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Attention plays an important role in not only the awareness and perception of tinnitus but also its interactions with external sounds. Recent evidence suggests that attention is heightened in the tinnitus brain, likely as a result of relatively local cortical changes specific to deafferentation sites or global changes that help maintain normal cognitive capabilities in individuals with hearing loss. However, most electrophysiological studies have used passive listening paradigms to probe the tinnitus brain and produced mixed results in terms of finding a distinctive biomarker for tinnitus. Here, we designed a selective attention task, in which human adults attended to one of two interleaved tonal (500 Hz and 5 kHz) sequences. In total, 16 tinnitus (5 females) and 13 age- and hearing-matched control (8 females) subjects participated in the study, with the tinnitus subjects matching the tinnitus pitch to 5.4 kHz (range = 1.9–10.8 kHz). Cortical responses were recorded in both passive and attentive listening conditions, producing no differences in P1, N1, and P2 between the tinnitus and control subjects under any conditions. However, a different pattern of results emerged when the difference was examined between the attended and unattended responses. This attention-modulated cortical response was significantly greater in the tinnitus than control subjects: 3.9-times greater for N1 at 5 kHz (95% CI: 2.9 to 5.0, p = 0.007, ηp2 = 0.24) and 3.0 for P2 at 500 Hz (95% CI: 1.9 to 4.5, p = 0.026, ηp2 = 0.17). We interpreted the greater N1 modulation as local neural changes specific to the tinnitus frequency and the greater P2 as global changes to hearing loss. These two cortical measures were used to differentiate between the tinnitus and control subjects, producing 83.3% sensitivity and 76.9% specificity (AUC = 0.81, p = 0.006). These results suggest that the tinnitus brain is more plastic than that of the matched non-tinnitus controls and that the attention-modulated cortical response can be developed as a clinically meaningful biomarker for tinnitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agriculture is increasingly valued as a strategy for improving quality of life in cities, but urban growers face challenges and often lack coordinated support from governments and the agricultural industry. We surveyed urban growers through an online survey, primarily in the Northeastern United States, to develop a profile of growers and associated organizations, assess the current state of urban agriculture, and determine how universities could help meet their needs. A total of 394 respondents completed the survey and most urban growers were white (non-Hispanic) and younger than 45 years old. Women and men were in almost equal proportion. Urban growers were well-educated, but most did not receive a degree in agriculture. Urban agriculture in our study area was dominated by relatively small non-profit organizations and home and community gardens were the most common types of organizations. Urban agricultural organizations want to improve environmental sustainability and socio-cultural conditions through food access and security, regardless of their tax status. Urban growers face diverse barriers and challenges and the most ubiquitous barriers and challenges reported by respondents were related to availability of land and long-term access in urban areas. Many respondents received low revenue or were operating at a net loss even though they reported diverse income streams. Respondents need a wide range of training, including in traditional agricultural topics as well as financial management and business trainings. Universities can play a key role in promoting urban agriculture by offering training and research. Workforce development is a large priority among universities, so urban growers should regularly be consulted, and the results shared with career and workforce development professionals and researchers in urban areas to identify training and research that meets the needs of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately defining gross tumour volume (GTV) and organs at risk (OAR) is key to successful radiation therapy (RT) treatment outcomes for patients with gynaecological cancers. With improved access to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for RT simulation and planning, the optimisation and tailoring of proven diagnostic MRI techniques towards RT specific planning goals is fast evolving. Modifying MRI techniques for radiation oncology (RO) with the priority of anatomy visualisation and spatial location over diagnosis and disease characterisation relies heavily on successful collaboration between radiology and radiation oncology staff. This 'How I Do It' paper describes a qualitative analysis of the adaptation of a diagnostic MRI vaginal opacification technique into an RT specific MRI simulation procedure using aqueous ultrasound gel for improving natural anatomical