WorldWideScience

Sample records for monochrome dbs halftoning

  1. Juxtaposed color halftoning relying on discrete lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaei, Vahid; Hersch, Roger D

    2013-02-01

    Most halftoning techniques allow screen dots to overlap. They rely on the assumption that the inks are transparent, i.e., the inks do not scatter a significant portion of the light back to the air. However, many special effect inks, such as metallic inks, iridescent inks, or pigmented inks, are not transparent. In order to create halftone images, halftone dots formed by such inks should be juxtaposed, i.e., printed side by side. We propose an efficient juxtaposed color halftoning technique for placing any desired number of colorant layers side by side without overlapping. The method uses a monochrome library of screen elements made of discrete lines with rational thicknesses. Discrete line juxtaposed color halftoning is performed efficiently by multiple accesses to the screen element library.

  2. Use of a GPGPU means for the development of search programs of defects of monochrome half-tone pictures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dudnik, V.A.; Kudryavtsev, V.I.; Sereda, T.M.; Us, S.A.; Shestakov, M.V.

    2013-01-01

    Application of a GPGPU means for the development of search programs of defects of monochrome half-tone pictures is described. The description of realization of algorithm of search of images' defects by the means of technology CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture - the unified hardware-software decision for parallel calculations on GPU) companies NVIDIA is resulted. It is done the comparison of the temporary characteristics of performance of images' updating without application GPU and with use of opportunities of graphic processor GeForce 8800.

  3. Low complexity pixel-based halftone detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ok, Jiheon; Han, Seong Wook; Jarno, Mielikainen; Lee, Chulhee

    2011-10-01

    With the rapid advances of the internet and other multimedia technologies, the digital document market has been growing steadily. Since most digital images use halftone technologies, quality degradation occurs when one tries to scan and reprint them. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the halftone areas to produce high quality printing. In this paper, we propose a low complexity pixel-based halftone detection algorithm. For each pixel, we considered a surrounding block. If the block contained any flat background regions, text, thin lines, or continuous or non-homogeneous regions, the pixel was classified as a non-halftone pixel. After excluding those non-halftone pixels, the remaining pixels were considered to be halftone pixels. Finally, documents were classified as pictures or photo documents by calculating the halftone pixel ratio. The proposed algorithm proved to be memory-efficient and required low computation costs. The proposed algorithm was easily implemented using GPU.

  4. Halftone visual cryptography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhi; Arce, Gonzalo R; Di Crescenzo, Giovanni

    2006-08-01

    Visual cryptography encodes a secret binary image (SI) into n shares of random binary patterns. If the shares are xeroxed onto transparencies, the secret image can be visually decoded by superimposing a qualified subset of transparencies, but no secret information can be obtained from the superposition of a forbidden subset. The binary patterns of the n shares, however, have no visual meaning and hinder the objectives of visual cryptography. Extended visual cryptography [1] was proposed recently to construct meaningful binary images as shares using hypergraph colourings, but the visual quality is poor. In this paper, a novel technique named halftone visual cryptography is proposed to achieve visual cryptography via halftoning. Based on the blue-noise dithering principles, the proposed method utilizes the void and cluster algorithm [2] to encode a secret binary image into n halftone shares (images) carrying significant visual information. The simulation shows that the visual quality of the obtained halftone shares are observably better than that attained by any available visual cryptography method known to date.

  5. Least-squares model-based halftoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, Thrasyvoulos N.; Neuhoff, David L.

    1992-08-01

    A least-squares model-based approach to digital halftoning is proposed. It exploits both a printer model and a model for visual perception. It attempts to produce an 'optimal' halftoned reproduction, by minimizing the squared error between the response of the cascade of the printer and visual models to the binary image and the response of the visual model to the original gray-scale image. Conventional methods, such as clustered ordered dither, use the properties of the eye only implicitly, and resist printer distortions at the expense of spatial and gray-scale resolution. In previous work we showed that our printer model can be used to modify error diffusion to account for printer distortions. The modified error diffusion algorithm has better spatial and gray-scale resolution than conventional techniques, but produces some well known artifacts and asymmetries because it does not make use of an explicit eye model. Least-squares model-based halftoning uses explicit eye models and relies on printer models that predict distortions and exploit them to increase, rather than decrease, both spatial and gray-scale resolution. We have shown that the one-dimensional least-squares problem, in which each row or column of the image is halftoned independently, can be implemented with the Viterbi's algorithm. Unfortunately, no closed form solution can be found in two dimensions. The two-dimensional least squares solution is obtained by iterative techniques. Experiments show that least-squares model-based halftoning produces more gray levels and better spatial resolution than conventional techniques. We also show that the least- squares approach eliminates the problems associated with error diffusion. Model-based halftoning can be especially useful in transmission of high quality documents using high fidelity gray-scale image encoders. As we have shown, in such cases halftoning can be performed at the receiver, just before printing. Apart from coding efficiency, this approach

  6. Juxtaposed Color Halftoning Relying on Discrete Lines

    OpenAIRE

    Babaei, Vahid; Hersch, Roger

    2013-01-01

    Most halftoning techniques allow screen dots to overlap. They rely on the assumption that the inks are transparent, i.e. the inks do not scatter a significant portion of the light back to the air. However, many special effect inks such as metallic inks, iridescent inks or pigmented inks are not transparent. In order to create halftone images, halftone dots formed by such inks should be juxtaposed, i.e. printed side by side. We propose an efficient juxtaposed color halftoning technique for pla...

  7. Making PMT halftone prints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corey, J.D.

    1977-05-01

    In the printing process for technical reports presently used at Bendix Kansas City Division, photographs are reproduced by pasting up PMT halftone prints on the artwork originals. These originals are used to make positive-working plastic plates for offset lithography. Instructions for making good-quality halftone prints using Eastman Kodak's PMT materials and processes are given in this report. 14 figures.

  8. Design of Farthest-Point Masks for Image Halftoning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramponi G

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available In an earlier paper, we briefly presented a new halftoning algorithm called farthest-point halftoning. In the present paper, this method is analyzed in detail, and a novel dispersion measure is defined to improve the simplicity and flexibility of the result. This new stochastic screen algorithm is loosely based on Kang's dispersed-dot ordered dither halftone array construction technique used as part of his microcluster halftoning method. Our new halftoning algorithm uses pixelwise measures of dispersion based on one proposed by Kang which is here modified to be more effective. In addition, our method exploits the concept of farthest-point sampling (FPS, introduced as a progressive irregular sampling method by Eldar et al. but uses a more efficient implementation of FPS in the construction of the dot profiles. The technique we propose is compared to other state-of-the-art dither-based halftoning methods in both qualitative and quantitative manners.

  9. Algorithms for coding scanned halftone pictures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Forchhammer, Søren; Forchhammer, Morten

    1988-01-01

    A method for coding scanned documents containing halftone pictures, e.g. newspapers and magazines, for transmission purposes is proposed. The halftone screen is estimated and the grey value of each dot is found, thus giving a compact description. At the receiver the picture is rescreened. A novel...

  10. Halftone Coding with JBIG2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martins, Bo; Forchhammer, Søren

    2000-01-01

    of a halftone pattern dictionary.The decoder first decodes the gray-scale image. Then for each gray-scale pixel looks up the corresponding halftonepattern in the dictionary and places it in the reconstruction bitmap at the position corresponding to the gray-scale pixel. The coding method is inherently lossy......The emerging international standard for compression of bilevel images and bi-level documents, JBIG2,provides a mode dedicated for lossy coding of halftones. The encoding procedure involves descreening of the bi-levelimage into gray-scale, encoding of the gray-scale image, and construction...... and care must be taken to avoid introducing artifacts in the reconstructed image. We describe how to apply this coding method for halftones created by periodic ordered dithering, by clustered dot screening (offset printing), and by techniques which in effect dithers with blue noise, e.g., error diffusion...

  11. Parallel halftoning technique using dot diffusion optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina-Garcia, Javier; Ponomaryov, Volodymyr I.; Reyes-Reyes, Rogelio; Cruz-Ramos, Clara

    2017-05-01

    In this paper, a novel approach for halftone images is proposed and implemented for images that are obtained by the Dot Diffusion (DD) method. Designed technique is based on an optimization of the so-called class matrix used in DD algorithm and it consists of generation new versions of class matrix, which has no baron and near-baron in order to minimize inconsistencies during the distribution of the error. Proposed class matrix has different properties and each is designed for two different applications: applications where the inverse-halftoning is necessary, and applications where this method is not required. The proposed method has been implemented in GPU (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti), multicore processors (AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor and in Intel core i5-4200U), using CUDA and OpenCV over a PC with linux. Experimental results have shown that novel framework generates a good quality of the halftone images and the inverse halftone images obtained. The simulation results using parallel architectures have demonstrated the efficiency of the novel technique when it is implemented in real-time processing.

  12. Parallel inverse halftoning by look-up table (LUT) partitioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siddiqui, Umair F.; Sait, Sadiq M.

    2008-01-01

    The Look-Up Table (LUT) method for inverse halftoning is not only computation-less and fast but yields good results. The method employs a single LUT that is stored in a ROM and contains pre-computed contone (gray level) values for inverse halftone operation. This paper proposes an algorithm that can perform parallel inverse halftone operations by partitioning the single LUT into N smaller look-Up Tables (s- LUTs). Therefore, up to k (k<-N) pixels can be concurrently fetched from the halftone image and their contone values fetched concurrently from separate s- LUT. Obviously, this parallelization increases the speed of inverse halftoning by upto k times. In this proposed method, the total entries in all s- LUTs remain equal to the entries in the single LUT of the serial LUT method. Some degradation in image quality is also possible due to pixel loss during fetching. This is because some other contone value is being fetched from that s-LUT. The complete implementation of the algorithm requires two CPLDs (Complex Programmable Logic Devices) for the computational portion, external content addressable memories (CAM) and static RAMs to store s-LUTs. (author)

  13. Data compression of scanned halftone images

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Forchhammer, Søren; Jensen, Kim S.

    1994-01-01

    with the halftone grid, and converted to a gray level representation. A new digital description of (halftone) grids has been developed for this purpose. The gray level values are coded according to a scheme based on states derived from a segmentation of gray values. To enable real-time processing of high resolution...... scanner output, the coding has been parallelized and implemented on a transputer system. For comparison, the test image was coded using existing (lossless) methods giving compression rates of 2-7. The best of these, a combination of predictive and binary arithmetic coding was modified and optimized...

  14. Review of halftoning techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulichney, Robert A.

    1999-12-01

    Digital halftoning remains an active area of research with a plethora of new and enhanced methods. While several fine overviews exist, this purpose of this paper is to review retrospectively the basic classes of techniques. Halftoning algorithms are presented by the nature of the appearance of resulting patterns, including white noise, recursive tessellation, the classical screen, and blue noise. The metric of radially averaged power spectra is reviewed, and special attention is paid to frequency domain characteristics. The paper concludes with a look at the components that comprise a complete image rendering system. In particular when the number of output levels is not restricted to be a power of 2. A very efficient means of multilevel dithering is presented based on scaling order- dither arrays. The case of real-time video rendering is considered where the YUV-to-RGB conversion is incorporated in the dithering system. Example illustrations are included for each of the techniques described.

  15. Impact of Electrostatic Assist on Halftone Mottle in Shrink Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akshay V. Joshi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Gravure printing delivers intricate print quality and exhibit better feasibility for printing long run packaging jobs. PVC and PETG are widely used shrink films printed by gravure process. The variation in ink transfer from gravure cells on to the substrate results in print mottle. The variation is inevitable and requires close monitoring with tight control on process parameters to deliver good dot fidelity. The electrostatic assist in gravure improves the ink transfer efficiency but is greatly influenced by ESA parameters such as air gap (distance between charge bar and impression roller and voltage. Moreover, it is imperative to study the combined effect of ESA and gravure process parameters such as line screen, viscosity and speed for the minimization of half-tone mottle in shrink films. A general full factorial design was performed for the above mentioned parameters to evaluate half-tone mottle. The significant levels of both the main and interactions were studied by ANOVA approach. The statistical analysis revealed the significance of all the process parameters with viscosity, line screen and voltage being the major contributors in minimization of half-tone mottle. The optimized setting showed reduction in halftone mottle by 33% and 32% for PVC and PET-G respectively. The developed regression model was tested that showed more than 95% predictability. Furthermore, the uniformity of dot was measured by image to non-image area (ratio distribution. The result showed reduction in halftone mottle with uniform dot distribution.

  16. Classification of Error-Diffused Halftone Images Based on Spectral Regression Kernel Discriminant Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhigao Zeng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel algorithm to solve the challenging problem of classifying error-diffused halftone images. We firstly design the class feature matrices, after extracting the image patches according to their statistics characteristics, to classify the error-diffused halftone images. Then, the spectral regression kernel discriminant analysis is used for feature dimension reduction. The error-diffused halftone images are finally classified using an idea similar to the nearest centroids classifier. As demonstrated by the experimental results, our method is fast and can achieve a high classification accuracy rate with an added benefit of robustness in tackling noise.

  17. Application of Modified Digital Halftoning Techniques to Data Hiding in Personalized Stamps

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Hsi-Chun Wang; Chi-Ming Lian; Pei-Chi Hsiao

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this research is to embed information in personalized stamps by modified digital halftoning techniques. The displaced and deformed halftone dots are used to encode data in the personalized stamps. Hidden information can be retrieved by either an optical decoder or digital image processing techniques.The results show that personalized stamps with value-added features like data hiding or digital watermarking can be successfully implemented.

  18. Spectral Neugebauer-based color halftone prediction model accounting for paper fluorescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersch, Roger David

    2014-08-20

    We present a spectral model for predicting the fluorescent emission and the total reflectance of color halftones printed on optically brightened paper. By relying on extended Neugebauer models, the proposed model accounts for the attenuation by the ink halftones of both the incident exciting light in the UV wavelength range and the emerging fluorescent emission in the visible wavelength range. The total reflectance is predicted by adding the predicted fluorescent emission relative to the incident light and the pure reflectance predicted with an ink-spreading enhanced Yule-Nielsen modified Neugebauer reflectance prediction model. The predicted fluorescent emission spectrum as a function of the amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow inks is very accurate. It can be useful to paper and ink manufacturers who would like to study in detail the contribution of the fluorescent brighteners and the attenuation of the fluorescent emission by ink halftones.

  19. Halftoning processing on a JPEG-compressed image

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibade, Cedric; Barizien, Stephane; Akil, Mohamed; Perroton, Laurent

    2003-12-01

    Digital image processing algorithms are usually designed for the raw format, that is on an uncompressed representation of the image. Therefore prior to transforming or processing a compressed format, decompression is applied; then, the result of the processing application is finally re-compressed for further transfer or storage. The change of data representation is resource-consuming in terms of computation, time and memory usage. In the wide format printing industry, this problem becomes an important issue: e.g. a 1 m2 input color image, scanned at 600 dpi exceeds 1.6 GB in its raw representation. However, some image processing algorithms can be performed in the compressed-domain, by applying an equivalent operation on the compressed format. This paper is presenting an innovative application of the halftoning processing operation by screening, to be applied on JPEG-compressed image. This compressed-domain transform is performed by computing the threshold operation of the screening algorithm in the DCT domain. This algorithm is illustrated by examples for different halftone masks. A pre-sharpening operation, applied on a JPEG-compressed low quality image is also described; it allows to de-noise and to enhance the contours of this image.

  20. Method of forming half-tone test images in the IR spectrum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glebova, L.N.; Gridin, A.S.; Denisov, V.N.; Dmitriev, I.Yu.; Mochalov, I.V.; Chebotarev, S.A.

    1992-01-01

    Test charts in the form of half-tone IR images, including not only an image of the interference-producing background (the underlying earth's surface and clouds), but also the observation objects, are required for conducting bench tests on the noise immunity of modern optoelectronic equipment designed to solve observation problems under background-interference conditions. The simulation of extended half-tone IR images containing the high spatial frequencies of background formations having an appreciable dynamic range of reproducible radiances is a complex problem in technical and processing aspects. The use of phosphorus as visible-to-IR converters for the creation of IR-background simulators is shown to be possible in principle in this paper. 2 refs., 3 figs

  1. Disrupting neuronal transmission: Mechanism of DBS?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satomi eChiken

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Applying high-frequency stimulation to deep brain rain structure, known as deep brain stimulation (DBS, has now been recognized an effective therapeutic option for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. DBS targeting the basal ganglia thalamo-cortical loop, especially the internal segment of the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus and thalamus, has been widely employed as a successful surgical therapy for movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor. However, the neurophysiological mechanism underling the action of DBS remains unclear and is still under debate: does DBS inhibit or excite local neuronal elements? In this review, we will examine this question and propose the alternative interpretation: DBS dissociates inputs and outputs, resulting in disruption of abnormal signal transmission.

  2. Velocity monochromator for macro-ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paquin, R; Baril, M [Laval Univ., Quebec City (Canada). Dept. de Physique

    1976-09-15

    We propose the use of a dynamic monochromator to reduce the energy spread of a macroion source. It is shown that the energy aberration can be corrected using linear acceleration after the particles are separated in a field free drift tube. We give a general expression for the resolution of the monochromator. We verify experimentally that the energy distribution of a beam of cesium ions of 160 eV mean energy could be reduced from 20 eV to 4.5 eV, giving an improvement of 4.3, with this monochromator which has an efficiency of 6%. Two suggestions to improve the transmission of the monochromator are also given.

  3. Velocity monochromator for macro-ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paquin, R.; Baril, M.

    1976-01-01

    We propose the use of a dynamic monochromator to reduce the energy spread of a macroion source. It is shown that the energy aberration can be corrected using linear acceleration after the particles are separated in a field free drift tube. We give a general expression for the resolution of the monochromator. We verify experimentally that the energy distribution of a beam of cesium ions of 160 eV mean energy could be reduced from 20 eV to 4.5 eV, giving an improvement of 4.3, with this monochromator which has an efficiency of 6%. Two suggestions to improve the transmission of the monochromator are also given. (author)

  4. Mirror monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mankos, Marian [Electron Optica, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Shadman, Khashayar [Electron Optica, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2014-12-02

    In this SBIR project, Electron Optica, Inc. (EOI) is developing a mirror electron monochromator (MirrorChrom) attachment to new and retrofitted electron microscopes (EMs) for improving the energy resolution of the EM from the characteristic range of 0.2-0.5 eV to the range of 10-50 meV. This improvement will enhance the characterization of materials by imaging and spectroscopy. In particular, the monochromator will refine the energy spectra characterizing materials, as obtained from transmission EMs [TEMs] fitted with electron spectrometers, and it will increase the spatial resolution of the images of materials taken with scanning EMs (SEMs) operated at low voltages. EOI’s MirrorChrom technology utilizes a magnetic prism to simultaneously deflect the electron beam off the axis of the microscope column by 90° and disperse the electrons in proportional to their energies into a module with an electron mirror and a knife-edge. The knife-edge cuts off the tails of the energy distribution to reduce the energy spread of the electrons that are reflected, and subsequently deflected, back into the microscope column. The knife-edge is less prone to contamination, and thereby charging, than the conventional slits used in existing monochromators, which improves the reliability and stability of the module. The overall design of the MirrorChrom exploits the symmetry inherent in reversing the electron trajectory in order to maintain the beam brightness – a parameter that impacts how well the electron beam can be focused downstream onto a sample. During phase I, EOI drafted a set of candidate monochromator architectures and evaluated the trade-offs between energy resolution and beam current to achieve the optimum design for three particular applications with market potential: increasing the spatial resolution of low voltage SEMs, increasing the energy resolution of low voltage TEMs (beam energy of 5-20 keV), and increasing the energy resolution of conventional TEMs (beam

  5. Printer model for dot-on-dot halftone screens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramanian, Raja

    1995-04-01

    A printer model is described for dot-on-dot halftone screens. For a given input CMYK signal, the model predicts the resulting spectral reflectance of the printed patch. The model is derived in two steps. First, the C, M, Y, K dot growth functions are determined which relate the input digital value to the actual dot area coverages of the colorants. Next, the reflectance of a patch is predicted as a weighted combination of the reflectances of the four solid C, M, Y, K patches and their various overlays. This approach is analogous to the Neugebauer model, with the random mixing equations being replaced by dot-on-dot mixing equations. A Yule-Neilsen correction factor is incorporated to account for light scattering within the paper. The dot area functions and Yule-Neilsen parameter are chosen to optimize the fit to a set of training data. The model is also extended to a cellular framework, requiring additional measurements. The model is tested with a four color xerographic printer employing a line-on-line halftone screen. CIE L*a*b* errors are obtained between measurements and model predictions. The Yule-Neilsen factor significantly decreases the model error. Accuracy is also increased with the use of a cellular framework.

  6. DBS for Obesity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Franco

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Obesity is a chronic, progressive and prevalent disorder. Morbid obesity, in particular, is associated with numerous comorbidities and early mortality. In patients with morbid obesity, pharmacological and behavioral approaches often have limited results. Bariatric surgery is quite effective but is associated with operative failures and a non-negligible incidence of side effects. In the last decades, deep brain stimulation (DBS has been investigated as a neurosurgical modality to treat various neuropsychiatric disorders. In this article we review the rationale for selecting different brain targets, surgical results and future perspectives for the use of DBS in medically refractory obesity.

  7. Adaptive color halftoning for minimum perceived error using the blue noise mask

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Qing; Parker, Kevin J.

    1997-04-01

    Color halftoning using a conventional screen requires careful selection of screen angles to avoid Moire patterns. An obvious advantage of halftoning using a blue noise mask (BNM) is that there are no conventional screen angle or Moire patterns produced. However, a simple strategy of employing the same BNM on all color planes is unacceptable in case where a small registration error can cause objectionable color shifts. In a previous paper by Yao and Parker, strategies were presented for shifting or inverting the BNM as well as using mutually exclusive BNMs for different color planes. In this paper, the above schemes will be studied in CIE-LAB color space in terms of root mean square error and variance for luminance channel and chrominance channel respectively. We will demonstrate that the dot-on-dot scheme results in minimum chrominance error, but maximum luminance error and the 4-mask scheme results in minimum luminance error but maximum chrominance error, while the shift scheme falls in between. Based on this study, we proposed a new adaptive color halftoning algorithm that takes colorimetric color reproduction into account by applying 2-mutually exclusive BNMs on two different color planes and applying an adaptive scheme on other planes to reduce color error. We will show that by having one adaptive color channel, we obtain increased flexibility to manipulate the output so as to reduce colorimetric error while permitting customization to specific printing hardware.

  8. Halftone display, particularly for a high resolution radioactivity distribution detection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grenier, R.P.

    1977-01-01

    A device is described for presenting a halftone pictorial presentation composed of dot picture elements by selectively controlling the number of dot picture elements per unit area at locations on a display. In a high resolution radioactivity distribution detection system, the number of detected radioactive elements at XY locations of an array of sensing devices are fed to a computer and stored at corresponding address locations. The number of radioactive events detected at each address location is normalized into Gray scale coded signals as a function of the greatest number of radioactive events detected at any one address location. The normalized Gray scale coded signals are applied to a display for controlling the number of dot picture elements per unit area presented at corresponding XY locations on the display. The number of radioactive events detected at XY locations of the array are presented on the display as a halftone pictorial representation; the greatest number of picture dot elements per unit are being presented as a brighter image

  9. Rapid mechanisms of DBS in OCD

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Koning, P.P.

    2016-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for therapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients is capable of improving psychiatric symptoms within seconds to minutes following stimulation initiation. This extraordinary response enticed my interest in exploring the underlying mechanism of DBS for

  10. The CMS DBS query language

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuznetsov, Valentin; Riley, Daniel; Afaq, Anzar; Sekhri, Vijay; Guo Yuyi; Lueking, Lee

    2010-01-01

    The CMS experiment has implemented a flexible and powerful system enabling users to find data within the CMS physics data catalog. The Dataset Bookkeeping Service (DBS) comprises a database and the services used to store and access metadata related to CMS physics data. To this, we have added a generalized query system in addition to the existing web and programmatic interfaces to the DBS. This query system is based on a query language that hides the complexity of the underlying database structure by discovering the join conditions between database tables. This provides a way of querying the system that is simple and straightforward for CMS data managers and physicists to use without requiring knowledge of the database tables or keys. The DBS Query Language uses the ANTLR tool to build the input query parser and tokenizer, followed by a query builder that uses a graph representation of the DBS schema to construct the SQL query sent to underlying database. We will describe the design of the query system, provide details of the language components and overview of how this component fits into the overall data discovery system architecture.

  11. An ultrahigh vacuum monochromator for photophysics beamline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meenakshi Raja Rao, P.; Padmanabhan, Saraswathy; Raja Sekhar, B.N.; Shastri, Aparna; Khan, H.A.; Sinha, A.K.

    2000-08-01

    The photophysics beamline designed for carrying out photoabsorption and fluorescence studies using the 450 MeV Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS), INDUS-1, uses a 1 metre monochromator as premonochromator for monochromatising the continuum. An ultra high vacuum compatible monochromator in Seya-Namioka mount has been designed and fabricated indigenously. The monochromator was assembled and tested for its performance. Wavelength scanning mechanism was tested for its reproducibility and the monochromator was tested for its resolution using UV and VUV sources. An average spectral resolution of 2.5 A was achieved using a 1200 gr/mm grating. A wavelength repeatability of ± 1A was obtained. An ultra high vacuum of 2 X 10 -8 mbar was also achieved in the monochromator. Details of fabrication, assembly and testing are presented in this report. (author)

  12. Study of measurement of the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in dried blood spot (DBS) samples and application of a volumetric DBS device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Olof; Kenan Modén, Naama; Seferaj, Sabina; Lenk, Gabriel; Helander, Anders

    2018-04-01

    Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a group of phospholipids formed in cell membranes following alcohol consumption. PEth measurement in whole blood samples is established as a specific alcohol biomarker with clinical and medico-legal applications. This study further evaluated the usefulness of dried blood spot (DBS) samples collected on filter paper for PEth measurement. Specimens used were surplus volumes of venous whole blood sent for routine LC-MS/MS quantification of PEth 16:0/18:1, the major PEth homolog. DBS samples were prepared by pipetting blood on Whatman 903 Protein Saver Cards and onto a volumetric DBS device (Capitainer). The imprecision (CV) of the DBS sample amount based on area and weight measurements of spot punches were 23-28%. Investigation of the relationship between blood hematocrit and PEth concentration yielded a linear, positive correlation, and at around 1.0-1.5μmol/L PEth 16:0/18:1, the PEth concentration increased by ~0.1μmol/L for every 5% increase in hematocrit. There was a close agreement between the PEth concentrations obtained with whole blood samples and the corresponding results using Whatman 903 (PEth DBS =1.026 PEth WB +0.013) and volumetric device (PEth DBS =1.045 PEth WB +0.016) DBS samples. The CV of PEth quantification in DBS samples at concentrations≥0.05μmol/L were ≤15%. The present results further confirmed the usefulness of DBS samples for PEth measurement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Ink-constrained halftoning with application to QR codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayeh, Marzieh; Compaan, Erin; Lindsey, Theodore; Orlow, Nathan; Melczer, Stephen; Voller, Zachary

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines adding visually significant, human recognizable data into QR codes without affecting their machine readability by utilizing known methods in image processing. Each module of a given QR code is broken down into pixels, which are halftoned in such a way as to keep the QR code structure while revealing aspects of the secondary image to the human eye. The loss of information associated to this procedure is discussed, and entropy values are calculated for examples given in the paper. Numerous examples of QR codes with embedded images are included.

  14. Asymmetric-cut variable-incident-angle monochromator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smither, R K; Graber, T J; Fernandez, P B; Mills, D M

    2012-03-01

    A novel asymmetric-cut variable-incident-angle monochromator was constructed and tested in 1997 at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory. The monochromator was originally designed as a high heat load monochromator capable of handling 5-10 kW beams from a wiggler source. This was accomplished by spreading the x-ray beam out on the surface an asymmetric-cut crystal and by using liquid metal cooling of the first crystal. The monochromator turned out to be a highly versatile monochromator that could perform many different types of experiments. The monochromator consisted of two 18° asymmetrically cut Si crystals that could be rotated about 3 independent axes. The first stage (Φ) rotates the crystal around an axis perpendicular to the diffraction plane. This rotation changes the angle of the incident beam with the surface of the crystal without changing the Bragg angle. The second rotation (Ψ) is perpendicular to the first and is used to control the shape of the beam footprint on the crystal. The third rotation (Θ) controls the Bragg angle. Besides the high heat load application, the use of asymmetrically cut crystals allows one to increase or decrease the acceptance angle for crystal diffraction of a monochromatic x-ray beam and allows one to increase or decrease the wavelength bandwidth of the diffraction of a continuum source like a bending-magnet beam or a normal x-ray-tube source. When the monochromator is used in the doubly expanding mode, it is possible to expand the vertical size of the double-diffracted beam by a factor of 10-15. When this was combined with a bending magnet source, it was possible to generate an 8 keV area beam, 16 mm wide by 26 mm high with a uniform intensity and parallel to 1.2 arc sec that could be applied in imaging experiments.

  15. DBS in Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelo Lavano

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD is a debilitating psychiatric condition for which pharmacological therapy is not always solvable. Various treatments have been suggested and deep brain stimulation (DBS is currently under investigation for patients affected by PTSD. We review the neurocircuitry and up-to-date clinical concepts which are behind the use of DBS in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD. The role of DBS in treatment-refractory PTSD patients has been investigated relying on both preclinical and clinical studies. DBS for PTSD is in its preliminary phases and likely to provide hope for patients with medical refractory PTSD following the results of randomized controlled studies.

  16. D.B.S. in disordered insulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bunch, J.M.

    1976-01-01

    These studies were undertaken in order to determine insulator properties for the CTR program. Most of the d.b.s. studies so far have been with various forms of Al 2 O 3 . Some work using fission neutrons and 15-MeV protons along with some high-energy heavy ions is briefly described. Attempts to measure d.b.s. and other electrical properties are mentioned

  17. Halftoning for high-contrast imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kasper M.

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available High-contrast instruments, such as SPHERE (upcoming planet finder instrument for the ESO-VLT, or EPICS (planet hunter project for the future E-ELT, will require customized components with spatially varying transmission (e.g. coronagraphs, optical components that reduce the contrast between a companion and its parent star. The goal of these sub-systems is to control the spatial transmission, either in a pupil plane (pupil apodization, or in a focal plane of the instrument (occulting mask, i.e. low-frequency filter. Reliably producing components with spatially varying transmission is not trivial, and different techniques have been already investigated for application to astronomy (e.g. metal deposition with spatially-varying thickness, or high-energy beam sensitive glass using e-beam lithography. We present some results related to the recent development of components with spatially varying transmission using a relatively simple technique analogous to the digital halftoning process used for printing applications.

  18. Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (DBS: Konzept, Umsetzung und Perspektiven für eine umfassende Datenbasis zum Bibliothekswesen in Deutschland: 10 Fragen von Bruno Bauer an Ronald M. Schmidt, Leiter der DBS / Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (DBS: Concept, implementation and prospect for a comprehensive database on library statistics in Germany: 10 questions interview with Ronald M. Schmidt, head of DBS, by Bruno Bauer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schmidt, Ronald M.

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The DBS, Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (German Library Statistics, http://www.bibliotheksstatistik.de, reports since 1974. Around 9000 libraries file data on facilities, equipment, holdings, usage, budget and staff.Data collection, evaluation, and presentation today are carried out online only. Aim of DBS is the formation of a national data pool containing statistical data on all types of libraries.The interview informs about the concept of DBS and its differentation of public, university and specialised libraries. It covers at length the increasing important topic of data collection of holdings and usage in digital libraries. The DBS process of data evaluation and publication will be described and connections between DBS and the library benchmark index BIX will be explained. Finally international cooperation options for DBS will be discussed.

  19. DBS-LC-MS/MS assay for caffeine: validation and neonatal application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruschettini, Matteo; Barco, Sebastiano; Romantsik, Olga; Risso, Francesco; Gennai, Iulian; Chinea, Benito; Ramenghi, Luca A; Tripodi, Gino; Cangemi, Giuliana

    2016-09-01

    DBS might be an appropriate microsampling technique for therapeutic drug monitoring of caffeine in infants. Nevertheless, its application presents several issues that still limit its use. This paper describes a validated DBS-LC-MS/MS method for caffeine. The results of the method validation showed an hematocrit dependence. In the analysis of 96 paired plasma and DBS clinical samples, caffeine levels measured in DBS were statistically significantly lower than in plasma but the observed differences were independent from hematocrit. These results clearly showed the need for extensive validation with real-life samples for DBS-based methods. DBS-LC-MS/MS can be considered to be a good alternative to traditional methods for therapeutic drug monitoring or PK studies in preterm infants.

  20. APS high heat load monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, W.K.; Mills, D.

    1993-02-01

    This document contains the design specifications of the APS high heat load (HHL) monochromator and associated accessories as of February 1993. It should be noted that work is continuing on many parts of the monochromator including the mechanical design, crystal cooling designs, etc. Where appropriate, we have tried to add supporting documentation, references to published papers, and calculations from which we based our decisions. The underlying philosophy behind performance specifications of this monochromator was to fabricate a device that would be useful to as many APS users as possible, that is, the design should be as generic as possible. In other words, we believe that this design will be capable of operating on both bending magnet and ID beamlines (with the appropriate changes to the cooling and crystals) with both flat and inclined crystal geometries and with a variety of coolants. It was strongly felt that this monochromator should have good energy scanning capabilities over the classical energy range of about 4 to 20 keywith Si (111) crystals. For this reason, a design incorporating one rotation stage to drive both the first and second crystals was considered most promising. Separate rotary stages for the first and second crystals can sometimes provide more flexibility in their capacities to carry heavy loads (for heavily cooled first crystals or sagittal benders of second crystals), but their tuning capabilities were considered inferior to the single axis approach

  1. Temperature control at DBS electrodes using a heat sink: experimentally validated FEM model of DBS lead architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elwassif, Maged M.; Datta, Abhishek; Rahman, Asif; Bikson, Marom

    2012-08-01

    There is a growing interest in the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of medically refractory movement disorders and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. The extent of temperature increases around DBS electrodes during normal operation (joule heating and increased metabolic activity) or coupling with an external source (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging) remains poorly understood and methods to mitigate temperature increases are being actively investigated. We developed a heat transfer finite element method (FEM) simulation of DBS incorporating the realistic architecture of Medtronic 3389 leads. The temperature changes were analyzed considering different electrode configurations, stimulation protocols and tissue properties. The heat-transfer model results were then validated using micro-thermocouple measurements during DBS lead stimulation in a saline bath. FEM results indicate that lead design (materials and geometry) may have a central role in controlling temperature rise by conducting heat. We show how modifying lead design can effectively control temperature increases. The robustness of this heat-sink approach over complimentary heat-mitigation technologies follows from several features: (1) it is insensitive to the mechanisms of heating (e.g. nature of magnetic coupling); (2) it does not interfere with device efficacy; and (3) can be practically implemented in a broad range of implanted devices without modifying the normal device operations or the implant procedure.

  2. Monochromated scanning transmission electron microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechberger, W.; Kothleitner, G.; Hofer, F.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has developed into an established technique for chemical and structural analysis of thin specimens in the (scanning) transmission electron microscope (S)TEM. The energy resolution in EELS is largely limited by the stability of the high voltage supply, by the resolution of the spectrometer and by the energy spread of the source. To overcome this limitation a Wien filter monochromator was recently introduced with commercially available STEMs, offering the advantage to better resolve EELS fine structures, which contain valuable bonding information. The method of atomic resolution Z-contrast imaging within an STEM, utilizing a high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) detector can perfectly complement the excellent energy resolution, since EELS spectra can be collected simultaneously. In combination with a monochromator microscope not only high spatial resolution images can be recorded but also high energy resolution EELS spectra are attainable. In this work we investigated the STEM performance of a 200 kV monochromated Tecnai F20 with a high resolution Gatan Imaging Filter (HR-GIF). (author)

  3. The RAI DBS experiment with Olympus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelli, Enzo

    The Italian broadcasting network (RAI) has studied the development of a national DBS service in an effort to outline a proposal for a space segment configuration compatible with development of new services, including HDTV. Proposals so far considered feature the integration of RAI's channel on Olympus in a future operational system and after extensive experimental use. Contents of the experimental program are discussed, and need for a broadcasting standard which considers projected introduction of HDTV is noted. The debate between RAI and consumer electronic industries on the use of broadcasting standards is outlined. The position of RAI in the context of HDTV and DBS is defined and the issue of determining the most effective transmission standard during the experimental stage is raised. It is pointed out that, in the absence of new production facilities for HDTV, the maximum quality which MAC will yield will be that of PAL since programs must be produced in PAL and then converted into MAC. Two alternatives for strategy on the use of broadcasting standards for DBS are offered. Finally, technical experiments and a market survey are discussed.

  4. PyDBS: an automated image processing workflow for deep brain stimulation surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Albis, Tiziano; Haegelen, Claire; Essert, Caroline; Fernández-Vidal, Sara; Lalys, Florent; Jannin, Pierre

    2015-02-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure for treating motor-related neurological disorders. DBS clinical efficacy hinges on precise surgical planning and accurate electrode placement, which in turn call upon several image processing and visualization tasks, such as image registration, image segmentation, image fusion, and 3D visualization. These tasks are often performed by a heterogeneous set of software tools, which adopt differing formats and geometrical conventions and require patient-specific parameterization or interactive tuning. To overcome these issues, we introduce in this article PyDBS, a fully integrated and automated image processing workflow for DBS surgery. PyDBS consists of three image processing pipelines and three visualization modules assisting clinicians through the entire DBS surgical workflow, from the preoperative planning of electrode trajectories to the postoperative assessment of electrode placement. The system's robustness, speed, and accuracy were assessed by means of a retrospective validation, based on 92 clinical cases. The complete PyDBS workflow achieved satisfactory results in 92 % of tested cases, with a median processing time of 28 min per patient. The results obtained are compatible with the adoption of PyDBS in clinical practice.

  5. DBS -- An rlogin multiplexer and output logger for DA systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oleynik, G.; Appleton, L.; Udumula, L.; Votava, M.

    1994-04-01

    DART Bootstrap Services (dbs) is the first component of run-control for the DART Data Acquisition system -- the DA for the 96' round of experiments at Fermilab -- though it has potential usefulness as a powerful tool in other distributed applications. dbs is an rlogin session multiplexer. It allows a user, running a single program, to start up any number of remote login sessions, feed shell commands to them, and collect their output into a single (or multiple) log files (a server keeps the sessions open and collects their output). From this program, any session can be attached to interactively so it appears just like an rlogin session -- dbs becomes transparent. When finished with this interactive mode, the user can escape back to dbs and attach to a different session if so desired. Among many other useful features, dbs supplies a mechanism for cleanup (deletion) of all processes created under a session, allowing a fresh start

  6. DBS - an rlogin multiplexor and output logger for DA systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oleynik, G.; Appleton, L.; Udumula, L.; Votava, M.

    1994-01-01

    DART Bootstrap Services (dbs) is the first component of run-control for the DART Data Acquisition system - the DA for the 96' round of experiments at Fermilab - though it has potential usefulness as a powerful tool in other distributed applications, dbs is an rlogin session multiplexer. It allows a user, running a single program, to start up any number of remote login sessions, feed shell commands to them, and collect their output into a single (or multiple) logfiles (a server keeps the sessions open and collects their output). From this program, any session can be attached to interactively so it appears just like an rlogin session - dbs becomes transparent. When finished with this interactive mode, the user can escape back to dbs and attach to a different session if so desired. Among many other useful features, dbs supplies a mechanism for cleanup (deletion) of all processes created under a session, allowing a fresh start

  7. A pseudo-curved oriented pyrolytic graphite neutron monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ettedgui, H.; Gurewitz, E.; Pinto, H.

    1979-03-01

    A pseudo-curved neutron monochromator with a continuously variable curvature was constructed with four flat pieces of oriented pyrolytic graphite (OPG). Curvatures which yield maximum diffracted intensities were determined for neutrons of wavelengths 1 A and 2.4 A. The increase of the intensity relatively to that of a flat monochromator is by a factor of 2 and 1.5, for 1 A and 2.4 A, respectively. The neutron flux at three positions along the neutron path was determined by gold foils activation and compared with the flux from flat monochromators of OPG and copper

  8. Variable angle asymmetric cut monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smither, R.K.; Fernandez, P.B.

    1993-09-01

    A variable incident angle, asymmetric cut, double crystal monochromator was tested for use on beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). For both undulator and wiggler beams the monochromator can expand area of footprint of beam on surface of the crystals to 50 times the area of incident beam; this will reduce the slope errors by a factor of 2500. The asymmetric cut allows one to increase the acceptance angle for incident radiation and obtain a better match to the opening angle of the incident beam. This can increase intensity of the diffracted beam by a factor of 2 to 5 and can make the beam more monochromatic, as well. The monochromator consists of two matched, asymmetric cut (18 degrees), silicon crystals mounted so that they can be rotated about three independent axes. Rotation around the first axis controls the Bragg angle. The second rotation axis is perpendicular to the diffraction planes and controls the increase of the area of the footprint of the beam on the crystal surface. Rotation around the third axis controls the angle between the surface of the crystal and the wider, horizontal axis for the beam and can make the footprint a rectangle with a minimum. length for this area. The asymmetric cut is 18 degrees for the matched pair of crystals, which allows one to expand the footprint area by a factor of 50 for Bragg angles up to 19.15 degrees (6 keV for Si[111] planes). This monochromator, with proper cooling, will be useful for analyzing the high intensity x-ray beams produced by both undulators and wigglers at the APS

  9. Second crystal cooling on cryogenically cooled undulator and wiggler double crystal monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knapp, G. S.

    1998-01-01

    Simple methods for the cooling of the second crystals of cryogenically cooled undulator and wiggler double crystal monochromators are described. Copper braids between the first and second crystals are used to cool the second crystals of the double crystal monochromators. The method has proved successful for an undulator monochromator and we describe a design for a wiggler monochromator

  10. DBS Programming: An Evolving Approach for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aparna Wagle Shukla

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS surgery is a well-established therapy for control of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Despite an appropriate targeting and an accurate placement of DBS lead, a thorough and efficient programming is critical for a successful clinical outcome. DBS programming is a time consuming and laborious manual process. The current approach involves use of general guidelines involving determination of the lead type, electrode configuration, impedance check, and battery check. However there are no validated and well-established programming protocols. In this review, we will discuss the current practice and the recent advances in DBS programming including the use of interleaving, fractionated current, directional steering of current, and the use of novel DBS pulses. These technological improvements are focused on achieving a more efficient control of clinical symptoms with the least possible side effects. Other promising advances include the introduction of computer guided programming which will likely impact the efficiency of programming for the clinicians and the possibility of remote Internet based programming which will improve access to DBS care for the patients.

  11. Comparison of weight changes following unilateral and staged bilateral STN DBS for advanced PD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eric M; Kurundkar, Ashish; Cutter, Gary R; Huang, He; Guthrie, Barton L; Watts, Ray L; Walker, Harrison C

    2011-09-01

    Unilateral and bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) result in weight gain in the initial postoperative months, but little is known about the changes in weight following unilateral and staged bilateral STN DBS over longer time intervals. A case-control comparison evaluated weight changes over 2 years in 43 consecutive unilateral STN DBS patients, among whom 25 elected to undergo staged bilateral STN DBS, and 21 age-matched and disease severity matched PD controls without DBS. Regression analyses incorporating age, gender, and baseline weight in case or control were conducted to assess weight changes 2 years after the initial unilateral surgery. Unilateral STN DBS and staged bilateral STN DBS patients gained 3.9 ± 2.0 kg and 5.6 ± 2.1 kg versus their preoperative baseline weight (P < 0.001, respectively) while PD controls without DBS lost 0.8 ± 1.1 kg. Although bilateral STN DBS patients gained 1.7 kg more than unilateral STN DBS patients at 2 years, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.885). Although there was a trend toward greater weight gain in staged bilateral STN DBS patients versus unilateral patients, we found no evidence for an equivalent or synergistic increase in body weight following placement of the second DBS electrode.

  12. Development of Bent Perfect Crystal Monochromator (II): Experiments for the evaluation of BPC for a monochromator of neutron diffractometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Yong Nam; Kim, Shin Ae; Lee, Chang Hee [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sung Kyu [Pusan National Univ., Pusan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seong Baek [Kookmin Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Mikula, P. [NPI, Prague (Czech Republic)

    2004-11-01

    Various experimental properties of BPC monochromator at the FCD mode of the ST1 test station have been investigated. To test and verify the performance of the Si-BPC monochromator for the substitutional monochromator, diffraction measurements using copper single crystal and polycrystalline copper rod at various diffraction geometries were carried out. Considering the situation of FCD instrument which is used for both single crystal and texture measurement, a special cut silicon BPC slab which contains (331), (311) and (220) diffraction planes would be a best candidate. Diffraction measurements at the monochromatic focusing is the first experimental demonstration of the theoretical properties and give us a suggestion that the simultaneous measurement at both parallel and anti-parallel diffraction positions could be achievable with a reasonal resolution property as well as the intensity gain.

  13. Subject-specific computational modeling of DBS in the PPTg area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura M. Zitella

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg has been proposed to alleviate medically intractable gait difficulties associated with Parkinson’s disease. Clinical trials have shown somewhat variable outcomes, stemming in part from surgical targeting variability, modulating fiber pathways implicated in side effects, and a general lack of mechanistic understanding of DBS in this brain region. Subject-specific computational models of DBS are a promising tool to investigate the underlying therapy and side effects. In this study, a parkinsonian rhesus macaque was implanted unilaterally with an 8-contact DBS lead in the PPTg region. Fiber tracts adjacent to PPTg, including the oculomotor nerve, central tegmental tract, and superior cerebellar peduncle, were reconstructed from a combination of pre-implant 7T MRI, post-implant CT, and post-mortem histology. These structures were populated with axon models and coupled with a finite element model simulating the voltage distribution in the surrounding neural tissue during stimulation. This study introduces two empirical approaches to evaluate model parameters. First, incremental monopolar cathodic stimulation (20Hz, 90µs pulse width was evaluated for each electrode, during which a right eyelid flutter was observed at the proximal four contacts (-1.0 to -1.4mA. These current amplitudes followed closely with model predicted activation of the oculomotor nerve when assuming an anisotropic conduction medium. Second, PET imaging was collected OFF-DBS and twice during DBS (two different contacts, which supported the model predicted activation of the central tegmental tract and superior cerebellar peduncle. Together, subject-specific models provide a framework to more precisely predict pathways modulated by DBS.

  14. Multi-layer monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoenborn, B.P.; Caspar, D.L.D.

    1975-01-01

    This invention provides an artificial monochromator crystal for efficiently selecting a narrow band of neutron wavelengths from a neutron beam having a Maxwellian wavelength distribution, by providing on a substrate a plurality of germanium layers, and alternate periodic layers of a different metal having tailored thicknesses, shapes, and volumetric and neutron scattering densities. (U.S.)

  15. Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (DBS): Konzept, Umsetzung und Perspektiven für eine umfassende Datenbasis zum Bibliothekswesen in Deutschland: 10 Fragen von Bruno Bauer an Ronald M. Schmidt, Leiter der DBS / Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (DBS): Concept, implementation and prospect for a comprehensive database on library statistics in Germany: 10 questions interview with Ronald M. Schmidt, head of DBS, by Bruno Bauer

    OpenAIRE

    Schmidt, Ronald M.; Bauer, Bruno

    2008-01-01

    The DBS, Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (German Library Statistics, http://www.bibliotheksstatistik.de), reports since 1974. Around 9000 libraries file data on facilities, equipment, holdings, usage, budget and staff.Data collection, evaluation, and presentation today are carried out online only. Aim of DBS is the formation of a national data pool containing statistical data on all types of libraries.The interview informs about the concept of DBS and its differentation of public, university an...

  16. Medical image of the week: DBS polysomnogram artifact

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shetty S,

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A 79-year-old man with known Parkinson’s disease and status post deep brain stimulator (DBS implantation underwent an overnight polysomnogram for clinical suspicion of obstructive sleep apnea. Artifact was seen on the polysomnogram recording (Figures 1 & 2. Patient-related electrical artifacts may be seen from devices such as pacemakers, deep brain stimulators and vagal nerve simulators. Abrupt discontinuation of DBS is associated with a high likelihood of worsening of symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease (1. Patients with DBS are most commonly programmed in monopolar mode. Bipolar configuration, forms a short electrical dipole that affects a relatively smaller volume of tissue and generates far less artifact, suggesting that this may be an effective option in a Parkinsonian patient with indications for polysomnography (2.

  17. Monolithic I-Beam Crystal Monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bagnasco, John

    2001-10-16

    Curved crystal, focusing monochromators featuring cubed-root thickness profiles typically employ side-clamped cooling to reduce thermally induced overall bend deformation of the crystal. While performance is improved, residual bend deformation is often an important limiting factor in the monochromator performance. A slightly asymmetric ``I-beam'' crystal cross section with cubed-root flange profiles has been developed to further reduce this effect. Physical motivation, finite-element modeling evaluation and performance characteristics of this design are discussed. Reduction of high mounting stress at the fixed end of the crystal required the soldering of an Invar support fixture to the crystal. Detailed descriptions of this process along with its performance characteristics are also presented.

  18. Autonomy in Depressive Patients Undergoing DBS-Treatment: Informed Consent, Freedom of Will and DBS' Potential to Restore It.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beeker, Timo; Schlaepfer, Thomas E; Coenen, Volker A

    2017-01-01

    According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the most common and most disabling psychiatric disorders, affecting at any given time approximately 325 million people worldwide. As there is strong evidence that depressive disorders are associated with a dynamic dysregulation of neural circuits involved in emotional processing, recently several attempts have been made to intervene directly in these circuits via deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Given the promising results of most of these studies, the rising medical interest in this new treatment correlates with a growing sensitivity to ethical questions. One of the most crucial concerns is that DBS might interfere with patients' ability to make autonomous decisions. Thus, the goal of this article is to evaluate the impact DBS presumably has on the capacity to decide and act autonomously in patients with MDD in the light of the autonomy-undermining effects depression has itself. Following the chronological order of the procedure, special attention will first be paid to depression's effects on patients' capacity to make use of their free will in giving valid Informed Consent. We suggest that while the majority of patients with MDD appear capable of autonomous choices, as it is required for Informed Consent, they might still be unable to effectively act according to their own will whenever acting includes significant personal effort. In reducing disabling depressive symptoms like anhedonia and decrease of energy, DBS for treatment resistant MDD thus rather seems to be an opportunity to substantially increase autonomy than a threat to it.

  19. The development of a 200 kV monochromated field emission electron source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mukai, Masaki, E-mail: mmukai@jeol.co.jp [JEOL Ltd., 3-1-2 Musashino, Akishima, Tokyo 196-8558 (Japan); Kim, Judy S. [University of Oxford, Department of Materials, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Omoto, Kazuya; Sawada, Hidetaka; Kimura, Atsushi; Ikeda, Akihiro; Zhou, Jun; Kaneyama, Toshikatsu [JEOL Ltd., 3-1-2 Musashino, Akishima, Tokyo 196-8558 (Japan); Young, Neil P.; Warner, Jamie H.; Nellist, Peter D.; Kirkland, Angus I. [University of Oxford, Department of Materials, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH (United Kingdom)

    2014-05-01

    We report the development of a monochromator for an intermediate-voltage aberration-corrected electron microscope suitable for operation in both STEM and TEM imaging modes. The monochromator consists of two Wien filters with a variable energy selecting slit located between them and is located prior to the accelerator. The second filter cancels the energy dispersion produced by the first filter and after energy selection forms a round monochromated, achromatic probe at the specimen plane. The ultimate achievable energy resolution has been measured as 36 meV at 200 kV and 26 meV at 80 kV. High-resolution Annular Dark Field STEM images recorded using a monochromated probe resolve Si–Si spacings of 135.8 pm using energy spreads of 218 meV at 200 kV and 217 meV at 80 kV respectively. In TEM mode an improvement in non-linear spatial resolution to 64 pm due to the reduction in the effects of partial temporal coherence has been demonstrated using broad beam illumination with an energy spread of 134 meV at 200 kV. - Highlights: • Monochromator for 200 kV aberration corrected TEM and STEM was developed. • Monochromator produces monochromated and achromatic probe at specimen plane. • Ultimate energy resolution was measured to be 36 meV at 200 kV and 26 meV at 80 kV. • Atomic resolution STEM images were recorded using monochromated electron probe. • Improvements of TEM resolution were confirmed using monochromated illumination.

  20. The development of a 200 kV monochromated field emission electron source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukai, Masaki; Kim, Judy S.; Omoto, Kazuya; Sawada, Hidetaka; Kimura, Atsushi; Ikeda, Akihiro; Zhou, Jun; Kaneyama, Toshikatsu; Young, Neil P.; Warner, Jamie H.; Nellist, Peter D.; Kirkland, Angus I.

    2014-01-01

    We report the development of a monochromator for an intermediate-voltage aberration-corrected electron microscope suitable for operation in both STEM and TEM imaging modes. The monochromator consists of two Wien filters with a variable energy selecting slit located between them and is located prior to the accelerator. The second filter cancels the energy dispersion produced by the first filter and after energy selection forms a round monochromated, achromatic probe at the specimen plane. The ultimate achievable energy resolution has been measured as 36 meV at 200 kV and 26 meV at 80 kV. High-resolution Annular Dark Field STEM images recorded using a monochromated probe resolve Si–Si spacings of 135.8 pm using energy spreads of 218 meV at 200 kV and 217 meV at 80 kV respectively. In TEM mode an improvement in non-linear spatial resolution to 64 pm due to the reduction in the effects of partial temporal coherence has been demonstrated using broad beam illumination with an energy spread of 134 meV at 200 kV. - Highlights: • Monochromator for 200 kV aberration corrected TEM and STEM was developed. • Monochromator produces monochromated and achromatic probe at specimen plane. • Ultimate energy resolution was measured to be 36 meV at 200 kV and 26 meV at 80 kV. • Atomic resolution STEM images were recorded using monochromated electron probe. • Improvements of TEM resolution were confirmed using monochromated illumination

  1. Recent trends in digital halftoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delabastita, Paul A.

    1997-02-01

    Screening is perhaps the oldest form of image processing. The word refers to the mechanical cross line screens that were used at the beginning of this century for the purpose of photomechanical reproduction. Later on, these mechanical screens were replaced by photographic contact screens that enabled significantly improved process control. In the early eighties, the optical screening on graphic arts scanners was replaced by a combination of laser optics and electronic screening. The algorithms, however, were still digital implementations of the original optical methods. The printing needs in the fast growing computer and software industry gave birth to a number of alternative printing technologies such as electrophotographic and inkjet printing. Originally these deices were only designed for printing text, but soon people started experimenting and using them for printing images. The relatively low spatial resolutions of these new devices however made complete review of 'the screening issue' necessary to achieve an acceptable image quality. In this paper a number of recent developments in screening technology are summarized. Special attention is given to the interaction that exists between a halftone screen and the printing devices on which they are rendered including the color mixing behavior. Improved screening techniques are presented that take advantage of modeling the physical behavior of the rendering device.

  2. Color digital halftoning taking colorimetric color reproduction into account

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haneishi, Hideaki; Suzuki, Toshiaki; Shimoyama, Nobukatsu; Miyake, Yoichi

    1996-01-01

    Taking colorimetric color reproduction into account, the conventional error diffusion method is modified for color digital half-toning. Assuming that the input to a bilevel color printer is given in CIE-XYZ tristimulus values or CIE-LAB values instead of the more conventional RGB or YMC values, two modified versions based on vector operation in (1) the XYZ color space and (2) the LAB color space were tested. Experimental results show that the modified methods, especially the method using the LAB color space, resulted in better color reproduction performance than the conventional methods. Spatial artifacts that appear in the modified methods are presented and analyzed. It is also shown that the modified method (2) with a thresholding technique achieves a good spatial image quality.

  3. High Heat Load Diamond Monochromator Project at ESRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van aerenbergh, P.; Detlefs, C.; Haertwig, J.; Lafford, T. A.; Masiello, F.; Roth, T.; Schmid, W.; Wattecamps, P.; Zhang, L.

    2010-01-01

    Due to its outstanding thermal properties, diamond is an attractive alternative to silicon as a monochromator material for high intensity X-ray beams. To date, however, the practical applications have been limited by the small size and relatively poor crystallographic quality of the crystals available. The ESRF Diamond Project Group has studied the perfection of diamonds in collaboration with industry and universities. The group has also designed and tested different stress-free mounting techniques to integrate small diamonds into larger X-ray optical elements. We now propose to develop a water-cooled Bragg-Bragg double crystal monochromator using diamond (111) crystals. It will be installed on the ESRF undulator beamline, ID06, for testing under high heat load. This monochromator will be best suited for the low energy range, typically from ∼3.4 keV to 15 keV, due to the small size of the diamonds available and the size of the beam footprint. This paper presents stress-free mounting techniques studied using X-ray diffraction imaging, and their thermal-mechanical analysis by finite element modelling, as well as the status of the ID06 monochromator project.

  4. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles by surface-capping DBS groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Baiqi; Jing Liqiang; Qu Yichun; Li Shudan; Jiang Baojiang; Yang Libin; Xin Baifu; Fu Honggang

    2006-01-01

    TiO 2 nanoparticles capped with sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) are synthesized by a sol-hydrothermal process using tetrabutyl titanate and DBS as raw materials. The effects of surface-capping DBS on the surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS), photoluminescence (PL) and photocatalytic performance of TiO 2 nanoparticles are principally investigated together with their relationships. The results show that the surface of TiO 2 nanoparticles can be well capped by DBS groups while the pH value and added DBS amount are controlled at 5.0 and 2% of TiO 2 mass weight, respectively, and the linkage between DBS groups and TiO 2 surfaces is mainly by means of quasi-sulphonate bond. The intensities of SPS and PL spectra of TiO 2 obviously decrease after DBS-capping, while the activity can greatly increase during the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution, which are mainly attributed to the electron-withdrawing character of the DBS groups. Moreover, the enhancement of photocatalytic activity of DBS-capped TiO 2 is also related to the increase in the capability for adsorbing RhB

  5. Test results of a diamond double-crystal monochromator at the advanced photon source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, P.B.; Graber, T.; Krasnicki, S.; Lee, W.; Mills, D.M.; Rogers, C.S.; Assoufid, L.

    1997-01-01

    We have tested the first diamond double-crystal monochromator at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The monochromator consisted of two synthetic type 1b (111) diamond plates in symmetric Bragg geometry. We tested two pairs of single-crystal plates: the first pair was 6 mm by 5 mm by 0.25 mm and 6 mm by 5 mm by 0.37 mm; the second set was 7 mm by 5.5 mm by 0.44 mm. The monochromator first crystal was indirectly cooled by edge contact with a water-cooled copper holder. We studied the performance of the monochromator under the high-power x-ray beam delivered by the APS undulator A. We found no indication of thermal distortions or strains even at the highest incident power (280 watts) and power density (123W/mm 2 at normal incidence). The calculated maximum power and power density absorbed by the first crystal were 37 watts and 4.3W/mm 2 , respectively. We also compared the maximum intensity delivered by the diamond monochromator and by a silicon (111) cryogenically cooled monochromator. For energies in the range of 6 to 10 keV, the flux through the diamond monochromator was about a factor of two less than through the silicon monochromator, in good agreement with calculations. We conclude that water-cooled diamond monochromators can handle the high-power beams from the undulator beamlines at the APS. As single-crystal diamond plates of larger size and better quality become available, the use of diamond monochromators will become a very attractive option. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  6. Development of an automated scanning monochromator for sensitivity calibration of the MUSTANG instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivers, Thane D.

    1992-06-01

    An Automated Scanning Monochromator was developed using: an Acton Research Corporation (ARC) Monochromator, Ealing Photomultiplier Tube and a Macintosh PC in conjunction with LabVIEW software. The LabVIEW Virtual Instrument written to operate the ARC Monochromator is a mouse driven user friendly program developed for automated spectral data measurements. Resolution and sensitivity of the Automated Scanning Monochromator System were determined experimentally. The Automated monochromator was then used for spectral measurements of a Platinum Lamp. Additionally, the reflectivity curve for a BaSO4 coated screen has been measured. Reflectivity measurements indicate a large discrepancy with expected results. Further analysis of the reflectivity experiment is required for conclusive results.

  7. Motor and non-motor circuitry activation induced by subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in Parkinson’s disease patients: Intraoperative fMRI for DBS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Emily J.; Testini, Paola; Min, Hoon-Ki; Gibson, William S.; Gorny, Krzysztof R.; Favazza, Christopher P.; Felmlee, Joel P.; Kim, Inyong; Welker, Kirk M.; Clayton, Daniel A.; Klassen, Bryan T.; Chang, Su-youne; Lee, Kendall H.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To test the hypothesis suggested by previous studies that subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with PD would affect the activity of both motor and non-motor networks, we applied intraoperative fMRI to patients receiving DBS. Patients and Methods Ten patients receiving STN DBS for PD underwent intraoperative 1.5T fMRI during high frequency stimulation delivered via an external pulse generator. The study was conducted between the dates of January 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. Results We observed blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes (FDR<.001) in the motor circuitry, including primary motor, premotor, and supplementary motor cortices, thalamus, pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), and cerebellum, as well as in the limbic circuitry, including cingulate and insular cortices. Activation of the motor network was observed also after applying a Bonferroni correction (p<.001) to our dataset, suggesting that, across subjects, BOLD changes in the motor circuitry are more consistent compared to those occurring in the non-motor network. Conclusions These findings support the modulatory role of STN DBS on the activity of motor and non-motor networks, and suggest complex mechanisms at the basis of the efficacy of this treatment modality. Furthermore, these results suggest that, across subjects, BOLD changes in the motor circuitry are more consistent compared to those occurring in the non-motor network. With further studies combining the use of real time intraoperative fMRI with clinical outcomes in patients treated with DBS, functional imaging techniques have the potential not only to elucidate the mechanisms of DBS functioning, but also to guide and assist in the surgical treatment of patients affected by movement and neuropsychiatric disorders. PMID:26046412

  8. Microcontroller-based servo for two-crystal X-ray monochromators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siddons, D P

    1998-05-01

    Microcontrollers have become increasingly easy to incorporate into instruments as the architectures and support tools have developed. The PIC series is particularly easy to use, and this paper describes a controller used to stabilize the output of a two-crystal X-ray monochromator at a given offset from its peak intensity position, as such monochromators are generally used.

  9. Diamond monochromator for high heat flux synchrotron x-ray beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khounsary, A.M.; Smither, R.K.; Davey, S.; Purohit, A.

    1992-12-01

    Single crystal silicon has been the material of choice for x-ray monochromators for the past several decades. However, the need for suitable monochromators to handle the high heat load of the next generation synchrotron x-ray beams on the one hand and the rapid and on-going advances in synthetic diamond technology on the other make a compelling case for the consideration of a diamond mollochromator system. In this Paper, we consider various aspects, advantage and disadvantages, and promises and pitfalls of such a system and evaluate the comparative an monochromator subjected to the high heat load of the most powerful x-ray beam that will become available in the next few years. The results of experiments performed to evaluate the diffraction properties of a currently available synthetic single crystal diamond are also presented. Fabrication of diamond-based monochromator is within present technical means

  10. Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (DBS): Konzept, Umsetzung und Perspektiven für eine umfassende Datenbasis zum Bibliothekswesen in Deutschland : 10 Fragen von Bruno Bauer an Ronald M. Schmidt, Leiter der DBS

    OpenAIRE

    Bauer, Bruno; Schmidt, Ronald M.

    2008-01-01

    The DBS, Deutsche Bibliotheksstatistik (German Library Statistics, http://www.bibliotheksstatistik.de), reports since 1974. Around 9000 libraries file data on facilities, equipment, holdings, usage, budget and staff. Data collection, evaluation, and presentation today are carried out online only. Aim of DBS is the formation of a national data pool containing statistical data on all types of libraries. The interview informs about the concept of DBS and its differentation of public, unive...

  11. The national DBS brain tissue network pilot study: need for more tissue and more standardization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vedam-Mai, V; Krock, N; Ullman, M; Foote, K D; Shain, W; Smith, K; Yachnis, A T; Steindler, D; Reynolds, B; Merritt, S; Pagan, F; Marjama-Lyons, J; Hogarth, P; Resnick, A S; Zeilman, P; Okun, M S

    2011-08-01

    Over 70,000 DBS devices have been implanted worldwide; however, there remains a paucity of well-characterized post-mortem DBS brains available to researchers. We propose that the overall understanding of DBS can be improved through the establishment of a Deep Brain Stimulation-Brain Tissue Network (DBS-BTN), which will further our understanding of DBS and brain function. The objectives of the tissue bank are twofold: (a) to provide a complete (clinical, imaging and pathological) database for DBS brain tissue samples, and (b) to make available DBS tissue samples to researchers, which will help our understanding of disease and underlying brain circuitry. Standard operating procedures for processing DBS brains were developed as part of the pilot project. Complete data files were created for individual patients and included demographic information, clinical information, imaging data, pathology, and DBS lead locations/settings. 19 DBS brains were collected from 11 geographically dispersed centers from across the U.S. The average age at the time of death was 69.3 years (51-92, with a standard deviation or SD of 10.13). The male:female ratio was almost 3:1. Average post-mortem interval from death to brain collection was 10.6 h (SD of 7.17). The DBS targets included: subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus interna, and ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus. In 16.7% of cases the clinical diagnosis failed to match the pathological diagnosis. We provide neuropathological findings from the cohort, and perilead responses to DBS. One of the most important observations made in this pilot study was the missing data, which was approximately 25% of all available data fields. Preliminary results demonstrated the feasibility and utility of creating a National DBS-BTN resource for the scientific community. We plan to improve our techniques to remedy omitted clinical/research data, and expand the Network to include a larger donor pool. We will enhance sample preparation to

  12. Turning off artistic ability: the influence of left DBS in art production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drago, V; Foster, P S; Okun, M S; Cosentino, F I I; Conigliaro, R; Haq, I; Sudhyadhom, A; Skidmore, F M; Heilman, K M

    2009-06-15

    The influence of Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as deep brain stimulation (DBS) on visual-artistic production of people who have been artists is unclear. We systematically assessed the artistic-creative productions of a patient with PD who was referred to us for management of a left subthalamic region (STN) DBS. The patient was an artist before her disease started, permitting us to analyze changes in her artistic-creative production over the course of the illness and during her treatment with DBS. We collected her paintings from four time periods: Time 1 (Early Pre-Presymptomatic), Time 2 (Later Presymptomatic), Time 3 (Symptomatic), and Time 4 (DBS Symptomatic). A total of 59 paintings were submitted to a panel of judges, who rated the paintings on 6 different artistic qualities including: aesthetics, closure, evocative impact, novelty, representation, technique. Aesthetics and evocative impact significantly declined from Time 2 to Time 4. Representation and technique indicated a curvilinear relationship, with initial improvement from Time 1 to Time 2 followed by a decline from Time 2 to Time 4. These results suggest that left STN/SNR-DBS impacted artistic performances in our patient. The reason for these alterations is not known, but it might be that alterations of left hemisphere functions induce a hemispheric bias reducing the influence the right hemisphere which is important for artistic creativity. The left hemisphere itself plays a critical role in artistic creativity and DBS might have altered left hemisphere functions or altered the mesolimbic system which might have also influenced creativity. Future studies will be required to learn how PD and DBS influence creativity.

  13. Monitoring the onset of neuromuscular blockade with double burst stimulation (DBS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorgias, N; Maidatsi, P; Zaralidou, A; Ourailoglou, V; Fakidou, A; Giala, M

    1998-11-01

    The present study was undertaken to evaluate the suitability of the DBS mode in the determination of the proper time to perform tracheal intubation following cisatracurium muscle relaxation. The DBS3.3 pattern was administered to the ulnar nerve at the wrist in 45 patients paralyzed with cisatracurium 0.15 mg.kg-1 and tracheal intubation was attempted immediately after the disappearance of both palpable contractions of the adductor pollicis. Intubation conditions were assessed with a standard four-graded scoring system and the onset time of the relaxant was determined. Forty-two patients (93%) exhibited acceptable intubation conditions as soon as both responses to DBS were absent and the estimated apparent onset time, according to the stimulation mode applied, was 114.68 +/- 13.2 sec. Our data suggest that disappearance of both palpable responses to DBS3.3 may be used as an accurate predictor of acceptable intubation conditions, following nondepolarizing relaxants such as cisatracurium.

  14. X-ray diffraction characteristics of curved monochromators for sychrotron radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeuf, A.; Rustichelli, F.; Mazkedian, S.; Puliti, P.; Melone, S.

