Pain-related emotions are a major barrier to effective self rehabilitation in chronic pain. Automated coaching systems capable of detecting these emotions are a potential solution. This paper lays ...the foundation for the development of such systems by making three contributions. First, through literature reviews, an overview of how pain is expressed in chronic pain and the motivation for detecting it in physical rehabilitation is provided. Second, a fully labelled multimodal dataset (named `EmoPain') containing high resolution multiple-view face videos, head mounted and room audio signals, full body 3D motion capture and electromyographic signals from back muscles is supplied. Natural unconstrained pain related facial expressions and body movement behaviours were elicited from people with chronic pain carrying out physical exercises. Both instructed and non-instructed exercises were considered to reflect traditional scenarios of physiotherapist directed therapy and home-based self-directed therapy. Two sets of labels were assigned: level of pain from facial expressions annotated by eight raters and the occurrence of six pain-related body behaviours segmented by four experts. Third, through exploratory experiments grounded in the data, the factors and challenges in the automated recognition of such expressions and behaviour are described, the paper concludes by discussing potential avenues in the context of these findings also highlighting differences for the two exercise scenarios addressed.
To estimate the prevalence of refractive error in adults across Europe. Refractive data (mean spherical equivalent) collected between 1990 and 2013 from fifteen population-based cohort and ...cross-sectional studies of the European Eye Epidemiology (E³) Consortium were combined in a random effects meta-analysis stratified by 5-year age intervals and gender. Participants were excluded if they were identified as having had cataract surgery, retinal detachment, refractive surgery or other factors that might influence refraction. Estimates of refractive error prevalence were obtained including the following classifications: myopia ≤— 0.75 diopters (D), high myopia ≤— 6D, hyperopia ≥1D and astigmatism ≥1D. Meta-analysis of refractive error was performed for 61,946 individuals from fifteen studies with median age ranging from 44 to 81 and minimal ethnic variation (98 % European ancestry). The age-standardised prevalences (using the 2010 European Standard Population, limited to those ≥25 and <90 years old) were: myopia 30.6 % 95 % confidence interval (CI) 30.4-30.9, high myopia 2.7 % (95 % CI 2.69-2.73), hyperopia 25.2 % (95 % CI 25.0-25.4) and astigmatism 23.9 % (95 % CI 23.7-24.1). Age-specific estimates revealed a high prevalence of myopia in younger participants 47.2 % (CI 41.8-52.5) in 25-29 years-olds. Refractive error affects just over a half of European adults. The greatest burden of refractive error is due to myopia, with high prevalence rates in young adults. Using the 2010 European population estimates, we estimate there are 227.2 million people with myopia across Europe.
ABSTRACT
Scaling laws of dust, H i gas, and metal mass with stellar mass, specific star formation rate, and metallicity are crucial to our understanding of the build-up of galaxies through their ...enrichment with metals and dust. In this work, we analyse how the dust and metal content varies with specific gas mass (MH i/M⋆) across a diverse sample of 423 nearby galaxies. The observed trends are interpreted with a set of Dust and Element evolUtion modelS (DEUS) – including stellar dust production, grain growth, and dust destruction – within a Bayesian framework to enable a rigorous search of the multidimensional parameter space. We find that these scaling laws for galaxies with −1.0 ≲ log MH i/M⋆ ≲ 0 can be reproduced using closed-box models with high fractions (37–89 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) of supernova dust surviving a reverse shock, relatively low grain growth efficiencies (ϵ = 30–40), and long dust lifetimes (1–2 Gyr). The models have present-day dust masses with similar contributions from stellar sources (50–80 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) and grain growth (20–50 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$). Over the entire lifetime of these galaxies, the contribution from stardust (>90 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) outweighs the fraction of dust grown in the interstellar medium (<10 ${{\ \rm per\ cent}}$). Our results provide an alternative for the chemical evolution models that require extremely low supernova dust production efficiencies and short grain growth time-scales to reproduce local scaling laws, and could help solving the conundrum on whether or not grains can grow efficiently in the interstellar medium.
Abstract With the rapid expansion in the nanotechnology industry, it is essential that the safety of engineered nanomaterials and the factors that influence their associated hazards are understood. A ...vital area governing regulatory health risk assessment is genotoxicology (the study of genetic aberrations following exposure to test agents), as DNA damage may initiate and promote carcinogenesis, or impact fertility. Of late, considerable attention has been given to the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials, but the importance of their genotoxic potential on human health has been largely overlooked. This comprehensive review focuses on the reported abilities of metal nanoparticles, metal-oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, fullerenes, and fibrous nanomaterials, to damage or interact with DNA, and their ecogenotoxicity is also considered. Many of the engineered nanomaterials assessed were found to cause genotoxic responses, such as chromosomal fragmentation, DNA strand breakages, point mutations, oxidative DNA adducts and alterations in gene expression profiles. However, there are clear inconsistencies in the literature and it is difficult to draw conclusions on the physico-chemical features of nanomaterials that promote genotoxicity, largely due to study design. Hence, areas that require that further attention are highlighted and recommendations to improve our understanding of the genotoxic potential of engineered nanomaterials are addressed.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a key variable influencing aquatic ecosystem processes. The concentration and composition of DOM in streams depend on both the delivery of DOM from terrestrial ...sources and on aquatic DOM production and degradation. However, there is limited understanding of the variability of stream DOM composition at continental scales and the influence of landscape characteristics and disturbances on DOM across different regions. We assessed DOM composition in 52 streams at seven research sites across six forested ecozones in Canada in 2019–2022 using 26 indices derived from five analytical approaches: absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, liquid chromatography—organic carbon detection, Fourier‐transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, and asymmetric flow field‐flow fractionation. Combined analyses showed clear clustering and redundancy across analytical techniques, and indicated that compositional variations were primarily related to three axes of DOM composition: (a) aromaticity, which was greater in low‐relief, wetland‐dominated catchments, (b) oxygenation, which was greater in colder and drier ecozones, and (c) biopolymer content, which was greater in lake‐influenced catchments. Variability in DOM composition among research sites was greater than variability of streams within a site and variability over time within a stream. Forest harvesting and wildfire disturbances had no common influence on DOM composition across research sites, emphasizing the need for regional studies. Our study provides a broad understanding of the variability of stream DOM composition and its associations with landscape and catchment characteristics at a subcontinental scale, and provides key insights for the choice and interpretation of DOM indices from various analytical approaches.
Plain Language Summary
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in surface waters influences water quality, aquatic organisms, and carbon cycling, but variability in its composition across different regions has not been extensively studied. We collected water samples from 52 streams across 6 different forested regions in Canada spanning from coast to coast, and analyzed them using five analytical approaches varying in complexity to characterize the composition of DOM in order to assess the differences in stream DOM among the forested regions, the environmental controls on DOM composition, and which approaches were most useful in our characterization. We found that many regions had distinct DOM composition, and climatic factors like mean annual temperature, the presence of wetlands and lakes explained most of the variations, but we were unable to detect any common effects of land disturbance. For assessing differences in DOM across regions, simple analytical approaches were as useful as the more complex approaches. Our findings are important for understanding the function of aquatic ecosystems, potential impacts of climate change and land management, and implications for drinking water treatment.
Key Points
We analyzed dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition in samples from 52 streams across 6 forested regions in Canada using multiple analytical techniques
DOM composition varied in three dimensions: aromaticity, oxygenation and biopolymer content, linked to climate, wetlands and lakes
Our subcontinental‐scale assessment provides insights for data interpretation, monitoring program design and land management
The biophysical features of neurons shape information processing in the brain. Cortical neurons are larger in humans than in other species, but it is unclear how their size affects synaptic ...integration. Here, we perform direct electrical recordings from human dendrites and report enhanced electrical compartmentalization in layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Compared to rat dendrites, distal human dendrites provide limited excitation to the soma, even in the presence of dendritic spikes. Human somas also exhibit less bursting due to reduced recruitment of dendritic electrogenesis. Finally, we find that decreased ion channel densities result in higher input resistance and underlie the lower coupling of human dendrites. We conclude that the increased length of human neurons alters their input-output properties, which will impact cortical computation.
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•Direct electrical recordings to compare human and rat cortical dendrites•Longer human dendrites exhibit increased electrical compartmentalization•Reduced ion channel densities in human dendrites•Compartmentalization alters the input-output properties of human neurons
Human cortical neurons exhibit a higher degree of voltage compartmentalization compared to rodent counterparts due to lower ion channel densities across larger dendritic surfaces.
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of estrogen-based hormone therapy (HT) on regional cerebral metabolism in postmenopausal women (mean age = 58, SD = 5) at risk for development ...of dementia. The prospective clinical trial design included pre- and post-intervention neuroimaging of women randomized to continue (HT+) or discontinue (HT-) therapy following an average of 10 years of use. The primary outcome measure was change in brain metabolism during the subsequent two years, as assessed with fluorodeoxyglucose-18 positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). Longitudinal FDG-PET data were available for 45 study completers. Results showed that women randomized to continue HT experienced relative preservation of frontal and parietal cortical metabolism, compared with women randomized to discontinue HT. Women who discontinued 17-β estradiol (17βE)-based HT, as well as women who continued conjugated equine estrogen (CEE)-based HT, exhibited significant decline in metabolism of the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortical (PCC) area. Significant decline in PCC metabolism was additionally seen in women taking concurrent progestins (with either 17βE or CEE). Together, these findings suggest that among postmenopausal subjects at risk for developing dementia, regional cerebral cortical metabolism is relatively preserved for at least two years in women randomized to continue HT, compared with women randomized to discontinue HT. In addition, continuing unopposed 17βE therapy is associated specifically with preservation of metabolism in PCC, known to undergo the most significant decline in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00097058.
The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon. With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly ...becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes. However, many protected areas in the tropics are themselves vulnerable to human encroachment and other environmental stresses. As pressures mount, it is vital to know whether existing reserves can sustain their biodiversity. A critical constraint in addressing this question has been that data describing a broad array of biodiversity groups have been unavailable for a sufficiently large and representative sample of reserves. Here we present a uniquely comprehensive data set on changes over the past 20 to 30 years in 31 functional groups of species and 21 potential drivers of environmental change, for 60 protected areas stratified across the world’s major tropical regions. Our analysis reveals great variation in reserve ‘health’: about half of all reserves have been effective or performed passably, but the rest are experiencing an erosion of biodiversity that is often alarmingly widespread taxonomically and functionally. Habitat disruption, hunting and forest-product exploitation were the strongest predictors of declining reserve health. Crucially, environmental changes immediately outside reserves seemed nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate, with changes inside reserves strongly mirroring those occurring around them. These findings suggest that tropical protected areas are often intimately linked ecologically to their surrounding habitats, and that a failure to stem broad-scale loss and degradation of such habitats could sharply increase the likelihood of serious biodiversity declines.
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