visualisation of the vaginal canal. This technique is explained and could be introduced in other RO departments for dedicated RT planning scans in MR‐Sim sessions with minimal difficulty. We found 10‐15 cc of aqueous gel delivered vaginally produced optimal MRI planning images for most patients. With this small amount of gel and careful application technique, the full extent of the vaginal vault and cervix can be well visualised on T2 Weighted (T2W) imaging, while tending not to unfold the natural fornices of the collapsed vagina, representing a significant improvement in image quality from the outdated tampon procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although radiation dose escalation improves prostate cancer disease control, it can cause increased toxicity. Genitourinary (GU) symptoms after prostate radiation therapy affect patient health-related quality of life (QoL). We compared patient-reported GU QoL outcomes following 2 alternative urethral sparing stereotactic body radiation therapy regimens. Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC)–26 GU scores were compared between 2 urethral sparing stereotactic body radiation therapy trials. The SPARK trial prescribed a "Monotherapy" dose of 36.25 Gy in 5 fractions to the prostate. The PROMETHEUS trial prescribed 2 phases: a 19- to 21-Gy in 2 fractions "Boost" to the prostate, followed by 46 Gy in 23 fractions or 36 Gy in 12 fractions. The biological effective dose (BED) for urethral toxicity was 123.9 Gy for Monotherapy and 155.8 to 171.2 Gy for Boost. Mixed effects logistic regression models were utilized to estimate the difference in the odds of a minimal clinically important change from baseline EPIC-26 GU score between regimens at each follow-up. 46 Monotherapy and 149 Boost patients completed baseline EPIC-26 scoring. Mean EPIC-26 GU scores revealed statistically superior urinary incontinence outcomes for Monotherapy at 12 months (mean difference, 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-12.1; P =.01) and 36 months (mean difference, 9.6; 95% CI, 4.1-15.1; P <.01). Monotherapy also revealed superior mean urinary irritative/obstructive outcomes at 12 months (mean difference, 6.9; 95% CI, 2.0-12.9; P <.01) and 36 months (mean difference, 6.3; 95% CI, 1.9-10.8; P <.01). For both domains and at all time points, the absolute differences were <10%. There were no significant differences in the odds of reporting a minimal clinically important change between regimens at any time point. Even in the presence of urethral sparing, the higher BED delivered in the Boost schedule may have a small adverse effect on GU QoL compared with Monotherapy. However, this did not translate to statistically significant differences in minimal clinically important changes. Whether the higher BED of the boost arm offers an efficacy advantage is being investigated in the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group 18.01 NINJA randomized trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urinary toxicity is common following pelvic radiotherapy and can have a substantial negative effect on survivorship. Due to its prevalence and the increasing number of related clinical trials, localised prostate cancer radiotherapy is a useful illustrative tool to explore urinary toxicity. A good understanding of the interplay between anatomy, radiation-sensitive cell populations, and treatment sequencing is necessary for optimal outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that the prostatic urethra is a radiation-sensitive structure, not only for stricture development, but also chronic irritative symptoms. Tools now exist not only to identify the urethra, but also to direct radiation dose away from the urethra, with early data suggesting that this reduces moderate-to-severe late urinary toxicity. Coupled with new evidence supporting dominant nodule microboosting and ultrahypofractionation as emerging standards of care, urethral sparing radiotherapy is a powerful tool against radiation induced urinary toxicity while also maximising disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. TB recurrence is the second episode of TB after initial treatment bringing about an additional 7% load in TB burden intensified by 17.7% of multidrug-resistant recurrent cases. It is necessary to curb recurrence so that attempts to deal with active disease can be made more effective. This study aimed to characterize sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with recurrent TB in a high-burden setting. Methodology. A retrospective case-control study was carried out at two hospitals in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. TB patients and controls were included in the study. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected by questionnaire from all subjects. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with TB and TB recurrence respectively. Results. In our study cohort, factors significantly associated with TB were low BMI (OR: 0.961 (CI 0.954–0.968), p < 0.001), female gender (OR: 2.065 (CI 1.922–2.219), p < 0.001), being single/unmarried (OR: 1.214 (CI 1.109–1.328), p = 0.003), middle-income status (OR: 1.935 (CI 1.616–2.323), p < 0.001), smoking (OR: 1.567 (CI 1.435–1.710), p < 0.001), and diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.142 (CI 1.017–1.278), p = 0.023). TB recurrence constituted 11.2% of patients presenting to the hospital. Compared with the first episode of TB, cases with recurrence were more likely to be older (OR: 1.011 (CI 1.004–1.017), p < 0.001), have disease awareness (OR: 1.906 (CI 1.486–2.437), p < 0.001), smear positive (OR: 2.384 (CI 1.650–3.536), p < 0.001), and be drug-resistant (OR: 5.615 (CI 4.265–7.386), p < 0.001). Conclusion. In the present study cohort, low BMI, female gender, being single, middle-income status, being unemployed, smoking, and being diabetic came out to be the sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for TB. Further exploring the TB cases increasing age, drug resistance and smear positivity stood out to be the major sociodemographic and clinical factors of TB recurrence despite high disease awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When classifying objects in 3D LiDAR data, it is important to use efficient collection methods and processing algorithms. This paper considers the resolution needed to classify 3D objects accurately and discusses how this resolution is accomplished for the RedTail RTL-450 LiDAR System. We employ VoxNet, a convolutional neural network, to classify the 3D data and test the accuracy using different data resolution levels. The results show that for our data set, if the neural network is trained using higher resolution data, then the accuracy of the classification is above 97%, even for the very sparse testing set (10% of original test data set point density). When the training is done on lower resolution data sets, the classification accuracy remains good but drops off at around 3% of the original test data set point density. These results have implications for determining flight altitude and speed for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to achieve high accuracy classification. The findings point to the value of high-resolution point clouds for both the training of the convolutional neural network and in data collected from a LiDAR sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of vital signs monitoring in the early recognition of an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) post-hospital discharge is limited. This study investigated whether continuous vital signs monitoring could predict an AECOPD and readmission.Methods: 35 people were recruited at discharge following hospitalisation for an AECOPD. Participants were asked to wear an Equivital LifeMonitor during waking hours for 6 weeks and to complete the Exacerbations of Chronic Pulmonary Disease Tool (EXACT), a 14-item symptom diary, daily. The Equivital LifeMonitor recorded respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), skin temperature (ST) and physical activity (PA) every 15-s. An AECOPD was classified as mild (by EXACT score), moderate (prescribed oral steroids/antibiotics) or severe (hospitalisation).Results: Over the 6-week period, 31 participants provided vital signs and symptom data and 14 participants experienced an exacerbation, of which, 11 had sufficient data to predict an AECOPD. HR and PA were associated with EXACT score (p < 0.001). Three days prior to an exacerbation, RR increased by mean ± SD 2.0 ± 0.2 breaths/min for seven out of 11 exacerbations and HR increased by 8.1 ± 0.7 bpm for nine of these 11 exacerbations.Conclusions: Increased heart rate and reduced physical activity were associated with worsening symptoms. Even with high-resolution data, the variation in vital signs data remains a challenge for predicting AECOPDs. Respiratory rate and heart rate should be further explored as potential predictors of an impending AECOPD.Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry; ISRCTN12855961. Registered 07 November 2018-Retrospectively registered, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12855961. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bias can result in partiality in historical accounts and confirmation bias results in statements and characterisations being accepted as factual without reliance on critical tests. This paper provides an example of how a qualitative research technique called 'nominal group technique' (NGT) was used in a legal history project to control bias. The observations and conclusions may have a bearing on the part that NGT could play in other areas of legal research and historical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The prostatic urethra is an organ at risk for prostate radiotherapy with genitourinary toxicities a common side effect. Many external beam radiation therapy protocols call for urethral sparing, and with modulated radiotherapy techniques, the radiation