    1978-01-01

    A theoretical study is presented concerning the diffraction characteristics of curved monochromators for X-ray synchrotron radiation used at the laboratories of Hamburg, Orsay and Stanford. The investigation was performed by extending to the X-ray case a simple model recently developed and fruitfully employed to describe the neutron diffraction properties of curved monochromators. Several diffraction patterns were obtained corresponding to different monochromator materials (Ge, Si) used by the different laboratories, for different reflecting planes (111), (220), asymmetry angles, X-ray wave-lengths (Mo Kα, Cu Kα, Cr Kα) and curvature radii. The results are discussed in physical terms and their implications on the design of curved monochromators for synchrotron radiation are presented. In particular, the study shows that all the monochromators used in the different laboratories should behave practically as perfect crystals and therefore should have a very low integrated reflectivity corresponding to an optimized wavelength passband Δlambda/lambda approximately 10 -4 . The gain that can be obtained by increasing the curvature, by introducing a gradient in the lattice spacing or by any other kind of imperfection is quite limited and much lower than the desirable value. The adopted model can help in obtaining a possible moderate gain in intensity by also taking into consideration other parameters, such as crystal material, reflecting plane, asymmetry of the reflection and X-ray wavelength. (Auth.)

  15. Designing and commissioning of a prototype double Laue monochromator at CHESS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, J. Y. Peter; Oswald, Benjamin B.; Savino, James J.; Pauling, Alan K.; Lyndaker, Aaron; Revesz, Peter; Miller, Matthew P.; Brock, Joel D.

    2014-03-01

    High-energy X-rays are efficiently focused sagittally by a set of asymmetric Laue (transmission) crystals. We designed, built and commissioned a prototype double Laue monochromator ((111) reflection in Si(100)) optimized for high-energy X-rays (30-60 keV). Here, we report our design of novel prototype sagittal bender and highlight results from recent characterization experiments. The design of the bender combines the tuneable bending control afforded by previous leaf-spring designs with the stability and small size of a four-bar bender. The prototype monochromator focuses a 25 mm-wide white beam incident on the first monochromator crystal to a monochromatized 0.6 mm beam waist in the experimental station. Compared to the flux in the same focal spot with the Bragg crystal (without focusing), the prototype Laue monochromator delivered 85 times more at 30 keV.

  16. Designing and commissioning of a prototype double Laue monochromator at CHESS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, J Y Peter; Oswald, Benjamin B; Savino, James J; Pauling, Alan K; Lyndaker, Aaron; Revesz, Peter; Miller, Matthew P; Brock, Joel D

    2014-01-01

    High-energy X-rays are efficiently focused sagittally by a set of asymmetric Laue (transmission) crystals. We designed, built and commissioned a prototype double Laue monochromator ((111) reflection in Si(100)) optimized for high-energy X-rays (30-60 keV). Here, we report our design of novel prototype sagittal bender and highlight results from recent characterization experiments. The design of the bender combines the tuneable bending control afforded by previous leaf-spring designs with the stability and small size of a four-bar bender. The prototype monochromator focuses a 25 mm-wide white beam incident on the first monochromator crystal to a monochromatized 0.6 mm beam waist in the experimental station. Compared to the flux in the same focal spot with the Bragg crystal (without focusing), the prototype Laue monochromator delivered 85 times more at 30 keV.

  17. A double-multilayer monochromator using a modular design for the Advanced Photon Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu, D.; Yun, W.; Lai, B.; Barraza, J.; Kuzay, T.M.

    1994-01-01

    A novel double-multilayer monochromator has been designed for the Advanced Photon Source X-ray undulator beamline at Argonne National Laboratory. The monochromator consists of two ultra high-vacuum (UHV) compatible modular vessels, each with a sine-bar driving structure and a water-cooled multilayer holder. A high precision Y-Z stage is used to provide compensating motion for the second multilayer from outside the vacuum chamber so that the monochromator can fix the output monochromatic beam direction and angle during the energy scan in a narrow range. The design details for this monochromator are presented in this paper

  18. Analysis and design of multilayer structures for neutron monochromators and supermirrors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masalovich, S.

    2013-01-01

    A relatively simple and accurate analytical model for studying the reflectivity of neutron multilayer monochromators and supermirrors is proposed. Design conditions that must be fulfilled in order to reach the maximum reflectivity are considered. The question of the narrowest bandwidth of a monochromator is discussed and the number of layers required to build such a monochromator is derived. Finally, we propose a new and efficient algorithm for synthesis of a supermirror with specified parameters and discuss some inherent restrictions on an attainable reflectivity. -- Highlights: • The inequality (not equation) that defines the thicknesses of layers was obtained. • Ready-to-use formula for the width of the spectral line was found. • Non-quarter-wave monochromators were suggested. • We propose a new algorithm for design of a neutron supermirror. • The problem of minimizing the number of layers in a supermirror is raised

  19. Diffractive-refractive optics: (+,-,-,+) X-ray crystal monochromator with harmonics separation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hrdý, Jaromír; Mikulík, P.; Oberta, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 18, č. 2 (2011), s. 299-301 ISSN 0909-0495 R&D Projects: GA MPO FR-TI1/412 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100522 Keywords : diffractive-refractive optics * x-ray synchrotron radiation monochromator * x-ray crystal monochromator * harmonics separation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.726, year: 2011

  20. Software feedback for monochromator tuning at UNICAT (abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jemian, Pete R.

    2002-03-01

    Automatic tuning of double-crystal monochromators presents an interesting challenge in software. The goal is to either maximize, or hold constant, the throughput of the monochromator. An additional goal of the software feedback is to disable itself when there is no beam and then, at the user's discretion, re-enable itself when the beam returns. These and other routine goals, such as adherence to limits of travel for positioners, are maintained by software controls. Many solutions exist to lock in and maintain a fixed throughput. Among these include a hardware solution involving a wave form generator, and a lock-in amplifier to autocorrelate the movement of a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) providing fine adjustment of the second crystal Bragg angle. This solution does not work when the positioner is a slow acting device such as a stepping motor. Proportional integral differential (PID) loops have been used to provide feedback through software but additional controls must be provided to maximize the monochromator throughput. Presented here is a software variation of the PID loop which meets the above goals. By using two floating point variables as inputs, representing the intensity of x rays measured before and after the monochromator, it attempts to maximize (or hold constant) the ratio of these two inputs by adjusting an output floating point variable. These floating point variables are connected to hardware channels corresponding to detectors and positioners. When the inputs go out of range, the software will stop making adjustments to the control output. Not limited to monochromator feedback, the software could be used, with beam steering positioners, to maintain a measure of beam position. Advantages of this software feedback are the flexibility of its various components. It has been used with stepping motors and PZTs as positioners. Various devices such as ion chambers, scintillation counters, photodiodes, and photoelectron collectors have been used as

  1. Realisation of a novel crystal bender for a fast double crystal monochromator

    CERN Document Server

    Zaeper, R; Wollmann, R; Luetzenkirchen-Hecht, D; Frahm, R

    2001-01-01

    A novel crystal bender for an X-ray undulator beamline as part of a fast double crystal monochromator development for full EXAFS energy range was characterized. Rocking curves of the monochromator crystal system were recorded under different heat loads and bending forces of the indirectly cooled first Si(1 1 1) crystal. The monochromator development implements new piezo-driven tilt tables with wide angular range to adjust the crystals' Bragg angles and a high pressure actuated bender mechanism for the first crystal.

  2. Construction and characterization of the fringe field monochromator for a field emission gun

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mook; Kruit

    2000-04-01

    Although some microscopes have shown stabilities sufficient to attain below 0.1 eV spectral resolution in high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, the intrinsic energy width of the high brightness source (0.3-0.6 eV) has been limiting the resolution. To lower the energy width of the source to 50 meV without unnecessary loss of brightness, a monochromator has been designed consisting of a short (4 mm) fringe field Wien filter and a 150 nm energy selection slit (nanoslit) both to be incorporated in the gun area of the microscope. A prototype has been built and tested in an ultra-high-vacuum setup (10(-9) mbar). The monochromator, operating on a Schottky field emission gun, showed stable and reproducible operation. The nanoslits did not contaminate and the structure remained stable. By measuring the current through the slit structure a direct image of the beam in the monochromator could be attained and the monochromator could be aligned without the use of a microscope. Good dispersed imaging conditions were found indicating an ultimate resolution of 55 meV. A Mark II fringe field monochromator (FFM) was designed and constructed compatible with the cold tungsten field emitter of the VG scanning transmission microscope. The monochromator was incorporated in the gun area of the microscope at IBM T.J. Watson research center, New York. The monochromator was aligned on 100 kV and the energy distribution measured using the monochromator displayed a below 50 meV filtering capability. The retarding Wien filter spectrometer was used to show a 61 meV EELS system resolution. The FFM is shown to be a monochromator which can be aligned without the use of the electron microscope. This makes it directly applicable for scanning transmission microscopy and low-voltage scanning electron microscopy, where it can lower the resolution loss which is caused by chromatic blur of the spot.

  3. Test of a high-heat-load double-crystal diamond monochromator at the advanced photon source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, P.B.; Graber, T.; Lee, W.-K.; Mills, D.M.; Rogers, C.S.; Assoufid, L.

    1997-01-01

    We have tested the first diamond double-crystal monochromator at the advanced photon source (APS). The monochromator consisted of two synthetic type 1b (111) diamond plates in symmetric Bragg geometry. The single-crystal plates were 6 mm x 5 mm x 0.25 mm and 6 mm x 5 mm x 0.37 mm and showed a combination of mosaic spread/strain of the order of 2-4 arcsec over a central 1.4 mm-wide strip. The monochromator first crystal was indirectly cooled by edge contact with a water-cooled copper holder. We studied the performance of the monochromator under the high-power X-ray beam delivered by the APS undulator A. By changing the undulator gap, we varied the power incident on the first crystal and found no indication of thermal distortions or strains even at the highest incident power (200 W) and power density (108 W/mm 2 in normal incidence). The calculated maximum power and power density absorbed by the first crystal were 14.5 W and 2.4 W/mm 2 , respectively. We also compared the maximum intensity delivered by this monochromator and by a silicon (111) cryogenically cooled monochromator. For energies in the range 6-10 keV, the flux through the diamond monochromator was about a factor of two less than through the silicon monochromator, in good agreement with calculations. We conclude that water-cooled diamond monochromators can handle the high-power beams from the undulator beamlines at the APS. As single-crystal diamond plates of larger size and better quality become available, the use of diamond monochromators will become a very attractive option. (orig.)

  4. Cascade self-seeding scheme with wake monochromator for narrow-bandwidth X-ray FELs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2010-06-15

    Three different approaches have been proposed so far for production of highly monochromatic X-rays from a baseline XFEL undulator: (i) single-bunch selfseeding scheme with a four crystal monochromator in Bragg reflection geometry; (ii) double-bunch self-seeding scheme with a four-crystal monochromator in Bragg reflection geometry; (iii) single-bunch self-seeding scheme with a wake monochromator. A unique element of the X-ray optical design of the last scheme is the monochromatization of X-rays using a single crystal in Bragg-transmission geometry. A great advantage of this method is that the monochromator introduces no path delay of X-rays. This fact eliminates the need for a long electron beam bypass, or for the creation of two precisely separated, identical electron bunches, as required in the other two self-seeding schemes. In its simplest configuration, the self-seeded XFEL consists of an input undulator and an output undulator separated by a monochromator. In some experimental situations this simplest two-undulator configuration is not optimal. The obvious and technically possible extension is to use a setup with three or more undulators separated by monochromators. This amplification-monochromatization cascade scheme is distinguished, in performance, by a small heat-loading of crystals and a high spectral purity of the output radiation. This paper describes such cascade self-seeding scheme with wake monochromators.We present feasibility study and exemplifications for the SASE2 line of the European XFEL. (orig.)

  5. Beam-smiling in bent-Laue monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, B.; Dilmanian, F. A.; Wu, X. Y.; Huang, X.; Chapman, L. D.; Ivanov, I.; Zhong, Z.; Thomlinson, W. C.

    1997-01-01

    When a wide fan-shaped x-ray beam is diffracted by a bent crystal in the Laue geometry, the profile of the diffracted beam generally does not appear as a straight line, but as a line with its ends curved up or curved down. This effect, referred to as 'beam-smiling', has been a major obstacle in developing bent-Laue crystal monochromators for medical applications of synchrotron x-ray. We modeled a cylindrically bent crystal using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method, and we carried out experiments at the National Synchrotron Light Source and Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Our studies show that, while beam-smiling exists in most of the crystal's area because of anticlastic bending effects, there is a region parallel to the bending axis of the crystal where the diffracted beam is 'smile-free'. By applying asymmetrical bending, this smile-free region can be shifted vertically away from the geometric center of the crystal, as desired. This leads to a novel method of compensating for beam-smiling. We will discuss the method of ''differential bending'' for smile removal, beam-smiling in the Cauchios and the polychromatic geometry, and the implications of the method on developing single- and double-bent Laue monochromators. The experimental results will be discussed, concentrating on specific beam-smiling observation and removal as applied to the new monochromator of the Multiple Energy Computed Tomography [MECT] project of the Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  6. MONO: A program to calculate synchrotron beamline monochromator throughputs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, D.

    1989-01-01

    A set of Fortran programs have been developed to calculate the expected throughput of x-ray monochromators with a filtered synchrotron source and is applicable to bending magnet and wiggler beamlines. These programs calculate the normalized throughput and filtered synchrotron spectrum passed by multiple element, flat un- focussed monochromator crystals of the Bragg or Laue type as a function of incident beam divergence, energy and polarization. The reflected and transmitted beam of each crystal is calculated using the dynamical theory of diffraction. Multiple crystal arrangements in the dispersive and non-dispersive mode are allowed as well as crystal asymmetry and energy or angle offsets. Filters or windows of arbitrary elemental composition may be used to filter the incident synchrotron beam. This program should be useful to predict the intensities available from many beamline configurations as well as assist in the design of new monochromator and analyzer systems. 6 refs., 3 figs

  7. Modifications to improve entrance slit thermal stability for grasshopper monochromators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Daniel J.; Rogers, Gregory C.; Crossley, Sherry L.

    1994-08-01

    As new monochromators are designed for high-flux storage rings, computer modeling and thermal engineering can be done to process increased heat loads and achieve mechanical stability. Several older monochromators, such as the Mark 2 and Mark 5 Grasshopper monochromators, which were designed in 1974, have thermal instabilities in their entrance slit mechanisms. The Grasshoppers operating with narrow slits experience closure of the entrance slit from thermal expansion. In extreme cases, the thermal expansion of the precision components has caused permanent mechanical damage, leaving the slit uncalibrated and/or inoperable. For the Mark 2 and Mark 5 Grasshopper monochromators at the Synchrotron Radiation Center, the original 440 stainless steel entrance slit jaws were retrofitted with an Invar (low expansion Fe, Ni alloy) slit jaw. To transfer the heat from the critical components, two flexible heat straps of Cu were attached. These changes allow safe operation with a 10 μm entrance slit width where the previous limit was 30 μm. After an initial 2 min equilibration, the slit remains stable to 10%, with 100 mA of beam current. Additional improvements in slit thermal stability are planned for a third Grasshopper.

  8. A hard X-ray laboratory for monochromator characterisation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamelin, B [Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin (ILL), 38 - Grenoble (France)

    1997-04-01

    Since their installation at ILL during the 1970`s the ILL {gamma}-ray diffractometers have been intensively used in the development of neutron monochromators. However, the ageing of the sources and new developments in hard X-ray diffractometry lead to a decision at the end of 1995 to replace the existing {gamma}-ray laboratory with a hard X-ray laboratory, based on a 420 keV generator, making available in the long term several beam-lines for rapid characterisation of monochromator crystals. The facility is now installed and its characteristics and advantages are outlined. (author). 2 refs.

  9. Inclined monochromator for high heat-load synchrotron x-ray radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khounsary, Ali M.

    1994-01-01

    A double crystal monochromator including two identical, parallel crystals, each of which is cut such that the normal to the diffraction planes of interest makes an angle less than 90 degrees with the surface normal. Diffraction is symmetric, regardless of whether the crystals are symmetrically or asymmetrically cut, enabling operation of the monochromator with a fixed plane of diffraction. As a result of the inclination of the crystal surface, an incident beam has a footprint area which is elongated both vertically and horizontally when compared to that of the conventional monochromator, reducing the heat flux of the incident beam and enabling more efficient surface cooling. Because after inclination of the crystal only a fraction of thermal distortion lies in the diffraction plane, slope errors and the resultant misorientation of the diffracted beam are reduced.

  10. High-heat-load monochromator options for the RIXS beamline at the APS with the MBA lattice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Zunping, E-mail: zpliu@anl.gov; Gog, Thomas, E-mail: gog@aps.anl.gov; Stoupin, Stanislav A.; Upton, Mary H.; Ding, Yang; Kim, Jung-Ho; Casa, Diego M.; Said, Ayman H.; Carter, Jason A.; Navrotski, Gary [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439 (United States)

    2016-07-27

    With the MBA lattice for APS-Upgrade, tuning curves of 2.6 cm period undulators meet the source requirements for the RIXS beamline. The high-heat-load monochromator (HHLM) is the first optical white beam component. There are four options for the HHLM such as diamond monochromators with refrigerant of either water or liquid nitrogen (LN{sub 2}), and silicon monochromators of either direct or indirect cooling system. Their performances are evaluated at energy 11.215 keV (Ir L-III edge). The cryo-cooled diamond monochromator has similar performance as the water-cooled diamond monochromator because GaIn of the Cu-GaIn-diamond interface becomes solid. The cryo-cooled silicon monochromators perform better, not only in terms of surface slope error due to thermal deformation, but also in terms of thermal capacity.

  11. Targeted neural network interventions for auditory hallucinations: Can TMS inform DBS?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Joseph J; Krystal, John H; D'Souza, Deepak C; Gerrard, Jason Lee; Corlett, Philip R

    2017-09-29

    The debilitating and refractory nature of auditory hallucinations (AH) in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders has stimulated investigations into neuromodulatory interventions that target the aberrant neural networks associated with them. Internal or invasive forms of brain stimulation such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) are currently being explored for treatment-refractory schizophrenia. The process of developing and implementing DBS is limited by symptom clustering within psychiatric constructs as well as a scarcity of causal tools with which to predict response, refine targeting or guide clinical decisions. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an external or non-invasive form of brain stimulation, has shown some promise as a therapeutic intervention for AH but remains relatively underutilized as an investigational probe of clinically relevant neural networks. In this editorial, we propose that TMS has the potential to inform DBS by adding individualized causal evidence to an evaluation processes otherwise devoid of it in patients. Although there are significant limitations and safety concerns regarding DBS, the combination of TMS with computational modeling of neuroimaging and neurophysiological data could provide critical insights into more robust and adaptable network modulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. A proof-of-principle simulation for closed-loop control based on preexisting experimental thalamic DBS-enhanced instrumental learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ching-Fu; Yang, Shih-Hung; Lin, Sheng-Huang; Chen, Po-Chuan; Lo, Yu-Chun; Pan, Han-Chi; Lai, Hsin-Yi; Liao, Lun-De; Lin, Hui-Ching; Chen, Hsu-Yan; Huang, Wei-Chen; Huang, Wun-Jhu; Chen, You-Yin

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been applied as an effective therapy for treating Parkinson's disease or essential tremor. Several open-loop DBS control strategies have been developed for clinical experiments, but they are limited by short battery life and inefficient therapy. Therefore, many closed-loop DBS control systems have been designed to tackle these problems by automatically adjusting the stimulation parameters via feedback from neural signals, which has been reported to reduce the power consumption. However, when the association between the biomarkers of the model and stimulation is unclear, it is difficult to develop an optimal control scheme for other DBS applications, i.e., DBS-enhanced instrumental learning. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the effect of closed-loop DBS control for cognition function, such as instrumental skill learning, and have been implemented in simulation environments. In this paper, we proposed a proof-of-principle design for a closed-loop DBS system, cognitive-enhancing DBS (ceDBS), which enhanced skill learning based on in vivo experimental data. The ceDBS acquired local field potential (LFP) signal from the thalamic central lateral (CL) nuclei of animals through a neural signal processing system. A strong coupling of the theta oscillation (4-7 Hz) and the learning period was found in the water reward-related lever-pressing learning task. Therefore, the theta-band power ratio, which was the averaged theta band to averaged total band (1-55 Hz) power ratio, could be used as a physiological marker for enhancement of instrumental skill learning. The on-line extraction of the theta-band power ratio was implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). An autoregressive with exogenous inputs (ARX)-based predictor was designed to construct a CL-thalamic DBS model and forecast the future physiological marker according to the past physiological marker and applied DBS. The prediction could further assist the design of

  13. Design and performance of the ALS double-crystal monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, G.; Ryce, S.; Perera, R.C.C.

    1997-01-01

    A new open-quotes Cowan typeclose quotes double-crystal monochromator, based on the boomerang design used at NSLS beamline X-24A, has been developed for beamline 9.3.1 at the ALS, a windowless UHV beamline covering the 1-6 keV photon-energy range. Beamline 9.3.1 is designed to simultaneously achieve the goals of high energy resolution, high flux, and high brightness at the sample. The mechanical design has been simplified, and recent developments in technology have been included. Measured mechanical precision of the monochromator shows significant improvement over existing designs. In tests with x-rays at NSLS beamline X-23 A2, maximum deviations in the intensity of monochromatic light were just 7% during scans of several hundred eV in the vicinity of the Cr K edge (6 keV) with the monochromator operating without intensity feedback. Such precision is essential because of the high brightness of the ALS radiation and the overall length of beamline 9.3.1 (26 m)

  14. Evaluation of Sex-Specific Gene Expression in Archived Dried Blood Spots (DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott Jewell

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Screening newborns for treatable serious conditions is mandated in all US states and many other countries. After screening, Guthrie cards with residual blood (whole spots or portions of spots are typically stored at ambient temperature in many facilities. The potential of archived dried blood spots (DBS for at-birth molecular studies in epidemiological and clinical research is substantial. However, it is also challenging as analytes from DBS may be degraded due to preparation and storage conditions. We previously reported an improved assay for obtaining global RNA gene expression from blood spots. Here, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression and its preservation in DBS using oligonucleotide microarray technology. We found X inactivation-specific transcript (XIST, lysine-specific demethylase 5D (KDM5D (also known as selected cDNA on Y, homolog of mouse (SMCY, uncharacterized LOC729444 (LOC729444, and testis-specific transcript, Y-linked 21 (TTTY21 to be differentially-expressed by sex of the newborn. Our finding that trait-specific RNA gene expression is preserved in unfrozen DBS, demonstrates the technical feasibility of performing molecular genetic profiling using such samples. With millions of DBS potentially available for research, we see new opportunities in using newborn molecular gene expression to better understand molecular pathogenesis of perinatal diseases.

  15. Verbal Memory Decline following DBS for Parkinson's Disease: Structural Volumetric MRI Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geevarghese, Ruben; Lumsden, Daniel E; Costello, Angela; Hulse, Natasha; Ayis, Salma; Samuel, Michael; Ashkan, Keyoumars

    2016-01-01

    Parkinson's disease is a chronic degenerative movement disorder. The mainstay of treatment is medical. In certain patients Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) may be offered. However, DBS has been associated with post-operative neuropsychology changes, especially in verbal memory. Firstly, to determine if pre-surgical thalamic and hippocampal volumes were related to verbal memory changes following DBS. Secondly, to determine if clinical factors such as age, duration of symptoms or motor severity (UPDRS Part III score) were related to verbal memory changes. A consecutive group of 40 patients undergoing bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus (STN)-DBS for PD were selected. Brain MRI data was acquired, pre-processed and structural volumetric data was extracted using FSL. Verbal memory test scores for pre- and post-STN-DBS surgery were recorded. Linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between score change and structural volumetric data. A significant relationship was demonstrated between change in List Learning test score and thalamic (left, p = 0.02) and hippocampal (left, p = 0.02 and right p = 0.03) volumes. Duration of symptoms was also associated with List Learning score change (p = 0.02 to 0.03). Verbal memory score changes appear to have a relationship to pre-surgical MRI structural volumetric data. The findings of this study provide a basis for further research into the use of pre-surgical MRI to counsel PD patients regarding post-surgical verbal memory changes.

  16. Beam-smiling in bent-Laue monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, B.; Dilmanian, F.A.; Wu, X.Y.; Huang, X.; Ivanov, I.; Thomlinson, W.C.

    1997-01-01

    When a wide fan-shaped x-ray beam is diffracted by a bent crystal in the Laue geometry, the profile of the diffracted beam generally does not appear as a straight line, but as a line with its ends curved up or curved down. This effect, referred to as ' beam-smiling', has been a major obstacle in developing bent-Laue crystal monochromators for medical applications of synchrotron x-ray. We modeled a cylindrically bent crystal using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method, and we carried out experiments at the National Synchrotron Light Source and Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Our studies show that, while beam-smiling exists in most of the crystal close-quote s area because of anticlastic bending effects, there is a region parallel to the bending axis of the crystal where the diffracted beam is ' smile-free'. By applying asymmetrical bending, this smile-free region can be shifted vertically away from the geometric center of the crystal, as desired. This leads to a novel method of compensating for beam-smiling. We will discuss the method of ' differential bending' for smile removal, beam-smiling in the Cauchios and the polychromatic geometry, and the implications of the method on developing single- and double-bent Laue monochromators. The experimental results will be discussed, concentrating on specific beam-smiling observation and removal as applied to the new monochromator of the Multiple Energy Computed Tomography [MECT] project of the Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  17. A Single-Element Plane Grating Monochromator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael C. Hettrick

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Concerted rotations of a self-focused varied line-space diffraction grating about its groove axis and surface normal define a new geometric class of monochromator. Defocusing is canceled, while the scanned wavelength is reinforced at fixed conjugate distances and horizontal deviation angle. This enables high spectral resolution over a wide band, and is of particular advantage at grazing reflection angles. A new, rigorous light-path formulation employs non-paraxial reference points to isolate the lateral ray aberrations, with those of power-sum ≤ 3 explicitly expanded for a plane grating. Each of these 14 Fermat equations agrees precisely with the value extracted from numerical raytrace simulations. An example soft X-ray design (6° deviation angle and 2 × 4 mrad aperture attains a resolving power > 25 , 000 over a three octave scan range. The proposed rotation scheme is not limited to plane surfaces or monochromators, providing a new degree of freedom in optical design.

  18. Investigation of DBS electro-oxidation reaction in the aqueous-organic solution of LiClO{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Darlewski, Witold [Military University of Technology, Institute of Chemistry, Kaliskiego Street 2, 00-908 Warszawa (Poland); Popiel, Stanislaw, E-mail: spopiel@wat.edu.pl [Military University of Technology, Institute of Chemistry, Kaliskiego Street 2, 00-908 Warszawa (Poland); Nalepa, Tomasz [Department of Defense Affairs of the Ministry of Economy, Plac Trzech Krzyzy 3/5, 00-507 Warszawa (Poland); Gromotowicz, Waldemar [Warsaw Pharmaceutical Plant ' Polfa' S.A., Karolkowa Street 22/24, 01-207 Warszawa (Poland); Szewczyk, Rafal [Department of Biology and Environment Protection, University of Lodz, Pilarskiego Street 14/16, 90-231 Lodz (Poland); Stankiewicz, Romuald [Warsaw University, Department of Physics, Hoza Street 69, 00-681 Warszawa (Poland)

    2010-03-15

    A process of dibutyl sulphide (DBS) electro-oxidation using electrolysis and cyclic voltamperometry was investigated in water-methanol solution using different electrodes (platinum, boron doped diamond, graphite and glassy carbon). Obtained results indicate that the DBS electro-oxidation process is irreversible in voltamperometric conditions. It was shown that during DBS electrolytic oxidation on Pt, at the low anode potential (1.8 V), DBS was oxidized to sulphoxide and sulphone. Electrolysis at higher potential (up to 3.0 V) resulted in complete DBS oxidation and formation of various products, including: butyric acid, sulphuric acid, butanesulphinic acid, butanesulphonic acid, identified using gas chromatography (GC-AED) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods.

  19. A novel monochromator for high heat-load synchrotron x-ray radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khounsary, A.M.

    1992-01-01

    The high heat load associated with the powerful and concentrated x-ray beams generated by the insertion devices at a number of present and many of the future (planned or under construction) synchrotron radiation facilities pose a formidable engineering challenge in the designer of the monochromators and other optical devices. For example, the Undulator A source on the Advanced Photon Source (APS) ring (being constructed at the Argonne National Laboratory) will generate as much as 10 kW of heat deposited on a small area (about 1 cm 2 ) of the first optics located some 24 m from the source. The peak normal incident heat flux can be as high as 500 W/mm 2 . Successful utilization of the intense x-ray beams from insertion devices critically depends on the development, design, and availability of optical elements that provide acceptable performance under high heat load. Present monochromators can handle, at best, heat load levels that are an order of magnitude lower than those generated by such sources. The monochromator described here and referred to as the open-quote inclinedclose quotes monochromator can provide a solution to high heat-load problems

  20. Design and performance of the ALS double-crystal monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, G.; Ryce, S.; Perera, R.C.C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

    1997-04-01

    A new {open_quotes}Cowan type{close_quotes} double-crystal monochromator, based on the boomerang design used at NSLS beamline X-24A, has been developed for beamline 9.3.1 at the ALS, a windowless UHV beamline covering the 1-6 keV photon-energy range. Beamline 9.3.1 is designed to simultaneously achieve the goals of high energy resolution, high flux, and high brightness at the sample. The mechanical design has been simplified, and recent developments in technology have been included. Measured mechanical precision of the monochromator shows significant improvement over existing designs. In tests with x-rays at NSLS beamline X-23 A2, maximum deviations in the intensity of monochromatic light were just 7% during scans of several hundred eV in the vicinity of the Cr K edge (6 keV) with the monochromator operating without intensity feedback. Such precision is essential because of the high brightness of the ALS radiation and the overall length of beamline 9.3.1 (26 m).

  1. Array elements for a DBS flat-plate antenna

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maddocks, M. C. D.

    1988-07-01

    The introduction of a direct broadcast by satellite (DBS) television service requires suitable receiving antennas to be available. An alternative to the parabolic dish antenna is a flat-plate antenna. The overall design of a circularly-polarized flat-plate antenna which can be mounted flat on the wall of a building has been considered in a companion Report. In this Report various types of elements are investigated and their advantages and disadvantages discussed. The most suitable element for use in a flat-plate array is identified as a linearly-polarized folded-dipole element; its performance is reported here. Linearly-polarized elements are found to perform better than circularly-polarized elements and could be used with a polarization converter to receive the circularly-polarized radiation that would be transmitted by DBS.

  2. Development of an imaging VUV monochromator in normal incidence region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koog, Joong-San

    1996-07-01

    This paper describes a development of the two-dimensional imaging monochromator system. A commercial normal incidence monochromator working on off-Rowland circle mounting is used for this purpose. The imaging is achieved with utilizing the pinhole camera effect created by an entrance slit of limited height. The astigmatism in the normal incidence mounting is small compared with a grazing incidence mount, but has a finite value. The point is that for near normal incidence, the vertical focusing with a concave grating is produced at outside across the exit slit. Therefore, by putting a 2-D detector at the position away from the exit slit ({approx}30 cm), a one-to-one correspondence between the position of a point on the detector and where it originated in the source is accomplished. This paper consists of (1) the principle and development of the imaging monochromator using the off-Rowland mounting, including the 2-D detector system, (2) a computer simulation by ray tracing for investigations of the imaging properties of imaging system, and aberration from the spherical concave grating on the exit slit, (3) the plasma light source (TPD-S) for the test experiments, (4) Performances of the imaging monochromator system on the spatial resolution and sensitivity, and (5) the use of this system for diagnostic studies on the JIPP T-IIU tokamak. (J.P.N.)

  3. Development of an imaging VUV monochromator in normal incidence region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koog, Joong-San.

    1996-07-01

    This paper describes a development of the two-dimensional imaging monochromator system. A commercial normal incidence monochromator working on off-Rowland circle mounting is used for this purpose. The imaging is achieved with utilizing the pinhole camera effect created by an entrance slit of limited height. The astigmatism in the normal incidence mounting is small compared with a grazing incidence mount, but has a finite value. The point is that for near normal incidence, the vertical focusing with a concave grating is produced at outside across the exit slit. Therefore, by putting a 2-D detector at the position away from the exit slit (∼30 cm), a one-to-one correspondence between the position of a point on the detector and where it originated in the source is accomplished. This paper consists of 1) the principle and development of the imaging monochromator using the off-Rowland mounting, including the 2-D detector system, 2) a computer simulation by ray tracing for investigations of the imaging properties of imaging system, and aberration from the spherical concave grating on the exit slit, 3) the plasma light source (TPD-S) for the test experiments, 4) Performances of the imaging monochromator system on the spatial resolution and sensitivity, and 5) the use of this system for diagnostic studies on the JIPP T-IIU tokamak. (J.P.N.)

  4. Performance of a beam-multiplexing diamond crystal monochromator at the Linac Coherent Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Diling; Feng, Yiping; Lemke, Henrik T.; Fritz, David M.; Chollet, Matthieu; Glownia, J. M.; Alonso-Mori, Roberto; Sikorski, Marcin; Song, Sanghoon; Williams, Garth J.; Messerschmidt, Marc; Boutet, Sébastien; Robert, Aymeric; Stoupin, Stanislav; Shvyd'ko, Yuri V.; Terentyev, Sergey A.; Blank, Vladimir D.; Driel, Tim B. van

    2014-01-01

    A double-crystal diamond monochromator was recently implemented at the Linac Coherent Light Source. It enables splitting pulses generated by the free electron laser in the hard x-ray regime and thus allows the simultaneous operations of two instruments. Both monochromator crystals are High-Pressure High-Temperature grown type-IIa diamond crystal plates with the (111) orientation. The first crystal has a thickness of ∼100 μm to allow high reflectivity within the Bragg bandwidth and good transmission for the other wavelengths for downstream use. The second crystal is about 300 μm thick and makes the exit beam of the monochromator parallel to the incoming beam with an offset of 600 mm. Here we present details on the monochromator design and its performance

  5. Analysis of benzodiazepines and their metabolites using DBS cards and LC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Heesang; Park, Yujin; Jo, Jiyeong; In, Sangwhan; Park, Yonghoon; Kim, Eunmi; Pyo, Jaesung; Choe, Sanggil

    2015-10-01

    Dried Blood Spot (DBS) has been used a blood extraction method for inherited metabolic disorder screening since 1960s. With introduction of LC-MS/MS, not only DBS could be used to analysis drugs in small blood volume, but in various fields, such as toxicology, drug therapeutic monitoring, drug diagnostic screening, and illicit drugs. In toxicology field, many drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines, acetaminophen, small molecule drugs) have been tested with DBS. Compared with earlier blood extraction methods (SPE and LLE), DBS has lots of advantages; lower blood volume (less than 50μL), shorter analysis time caused by a more concise analysis procedure and lower cost. We optimized the DBS procedure and LC-MS/MS conditions for 18 benzodiazepines, seven benzodiazepine metabolites, and one z-drug (zolpidem) analysis in blood. 30μL of whole blood was spotted on FTA DMPK card C and dried for 2h in a desiccator. A 6-mm disk was punched and vortexed for 1min in a centrifuge tube with 300μL methanol/acetonitrile mixture (1:1, v/v). After evaporation, redissolved in 100μL mobile phase of LC-MS/MS and 5μL was injected. In the analysis for 26 target compounds in blood, all of the method validation parameters - LLOD, LLOQ, accuracy (intra- and inter-assay), and precision (intra- and inter-assay) - were satisfied with method validation criteria, within 15%. The results of matrix effect, recovery, and process efficiency were good. We developed a fast and reliable sample preparation method using DBS for 26 benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine metabolites, and z-drug (zolpidem). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The SSRL ultrahigh vacuum grazing incidence monochromator: design considerations and operating experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, F.C.; Bachrach, R.Z.; Lien, N.

    1978-01-01

    Considerable experience has now accumulated with the 'grasshopper' monochromator installed on the four degree line at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. This is one of the first bakeable high vacuum instruments for use with a storage ring source in the photon energy range 25 to 1000 eV. The unique features of this instrument will be discussed from a general point of view, including the source emittance and the transforming properties of the beam line plus monochromator. Actual performance figures will be given in order to better appraise the limits of focusing optics and gratings at two degree grazing incidence. Improvements such as post-monochromator optics, isolation valves and provisions for adjustment will be briefly discussed. (Auth.)

  7. Optimization of flat and horizontally curved neutron monochromators for given diffractometer geometries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graf, H.A.

    1983-08-01

    The computer program MONREF was written for calculating the integrated intensity and the k-vector distribution produced by mosaic-crystal monochromators in neutron diffractometers of given geometries. The program treats flat and horizontally curved monochromators in Bragg reflection. Its basic algorithm is derived from Zachariasen's coupled differential equations which were modified to include the case of asymmetrically cut crystals. The calculations are restricted to the scattering in the experimental plane. In the first part of the report the program and its applications are described. In the second part a compilation of intensities is presented, calculated for crystals of Cu, Si, Ge and pyrolytic graphite commonly used as monochromators, in a standard diffractometer configuration. (orig.)

  8. Internally cooled V-shape inclined monochromator

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Oberta, Peter; Áč, V.; Hrdý, Jaromír

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 15, - (2008), 8-11 ISSN 0909-0495 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100100716 Grant - others:VEGA(SK) 1/4134/07 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100522 Keywords : inclined monochromator * heat load * internal cooling Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 2.333, year: 2008

  9. Synthetic Diagnostic for Doppler Backscattering (DBS) Turbulence Measurements based on Full Wave Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernst, D. R.; Rhodes, T. L.; Kubota, S.; Crocker, N.

    2017-10-01

    Plasma full-wave simulations of the DIII-D DBS system including its lenses and mirrors are developed using the GPU-based FDTD2D code, verified against the GENRAY ray-tracing code and TORBEAM paraxial beam code. Our semi-analytic description of the effective spot size for a synthetic diagnostic reveals new focusing and defocusing effects arising from the combined effects of the curvature of the reflecting surface and that of the Gaussian beam wavefront. We compute the DBS transfer function from full-wave simulations to verify these effects. Using the synthetic diagnostic, nonlinear GYRO simulations closely match DBS fluctuation spectra with and without strong electron heating, without adjustment or change in normalization, while both GYRO and GENE also match fluxes in all transport channels. Density gradient driven TEMs that are observed by the DBS diagnostic on DIII-D are reproduced by simulations as a band of discrete toroidal mode numbers which intensify during strong electron heating. Work supported by US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698 and DE-FG02-08ER54984.

  10. Neutron optics with multilayer monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saxena, A.M.; Majkrzak, C.F.

    1984-01-01

    A multilayer monochromator is made by depositing thin films of two materials in an alternating sequence on a glass substrate. This makes a multilayer periodic in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the films, with a d-spacing equal to the thickness of one bilayer. Neutrons of wavelength λ incident on a multilayer will be reflected at an angle phi given by the Bragg relation nλ = 2d sinphi, where n is the order of reflection. The use of thin-film multilayers for monochromating neutrons is discussed. Because of the low flux of neutrons, the samples have to be large, and the width of the incident beam can be as much as 2 cm. Multilayers made earlier were fabricated by resistive heating of the materials in a vacuum chamber. Because of geometrical constraints imposed by the size of the vacuum chamber, limits on the amount of material that can be loaded in a boat, and finite life of the boats, this method of preparation limits the length of a multilayer to ∼ 15 cm and the total number of bilayers in a multilayer to about 200. This paper discusses a thin-film deposition system using RF sputtering for depositing films

  11. Monochromator for synchrotron light with temperature controlled by electrical current on silicon crystal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cusatis, Cesar; Souza, Paulo E.N. [Universidade Federal do Parana (LORXI/UFPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica. Lab. de Optica de Raios X e Instrumentacao; Franco, Margareth Kobayaski; Kakuno, Edson [Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincroton (LNLS), Campinas, SP (Brazil); Gobbi, Angelo; Carvalho Junior, Wilson de [Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Telecomunicacoes (CPqD), Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2011-07-01

    Full text. doped silicon crystal was used simultaneously as a monochromator, sensor and actuator in such way that its temperature could be controlled. Ohmic contacts allowed resistance measurements on a perfect silicon crystal, which were correlated to its temperature. Using the ohmic contacts, an electrical current caused Joule heating on the monochromator that was used to control its temperature. A simple stand-alone electronic box controlled the system. The device was built and tested with white beam synchrotron light on the double crystal monochromator of the XRD line of LNLS, Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron, Campinas. The first crystal of a double crystal monochromator determines the energy that is delivered to a synchrotron experimental station and its temperature instability is a major source of energy and intensity instability. If the (333) silicon monochromator is at theta Bragg near 45 degree the variation of the diffraction angle is around one second of arc per degree Kelvin. It may take several minutes for the first crystal temperature to stabilize at the beginning of the station operation when the crystal and its environment are cold. With water refrigeration, the average overall temperature of the crystal may be constant, but the temperature of the surface changes with and without the white beam. The time used to wait for stabilization of the beam energy/intensity is lost unless the temperature of the crystal surface is kept constant. One solution for keeping the temperature of the monochromator and its environment constant or nearly constant is Joule heating it with a controlled small electrical current flowing on the surface of a doped perfect crystal. When the white beam is on, this small amount of extra power will be more concentrated at the beam footpath because the resistance is lower in this region due to the higher temperature. In addition, if the crystal itself is used to detect the temperature variation by measuring the electrical

  12. Corticomuscular coherence during hand gripping with DBS and medication in PD patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sridharan, Kousik Sarathy; Højlund, Andreas; Johnsen, Erik Lisbjerg

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) effectively alleviates the motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) although its effect mechanism is still unclear. CMC is reduced in PD patients but restorable with medication, while DBS variably affects CMC in advanced PD patients. We recorded magnetoencephalography...... (MEG) from six PD patients performing hand gripping during DBS ON and medicated (levodopa, MED ON) conditions and from ten age-matched healthy controls. Participants performed isotonic contractions (hand gripping) with their right hand, and electromyography (EMG) was recorded from the extensor...... digitorum communis muscle with a belly-tendon montage. We calculated the mean-squared coherence between MEG and the rectified EMG signals. For each group and condition, we selected the maximum CMC value in the beta range (13-30 Hz) within the average of an a priori selection of nine left sensorimotor...

  13. Metal nanoparticles in DBS card materials modification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metelkin, A.; Frolov, G.; Kuznetsov, D.; Kolesnikov, E.; Chuprunov, K.; Kondakov, S.; Osipov, A.; Samsonova, J.

    2015-11-01

    In the recent years the method of collecting and storing Dried Blood Spots (DBS) on special cellulose membrane (paper) has gained wide popularity. But possible damage of biosamples caused by microorganisms in case of their incomplete drying is a disadvantage of the method. It can be overcome by treating sample-collection membranes with colloidal solutions of metal nanoparticles, having antibacterial effect. The team studied antibacterial properties of nonwoven material samples with various coatings (alcohol sols of copper, aluminium, iron, titanium, silver and vanadium nanoparticles). Colloidal solutions of nanoparticles were obtained by means of electroerosion method with further low-temperature plasma condensation. Antibacterial activity of fiberglass and cellulose membrane samples with nanoparticle coatings was studied using B. cereus and plaque bacteria cultures. It was revealed that nanostructured coatings can suppress bacterial activity; in addition they can diffuse from the membrane surface into medium which leads to widening the areas of inhibiting testing cultures’ growth. Thus, membrane materials treatment with alcohol-sols of metal nanoparticles can be seen as promising for conferring antibacterial properties to DBS carriers.

  14. Metal nanoparticles in DBS card materials modification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metelkin, A; Frolov, G; Kuznetsov, D; Kolesnikov, E; Chuprunov, K; Kondakov, S; Osipov, A; Samsonova, J

    2015-01-01

    In the recent years the method of collecting and storing Dried Blood Spots (DBS) on special cellulose membrane (paper) has gained wide popularity. But possible damage of biosamples caused by microorganisms in case of their incomplete drying is a disadvantage of the method. It can be overcome by treating sample-collection membranes with colloidal solutions of metal nanoparticles, having antibacterial effect. The team studied antibacterial properties of nonwoven material samples with various coatings (alcohol sols of copper, aluminium, iron, titanium, silver and vanadium nanoparticles). Colloidal solutions of nanoparticles were obtained by means of electroerosion method with further low-temperature plasma condensation. Antibacterial activity of fiberglass and cellulose membrane samples with nanoparticle coatings was studied using B. cereus and plaque bacteria cultures. It was revealed that nanostructured coatings can suppress bacterial activity; in addition they can diffuse from the membrane surface into medium which leads to widening the areas of inhibiting testing cultures’ growth. Thus, membrane materials treatment with alcohol-sols of metal nanoparticles can be seen as promising for conferring antibacterial properties to DBS carriers. (paper)

  15. 78 FR 32424 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Monochrome Laser Printers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-30

    ... 5200DNG/SP 5210DNG monochrome laser printers for purposes of U.S. Government procurement? LAW AND ANALYSIS... procurement purposes is the United States. Notice of this final determination will be given in the Federal... of certain monochrome laser printers. Based upon the facts presented, CBP has concluded in the final...

  16. Performance tests of a 2-meter grasshopper monochromator at photon factory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanagihara, Mihiro; Maezawa, Hideki; Sasaki, Taizo; Suzuki, Yoshio; Iguchi, Yasuo.

    1984-12-01

    A 2-meter grasshopper monochromator was installed and adjusted at BL-11A in Photon Factory, and performance tests were carried out. The usable photon energy range for the monochromator is 90 to 1000 eV for a 2400 grooves/mm grating, and the flux is 10 8 - 10 9 photons/sec for entrance and exit slit widths of 15 μm. A resolving power of about 2000 is realized at 250 eV for this slit width. (author)

  17. HIV-1 viral load measurement in venous blood and fingerprick blood using Abbott RealTime HIV-1 DBS assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Ning; Pahalawatta, Vihanga; Frank, Andrea; Bagley, Zowie; Viana, Raquel; Lampinen, John; Leckie, Gregor; Huang, Shihai; Abravaya, Klara; Wallis, Carole L

    2017-07-01

    HIV RNA suppression is a key indicator for monitoring success of antiretroviral therapy. From a logistical perspective, viral load (VL) testing using Dried Blood Spots (DBS) is a promising alternative to plasma based VL testing in resource-limited settings. To evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay using a fully automated one-spot DBS sample protocol. Limit of detection (LOD), linearity, lower limit of quantitation (LLQ), upper limit of quantitation (ULQ), and precision were determined using serial dilutions of HIV-1 Virology Quality Assurance stock (VQA Rush University), or HIV-1-containing armored RNA, made in venous blood. To evaluate correlation, bias, and agreement, 497 HIV-1 positive adult clinical samples were collected from Ivory Coast, Uganda and South Africa. For each HIV-1 participant, DBS-fingerprick, DBS-venous and plasma sample results were compared. Correlation and bias values were obtained. The sensitivity and specificity were analyzed at a threshold of 1000 HIV-1 copies/mL generated using the standard plasma protocol. The Abbott HIV-1 DBS protocol had an LOD of 839 copies/mL, a linear range from 500 to 1×10 7 copies/mL, an LLQ of 839 copies/mL, a ULQ of 1×10 7 copies/mL, and an inter-assay SD of ≤0.30 log copies/mL for all tested levels within this range. With clinical samples, the correlation coefficient (r value) was 0.896 between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and 0.901 between DBS-venous and plasma, and the bias was -0.07 log copies/mL between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and -0.02 log copies/mL between DBS-venous and plasma. The sensitivity of DBS-fingerprick and DBS-venous was 93%, while the specificity of both DBS methods was 95%. The results demonstrated that the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol is highly sensitive, specific and precise across a wide dynamic range and correlates well with plasma values. The Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol provides an

  18. Synchrotron Radiation Beam Line of Piezoelectric Monochromator Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Shengan; LIU Ping; Zheng Lifang

    2009-01-01

    It describes a Piezo Amplifier and Servo-controller module applied in the LN2-cooled Monochromator control system. The application of RS232 communication based on EPICS software environment and its software are implemented. (authors)

  19. High luminance monochrome vs. color displays: impact on performance and search

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupinski, Elizabeth A.; Roehrig, Hans; Matsui, Takashi

    2011-03-01

    To determine if diagnostic accuracy and visual search efficiency with a high luminance medical-grade color display are equivalent to a high luminance medical-grade monochrome display. Six radiologists viewed DR chest images, half with a solitary pulmonary nodule and half without. Observers reported whether or not a nodule was present and their confidence in that decision. Total viewing time per image was recorded. On a subset of 15 cases eye-position was recorded. Confidence data were analyzed using MRMC ROC techniques. There was no statistically significant difference (F = 0.0136, p = 0.9078) between color (mean Az = 0.8981, se = 0.0065) and monochrome (mean Az = 0.8945, se = 0.0148) diagnostic performance. Total viewing time per image did not differ significantly (F = 0.392, p = 0.5315) as a function of color (mean = 27.36 sec, sd = 12.95) vs monochrome (mean = 28.04, sd = 14.36) display. There were no significant differences in decision dwell times (true and false, positive and negative) overall for color vs monochrome displays (F = 0.133, p = 0.7154). The true positive (TP) and false positive (FP) decisions were associated with the longest dwell times, the false negatives (FN) with slightly shorter dwell times, and the true negative decisions (TN) with the shortest (F = 50.552, p radiology.

  20. Performance of a beam-multiplexing diamond crystal monochromator at the Linac Coherent Light Source

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Diling; Feng, Yiping; Stoupin, Stanislav

    2014-01-01

    A double-crystal diamond monochromator was recently implemented at the Linac Coherent Light Source. It enables splitting pulses generated by the free electron laser in the hard x-ray regime and thus allows the simultaneous operations of two instruments. Both monochromator crystals are High-Pressu...

  1. Submicrovolt resolution X-ray monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trammell, G.T.; Hannon, J.P.

    1984-01-01

    Two methods are available to obtain monochromatic x-radiation from a white source: wavelength selection and frequency selection. The resolution of wavelength selection methods is limited to 1-10 MeV in the E = 10 KeV range. To exceed this resolution frequency selection methods based on nuclear resonance scattering can be used. Devices which give strong nuclear resonance reflections but weak electronic reflections are candidates for components of frequency selection monochromates. Some examples are discussed

  2. Design and fabrication of a vacuum ultraviolet monochromator using Seya-Namioka mount

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishnamurty, G.; Sarma, Y.A.; Meenakshi Raja Rao, P.; Bhattacharya, S.S.

    1983-01-01

    The design and fabrication of a one meter vacuum ultraviolet monochromator in the Seya-Namioka mounting is described. The monochromator consists of a concave replica grating (1200 grooves/mm) blazed at 1500 A. The grating rotates about a vertical axis through the center of grating by means of sine drive mechanism. An EMI 6256 photomultiplier coupled with a VUV scintillator, sodium salicylate, is used to detect the radiation. (author)

  3. X fluorescence spectrometer including at least one toroidal monochromator with logarithmic spiral

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florestan, J.

    1986-01-01

    This spectrometer includes a X-ray source, an entrance diaphragm, a revolution monochromator with monocrystal thin plates and a seal set in its center, an outer diaphragm and a X-ray detector. A second monochromator can be set between the source and the sample. The thin plates are set so as to be a toroidal ring whose cross section in an axial plane describes a logarithmic spiral [fr

  4. Double crystal monochromator controlled by integrated computing on BL07A in New SUBARU, Japan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okui, Masato, E-mail: okui@kohzu.co.jp [Kohzu Precision Co., Ltd., 2-6-15, Kurigi, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 215-8521 (Japan); Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry, University of Hyogo (Japan); Yato, Naoki; Watanabe, Akinobu; Lin, Baiming; Murayama, Norio [Kohzu Precision Co., Ltd., 2-6-15, Kurigi, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 215-8521 (Japan); Fukushima, Sei, E-mail: FUKUSHIMA.Sei@nims.go.jp [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry, University of Hyogo (Japan); National Institute for Material Sciences (Japan); Kanda, Kazuhiro [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry, University of Hyogo (Japan)

    2016-07-27

    The BL07A beamline in New SUBARU, University of Hyogo, has been used for many studies of new materials. A new double crystal monochromator controlled by integrated computing was designed and installed in the beamline in 2014. In this report we will discuss the unique features of this new monochromator, MKZ-7NS. This monochromator was not designed exclusively for use in BL07A; on the contrary, it was designed to be installed at low cost in various beamlines to facilitate the industrial applications of medium-scale synchrotron radiation facilities. Thus, the design of the monochromator utilized common packages that can satisfy the wide variety of specifications required at different synchrotron radiation facilities. This monochromator can be easily optimized for any beamline due to the fact that a few control parameters can be suitably customized. The beam offset can be fixed precisely even if one of the two slave axes is omitted. This design reduces the convolution of mechanical errors. Moreover, the monochromator’s control mechanism is very compact, making it possible to reduce the size of the vacuum chamber can be made smaller.

  5. Usefulness of Dried Blood Spots (DBS) to perform hepatitis C virus genotyping in drug users in Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndiaye, O; Gozlan, J; Diop-Ndiaye, H; Sall, A S; Chapelain, S; Leprêtre, A; Maynart, M; Gueye, M; Lo, G; Thiam, M; Ba, I; Lacombe, K; Girard, P M; Mboup, S; Kane, C T

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotypes circulating in Senegal among Drug User (DUs), using Dried Blood Spots (DBS) as RNA source for molecular assays. Heroin and/or cocaine users (n = 506) were recruited in Dakar from April to July 2011, using a Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) method. DBS preparation consisted of five drops of whole blood from finger applied to a Whatman paper card. HCV infection was screened by the detection of anti-HCV antibodies, using a rapid immune-chromatographic test. HCV RNA was quantified on anti-HCV positive DBS, using the Abbott RealTime HCV® Genotyping was performed on DBS with detectable viral load with Versant® HCV Genotype 2.0 Assay (LiPA) and Abbott RealTime HCV Genotype II assay®. Among the 506 participants, 120 were tested as positive for anti-HCV antibodies and their samples were analyzed for HCV RNA viral load and genotype. Out of the 120 DBS tested, HCV RNA was detected on 25 (20.8%). The median viral load was 15,058 IU/ml (ranging from 710 to 766,740 IU/ml). All positive DBS were suitable for the genotyping assay, that showed a predominance of genotype 1 (21/25) including 16 genotypes 1a and 5 genotypes 1b. HCV genotype 1 prevails in a DU population in Dakar. DBS could be useful for HCV RNA genotyping, but optimal storage conditions should required avoiding RNA impairment. Acknowledging this limitation, DBS could be a great interest for detecting and genotyping HCV viremic patients. J. Med. Virol. 89:484-488, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. X-ray instrumentation: monochromators and mirrors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues, A.R.D.

    1983-01-01

    The main type of X-ray monochromators used with Synchrotron Radiation are discussed in relation to the energy resolution and to the spectral contamination, as well special systems for applications which require simultaneously high flux and resolution. The characteristics for X-ray mirrors necessaries for its utilization with synchrotron radiation are also analized, as conformators of the beam geometry and spectrum. (L.C.) [pt

  7. Optimization of Monochromated TEM for Ultimate Resolution Imaging and Ultrahigh Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

    KAUST Repository

    Lopatin, Sergei; Cheng, Bin; Liu, Wei-Ting; Tsai, Meng-Lin; He, Jr-Hau; Chuvilin, Andrey

    2017-01-01

    The performance of a monochromated transmission electron microscope with Wien type monochromator is optimized to achieve an extremely narrow energy spread of electron beam and an ultrahigh energy resolution with spectroscopy. The energy spread in the beam is improved by almost an order of magnitude as compared to specified values. The optimization involves both the monochromator and the electron energy loss detection system. We demonstrate boosted capability of optimized systems with respect to ultra-low loss EELS and sub-angstrom resolution imaging (in a combination with spherical aberration correction).

  8. Optimization of Monochromated TEM for Ultimate Resolution Imaging and Ultrahigh Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

    KAUST Repository

    Lopatin, Sergei

    2017-09-01

    The performance of a monochromated transmission electron microscope with Wien type monochromator is optimized to achieve an extremely narrow energy spread of electron beam and an ultrahigh energy resolution with spectroscopy. The energy spread in the beam is improved by almost an order of magnitude as compared to specified values. The optimization involves both the monochromator and the electron energy loss detection system. We demonstrate boosted capability of optimized systems with respect to ultra-low loss EELS and sub-angstrom resolution imaging (in a combination with spherical aberration correction).

  9. Hard x-ray monochromator with milli-electron volt bandwidth for high-resolution diffraction studies of diamond crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stoupin, Stanislav; Shvyd' ko, Yuri; Shu Deming; Khachatryan, Ruben; Xiao, Xianghui; DeCarlo, Francesco; Goetze, Kurt; Roberts, Timothy; Roehrig, Christian; Deriy, Alexey [Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois 60439 (United States)

    2012-02-15

    We report on design and performance of a high-resolution x-ray monochromator with a spectral bandwidth of {Delta}E{sub X}{approx_equal} 1.5 meV, which operates at x-ray energies in the vicinity of the backscattering (Bragg) energy E{sub H} = 13.903 keV of the (008) reflection in diamond. The monochromator is utilized for high-energy-resolution diffraction characterization of diamond crystals as elements of advanced x-ray crystal optics for synchrotrons and x-ray free-electron lasers. The monochromator and the related controls are made portable such that they can be installed and operated at any appropriate synchrotron beamline equipped with a pre-monochromator.

  10. Recovery, modernization and computerization of the monochromator MDR-23

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miranda, L. J.

    2012-01-01

    For use in the Optics Laboratory, newly created in the CEADEN, one of the necessary equipment is the Monochromator MDR-23, which was necessary for recovery, modernization (replacing the power supply and control) and computerization by designing a VI (virtual instrument) to control stepper motor through a PC using Lab VIEW 7.1 that allows users to select the address mode, the number of steps and the engine speed and give the initial value of the position and limits the range of the monochromator to start working with it. The principle of operation of the program is done in detail to facilitate understanding of how to operate and use the graphical programming designed and achieve efficient use of equipment. (Author)

  11. High heat flux x-ray monochromators: What are the limits?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogers, C.S.

    1997-06-01

    First optical elements at third-generation, hard x-ray synchrotrons, such as the Advanced Photon Source (APS), are subjected to immense heat fluxes. The optical elements include crystal monochromators, multilayers and mirrors. This paper presents a mathematical model of the thermal strain of a three-layer (faceplate, heat exchanger, and baseplate), cylindrical optic subjected to narrow beam of uniform heat flux. This model is used to calculate the strain gradient of a liquid-gallium-cooled x-ray monochromator previously tested on an undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). The resulting thermally broadened rocking curves are calculated and compared to experimental data. The calculated rocking curve widths agree to within a few percent of the measured values over the entire current range tested (0 to 60 mA). The thermal strain gradient under the beam footprint varies linearly with the heat flux and the ratio of the thermal expansion coefficient to the thermal conductivity. The strain gradient is insensitive to the heat exchanger properties and the optic geometry. This formulation provides direct insight into the governing parameters, greatly reduces the analysis time, and provides a measure of the ultimate performance of a given monochromator

  12. MDS-UPDRS to assess non-motor symptoms after STN DBS for Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Nickey; Pahwa, Rajesh; Nazzaro, Jules M; Arnold, Paul M; Lyons, Kelly E

    2016-01-01

    To determine if the non-motor sections of the Movement Disorder Society's (MDS) version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) could supplement the original UPDRS as a patient completed assessment of changes in non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients after bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS). Thirty PD patients who underwent bilateral STN DBS were assessed using the total UPDRS and the non-motor sections of the MDS-UPDRS prior to surgery and one year following surgery. This study focuses on non-motor symptoms as assessed by Part I of the UPDRS and Part 1A and 1B of the MDS-UPDRS. One year following surgery, no individual non-motor symptoms or the total mentation score of the UPDRS were significantly changed. In comparison, the MDS-UPDRS showed significant improvements in sleep and urinary problems and a trend towards improvement in anxiety, constipation, daytime sleepiness, fatigue and pain. This study provides evidence that the MDS-UPDRS non-motor sections, when completed by the patients, can supplement the original version of the UPDRS as an effective method of measuring changes in non-motor symptoms after DBS. It also reinforces the benefits of bilateral STN DBS on non-motor symptoms of PD.

  13. Active phase double crystal monochromator for JET (diagnostic system KS1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andelfinger, C.; Fink, J.; Fussmann, G.; Krause, H.; Roehr, H.; Schilling, H.B.; Schumacher, U.; Becker, P.; Siegert, H.; Abel, P.; Keul, J.

    1984-03-01

    The determination of the impurity concentrations in JET plasmas by absolute radiation measurements in a wide spectral range can be done with a double crystal monochromator device in parallel mode, which is able to operate during all experimental phases of JET. The report describes the engineering design and tests for a double crystal monochromator that fulfills the conditions of parallel orientation of the two crystals during fast wavelength scan, of shielding against neutrons and gamma rays by its folded optical pathway and of sufficient spectral resolution for line profile measurements. (orig.)

  14. Automated DBS microsampling, microscale automation and microflow LC-MS for therapeutic protein PK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Tomazela, Daniela; Vasicek, Lisa A; Spellman, Daniel S; Beaumont, Maribel; Shyong, BaoJen; Kenny, Jacqueline; Fauty, Scott; Fillgrove, Kerry; Harrelson, Jane; Bateman, Kevin P

    2016-04-01

    Reduce animal usage for discovery-stage PK studies for biologics programs using microsampling-based approaches and microscale LC-MS. We report the development of an automated DBS-based serial microsampling approach for studying the PK of therapeutic proteins in mice. Automated sample preparation and microflow LC-MS were used to enable assay miniaturization and improve overall assay throughput. Serial sampling of mice was possible over the full 21-day study period with the first six time points over 24 h being collected using automated DBS sample collection. Overall, this approach demonstrated comparable data to a previous study using single mice per time point liquid samples while reducing animal and compound requirements by 14-fold. Reduction in animals and drug material is enabled by the use of automated serial DBS microsampling for mice studies in discovery-stage studies of protein therapeutics.

  15. Basic mechanisms of DBS for Parkinson’s disease: computational and experimental studies on neural dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Çağnan, H.

    2010-01-01

    Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has become an accepted therapy of last resort for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The acceptance of DBS for the management of PD motor symptoms is based on its success rate and contrasts sharply with ones understanding of the pathophysiology underlying the disease state and

  16. Precision mechanical design of an UHV-compatible artificial channel-cut x-ray monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu, D.; Narayanan, S.; Sandy, A.; Sprung, M.; Preissner, C.; Sullivan, J.

    2007-01-01

    A novel ultra-high-vacuum (UHV)-compatible x-ray monochromator has been designed and commissioned at the undulator beamline 8-ID-I at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy applications. To meet the challenging stability and x-ray optical requirements, the monochromator integrates two new precision angular positioning mechanisms into its crystal optics motion control system: An overconstrained weak-link mechanism that enables the positioning of an assembly of two crystals to achieve the same performance as a single channel-cut crystal, the so called 'artificial channel-cut crystal'; A ceramic motor driven in-vacuum sine-bar mechanism for the double crystal combined pitch motion. The mechanical design of the monochromator, as well as the test results of its positioning performance are presented in this paper.

  17. Precision mechanical design of an UHV-compatible artificial channel-cut x-ray monochromator.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shu, D.; Narayanan, S.; Sandy, A.; Sprung, M.; Preissner, C.; Sullivan, J.; APS Engineering Support Division

    2007-01-01

    A novel ultra-high-vacuum (UHV)-compatible x-ray monochromator has been designed and commissioned at the undulator beamline 8-ID-I at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy applications. To meet the challenging stability and x-ray optical requirements, the monochromator integrates two new precision angular positioning mechanisms into its crystal optics motion control system: An overconstrained weak-link mechanism that enables the positioning of an assembly of two crystals to achieve the same performance as a single channel-cut crystal, the so called 'artificial channel-cut crystal'; A ceramic motor driven in-vacuum sine-bar mechanism for the double crystal combined pitch motion. The mechanical design of the monochromator, as well as the test results of its positioning performance are presented in this paper.

  18. Workshop on cooling of x-ray monochromators on high power beamlines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsushita, T.; Ishikawa, T.

    1989-03-01

    This report is a Workshop on Cooling of X-ray Monochromators on High Power Beamlines held on August 31, 1988 at the Photon Factory during the Third International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI88). On high power beamlines, especially on insertion device beamlines, heating of crystal monochromators is becoming a serious problem: Researchers observe that the intensity of the X-ray beam on the sample is not proportional to the source intensity because of thermal distortion of the monochromator crystal. This problem will be even more serious on beamlines for the next generation X-ray rings. In the very tight program of the SRI88 conference, only 2 speakers were able to give invited talks closely related to this problem in the session of OPTICAL COMPONENTS FOR HIGH POWER BEAMLINES on Wednesday morning of August 31, 1988. We held this workshop in the afternoon of the same day with the intention of offering further opportunities to exchange information on efforts underway at various laboratories and to discuss ideas how to solve this problem. We also intended that the workshop would be a 'follow-up' to the X-ray optics workshop held at ESRF, Grenoble in September 1987, where the importance of crystal cooling was strongly pointed out. There were 32 participants from 7 countries. 12 people represented their experiences and ideas for reducing thermal distortion of crystal monochromators. Following those presentations, there were discussions on collaborations for solving this important problem. The attendees agreed that exchange of information should be continued by holding such meetings at reasonable intervals. (J.P.N.)

  19. A Double-Crystal Monochromator for Neutron Stress Diffractometry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Em, V.; Balagurov, A. M.; Glazkov, V. P.; Karpov, I. D.; Mikula, Pavol; Miron, N. F.; Somenkov, V. A.; Sumin, V. V.; Šaroun, Jan; Shushunov, M. N.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 60, č. 4 (2017), s. 526-532 ISSN 0020-4412 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : neutron diffraction * double-crystal * monochromator Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 0.437, year: 2016

  20. Cryogenically cooled monochromators for the Advanced Photon Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, D.M.

    1996-01-01

    The use of cryogenically cooled monochromators looks to be a very promising possibility for the Advanced Photon Source. This position has recently been bolstered by several experiments performed on beamlines at the ESRF and CHESS. At the ESRF, several crystal geometries have been tested that were designed for high power densities (approx-gt 150 W/mm 2 ) and moderate total absorbed powers (<200 W). These geometries have proven to be very successful at handling these power parameters with measured strains on the arc-second level. The experiments performed at CHESS were focused on high total power (approx-gt 1000 W) but moderate power densities. As with the previously mentioned experiments, the crystals designed for this application performed superbly with no measurable broadening of the rocking curves on the arc-second level. These experiments will be summarized and, based on these results, the performance of cryogenic monochromators for the APS will be assessed. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

  1. Optics and design of the fringe field monochromator for a Schottky field emission gun

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mook, H.W.; Kruit, P.

    1999-01-01

    For the improvement of high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy a new electron source monochromator, based on the Wien filter principle, is presented. In the fringe field monochromator the electric and magnetic filter fields are tightly enclosed by field clamps to satisfy the Wien condition, E=vB. The whole monochromator including the 150 nm energy selection slits (Nanoslits) is positioned in the gun area. Its total length is only 42 mm. Using electron trajectory simulation through the filter fields the dispersion and aberrations are determined. The parasitic astigmatism of the gun lens needs to be corrected using an electrostatic quadrupole field incorporated in the filter. Estimations of the influence of filter electrode misalignment show that at least six filter electrodes must be used to loosen the alignment demands sufficiently. Using theoretical estimations of the Coulomb interaction the final energy resolution, beam brightness and current are predicted. For a Schottky field emission electron gun with typical brightness of 10 8 A/sr m 2 V the monochromator is expected to produce a 50 meV 1 nA beam with a brightness of 10 7

  2. Grating monochromator for soft X-ray self-seeding the European XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serkez, Svitozar; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany)

    2013-02-15

    Self-seeding is a promising approach to significantly narrow the SASE bandwidth of XFELs to produce nearly transform-limited pulses. The implementation of this method in the soft X-ray wavelength range necessarily involves gratings as dispersive elements. We study a very compact self-seeding scheme with a grating monochromator originally designed at SLAC, which can be straightforwardly installed in the SASE3 type undulator beamline at the European XFEL. The monochromator design is based on a toroidal VLS grating working at a fixed incidence angle mounting without entrance slit. It covers the spectral range from 300 eV to 1000 eV. The optical system was studied using wave optics method (in comparison with ray tracing) to evaluate the performance of the self-seeding scheme. Our wave optics analysis takes into account the actual beam wavefront of the radiation from the coherent FEL source, third order aberrations, and errors from each optical element. Wave optics is the only method available, in combination with FEL simulations, for the design of a self-seeding monochromator without exit slit. We show that, without exit slit, the self-seeding scheme is distinguished by the much needed experimental simplicity, and can practically give the same resolving power (about 7000) as with an exit slit. Wave optics is also naturally applicable to calculations of the self-seeding scheme efficiency, which include the monochromator transmittance and the effect of the mismatching between seed beam and electron beam. Simulations show that the FEL power reaches 1 TW and that the spectral density for a TW pulse is about two orders of magnitude higher than that for the SASE pulse at saturation.

