Neural-WDRC: A Deep Learning Wide Dynamic Range Compression Method Combined With Controllable Noise Reduction for Hearing Aids.

Wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) and noise reduction both play important roles in hearing aids. WDRC provides level-dependent amplification so that the level of sound produced by the hearing aid falls between the hearing threshold and the highest comfortable level of the listener, while noise reduction reduces ambient noise with the goal of improving intelligibility and listening comfort and reducing effort. In most current hearing aids, noise reduction and WDRC are implemented sequentially, but this may lead to distortion of the amplitude modulation patterns of both the speech and the noise.

Impact of sleep deprivation on dynamic functional connectivity states.

Sleep deprivation (SD) is an experimental procedure to study the effects of sleep loss on the human brain. Neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), have been pivotal in studying these effects. The present chapter aims to retrace the state of the art regarding the literature that examines the SD effects on the brain through functional connectivity (FC) evaluated in fMRI and EEG settings, separately.

Immersive exposure to simulated visual hallucinations modulates high-level human cognition.

Psychedelic drugs offer valuable insights into consciousness, but disentangling their causal effects on perceptual and high-level cognition is nontrivial. Technological advances in virtual reality (VR) and machine learning have enabled the immersive simulation of visual hallucinations. However, comprehensive experimental data on how these simulated hallucinations affects high-level human cognition is lacking.

Depression Recognition Using Daily Wearable-Derived Physiological Data.

The objective identification of depression using physiological data has emerged as a significant research focus within the field of psychiatry. The advancement of wearable physiological measurement devices has opened new avenues for the identification of individuals with depression in everyday-life contexts. Compared to other objective measurement methods, wearables offer the potential for continuous, unobtrusive monitoring, which can capture subtle physiological changes indicative of depressive states.

Early Spatio-Temporal and Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease.

Mental representation of spatial information relies on egocentric (body-based) and allocentric (environment-based) frames of reference. Research showed that spatial memory deteriorates as Alzheimer's disease (AD) progresses and that allocentric spatial memory is among the earliest impaired areas. Most studies have been conducted in static situations despite the dynamic nature of real-world spatial processing.

Is the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) a Useful Tool for Predicting IVF Success?

: Infertility is a global problem. The interaction between depression and infertility seems bidirectional, and depression may negatively influence IVF outcomes. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is one of the most extensively used instruments for diagnosing depression.

Trajectories of intrinsic connectivity one year post pediatric mild traumatic brain injury: Neural injury superimposed on neurodevelopment.

The developing brain undergoes rapid changes throughout middle childhood and adolescence. The disambiguation of long-term changes in intrinsic activity following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (pmTBI) from typical development can therefore only be ascertained in longitudinal studies with large sample size and at least three serial assessments. A comprehensive clinical battery and resting-state fMRI data were collected approximately 1-week (N = 263; 8-18 years old), 4-months (N = 192) and 1-year (N = 153) post-injury, with identical visits in a large cohort (N = 228) of age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC).

Maternal Emotional Availability Supports Child Communicative Development Regardless of Child Temperament-Findings From the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.

The interplay of emotional availability (EA) and child temperament in association with early language development is understudied. We explored associations between maternal EA and infant communicative development and possible moderations by child temperament. Participants were 151 mother-child dyads from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.

Development and Pilot Implementation of a Theory-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation Protocol for Adults With Chronic Cognitive Complaints After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the development of and pilot feasibility outcomes for a strategy-based, brief, intensive cognitive rehabilitation intervention delivered to U.S. service members and veterans with mild traumatic brain injury in a recently completed 3-year pragmatic clinical trial: Symptom-Targeted Approach to Rehabilitation for Concussion (STAR-C).

Impact of interventions on mpox transmission during the 2022 outbreak in Canada: a mathematical modeling study of three different cities.

Objectives: The global mpox (clade II) outbreak of 2022 primarily affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) and was met with swift community and public health responses. We aimed to estimate the relative impact of changes in sexual behaviours, contact tracing/isolation, and first-dose vaccination on transmission in Canadian cities.

Methods: We estimated changes in sexual behaviours during the outbreak using 2022 data from the Engage Cohort Study which recruited self-identified GBM in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver (n=1,445).

Multi-level encoding of reward, effort, and choice across the frontal cortex and basal ganglia during cost-benefit decision-making.

Adaptive value-guided decision-making requires weighing up the costs and benefits of pursuing an available opportunity. Though neurons across frontal cortical-basal ganglia circuits have been repeatedly shown to represent decision-related parameters, it is unclear whether and how this information is coordinated. To address this question, we performed large-scale single-unit recordings simultaneously across 5 medial/orbital frontal and basal ganglia regions as rats decided whether to pursue varying reward payoffs available at different effort costs.

The future of flourishing in veterinary medicine: a systems-informed positive psychology approach in veterinary education.

