to large-scale modes of climate variability.
Mechanisms of Global-Mean Steric Sea Level Change
Authors: Piecuch Christopher G. , Ponte Rui M. 
Published: September 2013

AbstractGlobal-mean sea level change partly reflects volumetric expansion of the oceans because of density change, otherwise known as global-mean steric sea level change. Owing to nonlinearities in the equation of state of seawater, the nature of processes contributing to recent observed global-mean steric sea level changes has not been well understood. Using a data-constrained ocean state estimate, global-mean steric sea level change over 1993–2003 is revisited, and contributions from ocean transports and surface exchanges are quantified using closed potential temperature and salinity budgets. Analyses demonstrate that estimated decadal global-mean steric sea level change results mainly from a slight, time-mean imbalance between atmospheric forcing and ocean transports over the integration period: surface heat and freshwater exchanges produce a trend in global-mean steric sea level that is mainly offset by the redistribution of potential temperature and salinity through small-scale diffusion and large-scale advection. A set of numerical experiments demonstrates that global-mean steric sea level changes simulated by ocean general circulation models are sensitive to the regional distribution of ocean heat and freshwater content changes.
The performances of the Cockcroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations in predicting gentamicin clearance
Authors: Chin PKL , Florkowski CM , Begg EJ 
Published: September 2013

Background It is unclear which renal function equation, employing an isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS)-aligned creatinine assay, best predicts gentamicin clearance. Methods The performances of the Cockcroft-Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations for predicting gentamicin clearances were assessed retrospectively in 240 patients treated with gentamicin during 2011–2012, when the local creatinine assay was IDMS-aligned. Comparisons were based on the percentage within 30% of gentamicin clearance ( P30) and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) of each equation. Gentamicin clearance was calculated from plasma concentrations using a one-compartment model. Results The Cockcroft-Gault equation and the CKD-EPI equation corrected for individual body surface area (BSA) were associated with the highest P30 (69% and 67%, respectively) and lowest RMSE (39 and 36 mL/min, respectively) in the 240 patients. Correction for individual BSA improved the performances of the MDRD Study and CKD-EPI equations in patients with body mass indices <18.5 or ≥30 kg/m2. The equations systematically underestimated gentamicin clearance as gentamicin clearance increased, with performance being inferior with gentamicin clearance ≥90 versus <90 mL/min. Conclusions The CKD-EPI equation corrected for individual BSA, and the Cockcroft-Gault equation, provided the best estimates of gentamicin clearance. The CKD-EPI and MDRD Study equations should be corrected for individual BSA at the extremes of body size, if used for guiding gentamicin therapy. The performances of the equations were inferior in patients with higher values of gentamicin clearance.
Pseudohyperkalaemia in leukaemic patients: the effect of test tube type and form of transport to the laboratory
Authors: Dastych Milan , Čermáková Zdenka 
Published: September 2013

Background The present study was aimed at determining the effect of the tube type used for primary sample collection and the manner of transport prior to assessment (either manual or by pneumatic tube) on the degree of pseudohyperkalaemia in leukaemic patients. Methods Blood from six leukaemic patients was collected into seven primary sample tubes (Monovette®, Sarstedt): sample A, heparinized blood gas syringe (potassium reference value); sample B, plasma Li-heparin without separator gel; sample C, plasma Li-heparin with separator gel; and sample D, serum with separator gel. The primary sample tubes designated B, C and D were transported to the laboratory manually. Duplicates of the same sample tubes, BPT, CPT and DPT, were sent to the laboratory by pneumatic tube. Results In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), there was no increase in the concentration of potassium in samples B, C and D when compared to the reference value. Transport of the samples by pneumatic tube led to a pronounced increase in potassium concentration in samples BPT and CPT, whereas there was no increase in sample DPT when compared to the reference value. In the patient with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), an increase in potassium concentration occurred in sample D and in samples BPT, CPT and DPT. A similar finding was observed in the patient with acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), furthermore with an extremely high concentration of potassium in samples C and CPT. Conclusions Manual transport of non-coagulable blood (plasma Li-heparin without separator gel) to the laboratory results in the least possible artificial increase in potassium concentration in the sample.
Note sull’emigrazione: Emozioni ed emigrazione. De Amicis
Authors: Pascale Vincenzo 
Published: September 2013