  3. Grating monochromator for soft X-ray self-seeding the European XFEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkez, Svitozar; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni; Geloni, Gianluca

    2013-02-01

    Self-seeding is a promising approach to significantly narrow the SASE bandwidth of XFELs to produce nearly transform-limited pulses. The implementation of this method in the soft X-ray wavelength range necessarily involves gratings as dispersive elements. We study a very compact self-seeding scheme with a grating monochromator originally designed at SLAC, which can be straightforwardly installed in the SASE3 type undulator beamline at the European XFEL. The monochromator design is based on a toroidal VLS grating working at a fixed incidence angle mounting without entrance slit. It covers the spectral range from 300 eV to 1000 eV. The optical system was studied using wave optics method (in comparison with ray tracing) to evaluate the performance of the self-seeding scheme. Our wave optics analysis takes into account the actual beam wavefront of the radiation from the coherent FEL source, third order aberrations, and errors from each optical element. Wave optics is the only method available, in combination with FEL simulations, for the design of a self-seeding monochromator without exit slit. We show that, without exit slit, the self-seeding scheme is distinguished by the much needed experimental simplicity, and can practically give the same resolving power (about 7000) as with an exit slit. Wave optics is also naturally applicable to calculations of the self-seeding scheme efficiency, which include the monochromator transmittance and the effect of the mismatching between seed beam and electron beam. Simulations show that the FEL power reaches 1 TW and that the spectral density for a TW pulse is about two orders of magnitude higher than that for the SASE pulse at saturation.

  4. Physical evaluation of color and monochrome medical displays using an imaging colorimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehrig, Hans; Gu, Xiliang; Fan, Jiahua

    2013-03-01

    This paper presents an approach to physical evaluation of color and monochrome medical grade displays using an imaging colorimeter. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of medical display types, monochrome or color at the same maximum luminance settings, on diagnostic performance. The focus was on the measurements of physical characteristics including spatial resolution and noise performance, which we believed could affect the clinical performance. Specifically, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and Noise Power Spectrum (NPS) were evaluated and compared at different digital driving levels (DDL) between two EIZO displays.

  5. Composite germanium monochromators - results for the TriCS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schefer, J.; Fischer, S.; Boehm, M.; Keller, L.; Horisberger, M.; Medarde, M.; Fischer, P. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1997-09-01

    Composite germanium monochromators are in the beginning of their application in neutron diffraction. We show here the importance of the permanent quality control with neutrons on the example of the 311 wafers which will be used on the single crystal diffractometer TriCS at SINQ. (author) 2 figs., 3 refs.

  6. Targeting the brain: considerations in 332 consecutive patients treated by deep brain stimulation (DBS) for severe neurological diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franzini, Angelo; Cordella, Roberto; Messina, Giuseppe; Marras, Carlo Efisio; Romito, Luigi Michele; Albanese, Alberto; Rizzi, Michele; Nardocci, Nardo; Zorzi, Giovanna; Zekaj, Edvin; Villani, Flavio; Leone, Massimo; Gambini, Orsola; Broggi, Giovanni

    2012-12-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) extends the treatment of some severe neurological diseases beyond pharmacological and conservative therapy. Our experience extends the field of DBS beyond the treatment of Parkinson disease and dystonia, including several other diseases such as cluster headache and disruptive behavior. Since 1993, at the Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "Carlo Besta" in Milan, 580 deep brain electrodes were implanted in 332 patients. The DBS targets include Stn, GPi, Voa, Vop, Vim, CM-pf, pHyp, cZi, Nacc, IC, PPN, and Brodmann areas 24 and 25. Three hundred patients are still available for follow-up and therapeutic considerations. DBS gave a new therapeutic chance to these patients affected by severe neurological diseases and in some cases controlled life-threatening pathological conditions, which would otherwise result in the death of the patient such as in status dystonicus, status epilepticus and post-stroke hemiballismus. The balance of DBS in severe neurological disease is strongly positive even if further investigations and studies are needed to search for new applications and refine the selection criteria for the actual indications.

  7. High-flux normal incidence monochromator for circularly polarized synchrotron radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefers, F.; Peatman, W.; Eyers, A.; Heckenkamp, C.; Schoenhense, G.; Heinzmann, U.

    1986-01-01

    A 6.5-m normal incidence monochromator installed at the storage ring BESSY, which is optimized for a high throughput of circularly polarized off-plane radiation at moderate resolution is described. The monochromator employs two exit slits and is specially designed and used for low-signal experiments such as spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy on solids, adsorbates, free atoms, and molecules. The Monk--Gillieson mounting (plane grating in a convergent light beam) allows for large apertures with relatively little astigmatism. With two gratings, a flux of more than 10 11 photons s -1 bandwidth -1 (0.2--0.5 nm) with a circular polarization of more than 90% in the wavelength range from 35 to 675 nm is achieved

  8. Electrochemical Behaviour of a PPy(DBS)/Polyacrylonitrile (PAN):LITF:EC:PC/ Li Cell

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vidanapathirana, K.; Careem, M.A.; Skaarup, Steen

    2006-01-01

    The electrochemical behaviour of Li rechargeable cells with Polypyrrole (PPy) as the cathode material was investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The PPy used was doped with the large surfactant anion dodecyl benzenesulphonate (DBS-). The cells were constructed with PAN:LiTF:EC:PC gel electrolyte...... with Li as anode. The results indicate that during the first reduction, cations are inserted into the PPy film forming LiDBS neutral salt. During the next oxidation/reduction cycles, the mechanism then switches to anion movement. Cyclic voltammetry studies also verified that complete electrochemical...

  9. Cam-driven monochromator for QEXAFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caliebe, W.A. [National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); So, I. [National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Lenhard, A. [National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Siddons, D.P. [National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)

    2006-11-15

    We have developed a cam-drive for quickly tuning the energy of an X-ray monochromator through an X-ray absorption edge for quick extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QEXAFS). The data are collected using a 4-channel, 12-bit multiplexed VME analog to digital converter and a VME angle encoder. The VME crate controller runs a real-time operating system. This system is capable of collecting 2 EXAFS-scans in 1 s with an energy stability of better than 1 eV. Additional improvements to increase the speed and the energy stability are under way.

  10. Cam-driven monochromator for QEXAFS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caliebe, W. A.; So, I.; Lenhard, A.; Siddons, D. P.

    2006-11-01

    We have developed a cam-drive for quickly tuning the energy of an X-ray monochromator through an X-ray absorption edge for quick extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QEXAFS). The data are collected using a 4-channel, 12-bit multiplexed VME analog to digital converter and a VME angle encoder. The VME crate controller runs a real-time operating system. This system is capable of collecting 2 EXAFS-scans in 1 s with an energy stability of better than 1 eV. Additional improvements to increase the speed and the energy stability are under way.

  11. Cam-driven monochromator for QEXAFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caliebe, W.A.; So, I.; Lenhard, A.; Siddons, D.P.

    2006-01-01

    We have developed a cam-drive for quickly tuning the energy of an X-ray monochromator through an X-ray absorption edge for quick extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QEXAFS). The data are collected using a 4-channel, 12-bit multiplexed VME analog to digital converter and a VME angle encoder. The VME crate controller runs a real-time operating system. This system is capable of collecting 2 EXAFS-scans in 1 s with an energy stability of better than 1 eV. Additional improvements to increase the speed and the energy stability are under way

  12. A bent Laue-Laue monochromator for a synchrotron-based computed tomography system

    CERN Document Server

    Ren, B; Chapman, L D; Ivanov, I; Wu, X Y; Zhong, Z; Huang, X

    1999-01-01

    We designed and tested a two-crystal bent Laue-Laue monochromator for wide, fan-shaped synchrotron X-ray beams for the program multiple energy computed tomography (MECT) at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). MECT employs monochromatic X-ray beams from the NSLS's X17B superconducting wiggler beamline for computed tomography (CT) with an improved image quality. MECT uses a fixed horizontal fan-shaped beam with the subject's apparatus rotating around a vertical axis. The new monochromator uses two Czochralski-grown Si crystals, 0.7 and 1.4 mm thick, respectively, and with thick ribs on their upper and lower ends. The crystals are bent cylindrically, with the axis of the cylinder parallel to the fan beam, using 4-rod benders with two fixed rods and two movable ones. The bent-crystal feature of the monochromator resolved the difficulties we had had with the flat Laue-Laue design previously used in MECT, which included (a) inadequate beam intensity, (b) excessive fluctuations in beam intensity, and (c) i...

  13. Faculty Perceptions of Loughborough's Online Reading List System (LORLS) at Dublin Business School (DBS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Marie; Musto, Lara

    2017-01-01

    Using a mixed methods research approach this study explores faculty perceptions of LORLS at DBS. Data generated by the study will inform advocacy, marketing and training initiatives to promote the platform. The study concludes with a number of deductive and inductive findings. The first is that although DBS faculty are highly predisposed to using…

  14. Mark IV 'Grasshopper' grazing incidence mono-chromator for the Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CSRF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan, K.H.; Bancroft, G.M.; Coatsworth, L.L.; Yates, B.W.

    1982-01-01

    The vacuum, mechanical, and optical characteristics of a 'Grasshopper' grazing incidence monochromator for use with a synchrotron radiation source in the 30-300 eV range is described. The monochromator is compatible with ultrahigh vacuum ( -10 Torr throughout), and the motor driven scan mechanism is linear and reliable. The monchromator has been calibrated using several known absorption edges between 36 and 102 eV and a nonlinear least squares fit to the scan equation. These same absorption edges, plus a scan over zero order, show that the present resolution of the monochromator (with 10 and 16 μm exit and entrance slits respectively) is 0.16 A (0.06 eV at the AlLsub(2,3) edge). With 10 μm entrance and exit slits the resolution will be very close to the theoretical Δlambda = 0.083 A

  15. Heat load studies of a water-cooled minichannel monochromator for synchrotron x-ray beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freund, Andreas K.; Arthur, John R.; Zhang, Lin

    1997-12-01

    We fabricated a water-cooled silicon monochromator crystal with small channels for the special case of a double-crystal fixed-exit monochromator design where the beam walks across the crystal when the x-ray energy is changed. The two parts of the cooled device were assembled using a new technique based on low melting point solder. The bending of the system produced by this technique could be perfectly compensated by mechanical counter-bending. Heat load tests of the monochromator in a synchrotron beam of 75 W total power, 3 mm high and 15 mm wide, generated by a multipole wiggler at SSRL, showed that the thermal slope error of the crystal is 1 arcsec/40 W power, in full agreement with finite element analysis. The cooling scheme is adequate for bending magnet beamlines at the ESRF and present wiggler beamlines at the SSRL.

  16. A compact double crystal monochromator for electrochemistry beamline at PLS

    CERN Document Server

    Rah, S; Kim, G H

    2001-01-01

    A compact double crystal monochromator based on 16.5'' CF flange has been designed, fabricated and installed for electrochemistry beamline at Pohang light source. The Bragg angle range of the monochromator is 7-75 deg. The mechanical design is modified from typical Boomerang design [J.A. Golovchenko et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 52 (1981) 509; J.P. Kirkland, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A291 (1990) 185] to have fixed beam offset and single driving axis for spectroscopy experiments. The parallelism error of the crystals is minimized to less than 6 mu rad for the range, by using a precision single axis linear guide, Also, the number of mechanical parts in the vacuum is minimized and 1.8x10 sup - sup 9 Torr of vacuum is achieved without baking.

  17. The in-focus variable line spacing plane grating monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reininger, R.

    2011-01-01

    The in-focus variable line spacing plane grating monochromator is based on only two plane optical elements, a variable line spacing plane grating and a plane pre-mirror that illuminates the grating at the angle of incidence that will focus the required photon energy. A high throughput beamline requires only a third optical element after the exit slit, an aberration corrected elliptical toroid. Since plane elements can be manufactured with the smallest figure errors, this monochromator design can achieve very high resolving power. Furthermore, this optical design can correct the deformations induced by the heat load on the optics along the dispersion plane. This should allow obtaining a resolution of 10 meV at 1 keV with currently achievable figure errors on plane optics. The position of the photon source when an insertion device center is not located at the center of the straight section, a common occurrence in new insertion device beamlines, is investigated.

  18. Generating high gray-level resolution monochrome displays with conventional computer graphics cards and color monitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiangrui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Xu, Pengjing; Jin, Jianzhong; Zhou, Yifeng

    2003-11-30

    Display systems based on conventional computer graphics cards are capable of generating images with about 8-bit luminance resolution. However, most vision experiments require more than 12 bits of luminance resolution. Pelli and Zhang [Spatial Vis. 10 (1997) 443] described a video attenuator for generating high luminance resolution displays on a monochrome monitor, or for driving just the green gun of a color monitor. Here we show how to achieve a white display by adding video amplifiers to duplicate the monochrome signal to drive all three guns of any color monitor. Because of the lack of the availability of high quality monochrome monitors, our method provides an inexpensive way to achieve high-resolution monochromatic displays using conventional, easy-to-get equipment. We describe the design principles, test results, and a few additional functionalities.

  19. Self-seeding scheme with gas monochromator for narrow-bandwidth soft X-ray FELs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2011-03-15

    Self-seeding schemes, consisting of two undulators with a monochromator in between, aim at reducing the bandwidth of SASE X-ray FELs. We recently proposed to use a new method of monochromatization exploiting a single crystal in Bragg transmission geometry for self-seeding in the hard X-ray range. Here we consider a possible extension of this method to the soft X-ray range using a cell filled with resonantly absorbing gas as monochromator. The transmittance spectrum in the gas exhibits an absorbing resonance with narrow bandwidth. Then, similarly to the hard X-ray case, the temporal waveform of the transmitted radiation pulse is characterized by a long monochromatic wake. In fact, the FEL pulse forces the gas atoms to oscillate in a way consistent with a forward-propagating, monochromatic radiation beam. The radiation power within this wake is much larger than the equivalent shot noise power in the electron bunch. Further on, the monochromatic wake of the radiation pulse is combined with the delayed electron bunch and amplified in the second undulator. The proposed setup is extremely simple, and composed of as few as two simple elements. These are the gas cell, to be filled with noble gas, and a short magnetic chicane. The installation of the magnetic chicane does not perturb the undulator focusing system and does not interfere with the baseline mode of operation. In this paper we assess the features of gas monochromator based on the use of He and Ne.We analyze the processes in the monochromator gas cell and outside it, touching upon the performance of the differential pumping system as well. We study the feasibility of using the proposed self-seeding technique to generate narrow bandwidth soft X-ray radiation in the LCLS-II soft X-ray beam line. We present conceptual design, technical implementation and expected performances of the gas monochromator self-seeding scheme. (orig.)

  20. Self-seeding scheme with gas monochromator for narrow-bandwidth soft X-ray FELs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

    2011-03-01

    Self-seeding schemes, consisting of two undulators with a monochromator in between, aim at reducing the bandwidth of SASE X-ray FELs. We recently proposed to use a new method of monochromatization exploiting a single crystal in Bragg transmission geometry for self-seeding in the hard X-ray range. Here we consider a possible extension of this method to the soft X-ray range using a cell filled with resonantly absorbing gas as monochromator. The transmittance spectrum in the gas exhibits an absorbing resonance with narrow bandwidth. Then, similarly to the hard X-ray case, the temporal waveform of the transmitted radiation pulse is characterized by a long monochromatic wake. In fact, the FEL pulse forces the gas atoms to oscillate in a way consistent with a forward-propagating, monochromatic radiation beam. The radiation power within this wake is much larger than the equivalent shot noise power in the electron bunch. Further on, the monochromatic wake of the radiation pulse is combined with the delayed electron bunch and amplified in the second undulator. The proposed setup is extremely simple, and composed of as few as two simple elements. These are the gas cell, to be filled with noble gas, and a short magnetic chicane. The installation of the magnetic chicane does not perturb the undulator focusing system and does not interfere with the baseline mode of operation. In this paper we assess the features of gas monochromator based on the use of He and Ne.We analyze the processes in the monochromator gas cell and outside it, touching upon the performance of the differential pumping system as well. We study the feasibility of using the proposed self-seeding technique to generate narrow bandwidth soft X-ray radiation in the LCLS-II soft X-ray beam line. We present conceptual design, technical implementation and expected performances of the gas monochromator self-seeding scheme. (orig.)

  1. MRI-Based Multiscale Model for Electromagnetic Analysis in the Human Head with Implanted DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Ida Iacono

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS is an established procedure for the treatment of movement and affective disorders. Patients with DBS may benefit from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI to evaluate injuries or comorbidities. However, the MRI radio-frequency (RF energy may cause excessive tissue heating particularly near the electrode. This paper studies how the accuracy of numerical modeling of the RF field inside a DBS patient varies with spatial resolution and corresponding anatomical detail of the volume surrounding the electrodes. A multiscale model (MS was created by an atlas-based segmentation using a 1 mm3 head model (mRes refined in the basal ganglia by a 200 μm2 ex-vivo dataset. Four DBS electrodes targeting the left globus pallidus internus were modeled. Electromagnetic simulations at 128 MHz showed that the peak of the electric field of the MS doubled (18.7 kV/m versus 9.33 kV/m and shifted 6.4 mm compared to the mRes model. Additionally, the MS had a sixfold increase over the mRes model in peak-specific absorption rate (SAR of 43.9 kW/kg versus 7 kW/kg. The results suggest that submillimetric resolution and improved anatomical detail in the model may increase the accuracy of computed electric field and local SAR around the tip of the implant.

  2. Use of finger-prick dried blood spots (fpDBS) and capillary electrophoresis for carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) screening in forensic toxicology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertaso, Anna; Sorio, Daniela; Vandoros, Anthula; De Palo, Elio F; Bortolotti, Federica; Tagliaro, Franco

    2016-10-01

    Continued progress in chronic alcohol abuse investigation requires the development of less invasive procedures for screening purposes. The application of finger-prick and related dried blood spots (fpDBS) for carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) detection appears suitable for this aim. Therefore, the goal of this project was to develop a screening method for CDT using fpDBS with CZE analysis. Blood samples prepared by finger-prick were placed on DBS cards and left to air dry; each dried fpDBS disc was shredded into small pieces and suspended in acid solution (60 μL of HCl 120 mmol/L). After centrifugation (10 min at 1500 × g), the collected sample was adjusted to pH 3.5. After an overnight incubation, the pH was neutralised and an iron rich solution was added. After 1 h, CZE analysis was carried out. A group of 47 individuals was studied. Parallel serum samples were collected from each investigated subject and the %CDT for each sample was measured using HPLC and CZE techniques. The fpDBS transferrin sialo isoform electropherograms were similar to those obtained with serum. Moreover, fpDBS CZE CDT percentage levels demonstrated significant statistical correlation with those obtained from serum for both HPLC and CZE %CDT (p < 0.01; r 2 = 0.8913 and 0.8976, respectively), with %CDT from 0.8 to 13.7% for fpDBS and from 0.7 to 12.7% for serum. The newly developed fpDBS procedure for CDT analysis provides a simple and inexpensive tool for use in population screening. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Effect of Deep Brain Stimulation on Parkinson's Nonmotor Symptoms following Unilateral DBS: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Hwynn

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Parkinson’s disease (PD management has traditionally focused largely on motor symptoms. Deep brain stimulation (DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN and globus pallidus internus (GPi are effective treatments for motor symptoms. Nonmotor symptoms (NMSs may also profoundly affect the quality of life. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate NMS changes pre- and post-DBS utilizing two recently developed questionnaires. Methods. NMS-Q (questionnaire and NMS-S (scale were administered to PD patients before/after unilateral DBS (STN/GPi targets. Results. Ten PD patients (9 STN implants, 1 GPi implant were included. The three most frequent NMS symptoms identified utilizing NMS-Q in pre-surgical patients were gastrointestinal (100%, sleep (100%, and urinary (90%. NMS sleep subscore significantly decreased (−1.6 points ± 1.8, =0.03. The three most frequent NMS symptoms identified in pre-surgical patients using NMS-S were gastrointestinal (90%, mood (80%, and cardiovascular (80%. The largest mean decrease of NMS scores was seen in miscellaneous symptoms (pain, anosmia, weight change, and sweating (−7 points ± 8.7, and cardiovascular/falls (−1.9, =0.02. Conclusion. Non-motor symptoms improved on two separate questionnaires following unilateral DBS for PD. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and determine their clinical significance as well as to examine the strengths/weaknesses of each questionnaire/scale.

  4. Performance of the biomerieux DBS puncher and dried blood spots ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: The latest World Health Organization recommendations request viral load (VL) testing, if possible, for monitoring HIV-1 infections. However, the use of plasma is an obstacle to realize this test in sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, the dried blood spot (DBS) is an interesting tool for sample collections.

  5. Design of a cryo-cooled artificial channel-cut crystal monochromator for the European XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Xiaohao, E-mail: xiaohao.dong@xfel.eu; Sinn, Harald, E-mail: harald.sinn@xfel.eu [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg, D-22761 (Germany); Shu, Deming, E-mail: shu@aps.anl.gov [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, U.S.A (United States)

    2016-07-27

    An artificial channel-cut crystal monochromator for the hard X-Ray beamlines of SASE 1&2, cryogenically cooled by the so-called pulse tube cooler (cryorefrigerator), is currently under development at the European XFEL ( http://www.xfel.eu/ ). The fabrication is on-going. We present here the crystal optical consideration and the novel cooling configuration, according to the X-Ray FEL pulses proprieties. The mechanical design improvements are pointed out as well to implement such kind of monochromator based on the previous similar design.

  6. Betting on DBS: Effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on risk taking and decision making in patients with Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Jason; Rogerson, Mark; Al-Joudi, Haya; Reckess, Gila; Shpritz, Barnett; Umeh, Chizoba C; Aljehani, Noha; Mills, Kelly; Mari, Zoltan

    2015-07-01

    Concerns persist that deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) increases impulsivity or induces excessive reward seeking. We report here the performance of PD patients with implanted subthalamic nucleus electrodes, with stimulation on and off, on 3 laboratory tasks of risk taking and decision making. They are compared with PD patients maintained on medication and healthy participants. In the Game of Dice Task, a test of "risky" decision making, PD patients with or without DBS made highest risk bets more often and ended up with less money than did healthy participants. There was a trend for DBS stimulation to ameliorate this effect. Deal or No-Deal is an "ambiguous" decision-making task that assessed preference for risk (holding on to one's briefcase) over a "sure thing" (accepting the banker's offer). Here, DBS patients were more conservative with stimulation on than with it off. They accepted smaller offers from the banker and won less money in the DBS-on condition. Overall, the 2 PD groups won less money than did healthy participants. The Framing Paradigm assessed willingness to gamble on a fixed (unambiguous) prize depending on whether the reward was "framed" as a loss or a gain. Nonsurgical PD patients tended to be more risk-averse than were healthy participants, whereas DBS patients were more willing to gamble for gains as well as losses both on and off stimulation. On risky decision-making tasks, DBS patients took more risks than did healthy participants, but stimulation may temper this tendency. In contrast, in an ambiguous-risk situation, DBS patients were more risk-averse (conservative) than were healthy participants, and this tendency was greatest with stimulation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Validation of the Use of Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Method to Assess Vitamin A Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallah, Elham; Peighambardoust, Seyed Hadi

    2012-01-01

    Background: Vitamin A deficiency is an important dietary deficiency in the world. Thus, the ne¬cessity of screening for deficient populations is obvious. This paper introduces a fast, cheap and relatively reliable method called “dried blood spot” (DBS) method in screening the deficient populations. The validity of this method for retinol measurement was investigated. Method: The “precision” and “agreement” criteria of the DBS method were assessed. The preci¬sion was calculated and compared with those of plasma using F-test. The agreement was eva¬luated using Bland-Altman plot. Results: The imprecision of retinol measurements in dried spots was not significantly different from those of the control (plasma). A good correlation coefficient (r2=0.78) was obtained for dried spots’ retinol measurements versus plasma’s retinol analysis (P dried spots was stable for 90 days. Overall, the DBS method provided a precise measurement of retinol, showing results that were comparable with the measurement of retinol in plasma. PMID:24688932

  8. Long-Term Effect of GPi-DBS in a Patient With Generalized Dystonia Due to GLUT1 Deficiency Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Idil Hanci

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Treatment outcomes from pallidal deep brain stimulation are highly heterogeneous reflecting the phenotypic and etiologic spectrum of dystonia. Treatment stratification to neurostimulation therapy primarily relies on the phenotypic motor presentation; however, etiology including genetic factors are increasingly recognized as modifiers of treatment outcomes. Here, we describe a 53 year-old female patient with a progressive generalized dystonia since age 25. The patient underwent deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus (GPi-DBS at age 44. Since the clinical phenotype included mobile choreo-dystonic features, we expected favorable therapeutic outcome from GPi-DBS. Although mobile dystonia components were slightly improved in the long-term outcome from GPi-DBS the overall therapeutic response 9 years from implantation was limited when comparing “stimulation off” and “stimulation on” despite of proper electrode localization and sufficient stimulation programming. In order to further understand the reason for this limited motor symptom response, we aimed to clarify the etiology of generalized dystonia in this patient. Genetic testing identified a novel heterozygous pathogenic SLC2A1 mutation as cause of glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1-DS. This case report presents the first outcome of GPi-DBS in a patient with GLUT1-DS, and suggests that genotype relations may increasingly complement phenotype-based therapy stratification of GPi-DBS in dystonia.

  9. Design and optimization of the grating monochromator for soft X-ray self-seeding FELs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serkez, Svitozar

    2015-10-15

    The emergence of Free Electron Lasers (FEL) as a fourth generation of light sources is a breakthrough. FELs operating in the X-ray range (XFEL) allow one to carry out completely new experiments that probably most of the natural sciences would benefit. Self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is the baseline FEL operation mode: the radiation pulse starts as a spontaneous emission from the electron bunch and is being amplified during an FEL process until it reaches saturation. The SASE FEL radiation usually has poor properties in terms of a spectral bandwidth or, on the other side, longitudinal coherence. Self-seeding is a promising approach to narrow the SASE bandwidth of XFELs significantly in order to produce nearly transformlimited pulses. It is achieved by the radiation pulse monochromatization in the middle of an FEL amplification process. Following the successful demonstration of the self-seeding setup in the hard X-ray range at the LCLS, there is a need for a self-seeding extension into the soft X-ray range. Here a numerical method to simulate the soft X-ray self seeding (SXRSS) monochromator performance is presented. It allows one to perform start-to-end self-seeded FEL simulations along with (in our case) GENESIS simulation code. Based on this method, the performance of the LCLS self-seeded operation was simulated showing a good agreement with an experiment. Also the SXRSS monochromator design developed in SLAC was adapted for the SASE3 type undulator beamline at the European XFEL. The optical system was studied using Gaussian beam optics, wave optics propagation method and ray tracing to evaluate the performance of the monochromator itself. Wave optics analysis takes into account the actual beam wavefront of the radiation from the coherent FEL source, third order aberrations and height errors from each optical element. The monochromator design is based on a toroidal VLS grating working at a fixed incidence angle mounting without both entrance and exit

  10. Design and optimization of the grating monochromator for soft X-ray self-seeding FELs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkez, Svitozar

    2015-10-01

    The emergence of Free Electron Lasers (FEL) as a fourth generation of light sources is a breakthrough. FELs operating in the X-ray range (XFEL) allow one to carry out completely new experiments that probably most of the natural sciences would benefit. Self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is the baseline FEL operation mode: the radiation pulse starts as a spontaneous emission from the electron bunch and is being amplified during an FEL process until it reaches saturation. The SASE FEL radiation usually has poor properties in terms of a spectral bandwidth or, on the other side, longitudinal coherence. Self-seeding is a promising approach to narrow the SASE bandwidth of XFELs significantly in order to produce nearly transformlimited pulses. It is achieved by the radiation pulse monochromatization in the middle of an FEL amplification process. Following the successful demonstration of the self-seeding setup in the hard X-ray range at the LCLS, there is a need for a self-seeding extension into the soft X-ray range. Here a numerical method to simulate the soft X-ray self seeding (SXRSS) monochromator performance is presented. It allows one to perform start-to-end self-seeded FEL simulations along with (in our case) GENESIS simulation code. Based on this method, the performance of the LCLS self-seeded operation was simulated showing a good agreement with an experiment. Also the SXRSS monochromator design developed in SLAC was adapted for the SASE3 type undulator beamline at the European XFEL. The optical system was studied using Gaussian beam optics, wave optics propagation method and ray tracing to evaluate the performance of the monochromator itself. Wave optics analysis takes into account the actual beam wavefront of the radiation from the coherent FEL source, third order aberrations and height errors from each optical element. The monochromator design is based on a toroidal VLS grating working at a fixed incidence angle mounting without both entrance and exit

  11. r-CBF brain SPET before surgery and during subthalamic nuclei (STN) high frequency stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's Disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerundini, P.; Benti, R.; De Notaris, A.; Ferrari, M.; Raimondi, A.; Mariani, C.; Antonini, A.; Pezzoli, G.; Gaini, S.M.

    2002-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nuclei (STN) can improve motor symptoms and reduces the need for medical therapy in severe Parkinson's Disease (PD). Moreover, DBS can affect, as the medical treatment, cerebral perfusion/metabolism even in cortical/subcortical areas not primarily involved in PD motor symptoms. Aim of the study was the assessment of r-CBF changes by mean of brain SPECT in severe PD .before surgery and during DBS of the STN. Methods. 14 PD patients (duration 15.2±5.1 ys; H and Y off-score 3.6±0.7) underwent STN electrode implantation. Residual motor dysfunction was assessed by UPDRS score up to one year after surgery. SPECT was performed after i.v. injection of Tc-99m ECD (740 MBq) in PD group before and 6-9 months after surgery and in 13 age matched normals. Standardized ROIs templates were applied in brain sections to generate perfusion ratios in the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) analysis of SPET studies was also obtained. Results: 6 months after surgery the mean UPDRS score improvement was 48.8±26.1% (DBS on) vs pre surgery. 8 patients (R+) had UPDRS improvement >50% (mean 67.7±8.8%); 6 patients (R-) had score improvement <50% (mean 22.9±18.9%). Before surgery, motor dysfunction during therapy was similar in R+ and R- groups (mean UPDRS 19.8±8.2 vs. 21.3±9.6). During BDS, UPDRS mean score without medical therapy was lower in R+ (15.6±5.6) vs. R- (35.0±12.4; p<0.001). ROIs and SPM analysis of pre-surgery SPET studies showed significant hypoperfusion (p<0.01) in the occipital gyri of PD vs control groups. No significant differences were found by comparing pre/post surgery SPECT patterns in whole PD group. However, in R- group SPECT showed significant hypoperfusion in pre-frontal areas, parietal and occipital gyri vs R+ patients (p<0.02) and controls (p<0.01). Before surgery, R+ group had borderline occipital hypoperfusion (p=0.04) and mild increase of putaminal perfusion (p=0.03) vs

  12. DBS-platform for biomonitoring and toxicokinetics of toxicants: proof of concept using LC-MS/MS analysis of fipronil and its metabolites in blood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raju, Kanumuri Siva Rama; Taneja, Isha; Rashid, Mamunur; Sonkar, Ashish Kumar; Wahajuddin, Muhammad; Singh, Sheelendra Pratap

    2016-03-01

    A simple, sensitive and high throughput LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for quantification of fipronil, fipronil sulfone and fipronil desulfinyl in rat and human dried blood spots (DBS). DBS samples were prepared by spiking 10 μl blood on DMPK-C cards followed by drying at room temperature. The whole blood spots were then punched from the card and extracted using acetonitrile. The total chromatographic run time of the method was only 2 min. The lower limit of quantification of the method was 0.1 ng/ml for all the analytes. The method was successfully applied to determine fipronil desulfinyl in DBS samples obtained from its toxicokinetic study in rats following intravenous dose (1 mg/kg). In conclusion, the proposed DBS methodology has significant potential in toxicokinetics and biomonitoring studies of environmental toxicants. This microvolume DBS technique will be an ideal tool for biomonitoring studies, particularly in paediatric population. Small volume requirements, minimally invasive blood sampling method, easier storage and shipping procedure make DBS a suitable technique for such studies. Further, DBS technique contributes towards the principles of 3Rs resulting in significant reduction in the number of rodents used and refinement in sample collection for toxicokinetic studies.

  13. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer A. Foley

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS for Parkinson’s disease (PD. The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

  14. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A.; Limousin, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS. PMID:28408788

  15. Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Jennifer A; Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A; Limousin, Patricia; Cipolotti, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    Objective . Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method . In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results . As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion . Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

  16. Spectrum scanning of monochromator by microcontroller ATtiny 2313

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veklich, A.M.; Boretskij, V.F.; Kleshich, M.M.; Fesenko, S.O.

    2009-01-01

    The results of interface developing on the base of Atmel microcontroller ATtiny 2313 are shown. This device is dedicated to the spectrum scanning of monochromators by the step motor. The design principles of motor control scheme are analyzed. The original algorithm of microcontroller program was suggested and realized. The principal performance availability of the USB interface for the purpose of the device control by the personal computer is considered.

  17. Constructing experimental devices for half-ton synthesis of gadolinium-loaded liquid scintillator and its performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Young Seo; Jang, Yeong Min; Joo, Kyung Kwang

    2018-04-01

    This paper describes in brief features of various experimental devices constructed for half-ton synthesis of gadolinium(Gd)-loaded liquid scintillator (GdLS) and also includes the performances and detailed chemical and physical results of a 0.5% high-concentration GdLS. Various feasibility studies on useful apparatus used for loading Gd into solvents have been carried out. The transmittance, Gd concentration, density, light yield, and moisture content were measured for quality control. We show that with the help of adequate automated experimental devices and tools, it is possible to perform ton scale synthesis of GdLS at moderate laboratory scale without difficulty. The synthesized GdLS was satisfactory to meet chemical, optical, and physical properties and various safety requirements. These synthesizing devices can be expanded into massive scale next-generation neutrino experiments of several hundred tons.

  18. Electron-optical design parameters for a high-resolution electron monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.; Huebner, R.H.

    1976-01-01

    Detailed design parameters of a new, high-resolution electron monochromator are presented. The design utilizes a hemispherical filter as the energy-dispersing element and combines both cylindrical and aperture electrostatic lenses to accelerate, decelerate, transport, and focus the electron beam from the cathode to the interaction region

  19. Collimator type monochromator as a possible impurities monitor for fusion plasmas. Preliminary tests on the Tokamak TM-1-MH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Musa, G.; Lungu, C.P.; Badalec, J.; Jakubka, K.; Kopecky, V.; Stoeckel, J.; Zacek, F.

    1984-09-01

    A collimator type monochromator has been tested for the first time as the impurity monitor on Tokamak. The possibility to use this type of monochromator in fusion devices is analyzed and a monoslit device is proposed as a convenient monitor for impurities. (authors)

  20. Investigation of a monochromator scheme for SPEAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wille, K.; Chao, A.W.

    1984-08-01

    The possibility of mono-chromatizing SPEAR for the purpose of increasing the hadronic event rate at the narrow resonances was investigated. By using two pairs of electostatic skew quads in monochromator scheme it is found that the event rate can be increased by a factor of 2 for the mini beta optics assuming the luminosity is kept unchanged. An attempt to increase this enhancement factor by major rearrangements of the ring magnets has encountered serious optical difficulties; although enhancement factor of 8 seems possible in principle, this alternative is not recommended

  1. Neurosurgical decision-making with IOM: DBS surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arle, Jeffrey E; Shils, Jay L

    2007-12-01

    Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) adds new information to intraoperative surgical decision-making. When presented clearly and accurately, it can help guide decision processes during the procedure, but can be a detriment overall if the information is inaccurate or misleading. Troubleshooting abilities and vigilance of the IOM staff play a large role in bolstering the level of trust a surgeon develops in IOM. Additionally, a surgeon may impart his own interpretation and experience with this new information that can undermine or enhance its impact on the case. In this article, we explore these issues with IOM in general and as they relate to the special context of DBS for movement disorders.

  2. Diagnostic accuracy of serological diagnosis of hepatitis C and B using dried blood spot samples (DBS): two systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Berit; Cohn, Jennifer; Roberts, Teri; Camp, Johannes; Chauffour, Jeanne; Gummadi, Nina; Ishizaki, Azumi; Nagarathnam, Anupriya; Tuaillon, Edouard; van de Perre, Philippe; Pichler, Christine; Easterbrook, Philippa; Denkinger, Claudia M

    2017-11-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) are a convenient tool to enable diagnostic testing for viral diseases due to transport, handling and logistical advantages over conventional venous blood sampling. A better understanding of the performance of serological testing for hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) from DBS is important to enable more widespread use of this sampling approach in resource limited settings, and to inform the 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on testing for HBV/HCV. We conducted two systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the diagnostic accuracy of HCV antibody (HCV-Ab) and HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) from DBS samples compared to venous blood samples. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health and Cochrane library were searched for studies that assessed diagnostic accuracy with DBS and agreement between DBS and venous sampling. Heterogeneity of results was assessed and where possible a pooled analysis of sensitivity and specificity was performed using a bivariate analysis with maximum likelihood estimate and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). We conducted a narrative review on the impact of varying storage conditions or limits of detection in subsets of samples. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess risk of bias. For the diagnostic accuracy of HBsAg from DBS compared to venous blood, 19 studies were included in a quantitative meta-analysis, and 23 in a narrative review. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were 98% (95%CI:95%-99%) and 100% (95%CI:99-100%), respectively. For the diagnostic accuracy of HCV-Ab from DBS, 19 studies were included in a pooled quantitative meta-analysis, and 23 studies were included in a narrative review. Pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were 98% (CI95%:95-99) and 99% (CI95%:98-100), respectively. Overall quality of studies and heterogeneity were rated as moderate in both systematic reviews. HCV-Ab and HBsAg testing using DBS compared to venous blood sampling was associated with excellent diagnostic accuracy

  3. Calculation of thermal deformations in water-cooled monochromator crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Ario; Hashimoto, Shinya; Motohashi, Haruhiko

    1994-11-01

    Through calculation of temperature distribution and thermal deformation of monochromators, optical degradation by the heat loads in SPring-8 have been discussed. Cooling experiments were made on three models of copper structures with the JAERI Electron Beam Irradiation Stand (JEBIS) and the results were used to estimate heat transfer coefficients in the models. The heat transfer coefficients have been adopted to simulate heating processes on silicon models of the same structures as the copper models, for which radiations from the SPring-8 bending magnet and the JAERI prototype undulator (WPH-33J) were considered. It has been concluded that, in the case of bending magnet (with power density of 0.27[MW/m 2 ] on monochromator surface), the temperature at the surface center reaches about 30[degC] from the initial temperature of 27[degC] in all the models. In the case of WPH-33J (with power density of 8.2[MW/m 2 ]), the temperature reaches about 200 to 280[degC] depending on the models. The radiation from WPH-33J yields slope errors bigger than the Darwin's width(23[μrad]). (author)

  4. Processing method for high resolution monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiriyama, Koji; Mitsui, Takaya

    2006-12-01

    A processing method for high resolution monochromator (HRM) has been developed at Japanese Atomic Energy Agency/Quantum Beam Science Directorate/Synchrotron Radiation Research unit at SPring-8. For manufacturing a HRM, a sophisticated slicing machine and X-ray diffractometer have been installed for shaping a crystal ingot and orienting precisely the surface of a crystal ingot, respectively. The specification of the slicing machine is following; Maximum size of a diamond blade is φ 350mm in diameter, φ 38.1mm in the spindle diameter, and 2mm in thickness. A large crystal such as an ingot with 100mm in diameter, 200mm in length can be cut. Thin crystal samples such as a wafer can be also cut using by another sample holder. Working distance of a main shaft with the direction perpendicular to working table in the machine is 350mm at maximum. Smallest resolution of the main shaft with directions of front-and-back and top-and-bottom are 0.001mm read by a digital encoder. 2mm/min can set for cutting samples in the forward direction. For orienting crystal faces relative to the blade direction adjustment, a one-circle goniometer and 2-circle segment are equipped on the working table in the machine. A rotation and a tilt of the stage can be done by manual operation. Digital encoder in a turn stage is furnished and has angle resolution of less than 0.01 degrees. In addition, a hand drill as a supporting device for detailed processing of crystal is prepared. Then, an ideal crystal face can be cut from crystal samples within an accuracy of about 0.01 degrees. By installation of these devices, a high energy resolution monochromator crystal for inelastic x-ray scattering and a beam collimator are got in hand and are expected to be used for nanotechnology studies. (author)

  5. Output diagnostics of the grazing incidence plane grating monochromator BUMBLE BEE (15 to 1500 eV)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jark, W.; Kunz, C.

    1985-09-01

    The BUMBLE BEE is a bakeable uhv compatible plane grating monochromator, with a fixed exit beam, and the capability to suppress higher order radiation in a wide energy range. The instrument was built to be used in connection with a uhv reflectometer and has a differential pumping section between the optical components and the sample, allowing a pressure of 10/sup -5/ torr in the experimental chamber without influencing the uhv in the monochromator. The monochromator is not optimized for resolution. Due to its location at a beamline with a short source distance we achieve only medium resolving power in the order of E/..delta..E approx. = 200. The primary goal is the suppression of higher orders, fortunately the thus selected operating parameters for the coupled rotations of the optical components also give nearly the highest available output. The instrument is characterized in great detail. The performance of the instrument is discussed and compared with extensive theoretical calculations.

  6. Plane grating monochromators for synchrotron radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howells, M.R.

    1979-01-01

    The general background and theoretical basis of plane grating monochromators (PGM's) is reviewed and the particular case of grazing incidence PGM's suitable for use with synchrotron radiation is considered in detail. The theory of reflection filtering is described and the problem of the finite source distance is shown to be of special importance with high brightness storage rings. The design philosophy of previous instruments is discussed and a new scheme proposed, aimed at dealing with the problem of the finite source distance. This scheme, involving a parabolic collimating mirror fabricated by diamond turning, is considered in the context of Wolter-type telescopes and microscopes. Some practical details concerning an instrument presently under construction using the new design are presented

  7. Thermal bump removal of a crystal monochromator by designing an optimal shape

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Micha, Jean-Sébastien, E-mail: micha@esrf.fr [CRG-IF BM32 Beamline, ESRF, 6 rue J. Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France); UMR SPrAM 5819, CEA-Grenoble/INAC/SPrAM, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Geaymond, Olivier [CRG-IF BM32 Beamline, ESRF, 6 rue J. Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France); Institut Néel, CNRS, 25 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Rieutord, Francois [CRG-IF BM32 Beamline, ESRF, 6 rue J. Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France); CEA-Grenoble/INAC/NRS, 17 avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

    2013-05-11

    Thermal bump arising at illuminated area of a water cooled monochromator crystal can be considerably reduced by designing an appropriate shape. Temperature and deformation have been simulated by finite element analysis (FEA) computations as a function of few geometrical parameters describing the shape of the crystal. As a result, a new crystal shape has been found which optimizes the throughput of a double crystals monochromator (DCM). Performances of the initial rectangular crystal and the new designed crystal predicted by FEA-based calculations and measured during experimental tests on a synchrotron beamline are reported. General design principles to overcome heat load issues and the objective function using the slope errors derived from FEA results are detailed. Current and foreseen performances at higher load are presented. Finally, advantages and limits of this simple-to-design and cheap solution are discussed.

  8. A method for evaluating image quality of monochrome and color displays based on luminance by use of a commercially available color digital camera

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tokurei, Shogo, E-mail: shogo.tokurei@gmail.com, E-mail: junjim@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan and Department of Radiology, Yamaguchi University Hospital, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8505 (Japan); Morishita, Junji, E-mail: shogo.tokurei@gmail.com, E-mail: junjim@med.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka 812-8582 (Japan)

    2015-08-15

    Purpose: The aim of this study is to propose a method for the quantitative evaluation of image quality of both monochrome and color liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) using a commercially available color digital camera. Methods: The intensities of the unprocessed red (R), green (G), and blue (B) signals of a camera vary depending on the spectral sensitivity of the image sensor used in the camera. For consistent evaluation of image quality for both monochrome and color LCDs, the unprocessed RGB signals of the camera were converted into gray scale signals that corresponded to the luminance of the LCD. Gray scale signals for the monochrome LCD were evaluated by using only the green channel signals of the camera. For the color LCD, the RGB signals of the camera were converted into gray scale signals by employing weighting factors (WFs) for each RGB channel. A line image displayed on the color LCD was simulated on the monochrome LCD by using a software application for subpixel driving in order to verify the WF-based conversion method. Furthermore, the results obtained by different types of commercially available color cameras and a photometric camera were compared to examine the consistency of the authors’ method. Finally, image quality for both the monochrome and color LCDs was assessed by measuring modulation transfer functions (MTFs) and Wiener spectra (WS). Results: The authors’ results demonstrated that the proposed method for calibrating the spectral sensitivity of the camera resulted in a consistent and reliable evaluation of the luminance of monochrome and color LCDs. The MTFs and WS showed different characteristics for the two LCD types owing to difference in the subpixel structure. The MTF in the vertical direction of the color LCD was superior to that of the monochrome LCD, although the WS in the vertical direction of the color LCD was inferior to that of the monochrome LCD as a result of luminance fluctuations in RGB subpixels. Conclusions: The authors

  9. A new transmission based monochromator for energy-selective neutron imaging at the ICON beamline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peetermans, S.; Tamaki, M.; Hartmann, S.; Kaestner, A.; Morgano, M.; Lehmann, E.H.

    2014-01-01

    A new type of monochromator has been developed for energy-selective neutron imaging at continuous sources. It combines the use of a mechanical neutron velocity selector with pyrolytic graphite crystals of different mosaicity. The beam can be monochromatized to similar levels as a standard double crystal monochromator. It can flexibly produce different desired spectral shapes, even an asymmetric one. Intrinsically, no higher order contamination of the spectrum is present. Working with the transmitted beam, the beam divergence (and thus the spatial resolution) is uncompromised. The device has been calibrated, characterized and its performance demonstrated with the measurement of Bragg edges for iron and lead, resolving them more sharply than if solely a mechanical velocity selector was used

  10. Measures to Evaluate the Effects of DBS on Speech Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weismer, Gary; Yunusova, Yana; Bunton, Kate

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate measures of speech production that could be used to document effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on speech performance, especially in persons with Parkinson disease (PD). A small set of evaluative criteria for these measures is presented first, followed by consideration of several speech physiology and speech acoustic measures that have been studied frequently and reported on in the literature on normal speech production, and speech production affected by neuromotor disorders (dysarthria). Each measure is reviewed and evaluated against the evaluative criteria. Embedded within this review and evaluation is a presentation of new data relating speech motions to speech intelligibility measures in speakers with PD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and control speakers (CS). These data are used to support the conclusion that at the present time the slope of second formant transitions (F2 slope), an acoustic measure, is well suited to make inferences to speech motion and to predict speech intelligibility. The use of other measures should not be ruled out, however, and we encourage further development of evaluative criteria for speech measures designed to probe the effects of DBS or any treatment with potential effects on speech production and communication skills. PMID:24932066

  11. Radiation-shielded double crystal X-ray monochromator for JET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnsley, R.; Morsi, H.W.; Rupprecht, G.; Kaellne, E.

    1989-01-01

    A double crystal X-ray monochromator for absolute wavelength and intensity measurements with very effective shielding of its detector against neutrons and hard X-rays was brought into operation at JET. Fast wavelength scans were taken of impurity line radiation in the wavelength region from about 0.1 nm to 2.3 nm, and monochromatic as well as spectral line scans, for different operational modes of JET. (author) 5 refs., 4 figs

  12. Pictorial relief for equiluminant images

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Doorn, Andrea J.; de Ridder, Huib; Koenderink, Jan J.

    2005-03-01

    Pictorial relief depends strongly on "cues" in the image. For isoluminant renderings some cues are missing, namely all information that is related to luminance contrast (e.g., shading, atmospheric perspective). It has been suggested that spatial discrimination and especially pictorial space suffer badly in isoluminant conditions. We have investigated the issue through quantitative measurement of pictorial depth-structure under normal and isoluminant conditions. As stimuli we used monochrome halftone photographs, either as such, or "transposed" to Red/Green or Green/Red hue modulations. We used two distinct methods, one to probe pictorial pose (by way of correspondences settings between pictures of an object in different poses), the other to probe pictorial depth (by way of attitude settings of a gauge figure to a perceptual "fit"). In both experiments the depth reconstructions for Red/Green, Green/Red and monochrome conditions were very similar. Moreover, observers performed equally well in Red/Green, Green/Red and monochrome conditions. Thus, the general conclusion is that observers did not do markedly worse with the isoluminant Red/Green and Green/Red transposed images. Whereas the transposed images certainly looked weird, they were easily interpreted. Much of the structure of pictorial space was apparently preserved. Thus the notion that spatial representations are not sustained under isoluminant conditions should be applied with caution.

  13. Mechanical design and performance evaluation for plane grating monochromator in a soft X-ray microscopy beamline at SSRF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Xuepeng; Lu, Qipeng

    2015-01-01

    A new monochromator is designed to develop a high performance soft X-ray microscopy beamline at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). But owing to its high resolving power and high accurate spectrum output, there exist many technical difficulties. In the paper presented, as two primary design targets for the monochromator, theoretical energy resolution and photon flux of the beamline are calculated. For wavelength scanning mechanism, primary factors affecting the rotary angle errors are presented, and the measuring results are 0.15'' and 0.17'' for plane mirror and plane grating, which means that it is possible to provide sufficient scanning precision to specific wavelength. For plane grating switching mechanism, the repeatabilities of roll, yaw and pitch angles are 0.08'', 0.12'' and 0.05'', which can guarantee the high accurate switch of the plane grating effectively. After debugging, the repeatability of light spot drift reaches to 0.7'', which further improves the performance of the monochromator. The commissioning results show that the energy resolving power is higher than 10000 at Ar L-edge, the photon flux is higher than 1 × 108 photons/sec/200 mA, and the spatial resolution is better than 30 nm, demonstrating that the monochromator performs very well and reaches theoretical predictions.

  14. A new flexible monochromator setup for quick scanning x-ray absorption spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stoetzel, J.; Luetzenkirchen-Hecht, D.; Frahm, R. [Fachbereich C, Physik, Bergische Universitaet Wuppertal, Gaussstr. 20, 42097 Wuppertal (Germany)

    2010-07-15

    A new monochromator setup for quick scanning x-ray absorption spectroscopy in the subsecond time regime is presented. Novel driving mechanics allow changing the energy range of the acquired spectra by remote control during data acquisition for the first time, thus dramatically increasing the flexibility and convenience of this method. Completely new experiments are feasible due to the fact that time resolution, edge energy, and energy range of the acquired spectra can be changed continuously within seconds without breaking the vacuum of the monochromator vessel and even without interrupting the measurements. The advanced mechanics are explained in detail and the performance is characterized with x-ray absorption spectra of pure metal foils. The energy scale was determined by a fast and accurate angular encoder system measuring the Bragg angle of the monochromator crystal with subarcsecond resolution. The Bragg angle range covered by the oscillating crystal can currently be changed from 0 deg. to 3.0 deg. within 20 s, while the mechanics are capable to move with frequencies of up to ca. 35 Hz, leading to ca. 14 ms/spectrum time resolution. A new software package allows performing programmed scan sequences, which enable the user to measure stepwise with alternating parameters in predefined time segments. Thus, e.g., switching between edges scanned with the same energy range is possible within one in situ experiment, while also the time resolution can be varied simultaneously. This progress makes the new system extremely user friendly and efficient to use for time resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy at synchrotron radiation beamlines.

  15. Measurement & Minimization of Mount Induced Strain on Double Crystal Monochromator Crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, J.; Alcock, S. G.

    2013-03-01

    Opto-mechanical mounts can cause significant distortions to monochromator crystals and mirrors if not designed or implemented carefully. A slope measuring profiler, the Diamond-NOM [1], was used to measure the change in tangential slope as a function of crystal clamping configuration and load. A three point mount was found to exhibit the lowest surface distortion (Diamond Light Source.

  16. Mechanical design aspects of a soft X-ray plane grating monochromator

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vašina, R.; Kolařík, V.; Doležel, P.; Mynář, M.; Vondráček, Martin; Cháb, Vladimír; Slezák, Jiří; Comicioli, C.; Prince, K. C.

    467-468, 467-468 (2001), s. 561-564 ISSN 0168-9002 R&D Projects: GA ČR GV202/98/K002 Grant - others:-(XE) CIPA-CT94-0217 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z2041904 Keywords : synchrotron radiation * monochromator * plane grating Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Colliders Impact factor: 1.026, year: 2001

  17. Diffractive-refractive optics: (+,-,-,+) X-ray crystal monochromator with harmonics separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrdý, Jaromír; Mikulík, Petr; Oberta, Peter

    2011-03-01

    A new kind of two channel-cut crystals X-ray monochromator in dispersive (+,-,-,+) position which spatially separates harmonics is proposed. The diffracting surfaces are oriented so that the diffraction is inclined. Owing to refraction the diffracted beam is sagittally deviated. The deviation depends on wavelength and is much higher for the first harmonics than for higher harmonics. This leads to spatial harmonics separation. The idea is supported by ray-tracing simulation.

  18. Image quality evaluation of medical color and monochrome displays using an imaging colorimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehrig, Hans; Gu, Xiliang; Fan, Jiahua

    2012-10-01

    The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate the means which permit examining the accuracy of Image Quality with respect to MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) and NPS (Noise Power Spectrum) of Color Displays and Monochrome Displays. Indications were in the past that color displays could affect the clinical performance of color displays negatively compared to monochrome displays. Now colorimeters like the PM-1423 are available which have higher sensitivity and color accuracy than the traditional cameras like CCD cameras. Reference (1) was not based on measurements made with a colorimeter. This paper focuses on the measurements of physical characteristics of the spatial resolution and noise performance of color and monochrome medical displays which were made with a colorimeter and we will after this meeting submit the data to an ROC study so we have again a paper to present at a future SPIE Conference.Specifically, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and Noise Power Spectrum (NPS) were evaluated and compared at different digital driving levels (DDL) between the two medical displays. This paper focuses on the measurements of physical characteristics of the spatial resolution and noise performance of color and monochrome medical displays which were made with a colorimeter and we will after this meeting submit the data to an ROC study so we have again a paper to present at a future Annual SPIE Conference. Specifically, Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and Noise Power Spectrum (NPS) were evaluated and compared at different digital driving levels (DDL) between the two medical displays. The Imaging Colorimeter. Measurement of color image quality needs were done with an imaging colorimeter as it is shown below. Imaging colorimetry is ideally suited to FPD measurement because imaging systems capture spatial data generating millions of data points in a single measurement operation. The imaging colorimeter which was used was the PM-1423 from Radiant Imaging. It uses

  19. MACS low-background doubly focusing neutron monochromator

    CERN Document Server

    Smee, S A; Scharfstein, G A; Qiu, Y; Brand, P C; Anand, D K; Broholm, C L

    2002-01-01

    A novel doubly focusing neutron monochromator has been developed as part of the Multi-Analyzer Crystal Spectrometer (MACS) at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. The instrument utilizes a unique vertical focusing element that enables active vertical and horizontal focusing with a large, 357-crystal (1428 cm sup 2), array. The design significantly reduces the amount of structural material in the beam path as compared to similar instruments. Optical measurements verify the excellent focal performance of the device. Analytical and Monte Carlo simulations predict that, when mounted at the NIST cold-neutron source, the device should produce a monochromatic beam (DELTA E=0.2 meV) with flux phi>10 sup 8 n/cm sup 2 s. (orig.)

  20. Characterisation of a Sr-90 based electron monochromator

    CERN Document Server

    Arfaoui, S; CERN; Casella, C; ETH Zurich

    2015-01-01

    This note describes the characterisation of an energy filtered Sr-90 source to be used in laboratory studies that require Minimum Ionising Particles (MIP) with a kinetic energy of up to approx. 2 MeV. The energy calibration was performed with a LYSO scintillation crystal read out by a digital Silicon Photomultiplier (dSiPM). The LYSO/dSiPM set-up was pre-calibrated using a Na-22 source. After introducing the motivation behind the usage of such a device, this note presents the principle and design of the electron monochromator as well as its energy and momentum characterisation.

  1. Optical design of grazing incidence toroidal grating monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pouey, M.; Howells, M.R.; Takacs, P.Z.

    1982-01-01

    Design rules using geometrical optics and physical optics associated with the phase balancing method are discussed for stigmatic toroidal grazing incidence monochromators. To determine the optical performance of devices involving mirrirs and/or gratings, ray tracing programs using exact geometry are quite widely used. It is then desirable to have some way to infer the practical performance of an instrument from a spot diagram created by tracing a limited number of rays. We propose a first approach to this problem involving an estimation of the geometrical intensity distribution in the image plane and the corresponding line spread function. (orig.)

  2. Injury of Hg2+ and DBS on Lemna minor%Hg2+、DBS对浮萍的伤害研究

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    马剑敏; 王琳; 杜晋立; 吴晶敏

    2001-01-01

    The injury degree of Lemna minor by the stress of Hg2+ and DBSare reported.The concentrations of chlorophyll and dissolved protein decrease with the increase of Hg2+ and DBS concentrations or as treatment time is continued,dead percentage increase with the increase of Hg2+ and DBS concentrations or as treatment time is continued.When the concentrations of HgCl2 is 6mg/L or DBS is 12mg/L,about 70% of Lemna minor can live for 10 days at least.%研究了在Hg2+、DBS胁迫下,浮萍(LemnaminorL.)植株的枯死率、叶绿素含量和可溶性蛋白质含量的变化。植株的枯死率随Hg2+、DBS浓度升高和处理时间的延长而增加;叶绿素和蛋白质含量随Hg2+和DBS浓度升高和处理时间的延长而逐渐下降。在HgCl2、DBS浓度分别为6mg/L、12mg/L时,约70%的浮萍10d内仍存活。

  3. Performance limits of direct cryogenically cooled silicon monochromators - experimental results at the APS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, W.-K.; Fernandez, P.; Mills, D.M.

    2000-01-01

    The successful use of cryogenically cooled silicon monochromators at third-generation synchrotron facilities is well documented. At the Advanced Photon Source (APS) it has been shown that, at 100 mA operation with the standard APS undulator A, the cryogenically cooled silicon monochromator performs very well with minimal (<2 arcsec) or no observable thermal distortions. However, to date there has not been any systematic experimental study on the performance limits of this approach. This paper presents experimental results on the performance limits of these directly cooled crystals. The results show that if the beam is limited to the size of the radiation central cone then, at the APS, the crystal will still perform well at twice the present 100 mA single 2.4 m-long 3.3 cm-period undulator heat load. However, the performance would degrade rapidly if a much larger incident white-beam size is utilized

  4. Aberration corrected and monochromated environmental transmission electron microscopy: challenges and prospects for materials science

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Thomas Willum; Wagner, Jakob Birkedal; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.

    2010-01-01

    The latest generation of environmental transmission electron microscopes incorporates aberration correctors and monochromators, allowing studies of chemical reactions and growth processes with improved spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity. Here, we describe the performance of such an instr...

  5. The case for testing memory with both stories and word lists prior to dbs surgery for Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahodne, Laura B; Bowers, Dawn; Price, Catherine C; Bauer, Russell M; Nisenzon, Anne; Foote, Kelly D; Okun, Michael S

    2011-04-01

    Patients seeking deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson's disease (PD) typically undergo neuropsychological assessment to determine candidacy for surgery, with poor memory performance interpreted as a contraindication. Patients with PD may exhibit worse memory for word lists than for stories due to the lack of inherent organization in a list of unrelated words. Unfortunately, word list and story tasks are typically developed from different normative datasets, and the existence of a memory performance discrepancy in PD has been challenged. We compared recall of stories and word lists in 35 non-demented PD candidates for DBS. We administered commonly used neuropsychological measures of word list and story memory (Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, Logical Memory), along with a second word list task that was co-normed with the story task. Age-corrected scores were higher for the story task than for both word list tasks. Compared to story recall, word list recall correlated more consistently with motor severity and composite measures of processing speed, working memory, and executive functioning. These results support the classic view of fronto-subcortical contributions to memory in PD and suggest that executive deficits may influence word list recall more than story recall. We recommend a multi-componential memory battery in the neuropsychological assessment of DBS candidates to characterize both mesial temporal and frontal-executive memory processes. One should not rely solely on a word list task because patients exhibiting poor memory for word lists may perform better with stories and therefore deserve an interdisciplinary discussion for DBS surgery.

  6. Autonomy in Depressive Patients Undergoing DBS-Treatment: Informed Consent, Freedom of Will and DBS’ Potential to Restore It

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beeker, Timo; Schlaepfer, Thomas E.; Coenen, Volker A.

    2017-01-01

    According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the most common and most disabling psychiatric disorders, affecting at any given time approximately 325 million people worldwide. As there is strong evidence that depressive disorders are associated with a dynamic dysregulation of neural circuits involved in emotional processing, recently several attempts have been made to intervene directly in these circuits via deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Given the promising results of most of these studies, the rising medical interest in this new treatment correlates with a growing sensitivity to ethical questions. One of the most crucial concerns is that DBS might interfere with patients’ ability to make autonomous decisions. Thus, the goal of this article is to evaluate the impact DBS presumably has on the capacity to decide and act autonomously in patients with MDD in the light of the autonomy-undermining effects depression has itself. Following the chronological order of the procedure, special attention will first be paid to depression’s effects on patients’ capacity to make use of their free will in giving valid Informed Consent. We suggest that while the majority of patients with MDD appear capable of autonomous choices, as it is required for Informed Consent, they might still be unable to effectively act according to their own will whenever acting includes significant personal effort. In reducing disabling depressive symptoms like anhedonia and decrease of energy, DBS for treatment resistant MDD thus rather seems to be an opportunity to substantially increase autonomy than a threat to it. PMID:28642690

  7. Autonomy in Depressive Patients Undergoing DBS-Treatment: Informed Consent, Freedom of Will and DBS’ Potential to Restore It

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Beeker

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization, depression is one of the most common and most disabling psychiatric disorders, affecting at any given time approximately 325 million people worldwide. As there is strong evidence that depressive disorders are associated with a dynamic dysregulation of neural circuits involved in emotional processing, recently several attempts have been made to intervene directly in these circuits via deep brain stimulation (DBS in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD. Given the promising results of most of these studies, the rising medical interest in this new treatment correlates with a growing sensitivity to ethical questions. One of the most crucial concerns is that DBS might interfere with patients’ ability to make autonomous decisions. Thus, the goal of this article is to evaluate the impact DBS presumably has on the capacity to decide and act autonomously in patients with MDD in the light of the autonomy-undermining effects depression has itself. Following the chronological order of the procedure, special attention will first be paid to depression’s effects on patients’ capacity to make use of their free will in giving valid Informed Consent. We suggest that while the majority of patients with MDD appear capable of autonomous choices, as it is required for Informed Consent, they might still be unable to effectively act according to their own will whenever acting includes significant personal effort. In reducing disabling depressive symptoms like anhedonia and decrease of energy, DBS for treatment resistant MDD thus rather seems to be an opportunity to substantially increase autonomy than a threat to it.

  8. Diagnostic accuracy of detection and quantification of HBV-DNA and HCV-RNA using dried blood spot (DBS) samples - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Berit; Roberts, Teri; Cohn, Jennifer; Greenman, Jamie; Camp, Johannes; Ishizaki, Azumi; Messac, Luke; Tuaillon, Edouard; van de Perre, Philippe; Pichler, Christine; Denkinger, Claudia M; Easterbrook, Philippa

    2017-11-01

    The detection and quantification of hepatitis B (HBV) DNA and hepatitis C (HCV) RNA in whole blood collected on dried blood spots (DBS) may facilitate access to diagnosis and treatment of HBV and HCV infection in resource-poor settings. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of DBS compared to venous blood samples for detection and quantification of HBV-DNA and HCV-RNA in two systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the diagnostic accuracy of HBV DNA and HCV RNA from DBS compared to venous blood samples. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science, LILAC and Cochrane library for studies that assessed diagnostic accuracy with DBS. Heterogeneity was assessed and where appropriate pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were generated using bivariate analyses with maximum likelihood estimates and 95% confidence intervals. We also conducted a narrative review on the impact of varying storage conditions or different cut-offs for detection from studies that undertook this in a subset of samples. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess risk of bias. In the quantitative synthesis for diagnostic accuracy of HBV-DNA using DBS, 521 citations were identified, and 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall quality of studies was rated as low. The pooled estimate of sensitivity and specificity for HBV-DNA was 95% (95% CI: 83-99) and 99% (95% CI: 53-100), respectively. In the two studies that reported on cut-offs and limit of detection (LoD) - one reported a sensitivity of 98% for a cut-off of ≥2000 IU/ml and another reported a LoD of 914 IU/ml using a commercial assay. Varying storage conditions for individual samples did not result in a significant variation of results. In the synthesis for diagnostic accuracy of HCV-RNA using DBS, 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, and this included six additional studies to a previously published review. The pooled sensitivity and specificity was 98% (95% CI:95-99) and 98% (95% CI:95-99.0), respectively

  9. The use of diffraction efficiency theory in the design of soft x-ray monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padmore, H.A.; Martynov, V.; Hollis, K.; Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood

    1993-01-01

    In general, the diffraction efficiency of gratings is limited by the constraints imposed by the type of geometry used to scan the photon energy. In the simplest example, the spherical grating monochromator (SGM), the deviation angle, the grating groove width and depth and the groove density are all constrained by considerations of the maximum photon energy and the tuning range for individual gratings. We have examined the case in which these parameters are unconstrained, resulting in predictions of the ultimate performance of lamellar type gratings for groove densities from 300 to 2400 1/mm for gold and nickel coatings. The differential method of Neviere et al was used for modeling the behavior of the gratings and justification is presented for this by rigorous comparison with measurements. The implications of these results for future monochromators based on a variable included angle geometry are discussed

  10. Implementing DBS methodology for the determination of Compound A in monkey blood: GLP method validation and investigation of the impact of blood spreading on performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Leimin; Lee, Jacob; Hall, Jeffrey; Tolentino, Edward J; Wu, Huaiqin; El-Shourbagy, Tawakol

    2011-06-01

    This article describes validation work for analysis of an Abbott investigational drug (Compound A) in monkey whole blood with dried blood spots (DBS). The impact of DBS spotting volume on analyte concentration was investigated. The quantitation range was between 30.5 and 10,200 ng/ml. Accuracy and precision of quality controls, linearity of calibration curves, matrix effect, selectivity, dilution, recovery and multiple stabilities were evaluated in the validation, and all demonstrated acceptable results. Incurred sample reanalysis was performed with 57 out of 58 samples having a percentage difference (versus the mean value) less than 20%. A linear relationship between the spotting volume and the spot area was drawn. The influence of spotting volume on concentration was discussed. All validation results met good laboratory practice acceptance requirements. Radial spreading of blood on DBS cards can be a factor in DBS concentrations at smaller spotting volumes.

  11. Downlinks for DBS - Design and engineering considerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blecker, M.; Martin, E. R.

    1985-01-01

    The subsystem interrelationships and design parameters choice procedures for a DBS downlink design are discussed from a business decisions point of view. The image quality is determined by customer satisfaction, which is translated to a required carrier/noise (C/N) ratio. The C/N ratio defines acceptable levels of signal fading, a subjective value which is modified by the demographics of the service area. Increasing the satellite on-board transmitting power to meet acceptable broadcast reliability places burdens on the start-up capitalization of the business. Larger receiving antennas in rural areas ameliorates some of the power requirements. The dish size, however, affects the labor costs of installation, but must be kept small enough to be used in heavily populated areas. The satellites must be built, as far as is possible, from off-the-shelf components to keep costs down. Design selections for a sample complete system are listed.