dose distribution can be controlled so that maximum doses do not fall within the prostatic urethral volume. Whilst traditional diagnostic MRI sequences provide excellent delineation of the prostate, uncertainty often remains as to the true path of the urethra within the gland. This study aims to assess if a high‐resolution isotropic 3D T2 MRI series can reduce inter‐observer variability in urethral delineation for radiotherapy planning. Methods: Five independent observers contoured the prostatic urethra for ten patients on three data sets; a 2 mm axial CT, a diagnostic 3 mm axial T2 TSE MRI and a 0.9 mm isotropic 3D T2 SPACE MRI. The observers were blinded from each other's contours. A Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) score was calculated using the intersection and union of the five observer contours vs an expert reference contour for each data set. Results: The mean DSC of the observer vs reference contours was 0.47 for CT, 0.62 for T2 TSE and 0.78 for T2 SPACE (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The introduction of a 0.9 mm isotropic 3D T2 SPACE MRI for treatment planning provides improved urethral visualisation and can lead to a significant reduction in inter‐observer variation in prostatic urethral contouring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Component‐resolved diagnosis allows detection of IgE sensitization having the advantage of reproducibility and standardization compared to crude extracts. The main disadvantage of the traditional allergen identification methods, 1‐ or 2‐dimensional western blotting and screening of expression cDNA libraries with patients' IgEs, is that the native structure of the protein is not necessarily maintained. Methods: We used a novel immunoprecipitation technique in combination with mass spectrometry to identify new allergens of Aspergillus fumigatus. Magnetic Dynabeads coupled with anti‐human IgE antibodies were used to purify human serum IgE and subsequently allergens from A. fumigatus protein extract. Results: Of the 184 proteins detected by subsequent mass peptide fingerprinting, a subset of 13 were recombinantly expressed and purified. In a panel of 52 A. fumigatus‐sensitized people with asthma, 23 non‐fungal‐sensitized asthmatics and 18 healthy individuals, only the former showed an IgE reaction by immunoblotting and/or ELISA. We discovered 11 proteins not yet described as A. fumigatus allergens, with fructose‐bisphosphate aldolase class II (FBA2) (33%), NAD‐dependent malate dehydrogenase (31%) and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (27%) being the most prevalent. With respect to these three allergens, native versus denatured protein assays indicated a better recognition of the native proteins. Seven of 11 allergens fulfilled the WHO/IUIS criteria and were accepted as new A. fumigatus allergens. Conclusion: In conclusion, we introduce a straightforward method of allergen identification from complex allergenic sources such as A. fumigatus by immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry, which has the advantage over traditional methods of identifying allergens by maintaining the structure of the proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Methods Results Conclusions The effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on healthy airways are poorly defined.To delineate the effects of ICS on gene expression in healthy airways, without confounding caused by changes in disease‐related genes and disease‐related alterations in ICS responsiveness.Randomized open‐label bronchoscopy study of high‐dose ICS therapy in 30 healthy adult volunteers randomized 2:1 to (i) fluticasone propionate 500 mcg bd daily or (ii) no treatment, for 4 weeks. Laboratory staff were blinded to allocation. Biopsies and brushings were analysed by immunohistochemistry, bulk RNA sequencing, DNA methylation array and metagenomics.ICS induced small between‐group differences in blood and lamina propria eosinophil numbers, but not in other immunopathological features, blood neutrophils, FeNO, FEV1, microbiome or DNA methylation. ICS treatment upregulated 72 genes in brushings and 53 genes in biopsies, and downregulated 82 genes in brushings and 416 genes in biopsies. The most downregulated genes in both tissues were canonical markers of type‐2 inflammation (FCER1A, CPA3, IL33, CLEC10A, SERPINB10 and CCR5), T cell‐mediated adaptive immunity (TARP, TRBC1, TRBC2, PTPN22, TRAC, CD2, CD8A, HLA‐DQB2, CD96, PTPN7), B‐cell immunity (CD20, immunoglobulin heavy and light chains) and innate immunity, including CD48, Hobit, RANTES, Langerin and GFI1. An IL‐17‐dependent gene signature was not upregulated by ICS.In healthy airways, 4‐week ICS exposure reduces gene expression related to both innate and adaptive immunity, and reduces markers of type‐2 inflammation. This implies that homeostasis in health involves tonic type‐2 signalling in the airway mucosa, which is exquisitely sensitive to ICS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrically evoked frequency-following responses (eFFRs) provide insight in the phase-locking ability of brainstem of cochlear-implant (CI) users. eFFRs can potentially be used to gain insight in the individual differences in the biological limitation on temporal encoding of the electrically stimulated auditory pathway, which can be inherent to the electrical stimulation itself and/or the degenerative processes associated with hearing loss. One of the major challenge of measuring eFFRs in CI users is the process of isolating the stimulation artifact from the neural response, as both the response and the artifact overlap in time and have similar frequency characteristics. Here we introduce a new artifact removal method based on template subtraction that successfully removes the stimulation artifacts from the recordings when CI users are stimulated with pulse trains from 128 to 300 pulses per second in a monopolar configuration. Our results show that, although artifact removal was successful in all CI users, the phase-locking ability of the brainstem to the different pulse rates, as assessed with the eFFR differed substantially across participants. These results show that the eFFR can be measured, free from artifacts, in CI users and that they can be used to gain insight in individual differences in temporal processing of the electrically stimulated auditory pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Strawberry fruit, a popular and high-value fruit, was tested in urban production. • Productivity and minerals varied among cultivars within a cropping system. • 'Portola' was among the best yielding cultivars in all systems. • The cropping system should be selected before the cultivar. Urban populations may struggle to access health-promoting fresh fruits and vegetables, and urban agriculture approaches are of increasing interest. In this study, we used five cropping systems for urban environments to produce strawberry fruit, a popular and high-value fruit. Two green roof systems, a hydroponic system, an aquaponic system, and a raised bed system were used to grow six strawberry cultivars: 'Albion,' 'Eversweet,' 'Monterey,' 'Portola,' 'San Andreas' and 'Seascape.' We measured total mass of fruit, marketable mass, size, percentage rotted fruit and mineral content. We found productivity and aspects of fruit quality to vary among cultivars within a cropping system and the best performers in one cropping system may not be the best in another. The most consistent result was that 'Portola' was among the best yielding cultivars in all systems, although 'Monterey' had reasonably good production in most systems, good berry size in the green roof pots and raised beds, and good mineral content in the aquaponic system. 'Monterey' and 'Portola' had higher amounts of calcium, silicon and sodium in the aquaponic system than other cultivars. 'San Andreas' had higher amounts of copper, potassium, phosphorus and silicon in the hydroponic system. 'Portola,' 'Seascape' and 'Eversweet' had higher amounts of copper and zinc in the green roof planters and 'Eversweet' also had higher amounts of zinc and calcium in the raised beds. Given the spatial and financial constraints in urban systems and the variability of performance among cultivars, the cropping system should be selected before the cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hibiscus sabdariffa is an important tropical crop and was tested in urban production. • Yield, pests, and nutrients are influenced by genotype and production system. • Local adaptation is most likely to lead to successful cultivation. • H. sabdariffa can be grown in temperate, urban systems. Urban agriculture is expanding but faces economic and environmental challenges. One way to mitigate the impact of climate change on food security in cities with a temperate climate is to grow crops adapted to the hotter temperatures expected by the middle of the twenty-first century. Hibiscus sabdariffa L., commonly called red sorrel or roselle, is a hardy shrub widely grown throughout tropical regions of the world that has high economic value as a food crop. Most studies on H. sabdariffa have been conducted in tropical areas and, to our knowledge, none compared genotypes, their nutrients, and suitability for urban production. Therefore, we grew seven genotypes of H. sabdariffa in three production systems (i.e., green roof, field row, high tunnel) in and near Washington, DC to: 1) determine differences in leaf and flower yield between genotypes and production systems; 2) determine nutritional differences of leaves between genotypes and production systems; and 3) determine susceptibility of genotypes to insect pests. Genotype PI 286316 produced copious flowers, especially in the high tunnel. Production of leaves was highest in the field row, despite this system being most frequently attacked by Popillia japonica Newman. PI 273388, PI 275414, and green hibiscus produced the highest mass of leaves. Most minerals were influenced by the