Consonant identification using temporal fine structure and recovered envelope cues

The contribution of recovered envelopes (RENVs) to the utilization of temporal-fine structure (TFS) speech cues was examined in normal-hearing listeners. Consonant identification experiments used speech stimuli processed to present TFS or RENV cues. Experiment 1 examined the effects of exposure and presentation order using 16-band TFS speech and 40-band RENV speech recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Prior exposure to TFS speech aided in the reception of RENV speech. Performance on the two conditions was similar (∼50%-correct) for experienced listeners as was the pattern of consonant confusions. Experiment 2 examined the effect of varying the number of RENV bands recovered from 16-band TFS speech. Mean identification scores decreased as the number of RENV bands decreased from 40 to 8 and were only slightly above chance levels for 16 and 8 bands. Experiment 3 examined the effect of varying the number of bands in the TFS speech from which 40-band RENV speech was constructed. Performance fell from 85%- to 31%-correct as the number of TFS bands increased from 1 to 32. Overall, these results suggest that the interpretation of previous studies that have used TFS speech may have been confounded with the presence of RENVs.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 DC00117)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R43 DC013006

Gravitational Ionization: A Chaotic Net in the Kepler System

The long term nonlinear dynamics of a Keplerian binary system under the combined influences of gravitational radiation damping and external tidal perturbations is analyzed. Gravitational radiation reaction leads the binary system towards eventual collapse, while the external periodic perturbations could lead to the ionization of the system via Arnold diffusion. When these two opposing tendencies nearly balance each other, interesting chaotic behavior occurs that is briefly studied in this paper. It is possible to show that periodic orbits can exist in this system for sufficiently small damping. Moreover, we employ the method of averaging to investigate the phenomenon of capture into resonance.Comment: REVTEX Style, Submitte

Chromato-Mass-Spectrometric Identification of Glycosides of Phenylethylamides of Hydroxycinnamic Acids in a Suspension Cell Culture of Mandragora turcomanica

Abstract: A detailed UPLC-ESI-MS study was performed on secondary metabolites in the biomass of a suspension plant cell culture of Turkmenian mandrake (Mandragora turcomanica Mizgir.), which has been maintained for over 30 years. Both compounds widespread in plants (amides of hydroxycinnamic acids with putrescine and feruloyltyramine) and very rare metabolites (glycosides of phenylethylamides of hydroxycinnamic acids) have been identified. The identification of compounds was carried out using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (UPLC-ESI-MS) and detection of positive and negative ion modes. Structural analysis of glycosides of phenylethylamides of ferulic acid was carried out on the basis of interpreting MS spectra obtained by fragmentation of protonated molecular ions [M + H]+ of these compounds in the ionization source. Based on the obtained results, the presence of five hexosides of ferulic acid, three of which were with tyramine residues and one each with methoxytyramine and octopamine residues, respectively, in the M. turcomanica cells cultivated in vitro was revealed. One of the detected glycosides belongs to a very rare group of plant metabolites: feruloyltyramine dihexosides. The obtained results confirm the concept developed in the authors' works on the change in specialized metabolism of plant cells cultivated in vitro and indicate that dedifferentiated proliferating cells retain the ability to form a complex set of secondary metabolites, which contradicts the prevailing ideas about the loss or decrease in the intensity of specialized metabolism in plant cell cultures. © 2021, The Author(s).The work on growing the cell culture was carried out using the equipment of the Scientific and Production Complex Based on the Development of Nature-Saving Hi-Tech Biotechnology for Obtaining High-Quality Raw Materials for Pharmaceutical and Food Purposes Using Cultured Cells and Organs of Higher Plants or Microalgae, including the equipment of the Unique Scientific Installations All-Russia Collection of Cell Cultures of Higher Plants and the Experimental Biotechnological Complex of the Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UNU OBK IGF RAS and UNU VRKKK BP IGF RAS) with financial support from the Megagrant of the Government of the Russian Federation (agreement no. 075-15-2019-1882)

Effect of Synthetic Auxin Analogs (2.4-D and α-NAA) on Growth and Biosynthetic Characteristics of Suspension Cell Culture of Tribulus terrestris L.