  12. DBS Electrodes With Single Disconnected Contacts: Long-Term Observation and Implications for the Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allert, Niels; Jusciute, Egle; Quindt, Regina; Lindlau, Alexandra; Nolden, Brit Meike; Daryaeitabar, Mohammadreza; Karbe, Hans

    2018-04-27

    To evaluate the long-term course of quadripolar DBS electrodes with disconnected single contacts that cannot be used for DBS. Quadripolar electrodes with open circuits of single contacts or monopolar impedances >6500 Ω were identified from a cohort of 2082 electrodes from 1044 patients with variable movement disorders. The long-term course was analyzed from follow-up data. Disconnected contacts were found in 58 electrodes (2.8%) from 49 patients (4.7%). The dysfunction was restricted to one contact in 51 electrodes (87.9%), two contacts in 5 electrodes (8.6%), three contacts in 2 electrodes (3.4%). Onset was related to surgery (implantation, impulse generator replacement, or other surgical revision) in 34 electrodes (58.6%), trauma in 2 electrodes, undetermined in 11 electrodes, and occurred spontaneously after previous normal measurements in 11 electrodes (19.0%). Repeated measurements at follow-ups of ≥3 months were available in 39 electrodes. In 16 electrodes (41.0%) abnormal impedances persisted constantly during observations up to 11½ years (47 ± 35 months, median 41 months). In 21 electrodes (53.8%) abnormal impedances remained restricted to the initial contact(s) but varied considerably between measurements during up to six years (39 ± 18 months, median 38 months). Only two electrodes (5.1%) with initially one disconnected contact developed a disconnection of a second contact. Disconnections of single contacts occur with increasing cumulative incidence during long-term DBS. Surgery is the main causative risk factor. In the majority of electrodes, the dysfunction remains restricted to the initial contact(s). © 2018 International Neuromodulation Society.

  13. Rapid battery depletion and loss of therapy due to a short circuit in bipolar DBS for essential tremor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allert, Niels; Barbe, Michael Thomas; Timmermann, Lars; Coenen, Volker Arnd

    2017-05-01

    Technical dysfunctions have been reported reducing efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Here, we report on an essential-tremor patient in whom a short circuit in bipolar DBS resulted not only in unilateral loss of therapy but also in high current flow and thereby rapid decline of the impulse-generator battery voltage from 2.83 V a week before the event to 2.54 V, indicating the need for an impulse-generator replacement. Immediate re-programming restored therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, the reduction in current flow allowed the battery voltage to recover without immediate surgical intervention to 2.81 V a week later.

  14. Diamond double-crystal monochromator in Bragg geometry installed on BL-11XU at SPring-8

    CERN Document Server

    Marushita, M; Fukuda, T; Takahasi, M; Inami, T; Katayama, Y; Shiwaku, H; Mizuki, J

    2001-01-01

    We present here the feature of the diamond double-crystal monochromator in Bragg geometry installed on a standard undulator beamline at SPring-8. The crystal was manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., whose size was 8.6 mm (w) x3.5 mm (l) x0.35 mm (t) for the first crystal and 10 mm (w) x4.7 mm (l) x0.39 mm (t) for the second. The feature of the monochromator was tested by rocking curve measurements as a function of the total power and of the energy that impinged on the crystal. As a result, no significant increase of the full-width at half-maximum was observed up to a total power of 330 W on the first crystal. We discuss the experimental results with the comparison to the calculated FWHM with use of the beamline parameters.

  15. Performance of the SURF-II high-throughput toroidal grating monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurtz, R.L.; Ederer, D.L.; Barth, J.; Stockbauer, R.

    1988-01-01

    The performance of the 'high-flux' toroidal grating monochromator (HFTGM) at the NBS SURF-II synchrotron storage ring is assessed. Two gratings are studied: One with a ruled profile and the other having a laminar profile. The laminar profile is shown to reduce substantially the intensity of higher-order diffracted light with only a small decrease in the intensity of the first order light. The dependence of the energy resolution as a function of the area of the grating illuminated is also discussed. (orig.)

  16. Periodic magnetic field as a polarized and focusing thermal neutron spectrometer and monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cremer, J. T.; Williams, D. L.; Fuller, M. J.; Gary, C. K.; Piestrup, M. A. [Adelphi Technology, Inc., 2003 East Bayshore Rd., Redwood City, California 94063 (United States); Pantell, R. H.; Feinstein, J. [Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Flocchini, R. G.; Boussoufi, M.; Egbert, H. P.; Kloh, M. D.; Walker, R. B. [Davis McClellan Nuclear Radiation Center, University of California, McClellan, California 95652 (United States)

    2010-01-15

    A novel periodic magnetic field (PMF) optic is shown to act as a prism, lens, and polarizer for neutrons and particles with a magnetic dipole moment. The PMF has a two-dimensional field in the axial direction of neutron propagation. The PMF alternating magnetic field polarity provides strong gradients that cause separation of neutrons by wavelength axially and by spin state transversely. The spin-up neutrons exit the PMF with their magnetic spins aligned parallel to the PMF magnetic field, and are deflected upward and line focus at a fixed vertical height, proportional to the PMF period, at a downstream focal distance that increases with neutron energy. The PMF has no attenuation by absorption or scatter, as with material prisms or crystal monochromators. Embodiments of the PMF include neutron spectrometer or monochromator, and applications include neutron small angle scattering, crystallography, residual stress analysis, cross section measurements, and reflectometry. Presented are theory, experimental results, computer simulation, applications of the PMF, and comparison of its performance to Stern-Gerlach gradient devices and compound material and magnetic refractive prisms.

  17. Periodic magnetic field as a polarized and focusing thermal neutron spectrometer and monochromator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremer, J T; Williams, D L; Fuller, M J; Gary, C K; Piestrup, M A; Pantell, R H; Feinstein, J; Flocchini, R G; Boussoufi, M; Egbert, H P; Kloh, M D; Walker, R B

    2010-01-01

    A novel periodic magnetic field (PMF) optic is shown to act as a prism, lens, and polarizer for neutrons and particles with a magnetic dipole moment. The PMF has a two-dimensional field in the axial direction of neutron propagation. The PMF alternating magnetic field polarity provides strong gradients that cause separation of neutrons by wavelength axially and by spin state transversely. The spin-up neutrons exit the PMF with their magnetic spins aligned parallel to the PMF magnetic field, and are deflected upward and line focus at a fixed vertical height, proportional to the PMF period, at a downstream focal distance that increases with neutron energy. The PMF has no attenuation by absorption or scatter, as with material prisms or crystal monochromators. Embodiments of the PMF include neutron spectrometer or monochromator, and applications include neutron small angle scattering, crystallography, residual stress analysis, cross section measurements, and reflectometry. Presented are theory, experimental results, computer simulation, applications of the PMF, and comparison of its performance to Stern-Gerlach gradient devices and compound material and magnetic refractive prisms.

  18. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessye Almeida Cantini

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Fear of driving has been recognized as a complex diagnostic entity. For this reason, the use of psychometric instruments is fundamental to advancing research in this area. Psychometric instruments are also necessary for clinical care, as they can help conceptualize the disorder and plan adequate treatment. OBJECTIVE: To describe the cross-cultural adaptation of a Brazilian version of the Driving Behavior Survey (DBS. Methods: The process consisted of: 1 two translations and back-translations carried out by independent evaluators; 2 development of a brief version by four bilingual experts in mental health; 3 experimental application; and 4 investigation of operational equivalence. RESULTS: The adaptation process is described and a final Brazilian version of the DBS is presented. CONCLUSION: A new instrument is now available to assess the driving behaviors of the Brazilian population, facilitating research in this field.

  19. Performances of synchrotron X-ray monochromators under heat load. Part 2. Application of the Takagi-Taupin diffraction theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mocella, V.; Ferrero, C.; Freund, A.K.; Hoszowska, J.; Zhang, L.; Epelboin, Y.

    2001-01-01

    The aim of this work is to generate the rocking curves of monochromators exposed to heat load in synchrotron radiation beams with a computer code performing diffraction calculations based on the theory of Takagi and Taupin. The model study starts with the calculation of deformation by finite element analysis and from an accurate characterization of the incident wave and includes the simulation of the wavefront propagation between the first and the second crystal (analyzer) of a double crystal monochromator. A monochromatic plane wave as well as a polychromatic spherical wave approach is described. The theoretical predictions of both methods are compared with experimental data measured in Bragg geometry and critically discussed

  20. Performances of synchrotron X-ray monochromators under heat load. Part 2. Application of the Takagi-Taupin diffraction theory

    CERN Document Server

    Mocella, V; Freund, A K; Hoszowska, J; Zhang, L; Epelboin, Y

    2001-01-01

    The aim of this work is to generate the rocking curves of monochromators exposed to heat load in synchrotron radiation beams with a computer code performing diffraction calculations based on the theory of Takagi and Taupin. The model study starts with the calculation of deformation by finite element analysis and from an accurate characterization of the incident wave and includes the simulation of the wavefront propagation between the first and the second crystal (analyzer) of a double crystal monochromator. A monochromatic plane wave as well as a polychromatic spherical wave approach is described. The theoretical predictions of both methods are compared with experimental data measured in Bragg geometry and critically discussed.

  1. A fine adjustment mechanism of the second crystal in a double-crystal monochromator with a 3-PS parallel manipulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao Chongzhen; Gao, X.; Ma, P.; Yu, H.; Wang, F.; Huang, Y.; Liu, P.

    2005-01-01

    A novel fine adjustment mechanism of the second crystal in a double-crystal monochromator is put forward, which is based on a 3-PS parallel manipulator and the magnetic force. Not only is the principle of fine adjusting the pitch angle and the roll angle analyzed, but also optimization of the structure parameters of the permanent magnet, a key part of the fine adjustment mechanism. The fine adjustment mechanism with the 3-PS parallel manipulator has been applied successfully in the double-crystal monochromator of 4W1B beam line in the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF)

  2. Raytracing, chopper, and guideline for double-headed Dragon monochromators (invited)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, C.T.

    1992-01-01

    The raytracing of the double-headed Dragon, a recently proposed monochromator for producing two simultaneous left and right circularly polarized soft x-ray beams, is presented. The energy resolution and wavelength of these two beams are confirmed to be identical, and the high performance of the original Dragon is found to be preserved in the double-headed configuration. A compact ultra-high vacuum compatible chopper for rapid alternation between left and right helicities is presented, and a guideline for collecting circularly polarized light from bending magnet sources is given

  3. Ultrathin nondoped emissive layers for efficient and simple monochrome and white organic light-emitting diodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yongbiao; Chen, Jiangshan; Ma, Dongge

    2013-02-01

    In this paper, highly efficient and simple monochrome blue, green, orange, and red organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on ultrathin nondoped emissive layers (EMLs) have been reported. The ultrathin nondoped EML was constructed by introducing a 0.1 nm thin layer of pure phosphorescent dyes between a hole transporting layer and an electron transporting layer. The maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) reached 17.1%, 20.9%, 17.3%, and 19.2% for blue, green, orange, and red monochrome OLEDs, respectively, indicating the universality of the ultrathin nondoped EML for most phosphorescent dyes. On the basis of this, simple white OLED structures are also demonstrated. The demonstrated complementary blue/orange, three primary blue/green/red, and four color blue/green/orange/red white OLEDs show high efficiency and good white emission, indicating the advantage of ultrathin nondoped EMLs on constructing simple and efficient white OLEDs.

  4. Synchrotron X-ray adaptative monochromator: study and realization of a prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dezoret, D.

    1995-01-01

    This work presents a study of a prototype of a synchrotron X-ray monochromator. The spectral qualities of this optic are sensitive to the heat loads which are particularly important on third synchrotron generation like ESRF. Indeed, powers generated by synchrotron beams can reach few kilowatts and power densities about a few tens watts per square millimeters. The mechanical deformations of the optical elements of the beamlines issue issue of the heat load can damage their spectral efficiencies. In order to compensate the deformations, wa have been studying the transposition of the adaptive astronomical optics technology to the x-ray field. First, we have considered the modifications of the spectral characteristics of a crystal induced by x-rays. We have established the specifications required to a technological realisation. Then, thermomechanical and technological studies have been required to transpose the astronomical technology to an x-ray technology. After these studies, we have begun the realisation of a prototype. This monochromator is composed by a crystal of silicon (111) bonded on a piezo-electric structure. The mechanical control is a loop system composed by a infrared light, a Shack-Hartmann CDD and wave front analyser. This system has to compensate the deformations of the crystal in the 5 kcV to 60 kcV energy range with a power density of 1 watt per square millimeters. (authors)

  5. Development of a bent Laue beam-expanding double-crystal monochromator for biomedical X-ray imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinson, Mercedes; Samadi, Nazanin; Belev, George; Bassey, Bassey; Lewis, Rob; Aulakh, Gurpreet; Chapman, Dean

    2014-01-01

    A bent Laue beam-expanding double-crystal monochromator was developed and tested at the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy beamline at the Canadian Light Source. The expander will reduce scanning time for micro-computed tomography and allow dynamic imaging that has not previously been possible at this beamline. The Biomedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamline at the Canadian Light Source has produced some excellent biological imaging data. However, the disadvantage of a small vertical beam limits its usability in some applications. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging requires multiple scans to produce a full projection, and certain dynamic imaging experiments are not possible. A larger vertical beam is desirable. It was cost-prohibitive to build a longer beamline that would have produced a large vertical beam. Instead, it was proposed to develop a beam expander that would create a beam appearing to originate at a source much farther away. This was accomplished using a bent Laue double-crystal monochromator in a non-dispersive divergent geometry. The design and implementation of this beam expander is presented along with results from the micro-CT and dynamic imaging tests conducted with this beam. Flux (photons per unit area per unit time) has been measured and found to be comparable with the existing flat Bragg double-crystal monochromator in use at BMIT. This increase in overall photon count is due to the enhanced bandwidth of the bent Laue configuration. Whilst the expanded beam quality is suitable for dynamic imaging and micro-CT, further work is required to improve its phase and coherence properties

  6. Design, Build & Test of a Double Crystal Monochromator for Beamlines I09 & I23 at the Diamond Light Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, J.; Lee, T.; Alcock, S.; Patel, H.

    2013-03-01

    A high stability Double Crystal Monochromator has been developed at The Diamond Light Source for beamlines I09 and I23. The design specification was a cryogenic, fixed exit, energy scanning monochromator, operating over an energy range of 2.1 - 25 keV using a Si(111) crystal set. The novel design concepts are the direct drive, air bearing Bragg axis, low strain crystal mounts and the cooling scheme. The instrument exhibited superb stability and repeatability on the B16 Test Beamline. A 20 keV Si(555), 1.4 μrad rocking curve was demonstrated. The DCM showed good stability without any evidence of vibration or Bragg angle nonlinearity.

  7. Easily exchangeable x-ray mirrors and hybrid monochromator modules a study of their performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Fan. [Philips Analytical, Asia Pacific, Toa Payoh, (Singapore); Kogan, V. [Philips Analytical, EA Almelo, (Netherlands); Saito, K. [Philips Analytical, Tokyo, (Japan)

    1999-12-01

    Full text: PreFix prealigned optical mounts allowing rapid and easily changeover will be presented. The benefits of laterally graded multilayer X-Ray mirrors coupled with these Prefix mounts - conversion of divergent beam to parallel beam, increase of intensity by a factor of 3-7, monochromation to {alpha}1 and {alpha}2 and a dynamic range of 10 {sup 4-5} CpS will be demonstrated in areas such as Thin Film and Powder analysis. Data will be shown on a diffraction profile of thin film (Cr/SiO{sub 2}) with and without a mirror and Si powder with and without a mirror. Further enhancement will be demonstrated by combining a channel cut monochromator-collimator with an X-Ray mirror to produce a high intensity, parallel, pure Cu K{alpha}1 beam with a high intensity of up to 4.5 x 10{sup 8} cps and a divergence down to 0.01 deg. The applicability to various ranging from High Resolution to thin film/reflectivity to Rietveld structural refinement and to phase analysis will be shown. The Rocking curve of HEMT 10nm InGaAs on InP will be presented using various `standard` optics and hybrid optics, also Si powder and a Rietveld refinement of CuS0{sub 4}.5H{sub 2}0 and Aspirin. A comparison of the benefits and application of X-Ray Mirrors and Hybrid Mirror/Monochromators will be given. The data presented will show that by using X-Ray Mirrors and Hybrid modules the performance of standard `Laboratory` Diffractometers can be greatly enhanced to a level previously unachievable with great practical benefits. Copyright (1999) Australian X-ray Analytical Association Inc.

  8. Design and fabrication of an active polynomial grating for soft-X-ray monochromators and spectrometers

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, S J; Perng, S Y; Kuan, C K; Tseng, T C; Wang, D J

    2001-01-01

    An active polynomial grating has been designed for use in synchrotron radiation soft-X-ray monochromators and spectrometers. The grating can be dynamically adjusted to obtain the third-order-polynomial surface needed to eliminate the defocus and coma aberrations at any photon energy. Ray-tracing results confirm that a monochromator or spectrometer based on this active grating has nearly no aberration limit to the overall spectral resolution in the entire soft-X-ray region. The grating substrate is made of a precisely milled 17-4 PH stainless steel parallel plate, which is joined to a flexure-hinge bender shaped by wire electrical discharge machining. The substrate is grounded into a concave cylindrical shape with a nominal radius and then polished to achieve a roughness of 0.45 nm and a slope error of 1.2 mu rad rms. The long trace profiler measurements show that the active grating can reach the desired third-order polynomial with a high degree of figure accuracy.

  9. Suppression of surface effect by using bent-perfect-crystal monochromator in residual strain scanning

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vrána, Miroslav; Mikula, Pavol

    490/491, - (2005), s. 234-238 ISSN 0255-5476 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/03/0891; GA AV ČR KSK1010104 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1048901 Keywords : neutron diffraction * residual strain scanning * bent monochromator Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.399, year: 2005

  10. Design of an adaptive cooled first crystal for an X-ray monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dezoret, D.; Marmoret, R.; Freund, A.K.; Kvick, AA.; Ravelet, R.

    1994-01-01

    We report here on the design of the first crystal in an x-ray monochromator for E.S.R.F. beam lines. This crystal is a thin silicon foil bonded to a cooled beryllium support. A system of piezoelectric actuators is used to counterbalance the deformations induced by synchrotron beams. This work was carried out by the C.E.A. in collaboration with the E.S.R.F. and the LASERDOT Company (Aerospatiale Group). (orig.)

  11. Comparing identified and statistically significant lipids and polar metabolites in 15-year old serum and dried blood spot samples for longitudinal studies: Comparing lipids and metabolites in serum and DBS samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyle, Jennifer E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Casey, Cameron P. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Stratton, Kelly G. [National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zink, Erika M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Kim, Young-Mo [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zheng, Xueyun [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Monroe, Matthew E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Weitz, Karl K. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Bloodsworth, Kent J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Orton, Daniel J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Ibrahim, Yehia M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Moore, Ronald J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Lee, Christine G. [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Research Service, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland OR USA; Pedersen, Catherine [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Orwoll, Eric [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Smith, Richard D. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Baker, Erin S. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA

    2017-02-05

    The use of dried blood spots (DBS) has many advantages over traditional plasma and serum samples such as smaller blood volume required, storage at room temperature, and ability for sampling in remote locations. However, understanding the robustness of different analytes in DBS samples is essential, especially in older samples collected for longitudinal studies. Here we analyzed DBS samples collected in 2000-2001 and stored at room temperature and compared them to matched serum samples stored at -80°C to determine if they could be effectively used as specific time points in a longitudinal study following metabolic disease. Four hundred small molecules were identified in both the serum and DBS samples using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-MS (LC-MS) and LC-ion mobility spectrometry-MS (LC-IMS-MS). The identified polar metabolites overlapped well between the sample types, though only one statistically significant polar metabolite in a case-control study was conserved, indicating degradation occurs in the DBS samples affecting quantitation. Differences in the lipid identifications indicated that some oxidation occurs in the DBS samples. However, thirty-six statistically significant lipids correlated in both sample types indicating that lipid quantitation was more stable across the sample types.

  12. Design of a high-efficiency grazing incidence monochromator with multilayer-coated laminar gratings for the 1-6 keV region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koike, Masato; Ishino, Masahiko; Sasai, Hiroyuki

    2006-01-01

    A grazing incidence objective monochromator consisting of a spherical mirror, a varied-line-spacing plane grating with multilayered coating, a movable plane multilayered mirror, and a fixed exit slit for the 1-6 keV region has been designed. The included angle at the grating was chosen to satisfy the grating equation and extended Bragg condition simultaneously. The aberration was corrected by means of a hybrid design method. A spectral resolving power of ∼600-∼6000 and a throughput of ∼2%-∼40% is expected for the monochromator when used in an undulator beamline

  13. Bragg reflection transmission filters for variable resolution monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, D.

    1989-01-01

    There are various methods for improving the angular and spectral resolution of monochromator and analyzer systems. The novel system described here, though limited to higher x-ray energies (>20keV), is based on a dynamical effect occurring on the transmitted beam with a thin perfect crystal plate set in the Bragg reflection case. In the case of Bragg reflection from a perfect crystal, the incident beam is rapidly attenuated as it penetrates the crystal in the range of reflection. This extinction length is of the order of microns. The attenuation length, which determines the amount of normal transmission through the plate is generally much longer. Thus, in the range of the Bragg reflection the attenuation of the transmitted beam can change by several orders of magnitude with a small change in energy or angle. This thin crystal plate cuts a notch in the transmitted beam with a width equal to its Darwin width, thus acting as a transmission filter. When used in a non-dispersive mode with other monochromator crystals, the filter when set at the Bragg angle will reflect the entire Darwin width of the incident beam and transmit the wings of the incident beam distribution. When the element is offset in angle by some fraction of the Darwin width, the filter becomes useful in adjusting the angular width of the transmitted beam and removing a wing. Used in pairs with a symmetric offset, the filters can be used to continuously adjust the intrinsic angular divergence of the beam with good wing reduction. Instances where such filters may be useful are in improving the angular resolution of a small angle scattering camera. These filters may be added to a Bonse-Hart camera with one pair on the incident beam to reduce the intrinsic beam divergence and a second pair on the analyzer arm to improve the analyzer resolution. 2 refs., 3 Figs

  14. A new gradient monochromator for the IN13 back-scattering spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciampolini, L.; Bove, L.E.; Mondelli, C.; Alianelli, L.; Labbe-Lavigne, S.; Natali, F.; Bee, M.; Deriu, A.

    2005-01-01

    We present new McStas simulations of the back-scattering thermal neutron spectrometer IN13 to evaluate the advantages of a new temperature gradient monochromator relative to a conventional one. The simulations show that a flux gain up to a factor 7 can be obtained with just a 10% loss in energy resolution and a 20% increase in beam spot size at the sample. The results also indicate that a moderate applied temperature gradient (ΔT∼16K) is sufficient to obtain this significant flux gain. n

  15. Tremor recording and analysis as a tool for target localisation in thalamotomy and DBS for tremor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Journee, HL; Hamoen, DJ; Staal, MJ; Sclabassi, R; Haaxma, R; Elands, A; Hummel, JJJ; Boom, H; Robinson, C; Rutten, W; Neuman, M; Wijkstra, H

    1997-01-01

    The objective of this work was to design and use a tremor and analysis system for stereotactic thalamotomy and thalamus stimulation (DBS). A notebook PC based system was developed. The tremor was measured by accelero-transducers or EMG. The method was used to confirm the definitive localization of

  16. Assessment of the within- and between-lot variability of Whatman™ FTA(®) DMPK and 903(®) DBS papers and their suitability for the quantitative bioanalysis of small molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luckwell, Jacquelynn; Denniff, Philip; Capper, Stephen; Michael, Paul; Spooner, Neil; Mallender, Philip; Johnson, Barry; Clegg, Sarah; Green, Mark; Ahmad, Sheelan; Woodford, Lynsey

    2013-11-01

    To ensure that PK data generated from DBS samples are of the highest quality, it is important that the paper substrate is uniform and does not unduly contribute to variability. This study investigated any within and between lot variations for four cellulose paper types: Whatman™ FTA(®) DMPK-A, -B and -C, and 903(®) (GE Healthcare, Buckinghamshire, UK). The substrates were tested to demonstrate manufacturing reproducibility (thickness, weight, chemical coating concentration) and its effect on the size of the DBS produced, and the quantitative data derived from the bioanalysis of human DBS samples containing six compounds of varying physicochemical properties. Within and between lot variations in paper thickness, mass and chemical coating concentration were within acceptable manufacturing limits. No variation in the spot size or bioanalytical data was observed. Bioanalytical results obtained for DBS samples containing a number of analytes spanning a range of chemical space are not affected by the lot used or by the location within a lot.

  17. High-resolution monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy of organic photovoltaic materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Jessica A; Scheltens, Frank J; Drummy, Lawrence F; Durstock, Michael F; Hage, Fredrik S; Ramasse, Quentin M; McComb, David W

    2017-09-01

    Advances in electron monochromator technology are providing opportunities for high energy resolution (10 - 200meV) electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) to be performed in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The energy-loss near-edge structure in core-loss spectroscopy is often limited by core-hole lifetimes rather than the energy spread of the incident illumination. However, in the valence-loss region, the reduced width of the zero loss peak makes it possible to resolve clearly and unambiguously spectral features at very low energy-losses (photovoltaics (OPVs): poly(3-hexlythiophene) (P3HT), [6,6] phenyl-C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), and fullerene (C 60 ). Data was collected on two different monochromated instruments - a Nion UltraSTEM 100 MC 'HERMES' and a FEI Titan 3 60-300 Image-Corrected S/TEM - using energy resolutions (as defined by the zero loss peak full-width at half-maximum) of 35meV and 175meV, respectively. The data was acquired to allow deconvolution of plural scattering, and Kramers-Kronig analysis was utilized to extract the complex dielectric functions. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric functions obtained from the two instruments were compared to evaluate if the enhanced resolution in the Nion provides new opto-electronic information for these organic materials. The differences between the spectra are discussed, and the implications for STEM-EELS studies of advanced materials are considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Does suppression of oscillatory synchronisation mediate some of the therapeutic effects of DBS in patients with Parkinson’s disease?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre eEusebio

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available There is growing evidence for exaggerated oscillatory neuronal synchronisation in patients with Parkinson’s disease. In particular, oscillations at around 20 Hz, in the so-called beta frequency band, relate to the cardinal symptoms of bradykinesia and rigidity. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus can significantly improve these motor impairments. Recent evidence has demonstrated reduction of beta oscillations concurrent with alleviation of PD motor symptoms, raising the possibility that suppression of aberrant activity may mediate the effects of DBS. Here we review the evidence supporting suppression of pathological oscillations during stimulation and discuss how this might underlie the efficacy of DBS. We also consider how beta activity may provide a feedback signal suitable for next generation closed loop and intelligent stimulators.

  19. Principles for the comparison of the proportions of straylight present in monochromators of various types

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glock, E.

    1976-03-01

    The origin and propagation of straylight in monochromators is investigated and an expression is derived for the ratio of the straylight and the effective spectral intensity within the exit slit. This expression, for a prescribed resolution and speed, permits to select the design involving the minimum of straylight which can be attained. (orig.) [de

  20. Optimization of bent perfect Si(220)-crystal monochromator for residual strain/stress instrument - Part II

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Moon, MK.; Em, Vt.; Lee, C.H.; Mikula, Pavol; Hong, KP; Choi, YH; Cheon, JK; Nam, UW; Kong, KN; Jin, KC

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 368, 1 2 3 4 (2005), s. 70-75 ISSN 0921-4526 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA202/03/0891 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : neutron monochromator * residual stress measurement * neutron diffractometers Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.796, year: 2005

  1. Bioenergy for District Bioheating System (DBS) from eucalyptus residues in a European coal-producing region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paredes-Sánchez, José P.; López-Ochoa, Luis M.; López-González, Luis M.; Xiberta-Bernat, Jorge

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The paper introduces a combined method to evaluate bioenergy. • Forest biomass needs to be studied as a fuel supplier and carbon sink. • The forests under study produce about 28 kt dry and 0.15 Mt CO 2 per year. • Examined a District Bioheating System (DBS) with the available biomass. - Abstract: Since forest biomass can substitute for CO 2 -emitting fossil fuels in the energy sector, forest management can greatly affect the global carbon cycle. Eucalyptus globulus has adapted very well in the coal region of the Principality of Asturias (Northwestern Spain) and has become highly regarded as a valuable raw material for the pulp and paper industry. In the present work, the Eucalyptus globulus is studied as a key natural energy source in order to improve existing methods and develop new ways of optimizing the evaluation and use of both forest biomass and woody residue in energy systems, in accordance with sustainable forestry industry safety and environmental requirements. The feasibility of utilizing forest biomass instead of natural gas in a District Bioheating System (DBS) has been examined based on an analysis of its economical and environmental impacts.

  2. Optimization of a constrained linear monochromator design for neutral atom beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaltenbacher, Thomas

    2016-04-01

    A focused ground state, neutral atom beam, exploiting its de Broglie wavelength by means of atom optics, is used for neutral atom microscopy imaging. Employing Fresnel zone plates as a lens for these beams is a well established microscopy technique. To date, even for favorable beam source conditions a minimal focus spot size of slightly below 1μm was reached. This limitation is essentially given by the intrinsic spectral purity of the beam in combination with the chromatic aberration of the diffraction based zone plate. Therefore, it is important to enhance the monochromaticity of the beam, enabling a higher spatial resolution, preferably below 100nm. We propose to increase the monochromaticity of a neutral atom beam by means of a so-called linear monochromator set-up - a Fresnel zone plate in combination with a pinhole aperture - in order to gain more than one order of magnitude in spatial resolution. This configuration is known in X-ray microscopy and has proven to be useful, but has not been applied to neutral atom beams. The main result of this work is optimal design parameters based on models for this linear monochromator set-up followed by a second zone plate for focusing. The optimization was performed for minimizing the focal spot size and maximizing the centre line intensity at the detector position for an atom beam simultaneously. The results presented in this work are for, but not limited to, a neutral helium atom beam. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Linac Coherent Light Source soft x-ray materials science instrument optical design and monochromator commissioning

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Heimann, P.; Krupin, O.; Schlotter, W.F.; Turner, J.; Krzywinski, J.; Sorgenfrei, F.; Messerschmidt, M.; Bernstein, D.; Chalupský, Jaromír; Hájková, Věra; Hau-Riege, S.; Holmes, M.; Juha, Libor; Kelez, N.; Lüning, J.; Nordlund, D.; Perea, M.F.; Scherz, A.; Soufli, R.; Wurth, W.; Rowen, M.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 82, č. 9 (2011), 093104/1-093104/8 ISSN 0034-6748 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ME10046 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : diffraction gratings * light sources * linear accelerators * optical materials * x-ray monochromators * x-ray optics Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.367, year: 2011

  4. Performance of a high resolution monochromator for the vacuum ultraviolet radiation from the DORIS storage ring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saile, V.; Skibowski, M.; Steinmann, W.; Guertler, P.; Koch, E.E.; Kozevnikov, A.

    1976-03-01

    The unique properties of the DORIS storage ring at DESY as a synchrotron radiation source are exploited for high resolution spectroscopy in the vacuum ultraviolet. We describe a new experimental set up with a 3 meter normal incidence monochromator for wavelengths between 3,000 A to 300 A (4 [de

  5. Experimental results supporting the determination of service quality objectives for DBS systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chouinard, G.; Whyte, W. A., Jr.; Goldberg, A. A.; Jones, B. L.

    1985-01-01

    A summary of the results of a joint United States and Canadian program on subjective measurements of the picture degradation caused by noise and interference on an NTSC encoded color television signal is given in this paper. The effects of system noise, cochannel and adjacent channel interference, and both single entry and aggregate as well as a combination of these types of interference were subjectively evaluated by expert and nonexpert viewers under reference conditions. These results were used to develop the rationale used at RARC '83 to establish the service quality objective for planning the DBS service for the American continents.

  6. Design, Build and Test of a Double Crystal Monochromator for Beamlines I09 and I23 at the Diamond Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, J; Lee, T; Alcock, S; Patel, H

    2013-01-01

    A high stability Double Crystal Monochromator has been developed at The Diamond Light Source for beamlines I09 and I23. The design specification was a cryogenic, fixed exit, energy scanning monochromator, operating over an energy range of 2.1 – 25 keV using a Si(111) crystal set. The novel design concepts are the direct drive, air bearing Bragg axis, low strain crystal mounts and the cooling scheme. The instrument exhibited superb stability and repeatability on the B16 Test Beamline. A 20 keV Si(555), 1.4 μrad rocking curve was demonstrated. The DCM showed good stability without any evidence of vibration or Bragg angle nonlinearity.

  7. Vibration measurements of high-heat-load monochromators for DESY PETRA III extension

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kristiansen, Paw, E-mail: paw.kristiansen@fmb-oxford.com [FMB Oxford Ltd, Unit 1 Ferry Mills, Oxford OX2 0ES (United Kingdom); Horbach, Jan; Döhrmann, Ralph; Heuer, Joachim [DESY, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron Hamburg, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg (Germany)

    2015-05-09

    Vibration measurements of a cryocooled double-crystal monochromator are presented. The origins of the vibrations are identified. The minimum achieved vibration of the relative pitch between the two crystals is 48 nrad RMS and the minimum achieved absolute vibration of the second crystal is 82 nrad RMS. The requirement for vibrational stability of beamline optics continues to evolve rapidly to comply with the demands created by the improved brilliance of the third-generation low-emittance storage rings around the world. The challenge is to quantify the performance of the instrument before it is installed at the beamline. In this article, measurement techniques are presented that directly and accurately measure (i) the relative vibration between the two crystals of a double-crystal monochromator (DCM) and (ii) the absolute vibration of the second-crystal cage of a DCM. Excluding a synchrotron beam, the measurements are conducted under in situ conditions, connected to a liquid-nitrogen cryocooler. The investigated DCM utilizes a direct-drive (no gearing) goniometer for the Bragg rotation. The main causes of the DCM vibration are found to be the servoing of the direct-drive goniometer and the flexibility in the crystal cage motion stages. It is found that the investigated DCM can offer relative pitch vibration down to 48 nrad RMS (capacitive sensors, 0–5 kHz bandwidth) and absolute pitch vibration down to 82 nrad RMS (laser interferometer, 0–50 kHz bandwidth), with the Bragg axis brake engaged.

  8. Strain-free polished channel-cut crystal monochromators: a new approach and results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasman, Elina; Montgomery, Jonathan; Huang, XianRong; Lerch, Jason; Assoufid, Lahsen

    2017-08-01

    The use of channel-cut crystal monochromators has been traditionally limited to applications that can tolerate the rough surface quality from wet etching without polishing. We have previously presented and discussed the motivation for producing channel cut crystals with strain-free polished surfaces [1]. Afterwards, we have undertaken an effort to design and implement an automated machine for polishing channel-cut crystals. The initial effort led to inefficient results. Since then, we conceptualized, designed, and implemented a new version of the channel-cut polishing machine, now called C-CHiRP (Channel-Cut High Resolution Polisher), also known as CCPM V2.0. The new machine design no longer utilizes Figure-8 motion that mimics manual polishing. Instead, the polishing is achieved by a combination of rotary and linear functions of two coordinated motion systems. Here we present the new design of C-CHiRP, its capabilities and features. Multiple channel-cut crystals polished using the C-CHiRP have been deployed into several beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). We present the measurements of surface finish, flatness, as well as topography results obtained at 1-BM of APS, as compared with results typically achieved when polishing flat-surface monochromator crystals using conventional polishing processes. Limitations of the current machine design, capabilities and considerations for strain-free polishing of highly complex crystals are also discussed, together with an outlook for future developments and improvements.

  9. Biological monochromator with a high flux in the visible spectrum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andre, M.; Guerin de Montgareuil, P.

    1965-01-01

    The object is to carry out research into photosynthesis using energetic illuminations similar to those employed with white light studies. The limitations are due mainly to the source. A comparison of various possible solutions has led to the choice of the sun used in conjunction with 4 large gratings. In an intermediate stage, a description is given of a medium-aperture monochromator with a 3 kW xenon arc and a single grating. With this set-up it is possible to obtain the following performance, given as an example; energy illumination, 1.3 mW/cm 2 over a surface of 50 cm 2 and for a bandwidth at half-height of 50 Angstroms. (authors) [fr

  10. Pulse Compression of Phase-matched High Harmonic Pulses from a Time-Delay Compensated Monochromator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ito Motohiko

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Pulse compression of single 32.6-eV high harmonic pulses from a time-delay compensated monochromator was demonstrated down to 11±3 fs by compensating the pulse front tilt. The photon flux was intensified up to 5.7×109 photons/s on target by implementing high harmonic generation under a phase matching condition in a hollow fiber used for increasing the interaction length.

  11. Comparison of the commercial color LCD and the medical monochrome LCD using randomized object test patterns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay Wu

    Full Text Available Workstations and electronic display devices in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS provide a convenient and efficient platform for medical diagnosis. The performance of display devices has to be verified to ensure that image quality is not degraded. In this study, we designed a set of randomized object test patterns (ROTPs consisting of randomly located spheres with various image characteristics to evaluate the performance of a 2.5 mega-pixel (MP commercial color LCD and a 3 MP diagnostic monochrome LCD in several aspects, including the contrast, resolution, point spread effect, and noise. The ROTPs were then merged into 120 abdominal CT images. Five radiologists were invited to review the CT images, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC analysis was carried out using a five-point rating scale. In the high background patterns of ROTPs, the sensitivity performance was comparable between both monitors in terms of contrast and resolution, whereas, in the low background patterns, the performance of the commercial color LCD was significantly poorer than that of the diagnostic monochrome LCD in all aspects. The average area under the ROC curve (AUC for reviewing abdominal CT images was 0.717±0.0200 and 0.740±0.0195 for the color monitor and the diagnostic monitor, respectively. The observation time (OT was 145±27.6 min and 127±19.3 min, respectively. No significant differences appeared in AUC (p = 0.265 and OT (p = 0.07. The overall results indicate that ROTPs can be implemented as a quality control tool to evaluate the intrinsic characteristics of display devices. Although there is still a gap in technology between different types of LCDs, commercial color LCDs could replace diagnostic monochrome LCDs as a platform for reviewing abdominal CT images after monitor calibration.

  12. Stratifying Parkinson's Patients With STN-DBS Into High-Frequency or 60 Hz-Frequency Modulation Using a Computational Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khojandi, Anahita; Shylo, Oleg; Mannini, Lucia; Kopell, Brian H; Ramdhani, Ritesh A

    2017-07-01

    High frequency stimulation (HFS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a well-established therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly the cardinal motor symptoms and levodopa induced motor complications. Recent studies have suggested the possible role of 60 Hz stimulation in STN-deep brain stimulation (DBS) for patients with gait disorder. The objective of this study was to develop a computational model, which stratifies patients a priori based on symptomatology into different frequency settings (i.e., high frequency or 60 Hz). We retrospectively analyzed preoperative MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III scores (32 indicators) collected from 20 PD patients implanted with STN-DBS at Mount Sinai Medical Center on either 60 Hz stimulation (ten patients) or HFS (130-185 Hz) (ten patients) for an average of 12 months. Predictive models using the Random Forest classification algorithm were built to associate patient/disease characteristics at surgery to the stimulation frequency. These models were evaluated objectively using leave-one-out cross-validation approach. The computational models produced, stratified patients into 60 Hz or HFS (130-185 Hz) with 95% accuracy. The best models relied on two or three predictors out of the 32 analyzed for classification. Across all predictors, gait and rest tremor of the right hand were consistently the most important. Computational models were developed using preoperative clinical indicators in PD patients treated with STN-DBS. These models were able to accurately stratify PD patients into 60 Hz stimulation or HFS (130-185 Hz) groups a priori, offering a unique potential to enhance the utilization of this therapy based on clinical subtypes. © 2017 International Neuromodulation Society.

  13. DBS in the baso-lateral amygdala improves symptoms of autism and related self-injurious behaviourA case report and hypothesis on the pathogenesis of the disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volker eSturm

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We treated a thirteen year old boy for life-threatening self-injurious behavior (SIB and severe Kanner’s autism with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS in the amygdaloid complex as well as in the supra-amygdaloid projection system. Two DBS-electrodes were placed in both structures of each hemisphere. The stimulation contacts targeted the paralaminar, the basolateral, the central amygdala as well as the supra-amygdaloid projection system. DBS was applied to each of these structures, but only stimulation of the baso-lateral part proved effective in improving SIB and core symptoms of the autism spectrum in the emotional, social and even cognitive domains over a follow up of now 24 months. These results, which have been gained for the first time in a patient, support hypotheses, according to which the amygdala may be pivotal in the pathogeneses of autism and point to the special relevance of the baso-lateral part.

  14. Wake monochromator in asymmetric and symmetric Bragg and Laue geometry for self-seeding the European X-ray FEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni; Serkez, Svitozar; Tolkiehn, Martin

    2013-01-01

    We discuss the use of self-seeding schemes with wake monochromators to produce TW power, fully coherent pulses for applications at the dedicated bio-imaging beamline at the European X-ray FEL, a concept for an upgrade of the facility beyond the baseline previously proposed by the authors. We exploit the asymmetric and symmetric Bragg and Laue reflections (sigma polarization) in diamond crystal. Optimization of the bio-imaging beamline is performed with extensive start-to-end simulations, which also take into account effects such as the spatio-temporal coupling caused by the wake monochromator. The spatial shift is maximal in the range for small Bragg angles. A geometry with Bragg angles close to π/2 would be a more advantageous option from this viewpoint, albeit with decrease of the spectral tunability. We show that it will be possible to cover the photon energy range from 3 keV to 13 keV by using four different planes of the same crystal with one rotational degree of freedom.

  15. Wake monochromator in asymmetric and symmetric Bragg and Laue geometry for self-seeding the European X-ray FEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni; Serkez, Svitozar; Tolkiehn, Martin [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2013-01-15

    We discuss the use of self-seeding schemes with wake monochromators to produce TW power, fully coherent pulses for applications at the dedicated bio-imaging beamline at the European X-ray FEL, a concept for an upgrade of the facility beyond the baseline previously proposed by the authors. We exploit the asymmetric and symmetric Bragg and Laue reflections (sigma polarization) in diamond crystal. Optimization of the bio-imaging beamline is performed with extensive start-to-end simulations, which also take into account effects such as the spatio-temporal coupling caused by the wake monochromator. The spatial shift is maximal in the range for small Bragg angles. A geometry with Bragg angles close to {pi}/2 would be a more advantageous option from this viewpoint, albeit with decrease of the spectral tunability. We show that it will be possible to cover the photon energy range from 3 keV to 13 keV by using four different planes of the same crystal with one rotational degree of freedom.

  16. Rotation of X-ray polarization in the glitches of a silicon crystal monochromator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutter, John P; Boada, Roberto; Bowron, Daniel T; Stepanov, Sergey A; Díaz-Moreno, Sofía

    2016-08-01

    EXAFS studies on dilute samples are usually carried out by collecting the fluorescence yield using a large-area multi-element detector. This method is susceptible to the 'glitches' produced by all single-crystal monochromators. Glitches are sharp dips or spikes in the diffracted intensity at specific crystal orientations. If incorrectly compensated, they degrade the spectroscopic data. Normalization of the fluorescence signal by the incident flux alone is sometimes insufficient to compensate for the glitches. Measurements performed at the state-of-the-art wiggler beamline I20-scanning at Diamond Light Source have shown that the glitches alter the spatial distribution of the sample's quasi-elastic X-ray scattering. Because glitches result from additional Bragg reflections, multiple-beam dynamical diffraction theory is necessary to understand their effects. Here, the glitches of the Si(111) four-bounce monochromator of I20-scanning just above the Ni  K edge are associated with their Bragg reflections. A fitting procedure that treats coherent and Compton scattering is developed and applied to a sample of an extremely dilute (100 micromolal) aqueous solution of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 . The depolarization of the wiggler X-ray beam out of the electron orbit is modeled. The fits achieve good agreement with the sample's quasi-elastic scattering with just a few parameters. The X-ray polarization is rotated up to ±4.3° within the glitches, as predicted by dynamical diffraction. These results will help users normalize EXAFS data at glitches.

  17. A critical reflection on the technological development of deep brain stimulation (DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian eIneichen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Since the translational research findings of Benabid and colleagues, which partly led to their seminal paper regarding the treatment of mainly tremor-dominant Parkinson patients through thalamic high-frequency-stimulation (HFS in 1987, we still struggle with identifying a satisfactory mechanistic explanation of the underlying principles of Deep Brain Stimulation. Furthermore, the technological advance of DBS devices (electrodes and implantable pulse generators, IPG's has shown a distinct lack of dynamic progression. In light of this we argue that it is time to leave the paleolithic age and enter hellenistic times: the device-manufacturing industry and the medical community together should put more emphasis on advancing the technology rather than resting on their laurels.

  18. Evaluation of the Data-Ray DR96L 4 x 3 Aspect Ratio, 22-Inch Diagonal Flat Screen Monochrome CRT Monitor

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2001-01-01

    .... Based on results of our evaluation of the third sample NIDL cannot certify the Data-Ray DR96L monochrome monitor as being suitable for suitable monoscopic or stereoscopic operation in IEC workstations...

  19. Development of a novel biosensor based on a polypyrrole-dodecylbenzene sulphonate (PPy-DBS) film for the determination of amperometric cholesterol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özer, Bayram Oğuz; Çete, Servet

    2017-06-01

    Herein a novel amperometric biosensor based on a conducting polymer with anionic dopant modified electrode was successfully developed for detection of cholesterol. Polypyrrole is deposited on a platinum surface and the sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate (DBS) ion-doped polypyrrole film was electrochemically prepared by scanning the electrode potential between -0.8 and +0.8 V at a scan rate of 20 mV/s. The present electrochemical biosensor was optimized in terms of working potential, number of cycles, concentrations of monomer, and anionic dopant. Cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) was physically entrapped in PPy-DBS to construct an amperometric cholesterol biosensor. Amperometric determination is based on the electrochemical detection of H 2 O 2 generated in the enzymatic reaction of cholesterol. Kinetic parameters, operational and storage stabilities, pH, and temperature dependencies were determined. Km and Imax were calculated as 0.11 μM and 0.967 nM/min, respectively. The operational stability results showed that 90.0% of the response current was retained after 30 activity assays. Morphology of electrodes was characterized by SEM and AFM. Additionally, contact angle measurements were made with 1 μL water of polymer film and enzyme electrode. As a result, the cholesterol biosensor suggested in this study is easy to prepare and is highly cost-effective. This composite (PPy-DBS) can supply a biocompatible and electrochemical microenvironment for immobilization of the enzyme, making this material a good candidate for the fabrication of highly sensitive and selective cholesterol biosensors.

  20. Theory of monochromators based on holographic toroidal arrays for the X-UV spectrum band. Tests of the 'TGM 10 metres, 4 degrees' on the ACO storage ring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lizon a Lugrin, Eric

    1988-01-01

    As the use of synchrotron radiation is strongly increasing, needs for monochromators in the X-UV range are very important. This research thesis aimed at the development of prototype monochromator based toroidal lamellar arrays with grazing incidence. In the first part, the author recalls theoretical aspects of light scattering rules adapted to a lamellar array, and of wave-matter interaction rules. In the second part, he reports the calculation of the monochromator, its mechanical description, and its implementation on the light line of the ACO storage ring. In the third part, the author reports tests performed without any input slot and in reverse optical configuration on the ACO storage ring. The energy range, the linearity with respect to wave length, the rejection of higher orders of scattered light, flow and resolution are in compliance with expected values [fr

  1. A possibility of parallel and anti-parallel diffraction measurements on neu- tron diffractometer employing bent perfect crystal monochromator at the monochromatic focusing condition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Yong Nam; Kim, Shin Ae; Kim, Sung Kyu; Kim, Sung Baek; Lee, Chang-Hee; Mikula, Pavel

    2004-07-01

    In a conventional diffractometer having single monochromator, only one position, parallel position, is used for the diffraction experiment (i.e. detection) because the resolution property of the other one, anti-parallel position, is very poor. However, a bent perfect crystal (BPC) monochromator at monochromatic focusing condition can provide a quite flat and equal resolution property at both parallel and anti-parallel positions and thus one can have a chance to use both sides for the diffraction experiment. From the data of the FWHM and the Delta d/d measured on three diffraction geometries (symmetric, asymmetric compression and asymmetric expansion), we can conclude that the simultaneous diffraction measurement in both parallel and anti-parallel positions can be achieved.

  2. Rotation of X-ray polarization in the glitches of a silicon crystal monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutter, John P.; Boada, Roberto; Bowron, Daniel T.; Stepanov, Sergey A.; Díaz-Moreno, Sofía

    2016-07-06

    EXAFS studies on dilute samples are usually carried out by collecting the fluorescence yield using a large-area multi-element detector. This method is susceptible to the `glitches' produced by all single-crystal monochromators. Glitches are sharp dips or spikes in the diffracted intensity at specific crystal orientations. If incorrectly compensated, they degrade the spectroscopic data. Normalization of the fluorescence signal by the incident flux alone is sometimes insufficient to compensate for the glitches. Measurements performed at the state-of-the-art wiggler beamline I20-scanning at Diamond Light Source have shown that the glitches alter the spatial distribution of the sample's quasi-elastic X-ray scattering. Because glitches result from additional Bragg reflections, multiple-beam dynamical diffraction theory is necessary to understand their effects. Here, the glitches of the Si(111) four-bounce monochromator of I20-scanning just above the Ni Kedge are associated with their Bragg reflections. A fitting procedure that treats coherent and Compton scattering is developed and applied to a sample of an extremely dilute (100 micromolal) aqueous solution of Ni(NO3)2. The depolarization of the wiggler X-ray beam out of the electron orbit is modeled. The fits achieve good agreement with the sample's quasi-elastic scattering with just a few parameters. The X-ray polarization is rotated up to ±4.3° within the glitches, as predicted by dynamical diffraction. These results will help users normalize EXAFS data at glitches.

  3. Investigation of Reduction of the Uncertainty of Monte Carlo Dose Calculations in Oncor® Clinical Linear Accelerator Simulation Using the DBS Variance Reduction Technique in Monte Carlo Code BEAMnrc

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin Asadi

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To study the benefits of Directional Bremsstrahlung Splitting (DBS dose variance reduction technique in BEAMnrc Monte Carlo (MC code for Oncor® linac at 6MV and 18MV energies. Materials and Method: A MC model of Oncor® linac was built using BEAMnrc MC Code and verified by the measured data for 6MV and 18MV energies of various field sizes. Then Oncor® machine was modeled running DBS technique, and the efficiency of total fluence and spatial fluence for electron and photon, the efficiency of dose variance reduction of MC calculations for PDD on the central beam axis and lateral dose profile across the nominal field was measured and compared. Result: With applying DBS technique, the total fluence of electron and photon increased in turn 626.8 (6MV and 983.4 (6MV, and 285.6 (18MV and 737.8 (18MV, the spatial fluence of electron and photon improved in turn 308.6±1.35% (6MV and 480.38±0.43% (6MV, and 153±0.9% (18MV and 462.6±0.27% (18MV. Moreover, by running DBS technique, the efficiency of dose variance reduction for PDD MC dose calculations before maximum dose point and after dose maximum point enhanced 187.8±0.68% (6MV and 184.6±0.65% (6MV, 156±0.43% (18MV and 153±0.37% (18MV, respectively, and the efficiency of MC calculations for lateral dose profile remarkably on the central beam axis and across the treatment field raised in turn 197±0.66% (6MV and 214.6±0.73% (6MV, 175±0.36% (18MV and 181.4±0.45% (18MV. Conclusion: Applying dose variance reduction technique of DBS for modeling Oncor® linac with using BEAMnrc MC Code surprisingly improved the fluence of electron and photon, and it therefore enhanced the efficiency of dose variance reduction for MC calculations. As a result, running DBS in different kinds of MC simulation Codes might be beneficent in reducing the uncertainty of MC calculations. 

  4. Local Treatment for Monochrome Outdoor Painted Metal Sculptures: Assessing the suitability of conservation paints for retouching

    OpenAIRE

    van Basten, Nikki; Defeyt, Catherine; Rivenc, Rachel

    2015-01-01

    When outdoor painted sculptures get chipped, scratched or abraded, conservators might consider local retouching treatments as an option that would protect the exposed metal substrate and restore the aesthetic integrity, thus postponing a very costly and invasive overall repainting. Unfortunately, matching colour gloss and texture on large monochrome surfaces is always challenging. This paper reports on research undertaken to investigate some of the materials and application techniques that co...

  5. Accuracy synthesis of T-shaped exit fixed mechanism in a double-crystal monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fengqin; Cao Chongzhen; Wang Jidai; Li Yushan; Gao Xueguan

    2007-01-01

    It is a key performance requirement for a double-crystal monochromator that the exit is fixed, and in order to improve the height accuracy of the exit in T-shaped exit fixed mechanism, the expression between the height of the exit and various original errors was put forward using geometrical analysis method. According to the independent action principle of original errors, accuracy synthesis of T-shaped exit fixed mechanism was studied by using the equal accuracy method, and the tolerance ranges of original errors were obtained. How to calculate the tolerance ranges of original errors was explained by giving an example. (authors)

  6. A comparison of absolute calibrations of a radiation thermometer based on a monochromator and a tunable source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keawprasert, T. [National Institute of Metrology Thailand, Pathum thani (Thailand); Anhalt, K.; Taubert, D. R.; Sperling, A.; Schuster, M.; Nevas, S. [Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig and Berlin (Germany)

    2013-09-11

    An LP3 radiation thermometer was absolutely calibrated at a newly developed monochromator-based set-up and the TUneable Lasers in Photometry (TULIP) facility of PTB in the wavelength range from 400 nm to 1100 nm. At both facilities, the spectral radiation of the respective sources irradiates an integrating sphere, thus generating uniform radiance across its precision aperture. The spectral irradiance of the integrating sphere is determined via an effective area of a precision aperture and a Si trap detector, traceable to the primary cryogenic radiometer of PTB. Due to the limited output power from the monochromator, the absolute calibration was performed with the measurement uncertainty of 0.17 % (k= 1), while the respective uncertainty at the TULIP facility is 0.14 %. Calibration results obtained by the two facilities were compared in terms of spectral radiance responsivity, effective wavelength and integral responsivity. It was found that the measurement results in integral responsivity at the both facilities are in agreement within the expanded uncertainty (k= 2). To verify the calibration accuracy, the absolutely calibrated radiation thermometer was used to measure the thermodynamic freezing temperatures of the PTB gold fixed-point blackbody.

  7. A comparison of absolute calibrations of a radiation thermometer based on a monochromator and a tunable source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keawprasert, T.; Anhalt, K.; Taubert, D. R.; Sperling, A.; Schuster, M.; Nevas, S.

    2013-01-01

    An LP3 radiation thermometer was absolutely calibrated at a newly developed monochromator-based set-up and the TUneable Lasers in Photometry (TULIP) facility of PTB in the wavelength range from 400 nm to 1100 nm. At both facilities, the spectral radiation of the respective sources irradiates an integrating sphere, thus generating uniform radiance across its precision aperture. The spectral irradiance of the integrating sphere is determined via an effective area of a precision aperture and a Si trap detector, traceable to the primary cryogenic radiometer of PTB. Due to the limited output power from the monochromator, the absolute calibration was performed with the measurement uncertainty of 0.17 % (k= 1), while the respective uncertainty at the TULIP facility is 0.14 %. Calibration results obtained by the two facilities were compared in terms of spectral radiance responsivity, effective wavelength and integral responsivity. It was found that the measurement results in integral responsivity at the both facilities are in agreement within the expanded uncertainty (k= 2). To verify the calibration accuracy, the absolutely calibrated radiation thermometer was used to measure the thermodynamic freezing temperatures of the PTB gold fixed-point blackbody

  8. Comparison of elliptical and spherical mirrors for the grasshopper monochromators at SSRL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waldhauer, A.P.

    1989-01-01

    A comparison of the performance of a spherical and elliptical mirror in the grasshopper monochromator is presented. The problem was studied by ray tracing and then tested using visible (λ=633 nm) laser light. Calculations using ideal optics yield an improvement in flux by a factor of up to 2.7, while tests with visible light show an increase by a factor of 5 because the old spherical mirror is compared to a new, perfect elliptical one. The FWHM of the measured focus is 90 μm with a spherical mirror, and 25 μm with an elliptical one. Elliptical mirrors have been acquired and are now being installed in the two grasshoppers at SSRL

  9. Optimization of a constrained linear monochromator design for neutral atom beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaltenbacher, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    A focused ground state, neutral atom beam, exploiting its de Broglie wavelength by means of atom optics, is used for neutral atom microscopy imaging. Employing Fresnel zone plates as a lens for these beams is a well established microscopy technique. To date, even for favorable beam source conditions a minimal focus spot size of slightly below 1 μm was reached. This limitation is essentially given by the intrinsic spectral purity of the beam in combination with the chromatic aberration of the diffraction based zone plate. Therefore, it is important to enhance the monochromaticity of the beam, enabling a higher spatial resolution, preferably below 100 nm. We propose to increase the monochromaticity of a neutral atom beam by means of a so-called linear monochromator set-up – a Fresnel zone plate in combination with a pinhole aperture – in order to gain more than one order of magnitude in spatial resolution. This configuration is known in X-ray microscopy and has proven to be useful, but has not been applied to neutral atom beams. The main result of this work is optimal design parameters based on models for this linear monochromator set-up followed by a second zone plate for focusing. The optimization was performed for minimizing the focal spot size and maximizing the centre line intensity at the detector position for an atom beam simultaneously. The results presented in this work are for, but not limited to, a neutral helium atom beam. - Highlights: • The presented results are essential for optimal operation conditions of a neutral atom microscope set-up. • The key parameters for the experimental arrangement of a neutral microscopy set-up are identified and their interplay is quantified. • Insights in the multidimensional problem provide deep and crucial understanding for pushing beyond the apparent focus limitations. • This work points out the trade-offs for high intensity and high spatial resolution indicating several use cases.

  10. Optimization of a constrained linear monochromator design for neutral atom beams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaltenbacher, Thomas

    2016-04-15

    A focused ground state, neutral atom beam, exploiting its de Broglie wavelength by means of atom optics, is used for neutral atom microscopy imaging. Employing Fresnel zone plates as a lens for these beams is a well established microscopy technique. To date, even for favorable beam source conditions a minimal focus spot size of slightly below 1 μm was reached. This limitation is essentially given by the intrinsic spectral purity of the beam in combination with the chromatic aberration of the diffraction based zone plate. Therefore, it is important to enhance the monochromaticity of the beam, enabling a higher spatial resolution, preferably below 100 nm. We propose to increase the monochromaticity of a neutral atom beam by means of a so-called linear monochromator set-up – a Fresnel zone plate in combination with a pinhole aperture – in order to gain more than one order of magnitude in spatial resolution. This configuration is known in X-ray microscopy and has proven to be useful, but has not been applied to neutral atom beams. The main result of this work is optimal design parameters based on models for this linear monochromator set-up followed by a second zone plate for focusing. The optimization was performed for minimizing the focal spot size and maximizing the centre line intensity at the detector position for an atom beam simultaneously. The results presented in this work are for, but not limited to, a neutral helium atom beam. - Highlights: • The presented results are essential for optimal operation conditions of a neutral atom microscope set-up. • The key parameters for the experimental arrangement of a neutral microscopy set-up are identified and their interplay is quantified. • Insights in the multidimensional problem provide deep and crucial understanding for pushing beyond the apparent focus limitations. • This work points out the trade-offs for high intensity and high spatial resolution indicating several use cases.

  11. Characteristics of Pyrolytic Graphite as a Neutron Monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N.; El-Mesiry, M.S.; Fathallah, M.

    2011-01-01

    Pyrolytic graphite (PG) has become nearly indispensable in neutron spectroscopy. Since the integrated reflectivity of the monochromatic neutrons from PG crystals cut along its c-axis is high within a wavelength band from 0.1 nm up to .65 nm. The monochromatic features of PG crystal is detailed in terms of the optimum mosaic spread, crystal thickness and reactor moderating temperature for efficient integrated neutron reflectivity within the wavelength band. A computer code Mono-PG has been developed to carry out the required calculations for the PG hexagonal close-packed structure. Calculation shows that, 2 mm thick of PG crystal having 0.30 FWHM on mosaic spread are the optimum parameters of PG crystal as a monochromator at selected neutron wavelength shorter than 2 nm. However, the integrated neutron intensity of 2nd and 3rd orders from thermal reactor flux is even higher than that of the 1st order one at neutron wavelengths longer than 2 nm. While, from cold reactor flux, integrated neutron intensity of the 1st order within the wavelength band from 0.25 up to 0.5 nm is higher than the 2nd and 3rd ones

  12. 1,3:2,4-Dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) and its derivatives--efficient, versatile and industrially-relevant low-molecular-weight gelators with over 100 years of history and a bright future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okesola, Babatunde O; Vieira, Vânia M P; Cornwell, Daniel J; Whitelaw, Nicole K; Smith, David K

    2015-06-28

    Dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) has been a well-known low-molecular-weight gelator of organic solvents for over 100 years. As such, it constitutes a very early example of a supramolecular gel--a research field which has recently developed into one of intense interest. The ability of DBS to self-assemble into sample-spanning networks in numerous solvents is predicated upon its 'butterfly-like' structure, whereby the benzylidene groups constitute the 'wings' and the sorbitol backbone the 'body'--the two parts representing the molecular recognition motifs underpinning its gelation mechanism, with the nature of solvent playing a key role in controlling the precise assembly mode. This gelator has found widespread applications in areas as diverse as personal care products and polymer nucleation/clarification, and has considerable potential in applications such as dental composites, energy technology and liquid crystalline materials. Some derivatives of DBS have also been reported which offer the potential to expand the scope and range of applications of this family of gelators and endow the nansocale network with additional functionality. This review aims to explain current trends in DBS research, and provide insight into how by combining a long history of application, with modern methods of derivatisation and analysis, the future for this family of gelators is bright, with an increasing number of high-tech applications, from environmental remediation to tissue engineering, being within reach.

  13. First operation of an extended range grasshopper monochromator on the Aladdin storage ring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, F.C.

    1986-01-01

    First operation of a new extended range monochromator on the 1 GeV storage ring Aladdin is described. Curves are given of output flux as a function of photon energy for the 2 m and for the 5 m gratings as measured with an NBS diode. Relatively low background and flux up to 1500 eV is obtained using a 1200 line/mm 5 m holographic grating. Highly reproducible scans were obtained of the transmission of thin films including the carbon K and titanium L edges. This reproducibility and high throughput is in large part due to the small beam size and excellent stability of Aladdin. (orig.)

  14. Photometric and Spectroscopic Survey of the Cluster [DBS2003] 156 Associated with the H II Region G331.1-0.5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinheiro, M. C.; Ortiz, R.; Abraham, Z.; Copetti, M. V. F.

    2016-05-01

    The Norma section of the Milky Way is especially interesting because it crosses three spiral arms: Sagittarius-Carina, Scutum-Crux and the Norma arm itself. Distance determinations of embedded young stellar clusters can contribute to define the spiral structure in this part of the Galaxy. However, spectrophotometric distances were obtained for only a few of these clusters in Norma. We present a photometric and spectroscopic study in the NIR of the [DBS2003] 156 stellar cluster, associated with the H II region G331.1-0.5. We aim to find the ionizing sources of the H II region and determine its distance. The cluster was observed in the J, H, and {K}{{s}} bands and eight potential massive stars were chosen among the detected sources according to color criteria; subsequent spectroscopy of these candidates was performed with the Ohio State Infrared Imager/Spectrometer spectrograph attached to the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research 4.1 m telescope. We identified and classified spectroscopically four early-type stars: IRS 176 (O8 V), IRS 308 (O-type), IRS 310 (O6 V), and IRS 71 (B1 Iab). Based on the proximity of IRS 176 and 308 with the radio continuum emission peaks and their relative positions with respect to the warm dust mid-infrared emission, we concluded that these two stars are the main ionizing sources of the H ii region G331.1-0.5. The mean spectrophotometric distance of IRS 176 and 310 of 3.38 ± 0.58 kpc is similar to that obtained in a previous work for two early-type stars of the neighbor cluster [DBS2003] 157 of 3.29 ± 0.58 kpc. The narrow range of radial velocities of radio sources in the area of the clusters [DBS2003] 156 and 157 and their similar visual extinction indicate that these clusters are physically associated. A common distance of 3.34 ± 0.34 kpc is derived for the system [DBS2003] 156 and 157. Based on observations obtained at the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR), a joint project of the Ministério de Ci

  15. A water-cooled x-ray monochromator for using off-axis undulator beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khounsary, A.; Maser, J.

    2000-01-01

    Undulator beamlines at third-generation synchrotrons x-ray sources are designed to use the high-brilliance radiation that is contained in the central cone of the generated x-ray beams. The rest of the x-ray beam is often unused. Moreover, in some cases, such as in the zone-plate-based microfocusing beamlines, only a small part of the central radiation cone around the optical axis is used. In this paper, a side-station branch line at the Advanced Photon Source that takes advantage of some of the unused off-axis photons in a microfocusing x-ray beamline is described. Detailed information on the design and analysis of a high-heat-load water-cooled monochromator developed for this beamline is provided

  16. Design and fabrication of a Czerny-Turner monochromator-cum-spectrograph

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murty, M.V.R.K.; Shukla, R.P.; Bhattacharya, S.S.; Krishnamurthy, G.

    1987-01-01

    The design and fabrication of a Czerny-Turner monochromator cum spectrograph is described. It consists of a classically ruled grating having 1200 grooves/mm. The collimator is a concave spherical mirror having a radius of curvature 1.025 metre while the focusing element is a concave spherical mirror of radius of curvature 0.925 metre. The design of two unequal radii of curvature for collimating and focusing mirrors is chosen to eliminate the chromatic aberration at the wavelength of 5000A. The linear reciprocal dispersion on the focal surface is about 8A/mm. The resolution of the instrument at the coma corrected wavelength i.e. 5000A is 0.1A. The resolution at the other wavelengths is limited by the residual chromatic aberration which increases linearly with wavelength on either side of the 5000A. Therefore the resolution at the wavelength 2000A and 8000A is about 0.2A. 7 figures. (author)

  17. Studies Of The (n, γ) Reaction With A Neutron Monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kane, W. R.; Gardner, D.; Brown, T.; Kevey, A.; Mateosian, E. der; Emery, G. T.; Gelletly, W.; Mariscotti, M. A.J. [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long Island, NY (United States); Schröder, I. [National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (United States)

    1969-11-15

    A crystal diffraction neutron monochromator has been constructed specifically for studies of the(n, γ) reaction. This equipment plays a complementary role to that of time-of-flight devices in providing a neutron beam with a full duty cycle at a given energy. This feature and the small target size, large geometrical efficiency for y-ray detection, and negligible fast neutron background afford advantages for certain classes of experiments. The useful energy range extends from 0.01 to 20 eV. Novel features of the equipment include a complete reliance upon precision angle encoders for setting arm and crystal angles, the employment of a liquid shield to facilitate the extraction of the diffracted neutron beam, and the use of air bearings to provide for the motion of the target, detection devices, and associated shielding. Results obtained on low energy resonances of {sup 139}La, {sup 189}Os, and {sup 235}U will be presented. (author)

  18. Optimization of the bent perfect Si(311)-crystal monochromator for a residual strain/stress instrument at the HANARO reactor - Part I

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Moon, MK; Lee, Ch.H.; Vyacheslav, T.; Mikula, Pavol

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 369, - (2005), s. 1-7 ISSN 0921-4526 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/03/0891 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : neutron monochromator * residual stress measurement * neutron diffraction Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.796, year: 2005

  19. Some thoughts on source monochromation and the implications for electron energy loss spectroscopy

    CERN Document Server

    Brydson, R; Brown, A

    2003-01-01

    We briefly outline the factors determining the intrinsic widths of features in electron energy loss near edge structure (ELNES) measured by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). We have made estimates of the differing contributions of both the initial and final state lifetime effects in the ELNES ionisation processes and also show how these may be combined with the instrumental energy resolution. We discuss the potential benefits of source monochromation for ELNES measurements via a comparison of these theoretical estimates with experimental spectra from the literature. We show that for certain core level excitations, solid state broadening mechanisms may be the fundamental limiting factor for resolving fine detail in ELNES. (orig.)

  20. The sapphire backscattering monochromator at the Dynamics beamline P01 of PETRA III

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alexeev, P., E-mail: pavel.alexeev@desy.de [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (Germany); Asadchikov, V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, A.V. Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation); Bessas, D. [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (France); Butashin, A.; Deryabin, A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, A.V. Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation); Dill, F.-U.; Ehnes, A.; Herlitschke, M. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (Germany); Hermann, R. P.; Jafari, A. [JARA-FIT, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS and Peter Grünberg Institut PGI (Germany); Prokhorov, I. [Kaluga Branch of Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography RAS, Research Center for Space Materials Science (Russian Federation); Roshchin, B. [Russian Academy of Sciences, A.V. Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography (Russian Federation); Röhlsberger, R.; Schlage, K.; Sergueev, I.; Siemens, A.; Wille, H.-C., E-mail: hans.christian.wille@desy.de [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY (Germany)

    2016-12-15

    We report on a high resolution sapphire backscattering monochromator installed at the Dynamics beamline P01 of PETRA III. The device enables nuclear resonance scattering experiments on Mössbauer isotopes with transition energies between 20 and 60 keV with sub-meV to meV resolution. In a first performance test with {sup 119}Sn nuclear resonance at a X-ray energy of 23.88 keV an energy resolution of 1.34 meV was achieved. The device extends the field of nuclear resonance scattering at the PETRA III synchrotron light source to many further isotopes like {sup 151}Eu, {sup 149}Sm, {sup 161}Dy, {sup 125}Te and {sup 121}Sb.