production systems, but most notable is that genotypes differed in amounts of some nutrients regardless of the production system. The locally adapted green hibiscus, which was cultivated in the Washington, DC area for many years, produced a moderate number of flowers, was a top producer of leaves in all systems, was least attacked by P. japonica , and had higher levels of nutrients than some other genotypes. Overall, our work demonstrates that H. sabdariffa , a tropical plant, can be grown in temperate, urban systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kale is a nutrient-dense leafy vegetable associated with wide-ranging health benefits. It is tolerant of drought and temperature fluctuations, and could thus serve an increasingly important role in providing a safe and nutritious food supply during the climate crisis, while kale's ease of cultivation and ability to be grown in a wide range of soils make it a good fit for urban agriculture. In this pilot study we explored potential differences between kale grown at urban versus rural farms. We planted kale seedlings (Darkibor variety) at three urban and four rural farms in and around Baltimore City, Maryland, instructed farmers to cultivate them using their usual growing practices, harvested the kale from fields and points of distribution, and analyzed it for concentrations of carotenoids, vitamins C and K1, ten nutritional elements, and eight non-essential metals. Although sample sizes for some analyses were in some cases too small to produce statistically significant results, we identified potentially meaningful differences in concentrations of several components between urban and rural kale samples. Compared to urban samples, mean concentrations of carotenoids and vitamins were 22–38% higher in rural field samples. By contrast, mean concentrations for eight nutritional elements were higher in urban field samples by as much as 413% for iron. Compared to rural field samples, mean concentrations of nine non-essential metals were higher in urban samples, although lead and cadmium concentrations for all samples were below public health guidelines. Some urban-rural differences were more pronounced than those identified in prior research. For six elements, variance within urban and rural farms was greater than variance between urban and rural farms, suggesting urbanicity may not be the primary driver of some observed differences. For some nutrients, mean concentrations were higher than upper ranges reported in prior estimates, suggesting kale may have the potential to be more nutrient-dense than previously estimated. The nutritive and metals composition of this important crop, and the factors that influence it, merit continued investigation given its growing popularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The given text provides information on the Post-Hospitalisation COVID-19 (PHOSP-COVID) study, a national UK multicentre cohort study that aims to investigate the medium- and long-term effects of severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization. The study collects data on physical measures, biological samples, and patient-reported outcome measures from participants who were hospitalized for COVID-19 and subsequently discharged. The study aims to understand the long-term health effects of COVID-19, evaluate the effects of treatments, and inform future clinical trials and care for patients with long COVID. The study has found that a significant number of participants continue to experience health impairments even 5 months after hospital discharge for COVID-19, including symptoms such as muscle aches, fatigue, impaired sleep quality, joint pain, breathlessness, and mental health issues. At 1 year after discharge, there was little improvement in symptoms and health impairments. The study has identified risk factors for lack of recovery and new or worse breathlessness. The study has strengths in its large sample size and multidimensional data collection, but there are limitations such as potential recall bias and selection bias. The data from the study can be accessed through the PHOSP-COVID study website. The study has various working groups covering different areas of research and involves multiple authors and affiliations. The research article focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the respiratory system and the long-term effects it may have on patients. The research was conducted at the National Institute [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, the authors investigate whether airbreathing engines have useful application to vertical takeoff and vertical landing systems, which currently represent the mainstream for reusable launch vehicles. A theoretical analysis has been performed to determine the net impact of the specific impulse benefits and weight penalties of a vertical takeoff reusable launch vehicle fitted with an airbreathing propulsion system. To maximize the thrust-to-weight ratio of an airbreathing engine, the