Multi-hypothesis tracking of the tongue surface in ultrasound video recordings of normal and impaired speech.

Characterizing tongue shape and motion, as they appear in real-time ultrasound (US) images, is of interest to the study of healthy and impaired speech production. Quantitative anlaysis of tongue shape and motion requires that the tongue surface be extracted in each frame of US speech recordings. While the literature proposes several automated methods for this purpose, these either require large or very well matched training sets, or lack robustness in the presence of rapid tongue motion.

Orientations for the successful categorization of facial expressions and their link with facial features.

Horizontal information was recently suggested to be crucial for face identification. In the present paper, we expand on this finding and investigate the role of orientations for all the basic facial expressions and neutrality. To this end, we developed orientation bubbles to quantify utilization of the orientation spectrum by the visual system in a facial expression categorization task.

Follow (or don't follow) the crowd: Young children's conformity is influenced by norm domain and age.

This study investigated whether young children's conformity to a consensus varies across the normative domain and age. A total of 168 3- and 5-year-olds participated. Each child was presented with a puzzle box that had two transparent compartments.

Childhood attachment and behavioral inhibition: Predicting intolerance of uncertainty in adulthood.

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to react negatively to uncertain situations, has been identified as an important cognitive component of anxiety disorders, yet little is known about its etiology. Links to temperament, particularly behavioral inhibition (BI), and insecure attachment have been proposed in the development of IU, but no prospective empirical investigation has been performed thus far. In the current study, attachment to caregiver and BI of 60 children were assessed at age 6, using observational measures.

The Intergenerational Association Between Parents' Problem Gambling and Impulsivity-Hyperactivity/Inattention Behaviors in Children.

Despite the well-established association between problem gambling and ADHD core categories of impulsivity-hyperactivity and inattention, the link between parents' problem gambling and impulsivity-hyperactivity/inattention (IH/I) behaviors in children has not been investigated. This study investigated the association between parents' problem gambling and children's IH/I behaviors while controlling for potential confounding variables. A population-based prospective cohort followed-up from kindergarten to age 30, the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children (QLSKC), provided data over three generations.

Enhanced ice sheet melting driven by volcanic eruptions during the last deglaciation.

Volcanic eruptions can impact the mass balance of ice sheets through changes in climate and the radiative properties of the ice. Yet, empirical evidence highlighting the sensitivity of ancient ice sheets to volcanism is scarce. Here we present an exceptionally well-dated annual glacial varve chronology recording the melting history of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet at the end of the last deglaciation (∼13,200-12,000 years ago).

Effect of cadmium accumulation on green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and acid-tolerant Chlamydomonas CPCC 121.

Cadmium is one of the most dangerous metals found in wastewater since exposure to low concentrations are highly toxic for cellular functions. In this study, the effect of cadmium accumulation on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and acid-tolerant strain CPCC 121 was investigated during 48 h under 100-600 μM of Cd and two pH conditions (4 and 7). The toxicity of accumulated Cd was determined by the change of cellular and photosynthetic parameters.

Oleate activates SREBP-1 signaling activity in -deficient hepatocytes.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) is a key player in lipid metabolism. SCD1 catalyzes the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). MUFA are then incorporated into triacylglycerols and phospholipids.

Greening of the Sahara suppressed ENSO activity during the mid-Holocene.

The evolution of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the Holocene remains uncertain. In particular, a host of new paleoclimate records suggest that ENSO internal variability or other external forcings may have dwarfed the fairly modest ENSO response to precessional insolation changes simulated in climate models. Here, using fully coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulations, we show that accounting for a vegetated and less dusty Sahara during the mid-Holocene relative to preindustrial climate can reduce ENSO variability by 25%, more than twice the decrease obtained using orbital forcing alone.

Role of Site-Specific Asparagine Deamidation in Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Amyloidogenesis: Key Contributions of Residues 14 and 21.

Deamidation of an asparagine residue is a spontaneous non-enzymatic post-translational modification that results in the conversion of asparagine into a mixture of aspartic acid and isoaspartic acid. This chemical conversion modulates protein conformation and physicochemical properties, which could lead to protein misfolding and aggregation. In this study, we investigated the effects of site-specific Asn deamidation on the amyloidogenicity of the aggregation-prone peptide islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP).

Relations between work and upper extremity musculoskeletal problems (UEMSP) and the moderating role of psychosocial work factors on the relation between computer work and UEMSP.

Purpose: Computer work has been identified as a risk factor for upper extremity musculoskeletal problems (UEMSP). But few studies have investigated how psychosocial and organizational work factors affect this relation. Nor have gender differences in the relation between UEMSP and these work factors  been studied.

Thioflavin T fluorescence to analyse amyloid formation kinetics: Measurement frequency as a factor explaining irreproducibility.

The most frequent method to monitor amyloid formation relies on the fluorescence of thioflavin T (ThT). The present study reports a novel factor of irreproducibility in ThT kinetic assays performed in microplate. Discrepancies among kinetics of amyloid assembly, performed under quiescent conditions, were associated with the frequency of fluorescence measurement.