  1. An elastic, low-background vertical focusing element for a doubly focusing neutron monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smee, Stephen A.; Brand, Paul C.; Barry, Dwight D.; Broholm, Collin L.; Anand, Dave K.

    2001-01-01

    A novel, variable radius of curvature, device for the focusing of neutrons is presented. This elastic element consists of a thin variable thickness, constant width, aluminum blade to which diffracting crystals can be attached. When buckled, the blade assumes a circular focal shape, the radius of which is easily controlled by the relative displacement of supporting pivots. Precision electromechanical and optical measurements show that the slope of the buckled blade conforms to a circular arc to within 0.15 degree sign for radii in the range 900 mm< R<10 000 mm. This easily scalable, low mass mechanism is well suited for use in a focusing neutron monochromator, as the parasitic scattering typically associated with traditional lead screw and lever mechanisms is greatly reduced

  2. Estimulação cerebral contínua (DBS talâmica para controle do tremor Deep brain stimulation of VIM thalamic nucleus for tremor control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Augusto Nasser

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Apresentamos resultados da estimulação contínua do núcleo ventral intermédio (VIM talâmico para o controle do tremor. MÉTODO: Quatro pacientes foram selecionados no período de outubro de 1999 a janeiro de 2001 com tremor incapacitante refratário à farmacoterapia. Dois pacientes apresentavam tremor essencial (TE bilateral e 2 pacientes tremor de repouso por doença de Parkinson (DP, um à direita e outro à esquerda. Após avaliação sistemática, foram submetidos ao implante de eletrodo talâmico, modelo DBS 3387(Medtronic, para estimulação cerebral profunda (ECP com alta frequência, sendo este bilateral nos casos de TE e unilateral nos casos com tremor por DP. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes tiveram seu seguimente clínico até o presente, com média de 12 meses, sendo observada a eficácia da estimulação do núcleo VIM no controle dos disparos das células do tremor. As complicações temporárias do tipo parestesias, disartrias e discreto aumento do tônus foram revertidas após o ajuste dos parâmetros de estimulação. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados confirmam os achados da literatura, de que a estimulação talâmica é excelente opção terapêutica no tratamento do tremor, havendo possibilidade de estimulação talâmica bilateral simultânea com segurança.PURPOSE: We present our results in 4 patients with tremor, in whom electrodes (uni and bilateral for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS were implanted in the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM of the thalamus. METHOD: Four patients with disabling tremor, with drug-resistant spite of optimum therapeutic trials with poor response were referred to do surgery. Two patients had bilateral essential tremor. These patients were implanted with electrodes for DBS 3387 (Medtronic. Two patients had unilateral parkinsonian tremor and they received unilateral implantation of model 3387 DBS. RESULTS: All four patients showed relieve of the tremor symptoms with significant tremor control seen at

  3. Development of FM screens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Pinćjer

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available What is a satisfactory quality when it comes to graphic arts industry? Acceptable quality of halftone image is becomesame as photographic picture. There are many different ways in which one can try to reach the desired quality.Different methods of halftoning (lpi and diferent methods of forming halftone dot, scanning, prepress, platemaking are just some ways to influence the final printing result. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of acertain halftoning technique will give us more ability to choose the right process path.

  4. The double rotor neutron monochromator facility at the ET-RR-1 reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adib, M.; Maayouf, R.M.A.; Abdel-Kawy, A.; Gwaily, S.E.; Hamouda, I.

    1983-01-01

    A double rotor neutron monochromator recently installed in front of one of the ET-RR-1 reactor horizontal channels is described. The system consists of two rotors, suspended in magnetic field, spinning at speeds up to 16000 rpm with a constant phase angle relative to each producing bursts of monochromatic neutrons at the sample. Each of the rotors, 32 cm in diameter and 27 Kg in weight, has two slits to produce two neutron bursts per revolution. The slits are with radius of curvature 65.65 cm and 7 x 10 sq.mm cross-sectional area. The jitters of the phase between the rotors were measured at different rotation rates and were found not to exceed +- 1.5 μsec. The transmission function of one rotor system was measured and found to be in agreement with that theoretically predicted. (Auth.)

  5. Liquid-metal-cooled, curved-crystal monochromator for Advanced Photon Source bending-magnet beamline 1-BM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauer, S.; Rodricks, B.; Assoufid, L.; Beno, M.A.; Knapp, G.S.

    1996-06-01

    The authors describe a horizontally focusing curved-crystal monochromator that invokes a 4-point bending scheme and a liquid-metal cooling bath. The device has been designed for dispersive diffraction and spectroscopy in the 5--20 keV range, with a predicted focal spot size of ≤ 100 microm. To minimize thermal distortions and thermal equilibration time, the 355 x 32 x 0.8 mm crystal will be nearly half submerged in a bath of Ga-In-Sn-Zn alloy. The liquid metal thermally couples the crystal to the water-cooled Cu frame, while permitting the required crystal bending. Calculated thermal profiles and anticipated focusing properties are discussed

  6. High heat load performance of an inclined crystal monochromator with liquid gallium cooling on the CHESS-ANL undulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macrander, A.T.; Lee, W.K.; Smither, R.K.; Mills, D.M.

    1992-01-01

    Recent results for the performance of a novel double crystal monochromator subjected to high heat loads on an APS prototype undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) are presented. The monochromator was designed to achieve symmetric diffraction from asymmetric planes to spread out the beam footprint thereby lowering the incident power density. Both crystals had (111) oriented surfaces and were arranged such that the beam was diffracted from the (11 bar 1) planes at 5 KeV. Rocking curves with minimal distortion were obtained at a ring electron current of 100 mA. This corresponded to 380 Watts total power and an average power density of 40 Watts/mm 2 normal to the incident beam. These results are compared to data obtained from the same crystals in the standard geometry (diffracting planes parallel to surface). The footprint area in the inclined case was three times that of the standard case. We also obtained rocking curve data for the (333) reflection at 15 KeV for both standard and inclined cases, and these data also showed a minimal distortion only for the inclined case. In addition, thermal data were obtained via infrared pyrometry. Liquid gallium flow rates of up to 2 gallons per minute were investigated. The diffraction data revealed a dramatically improved performance for the inclined crystal case

  7. Simplifying sample pretreatment: application of dried blood spot (DBS) method to blood samples, including postmortem, for UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of drugs of abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odoardi, Sara; Anzillotti, Luca; Strano-Rossi, Sabina

    2014-10-01

    The complexity of biological matrices, such as blood, requires the development of suitably selective and reliable sample pretreatment procedures prior to their instrumental analysis. A method has been developed for the analysis of drugs of abuse and their metabolites from different chemical classes (opiates, methadone, fentanyl and analogues, cocaine, amphetamines and amphetamine-like substances, ketamine, LSD) in human blood using dried blood spot (DBS) and subsequent UHPLC-MS/MS analysis. DBS extraction required only 100μL of sample, added with the internal standards and then three droplets (30μL each) of this solution were spotted on the card, let dry for 1h, punched and extracted with methanol with 0.1% of formic acid. The supernatant was evaporated and the residue was then reconstituted in 100μL of water with 0.1% of formic acid and injected in the UHPLC-MS/MS system. The method was validated considering the following parameters: LOD and LOQ, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect and dilution integrity. LODs were 0.05-1ng/mL and LOQs were 0.2-2ng/mL. The method showed satisfactory linearity for all substances, with determination coefficients always higher than 0.99. Intra and inter day precision, accuracy, matrix effect and dilution integrity were acceptable for all the studied substances. The addition of internal standards before DBS extraction and the deposition of a fixed volume of blood on the filter cards ensured the accurate quantification of the analytes. The validated method was then applied to authentic postmortem blood samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Merging DBS with viral vector or stem cell implantation: “hybrid” stereotactic surgery as an evolution in the surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan C Rowland

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Parkinson's disease (PD is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that is currently managed using a broad array of symptom-based strategies. However, targeting its molecular origins represents the potential to discover disease-modifying therapies. Deep brain stimulation (DBS, a highly successful treatment modality for PD symptoms, addresses errant electrophysiological signaling pathways in the basal ganglia. In contrast, ongoing clinical trials testing gene and cell replacement therapies propose to protect or restore neuronal-based physiologic dopamine transmission in the striatum. Given promising new platforms to enhance target localization'such as interventional MRI-guided stereotaxy'the opportunity now exists to create hybrid therapies that combine DBS with gene therapy and/or cell implantation. In this mini-review, we discuss approaches used for central nervous system biologic delivery in PD patients in previous trials and propose a new set of strategies based on novel molecular targets. A multifaceted approach, if successful, may not only contribute to our understanding of PD pathology but could introduce a new era of disease modification.

  9. Minimization of spurious strains by using a Si bent-perfect-crystal monochromator: neutron surface strain scanning of a shot-peened sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebelo Kornmeier, Joana; Gibmeier, Jens; Hofmann, Michael

    2011-06-01

    Neutron strain measurements are critical at the surface. When scanning close to a sample surface, aberration peak shifts arise due to geometrical and divergence effects. These aberration peak shifts can be of the same order as the peak shifts related to residual strains. In this study it will be demonstrated that by optimizing the horizontal bending radius of a Si (4 0 0) monochromator, the aberration peak shifts from surface effects can be strongly reduced. A stress-free sample of fine-grained construction steel, S690QL, was used to find the optimal instrumental conditions to minimize aberration peak shifts. The optimized Si (4 0 0) monochromator and instrument settings were then applied to measure the residual stress depth gradient of a shot-peened SAE 4140 steel sample to validate the effectiveness of the approach. The residual stress depth profile is in good agreement with results obtained by x-ray diffraction measurements from an international round robin test (BRITE-EURAM-project ENSPED). The results open very promising possibilities to bridge the gap between x-ray diffraction and conventional neutron diffraction for non-destructive residual stress analysis close to surfaces.

  10. Minimization of spurious strains by using a Si bent-perfect-crystal monochromator: neutron surface strain scanning of a shot-peened sample

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebelo Kornmeier, Joana; Hofmann, Michael; Gibmeier, Jens

    2011-01-01

    Neutron strain measurements are critical at the surface. When scanning close to a sample surface, aberration peak shifts arise due to geometrical and divergence effects. These aberration peak shifts can be of the same order as the peak shifts related to residual strains. In this study it will be demonstrated that by optimizing the horizontal bending radius of a Si (4 0 0) monochromator, the aberration peak shifts from surface effects can be strongly reduced. A stress-free sample of fine-grained construction steel, S690QL, was used to find the optimal instrumental conditions to minimize aberration peak shifts. The optimized Si (4 0 0) monochromator and instrument settings were then applied to measure the residual stress depth gradient of a shot-peened SAE 4140 steel sample to validate the effectiveness of the approach. The residual stress depth profile is in good agreement with results obtained by x-ray diffraction measurements from an international round robin test (BRITE-EURAM-project ENSPED). The results open very promising possibilities to bridge the gap between x-ray diffraction and conventional neutron diffraction for non-destructive residual stress analysis close to surfaces

  11. A high-energy double-crystal fixed exit monochromator for the X17 superconducting wiggler beam line at the NSLS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garrett, R.F.; Dilmanian, F.A.; Oversluizen, T.; Lenhard, A.; Berman, L.E.; Chapman, L.D.; Stoeber, W.

    1992-01-01

    A high-energy double-crystal x-ray monochromator has been constructed for use on the X-17 beam line at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). Its design is based on the ''boomerang'' right angle linkage, and features a fixed exit beam, a cooled first crystal, and an energy range of 8--92 keV. The entire mechanism is UHV compatible. The design is described and performance details, obtained in testing at the X17 beam line, are presented

  12. Multiple order reflections in crystal neutron monochromators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fulfaro, R.

    1976-01-01

    A study of the higher order reflections in neutron crystal monochromators was made in order to obtain, for the IEA single crystal spectrometer, the operation range of 1,0eV to 0,01eV. Two crystals were studied, an Al(III) near 1,0eV and a Ge(III) in lower energies. For the Ge(III) case the higher order contaminations in the reflected beam were determined using as standard the gold total neutron cross section and performing the crystal reflectivity calculation for several orders of reflection. The knowledge of the contamination for each order as a function of neutron wavelength allows the optimization of the filter thickness in order to avoid higher order neutrons. The Ge(III) crystal was used because its second order reflections are theoretically forbidden, giving an advantage on other crystals, since measurements can be made until 0.02eV directly without filters. In the energy range 0.02 to 0.01eV, order contaminations higher than the second are present, therefore, either quartz filters are employed or calculated corrections are applied to the experimental data. The Al(III) crystal was used in order to estimate the second order contamination effect, in the iridium resonance measurements, at E 0 = 0.654eV. In that region, approximations can be made and it was not necessary to make the crystal reflectivity calculation for the filters thickness optimization. Since only the second order affects the results in that region, tellurium was used for the filtration, because this element has a resonance in the range of neutrons with energy 4E [pt

  13. A sub-50meV spectrometer and energy filter for use in combination with 200kV monochromated (S)TEMs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brink, H A; Barfels, M M G; Burgner, R P; Edwards, B N

    2003-09-01

    A high-energy resolution post-column spectrometer for the purpose of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy-filtered TEM in combination with a monochromated (S)TEM is presented. The prism aberrations were corrected up to fourth order using multipole elements improving the electron optical energy resolution and increasing the acceptance of the spectrometer for a combination of object area and collection angles. Electronics supplying the prism, drift tube, high-tension reference and critical lenses have been newly designed such that, in combination with the new electron optics, a sub-50 meV energy resolution has been realized, a 10-fold improvement over past post-column spectrometer designs. The first system has been installed on a 200 kV monochromated TEM at the Delft University of Technology. Total system energy resolution of sub-100 meV has been demonstrated. For a 1s exposure the resolution degraded to 110 meV as a result of noise. No further degradation in energy resolution was measured for exposures up to 1 min at 120 kV. Spectral resolution measurements, performed on the pi* peak of the BN K-edge, demonstrated a 350 meV (FWHM) peak width at 200 kV. This measure is predominantly determined by the natural line width of the BN K-edge.

  14. CranialVault and its CRAVE tools: a clinical computer assistance system for deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Haese, Pierre-François; Pallavaram, Srivatsan; Li, Rui; Remple, Michael S; Kao, Chris; Neimat, Joseph S; Konrad, Peter E; Dawant, Benoit M

    2012-04-01

    A number of methods have been developed to assist surgeons at various stages of deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy. These include construction of anatomical atlases, functional databases, and electrophysiological atlases and maps. But, a complete system that can be integrated into the clinical workflow has not been developed. In this paper we present a system designed to assist physicians in pre-operative target planning, intra-operative target refinement and implantation, and post-operative DBS lead programming. The purpose of this system is to centralize the data acquired a the various stages of the procedure, reduce the amount of time needed at each stage of the therapy, and maximize the efficiency of the entire process. The system consists of a central repository (CranialVault), of a suite of software modules called CRAnialVault Explorer (CRAVE) that permit data entry and data visualization at each stage of the therapy, and of a series of algorithms that permit the automatic processing of the data. The central repository contains image data for more than 400 patients with the related pre-operative plans and position of the final implants and about 10,550 electrophysiological data points (micro-electrode recordings or responses to stimulations) recorded from 222 of these patients. The system has reached the stage of a clinical prototype that is being evaluated clinically at our institution. A preliminary quantitative validation of the planning component of the system performed on 80 patients who underwent the procedure between January 2009 and December 2009 shows that the system provides both timely and valuable information. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Mechanical design aspects of a soft X-ray plane grating monochromator

    CERN Document Server

    Vasina, R; Dolezel, P; Mynar, M; Vondracek, M; Chab, V; Slezak, J A; Comicioli, C; Prince, K C

    2001-01-01

    A plane grating monochromator based on the SX-700 concept has been constructed for the Materials Science Beamline, Elettra, which is attached to a bending magnet. The tuning range is from 35 to 800 eV with calculated spectral resolving power epsilon/DELTA epsilon better than 4000 in the whole range. The optical elements consist of a toroidal prefocusing mirror, polarization aperture, entrance slit, plane pre-mirror, single plane grating (blazed), spherical mirror, exit slit and toroidal refocusing mirror. The plane grating is operated in the fixed focus mode with C sub f sub f =2.4. Energy scanning is performed by rotation of the plane grating and simultaneous translation and rotation of the plane pre-mirror. A novel solution is applied for the motion of the plane pre-mirror, namely by a translation and mechanically coupling the rotation by a cam. The slits have no moving parts in vacuum to reduce cost and increase ruggedness, and can be fully closed without risk of damage. In the first tests, a resolving pow...

  16. Angular distribution measurement of fragment ions from a molecule using a new beamline consisting of a Grasshopper monochromator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Norio; Suzuki, Isao H.; Onuki, Hideo; Nishi, Morotake

    1989-07-01

    Optical characteristics of a new beamline consisting of a premirror, a Grasshopper monochromator, and a refocusing mirror have been investigated. The intensity of the monochromatic soft x-ray was estimated to be about 108 photons/(s 100 mA) at 500 eV with the storage electron energy of 600 MeV and the minimum slit width. This slit width provides a resolution of about 500. Angular distributions of fragment ions from an inner-shell excited nitrogen molecule have been measured with a rotatable time-of-flight mass spectrometer by using this beamline.

  17. Angular distribution measurement of fragment ions from a molecule using a new beamline consisting of a Grasshopper monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, N.; Suzuki, I.H.; Onuki, H.; Nishi, M.

    1989-01-01

    Optical characteristics of a new beamline consisting of a premirror, a Grasshopper monochromator, and a refocusing mirror have been investigated. The intensity of the monochromatic soft x-ray was estimated to be about 10 8 photons/(s 100 mA) at 500 eV with the storage electron energy of 600 MeV and the minimum slit width. This slit width provides a resolution of about 500. Angular distributions of fragment ions from an inner-shell excited nitrogen molecule have been measured with a rotatable time-of-flight mass spectrometer by using this beamline

  18. A high throughput 2 m normal incidence monochromator for SURF-II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ederer, D.L.; Cole, B.E.; West, J.B.

    1980-01-01

    The high intrinsic brightness of the circulating electron beam at SURF-II is used as the entrance slit for a two-meter normal incidence monochromator. A typical beam size for the electron beam is 100 μm high by 2 mm wide yielding an obserbed resolution of 0.4 Angstroem with a 200 μm exit slit and a 2400 lines/mm grating. The instrument accepts a beam with a 65 mrad horizontal divergence and a 10 mrad vertical divergence. A plane pre-mirror used near normal incidence reflects the incoming radiation onto the 2 m grating; this combination provides a horizontal exit beam, and enables the experiment to be located three meters from the orbit tangent point. With magnesium fluoride coated aluminium optics a flux of 2 x 10'' photon/s x Angstroem at 1200 Angstroem is observed with a 10 mA circulating current. A flux of 5 x 10 10 photon/s x Angstroem at 600 Angstroem is obserbed with an osmium coated grating and a 10 mA circulating current. Sample spectra of the angle-resolved photoelectron spectrum of CO are presented. (orig.)

  19. Higher harmonics suppression in Fe/Si polarizing neutron monochromators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merkel, D.G., E-mail: merkel.daniel@wigner.mta.hu [Wigner Research Centre for Physics, P.O. Box 49, H-1525, Budapest (Hungary); Nagy, B.; Sajti, Sz.; Szilágyi, E. [Wigner Research Centre for Physics, P.O. Box 49, H-1525, Budapest (Hungary); Kovács-Mezei, R. [Mirrotron Ltd. Konkoly-Thege M. út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest (Hungary); Bottyán, L. [Wigner Research Centre for Physics, P.O. Box 49, H-1525, Budapest (Hungary)

    2013-03-11

    The reflected neutron beam originating from a crystal monochromator contains higher order wavelength contributions. Multilayer mirror structures with various custom reflectivity curves including monochromatization and/or polarization of the neutron beam constitute a challenge in modern neutron optics. In this work, we present the study of three types of magnetron-sputtered Fe/Si layer structures with the purpose of higher harmonic suppression. First, an approximately sinusoidal profile was achieved directly by carefully controlling the evaporation parameters during sputtering that leads to first-Bragg-peak reflectivity and polarizing efficiency of R{sub c}=82% and P=97%, respectively. Second, a random, quasi-periodic distribution of the layer thicknesses was implemented, in which the layer structure of the structure was derived from a fit to a prescribed simulated spectrum. This solution resulted in R{sub c}=92% and P=88%. Third, a structure of Fe/Si layers with rounded scattering length profile was constructed starting with a step-like profile and applying 350 keV Ne{sup +} irradiation of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.7 and 27×10{sup 15}/cm{sup 2} fluence. Disregarding the highest fluence, the increasing fluence improved the monochromatization (decreasing the intensity of higher order reflections from a total of 11.1% to 2.2% and that of the first Bragg peak from 80% to 70%) and increased the polarizing efficiency from P=79% to 91%). In none of the above structures was a contrast matching agent added to the constituents.

  20. N -Ink Printer Characterization With Barycentric Subdivision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaei, Vahid; Hersch, Roger D

    2016-07-01

    Printing with a large number of inks, also called N -ink printing, is a challenging task. The challenges comprise spectral modeling of the printer, color separation, halftoning, and limitations of the amount of inks. Juxtaposed halftoning, a perfectly dot-off-dot halftoning method, has proved to be useful to address some of these challenges. However, for juxtaposed halftones, prediction of colors as a function of ink area coverages has not yet been fully investigated. The goal of this paper is to introduce a spectral prediction model for N -ink juxtaposed-halftone prints. As the area-coverage domain of juxtaposed inks forms a simplex, we propose a cellular subdivision of the area-coverage domain using the barycentric subdivision of simplexes. The barycentric subdivision provides algorithmically straightforward means to design and implement an N -ink color prediction model. Within the subdomain cells, the Yule-Nielsen spectral Neugebauer model is used for the spectral prediction. Our proposed model is highly accurate for prints with a large number of inks while requiring a relatively low number of calibration samples.

  1. Beryllium, zinc and lead single crystals as a thermal neutron monochromators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N.; Bashter, I. I.; Morcos, H. N.; El-Mesiry, M. S.; Mansy, M. S.

    2015-03-01

    The monochromatic features of Be, Zn and Pb single crystals are discussed in terms of orientation, mosaic spread, and thickness within the wavelength band from 0.04 up to 0.5 nm. A computer program MONO written in "FORTRAN-77", has been adapted to carry out the required calculations. Calculations show that a 5 mm thick of beryllium (HCP structure) single crystal cut along its (0 0 2) plane having 0.6° FWHM are the optimum parameters when it is used as a monochromator with high reflected neutron intensity from a thermal neutron flux. Furthermore, at wavelengths shorter than 0.16 nm it is free from the accompanying higher order ones. Zinc (HCP structure) has the same parameters, with intensity much less than the latter. The same features are seen with lead (FCC structure) cut along its (3 1 1) plane with less reflectivity than the former. However, Pb (3 1 1) is more preferable than others at neutron wavelengths ⩽ 0.1 nm, since the glancing angle (θ ∼ 20°) is more suitable to carry out diffraction experiments. For a cold neutron flux, the first-order neutrons reflected from beryllium is free from the higher orders up to 0.36 nm. While for Zn single crystal is up to 0.5 nm.

  2. A laboratory-based hard x-ray monochromator for high-resolution x-ray emission spectroscopy and x-ray absorption near edge structure measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seidler, G. T., E-mail: seidler@uw.edu; Mortensen, D. R.; Remesnik, A. J.; Pacold, J. I.; Ball, N. A.; Barry, N.; Styczinski, M.; Hoidn, O. R. [Physics Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560 (United States)

    2014-11-15

    We report the development of a laboratory-based Rowland-circle monochromator that incorporates a low power x-ray (bremsstrahlung) tube source, a spherically bent crystal analyzer, and an energy-resolving solid-state detector. This relatively inexpensive, introductory level instrument achieves 1-eV energy resolution for photon energies of ∼5 keV to ∼10 keV while also demonstrating a net efficiency previously seen only in laboratory monochromators having much coarser energy resolution. Despite the use of only a compact, air-cooled 10 W x-ray tube, we find count rates for nonresonant x-ray emission spectroscopy comparable to those achieved at monochromatized spectroscopy beamlines at synchrotron light sources. For x-ray absorption near edge structure, the monochromatized flux is small (due to the use of a low-powered x-ray generator) but still useful for routine transmission-mode studies of concentrated samples. These results indicate that upgrading to a standard commercial high-power line-focused x-ray tube or rotating anode x-ray generator would result in monochromatized fluxes of order 10{sup 6}–10{sup 7} photons/s with no loss in energy resolution. This work establishes core technical capabilities for a rejuvenation of laboratory-based hard x-ray spectroscopies that could have special relevance for contemporary research on catalytic or electrical energy storage systems using transition-metal, lanthanide, or noble-metal active species.

  3. Performance of synchrotron x-ray monochromators under heat load: How reliable are the predictions?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freund, A.K.; Hoszowska, J.; Migliore, J.-S.; Mocella, V.; Zhang, L.; Ferrero, C.

    2000-01-01

    With the ongoing development of insertion devices with smaller gaps the heat load generated by modern synchrotron sources increases continuously. To predict the overall performance of experiments on beam lines it is of crucial importance to be able to predict the efficiency of x-ray optics and in particular that of crystal monochromators. We report on a detailed comparison between theory and experiment for a water-cooled silicon crystal exposed to bending magnet radiation of up to 237 W total power and 1.3 W/mm2 power density. The thermal deformation has been calculated by the code ANSYS and its output has been injected into a finite difference code based on the Takagi-Taupin diffraction theory for distorted crystals. Several slit settings, filters and reflection orders were used to vary the geometrical conditions and the x-ray penetration depth in the crystal. In general, good agreement has been observed between the calculated and the observed values for the rocking curve width

  4. Transmission test of the polyethylene shield against 40 and 65 MeV quasi monochrome neutron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakao, Makoto; Nakamura, Takashi; Sakuya, Yoshimasa; Nauchi, Yasushi; Nakao, Noriaki; Tanaka, Susumu; Sakamoto, Yukio; Nakajima, Hiroshi; Nakane, Yoshihiro.

    1996-01-01

    Using 40 and 65 MeV quasi monochrome neutron of the AVF cyclotron installed at Takasaki Laboratory, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, the neutron energy spectra were measured after transmitting the polyethylene shield. Results of the shielding experiments using concrete and iron recognized as main shielding material were proposed previously. As data obtained in the experiments were useful for a bench-mark experiment to investigate for shielding calculation and sectional data set, a shielding calculation simulated with new experiment to compare with and investigate for the previous experimental data. As a result, it was found that calculation result of neutron flux transmitting through the polyethylene shield showed difference with increase of the shield thickness. And, reducing distance of the peak neutron was also found to be over-estimated in its calculation value, such as three and five times on 43 MeV at 120 and 180 cm thick, respectively. (G.K.)

  5. Synchrotron X-ray adaptative monochromator: study and realization of a prototype; Monochromateur adaptatif pour rayonnement X synchrotron: etude et realisation d`un prototype

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dezoret, D.

    1995-12-12

    This work presents a study of a prototype of a synchrotron X-ray monochromator. The spectral qualities of this optic are sensitive to the heat loads which are particularly important on third synchrotron generation like ESRF. Indeed, powers generated by synchrotron beams can reach few kilowatts and power densities about a few tens watts per square millimeters. The mechanical deformations of the optical elements of the beamlines issue issue of the heat load can damage their spectral efficiencies. In order to compensate the deformations, wa have been studying the transposition of the adaptive astronomical optics technology to the x-ray field. First, we have considered the modifications of the spectral characteristics of a crystal induced by x-rays. We have established the specifications required to a technological realisation. Then, thermomechanical and technological studies have been required to transpose the astronomical technology to an x-ray technology. After these studies, we have begun the realisation of a prototype. This monochromator is composed by a crystal of silicon (111) bonded on a piezo-electric structure. The mechanical control is a loop system composed by a infrared light, a Shack-Hartmann CDD and wave front analyser. This system has to compensate the deformations of the crystal in the 5 kcV to 60 kcV energy range with a power density of 1 watt per square millimeters. (authors).

  6. An energy-dispersive X-ray monochromator for measurements in the soft X-ray spectra: design, construction and first measurements. Ein energiedispersiver Roentgenmonochromator mit der Moeglichkeit von Messungen im weichen Roentgenbereich: Entwurf, Aufbau und erste Messungen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steil, S.

    1993-12-01

    An Energy-Dispersive X-ray Monochromator (EDM) for time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy was built in the Synchrotron radiation laboratory at the 3.5 GeV ELectron Stretcher and Accelerator (ELSA). Bragg angles up to 70 and a specially designed vacuum system allow measurements down to an energy of 2.149 keV (P K-edge) with a Si(111)-crystal. Compared to a standard double crystal monochromator and for an EXAFS spectrum at the Cu K-edge at 8.979 keV for concentrated samples, the EDM boosts time resolution by 3 orders of magnitude. The time resolution increases by a factor of 50 for a XANES spectrum at the S K-edge at 2.472 keV for a rubber sample with 4% sulfur. The energy resolution of the EDM is limited by the Darwin width [Omega] of the Bragg crystal. The harmonics in the 'monochromatized' beam, which increase to lower energies, could be nearly eliminated by using a quartz mirror. The spherical aberration of the focus was described theoretically for a cylindrically bent crystal and compared with measurements. In a first time-resolved measurement at the S K-edge, which comprehended about 120 spectra taken in 40 minutes, the thermal ageing of a rubber sample was investigated to demonstrate the performance of the monochromator. (orig.)

  7. Dot gain compensation in the blue noise mask

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Meng; Parker, Kevin J.

    1995-04-01

    Frequency modulated (FM) halftoning or 'stochastic screening,' has attracted a great deal of attention in the printing industry in recent years. It has several advantages over conventional halftoning. But one serious problem that arises in FM halftoning is dot gain. One approach to stochastic screening uses a specially constructed halftone screen, the blue noise mask (BNM), to produce an unstructured and visually appealing pattern of halftone dots at any gray level. In this paper, we will present methods to correct dot gain with the BNM. Dot gain is related to the area-to-perimeter ration of printed spots. We can exploit this feature in different ways. At a medium level, a B>NM pattern will have 'connected' as well as 'isolated' dots. Normally, as we build down BNM patterns to lower levels, a specific number of white dots will be replace by black dots. Since connected white dots are more likely to be picked than isolated white dots, this will results in substantial dot gain because of the increasing number of isolated white dots. We show that it is possible to constrain the process of constructing a BNM such that isolated dots are preferentially removes, thus significantly reducing dot gain in a BNM.

  8. Effects of DBS, premotor rTMS, and levodopa on motor function and silent period in advanced Parkinson's disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bäumer, Tobias; Hidding, Ute; Hamel, Wolfgang

    2009-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a widely used and highly effective treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Repetitive TMS (rTMS) applied to motor cortical areas has also been shown to improve symptoms in PD and modulate motor cortical...... excitability. Here, we compared clinical and neurophysiological effects of STN stimulation with those of 1 Hz rTMS given to the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and those following intake of levodopa in a group of PD patients with advanced disease. Ten PD patients were studied on 2 consecutive days before...... and after surgery. Clinical effects were determined using the UPDRS motor score. Motor thresholds, motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes during slight voluntary contraction, and the cortical silent periods (SP) were measured using TMS. Before surgery effects of levodopa and 1 Hz PMd rTMS and after surgery...

  9. Neutron monochromators of BeO, MgO and ZnO single crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N.; Bashter, I. I.; Morcos, H. N.; El-Mesiry, M. S.; Mansy, M. S.

    2014-05-01

    The monochromatic features of BeO, MgO and ZnO single crystals are discussed in terms of orientation, mosaic spread, and thickness within the wavelength band from 0.05 up to 0.5 nm. A computer program MONO, written in “FORTRAN”, has been developed to carry out the required calculations. Calculation shows that a 5 mm thick MgO single crystal cut along its (2 0 0) plane having mosaic spread of 0.5° FWHM has the optimum parameters when it is used as a neutron monochromator. Moreover, at wavelengths shorter than 0.24 nm the reflected monochromatic neutrons are almost free from the higher order ones. The same features are seen with BeO (0 0 2) with less reflectivity than that of the former. Also, ZnO cut along its (0 0 2) plane is preferred over the others only at wavelengths longer than 0.20 nm. When the selected monochromatic wavelength is longer than 0.24 nm, the neutron intensities of higher orders from a thermal reactor flux are higher than those of the first-order one. For a cold reactor flux, the first order of BeO and MgO single crystals is free from the higher orders up to 0.4 nm, and ZnO at wavelengths up to 0.5 nm.

  10. What is dorso-lateral in the subthalamic Nucleus (STN)?--a topographic and anatomical consideration on the ambiguous description of today's primary target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coenen, Volker A; Prescher, Andreas; Schmidt, Thorsten; Picozzi, Piero; Gielen, Frans L H

    2008-11-01

    The most frequently used target for DBS in advanced Parkinson Disease (PD) is the sensorimotor subthalamic nucleus (STN), anatomically referred to as dorso-lateral STN [3]. Ambiguities arise, regarding the true meaning of this description in the STN. Does "dorsal" indicate posterior or superior? At its best, this definition assigns two directions in space to a three-dimensional structure. This paper evaluates the ambiguity and describes the sensorimotor part of the STN in stereotactic space.

  11. Beryllium, zinc and lead single crystals as a thermal neutron monochromators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N. [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt); Bashter, I.I. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University (Egypt); Morcos, H.N.; El-Mesiry, M.S. [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt); Mansy, M.S., E-mail: drmohamedmansy88@hotmail.com [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University (Egypt)

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: •Monochromatic features of Be, Zn and Pb single crystals. •Calculations of neutron reflectivity using a computer program MONO. •Optimum mosaic spread, thickness and cutting plane of single crystals. -- Abstract: The monochromatic features of Be, Zn and Pb single crystals are discussed in terms of orientation, mosaic spread, and thickness within the wavelength band from 0.04 up to 0.5 nm. A computer program MONO written in “FORTRAN-77”, has been adapted to carry out the required calculations. Calculations show that a 5 mm thick of beryllium (HCP structure) single crystal cut along its (0 0 2) plane having 0.6° FWHM are the optimum parameters when it is used as a monochromator with high reflected neutron intensity from a thermal neutron flux. Furthermore, at wavelengths shorter than 0.16 nm it is free from the accompanying higher order ones. Zinc (HCP structure) has the same parameters, with intensity much less than the latter. The same features are seen with lead (FCC structure) cut along its (3 1 1) plane with less reflectivity than the former. However, Pb (3 1 1) is more preferable than others at neutron wavelengths ⩽ 0.1 nm, since the glancing angle (θ ∼ 20°) is more suitable to carry out diffraction experiments. For a cold neutron flux, the first-order neutrons reflected from beryllium is free from the higher orders up to 0.36 nm. While for Zn single crystal is up to 0.5 nm.

  12. Advantages of a monochromated transmission electron microscope for solid state physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grogger, W.; Kothleitner, G.; Hofer, F.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: The characterization of nanostructured devices and functional materials at a nanometer scale is paramount for the understanding of their physical and chemical properties. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plays a central role, especially in terms of structural and chemical analysis on a nearly atomic scale. In particular, electron energy-loss spectrometry (EELS) can obtain information not only about the chemical composition of a thin sample, but also about chemical bonding and electronic structure (ionization edge fine structures) and optical properties (through valence loss EELS). Recent instrumental advances like monochromators for the electron gun in the TEM have made it possible to reduce the energy resolution to 0.15 eV at an acceleration voltage of 200 kV. Another strong point of the method lies in the combination with a fine electron probe (0.2 nm) which allows to record EELS spectra with high energy resolution and spatial resolution in the range of 1 nm. The improved energy resolution opens new possibilities for studying detailed electronic structure and bonding effects in solids such as transmission metal oxides. The experimental results will be compared with x-ray absorption spectroscopy and band structure calculations. A better energy-resolution is particularly important for measurements in the low loss region of the EELS spectrum which provides the information about the band gap and the dielectric function. We will highlight the potential of the method for studying metallic nanoparticles and semiconducting devices. Additionally, the influence of the intrinsic effects like core-hole and excited lifetime broadening and delocalization of the inelastically scattered electrons will be discussed. (author)

  13. Three-energy focusing Laue monochromator for the diamond light source x-ray pair distribution function beamline I15-1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutter, John P., E-mail: john.sutter@diamond.ac.uk; Chater, Philip A.; Hillman, Michael R.; Keeble, Dean S.; Wilhelm, Heribert [Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Tucker, Matt G. [Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)

    2016-07-27

    The I15-1 beamline, the new side station to I15 at the Diamond Light Source, will be dedicated to the collection of atomic pair distribution function data. A Laue monochromator will be used consisting of three silicon crystals diffracting X-rays at a common Bragg angle of 2.83°. The crystals use the (1 1 1), (2 2 0), and (3 1 1) planes to select 40, 65, and 76 keV X-rays, respectively, and will be bent meridionally to horizontally focus the selected X-rays onto the sample. All crystals will be cut to the same optimized asymmetry angle in order to eliminate image broadening from the crystal thickness. Finite element calculations show that the thermal distortion of the crystals will affect the image size and bandpass.

  14. Three-energy focusing Laue monochromator for the diamond light source x-ray pair distribution function beamline I15-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutter, John P.; Chater, Philip A.; Hillman, Michael R.; Keeble, Dean S.; Wilhelm, Heribert; Tucker, Matt G.

    2016-01-01

    The I15-1 beamline, the new side station to I15 at the Diamond Light Source, will be dedicated to the collection of atomic pair distribution function data. A Laue monochromator will be used consisting of three silicon crystals diffracting X-rays at a common Bragg angle of 2.83°. The crystals use the (1 1 1), (2 2 0), and (3 1 1) planes to select 40, 65, and 76 keV X-rays, respectively, and will be bent meridionally to horizontally focus the selected X-rays onto the sample. All crystals will be cut to the same optimized asymmetry angle in order to eliminate image broadening from the crystal thickness. Finite element calculations show that the thermal distortion of the crystals will affect the image size and bandpass.

  15. Integration and validation testing for PhEDEx, DBS and DAS with the PhEDEx LifeCycle agent

    CERN Document Server

    Wildish, Anthony

    2013-01-01

    The ever-increasing amount of data handled by the CMS dataflow and workflow management tools poses new challenges for cross-validation among different systems within CMS experiment at LHC. To approach this problem we developed an integration test suite based on the LifeCycle agent, a tool originally conceived for stress-testing new releases of PhEDEx, the CMS data-placement tool. The LifeCycle agent provides a framework for customising the test workflow in arbitrary ways, and can scale to levels of activity well beyond those seen in normal running. This means we can run realistic performance tests at scales not likely to be seen by the experiment for some years, or with custom topologies to examine particular situations that may cause concern some time in the future.The LifeCycle agent has recently been enhanced to become a general purpose integration and validation testing tool for major CMS services (PhEDEx, DBS, DAS). It allows cross-system integration tests of all three components to be performed in contr...

  16. Neutron monochromators of BeO, MgO and ZnO single crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N. [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, AEAE, Cairo (Egypt); Bashter, I.I. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University (Egypt); Morcos, H.N.; El-Mesiry, M.S. [Reactor Physics Department, NRC, AEAE, Cairo (Egypt); Mansy, M.S., E-mail: mohamedmansy_np@yahoo.com [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University (Egypt)

    2014-05-21

    The monochromatic features of BeO, MgO and ZnO single crystals are discussed in terms of orientation, mosaic spread, and thickness within the wavelength band from 0.05 up to 0.5 nm. A computer program MONO, written in “FORTRAN”, has been developed to carry out the required calculations. Calculation shows that a 5 mm thick MgO single crystal cut along its (2 0 0) plane having mosaic spread of 0.5° FWHM has the optimum parameters when it is used as a neutron monochromator. Moreover, at wavelengths shorter than 0.24 nm the reflected monochromatic neutrons are almost free from the higher order ones. The same features are seen with BeO (0 0 2) with less reflectivity than that of the former. Also, ZnO cut along its (0 0 2) plane is preferred over the others only at wavelengths longer than 0.20 nm. When the selected monochromatic wavelength is longer than 0.24 nm, the neutron intensities of higher orders from a thermal reactor flux are higher than those of the first-order one. For a cold reactor flux, the first order of BeO and MgO single crystals is free from the higher orders up to 0.4 nm, and ZnO at wavelengths up to 0.5 nm. - Highlights: • Monochromatic features of BeO, MgO and ZnO single crystals. • Calculations of neutron reflectivity using a computer program MONO. • Optimum mosaic spread, thickness and cutting plane of single crystals.

  17. New methods of minimally invasive brain modulation as therapies in psychiatry: TMS, MST, VNS and DBS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Mark S

    2002-08-01

    Over the past 20 years, new methods have been developed that have allowed scientists to visualize the human brain in action. Initially positron emission tomography (PET) and now functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are causing a paradigm shift in psychiatry and the neurosciences. Psychiatry is abandoning the pharmacological model of 'brain as soup', used for much of the past 20 years. Instead, there is new realization that both normal and abnormal behavior arise from chemical processes that occur within parallel distributed networks in specific brain regions. Many of these pathological circuits are becoming well characterized, in disorders ranging from Parkinson's disease, to obsessive-compulsive disorder, to depression. Most recently, there has been an explosion of new techniques that allow for direct stimulation of these brain circuits, without the need for open craniotomy and neurosurgical ablation. The techniques include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), magnetic seizure therapy (MST), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS). This review will describe these new tools, and overview their current and future potential for research and clinical neuropsychiatric use. The psychiatry of the future will be better grounded in a firm understanding of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology (as well as pharmacology). These brain stimulation tools, or their next iterations, will play an ever-larger role in clinical neuropsychiatric practice.

  18. Use of zero order diffraction of a grating monochromator towards convenient and sensitive detection of fluorescent analytes in multi fluorophoric systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panigrahi, Suraj Kumar; Mishra, Ashok Kumar

    2018-02-01

    White light excitation fluorescence (WLEF) is known to possess analytical advantage in terms of enhanced sensitivity and facile capture of the entire fluorescence spectral signature of multi component fluorescence systems. Using the zero order diffraction of the grating monochromator on the excitation side of a commercial spectrofluorimeter, it has been shown that WLEF spectral measurements can be conveniently carried out. Taking analyte multi-fluorophoric systems like (i) drugs and vitamins spiked in urine sample, (ii) adulteration of extra virgin olive oil with olive pomace oil and (iii) mixture of fabric dyes, it was observed that there is a significant enhancement of measurement sensitivity. The total fluorescence spectral response could be conveniently analysed using PLS2 regression. This work brings out the ease of the use of a conventional fluorimeter for WLEF measurements.

  19. Interface of the transport systems research vehicle monochrome display system to the digital autonomous terminal access communication data bus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Easley, W. C.; Tanguy, J. S.

    1986-01-01

    An upgrade of the transport systems research vehicle (TSRV) experimental flight system retained the original monochrome display system. The original host computer was replaced with a Norden 11/70, a new digital autonomous terminal access communication (DATAC) data bus was installed for data transfer between display system and host, while a new data interface method was required. The new display data interface uses four split phase bipolar (SPBP) serial busses. The DATAC bus uses a shared interface ram (SIR) for intermediate storage of its data transfer. A display interface unit (DIU) was designed and configured to read from and write to the SIR to properly convert the data from parallel to SPBP serial and vice versa. It is found that separation of data for use by each SPBP bus and synchronization of data tranfer throughout the entire experimental flight system are major problems which require solution in DIU design. The techniques used to accomplish these new data interface requirements are described.

  20. Spectroscopic studies of xenon EUV emission in the 40-80 nm wavelength range using an absolutely calibrated monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merabet, H [Mathematic and Sciences Unit, Dhofar University, Salalah 211, Sultanate of (Oman); Bista, R [Department of Physics, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557 (United States); Bruch, R [Department of Physics, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557 (United States); Fuelling, S [Department of Physics, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557 (United States)

    2007-03-01

    We have measured and identified numerous Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) radiative line structures arising from xenon (Xe) ions in charge state q = 1 to 10 in the wavelength range 40-80 nm. To obtain reasonable intensities of different charged Xe ions, we have used a compact microwave plasma source which was designed and developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The EUV emission of the ECR plasma has been measured by a 1.5 m grazing incidence monochromator that was absolutely calibrated in the 10-80 nm wavelength range using well known and calibrated EUV light at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), LBNL. This calibration has enabled us to determine absolute intensities of previously measured EUV radiative lines in the wavelengths regions investigated for different ionization stages of Xe. In addition, emission spectra of xenon ions for corresponding measured lines have been calculated. The calculations have been carried out within the relativistic Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation. Results of calculations are found to be in good agreement with current and available experimental and theoretical data.

  1. Meaningful Share Generation for Increased Number of Secrets in Visual Secret-Sharing Scheme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Ulutas

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a new scheme for hiding two halftone secret images into two meaningful shares created from halftone cover images. Meaningful shares are more desirable than noise-like (meaningless shares in Visual Secret Sharing because they look natural and do not attract eavesdroppers' attention. Previous works in the field focus on either increasing number of secrets or creating meaningful shares for one secret image. The method outlined in this paper both increases the number of secrets and creates meaningful shares at the same time. While the contrast ratio of shares is equal to that of Extended Visual Cryptography, two secrets are encoded into two shares as opposed to one secret in the Extended Visual Cryptography. Any two natural-looking images can be used as cover unlike the Halftone Visual Cryptography method where one cover should be the negative of the other cover image and can only encode one secret. Effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by an experiment.

  2. A compact low cost “master–slave” double crystal monochromator for x-ray cameras calibration of the Laser MégaJoule Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hubert, S., E-mail: sebastien.hubert@cea.fr; Prévot, V.

    2014-12-21

    The Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA-CESTA, France) built a specific double crystal monochromator (DCM) to perform calibration of x-ray cameras (CCD, streak and gated cameras) by means of a multiple anode diode type x-ray source for the MégaJoule Laser Facility. This DCM, based on pantograph geometry, was specifically modeled to respond to relevant engineering constraints and requirements. The major benefits are mechanical drive of the second crystal on the first one, through a single drive motor, as well as compactness of the entire device. Designed for flat beryl or Ge crystals, this DCM covers the 0.9–10 keV range of our High Energy X-ray Source. In this paper we present the mechanical design of the DCM, its features quantitatively measured and its calibration to finally provide monochromatized spectra displaying spectral purities better than 98%.

  3. Measurement of the electronic absorption coefficient for 57Co 14.4 keV gamma photons in aluminium using the Moessbauer effect as a monochromator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajan, N.; Nigam, A.K.

    1984-01-01

    The total electronic absorption coefficient for 14.4 keV gamma photons in aluminium, has been measured experimentally, for the first time, using the Moessbauer effect as a monochromator. This data is important for the determination of background in Moessbauer recoilless fraction measurements especially if the energy of X-rays of the source host lattice lie near the 14.4 keV photon energy (e.g. in Rh and Pd) in which case electronic absorption coefficients should be known precisely. The coefficient obtained by interpolation from available values at other energies differ from our experimental value by as much as 20%. It is shown that this can lead to errors, in recoilless fraction values, which are far from negligible. The above absorption coefficient for aluminium was measured to be 11+-1 cm 2 /g. (orig.)

  4. Reliability and short-term intra-individual variability of telomere length measurement using monochrome multiplexing quantitative PCR.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangmi Kim

    Full Text Available Studies examining the association between telomere length and cancer risk have often relied on measurement of telomere length from a single blood draw using a real-time PCR technique. We examined the reliability of telomere length measurement using sequential samples collected over a 9-month period.Relative telomere length in peripheral blood was estimated using a single tube monochrome multiplex quantitative PCR assay in blood DNA samples from 27 non-pregnant adult women (aged 35 to 74 years collected in 7 visits over a 9-month period. A linear mixed model was used to estimate the components of variance for telomere length measurements attributed to variation among women and variation between time points within women. Mean telomere length measurement at any single visit was not significantly different from the average of 7 visits. Plates had a significant systematic influence on telomere length measurements, although measurements between different plates were highly correlated. After controlling for plate effects, 64% of the remaining variance was estimated to be accounted for by variance due to subject. Variance explained by time of visit within a subject was minor, contributing 5% of the remaining variance.Our data demonstrate good short-term reliability of telomere length measurement using blood from a single draw. However, the existence of technical variability, particularly plate effects, reinforces the need for technical replicates and balancing of case and control samples across plates.

  5. Does early verbal fluency decline after STN implantation predict long-term cognitive outcome after STN-DBS in Parkinson's disease?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borden, Alaina; Wallon, David; Lefaucheur, Romain; Derrey, Stéphane; Fetter, Damien; Verin, Marc; Maltête, David

    2014-11-15

    An early and transient verbal fluency (VF) decline and impairment in frontal executive function, suggesting a cognitive microlesion effect may influence the cognitive repercussions related to subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS). Neuropsychological tests including semantic and phonemic verbal fluency were administered both before surgery (baseline), the third day after surgery (T3), at six months (T180), and at an endpoint multiple years after surgery (Tyears). Twenty-four patients (mean age, 63.5 ± 9.5 years; mean disease duration, 12 ± 5.8 years) were included. Both semantic and phonemic VF decreased significantly in the acute post-operative period (44.4 ± 28.2% and 34.3 ± 33.4%, respectively) and remained low at 6 months compared to pre-operative levels (decrease of 3.4 ± 47.8% and 10.8 ± 32.1%) (P < 0.05). Regression analysis showed phonemic VF to be an independent factor of decreased phonemic VF at six months. Age was the only independent predictive factor for incident Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) (F (4,19)=3.4, P<0.03). An acute post-operative decline in phonemic VF can be predictive of a long-term phonemic VF deficit. The severity of this cognitive lesion effect does not predict the development of dementia which appears to be disease-related. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Quantification de la Charge Virale et tests de résistance du VIH-1 aux ARV à partir d’échantillons DBS (Dried Blood Spots chez des patients Guinéens sous traitement antirétroviral

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nestor Bangoura

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Problématique: Comme dans plusieurs pays du Sud, le suivi virologique des patients sous traitement antirétroviral (TARV en Guinée est timide voire inexistant dans certaines localités. Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer la faisabilité technique et logistique de l’utilisation des DBS dans les tests de charge virale (CV et de génotypage. Méthode: De septembre à octobre 2010, les DBS ont été préparés à partir de prélèvements sanguins de patients adultes sous TARV. Le délai d’envoi des échantillons au laboratoire de référence était de 30 jours maximum après le prélèvement et se faisait à température ambiante. La CV a été quantifiée et les échantillons de patients en échec virologique (CV ≥ 3 log10 copies/mL ont été génotypés selon le protocole de l’ANRS. L’algorithme de Stanford version 6.0.8 a été utilisé pour l’analyse et l’interprétation des mutations de résistance. Résultats: Parmi les 136 patients inclus, 129 et 7 étaient respectivement sous première et deuxième ligne de traitement avec une médiane de suivi de 35 mois [IQR: 6-108]. L’échec virologique a été noté chez 33 patients. Parmi eux, 84.8% (n = 28/33 ont bénéficié d’ungénotypage. Le taux de résistance global était de 14% (n = 19/136. Le CRF02_AG était le sous type viral le plus prévalent (82%; n = 23. Conclusion: En plus de montrer la faisabilité technique et logistique des tests de CV et de génotypage à partir des DBS, ces résultats montrent l’intérêt de leurs utilisations dans le suivi virologique des patients sous TARV. Cette étude a permis également de documenter l’échec virologique, la résistance aux ARV et la diversité génétique du VIH-1 en Guinée. Mots clés: VIH-1, Résistance aux ARV, DBS (Dried Blood Spots, Guinée Conakry, Génotypage,Charge Virale.   Quantification of Viral load and resistance tests of HIV-1 to ARVs from dried blood spotssamples in Guinean patients undergoing

  7. Noite e dia e alguns monocromos psíquicos Night and day - and some psychical monochromes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edson Luiz André de Sousa

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available O artigo apresenta uma leitura do conto de Jack London "A sombra e o brilho" mostrando o funcionamento do princípio da mímesis no processo de identificação. Propõe-se a expressão monocromos psíquicos para esses espaços mentais de indiferenciação entre o eu e o Outro. Adota-se a tese de Caillois, que afirma que o eu é permeável ao espaço. Nessa perspectiva, o tema do duplo, amplamente desenvolvido por Freud, é fundamental. Partindo-se de notas sobre o trabalho do fotógrafo cego Bavcar, procura-se mostrar alguns traços da estrutura do olhar. O artigo finaliza mostrando as conexões possíveis dessas reflexões para a prática psicanalítica.The paper presents a reading of Jack London's tale "The Shadow and the brightness", showing how the principle of mimesis works in the process of the identification. We propose to call psychical monochromes the spaces of mental indifference between the self and the other. We follow the thesis of Roger Caillois: "the self is permeable in the space". In this perspective, the subject of the double, developped by Freud is essential. We try to show the dialectic of the structure of the look based in some notes about the work of the blind photographer Bavcar. The article finish with showing the possibles connections of all these points with the clinical work.

  8. Tree Coding of Bilevel Images

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martins, Bo; Forchhammer, Søren

    1998-01-01

    Presently, sequential tree coders are the best general purpose bilevel image coders and the best coders of halftoned images. The current ISO standard, Joint Bilevel Image Experts Group (JBIG), is a good example. A sequential tree coder encodes the data by feeding estimates of conditional...... is one order of magnitude slower than JBIG, obtains excellent and highly robust compression performance. A multipass free tree coding scheme produces superior compression results for all test images. A multipass free template coding scheme produces significantly better results than JBIG for difficult...... images such as halftones. By utilizing randomized subsampling in the template selection, the speed becomes acceptable for practical image coding...

  9. Luminescent zinc(ii) and copper(i) complexes for high-performance solution-processed monochromic and white organic light-emitting devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Gang; So, Gary Kwok-Ming; To, Wai-Pong; Chen, Yong; Kwok, Chi-Chung; Ma, Chensheng; Guan, Xiangguo; Chang, Xiaoyong; Kwok, Wai-Ming; Che, Chi-Ming

    2015-08-01

    The synthesis and spectroscopic properties of luminescent tetranuclear zinc(ii) complexes of substituted 7-azaindoles and a series of luminescent copper(i) complexes containing 7,8-bis(diphenylphosphino)-7,8-dicarba- nido -undecaborate ligand are described. These complexes are stable towards air and moisture. Thin film samples of the luminescent copper(i) complexes in 2,6-dicarbazolo-1,5-pyridine and zinc(ii) complexes in poly(methyl methacrylate) showed emission quantum yields of up to 0.60 (for Cu-3 ) and 0.96 (for Zn-1 ), respectively. Their photophysical properties were examined by ultrafast time-resolved emission spectroscopy, temperature dependent emission lifetime measurements and density functional theory calculations. Monochromic blue and orange solution-processed OLEDs with these Zn(ii) and Cu(i) complexes as light-emitting dopants have been fabricated, respectively. Maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 5.55% and Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.16, 0.19) were accomplished with the optimized Zn-1 -OLED while these values were, respectively 15.64% and (0.48, 0.51) for the optimized Cu-3 -OLED. Solution-processed white OLEDs having maximum EQE of 6.88%, CIE coordinates of (0.42, 0.44), and colour rendering index of 81 were fabricated by using these luminescent Zn(ii) and Cu(i) complexes as blue and orange light-emitting dopant materials, respectively.

  10. Compact and Light-Weight Solar Spaceflight Instrument Designs Utilizing Newly Developed Miniature Free-Standing Zone Plates: EUV Radiometer and Limb-Scanning Monochromator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seely, J. F.; McMullin, D. R.; Bremer, J.; Chang, C.; Sakdinawat, A.; Jones, A. R.; Vest, R.

    2014-12-01

    Two solar instrument designs are presented that utilize newly developed miniature free-standing zone plates having interconnected Au opaque bars and no support membrane resulting in excellent long-term stability in space. Both instruments are based on a zone plate having 4 mm outer diameter and 1 to 2 degree field of view. The zone plate collects EUV radiation and focuses a narrow bandpass through a pinhole aperture and onto a silicon photodiode detector. As a miniature radiometer, EUV irradiance is accurately determined from the zone plate efficiency and the photodiode responsivity that are calibrated at the NIST SURF synchrotron facility. The EUV radiometer is pointed to the Sun and measures the absolute solar EUV irradiance in high time cadence suitable for solar physics and space weather applications. As a limb-scanning instrument in low earth orbit, a miniature zone-plate monochromator measures the extinction of solar EUV radiation by scattering through the upper atmosphere which is a measure of the variability of the ionosphere. Both instruments are compact and light-weight and are attractive for CubeSats and other missions where resources are extremely limited.

  11. Extension of self-seeding scheme with single crystal monochromator to lower energy <5 keV as a way to generate multi-TW scale pulses at the European XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2012-07-15

    We propose a use of the self-seeding scheme with single crystal monochromator to produce high power, fully-coherent pulses for applications at a dedicated bio-imaging beamline at the European X-ray FEL in the photon energy range between 3.5 keV and 5 keV. We exploit the C(111) Bragg reflection ({pi}-polarization) in diamond crystals with a thickness of 0.1 mm, and we show that, by tapering the 40 cells of the SASE3 type undulator the FEL power can reach up to 2 TW in the entire photon energy range. The present design assumes the use of a nominal electron bunch with charge 0.1 nC at nominal electron beam energy 17.5 GeV. The main application of the scheme proposed in this work is for single shot imaging of individual protein molecules. (orig.)

  12. Extension of self-seeding scheme with single crystal monochromator to lower energy <5 keV as a way to generate multi-TW scale pulses at the European XFEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

    2012-07-01

    We propose a use of the self-seeding scheme with single crystal monochromator to produce high power, fully-coherent pulses for applications at a dedicated bio-imaging beamline at the European X-ray FEL in the photon energy range between 3.5 keV and 5 keV. We exploit the C(111) Bragg reflection (π-polarization) in diamond crystals with a thickness of 0.1 mm, and we show that, by tapering the 40 cells of the SASE3 type undulator the FEL power can reach up to 2 TW in the entire photon energy range. The present design assumes the use of a nominal electron bunch with charge 0.1 nC at nominal electron beam energy 17.5 GeV. The main application of the scheme proposed in this work is for single shot imaging of individual protein molecules. (orig.)

  13. Comparison of TXRF detection limits for low Z elements in different beam geometries at the PTB monochromator beamline for undulator radiation at Bessy II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckhoff, B.; Ulm, G.; Pepponi, G.; Streli, C.; Wobrauschek, P.; Fabry, L.; Pahlke, S.

    2000-01-01

    A set of initial TXRF experiments were conducted at the PTB plane grating monochromator beamline for undulator radiation at the electron storage ring BESSY II allowing for exciting energies between 0.1 keV and 1.9 keV. Here, the lower limits of detection of TXRF analysis investigated for some low Z elements such as C, N, 0, Al, Mg and Na in two different detection geometries for various excitation modes. Compared to ordinary XRF geometries involving large incident angles, the TXRF variant offers also at low excitation energies drastically reduced background contributions due to the small penetration depth caused by the total reflection of the incident beam at the polished surface of a flat specimen carrier such as a silicon wafer. For the sake of an application-oriented TXRF approach, droplet samples on Si wafer surfaces were prepared by Wacker Siltronic and investigated in the TXRF irradiation chamber of the Atominstitut offering a semiconductor detector with a thin entrance window that was only 300 nm thick. (author)

  14. Biological monochromator with a high flux in the visible spectrum; Un monochromateur biologique a haut flux dans le visible

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andre, M; Guerin de Montgareuil, P [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Cadarache (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1965-07-01

    The object is to carry out research into photosynthesis using energetic illuminations similar to those employed with white light studies. The limitations are due mainly to the source. A comparison of various possible solutions has led to the choice of the sun used in conjunction with 4 large gratings. In an intermediate stage, a description is given of a medium-aperture monochromator with a 3 kW xenon arc and a single grating. With this set-up it is possible to obtain the following performance, given as an example; energy illumination, 1.3 mW/cm{sup 2} over a surface of 50 cm{sup 2} and for a bandwidth at half-height of 50 Angstroms. (authors) [French] L'objectif est de poursuivre en lumiere monochromatique des etudes de photosynthese avec des eclairements energetiques analogues a ceux qu'on utilise en lumiere blanche. Les limitations se situent principalement au niveau de la source. Une comparaison effectuee entre differentes solutions possibles conduit a preconiser l'emploi du soleil associe a 4 grands reseaux. En etape intermediaire on decrit un monochromateur de moyenne ouverture, avec un arc au xenon de 3 kW et un seul reseau, qui permet d'atteindre les performances suivantes donnees a titre d'exemple: eclairement energetique de 1,3 mW/cm{sup 2} sur une surface de 50 cm{sup 2} et pour une bande passante a mi-hauteur de 50 Angstroems. (auteurs)

  15. A complete manual of amateur astronomy tools and techniques for astronomical observations

    CERN Document Server

    Sherrod, P Clay

    2003-01-01

    Concise, highly readable book discusses the selection, set-up, and maintenance of a telescope; amateur studies of the sun; lunar topography and occultations; and more. 124 figures. 26 halftones. 37 tables.

  16. Monochromatization of synchrotron radiation for studies in photoelectron spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murty, P.S.

    1981-01-01

    Synchrotron radiation provides a tunable photon source which bridges the wavelength gap between HeI and AlKsub(α) radiation sources in photoelectron spectroscopy. The essential component for using synchrotron radiation is a monochromator. Some design features of the monochromators fabricated at Stanford, U.S.A., and Orsay, France, are described. The Stanford monochromator is a silicon crystal monochromator yielding 8 keV X-ray beam and is used with SPEAR storage ring facility, while the Orsay monochromator is a grazing incidence grating monochromator used for UPS studies. (M.G.B.)

  17. Design of mirror and monochromator crystals for a high-resolution multiwavelength anomalous diffraction beam line on a bending magnet at the ESRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roth, M.; Ferrer, J.; Simon, J.; Geissler, E.

    1992-01-01

    High intensity for diffraction experiments with high-energy resolution on an intense x-ray beam, like the bending magnet beam lines at the ESRF, requires a strict control of the curvature of the optical elements placed in the beam for geometrical focusing and for wavelength monochromatization. Unwanted curvatures can come from nonuniform and variable heating of the optical elements produced by the absorption of x rays. To design the CRG/D2AM beam line described in the accompanying paper, some new techniques were developed to control these effects based on geometrical, i.e., topological, considerations. (1) Cooling of the entrance mirror: longitudinal curvature can be strongly reduced by cooling the mirror from the sides (and not from the rear) and only near the reflecting surface (i.e., not over the whole lateral surface). The cooling can be achieved for instance with an isothermal liquid Ga eutectic bath. (2) Cooling of the first single-crystal Si monochromator: because of the size of the crystal, only cooling from the rear is conceivable in this case. It can be shown by calculation that the curvature due to the front-to-rear gradient can be exactly compensated by the thermal expansion of a metallic layer at the rear of the crystal, having a larger expansion coefficient than Si

  18. The influence of the accelerated ageing on the black screen element of the Electroink prints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Majnaric, I; Bolanca, Z; Mirkovic, I Bolanca, E-mail: majnaric@grf.h, E-mail: zbolanca@grf.h, E-mail: ibolanca@grf.h [University of Zagreb Faculty of Graphic Arts, Getaldiceva 2, 10 000 Zagreb (Croatia)

    2010-06-01

    Printing material and prints undergo changes during ageing which can be recognized in deterioration in the physical, chemical and optical properties. The aim of this work is to determine the optical changes of the prints caused by ageing of the printing material and of the prints obtained by the application of the indirect electrophotography. The change of the screen elements in lighter halftone areas, which was obtained by the usage of the microscopic image analysis, has been discussed in the article. For the preparation of samples the following papers were used: fine art paper, recycled paper and offset paper as well as black Electroink. Three sample series were observed: prints on nonaged paper and ElectroInk, prints on aged paper and ElectroInk and prints on aged paper and nonaged ElectroInk. The investigation results show that by ageing of the uncoated printing substrates the decrease of the dots on prints can be expected, while the printing on the aged paper results in the increased reproduction of the halftone dots. The obtained results are the contribution to the explanation of the influence of the accelerated ageing process of papers which are used for printing and the aged prints on the halftone dot changes. Except the mentioned determined scientific contribution the results are applicable in the area of the printing product quality as well as in the forensic science.

  19. The influence of the accelerated ageing on the black screen element of the Electroink prints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majnaric, I; Bolanca, Z; Mirkovic, I Bolanca

    2010-01-01

    Printing material and prints undergo changes during ageing which can be recognized in deterioration in the physical, chemical and optical properties. The aim of this work is to determine the optical changes of the prints caused by ageing of the printing material and of the prints obtained by the application of the indirect electrophotography. The change of the screen elements in lighter halftone areas, which was obtained by the usage of the microscopic image analysis, has been discussed in the article. For the preparation of samples the following papers were used: fine art paper, recycled paper and offset paper as well as black Electroink. Three sample series were observed: prints on nonaged paper and ElectroInk, prints on aged paper and ElectroInk and prints on aged paper and nonaged ElectroInk. The investigation results show that by ageing of the uncoated printing substrates the decrease of the dots on prints can be expected, while the printing on the aged paper results in the increased reproduction of the halftone dots. The obtained results are the contribution to the explanation of the influence of the accelerated ageing process of papers which are used for printing and the aged prints on the halftone dot changes. Except the mentioned determined scientific contribution the results are applicable in the area of the printing product quality as well as in the forensic science.

  20. Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Guideline on Subthalamic Nucleus and Globus Pallidus Internus Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Patients With Parkinson's Disease: Executive Summary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rughani, Anand; Schwalb, Jason M; Sidiropoulos, Christos; Pilitsis, Julie; Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Sweet, Jennifer A; Mittal, Sandeep; Espay, Alberto J; Martinez, Jorge Gonzalez; Abosch, Aviva; Eskandar, Emad; Gross, Robert; Alterman, Ron; Hamani, Clement

    2018-06-01

    Is bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) more, less, or as effective as bilateral globus pallidus internus deep brain stimulation (GPi DBS) in treating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, as measured by improvements in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, part III (UPDRS-III) scores? Given that bilateral STN DBS is at least as effective as bilateral GPi DBS in treating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (as measured by improvements in UPDRS-III scores), consideration can be given to the selection of either target in patients undergoing surgery to treat motor symptoms. (Level I). Is bilateral STN DBS more, less, or as effective as bilateral GPi DBS in allowing reduction of dopaminergic medication in Parkinson's disease? When the main goal of surgery is reduction of dopaminergic medications in a patient with Parkinson's disease, then bilateral STN DBS should be performed instead of GPi DBS. (Level I). Is bilateral STN DBS more, less, or as effective as bilateral GPi DBS in treating dyskinesias associated with Parkinson's disease? There is insufficient evidence to make a generalizable recommendation regarding the target selection for reduction of dyskinesias. However, when the reduction of medication is not anticipated and there is a goal to reduce the severity of "on" medication dyskinesias, the GPi should be targeted. (Level I). Is bilateral STN DBS more, less, or as effective as bilateral GPi DBS in improving quality of life measures in Parkinson's disease? When considering improvements in quality of life in a patient undergoing DBS for Parkinson's disease, there is no basis to recommend bilateral DBS in 1 target over the other. (Level I). Is bilateral STN DBS associated with greater, lesser, or a similar impact on neurocognitive function than bilateral GPi DBS in Parkinson disease? If there is significant concern about cognitive decline, particularly in regards to processing speed and working memory in a patient undergoing DBS

  1. Color Reproduction with Juxtaposed Halftoning

    OpenAIRE

    Babaei, Vahid

    2015-01-01

    Recently, non-standard inks have begun to make their way into the world of printing. Non-standard inks are printing materials which exhibit unusual effects such as angular color dependence, texture, or fluorescence. They are made of special-effect pigments that play an increasingly important role in the paint, plastic, and cosmetic industries. In the printing industry, due to the challenges they pose, they have restricted applications. A long-held assumption in classic printing is the transp...

  2. An Interactive Concert Program Based on Infrared Watermark and Audio Synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hsi-Chun; Lee, Wen-Pin Hope; Liang, Feng-Ju

    The objective of this research is to propose a video/audio system which allows the user to listen the typical music notes in the concert program under infrared detection. The system synthesizes audio with different pitches and tempi in accordance with the encoded data in a 2-D barcode embedded in the infrared watermark. The digital halftoning technique has been used to fabricate the infrared watermark composed of halftone dots by both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). The results show that this interactive system successfully recognizes the barcode and synthesizes audio under infrared detection of a concert program which is also valid for human observation of the contents. This interactive video/audio system has greatly expanded the capability of the printout paper to audio display and also has many potential value-added applications.