authors propose using a conventional fan driven by a separate gas generator in lieu of a conventional core airbreathing combustor, as well as combined rocket-airbreathing operation to reduce engine size. The proposed engine system and its propulsive performance are described herein. Furthermore, a new sounding rocket is described as a practical application for the proposed vertical takeoff and vertical landing airbreathing engine. Conventional horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing airbreathing engine concepts tend to focus on maximizing specific impulse and airspeed, which necessitates further development, specifically in the areas of heat-resistant materials and structural technology. By proposing a vertical takeoff and vertical landing airbreather in this study, a different approach is taken and the potential to significantly improve launch capability and reliability is demonstrated in comparison to the current technology level for reusable launch vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophysiological studies show that nicotine enhances neural responses to characteristic frequency stimuli. Previous behavioral studies partially corroborate these findings in young adults, showing that nicotine selectively enhances auditory processing in difficult listening conditions. The present work extended previous work to include both young and older adults and assessed the nicotine effect on sound frequency and intensity discrimination. Hypotheses were that nicotine improves auditory performance and that the degree of improvement is inversely proportional to baseline performance. Young (19–23 years old) normal-hearing nonsmokers and elderly (61–80) nonsmokers with normal hearing between 500 and 2000 Hz received nicotine gum (6 mg) or placebo gum in a single-blind, randomized crossover design. Participants performed three experiments (frequency discrimination, frequency modulation identification, and intensity discrimination) before and after treatment. The perceptual differences were analyzed between pre- and post-treatment, as well as between post-treatment nicotine and placebo conditions as a function of pre-treatment baseline performance. Compared to pre-treatment performance, nicotine significantly improved frequency discrimination. Compared to placebo, nicotine significantly improved performance for intensity discrimination, and the improvement was more pronounced in the elderly with lower baseline performance. Nicotine had no effect on frequency modulation identification. Nicotine effects are task-dependent, reflecting possible interplays of subjects, tasks and neural mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The tympanic membrane is that closest place in the head, to which noninvasive electric stimulation can be applied. • Tympanic membrane electrode is four times more efficient than ear canal electrode and 10 times more than scalp electrodes in terms of electrically evoked auditory responses. • Tympanic membrane electric stimulation is more effective in tinnitus suppression than ear canal and scalp-based electric stimulation. While noninvasive brain stimulation is convenient and cost effective, its utility is limited by the substantial distance between scalp electrodes and their intended neural targets in the head. The tympanic membrane, or eardrum, is a thin flap of skin deep in an orifice of the head that may serve as a port for improved efficiency of noninvasive stimulation. Here we chose the cochlea as a target because it resides in the densest bone of the skull and is adjacent to many deep-brain-stimulation structures. We also tested the hypothesis that noninvasive electric stimulation of the cochlea may restore neural activities that are missing in acoustic stimulation. We placed an electrode in the ear canal or on the tympanic membrane in 25 human adults (10 females) and compared their stimulation efficiency by characterizing the electrically-evoked auditory sensation. Relative to ear canal stimulation, tympanic membrane stimulation was four times more likely to produce an auditory percept, required eight times lower electric current to reach the threshold and produced two-to-four times more linear suprathreshold responses. We further measured tinnitus suppression in 14 of the 25 subjects who had chronic tinnitus. Compared with ear canal stimulation, tympanic membrane stimulation doubled both the probability (22% vs. 55%) and the amount (−15% vs. −34%) of tinnitus suppression. These findings extended previous work comparing evoked perception and tinnitus suppression between electrodes placed in the ear canal and on the scalp. Together, the previous and present results suggest that the efficiency of conventional scalp-based noninvasive electric stimulation can be improved by at least one order of magnitude via tympanic membrane stimulation. This increased efficiency is most likely due to the shortened distance between the electrode placed on the tympanic membrane and the targeted