Combination of Spectral and Binaurally Created Harmonics in a Common Central Pitch Processor

A fundamental attribute of human hearing is the ability to extract a residue pitch from harmonic complex sounds such as those produced by musical instruments and the human voice. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie this processing are unclear, as are the locations of these mechanisms in the auditory pathway. The ability to extract a residue pitch corresponding to the fundamental frequency from individual harmonics, even when the fundamental component is absent, has been demonstrated separately for conventional pitches and for Huggins pitch (HP), a stimulus without monaural pitch information. HP is created by presenting the same wideband noise to both ears, except for a narrowband frequency region where the noise is decorrelated across the two ears. The present study investigated whether residue pitch can be derived by combining a component derived solely from binaural interaction (HP) with a spectral component for which no binaural processing is required. Fifteen listeners indicated which of two sequentially presented sounds was higher in pitch. Each sound consisted of two “harmonics,” which independently could be either a spectral or a HP component. Component frequencies were chosen such that the relative pitch judgement revealed whether a residue pitch was heard or not. The results showed that listeners were equally likely to perceive a residue pitch when one component was dichotic and the other was spectral as when the components were both spectral or both dichotic. This suggests that there exists a single mechanism for the derivation of residue pitch from binaurally created components and from spectral components, and that this mechanism operates at or after the level of the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (brainstem) or the inferior colliculus (midbrain), which receive inputs from the medial superior olive where temporal information from the two ears is first combined

The Contribution of Occult Precipitation to Nutrient Deposition on the West Coast of South Africa

The Strandveld mediterranean-ecosystem of the west coast of South Africa supports floristically diverse vegetation growing on mostly nutrient-poor aeolian sands and extending from the Atlantic Ocean tens of kilometers inland. The cold Benguela current upwelling interacts with warm onshore southerly winds in summer causing coastal fogs in this region. We hypothesized that fog and other forms of occult precipitation contribute moisture and nutrients to the vegetation. We measured occult precipitation over one year along a transect running inland in the direction of the prevailing wind and compared the nutrient concentrations with those in rainwater. Occult deposition rates of P, N, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Al and Fe all decreased with distance from the ocean. Furthermore, ratios of cations to Na were similar to those of seawater, suggesting a marine origin for these. In contrast, N and P ratios in occult precipitation were higher than in seawater. We speculate that this is due to marine foam contributing to occult precipitation. Nutrient loss in leaf litter from dominant shrub species was measured to indicate nutrient demand. We estimated that occult precipitation could meet the demand of the dominant shrubby species for annual N, P, K and Ca. Of these species, those with small leaves intercepted more moisture and nutrients than those with larger leaves and could take up foliar deposits of glycine, NO3-, NH4 + and Li (as tracer for K) through leaf surfaces. We conclude that occult deposition together with rainfall deposition are potentially important nutrient and moisture sources for the Strandveld vegetation that contribute to this vegetation being floristically distinct from neighbouring nutrient-poor Fynbos vegetation

Preliminary study of relationships between hypnotic susceptibility and personality disorder functioning styles in healthy volunteers and personality disorder patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypnotic susceptibility is one of the stable characteristics of individuals, but not closely related to the personality traits such as those measured by the five-factor model in the general population. Whether it is related to the personality disorder functioning styles remains unanswered.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 77 patients with personality disorders and 154 healthy volunteers, we administered the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSSC) and the Parker Personality Measure (PERM) tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with personality disorders showed higher passing rates on SHSSC Dream and Posthypnotic Amnesia items. No significant correlation was found in healthy volunteers. In the patients however, SHSSC Taste hallucination (β = 0.26) and Anosmia to Ammonia (β = -0.23) were significantly correlated with the PERM Borderline style; SHSSC Posthypnotic Amnesia was correlated with the PERM Schizoid style (β = 0.25) but negatively the PERM Narcissistic style (β = -0.23).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide limited evidence that could help to understand the abnormal cognitions in personality disorders, such as their hallucination and memory distortions.</p

COgnitive behavioural therapy vs standardised medical care for adults with Dissociative non-Epileptic Seizures (CODES): a multicentre randomised controlled trial protocol