Individuals in the veterinary profession are experiencing significant mental health and wellbeing challenges. A holistic view of wellbeing, which encompasses both physical and mental health, underscores their interconnected nature. This integrated approach reduces the artificial separation of wellbeing facets, and highlights how mental states influence not only individuals, but also their interactions with animals, the environment, and others in the workplace.

"A torch, a rope, a belly laugh": engaging with the multiple voices of support groups for people living with rare dementia.

Purpose: Rare forms of dementia bring unique difficulties related to age of onset, impact on family commitments, employment and finances, and also bring distinctive needs for support and care. The aim of the present study was to explore and better understand what the concept of support means for people living with different rare dementia (PLwRD) and their care-partners who attend ongoing support groups.

Methods: Representing seven types of rare dementia, source material was collected from 177 PLwRD and care-partners attending in-person support groups, with the goal of developing research-informed group poems, co-constructed by a facilitating poet.

Longitudinal evolution of the transdiagnostic prodrome to severe mental disorders: a dynamic temporal network analysis informed by natural language processing and electronic health records.

Modelling the prodrome to severe mental disorders (SMD), including unipolar mood disorders (UMD), bipolar mood disorders (BMD) and psychotic disorders (PSY), should consider both the evolution and interactions of symptoms and substance use (prodromal features) over time. Temporal network analysis can detect causal dependence between and within prodromal features by representing prodromal features as nodes, with their connections (edges) indicating the likelihood of one feature preceding the other. In SMD, node centrality could reveal insights into important prodromal features and potential intervention targets.

Gamma and theta/alpha-band oscillations in the electroencephalogram distinguish the content of inner speech.

Inner speech refers to the silent production of language in one's mind. As a purely mental action without obvious physical manifestations, inner speech has been notoriously difficult to quantify. Inner speech is thought to be closely related to overt speech.

Stress dynamics between clinical supervisors and allied health students: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: The aim of this scoping review is to connect theoretical research related to stress with practical applications to supervision experiences within allied health professions. Understanding the implications of stress between clinical supervisors and allied health students will allow for better insights to improve supervisory methods within clinical training, stronger mentorship and lead to better quality patient care.

Methods And Analysis: This review is conducted according to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews, which includes defining the research question, developing inclusion criteria and searching for, selecting, extracting and analysing the evidence.

Adaptive Just-in-Time Intervention to Reduce Everyday Stress Responses: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Personalized approaches to behavior change to improve mental and physical health outcomes are needed. Reducing the intensity, duration, and frequency of stress responses is a mechanism for interventions to improve health behaviors. We developed an ambulatory, dynamic stress measurement approach that can identify personalized stress responses in the moments and contexts in which they occur; we propose that intervening in these stress responses as they arise (ie, just in time; JIT) will result in positive impacts on health behaviors.

Murine Models and Human Cell Line Models to Study Altered Dynamics of Ovarian Follicles in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of reproductive age, characterized by functional and structural alterations of the female reproductive organs. Due to the unknown underlying molecular mechanisms, in vivo murine models and in vitro human cellular models are developed to study the syndrome. These models are used to analyze various aspects of the pathology by replicating the conditions of the syndrome.

Family planning and preimplantation testing: family experiences in congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Introduction: Pre-implantation testing (PGT) is often suggested by healthcare professionals (HCP) to parents of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) considering subsequent children. Despite this, some families choose to conceive naturally without genetic testing and intervention. The aims of this study were to explore fertility choices of couples with a child with CAH and the decision making process and perceptions behind these choices, and to explore the families' lived experiences with CAH and the couples' subsequent fertility journey.

Parents' reflective functioning and stress: The associations with preschoolers' social understanding.

Social understanding competence develops in sensitive and co-regulating caregiver interactions. Parental reflective functioning (PRF) and parenting stress can affect children's social understanding. This study investigated if children's social understanding was associated with PRF and parenting stress.

[Development and Application of Family Management in Nursing Care].

The concept of family management has gained increasing acceptance in the United States for over two decades and is today applied in care worldwide. However, this concept is still largely novel to clinical professionals in Taiwan. This article was written to present the history and current application of family management to promote greater recognition of the related opportunities and potentials in the nursing field.

Understanding factors influencing safety and team functionality at operative vaginal birth through multidisciplinary perspectives: a mixed methods study.

Background: Operative vaginal birth (OVB) relies on effective teamwork to optimise outcomes. This study aims to explore providers' perspectives of factors influencing safety and team functionality at OVB.

Methods: This mixed methods study involved four maternity sites at Monash Health, Australia.

Development and validation of a dynamic nomogram to predict alexithymia in young and middle aged stroke patients.

Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty in expressing and recognizing emotions, is prevalent among young and middle-aged stroke survivors and can significantly impact rehabilitation outcomes. This study aims to develop and validate a dynamic nomogram to predict the risk of alexithymia in this population. This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2022 to August 2023 at two tertiary hospitals in Jinzhou City and Cangzhou City, enrolling 319 patients.