Effects of spectral manipulations of music mixes on musical scene analysis abilities of hearing-impaired listeners.

Music pre-processing methods are currently becoming a recognized area of research with the goal of making music more accessible to listeners with a hearing impairment. Our previous study showed that hearing-impaired listeners preferred spectrally manipulated multi-track mixes. Nevertheless, the acoustical basis of mixing for hearing-impaired listeners remains poorly understood.

Deciphering compromised speech-in-noise intelligibility in older listeners: the role of cochlear synaptopathy.

Speech intelligibility declines with age and sensorineural hearing damage (SNHL). However, it remains unclear whether cochlear synaptopathy (CS), a recently discovered form of SNHL, significantly contributes to this issue. CS refers to damaged auditory-nerve synapses that innervate the inner hair cells and there is currently no go-to diagnostic test available.

Traumatic Hemothorax With Rib Fixation in a Professional Jockey Following a Horse Stomping Incident.

Traumatic hemothorax is a serious condition requiring immediate intervention. We present a case of a 48-year-old male professional jockey who suffered traumatic hemothorax, bilateral pulmonary contusions, and multiple rib fractures after being stomped by a horse. Management included intercostal drainage placement, costal fixation from the 5th to the 10th rib, and intensive care unit admission.

Measuring Bound Attention During Complex Liver Surgery Planning: Feasibility Study.

Background: The integration of advanced technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) into surgical procedures has garnered significant attention. However, the introduction of these innovations requires thorough evaluation in the context of human-machine interaction. Despite their potential benefits, new technologies can complicate surgical tasks and increase the cognitive load on surgeons, potentially offsetting their intended advantages.

Microplastic hotspots mapped across the Southern Ocean reveal areas of potential ecological impact.

Marine microplastic is pervasive, polluting the remotest ecosystems including the Southern Ocean. Since this region is already undergoing climatic changes, the additional stress of microplastic pollution on the ecosystem should not be considered in isolation. We identify potential hotspot areas of ecological impact from a spatial overlap analysis of multiple data sets to understand where marine biota are likely to interact with local microplastic emissions (from ship traffic and human populations associated with scientific research and tourism).

"Challenging behavior" in dementia care: ethical complications of a well-intentioned concept.

Uncommon behaviours such as aggression, apathy or restlessness are described as challenging behaviours in dementia care. On the one hand, this concept describes a practical problem faced by care staff and, at the same time, defines normatively how care staff should deal with this problem. A frequent benchmark here is the dignity of the person in need of care, which caregivers should also respect in the case of challenging behaviour.

Tin contamination in sediments of Lake Zurich: source, spread, history and risk assessment.

Unlabelled: Industrial activities of a silk dyeing factory in Thalwil, on the shore of Lake Zurich, Switzerland, caused extreme Sn contamination of lake sediments. In this study, we determine the contamination source, spread, and age using a multiproxy approach. We used X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) core scanning and further geochemical analyses to assess the contamination spreading and thickness in the sedimentary column.

Earth's most needed uncultivated aquatic prokaryotes.

Aquatic ecosystems house a significant fraction of Earth's biosphere, yet most prokaryotes inhabiting these environments remain uncultivated. While recently developed genome-resolved metagenomics and single-cell genomics techniques have underscored the immense genetic breadth and metabolic potential residing in uncultivated Bacteria and Archaea, cultivation of these microorganisms is required to study their physiology via genetic systems, confirm predicted biochemical pathways, exploit biotechnological potential, and accurately appraise nutrient turnover. Over the past two decades, the limitations of culture-independent investigations highlighted the importance of cultivation in bridging this vast knowledge gap.

Mechanism and Management of Aorto-Esophageal Fistulation after Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair.

An aorto-esophageal fistula (AOF) is a pathological communication between the thoracic aorta and the esophagus. It can induce life-threatening hematemesis, which is unique among the other types of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in that the vomiting is bright red and represents an arterial bleed. Nevertheless, it is notable that over 70% of cases are associated with thoracic aortic aneurysms, particularly as a postoperative complication following open surgery, and arguably more so following endovascular repair.

A 'good death' needs good cooperation with health care professionals - a qualitative focus group study with seniors, physicians and nurses in Germany.

Background: Studies investigating notions of a 'good death' tend to focus on specific medical conditions and specific groups of people. Therefore, their results are often poorly comparable, making it difficult to anticipate potential points of conflict in practice. Consequently, the study explores how to achieve a good death from the perspective and experience of physicians, nursing staff, and seniors.

Effects of timely case conferencing between general practitioners and specialist palliative care services on symptom burden in patients with advanced chronic disease: results of the cluster-randomised controlled KOPAL trial.