Background The evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for patients with dissociative non-epileptic seizures (DS) is currently extremely limited, although data from two small pilot randomised controlled trials (RCTs), including from our group, suggest that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may be effective in reducing DS occurrence and may improve aspects of psychological status and psychosocial functioning. Methods/Design The study is a multicentre, pragmatic parallel group RCT to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of specifically-tailored CBT plus standardised medical care (SMC) vs SMC alone in reducing DS frequency and improving psychological and health-related outcomes. In the initial screening phase, patients with DS will receive their diagnosis from a neurologist/epilepsy specialist. If patients are eligible and interested following the provision of study information and a booklet about DS, they will consent to provide demographic information and fortnightly data about their seizures, and agree to see a psychiatrist three months later. We aim to recruit ~500 patients to this screening stage. After a review three months later by a psychiatrist, those patients who have continued to have DS in the previous eight weeks and who meet further eligibility criteria will be told about the trial comparing CBT + SMC vs SMC alone. If they are interested in participating, they will be given a further booklet on DS and study information. A research worker will see them to obtain their informed consent to take part in the RCT. We aim to randomise 298 people (149 to each arm). In addition to a baseline assessment, data will be collected at 6 and 12 months post randomisation. Our primary outcome is monthly seizure frequency in the preceding month. Secondary outcomes include seizure severity, measures of seizure freedom and reduction, psychological distress and psychosocial functioning, quality of life, health service use, cost effectiveness and adverse events. We will include a nested qualitative study to evaluate participants’ views of the intervention and factors that acted as facilitators and barriers to participation. Discussion This study will be the first adequately powered evaluation of CBT for this patient group and offers the potential to provide an evidence base for treating this patient group. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN05681227 ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0232554

The expression of selenium-binding protein 1 is decreased in uterine leiomyoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Selenium has been shown to inhibit cancer development and growth through the mediation of selenium-binding proteins. Decreased expression of selenium-binding protein 1 has been reported in cancers of the prostate, stomach, colon, and lungs. No information, however, is available concerning the roles of selenium-binding protein 1 in uterine leiomyoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using Western Blot analysis and immunohistochemistry, we examined the expression of selenium-binding protein 1 in uterine leiomyoma and normal myometrium in 20 patients who had undergone hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>The patient age ranged from 34 to 58 years with a mean of 44.3 years. Proliferative endometrium was seen in 8 patients, secretory endometrium in 7 patients, and atrophic endometrium in 5 patients. Two patients showed solitary leiomyoma, and eighteen patients revealed 2 to 5 tumors. Tumor size ranged from 1 to 15.5 cm with a mean of 4.3 cm. Both Western Blot analysis and immunohistochemistry showed a significant lower level of selenium-binding protein 1 in leiomyoma than in normal myometrium. Larger tumors had a tendency to show a lower level of selenium-binding protein 1 than smaller ones, but the difference did not reach a statistical significance. The expression of selenium-binding protein 1 was the same among patients with proliferative, secretory, and atrophic endometrium in either leiomyoma or normal myometrium. Also, we did not find a difference of selenium-binding protein 1 level between patients younger than 45 years and older patients in either leiomyoma or normal myometrium.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Decreased expression of selenium-binding protein 1 in uterine leiomyoma may indicate a role of the protein in tumorigenesis. Our findings may provide a basis for future studies concerning the molecular mechanisms of selenium-binding protein 1 in tumorigenesis as well as the possible use of selenium in prevention and treatment of uterine leiomyoma.</p

Combinatorial Effect of Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and NF-κB Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer Therapy

