Mechanisms underlying treatment effects of vestibular noise stimulation on postural instability in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy.

Background: Previous studies indicate that imbalance in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP) may be reduced by treatment with low-intensity noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS).

Objective: To elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying this therapeutic effect. In particular, we determined whether nGVS-induced balance improvements in patients are compatible with stochastic resonance (SR)-a mechanism by which weak noise stimulation can paradoxically enhance sensory signal processing.

Ultrastable, high-repetition-rate attosecond beamline for time-resolved XUV-IR coincidence spectroscopy.

The implementation of attosecond photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectroscopy for the investigation of atomic and molecular dynamics calls for a high-repetition-rate driving source combined with experimental setups characterized by excellent stability for data acquisition over time intervals ranging from a few hours up to a few days. This requirement is crucial for the investigation of processes characterized by low cross sections and for the characterization of fully differential photoelectron(s) and photoion(s) angular and energy distributions. We demonstrate that the implementation of industrial-grade lasers, combined with a careful design of the delay line implemented in the pump-probe setup, allows one to reach ultrastable experimental conditions leading to an error in the estimation of the time delays of only 12 as over an acquisition time of 6.

Specific and individualized instructions improve the efficacy of booklet-based vestibular rehabilitation at home - a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Background: Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is effective for most patients with dizziness and imbalance. Home exercise programs are widely used. It is unknown, however, how specific the instructions for exercises have to be.

Combining vestibular rehabilitation with noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation for treatment of bilateral vestibulopathy.

Objective: Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) has been shown to partly restore vestibular function and to stabilize stance and gait in patients with incomplete bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP). Here, we examined potential synergistic effects of nGVS when combined with standardized vestibular rehabilitation training (VRT).

Methods: 23 patients with confirmed BVP received a 30-min vestibular rehabilitation training (VRT) program three times a week for 2 weeks.

Head-Movement-Emphasized Rehabilitation in Bilateral Vestibulopathy.

Although there is evidence that vestibular rehabilitation is useful for treating chronic bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH), the mechanisms for improvement, and the reasons why only some patients improve are still unclear. Clinical rehabilitation results and evidence fromeye-head control in vestibular deficiency suggest that headmovement is a crucial element of vestibular rehabilitation. In this study, we assess the effects of a specifically designed head-movement-based rehabilitation program on dynamic vision, and explore underlying mechanisms.

Replacement of mouse Sox10 by the Drosophila ortholog Sox100B provides evidence for co-option of SoxE proteins into vertebrate-specific gene-regulatory networks through altered expression.

Neural crest cells and oligodendrocytes as the myelinating glia of the central nervous system exist only in vertebrates. Their development is regulated by complex regulatory networks, of which the SoxE-type high-mobility-group domain transcription factors Sox8, Sox9 and Sox10 are essential components. Here we analyzed by in ovo electroporation in chicken and by gene replacement in the mouse whether the Drosophila ortholog Sox100B can functionally substitute for vertebrate SoxE proteins.

Replacement of the Sox10 transcription factor by Sox8 reveals incomplete functional equivalence.

Sox8 and Sox10 are two closely related transcription factors of the Sox protein family with overlapping expression patterns during development. They are believed to perform very similar functions because several developmental processes, including enteric nervous system development and oligodendrocyte differentiation, are regulated by both Sox proteins. To analyze the extent of functional equivalence between the two Sox proteins, we employed targeted mutagenesis to replace Sox10 with Sox8 in the mouse.

Import of amber and ochre suppressor tRNAs into mammalian cells: a general approach to site-specific insertion of amino acid analogues into proteins.

A general approach to site-specific insertion of amino acid analogues into proteins in vivo would be the import into cells of a suppressor tRNA aminoacylated with the analogue of choice. The analogue would be inserted at any site in the protein specified by a stop codon in the mRNA. The only requirement is that the suppressor tRNA must not be a substrate for any of the cellular aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.