Heterogeneous treatment effects in groups

We show in a laboratory experiment that the same method of group induction carries different behavioral consequences. These heterogeneous treatment effects can be directly related to the quality of the relationship established between the subjects. Our results indicate the importance of manipulation checks in group-formation tasks in economic experiments

Reduction in Visceral Adiposity is Highly Related to Improvement in Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction among Obese Women: An Assessment of Endothelial Function by Radial Artery Pulse Wave Analysis

Because obesity is frequently complicated by other cardiovascular risk factors, the impact of a reduction in visceral adiposity on vascular endothelial dysfunction (VED) in obese patients is difficult to determine. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of a reduction in visceral adiposity on VED in obese women. Thirty-six premenopausal obese women (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) without complications were enrolled in the study. VED was evaluated by determining the augmentation index (AIx) from radial artery pulse waves obtained by applanation tonometry. Changes in AIx in response to nitroglycerin-induced endothelium-independent vasodilatation (ΔAIx-NTG) and in response to salbutamol administration (ΔAIx-Salb) were determined before and after weight reduction. After a 12-week weight reduction program, the average weight loss was 7.96±3.47 kg, with losses of 21.88±20.39 cm2 in visceral fat areas (p < 0.001). Pulse wave analysis combined with provocative pharmacological testing demonstrated preserved endothelium-independent vasodilation in healthy premenopausal obese women (ΔAIx-NTG: 31.36±9.80% before weight reduction vs. 28.25 ± 11.21% after weight reduction, p > 0.1) and an improvement in endothelial-dependent vasodilation following weight reduction (ΔAIx-Salb: 10.03±6.49% before weight reduction vs. 19.33 ± 9.28% after reduction, p < 0.001). A reduction in visceral adipose tissue was found to be most significantly related to an increase in ΔAIx-Salb (β=-0.57, p < 0.001). A reduction in visceral adiposity was significantly related to an improvement in VED. This finding suggests that reduction of visceral adiposity may be as important as the control of other major risk factors in the prevention of atherosclerosis in obese women

Treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis and adverse reactions following off-label use of cidofovir (Vistide®)

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is caused by a human papilloma virus (HPV). It is a rare, sometimes debilitating disease compromising voice and airway. RRP is characterized by a variable course of disease, potentially leading to frequent annual surgical procedures, the number of which may exceed a hundred during the life time. The therapy focuses on surgical removal of the mucosal lesions in order to keep the airway open and the voice satisfactory. Till now, there is no curative therapy for the virus infection in itself. As recurrent surgery alone has proven to be insufficient in many cases, adjuvant therapy is increasingly being used. One of the mainstays of adjuvant therapy is the administration of intralesional cidofovir (Vistide Ò). Cidofovir is an antiviral agent, registered for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients wit

A spatial auditory display for the cyberstage

Presented at 5th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD), Glasgow, UK, November 1-4, 1998.The CyberStage is GMD's CAVE-like audio-visual projection system integrating a 4-side visual stereo display and an 8-channel spatial auditory display. A software-based sound server for the generation of auditory cues for interactive virtual environments has been developed for this display system in the context of a research project on integrated simulation of image and sound (ISIS). Hardware and software components of the auditory display and their integration in the CyberStage application development process are described. Four applications from different areas are discussed as examples

Quantum harmonic oscillator sonification

Presented at the 15th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2009), Copenhagen, Denmark, May 18-22, 2009This work deals with the sonification of a quantum mechanical system and the processes that occur as a result of its quantum me- chanical nature and interactions with other systems. The quantum harmonic oscillator is not only regarded as a system with sonifi- able characteristics but also as a storage medium for quantum in- formation. By representing sound information quantum mechan- ically and storing it in the system, every process that unfolds on this level is inherited and reflected by the sound. The main profit of this approach is that the sonification can be used as a first in- sight for two models: a quantum mechanical system model and a quantum computation model

A Signal Editor for the Ircam Musical Workstation

cote interne IRCAM: Eckel90a/National audienceThe SignalEditor is an extensible set of general purpose tools for viewing, analyzing, editing, andprocessing sampled signals on the IRCAM Musical Workstation (IMW). Its main intention is toprovide the composer and the scientist with a sophisticated interface to handle digital audio signalsnaturally. This involves a high quality graphics interface, a flexible signal analysis system, anefficient sound file system, and a powerful signal processing environment. In this paper wediscuss a prototype implementation of the spectrogram editing facilities, some aspects of theeditor's extension language and the lowest layer of the sound file system

Physiosonic - movement sonification as auditory feedback

Presented at the 15th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2009), Copenhagen, Denmark, May 18-22, 2009We detect human body movement interactively via a tracking sys- tem. This data is used to synthesize sound and transform sound files (music or text). A subject triggers and controls sound param- eters with his or her movement within a pre-set range of motion. The resulting acoustic feedback enhances new modalities of per- ception and the awareness of the body movements. It is ideal for application in physiotherapy and other training contexts. The sounds we use depend on the context and aesthetic pref- erences of the subject. On the one hand, metaphorical sounds are used to indicate the leaving of the range of motion or to make un- intended movements aware. On the other hand, sound material like music or speech is played as intuitive means and motivating feedback to address humans. The sound material is transformed in order to indicate deviations from the target movement. With this sonification approach, subjects perceive the sounds they have cho- sen themselves in undistorted playback as long as they perform the training task appropriately. Our main premises are a simple map- ping of movement to sound and common sense metaphors, that both enhance the understanding for the subject