Immersible ergocycle prescription as a function of relative exercise intensity.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between various expressions of relative exercise intensity percentage of maximal oxygen uptake (%VO), percentage of maximal heart rate (%HR), %VO reserve (%VOR), and %HR reserve (%HRR)) in order to obtain the more appropriate method for exercise intensity prescription when using an immersible ergocycle (IE) and to propose a prediction equation to estimate oxygen consumption (VO) based on IE pedaling rate (rpm) for an individualized exercise training prescription.

Methods: Thirty-three healthy participants performed incremental exercise tests on IE and dryland ergocycle (DE) at equal external power output (P). Exercise on IE began at 40 rpm and was increased by 10 rpm until exhaustion.

Tropical cyclone activity enhanced by Sahara greening and reduced dust emissions during the African Humid Period.

Tropical cyclones (TCs) can have devastating socioeconomic impacts. Understanding the nature and causes of their variability is of paramount importance for society. However, historical records of TCs are too short to fully characterize such changes and paleo-sediment archives of Holocene TC activity are temporally and geographically sparse.

Identification of a conformational heparin-recognition motif on the peptide hormone secretin: key role for cell surface binding.

Secretin is a peptide hormone that exerts pleiotropic physiological functions by specifically binding to its cognate membrane-bound receptor. The membrane catalysis model of peptide-receptor interactions states that soluble peptidic ligands initially interact with the plasma membrane. This interaction increases the local concentration and structures the peptide, enhancing the rate of receptor binding.

Experiencing violence in a psychiatric setting: Generalized hypervigilance and the influence of caring in the fear experienced.

Background: Exposure to violence in the mental health sector both affects employees and has implications for the quality of care provided.

Objective: This phenomenological study aims to describe and understand the ways in which acts of aggression from a patient might affect workers in a psychiatric institute, their relationships with the patients and the services offered.

Methods: Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the 15 participants from various professions within a psychiatric hospital.

Psychometric properties of the Mental Health and Social Inadaptation Assessment for Adolescents (MIA) in a population-based sample.

We report on the psychometric properties of the Mental Health and Social Inadaptation Assessment for Adolescents (MIA), a self-report instrument for quantifying the frequency of mental health and psychosocial adaptation problems using a dimensional approach and based on the DSM-5. The instrument includes 113 questions, takes 20-25 minutes to answer, and covers the past 12 months. A population-based cohort of adolescents (n = 1443, age = 15 years; 48% males) rated the frequency at which they experienced symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Social Phobia, Eating Disorders (i.

Static Postural Control in Youth With Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type I.

Objectives: To assess static postural control in eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions in individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type I as compared with typically developing (TD) individuals and to explore the relation between postural control and lower limb muscle function.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient department of a pediatric orthopedic hospital.

Acute effects of water immersion on heart rate variability in participants with heart disease.

Background: Water immersion and aquatic exercise can be an important therapeutic tool in patients suffering from heart disease (HD). However, the effects of water immersion on heart rate variability (HRV) in HD participants remain unknown.

Methods: Twenty-eight volunteers in sinus rhythm within the same age range took part in this study: 18 HD and ten healthy controls (HC).

Influence diagram of physiological and environmental factors affecting heart rate variability: an extended literature overview.

Heart rate variability (HRV) corresponds to the adaptation of the heart to any stimulus. In fact, among the pathologies affecting HRV the most, there are the cardiovascular diseases and depressive disorders, which are associated with high medical cost in Western societies. Consequently, HRV is now widely used as an index of health.

Acute cardiorespiratory responses in participants with heart disease during cycling at different immersion levels.

Physical activity is often avoided or practised at a low-intensity level because of the limited ability of patients with heart disease (HD) to provide sustained effort. Immersible training has been suggested as a possible alternative as hydrostatic pressure can modify some hemodynamic parameters in healthy patients and potentially increase the exercise capacity in patients with HD. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute cardiorespiratory adaptations at different levels of immersion using an immersible ergometer (IE) in patients with HD.

Pesticide exposure and neurodevelopment in children aged 6-9 years from Talamanca, Costa Rica.

Certain pesticides may affect children's neurodevelopment. We assessed whether pesticide exposure was associated with impaired neurobehavioral outcomes in children aged 6-9 years. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 140 children living near banana plantations and plantain farms in the Talamanca County, Costa Rica and assessed their neurobehavioral performance.

Acute breathing patterns in healthy and heart disease participants during cycling at different levels of immersion.

We aimed to determine the effect of aquatic cycling and different levels of immersion on respiratory responses in healthy and heart disease (HD) volunteers. Thirty-four age matched volunteers, 21 HD and 13 healthy controls (HC) took part in this study. The ventilatory pattern, phase 1V and steady-state ventilatory responses to progressive exercise from 40 to peak rpm, were measured while participants exercised on a water stationary bike (WSB) at different levels of immersion.