  3. Facilitating effects of deep brain stimulation on feedback learning in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meissner, Sarah Nadine; Südmeyer, Martin; Keitel, Ariane; Pollok, Bettina; Bellebaum, Christian

    2016-10-15

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) provides an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) motor symptoms. However, findings of effects on cognitive function such as feedback learning remain controversial and rare. The aim of the present study was to gain a better understanding of cognitive alterations associated with STN-DBS. Therefore, we investigated effects of STN-DBS on active and observational feedback learning in PD. 18 PD patients with STN-DBS and 18 matched healthy controls completed active and observational feedback learning tasks. Patients were investigated ON and OFF STN-DBS. Tasks consisted of learning (with feedback) and test phases (without feedback). STN-DBS improved active learning during feedback trials and PD patients ON (but not OFF) STN-DBS showed comparable performance patterns as healthy controls. No STN-DBS effect was found when assessing performance during active test trials without feedback. In this case, however, STN-DBS effects were found to depend on symptom severity. While more impaired patients benefited from STN-DBS, stimulation had no facilitating effect on patients with less severe symptoms. Along similar lines, the severity of motor symptoms tended to be significantly correlated with differences in active test performance due to STN-DBS. For observational feedback learning, there was a tendency for a positive STN-DBS effect with patients reaching the performance level of healthy controls only ON STN-DBS. The present data suggest that STN-DBS facilitates active feedback learning in PD patients. Furthermore, they provide first evidence that STN-DBS might not only affect learning from own but also from observed actions and outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Alzheimer disease and dementias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laxton, Adrian W; Lozano, Andres M

    2013-01-01

    To review the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment of dementia. A PubMed literature search was conducted to identify all studies that have investigated the use of DBS for treatment of dementia. Three studies examined the use of DBS for dementia. One study involved fornix DBS for Alzheimer disease (AD), and two studies involved DBS of the nucleus basalis of Meynert, one to treat AD and one to treat Parkinson disease dementia. Evidence for the use of DBS to treat dementia is preliminary and limited. Fornix and nucleus basalis of Meynert DBS can influence activity in the pathologic neural circuits that underlie AD and Parkinson disease dementia. Further investigation into the potential clinical effects of DBS for dementia is warranted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Target Selection Recommendations Based on Impact of Deep Brain Stimulation Surgeries on Nonmotor Symptoms of Parkinson′s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Hong Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This review examines the evidence that deep brain stimulation (DBS has extensive impact on nonmotor symptoms (NMSs of patients with Parkinson′s disease (PD. Data Sources: We retrieved information from the PubMed database up to September, 2015, using various search terms and their combinations including PD, NMSs, DBS, globus pallidus internus (GPi, subthalamic nucleus (STN, and ventral intermediate thalamic nucleus. Study Selection: We included data from peer-reviewed journals on impacts of DBS on neuropsychological profiles, sensory function, autonomic symptoms, weight changes, and sleep disturbances. For psychological symptoms and cognitive impairment, we tried to use more reliable proofs: Random, control, multicenter, large sample sizes, and long period follow-up clinical studies. We categorized the NMSs into four groups: those that would improve definitively following DBS; those that are not significantly affected by DBS; those that remain controversial on their surgical benefit; and those that can be worsened by DBS. Results: In general, it seems to be an overall beneficial effect of DBS on NMSs, such as sensory, sleep, gastrointestinal, sweating, cardiovascular, odor, urological symptoms, and sexual dysfunction, GPi-DBS may produce similar results; Both STN and Gpi-DBS are safe with regard to cognition and psychology over long-term follow-up, though verbal fluency decline is related to DBS; The impact of DBS on behavioral addictions and dysphagia is still uncertain. Conclusions: As the motor effects of STN-DBS and GPi-DBS are similar, NMSs may determine the target choice in surgery of future patients.

  6. Square biphasic pulse deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: The BiP tremor study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Sol; Almeida, Leonardo; Shahgholi, Leili; Martinez-Ramirez, Daniel; Roper, Jaimie; Hass, Chris J; Akbar, Umer; Wagle Shukla, Aparna; Raike, Robert S; Okun, Michael S

    2018-01-01

    Conventional deep brain stimulation (DBS) utilizes regular, high frequency pulses to treat medication-refractory symptoms in essential tremor (ET). Modifications of DBS pulse shape to achieve improved effectiveness is a promising approach. The current study assessed the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of square biphasic pulse shaping as an alternative to conventional ET DBS. This pilot study compared biphasic pulses (BiP) versus conventional DBS pulses (ClinDBS). Eleven ET subjects with clinically optimized ventralis intermedius nucleus DBS were enrolled. Objective measures were obtained over 3 h while ON BiP stimulation. There was observed benefit in the Fahn-Tolosa Tremor Rating Scale (TRS) for BiP conditions when compared to the DBS off condition and to ClinDBS setting. Total TRS scores during the DBS OFF condition (28.5 IQR = 24.5-35.25) were significantly higher than the other time points. Following active DBS, TRS improved to (20 IQR = 13.8-24.3) at ClinDBS setting and to (16.5 IQR = 12-20.75) at the 3 h period ON BiP stimulation (p = 0.001). Accelerometer recordings revealed improvement in tremor at rest (χ 2  = 16.1, p = 0.006), posture (χ 2  = 15.9, p = 0.007) and with action (χ 2  = 32.1, p=<0.001) when comparing median total scores at ClinDBS and OFF DBS conditions to 3 h ON BiP stimulation. There were no adverse effects and gait was not impacted. BiP was safe, tolerable and effective on the tremor symptoms when tested up to 3 h. This study demonstrated the feasibility of applying a novel DBS waveform in the clinic setting. Larger prospective studies with longer clinical follow-up will be required. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Deep brain stimulation reveals a dissociation of consummatory and motivated behaviour in the medial and lateral nucleus accumbens shell of the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Plasse, Geoffrey; Schrama, Regina; van Seters, Sebastiaan P; Vanderschuren, Louk J M J; Westenberg, Herman G M

    2012-01-01

    Following the successful application of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and promising results in clinical trials for obsessive compulsive disorder and major depression, DBS is currently being tested in small patient-populations with eating disorders and addiction. However, in spite of its potential use in a broad spectrum of disorders, the mechanisms of action of DBS remain largely unclear and optimal neural targets for stimulation in several disorders have yet to be established. Thus, there is a great need to examine site-specific effects of DBS on a behavioural level and to understand how DBS may modulate pathological behaviour. In view of the possible application of DBS in the treatment of disorders characterized by impaired processing of reward and motivation, like addiction and eating disorders, we examined the effect of DBS of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) on food-directed behavior. Rats were implanted with bilateral stimulation electrodes in one of three anatomically and functionally distinct sub-areas of the NAcc: the core, lateral shell (lShell) and medial shell (mShell). Subsequently, we studied the effects of DBS on food consumption, and the motivational and appetitive properties of food. The data revealed a functional dissociation between the lShell and mShell. DBS of the lShell reduced motivation to respond for sucrose under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, mShell DBS, however, profoundly and selectively increased the intake of chow. DBS of the NAcc core did not alter any form of food-directed behavior studied. DBS of neither structure affected sucrose preference. These data indicate that the intake of chow and the motivation to work for palatable food can independently be modulated by DBS of subregions of the NAcc shell. As such, these findings provide important leads for the possible future application of DBS as a treatment for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa.

  8. The effects of unilateral versus bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on prosaccades and antisaccades in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goelz, Lisa C; David, Fabian J; Sweeney, John A; Vaillancourt, David E; Poizner, Howard; Metman, Leonard Verhagen; Corcos, Daniel M

    2017-02-01

    Unilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with Parkinson's disease improves skeletomotor function assessed clinically, and bilateral STN DBS improves motor function to a significantly greater extent. It is unknown whether unilateral STN DBS improves oculomotor function and whether bilateral STN DBS improves it to a greater extent. Further, it has also been shown that bilateral, but not unilateral, STN DBS is associated with some impaired cognitive-motor functions. The current study compared the effect of unilateral and bilateral STN DBS on sensorimotor and cognitive aspects of oculomotor control. Patients performed prosaccade and antisaccade tasks during no stimulation, unilateral stimulation, and bilateral stimulation. There were three sets of findings. First, for the prosaccade task, unilateral STN DBS had no effect on prosaccade latency and it reduced prosaccade gain; bilateral STN DBS reduced prosaccade latency and increased prosaccade gain. Second, for the antisaccade task, neither unilateral nor bilateral stimulation had an effect on antisaccade latency, unilateral STN DBS increased antisaccade gain, and bilateral STN DBS increased antisaccade gain to a greater extent. Third, bilateral STN DBS induced an increase in prosaccade errors in the antisaccade task. These findings suggest that while bilateral STN DBS benefits spatiotemporal aspects of oculomotor control, it may not be as beneficial for more complex cognitive aspects of oculomotor control. Our findings are discussed considering the strategic role the STN plays in modulating information in the basal ganglia oculomotor circuit.

  9. Deep Brain Stimulation of Caudal Zona Incerta and Subthalamic Nucleus in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: Effects on Voice Intensity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofie Lundgren

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD affects speech inconsistently. Recently, stimulation of the caudal zona incerta (cZi-DBS has shown superior motor outcomes for PD patients, but effects on speech have not been systematically investigated. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cZi-DBS and STN-DBS on voice intensity in PD patients. Mean intensity during reading and intensity decay during rapid syllable repetition were measured for STN-DBS and cZi-DBS patients (eight patients per group, before- and 12 months after-surgery on- and off-stimulation. For mean intensity, there were small significant differences on- versus off-stimulation in each group: 74.2 (2.0 dB contra 72.1 (2.2 dB (=.002 for STN-DBS, and 71.6 (4.1 dB contra 72.8 (3.4 dB (=.03 for cZi-DBS, with significant interaction (<.001. Intensity decay showed no significant changes. The subtle differences found for mean intensity suggest that STN-DBS and cZi-DBS may influence voice intensity differently.

  10. Subthalamic nucleus stimulation impairs emotional conflict adaptation in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irmen, Friederike; Huebl, Julius; Schroll, Henning; Brücke, Christof; Schneider, Gerd-Helge; Hamker, Fred H; Kühn, Andrea A

    2017-10-01

    The subthalamic nucleus (STN) occupies a strategic position in the motor network, slowing down responses in situations with conflicting perceptual input. Recent evidence suggests a role of the STN in emotion processing through strong connections with emotion recognition structures. As deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) inhibits monitoring of perceptual and value-based conflict, STN DBS may also interfere with emotional conflict processing. To assess a possible interference of STN DBS with emotional conflict processing, we used an emotional Stroop paradigm. Subjects categorized face stimuli according to their emotional expression while ignoring emotionally congruent or incongruent superimposed word labels. Eleven PD patients ON and OFF STN DBS and eleven age-matched healthy subjects conducted the task. We found conflict-induced response slowing in healthy controls and PD patients OFF DBS, but not ON DBS, suggesting STN DBS to decrease adaptation to within-trial conflict. OFF DBS, patients showed more conflict-induced slowing for negative conflict stimuli, which was diminished by STN DBS. Computational modelling of STN influence on conflict adaptation disclosed DBS to interfere via increased baseline activity. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

  11. Deep Brain Stimulation of Caudal Zona Incerta and Subthalamic Nucleus in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: Effects on Diadochokinetic Rate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrik Karlsson

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The hypokinetic dysarthria observed in Parkinson's disease (PD affects the range, speed, and accuracy of articulatory gestures in patients, reducing the perceived quality of speech acoustic output in continuous speech. Deep brain stimulation (DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS and of the caudal zona incerta (cZi-DBS are current surgical treatment options for PD. This study aimed at investigating the outcome of STN-DBS (7 patients and cZi-DBS (7 patients in two articulatory diadochokinesis tasks (AMR and SMR using measurements of articulation rate and quality of the plosive consonants (using the percent measurable VOT metric. The results indicate that patients receiving STN-DBS increased in articulation rate in the Stim-ON condition in the AMR task only, with no effect on production quality. Patients receiving cZi-DBS decreased in articulation rate in the Stim-ON condition and further showed a reduction in production quality. The data therefore suggest that cZi-DBS is more detrimental for extended articulatory movements than STN-DBS.

  12. Cognitive and Psychiatric Effects of STN versus GPi Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia-Wei Wang

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS of either the subthalamic nucleus (STN or the globus pallidus interna (GPi can reduce motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD and improve their quality of life. However, the effects of STN DBS and GPi DBS on cognitive functions and their psychiatric effects remain controversial. The present meta-analysis was therefore performed to clarify these issues.We searched the PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Other sources, including internet-based clinical trial registries and grey literature sources, were also searched. After searching the literature, two investigators independently performed literature screens to assess the quality of the included trials and to extract the data. The outcomes included the effects of STN DBS and GPi DBS on multiple cognitive domains, depression, anxiety, and quality of life.Seven articles related to four randomized controlled trials that included 521 participants were incorporated into the present meta-analysis. Compared with GPi DBS, STN DBS was associated with declines in selected cognitive domains after surgery, including attention, working memory and processing speed, phonemic fluency, learning and memory, and global cognition. However, there were no significant differences in terms of quality of life or psychiatric effects, such as depression and anxiety, between the two groups.A selective decline in frontal-subcortical cognitive functions is observed after STN DBS in comparison with GPi DBS, which should not be ignored in the target selection for DBS treatment in PD patients. In addition, compared to GPi DBS, STN DBS does not affect depression, anxiety, and quality of life.

  13. Cognitive and Psychiatric Effects of STN versus GPi Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jia-Wei; Zhang, Yu-Qing; Zhang, Xiao-Hua; Wang, Yun-Peng; Li, Ji-Ping; Li, Yong-Jie

    2016-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of either the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the globus pallidus interna (GPi) can reduce motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and improve their quality of life. However, the effects of STN DBS and GPi DBS on cognitive functions and their psychiatric effects remain controversial. The present meta-analysis was therefore performed to clarify these issues. We searched the PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Other sources, including internet-based clinical trial registries and grey literature sources, were also searched. After searching the literature, two investigators independently performed literature screens to assess the quality of the included trials and to extract the data. The outcomes included the effects of STN DBS and GPi DBS on multiple cognitive domains, depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Seven articles related to four randomized controlled trials that included 521 participants were incorporated into the present meta-analysis. Compared with GPi DBS, STN DBS was associated with declines in selected cognitive domains after surgery, including attention, working memory and processing speed, phonemic fluency, learning and memory, and global cognition. However, there were no significant differences in terms of quality of life or psychiatric effects, such as depression and anxiety, between the two groups. A selective decline in frontal-subcortical cognitive functions is observed after STN DBS in comparison with GPi DBS, which should not be ignored in the target selection for DBS treatment in PD patients. In addition, compared to GPi DBS, STN DBS does not affect depression, anxiety, and quality of life.

  14. Are Patients Ready for "EARLYSTIM"? Attitudes towards Deep Brain Stimulation among Female and Male Patients with Moderately Advanced Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sperens, Maria; Hamberg, Katarina; Hariz, Gun-Marie

    2017-01-01

    Objective . To explore, in female and male patients with medically treated, moderately advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), their knowledge and reasoning about Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Methods . 23 patients with PD (10 women), aged 46-70, were interviewed at a mean of 8 years after diagnosis, with open-ended questions concerning their reflections and considerations about DBS. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the difference and similarity technique in Grounded Theory. Results . From the patients' narratives, the core category "Processing DBS: balancing symptoms, fears and hopes" was established. The patients were knowledgeable about DBS and expressed cautious and well considered attitudes towards its outcome but did not consider themselves ill enough to undergo DBS. They were aware of its potential side-effects. They considered DBS as the last option when oral medication is no longer sufficient. There was no difference between men and women in their reasoning and attitudes towards DBS. Conclusion . This study suggests that knowledge about the pros and cons of DBS exists among PD patients and that they have a cautious attitude towards DBS. Our patients did not seem to endorse an earlier implementation of DBS, and they considered that it should be the last resort when really needed.

  15. Are Patients Ready for “EARLYSTIM”? Attitudes towards Deep Brain Stimulation among Female and Male Patients with Moderately Advanced Parkinson's Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Objective. To explore, in female and male patients with medically treated, moderately advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), their knowledge and reasoning about Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Methods. 23 patients with PD (10 women), aged 46–70, were interviewed at a mean of 8 years after diagnosis, with open-ended questions concerning their reflections and considerations about DBS. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the difference and similarity technique in Grounded Theory. Results. From the patients' narratives, the core category “Processing DBS: balancing symptoms, fears and hopes” was established. The patients were knowledgeable about DBS and expressed cautious and well considered attitudes towards its outcome but did not consider themselves ill enough to undergo DBS. They were aware of its potential side-effects. They considered DBS as the last option when oral medication is no longer sufficient. There was no difference between men and women in their reasoning and attitudes towards DBS. Conclusion. This study suggests that knowledge about the pros and cons of DBS exists among PD patients and that they have a cautious attitude towards DBS. Our patients did not seem to endorse an earlier implementation of DBS, and they considered that it should be the last resort when really needed. PMID:28458943

  16. Are Patients Ready for “EARLYSTIM”? Attitudes towards Deep Brain Stimulation among Female and Male Patients with Moderately Advanced Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Sperens

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To explore, in female and male patients with medically treated, moderately advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD, their knowledge and reasoning about Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS. Methods. 23 patients with PD (10 women, aged 46–70, were interviewed at a mean of 8 years after diagnosis, with open-ended questions concerning their reflections and considerations about DBS. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the difference and similarity technique in Grounded Theory. Results. From the patients’ narratives, the core category “Processing DBS: balancing symptoms, fears and hopes” was established. The patients were knowledgeable about DBS and expressed cautious and well considered attitudes towards its outcome but did not consider themselves ill enough to undergo DBS. They were aware of its potential side-effects. They considered DBS as the last option when oral medication is no longer sufficient. There was no difference between men and women in their reasoning and attitudes towards DBS. Conclusion. This study suggests that knowledge about the pros and cons of DBS exists among PD patients and that they have a cautious attitude towards DBS. Our patients did not seem to endorse an earlier implementation of DBS, and they considered that it should be the last resort when really needed.

  17. Fragile X protein in newborn dried blood spots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adayev, Tatyana; LaFauci, Giuseppe; Dobkin, Carl; Caggana, Michele; Wiley, Veronica; Field, Michael; Wotton, Tiffany; Kascsak, Richard; Nolin, Sarah L; Glicksman, Anne; Hosmer, Nicole; Brown, W Ted

    2014-10-28

    The fragile X syndrome (FXS) results from mutation of the FMR1 gene that prevents expression of its gene product, FMRP. We previously characterized 215 dried blood spots (DBS) representing different FMR1 genotypes and ages with a Luminex-based immunoassay (qFMRP). We found variable FMRP levels in the normal samples and identified affected males by the drastic reduction of FMRP. Here, to establish the variability of expression of FMRP in a larger random population we quantified FMRP in 2,000 anonymous fresh newborn DBS. We also evaluated the effect of long term storage on qFMRP by retrospectively assaying 74 aged newborn DBS that had been stored for 7-84 months that included normal and full mutation individuals. These analyses were performed on 3 mm DBS disks. To identify the alleles associated with the lowest FMRP levels in the fresh DBS, we analyzed the DNA in the samples that were more than two standard deviations below the mean. Analysis of the fresh newborn DBS revealed a broad distribution of FMRP with a mean approximately 7-fold higher than that we previously reported for fresh DBS in normal adults and no samples whose FMRP level indicated FXS. DNA analysis of the lowest FMRP DBS showed that this was the low extreme of the normal range and included a female carrying a 165 CGG repeat premutation. In the retrospective study of aged newborn DBS, the FMRP mean of the normal samples was less than 30% of the mean of the fresh DBS. Despite the degraded signal from these aged DBS, qFMRP identified the FXS individuals. The assay showed that newborn DBS contain high levels of FMRP that will allow identification of males and potentially females, affected by FXS. The assay is also an effective screening tool for aged DBS stored for up to four years.

  18. Deep brain stimulation reveals a dissociation of consummatory and motivated behaviour in the medial and lateral nucleus accumbens shell of the rat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geoffrey van der Plasse

    Full Text Available Following the successful application of deep brain stimulation (DBS in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and promising results in clinical trials for obsessive compulsive disorder and major depression, DBS is currently being tested in small patient-populations with eating disorders and addiction. However, in spite of its potential use in a broad spectrum of disorders, the mechanisms of action of DBS remain largely unclear and optimal neural targets for stimulation in several disorders have yet to be established. Thus, there is a great need to examine site-specific effects of DBS on a behavioural level and to understand how DBS may modulate pathological behaviour. In view of the possible application of DBS in the treatment of disorders characterized by impaired processing of reward and motivation, like addiction and eating disorders, we examined the effect of DBS of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc on food-directed behavior. Rats were implanted with bilateral stimulation electrodes in one of three anatomically and functionally distinct sub-areas of the NAcc: the core, lateral shell (lShell and medial shell (mShell. Subsequently, we studied the effects of DBS on food consumption, and the motivational and appetitive properties of food. The data revealed a functional dissociation between the lShell and mShell. DBS of the lShell reduced motivation to respond for sucrose under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, mShell DBS, however, profoundly and selectively increased the intake of chow. DBS of the NAcc core did not alter any form of food-directed behavior studied. DBS of neither structure affected sucrose preference. These data indicate that the intake of chow and the motivation to work for palatable food can independently be modulated by DBS of subregions of the NAcc shell. As such, these findings provide important leads for the possible future application of DBS as a treatment for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa.

  19. Effective deep brain stimulation suppresses low frequency network oscillations in the basal ganglia by regularizing neural firing patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, George C.; So, Rosa Q.; Hilliard, Justin D; Lopomo, Paola; Grill, Warren M.

    2012-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The effects of DBS depend strongly on stimulation frequency: high frequencies (>90Hz) improve motor symptoms, while low frequencies (basal ganglia were studied in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rat model of PD. Only high frequency DBS reversed motor symptoms and the effectiveness of DBS depended strongly on stimulation frequency in a manner reminiscent of its clinical effects in persons with PD. Quantification of single-unit activity in the globus pallidus externa (GPe) and substantia nigra reticulata (SNr) revealed that high frequency DBS, but not low frequency DBS, reduced pathological low frequency oscillations (~9Hz) and entrained neurons to fire at the stimulation frequency. Similarly, the coherence between simultaneously recorded pairs of neurons within and across GPe and SNr shifted from the pathological low frequency band to the stimulation frequency during high frequency DBS, but not during low frequency DBS. The changes in firing patterns in basal ganglia neurons were not correlated with changes in firing rate. These results indicate that high frequency DBS is more effective than low frequency DBS, not as a result of changes in firing rate, but rather due to its ability to replace pathological low frequency network oscillations with a regularized pattern of neuronal firing. PMID:23136407

  20. Effective deep brain stimulation suppresses low-frequency network oscillations in the basal ganglia by regularizing neural firing patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, George C; So, Rosa Q; Hilliard, Justin D; Lopomo, Paola; Grill, Warren M

    2012-11-07

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The effects of DBS depend strongly on stimulation frequency: high frequencies (>90 Hz) improve motor symptoms, while low frequencies (basal ganglia were studied in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rat model of PD. Only high-frequency DBS reversed motor symptoms, and the effectiveness of DBS depended strongly on stimulation frequency in a manner reminiscent of its clinical effects in persons with PD. Quantification of single-unit activity in the globus pallidus externa (GPe) and substantia nigra reticulata (SNr) revealed that high-frequency DBS, but not low-frequency DBS, reduced pathological low-frequency oscillations (∼9 Hz) and entrained neurons to fire at the stimulation frequency. Similarly, the coherence between simultaneously recorded pairs of neurons within and across GPe and SNr shifted from the pathological low-frequency band to the stimulation frequency during high-frequency DBS, but not during low-frequency DBS. The changes in firing patterns in basal ganglia neurons were not correlated with changes in firing rate. These results indicate that high-frequency DBS is more effective than low-frequency DBS, not as a result of changes in firing rate, but rather due to its ability to replace pathological low-frequency network oscillations with a regularized pattern of neuronal firing.

  1. Deep Brain Stimulation, Continuity over Time, and the True Self.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyholm, Sven; O'Neill, Elizabeth

    2016-10-01

    One of the topics that often comes up in ethical discussions of deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the question of what impact DBS has, or might have, on the patient's self. This is often understood as a question of whether DBS poses a threat to personal identity, which is typically understood as having to do with psychological and/or narrative continuity over time. In this article, we argue that the discussion of whether DBS is a threat to continuity over time is too narrow. There are other questions concerning DBS and the self that are overlooked in discussions exclusively focusing on psychological and/or narrative continuity. For example, it is also important to investigate whether DBS might sometimes have a positive (e.g., a rehabilitating) effect on the patient's self. To widen the discussion of DBS, so as to make it encompass a broader range of considerations that bear on DBS's impact on the self, we identify six features of the commonly used concept of a person's "true self." We apply these six features to the relation between DBS and the self. And we end with a brief discussion of the role DBS might play in treating otherwise treatment-refractory anorexia nervosa. This further highlights the importance of discussing both continuity over time and the notion of the true self.

  2. Evaluation of HBsAg and anti-HBc assays in saliva and dried blood spot samples according HIV status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores, Geane Lopes; Cruz, Helena Medina; Potsch, Denise Vigo; May, Silvia Beatriz; Brandão-Mello, Carlos Eduardo; Pires, Marcia Maria Amendola; Pilotto, Jose Henrique; Lewis-Ximenez, Lia Laura; Lampe, Elisabeth; Villar, Livia Melo

    2017-09-01

    Influence of HIV status in HBV markers detection in saliva and dried blood spots (DBS) was not well established. This study aims to evaluate the performance of optimized commercial immunoassay for identifying HBsAg and anti-HBc in saliva and DBS according HIV status. A sum of 535 individuals grouped as HIV + , HBV + , HIV/HBV + and HIV/HBV- were recruited where 347 and 188 were included for HBsAg and anti-HBc evaluation, respectively. Serum, DBS collected in Whatman 903 paper and saliva obtained using salivette device were analyzed using EIA. Increased sample volume and ROC curve analysis for cut off determination were used for DBS and saliva testing. HBsAg detection in saliva and DBS exhibited sensitivities of 80.9% and 85.6% and specificities of 86.8% and 96.3%. Sensitivity of anti-HBc in saliva and DBS were 82.4% and 76.9% and specificities in saliva and DBS were 96.9% and 91.7%. Low sensitivities were observed for HBsAg (62%) and anti-HBc (47%) detection in saliva of HIV/HBV+ individuals. OD values were also lower for HBsAg detection in DBS and saliva of HIV/HBV+ individuals compared to their serum samples. Statistical significance was found for sensitivities in HBsAg detection between saliva and DBS demonstrating high sensitivity for DBS specimens. In conclusion, HIV status or antiretroviral treatment appears to interfere in the performance of HBsAg and anti-HBc detection in DBS and saliva samples using the adapted commercial EIA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Moving forward: advances in the treatment of movement disorders with deep brain stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terry K Schiefer

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The modern era of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery has ushered in state of the art technologies for the treatment of movement disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease (PD, tremor, and dystonia. After years of experience with various surgical therapies, the eventual shortcomings of both medical and surgical treatments, and several serendipitous discoveries, deep brain stimulation (DBS has risen to the forefront as a highly effective, safe, and reversible treatment for these conditions. Idiopathic advanced Parkinson’s disease can be treated with thalamic, globus pallidus internus (GPi, or subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS. Thalamic DBS primarily relieves tremor while GPi and STN DBS alleviate a wide range of Parkinsonian symptoms. Thalamic DBS is also used in the treatment of other types of tremor, particularly essential tremor, with excellent results. Both primary and various types of secondary dystonia can be treated very effectively with GPi DBS. The variety of anatomical targets for these movement disorders is indicative of the network-level dysfunction mediating these movement disturbances. Despite an increasing understanding of the clinical benefits of DBS, little is known about how DBS can create such wide sweeping neuromodulatory effects. The key to improving this therapeutic modality and discovering new ways to treat these and other neurologic conditions lies in better understanding the intricacies of DBS. Here we review the history and pertinent clinical data for DBS treatment of PD, tremor, and dystonia. Our search criteria for PubMed included combinations of the following terms: DBS, neuromodulation, movement disorders, PD, tremor, dystonia, and history. Dates were not restricted.

  4. Alterations in blood glucose and plasma glucagon concentrations during deep brain stimulation in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens in rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charlene eDiepenbroek

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS of the nucleus accumbens (NAc is an effective therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD and is currently under investigation as a treatment for eating disorders. DBS of this area is associated with altered food intake and pharmacological treatment of OCD is associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Therefore we examined if DBS of the NAc-shell (sNAc influences glucose metabolism. Male Wistar rats were subjected to DBS, or sham stimulation, for a period of one hour. To assess the effects of stimulation on blood glucose and glucoregulatory hormones, blood samples were drawn before, during and after stimulation. Subsequently, all animals were used for quantitative assessment of Fos immunoreactivity in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA using computerized image analysis. DBS of the sNAc rapidly increased plasma concentrations of glucagon and glucose while sham stimulation and DBS outside the sNAc were ineffective. In addition, the increase in glucose was dependent on DBS intensity. In contrast, the DBS-induced increase in plasma corticosterone concentrations was independent of intensity and region, indicating that the observed DBS-induced metabolic changes were not due to corticosterone release. Stimulation of the sNAc with 200 μA increased Fos immunoreactivity in the LHA compared to sham or 100 μA stimulated animals. These data show that DBS of the sNAc alters glucose metabolism in a region- and intensity dependent manner in association with neuronal activation in the LHA. Moreover, these data illustrate the need to monitor changes in glucose metabolism during DBS-treatment of OCD patients.

  5. Quantitation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in dried blood spots by 2D LC-MS/MS without derivatization and correlation with serum in adult and pediatric studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Berit P; Saraf, Rajneeta; Ma, Jing; Berry, Sarah; Grant, Cameron C; Camargo, Carlos A; Sies, Christiaan W

    2018-06-01

    Demand for measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) is growing and dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is attractive as samples are easier to collect, transport and store. A 2D LC-MS/MS assay without derivatization was developed. DBS punches (3.2 mm) were ultrasonicated with d 6 -25OHD 3 in 70% methanol followed by hexane extraction, dry-down and reconstitution. The assay was validated and applied to two studies comparing whole blood adult DBS with serum samples (n = 40) and neonatal whole blood DBS with cord serum samples (n = 80). The assay was validated in whole blood DBS over the range 13-106 nmol/L 25OHD 3 and 11-91 nmol/L 25OHD 2 with a limit of detection of 3 nmol/L. Intra- and inter-day imprecision was <13% CV and bias <12%. The assay had high recovery and minimal matrix effects. Triplicate DBS study samples had a mean CV of ≤13% for 25OHD 3. No 25OHD 2 was detected. DBS calculated serum 25OHD 3 concentrations correlated strongly with serum concentrations in the adult DBS/serum study (r = 0.94) and moderately in the neonatal DBS/cord serum study (r = 0.69). Direct quantitation of 25OHD in DBS by 2D LC-MS/MS without derivatization was found to be an alternative to serum quantitation applicable to clinical research studies on adult DBS samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Digital grayscale printing for patterned transparent conducting Ag electrodes and their applications in flexible electronics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gupta, Ritu; Hösel, Markus; Jensen, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    Grayscale (halftone) laser printing is developed as a low-cost and solution processable fabrication method for ITO-free, semi-transparent and conducting Ag electrodes extendable over large area on a flexible substrate. The transmittance and sheet resistance is easily tunable by varying the graysc...

  7. Use of a mirror as the first optical component for an undulator beamline at the APS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, W.; Khounsary, A.; Lai, B.; Gluskin, E.

    1992-09-01

    In the design of Sector II of the Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI) CAT, an x-ray mirror with multiple coatings is chosen as the first optical component of the undulator beamline. Two significant advantages of using the mirror are: A significant reduction in the peak radiation heat flux and total power on the downstream monochromator, and (2) availability of the wide-bandpass undulator spectrum between 0--30 key to experimental stations with substantially reduced radiation shielding requirements. The second advantage also allows us to place the monochromator outside the first optics enclosure (FOE) at a large distance from the source to further reduce the peak heat flux on the monochromator. The combined effect is that the inclined crystal monochromator may not be necessary, and a multilayer monochromator can be used because the expected heat fluxes are less than the value that has been demonstrated for those monochromators

  8. Deep brain stimulation changes basal ganglia output nuclei firing pattern in the dystonic hamster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leblois, Arthur; Reese, René; Labarre, David; Hamann, Melanie; Richter, Angelika; Boraud, Thomas; Meissner, Wassilios G

    2010-05-01

    Dystonia is a heterogeneous syndrome of movement disorders characterized by involuntary muscle contractions leading to abnormal movements and postures. While medical treatment is often ineffective, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the internal pallidum improves dystonia. Here, we studied the impact of DBS in the entopeduncular nucleus (EP), the rodent equivalent of the human globus pallidus internus, on basal ganglia output in the dt(sz)-hamster, a well-characterized model of dystonia by extracellular recordings. Previous work has shown that EP-DBS improves dystonic symptoms in dt(sz)-hamsters. We report that EP-DBS changes firing pattern in the EP, most neurons switching to a less regular firing pattern during DBS. In contrast, EP-DBS did not change the average firing rate of EP neurons. EP neurons display multiphasic responses to each stimulation impulse, likely underlying the disruption of their firing rhythm. Finally, neurons in the substantia nigra pars reticulata display similar responses to EP-DBS, supporting the idea that EP-DBS affects basal ganglia output activity through the activation of common afferent fibers. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation on emotional working memory capacity and mood in patients with Parkinson's disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merkl A

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Angela Merkl,1,2 Eva Röck,1 Tanja Schmitz-Hübsch,1,3 Gerd-Helge Schneider,4 Andrea A Kühn1,3,5 1Department of Neurology, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Campus Virchow Klinikum, 2Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, 3NeuroCure, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, 4Department of Neurosurgery, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Campus Virchow Klinikum, 5Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany Background: In Parkinson’s disease (PD, cognitive symptoms and mood changes may be even more distressing for the patient than motor symptoms.Objective: Our aim was to determine the effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS on working memory (WM and mood.Methods: Sixteen patients with PD were assessed with STN-DBS switched on (DBS-ON and with dopaminergic treatment (Med-ON compared to switched off (DBS-OFF and without dopaminergic treatment (Med-OFF. The primary outcome measures were a Visual Analog Mood Scale (VAMS and an emotional 2-back WM task at 12 months after DBS in the optimal DBS-ON/Med-ON setting compared to DBS-OFF/Med-OFF.Results: Comparison of DBS-OFF/Med-OFF to DBS-ON/Med-ON revealed a significant increase in alertness (meanoff/off =51.59±24.54; meanon/on =72.75; P=0.016 and contentedness (meanoff/off =38.73±24.41; meanon/on =79.01±17.66; P=0.001, n=16, and a trend for reduction in sedation (P=0.060, which was related to stimulation as shown in a subgroup of seven patients. The N-back task revealed a significant increase in accuracy with DBS-ON/Med-ON compared to DBS-OFF/Med-OFF (82.0% vs 76.0%, respectively (P=0.044, regardless of stimulus valence.Conclusion: In line with previous studies, we found that patients rated themselves subjectively as more alert, content, and less sedated during short-term DBS-ON. Accuracy in the WM task increased with the combination of

  10. Deep Brain Stimulation as a Treatment for Refractory Epilepsy: Review of the Current State-of-the-Art.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguli, Malika P; Upton, Adrian R M; Kamath, Markad V

    2017-01-01

    Epilepsy affects ∼ 1% of the global population, and 33% of patients are nonresponsive to medication and must seek alternative treatment options. Alternative options such as surgery and ablation exist but are not appropriate treatment plans for some patients. Neurostimulation methods such as vagal nerve stimulation, responsive neural stimulation, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are viable alternatives for medically refractory patients. DBS stimulation has been used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and pain management. For the treatment of epilepsy, DBS has been found to be an effective treatment plan, with promising results of reduced seizure frequency and intensity. In this review, we discuss DBS surgery and equipment, mechanisms of DBS for epilepsy, and efficacy, technological specifications, and suggestions for future research. We also review a historical summary of experiments involving DBS for epilepsy. Our literature review suggests that further studies are warranted for medically refractory epilepsy using DBS.

  11. The effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on executive functions: impaired verbal fluency and intact updating, planning and conflict resolution in Parkinson's disease.

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    Demeter, Gyula; Valálik, István; Pajkossy, Péter; Szőllősi, Ágnes; Lukács, Ágnes; Kemény, Ferenc; Racsmány, Mihály

    2017-04-24

    Although the improvement of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) after deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is well documented, there are open questions regarding its impact on cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of bilateral DBS of the STN on executive functions in PD patients using a DBS wait-listed PD control group. Ten PD patients with DBS implantation (DBS group) and ten PD wait-listed patients (Clinical control group) participated in the study. Neuropsychological tasks were used to assess general mental ability and various executive functions. Each task was administered twice to each participant: before and after surgery (with the stimulators on) in the DBS group and with a matched delay between the two task administration points in the control group. There was no significant difference between the DBS and the control groups' performance in tasks measuring the updating of verbal, spatial or visual information (Digit span, Corsi and N-back tasks), planning and shifting (Trail Making B), and conflict resolution (Stroop task). However, the DBS group showed a significant decline on the semantic verbal fluency task after surgery compared to the control group, which is in line with findings of previous studies. Our results provide support for the relative cognitive safety of the STN DBS using a wait-listed PD control group. Differential effects of the STN DBS on frontostriatal networks are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Network effects of subthalamic deep brain stimulation drive a unique mixture of responses in basal ganglia output.

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    Humphries, Mark D; Gurney, Kevin

    2012-07-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a remarkably successful treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. High-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) within the basal ganglia is a main clinical target, but the physiological mechanisms of therapeutic STN DBS at the cellular and network level are unclear. We set out to begin to address the hypothesis that a mixture of responses in the basal ganglia output nuclei, combining regularized firing and inhibition, is a key contributor to the effectiveness of STN DBS. We used our computational model of the complete basal ganglia circuit to show how such a mixture of responses in basal ganglia output naturally arises from the network effects of STN DBS. We replicated the diversification of responses recorded in a primate STN DBS study to show that the model's predicted mixture of responses is consistent with therapeutic STN DBS. We then showed how this 'mixture of response' perspective suggests new ideas for DBS mechanisms: first, that the therapeutic frequency of STN DBS is above 100 Hz because the diversification of responses exhibits a step change above this frequency; and second, that optogenetic models of direct STN stimulation during DBS have proven therapeutically ineffective because they do not replicate the mixture of basal ganglia output responses evoked by electrical DBS. © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Deep Brain Stimulation of Medial Dorsal and Ventral Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in OCD: A Retrospective Case Series.

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    Mohammad Maarouf

    Full Text Available The current notion that cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits are involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD has instigated the search for the most suitable target for deep brain stimulation (DBS. However, despite extensive research, uncertainty about the ideal target remains with many structures being underexplored. The aim of this report is to address a new target for DBS, the medial dorsal (MD and the ventral anterior (VA nucleus of the thalamus, which has thus far received little attention in the treatment of OCD.In this retrospective trial, four patients (three female, one male aged 31-48 years, suffering from therapy-refractory OCD underwent high-frequency DBS of the MD and VA. In two patients (de novo group the thalamus was chosen as a primary target for DBS, whereas in two patients (rescue DBS group lead implantation was performed in a rescue DBS attempt following unsuccessful primary stimulation.Continuous thalamic stimulation yielded no significant improvement in OCD symptom severity. Over the course of thalamic DBS symptoms improved in only one patient who showed "partial response" on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive (Y-BOCS Scale. Beck Depression Inventory scores dropped by around 46% in the de novo group; anxiety symptoms improved by up to 34%. In the de novo DBS group no effect of DBS on anxiety and mood was observable.MD/VA-DBS yielded no adequate alleviation of therapy-refractory OCD, the overall strategy in targeting MD/VA as described in this paper can thus not be recommended in DBS for OCD. The magnocellular portion of MD (MDMC, however, might prove a promising target in the treatment of mood related and anxiety disorders.

  14. Deep Brain Stimulation of Medial Dorsal and Ventral Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus in OCD: A Retrospective Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maarouf, Mohammad; Neudorfer, Clemens; El Majdoub, Faycal; Lenartz, Doris; Kuhn, Jens; Sturm, Volker

    2016-01-01

    The current notion that cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits are involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has instigated the search for the most suitable target for deep brain stimulation (DBS). However, despite extensive research, uncertainty about the ideal target remains with many structures being underexplored. The aim of this report is to address a new target for DBS, the medial dorsal (MD) and the ventral anterior (VA) nucleus of the thalamus, which has thus far received little attention in the treatment of OCD. In this retrospective trial, four patients (three female, one male) aged 31-48 years, suffering from therapy-refractory OCD underwent high-frequency DBS of the MD and VA. In two patients (de novo group) the thalamus was chosen as a primary target for DBS, whereas in two patients (rescue DBS group) lead implantation was performed in a rescue DBS attempt following unsuccessful primary stimulation. Continuous thalamic stimulation yielded no significant improvement in OCD symptom severity. Over the course of thalamic DBS symptoms improved in only one patient who showed "partial response" on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive (Y-BOCS) Scale. Beck Depression Inventory scores dropped by around 46% in the de novo group; anxiety symptoms improved by up to 34%. In the de novo DBS group no effect of DBS on anxiety and mood was observable. MD/VA-DBS yielded no adequate alleviation of therapy-refractory OCD, the overall strategy in targeting MD/VA as described in this paper can thus not be recommended in DBS for OCD. The magnocellular portion of MD (MDMC), however, might prove a promising target in the treatment of mood related and anxiety disorders.

  15. We Probably Thought That Would Be True: Perceiving Complex Emotional States in Nonhumans

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    Raymond Pierotti

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Review of:Do Fish Feel Pain? Victoria Braithwaite. 2010. Oxford University Press, New York. Pp. 256. $35.00 (hardcover. ISBN 9780199551200.How Animals Grieve. Barbara J. King. 2013. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Pp. 208, 7 halftones. $25.00 (cloth. ISBN 9780226436944.

  16. Catatonia after deep brain stimulation successfully treated with lorazepam and right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Davin K; Rees, Caleb; Brodsky, Aaron; Deligtisch, Amanda; Evans, Daniel; Khafaja, Mohamad; Abbott, Christopher C

    2014-09-01

    The presence of a deep brain stimulator (DBS) in a patient who develops neuropsychiatric symptoms poses unique diagnostic challenges and questions for the treating psychiatrist. Catatonia has been described only once, during DBS implantation, but has not been reported in a successfully implanted DBS patient. We present a case of a patient with bipolar disorder and renal transplant who developed catatonia after DBS for essential tremor. The patient was successfully treated for catatonia with lorazepam and electroconvulsive therapy after careful diagnostic workup. Electroconvulsive therapy has been successfully used with DBS in a handful of cases, and certain precautions may help reduce potential risk. Catatonia is a rare occurrence after DBS but when present may be safely treated with standard therapies such as lorazepam and electroconvulsive therapy.

  17. Deep brain stimulation of nucleus accumbens region in alcoholism affects reward processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heldmann, Marcus; Berding, Georg; Voges, Jürgen; Bogerts, Bernhard; Galazky, Imke; Müller, Ulf; Baillot, Gunther; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Münte, Thomas F

    2012-01-01

    The influence of bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus nucleus (NAcc) on the processing of reward in a gambling paradigm was investigated using H(2)[(15)O]-PET (positron emission tomography) in a 38-year-old man treated for severe alcohol addiction. Behavioral data analysis revealed a less risky, more careful choice behavior under active DBS compared to DBS switched off. PET showed win- and loss-related activations in the paracingulate cortex, temporal poles, precuneus and hippocampus under active DBS, brain areas that have been implicated in action monitoring and behavioral control. Except for the temporal pole these activations were not seen when DBS was deactivated. These findings suggest that DBS of the NAcc may act partially by improving behavioral control.

  18. State of the Art for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy in Movement Disorders: A Clinical and Technological Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagle Shukla, Aparna; Okun, Michael S

    2016-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy is a widely used brain surgery that can be applied for many neurological and psychiatric disorders. DBS is American Food and Drug Administration approved for medication refractory Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. Although DBS has shown consistent success in many clinical trials, the therapy has limitations and there are well-recognized complications. Thus, only carefully selected patients are ideal candidates for this surgery. Over the last two decades, there have been significant advances in clinical knowledge on DBS. In addition, the surgical techniques and technology related to DBS has been rapidly evolving. The goal of this review is to describe the current status of DBS in the context of movement disorders, outline the mechanisms of action for DBS in brief, discuss the standard surgical and imaging techniques, discuss the patient selection and clinical outcomes in each of the movement disorders, and finally, introduce the recent advancements from a clinical and technological perspective.

  19. Me, Myself and My Brain Implant: Deep Brain Stimulation Raises Questions of Personal Authenticity and Alienation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Felicitas

    2013-01-01

    In this article, I explore select case studies of Parkinson patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in light of the notions of alienation and authenticity. While the literature on DBS has so far neglected the issues of authenticity and alienation, I argue that interpreting these cases in terms of these concepts raises new issues for not only the philosophical discussion of neuro-ethics of DBS, but also for the psychological and medical approach to patients under DBS. In particular, I suggest that the experience of alienation and authenticity varies from patient to patient with DBS. For some, alienation can be brought about by neurointerventions because patients no longer feel like themselves. But, on the other hand, it seems alienation can also be cured by DBS as other patients experience their state of mind as authentic under treatment and retrospectively regard their former lives without stimulation as alienated. I argue that we must do further research on the relevance of authenticity and alienation to patients treated with DBS in order to gain a deeper philosophical understanding, and to develop the best evaluative criterion for the behavior of DBS patients.

  20. Creating and parameterizing patient-specific deep brain stimulation pathway-activation models using the hyperdirect pathway as an example.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunalan, Kabilar; Chaturvedi, Ashutosh; Howell, Bryan; Duchin, Yuval; Lempka, Scott F; Patriat, Remi; Sapiro, Guillermo; Harel, Noam; McIntyre, Cameron C

    2017-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established clinical therapy and computational models have played an important role in advancing the technology. Patient-specific DBS models are now common tools in both academic and industrial research, as well as clinical software systems. However, the exact methodology for creating patient-specific DBS models can vary substantially and important technical details are often missing from published reports. Provide a detailed description of the assembly workflow and parameterization of a patient-specific DBS pathway-activation model (PAM) and predict the response of the hyperdirect pathway to clinical stimulation. Integration of multiple software tools (e.g. COMSOL, MATLAB, FSL, NEURON, Python) enables the creation and visualization of a DBS PAM. An example DBS PAM was developed using 7T magnetic resonance imaging data from a single unilaterally implanted patient with Parkinson's disease (PD). This detailed description implements our best computational practices and most elaborate parameterization steps, as defined from over a decade of technical evolution. Pathway recruitment curves and strength-duration relationships highlight the non-linear response of axons to changes in the DBS parameter settings. Parameterization of patient-specific DBS models can be highly detailed and constrained, thereby providing confidence in the simulation predictions, but at the expense of time demanding technical implementation steps. DBS PAMs represent new tools for investigating possible correlations between brain pathway activation patterns and clinical symptom modulation.

  1. Creating and parameterizing patient-specific deep brain stimulation pathway-activation models using the hyperdirect pathway as an example.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kabilar Gunalan

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS is an established clinical therapy and computational models have played an important role in advancing the technology. Patient-specific DBS models are now common tools in both academic and industrial research, as well as clinical software systems. However, the exact methodology for creating patient-specific DBS models can vary substantially and important technical details are often missing from published reports.Provide a detailed description of the assembly workflow and parameterization of a patient-specific DBS pathway-activation model (PAM and predict the response of the hyperdirect pathway to clinical stimulation.Integration of multiple software tools (e.g. COMSOL, MATLAB, FSL, NEURON, Python enables the creation and visualization of a DBS PAM. An example DBS PAM was developed using 7T magnetic resonance imaging data from a single unilaterally implanted patient with Parkinson's disease (PD. This detailed description implements our best computational practices and most elaborate parameterization steps, as defined from over a decade of technical evolution.Pathway recruitment curves and strength-duration relationships highlight the non-linear response of axons to changes in the DBS parameter settings.Parameterization of patient-specific DBS models can be highly detailed and constrained, thereby providing confidence in the simulation predictions, but at the expense of time demanding technical implementation steps. DBS PAMs represent new tools for investigating possible correlations between brain pathway activation patterns and clinical symptom modulation.

  2. Validation and Application of a Dried Blood Spot Ceftriaxone Assay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page-Sharp, Madhu; Nunn, Troy; Salman, Sam; Moore, Brioni R.; Batty, Kevin T.; Davis, Timothy M. E.

    2015-01-01

    Dried blood spot (DBS) antibiotic assays can facilitate pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) studies in situations where venous blood sampling is logistically and/or ethically problematic. In this study, we aimed to develop, validate, and apply a DBS ceftriaxone assay. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) DBS ceftriaxone assay was assessed for matrix effects, process efficiency, recovery, variability, and limits of quantification (LOQ) and detection (LOD). The effects of hematocrit, protein binding, red cell partitioning, and chad positioning were evaluated, and thermal stability was assessed. Plasma, DBS, and cell pellet ceftriaxone concentrations in 10 healthy adults were compared, and plasma concentration-time profiles of DBS and plasma ceftriaxone were incorporated into population PK models. The LOQ and LOD for ceftriaxone in DBS were 0.14 mg/liter and 0.05 mg/liter, respectively. Adjusting for hematocrit, red cell partitioning, and relative recovery, DBS-predicted plasma concentrations were comparable to measured plasma concentrations (r > 0.95, P 95% initial concentrations in DBS for 14 h, 35 h, 30 days, 21 weeks, and >11 months, respectively. The present DBS ceftriaxone assay is robust and can be used as a surrogate for plasma concentrations to provide valid PK and PK/PD data in a variety of clinical situations, including in studies of young children and of those in remote or resource-poor settings. PMID:26438505

  3. Deep Brain Stimulation of the Internal Globus Pallidus Improves Response Initiation and Proactive Inhibition in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease

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    Yixin Pan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Impulse control disorder is not uncommon in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD who are treated with dopamine replacement therapy and subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS. Internal globus pallidus (GPi-DBS is increasingly used, but its role in inhibitory control has rarely been explored. In this study, we evaluated the effect of GPi-DBS on inhibitory control in PD patients.Methods: A stop-signal paradigm was used to test response initiation, proactive inhibition, and reactive inhibition. The subjects enrolled in the experiment were 27 patients with PD, of whom 13 had received only drug treatment and 14 had received bilateral GPi-DBS in addition to conventional medical treatment and 15 healthy individuals.Results: Our results revealed that with GPi-DBS on, patients with PD showed significantly faster responses than the other groups in trials where it was certain that no stop signal would be presented. Proactive inhibition was significantly different in the surgical patients with GPi-DBS on versus when GPi-DBS was off, in surgical patients with GPi-DBS on versus drug-treated patients, and in healthy controls versus drug-treated patients. Correlation analyses revealed that when GPi-DBS was on, there was a statistically significant moderate positive relationship between proactive inhibition and dopaminergic medication.Conclusion: GPi-DBS may lead to an increase in response initiation speed and improve the dysfunctional proactive inhibitory control observed in PD patients. Our results may help us to understand the role of the GPi in cortical-basal ganglia circuits.

  4. Surgical neuroanatomy and programming in deep brain stimulation for obsessive compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morishita, Takashi; Fayad, Sarah M; Goodman, Wayne K; Foote, Kelly D; Chen, Dennis; Peace, David A; Rhoton, Albert L; Okun, Michael S

    2014-06-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been established as a safe, effective therapy for movement disorders (Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, etc.), and its application is expanding to the treatment of other intractable neuropsychiatric disorders including depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Several published studies have supported the efficacy of DBS for severely debilitating OCD. However, questions remain regarding the optimal anatomic target and the lack of a bedside programming paradigm for OCD DBS. Management of OCD DBS can be highly variable and is typically guided by each center's individual expertise. In this paper, we review the various approaches to targeting and programming for OCD DBS. We also review the clinical experience for each proposed target and discuss the relevant neuroanatomy. A PubMed review was performed searching for literature on OCD DBS and included all articles published before March 2012. We included all available studies with a clear description of the anatomic targets, programming details, and the outcomes. Six different DBS approaches were identified. High-frequency stimulation with high voltage was applied in most cases, and predictive factors for favorable outcomes were discussed in the literature. DBS remains an experimental treatment for medication refractory OCD. Target selection and programming paradigms are not yet standardized, though an improved understanding of the relationship between the DBS lead and the surrounding neuroanatomic structures will aid in the selection of targets and the approach to programming. We propose to form a registry to track OCD DBS cases for future clinical study design. © 2013 International Neuromodulation Society.

  5. Acute changes in mood induced by subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease are modulated by psychiatric diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenstein, Sarah A; Dewispelaere, William B; Campbell, Meghan C; Lugar, Heather M; Perlmutter, Joel S; Black, Kevin J; Hershey, Tamara

    2014-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) reduces Parkinson disease (PD) motor symptoms but has unexplained, variable effects on mood. The study tested the hypothesis that pre-existing mood and/or anxiety disorders or increased symptom severity negatively affects mood response to STN DBS. Thirty-eight PD participants with bilateral STN DBS and on PD medications were interviewed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID) and completed Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (SSAI) self-reports. Subsequently, during OFF and optimal ON (clinical settings) STN DBS conditions and while off PD medications, motor function was assessed with the United Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS, part III), and participants rated their mood with Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), and again completed SSAI. VAS mood variables included anxiety, apathy, valence and emotional arousal. STN DBS improved UPDRS scores and mood. Unexpectedly, PD participants diagnosed with current anxiety or mood disorders experienced greater STN DBS-induced improvement in mood than those diagnosed with remitted disorders or who were deemed as having never met threshold criteria for diagnosis. BDI and SSAI scores did not modulate mood response to STN DBS, indicating that clinical categorical diagnosis better differentiates mood response to STN DBS than self-rated symptom severity. SCID diagnosis, BDI and SSAI scores did not modulate motor response to STN DBS. PD participants diagnosed with current mood or anxiety disorders are more sensitive to STN DBS-induced effects on mood, possibly indicating altered basal ganglia circuitry in this group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A network analysis of ¹⁵O-H₂O PET reveals deep brain stimulation effects on brain network of Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hae-Jeong; Park, Bumhee; Kim, Hae Yu; Oh, Maeng-Keun; Kim, Joong Il; Yoon, Misun; Lee, Jong Doo; Chang, Jin Woo

    2015-05-01

    As Parkinson's disease (PD) can be considered a network abnormality, the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) need to be investigated in the aspect of networks. This study aimed to examine how DBS of the bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) affects the motor networks of patients with idiopathic PD during motor performance and to show the feasibility of the network analysis using cross-sectional positron emission tomography (PET) images in DBS studies. We obtained [¹⁵O]H₂O PET images from ten patients with PD during a sequential finger-to-thumb opposition task and during the resting state, with DBS-On and DBS-Off at STN. To identify the alteration of motor networks in PD and their changes due to STN-DBS, we applied independent component analysis (ICA) to all the cross-sectional PET images. We analysed the strength of each component according to DBS effects, task effects and interaction effects. ICA blindly decomposed components of functionally associated distributed clusters, which were comparable to the results of univariate statistical parametric mapping. ICA further revealed that STN-DBS modifies usage-strengths of components corresponding to the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits in PD patients by increasing the hypoactive basal ganglia and by suppressing the hyperactive cortical motor areas, ventrolateral thalamus and cerebellum. Our results suggest that STN-DBS may affect not only the abnormal local activity, but also alter brain networks in patients with PD. This study also demonstrated the usefulness of ICA for cross-sectional PET data to reveal network modifications due to DBS, which was not observable using the subtraction method.

  7. Central thalamic deep brain stimulation to promote recovery from chronic posttraumatic minimally conscious state: challenges and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giacino, Joseph; Fins, Joseph J; Machado, Andre; Schiff, Nicholas D

    2012-07-01

    Central thalamic deep brain stimulation (CT-DBS) may have therapeutic potential to improve behavioral functioning in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), but its use remains experimental. Current research suggests that the central thalamus plays a critical role in modulating arousal during tasks requiring sustained attention, working memory, and motor function. The aim of the current article is to review the methodology used in the CT-DBS protocol developed by our group, outline the challenges we encountered and offer suggestions for future DBS trials in this population. RATIONAL FOR CT-DBS IN TBI:  CT-DBS may therefore be able to stimulate these functions by eliciting action potentials that excite thalamocortical and thalamostriatal pathways. Because patients in chronic minimally conscious state (MCS) have a very low probability of regaining functional independence, yet often have significant sparing of cortical connectivity, they may represent a particularly appropriate target group for CT-DBS. PIlOT STUDY RESULTS:  We have conducted a series of single-subject studies of CT-DBS in patients with chronic posttraumatic MCS, with 24-month follow-up. Outcomes were measured using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised as well as a battery of secondary outcome measures to capture more granular changes. Findings from our index case suggest that CT-DBS can significantly increase functional communication, motor performance, feeding, and object naming in the DBS on state, with performance in some domains remaining above baseline even after DBS was turned off. The use of CT-DBS in patients in MCS, however, presents challenges at almost every step, including during surgical planning, outcome measurement, and postoperative care. Additionally, given the difficulties of obtaining informed consent from patients in MCS and the experimental nature of the treatment, a robust, scientifically rooted ethical framework is resented for pursuing this line of work. © 2012

  8. Dried blood spot HIV-1 RNA quantification using open real-time systems in South Africa and Burkina Faso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viljoen, Johannes; Gampini, Sandrine; Danaviah, Sivapragashini; Valéa, Diane; Pillay, Sureshnee; Kania, Dramane; Méda, Nicolas; Newell, Marie-Louise; Van de Perre, Philippe; Rouet, François

    2010-11-01

    There is an urgent need to assess the accuracy/feasibility of using dried blood spots (DBS) for monitoring of HIV-1 viral load in resource-limited settings. A total of 892 DBS from HIV-1-positive pregnant women and their neonates enrolled in the Kesho Bora prevention of mother-to-child transmission trial conducted in Durban (South Africa) and Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso) between May 2005 and July 2008 were tested for HIV-1 RNA. The combination Nuclisens extraction method (BioMérieux)/Generic HIV Viral Load assay (Biocentric) was performed using one DBS (in Durban) versus 2 DBS (in Bobo-Dioulasso) on 2 distinct open real-time polymerase chain reaction instruments. DBS HIV-1 RNA results were compared with plasma HIV-1 RNA and HIV serology results used as the gold standards. The limits of detection of assays on DBS were 3100 and 1550 copies per milliliter in Durban and Bobo-Dioulasso, respectively. DBS HIV-1 RNA values correlated significantly with plasma levels (n = 327; R = 0.7351) and were uniformly distributed according to duration of DBS storage at -20°C (median duration, 280 days). For early infant diagnosis, the sensitivity and specificity were 100% (95% confidence interval: 97.2 to 100.0 and 96.5 to 100.0, respectively). HIV-1 viral load kinetics in DNase-pretreated DBS were similar to those obtained in plasma specimens among 13 patients receiving antiretroviral treatment. HIV-1 RNA findings from serial infant DBS collected prospectively (n = 164) showed 100% concordance with HIV serology at 18 months of life. Our findings strongly advocate the implementation of DBS HIV-1 RNA testing in remote areas from low-income and middle-income countries.

  9. Disruption in proprioception from long-term thalamic deep brain stimulation: A pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer A Semrau

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS is an excellent treatment for tremor and is generally thought to be reversible by turning off stimulation. For tremor, DBS is implanted in the ventrointermedius (Vim nucleus of the thalamus, a region that relays proprioceptive information for movement sensation (kinaesthesia. Gait disturbances have been observed with bilateral Vim DBS, but the long-term effects on proprioceptive processing are unknown. We aimed to determine whether Vim DBS surgical implantation or stimulation leads to proprioceptive deficits in the upper limb. We assessed two groups of tremor subjects on measures of proprioception (kinaesthesia, position sense and motor function using a robotic exoskeleton. In the first group (Surgery, we tested patients before and after implantation of Vim DBS, but before DBS was turned on to determine if proprioceptive deficits were inherent to tremor or caused by DBS implantation. In the second group (Stim, we tested subjects with chronically implanted Vim DBS ON and OFF stimulation. Compared to controls, there were no proprioceptive deficits before or after DBS implantation in the Surgery group. Surprisingly, those that received chronic long-term stimulation (LT-stim, 3-10 years displayed significant proprioceptive deficits ON and OFF stimulation not present in subjects with chronic short-term stimulation (ST-stim, 0.5-2 years. LT-stim had significantly larger variability and reduced workspace area during the position sense assessment. During the kinesthetic assessment, LT-stim made significantly larger directional errors and consistently underestimated the speed of the robot, despite generating normal movement speeds during motor assessment. Chronic long-term Vim DBS may potentially disrupt proprioceptive processing, possibly inducing irreversible plasticity in the Vim nucleus and/or its network connections. Our findings in the upper limb may help explain some of the gait disturbances seen by others following Vim

  10. Field study of dried blood spot specimens for HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, C M; Parkin, N; Diallo, K; Mwebaza, S; Batamwita, R; DeVos, J; Bbosa, N; Lyagoba, F; Magambo, B; Jordan, M R; Downing, R; Zhang, G; Kaleebu, P; Yang, C; Bertagnolio, S

    2014-08-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) are an alternative specimen type for HIV drug resistance genotyping in resource-limited settings. Data relating to the impact of DBS storage and shipment conditions on genotyping efficiency under field conditions are limited. We compared the genotyping efficiencies and resistance profiles of DBS stored and shipped at different temperatures to those of plasma specimens collected in parallel from patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in Uganda. Plasma and four DBS cards from anti-coagulated venous blood and a fifth card from finger-prick blood were prepared from 103 HIV patients with a median viral load (VL) of 57,062 copies/ml (range, 1,081 to 2,964,191). DBS were stored at ambient temperature for 2 or 4 weeks or frozen at -80 °C and shipped from Uganda to the United States at ambient temperature or frozen on dry ice for genotyping using a broadly sensitive in-house method. Plasma (97.1%) and DBS (98.1%) stored and shipped frozen had similar genotyping efficiencies. DBS stored frozen (97.1%) or at ambient temperature for 2 weeks (93.2%) and shipped at ambient temperature also had similar genotyping efficiencies. Genotyping efficiency was reduced for DBS stored at ambient temperature for 4 weeks (89.3%, P = 0.03) or prepared from finger-prick blood and stored at ambient temperature for 2 weeks (77.7%, P blood and handled similarly. Resistance profiles were similar between plasma and DBS specimens. This report delineates the optimal DBS collection, storage, and shipping conditions and opens a new avenue for cost-saving ambient-temperature DBS specimen shipments for HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) surveillances in resource-limited settings. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  11. Effects on weight loss in adults of replacing diet beverages with water during a hypoenergetic diet: a randomized, 24-wk clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madjd, Ameneh; Taylor, Moira A; Delavari, Alireza; Malekzadeh, Reza; Macdonald, Ian A; Farshchi, Hamid R

    2015-12-01

    Obese people believe that drinking diet beverages (DBs) may be a simple strategy to achieve weight loss. However, nutritionists advise drinking water when attempting to lose weight. It is unclear how important drinking water instead of DBs is during a weight-loss program. In this study, we compared the effect on weight loss of either replacing DBs with water or continuing to consume DBs in adults during a 24-wk weight-loss program. Overweight and obese women [n = 89; body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)): 27-40; age: 18-50 y] who usually consumed DBs in their diet were asked to either substitute water for DBs (water group) or continue drinking DBs 5 times/wk after their lunch for 24 wk (DB group) while on a weight-loss program. Sixty-two participants (71%) completed the trial (32 in the DB group, 30 in the water group). Baseline variables were not statistically significantly different between groups. A statistically significant reduction in anthropometric measurements and statistically significant improvements in cardiometabolic risk characteristics were observed over 24 wk in both groups. Compared with the DB group, the water group had a greater decrease in weight (mean ± SD: water: -8.8 ± 1.9 kg; DBs: -7.6 ± 2.1 kg; P = 0.015, time × group), fasting insulin (mean ± SD: water: -2.84 ± 0.77 mU/L; DBs: -1.78 ± 1.25 mU/L, P water: -0.097 ± 0.049; DBs: -0.057 ± 0.042, P water: -1.02 ± 0.25 mmol/L; DBs: -0.72 ± 0.27 mmol/L; P fasting plasma glucose, and lipid profiles within both groups over 24 wk. Replacement of DBs with water after the main meal may lead to greater weight reduction during a weight-loss program. It may also offer clinical benefits to improve insulin resistance. This trial was registered at www.irct.ir/ as IRCT201402177754N5. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  12. Evaluation of dry blood spot technique for quantification of an Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody drug in human blood samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yong-Qing; Zhang, Yilu; Li, Connie; Li, Louis; Zhang, Kelley; Li, Shawn

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the dried blood spot (DBS) technique in ELISA quantification of larger biomolecular drugs, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody drug was used as an example. A method for the quantification of the anti-CD20 drug in human DBS was developed and validated. The drug standard and quality control samples prepared in fresh human blood were spotted on DBS cards and then extracted. A luminescent ELISA was used for quantification of the drug from DBS samples. The assay range of the anti-CD20 drug standards in DBS was 100-2500ng/mL. The intra-assay precision (%CV) ranged from 0.4% to 10.1%, and the accuracy (%Recovery) ranged from 77.9% to 113.9%. The inter assay precision (%CV) ranged from 5.9% to 17.4%, and the accuracy ranged from 81.5% to 110.5%. The DBS samples diluted 500 and 50-fold yielded recovery of 88.7% and 90.7%, respectively. The preparation of DBS in higher and lower hematocrit (53% and 35%) conditions did not affect the recovery of the drug. Furthermore, the storage stability of the anti-CD20 drug on DBS cards was tested at various conditions. It was found that the anti-CD20 drug was stable for one week in DBS stored at room temperature. However, it was determined that the stability was compro]mised in DBS stored at high humidity, high temperature (55°C), and exposed to direct daylight for a week, as well as for samples stored at room temperature and high humidity conditions for a month. Stability did not change significantly in samples that underwent 3 freeze/thaw cycles. Our results demonstrated a successful use of DBS technique in ELISA quantification of an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody drug in human blood. The stability data provides information regarding sample storage and shipping for future clinical studies. It is, therefore, concluded that the DBS technique is applicable in the quantification of other large biomolecule drugs or biomarkers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Clinical outcomes of asleep vs awake deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodsky, Matthew A; Anderson, Shannon; Murchison, Charles; Seier, Mara; Wilhelm, Jennifer; Vederman, Aaron; Burchiel, Kim J

    2017-11-07

    To compare motor and nonmotor outcomes at 6 months of asleep deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson disease (PD) using intraoperative imaging guidance to confirm electrode placement vs awake DBS using microelectrode recording to confirm electrode placement. DBS candidates with PD referred to Oregon Health & Science University underwent asleep DBS with imaging guidance. Six-month outcomes were compared to those of patients who previously underwent awake DBS by the same surgeon and center. Assessments included an "off"-levodopa Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II and III, the 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, motor diaries, and speech fluency. Thirty participants underwent asleep DBS and 39 underwent awake DBS. No difference was observed in improvement of UPDRS III (+14.8 ± 8.9 vs +17.6 ± 12.3 points, p = 0.19) or UPDRS II (+9.3 ± 2.7 vs +7.4 ± 5.8 points, p = 0.16). Improvement in "on" time without dyskinesia was superior in asleep DBS (+6.4 ± 3.0 h/d vs +1.7 ± 1.2 h/d, p = 0.002). Quality of life scores improved in both groups (+18.8 ± 9.4 in awake, +8.9 ± 11.5 in asleep). Improvement in summary index ( p = 0.004) and subscores for cognition ( p = 0.011) and communication ( p < 0.001) were superior in asleep DBS. Speech outcomes were superior in asleep DBS, both in category (+2.77 ± 4.3 points vs -6.31 ± 9.7 points ( p = 0.0012) and phonemic fluency (+1.0 ± 8.2 points vs -5.5 ± 9.6 points, p = 0.038). Asleep DBS for PD improved motor outcomes over 6 months on par with or better than awake DBS, was superior with regard to speech fluency and quality of life, and should be an option considered for all patients who are candidates for this treatment. NCT01703598. This study provides Class III evidence that for patients with PD undergoing DBS, asleep intraoperative CT imaging-guided implantation is not significantly different from awake microelectrode recording-guided implantation in improving motor outcomes at 6 months. © 2017

  14. Cognition and Depression Following Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus and Globus Pallidus Pars Internus in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combs, Hannah L; Folley, Bradley S; Berry, David T R; Segerstrom, Suzanne C; Han, Dong Y; Anderson-Mooney, Amelia J; Walls, Brittany D; van Horne, Craig

    2015-12-01

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Individuals experience predominantly extrapyramidal symptoms including resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, gait abnormalities, cognitive impairment, depression, and neurobehavioral concerns. Cognitive impairments associated with PD are diverse, including difficulty with attention, processing speed, executive functioning, memory recall, visuospatial functions, word-retrieval, and naming. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus internus (GPi) is FDA approved and has been shown to be effective in reducing motor symptoms of PD. Studies have found that stimulating STN and GPi are equally effective at improving motor symptoms and dyskinesias; however, there has been discrepancy as to whether the cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms are affected differently between the two targets. The present study used random-effects meta-analytic models along with a novel p-curve analytic procedure to compare the potential cognitive and emotional impairments associated with STN-DBS in the current literature to those associated with GPi-DBS. Forty-one articles were reviewed with an aggregated sample size of 1622 patients. Following STN-DBS, small declines were found in psychomotor speed, memory, attention, executive functions, and overall cognition; and moderate declines were found in both semantic and phonemic fluency. However, GPi-DBS resulted in fewer neurocognitive declines than STN-DBS (small declines in attention and small-moderate declines in verbal fluency). With regards to its effect on depression symptomatology, both GPi-DBS and STN-DBS resulted in lower levels of depressive symptoms post-surgery. From a neurocognitive standpoint, both GPi-DBS and STN-DBS produce subtle cognitive declines but appears to be relatively well tolerated.