La raccolta di racconti brevi Sull’Oceano (1889) di Edmondo De Amicis, elaborata a seguito di un viaggio fatto dallo scrittore da Genova in Argentina (Rio de la Plata) assieme a diverse migliaia di emigranti italiani, esplora la genesi di un sentimento (il risentimento) che, mentre ha trovato ampia trattazione negli studi filosofici e sociologici, è stato poco esplorato nell’ambito degli studi letterari che si focalizzano sull’emigrazione. La mia riflessione critica si concentrerà in particolare su tre racconti: “L’imbarco degli emigranti,” “L’Italia a bordo” e “Rancori e amori.” L’articolo si apre con un rapido excursus storico sull’emigrazione italiana, diretta sia in Europa sia oltreoceano per poi passare all’analisi letteraria dei sentimenti che De Amicis individuò tra i viaggiatori italiani imbarcatisi da Genova e diretti a Buenos Aires. Il risentimento viene esplorato attraverso le posizioni teoriche di Max Scheler (1874–1928). Esso è generato da un’incapacità di elaborare un sentimento, in molti casi, di inferiorità, causato da sistematiche repressioni emozionali che successivamente determinano una detrazione di certi valori e incidono sui giudizi di valore. La raccolta di racconti brevi di De Amicis si propone di far conoscere alla borghesia italiana non solo il dramma dell’emigrazione, ma anche la sua funzione salvifica, individuale e sociale in termini di stabilità, senza trascurare la possibilità di individuare nelle comunità italiane all’estero, le cosiddette colonie, una funzione vitale nella definizione identitaria e sociale della nuova nazione italiana. L’articolo si conclude con un rimando ad autori (Pascoli, Corradini, Oriani) che, pur occupandosi nei loro romanzi della vicenda storica e umana dell’emigrazione italiana, la elaborarono in chiave ideologica ponendo le basi per il nazionalismo italiano.
The Usefulness of a Yearly Head and Neck Surgery Trip to Rural Kenya
Authors: Pearce Elizabeth C. , Mainthia Rajshri , Freeman Kali L. , Mueller Jeffrey L. , Rohde Sarah L. , Netterville James L. 
Published: September 2013

ObjectiveSurgical specialty trips to third world countries have been praised and criticized. Our objective was to learn the usefulness of a yearly head and neck surgery trip through initial analysis of 2 years of patient data.MethodsWe reviewed data from a prospectively maintained repository of surgical patients treated during head and neck surgical trips to Malindi, Kenya, in 2010 and 2011. Basic demographics, distance traveled for care, access to physicians, preoperative diagnosis, surgical procedure(s), and pathology were recorded when available.ResultsIn 2 years, 226 surgeries were performed. Patient age ranged between 3 months and 85 years, and gender was evenly split. Half of patients came from outside the town of Malindi, and a third traveled over 100 kilometers for care. The majority reported access to a local physician, yet very few patients were offered prior surgical treatment. The most common operations performed were adenotonsillectomy and hemithyroidectomy. A wide variety of cases were performed, including parotidectomies, maxillectomies, mandibulectomies, cleft lip and palate repair, and free flap reconstructions. Local and national visiting otolaryngologist–head and neck surgeons participated or observed throughout our visits with teaching emphasis based on their skills and specific learning goals.ConclusionsAnnual surgical specialty trips to rural, resource‐limited regions are useful and worthwhile and offer procedures not otherwise available. On such trips, it is important to collect patient, surgical, and pathology data to help visiting surgeons determine the best procedures to teach local physicians and provide needed resources.
Relationship between epicardial adipose tissue volume measured using coronary computed tomography angiography and atherosclerotic plaque characteristics in patients with severe coronary artery stenosis
Authors: Dong Dan-Dan , Wang Kai , Wang Dan , Zhang Tong , Tu Ying-Feng , Shen Bao-Zhong 
Published: September 2013

Aim To investigate the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume and coronary plaque composition. Methods EAT volume (measured using coronary computed tomography angiography) and coronary plaque characteristics were assessed on a per-segment basis (modified 15-segment American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association classification) in patients with severe coronary artery stenosis. Coronary plaques were classified into four types: 1, calcified plaques; 2, mixed plaques (calcification dominant); 3, mixed plaques (non-calcification dominant); and 4, non-calcified plaques. The gold standard for luminal stenosis was conventional coronary angiography. Results In 365 patients (mean age 58.7 ± 8.0 years), EAT volume was 169.85 ± 29.94 ml. There were no significant between-group differences in patient characteristics. Statistically significant differences in EAT volume between non-calcified and calcified plaque groups were observed. EAT volume showed a positive correlation with total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, and a very weak correlation with age, triglyceride, body mass index and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusion EAT volume was higher in the presence of non-calcified and mixed plaques in patients with ≥50% severe coronary artery stenosis.
Chronic post-traumatic headache after mild head injury: A descriptive study
Authors: Kjeldgaard Dorte , Forchhammer Hysse , Teasdale Tom , Jensen Rigmor H 
Published: September 2013

Background The aetiology behind chronic post-traumatic headache (CPTH) after mild head injury is unclear and management is complicated. In order to optimize treatment strategies we aimed to characterize a CPTH population. Methods Ninety patients with CPTH and 45 patients with chronic primary headaches were enrolled from the Danish Headache Center. All patients were interviewed about demographic and headache data. They completed the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire, SF-36 and a headache diary. Results The CPTH group experienced more cognitive ( p <  0.001) and somatic symptoms ( p =  0.048) and rated their self-perceived health as more affected in terms of physical function ( p =  0.036), physical role function ( p =  0.012) and social function ( p =  0.012) than the control group. Surprisingly, 31% of the CPTH group had a score equal to or above the cut-off score for having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to the HTQ. In terms of demographics and headache, the groups were comparable except the CPTH group were more often without affiliation to the labour market ( p <  0.001). Conclusions The loss of work capacity and high levels of disability for the CPTH patients suggests directions for further research into what important factors are embedded in the patients’ PTSD symptoms and might explain their prolonged illness.