Abstract: Effect of synthetic analogs of auxins—2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2.4-D) and α-naphthylacetic (α-NAA) acids—on growth characteristics and accumulation of steroidal glycosides was investigated in suspension cell culture of Tribulus terrestris L. It was found that the substitution of α-NAA for 2.4-D in the nutrient medium brought about a rise in the content of steroidal glycosides in the cultured cells (up to six times) and broadened their structural diversity (nine identified oligofurostanosides when growing culture on the medium with α-NAA vs. five compounds on the medium with 2.4-D). Positive influence of α-NAA exerted on biosynthetic characteristics of T. terrestris suspension cell culture was accompanied by changes in cell morphology (cytodifferentiation), the extent of their aggregation, and gradual decrease (during 3–4 cycles of growing) in culture viability up to its extinction. Simultaneous presence of both synthetic analogs of auxins (α-NAA and 2.4-D) in the growing medium also caused a rise in the content of steroidal glycosides in the cells of T. terrestris, although it was less pronounced (up to three times); however, the culture showed a relatively steady growth and great viability in this case. It was concluded that these two auxin analogs differently influenced the growth of plants’ cells in vitro and biosynthesis of substances of specialized metabolism, 2.4-D promoted cell proliferation, whereas α-NAA induced cytodifferentiation and activated the production of secondary compounds. This conclusion is corroborated by the data concerning plant cell cultures of other species of medicinal plants accumulating secondary metabolites from other groups. For instance, in the experiments with suspension cell culture of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey., substitution in the growth medium of α-NAA for 2.4-D brought about a rise in the content and diversity of triterpene glycosides (ginsenosides) associated with an elevated cell aggregation and deterioration of culture’s viability. Comparison of production of steroidal glycosides in plant cell cultures of T. terrestris and Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. that is grown for more than 40 years has shown that both cultures accumulated only furostanol (rather than spirostanol) glycosides that promoted cell proliferation. In suspension cell culture of Dioscorea, a high level of oligofurostanosides (up to 12% of dry biomass) was accumulated when growing culture on the medium with 2.4-D. Thus, investigation into the production of furostanol glycosides in plant cultured cells points to a multifactor system of regulation of secondary metabolism in vitro. Different synthetic auxin analogs may exert alternative influences on growth and biosynthetic processes. At the same time, prolonged culturing leads to an autoselection of cells with the properties promoting proliferation, specifically, with a high content of furostanol glycosides. © 2020, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 19-14-00387

Specificity of Growth and Synthesis of Secondary Metabolites in Cultures in vitro Digitalis lanata Ehrh.

Abstract: Rhizogenic, callus, and suspension cultures in vitro were obtained for Digitalis lanata and their growth, cytophysiological and biochemical characteristics were investigated. The obtained cultures were characterized by good growth characteristics (growth indexes I in the range of 5–13). Suspension cell culture had a specific growth rate μ within 0.2–0.3 days–1 and it was characterized by a two-phase growth curve (growth retardation during the exponential phase). In the obtained cultures, a study of the qualitative and quantitative composition of secondary metabolites by UPLC-ESI-MS and HPLC-ESI-MS showed the absence of cardiac glycosides. At the same time, phenylethanoids and steroidal glycosides of the furostanol type were found in all studied cultures. The total content of phenylethanoids in callus and suspension cultures was approximately 0.5% of the dry biomass. Based on the results of mass spectrometry, ten phenylethanoid structures, including digiciliside A, digiciliside B, maxoside, purpureaside E, and their methyl derivatives and isomers, and also seven furostanol glycosides with aglycones tigogenin and gitogenin were identified. It has been shown that the composition of secondary metabolites depends on the degree of cell differentiation: furostanol glycosides were prevalent in a rhizogenic culture consisting mainly of differentiated cells, while the diversity of phenylethanoids significantly increases in callus and suspension cell cultures consisting of dedifferentiated cells. The results of the study confirm the hypothesis put forward in our previous works about the specificity of secondary metabolism and its high intensity in plant cell cultures. © 2022, The Author(s).Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation: 075-15-2019-1882The work was carried out on the basis of the “Scientific and Production Biotechnological Complex for the Study, Preservation, and Practical Application of Cultured Cells and Organs of Higher Plants and Microalgae” with the financial support of the Megagrant of the Government of the Russian Federation (Agreement no. 075-15-2019-1882)

A systematic review of studies measuring and reporting hearing aid usage in older adults since 1999: a descriptive summary of measurement tools