Several epidemiological studies have correlated the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) with reduced risk of ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynecological cancer, diagnosed usually in late stages of the disease. We have previously established that the pro-apoptotic cytokine melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/Interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24) is a crucial mediator of NSAID-induced apoptosis in prostate, breast, renal and stomach cancer cells. In this report we evaluated various structurally different NSAIDs for their efficacies to induce apoptosis and mda-7/IL-24 expression in ovarian cancer cells. While several NSAIDs induced apoptosis, Sulindac Sulfide and Diclofenac most potently induced apoptosis and reduced tumor growth. A combination of these agents results in a synergistic effect. Furthermore, mda-7/IL-24 induction by NSAIDs is essential for programmed cell death, since inhibition of mda-7/IL-24 by small interfering RNA abrogates apoptosis. mda-7/IL-24 activation leads to upregulation of growth arrest and DNA damage inducible (GADD) 45 α and γ and JNK activation. The NF-κB family of transcription factors has been implicated in ovarian cancer development. We previously established NF-κB/IκB signaling as an essential step for cell survival in cancer cells and hypothesized that targeting NF-κB could potentiate NSAID-mediated apoptosis induction in ovarian cancer cells. Indeed, combining NSAID treatment with NF-κB inhibitors led to enhanced apoptosis induction. Our results indicate that inhibition of NF-κB in combination with activation of mda-7/IL-24 expression may lead to a new combinatorial therapy for ovarian cancer

Smaller spared subcortical nuclei are associated with worse post-stroke sensorimotor outcomes in 28 cohorts worldwide

Up to two-thirds of stroke survivors experience persistent sensorimotor impairments. Recovery relies on the integrity of spared brain areas to compensate for damaged tissue. Deep grey matter structures play a critical role in the control and regulation of sensorimotor circuits. The goal of this work is to identify associations between volumes of spared subcortical nuclei and sensorimotor behaviour at different timepoints after stroke. We pooled high-resolution T1-weighted MRI brain scans and behavioural data in 828 individuals with unilateral stroke from 28 cohorts worldwide. Cross-sectional analyses using linear mixed-effects models related post-stroke sensorimotor behaviour to non-lesioned subcortical volumes (Bonferroni-corrected, P < 0.004). We tested subacute (≤90 days) and chronic (≥180 days) stroke subgroups separately, with exploratory analyses in early stroke (≤21 days) and across all time. Sub-analyses in chronic stroke were also performed based on class of sensorimotor deficits (impairment, activity limitations) and side of lesioned hemisphere. Worse sensorimotor behaviour was associated with a smaller ipsilesional thalamic volume in both early (n = 179; d = 0.68) and subacute (n = 274, d = 0.46) stroke. In chronic stroke (n = 404), worse sensorimotor behaviour was associated with smaller ipsilesional putamen (d = 0.52) and nucleus accumbens (d = 0.39) volumes, and a larger ipsilesional lateral ventricle (d = -0.42). Worse chronic sensorimotor impairment specifically (measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment; n = 256) was associated with smaller ipsilesional putamen (d = 0.72) and larger lateral ventricle (d = -0.41) volumes, while several measures of activity limitations (n = 116) showed no significant relationships. In the full cohort across all time (n = 828), sensorimotor behaviour was associated with the volumes of the ipsilesional nucleus accumbens (d = 0.23), putamen (d = 0.33), thalamus (d = 0.33) and lateral ventricle (d = -0.23). We demonstrate significant relationships between post-stroke sensorimotor behaviour and reduced volumes of deep grey matter structures that were spared by stroke, which differ by time and class of sensorimotor measure. These findings provide additional insight into how different cortico-thalamo-striatal circuits support post-stroke sensorimotor outcomes

Tracking a Medically Important Spider: Climate Change, Ecological Niche Modeling, and the Brown Recluse (Loxosceles reclusa)

Most spiders use venom to paralyze their prey and are commonly feared for their potential to cause injury to humans. In North America, one species in particular, Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse spider, Sicariidae), causes the majority of necrotic wounds induced by the Araneae. However, its distributional limitations are poorly understood and, as a result, medical professionals routinely misdiagnose brown recluse bites outside endemic areas, confusing putative spider bites for other serious conditions. To address the issue of brown recluse distribution, we employ ecological niche modeling to investigate the present and future distributional potential of this species. We delineate range boundaries and demonstrate that under future climate change scenarios, the spider's distribution may expand northward, invading previously unaffected regions of the USA. At present, the spider's range is centered in the USA, from Kansas east to Kentucky and from southern Iowa south to Louisiana. Newly influenced areas may include parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. These results illustrate a potential negative consequence of climate change on humans and will aid medical professionals in proper bite identification/treatment, potentially reducing bite misdiagnoses