1,159 research outputs found
Optimizing audiovisual itch induction: The role of attention and expectancy
Health and self-regulatio
Link Mining for Kernel-based Compound-Protein Interaction Predictions Using a Chemogenomics Approach
Virtual screening (VS) is widely used during computational drug discovery to
reduce costs. Chemogenomics-based virtual screening (CGBVS) can be used to
predict new compound-protein interactions (CPIs) from known CPI network data
using several methods, including machine learning and data mining. Although
CGBVS facilitates highly efficient and accurate CPI prediction, it has poor
performance for prediction of new compounds for which CPIs are unknown. The
pairwise kernel method (PKM) is a state-of-the-art CGBVS method and shows high
accuracy for prediction of new compounds. In this study, on the basis of link
mining, we improved the PKM by combining link indicator kernel (LIK) and
chemical similarity and evaluated the accuracy of these methods. The proposed
method obtained an average area under the precision-recall curve (AUPR) value
of 0.562, which was higher than that achieved by the conventional Gaussian
interaction profile (GIP) method (0.425), and the calculation time was only
increased by a few percent
Minimum output entropy of bosonic channels: a conjecture
The von Neumann entropy at the output of a bosonic channel with thermal noise
is analyzed. Coherent-state inputs are conjectured to minimize this output
entropy. Physical and mathematical evidence in support of the conjecture is
provided. A stronger conjecture--that output states resulting from
coherent-state inputs majorize the output states from other inputs--is also
discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure
Can contagious itch be affected by positive and negative suggestions?
Contagious itch can be evoked by observing people scratching. Verbal suggestions about to-be-received itch can influence itch intensity, as shown by placebo research, but it is unknown whether this extends to contagious itch. The current study aimed to replicate prior findings that listening to scratching and rubbing sounds elicits contagious itch, and to investigate whether suggestions can modulate this process. Healthy participants (n= 140) received positive or negative suggestions about itch in response to the sounds (aimed to decrease or increase expected itch, respectively), or no specific suggestions as a control. Participants listened to a number of audio fragments with scratching and rubbing sounds. The amount of expected itch as well as itch sensation after each audio fragment were measured by self-report. Suggestions had no effect on the expected itch. Both rubbing and scratching sounds significantly elicited itch in all groups. Scratching sounds induced more itch than rubbing sounds exclusively in the control group. These findings indicate that short suggestions might be not effective enough to modify the expectations of people regarding contagious itch. Furthermore, suggestions modulate contagious itch to some degree, but not in the hypothesized direction. Potential similarities and differences in the neurobiological mechanisms of contagious itch and nocebo effects are discussed
Postgraduate Research Studies handbook
2001 handbook for Postgraduate Research Studie
Intraosseous Schwannoma (Neurilemmoma) of the Cervical Spine
Purpose: To report on an extremely rare tumour located in the cervical spine, its treatment and result.
Review of the literature
Itch sensitization?:A systematic review of studies using quantitative sensory testing in patients with chronic itch
As well established for patients with chronic pain, patients suffering from chronic itch also exhibit signs of peripheral and central sensitization. This has been linked to parallel neuroplastic sensitization processes. However, for chronic itch, sensitization has not yet been systematically assessed, studied, and hence validated. This review (Prospero CRD42016043002) summarizes and meta-analytically evaluates whether sensory aberrations including sensitization for itch occur in chronic itch. Databases PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies investigating somatosensory sensitivity assessment by quantitative sensory testing stimuli, including experimental cutaneous chemical pruritic provocations, in patients with chronic itch from skin/neurological conditions and compared with healthy controls. Outcomes were extracted for lesional and nonlesional skin, and risk of biases were assessed. Meta-analyses were performed when sufficient quantitative data were available. Of 4667 identified articles, 46 were included and 25 were eligible for meta-analyses. Patients (66% atopic dermatitis [AD]) were found more sensitive than the controls to histamine-evoked itch in lesional skin (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.66 confidence interval [CI]: 0.16-1.15), but not nonlesionally (SMD: −0.26 [CI: −0.58 to 0.06]). Cowhage did not evoke more itch in nonlesional skin of patients as compared to the controls (SMD: 0.38 [CI: −0.04 to 0.81]). For numerous other chemical provocations as well as for mechanical, thermal, and electrical stimulation paradigms, results were ambiguous or based on few studies. Patients with chronic itch are only robustly sensitized to various chemical pruritic stimuli when applied lesionally. More studies on somatosensory aberrations in chronic itch conditions other than AD are needed to establish whether sensitization is robustly present across chronic itch conditions.Health and self-regulatio
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