  15. Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert attenuates early EEG components associated with defective sensory gating in patients with Alzheimer disease - a two-case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dürschmid, Stefan; Reichert, Christoph; Kuhn, Jens; Freund, Hans-Joachim; Hinrichs, Hermann; Heinze, Hans-Jochen

    2017-10-20

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with deterioration of memory and cognitive function and a degeneration of neurons of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM). The NBM is the major input source of acetylcholine (ACh) to the cortex. The decreasing cholinergic innervation of the cortex due to degeneration of the NBM might be the cause of loss of memory function. NBM-Deep brain stimulation (NBM-DBS) is considered to serve as a potential therapeutic option for patients with AD by supporting residual cholinergic transmission to stabilize oscillatory activity in memory-relevant circuits. However, whether DBS could improve sensory memory functions in patients with AD is not clear. Here, in a passive auditory oddball paradigm, patients with AD (N = 2) listened to repetitive background tones (standard tones) randomly interrupted by frequency deviants in two blocks with NBM-DBS OFF and then NBM-DBS ON, while age-matched healthy controls (N = 6) repeated the experiment twice. The mismatch negativity in NBM-DBS OFF significantly differed from controls in both blocks, but not under NBM-DBS, which was likely due to a pronounced P50 increase overlapping with the N1 in NBM-DBS OFF. This early complex of EEG components recovered under stimulation to a normal level as defined by responses in controls. In this temporal interval, we found in patients with NBM-DBS ON (but not with NBM-DBS OFF) and in controls a strong repetition suppression effect to standard tones - with more attenuated responses to frequently repeated standard tones. This highlights the role of NBM-DBS for sensory gating of familiar auditory information into sensory memory. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Evaluation of dried blood spot samples for hepatitis C virus detection and quantification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Brunna Lemos Crespo; do Espírito-Santo, Márcia Paschoal; Marques, Vanessa Alves; Miguel, Juliana Custódio; da Silva, Elisangela Ferreira; Villela-Nogueira, Cristiane Alves; Lewis-Ximenez, Lia Laura; Lampe, Elisabeth; Villar, Livia Melo

    2016-09-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) could be an excellent alternative for HCV diagnosis, since it is less invasive and can be stored and transported without refrigeration. The aim of this study was to optimize quantitative and qualitative methods for HCV detection in DBS. DBS and serum samples were collected from 99 subjects (59 anti-HCV/HCV RNA positive and 40 seronegative samples). Seven extraction methods and different PCR parameters were evaluated in DBS samples in the quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) developed to amplify the 5' noncoding region of HCV. A qualitative PCR for amplification of NS5B region of HCV was also valued and the nested-PCR sequenced. The qRT-PCR showed good correlation to commercial assay for HCV viral measurement in serum. To quantify HCV RNA in DBS, it was necessary to increase reverse transcriptase and cDNA concentration. HCV RNA quantification in DBS demonstrated sensitivity of 65.9%, 100% of specificity and kappa statistic of 0.65. The median viral load of DBS samples was 5.38 log10 copies/ml (minimum value=1.76 and maximum value=10.48 log10 copies/ml). HCV RNA was detected in NS5B regions and nucleotide sequences obtained in 43 serum and 11 DBS samples. The presence of the same subtype was observed in paired serum and DBS samples. In this study, it was possible to demonstrate that, despite the low sensitivity, the optimized protocol was able to determine the viral load, as well as, the infecting HCV genotype, validating the usefulness of DBS for viral load determination and molecular epidemiology studies of HCV. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Deep brain stimulation in uncommon tremor disorders: indications, targets, and programming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artusi, Carlo Alberto; Farooqi, Ashar; Romagnolo, Alberto; Marsili, Luca; Balestrino, Roberta; Sokol, Leonard L; Wang, Lily L; Zibetti, Maurizio; Duker, Andrew P; Mandybur, George T; Lopiano, Leonardo; Merola, Aristide

    2018-03-06

    In uncommon tremor disorders, clinical efficacy and optimal anatomical targets for deep brain stimulation (DBS) remain inadequately studied and insufficiently quantified. We performed a systematic review of PubMed.gov and ClinicalTrials.gov. Relevant articles were identified using the following keywords: "tremor", "Holmes tremor", "orthostatic tremor", "multiple sclerosis", "multiple sclerosis tremor", "neuropathy", "neuropathic tremor", "fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome", and "fragile X." We identified a total of 263 cases treated with DBS for uncommon tremor disorders. Of these, 44 had Holmes tremor (HT), 18 orthostatic tremor (OT), 177 multiple sclerosis (MS)-associated tremor, 14 neuropathy-associated tremor, and 10 fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). DBS resulted in favorable, albeit partial, clinical improvements in HT cases receiving Vim-DBS alone or in combination with additional targets. A sustained improvement was reported in OT cases treated with bilateral Vim-DBS, while the two cases treated with unilateral Vim-DBS demonstrated only a transient effect. MS-associated tremor responded to dual-target Vim-/VO-DBS, but the inability to account for the progression of MS-associated disability impeded the assessment of its long-term clinical efficacy. Neuropathy-associated tremor substantially improved with Vim-DBS. In FXTAS patients, while Vim-DBS was effective in improving tremor, equivocal results were observed in those with ataxia. DBS of select targets may represent an effective therapeutic strategy for uncommon tremor disorders, although the level of evidence is currently in its incipient form and based on single cases or limited case series. An international registry is, therefore, warranted to clarify selection criteria, long-term results, and optimal surgical targets.

  18. Adaptive deep brain stimulation in advanced Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Simon; Pogosyan, Alex; Neal, Spencer; Zavala, Baltazar; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hariz, Marwan; Foltynie, Thomas; Limousin, Patricia; Ashkan, Keyoumars; FitzGerald, James; Green, Alexander L; Aziz, Tipu Z; Brown, Peter

    2013-09-01

    Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could potentially be used to interact with pathological brain signals to intervene and ameliorate their effects in disease states. Here, we provide proof-of-principle of this approach by using a BCI to interpret pathological brain activity in patients with advanced Parkinson disease (PD) and to use this feedback to control when therapeutic deep brain stimulation (DBS) is delivered. Our goal was to demonstrate that by personalizing and optimizing stimulation in real time, we could improve on both the efficacy and efficiency of conventional continuous DBS. We tested BCI-controlled adaptive DBS (aDBS) of the subthalamic nucleus in 8 PD patients. Feedback was provided by processing of the local field potentials recorded directly from the stimulation electrodes. The results were compared to no stimulation, conventional continuous stimulation (cDBS), and random intermittent stimulation. Both unblinded and blinded clinical assessments of motor effect were performed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Motor scores improved by 66% (unblinded) and 50% (blinded) during aDBS, which were 29% (p = 0.03) and 27% (p = 0.005) better than cDBS, respectively. These improvements were achieved with a 56% reduction in stimulation time compared to cDBS, and a corresponding reduction in energy requirements (p random intermittent stimulation. BCI-controlled DBS is tractable and can be more efficient and efficacious than conventional continuous neuromodulation for PD. Copyright © 2013 American Neurological Association.

  19. Effects of deep brain stimulation on rest tremor progression in early stage Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hacker, Mallory L; DeLong, Mahlon R; Turchan, Maxim; Heusinkveld, Lauren E; Ostrem, Jill L; Molinari, Anna L; Currie, Amanda D; Konrad, Peter E; Davis, Thomas L; Phibbs, Fenna T; Hedera, Peter; Cannard, Kevin R; Drye, Lea T; Sternberg, Alice L; Shade, David M; Tonascia, James; Charles, David

    2018-06-29

    To evaluate whether the progression of individual motor features was influenced by early deep brain stimulation (DBS), a post hoc analysis of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-III (UPDRS-III) score (after a 7-day washout) was conducted from the 2-year DBS in early Parkinson disease (PD) pilot trial dataset. The prospective pilot trial enrolled patients with PD aged 50-75 years, treated with PD medications for 6 months-4 years, and no history of dyskinesia or other motor fluctuations, who were randomized to receive optimal drug therapy (ODT) or DBS plus ODT (DBS + ODT). At baseline and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, all patients stopped all PD therapy for 1 week (medication and stimulation, if applicable). UPDRS-III "off" item scores were compared between the ODT and DBS + ODT groups (n = 28); items with significant between-group differences were analyzed further. UPDRS-III "off" rest tremor score change from baseline to 24 months was worse in patients receiving ODT vs DBS + ODT ( p = 0.002). Rest tremor slopes from baseline to 24 months favored DBS + ODT both "off" and "on" therapy ( p will be tested in the Food and Drug Administration-approved, phase III, pivotal, multicenter clinical trial evaluating DBS in early PD. This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with early PD, DBS may slow the progression of rest tremor. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

  20. Aflatoxin B1-lysine adduct in dried blood spot samples of animals and humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Kathy S; Cai, Wenjie; Tang, Lili; Wang, Jia-Sheng

    2016-12-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) were proposed as potentially viable method for exposure assessment of environmental toxicants in infant and young children. For this study, we validated an experimental protocol to quantify AFB 1 -lysine adduct in DBS samples of AFB 1 -treated F344 rats, as well as samples from human field study. Significant dose-response relationships in AFB 1 -lysine adduct formation were found in DBS samples of rats treated with single- and repeated-dose AFB 1 . AFB 1 -lysine levels in DBS samples were highly correlated with corresponding serum sample levels. The Person coefficients were 0.997 for the single-dose exposure, and 0.996 for the repeated-dose exposure. Levels of AFB 1 -lysine adduct had also good agreement between DBS and serum samples as shown by Bland-Altman plot analysis. For human field study samples (n = 36), a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.784 was found between AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels of DBS and corresponding serum samples. Bland-Altman plots showed the distribution of the log differences between DBS and serum AFB 1 -lysine levels are within 95% confidence intervals. These results showed AFB 1 -lysine adduct levels in DBS cards and serum samples from animals and human samples are comparable, and the DBS technique and analytical protocol is a good means to assess AFB 1 exposure in infant and children populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Episodic memory following deep brain stimulation of the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule and electroconvulsive therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergfeld, Isidoor O; Mantione, Mariska; Hoogendoorn, Mechteld L C; Horst, Ferdinand; Notten, Peter; Schuurman, P Richard; Denys, Damiaan

    Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) are effective treatments for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, a common side effect of ECT is autobiographical memory loss (e.g., personal experiences), whereas the impact of DBS on autobiographical memories has never been established. Comparing autobiographical memories following DBS and ECT. In two hospitals in The Netherlands, we interviewed 25 TRD patients treated with DBS of the ventral anterior limb of the internal capsule (vALIC), 14 TRD patients treated with ECT and 22 healthy controls (HC) with the Autobiographical Memory Inventory - Short Form (AMI-SF) in a prospective, longitudinal study between March 2010 and August 2016. Patients treated with DBS were interviewed before surgery, after surgery, and twice during treatment over 122.7 (SD: ±22.2) weeks. Patients treated with ECT were tested before ECT, after six right unilateral (RUL) ECT sessions and twice following ECT over 65.1 (±9.3) weeks. Controls were tested four times over 81.5 (±15.6) weeks. Compared to HC, the AMI-SF score decreased faster in both TRD groups (P ECT group was larger than both the DBS and HC groups. Both ECT and vALIC DBS result in a faster autobiographical memory decline compared to HC. DBS might have a negative impact on autobiographical memories, although less so than ECT. Future work should dissect whether DBS or characteristics of TRD cause this decline. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Selective left, right and bilateral stimulation of subthalamic nuclei in Parkinson's disease: differential effects on motor, speech and language function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Geralyn M; Hosey, Lara A; Bradberry, Trent J; Stager, Sheila V; Lee, Li-Ching; Pawha, Rajesh; Lyons, Kelly E; Metman, Leo Verhagen; Braun, Allen R

    2012-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but may produce a worsening of speech and language performance at rates and amplitudes typically selected in clinical practice. The possibility that these dissociated effects might be modulated by selective stimulation of left and right STN has never been systematically investigated. To address this issue, we analyzed motor, speech and language functions of 12 patients implanted with bilateral stimulators configured for optimal motor responses. Behavioral responses were quantified under four stimulator conditions: bilateral DBS, right-only DBS, left-only DBS and no DBS. Under bilateral and left-only DBS conditions, our results exhibited a significant improvement in motor symptoms but worsening of speech and language. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature demonstrating that bilateral STN DBS compromises speech and language function and suggests that these negative effects may be principally due to left-sided stimulation. These findings may have practical clinical consequences, suggesting that clinicians might optimize motor, speech and language functions by carefully adjusting left- and right-sided stimulation parameters.

  3. Intraoperative neurophysiological responses in epileptic patients submitted to hippocampal and thalamic deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cukiert, Arthur; Cukiert, Cristine Mella; Argentoni-Baldochi, Meire; Baise, Carla; Forster, Cássio Roberto; Mello, Valeria Antakli; Burattini, José Augusto; Lima, Alessandra Moura

    2011-12-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used in an increasing frequency for treatment of refractory epilepsy. Acute deep brain macrostimulation intraoperative findings were sparsely published in the literature. We report on our intraoperative macrostimulation findings during thalamic and hippocampal DBS implantation. Eighteen patients were studied. All patients underwent routine pre-operative evaluation that included clinical history, neurological examination, interictal and ictal EEG, high resolution 1.5T MRI and neuropsychological testing. Six patients with temporal lobe epilepsy were submitted to hippocampal DBS (Hip-DBS); 6 patients with focal epilepsy were submitted to anterior thalamic nucleus DBS (AN-DBS) and 6 patients with generalized epilepsy were submitted to centro-median thalamic nucleus DBS (CM-DBS). Age ranged from 9 to 40 years (11 males). All patients were submitted to bilateral quadripolar DBS electrode implantation in a single procedure, under general anesthesia, and intraoperative scalp EEG monitoring. Final electrode's position was checked postoperatively using volumetric CT scanning. Bipolar stimulation using the more proximal and distal electrodes was performed. Final standard stimulation parameters were 6Hz, 4V, 300μs (low frequency range: LF) or 130Hz, 4V, 300μs (high frequency range: HF). Bilateral recruiting response (RR) was obtained after unilateral stimulation in all patients submitted to AN and CM-DBS using LF stimulation. RR was widespread but prevailed over the fronto-temporal region bilaterally, and over the stimulated hemisphere. HF stimulation led to background slowing and a DC shift. The mean voltage for the appearance of RR was 4V (CM) and 3V (AN). CM and AN-DBS did not alter inter-ictal spiking frequency or morphology. RR obtained after LF Hip-DBS was restricted to the stimulated temporal lobe and no contralateral activation was noted. HF stimulation yielded no visually recognizable EEG modification. Mean intensity for initial

  4. Chromatic characterization of a three-channel colorimeter using back-propagation neural networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardo, P. J.; Pérez, A. L.; Suero, M. I.

    2004-09-01

    This work describes a method for the chromatic characterization of a three-channel colorimeter of recent design and construction dedicated to color vision research. The colorimeter consists of two fixed monochromators and a third monochromator interchangeable with a cathode ray tube or any other external light source. Back-propagation neural networks were used for the chromatic characterization to establish the relationship between each monochromator's input parameters and the tristimulus values of each chromatic stimulus generated. The results showed the effectiveness of this type of neural-network-based system for the chromatic characterization of the stimuli produced by any monochromator.

  5. A compact soft x-ray (0.1–1.2 keV) calibration bench for radiometric measurements using an original versatile Rowland circle grazing incidence monochromator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hubert, S., E-mail: sebastien.hubert@cea.fr

    2017-05-21

    This paper describes an original Rowland circle grazing incidence spectrometer used as a monochromator for a soft x-ray Manson source in order to calibrate both the source and detectors over the 0.1–1.2 keV spectral range. The originality of the instrument lies on a patented vacuum manipulator which allows the simultaneous boarding of two detectors, one (reference) for measuring the monochromatic radiation and the second to be calibrated. In order to achieve this, the vacuum manipulator is able to interchange, in vacuum, one detector with the other in front of the exit slit of the monochromatizing stage. One purpose of this apparatus was to completely eliminate the intrinsic bremsstrahlung emission of the x-ray diode source and isolate each characteristic line for quantitative detector calibrations. Obtained spectral resolution (Δλ/λ<10{sup −2}) and spectral purity (>98%) fully meet this objective. Initially dimensioned to perform calibration of bulky x-ray cameras unfolded on the Laser MégaJoule Facility, other kinds of detector can be obviously calibrated using this instrument. A brief presentation of the first calibration of an x-ray CCD through its quantum efficiency (QE) measurement is included in this paper as example. Comparison with theoretical model for QE and previous measurements at higher energy are finally presented and discussed.

  6. From IBS to DBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Benno MD, PhD

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of organic disease. We present 2 cases where diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome occurred in association with earlier intestinal infection or antibiotic treatment. Both were successfully treated with instillation of an anaerobic cultivated human intestinal microbiota. Thereafter, they were symptom free for at least 12 months. We now introduce the term dysbiotic bowel syndrome covering cases where a disturbed intestinal microbiota is assumed to be present. We recommend that restoration of the dysbiotic gut microbiota should be first-line treatment in these conditions.

  7. Meta-analysis comparing deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus to treat advanced Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yi; Li, Weina; Tan, Changhong; Liu, Xi; Wang, Xin; Gui, Yuejiang; Qin, Lu; Deng, Fen; Hu, Changlin; Chen, Lifen

    2014-09-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the surgical procedure of choice for patients with advanced Parkinson disease (PD). The globus pallidus internus (GPi) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are commonly targeted by this procedure. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy of DBS in each region. MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library were searched for English-language studies published before April 2013. of studies investigating the efficacy and clinical outcomes of DBS of the GPi and STN for PD were analyzed. Six eligible trials containing a total of 563 patients were included in the analysis. Deep brain stimulation of the GPi or STN equally improved motor function, measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Section III (UPDRSIII) (motor section, for patients in on- and off-medication phases), within 1 year postsurgery. The change score for the on-medication phase was 0.68 (95% CI - 2.12 to 3.47, p > 0.05; 5 studies, 518 patients) and for the off-medication phase was 1.83 (95% CI - 3.12 to 6.77, p > 0.05; 5 studies, 518 patients). The UPDRS Section II (activities of daily living) scores for patients on medication improved equally in both DBS groups (p = 0.97). STN DBS allowed medication dosages to be reduced more than GPi DBS (95% CI 129.27-316.64, p < 0.00001; 5 studies, 540 patients). Psychiatric symptoms, measured by Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition scores, showed greater improvement from baseline after GPi DBS than after STN DBS (standardized mean difference -2.28, 95% CI -3.73 to -0.84, p = 0.002; 3 studies, 382 patients). GPi and STN DBS improve motor function and activities of daily living for PD patients. Differences in therapeutic efficacy for PD were not observed between the 2 procedures. STN DBS allowed greater reduction in medication for patients, whereas GPi DBS provided greater relief from psychiatric symptoms. An understanding of other symptomatic aspects of targeting each region and long

  8. Feasibility of self-sampled dried blood spot and saliva samples sent by mail in a population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakhi, Amrit Kaur; Bastani, Nasser Ezzatkhah; Ellingjord-Dale, Merete; Gundersen, Thomas Erik; Blomhoff, Rune; Ursin, Giske

    2015-04-11

    In large epidemiological studies it is often challenging to obtain biological samples. Self-sampling by study participants using dried blood spots (DBS) technique has been suggested to overcome this challenge. DBS is a type of biosampling where blood samples are obtained by a finger-prick lancet, blotted and dried on filter paper. However, the feasibility and efficacy of collecting DBS samples from study participants in large-scale epidemiological studies is not known. The aim of the present study was to test the feasibility and response rate of collecting self-sampled DBS and saliva samples in a population-based study of women above 50 years of age. We determined response proportions, number of phone calls to the study center with questions about sampling, and quality of the DBS. We recruited women through a study conducted within the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program. Invitations, instructions and materials were sent to 4,597 women. The data collection took place over a 3 month period in the spring of 2009. Response proportions for the collection of DBS and saliva samples were 71.0% (3,263) and 70.9% (3,258), respectively. We received 312 phone calls (7% of the 4,597 women) with questions regarding sampling. Of the 3,263 individuals that returned DBS cards, 3,038 (93.1%) had been packaged and shipped according to instructions. A total of 3,032 DBS samples were sufficient for at least one biomarker analysis (i.e. 92.9% of DBS samples received by the laboratory). 2,418 (74.1%) of the DBS cards received by the laboratory were filled with blood according to the instructions (i.e. 10 completely filled spots with up to 7 punches per spot for up to 70 separate analyses). To assess the quality of the samples, we selected and measured two biomarkers (carotenoids and vitamin D). The biomarker levels were consistent with previous reports. Collecting self-sampled DBS and saliva samples through the postal services provides a low cost, effective and feasible

  9. Novel polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials prepared using organogels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, Wei-Chi; Tseng, Shen-Chen

    2009-01-01

    We propose a new method for preparing polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials using self-assembled templates formed by 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) organogels. DBS is capable of self-assembling into a 3D nanofibrillar network at relatively low concentrations in some organic solvents to produce organogels. In this study, we induced the formation of such physical cross-linked networks in styrene. Subsequently, we polymerized the styrene in the presence of chemical cross-linkers, divinyl benzene (DVB), with different amounts of DBS using thermal-initiated polymerization. The resulting materials were transparent, homogeneous polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites with both physical and chemical cross-links. The porous polymeric materials were obtained by solvent extraction of the DBS nanofibrils from the PS. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements show that the amounts of DBS and DVB influenced the specific surface area after the removal of the DBS fibrils.

  10. Novel polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials prepared using organogels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lai, Wei-Chi; Tseng, Shen-Chen, E-mail: wclai@mail.tku.edu.t [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Tamkang University, 151 Ying-chuan Road, Tamsui, Taipei 25137, Taiwan (China)

    2009-11-25

    We propose a new method for preparing polymeric nanocomposites and porous materials using self-assembled templates formed by 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) organogels. DBS is capable of self-assembling into a 3D nanofibrillar network at relatively low concentrations in some organic solvents to produce organogels. In this study, we induced the formation of such physical cross-linked networks in styrene. Subsequently, we polymerized the styrene in the presence of chemical cross-linkers, divinyl benzene (DVB), with different amounts of DBS using thermal-initiated polymerization. The resulting materials were transparent, homogeneous polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites with both physical and chemical cross-links. The porous polymeric materials were obtained by solvent extraction of the DBS nanofibrils from the PS. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements show that the amounts of DBS and DVB influenced the specific surface area after the removal of the DBS fibrils.

  11. Non-stationary discharge patterns in motor cortex under subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santaniello, Sabato; Montgomery, Erwin B; Gale, John T; Sarma, Sridevi V

    2012-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) directly modulates the basal ganglia (BG), but how such stimulation impacts the cortex upstream is largely unknown. There is evidence of cortical activation in 6-hydroxydopamine (OHDA)-lesioned rodents and facilitation of motor evoked potentials in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, but the impact of the DBS settings on the cortical activity in normal vs. Parkinsonian conditions is still debated. We use point process models to analyze non-stationary activation patterns and inter-neuronal dependencies in the motor and sensory cortices of two non-human primates during STN DBS. These features are enhanced after treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), which causes a consistent PD-like motor impairment, while high-frequency (HF) DBS (i.e., ≥100 Hz) strongly reduces the short-term patterns (period: 3-7 ms) both before and after MPTP treatment, and elicits a short-latency post-stimulus activation. Low-frequency DBS (i.e., ≤50 Hz), instead, has negligible effects on the non-stationary features. Finally, by using tools from the information theory [i.e., receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and information rate (IR)], we show that the predictive power of these models is dependent on the DBS settings, i.e., the probability of spiking of the cortical neurons (which is captured by the point process models) is significantly conditioned on the timely delivery of the DBS input. This dependency increases with the DBS frequency and is significantly larger for high- vs. low-frequency DBS. Overall, the selective suppression of non-stationary features and the increased modulation of the spike probability suggest that HF STN DBS enhances the neuronal activation in motor and sensory cortices, presumably because of reinforcement mechanisms, which perhaps involve the overlap between feedback antidromic and feed-forward orthodromic responses along the BG-thalamo-cortical loop.

  12. Hypothalamic deep brain stimulation reduces weight gain in an obesity-animal model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William P Melega

    Full Text Available Prior studies of appetite regulatory networks, primarily in rodents, have established that targeted electrical stimulation of ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH can alter food intake patterns and metabolic homeostasis. Consideration of this method for weight modulation in humans with severe overeating disorders and morbid obesity can be further advanced by modeling procedures and assessing endpoints that can provide preclinical data on efficacy and safety. In this study we adapted human deep brain stimulation (DBS stereotactic methods and instrumentation to demonstrate in a large animal model the modulation of weight gain with VMH-DBS. Female Göttingen minipigs were used because of their dietary habits, physiologic characteristics, and brain structures that resemble those of primates. Further, these animals become obese on extra-feeding regimens. DBS electrodes were first bilaterally implanted into the VMH of the animals (n = 8 which were then maintained on a restricted food regimen for 1 mo following the surgery. The daily amount of food was then doubled for the next 2 mo in all animals to produce obesity associated with extra calorie intake, with half of the animals (n = 4 concurrently receiving continuous low frequency (50 Hz VMH-DBS. Adverse motoric or behavioral effects were not observed subsequent to the surgical procedure or during the DBS period. Throughout this 2 mo DBS period, all animals consumed the doubled amount of daily food. However, the animals that had received VMH-DBS showed a cumulative weight gain (6.1±0.4 kg; mean ± SEM that was lower than the nonstimulated VMH-DBS animals (9.4±1.3 kg; p<0.05, suggestive of a DBS-associated increase in metabolic rate. These results in a porcine obesity model demonstrate the efficacy and behavioral safety of a low frequency VMH-DBS application as a potential clinical strategy for modulation of body weight.

  13. Neuropsychological performance changes following subthalamic versus pallidal deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and metaanalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elgebaly, Ahmed; Elfil, Mohamed; Attia, Attia; Magdy, Mayar; Negida, Ahmed

    2018-02-01

    Studies comparing subthalamus (STN) and globus pallidus internus (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the management of Parkinson's disease in terms of neuropsychological performance are scarce and heterogeneous. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and metaanalysis to compare neuropsychological outcomes following STN DBS versus GPi DBS. A computer literature search of PubMed, the Web of Science, and Cochrane Central was conducted. Records were screened for eligible studies, and data were extracted and synthesized using Review Manager (v. 5.3 for Windows). Seven studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Of them, four randomized controlled trials (n=345 patients) were pooled in the metaanalysis models. The standardized mean difference (SMD) of change in the Stroop color-naming test favored the GPi DBS group (SMD=-0.31, p=0.009). However, other neuropsychological outcomes did not favor either of the two groups (Stroop word-reading: SMD=-0.21, p=0.08; the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) digits forward: SMD=0.08, p=0.47; Trail Making Test Part A: SMD=-0.05, p=0.65; WAIS-R digit symbol: SMD=-0.16, p=0.29; Trail Making Test Part B: SMD=-0.14, p=0.23; Stroop color-word interference: SMD=-0.16, p=0.18; phonemic verbal fluency: bilateral DBS SMD=-0.04, p=0.73, and unilateral DBS SMD=-0.05, p=0.83; semantic verbal fluency: bilateral DBS SMD=-0.09, p=0.37, and unilateral DBS SMD=-0.29, p=0.22; Boston Naming Test: SMD=-0.11, p=0.33; Beck Depression Inventory: bilateral DBS SMD=0.15, p=0.31, and unilateral DBS SMD=0.36, p=0.11). There was no statistically significant difference in most of the neuropsychological outcomes. The present evidence does not favor any of the targets in terms of neuropsychological performance.

  14. Deep brain stimulation, brain maps and personalized medicine: lessons from the human genome project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fins, Joseph J; Shapiro, Zachary E

    2014-01-01

    Although the appellation of personalized medicine is generally attributed to advanced therapeutics in molecular medicine, deep brain stimulation (DBS) can also be so categorized. Like its medical counterpart, DBS is a highly personalized intervention that needs to be tailored to a patient's individual anatomy. And because of this, DBS like more conventional personalized medicine, can be highly specific where the object of care is an N = 1. But that is where the similarities end. Besides their differing medical and surgical provenances, these two varieties of personalized medicine have had strikingly different impacts. The molecular variant, though of a more recent vintage has thrived and is experiencing explosive growth, while DBS still struggles to find a sustainable therapeutic niche. Despite its promise, and success as a vetted treatment for drug resistant Parkinson's Disease, DBS has lagged in broadening its development, often encountering regulatory hurdles and financial barriers necessary to mount an adequate number of quality trials. In this paper we will consider why DBS-or better yet neuromodulation-has encountered these challenges and contrast this experience with the more successful advance of personalized medicine. We will suggest that personalized medicine and DBS's differential performance can be explained as a matter of timing and complexity. We believe that DBS has struggled because it has been a journey of scientific exploration conducted without a map. In contrast to molecular personalized medicine which followed the mapping of the human genome and the Human Genome Project, DBS preceded plans for the mapping of the human brain. We believe that this sequence has given personalized medicine a distinct advantage and that the fullest potential of DBS will be realized both as a cartographical or electrophysiological probe and as a modality of personalized medicine.

  15. Dry Blood Spots a Reliable Method for Measurement of Hepatitis B Viral Load in Resource-Limited Settings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathrine Stene-Johansen

    Full Text Available Hepatitis B virus (HBV quantification is essential in the management of chronic hepatitis B, both to determine treatment eligibility and in the monitoring of treatment effect. This test, however, is rarely available in resource-limited settings due to high costs and stringent requirements for shipment and storage of plasma. Dried Blood Spots (DBS can be a convenient alternative to plasma, but its use for HBV monitoring has not been investigated under real-life conditions in Africa.The performance of DBS in HBV quantification was investigated using a modified commercial test (Abbott RealTime HBV assay. Paired DBS and plasma samples were collected from an HBV positive cohort in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. DBS were stored at ambient temperature for 4-39 days before shipment to the laboratory.Twenty-six paired samples were selected covering the total range of quantification, from 2.14 log IU/ml to >7 log IU/ml. HBV was detected in 21 of 21 (100% DBS from patients with a corresponding plasma viral load above 2.70 log IU/ml. The mean difference between plasma and DBS was 0.59 log IU/ml, and the correlation was strong (R2 = 0.92. In stability studies there was no significant change in DBS viral load after storage at room temperature for up to 12 weeks.This study suggests that DBS can be a feasible and reliable alternative to plasma for quantification of HBV in resource-limited settings. DBS can expand access to antiviral treatment for patients in low- and middle-income countries.

  16. Impulsivity and decision-making in obsessive-compulsive disorder after effective deep brain stimulation or treatment as usual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grassi, Giacomo; Figee, Martijn; Ooms, Pieter; Righi, Lorenzo; Nakamae, Takashi; Pallanti, Stefano; Schuurman, Rick; Denys, Damiaan

    2018-06-04

    Impulsivity and impaired decision-making have been proposed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) endophenotypes, running in OCD and their healthy relatives independently of symptom severity and medication status. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral limb of the internal capsule (vALIC) and the nucleus accumbens (Nacc) is an effective treatment strategy for treatment-refractory OCD. The effectiveness of vALIC-DBS for OCD has been linked to its effects on a frontostriatal network that is also implicated in reward, impulse control, and decision-making. While vALIC-DBS has been shown to restore reward dysfunction in OCD patients, little is known about the effects of vALIC-DBS on impulsivity and decision-making. The aim of the study was to compare cognitive impulsivity and decision-making between OCD patients undergoing effective vALIC-DBS or treatment as usual (TAU), and healthy controls. We used decision-making performances under ambiguity on the Iowa Gambling Task and reflection impulsivity on the Beads Task to compare 20 OCD patients effectively treated with vALIC-DBS, 40 matched OCD patients undergoing effective TAU (medication and/or cognitive behavioural therapy), and 40 healthy subjects. Effective treatment was defined as at least 35% improvement of OCD symptoms. OCD patients, irrespective of treatment modality (DBS or TAU), showed increased reflection impulsivity and impaired decision-making compared to healthy controls. No differences were observed between OCD patients treated with DBS or TAU. OCD patients effectively treated with vALIC-DBS or TAU display increased reflection impulsivity and impaired decision-making independent of the type of treatment.

  17. A Novel, Nondestructive, Dried Blood Spot-Based Hematocrit Prediction Method Using Noncontact Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Capiau, S.; Wilk, L.S.; Aalders, M.C.G.; Stove, C.P.

    2016-01-01

    Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is recognized as a valuable alternative sampling strategy both in research and in clinical routine. Although many advantages are associated with DBS sampling, its more widespread use is hampered by several issues, of which the hematocrit effect on DBS-based

  18. [Deep brain stimulation - expectations and doubts. A nationwide questionnaire study of patients with Parkinson's disease and their family members].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Südmeyer, M; Volkmann, J; Wojtecki, L; Deuschl, G; Schnitzler, A; Möller, B

    2012-04-01

    The aim of this questionnaire-based study was to determine the decision-making motives from Parkinson's patients and their family members for deep brain stimulation (DBS), which are crucial for the attitude towards this therapy and which should be considered during the clinical interview. The questionnaire was sent out nationwide to members of the German Parkinson Association. Patient and family specific data as well as information sources, doubts and expectations with respect to DBS were assessed. A total of 582 patients and 476 family members answered the questionnaire, revealing that 96% of the patients and 91% of the family members already possessed information regarding DBS. While a large proportion of interviewees had specific expectations concerning DBS, more than two thirds expressed concerns regarding DBS; the most frequent with respect to intraoperative complications and stimulation-induced worsening of symptoms. The quantity of realistic patients and family expectations significantly correlated with a positive evaluation of DBS and doubts as well as unrealistic expectations of family members correlated with a negative attitude towards the operation. The findings suggest that patients and their relatives organized in support groups indeed possess detailed information regarding DBS. However, for the acceptance of the treatment a timely elucidation about DBS as well as responding to the individual concerns by the consulting physician is essential.

  19. The Dominance Behavioral System and Psychopathology: Evidence from Self-Report, Observational, and Biological Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Sheri L.; Leedom, Liane J.; Muhtadie, Luma

    2012-01-01

    The dominance behavioral system (DBS) can be conceptualized as a biologically-based system which guides dominance motivation, dominant and subordinate behavior, and responsivity to perceptions of power and subordination. A growing body of research suggests that problems with the DBS are evident across a broad range of psychopathologies. We begin by describing psychological, social, and biological correlates of the dominance behavioral system (DBS). Extensive research suggests that externalizing disorders, mania-proneness, and narcissistic traits are related to heightened dominance motivation and behaviors. Mania and narcissistic traits also appear related to inflated self-perceptions of power. Anxiety and depression are related to subordination and submissiveness, as well as a desire to avoid subordination. Models of the DBS have received support from research with humans and animals; from self-report, observational, and biological methods; and using naturalistic and experimental paradigms. Limitations of available research include the relative lack of longitudinal studies using multiple measures of the DBS and the absence of relevant studies using diagnosed samples to study narcissistic personality disorder and bipolar disorder. We provide suggestions for future research on the DBS and psychopathology, including investigations of whether the DBS can be used to differentiate specific disorder outcomes; the need for more sophisticated biological research; and the value of longitudinal dynamical research. Implications of using the DBS as a tool in clinical assessment and treatment are discussed. PMID:22506751

  20. Effects of deep brain stimulation on balance and gait in patients with Parkinson's disease: A systematic neurophysiological review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collomb-Clerc, A; Welter, M-L

    2015-11-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and internal globus pallidus (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) provides an efficient treatment for the alleviation of motor signs in patients with Parkinson's disease. The effects of DBS on gait and balance disorders are less successful and may even lead to an aggravation of freezing of gait and imbalance. The identification of a substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr)-mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) network in the control of locomotion and postural control and of its dysfunction/lesion in PD patients with gait and balance disorders led to suggestion that DBS should be targeting the SNr and the pedunculopontine nucleus (part of the MLR) for PD patients with these disabling axial motor signs. However, the clinical results to date have been disappointing. In this review, we discuss the effects of DBS of these basal ganglia and brainstem structures on the neurophysiological parameters of gait and balance control in PD patients. Overall, the data suggest that both STN and GPi-DBS improve gait parameters and quiet standing postural control in PD patients, but have no effect or may even aggravate dynamic postural control, in particular with STN-DBS. Conversely, DBS of the SNr and PPN has no effect on gait parameters but improves anticipatory postural adjustments and gait postural control. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. The impact of Parkinson's disease and subthalamic deep brain stimulation on reward processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evens, Ricarda; Stankevich, Yuliya; Dshemuchadse, Maja; Storch, Alexander; Wolz, Martin; Reichmann, Heinz; Schlaepfer, Thomas E; Goschke, Thomas; Lueken, Ulrike

    2015-08-01

    Due to its position in cortico-subthalamic and cortico-striatal pathways, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is considered to play a crucial role not only in motor, but also in cognitive and motivational functions. In the present study we aimed to characterize how different aspects of reward processing are affected by disease and deep brain stimulation of the STN (DBS-STN) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). We compared 33 PD patients treated with DBS-STN under best medical treatment (DBS-on, medication-on) to 33 PD patients without DBS, but optimized pharmacological treatment and 34 age-matched healthy controls. We then investigated DBS-STN effects using a postoperative stimulation-on/ -off design. The task set included a delay discounting task, a task to assess changes in incentive salience attribution, and the Iowa Gambling Task. The presence of PD was associated with increased incentive salience attribution and devaluation of delayed rewards. Acute DBS-STN increased risky choices in the Iowa Gambling Task under DBS-on condition, but did not further affect incentive salience attribution or the evaluation of delayed rewards. Findings indicate that acute DBS-STN affects specific aspects of reward processing, including the weighting of gains and losses, while larger-scale effects of disease or medication are predominant in others reward-related functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Administration of electroconvulsive therapy for depression associated with deep brain stimulation in a patient with post-traumatic Parkinson's Disease: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Miles G; Yadollahikhales, Golnaz; Vitaliano, Gordana; van Horne, Craig

    2016-11-15

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to be effective for parkinsonian symptoms poorly responsive to medications. DBS is typically well-tolerated, as are the maintenance battery changes. Here we describe an adverse event during a battery replacement procedure that caused rapid onset of severe depression. The patient is a 58-year-old woman who was in a serious motor vehicle accident and sustained a concussion with loss of consciousness. Within weeks of the accident she began developing parkinsonian symptoms that progressively worsened over the subsequent 10 years. Responding poorly to medications, she received DBS, which controlled her movement symptoms. Five years after initiating DBS, during a routine battery change, an apparent electrical event occurred that triggered the rapid onset of severe depression. Anti-seizure and antidepressant medications were ineffective, and the patient was offered a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which resulted in complete reversal of her depressive episode. Parkinson's syndrome can be seen after a single closed head injury event. Post-traumatic parkinsonism is responsive to DBS; however, DBS has been associated with an infrequent occurrence of dramatic disruption in mood. ECT is a therapeutic option for patients who develop intractable depressive illness associated with DBS.

  3. Sensitization effects of supramolecular assemblies on the luminescence of terbium-ion prulifloxacin complexes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Hong; Yi Chongyue; Li Xue; Fang Fang [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Yang Yajiang, E-mail: yjyang@mail.hust.edu.c [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

    2011-04-15

    Luminescence enhancement of terbium-ion prulifloxacin complexes (Tb(III)-PUFX) in supramolecular hydrogels formed by assembly of 1,3:2,4-di-O-benzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) was investigated by steady-state fluorescence, varying temperature fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence. The luminescence images show that Tb(III)-PUFX were dispersed in the DBS gels. The luminescence intensity of Tb(III)-PUFX in the DBS gels was significantly increased in comparison with that in corresponding aqueous solutions. The varying temperature fluorescent spectra show that the luminescence intensity of Tb(III)-PUFX decreased with an increase in the temperature. This implies that the luminescence enhancement of Tb(III)-PUFX is related to the dissociation and the formation of the DBS assemblies. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements show slower rotational motion in DBS gels in comparison with that in the corresponding aqueous solutions. This may be ascribed to a unique microstructure of three-dimensional network formed by DBC aggregates, resulting in deactivation of the nonradiative relaxation. The images of field emission scanning electron microscopy and polarized optical microscopy indicate that the morphology of the DBS assemblies was not influenced upon addition of Tb(III)-PUFX to the DBS gels.

  4. Sustained Medication Reduction Following Unilateral VIM Thalamic Stimulation for Essential Tremor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnick, Andrew S; Okun, Michael S; Malapira, Teresita; Smith, Donald; Vale, Fernando L; Sullivan, Kelly; Miller, Amber; Jahan, Israt; Zesiewicz, Theresa

    2012-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an increasingly utilized therapeutic modality for the management of medication refractory essential tremor (ET). The aim of this study was to determine whether DBS allowed for anti-tremor medication reduction within the year after the procedure was performed. We conducted a retrospective chart review and telephone interviews on 34 consecutive patients who had been diagnosed with ET, and who had undergone unilateral DBS surgery. Of the 34 patients in our cohort, 31 patients (91%) completely stopped all anti-tremor medications either before surgery (21 patients, 62%) or in the year following DBS surgery (10 patients, 29%). Patients who discontinued tremor medications before DBS surgery did so because their tremors either became refractory to anti-tremor medication, or they developed adverse events to tremor medications. Patients who stopped tremor medications after DBS surgery did so due to sufficient tremor control. Only three patients (9%) who were taking tremor medications at the time of surgery continued the use of a beta-blocker post-operatively for the purpose of hypertension management in all cases. The data from this study indicate that medication cessation is common following unilateral DBS for ET.

  5. Effect of storage conditions on the weight and appearance of dried blood spot samples on various cellulose-based substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denniff, Philip; Spooner, Neil

    2010-11-01

    Before shipping and storage, dried blood spot (DBS) samples must be dried in order to protect the integrity of the spots. In this article, we examine the time required to dry blood spot samples and the effects of different environmental conditions on their integrity. Under ambient laboratory conditions, DBS samples on Whatman 903(®), FTA(®) and FTA(®) Elute substrates are dry within 90 min of spotting. An additional 5% of moisture is lost during subsequent storage with desiccant. When exposed to elevated conditions of temperature and relative humidity, the DBS samples absorb moisture. DBS samples on FTA lose this moisture on being returned to ambient conditions. DBS samples on 903 show no visible signs of deterioration when stored at elevated conditions. However, these conditions cause the DBS to diffuse through the FTA Elute substrate. Blood spots are dry within 90 min of spotting. However, the substrates examined behave differently when exposed to conditions of high relative humidity and temperature, in some cases resulting in the integrity of the substrate and DBS sample being compromised. It is recommended that these factors be investigated as part of method development and validation.

  6. Telecommunications: Issues in Providing Cable and Satellite Television Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-10-01

    This report provides information on (1) whether the availability of cable modem Internet access service appears to be affecting the competitiveness of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies in the provision of video services, (2) whether cable prices and DBS penetration rates appear to be affected in areas where the DBS companies offer local broadcast channels, and (3) whether the two individual DBS companies are technologically capable of expanding local broadcast channel services into all 210 television markets in the United States.

  7. Effects of dopaminergic and subthalamic stimulation on musical performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Vugt, Floris T; Schüpbach, Michael; Altenmüller, Eckart; Bardinet, Eric; Yelnik, Jérôme; Hälbig, Thomas D

    2013-05-01

    Although subthalamic-deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an efficient treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), its effects on fine motor functions are not clear. We present the case of a professional violinist with PD treated with STN-DBS. DBS improved musical articulation, intonation and emotional expression and worsened timing relative to a timekeeper (metronome). The same effects were found for dopaminergic treatment. These results suggest that STN-DBS, mimicking the effects of dopaminergic stimulation, improves fine-tuned motor behaviour whilst impairing timing precision.

  8. A Preliminary Report on Disordered Speech with Deep Brain Stimulation in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Dromey

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN has proven effective in treating the major motor symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD. The aim of this study was to learn which laryngeal and articulatory acoustic features changed in patients who were reported to have worse speech with stimulation. Six volunteers with PD who had bilateral STN electrodes were recorded with DBS turned on or off. Perceptual ratings reflected poorer speech performance with DBS on. Acoustic measures of articulation (corner vowel formants, diphthong slopes, and a spirantization index and phonation (perturbation, long-term average spectrum as well as verbal fluency scores showed mixed results with DBS. Some speakers improved while others became worse on individual measures. The magnitude of DBS effects was not predictable based on the patients' demographic characteristics. Future research involving adjustments to stimulator settings or electrode placement may be beneficial in limiting the negative effects of DBS on speech.

  9. State of the Art: Novel Applications for Deep Brain Stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Holly A; Green, Alexander L; Aziz, Tipu Z

    2018-02-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a rapidly developing field of neurosurgery with potential therapeutic applications that are relevant to conditions traditionally viewed as beyond the limits of neurosurgery. Our objective, in this review, is to highlight some of the emerging applications of DBS within three distinct but overlapping spheres, namely trauma, neuropsychiatry, and autonomic physiology. An extensive literature review was carried out in MEDLINE, to identify relevant studies and review articles describing applications of DBS in the areas of trauma, neuropsychiatry and autonomic neuroscience. A wide range of applications of DBS in these spheres was identified, some having only been tested in one or two cases, others much better studied. We have identified various avenues for DBS to be applied for patient benefit in cases relevant to trauma, neuropsychiatry and autonomic neuroscience. Further developments in DBS technology and clinical trial design will enable these novel applications to be effectively and rigorously assessed and utilized most effectively. © 2017 International Neuromodulation Society.

  10. Software Graphical User Interface For Analysis Of Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, Desiree M.; Nolf, Scott R.; Avis, Elizabeth L.; Stacy, Kathryn

    1992-01-01

    CAMTOOL software provides graphical interface between Sun Microsystems workstation and Eikonix Model 1412 digitizing camera system. Camera scans and digitizes images, halftones, reflectives, transmissives, rigid or flexible flat material, or three-dimensional objects. Users digitize images and select from three destinations: work-station display screen, magnetic-tape drive, or hard disk. Written in C.

  11. A novel lead design enables selective deep brain stimulation of neural populations in the subthalamic region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Dijk, Kees J.; Verhagen, Rens; Chaturvedi, Ashutosh; McIntyre, Cameron C.; Bour, Lo J.; Heida, Ciska; Veltink, Peter H.

    2015-01-01

    The clinical effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) as a treatment for Parkinson's disease are sensitive to the location of the DBS lead within the STN. New high density (HD) lead designs have been created which are hypothesized to provide additional degrees of

  12. A novel lead design enables selective deep brain stimulation of neural populations in the subthalamic region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Dijk, Kees J.; Verhagen, Rens; Chaturvedi, Ashutosh; McIntyre, Cameron C.; Bour, Lo J.; Heida, Tjitske; Veltink, Peter H.

    2015-01-01

    Objective. The clinical effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) as a treatment for Parkinson's disease are sensitive to the location of the DBS lead within the STN. New high density (HD) lead designs have been created which are hypothesized to provide additional

  13. Role of dysphagia in evaluating Parkinson patients for subthalamic nucleus stimulation: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allert, Niels; Kelm, Daniela; Spottke, Annika; Coenen, Volker A

    2011-09-01

    In the selection of Parkinson patients for deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) a risk-benefit-analysis is performed regarding symptoms that commonly improve and symptoms that may deteriorate. Speech is among the symptoms that may deteriorate. In contrast, the differential effects of STN-DBS on swallowing are less clear. Here, we present a Parkinson patient with dysphagia from concomitant oculo-pharyngeal muscle dystrophy successfully treated by STN-DBS. The role of dysphagia in evaluating Parkinson patients for STN-DBS is discussed.

  14. The influence of the dried blood spot drying time on the recoveries of six immunosuppressants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remco A. Koster

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Investigation of the drying time of dried blood spots (DBS is currently not included in DBS validations. The influence of the DBS drying time on the recovery of tacrolimus, ascomycin, sirolimus, everolimus, cyclosporin A and temsirolimus was evaluated by measuring DBS with a fixed blood volume at a hematocrit range between 0.1 and 0.6 L/L at 3, 24 and 48 hours of drying time. Results showed that the recovery of sirolimus, everolimus, temsirolimus and cyclosporin A was influenced by the DBS drying time, while the recovery of tacrolimus and ascomycin was not. A drying time of at least 24 hours is advised in order to stabilize hematocrit and concentration related recovery effects of sirolimus, everolimus, temsirolimus and cyclosporin A.

  15. Load-Dependent Interference of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus with Switching from Automatic to Controlled Processing During Random Number Generation in Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Isobel Anne; Wilkinson, Leonora; Limousin, Patricia; Jahanshahi, Marjan

    2015-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) ameliorates the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, some aspects of executive control are impaired with STN DBS. We tested the prediction that (i) STN DBS interferes with switching from automatic to controlled processing during fast-paced random number generation (RNG) (ii) STN DBS-induced cognitive control changes are load-dependent. Fifteen PD patients with bilateral STN DBS performed paced-RNG, under three levels of cognitive load synchronised with a pacing stimulus presented at 1, 0.5 and 0.33 Hz (faster rates require greater cognitive control), with DBS on or off. Measures of output randomness were calculated. Countscore 1 (CS1) indicates habitual counting in steps of one (CS1). Countscore 2 (CS2) indicates a more controlled strategy of counting in twos. The fastest rate was associated with an increased CS1 score with STN DBS on compared to off. At the slowest rate, patients had higher CS2 scores with DBS off than on, such that the differences between CS1 and CS2 scores disappeared. We provide evidence for a load-dependent effect of STN DBS on paced RNG in PD. Patients could switch to more controlled RNG strategies during conditions of low cognitive load at slower rates only when the STN stimulators were off, but when STN stimulation was on, they engaged in more automatic habitual counting under increased cognitive load. These findings are consistent with the proposal that the STN implements a switch signal from the medial frontal cortex which enables a shift from automatic to controlled processing.

  16. Improved spatial targeting with directionally segmented deep brain stimulation leads for treating essential tremor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keane, Maureen; Deyo, Steve; Abosch, Aviva; Bajwa, Jawad A.; Johnson, Matthew D.

    2012-08-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the ventral intermediate nucleus of thalamus (Vim) is known to exert a therapeutic effect on postural and kinetic tremor in patients with essential tremor (ET). For DBS leads implanted near the caudal border of Vim, however, there is an increased likelihood that one will also induce paresthesia side-effects by stimulating neurons within the sensory pathway of the ventral caudal (Vc) nucleus of thalamus. The aim of this computational study was to (1) investigate the neuronal pathways modulated by therapeutic, sub-therapeutic and paresthesia-inducing DBS settings in three patients with ET and (2) determine how much better an outcome could have been achieved had these patients been implanted with a DBS lead containing directionally segmented electrodes (dDBS). Multi-compartment neuron models of the thalamocortical, cerebellothalamic and medial lemniscal pathways were first simulated in the context of patient-specific anatomies, lead placements and programming parameters from three ET patients who had been implanted with Medtronic 3389 DBS leads. The models showed that in these patients, complete suppression of tremor was associated most closely with activating an average of 62% of the cerebellothalamic afferent input into Vim (n = 10), while persistent paresthesias were associated with activating 35% of the medial lemniscal tract input into Vc thalamus (n = 12). The dDBS lead design demonstrated superior targeting of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway, especially in cases of misaligned DBS leads. Given the close proximity of Vim to Vc thalamus, the models suggest that dDBS will enable clinicians to more effectively sculpt current through and around thalamus in order to achieve a more consistent therapeutic effect without inducing side-effects.

  17. Laser cutting eliminates nucleic acid cross-contamination in dried-blood-spot processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Sean C; Daza, Glenda; Chang, Ming; Coombs, Robert

    2012-12-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) are useful for molecular assays but are prone to false positives from cross-contamination. In our malaria DBS assay, cross-contamination was encountered despite cleaning techniques suitable for HIV-1. We therefore developed a contact-free laser cutting system that effectively eliminated cross-contamination during DBS processing.

  18. Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders of Basal Ganglia Origin: Restoring Function or Functionality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wichmann, Thomas; DeLong, Mahlon R

    2016-04-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is highly effective for both hypo- and hyperkinetic movement disorders of basal ganglia origin. The clinical use of DBS is, in part, empiric, based on the experience with prior surgical ablative therapies for these disorders, and, in part, driven by scientific discoveries made decades ago. In this review, we consider anatomical and functional concepts of the basal ganglia relevant to our understanding of DBS mechanisms, as well as our current understanding of the pathophysiology of two of the most commonly DBS-treated conditions, Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Finally, we discuss the proposed mechanism(s) of action of DBS in restoring function in patients with movement disorders. The signs and symptoms of the various disorders appear to result from signature disordered activity in the basal ganglia output, which disrupts the activity in thalamocortical and brainstem networks. The available evidence suggests that the effects of DBS are strongly dependent on targeting sensorimotor portions of specific nodes of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical motor circuit, that is, the subthalamic nucleus and the internal segment of the globus pallidus. There is little evidence to suggest that DBS in patients with movement disorders restores normal basal ganglia functions (e.g., their role in movement or reinforcement learning). Instead, it appears that high-frequency DBS replaces the abnormal basal ganglia output with a more tolerable pattern, which helps to restore the functionality of downstream networks.

  19. Evidence from a rare case-study for Hebbian-like changes in structural connectivity induced by long-term deep brain stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim J Van Hartevelt

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available It is unclear whether Hebbian-like learning occurs at the level of long-range white matter connections in humans, i.e. where measurable changes in structural connectivity are correlated with changes in functional connectivity. However, the behavioral changes observed after deep brain stimulation (DBS suggest the existence of such Hebbian-like mechanisms occurring at the structural level with functional consequences. In this rare case study, we obtained the full network of white matter connections of one patient with Parkinson's disease before and after long-term DBS and combined it with a computational model of ongoing activity to investigate the effects of DBS-induced long-term structural changes. The results show that the long-term effects of DBS on resting-state functional connectivity is best obtained in the computational model by changing the structural weights from the subthalamic nucleus to the putamen and the thalamus in a Hebbian-like manner. Moreover, long-term DBS also significantly changed the structural connectivity towards normality in terms of model-based measures of segregation and integration of information processing, two key concepts of brain organization. This novel approach using computational models to model the effects of Hebbian-like changes in structural connectivity allowed us to causally identify the possible underlying neural mechanisms of long-term DBS using rare case study data. In time, this could help predict the efficacy of individual DBS targeting and identify novel DBS targets.

  20. Choreatic Side Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anteromedial Subthalamic Nucleus for Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulders, Anne E P; Leentjens, Albert F G; Schruers, Koen; Duits, Annelien; Ackermans, Linda; Temel, Yasin

    2017-08-01

    Patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are potential candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS). The anteromedial subthalamic nucleus (STN) is among the most commonly used targets for DBS in OCD. We present a patient with a 30-year history of treatment-resistant OCD who underwent anteromedial STN-DBS. Despite a clear mood-enhancing effect, stimulation caused motor side effects, including bilateral hyperkinesia, dyskinesias, and sudden large amplitude choreatic movements of arms and legs when stimulating at voltages greater than approximately 1.5 V. DBS at lower amplitudes and at other contact points failed to result in a significant reduction of obsessions and compulsions without inducing motor side effects. Because of this limitation in programming options, we decided to reoperate and target the ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS), which resulted in a substantial reduction in key obsessive and compulsive symptoms without serious side effects. Choreatic movements and hemiballismus have previously been linked to STN dysfunction and have been incidentally reported as side effects of DBS of the dorsolateral STN in Parkinson disease (PD). However, in PD, these side effects were usually transient, and they rarely interfered with DBS programming. In our patient, the motor side effects were persistent, and they made optimal DBS programming impossible. To our knowledge, such severe and persistent motor side effects have not been described previously for anteromedial STN-DBS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Bilateral stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus has differential effects on reactive and proactive inhibition and conflict-induced slowing in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obeso, Ignacio; Wilkinson, Leonora; Rodríguez-Oroz, Maria-Cruz; Obeso, Jose A; Jahanshahi, Marjan

    2013-05-01

    It has been proposed that the subthalamic nucleus (STN) mediates response inhibition and conflict resolution through the fronto-basal ganglia pathways. Our aim was to compare the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN on reactive and proactive inhibition and conflict resolution in Parkinson's disease using a single task. We used the conditional Stop signal reaction time task that provides the Stop signal reaction time (SSRT) as a measure of reactive inhibition, the response delay effect (RDE) as a measure of proactive inhibition and conflict-induced slowing (CIS) as a measure of conflict resolution. DBS of the STN significantly prolonged SSRT relative to stimulation off. However, while the RDE measure of proactive inhibition was not significantly altered by DBS of the STN, relative to healthy controls, RDE was significantly lower with DBS off but not DBS on. DBS of the STN did not alter the mean CIS but produced a significant differential effect on the slowest and fastest RTs on conflict trials, further prolonging the slowest RTs on the conflict trials relative to DBS off and to controls. These results are the first demonstration, using a single task in the same patient sample, that DBS of the STN produces differential effects on reactive and proactive inhibition and on conflict resolution, suggesting that these effects are likely to be mediated through the impact of STN stimulation on different fronto-basal ganglia pathways: hyperdirect, direct and indirect.

  2. Feasibility of self-sampled dried blood spot and saliva samples sent by mail in a population-based study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakhi, Amrit Kaur; Bastani, Nasser Ezzatkhah; Ellingjord-Dale, Merete; Gundersen, Thomas Erik; Blomhoff, Rune; Ursin, Giske

    2015-01-01

    In large epidemiological studies it is often challenging to obtain biological samples. Self-sampling by study participants using dried blood spots (DBS) technique has been suggested to overcome this challenge. DBS is a type of biosampling where blood samples are obtained by a finger-prick lancet, blotted and dried on filter paper. However, the feasibility and efficacy of collecting DBS samples from study participants in large-scale epidemiological studies is not known. The aim of the present study was to test the feasibility and response rate of collecting self-sampled DBS and saliva samples in a population–based study of women above 50 years of age. We determined response proportions, number of phone calls to the study center with questions about sampling, and quality of the DBS. We recruited women through a study conducted within the Norwegian Breast Cancer Screening Program. Invitations, instructions and materials were sent to 4,597 women. The data collection took place over a 3 month period in the spring of 2009. Response proportions for the collection of DBS and saliva samples were 71.0% (3,263) and 70.9% (3,258), respectively. We received 312 phone calls (7% of the 4,597 women) with questions regarding sampling. Of the 3,263 individuals that returned DBS cards, 3,038 (93.1%) had been packaged and shipped according to instructions. A total of 3,032 DBS samples were sufficient for at least one biomarker analysis (i.e. 92.9% of DBS samples received by the laboratory). 2,418 (74.1%) of the DBS cards received by the laboratory were filled with blood according to the instructions (i.e. 10 completely filled spots with up to 7 punches per spot for up to 70 separate analyses). To assess the quality of the samples, we selected and measured two biomarkers (carotenoids and vitamin D). The biomarker levels were consistent with previous reports. Collecting self-sampled DBS and saliva samples through the postal services provides a low cost, effective and feasible

  3. Effects of replacing diet beverages with water on weight loss and weight maintenance: 18-month follow-up, randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madjd, A; Taylor, M A; Delavari, A; Malekzadeh, R; Macdonald, I A; Farshchi, H R

    2018-04-01

    Beneficial effects of replacing diet beverages (DBs) with water on weight loss, during a 24-week hypoenergetic diet were previously observed. However, it is not known whether this difference is sustained during a subsequent 12-month weight maintenance period. To evaluate effects of replacing DBs with water on body weight maintenance over a 12-month period in participants who undertook a 6-month weight loss plan. Seventy-one obese and overweight adult women (body mass index (BMI): 27-40 kg m -2 ; age: 18-50 years) who usually consumed DBs in their diet were randomly assigned to either substitute water for DBs (water group: 35) or continue drinking DBs five times per week (DBs group: 36) after their lunch for the 6-month weight loss intervention and subsequent 12-month weight maintenance program. A total of 71 participants who were randomly assigned were included in the study by using an intention-to-treat analysis. Greater additional weight loss (mean±s.d.) in the water group was observed compared with the DBs group after the 12-month follow-up period (-1.7±2.8 vs -0.1±2.7 kg, P=0.001). BMI decreased more in the water group than in the DBs group (-0.7±1 vs -0.05±1.1 kg m - 2 , P=0.003). There was also a greater reduction in fasting insulin levels (-0.5±1.4 vs -0.02±1.5 mmol l -1 , P=0.023), better improvement in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (-0.2±0.4 vs -0.1±0.3, P=0.013) and a greater decrease in 2-h postprandial plasma glucose (-0.2±0.3 vs -0.1±0.3 mmol l -1 , Pwater group compared with the DBs over the 12-month weight maintenance period. Replacement of DBs with water after the main meal in women who were regular users of DBs may cause further weight reduction during a 12-month weight maintenance program. It may also offer benefits in carbohydrate metabolism including improvement of insulin resistance over the long-term weight maintenance period.

  4. Manual evaluation of residual curarization using double burst stimulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Drenck, N E; Ueda, N; Olsen, Niels Vidiendal

    1989-01-01

    contractions. Fade in the response results from neuromuscular blockade as with train-of-four stimulation (TOF). The authors compared the sensitivity of DBS and TOF in the detection of residual neuromuscular blockade during clinical anaesthesia. Fifty-two healthy patients undergoing surgery were studied...... with DBS than with TOF, regardless of the TOF ratio level. Absence of fade with TOF implied a 48% chance of considerable residual relaxation as compared with 9% when fade was absent with DBS. The results demonstrate that DBS is more sensitive than TOF in the manual detection of residual neuromuscular...

  5. New Insights Offered by a Computational Model of Deep Brain Stimulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Modolo, J.; Mosekilde, Erik; Beuter, A.

    2007-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a standard neurosurgical procedure used to treat motor symptoms in about 5% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite the indisputable success of this procedure, the biological mechanisms underlying the clinical benefits of DBS have not yet been fully...... and exploring the physiological mechanisms which respond to this treatment strategy (i.e., DBS). Finally, we present new insights into the ways this computational model may help to elucidate the dynamic network effects produced in a cerebral structure when DBS is applied. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights...

  6. Long-term follow-up of pallidal Deep Brain Stimulation in teenagers with refractory Tourette syndrome and comorbid psychiatric disorders: About three cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauseux, P-A; Cyprien, F; Cif, L; Gonzalez, V; Boulenger, J-P; Coubes, P; Capdevielle, D

    2017-01-01

    Tourette syndrome (TS) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder associated with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Peak of tic severity typically occurs in early adolescence and impacts quality of life. Since 1999, promising therapeutic effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) have been reported in tic reduction for adults with refractory TS. The aim of the study was to assess the long-term risk-benefit ratio of pallidal DBS for young patients with refractory TS and severe comorbid psychiatric disorders. We retrospectively assessed the long-term clinical outcomes of three adolescents who underwent pallidal DBS for the treatment of refractory TS. The mean duration of follow-up was 52 months in our case series. We observed that motor tics decreased with posteroventral GPi DBS in all patients, without reaching a continuous significance over the long-term follow-up. Self-reported social inclusion was globally improved, despite lack of efficacy of DBS on comorbid conditions. These findings suggest a long-term therapeutic benefit of early DBS intervention for highly socially impaired young patients suffering from intractable TS with severe comorbid psychiatric conditions. Further studies are needed to determine the most effective targets of DBS on both tics and comorbid psychiatric profile of TS. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Quantification of DNA in Neonatal Dried Blood Spots by Adenine Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durie, Danielle; Yeh, Ed; McIntosh, Nathan; Fisher, Lawrence; Bulman, Dennis E; Birnboim, H Chaim; Chakraborty, Pranesh; Al-Dirbashi, Osama Y

    2018-01-02

    Newborn screening programs have expanded to include molecular-based assays as first-tier tests and the success of these assays depends on the quality and yield of DNA extracted from neonatal dried blood spots (DBS). To meet high throughput and rapid turnaround time requirements, newborn screening laboratories adopted rapid DNA extraction methods that produce crude extracts. Quantification of DNA in neonatal DBS is not routinely performed due to technical challenges; however, this may enhance the performance of assays that are sensitive to amounts of input DNA. In this study, we developed a novel high throughput method to quantify total DNA in DBS. It is based on specific acid-catalyzed depurination of DNA followed by mass spectrometric quantification of adenine. The amount of adenine was used to calculate DNA quantity per 3.2 mm DBS. Reference intervals were established using archived, neonatal DBS (n = 501) and a median of 130.6 ng of DNA per DBS was obtained, which is in agreement with literature values. The intra- and interday variations were quantification were 12.5 and 37.8 nmol/L adenine, respectively. We demonstrated that DNA from neonatal DBS can be successfully quantified in high throughput settings using instruments currently deployed in NBS laboratories.

  8. Conceptualization and validation of an open-source closed-loop deep brain stimulation system in rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hemmings; Ghekiere, Hartwin; Beeckmans, Dorien; Tambuyzer, Tim; van Kuyck, Kris; Aerts, Jean-Marie; Nuttin, Bart

    2015-04-21

    Conventional deep brain stimulation (DBS) applies constant electrical stimulation to specific brain regions to treat neurological disorders. Closed-loop DBS with real-time feedback is gaining attention in recent years, after proved more effective than conventional DBS in terms of pathological symptom control clinically. Here we demonstrate the conceptualization and validation of a closed-loop DBS system using open-source hardware. We used hippocampal theta oscillations as system input, and electrical stimulation in the mesencephalic reticular formation (mRt) as controller output. It is well documented that hippocampal theta oscillations are highly related to locomotion, while electrical stimulation in the mRt induces freezing. We used an Arduino open-source microcontroller between input and output sources. This allowed us to use hippocampal local field potentials (LFPs) to steer electrical stimulation in the mRt. Our results showed that closed-loop DBS significantly suppressed locomotion compared to no stimulation, and required on average only 56% of the stimulation used in open-loop DBS to reach similar effects. The main advantages of open-source hardware include wide selection and availability, high customizability, and affordability. Our open-source closed-loop DBS system is effective, and warrants further research using open-source hardware for closed-loop neuromodulation.

  9. Analysis of blood spots for polyfluoroalkyl chemicals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kato, Kayoko; Wanigatunga, Amal A.; Needham, Larry L. [Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA (United States); Calafat, Antonia M., E-mail: acalafat@cdc.gov [Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2009-12-10

    Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) have been detected in humans, in the environment, and in ecosystems around the world. The potential for developmental and reproductive toxicities of some PFCs is of concern especially to children's health. In the United States, a sample of a baby's blood, called a 'dried blood spot' (DBS), is obtained from a heel stick within 48 h of a child's birth. DBS could be useful for assessing prenatal exposure to PFCs. We developed a method based on online solid phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry for measuring four PFCs in DBS, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorononanoate. The analytical limits of detection using one whole DBS ({approx}75 {mu}L of blood) were <0.5 ng mL{sup -1}. To validate the method, we analyzed 98 DBS collected in May 2007 in the United States. PFOS and PFOA were detected in all DBS at concentrations in the low ng mL{sup -1} range. These data suggest that DBS may be a suitable matrix for assessing perinatal exposure to PFCs, but additional information related to sampling and specimen storage is needed to demonstrate the utility of these measures for assessing exposure.