cochlea. The present findings have implications for the management of tinnitus by offering a potential alternative to interventions using invasive electrical stimulation such as cochlear implantation, or other non-invasive transcranial electrical stimulation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although multiple respiratory viruses circulate in humans, few studies have compared the incidence of different viruses across the life course. We estimated the incidence of outpatient illness due to 12 different viruses during November 2018 through April 2019 in a fully enumerated population. Methods We conducted active surveillance for ambulatory care visits for acute respiratory illness (ARI) among members of Kaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA). Enrolled patients provided respiratory swab specimens which were tested for 12 respiratory viruses using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We estimated the cumulative incidence of infection due to each virus overall and by age group. Results The KPWA population under surveillance included 202 562 individuals, of whom 2767 (1.4%) were enrolled in the study. Influenza A(H3N2) was the most commonly detected virus, with an overall incidence of 21 medically attended illnesses per 1000 population; the next most common viruses were influenza A(H1N1) (18 per 1000), coronaviruses (13 per 1000), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, 13 per 1000), and rhinovirus (9 per 1000). RSV was the most common cause of medically attended ARI among children aged 1–4 years; coronaviruses were the most common among adults aged ≥65 years. Conclusions Consistent with other studies focused on single viruses, we found that influenza and RSV were major causes of acute respiratory illness in persons of all ages. In comparison, coronaviruses and rhinovirus were also important pathogens. Prior to the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), coronaviruses were the second-most common cause of medically attended ARI during the 2018/19 influenza season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Independently evolved subterranean beetles in Australia have lost eyes. • Independent parallel loss of eight phototransduction genes in 32 species. • A relaxation of selection on these genes can explain vision loss in these beetles. In the framework of neutral theory of molecular evolution, genes specific to the development and function of eyes in subterranean animals living in permanent darkness are expected to evolve by relaxed selection, ultimately becoming pseudogenes. However, definitive empirical evidence for the role of neutral processes in the loss of vision over evolutionary time remains controversial. In previous studies, we characterized an assemblage of independently-evolved water beetle (Dytiscidae) species from a subterranean archipelago in Western Australia, where parallel vision and eye loss have occurred. Using a combination of transcriptomics and exon capture, we present evidence of parallel coding sequence decay, resulting from the accumulation of frameshift mutations and premature stop codons, in eight phototransduction genes (arrestins, opsins, ninaC and transient receptor potential channel genes) in 32 subterranean species in contrast to surface species, where these genes have open reading frames. Our results provide strong evidence to support neutral evolutionary processes as a major contributing factor to the loss of phototransduction genes in subterranean animals, with the ultimate fate being the irreversible loss of a light detection system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal studies have discovered that noise, even at levels that produce no permanent threshold shift, may cause cochlear damage and selective nerve degeneration. A hallmark of such damage, or synaptopathy, is recovered threshold but reduced suprathreshold amplitude for the auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I. The objective of the present study is to evaluate whether the ABR wave I amplitude or slope can be used to diagnose tinnitus in humans. A total of 43 human subjects, consisting of 21 with tinnitus and 22 without tinnitus, participated in the study. The subjects were on average 44 ± 24 (standard deviation) years old and 16 were female; a subgroup of 19 were young adults with normal audiograms from 125 to 8000 Hz. The ABR was measured using ear canal recording tiptrodes for clicks, 1000, 4000 and 8000 Hz tone bursts at 30, 50, and 70 dB nHL. Compared with control subjects, tinnitus subjects did not show reduced ABR wave I amplitude or slope in either the entire group of 21 tinnitus subjects or a subset of tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. Despite the small sample size and diverse tinnitus population, the present result suggests that low signal-to-noise ratios in non-invasive measurement of the ABR limit its clinical utility in diagnosing tinnitus in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]