Background: Patients with advanced chronic non-malignant conditions often experience significant symptom burden. Therefore, overcoming barriers to interprofessional collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and specialist palliative home care (SPHC) teams is essential to facilitate the timely integration of palliative care elements. The KOPAL trial aimed to examine the impact of case conferences between GPs and SPHC teams on symptom burden and pain in patients with advanced chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dementia.

Can triad forestry reconcile Europe's biodiversity and forestry strategies? A critical evaluation of forest zoning.

Balancing increasing demand for wood products while also maintaining forest biodiversity is a paramount challenge. Europe's Biodiversity and Forest Strategies for 2030 attempt to address this challenge. Together, they call for strict protection of 10% of land area, including all primary and old growth forests, increasing use of ecological forestry, and less reliance on monocultural plantations.

Exploring glioma heterogeneity through omics networks: from gene network discovery to causal insights and patient stratification.

Gliomas are primary malignant brain tumors with a typically poor prognosis, exhibiting significant heterogeneity across different cancer types. Each glioma type possesses distinct molecular characteristics determining patient prognosis and therapeutic options. This study aims to explore the molecular complexity of gliomas at the transcriptome level, employing a comprehensive approach grounded in network discovery.

Outcome predictors of odontogenic abscesses in the elderly.

Odontogenic infections have a high prevalence and can lead to severe complications. Due to demographic changes, the number of geriatric patients has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to analyse odontogenic abscesses in elderly patients and to differentiate them from non-elderly patients regarding clinical presentation, bacterial analysis and therapy.

Enhanced Positioning Strategies to Reduce Pneumothorax in CT-Guided Lung Biopsies.

Background/objectives: This study aimed to investigate pneumothorax risk, focusing on the gravitational effect of pleural pressure caused by specific patient positioning.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 144 percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsies performed between January 2019 and December 2023. Patients were grouped into those with or without pneumothorax.

Run-off impacts on Arctic kelp holobionts have strong implications on ecosystem functioning and bioeconomy.

Kelps (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) are foundation species along Arctic rocky shores, providing the basis for complex ecosystems and supporting a high secondary production. Due to ongoing climate change glacial and terrestrial run-off are currently accelerating, drastically changing physical and chemical water column parameters, e.g.

Strong-field quantum control in the extreme ultraviolet domain using pulse shaping.

Tailored light-matter interactions in the strong coupling regime enable the manipulation and control of quantum systems with up to unit efficiency, with applications ranging from quantum information to photochemistry. Although strong light-matter interactions are readily induced at the valence electron level using long-wavelength radiation, comparable phenomena have been only recently observed with short wavelengths, accessing highly excited multi-electron and inner-shell electron states. However, the quantum control of strong-field processes at short wavelengths has not been possible, so far, because of the lack of pulse-shaping technologies in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray domain.

JWST sighting of decameter main-belt asteroids and view on meteorite sources.

Asteroid discoveries are essential for planetary-defense efforts aiming to prevent impacts with Earth, including the more frequent megaton explosions from decameter impactors. While large asteroids (≥100 km) have remained in the main belt since their formation, small asteroids are commonly transported to the near-Earth object (NEO) population. However, due to the lack of direct observational constraints, their size-frequency distribution -which informs our understanding of the NEOs and the delivery of meteorite samples to Earth-varies significantly among models.

Improved survival of advanced melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy with concomitant antithrombotic therapy - A multicenter study on 2419 patients from the prospective skin cancer registry ADOReg.

Background: Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized melanoma treatment, but the high number of non-responders still emphasizes the need for improvement of therapy. One potential avenue for enhancing anti-tumor treatment is through the modulation of coagulation and platelet activity. Both have been found to play an important role in the tumor microenvironment, tumor growth and metastasis.

Comparison of robustness, resilience and intrinsic capacity including prediction of long-term adverse health outcomes: The KORA-Age study.

Background: Frailty, resilience and intrinsic capacity (IC) are concepts to evaluate older person`s health status, but no comparison of their associations with adverse health outcomes exists. We therefore aimed to assess which concept is most useful for determining long-term health of older adults.

Methods: Analyses were based on the KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg)-Age study (n = 940, 65-93 years).

The first interneuron of the mouse visual system is tailored to the natural environment through morphology and electrical coupling.

The topographic complexity of the mouse retina has long been underestimated. However, functional gradients exist, which reflect the non-uniform statistics of the visual environment. Horizontal cells are the first visual interneurons that shape the receptive fields of down-stream neurons.

Interruptions in multidisciplinary tumor conferences with patient participation: A video interaction analysis.

Objective: To identify a) interruptions (secondary activities disrupting the workflow of the main task) occurring during case discussions in multidisciplinary tumor conferences (MTCs) with patient participation, and b) observable reactions among patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Methods: Within the non-interventional mixed-methods study PINTU, we video-recorded five case discussions during MTCs with patient participation at one breast and gynecological cancer center. A qualitative sequential video interaction analysis was used to identify interruptions and related interactions.