  10. Deep Brain Stimulation of Hemiparkinsonian Rats with Unipolar and Bipolar Electrodes for up to 6 Weeks: Behavioral Testing of Freely Moving Animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathrin Badstuebner

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Although the clinical use of deep brain stimulation (DBS is increasing, its basic mechanisms of action are still poorly understood. Platinum/iridium electrodes were inserted into the subthalamic nucleus of rats with unilateral 6-OHDA-induced lesions of the medial forebrain bundle. Six behavioral parameters were compared with respect to their potential to detect DBS effects. Locomotor function was quantified by (i apomorphine-induced rotation, (ii initiation time, (iii the number of adjusting steps in the stepping test, and (iv the total migration distance in the open field test. Sensorimotor neglect and anxiety were quantified by (v the retrieval bias in the corridor test and (vi the ratio of migration distance in the center versus in the periphery in the open field test, respectively. In our setup, unipolar stimulation was found to be more efficient than bipolar stimulation for achieving beneficial long-term DBS effects. Performance in the apomorphine-induced rotation test showed no improvement after 6 weeks. DBS reduced the initiation time of the contralateral paw in the stepping test after 3 weeks of DBS followed by 3 weeks without DBS. Similarly, sensorimotor neglect was improved. The latter two parameters were found to be most appropriate for judging therapeutic DBS effects.

  11. Controlling absence seizures by deep brain stimulus applied on substantia nigra pars reticulata and cortex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Bing; Wang, Qingyun

    2015-01-01

    Epilepsy is a typical neural disease in nervous system, and the control of seizures is very important for treating the epilepsy. It is well known that the drug treatment is the main strategy for controlling the epilepsy. However, there are about 10–15 percent of patients, whose seizures cannot be effectively controlled by means of the drug. Alternatively, the deep brain stimulus (DBS) technology is a feasible method to control the serious seizures. However, theoretical explorations of DBS are still absent, and need to be further made. Presently, we will explore to control the absence seizures by introducing the DBS to a basal ganglia thalamocortical network model. In particular, we apply DBS onto substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and the cortex to explore its effects on controlling absence seizures, respectively. We can find that the absence seizure can be well controlled within suitable parameter ranges by tuning the period and duration of current stimulation as DBS is implemented in the SNr. And also, as the DBS is applied onto the cortex, it is shown that for the ranges of present parameters, only adjusting the duration of current stimulation is an effective control method for the absence seizures. The obtained results can have better understanding for the mechanism of DBS in the medical treatment.

  12. Sustained Medication Reduction Following Unilateral VIM Thalamic Stimulation for Essential Tremor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew S. Resnick

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS is an increasingly utilized therapeutic modality for the management of medication refractory essential tremor (ET. The aim of this study was to determine whether DBS allowed for anti-tremor medication reduction within the year after the procedure was performed. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review and telephone interviews on 34 consecutive patients who had been diagnosed with ET, and who had undergone unilateral DBS surgery. Results: Of the 34 patients in our cohort, 31 patients (91% completely stopped all anti-tremor medications either before surgery (21 patients, 62% or in the year following DBS surgery (10 patients, 29%. Patients who discontinued tremor medications before DBS surgery did so because their tremors either became refractory to anti-tremor medication, or they developed adverse events to tremor medications. Patients who stopped tremor medications after DBS surgery did so due to sufficient tremor control. Only three patients (9% who were taking tremor medications at the time of surgery continued the use of a beta-blocker post-operatively for the purpose of hypertension management in all cases. Discussion: The data from this study indicate that medication cessation is common following unilateral DBS for ET. 

  13. Introduction to digital image processing

    CERN Document Server

    Pratt, William K

    2013-01-01

    CONTINUOUS IMAGE CHARACTERIZATION Continuous Image Mathematical Characterization Image RepresentationTwo-Dimensional SystemsTwo-Dimensional Fourier TransformImage Stochastic CharacterizationPsychophysical Vision Properties Light PerceptionEye PhysiologyVisual PhenomenaMonochrome Vision ModelColor Vision ModelPhotometry and ColorimetryPhotometryColor MatchingColorimetry ConceptsColor SpacesDIGITAL IMAGE CHARACTERIZATION Image Sampling and Reconstruction Image Sampling and Reconstruction ConceptsMonochrome Image Sampling SystemsMonochrome Image Reconstruction SystemsColor Image Sampling SystemsImage QuantizationScalar QuantizationProcessing Quantized VariablesMonochrome and Color Image QuantizationDISCRETE TWO-DIMENSIONAL LINEAR PROCESSING Discrete Image Mathematical Characterization Vector-Space Image RepresentationGeneralized Two-Dimensional Linear OperatorImage Statistical CharacterizationImage Probability Density ModelsLinear Operator Statistical RepresentationSuperposition and ConvolutionFinite-Area Superp...

  14. A new treatment of focusing by varied-line-spacing gratings with application to the Peterson PGM system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howells, M.R.; Staub, U.

    1996-11-01

    We present a new treatment for a varied-line-spacing grating (VLS) as a monochromator for a soft X-ray synchrotron beamline. Our calculations for a VLS monochromator show that within the small angle approximation we can make the focal length constant, correct for primary coma and spherical aberrations at all wave lengths. This monochromator scheme has still a free choice of included angle, which can be used to optimize efficiency and it can cover a wave length range of eight octaves, distinct more compared to a plane grating monochromator scheme. The analytical calculations are in excellent agreement with our ray traces using the Shadow computer code. (author) 7 figs., tabs., 27 refs

  15. Dried blood spot analysis of creatinine with LC-MS/MS in addition to immunosuppressants analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koster, Remco A.; Greijdanus, Ben; Alffenaar, Jan-Willem C.; Touw, Daan J.

    In order to monitor creatinine levels or to adjust the dosage of renally excreted or nephrotoxic drugs, the analysis of creatinine in dried blood spots (DBS) could be a useful addition to DBS analysis. We developed a LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of creatinine in the same DBS extract that was

  16. Behavioral Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Nucleus of Thalamus, Entorhinal Cortex and Fornix in a Rat Model of Alzheimer′s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Recent clinical and preclinical studies have suggested that deep brain stimulation (DBS can be used as a tool to enhance cognitive functions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of DBS at three separate targets in the Papez circuit, including the anterior nucleus of thalamus (ANT, the entorhinal cortex (EC, and the fornix (FX, on cognitive behaviors in an Alzheimer′s disease (AD rat model. Methods: Forty-eight rats were subjected to an intrahippocampal injection of amyloid peptides 1-42 to induce an AD model. Rats were divided into six groups: DBS and sham DBS groups of ANT, EC, and FX. Spatial learning and memory were assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM. Recognition memory was investigated by the novel object recognition memory test (NORM. Locomotor and anxiety-related behaviors were detected by the open field test (OF. By using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA, behavior differences between the six groups were analyzed. Results: In the MWM, the ANT, EC, and FX DBS groups performed differently in terms of the time spent in the platform zone (F(2,23 = 6.04, P < 0.01, the frequency of platform crossing (F(2,23 = 11.53, P < 0.001, and the percent time spent within the platform quadrant (F(2,23 = 6.29, P < 0.01. In the NORM, the EC and FX DBS groups spent more time with the novel object, although the ANT DBS group did not (F(2,23 = 10.03, P < 0.001. In the OF, all of the groups showed a similar total distance moved (F (1,42 = 1.14, P = 0.29 and relative time spent in the center (F(2,42 = 0.56, P = 0.58. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that DBS of the EC and FX facilitated hippocampus-dependent spatial memory more prominently than ANT DBS. In addition, hippocampus-independent recognition memory was enhanced by EC and FX DBS. None of the targets showed side-effects of anxiety or locomotor behaviors.

  17. Short circuit in deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samura, Kazuhiro; Miyagi, Yasushi; Okamoto, Tsuyoshi; Hayami, Takehito; Kishimoto, Junji; Katano, Mitsuo; Kamikaseda, Kazufumi

    2012-11-01

    The authors undertook this study to investigate the incidence, cause, and clinical influence of short circuits in patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS). After the incidental identification of a short circuit during routine follow-up, the authors initiated a policy at their institution of routinely evaluating both therapeutic impedance and system impendence at every outpatient DBS follow-up visit, irrespective of the presence of symptoms suggesting possible system malfunction. This study represents a report of their findings after 1 year of this policy. Implanted DBS leads exhibiting short circuits were identified in 7 patients (8.9% of the patients seen for outpatient follow-up examinations during the 12-month study period). The mean duration from DBS lead implantation to the discovery of the short circuit was 64.7 months. The symptoms revealing short circuits included the wearing off of therapeutic effect, apraxia of eyelid opening, or dysarthria in 6 patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and dystonia deterioration in 1 patient with generalized dystonia. All DBS leads with short circuits had been anchored to the cranium using titanium miniplates. Altering electrode settings resulted in clinical improvement in the 2 PD cases in which patients had specific symptoms of short circuits (2.5%) but not in the other 4 cases. The patient with dystonia underwent repositioning and replacement of a lead because the previous lead was located too anteriorly, but did not experience symptom improvement. In contrast to the sudden loss of clinical efficacy of DBS caused by an open circuit, short circuits may arise due to a gradual decrease in impedance, causing the insidious development of neurological symptoms via limited or extended potential fields as well as shortened battery longevity. The incidence of short circuits in DBS may be higher than previously thought, especially in cases in which DBS leads are anchored with miniplates. The circuit impedance of DBS

  18. Anaesthetic management of shoulder arthroscopic repair in Parkinson′s disease with deep brain stimulator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ranju Gandhi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe the anaesthetic management of arthroscopic repair for complete rotator cuff tear of shoulder in a 59-year-old female with Parkinson′s disease (PD with deep brain stimulator (DBS using a combination of general anaesthesia with interscalene approach to brachial plexus block. The DBS consists of implanted electrodes in the brain connected to the implantable pulse generator (IPG normally placed in the anterior chest wall subcutaneously. It can be programmed externally from a hand-held device placed directly over the battery stimulator unit. In our patient, IPG with its leads was located in close vicinity of the operative site with potential for DBS malfunction. Implications of DBS in a patient with PD for shoulder arthroscopy for anaesthesiologist are discussed along with a brief review of DBS.

  19. Sensitivity and specificity of dried blood spots for HIV-1 viral load quantification: A laboratory assessment of 3 commercial assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pannus, Pieter; Claus, Maarten; Gonzalez, Maria Mercedes Perez; Ford, Nathan; Fransen, Katrien

    2016-11-01

    The use of dried blood spots (DBS) instead of plasma as a specimen type for HIV-1 viral load (VL) testing facilitates the decentralization of specimen collection and can increase access to VL testing in resource-limited settings. The performance of DBS for VL testing is lower, however, when compared to the gold standard sample type plasma. In this diagnostic accuracy study, we evaluated 3 VL assays with DBS.Participants were recruited between August 2012 and April 2015. Both plasma and DBS specimens were prepared and tested for HIV-1 VL with the Roche CAP/CTM HIV-1 test v2.0, the Abbott RealTime HIV-1, and the bioMérieux NucliSENS EasyQ HIV-1 v2.0. Sensitivity and specificity to detect treatment failure at a threshold of 1000 cps/mL with DBS were determined.A total of 272 HIV-positive patients and 51 HIV-negative people were recruited in the study. The mean difference or bias between plasma and DBS VL was 25% of the specimens differed by >0.5 log cps/mL.All 3 assays had comparable sensitivities around 80% and specificities around 90%. Upward misclassification rates were around 10%, but downward misclassification rates ranged from 20.3% to 23.6%. Differences in between assays were not statistically significant (P > 0.1).The 3 VL assays evaluated had suboptimal performance with DBS but still performed better than immunological or clinical monitoring. Even after the introduction of the much-anticipated point-of-care VL devices, it is expected that DBS will remain important as a complementary option for supporting access to VL monitoring, particularly in rural, resource-limited settings. Manufacturers should accelerate efforts to develop more reliable, sensitive and specific methods to test VL on DBS specimens.

  20. Sensitivity and specificity of dried blood spots for HIV-1 viral load quantification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pannus, Pieter; Claus, Maarten; Gonzalez, Maria Mercedes Perez; Ford, Nathan; Fransen, Katrien

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The use of dried blood spots (DBS) instead of plasma as a specimen type for HIV-1 viral load (VL) testing facilitates the decentralization of specimen collection and can increase access to VL testing in resource-limited settings. The performance of DBS for VL testing is lower, however, when compared to the gold standard sample type plasma. In this diagnostic accuracy study, we evaluated 3 VL assays with DBS. Participants were recruited between August 2012 and April 2015. Both plasma and DBS specimens were prepared and tested for HIV-1 VL with the Roche CAP/CTM HIV-1 test v2.0, the Abbott RealTime HIV-1, and the bioMérieux NucliSENS EasyQ HIV-1 v2.0. Sensitivity and specificity to detect treatment failure at a threshold of 1000 cps/mL with DBS were determined. A total of 272 HIV-positive patients and 51 HIV-negative people were recruited in the study. The mean difference or bias between plasma and DBS VL was 25% of the specimens differed by >0.5 log cps/mL. All 3 assays had comparable sensitivities around 80% and specificities around 90%. Upward misclassification rates were around 10%, but downward misclassification rates ranged from 20.3% to 23.6%. Differences in between assays were not statistically significant (P > 0.1). The 3 VL assays evaluated had suboptimal performance with DBS but still performed better than immunological or clinical monitoring. Even after the introduction of the much-anticipated point-of-care VL devices, it is expected that DBS will remain important as a complementary option for supporting access to VL monitoring, particularly in rural, resource-limited settings. Manufacturers should accelerate efforts to develop more reliable, sensitive and specific methods to test VL on DBS specimens. PMID:27902602

  1. Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease: defining the optimal location within the subthalamic nucleus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bot, Maarten; Schuurman, P Richard; Odekerken, Vincent J J; Verhagen, Rens; Contarino, Fiorella Maria; De Bie, Rob M A; van den Munckhof, Pepijn

    2018-05-01

    Individual motor improvement after deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for Parkinson's disease (PD) varies considerably. Stereotactic targeting of the dorsolateral sensorimotor part of the STN is considered paramount for maximising effectiveness, but studies employing the midcommissural point (MCP) as anatomical reference failed to show correlation between DBS location and motor improvement. The medial border of the STN as reference may provide better insight in the relationship between DBS location and clinical outcome. Motor improvement after 12 months of 65 STN DBS electrodes was categorised into non-responding, responding and optimally responding body-sides. Stereotactic coordinates of optimal electrode contacts relative to both medial STN border and MCP served to define theoretic DBS 'hotspots'. Using the medial STN border as reference, significant negative correlation (Pearson's correlation -0.52, P<0.01) was found between the Euclidean distance from the centre of stimulation to this DBS hotspot and motor improvement. This hotspot was located at 2.8 mm lateral, 1.7 mm anterior and 2.5 mm superior relative to the medial STN border. Using MCP as reference, no correlation was found. The medial STN border proved superior compared with MCP as anatomical reference for correlation of DBS location and motor improvement, and enabled defining an optimal DBS location within the nucleus. We therefore propose the medial STN border as a better individual reference point than the currently used MCP on preoperative stereotactic imaging, in order to obtain optimal and thus less variable motor improvement for individual patients with PD following STN DBS. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  2. The ethanol-induced stimulation of rat duodenal mucosal bicarbonate secretion in vivo is critically dependent on luminal Cl-.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Sommansson

    Full Text Available Alcohol may induce metabolic and functional changes in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, contributing to impaired mucosal barrier function. Duodenal mucosal bicarbonate secretion (DBS is a primary epithelial defense against gastric acid and also has an important function in maintaining the homeostasis of the juxtamucosal microenvironment. The aim in this study was to investigate the effects of the luminal perfusion of moderate concentrations of ethanol in vivo on epithelial DBS, fluid secretion and paracellular permeability. Under thiobarbiturate anesthesia, a ∼30-mm segment of the proximal duodenum with an intact blood supply was perfused in situ in rats. The effects on DBS, duodenal transepithelial net fluid flux and the blood-to-lumen clearance of 51Cr-EDTA were investigated. Perfusing the duodenum with isotonic solutions of 10% or 15% ethanol-by-volume for 30 min increased DBS in a concentration-dependent manner, while the net fluid flux did not change. Pre-treatment with the CFTR inhibitor CFTRinh172 (i.p. or i.v. did not change the secretory response to ethanol, while removing Cl- from the luminal perfusate abolished the ethanol-induced increase in DBS. The administration of hexamethonium (i.v. but not capsazepine significantly reduced the basal net fluid flux and the ethanol-induced increase in DBS. Perfusing the duodenum with a combination of 1.0 mM HCl and 15% ethanol induced significantly greater increases in DBS than 15% ethanol or 1.0 mM HCl alone but did not influence fluid flux. Our data demonstrate that ethanol induces increases in DBS through a mechanism that is critically dependent on luminal Cl- and partly dependent on enteric neural pathways involving nicotinic receptors. Ethanol and HCl appears to stimulate DBS via the activation of different bicarbonate transporting mechanisms.

  3. SU-F-T-519: Is Geometry Based Setup Sufficient for All of the Head and Neck Treatment Cases?: A Feasibility Study Towards the Dose Based Setup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, S; Chen, S; Zhang, B; Xu, H; Prado, K; D’Souza, W; Yi, B

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This study compares the geometric-based setup (GBS) which is currently used in the clinic to a novel concept of dose-based setup (DBS) of head and neck (H&N) patients using cone beam CT (CBCT) of the day; and evaluates the clinical advantages. Methods: Ten H&N patients who underwent re-simulation and re-plan due to noticeable anatomic changes during the course of the treatments were retrospectively reviewed on dosimetric changes in the assumption of no plan modification was performed. RayStation planning system (RaySearch Laboratories AB, Sweden) was used to match (ROI fusion module) between prescribed isodoseline (IDL) in the CBCT imported along with ROIs from re-planned CT and the IDL of original plan (Dose-based setup: DBS). Then, the CBCT plan based on daily setup using the GBS (previously used for a patient) and the DBS CBCT plan recalculated in RayStation compared against the original CT-sim plan. Results: Most of patients’ tumor coverage and OAR doses got generally worsen when the CBCT plans were compared with original CT-sim plan with GBS. However, when DBS intervened, the OAR dose and tumor coverage was better than the GBS. For example, one of patients’ daily average doses of right parotid and oral cavity increased to 26% and 36%, respectively from the original plan to the GBS planning. However, it only increased by 13% and 24%, respectively with DBS. GTV D95 coverage also decreased by 16% with GBS, but only 2% decreased with DBS. Conclusion: DBS method is superior to GBS to prevent any abrupt dose changes to OARs as well as PTV/CTV or GTV at least for some H&N cases. Since it is not known when the DBS is beneficial to the GBS, a system which enables the on-line DBS may be helpful for better treatment of H&N.

  4. SU-F-T-519: Is Geometry Based Setup Sufficient for All of the Head and Neck Treatment Cases?: A Feasibility Study Towards the Dose Based Setup

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, S; Chen, S; Zhang, B; Xu, H; Prado, K; D’Souza, W; Yi, B [University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: This study compares the geometric-based setup (GBS) which is currently used in the clinic to a novel concept of dose-based setup (DBS) of head and neck (H&N) patients using cone beam CT (CBCT) of the day; and evaluates the clinical advantages. Methods: Ten H&N patients who underwent re-simulation and re-plan due to noticeable anatomic changes during the course of the treatments were retrospectively reviewed on dosimetric changes in the assumption of no plan modification was performed. RayStation planning system (RaySearch Laboratories AB, Sweden) was used to match (ROI fusion module) between prescribed isodoseline (IDL) in the CBCT imported along with ROIs from re-planned CT and the IDL of original plan (Dose-based setup: DBS). Then, the CBCT plan based on daily setup using the GBS (previously used for a patient) and the DBS CBCT plan recalculated in RayStation compared against the original CT-sim plan. Results: Most of patients’ tumor coverage and OAR doses got generally worsen when the CBCT plans were compared with original CT-sim plan with GBS. However, when DBS intervened, the OAR dose and tumor coverage was better than the GBS. For example, one of patients’ daily average doses of right parotid and oral cavity increased to 26% and 36%, respectively from the original plan to the GBS planning. However, it only increased by 13% and 24%, respectively with DBS. GTV D95 coverage also decreased by 16% with GBS, but only 2% decreased with DBS. Conclusion: DBS method is superior to GBS to prevent any abrupt dose changes to OARs as well as PTV/CTV or GTV at least for some H&N cases. Since it is not known when the DBS is beneficial to the GBS, a system which enables the on-line DBS may be helpful for better treatment of H&N.

  5. Deep brain stimulation, continuity over time, and the true self

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nyholm, S.R.; O'Neill, E.R.H.

    2016-01-01

    One of the topics that often comes up in ethical discussions of deep brain stimulation (DBS), is the question of what impact DBS has, or might have, on the patient’s self. This is often understood as a question of whether DBS poses a “threat” to personal identity, which is typically understood as

  6. Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank: A Review of Emerging Issues and Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deeb, Wissam; Giordano, James J.; Rossi, Peter J.; Mogilner, Alon Y.; Gunduz, Aysegul; Judy, Jack W.; Klassen, Bryan T.; Butson, Christopher R.; Van Horne, Craig; Deny, Damiaan; Dougherty, Darin D.; Rowell, David; Gerhardt, Greg A.; Smith, Gwenn S.; Ponce, Francisco A.; Walker, Harrison C.; Bronte-Stewart, Helen M.; Mayberg, Helen S.; Chizeck, Howard J.; Langevin, Jean-Philippe; Volkmann, Jens; Ostrem, Jill L.; Shute, Jonathan B.; Jimenez-Shahed, Joohi; Foote, Kelly D.; Wagle Shukla, Aparna; Rossi, Marvin A.; Oh, Michael; Pourfar, Michael; Rosenberg, Paul B.; Silburn, Peter A.; de Hemptine, Coralie; Starr, Philip A.; Denison, Timothy; Akbar, Umer; Grill, Warren M.; Okun, Michael S.

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of current progress in the technological advances and the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, as presented by participants of the Fourth Annual DBS Think Tank, which was convened in March 2016 in conjunction with the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration at the University of Florida, Gainesveille FL, USA. The Think Tank discussions first focused on policy and advocacy in DBS research and clinical practice, formation of registries, and issues involving the use of DBS in the treatment of Tourette Syndrome. Next, advances in the use of neuroimaging and electrochemical markers to enhance DBS specificity were addressed. Updates on ongoing use and developments of DBS for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, Alzheimer's disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obesity, addiction were presented, and progress toward innovation(s) in closed-loop applications were discussed. Each section of these proceedings provides updates and highlights of new information as presented at this year's international Think Tank, with a view toward current and near future advancement of the field. PMID:27920671

  7. A Programmable High-Voltage Compliance Neural Stimulator for Deep Brain Stimulation in Vivo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cihun-Siyong Alex Gong

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Deep brain stimulation (DBS is one of the most effective therapies for movement and other disorders. The DBS neurosurgical procedure involves the implantation of a DBS device and a battery-operated neurotransmitter, which delivers electrical impulses to treatment targets through implanted electrodes. The DBS modulates the neuronal activities in the brain nucleus for improving physiological responses as long as an electric discharge above the stimulation threshold can be achieved. In an effort to improve the performance of an implanted DBS device, the device size, implementation cost, and power efficiency are among the most important DBS device design aspects. This study aims to present preliminary research results of an efficient stimulator, with emphasis on conversion efficiency. The prototype stimulator features high-voltage compliance, implemented with only a standard semiconductor process, without the use of extra masks in the foundry through our proposed circuit structure. The results of animal experiments, including evaluation of evoked responses induced by thalamic electrical stimuli with our fabricated chip, were shown to demonstrate the proof of concept of our design.

  8. Syncope Associated with Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in a Patient with Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dursun Aygun

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In advanced Parkinson's disease (PD, deep brain stimulation (DBS may be an alternative option for the treatment of motor symptoms. Side effects associated with subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS in patients with PD are emerging as the most frequent sensory and motor symptoms. DBS-related syncope is reported as extremely rare. We wanted to discuss the mechanisms of syncope associated with STN DBS in a patient with Parkinson's disease. Case report. Sixty-three-year-old female patient is followed up with diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease for 6 years in our clinic. The patient has undergone STN DBS due to painful dystonia and drug resistant tremor. During the operation, when the left STN was stimulated at 5 milliampere (mAmp, the patient developed presyncopal symptoms. However, when the stimulation was stopped symptoms improved. During the early period after the operation, when the right STN was stimulated at 1.3 millivolts (mV, she developed the pre-yncopal symptoms and then syncope. Our case shows that STN DBS may lead to directly autonomic symptoms resulting in syncope during stimulation-on (stim-on.

  9. Evolving Applications, Technological Challenges and Future Opportunities in Neuromodulation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Giordano, James J.; Gunduz, Aysegul; Brown, Peter; Sanchez, Justin C.; Foote, Kelly D.; Almeida, Leonardo; Starr, Philip A.; Bronte-Stewart, Helen M.; Hu, Wei; McIntyre, Cameron; Goodman, Wayne; Kumsa, Doe; Grill, Warren M.; Walker, Harrison C.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Vitek, Jerrold L.; Greene, David; Rizzuto, Daniel S.; Song, Dong; Berger, Theodore W.; Hampson, Robert E.; Deadwyler, Sam A.; Hochberg, Leigh R.; Schiff, Nicholas D.; Stypulkowski, Paul; Worrell, Greg; Tiruvadi, Vineet; Mayberg, Helen S.; Jimenez-Shahed, Joohi; Nanda, Pranav; Sheth, Sameer A.; Gross, Robert E.; Lempka, Scott F.; Li, Luming; Deeb, Wissam; Okun, Michael S.

    2018-01-01

    The annual Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank provides a focal opportunity for a multidisciplinary ensemble of experts in the field of neuromodulation to discuss advancements and forthcoming opportunities and challenges in the field. The proceedings of the fifth Think Tank summarize progress in neuromodulation neurotechnology and techniques for the treatment of a range of neuropsychiatric conditions including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, epilepsy and cognitive, and motor disorders. Each section of this overview of the meeting provides insight to the critical elements of discussion, current challenges, and identified future directions of scientific and technological development and application. The report addresses key issues in developing, and emphasizes major innovations that have occurred during the past year. Specifically, this year's meeting focused on technical developments in DBS, design considerations for DBS electrodes, improved sensors, neuronal signal processing, advancements in development and uses of responsive DBS (closed-loop systems), updates on National Institutes of Health and DARPA DBS programs of the BRAIN initiative, and neuroethical and policy issues arising in and from DBS research and applications in practice. PMID:29416498

  10. Comparison of Three Methods in Extracting Coherent Modes from a Doppler Backscatter System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiao-Hui; Liu A-Di; Zhou Chu; Hu Jian-Qiang; Wang Ming-Yuan; Yu Chang-Xuan; Liu Wan-Dong; Li Hong; Lan Tao; Xie Jin-Lin

    2015-01-01

    We compare three different methods to extract coherent modes from Doppler backscattering (DBS), which are center of gravity (COG) of the complex amplitude spectrum, spectrum of DBS phase derivative (phase derivative method), and phase spectrum, respectively. These three methods are all feasible to extract coherent modes, for example, geodesic acoustic mode oscillation. However, there are still differences between dealing with high frequency modes (several hundred kHz) and low frequency modes (several kHz) hiding in DBS signal. There is a significant amount of power at low frequencies in the phase spectrum, which can be removed by using the phase derivative method and COG. High frequency modes are clearer by using the COG and the phase derivative method than the phase spectrum. The spectrum of DBS amplitude does not show the coherent modes detected by using COG, phase derivative method and phase spectrum. When two Doppler shifted peaks exist, coherent modes and their harmonics appear in the spectrum of DBS amplitude, which are introduced by the DBS phase. (paper)

  11. Newborn Dried Blood Spot Polymerase Chain Reaction to Identify Infants with Congenital Cytomegalovirus-Associated Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Shannon A; Ahmed, Amina; Palmer, April L; Michaels, Marian G; Sánchez, Pablo J; Stewart, Audra; Bernstein, David I; Feja, Kristina; Fowler, Karen B; Boppana, Suresh B

    2017-05-01

    To determine the utility of dried blood spot (DBS) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in identifying infants with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection-associated sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Newborns at 7 US hospitals between March 2007 and March 2012 were screened for CMV by saliva rapid culture and/or PCR. Infected infants were monitored for SNHL during the first 4 years of life to determine sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios of DBS PCR for identifying CMV-associated SNHL. DBS at birth was positive in 11 of 26 children (42%) with SNHL at age 4 years and in 72 of 270 children (27%) with normal hearing (P = .11). The sensitivity (42.3%; 95% CI, 23.4%-63.1%) and specificity (73.3%; 95% CI, 67.6%-78.5%) was low for DBS PCR in identifying children with SNHL at age 4 years. The positive and negative likelihood ratios of DBS PCR positivity to detect CMV-associated SNHL at age 4 years were 1.6 (95% CI, 0.97-2.6) and 0.8 (95% CI, 0.6-1.1), respectively. There was no difference in DBS viral loads between children with SNHL and those without SNHL. DBS PCR for CMV has low sensitivity and specificity for identifying infants with CMV-associated hearing loss. These findings, together with previous reports, demonstrate that DBS PCR does not identify either the majority of CMV-infected newborns or those with CMV-associated SNHL early in life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Thinking Ahead on Deep Brain Stimulation: An Analysis of the Ethical Implications of a Developing Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansson, Veronica; Garwicz, Martin; Kanje, Martin; Halldenius, Lena; Schouenborg, Jens

    2014-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a developing technology. New generations of DBS technology are already in the pipeline, yet this particular fact has been largely ignored among ethicists interested in DBS. Focusing only on ethical concerns raised by the current DBS technology is, albeit necessary, not sufficient. Since current bioethical concerns raised by a specific technology could be quite different from the concerns it will raise a couple of years ahead, an ethical analysis should be sensitive to such alterations, or it could end up with results that soon become dated. The goal of this analysis is to address these changing bioethical concerns, to think ahead on upcoming and future DBS concerns both in terms of a changing technology and changing moral attitudes. By employing the distinction between inherent and noninherent bioethical concerns we identify and make explicit the particular limits and potentials for change within each category, respectively, including how present and upcoming bioethical concerns regarding DBS emerge and become obsolete. Many of the currently identified ethical problems with DBS, such as stimulation-induced mania, are a result of suboptimal technology. These challenges could be addressed by technical advances, while for instance perceptions of an altered body image caused by the mere awareness of having an implant may not. Other concerns will not emerge until the technology has become sophisticated enough for new uses to be realized, such as concerns on DBS for enhancement purposes. As a part of the present analysis, concerns regarding authenticity are used as an example.

  13. The International Deep Brain Stimulation Registry and Database for Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: How Does it Work?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wissam eDeeb

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Tourette Syndrome (TS is a neuropsychiatric disease characterized by a combination of motor and vocal tics. Deep brain stimulation (DBS, already widely utilized for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, is an emerging therapy for select and severe cases of TS that are resistant to medication and behavioral therapy. Over the last two decades, DBS has been used experimentally to manage severe TS cases. The results of case reports and small case series have been variable but in general positive. The reported interventions have, however, been variable, and there remain non-standardized selection criteria, various brain targets, differences in hardware, as well as variability in the programming parameters utilized. DBS centers perform only a handful of TS DBS cases each year, making large-scale outcomes difficult to study and to interpret. These limitations, coupled with the variable effect of surgery, and the overall small numbers of TS patients with implanted DBS worldwide, have delayed regulatory agency approval (e.g. FDA and equivalent agencies around the world. The Tourette Association of America, in response to the worldwide need for a more organized and collaborative effort, launched an international TS DBS registry and database. The main goal of the project has been to share data, uncover best practices, improve outcomes, and to provide critical information to regulatory agencies. The international registry and database has improved the communication and collaboration among TS DBS centers worldwide. In this paper we will review some of the key operation details for the international TS DBS database and registry.

  14. Dried Blood Spot Analysis Suitable for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Voriconazole, Fluconazole, and Posaconazole

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Elst, Kim C. M.; Span, Lambert F. R.; van Hateren, Kai; Vermeulen, Karin M.; van der Werf, Tjip S.; Greijdanus, Ben; Kosterink, Jos G. W.; Uges, Donald R. A.

    2013-01-01

    Invasive aspergillosis and candidemia are important causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. The triazoles voriconazole, fluconazole, and posaconazole are widely used for the treatment and prophylaxis of these fungal infections. Due to the variability of the pharmacokinetics of the triazoles among and within individual patients, therapeutic drug monitoring is important for optimizing the efficacy and safety of antifungal treatment. A dried blood spot (DBS) analysis was developed and was clinically validated for voriconazole, fluconazole, and posaconazole in 28 patients. Furthermore, a questionnaire was administered to evaluate the patients' opinions of the sampling method. The DBS analytical method showed linearity over the concentration range measured for all triazoles. Results for accuracy and precision were within accepted ranges; samples were stable at room temperature for at least 12 days; and different hematocrit values and blood spot volumes had no significant influence. The ratio of the drug concentration in DBS samples to that in plasma was 1.0 for voriconazole and fluconazole and 0.9 for posaconazole. Sixty percent of the patients preferred DBS analysis as a sampling method; 15% preferred venous blood sampling; and 25% had no preferred method. There was significantly less perception of pain with the DBS sampling method (P = 0.021). In conclusion, DBS analysis is a reliable alternative to venous blood sampling and can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole, fluconazole, and posaconazole. Patients were satisfied with DBS sampling and had less pain than with venous sampling. Most patients preferred DBS sampling to venous blood sampling. PMID:23896473

  15. Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Tremor and Ataxia Associated with Abetalipoproteinemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonios Mammis

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Abetalipoproteinemia is a rare disorder of fat absorption, characterized by vitamin deficiency, acanthocytosis, and neurologic symptoms including ataxia and tremor.Case Report: A 41-year-old male with abetalipoproteinemia is presented. He underwent staged bilateral thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS for the treatment of his tremors. After DBS, the patient achieved significant improvements in his tremors, ataxia, and quality of life.Discussion: Thalamic DBS proved to be both safe and efficacious in the management of ataxia and tremors in a patient with abetalipoproteinemia. This is the first report of DBS in abetalipoproteinemia in the literature. 

  16. Chronic Deep Brain Stimulation of the Hypothalamic Nucleus in Wistar Rats Alters Circulatory Levels of Corticosterone and Proinflammatory Cytokines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calleja-Castillo, Juan Manuel; De La Cruz-Aguilera, Dora Luz; Manjarrez, Joaquín; Velasco-Velázquez, Marco Antonio; Morales-Espinoza, Gabriel; Moreno-Aguilar, Julia; Hernández, Maria Eugenia; Aguirre-Cruz, Lucinda

    2013-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutic option for several diseases, but its effects on HPA axis activity and systemic inflammation are unknown. This study aimed to detect circulatory variations of corticosterone and cytokines levels in Wistar rats, after 21 days of DBS-at the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMHvl), unilateral cervical vagotomy (UCVgX), or UCVgX plus DBS. We included the respective control (C) and sham (S) groups (n = 6 rats per group). DBS treated rats had higher levels of TNF-α (120%; P < 0.01) and IFN-γ (305%; P < 0.001) but lower corticosterone concentration (48%; P < 0.001) than C and S. UCVgX animals showed increased corticosterone levels (154%; P < 0.001) versus C and S. UCVgX plus DBS increased IL-1β (402%; P < 0.001), IL-6 (160%; P < 0.001), and corsticosterone (178%; P < 0.001 versus 48%; P < 0.001) compared with the C and S groups. Chronic DBS at VMHvl induced a systemic inflammatory response accompanied by a decrease of HPA axis function. UCVgX rats experienced HPA axis hyperactivity as result of vagus nerve injury; however, DBS was unable to block the HPA axis hyperactivity induced by unilateral cervical vagotomy. Further studies are necessary to explore these findings and their clinical implication. PMID:24235973

  17. European clinical guidelines for Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Part IV: deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller-Vahl, Kirsten R; Cath, Danielle C; Cavanna, Andrea E; Dehning, Sandra; Porta, Mauro; Robertson, Mary M; Visser-Vandewalle, Veerle

    2011-04-01

    Ten years ago deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been introduced as an alternative and promising treatment option for patients suffering from severe Tourette syndrome (TS). It seemed timely to develop a European guideline on DBS by a working group of the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome (ESSTS). For a narrative review a systematic literature search was conducted and expert opinions of the guidelines group contributed also to the suggestions. Of 63 patients reported so far in the literature 59 had a beneficial outcome following DBS with moderate to marked tic improvement. However, randomized controlled studies including a larger number of patients are still lacking. Although persistent serious adverse effects (AEs) have hardly been reported, surgery-related (e.g., bleeding, infection) as well as stimulation-related AEs (e.g., sedation, anxiety, altered mood, changes in sexual function) may occur. At present time, DBS in TS is still in its infancy. Due to both different legality and practical facilities in different European countries these guidelines, therefore, have to be understood as recommendations of experts. However, among the ESSTS working group on DBS in TS there is general agreement that, at present time, DBS should only be used in adult, treatment resistant, and severely affected patients. It is highly recommended to perform DBS in the context of controlled trials.

  18. Deep brain stimulation of the amygdala alleviates fear conditioning-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity in the cortical-amygdala pathway and fear memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sui, Li; Huang, SiJia; Peng, BinBin; Ren, Jie; Tian, FuYing; Wang, Yan

    2014-07-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the amygdala has been demonstrated to modulate hyperactivity of the amygdala, which is responsible for the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and thus might be used for the treatment of PTSD. However, the underlying mechanism of DBS of the amygdala in the modulation of the amygdala is unclear. The present study investigated the effects of DBS of the amygdala on synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity at cortical inputs to the amygdala, which is critical for the formation and storage of auditory fear memories, and fear memories. The results demonstrated that auditory fear conditioning increased single-pulse-evoked field excitatory postsynaptic potentials in the cortical-amygdala pathway. Furthermore, auditory fear conditioning decreased the induction of paired-pulse facilitation and long-term potentiation, two neurophysiological models for studying short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity, respectively, in the cortical-amygdala pathway. In addition, all these auditory fear conditioning-induced changes could be reversed by DBS of the amygdala. DBS of the amygdala also rescued auditory fear conditioning-induced enhancement of long-term retention of fear memory. These findings suggested that DBS of the amygdala alleviating fear conditioning-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity in the cortical-amygdala pathway and fear memory may underlie the neuromodulatory role of DBS of the amygdala in activities of the amygdala.

  19. Cognitive outcome and reliable change indices two years following bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Amy E; Arzola, Gladys Marina; Strutt, Adriana M; Simpson, Richard; Jankovic, Joseph; York, Michele K

    2011-06-01

    Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is currently the treatment of choice for medication-resistant levodopa-related motor complications in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). While STN-DBS often results in meaningful motor improvements, consensus regarding long-term neuropsychological outcome continues to be debated. We assessed the cognitive outcomes of 19 STN-DBS patients compared to a group of 18 medically-managed PD patients on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery at baseline and two years post-surgery. Patients did not demonstrate changes in global cognitive functioning on screening measures. However, neuropsychological results revealed impairments in nonverbal recall, oral information processing speed, and lexical and semantic fluency in STN-DBS patients compared to PD controls 2 years post-surgery in these preliminary analyses. Additionally, reliable change indices revealed that approximately 50% of STN-DBS patients demonstrated significant declines in nonverbal memory and oral information processing speed compared to 25-30% of PD controls, and 26% of STN-DBS patients declined on lexical fluency compared to 11% of PD patients. Approximately 30% of both groups declined on semantic fluency. The number of STN-DBS patients who converted to dementia 2 years following surgery was not significantly different from the PD participants (32% versus 16%, respectively). Our results suggest that neuropsychological evaluations may identify possible mild cognitive changes following surgery. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Subthalamic nucleus stimulation affects limbic and associative circuits: a PET study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Jeune, Florence; Peron, Julie; Grandjean, Didier; Drapier, Sophie; Verin, Marc; Haegelen, Claire; Garin, Etienne; Millet, Bruno

    2010-01-01

    Although high-frequency deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) improves motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), clinical studies have reported cognitive, motivational and emotional changes. These results suggest that the STN forms part of a broadly distributed neural network encompassing the associative and limbic circuits. We sought to pinpoint the cortical and subcortical brain areas modulated by STN DBS, in order to assess the STN's functional role and explain neuropsychological modifications following STN DBS in PD. We studied resting state glucose metabolism in 20 PD patients before and after STN DBS and 13 age-matched healthy controls using 18 F-FDG PET. We used statistical analysis (SPM2) first to compare pre-stimulation metabolism in PD patients with metabolism in healthy controls, then to study metabolic modifications in PD patients following STN DBS. The first analysis revealed no pre-stimulation metabolic abnormalities in associative or limbic circuitry. After STN DBS, metabolic modifications were found in several regions known for their involvement in the limbic and associative circuits. These metabolic results confirm the STN's central role in associative and limbic basal ganglia circuits. They will provide information for working hypotheses for future studies investigating neuropsychological changes and metabolic modifications related to STN DBS, with a view to improving our knowledge of this structure's functional role. (orig.)

  1. Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus Improves Lexical Switching in Parkinsons Disease Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vonberg, Isabelle; Ehlen, Felicitas; Fromm, Ortwin; Kühn, Andrea A; Klostermann, Fabian

    2016-01-01

    Reduced verbal fluency (VF) has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), especially those treated by Deep Brain Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS). To delineate the nature of this dysfunction we aimed at identifying the particular VF-related operations modified by STN DBS. Eleven PD patients performed VF tasks in their STN DBS ON and OFF condition. To differentiate VF-components modulated by the stimulation, a temporal cluster analysis was performed, separating production spurts (i.e., 'clusters' as correlates of automatic activation spread within lexical fields) from slower cluster transitions (i.e., 'switches' reflecting set-shifting towards new lexical fields). The results were compared to those of eleven healthy control subjects. PD patients produced significantly more switches accompanied by shorter switch times in the STN DBS ON compared to the STN DBS OFF condition. The number of clusters and time intervals between words within clusters were not affected by the treatment state. Although switch behavior in patients with DBS ON improved, their task performance was still lower compared to that of healthy controls. Beyond impacting on motor symptoms, STN DBS seems to influence the dynamics of cognitive procedures. Specifically, the results are in line with basal ganglia roles for cognitive switching, in the particular case of VF, from prevailing lexical concepts to new ones.

  2. Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus Improves Lexical Switching in Parkinsons Disease Patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabelle Vonberg

    Full Text Available Reduced verbal fluency (VF has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD, especially those treated by Deep Brain Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS. To delineate the nature of this dysfunction we aimed at identifying the particular VF-related operations modified by STN DBS.Eleven PD patients performed VF tasks in their STN DBS ON and OFF condition. To differentiate VF-components modulated by the stimulation, a temporal cluster analysis was performed, separating production spurts (i.e., 'clusters' as correlates of automatic activation spread within lexical fields from slower cluster transitions (i.e., 'switches' reflecting set-shifting towards new lexical fields. The results were compared to those of eleven healthy control subjects.PD patients produced significantly more switches accompanied by shorter switch times in the STN DBS ON compared to the STN DBS OFF condition. The number of clusters and time intervals between words within clusters were not affected by the treatment state. Although switch behavior in patients with DBS ON improved, their task performance was still lower compared to that of healthy controls.Beyond impacting on motor symptoms, STN DBS seems to influence the dynamics of cognitive procedures. Specifically, the results are in line with basal ganglia roles for cognitive switching, in the particular case of VF, from prevailing lexical concepts to new ones.

  3. Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus modulates reward processing and action selection in Parkinson patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagenbreth, Caroline; Zaehle, Tino; Galazky, Imke; Voges, Jürgen; Guitart-Masip, Marc; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Düzel, Emrah

    2015-06-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for motor impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) but its effect on the motivational regulation of action control is still not fully understood. We investigated whether DBS of the STN influences the ability of PD patients to act for anticipated reward or loss, or whether DBS improves action execution independent of motivational valence. 16 PD patients (12 male, mean age = 58.5 ± 10.17 years) treated with bilateral STN-DBS and an age- and gender-matched group of healthy controls (HC) performed a go/no-go task whose contingencies explicitly decouple valence and action. Patients were tested with (ON) and without (OFF) active STN stimulation. For HC, there was a benefit in performing rewarded actions when compared to actions that avoided punishment. PD patients showed such a benefit reliably only when STN stimulation was ON. In fact, the relative behavioral benefit for go for reward over go to avoid losing was stronger in the PD patients under DBS ON than in HC. In PD patients, rather than generally improving motor functions independent of motivational valence, modulation of the STN by DBS improves action execution specifically when rewards are anticipated. Thus, STN-DBS establishes a reliable congruency between action and reward ("Pavlovian congruency") and remarkably enhances it over the level observed in HC.

  4. Subthalamic nucleus stimulation affects limbic and associative circuits: a PET study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Jeune, Florence [Centre Eugene Marquis, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Rennes (France); Universite Rennes 1, Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Unite de Recherche Universitaire ' ' Comportement et Noyaux Gris Centraux' ' , Rennes (France); Centre Eugene Marquis, Service Medecine Nucleaire, Rennes (France); Peron, Julie [Universite Rennes 1, Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Unite de Recherche Universitaire ' ' Comportement et Noyaux Gris Centraux' ' , Rennes (France); Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Clinique Neurologique, Rennes (France); University of Geneva, Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics, Department of Psychology and Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva (Switzerland); Grandjean, Didier [University of Geneva, Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics, Department of Psychology and Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva (Switzerland); Drapier, Sophie; Verin, Marc [Universite Rennes 1, Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Unite de Recherche Universitaire ' ' Comportement et Noyaux Gris Centraux' ' , Rennes (France); Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Clinique Neurologique, Rennes (France); Haegelen, Claire [Universite Rennes 1, Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Unite de Recherche Universitaire ' ' Comportement et Noyaux Gris Centraux' ' , Rennes (France); Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Service de Neurochirurgie, Rennes (France); Garin, Etienne [Centre Eugene Marquis, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Rennes (France); Millet, Bruno [Universite Rennes 1, Hopital Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Unite de Recherche Universitaire ' ' Comportement et Noyaux Gris Centraux' ' , Rennes (France); S.H.U. Psychiatrie Adulte, CH Guillaume Regnier, Rennes (France)

    2010-08-15

    Although high-frequency deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) improves motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), clinical studies have reported cognitive, motivational and emotional changes. These results suggest that the STN forms part of a broadly distributed neural network encompassing the associative and limbic circuits. We sought to pinpoint the cortical and subcortical brain areas modulated by STN DBS, in order to assess the STN's functional role and explain neuropsychological modifications following STN DBS in PD. We studied resting state glucose metabolism in 20 PD patients before and after STN DBS and 13 age-matched healthy controls using {sup 18}F-FDG PET. We used statistical analysis (SPM2) first to compare pre-stimulation metabolism in PD patients with metabolism in healthy controls, then to study metabolic modifications in PD patients following STN DBS. The first analysis revealed no pre-stimulation metabolic abnormalities in associative or limbic circuitry. After STN DBS, metabolic modifications were found in several regions known for their involvement in the limbic and associative circuits. These metabolic results confirm the STN's central role in associative and limbic basal ganglia circuits. They will provide information for working hypotheses for future studies investigating neuropsychological changes and metabolic modifications related to STN DBS, with a view to improving our knowledge of this structure's functional role. (orig.)

  5. Self-Reported Executive Functioning in Everyday Life in Parkinson's Disease after Three Months of Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Uyen Ha Gia; Andersson, Stein; Toft, Mathias; Pripp, Are Hugo; Konglund, Ane Eidahl; Dietrichs, Espen; Malt, Ulrik Fredrik; Skogseid, Inger Marie; Haraldsen, Ira Ronit Hebolt; Solbakk, Anne-Kristin

    2015-01-01

    Objective. Studies on the effect of subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) on executive functioning in Parkinson's disease (PD) are still controversial. In this study we compared self-reported daily executive functioning in PD patients before and after three months of STN-DBS. We also examined whether executive functioning in everyday life was associated with motor symptoms, apathy, and psychiatric symptoms. Method. 40 PD patients were examined with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A), the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-S). Results. PD patients reported significant improvement in daily life executive functioning after 3 months of STN-DBS. Anxiety scores significantly declined, while other psychiatric symptoms remained unchanged. The improvement of self-reported executive functioning did not correlate with motor improvement after STN-DBS. Apathy scores remained unchanged after surgery. Only preoperative depressed mood had predictive value to the improvement of executive function and appears to prevent potentially favorable outcomes from STN-DBS on some aspects of executive function. Conclusion. PD patients being screened for STN-DBS surgery should be evaluated with regard to self-reported executive functioning. Depressive symptoms in presurgical PD patients should be treated. Complementary information about daily life executive functioning in PD patients might enhance further treatment planning of STN-DBS.

  6. be underlined by a wavy line and tensors and matrices by two wavy ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    For vector graphics, the preferred format is EPS; for halftones, please use. TIFF format. MS Office files are also acceptable. • Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files. • Name your figure files with ”Fig” and the figure number, e.g., Fig1.eps. Line Art. • Definition: Black and white graphic with no ...

  7. A neurochemical closed-loop controller for deep brain stimulation: toward individualized smart neuromodulation therapies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Jonas Grahn

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Current strategies for optimizing deep brain stimulation (DBS therapy involve multiple postoperative visits. During each visit, stimulation parameters are adjusted until desired therapeutic effects are achieved and adverse effects are minimized. However, the efficacy of these therapeutic parameters may decline with time due at least in part to disease progression, interactions between the host environment and the electrode, and lead migration. As such, development of closed-loop control systems that can respond to changing neurochemical environments, tailoring DBS therapy to individual patients, is paramount for improving the therapeutic efficacy of DBS.Evidence obtained using electrophysiology and imaging techniques in both animals and humans suggests that DBS works by modulating neural network activity. Recently, animal studies have shown that stimulation-evoked changes in neurotransmitter release that mirror normal physiology are associated with the therapeutic benefits of DBS. Therefore, to fully understand the neurophysiology of DBS and optimize its efficacy, it may be necessary to look beyond conventional electrophysiological analyses and characterize the neurochemical effects of therapeutic and non-therapeutic stimulation. By combining electrochemical monitoring and mathematical modeling techniques, we can potentially replace the trial-and-error process used in clinical programming with deterministic approaches that help attain optimal and stable neurochemical profiles. In this manuscript, we summarize the current understanding of electrophysiological and electrochemical processing for control of neuromodulation therapies. Additionally, we describe a proof-of-principle closed-loop controller that characterizes DBS-evoked dopamine changes to adjust stimulation parameters in a rodent model of DBS. The work described herein represents the initial steps toward achieving a smart neuroprosthetic system for treatment of neurologic and

  8. A new biomarker for subthalamic deep brain stimulation for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease—a pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gmel, Gerrit E.; Hamilton, Tara J.; Obradovic, Milan; Gorman, Robert B.; Single, Peter S.; Chenery, Helen J.; Coyne, Terry; Silburn, Peter A.; Parker, John L.

    2015-12-01

    Objective. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become the standard treatment for advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other motor disorders. Although the surgical procedure has improved in accuracy over the years thanks to imaging and microelectrode recordings, the underlying principles that render DBS effective are still debated today. The aim of this paper is to present initial findings around a new biomarker that is capable of assessing the efficacy of DBS treatment for PD which could be used both as a research tool, as well as in the context of a closed-loop stimulator. Approach. We have used a novel multi-channel stimulator and recording device capable of measuring the response of nervous tissue to stimulation very close to the stimulus site with minimal latency, rejecting most of the stimulus artefact usually found with commercial devices. We have recorded and analyzed the responses obtained intraoperatively in two patients undergoing DBS surgery in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for advanced PD. Main results. We have identified a biomarker in the responses of the STN to DBS. The responses can be analyzed in two parts, an initial evoked compound action potential arising directly after the stimulus onset, and late responses (LRs), taking the form of positive peaks, that follow the initial response. We have observed a morphological change in the LRs coinciding with a decrease in the rigidity of the patients. Significance. These initial results could lead to a better characterization of the DBS therapy, and the design of adaptive DBS algorithms that could significantly improve existing therapies and help us gain insights into the functioning of the basal ganglia and DBS.

  9. Technical Stability and Biological Variability in MicroRNAs from Dried Blood Spots: A Lung Cancer Therapy-Monitoring Showcase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahraman, Mustafa; Laufer, Thomas; Backes, Christina; Schrörs, Hannah; Fehlmann, Tobias; Ludwig, Nicole; Kohlhaas, Jochen; Meese, Eckart; Wehler, Thomas; Bals, Robert; Keller, Andreas

    2017-09-01

    Different work flows have been proposed to use miRNAs as blood-borne biomarkers. In particular, the method used for collecting blood from patients can considerably influence the diagnostic results. We explored whether dried blood spots (DBSs) facilitate stable miRNA measurements and compared its technical stability with biological variability. First, we tested the stability of DBS samples by generating from 1 person 18 whole-genome-wide miRNA profiles of DBS samples that were exposed to different temperature and humidity conditions. Second, we investigated technical reproducibility by performing 7 replicates of DBS again from 1 person. Third, we investigated DBS samples from 53 patients with lung cancer undergoing different therapies. Across these 3 stages, 108 genome-wide miRNA profiles from DBS were generated and evaluated biostatistically. In the stability analysis, we observed that temperature and humidity had an overall limited influence on the miRNomes (average correlation between the different conditions of 0.993). Usage of a silica gel slightly diminished DBS' technical reproducibility. The 7 technical replicates had an average correlation of 0.996. The correlation with whole-blood PAXGene miRNomes of the same individual was remarkable (correlation of 0.88). Finally, evaluation of the samples from the 53 patients with lung cancer exposed to different therapies showed that the biological variations exceeded the technical variability significantly ( P work flow for profiling of whole miRNomes on the basis of samples collected from DBS. Biological variations exceeded technical variations significantly. DBS-based miRNA profiles will potentially further the translational character of miRNA biomarker studies. © 2017 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

  10. Deep Brain Stimulation to Alleviate Freezing of Gait and Cognitive Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease: Update on Current Research and Future Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chuyi; Chu, Heling; Zhang, Yan; Wang, Xiaoping

    2018-01-01

    Freezing of gait (FOG) is a gait disorder featured by recurrent episodes of temporary gait halting and mainly found in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). FOG has a severe impact on the quality of life of patients with PD. The pathogenesis of FOG is unclear and considered to be related to several brain areas and neural circuits. Its close connection with cognitive disorder has been proposed and some researchers explain the pathogenesis using the cognitive model theory. FOG occurs concurrently with cognitive disorder in some PD patients, who are poorly responsive to medication therapy. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) proves effective for FOG in PD patients. Cognitive impairment plays a role in the formation of FOG. Therefore, if DBS works by improving the cognitive function, both two challenging conditions can be ameliorated by DBS. We reviewed the clinical studies related to DBS for FOG in PD patients over the past decade. In spite of the varying stimulation parameters used in different studies, DBS of either subthalamic nucleus (STN) or pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) alone or in combination can improve the symptoms of FOG. Moreover, the treatment efficacy can last for 1-2 years and DBS is generally safe. Although few studies have been conducted concerning the use of DBS for cognitive disorder in FOG patients, the existing studies seem to indicate that PPN is a potential therapeutic target to both FOG and cognitive disorder. However, most of the studies have a small sample size and involve sporadic cases, so it remains uncertain which nucleus is the optimal target of stimulation. Prospective clinical trials with a larger sample size are needed to systematically assess the efficacy of DBS for FOG and cognitive disorder.

  11. Evaluation of a manual DNA extraction protocol and an isothermal amplification assay for detecting HIV-1 DNA from dried blood spots for use in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Jeanne A; Ibe, Christine O; Moore, Miranda S; Host, Christel; Simon, Gary L

    2012-05-01

    In resource-limited settings (RLS) dried blood spots (DBS) are collected on infants and transported through provincial laboratories to a central facility where HIV-1 DNA PCR testing is performed using specialized equipment. Implementing a simpler approach not requiring such equipment or skilled personnel could allow the more numerous provincial laboratories to offer testing, improving turn-around-time to identify and treat infected infants sooner. Assess performances of a manual DNA extraction method and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA) assay for detecting HIV-1 DNA from DBS. 60 HIV-1 infected adults were enrolled, blood samples taken and DBS made. DBS extracts were assessed for DNA concentration and beta globin amplification using PCR and melt-curve analysis. These same extracts were then tested for HIV-1 DNA using HDA and compared to results generated by PCR and pyrosequencing. Finally, HDA limit of detection (LOD) studies were performed using DBS extracts prepared with known numbers of 8E5 cells. The manual extraction protocol consistently yielded high concentrations of amplifiable DNA from DBS. LOD assessment demonstrated HDA detected ∼470 copies/ml of HIV-1 DNA extracts in 4/4 replicates. No statistical difference was found using the McNemar's test when comparing HDA to PCR for detecting HIV-1 DNA from DBS. Using just a magnet, heat block and pipettes, the manual extraction protocol and HDA assay detected HIV-1 DNA from DBS at levels that would be useful for early infant diagnosis. Next steps will include assessing HDA for non-B HIV-1 subtypes recognition and comparison to Roche HIV-1 DNA v1.5 PCR assay. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Degree-based statistic and center persistency for brain connectivity analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Kwangsun; Lee, Peter; Chung, Moo K; Sohn, William S; Chung, Sun Ju; Na, Duk L; Ju, Daheen; Jeong, Yong

    2017-01-01

    Brain connectivity analyses have been widely performed to investigate the organization and functioning of the brain, or to observe changes in neurological or psychiatric conditions. However, connectivity analysis inevitably introduces the problem of mass-univariate hypothesis testing. Although, several cluster-wise correction methods have been suggested to address this problem and shown to provide high sensitivity, these approaches fundamentally have two drawbacks: the lack of spatial specificity (localization power) and the arbitrariness of an initial cluster-forming threshold. In this study, we propose a novel method, degree-based statistic (DBS), performing cluster-wise inference. DBS is designed to overcome the above-mentioned two shortcomings. From a network perspective, a few brain regions are of critical importance and considered to play pivotal roles in network integration. Regarding this notion, DBS defines a cluster as a set of edges of which one ending node is shared. This definition enables the efficient detection of clusters and their center nodes. Furthermore, a new measure of a cluster, center persistency (CP) was introduced. The efficiency of DBS with a known "ground truth" simulation was demonstrated. Then they applied DBS to two experimental datasets and showed that DBS successfully detects the persistent clusters. In conclusion, by adopting a graph theoretical concept of degrees and borrowing the concept of persistence from algebraic topology, DBS could sensitively identify clusters with centric nodes that would play pivotal roles in an effect of interest. DBS is potentially widely applicable to variable cognitive or clinical situations and allows us to obtain statistically reliable and easily interpretable results. Hum Brain Mapp 38:165-181, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Comparison of the quantification of acetaminophen in plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and dried blood spots using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Rachel R; Hoffman, Keith L; Schniedewind, Björn; Clavijo, Claudia; Galinkin, Jeffrey L; Christians, Uwe

    2013-09-01

    Acetaminophen (paracetamol, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide) is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the management of pain in children. Quantification of acetaminophen in pre-term and term neonates and small children requires the availability of highly sensitive assays in small volume blood samples. We developed and validated an LC-MS/MS assay for the quantification of acetaminophen in human plasma, cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) and dried blood spots (DBS). Reconstitution in water (DBS only) and addition of a protein precipitation solution containing the deuterated internal standard were the only manual steps. Extracted samples were analyzed on a Kinetex 2.6 μm PFP column using an acetonitrile/formic acid gradient. The analytes were detected in the positive multiple reaction mode. Alternatively, DBS were automatically processed using direct desorption in a sample card and preparation (SCAP) robotic autosampler in combination with online extraction. The range of reliable response in plasma and CSF was 3.05-20,000 ng/ml (r(2)>0.99) and 27.4-20,000 ng/ml (r(2)>0.99) for DBS (manual extraction and automated direct desorption). Inter-day accuracy was always within 85-115% and inter-day precision for plasma, CSF and manually extracted DBS were less than 15%. Deming regression analysis comparing 167 matching pairs of plasma and DBS samples showed a correlation coefficient of 0.98. Bland Altman analysis indicated a 26.6% positive bias in DBS, most likely reflecting the blood: plasma distribution ratio of acetaminophen. DBS are a valid matrix for acetaminophen pharmacokinetic studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Validation and Application of a Dried Blood Spot Assay for Biofilm-Active Antibiotics Commonly Used for Treatment of Prosthetic Implant Infections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knippenberg, Ben; Page-Sharp, Madhu; Clark, Ben; Dyer, John; Batty, Kevin T.; Davis, Timothy M. E.

    2016-01-01

    Dried blood spot (DBS) antibiotic assays can facilitate pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) studies in situations where venous blood sampling is logistically difficult. We sought to develop, validate, and apply a DBS assay for rifampin (RIF), fusidic acid (FUS), and ciprofloxacin (CIP). These antibiotics are considered active against organisms in biofilms and are therefore commonly used for the treatment of infections associated with prosthetic implants. A liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy DBS assay was developed and validated, including red cell partitioning and thermal stability for each drug and the rifampin metabolite desacetyl rifampin (Des-RIF). Plasma and DBS concentrations in 10 healthy adults were compared, and the concentration-time profiles were incorporated into population PK models. The limits of quantification for RIF, Des-RIF, CIP, and FUS in DBS were 15 μg/liter, 14 μg/liter, 25 μg/liter, and 153 μg/liter, respectively. Adjusting for hematocrit, red cell partitioning, and relative recovery, DBS-predicted plasma concentrations were comparable to measured plasma concentrations for each antibiotic (r > 0.95; P < 0.0001), and Bland-Altman plots showed no significant bias. The final population PK estimates of clearance, volume of distribution, and time above threshold MICs for measured and DBS-predicted plasma concentrations were comparable. These drugs were stable in DBSs for at least 10 days at room temperature and 1 month at 4°C. The present DBS antibiotic assays are robust and can be used as surrogates for plasma concentrations to provide valid PK and PK/PD data in a variety of clinical situations, including therapeutic drug monitoring or studies of implant infections. PMID:27270283

  15. Manual evaluation of residual curarization using double burst stimulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Drenck, N E; Ueda, N; Olsen, Niels Vidiendal

    1989-01-01

    Double burst stimulation (DBS) is a new mode of stimulation developed to reveal residual neuromuscular blockade under clinical conditions. The stimulus consists of two short bursts of 50 Hz tetanic stimulation, separated by 750 ms, and the response to the stimulation is two short muscle contracti......Double burst stimulation (DBS) is a new mode of stimulation developed to reveal residual neuromuscular blockade under clinical conditions. The stimulus consists of two short bursts of 50 Hz tetanic stimulation, separated by 750 ms, and the response to the stimulation is two short muscle...... contractions. Fade in the response results from neuromuscular blockade as with train-of-four stimulation (TOF). The authors compared the sensitivity of DBS and TOF in the detection of residual neuromuscular blockade during clinical anaesthesia. Fifty-two healthy patients undergoing surgery were studied...... with DBS than with TOF, regardless of the TOF ratio level. Absence of fade with TOF implied a 48% chance of considerable residual relaxation as compared with 9% when fade was absent with DBS. The results demonstrate that DBS is more sensitive than TOF in the manual detection of residual neuromuscular...

  16. Antibacterial Activity of Commercial Dentine Bonding Systems against E. faecalis–Flow Cytometry Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Lukomska-Szymanska

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Literature presents inconsistent results on the antibacterial activity of dentine bonding systems (DBS. Antibacterial activity of adhesive systems depends on several factors, including composition and acidity. Flow cytometry is a novel detection method to measure multiple characteristics of a single cell: total cell number, structural (size, shape, and functional parameters (viability, cell cycle. The LIVE/DEAD® BacLightTM bacterial viability assay was used to evaluate an antibacterial activity of DBS by assessing physical membrane disruption of bacteria mediated by DBS. Ten commercial DBSs: four total-etching (TE, four self-etching (SE and two selective enamel etching (SEE were tested. Both total-etching DBS ExciTE F and OptiBond Solo Plus showed comparatively low antibacterial activity against E. faecalis. The lowest activity of all tested TE systems showed Te-Econom Bond. Among SE DBS, G-ænial Bond (92.24% dead cells followed by Clearfil S3 Bond Plus (88.02% and Panavia F 2.0 ED Primer II (86.67% showed the highest antibacterial activity against E. faecalis, which was comparable to isopropranol (positive control. In the present study, self-etching DBS exhibited higher antimicrobial activity than tested total-etching adhesives against E. faecalis.

  17. Evolving Concepts in Posterior Subthalamic Area Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment of Tremor: Surgical Neuroanatomy and Practical Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Zamora, Adolfo; Smith, Heather; Kumar, Vignessh; Prusik, Julia; Phookan, Sujoy; Pilitsis, Julie G

    2016-01-01

    Although thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been established as an effective therapy for refractory tremor in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, reports investigating the efficacy of posterior subthalamic area (PSA) DBS for severe, debilitating tremors continue to emerge. However, questions regarding the optimal anatomical target, surgical approach, programming paradigms and effectiveness compared to other targets remain. In this report, we aimed to review the current literature to assess different stereotactic techniques, anatomical considerations, adverse effects and stimulation settings in PSA DBS. A comprehensive literature review was performed searching for articles discussing tremors and PSA stimulation. We performed a quantitative analysis comparing different DBS tremor targets. Tremor improvement is consistently documented in most reports with an average reduction in tremor of 79% depending on the specific tremor syndrome. Tremor benefit in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) tremor was significantly higher than for other stimulation targets. Transient paresthesias, imbalance, dizziness and dysarthria are the most common side effects with PSA DBS. PSA DBS is an effective and safe treatment for tremor control and should be considered in patients with refractory tremors with associated cerebellar or dystonic features, proximal tremors and MS tremor. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Mechanisms Underlying Decision-Making as Revealed by Deep-Brain Stimulation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herz, Damian M; Little, Simon; Pedrosa, David J; Tinkhauser, Gerd; Cheeran, Binith; Foltynie, Tom; Bogacz, Rafal; Brown, Peter

    2018-04-23

    To optimally balance opposing demands of speed and accuracy during decision-making, we must flexibly adapt how much evidence we require before making a choice. Such adjustments in decision thresholds have been linked to the subthalamic nucleus (STN), and therapeutic STN deep-brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to interfere with this function. Here, we performed continuous as well as closed-loop DBS of the STN while Parkinson's disease patients performed a perceptual decision-making task. Closed-loop STN DBS allowed temporally patterned STN stimulation and simultaneous recordings of STN activity. This revealed that DBS only affected patients' ability to adjust decision thresholds if applied in a specific temporally confined time window during deliberation. Only stimulation in that window diminished the normal slowing of response times that occurred on difficult trials when DBS was turned off. Furthermore, DBS eliminated a relative, time-specific increase in STN beta oscillations and compromised its functional relationship with trial-by-trial adjustments in decision thresholds. Together, these results provide causal evidence that the STN is involved in adjusting decision thresholds in distinct, time-limited processing windows during deliberation. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Quantification of sulfatides in dried blood and urine spots from metachromatic leukodystrophy patients by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barcenas, Mariana; Suhr, Teryn R; Scott, C Ronald; Turecek, Frantisek; Gelb, Michael H

    2014-06-10

    Treatments are being developed for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), suggesting the need for eventual newborn screening. Previous studies have shown that sulfatide molecular species are increased in the urine of MLD patients compared to samples from non-MLD individuals, but there is no data using dried blood spots (DBS), the most common sample available for newborn screening laboratories. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS/MS) to quantify sulfatides in DBS and dried urine spots from 14 MLD patients and 50 non-MLD individuals. Several sulfatide molecular species were increased in dried urine samples from all MLD samples compared to non-MLD samples. Sulfatides, especially low molecular species, were increased in DBS from MLD patients, but the sulfatide levels were relatively low. There was good separation in sulfatide levels between MLD and non-MLD samples when dried urine spots were used, but not with DBS, because DBS from non-MLD individuals have measurable levels of sulfatides. Sulfatide accumulation studies in urine, but not in DBS, emerges as the method of choice if newborn screening is to be proposed for MLD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Uncovering the mechanism(s) of deep brain stimulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Gang; Yu Chao; Lin Ling; Lu, Stephen C-Y

    2005-01-01

    Deep brain stimulators, often called 'pacemakers for the brain', are implantable devices which continuously deliver impulse stimulation to specific targeted nuclei of deep brain structure, namely deep brain stimulation (DBS). To date, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the most effective clinical technique for the treatment of several medically refractory movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia). In addition, new clinical applications of DBS for other neurologic and psychiatric disorders (e.g., epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder) have been put forward. Although DBS has been effective in the treatment of movement disorders and is rapidly being explored for the treatment of other neurologic disorders, the scientific understanding of its mechanisms of action remains unclear and continues to be debated in the scientific community. Optimization of DBS technology for present and future therapeutic applications will depend on identification of the therapeutic mechanism(s) of action. The goal of this review is to address our present knowledge of the effects of high-frequency stimulation within the central nervous system and comment on the functional implications of this knowledge for uncovering the mechanism(s) of DBS