Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for intrauterine limb ischaemia: A newborn in the chamber

Intrauterine limb ischaemia is a rare condition that may have devastating results. Various treatments are reported in the literature; however, results are not always promising and amputations may be required for some patients. Post-natal hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) may be a useful treatment option for the salvage of affected limbs. A patient who was born with total brachial artery occlusion and severe limb ischaemia was referred for HBOT. The patient underwent the first HBOT session at her 48th hour of life. A total of 47 HBOT sessions were completed (243.1 kPa [2.4 atmospheres absolute], duration 115 minutes being: 15 minutes of compression; three 25-minute oxygen periods separated by five-minute air breaks; and 15 minutes of decompression), four in the first 24 hours. Full recovery was achieved with this intense HBOT schedule combined with anticoagulation, fasciotomy and supportive care. The new-born tolerated HBOT well and no complications or side effects occurred. To the best of our knowledge, our patient is one of the youngest patients reported to undergo HBOT.

Disco Time: The Relationship Between Perceived Duration and Tempo in Music

Our perception of the duration of a piece of music is related to its tempo. When listening to music, absolute durations may seem longer as the tempo—the rate of an underlying pulse or beat—increases. Yet, the perception of tempo itself is not absolute. In a study on perceived tempo, participants were able to distinguish between different tempo-shifted versions of the same song (± 5 beats per minute (BPM)), yet their tempo ratings did not match the actual BPM rates; this finding was called tempo anchoring effect (TAE). In order to gain further insights into the relation between duration and tempo perception in music, the present study investigated the effect of musical tempo on two different duration measures, to see if there is an analog to the TAE in duration perception. Using a repeated-measures design, 32 participants (16 musicians) were randomly presented with instrumental excerpts of Disco songs at the original tempi and in tempo-shifted versions. The tasks were (a) to reproduce the absolute duration of each stimulus (14–20 s), (b) to estimate the absolute duration of the stimuli in seconds, and (c) to rate the perceived tempo. Results show that duration reproductions were longer with faster tempi, yet no such effect was found for duration estimations. Thus, lower-level reproductions were affected by the tempo, but higher-level estimations were not. The tempo-shifted versions showed no effect on both duration measures, suggesting that the tempo difference for the duration-lengthening effect requires a difference of at least 20 BPM, depending on the duration measure. Results of perceived tempo replicated the typical rating pattern of the TAE, but this was not found in duration measures. The roles of spontaneous motor tempo and musical experience are discussed, and implications for future studies are given.

Slow-wave Sleep and MRI Markers of Brain Aging in a Community-based Sample

Objective:To test the hypothesis that reduced slow-wave sleep, or N3 sleep, which is thought to underlie the restorative functions of sleep, is associated with MRI markers of brain aging, we evaluated this relationship in the community-based Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort using polysomnography and brain MRI.Methods:We studied 492 participants (58.8 ± 8.8 years, 49.4% male) free of neurological diseases who completed a brain MRI scan and in-home overnight polysomnography to assess slow-wave sleep (absolute duration and percentage of total sleep). Volumes of total brain, total cortical, frontal cortical, subcortical gray matter, hippocampus, and white matter hyperintensities were investigated as a percentage of intracranial volume and the presence of covert brain infarcts was evaluated. Linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for age, age squared, sex, time interval between polysomnography and MRI (3.3 ± 1.0 years), APOE4 carrier status, stroke risk factors, sleeping pill use, body mass index and depression.Results:Less slow-wave sleep was associated with lower cortical brain volume (absolute duration, β[standard error]: 0.20[0.08], p=0.015; percentage, 0.16[0.08], p=0.044), lower subcortical brain volume (percentage, 0.03[0.02], p=0.034), and higher white matter hyperintensities volume (absolute duration, -0.12[0.05], p=0.010; percentage -0.10[0.04], p=0.033). Slow-wave sleep duration was not associated with hippocampal volume or the presence of covert brain infarcts.Conclusion:Loss of slow-wave sleep might facilitate accelerated brain aging, as evidence by its association with MRI markers suggestive of brain atrophy and injury. Alternatively, subtle injuries and accelerated aging might reduce the ability of the brain to produce slow-wave sleep.

Study on the effect of the teat reaction on the time components of the pulsogram in various types of milking liners

The relationship between the milking process phases and the artificial teat reaction have been studied. Milking units with a conventional and tri-circle shape of the pulsation chamber were used. The conclusions are related to the reaction of the teat support and the changes of the time components in the pulsogram. The filling of the milking chamber with an artificial teat reduces the absolute duration of the transitional phases "a" and "c" and prolongs the actual phases "b" and "d" in all the experimental rates.

Production of geminate consonants in Russian

Typology of geminate consonants demonstrates a number of contextual and manner restrictions the origin of which is not well understood. The present study examines the hypothesis that geminates are restricted to certain contexts, such as intervocalic, and certain manners of articulation, such as obstruents, because the durational differences between geminates and singletons are especially pronounced in these cases. Duration of geminates and singletons in Russian was examined in naturalistic speech and in non-words to determine the effect of contextual and manner factors. Results showed that, although the absolute duration of both geminates and singletons varied significantly under the effects of contextual and manner factors, the amount of difference between geminates and singletons remained stable. The results of this study, combined with other cross-linguistic evidence, suggest that asymmetry in the extent of geminate lengthening across contexts and manners of articulation is not a likely cause of the observed typology.

Independent coding of absolute duration and distance magnitudes in the prefrontal cortex

The estimation of space and time can interfere with each other, and neuroimaging studies have shown overlapping activation in the parietal and prefrontal cortical areas. We used duration and distance discrimination tasks to determine whether space and time share resources in prefrontal cortex (PF) neurons. Monkeys were required to report which of two stimuli, a red circle or blue square, presented sequentially, were longer and farther, respectively, in the duration and distance tasks. In a previous study, we showed that relative duration and distance are coded by different populations of neurons and that the only common representation is related to goal coding. Here, we examined the coding of absolute duration and distance. Our results support a model of independent coding of absolute duration and distance metrics by demonstrating that not only relative magnitude but also absolute magnitude are independently coded in the PF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Human behavioral studies have shown that spatial and duration judgments can interfere with each other. We investigated the neural representation of such magnitudes in the prefrontal cortex. We found that the two magnitudes are independently coded by prefrontal neurons. We suggest that the interference among magnitude judgments might depend on the goal rather than the perceptual resource sharing.

Quiet Eye and Performance in Sport: A Meta-Analysis

Research linking the “quiet eye” (QE) period to subsequent performance has not been systematically synthesized. In this paper we review the literature on the link between the two through nonintervention (Synthesis 1) and intervention (Synthesis 2) studies. In the first synthesis, 27 studies with 38 effect sizes resulted in a large mean effect (d = 1.04) reflecting differences between experts’ and novices’ QE periods, and a moderate effect size (d = 0.58) comparing QE periods for successful and unsuccessful performances within individuals. Studies reporting QE duration as a percentage of the total time revealed a larger mean effect size than studies reporting an absolute duration (in milliseconds). The second synthesis of 9 articles revealed very large effect sizes for both the quiet-eye period (d = 1.53) and performance (d = 0.84). QE also showed some ability to predict performance effects across studies.

Learning the language of time: Children’s acquisition of duration words

Children use time words like minute and hour early in development, but takeyears to acquire their precise meanings. Here we investigate whetherchildren assign meaning to these early usages, and if so, how. To do this,we test their interpretation of seven time words: second, minute, hour,day, week, month, and year. We find that preschoolers infer the orderingsof time words (e.g., hour > minute), but have little to no knowledge of theabsolute durations they encode. Knowledge of absolute duration is learnedmuch later in development – many years after children first start usingtime words in speech – and in many children does not emerge until they haveacquired formal definitions for the words. We conclude that associatingwords with the perception of duration does not come naturally to children,and that early intuitive meanings of time words are instead rooted inrelative orderings, which children may infer from their use in speech.

Quantitative Reduction of Vowel Graph ‘a’ and ‘o’ Positioned after the Hard Consonants in the Speech of Native and Non-Native Russian Speakers in Lithuania

This article analyses the absolute duration (ms) of stressed Russian vowels /a/, /o/ (graphs: “a”, “o”) and their allophones in unstressed positions after the hard consonants in the pronunciation of native and non-native Russian speakers in Lithuania. The results of the conducted spectral analysis reveal the specificities of quantitative reduction in the speech of the Russian speakers in Lithuania and the Lithuanian speakers that are learning the Russian language. These specificities are influenced by the two phonetic systems interaction. The speakers of both languages by the realisation of “a” and “o” violates the relation of unstressed vowel duration that is peculiar to the contemporary Russian language: the post-stressed vowels in closed syllables are shorter than the pre-stressed vowels; the first pre-stressed syllable differs from the second pre-stressed and post-stressed syllables by a longer voice duration. Both Russians and Lithuanians pronounce vowels longer in post-stressed syllables than in the pre-stressed syllables. This corresponds to the qualitative reduction of the Lithuanian language vowels /a:/ and /o:/. There are certain differences between the pronunciation of qualitative vowels “a” and “o” reduction among the native and non-native Russian speakers in Lithuania. The Russian speakers in Lithuania pronounce the second pre-stressed vowel longer than the first pre-stressed vowel; this corresponds to the degree of reduction of pre-stressed vowels “a” and “o” in the standardised Russian language. These degrees of quantitative reduction in the Lithuanian pronunciation are peculiar only for “a” in the Russian language. According to the duration ratio, the unstressed allophones “a” and “o” in the Russian language are closer to the unstressed /a:/ and /o:/ in the Lithuanian language in the pronunciation of Russian-Lithuanian bilinguals than in the pronunciation Lithuanian speakers.