Developing ICF Core Sets for persons with sleep disorders based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

BACKGROUND: With the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), we can now rely on a globally agreed-upon framework and system for classifying the typical spectrum of problems in the functioning of persons given the environmental context in which they live. ICF Core Sets are subgroups of ICF items selected to capture those aspects of functioning that are most likely to be affected by sleep disorders. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to outline the developmental process for the ICF Core Sets for Sleep. METHODS: The ICF Core Sets for Sleep will be defined at an ICF Core Sets Consensus Conference, which will integrate evidence from preliminary studies, namely (a) a systematic literature review regarding the outcomes used in clinical trials and observational studies, (b) focus groups with people in different regions of the world who have sleep disorders, (c) an expert survey with the involvement of international clinical experts, and (d) a cross-sectional study of people with sleep disorders in different regions of the world. CONCLUSION: The ICF Core Sets for Sleep are being designed with the goal of providing useful standards for research, clinical practice and teaching. It is hypothesized that the ICF Core Sets for Sleep will stimulate research that leads to an improved understanding of functioning, disability, and health in sleep medicine. It is of further hope that such research will lead to interventions and accommodations that improve the restoration and maintenance of functioning and minimize disability among people with sleep disorders throughout the world.

Influence of the sunspot cycle on the Northern Hemisphere wintertime circulation from long upper-air data sets

Here we present a study of the 11 yr sunspot cycle's imprint on the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, using three recently developed gridded upper-air data sets that extend back to the early twentieth century. We find a robust response of the tropospheric late-wintertime circulation to the sunspot cycle, independent from the data set. This response is particularly significant over Europe, although results show that it is not directly related to a North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) modulation; instead, it reveals a significant connection to the more meridional Eurasian pattern (EU). The magnitude of mean seasonal temperature changes over the European land areas locally exceeds 1 K in the lower troposphere over a sunspot cycle. We also analyse surface data to address the question whether the solar signal over Europe is temporally stable for a longer 250 yr period. The results increase our confidence in the existence of an influence of the 11 yr cycle on the European climate, but the signal is much weaker in the first half of the period compared to the second half. The last solar minimum (2005 to 2010), which was not included in our analysis, shows anomalies that are consistent with our statistical results for earlier solar minima.

Estimating and quantifying uncertainties on level sets using the Vorob'ev expectation and deviation with Gaussian process models

Several methods based on Kriging have recently been proposed for calculating a probability of failure involving costly-to-evaluate functions. A closely related problem is to estimate the set of inputs leading to a response exceeding a given threshold. Now, estimating such a level set—and not solely its volume—and quantifying uncertainties on it are not straightforward. Here we use notions from random set theory to obtain an estimate of the level set, together with a quantification of estimation uncertainty. We give explicit formulae in the Gaussian process set-up and provide a consistency result. We then illustrate how space-filling versus adaptive design strategies may sequentially reduce level set estimation uncertainty.

Foundations of stochastic geometry and theory of random sets

The first section of this chapter starts with the Buffon problem, which is one of the oldest in stochastic geometry, and then continues with the definition of measures on the space of lines. The second section defines random closed sets and related measurability issues, explains how to characterize distributions of random closed sets by means of capacity functionals and introduces the concept of a selection. Based on this concept, the third section starts with the definition of the expectation and proves its convexifying effect that is related to the Lyapunov theorem for ranges of vector-valued measures. Finally, the strong law of large numbers for Minkowski sums of random sets is proved and the corresponding limit theorem is formulated. The chapter is concluded by a discussion of the union-scheme for random closed sets and a characterization of the corresponding stable laws.

Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4G Suppresses Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay by Two Genetically Separable Mechanisms

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which is best known for degrading mRNAs with premature termination codons (PTCs), is thought to be triggered by aberrant translation termination at stop codons located in an environment of the mRNP that is devoid of signals necessary for proper termination. In mammals, the cytoplasmic poly(A)-binding protein 1 (PABPC1) has been reported to promote correct termination and therewith antagonize NMD by interacting with the eukaryotic release factors 1 (eRF1) and 3 (eRF3). Using tethering assays in which proteins of interest are recruited as MS2 fusions to a NMD reporter transcript, we show that the three N-terminal RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) of PABPC1 are sufficient to antagonize NMD, while the eRF3-interacting C-terminal domain is dispensable. The RRM1-3 portion of PABPC1 interacts with eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) and tethering of eIF4G to the NMD reporter also suppresses NMD. We identified the interactions of the eIF4G N-terminus with PABPC1 and the eIF4G core domain with eIF3 as two genetically separable features that independently enable tethered eIF4G to inhibit NMD. Collectively, our results reveal a function of PABPC1, eIF4G and eIF3 in translation termination and NMD suppression, and they provide additional evidence for a tight coupling between translation termination and initiation.