Objective: A systematic review was conducted to identify and quality assess how studies published since 1999 have measured and reported the usage of hearing aids in older adults. The relationship between usage and other dimensions of hearing aid outcome, age and hearing loss are summarised. Data sources: Articles were identified through systematic searches in PubMed/MEDLINE, The University of Nottingham Online Catalogue, Web of Science and through reference checking. Study eligibility criteria: (1) participants aged fifty years or over with sensori-neural hearing loss, (2) provision of an air conduction hearing aid, (3) inclusion of hearing aid usage measure(s) and (4) published between 1999 and 2011. Results: Of the initial 1933 papers obtained from the searches, a total of 64 were found eligible for review and were quality assessed on six dimensions: study design, choice of outcome instruments, level of reporting (usage, age, and audiometry) and cross validation of usage measures. Five papers were rated as being of high quality (scoring 10–12), 35 papers were rated as being of moderate quality (scoring 7–9), 22 as low quality (scoring 4–6) and two as very low quality (scoring 0–2). Fifteen different methods were identified for assessing the usage of hearing aids. Conclusions: Generally, the usage data reviewed was not well specified. There was a lack of consistency and robustness in the way that usage of hearing aids was assessed and categorised. There is a need for more standardised level of reporting of hearing aid usage data to further understand the relationship between usage and hearing aid outcomes

Orbital effects of a monochromatic plane gravitational wave with ultra-low frequency incident on a gravitationally bound two-body system

We analytically compute the long-term orbital variations of a test particle orbiting a central body acted upon by an incident monochromatic plane gravitational wave. We assume that the characteristic size of the perturbed two-body system is much smaller than the wavelength of the wave. Moreover, we also suppose that the wave's frequency is much smaller than the particle's orbital one. We make neither a priori assumptions about the direction of the wavevector nor on the orbital geometry of the planet. We find that, while the semi-major axis is left unaffected, the eccentricity, the inclination, the longitude of the ascending node, the longitude of pericenter and the mean anomaly undergo non-vanishing long-term changes. They are not secular trends because of the slow modulation introduced by the tidal matrix coefficients and by the orbital elements themselves. They could be useful to indepenedently constrain the ultra-low frequency waves which may have been indirectly detected in the BICEP2 experiment. Our calculation holds, in general, for any gravitationally bound two-body system whose characteristic frequency is much larger than the frequency of the external wave. It is also valid for a generic perturbation of tidal type with constant coefficients over timescales of the order of the orbital period of the perturbed particle.Comment: LaTex2e, 24 pages, no figures, no tables. Changes suggested by the referees include

Effect of Phytopreparations Based on Bioreactor-Grown Cell Biomass of Dioscorea Deltoidea, Tribulus Terrestris and Panax Japonicus on Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

In the present study, we explored the therapeutic potential of bioreactor-grown cell cultures of the medicinal plant species Dioscorea deltoidea, Tribulus terrestris and Panax japonicus to treat carbohydrate metabolism disorders (CMDs) in laboratory rats. In the adrenaline model of hyperglycemia, aqueous suspensions of cell biomass pre-administered at a dose of 100 mg dry biomass/kg significantly reduced glucose level in animal blood 1–2.5 h (D. deltoidea and T. terrestris) or 1 h (P. japonicus) after adrenaline hydrochloride administration. In a streptozotocin-induced model of type 2 diabetes mellitus, the cell biomass of D. deltoidea and T. terrestris acted towards normalization of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as evidenced by a significant reduction of daily diuresis (by 39– 57%), blood-glucose level (by 46–51%), blood content in urine (by 78–80%) and total cholesterol (25– 36%) compared to animals without treatment. Bioactive secondary metabolites identified in the cell cultures and potentially responsible for their actions were deltoside, 25(S)-protodioscin and protodioscin in D. deltoidea; furostanol-type steroidal glycosides and quinic acid derivatives in T. terrestris; and ginsenosides and malonyl-ginsenosides in P. japonicus. These results evidenced for high potential of bioreactor-grown cell suspensions of these species for prevention and treatment of CMD, which requires further investigation. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This.Funding: Bioreactor cultivation of plant cell suspensions and their biochemical analysis were financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation through Megagrant project no. 075-15-2019-1882 and performed by using the equipment of the large-scale research facilities “Experimental biotechnological facility” and “All-Russian Collection of cell cultures of higher plants” of the IPPRAS (EBF IPPRAS and ARCCC HP IPPRAS). Hypoglycemic activity evaluation of the cell biomass was performed with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation project no. 19-14-00387. The results of the hypoglycemic activity evaluation were obtained by using the equipment of the Center for Collective Use “Analytical Center of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Saint Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical University (SPCPU) of the Ministry of Health of Russia”, equipped with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia