Recording visual evoked potentials and auditory evoked P300 at 9.4T static magnetic field.

Science.gov (United States)

Arrubla, Jorge; Neuner, Irene; Hahn, David; Boers, Frank; Shah, N Jon

2013-01-01

Simultaneous recording of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown a number of advantages that make this multimodal technique superior to fMRI alone. The feasibility of recording EEG at ultra-high static magnetic field up to 9.4 T was recently demonstrated and promises to be implemented soon in fMRI studies at ultra high magnetic fields. Recording visual evoked potentials are expected to be amongst the most simple for simultaneous EEG/fMRI at ultra-high magnetic field due to the easy assessment of the visual cortex. Auditory evoked P300 measurements are of interest since it is believed that they represent the earliest stage of cognitive processing. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of recording visual evoked potentials and auditory evoked P300 in a 9.4 T static magnetic field. For this purpose, EEG data were recorded from 26 healthy volunteers inside a 9.4 T MR scanner using a 32-channel MR compatible EEG system. Visual stimulation and auditory oddball paradigm were presented in order to elicit evoked related potentials (ERP). Recordings made outside the scanner were performed using the same stimuli and EEG system for comparison purposes. We were able to retrieve visual P100 and auditory P300 evoked potentials at 9.4 T static magnetic field after correction of the ballistocardiogram artefact using independent component analysis. The latencies of the ERPs recorded at 9.4 T were not different from those recorded at 0 T. The amplitudes of ERPs were higher at 9.4 T when compared to recordings at 0 T. Nevertheless, it seems that the increased amplitudes of the ERPs are due to the effect of the ultra-high field on the EEG recording system rather than alteration in the intrinsic processes that generate the electrophysiological responses.

HLA matching in unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Charron, D J

1996-11-01

The availability of an HLA-matched sibling donor in only 30% to 35% of patients requiring allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has led to the proposal of unrelated donors as an alternative source of bone marrow. The greater HLA incompatibility, which, although present, was undetected until recently in many unrelated donor BMT cases, has resulted in a higher rate of posttransplant complications and impaired acturial survival when compared with HLA-matched sibling BMT. Molecular HLA typing enables us to evaluate the impact of incompatibility at each locus in the outcome of unrelated donor BMT. The overall retrospective data would recommend that HLA-A, -B and -C allelic molecular matching should be implemented in addition to HLA-DR allelic matching. Further retrospective analysis is needed in order to assess which incompatibility or combinations are better tolerated than others. Only the definitive knowledge at the sequence level of the donor and the recipient HLA allelic diversity involved in controlling the allogeneic immune response will allow us to understand the precise biologic rationale of the graft-versus-host disease. Knowledge and control of the HLA incompatibilities should allow us to offset the detrimental effects of histoincompatibility while developing strategies to take advantage of the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect. Also the role of minor histocompatibility antigens remains largely unknown and will require careful evaluation before minor antigens can be used as a selection criterion in BMT. Carefully designed prospective studies will enable us to test the impact of each HLA locus. HLA typing and BMT represent a successful example of productive cooperation between basic and clinical sciences that should be pursued for the improvement of the clinical outcome of unrelated donor BMT.

Normalization of auditory evoked potential and visual evoked potential in patients with idiot savant.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, X; Zhang, M; Wang, J; Lou, F; Liang, J

1999-03-01

To investigate the variations of auditory evoked potentials (AEP) and visual evoked potentials (VEP) of patients with idiot savant (IS) syndrome. Both AEP and VEP were recorded from 7 patients with IS syndrome, 21 mentally retarded (MR) children without the syndrome and 21 normally age-matched controls, using a Dantec concerto SEEG-16 BEAM instrument. Both AEP and VEP of MR group showed significantly longer latencies (P1 and P2 latencies of AEP, P savant syndrome presented normalized AEP and VEP.

Unrelated Diversification and Firm Performance: 1980-2007 Evidence from Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raffaele Staglianò

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The goal of this article is to examine the relationship between unrelated diversification and performance. Results indicate that diversified firms, investing in activities far from the corebusiness, have high performance. Unrelated diversification positively affects firms’ performance. In addition, the estimation methods applied are fundamental in order to verify if there are endogeneity problems in the diversification decision and evaluate the effective role of diversification on performance.

Visually Evoked Spiking Evolves While Spontaneous Ongoing Dynamics Persist

Science.gov (United States)

Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Darokhan, Ziauddin; Valentiniene, Sonata; Roland, Per E.

2016-01-01

Neurons in the primary visual cortex spontaneously spike even when there are no visual stimuli. It is unknown whether the spiking evoked by visual stimuli is just a modification of the spontaneous ongoing cortical spiking dynamics or whether the spontaneous spiking state disappears and is replaced by evoked spiking. This study of laminar recordings of spontaneous spiking and visually evoked spiking of neurons in the ferret primary visual cortex shows that the spiking dynamics does not change: the spontaneous spiking as well as evoked spiking is controlled by a stable and persisting fixed point attractor. Its existence guarantees that evoked spiking return to the spontaneous state. However, the spontaneous ongoing spiking state and the visual evoked spiking states are qualitatively different and are separated by a threshold (separatrix). The functional advantage of this organization is that it avoids the need for a system reorganization following visual stimulation, and impedes the transition of spontaneous spiking to evoked spiking and the propagation of spontaneous spiking from layer 4 to layers 2–3. PMID:26778982

Brain-immune interaction accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Masahiro; Bai, Yu; Yamakawa, Kaori; Toyama, Asako; Kashiwagi, Mitsuyoshi; Fukuda, Kazuyuki; Oshida, Akiko; Sanada, Kazue; Fukuyama, Seisuke; Shinoda, Jun; Yamada, Jitsuhiro; Sadato, Norihiro; Ohira, Hideki

2013-01-01

The phenomenon in which a certain smell evokes a specific memory is known as the Proust phenomenon. Odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli. The results of our previous study indicated that odor-evoked autobiographic memory accompanied by positive emotions has remarkable effects on various psychological and physiological activities, including the secretion of cytokines, which are immune-signaling molecules that modulate systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the neural substrates associated with the interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memory and peripheral circulating cytokines. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated the association between brain responses and the concentration of several cytokines in the plasma by using positron emission tomography (PET) recordings when an autographic memory was evoked in participants by asking them to smell an odor that was nostalgic to them. Participants experienced positive emotions and autobiographic memories when nostalgic odors were presented to them. The levels of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), were significantly reduced after experiencing odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Subtraction analysis of PET images indicated that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were significantly activated during experiences of odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that activities of the mOFC and precuneus/PCC were negatively correlated with IFN-γ concentration. These results indicate that the neural networks including the precuneus/PCC and mOFC might regulate the secretion of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines during the experience of odor-evoked autobiographic memories accompanied with positive emotions.

Brain–Immune Interaction Accompanying Odor-Evoked Autobiographic Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Masahiro; Bai, Yu; Yamakawa, Kaori; Toyama, Asako; Kashiwagi, Mitsuyoshi; Fukuda, Kazuyuki; Oshida, Akiko; Sanada, Kazue; Fukuyama, Seisuke; Shinoda, Jun; Yamada, Jitsuhiro; Sadato, Norihiro; Ohira, Hideki

2013-01-01

The phenomenon in which a certain smell evokes a specific memory is known as the Proust phenomenon. Odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli. The results of our previous study indicated that odor-evoked autobiographic memory accompanied by positive emotions has remarkable effects on various psychological and physiological activities, including the secretion of cytokines, which are immune-signaling molecules that modulate systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the neural substrates associated with the interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memory and peripheral circulating cytokines. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated the association between brain responses and the concentration of several cytokines in the plasma by using positron emission tomography (PET) recordings when an autographic memory was evoked in participants by asking them to smell an odor that was nostalgic to them. Participants experienced positive emotions and autobiographic memories when nostalgic odors were presented to them. The levels of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), were significantly reduced after experiencing odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Subtraction analysis of PET images indicated that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were significantly activated during experiences of odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that activities of the mOFC and precuneus/PCC were negatively correlated with IFN-γ concentration. These results indicate that the neural networks including the precuneus/PCC and mOFC might regulate the secretion of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines during the experience of odor-evoked autobiographic memories accompanied with positive emotions. PMID:23977312

Brain-immune interaction accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masahiro Matsunaga

Full Text Available The phenomenon in which a certain smell evokes a specific memory is known as the Proust phenomenon. Odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli. The results of our previous study indicated that odor-evoked autobiographic memory accompanied by positive emotions has remarkable effects on various psychological and physiological activities, including the secretion of cytokines, which are immune-signaling molecules that modulate systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the neural substrates associated with the interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memory and peripheral circulating cytokines. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated the association between brain responses and the concentration of several cytokines in the plasma by using positron emission tomography (PET recordings when an autographic memory was evoked in participants by asking them to smell an odor that was nostalgic to them. Participants experienced positive emotions and autobiographic memories when nostalgic odors were presented to them. The levels of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α and interferon-γ (IFN-γ, were significantly reduced after experiencing odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Subtraction analysis of PET images indicated that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC were significantly activated during experiences of odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that activities of the mOFC and precuneus/PCC were negatively correlated with IFN-γ concentration. These results indicate that the neural networks including the precuneus/PCC and mOFC might regulate the secretion of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines during the experience of odor-evoked autobiographic memories accompanied with positive emotions.

Qualitative "trial-sibling" studies and "unrelated" qualitative studies contributed to complex intervention reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Noyes, Jane; Hendry, Margaret; Lewin, Simon; Glenton, Claire; Chandler, Jackie; Rashidian, Arash

2016-06-01

To compare the contribution of "trial-sibling" and "unrelated" qualitative studies in complex intervention reviews. Researchers are using qualitative "trial-sibling" studies undertaken alongside trials to provide explanations to understand complex interventions. In the absence of qualitative "trial-sibling" studies, it is not known if qualitative studies "unrelated" to trials are helpful. Trials, "trial-sibling," and "unrelated" qualitative studies looking at three health system interventions were identified. We looked for similarities and differences between the two types of qualitative studies, such as participants, intervention delivery, context, study quality and reporting, and contribution to understanding trial results. Reporting was generally poor in both qualitative study types. We detected no substantial differences in participant characteristics. Interventions in qualitative "trial-sibling" studies were delivered using standardized protocols, whereas interventions in "unrelated" qualitative studies were delivered in routine care. Qualitative "trial-sibling" studies alone provided insufficient data to develop meaningful transferrable explanations beyond the trial context, and their limited focus on immediate implementation did not address all phenomena of interest. Together, "trial-sibling" and "unrelated" qualitative studies provided larger, richer data sets across contexts to better understand the phenomena of interest. Findings support inclusion of "trial-sibling" and "unrelated" qualitative studies to explore complexity in complex intervention reviews. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unrelated allogeneic stem-cell transplantation in adult patients – 10-year experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jožef Pretnar

2012-12-01

Conclusion: Unrelated allogeneic stem-cell transplantation is suitable for acute myeloblastic leukemias with unfavorable risk factors. However, results in acute lymphoblastic leukemia are worse. Unrelated transplantation is not efficient as salvage treatment for patients with recurrent disease after autologous transplantation or chemotherapy- resistant relapse.

Towards a neural basis of music-evoked emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Koelsch, Stefan

2010-03-01

Music is capable of evoking exceptionally strong emotions and of reliably affecting the mood of individuals. Functional neuroimaging and lesion studies show that music-evoked emotions can modulate activity in virtually all limbic and paralimbic brain structures. These structures are crucially involved in the initiation, generation, detection, maintenance, regulation and termination of emotions that have survival value for the individual and the species. Therefore, at least some music-evoked emotions involve the very core of evolutionarily adaptive neuroaffective mechanisms. Because dysfunctions in these structures are related to emotional disorders, a better understanding of music-evoked emotions and their neural correlates can lead to a more systematic and effective use of music in therapy. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When guilt evokes self-punishment: evidence for the existence of a Dobby Effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelissen, Rob M A; Zeelenberg, Marcel

2009-02-01

Feelings of guilt may be resolved in various ways. The scientific literature has mainly highlighted beneficial interpersonal consequences of guilt, showing repeatedly that guilt motivates compensatory pro-social behavior to repair social bonds. The authors reveal that when opportunities for compensation are not present, guilt may evoke self-punishment. Self-punishment was demonstrated through self-denied pleasure in a scenario study, and by self-enforced penalties in an experimental study. The authors call this tendency for self-punishment the Dobby Effect, and discuss it as an explanation for the widely held conviction that atonement absolves sins, its contribution to some types of psychopathology, as well as its possible functional relevance. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Unrelated business income tax: an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Fama, A J

1984-02-01

To meet spiraling costs, tax-exempt hospitals increasingly are operating businesses unrelated to direct patient care. Knowing which activities may be open to challenge by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is essential to avoid the unrelated business income (UBI) tax. Three criteria must be met for an activity to be taxable as UBI: It must constitute a trade or business; It must be regularly carried on; and It must be unrelated to the organization's exempt purpose. The Internal Revenue Code and IRS rulings clearly exclude the following areas from UBI taxation: Activities performed by unpaid volunteers (e.g., hospital auxiliaries' fund-raising dinners and bazaars and the operation of thrift stores); Operations conducted for the convenience of the organization's members, students, patients, or employees (e.g., gift shops, cafeterias, coffee shops, parking lots, lounges, vending machines, pharmaceutical sales to inpatients and emergency room outpatients, and research activities for students' benefit; The sale of merchandise that has been received by gift (e.g., flea markets, baked goods sales, book sales, and rummage sales); Investment income such as dividends, interest, annuities, royalties, certain rents, and capital gains from the sale of investment assets; Gifts or contributions made directly to the facility; and Bingo games that are conducted commercially. Areas which may be subject to UBI taxation, or in which there have been controversial or contradictory court rulings, include: Pharmaceutical sales to the public or private physicians' patients; and Laboratory services provided to private physicians for treating their patients. IRS private letter rulings, though not precedential, have excluded from UBI taxation the x-ray income from a hospital's branch facility and rental income from property leased for use as a clinic or medical office building that is substantially related to the hospital's exempt functions. Private letter rulings have subjected to UBI

Effect of genetic architecture on the prediction accuracy of quantitative traits in samples of unrelated individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgante, Fabio; Huang, Wen; Maltecca, Christian; Mackay, Trudy F C

2018-06-01

Predicting complex phenotypes from genomic data is a fundamental aim of animal and plant breeding, where we wish to predict genetic merits of selection candidates; and of human genetics, where we wish to predict disease risk. While genomic prediction models work well with populations of related individuals and high linkage disequilibrium (LD) (e.g., livestock), comparable models perform poorly for populations of unrelated individuals and low LD (e.g., humans). We hypothesized that low prediction accuracies in the latter situation may occur when the genetics architecture of the trait departs from the infinitesimal and additive architecture assumed by most prediction models. We used simulated data for 10,000 lines based on sequence data from a population of unrelated, inbred Drosophila melanogaster lines to evaluate this hypothesis. We show that, even in very simplified scenarios meant as a stress test of the commonly used Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (G-BLUP) method, using all common variants yields low prediction accuracy regardless of the trait genetic architecture. However, prediction accuracy increases when predictions are informed by the genetic architecture inferred from mapping the top variants affecting main effects and interactions in the training data, provided there is sufficient power for mapping. When the true genetic architecture is largely or partially due to epistatic interactions, the additive model may not perform well, while models that account explicitly for interactions generally increase prediction accuracy. Our results indicate that accounting for genetic architecture can improve prediction accuracy for quantitative traits.

Skin denervation does not alter cortical potentials to surface concentric electrode stimulation: A comparison with laser evoked potentials and contact heat evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

La Cesa, S; Di Stefano, G; Leone, C; Pepe, A; Galosi, E; Alu, F; Fasolino, A; Cruccu, G; Valeriani, M; Truini, A

2018-01-01

In the neurophysiological assessment of patients with neuropathic pain, laser evoked potentials (LEPs), contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) and the evoked potentials by the intraepidermal electrical stimulation via concentric needle electrode are widely agreed as nociceptive specific responses; conversely, the nociceptive specificity of evoked potentials by surface concentric electrode (SE-PREPs) is still debated. In this neurophysiological study we aimed at verifying the nociceptive specificity of SE-PREPs. We recorded LEPs, CHEPs and SE-PREPs in eleven healthy participants, before and after epidermal denervation produced by prolonged capsaicin application. We also used skin biopsy to verify the capsaicin-induced nociceptive nerve fibre loss in the epidermis. We found that whereas LEPs and CHEPs were suppressed after capsaicin-induced epidermal denervation, the surface concentric electrode stimulation of the same denervated skin area yielded unchanged SE-PREPs. The suppression of LEPs and CHEPs after nociceptive nerve fibre loss in the epidermis indicates that these techniques are selectively mediated by nociceptive system. Conversely, the lack of SE-PREP changes suggests that SE-PREPs do not provide selective information on nociceptive system function. Capsaicin-induced epidermal denervation abolishes laser evoked potentials (LEPs) and contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs), but leaves unaffected pain-related evoked potentials by surface concentric electrode (SE-PREPs). These findings suggest that unlike LEPs and CHEPs, SE-PREPs are not selectively mediated by nociceptive system. © 2017 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential in HIV-Positive Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Matas, Carla Gentile; Samelli, Alessandra Giannella; Angrisani, Rosanna Giaffredo; Magliaro, Fernanda Cristina Leite; Segurado, Aluísio C

2015-10-20

To characterize the findings of brainstem auditory evoked potential in HIV-positive individuals exposed and not exposed to antiretroviral treatment. This research was a cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study. Forty-five HIV-positive individuals (18 not exposed and 27 exposed to the antiretroviral treatment - research groups I and II, respectively - and 30 control group individuals) were assessed through brainstem auditory evoked potential. There were no significant between-group differences regarding wave latencies. A higher percentage of altered brainstem auditory evoked potential was observed in the HIV-positive groups when compared to the control group. The most common alteration was in the low brainstem. HIV-positive individuals have a higher percentage of altered brainstem auditory evoked potential that suggests central auditory pathway impairment when compared to HIV-negative individuals. There was no significant difference between individuals exposed and not exposed to antiretroviral treatment.

Psychological and physiological responses to odor-evoked autobiographic memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Masahiro; Isowa, Tokiko; Yamakawa, Kaori; Kawanishi, Yoko; Tsuboi, Hirohito; Kaneko, Hiroshi; Sadato, Norihiro; Oshida, Akiko; Katayama, Atsushi; Kashiwagi, Mitsuyoshi; Ohira, Hideki

2011-01-01

The "Proust phenomenon" occurs when a certain smell evokes a specific memory. Recent studies have demonstrated that odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli because of the direct neural communication between the olfactory system and the amygdala. The amygdala is known to regulate various physiological activities including the endocrine and immune systems; therefore, odor-evoked autobiographic memory may trigger various psychological and physiological responses; however, the responses elicited by this memory remains obscure. In this study, we aimed to investigate the psychological and physiological responses accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated changes in their mood states and autonomic nervous, endocrine, and immune activities when autobiographic memory was evoked in the participants by asking them to smell an odor(s) that was nostalgic to them. The autobiographic memories associated with positive emotion resulted in increased positive mood states, such as comfort and happiness, and decreased negative mood states, such as anxiety. Furthermore, heart rate was decreased, skin-conductance level was increased, and peripheral interleukin-2 level was decreased after smelling the nostalgic odor. These psychological and physiological responses were significantly correlated. The present study suggests that odor-evoked autobiographic memory along with a positive feeling induce various physiological responses, including the autonomic nervous and immune activities. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to observe an interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memories and immune function.

Evoked acoustic emission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elberling, C; Parbo, J; Johnsen, N J

1985-01-01

Stimulated acoustic emissions were recorded in response to tonal stimuli at 60 dB p.e. SPL in a small group of normal-hearing adults. Power spectral analysis reveals that the evoked activity from each ear contains energy in preferential frequency bands and the change of stimulus frequency has only...

Brainstem evoked potentials in infantile spasms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazaki, Masahito; Hashimoto, Toshiaki; Murakawa, Kazuyoshi; Tayama, Masanobu; Kuroda, Yasuhiro

1992-01-01

In ten patients with infantile spasms, brainstem evoked potentials and MRI examinations were performed to evaluate the brainstem involvement. The result of short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) following the right median nerve stimulation revealed abnormal findings including the absence or low amplitudes of the waves below wave P3 and delayed central conduction time in 7 of the ten patients. The result of auditory brainstem responses (ABR) revealed abnormal findings including low amplitudes of wave V, prolonged interpeak latency of waves I-V and absence of the waves below wave IV in 5 of the ten patients. The result of the MRI examinations revealed various degrees of the brainstem atrophy in 6 of the ten patients, all of whom showed abnormal brainstem evoked potentials. The result of this study demonstrates that patients with infantile spasms are frequently associated with brainstem dysfunction and raises the possibility that brainstem atrophy might be a cause of infantile spasms. (author)

Can visual evoked potentials be used in biometric identification?

Science.gov (United States)

Power, Alan J; Lalor, Edmund C; Reilly, Richard B

2006-01-01

Due to known differences in the anatomical structure of the visual pathways and generators in different individuals, the use of visual evoked potentials offers the possibility of an alternative to existing biometrics methods. A study based on visual evoked potentials from 13 individuals was carried out to assess the best combination of temporal, spectral and AR modeling features to realize a robust biometric. From the results it can be concluded that visual evoked potentials show considerable biometric qualities, with classification accuracies reaching a high of 86.54% and that a specific temporal and spectral combination was found to be optimal. Based on these results the visual evoked potential may be a useful tool in biometric identification when used in conjunction with more established biometric methods.

Binaural interaction in auditory evoked potentials: Brainstem, middle- and long-latency components

OpenAIRE

McPherson, DL; Starr, A

1993-01-01

Binaural interaction occurs in the auditory evoked potentials when the sum of the monaural auditory evoked potentials are not equivalent to the binaural evoked auditory potentials. Binaural interaction of the early- (0-10 ms), middle- (10-50 ms) and long-latency (50-200 ms) auditory evoked potentials was studied in 17 normal young adults. For the early components, binaural interaction was maximal at 7.35 ms accounting for a reduction of 21% of the amplitude of the binaural evoked potentials. ...

Minimum nonuniform graph partitioning with unrelated weights

Science.gov (United States)

Makarychev, K. S.; Makarychev, Yu S.

2017-12-01

We give a bi-criteria approximation algorithm for the Minimum Nonuniform Graph Partitioning problem, recently introduced by Krauthgamer, Naor, Schwartz and Talwar. In this problem, we are given a graph G=(V,E) and k numbers ρ_1,\\dots, ρ_k. The goal is to partition V into k disjoint sets (bins) P_1,\\dots, P_k satisfying \\vert P_i\\vert≤ ρi \\vert V\\vert for all i, so as to minimize the number of edges cut by the partition. Our bi-criteria algorithm gives an O(\\sqrt{log \\vert V\\vert log k}) approximation for the objective function in general graphs and an O(1) approximation in graphs excluding a fixed minor. The approximate solution satisfies the relaxed capacity constraints \\vert P_i\\vert ≤ (5+ \\varepsilon)ρi \\vert V\\vert. This algorithm is an improvement upon the O(log \\vert V\\vert)-approximation algorithm by Krauthgamer, Naor, Schwartz and Talwar. We extend our results to the case of 'unrelated weights' and to the case of 'unrelated d-dimensional weights'. A preliminary version of this work was presented at the 41st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages and Programming (ICALP 2014). Bibliography: 7 titles.

Slow cortical evoked potentials after noise exposure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

von Wedel, H; Opitz, H J

1979-07-01

Human cortical evoked potentials under conditions of stimuation are registrated in the post-stimulatory phase of a five minutes lasting equally masking white noise (90 dB HL). Changes of the evoked potentials during adaptation, possible analogy with high tone losses after noise representation and the origin of tinnitus are examined. Stimulation was started 3 sec after the off-effect of the noise. For five minutes periodically tone bursts were represented. Each train of stimulation consists of tone bursts of three frequencies: 2 kcs, 4 kcs, 8 kcs. The 0.5 sec lasting tones were separated by pauses of 2 sec. During the experiment stimulation and analysis were controlled by a computer. Changes in latency and amplitudes of the cortical evoked potentials were registered. Changes of the adaptation patterns as a function of the poststimulatory time are discussed.

The Paradox of Music-Evoked Sadness: An Online Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Taruffi, Liila; Koelsch, Stefan

2014-01-01

This study explores listeners’ experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music? We present findings from an online survey with both Western and Eastern participants (N = 772). The survey investigates the rewarding aspects of music-evoked sadness, as well as the relative contribution of listener characteristics and situational factors to the appreciation of sad music. The survey also examines the different principles through which sadness is evoked by music, and their interaction with personality traits. Results show 4 different rewards of music-evoked sadness: reward of imagination, emotion regulation, empathy, and no “real-life” implications. Moreover, appreciation of sad music follows a mood-congruent fashion and is greater among individuals with high empathy and low emotional stability. Surprisingly, nostalgia rather than sadness is the most frequent emotion evoked by sad music. Correspondingly, memory was rated as the most important principle through which sadness is evoked. Finally, the trait empathy contributes to the evocation of sadness via contagion, appraisal, and by engaging social functions. The present findings indicate that emotional responses to sad music are multifaceted, are modulated by empathy, and are linked with a multidimensional experience of pleasure. These results were corroborated by a follow-up survey on happy music, which indicated differences between the emotional experiences resulting from listening to sad versus happy music. This is the first comprehensive survey of music-evoked sadness, revealing that listening to sad music can lead to beneficial emotional effects such as regulation of negative emotion and mood as well as consolation. Such beneficial emotional effects constitute the prime motivations for engaging with sad music in everyday life. PMID:25330315

The paradox of music-evoked sadness: an online survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liila Taruffi

Full Text Available This study explores listeners' experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music? We present findings from an online survey with both Western and Eastern participants (N = 772. The survey investigates the rewarding aspects of music-evoked sadness, as well as the relative contribution of listener characteristics and situational factors to the appreciation of sad music. The survey also examines the different principles through which sadness is evoked by music, and their interaction with personality traits. Results show 4 different rewards of music-evoked sadness: reward of imagination, emotion regulation, empathy, and no "real-life" implications. Moreover, appreciation of sad music follows a mood-congruent fashion and is greater among individuals with high empathy and low emotional stability. Surprisingly, nostalgia rather than sadness is the most frequent emotion evoked by sad music. Correspondingly, memory was rated as the most important principle through which sadness is evoked. Finally, the trait empathy contributes to the evocation of sadness via contagion, appraisal, and by engaging social functions. The present findings indicate that emotional responses to sad music are multifaceted, are modulated by empathy, and are linked with a multidimensional experience of pleasure. These results were corroborated by a follow-up survey on happy music, which indicated differences between the emotional experiences resulting from listening to sad versus happy music. This is the first comprehensive survey of music-evoked sadness, revealing that listening to sad music can lead to beneficial emotional effects such as regulation of negative emotion and mood as well as consolation. Such beneficial emotional effects constitute the prime motivations for engaging with sad music in everyday life.

The paradox of music-evoked sadness: an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Taruffi, Liila; Koelsch, Stefan

2014-01-01

This study explores listeners' experience of music-evoked sadness. Sadness is typically assumed to be undesirable and is therefore usually avoided in everyday life. Yet the question remains: Why do people seek and appreciate sadness in music? We present findings from an online survey with both Western and Eastern participants (N = 772). The survey investigates the rewarding aspects of music-evoked sadness, as well as the relative contribution of listener characteristics and situational factors to the appreciation of sad music. The survey also examines the different principles through which sadness is evoked by music, and their interaction with personality traits. Results show 4 different rewards of music-evoked sadness: reward of imagination, emotion regulation, empathy, and no "real-life" implications. Moreover, appreciation of sad music follows a mood-congruent fashion and is greater among individuals with high empathy and low emotional stability. Surprisingly, nostalgia rather than sadness is the most frequent emotion evoked by sad music. Correspondingly, memory was rated as the most important principle through which sadness is evoked. Finally, the trait empathy contributes to the evocation of sadness via contagion, appraisal, and by engaging social functions. The present findings indicate that emotional responses to sad music are multifaceted, are modulated by empathy, and are linked with a multidimensional experience of pleasure. These results were corroborated by a follow-up survey on happy music, which indicated differences between the emotional experiences resulting from listening to sad versus happy music. This is the first comprehensive survey of music-evoked sadness, revealing that listening to sad music can lead to beneficial emotional effects such as regulation of negative emotion and mood as well as consolation. Such beneficial emotional effects constitute the prime motivations for engaging with sad music in everyday life.

Genetic influence demonstrated for MEG-recorded somatosensory evoked responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van 't Ent, D.; van Soelen, I.L.C.; Stam, K.J.; de Geus, E.J.C.; Boomsma, D.I.

2010-01-01

We tested for a genetic influence on magnetoencephalogram (MEG)-recorded somatosensory evoked fields (SEFs) in 20 monozygotic (MZ) and 14 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. Previous electroencephalogram (EEG) studies that demonstrated a genetic contribution to evoked responses generally focused on

An Idle-State Detection Algorithm for SSVEP-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces Using a Maximum Evoked Response Spatial Filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dan; Huang, Bisheng; Wu, Wei; Li, Siliang

2015-11-01

Although accurate recognition of the idle state is essential for the application of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in real-world situations, it remains a challenging task due to the variability of the idle state. In this study, a novel algorithm was proposed for the idle state detection in a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI. The proposed algorithm aims to solve the idle state detection problem by constructing a better model of the control states. For feature extraction, a maximum evoked response (MER) spatial filter was developed to extract neurophysiologically plausible SSVEP responses, by finding the combination of multi-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that maximized the evoked responses while suppressing the unrelated background EEGs. The extracted SSVEP responses at the frequencies of both the attended and the unattended stimuli were then used to form feature vectors and a series of binary classifiers for recognition of each control state and the idle state were constructed. EEG data from nine subjects in a three-target SSVEP BCI experiment with a variety of idle state conditions were used to evaluate the proposed algorithm. Compared to the most popular canonical correlation analysis-based algorithm and the conventional power spectrum-based algorithm, the proposed algorithm outperformed them by achieving an offline control state classification accuracy of 88.0 ± 11.1% and idle state false positive rates (FPRs) ranging from 7.4 ± 5.6% to 14.2 ± 10.1%, depending on the specific idle state conditions. Moreover, the online simulation reported BCI performance close to practical use: 22.0 ± 2.9 out of the 24 control commands were correctly recognized and the FPRs achieved as low as approximately 0.5 event/min in the idle state conditions with eye open and 0.05 event/min in the idle state condition with eye closed. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed algorithm for implementing practical SSVEP BCI systems.

Visually Evoked Spiking Evolves While Spontaneous Ongoing Dynamics Persist

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor K; Darokhan, Ziauddin

2016-01-01

attractor. Its existence guarantees that evoked spiking return to the spontaneous state. However, the spontaneous ongoing spiking state and the visual evoked spiking states are qualitatively different and are separated by a threshold (separatrix). The functional advantage of this organization...

Countering inbreeding with migration 1. Migration from unrelated ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ret:ieved 6 Octoher 1991; ut:cepted I8 Mur- 1995. The eff'ect of migration on inbreeding is moclelled fbr small populations with immigrants from a large unrelated population. Different migration rates and numbers fbr the two sexes are assumed, and a general recursion equation for inbreeding progress derived, which can ...

Joint angle affects volitional and magnetically-evoked neuromuscular performance differentially.

Science.gov (United States)

Minshull, C; Rees, D; Gleeson, N P

2011-08-01

This study examined the volitional and magnetically-evoked neuromuscular performance of the quadriceps femoris at functional knee joint angles adjacent to full extension. Indices of volitional and magnetically-evoked neuromuscular performance (N=15 healthy males, 23.5 ± 2.9 years, 71.5 ± 5.4 kg, 176.5 ± 5.5 cm) were obtained at 25°, 35° and 45° of knee flexion. Results showed that volitional and magnetically-evoked peak force (PF(V) and P(T)F(E), respectively) and electromechanical delay (EMD(V) and EMD(E), respectively) were enhanced by increased knee flexion. However, greater relative improvements in volitional compared to evoked indices of neuromuscular performance were observed with increasing flexion from 25° to 45° (e.g. EMD(V), EMD(E): 36% vs. 11% improvement, respectively; F([2,14])=6.8, pjoint positions. These findings suggest that the extent of the relative differential between volitional and evoked neuromuscular performance capabilities is joint angle-specific and not correlated with performance capabilities at adjacent angles, but tends to be smaller with increased flexion. As such, effective prediction of volitional from evoked performance capabilities at both analogous and adjacent knee joint positions would lack robustness. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International Evoked Potentials Symposium

CERN Document Server

1980-01-01

The past decade has seen great progress in the measurement of evoked potentials in man; a steady increase in our understanding of their charac­ teristics, their origins and their usefulness; and a growing application in the field of clinical diagnosis. The topic is a truly multidisciplinary one. Important research contributions have been made by workers of many different backgrounds and clinical applications span the specialities. This book represents a revised and updated version of the work originally presented at the international evoked potential symposium held in Nottingham 4-6 1978. The Nottingham Symposium provided a forum for a state-of-the-art discussion amongst workers from many different disciplines and from many different countries. For each major topic in the field an expert review set the scene for discussion of current research presentations. This format is retained in the book: the chapters in Part A provide the context in which the research presented in Part B is set. The task of selecting m...

A System Model of Increasing the Investment Potential of Technologically Unrelated Sectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melnyk Alexander G.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article presents a theoretical substantiation and the progress of practical application of the method for evaluating lagged effects of increasing the investment potential of interaction between industries in meso-level innovation systems on the example of the high-tech sector of Ukraine. The interaction data are considered in terms of their formation in such technologically unrelated sectors as the industrial sector and sector of education and sciences. It has been determined that the analytical basis to form the models of increasing the investment potential in innovation systems of meso-level should be presented by a comprehensive integrated assessment of all sectors involved in the reproduction process including technologically unrelated sectors of highly structured innovative systems. There has been proposed a system model of increasing the investment potential of the high-tech sector taking into account the optimization and synergy effects for system decisions concerning technologically unrelated sectors in economic systems of innovation type of reproduction.

Cortical evoked potentials to an auditory illusion: binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Hillel; Starr, Arnold; Michalewski, Henry J; Dimitrijevic, Andrew; Bleich, Naomi; Mittelman, Nomi

2009-08-01

To define brain activity corresponding to an auditory illusion of 3 and 6Hz binaural beats in 250Hz or 1000Hz base frequencies, and compare it to the sound onset response. Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded in response to unmodulated tones of 250 or 1000Hz to one ear and 3 or 6Hz higher to the other, creating an illusion of amplitude modulations (beats) of 3Hz and 6Hz, in base frequencies of 250Hz and 1000Hz. Tones were 2000ms in duration and presented with approximately 1s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source current density estimates of ERP components to tone onset and subsequent beats-evoked oscillations were determined and compared across beat frequencies with both base frequencies. All stimuli evoked tone-onset P(50), N(100) and P(200) components followed by oscillations corresponding to the beat frequency, and a subsequent tone-offset complex. Beats-evoked oscillations were higher in amplitude with the low base frequency and to the low beat frequency. Sources of the beats-evoked oscillations across all stimulus conditions located mostly to left lateral and inferior temporal lobe areas in all stimulus conditions. Onset-evoked components were not different across stimulus conditions; P(50) had significantly different sources than the beats-evoked oscillations; and N(100) and P(200) sources located to the same temporal lobe regions as beats-evoked oscillations, but were bilateral and also included frontal and parietal contributions. Neural activity with slightly different volley frequencies from left and right ear converges and interacts in the central auditory brainstem pathways to generate beats of neural activity to modulate activities in the left temporal lobe, giving rise to the illusion of binaural beats. Cortical potentials recorded to binaural beats are distinct from onset responses. Brain activity corresponding to an auditory illusion of low frequency beats can be recorded from the scalp.

Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Koelsch, Stefan

2014-03-01

Music is a universal feature of human societies, partly owing to its power to evoke strong emotions and influence moods. During the past decade, the investigation of the neural correlates of music-evoked emotions has been invaluable for the understanding of human emotion. Functional neuroimaging studies on music and emotion show that music can modulate activity in brain structures that are known to be crucially involved in emotion, such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. The potential of music to modulate activity in these structures has important implications for the use of music in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

An inventory and update of jealousy-evoking partner behaviours in modern society.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Pieternel; Barelds, Dick P. H.; Groothof, Hinke A. K.

2010-01-01

The goal of the present study was to identify the most important jealousy-evoking partner behaviours and to examine the extent to which these behaviours evoke jealousy. Based on the literature, a questionnaire was constructed containing 42 jealousy-evoking partner behaviours, including a partner's

Music-evoked emotions: principles, brain correlates, and implications for therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Koelsch, Stefan

2015-03-01

This paper describes principles underlying the evocation of emotion with music: evaluation, resonance, memory, expectancy/tension, imagination, understanding, and social functions. Each of these principles includes several subprinciples, and the framework on music-evoked emotions emerging from these principles and subprinciples is supposed to provide a starting point for a systematic, coherent, and comprehensive theory on music-evoked emotions that considers both reception and production of music, as well as the relevance of emotion-evoking principles for music therapy. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Are implicit emotion measurements evoked by food unrelated to liking?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mojet, Jozina; Dürrschmid, Klaus; Danner, Lukas; Jöchl, Max; Heiniö, Raija Liisa; Holthuysen, Nancy; Köster, Egon

2015-01-01

In an effort to find a simple method to measure implicit and unconscious emotional effects of food consumption, a number of methods were compared in an experiment in which 3 groups of at least 24 subjects were each exposed to a pair of yoghurts of the same brand and marketed in the same way, but

Vibration and muscle contraction affect somatosensory evoked potentials

OpenAIRE

Cohen, LG; Starr, A

1985-01-01

We recorded potentials evoked by specific somatosensory stimuli over peripheral nerve, spinal cord, and cerebral cortex. Vibration attenuated spinal and cerebral potentials evoked by mixed nerve and muscle spindle stimulation; in one subject that was tested, there was no effect on cutaneous input. Presynaptic inhibition of Ia input in the spinal cord and muscle spindle receptor occupancy are probably the responsible mechanisms. In contrast, muscle contraction attenuated cerebral potentials to...

Muscle synergies evoked by microstimulation are preferentially encoded during behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Alexander Overduin

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Electrical microstimulation studies provide some of the most direct evidence for the neural representation of muscle synergies. These synergies, i.e. coordinated activations of groups of muscles, have been proposed as building blocks for the construction of motor behaviors by the nervous system. Intraspinal or intracortical microstimulation has been shown to evoke muscle patterns that can be resolved into a small set of synergies similar to those seen in natural behavior. However, questions remain about the validity of microstimulation as a probe of neural function, particularly given the relatively long trains of supratheshold stimuli used in these studies. Here, we examined whether muscle synergies evoked during intracortical microstimulation in two rhesus macaques were similarly encoded by nearby motor cortical units during a purely voluntary behavior involving object reach, grasp, and carry movements. At each microstimulation site we identified the synergy most strongly evoked among those extracted from muscle patterns evoked over all microstimulation sites. For each cortical unit recorded at the same microstimulation site, we then identified the synergy most strongly encoded among those extracted from muscle patterns recorded during the voluntary behavior. We found that the synergy most strongly evoked at an intracortical microstimulation site matched the synergy most strongly encoded by proximal units more often than expected by chance. These results suggest a common neural substrate for microstimulation-evoked motor responses and for the generation of muscle patterns during natural behaviors.

The involuntary nature of music-evoked autobiographical memories in Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

El Haj, Mohamad; Fasotti, Luciano; Allain, Philippe

2012-03-01

The main objective of this paper was to examine the involuntary nature of music-evoked autobiographical memories. For this purpose, young adults, older adults, and patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were asked to remember autobiographical events in two conditions: after being exposed to their own chosen music, and in silence. Compared to memories evoked in silence, memories evoked in the "Music" condition were found to be more specific, accompanied by more emotional content and impact on mood, and retrieved faster. In addition, these memories engaged less executive processes. Thus, with all these characteristics and the fact that they are activated by a perceptual cue (i.e., music), music-evoked autobiographic memories have all the features to be considered as involuntary memories. Our paper reveals several characteristics of music-evoked autobiographical memories in AD patients and offers a theoretical background for this phenomenon. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive false memory: Imagining future scenarios increases false memories in the DRM paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewhurst, Stephen A; Anderson, Rachel J; Grace, Lydia; van Esch, Lotte

2016-10-01

Previous research has shown that rating words for their relevance to a future scenario enhances memory for those words. The current study investigated the effect of future thinking on false memory using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure. In Experiment 1, participants rated words from 6 DRM lists for relevance to a past or future event (with or without planning) or in terms of pleasantness. In a surprise recall test, levels of correct recall did not vary between the rating tasks, but the future rating conditions led to significantly higher levels of false recall than the past and pleasantness conditions did. Experiment 2 found that future rating led to higher levels of false recognition than did past and pleasantness ratings but did not affect correct recognition. The effect in false recognition was, however, eliminated when DRM items were presented in random order. Participants in Experiment 3 were presented with both DRM lists and lists of unrelated words. Future rating increased levels of false recognition for DRM lures but did not affect correct recognition for DRM or unrelated lists. The findings are discussed in terms of the view that false memories can be associated with adaptive memory functions.

Gender differences in binaural speech-evoked auditory brainstem response: are they clinically significant?

Science.gov (United States)

Jalaei, Bahram; Azmi, Mohd Hafiz Afifi Mohd; Zakaria, Mohd Normani

2018-05-17

Binaurally evoked auditory evoked potentials have good diagnostic values when testing subjects with central auditory deficits. The literature on speech-evoked auditory brainstem response evoked by binaural stimulation is in fact limited. Gender disparities in speech-evoked auditory brainstem response results have been consistently noted but the magnitude of gender difference has not been reported. The present study aimed to compare the magnitude of gender difference in speech-evoked auditory brainstem response results between monaural and binaural stimulations. A total of 34 healthy Asian adults aged 19-30 years participated in this comparative study. Eighteen of them were females (mean age=23.6±2.3 years) and the remaining sixteen were males (mean age=22.0±2.3 years). For each subject, speech-evoked auditory brainstem response was recorded with the synthesized syllable /da/ presented monaurally and binaurally. While latencies were not affected (p>0.05), the binaural stimulation produced statistically higher speech-evoked auditory brainstem response amplitudes than the monaural stimulation (p0.80), substantive gender differences were noted in most of speech-evoked auditory brainstem response peaks for both stimulation modes. The magnitude of gender difference between the two stimulation modes revealed some distinct patterns. Based on these clinically significant results, gender-specific normative data are highly recommended when using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response for clinical and future applications. The preliminary normative data provided in the present study can serve as the reference for future studies on this test among Asian adults. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Complexity of preemptive minsum scheduling on unrelated parallel machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sitters, R.A.

2005-01-01

We show that the problems of minimizing total completion time and of minimizing the number of late jobs on unrelated parallel machines, when preemption is allowed, are both NP-hard in the strong sense. The former result settles a long-standing open question and is remarkable since the non-preemptive

Music-Evoked Emotions—Current Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, Hans-Eckhardt

2017-01-01

The present study is focused on a review of the current state of investigating music-evoked emotions experimentally, theoretically and with respect to their therapeutic potentials. After a concise historical overview and a schematic of the hearing mechanisms, experimental studies on music listeners and on music performers are discussed, starting with the presentation of characteristic musical stimuli and the basic features of tomographic imaging of emotional activation in the brain, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), which offer high spatial resolution in the millimeter range. The progress in correlating activation imaging in the brain to the psychological understanding of music-evoked emotion is demonstrated and some prospects for future research are outlined. Research in psychoneuroendocrinology and molecular markers is reviewed in the context of music-evoked emotions and the results indicate that the research in this area should be intensified. An assessment of studies involving measuring techniques with high temporal resolution down to the 10 ms range, as, e.g., electroencephalography (EEG), event-related brain potentials (ERP), magnetoencephalography (MEG), skin conductance response (SCR), finger temperature, and goose bump development (piloerection) can yield information on the dynamics and kinetics of emotion. Genetic investigations reviewed suggest the heredity transmission of a predilection for music. Theoretical approaches to musical emotion are directed to a unified model for experimental neurological evidence and aesthetic judgment. Finally, the reports on musical therapy are briefly outlined. The study concludes with an outlook on emerging technologies and future research fields. PMID:29225563

Stimulator with arbitrary waveform for auditory evoked potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, H R; Romao, M; Placido, D; Provenzano, F; Tierra-Criollo, C J

2007-01-01

The technological improvement helps many medical areas. The audiometric exams involving the auditory evoked potentials can make better diagnoses of auditory disorders. This paper proposes the development of a stimulator based on Digital Signal Processor. This stimulator is the first step of an auditory evoked potential system based on the ADSP-BF533 EZ KIT LITE (Analog Devices Company - USA). The stimulator can generate arbitrary waveform like Sine Waves, Modulated Amplitude, Pulses, Bursts and Pips. The waveforms are generated through a graphical interface programmed in C++ in which the user can define the parameters of the waveform. Furthermore, the user can set the exam parameters as number of stimuli, time with stimulation (Time ON) and time without stimulus (Time OFF). In future works will be implemented another parts of the system that includes the acquirement of electroencephalogram and signal processing to estimate and analyze the evoked potential

Stimulator with arbitrary waveform for auditory evoked potentials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, H R; Romao, M; Placido, D; Provenzano, F; Tierra-Criollo, C J [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Departamento de Engenharia Eletrica (DEE), Nucleo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Engenharia Biomedica NEPEB, Av. Ant. Carlos, 6627, sala 2206, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31.270-901 (Brazil)

2007-11-15

The technological improvement helps many medical areas. The audiometric exams involving the auditory evoked potentials can make better diagnoses of auditory disorders. This paper proposes the development of a stimulator based on Digital Signal Processor. This stimulator is the first step of an auditory evoked potential system based on the ADSP-BF533 EZ KIT LITE (Analog Devices Company - USA). The stimulator can generate arbitrary waveform like Sine Waves, Modulated Amplitude, Pulses, Bursts and Pips. The waveforms are generated through a graphical interface programmed in C++ in which the user can define the parameters of the waveform. Furthermore, the user can set the exam parameters as number of stimuli, time with stimulation (Time ON) and time without stimulus (Time OFF). In future works will be implemented another parts of the system that includes the acquirement of electroencephalogram and signal processing to estimate and analyze the evoked potential.

Evoking prescribed spike times in stochastic neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Doose, Jens; Lindner, Benjamin

2017-09-01

Single cell stimulation in vivo is a powerful tool to investigate the properties of single neurons and their functionality in neural networks. We present a method to determine a cell-specific stimulus that reliably evokes a prescribed spike train with high temporal precision of action potentials. We test the performance of this stimulus in simulations for two different stochastic neuron models. For a broad range of parameters and a neuron firing with intermediate firing rates (20-40 Hz) the reliability in evoking the prescribed spike train is close to its theoretical maximum that is mainly determined by the level of intrinsic noise.

Visual evoked potentials in patients after methanol poisoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, Pavel; Zakharov, Sergey; Diblík, Pavel; Pelclová, Daniela; Ridzoň, Petr

2016-01-01

We report the results of the visual evoked potentials (VEP) examination in patients after severe poisoning by methanol. The group of 47 patients (38 males and 9 females) was assembled out of persons who survived an outbreak of poisoning by the methanol adulterated alcohol beverages, which happened in the Czech Republic in 2012-2013. The visual evoked potentials examination was performed using monocular checkerboard pattern-reversal stimulation. Two criteria of abnormality were chosen: missing evoked response, and wave P1 latency > 117 ms. Non-parametric statistical methods (median, range, and the median test) were used to analyze factors influencing the VEP abnormality. The visual evoked potential was abnormal in 20 patients (43%), 5 of them had normal visual acuity on the Snellen chart. The VEP abnormality did not correlate significantly with initial serum concentrations of methanol, formic acid or lactate; however, it showed statistically significant inverse relation to the initial serum pH: the subgroup with the abnormal VEP had significantly lower median pH in comparison with the subgroup with the normal VEP (7.16 vs. 7.34, p = 0.04). The abnormality was not related to chronic alcohol abuse. The visual evoked potentials examination appeared sensitive enough to detected even subclinical impairment of the optic system. Metabolic acidosis is likely to be the key factor related to the development of visual damage induced by methanol. The examination performed with a delay of 1-9 months after the poisoning documented the situation relatively early after the event. It is considered as a baseline for the planned long-term follow-up of the patients, which will make it possible to assess the dynamics of the observed changes, their reversibility, and the occurrence of potential late sequelae. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Duality-based algorithms for scheduling on unrelated parallel machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Velde, S.L.; van de Velde, S.L.

1993-01-01

We consider the following parallel machine scheduling problem. Each of n independent jobs has to be scheduled on one of m unrelated parallel machines. The processing of job J[sub l] on machine Mi requires an uninterrupted period of positive length p[sub lj]. The objective is to find an assignment of

Evoked Emotions Predict Food Choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dalenberg, Jelle R.; Gutjar, Swetlana; ter Horst, Gert J.; de Graaf, Kees; Renken, Remco J.; Jager, Gerry

2014-01-01

In the current study we show that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores significantly improve food choice prediction over merely liking scores. Previous research has shown that liking measures correlate with choice. However, liking is no strong predictor for food choice in real life environments.

The effects of curiosity-evoking events on activity enjoyment.

Science.gov (United States)

Isikman, Elif; MacInnis, Deborah J; Ülkümen, Gülden; Cavanaugh, Lisa A

2016-09-01

Whereas prior literature has studied the positive effects of curiosity-evoking events that are integral to focal activities, we explore whether and how a curiosity-evoking event that is incidental to a focal activity induces negative outcomes for enjoyment. Four experiments and 1 field study demonstrate that curiosity about an event that is incidental to an activity in which individuals are engaged, significantly affects enjoyment of a concurrent activity. The reason why is that curiosity diverts attention away from the concurrent activity and focuses attention on the curiosity-evoking event. Thus, curiosity regarding an incidental event decreases enjoyment of a positive focal activity but increases enjoyment of a negative focal activity. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

High frequency oscillations evoked by peripheral magnetic stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Biller, S; Simon, L; Fiedler, P; Strohmeier, D; Haueisen, J

2011-01-01

The analysis of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) and / or fields (SEF) is a well-established and important tool for investigating the functioning of the peripheral and central human nervous system. A standard technique to evoke SEPs / SEFs is the stimulation of the median nerve by using a bipolar electrical stimulus. We aim at an alternative stimulation technique enabling stimulation of deep nerve structures while reducing patient stress and error susceptibility. In the current study, we apply a commercial transcranial magnetic stimulation system for peripheral magnetic stimulation of the median nerve. We compare the results of simultaneously recorded EEG signals to prove applicability of our technique to evoke SEPs including low frequency components (LFC) as well as high frequency oscillations (HFO). Therefore, we compare amplitude, latency and time-frequency characteristics of the SEP of 14 healthy volunteers after electric and magnetic stimulation. Both low frequency components and high frequency oscillations were detected. The HFOs were superimposed onto the primary cortical response N20. Statistical analysis revealed significantly lower amplitudes and increased latencies for LFC and HFO components after magnetic stimulation. The differences indicate the inability of magnetic stimulation to elicit supramaximal responses. A psycho-perceptual evaluation showed that magnetic stimulation was less unpleasant for 12 out of the 14 volunteers. In conclusion, we showed that LFC and HFO components related to median nerve stimulation can be evoked by peripheral magnetic stimulation.

Steady-state evoked potentials possibilities for mental-state estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Junker, Andrew M.; Schnurer, John H.; Ingle, David F.; Downey, Craig W.

1988-01-01

The use of the human steady-state evoked potential (SSEP) as a possible measure of mental-state estimation is explored. A method for evoking a visual response to a sum-of-ten sine waves is presented. This approach provides simultaneous multiple frequency measurements of the human EEG to the evoking stimulus in terms of describing functions (gain and phase) and remnant spectra. Ways in which these quantities vary with the addition of performance tasks (manual tracking, grammatical reasoning, and decision making) are presented. Models of the describing function measures can be formulated using systems engineering technology. Relationships between model parameters and performance scores during manual tracking are discussed. Problems of unresponsiveness and lack of repeatability of subject responses are addressed in terms of a need for loop closure of the SSEP. A technique to achieve loop closure using a lock-in amplifier approach is presented. Results of a study designed to test the effectiveness of using feedback to consciously connect humans to their evoked response are presented. Findings indicate that conscious control of EEG is possible. Implications of these results in terms of secondary tasks for mental-state estimation and brain actuated control are addressed.

I-Ad-binding peptides derived from unrelated protein antigens share a common structural motif

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sette, A; Buus, S; Colon, S

1988-01-01

on the I-Ad binding of the immunogenic peptide OVA 323-339. The results obtained demonstrated the very permissive nature of Ag-Ia interaction. We also showed that unrelated peptides that are good I-Ad binders share a common structural motif and speculated that recognition of such motifs could represent...... that I-Ad molecules recognize a large library of Ag by virtue of common structural motifs present in peptides derived from phylogenetically unrelated proteins....

Odor-evoked inhibition of olfactory sensory neurons drives olfactory perception in Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Li-Hui; Yang, Dong; Wu, Wei; Zeng, Xiankun; Jing, Bi-Yang; Li, Meng-Tong; Qin, Shanshan; Tang, Chao; Tu, Yuhai; Luo, Dong-Gen

2017-11-07

Inhibitory response occurs throughout the nervous system, including the peripheral olfactory system. While odor-evoked excitation in peripheral olfactory cells is known to encode odor information, the molecular mechanism and functional roles of odor-evoked inhibition remain largely unknown. Here, we examined Drosophila olfactory sensory neurons and found that inhibitory odors triggered outward receptor currents by reducing the constitutive activities of odorant receptors, inhibiting the basal spike firing in olfactory sensory neurons. Remarkably, this odor-evoked inhibition of olfactory sensory neurons elicited by itself a full range of olfactory behaviors from attraction to avoidance, as did odor-evoked olfactory sensory neuron excitation. These results indicated that peripheral inhibition is comparable to excitation in encoding sensory signals rather than merely regulating excitation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a bidirectional code with both odor-evoked inhibition and excitation in single olfactory sensory neurons increases the odor-coding capacity, providing a means of efficient sensory encoding.

Norepinephrine-evoked pain in fibromyalgia. A randomized pilot study [ISRCTN70707830

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Casanova Jose-Miguel

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fibromyalgia syndrome displays sympathetically maintained pain features such as frequent post-traumatic onset and stimuli-independent pain accompanied by allodynia and paresthesias. Heart rate variability studies showed that fibromyalgia patients have changes consistent with ongoing sympathetic hyperactivity. Norepinephrine-evoked pain test is used to assess sympathetically maintained pain syndromes. Our objective was to define if fibromyalgia patients have norepinephrine-evoked pain. Methods Prospective double blind controlled study. Participants: Twenty FM patients, and two age/sex matched control groups; 20 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 20 healthy controls. Ten micrograms of norepinephrine diluted in 0.1 ml of saline solution were injected in a forearm. The contrasting substance, 0.1 ml of saline solution alone, was injected in the opposite forearm. Maximum local pain elicited during the 5 minutes post-injection was graded on a visual analog scale (VAS. Norepinephrine-evoked pain was diagnosed when norepinephrine injection induced greater pain than placebo injection. Intensity of norepinephrine-evoked pain was calculated as the difference between norepinephrine minus placebo-induced VAS scores. Results Norepinephrine-evoked pain was seen in 80 % of FM patients (95% confidence intervals 56.3 – 94.3%, in 30 % of rheumatoid arthritis patients and in 30 % of healthy controls (95% confidence intervals 11.9 – 54.3 (p Conclusions Fibromyalgia patients have norepinephrine-evoked pain. This finding supports the hypothesis that fibromyalgia may be a sympathetically maintained pain syndrome.

Objective correlate of subjective pain perception by contact heat-evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Granovsky, Yelena; Granot, Michal; Nir, Rony-Reuven; Yarnitsky, David

2008-01-01

The method of pain-evoked potentials has gained considerable acceptance over the last 3 decades regarding its objectivity, repeatability, and quantifiability. The present study explored whether the relationship between pain-evoked potentials and pain psychophysics obtained by contact heat stimuli is similar to those observed for the conventionally used laser stimulation. Evoked potentials (EPs) were recorded in response to contact heat stimuli at different body sites in 24 healthy volunteers. Stimuli at various temperatures were applied to the forearm (43 degrees C, 46 degrees C, 49 degrees C, and 52 degrees C) and leg (46 degrees C and 49 degrees C). The amplitudes of both components (N2 and P2) were strongly associated with the intensity of the applied stimuli and with subjective pain perception. Yet, regression analysis revealed pain perception and not stimulus intensity as the major contributing factor. A significant correlation was found between the forearm and the leg for both psychophysics and EPs amplitude. Contact heat can generate readily distinguishable evoked potentials on the scalp, consistent between upper and lower limbs. Although these potentials bear positive correlation with both stimulus intensity and pain magnitude, the latter is the main contributor to the evoked brain response.

Effects of single cycle binaural beat duration on auditory evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihajloski, Todor; Bohorquez, Jorge; Özdamar, Özcan

2014-01-01

Binaural beat (BB) illusions are experienced as continuous central pulsations when two sounds with slightly different frequencies are delivered to each ear. It has been shown that steady-state auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to BBs can be captured and investigated. The authors recently developed a new method of evoking transient AEPs to binaural beats using frequency modulated stimuli. This methodology was able to create single BBs in predetermined intervals with varying carrier frequencies. This study examines the effects of the BB duration and the frequency modulating component of the stimulus on the binaural beats and their evoked potentials. Normal hearing subjects were tested with a set of four durations (25, 50, 100, and 200 ms) with two stimulation configurations, binaural dichotic (binaural beats) and diotic (frequency modulation). The results obtained from the study showed that out of the given durations, the 100 ms beat, was capable of evoking the largest amplitude responses. The frequency modulation effect showed a decrease in peak amplitudes with increasing beat duration until their complete disappearance at 200 ms. Even though, at 200 ms, the frequency modulation effects were not present, the binaural beats were still perceived and captured as evoked potentials.

Bilateral Malignant Seminomas in Two Unrelated, Aged Trumpeter Hornbills (Bycanistes buccinator).

Science.gov (United States)

Wernick, Morena B; Tobias, Jeremy R; Moeller, Robert B; Barnes, John; Palmieri, Chiara; Shivaprasad, H L

2015-06-01

Seminomas occur infrequently in birds. Two cases of bilateral malignant seminomas in unrelated trumpeter hornbills (Bycanistes buccinator) are described. Case 1 was a 22-year-old trumpeter hornbill submitted for necropsy because of sudden death at a zoo in California. Postmortem examination revealed multiple masses within the body cavity, 2 of which replaced both testes. Case 2 was a 19-year-old trumpeter hornbill at a zoo in North Carolina that underwent exploratory surgery for a suspected gastrointestinal obstruction. Both testes were diffusely enlarged, compressing and replacing the adjacent kidneys. In both birds, the masses were composed of discrete, round to polyhedral cells, typical of seminomas. Examination of the ancestry of the hornbills showed they were unrelated to each other, suggesting a potential predisposition for these birds to develop seminomas.

Infection-related and -unrelated malignancies, HIV and the aging population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shepherd, L.; Borges, A.; Ledergerber, B.; Domingo, P.; Castagna, A.; Rockstroh, J.; Knysz, B.; Tomazic, J.; Karpov, I.; Kirk, O.; Lundgren, J.; Mocroft, A.; Burger, D.M.; et al.,

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: HIV-positive people have increased risk of infection-related malignancies (IRMs) and infection-unrelated malignancies (IURMs). The aim of the study was to determine the impact of aging on future IRM and IURM incidence. METHODS: People enrolled in EuroSIDA and followed from the latest of

Infection-related and -unrelated malignancies, HIV and the aging population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shepherd, L; Borges, Alvaro Humberto Diniz; Ledergerber, B

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: HIV-positive people have increased risk of infection-related malignancies (IRMs) and infection-unrelated malignancies (IURMs). The aim of the study was to determine the impact of aging on future IRM and IURM incidence. METHODS: People enrolled in EuroSIDA and followed from the latest...

P and CP violation and new thermalization scenario in heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhitnitsky, Ariel R.

2011-01-01

The violation of local P and CP invariance in QCD has been a subject of intense discussions for the last couple of years as a result of very interesting ongoing results coming from RHIC. Separately, a new thermalization scenario for heavy ion collisions through the event horizon as a manifestation of the Unruh effect, has been also suggested. In this paper we argue that these two, naively unrelated phenomena, are actually two sides of the same coin as they are deeply rooted into the same fundamental physics related to some very nontrivial topological features of QCD. We formulate the universality conjecture for P and CP odd effects in heavy ion collisions analogous to the universal thermal behaviour observed in all other high energy interactions.

Determinants of Related and Unrelated Export Diversification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Ali

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper contributes to the literature on determinants of the export diversification by introducing related variety (RV and unrelated variety (UV in the analysis in addition to the traditional entropy based measure at three-digit Standard International Trade Classification (SITC level, overall variety (OV. RV measures variety in cognitively related industries, while UV measures variety in industries that are unrelated to each other. Studies on RV and UV have shown that the dynamics of their relationship with economic growth and innovation may differ and one would expect that the determinants of RV and UV may also be different. Therefore, using data on manufacturing sector exports for 130 countries from 1996 to 2011, this paper identifies the determinants of export diversification with primary focus on foreign direct investment as an external source of knowledge and a stimulus to entrepreneurship and human capital as a measure of productive capabilities. Considering the concern of endogeneity bias, estimations of the econometric models were performed using generalized method of moments. Findings show that some of the determinants of diversification affect RV, UV and OV differently. For instance, foreign direct investment (FDI negatively affects RV while it has no significant relationship with OV and UV. Moreover, interaction of human capital with FDI appears to be positive and significant for UV and RV while interaction of human capital with trade openness is significant and positive for RV only, showing the importance of knowledge through external sources in the process of related diversification.

A Telehealth System for Remote Auditory Evoked Potential Monitoring

OpenAIRE

Millan, Jorge; Yunda, Leonardo

2013-01-01

A portable, Internet-based EEG/Auditory Evoked Potential (AEP) monitoring system was developed for remote electrophysiological studies during sleep. The system records EEG/AEP simultaneously at the subject?s home for increased comfort and flexibility. The system provides simultaneous recording and remote viewing of EEG, EMG and EOG waves and allows on-line averaging of auditory evoked potentials. The design allows the recording of all major AEP components (brainstem, middle and late latency E...

The Role of Odor-Evoked Memory in Psychological and Physiological Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Herz, Rachel S

2016-07-19

This article discusses the special features of odor-evoked memory and the current state-of-the-art in odor-evoked memory research to show how these unique experiences may be able to influence and benefit psychological and physiological health. A review of the literature leads to the conclusion that odors that evoke positive autobiographical memories have the potential to increase positive emotions, decrease negative mood states, disrupt cravings, and reduce physiological indices of stress, including systemic markers of inflammation. Olfactory perception factors and individual difference characteristics that would need to be considered in therapeutic applications of odor-evoked-memory are also discussed. This article illustrates how through the experimentally validated mechanisms of odor-associative learning and the privileged neuroanatomical relationship that exists between olfaction and the neural substrates of emotion, odors can be harnessed to induce emotional and physiological responses that can improve human health and wellbeing.

The Role of Odor-Evoked Memory in Psychological and Physiological Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel S. Herz

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the special features of odor-evoked memory and the current state-of-the-art in odor-evoked memory research to show how these unique experiences may be able to influence and benefit psychological and physiological health. A review of the literature leads to the conclusion that odors that evoke positive autobiographical memories have the potential to increase positive emotions, decrease negative mood states, disrupt cravings, and reduce physiological indices of stress, including systemic markers of inflammation. Olfactory perception factors and individual difference characteristics that would need to be considered in therapeutic applications of odor-evoked-memory are also discussed. This article illustrates how through the experimentally validated mechanisms of odor-associative learning and the privileged neuroanatomical relationship that exists between olfaction and the neural substrates of emotion, odors can be harnessed to induce emotional and physiological responses that can improve human health and wellbeing.

UBIT Issues: Guidance on Interpreting Unrelated Business Income Tax Rules.

Science.gov (United States)

Roark, Stephen J.; Danley, Lisa M.

1991-01-01

The central issue in determining taxability of colleges' unrelated business income is the tax's purpose: to eliminate unfair advantage of exempt organizations over tax-paying businesses. If the business is not competing with outside vendors and can be related to the organization's exempt purposes, income is not taxable. (MSE)

Thought-evoking approaches in engineering problems

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

In creating the value-added product in not distant future, it is necessary and inevitable to establish a holistic and though-evoking approach to the engineering problem, which should be at least associated with the inter-disciplinary knowledge and thought processes across the whole engineering spheres. It is furthermore desirable to integrate it with trans-disciplinary aspects ranging from manufacturing culture, through liberal-arts engineering, and industrial sociology.   The thought-evoking approach can be exemplified and typified by representative engineering problems: unveiling essential features in ‘Tangential Force Ratio and Interface Pressure’, prototype development for ‘Bio-mimetic Needle’ and application of ‘Water-jet Machining to Artificial Hip Joint’, product innovation in ‘Heat Sink for Computer’, application of ‘Graph Theory’ to similarity evaluation of production systems, leverage among reciprocity attributes in ‘Industrial and Engineering Designs for Machine Enclosure’,...

Speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses in children with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Koravand, Amineh; Al Osman, Rida; Rivest, Véronique; Poulin, Catherine

2017-08-01

The main objective of the present study was to investigate subcortical auditory processing in children with sensorineural hearing loss. Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) were recorded using click and speech/da/stimuli. Twenty-five children, aged 6-14 years old, participated in the study: 13 with normal hearing acuity and 12 with sensorineural hearing loss. No significant differences were observed for the click-evoked ABRs between normal hearing and hearing-impaired groups. For the speech-evoked ABRs, no significant differences were found for the latencies of the following responses between the two groups: onset (V and A), transition (C), one of the steady-state wave (F), and offset (O). However, the latency of the steady-state waves (D and E) was significantly longer for the hearing-impaired compared to the normal hearing group. Furthermore, the amplitude of the offset wave O and of the envelope frequency response (EFR) of the speech-evoked ABRs was significantly larger for the hearing-impaired compared to the normal hearing group. Results obtained from the speech-evoked ABRs suggest that children with a mild to moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss have a specific pattern of subcortical auditory processing. Our results show differences for the speech-evoked ABRs in normal hearing children compared to hearing-impaired children. These results add to the body of the literature on how children with hearing loss process speech at the brainstem level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gigantism in sibling unrelated to multiple endocrine neoplasia: case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuno, A; Teramoto, A; Yamada, S; Kitanaka, S; Tanaka, T; Sanno, N; Osamura, R Y; Kirino, T

1994-11-01

The cases of gigantism sisters with somatotroph adenomas unrelated to multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) Type 1 are reported. The sisters grew rapidly since they were 5 or 6 years old and were diagnosed to have gigantism with pituitary adenoma by computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging. A serum endocrinological examination showed the elevated growth hormone values. After thyroxine-releasing hormone stimulation, growth hormone values exhibited a paradoxical rise. They were supposed to be unrelated to MEN Type 1, because analysis of the 11th chromosomes and the other endocrine functions were normal. They were operated on by the transphenoidal method. Immunohistochemical staining of both tumor specimens confirmed somatotroph adenomas. Pituitary adenoma associated with MEN Type 1 is a well-recognized entity. However, the sporadic occurrence of pituitary adenoma unrelated to MEN Type 1, especially in siblings, is extremely rare. Fifteen cases of pituitary adenomas in siblings were described in the literature. As for gigantism, only two brothers were reported. Our case of gigantism sisters is the second sporadic case. In our review of the isolated cases of pituitary adenoma in siblings described in the literature, 12 (70%) of 17 cases including ours are acromegaly or gigantism. This incidence is much higher than that of MEN Type 1 patients with pituitary adenomas. The cause of the familial occurrence of pituitary adenomas is still unclear, although autosomal recessive inheritance has been suggested. It has been stated that point mutations in codon 201 or 227 of the Gs alpha gene located in chromosome 20 were found in about 35 to 40% of somatotroph adenomas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Behavioral analyses of wind-evoked escape of the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanou, Masamichi; Konishi, Atsuko; Suenaga, Rie

2006-04-01

The wind-evoked escape behavior of the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus was investigated using an air puff stimulus. A high velocity air puff elicited the escape behavior in many crickets. The crickets tended to escape away from the stimulus source, but the direction was not accurately oriented 180 degrees from the stimulus. After bilateral cercal ablation, only a few crickets showed wind-evoked escape behavior, and their response rates did not increase even 19 days after ablation. Therefore, information on air motion detected by cercal filiform hairs is essential for triggering wind-evoked behavior. After unilateral cercal ablation, the 81.3% response rate of intact crickets decreased to 16.5%, that is, it decreased to almost 20% that of intact crickets. One week after unilateral cercal ablation, the response rate recovered to more than 60% that of intact crickets. However, the accuracy rate of the escape direction of G. sigillatus showed no change even immediately after the unilateral cercal ablation. Therefore, both cerci are not necessarily required to determine the escape direction. The behavioral characteristics of wind-evoked escape of G. sigillatus are compared with those of another species of cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. The two species of cricket employ different strategies for wind-evoked escape.

Infection-related and -unrelated malignancies, HIV and the aging population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shepherd, L.; Borges, Áh; Ledergerber, B.; Domingo, P.; Castagna, A.; Rockstroh, J.; Knysz, B.; Tomazic, J.; Karpov, I.; Kirk, O.; Lundgren, J.; Mocroft, A.; Vassilenko, A.; Mitsura, V. M.; Suetnov, O.; Clumeck, N.; de Wit, S.; Delforge, M.; Florence, E.; Vandekerckhove, L.; Hadziosmanovic, V.; Kostov, K.; Begovac, J.; Machala, L.; Jilich, D.; Sedlacek, D.; Nielsen, J.; Kronborg, G.; Benfield, T.; Larsen, M.; Gerstoft, J.; Katzenstein, T.; Hansen, A.-B. E.; Skinhøj, P.; Pedersen, C.; Ostergaard, L.; Dragsted, U. B.; Nielsen, L. N.; Zilmer, K.; Smidt, J.; Ristola, M.; Katlama, C.; Viard, J.-P.; Girard, P.-M.; Vanhems, P.; Pradier, C.; Dabis, F.; Neau, D.; Duvivier, C.; Reiss, P.

2016-01-01

HIV-positive people have increased risk of infection-related malignancies (IRMs) and infection-unrelated malignancies (IURMs). The aim of the study was to determine the impact of aging on future IRM and IURM incidence. People enrolled in EuroSIDA and followed from the latest of the first visit or 1

Skinfold thickness affects the isometric knee extension torque evoked by Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Medeiros, Flávia V A; Vieira, Amilton; Carregaro, Rodrigo L; Bottaro, Martim; Maffiuletti, Nicola A; Durigan, João L Q

2015-01-01

Subcutaneous adipose tissue may influence the transmission of electrical stimuli through to the skin, thus affecting both evoked torque and comfort perception associated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). This could seriously affect the effectiveness of NMES for either rehabilitation or sports purposes. To investigate the effects of skinfold thickness (SFT) on maximal NMES current intensity, NMES-evoked torque, and NMES-induced discomfort. First, we compared NMES current intensity, NMES-induced discomfort, and NMES-evoked torque between two subgroups of subjects with thicker (n=10; 20.7 mm) vs. thinner (n=10; 29.4 mm) SFT. Second, we correlated SFT to NMES current intensity, NMES-induced discomfort, and NMES-evoked knee extension torque in 20 healthy women. The NMES-evoked torque was normalized to the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque. The discomfort induced by NMES was assessed with a visual analog scale (VAS). NMES-evoked torque was 27.5% lower in subjects with thicker SFT (p=0.01) while maximal current intensity was 24.2% lower in subjects with thinner SFT (p=0.01). A positive correlation was found between current intensity and SFT (r=0.540, p=0.017). A negative correlation was found between NMES-evoked torque and SFT (r=-0.563, p=0.012). No significant correlation was observed between discomfort scores and SFT (rs=0.15, p=0.53). These results suggest that the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue (as reflected by skinfold thickness) affected NMES current intensity and NMES-evoked torque, but had no effect on discomfort perception. Our findings may help physical therapists to better understand the impact of SFT on NMES and to design more rational stimulation strategies.

Pharmacology of Bradykinin-Evoked Coughing in Guinea Pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, Matthew M; Adams, Gregory; Mazzone, Stuart B; Mori, Nanako; Yu, Li; Canning, Brendan J

2016-06-01

Bradykinin has been implicated as a mediator of the acute pathophysiological and inflammatory consequences of respiratory tract infections and in exacerbations of chronic diseases such as asthma. Bradykinin may also be a trigger for the coughing associated with these and other conditions. We have thus set out to evaluate the pharmacology of bradykinin-evoked coughing in guinea pigs. When inhaled, bradykinin induced paroxysmal coughing that was abolished by the bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist HOE 140. These cough responses rapidly desensitized, consistent with reports of B2 receptor desensitization. Bradykinin-evoked cough was potentiated by inhibition of both neutral endopeptidase and angiotensin-converting enzyme (with thiorphan and captopril, respectively), but was largely unaffected by muscarinic or thromboxane receptor blockade (atropine and ICI 192605), cyclooxygenase, or nitric oxide synthase inhibition (meclofenamic acid and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine). Calcium influx studies in bronchopulmonary vagal afferent neurons dissociated from vagal sensory ganglia indicated that the tachykinin-containing C-fibers arising from the jugular ganglia mediate bradykinin-evoked coughing. Also implicating the jugular C-fibers was the observation that simultaneous blockade of neurokinin2 (NK2; SR48968) and NK3 (SR142801 or SB223412) receptors nearly abolished the bradykinin-evoked cough responses. The data suggest that bradykinin induces coughing in guinea pigs by activating B2 receptors on bronchopulmonary C-fibers. We speculate that therapeutics targeting the actions of bradykinin may prove useful in the treatment of cough. Copyright © 2016 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Do video games evoke specific types of epileptic seizures?

Science.gov (United States)

Piccioli, Marta; Vigevano, Federico; Buttinelli, Carla; Kasteleijn-Nolst Trenité, Dorothée G A

2005-11-01

We determined whether epileptic clinical manifestations evoked by playing video games (VG) differ from those evoked by intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) or striped patterns (P). We exposed nine children who had TV- and VG-evoked seizures in daily life to 12 VG after standardized photic stimulation and pattern stimulation. Their EEGs were recorded continuously, analyzed, and then correlated with a video of their behavior. Similar types of clinical signs were seen during VG, P, and IPS, but the signs we observed were more subtle during the VG. Eight patients showed a clear lateralization. A new observation was the lowering of the eyelids to a state of half-closed. Our study suggests that the type of visual stimulus provoking a photoparoxysmal response or seizure is not particularly relevant. The children belonged to different epilepsy groups, and our findings add to the discussion on the boundaries of the epilepsy types.

Awareness during anaesthesia for surgery requiring evoked potential monitoring: A pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pritish J Korula

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Evoked potential monitoring such as somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP or motor-evoked potential (MEP monitoring during surgical procedures in proximity to the spinal cord requires minimising the minimum alveolar concentrations (MACs below the anaesthetic concentrations normally required (1 MAC to prevent interference in amplitude and latency of evoked potentials. This could result in awareness. Our primary objective was to determine the incidence of awareness while administering low MAC inhalational anaesthetics for these unique procedures. The secondary objective was to assess the adequacy of our anaesthetic technique from neurophysiologist′s perspective. Methods: In this prospective observational pilot study, 61 American Society of Anesthesiologists 1 and 2 patients undergoing spinal surgery for whom intraoperative evoked potential monitoring was performed were included; during the maintenance phase, 0.7-0.8 MAC of isoflurane was targeted. We evaluated the intraoperative depth of anaesthesia using a bispectral (BIS index monitor as well as the patients response to surgical stimulus (PRST scoring system. Post-operatively, a modified Bruce questionnaire was used to verify awareness. The adequacy of evoked potential readings was also assessed. Results: Of the 61 patients, no patient had explicit awareness. Intraoperatively, 19 of 61 patients had a BIS value of above sixty at least once, during surgery. There was no correlation with PRST scoring and BIS during surgery. Fifty-four out of 61 patient′s evoked potential readings were deemed ′good′ or ′fair′ for the conduct of electrophysiological monitoring. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that administering low MAC inhalational anaesthetics to facilitate evoked potential monitoring does not result in explicit awareness. However, larger studies are needed to verify this. The conduct of SSEP electrophysiological monitoring was satisfactory with the use of this

Renal Impairment in Cirrhosis Unrelated to Hepatorenal Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavin Low

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Renal impairment is common in liver disease and may occur as a consequence of the pathophysiological changes that underpin cirrhosis or secondary to a pre-existing unrelated insult. Nevertheless, the onset of renal impairment often portends a worsening prognosis. Hepatorenal syndrome remains one of the most recognized and reported causes of renal impairment in cirrhosis. However, other causes of renal impairment occur and can be classified into prerenal, intrinsic or postrenal, which are the subjects of the present review.

Transmitter modulation of spike-evoked calcium transients in arousal related neurons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kohlmeier, Kristi Anne; Leonard, Christopher S

2006-01-01

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-containing cholinergic neurons in the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) influence behavioral and motivational states through their projections to the thalamus, ventral tegmental area and a brainstem 'rapid eye movement (REM)-induction' site. Action potential-evoked intracel......Nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-containing cholinergic neurons in the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) influence behavioral and motivational states through their projections to the thalamus, ventral tegmental area and a brainstem 'rapid eye movement (REM)-induction' site. Action potential......-evoked intracellular calcium transients dampen excitability and stimulate NO production in these neurons. In this study, we investigated the action of several arousal-related neurotransmitters and the role of specific calcium channels in these LDT Ca(2+)-transients by simultaneous whole-cell recording and calcium...... of cholinergic LDT neurons and that inhibition of spike-evoked Ca(2+)-transients is a common action of neurotransmitters that also activate GIRK channels in these neurons. Because spike-evoked calcium influx dampens excitability, our findings suggest that these 'inhibitory' transmitters could boost firing rate...

On the Role of Attention and Emotion in Morality: Attentional Control Modulates Unrelated Disgust in Moral Judgments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dillen, L.F. van; Wal, R.C. van der; Bos, K. van den

2012-01-01

The emotion of disgust can influence people’s moral judgments, even if this emotion objectively is unrelated to the moral judgment in question. The present work demonstrates that attentional control regulates this effect. In three studies, disgust was induced. In an unrelated part of the studies,

Towards a user's guide to scenarios - a report on scenario types and scenario techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjeson, Lena; Hoejer, Mattias; Dreborg, Karl-Henrik; Finnveden, Goeran [Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). Environmental Strategies Research - fms; Ekvall, Tomas [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Energy and Environment

2005-11-01

Futures studies consist of a vast variation of studies and approaches. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of for what purposes scenarios are useful and what methods and procedures are useful for furthering these purposes. We present a scenario typology with an aim to better suit the context in which the scenarios are used. The scenario typology is combined with a new way of looking at scenario techniques, i.e. practical methods and procedures for scenario development. Finally, we look at the usefulness of scenarios in the light of the scenario typology and the scenario techniques. As a start, we distinguish between three main categories of scenario studies. The classification is based on the principal questions we believe a user may want to pose about the future. The resolution is then increased by letting each category contain two different scenario types. These are distinguished by different angles of approach of the questions defining the categories. The first question, What will happen?, is responded to by Predictive scenarios. In fact, the response to a question like this will always be conditional, e.g. of a stable and peaceful world, or by a certain continuous development of some kind. We have utilized this fact when defining the two predictive scenario types, Forecasts and What-if scenarios. The second question, What can happen?, is responded to by Explorative scenarios. The scenarios are thus explorations of what might happen in the future, regardless of beliefs of what is likely to happen or opinions of what is desirable. This category is further divided into external and strategic scenarios. The final question, How can a specific target be reached?, is responded to by Normative scenarios. Such studies are explicitly normative, since they take a target as a starting point. They are often directed towards how the target could be reached. This category is divided into preserving and transforming scenarios. If the user wants to

Do Puzzle Pieces and Autism Puzzle Piece Logos Evoke Negative Associations?

Science.gov (United States)

Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; Raimond, Adam R.; Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Boston, Jilana S.; Harp, Bev

2018-01-01

Puzzle pieces have become ubiquitous symbols for autism. However, puzzle-piece imagery stirs debate between those who support and those who object to its use because they believe puzzle-piece imagery evokes negative associations. Our study empirically investigated whether puzzle pieces evoke negative associations in the general public.…

Take a stand on understanding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smolka, Eva; Gondan, Matthias; Rösler, Frank

2015-01-01

together’), by morphologically related and semantically noncompositional verbs (e.g., erziehen, ‘educate’), by orthographically similar verbs (e.g., zielen, ‘aim’), or by unrelated verbs (e.g., tarnen, ‘mask’). Compared to the unrelated condition, which evoked an N400 effect with the largest amplitude...

PedMine – A simulated annealing algorithm to identify maximally unrelated individuals in population isolates

OpenAIRE

Douglas, Julie A.; Sandefur, Conner I.

2008-01-01

In family-based genetic studies, it is often useful to identify a subset of unrelated individuals. When such studies are conducted in population isolates, however, most if not all individuals are often detectably related to each other. To identify a set of maximally unrelated (or equivalently, minimally related) individuals, we have implemented simulated annealing, a general-purpose algorithm for solving difficult combinatorial optimization problems. We illustrate our method on data from a ge...

Thoughts in flight: automation use and pilots' task-related and task-unrelated thought.

Science.gov (United States)

Casner, Stephen M; Schooler, Jonathan W

2014-05-01

The objective was to examine the relationship between cockpit automation use and task-related and task-unrelated thought among airline pilots. Studies find that cockpit automation can sometimes relieve pilots of tedious control tasks and afford them more time to think ahead. Paradoxically, automation has also been shown to lead to lesser awareness. These results prompt the question of what pilots think about while using automation. A total of 18 airline pilots flew a Boeing 747-400 simulator while we recorded which of two levels of automation they used. As they worked, pilots were verbally probed about what they were thinking. Pilots were asked to categorize their thoughts as pertaining to (a) a specific task at hand, (b) higher-level flight-related thoughts (e.g.,planning ahead), or (c) thoughts unrelated to the flight. Pilots' performance was also measured. Pilots reported a smaller percentage of task-at-hand thoughts (27% vs. 50%) and a greater percentage of higher-level flight-related thoughts (56% vs. 29%) when using the higher level of automation. However, when all was going according to plan, using either level of automation, pilots also reported a higher percentage of task-unrelated thoughts (21%) than they did when in the midst of an unsuccessful performance (7%). Task-unrelated thoughts peaked at 25% when pilots were not interacting with the automation. Although cockpit automation may provide pilots with more time to think, it may encourage pilots to reinvest only some of this mental free time in thinking flight-related thoughts. This research informs the design of human-automation systems that more meaningfully engage the human operator.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from unrelated donors in children with DOCK8 deficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Uygun, Dilara Fatma K; Uygun, Vedat; Reisli, İsmail; Keleş, Sevgi; Özen, Ahmet; Yılmaz, Mustafa; Sayar, Esra H; Daloğlu, Hayriye; Öztürkmen, Seda I; Çakı, Suar; Karasu, Gülsün T; Yeşilipek, Akif

2017-11-01

DIDS is a unique form of combined immune deficiency characterized by an unusual susceptibility to cutaneous viral infections, severe allergies with eosinophilia and elevated immunoglobulin E titers, autoimmunity, and cancer. HSCT is considered the standard of care for this deadly disease. We have retrospectively analyzed the outcome of allogeneic HSCT from unrelated donors in patients with DIDS. Data from four patients, with five transplants, are presented. All patients received transplants from unrelated donors' BM, except for one patient who received a cord blood transplant. The conditioning regimens were based on myeloablative protocols for BM derived transplants; a NM regimen was pursued for the patient who received a cord blood transplant, which resulted in graft rejection. Although recurrent pneumonia and skin infections resolved immediately after transplantation, all patients subsequently developed human herpesvirus infection, including cutaneous herpetic lesions, cytomegalovirus reactivation, and zona zoster, which could be attributed to the use of ATG. Despite the presence of serious morbidities prior to transplantation, all patients recovered successfully. DIDS can be successfully treated with allogeneic HSCT from unrelated donors following a myeloablative conditioning regimen, with a reasonable safety profile. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Current outcome of HLA identical sibling versus unrelated donor transplants in severe aplastic anemia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bacigalupo, Andrea; Socié, Gerard; Hamladji, Rose Marie

2015-01-01

We have analyzed 1448 patients with acquired aplastic anemia grafted between 2005 and 2009, and compared outcome of identical sibling (n=940) versus unrelated donor (n=508) transplants. When compared to the latter, sibling transplants were less likely to be performed beyond 180 days from diagnosis.......04). In conclusion, in multivariate analysis, the outcome of unrelated donor transplants for acquired aplastic anemia, is currently not statistically inferior when compared to sibling transplants, although patients are at greater risk of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease. The use of peripheral blood grafts...

26 CFR 1.141-9 - Unrelated or disproportionate use test.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... use does not exceed 5 percent of the proceeds of the issue. Example 5. Bonds for multiple projects. (i... a privately owned recycling facility located at a remote site; and (4) $6 million to build a garage... storage facility. (ii) The $1 million of proceeds used for the recycling facility is used for an unrelated...

Refractory episodic vertigo: role of intratympanic gentamicin and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials,

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika Celis-Aguilar

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Even today, the treatment of intractable vertigo remains a challenge. Vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin stands as a good alternative in the management of refractory vertigo patients. Objective: To control intractable vertigo through complete saccular and horizontal canal vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin treatment. Methods: Patients with refractory episodic vertigo were included. The inclusion criteria were: unilateral ear disease, moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss, and failure to other treatments. Included patients underwent 0.5-0.8 mL of gentamicin intratympanic application at a 30 mg/mL concentration. Vestibular ablation was confirmed by the absence of response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. Audiometry, electronystagmography with iced water, and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were performed in all patients. Results: Ten patients were included; nine patients with Meniere's disease and one patient with (late onset delayed hydrops. Nine patients showed an absent response on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. The only patient with low amplitude on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials had vertigo recurrence. Vertigo control was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient developed hearing loss >30 dB. Conclusions: Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials confirmed vestibular ablation in patients treated with intratympanic gentamicin. High-grade vertigo control was due to complete saccular and horizontal canal ablation (no response to iced water in electronystagmography and no response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.

Phantom somatosensory evoked potentials following selective intraneural electrical stimulation in two amputees.

Science.gov (United States)

Granata, Giuseppe; Di Iorio, Riccardo; Romanello, Roberto; Iodice, Francesco; Raspopovic, Stanisa; Petrini, Francesco; Strauss, Ivo; Valle, Giacomo; Stieglitz, Thomas; Čvančara, Paul; Andreu, David; Divoux, Jean-Louis; Guiraud, David; Wauters, Loic; Hiairrassary, Arthur; Jensen, Winnie; Micera, Silvestro; Rossini, Paolo Maria

2018-06-01

The aim of the paper is to objectively demonstrate that amputees implanted with intraneural interfaces are truly able to feel a sensation in the phantom hand by recording "phantom" somatosensory evoked potentials from the corresponding brain areas. We implanted four transverse intrafascicular multichannel electrodes, available with percutaneous connections to a multichannel electrical stimulator, in the median and ulnar nerves of two left trans-radial amputees. Two channels of the implants that were able to elicit sensations during intraneural nerve stimulation were chosen, in both patients, for recording somatosensory evoked potentials. We recorded reproducible evoked responses by stimulating the median and the ulnar nerves in both cases. Latencies were in accordance with the arrival of somatosensory information to the primary somatosensory cortex. Our results provide evidence that sensations generated by intraneural stimulation are truly perceived by amputees and located in the phantom hand. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that sensations perceived in different parts of the phantom hand result in different evoked responses. Somatosensory evoked potentials obtained by selective intraneural electrical stimulation in amputee patients are a useful tool to provide an objective demonstration of somatosensory feedback in new generation bidirectional prostheses. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Attitudes of Swiss mothers toward unrelated umbilical cord blood banking 6 months after donation.

Science.gov (United States)

Danzer, Enrico; Holzgreve, Wolfgang; Troeger, Carolyn; Kostka, Ulrike; Steimann, Sabine; Bitzer, Johanes; Gratwohl, Alois; Tichelli, André; Seelmann, Kurt; Surbek, Daniel V

2003-05-01

During the past decade, the use of umbilical cord blood (CB) as a source of transplantable hematopoietic stem cells has been increasing. Little is known about the psychosocial consequences that later affect parents after unrelated CB donation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of mothers toward unrelated donation of umbilical CB for transplantation 6 months after giving birth. A prospective study was performed with a standardized, anonymous questionnaire distributed to 131 women 6 months after CB donation. The questionnaire included topics concerning views about the ethical accuracy of having donated CB, emotional responses after donation, concerns about genetic testing and research with CB samples, attitude toward anonymity between her child and possible unrelated CB recipient, and willingness to repeatedly donate umbilical CB in a next pregnancy. The vast majority (96.1%) stated that they would donate umbilical CB again, and all respondents were certain that their decision to have donated umbilical CB was ethical. With regard to the potential risks of genetic testing and "experimentation" of umbilical CB, a significant correlation (p = 0.01) was found between negative attitudes and the decision not to donate umbilical CB again. Additionally, it was observed that women who had a negative experience concerning the donation of CB would not donate again (p = 0.004). This study shows a high degree of satisfaction of unrelated umbilical CB donation for banking in women 6 months after delivery. Despite a well-performed and detailed informed consent procedure, one of the ongoing issues for the donators in CB banking involves the concern regarding of improper use of the cells, such as genetic testing or experimentation. Accurate and detailed counseling of pregnant women and their partners therefore maximizes the likelihood that they will donate CB for unrelated banking. These data provide a basis for the improvement of donor selection procedures

An inventory and update of jealousy-evoking partner behaviours in modern society.

Science.gov (United States)

Dijkstra, Pieternel; Barelds, Dick P H; Groothof, Hinke A K

2010-01-01

The goal of the present study was to identify the most important jealousy-evoking partner behaviours and to examine the extent to which these behaviours evoke jealousy. Based on the literature, a questionnaire was constructed containing 42 jealousy-evoking partner behaviours, including a partner's extra-dyadic involvement with someone else by means of modern communication devices, such as the Internet. A second study examined the extent to which undergraduates and a community sample experienced jealousy in response to these partner behaviours. Results showed that explicit unfaithful behaviours evoked most feelings of jealousy, followed by a partner's emotional or romantic involvement with someone else by means of modern communication devices. In general, older individuals responded with less jealousy in response to a partner's unfaithful and suspicious behaviours. Clinical implications are discussed. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evoked Brain Activity and Personnel Performance

Science.gov (United States)

1987-10-01

Shucard and Horn (1972), Galbraith, Gliddon, and Busk (1970), and Callaway (1975), the latter using Navy recruits. Callaway’s own work was reported at...G.C., Gliddon, J.B., & Busk , J. (1970). Visual evoked responses in mentally retarded and nonretarded subjects. American Journal of Mental Deficiency

Evoked potentials in pediatric cerebral malaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minal Bhanushali

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Cortical evoked potentials (EP provide localized data regarding brain function and may offer prognostic information and insights into the pathologic mechanisms of malariamediated cerebral injury. As part of a prospective cohort study, we obtained somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs and brainstem auditory EPs (AEPs within 24 hours of admission on 27 consecutive children admitted with cerebral malaria (CM. Children underwent follow-up for 12 months to determine if they had any long term neurologic sequelae. EPs were obtained in 27 pediatric CM admissions. Two children died. Among survivors followed an average of 514 days, 7/25 (28.0% had at least one adverse neurologic outcome. Only a single subject had absent cortical EPs on admission and this child had a good neurologic outcome. Among pediatric CM survivors, cortical EPs are generally intact and do not predict adverse neurologic outcomes. Further study is needed to determine if alterations in cortical EPs can be used to predict a fatal outcome in CM.

Laser-evoked coloration in polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, H.Y.; Rosseinsky, David; Lim, G.C.

2005-01-01

Laser-evoked coloration in polymers has long been a major aim of polymer technology for potential applications in product surface decoration, marking personalised images and logos. However, the coloration results reported so far were mostly attributed to laser-induced thermal-chemical reactions. The laser-irradiated areas are characterized with grooves due to material removal. Furthermore, only single color was laser-induced in any given polymer matrix. To induce multiple colors in a given polymer matrix with no apparent surface material removal is most desirable and challenging and may be achieved through laser-induced photo-chemical reactions. However, little public information is available at present. We report that two colors of red and green have been produced on an initially transparent CPV/PVA samples through UV laser-induced photo-chemical reactions. This is believed the first observation of laser-induced multiple-colors in the given polymer matrix. It is believed that the colorants underwent photo-effected electron transfer with suitable electron donors from the polymers to change from colorless bipyridilium Bipm 2+ to the colored Bipm + species. The discovery may lead to new approaches to the development of laser-evoked multiple coloration in polymers

Refractory episodic vertigo: role of intratympanic gentamicin and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Celis-Aguilar, Erika; Hinojosa-González, Ramon; Vales-Hidalgo, Olivia; Coutinho-Toledo, Heloisa

Even today, the treatment of intractable vertigo remains a challenge. Vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin stands as a good alternative in the management of refractory vertigo patients. To control intractable vertigo through complete saccular and horizontal canal vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin treatment. Patients with refractory episodic vertigo were included. The inclusion criteria were: unilateral ear disease, moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss, and failure to other treatments. Included patients underwent 0.5-0.8mL of gentamicin intratympanic application at a 30mg/mL concentration. Vestibular ablation was confirmed by the absence of response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. Audiometry, electronystagmography with iced water, and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were performed in all patients. Ten patients were included; nine patients with Meniere's disease and one patient with (late onset) delayed hydrops. Nine patients showed an absent response on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. The only patient with low amplitude on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials had vertigo recurrence. Vertigo control was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient developed hearing loss >30dB. Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials confirmed vestibular ablation in patients treated with intratympanic gentamicin. High-grade vertigo control was due to complete saccular and horizontal canal ablation (no response to iced water in electronystagmography and no response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials). Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

A comparison of auditory evoked potentials to acoustic beats and to binaural beats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Hillel; Starr, Arnold; Michalewski, Henry J; Dimitrijevic, Andrew; Bleich, Naomi; Mittelman, Nomi

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cortical brain responses evoked by amplitude modulated acoustic beats of 3 and 6 Hz in tones of 250 and 1000 Hz with those evoked by their binaural beats counterparts in unmodulated tones to indicate whether the cortical processes involved differ. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to 3- and 6-Hz acoustic and binaural beats in 2000 ms duration 250 and 1000 Hz tones presented with approximately 1 s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source current density estimates of ERP components to beats-evoked oscillations were determined and compared across beat types, beat frequencies and base (carrier) frequencies. All stimuli evoked tone-onset components followed by oscillations corresponding to the beat frequency, and a subsequent tone-offset complex. Beats-evoked oscillations were higher in amplitude in response to acoustic than to binaural beats, to 250 than to 1000 Hz base frequency and to 3 Hz than to 6 Hz beat frequency. Sources of the beats-evoked oscillations across all stimulus conditions located mostly to left temporal lobe areas. Differences between estimated sources of potentials to acoustic and binaural beats were not significant. The perceptions of binaural beats involve cortical activity that is not different than acoustic beats in distribution and in the effects of beat- and base frequency, indicating similar cortical processing. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on change of multi-modally evoked potentials in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Ling; Chen Jiaxin; Zhang Lixiang; Wang Tiejian; Han Min; Lu Xiaoling

2001-01-01

Objective: To investigate possible changes of multi-modally evoked potentials in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy. Methods: Altogether 48 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving primary conventional external beam irradiation were examined before and after radiotherapy to determine their brainstem auditory-evoked potential (BAEP), short-latency somatosensory-evoked potential (SLSEP) and pattern reversal visual-evoked potential (PRVEP). Results: In comparison with the conditions before radiotherapy, in different periods after radiotherapy abnormal peak latency and interval latency difference were found in BAEP, SLSEP and PRVEP. Conclusion: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy may cause abnormal function of nerve conduction in early periods, which can be showed by BAEP, SLSEP, PRVEP, and injury can be timely detected if the three evoked potentials are used together. Thus authors suggest BAEP, SLSEP, PRVEP should be examined in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients during and after the radiotherapy so as to find early damage in auditory somatosensory and visual conduction pathways

Index finger somatosensory evoked potentials in blind Braille readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Giriyappa, Dayananda; Subrahmanyam, Roopakala Mysore; Rangashetty, Srinivasa; Sharma, Rajeev

2009-01-01

Traditionally, vision has been considered the dominant modality in our multi-sensory perception of the surrounding world. Sensory input via non-visual tracts becomes of greater behavioural relevance in totally blind individuals to enable effective interaction with the world around them. These include audition and tactile perceptions, leading to an augmentation in these perceptions when compared with normal sighted individuals. The objective of the present work was to study the index finger somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in totally blind and normal sighted individuals. SEPs were recorded in 15 Braille reading totally blind females and compared with 15 age-matched normal sighted females. Latency and amplitudes of somatosensory evoked potential waveforms (N9, N13, and N20) were measured. Amplitude of N20 SEP (a cortical somatosensory evoked potential) was significantly larger in the totally blind than in normal sighted individuals (p Braille reading right index finger. Totally blind Braille readers have larger N20 amplitude, suggestive of greater somatosensory cortical representation of the Braille reading index finger.

Computation of ancestry scores with mixed families and unrelated individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yi-Hui; Marron, James S; Wright, Fred A

2018-03-01

The issue of robustness to family relationships in computing genotype ancestry scores such as eigenvector projections has received increased attention in genetic association, and is particularly challenging when sets of both unrelated individuals and closely related family members are included. The current standard is to compute loadings (left singular vectors) using unrelated individuals and to compute projected scores for remaining family members. However, projected ancestry scores from this approach suffer from shrinkage toward zero. We consider two main novel strategies: (i) matrix substitution based on decomposition of a target family-orthogonalized covariance matrix, and (ii) using family-averaged data to obtain loadings. We illustrate the performance via simulations, including resampling from 1000 Genomes Project data, and analysis of a cystic fibrosis dataset. The matrix substitution approach has similar performance to the current standard, but is simple and uses only a genotype covariance matrix, while the family-average method shows superior performance. Our approaches are accompanied by novel ancillary approaches that provide considerable insight, including individual-specific eigenvalue scree plots. © 2017 The Authors. Biometrics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Biometric Society.

26 CFR 1.513-2 - Definition of unrelated trade or business applicable to taxable years beginning before December...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Definition of unrelated trade or business... (CONTINUED) Taxation of Business Income of Certain Exempt Organizations § 1.513-2 Definition of unrelated trade or business applicable to taxable years beginning before December 13, 1967. (a) In general. (1) As...

Newborn hearing screening with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and automatic auditory brainstem response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Mota Mamede de Carvallo

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to check Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response tests applied together in regular nurseries and Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU, as well as to describe and compare the results obtained in both groups. Methods: We tested 150 newborns from regular nurseries and 70 from NICU. Rresults: The newborn hearing screening results using Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response tests could be applied to all babies. The “pass” result for the group of babies from the nursery was 94.7% using Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and 96% using Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response. The newborn intensive care unit group obtained 87.1% on Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and 80% on the Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response, and there was no statistical difference between the procedures when the groups were evaluated individually. However, comparing the groups, Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions were presented in 94.7% of the nursery babies and in 87.1% in the group from the newborn intensive care unit. Considering the Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response, we found 96 and 87%, respectively. Cconclusions: Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response had similar “pass” and “fail” results when the procedures were applied to neonates from the regular nursery, and the combined tests were more precise to detect hearing impairment in the newborn intensive care unit babies.

Sex differences in the jealousy-evoking nature of a rival's body build

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Pieternel; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)

This study among 185 college students showed that potential rivals with a relatively low waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) evoked more jealousy in women than in men. In contrast, rivals with a relatively high shoulder-to-hip ratio (SHR) evoked more jealousy in men than in women, particularly when the rival

Enhanced brainstem and cortical evoked response amplitudes: single-trial covariance analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Galbraith, G C

2001-06-01

The purpose of the present study was to develop analytic procedures that improve the definition of sensory evoked response components. Such procedures could benefit all recordings but would especially benefit difficult recordings where many trials are contaminated by muscle and movement artifacts. First, cross-correlation and latency adjustment analyses were applied to the human brainstem frequency-following response and cortical auditory evoked response recorded on the same trials. Lagged cross-correlation functions were computed, for each of 17 subjects, between single-trial data and templates consisting of the sinusoid stimulus waveform for the brainstem response and the subject's own smoothed averaged evoked response P2 component for the cortical response. Trials were considered in the analysis only if the maximum correlation-squared (r2) exceeded .5 (negatively correlated trials were thus included). Identical correlation coefficients may be based on signals with quite different amplitudes, but it is possible to assess amplitude by the nonnormalized covariance function. Next, an algorithm is applied in which each trial with negative covariance is matched to a trial with similar, but positive, covariance and these matched-trial pairs are deleted. When an evoked response signal is present in the data, the majority of trials positively correlate with the template. Thus, a residual of positively correlated trials remains after matched covariance trials are deleted. When these residual trials are averaged, the resulting brainstem and cortical responses show greatly enhanced amplitudes. This result supports the utility of this analysis technique in clarifying and assessing evoked response signals.

Is Urgent Evoke a Digital Ba?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wichmand, Mette

2018-01-01

of such a platform, the World Bank’s online game Urgent Evoke, which has been designed with the pur- pose of engaging citizens in developing innovative solutions for sociopolitical problems like poverty. The analysis is based on Nonaka’s concept of Ba, which means “place” and is described as a platform for advancing...

Two NP-hardness results for preemptive minsum scheduling of unrelated parallel machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sitters, R.A.; Aardal, K.; Gerards, B.

2001-01-01

We show that the problems of minimizing total completion time and of minimizing the number of late jobs on unrelated parallel machines, when preemption is allowed, are both NP-hard in the strong sense. The former result settles a long-standing open question.

Biomass Scenario Model Scenario Library: Definitions, Construction, and Description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inman, D.; Vimmerstedt, L.; Bush, B.; Peterson, S.

2014-04-01

Understanding the development of the biofuels industry in the United States is important to policymakers and industry. The Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) is a system dynamics model of the biomass-to-biofuels system that can be used to explore policy effects on biofuels development. Because of the complexity of the model, as well as the wide range of possible future conditions that affect biofuels industry development, we have not developed a single reference case but instead developed a set of specific scenarios that provide various contexts for our analyses. The purpose of this report is to describe the scenarios that comprise the BSM scenario library. At present, we have the following policy-focused scenarios in our library: minimal policies, ethanol-focused policies, equal access to policies, output-focused policies, technological diversity focused, and the point-of-production- focused. This report describes each scenario, its policy settings, and general insights gained through use of the scenarios in analytic studies.

Evoked Emotions Predict Food Choice

OpenAIRE

Dalenberg, Jelle R.; Gutjar, Swetlana; ter Horst, Gert J.; de Graaf, Kees; Renken, Remco J.; Jager, Gerry

2014-01-01

In the current study we show that non-verbal food-evoked emotion scores significantly improve food choice prediction over merely liking scores. Previous research has shown that liking measures correlate with choice. However, liking is no strong predictor for food choice in real life environments. Therefore, the focus within recent studies shifted towards using emotion-profiling methods that successfully can discriminate between products that are equally liked. However, it is unclear how well ...

Effect of peripherally and cortically evoked swallows on jaw reflex responses in anesthetized rabbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Taku; Yoshihara, Midori; Sakai, Shogo; Tsuji, Kojun; Nagoya, Kouta; Magara, Jin; Tsujimura, Takanori; Inoue, Makoto

2018-05-03

This study aimed to investigate whether the jaw-opening (JOR) and jaw-closing reflexes (JCR) are modulated during not only peripherally, but also centrally, evoked swallowing. Experiments were carried out on 24 adult male Japanese white rabbits. JORs were evoked by trigeminal stimulation at 1 Hz for 30 sec. In the middle 10 sec, either the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) or cortical swallowing area (Cx) was simultaneously stimulated to evoke swallowing. The peak-to-peak JOR amplitude was reduced during the middle and late 10-sec periods (i.e., during and after SLN or Cx stimulation), and the reduction was dependent on the current intensity of SLN/Cx stimulation: greater SLN/Cx stimulus current resulted in greater JOR inhibition. The reduction rate was significantly greater during Cx stimulation than during SLN stimulation. The amplitude returned to baseline 2 min after 10-sec SLN/Cx stimulation. The effect of co-stimulation of SLN and Cx was significantly greater than that of SLN stimulation alone. There were no significant differences in any parameters of the JCR between conditions. These results clearly showed that JOR responses were significantly suppressed, not only during peripherally evoked swallowing but also during centrally evoked swallowing, and that the inhibitory effect is likely to be larger during centrally compared with peripherally evoked swallowing. The functional implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Scenario planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Enzmann, Dieter R; Beauchamp, Norman J; Norbash, Alexander

2011-03-01

In facing future developments in health care, scenario planning offers a complementary approach to traditional strategic planning. Whereas traditional strategic planning typically consists of predicting the future at a single point on a chosen time horizon and mapping the preferred plans to address such a future, scenario planning creates stories about multiple likely potential futures on a given time horizon and maps the preferred plans to address the multiple described potential futures. Each scenario is purposefully different and specifically not a consensus worst-case, average, or best-case forecast; nor is scenario planning a process in probabilistic prediction. Scenario planning focuses on high-impact, uncertain driving forces that in the authors' example affect the field of radiology. Uncertainty is the key concept as these forces are mapped onto axes of uncertainty, the poles of which have opposed effects on radiology. One chosen axis was "market focus," with poles of centralized health care (government control) vs a decentralized private market. Another axis was "radiology's business model," with one pole being a unified, single specialty vs a splintered, disaggregated subspecialty. The third axis was "technology and science," with one pole representing technology enabling to radiology vs technology threatening to radiology. Selected poles of these axes were then combined to create 3 scenarios. One scenario, termed "entrepreneurialism," consisted of a decentralized private market, a disaggregated business model, and threatening technology and science. A second scenario, termed "socialized medicine," had a centralized market focus, a unified specialty business model, and enabling technology and science. A third scenario, termed "freefall," had a centralized market focus, a disaggregated business model, and threatening technology and science. These scenarios provide a range of futures that ultimately allow the identification of defined "signposts" that can

Alternative allogeneic donor sources for transplantation for childhood diseases: unrelated cord blood and haploidentical family donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cairo, Mitchell S; Rocha, Vanderson; Gluckman, Eliane; Hale, Gregory; Wagner, John

2008-01-01

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been demonstrated to be curative in a wide variety of pediatric malignant and nonmalignant diseases, and can be traced back over 50 years ago to the original report of Thomas et al. HLA matched sibling donors have been the gold standard for pediatric recipients requiring allogeneic donors for both nonmalignant and malignant conditions. However, only 25% of potential pediatric recipients possesses an HLA-matched sibling donor, and the frequency is even less in those with genetic nonmalignant conditions because of genetically affected other siblings within the family. Therefore, 75% to 90% of potential pediatric recipients require alternative allogeneic donor cells for treatment of their underlying conditions. Potential alternative allogeneic donor sources include unrelated cord blood donors, unrelated adult donors, and haploidentical family donors. In this article we review the experience of both unrelated cord blood donor and haploidentical family donor transplants in selected pediatric malignant and nonmalignant conditions.

The Relationship of Visual Evoked Potential Asymmetries to the Performance of Sonar Operators

Science.gov (United States)

1981-08-11

also been related to EP variability. Schizophrenic adults and patients with Korsakoff’s Syndrome have shown higher evoked potential variability than...average evoked response in Korsakoff patients. J. Psychiatry Res. 6: 253-260, 1969. Santoro, T. and D. Fender. Rules for the perception of

26 CFR 1.512(a)-5T - Questions and answers relating to the unrelated business taxable income of organizations...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Questions and answers relating to the unrelated... TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Taxation of Business Income of Certain Exempt Organizations § 1.512(a)-5T Questions and answers relating to the unrelated business taxable...

On the role of attention and emotion in morality: attentional control modulates unrelated disgust in moral judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dillen, Lotte F; van der Wal, Reine C; van den Bos, Kees

2012-09-01

The emotion of disgust can influence people's moral judgments, even if this emotion objectively is unrelated to the moral judgment in question. The present work demonstrates that attentional control regulates this effect. In three studies, disgust was induced. In an unrelated part of the studies, participants then judged a moral transgression. Disgust resulted in more severe moral judgments when attentional control (either measured by means of individual predisposition or manipulated with experimental control) was weak as opposed to strong (Studies 1-3). Findings further showed that attentional control mediated the positive relation between the intensity of participants' disgust responses and the severity of their moral judgments (Study 2). Moreover, attentional control has its effects through the regulation of affective processing (Study 3). Taken together, the findings suggest that unrelated influences of disgust on moral judgments are contingent on the attention system.

Conduction velocity of the human spinothalamic tract as assessed by laser evoked potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cruccu, G.; Iannetti, G. D.; Agostino, R.

2000-01-01

To study the conduction velocity of the spinothalamic tract (STT) we delivered CO2 laser pulses, evoking pinprick sensations, to the skin overlying the vertebral spinous processes at different spinal levels from C5 to T10 and recorded evoked potentials (LEPs) in 15 healthy human subjects...

Evidence that 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptors mediate cytotoxic drug and radiation-evoked emesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miner, W.D.; Sanger, G.J.; Turner, D.H.

1987-01-01

The involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 5-HT 3 receptors in the mechanisms of severe emesis evoked by cytotoxic drugs or by total body irradiation have been studied in ferrets. Anti-emetic compounds tested were domperidone (a dopamine antagonist), metoclopramide (a gastric motility stimulant and dopamine antagonist at conventional doses, a 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist at higher doses) and BRL 24924 (a potent gastric motility stimulant and a 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist). Domperidone or metoclopramide prevented apomorphine-evoked emesis, whereas BRL 24924 did not. Similar doses of domperidone did not prevent emesis evoked by cis-platin or by total body irradiation, whereas metoclopramide or BRL 24924 greatly reduced or prevented these types of emesis. Metoclopramide and BRL 24924 also prevented emesis evoked by a combination of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. These results are discussed in terms of a fundamental role for 5-HT 3 receptors in the mechanisms mediating severely emetogenic cancer treatment therapies. (author)

Interhemispheric Asymmetries in Visual Evoked Potential Amplitude

Science.gov (United States)

1980-06-12

Layne, 1965) and of patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome (Malerstein and Callaway, 1969) . In the schizophrenics, the high variability is related to poor...communication. Malerstein, A. J., Callaway, E. Two-tone average evoked response in Korsakoff patients. J. Psychiatr. Res. 6: 253-260, 1969. Marsh, G

Different Stimulation Frequencies Alter Synchronous Fluctuations in Motor Evoked Potential Amplitude of Intrinsic Hand Muscles—a TMS Study

Science.gov (United States)

Sale, Martin V.; Rogasch, Nigel C.; Nordstrom, Michael A.

2016-01-01

The amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) varies from trial-to-trial. Synchronous oscillations in cortical neuronal excitability contribute to this variability, however it is not known how different frequencies of stimulation influence MEP variability, and whether these oscillations are rhythmic or aperiodic. We stimulated the motor cortex with TMS at different regular (i.e., rhythmic) rates, and compared this with pseudo-random (aperiodic) timing. In 18 subjects, TMS was applied at three regular frequencies (0.05 Hz, 0.2 Hz, 1 Hz) and one aperiodic frequency (mean 0.2 Hz). MEPs (n = 50) were recorded from three intrinsic hand muscles of the left hand with different functional and anatomical relations. MEP amplitude correlation was highest for the functionally related muscle pair, less for the anatomically related muscle pair and least for the functionally- and anatomically-unrelated muscle pair. MEP correlations were greatest with 1 Hz, and least for stimulation at 0.05 Hz. Corticospinal neuron synchrony is higher with shorter TMS intervals. Further, corticospinal neuron synchrony is similar irrespective of whether the stimulation is periodic or aperiodic. These findings suggest TMS frequency is a crucial consideration for studies using TMS to probe correlated activity between muscle pairs. PMID:27014031

Visual cortical somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials following incidental irradiation of the rhombencephalon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nightingale, S. (Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)); Schofield, I.S.; Dawes, P.J.D.K. (Newcastle upon Tyne Univ. (UK). Newcastle General Hospital)

1984-01-01

Visual, cortical somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials were recorded before incidental irradiation of the rhombencephalon during radiotherapy in and around the middle ear, and at 11 weeks and eight months after completion of treatment. No patient experienced neurological symptoms during this period. No consistent changes in evoked potentials were found. The failure to demonstrate subclinical radiation-induced demyelination suggests either that the syndrome of early-delayed radiation rhombencephalopathy occurs in an idiosyncratic manner, or that any subclinical lesions are not detectable by serial evoked potential recordings.

Music-evoked emotions in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, Daijyu; Arai, Makoto; Itokawa, Masanari

2017-07-01

Previous studies have reported that people with schizophrenia have impaired musical abilities. Here we developed a simple music-based assay to assess patient's ability to associate a minor chord with sadness. We further characterize correlations between impaired musical responses and psychiatric symptoms. We exposed participants sequentially to two sets of sound stimuli, first a C-major progression and chord, and second a C-minor progression and chord. Participants were asked which stimulus they associated with sadness, the first set, the second set, or neither. The severity of psychiatric symptoms was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Study participants were 29 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 29 healthy volunteers matched in age, gender and musical background. 37.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]:19.1-56.7) of patients with schizophrenia associated the minor chord set as sad, compared with 97.9% (95%CI: 89.5-103.6) of controls. Four patients were diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and all four failed to associate the minor chord with sadness. Patients who did not recognize minor chords as sad had significantly higher scores on all PANSS subscales. A simple test allows music-evoked emotions to be assessed in schizophrenia patient, and may show potential relationships between music-evoked emotions and psychiatric symptoms. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Right hemispheric dominance of visual phenomena evoked by intracerebral stimulation of the human visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonas, Jacques; Frismand, Solène; Vignal, Jean-Pierre; Colnat-Coulbois, Sophie; Koessler, Laurent; Vespignani, Hervé; Rossion, Bruno; Maillard, Louis

2014-07-01

Electrical brain stimulation can provide important information about the functional organization of the human visual cortex. Here, we report the visual phenomena evoked by a large number (562) of intracerebral electrical stimulations performed at low-intensity with depth electrodes implanted in the occipito-parieto-temporal cortex of 22 epileptic patients. Focal electrical stimulation evoked primarily visual hallucinations with various complexities: simple (spot or blob), intermediary (geometric forms), or complex meaningful shapes (faces); visual illusions and impairments of visual recognition were more rarely observed. With the exception of the most posterior cortical sites, the probability of evoking a visual phenomenon was significantly higher in the right than the left hemisphere. Intermediary and complex hallucinations, illusions, and visual recognition impairments were almost exclusively evoked by stimulation in the right hemisphere. The probability of evoking a visual phenomenon decreased substantially from the occipital pole to the most anterior sites of the temporal lobe, and this decrease was more pronounced in the left hemisphere. The greater sensitivity of the right occipito-parieto-temporal regions to intracerebral electrical stimulation to evoke visual phenomena supports a predominant role of right hemispheric visual areas from perception to recognition of visual forms, regardless of visuospatial and attentional factors. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Temporal processing and long-latency auditory evoked potential in stutterers.

Science.gov (United States)

Prestes, Raquel; de Andrade, Adriana Neves; Santos, Renata Beatriz Fernandes; Marangoni, Andrea Tortosa; Schiefer, Ana Maria; Gil, Daniela

Stuttering is a speech fluency disorder, and may be associated with neuroaudiological factors linked to central auditory processing, including changes in auditory processing skills and temporal resolution. To characterize the temporal processing and long-latency auditory evoked potential in stutterers and to compare them with non-stutterers. The study included 41 right-handed subjects, aged 18-46 years, divided into two groups: stutterers (n=20) and non-stutters (n=21), compared according to age, education, and sex. All subjects were submitted to the duration pattern tests, random gap detection test, and long-latency auditory evoked potential. Individuals who stutter showed poorer performance on Duration Pattern and Random Gap Detection tests when compared with fluent individuals. In the long-latency auditory evoked potential, there was a difference in the latency of N2 and P3 components; stutterers had higher latency values. Stutterers have poor performance in temporal processing and higher latency values for N2 and P3 components. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Temporal processing and long-latency auditory evoked potential in stutterers

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Raquel Prestes

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Stuttering is a speech fluency disorder, and may be associated with neuroaudiological factors linked to central auditory processing, including changes in auditory processing skills and temporal resolution. Objective: To characterize the temporal processing and long-latency auditory evoked potential in stutterers and to compare them with non-stutterers. Methods: The study included 41 right-handed subjects, aged 18-46 years, divided into two groups: stutterers (n = 20 and non-stutters (n = 21, compared according to age, education, and sex. All subjects were submitted to the duration pattern tests, random gap detection test, and long-latency auditory evoked potential. Results: Individuals who stutter showed poorer performance on Duration Pattern and Random Gap Detection tests when compared with fluent individuals. In the long-latency auditory evoked potential, there was a difference in the latency of N2 and P3 components; stutterers had higher latency values. Conclusion: Stutterers have poor performance in temporal processing and higher latency values for N2 and P3 components.

Pattern visual evoked potentials in malingering.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, A; Akio, T; Matsuda, E; Wakami, Y

2001-03-01

We previously developed a new method for estimating objective visual acuity by means of pattern visual evoked potentials (PVEP). In this study, this method was applied to the diagnosis of malingering. Six patients ranging in age from 40 to 54 years (mean 47 years) with suspected malingering were evaluated by means of the visual evoked potential test, optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) inhibition test, and the visual field test. In the PVEP study, the stimulus consisted of black and white checkerboards (39', 26', 15', and 9') with a visual angle of 8 degrees, contrast level of 15%, and a frequency of 0.7 Hz. One hundred PVEP responses were averaged per session. Routine ophthalmic examinations were normal in all patients. Five patients had a tubularly constricted visual field, and the remaining patient had a normal visual field. The objective visual acuities of the six patients estimated from PVEP were better than their subjective visual acuities estimated with Landolt rings. Among a variety of psychophysical and electrophysiologic ancillary tests, we consider our PVEP method a useful method for objectively determining visual acuity in a patient with signs of ocular malingering.

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in horses

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Juliana Almeida Nogueira da Gama

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP evaluates the integrity of the auditory pathways to the brainstem. The aim of this study was to evoke BAEPs in 21 clinically normal horses. The animals were sedated with detomidine hydrochloride (0.013mg.kg-1 BW. Earphones were inserted and rarefaction clicks at 90 dB and noise masking at 40 dB were used. After performing the test, the latencies of waves (I, II, III, IV, and V and interpeaks(I-III, III-V, and I-V were identified. The mean latencies of the waves were as follows: wave I, 2.4 ms; wave II, 2.24 ms; wave III, 3.61ms; wave IV, 4.61ms; and wave V, 5.49ms. The mean latencies of the interpeaks were as follows: I-III, 1.37ms; III-V, 1.88ms; and I-V, 3.26ms. This is the first study using BAEPs in horses in Brazil, and the observed latencies will be used as normative data for the interpretation of tests performed on horses with changes related to auditory system or neurologic abnormalities.

Clinical and evoked pain, personality traits, and emotional states: can familial confounding explain the associations?

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Strachan, Eric; Poeschla, Brian; Dansie, Elizabeth; Succop, Annemarie; Chopko, Laura; Afari, Niloofar

2015-01-01

Pain is a complex phenomenon influenced by context and person-specific factors. Affective dimensions of pain involve both enduring personality traits and fleeting emotional states. We examined how personality traits and emotional states are linked with clinical and evoked pain in a twin sample. 99 female twin pairs were evaluated for clinical and evoked pain using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and dolorimetry, and completed the 120-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and ratings of stress and mood. Using a co-twin control design we examined a) the relationship of personality traits and emotional states with clinical and evoked pain and b) whether genetics and common environment (i.e. familial factors) may account for the associations. Neuroticism was associated with the sensory component of the MPQ; this relationship was not confounded by familial factors. None of the emotional state measures was associated with the MPQ. PANAS negative affect was associated with lower evoked pressure pain threshold and tolerance; these associations were confounded by familial factors. There were no associations between IPIP traits and evoked pain. A relationship exists between neuroticism and clinical pain that is not confounded by familial factors. There is no similar relationship between negative emotional states and clinical pain. In contrast, the relationship between negative emotional states and evoked pain is strong while the relationship with enduring personality traits is weak. The relationship between negative emotional states and evoked pain appears to be non-causal and due to familial factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attributes Of Quality Scenarios/Scenario Sets Used In Software Requirements Elicitation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Braun, Kimberly

1997-01-01

.... This thesis examines scenarios used in software requirements elicitation. Many different definitions, formats, and ideas exist on scenarios, but no thorough work has been done on what makes a good, quality scenario and scenario set...

Visual cortical somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials following incidental irradiation of the rhombencephalon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nightingale, S.; Schofield, I.S.; Dawes, P.J.D.K.

1984-01-01

Visual, cortical somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials were recorded before incidental irradiation of the rhombencephalon during radiotherapy in and around the middle ear, and at 11 weeks and eight months after completion of treatment. No patient experienced neurological symptoms during this period. No consistent changes in evoked potentials were found. The failure to demonstrate subclinical radiation-induced demyelination suggests either that the syndrome of early-delayed radiation rhombencephalopathy occurs in an idiosyncratic manner, or that any subclinical lesions are not detectable by serial evoked potential recordings. (author)

Proprioceptive evoked potentials in man

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arnfred, S; Chen, A C; Eder, Derek N

2000-01-01

We studied cerebral evoked potentials on the scalp to the stimulation of the right hand from a change in weight of 400-480 g in ten subjects. Rise-time was 20g/10 ms, Inter Stimulus Interval 2s and stimulus duration was 100 ms. The cerebral activations were a double positive contralateral C3'/P70......). Further studies of the PEP are needed to assess the influence of load manipulations and of muscle contraction and to explore the effect of attentional manipulation....

Differential effect of ketamine and lidocaine on spontaneous and mechanical evoked pain in patients with nerve injury pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gottrup, Hanne; Bach, Flemming Winther; Juhl, Gitte Irene

2006-01-01

ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and lidocaine, a sodium channel blocker, on spontaneous pain, brush-evoked pain, and pinprick-evoked pain in patients with nerve injury pain. METHODS: Twenty patients participated in two randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover...... experiments in which they, on four different days, received a 30-minute intravenous infusion of ketamine (0.24 mg/kg), lidocaine (5 mg/kg), or saline. Ongoing pain, pain evoked by brush and repetitive pinprick stimuli, and acetone was measured before, during, and after infusion. RESULTS: Ketamine...... significantly reduced ongoing pain and evoked pain to brush and pinprick, whereas lidocaine only reduced evoked pain to repetitive pinprick stimuli. In individual patients, there was no correlation between the pain-relieving effect of lidocaine and ketamine on ongoing or mechanically evoked pains. CONCLUSIONS...

Motivation, Intentionality, and Mind Wandering: Implications for Assessments of Task-Unrelated Thought

Science.gov (United States)

Seli, Paul; Cheyne, James Allan; Xu, Mengran; Purdon, Christine; Smilek, Daniel

2015-01-01

Researchers of mind wandering frequently assume that (a) participants are motivated to do well on the tasks they are given, and (b) task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) that occur during task performance reflect unintentional, unwanted thoughts that occur despite participants' best intentions to maintain task-focus. Given the relatively boring and…

Auditory and visual evoked potentials during hyperoxia

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, D. B. D.; Strawbridge, P. J.

1974-01-01

Experimental study of the auditory and visual averaged evoked potentials (AEPs) recorded during hyperoxia, and investigation of the effect of hyperoxia on the so-called contingent negative variation (CNV). No effect of hyperoxia was found on the auditory AEP, the visual AEP, or the CNV. Comparisons with previous studies are discussed.

The effects of unrelated offspring whistle calls on capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

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E Dos Santos

Full Text Available Parent-offspring vocal communication, such as the isolation call, is one of the essential adaptations in mammals that adjust parental responsiveness. Thus, our aim was to test the hypothesis that the function of the capybara infants' whistle is to attract conspecifics. We designed a playback experiment to investigate the reaction of 20 adult capybaras (seven males and 13 females to pups' whistle calls – recorded from unrelated offspring – or to bird song, as control. The adult capybaras promptly responded to playback of unrelated pup whistles, while ignoring the bird vocalisation. The adult capybaras took, on average, 2.6 ± 2.5 seconds (s to show a response to the whistles, with no differences between males and females. However, females look longer (17.0 ± 12.9 s than males (3.0 ± 7.2 s toward the sound source when playing the pups' whistle playback. The females also tended to approach the playback source, while males showed just a momentary interruption of ongoing behaviour (feeding. Our results suggest that capybara pups' whistles function as the isolation call in this species, but gender influences the intensity of the response.

Different stimulation frequencies alter synchronous fluctuations in motor evoked potential amplitude of intrinsic hand muscles – a TMS study.

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Martin Victor Sale

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs elicited with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS varies from trial-to-trial. Synchronous oscillations in cortical neuronal excitability contribute to this variability, however it is not known how different frequencies of stimulation influence MEP variability, and whether these oscillations are rhythmic or aperiodic. We stimulated the motor cortex with TMS at different regular (i.e., rhythmic rates, and compared this with pseudo-random (aperiodic timing. In 18 subjects, TMS was applied at three regular frequencies (0.05 Hz, 0.2 Hz, 1 Hz and one aperiodic frequency (mean 0.2 Hz. MEPs (n = 50 were recorded from three intrinsic hand muscles of the left hand with different functional and anatomical relations. MEP amplitude correlation was highest for the functionally related muscle pair, less for the anatomically related muscle pair and least for the functionally- and anatomically-unrelated muscle pair. MEP correlations were greatest with 1 Hz, and least for stimulation at 0.05 Hz. Corticospinal neuron synchrony is higher with shorter TMS intervals. Further, corticospinal neuron synchrony is similar irrespective of whether the stimulation is periodic or aperiodic. These findings suggest TMS frequency is a crucial consideration for studies using TMS to probe correlated activity between muscle pairs.

Auditory brainstem activity and development evoked by apical versus basal cochlear implant electrode stimulation in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, K A; Papsin, B C; Harrison, R V

2007-08-01

The role of apical versus basal cochlear implant electrode stimulation on central auditory development was examined. We hypothesized that, in children with early onset deafness, auditory development evoked by basal electrode stimulation would differ from that evoked more apically. Responses of the auditory nerve and brainstem, evoked by an apical and a basal implant electrode, were measured over the first year of cochlear implant use in 50 children with early onset severe to profound deafness who used hearing aids prior to implantation. Responses at initial stimulation were of larger amplitude and shorter latency when evoked by the apical electrode. No significant effects of residual hearing or age were found on initial response amplitudes or latencies. With implant use, responses evoked by both electrodes showed decreases in wave and interwave latencies reflecting decreased neural conduction time through the brainstem. Apical versus basal differences persisted with implant experience with one exception; eIII-eV interlatency differences decreased with implant use. Acute stimulation shows prolongation of basally versus apically evoked auditory nerve and brainstem responses in children with severe to profound deafness. Interwave latencies reflecting neural conduction along the caudal and rostral portions of the brainstem decreased over the first year of implant use. Differences in neural conduction times evoked by apical versus basal electrode stimulation persisted in the caudal but not rostral brainstem. Activity-dependent changes of the auditory brainstem occur in response to both apical and basal cochlear implant electrode stimulation.

A comprehensive literature review of haplotyping software and methods for use with unrelated individuals

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Salem Rany M

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Interest in the assignment and frequency analysis of haplotypes in samples of unrelated individuals has increased immeasurably as a result of the emphasis placed on haplotype analyses by, for example, the International HapMap Project and related initiatives. Although there are many available computer programs for haplotype analysis applicable to samples of unrelated individuals, many of these programs have limitations and/or very specific uses. In this paper, the key features of available haplotype analysis software for use with unrelated individuals, as well as pooled DNA samples from unrelated individuals, are summarised. Programs for haplotype analysis were identified through keyword searches on PUBMED and various internet search engines, a review of citations from retrieved papers and personal communications, up to June 2004. Priority was given to functioning computer programs, rather than theoretical models and methods. The available software was considered in light of a number of factors: the algorithm(s used, algorithm accuracy, assumptions, the accommodation of genotyping error, implementation of hypothesis testing, handling of missing data, software characteristics and web-based implementations. Review papers comparing specific methods and programs are also summarised. Forty-six haplotyping programs were identified and reviewed. The programs were divided into two groups: those designed for individual genotype data (a total of 43 programs and those designed for use with pooled DNA samples (a total of three programs. The accuracy of programs using various criteria are assessed and the programs are categorised and discussed in light of: algorithm and method, accuracy, assumptions, genotyping error, hypothesis testing, missing data, software characteristics and web implementation. Many available programs have limitations (eg some cannot accommodate missing data and/or are designed with specific tasks in mind (eg estimating

The Stem Cell Club: a model for unrelated stem cell donor recruitment.

Science.gov (United States)

Fingrut, Warren; Parmar, Simran; Cuperfain, Ari; Rikhraj, Kiran; Charman, Erin; Ptak, Emilie; Kahlon, Manjot; Graham, Alice; Luong, Susan; Wang, Yongjun George; Yu, Janice; Arora, Neha; Suppiah, Roopa; Li, Edward W; Lee, Anna; Welsh, Christopher; Benzaquen, Menachem; Thatcher, Alicia; Baharmand, Iman; Ladd, Aedan; Petraszko, Tanya; Allan, David; Messner, Hans

2017-12-01

Patients with blood, immune, or metabolic diseases may require a stem cell transplant as part of their treatment. However, 70% of patients do not have a suitable human leukocyte antigen match in their family, and need an unrelated donor. Individuals can register as potential donors at stem cell drives, where they provide consent and a tissue sample for human leukocyte antigen typing. The ideal donors are young, male, and from a diversity of ethnic backgrounds. However, in Canada, non-Caucasian males ages 17 to 35 years represent only 8.8% of listed donors. The Stem Cell Club is a non-profit organization founded in 2011 in Canada that aims to augment recruitment of the most needed donors. The initiative published a recruitment toolkit online (www.stemcellclub.ca). Currently, there are 12 chapters at universities across Canada. To date, the Stem Cell Club has recruited 6585 potential registrants, representing 1.63% of donors on Canada's donor-database. Of the recruited registrants, 58.3% were male; 60.3% of males self-reported as non-Caucasian, and 78.5% were ages 17 to 25 years. From 2015 to 2016, the initiative recruited 13.7% of all ethnically diverse males ages 17 to 35 years listed in Canada's donor database. Data from this initiative demonstrate sustainability and performance on key indicators of stem cell drive quality. The Stem Cell Club has developed a capacity to recruit 2600 donors annually, with the majority being males with a high degree of ethnic diversity. The initiative enhances the quality of Canada's unrelated donor-database, improving the chances that patients in need of an unrelated donor will find a match for transplant. The Stem Cell Club is a model relevant to recruitment organizations around the world. © 2017 AABB.

Do ambient urban odors evoke basic emotions?

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Sandra Theresia Weber-Glass

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Fragrances, such as plant odors, have been shown to evoke autonomic response patterns associated with Ekman’s (Ekman et al., 1983 basic emotions happiness, surprise, anger, fear, sadness and disgust. Inducing positive emotions by odors in highly frequented public spaces could serve to improve the quality of life in urban environments. Thus, the present study evaluated the potency of ambient odors connoted with an urban environment to evoke basic emotions on an autonomic and cognitive response level. Synthetic mixtures representing the odors of disinfectant, candles / bees wax, summer air, burnt smell, vomit and musty smell as well as odorless water as a control were presented five times in random order to 30 healthy, non-smoking human subjects with intact sense of smell. Skin temperature, skin conductance, breathing rate, forearm muscle activity, blink rate and heart rate were recorded simultaneously. Subjects rated the odors in terms of pleasantness, intensity and familiarity and gave verbal labels to each odor as well as cognitive associations with the basic emotions. The results showed that the amplitude of the skin conductance response varied as a function of odor presentation. Burnt smell and vomit elicited significantly higher electrodermal responses than summer air. Also, a negative correlation was revealed between the amplitude of the skin conductance response and hedonic odor valence indicating that the magnitude of the electrodermal response increased with odor unpleasantness. The analysis of the cognitive associations between odors and basic emotions showed that candles / bees wax and summer air were specifically associated with happiness whereas burnt smell and vomit were uniquely associated with disgust. Our findings suggest that city odors may evoke specific cognitive associations of basic emotions and that autonomic activity elicited by such odors is related to odor hedonics.

Memory enhancement by a semantically unrelated emotional arousal source induced after learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielson, Kristy A; Yee, Douglas; Erickson, Kirk I

2005-07-01

It has been well established that moderate physiological or emotional arousal modulates memory. However, there is some controversy about whether the source of arousal must be semantically related to the information to be remembered. To test this idea, 35 healthy young adult participants learned a list of common nouns and afterward viewed a semantically unrelated, neutral or emotionally arousing videotape. The tape was shown after learning to prevent arousal effects on encoding or attention, instead influencing memory consolidation. Heart rate increase was significantly greater in the arousal group, and negative affect was significantly less reported in the non-arousal group after the video. The arousal group remembered significantly more words than the non-arousal group at both 30 min and 24 h delays, despite comparable group memory performance prior to the arousal manipulation. These results demonstrate that emotional arousal, even from an unrelated source, is capable of modulating memory consolidation. Potential reasons for contradictory findings in some previous studies, such as the timing of "delayed" memory tests, are discussed.

Evoked Electromyographically Controlled Electrical Stimulation

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Mitsuhiro Hayashibe

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Time-variant muscle responses under electrical stimulation (ES are often problematic for all the applications of neuroprosthetic muscle control. This situation limits the range of ES usage in relevant areas, mainly due to muscle fatigue and also to changes in stimulation electrode contact conditions, especially in transcutaneous ES. Surface electrodes are still the most widely used in noninvasive applications.Electrical field variations caused by changes in the stimulation contact condition markedly affect the resulting total muscle activation levels. Fatigue phenomena under functional electrical stimulation (FES are also well known source of time-varying characteristics coming from muscle response under ES. Therefore it is essential to monitor the actual muscle state and assess the expected muscle response by ES so as to improve the current ES system in favour of adaptive muscle-response-aware FES control. To deal with this issue, we have been studying a novel control technique using evoked electromyography (eEMG signals to compensate for these muscle time-variances under ES for stable neuroprosthetic muscle control. In this perspective article, I overview the background of this topic and highlight important points to be aware of when using ES to induce the desired muscle activation regardless of the time-variance. I also demonstrate how to deal with the common critical problem of ES to move toward robust neuroprosthetic muscle control with the Evoked Electromyographically Controlled Electrical Stimulation paradigm.

Controlling a stream of paranoia evoking events in a virtual reality environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Isnanda, Reza Giga; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Veling, Wim; van der Gaag, Mark; Neerincx, Mark

2014-01-01

Although virtual reality exposure has been reported as a method to induce paranoid thought, little is known about mechanisms to control specific virtual stressors. This paper reports on a study that examines the effect of controlling the stream of potential paranoia evoking events in a virtual restaurant world. A 2-by-2 experiment with a non-clinical group (n = 24) was conducted with as two within-subject factors: (1) the cycle time (short/long) for when the computer considers activation of a paranoia evoking event and (2) the probability that a paranoia-evoking event (low/high) would be triggered at the completion of a cycle. The results showed a significant main effect for the probability factor and two-way interaction effect with the cycle time factor on the number of paranoid comments participants made and their self-reported anxiety.

The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) for CMIP6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Neill, Brian C.; Tebaldi, Claudia; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Eyring, Veronika; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Hurtt, George; Knutti, Reto; Kriegler, Elmar; Lamarque, Jean-Francois; Lowe, Jason; Meehl, Gerald A.; Moss, Richard; Riahi, Keywan; Sanderson, Benjamin M.

2016-01-01

Projections of future climate change play a fundamental role in improving understanding of the climate system as well as characterizing societal risks and response options. The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) is the primary activity within Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) that will provide multi-model climate projections based on alternative scenarios of future emissions and land use changes produced with integrated assessment models. In this paper, we describe ScenarioMIP's objectives, experimental design, and its relation to other activities within CMIP6. The ScenarioMIP design is one component of a larger scenario process that aims to facilitate a wide range of integrated studies across the climate science, integrated assessment modeling, and impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability communities, and will form an important part of the evidence base in the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. At the same time, it will provide the basis for investigating a number of targeted science and policy questions that are especially relevant to scenario-based analysis, including the role of specific forcings such as land use and aerosols, the effect of a peak and decline in forcing, the consequences of scenarios that limit warming to below 2 °C, the relative contributions to uncertainty from scenarios, climate models, and internal variability, and long-term climate system outcomes beyond the 21st century. To serve this wide range of scientific communities and address these questions, a design has been identified consisting of eight alternative 21st century scenarios plus one large initial condition ensemble and a set of long-term extensions, divided into two tiers defined by relative priority. Some of these scenarios will also provide a basis for variants planned to be run in other CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs to investigate questions related to specific forcings. Harmonized, spatially

Interaural difference values of vestibular evoked myogenic.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marziyeh Moallemi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Migraine is a neurologic disease, which often is associated with a unilateral headache. Vestibular abnormalities are common in migraine. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs assess otolith function in particular functional integrity of the saccule and the inferior vestibular nerve. We used VEMP to evaluate if the migraine headache can affect VEMP asymmetry parameters. A total of 25 patients with migraine (22 females and 3 males who were diagnosed according to the criteria of IHS-1988 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Control group consisted of 26 healthy participants (18 female and 8 male, without neurotological symptoms and history of migraine. The short tone burst (95 dB nHL, 500 Hz was presented to ears. VEMP was recorded with surface electromyography over the contracted ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid (SCM muscle. Although current results showed that the amplitude ratio is greater in migraine patients than normal group, there was no statistical difference between two groups in mean asymmetry parameters of VEMP. Asymmetry measurements in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials probably are not indicators of unilateral deficient in saccular pathways of migraine patients.

Associative learning in humans--conditioning of sensory-evoked brain activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Skrandies, W; Jedynak, A

2000-01-01

A classical conditioning paradigm was employed in two experiments performed on 35 human volunteers. In nine subjects, the presentation of Landolt rings (conditioned stimuli, CS + ) was paired with an electric stimulus (unconditioned stimuli, UCS) applied to the left median nerve. Neutral visual control stimuli were full circles (CS -) that were not paired with the UCS. The skin conductance response (SCR) was determined in a time interval of 5 s after onset of the visual stimuli, and it was measured in the acquisition and test phase. Associative learning was reflected by a SCR occurring selectively with CS +. The same experiment was repeated with another group of 26 adults while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from 30 electrodes. For each subject, mean evoked potentials were computed. In 13 of the subjects, a conditioning paradigm was followed while the other subjects served as the control group (non-contingent stimulation). There were somatosensory and visual brain activity evoked by the stimuli. Conditioned components were identified by computing cross-correlation between evoked somatosensory components and the averaged EEG. In the visual evoked brain activity, three components with mean latencies of 105.4, 183.2, and 360.3 ms were analyzed. Somatosensory stimuli were followed by major components that occurred at mean latencies of 48.8, 132.5, 219.7, 294.8, and 374.2 ms latency after the shock. All components were analyzed in terms of latency, field strength, and topographic characteristics, and were compared between groups and experimental conditions. Both visual and somatosensory brain activity was significantly affected by classical conditioning. Our data illustrate how associative learning affects the topography of brain electrical activity elicited by presentation of conditioned visual stimuli.

Evidence that 5-hydroxytryptamine/sub 3/ receptors mediate cytotoxic drug and radiation-evoked emesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miner, W.D.; Sanger, G.J.; Turner, D.H.

1987-08-01

The involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 5-HT/sub 3/ receptors in the mechanisms of severe emesis evoked by cytotoxic drugs or by total body irradiation have been studied in ferrets. Anti-emetic compounds tested were domperidone (a dopamine antagonist), metoclopramide (a gastric motility stimulant and dopamine antagonist at conventional doses, a 5-HT/sub 3/ receptor antagonist at higher doses) and BRL 24924 (a potent gastric motility stimulant and a 5-HT/sub 3/ receptor antagonist). Domperidone or metoclopramide prevented apomorphine-evoked emesis, whereas BRL 24924 did not. Similar doses of domperidone did not prevent emesis evoked by cis-platin or by total body irradiation, whereas metoclopramide or BRL 24924 greatly reduced or prevented these types of emesis. Metoclopramide and BRL 24924 also prevented emesis evoked by a combination of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. These results are discussed in terms of a fundamental role for 5-HT/sub 3/ receptors in the mechanisms mediating severely emetogenic cancer treatment therapies.

Sensory and semantic activations evoked by action attributes of manipulable objects: Evidence from ERPs

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chia-lin; Huang, Hsu-Wen; Federmeier, Kara D.; Buxbaum, Laurel J.

2018-01-01

“Two route” theories of object-related action processing posit different temporal activation profiles of grasp-to-move actions (rapidly evoked based on object structure) versus skilled use actions (more slowly activated based on semantic knowledge). We capitalized on the exquisite temporal resolution and multidimensionality of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to directly test this hypothesis. Participants viewed manipulable objects (e.g., calculator) preceded by objects sharing either “grasp”, “use”, or no action attributes (e.g., bar of soap, keyboard, earring, respectively), as well as by action-unrelated but taxonomically-related objects (e.g., abacus); participants judged whether the two objects were related. The results showed more positive responses to “grasp-to-move” primed objects than “skilled use” primed objects or unprimed objects starting in the P1 (0–150 ms) time window and continuing onto the subsequent N1 and P2 components (150–300 ms), suggesting that only “grasp-to-move”, but not “skilled use”, actions may facilitate visual attention to object attributes. Furthermore, reliably reduced N400s (300–500 ms), an index of semantic processing, were observed to taxonomically primed and “skilled use” primed objects relative to unprimed objects, suggesting that “skilled use” action attributes are a component of distributed, multimodal semantic representations of objects. Together, our findings provide evidence supporting two-route theories by demonstrating that “grasp-to-move” and “skilled use” actions impact different aspects of object processing and highlight the relationship of “skilled use” information to other aspects of semantic memory. PMID:29183777

Neuronal Rac1 Is Required for Learning-Evoked Neurogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Matthew P.; Freewoman, Julia; Cord, Branden; Babu, Harish; Brakebusch, Cord

2013-01-01

Hippocampus-dependent learning and memory relies on synaptic plasticity as well as network adaptations provided by the addition of adult-born neurons. We have previously shown that activity-induced intracellular signaling through the Rho family small GTPase Rac1 is necessary in forebrain projection neurons for normal synaptic plasticity in vivo, and here we show that selective loss of neuronal Rac1 also impairs the learning-evoked increase in neurogenesis in the adult mouse hippocampus. Earlier work has indicated that experience elevates the abundance of adult-born neurons in the hippocampus primarily by enhancing the survival of neurons produced just before the learning event. Loss of Rac1 in mature projection neurons did reduce learning-evoked neurogenesis but, contrary to our expectations, these effects were not mediated by altering the survival of young neurons in the hippocampus. Instead, loss of neuronal Rac1 activation selectively impaired a learning-evoked increase in the proliferation and accumulation of neural precursors generated during the learning event itself. This indicates that experience-induced alterations in neurogenesis can be mechanistically resolved into two effects: (1) the well documented but Rac1-independent signaling cascade that enhances the survival of young postmitotic neurons; and (2) a previously unrecognized Rac1-dependent signaling cascade that stimulates the proliferative production and retention of new neurons generated during learning itself. PMID:23884931

Making use of scenarios : supporting scenario use in product design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anggreeni, Irene

2010-01-01

The discipline of Scenario-Based Product Design (SBPD) guides the use of scenarios in a product design process. As concrete narratives, scenarios could facilitate making explicit how users would use the designed product in their activities, allowing usability studies to be an integrated part of the

Literature Review on the Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problem with Unrelated Parallel Machines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliana Marcela Peña Tibaduiza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Context: The flow shop hybrid problem with unrelated parallel machines has been less studied in the academia compared to the flow shop hybrid with identical processors. For this reason, there are few reports about the kind of application of this problem in industries. Method: A literature review of the state of the art on flow-shop scheduling problem was conducted by collecting and analyzing academic papers on several scientific databases. For this aim, a search query was constructed using keywords defining the problem and checking the inclusion of unrelated parallel machines in such definition; as a result, 50 papers were finally selected for this study. Results: A classification of the problem according to the characteristics of the production system was performed, also solution methods, constraints and objective functions commonly used are presented. Conclusions: An increasing trend is observed in studies of flow shop with multiple stages, but few are based on industry case-studies.

A comparison between allogeneic stem cell transplantation from unmanipulated haploidentical and unrelated donors in acute leukemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Piemontese

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the absence of a HLA-matched related or matched unrelated donor, allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT from mismatched unrelated donors or haploidentical donors are potential alternatives for patients with acute leukemia with an indication to allo-SCT. The objective of this study was to compare the outcome of allo-SCT from T cell-replete haploidentical (Haplo versus matched (MUD 10/10 or mismatched unrelated donor at a single HLA-locus (MMUD 9/10 for patients with acute leukemia in remission. Methods Two hundred sixty-five adult patients with de novo acute leukemia in first or second remission that received a Haplo-SCT between January 2007 and December 2013 were compared with 2490 patients receiving a MUD 10/10 and 813 receiving a MMUD 9/10. Propensity score weighted analysis was conducted in order to control for disease risk imbalances between the groups. Results The weighted 3-year non-relapse mortality and relapse incidence were 29 and 30% for Haplo, 21 and 29% for MUD 10/10, and 29 and 25% for MMUD 9/10, respectively. The weighted 3-year leukemia-free survival (LFS and overall survival (OS were 41 and 46% for Haplo, 50 and 56% for MUD 10/10, and 46 and 48% for MMUD 9/10, respectively. Using weighted Cox model, both LFS and OS were significantly higher in transplants from MUD 10/10 compared from those in Haplo but not different between transplants from MMUD 9/10 and Haplo. The type of donor was not significantly associated with neither acute nor chronic graft-versus-host disease. Conclusions Patients with acute leukemia in remission have better outcomes if transplanted from a MUD 10/10. We did not find any significant difference in outcome between transplants from MMUD 9/10 and Haplo, suggesting that both can be equally used in the absence of a 10/10 MUD. Key point 1 Better outcomes using fully (10/10 matched unrelated donor for allo-SCT in acute leukemia in remission. Key point 2 Similar outcomes after allo

Musical Brains. A study of evoked musical sensations without external auditory stimuli. Preliminary report of three cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goycoolea, Marcos V; Mena, Ismael; Neubauer, Sonia G; Levy, Raquel G.; Fernandez Grez, Margarita; Berger, Claudia G

2006-01-01

Background: There are individuals, usually musicians, who are seemingly able to evoke musical sensations without external auditory stimuli. However, to date there is no available evidence to determine if it is feasible to have musical sensations without using external sensory receptors nor if there is a biological substrate to these sensations. Study design: Two single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) evaluations with [99mTc]-HMPAO were conducted in each of three female musicians. One was done under basal conditions (without evoking) and the other one while evoking these sensations. Results: In the NeuroSPECT studies of the musicians who were tested while evoking a musical composition, there was a significant increase in perfusion above the normal mean in the right and left hemispheres in Brodmann's areas 9 and 8 (frontal executive area) and in areas 40 on the left side (auditory center). However, under basal conditions there was no hyper perfusion of areas 9, 8, 39 and 40. In one case hyper perfusion was found under basal conditions in area 45, however it was less than when she was evoking. Conclusions: These findings are suggestive of a biological substrate to the process of evoking musical sensations (au)

EDITORIAL: Where next with global environmental scenarios? Where next with global environmental scenarios?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Brian; Pulver, Simone; Van Deveer, Stacy; Garb, Yaakov

2008-12-01

Scenarios have become a standard tool in the portfolio of techniques that scientists and policy-makers use to envision and plan for the future. Defined as plausible, challenging and relevant stories about how the future might unfold that integrate quantitative models with qualitative assessments of social and political trends, scenarios are a central component in assessment processes for a range of global issues, including climate change, biodiversity, agriculture, and energy. Yet, despite their prevalence, systematic analysis of scenarios is in its beginning stages. Fundamental questions remain about both the epistemology and scientific credibility of scenarios and their roles in policymaking and social change. Answers to these questions have the potential to determine the future of scenario analyses. Is scenario analysis moving in the direction of earth system governance informed by global scenarios generated through increasingly complex and comprehensive models integrating socio-economic and earth systems? Or will global environmental scenario analyses lose favour compared to more focused, policy-driven, regionally specific modelling? These questions come at an important time for the climate change issue, given that the scenario community, catalyzed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is currently preparing to embark on a new round of scenario development processes aimed at coordinating research and assessment, and informing policy, over the next five to ten years. These and related questions about where next to go with global environmental scenarios animated a workshop held at Brown University (Note1) that brought together leading practitioners and scholars of global environmental change scenarios from research, policy-making, advocacy, and business settings. The workshop aimed to provide an overview of current practices/best practices in scenario production and scenario use across a range of global environmental change arenas. Participants

Nostalgia-Evoked Inspiration: Mediating Mechanisms and Motivational Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, Elena; Sedikides, Constantine; Wildschut, Tim; Cheung, Wing-Yee; Routledge, Clay; Arndt, Jamie

2015-10-01

Six studies examined the nostalgia-inspiration link and its motivational implications. In Study 1, nostalgia proneness was positively associated with inspiration frequency and intensity. In Studies 2 and 3, the recollection of nostalgic (vs. ordinary) experiences increased both general inspiration and specific inspiration to engage in exploratory activities. In Study 4, serial mediational analyses supported a model in which nostalgia increases social connectedness, which subsequently fosters self-esteem, which then boosts inspiration. In Study 5, a rigorous evaluation of this serial mediational model (with a novel nostalgia induction controlling for positive affect) reinforced the idea that nostalgia-elicited social connectedness increases self-esteem, which then heightens inspiration. Study 6 extended the serial mediational model by demonstrating that nostalgia-evoked inspiration predicts goal pursuit (intentions to pursue an important goal). Nostalgia spawns inspiration via social connectedness and attendant self-esteem. In turn, nostalgia-evoked inspiration bolsters motivation. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

DNA transfer-a never ending story. A study on scenarios involving a second person as carrier.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmus, Janine; Bajanowski, Thomas; Poetsch, Micaela

2016-01-01

The transfer of DNA directly from one item to another has been shown in many studies with elaborate discussions on the nature of the DNA donor as well as material and surface of the items or surrounding features. Every DNA transfer scenario one can imagine seems to be possible. This evokes more and more intricate scenarios proposed by lawyers or attorneys searching for an explanation of the DNA of a certain person on a distinct item with impact on a crime. At court, the forensic genetic scientist has to comment on the probability of these scenarios thus calling for extensive studies on such settings. Here, the possibility of an involvement of a second person as a carrier of the donor's DNA in a variety of different scenarios including three pairs of people and two kinds of items (textiles and plastic bags) was investigated. All transfer settings were executed with and without gloves on the carrier's hands. DNA left on the items was isolated and analyzed using the Powerplex® ESX17 kit. In 21 out of 180 samples, all alleles of the donor DNA could be obtained on the second item (12%), on eight samples, the donor's DNA was dominant compared to all other alleles (38% of samples with complete donor profile). Additionally, 51 samples displayed at least more than half of the donor's alleles (28%). The complete DNA profile of the carrier was found in 47 out of 180 samples (42 partial profiles). In summary, it could be shown that a transfer of donor DNA from epithelial cells through a carrier to a second item is possible, even if the carrier does not wear gloves.

Fetal MEG evoked response latency from beamformer with random field theory.

Science.gov (United States)

McCubbin, J; Vrba, J; Murphy, P; Temple, J; Eswaran, H; Lowery, C L; Preissl, H

2010-01-01

Analysis of fetal magnetoencephalographic brain recordings is restricted by low signal to noise ratio (SNR) and non-stationarity of the sources. Beamformer techniques have been applied to improve SNR of fetal evoked responses. However, until now the effect of non-stationarity was not taken into account in detail, because the detection of evoked responses is in most cases determined by averaging a large number of trials. We applied a windowing technique to improve the stationarity of the data by using short time segments recorded during a flash-evoked study. In addition, we implemented a random field theory approach for more stringent control of false-positives in the statistical parametric map of the search volume for the beamformer. The search volume was based on detailed individual fetal/maternal biometrics from ultrasound scans and fetal heart localization. Average power over a sliding window within the averaged evoked response against a randomized average background power was used as the test z-statistic. The significance threshold was set at 10% over all members of a contiguous cluster of voxels. There was at least one significant response for 62% of fetal and 95% of newborn recordings with gestational age (GA) between 28 and 45 weeks from 29 subjects. We found that the latency was either substantially unchanged or decreased with increasing GA for most subjects, with a nominal rate of about -11 ms/week. These findings support the anticipated neurophysiological development, provide validation for the beamformer model search as a methodology, and may lead to a clinical test for fetal cognitive development.

Challenges in unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Access | Donor search and selection | Outcome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jöris, Monique Maria

2013-01-01

The studies described in this thesis are aimed at improving the whole spectrum of unrelated HSCT in order to help as many patients in need of HSCT as possible. It covers three different but related topics; from access to HSCT to optimizing donor search and selection of acceptable mismatches to

Interactions of MK-801 with glutamate-, glutamine- and methamphetamine-evoked release of [3H]dopamine from striatal slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowyer, J.F.; Scallet, A.C.; Holson, R.R.; Lipe, G.W.; Slikker, W. Jr.; Ali, S.F.

1991-01-01

The interactions of MK-801 [(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d] cyclohepten-5,10-imine], glutamate and glutamine with methamphetamine (METH)-evoked release of [ 3 H]dopamine were assessed in vitro to determine whether MK-801 inhibition of METH neurotoxicity might be mediated presynaptically, and to evaluate the effects of glutamatergic stimulation on METH-evoked dopamine release. MK-801 inhibition of glutamate- or METH-evoked dopamine release might reduce synaptic dopamine levels during METH exposure and decrease the formation of 6-hydroxydopamine or other related neurotoxins. Without Mg 2+ present, 40 microM and 1 mM glutamate evoked a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated [ 3 H]dopamine and [ 3 H]metabolite (tritium) release of 3 to 6 and 12 to 16% of total tritium stores, respectively, from striatal slices. With 1.50 mM Mg 2+ present, 10 mM glutamate alone or in combination with the dopamine uptake blocker nomifensine released only 2.1 or 4.2%, respectively, of total tritium stores, and release was only partially dependent on N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate receptors. With or without 1.50 mM Mg 2+ present, 0.5 or 5 microM METH evoked a substantial release of tritium (5-8 or 12-21% of total stores, respectively). METH-evoked dopamine release was not affected by 5 microM MK-801 but METH-evoked release was additive with glutamate-evoked release. Without Mg 2+ present, 1 mM glutamine increased glutamate release and induced the release of [ 3 H]dopamine and metabolites. Both 0.5 and 5 microM METH also increased tritium release with 1 mM glutamine present. When striatal slices were exposed to 5 microM METH this glutamine-evoked release of glutamate was increased more than 50%

The world in scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Jong, A.; Roodenburg, H.

1992-01-01

As an introduction to this special issue 'Worlds of difference: Scenarios's for the economy, energy and the environment 1990-2015', an outline is given of the future of the world and the Netherlands, based on four scenarios. These scenarios are published in 'Scanning the future' in May 1992 by the CPB, the Dutch Central Planning Bureau. The Global Shift (GS) scenario is characterized by a very dynamic technological development, the free market perspective, strong economic growth in the Asian economies, and a relative economic regression in Western Europe. In the European Renaissance (ER) scenario the technological development is less dynamic and more gradual than in the GS scenario. The Balanced Growth (BG) scenario is dominated by a sustainable economic development and a strong technological dynamic development. The Global Crisis (GC) scenario shows a downward spiral in many areas, stagnating developments and fragile economies as results of the trends in the eighties. The first three scenarios are elaborated for the Netherlands. Also attention is paid to the aims and meaning of long-term scenarios. 2 figs., 2 tabs., 3 refs

Influence of detomidine and buprenorphine on motor-evoked potentials in horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Nollet, H; Van Ham, L; Gasthuys, F; Dewulf, J; Vanderstraeten, G; Deprez, P

2003-04-26

Horses need to be sedated before they are investigated by transcranial magnetic stimulation because of the mild discomfort induced by the evoked muscle contraction and the noise of stimulation. This paper describes the influence of a combination of detomidine (10 microg/kg bodyweight) and a low dose of buprenorphine (2.4 microg/kg) on the onset latency and peak-to-peak amplitude of magnetic motor-evoked potentials in normal horses. There were no significant differences between measurements of these parameters made before the horses were sedated and measurements made 10 and 30 minutes after the drugs were administered.

From Nose to Memory: The Involuntary Nature of Odor-evoked Autobiographical Memories in Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

El Haj, Mohamad; Gandolphe, Marie Charlotte; Gallouj, Karim; Kapogiannis, Dimitrios; Antoine, Pascal

2017-12-25

Research suggests that odors may serve as a potent cue for autobiographical retrieval. We tested this hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and investigated whether odor-evoked autobiographical memory is an involuntary process that shares similarities with music-evoked autobiographical memory. Participants with mild AD and controls were asked to retrieve 2 personal memories after odor exposure, after music exposure, and in an odor-and music-free condition. AD participants showed better specificity, emotional experience, mental time travel, and retrieval time after odor and music exposure than in the control condition. Similar beneficial effects of odor and music exposure were observed for autobiographical characteristics (i.e., specificity, emotional experience, and mental time travel), except for retrieval time which was more improved after odor than after music exposure. Interestingly, regression analyses suggested executive involvement in memories evoked in the control condition but not in those evoked after music or odor exposure. These findings suggest the involuntary nature of odor-evoked autobiographical memory in AD. They also suggest that olfactory cuing could serve as a useful and ecologically valid tool to stimulate autobiographical memory, at least in the mild stage of the disease. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Newborn hearing screening with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and automatic auditory brainstem response

OpenAIRE

Renata Mota Mamede de Carvallo; Carla Gentile Matas; Isabela de Souza Jardim

2008-01-01

Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to check Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Automatic Auditory Brainstem Response tests applied together in regular nurseries and Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU), as well as to describe and compare the results obtained in both groups. Methods: We tested 150 newborns from regular nurseries and 70 from NICU. Rresults: The newborn hearing screening results using Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions and Automatic Auditory Brainstem...

Speech Evoked Auditory Brainstem Response in Stuttering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Akbar Tahaei

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Auditory processing deficits have been hypothesized as an underlying mechanism for stuttering. Previous studies have demonstrated abnormal responses in subjects with persistent developmental stuttering (PDS at the higher level of the central auditory system using speech stimuli. Recently, the potential usefulness of speech evoked auditory brainstem responses in central auditory processing disorders has been emphasized. The current study used the speech evoked ABR to investigate the hypothesis that subjects with PDS have specific auditory perceptual dysfunction. Objectives. To determine whether brainstem responses to speech stimuli differ between PDS subjects and normal fluent speakers. Methods. Twenty-five subjects with PDS participated in this study. The speech-ABRs were elicited by the 5-formant synthesized syllable/da/, with duration of 40 ms. Results. There were significant group differences for the onset and offset transient peaks. Subjects with PDS had longer latencies for the onset and offset peaks relative to the control group. Conclusions. Subjects with PDS showed a deficient neural timing in the early stages of the auditory pathway consistent with temporal processing deficits and their abnormal timing may underlie to their disfluency.

Visual Evoked Response in Children Subjected to Prenatal Maternal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

neural conduction, or arousal level. S. Afr. Med. J., 48 ... pression treatment in either development or IQ, whether ... children in brain function at an electrophysiological level, ..... Perry, N. W. and Childers, D. G. (1969): The Human Visual Evoked.

Gender differences in rival characteristics that evoke jealousy in response to emotional versus sexual infidelity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buunk, Abraham (Bram); Dijkstra, Pieternel

2004-01-01

Previous research has shown that in men jealousy is evoked more by a rival's status-related characteristics than in women, whereas in women jealousy is evoked more by a rival's physical attractiveness than in men. The present study examined whether the occurrence of this gender difference depends

Abdominal acupuncture reduces laser-evoked potentials in healthy subjects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pazzaglia, C.; Liguori, S.; Minciotti, I.

2015-01-01

Objective: Acupuncture is known to reduce clinical pain, although the exact mechanism is unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture on laser-evoked potential amplitudes and laser pain perception. Methods: In order to evaluate whether abdominal acupuncture...... is able to modify pain perception, 10 healthy subjects underwent a protocol in which laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) and laser pain perception were collected before the test (baseline), during abdominal acupuncture, and 15. min after needle removal. The same subjects also underwent a similar protocol...... in which, however, sham acupuncture without any needle penetration was used. Results: During real acupuncture, both N1 and N2/P2 amplitudes were reduced, as compared to baseline (p . < 0.01). The reduction lasted up to 15. min after needle removal. Furthermore, laser pain perception was reduced during...

Coordination of eye and head components of movements evoked by stimulation of the paramedian pontine reticular formation

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Ellen J.; Sparks, David L.

2013-01-01

Constant frequency microstimulation of the paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) in head-restrained monkeys evokes a constant velocity eye movement. Since the PPRF receives significant projections from structures that control coordinated eye-head movements, we asked whether stimulation of the pontine reticular formation in the head-unrestrained animal generates a combined eye-head movement or only an eye movement. Microstimulation of most sites yielded a constant-velocity gaze shift executed as a coordinated eye-head movement, although eye-only movements were evoked from some sites. The eye and head contributions to the stimulation-evoked movements varied across stimulation sites and were drastically different from the lawful relationship observed for visually-guided gaze shifts. These results indicate that the microstimulation activated elements that issued movement commands to the extraocular and, for most sites, neck motoneurons. In addition, the stimulation-evoked changes in gaze were similar in the head-restrained and head-unrestrained conditions despite the assortment of eye and head contributions, suggesting that the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) gain must be near unity during the coordinated eye-head movements evoked by stimulation of the PPRF. These findings contrast the attenuation of VOR gain associated with visually-guided gaze shifts and suggest that the vestibulo-ocular pathway processes volitional and PPRF stimulation-evoked gaze shifts differently. PMID:18458891

Absence of both auditory evoked potentials and auditory percepts dependent on timing cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, A; McPherson, D; Patterson, J; Don, M; Luxford, W; Shannon, R; Sininger, Y; Tonakawa, L; Waring, M

1991-06-01

An 11-yr-old girl had an absence of sensory components of auditory evoked potentials (brainstem, middle and long-latency) to click and tone burst stimuli that she could clearly hear. Psychoacoustic tests revealed a marked impairment of those auditory perceptions dependent on temporal cues, that is, lateralization of binaural clicks, change of binaural masked threshold with changes in signal phase, binaural beats, detection of paired monaural clicks, monaural detection of a silent gap in a sound, and monaural threshold elevation for short duration tones. In contrast, auditory functions reflecting intensity or frequency discriminations (difference limens) were only minimally impaired. Pure tone audiometry showed a moderate (50 dB) bilateral hearing loss with a disproportionate severe loss of word intelligibility. Those auditory evoked potentials that were preserved included (1) cochlear microphonics reflecting hair cell activity; (2) cortical sustained potentials reflecting processing of slowly changing signals; and (3) long-latency cognitive components (P300, processing negativity) reflecting endogenous auditory cognitive processes. Both the evoked potential and perceptual deficits are attributed to changes in temporal encoding of acoustic signals perhaps occurring at the synapse between hair cell and eighth nerve dendrites. The results from this patient are discussed in relation to previously published cases with absent auditory evoked potentials and preserved hearing.

Methodologic aspects of acetylcholine-evoked relaxation of rabbit aorta

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kirsten Vendelbo; Nedergaard, Ove A.

1999-01-01

The acetylcholine-evoked relaxation of rabbit isolated thoracic aorta precontracted by phenylephrine was studied. Phenylephrine caused a steady contraction that was maintained for 6 h. In the presence of calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) and ascorbic acid the contraction decreased...

Measures of spontaneous and movement-evoked pain are associated with disability in patients with whiplash injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mankovsky-Arnold, Tsipora; Wideman, Timothy H; Larivière, Christian; Sullivan, Michael J L

2014-09-01

This study examined the degree to which measures of spontaneous and movement-evoked pain accounted for shared or unique variance in functional disability associated with whiplash injury. The study also addressed the role of fear of movement as a mediator or moderator of the relation between different indices of pain and functional disability. Measures of spontaneous pain, single-point movement-evoked pain, repetition-induced summation of activity-related pain (RISP), and fear of movement and disability were obtained on a sample of 142 individuals who had sustained whiplash injuries. Participants' pain ratings, provided after lifting a weighted canister, were used as the index of single-point movement-evoked pain. RISP was computed as the increase in pain reported by participants over successive lifts of 18 weighted canisters. Measures of functional disability included physical lift tolerance and self-reported disability. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that measures of single-point movement-evoked pain and RISP accounted for significant unique variance in self-reported disability, beyond the variance accounted for by the measure of spontaneous pain. Only RISP accounted for significant unique variance in lift tolerance. The results suggest that measures of movement-evoked pain represent a disability-relevant dimension of pain that is not captured by measures of spontaneous pain. The clinical and conceptual implications of the findings are discussed. This study examined the degree to which measures of spontaneous and movement-evoked pain accounted for shared or unique variance in functional disability associated with whiplash injury. The findings suggest that approaches to the clinical evaluation of pain would benefit from the inclusion of measures of movement-evoked pain. Copyright © 2014 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Torque decrease during submaximal evoked contractions of the quadriceps muscle is linked not only to muscle fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Matkowski, Boris; Lepers, Romuald; Martin, Alain

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the neuromuscular mechanisms involved in the torque decrease induced by submaximal electromyostimulation (EMS) of the quadriceps muscle. It was hypothesized that torque decrease after EMS would reflect the fatigability of the activated motor units (MUs), but also a reduction in the number of MUs recruited as a result of changes in axonal excitability threshold. Two experiments were performed on 20 men to analyze 1) the supramaximal twitch superimposed and evoked at rest during EMS (Experiment 1, n = 9) and 2) the twitch response and torque-frequency relation of the MUs activated by EMS (Experiment 2, n = 11). Torque loss was assessed by 15 EMS-evoked contractions (50 Hz; 6 s on/6 s off), elicited at a constant intensity that evoked 20% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque. The same stimulation intensity delivered over the muscles was used to induce the torque-frequency relation and the single electrical pulse evoked after each EMS contraction (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, supramaximal twitch was induced by femoral nerve stimulation. Torque decreased by ~60% during EMS-evoked contractions and by only ~18% during MVCs. This was accompanied by a rightward shift of the torque-frequency relation of MUs activated and an increase of the ratio between the superimposed and posttetanic maximal twitch evoked during EMS contraction. These findings suggest that the torque decrease observed during submaximal EMS-evoked contractions involved muscular mechanisms but also a reduction in the number of MUs recruited due to changes in axonal excitability. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Food scenarios 2025

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sundbo, Jon

2016-01-01

This article presents the results of a future study of the food sector. Two scenarios have been developed using a combination of: 1) a summary of the relevant scientific knowledge, 2) systematic scenario writing, 3) an expert-based Delphi technique, and 4) an expert seminar assessment. The two...... scenarios present possible futures at global, national (Denmark) and regional (Zealand, Denmark) levels. The main scenario is called ‘Food for ordinary days and celebrations’ (a combination of ‘High-technological food production − The functional society’ and ‘High-gastronomic food − The experience society...

Evoked responses to sinusoidally modulated sound in unanaesthetized dogs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tielen, A.M.; Kamp, A.; Lopes da Silva, F.H.; Reneau, J.P.; Storm van Leeuwen, W.

1. 1. Responses evoked by sinusoidally amplitude-modulated sound in unanaesthetized dogs have been recorded from inferior colliculus and from auditory cortex structures by means of chronically indwelling stainless steel wire electrodes. 2. 2. Harmonic analysis of the average responses demonstrated

Interpreting energy scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Iyer, Gokul; Edmonds, James

2018-05-01

Quantitative scenarios from energy-economic models inform decision-making about uncertain futures. Now, research shows the different ways these scenarios are subsequently used by users not involved in their initial development. In the absence of clear guidance from modellers, users may place too much or too little confidence in scenario assumptions and results.

Multi-channel motor evoked potential monitoring during anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Gun Kim

Full Text Available Objectives: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF surgery is the most common surgical procedure for the cervical spine with low complication rate. Despite the potential prognostic benefit, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM, a method for detecting impending neurological compromise, is not routinely used in ACDF surgery. The present study aimed to identify the potential benefits of monitoring multi-channel motor evoked potentials (MEPs during ACDF surgery. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 200 consecutive patients who received IONM with multi-channel MEPs and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs. On average, 9.2 muscles per patient were evaluated under MEP monitoring. Results: The rate of MEP change during surgery in the multi-level ACDF group was significantly higher than the single-level group. Two patients from the single-level ACDF group (1.7% and four patients from the multi-level ACDF group (4.9% experienced post-operative motor deficits. Multi-channel MEPs monitoring during single and multi-level ACDF surgery demonstrated higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive value than SSEP monitoring. Conclusions: Multi-channel MEP monitoring might be beneficial for the detection of segmental injury as well as long tract injury during single- and multi-level ACDF surgery. Significance: This is first large scale study to identify the usefulness of multi-channel MEPs in monitoring ACDF surgery. Keywords: Disc disease, Somatosensory evoked potentials, Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, Motor evoked potentials, Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Attending to unrelated targets boosts short-term memory for color arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Makovski, Tal; Swallow, Khena M; Jiang, Yuhong V

2011-05-01

Detecting a target typically impairs performance in a second, unrelated task. It has been recently reported however, that detecting a target in a stream of distractors can enhance long-term memory of faces and scenes that were presented concurrently with the target (the attentional boost effect). In this study we ask whether target detection also enhances performance in a visual short-term memory task, where capacity limits are severe. Participants performed two tasks at once: a one shot, color change detection task and a letter-detection task. In Experiment 1, a central letter appeared at the same time as 3 or 5 color patches (memory display). Participants encoded the colors and pressed the spacebar if the letter was a T (target). After a short retention interval, a probe display of color patches appeared. Performance on the change detection task was enhanced when a target, rather than a distractor, appeared with the memory display. This effect was not modulated by memory load or the frequency of trials in which a target appeared. However, there was no enhancement when the target appeared at the same time as the probe display (Experiment 2a) or during the memory retention interval (Experiment 2b). Together these results suggest that detecting a target facilitates the encoding of unrelated information into visual short-term memory. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reproductive concessions between related and unrelated members promote eusociality in bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Aline C R; Miranda, Elder A; Del Lama, Marco A; Nascimento, Fábio S

2016-05-23

Animal societies exhibit remarkable variation in their breeding strategies. Individuals can maximize their fitness by either reproducing or by helping relatives. Social hymenopterans have been key taxa for the study of Hamilton's inclusive fitness theory because the haplodiploid sex-determination system results in asymmetric relatedness among breeders producing conflict over the partitioning of reproduction. In small cooperative groups of insects, totipotent individuals may maximize their inclusive fitness by controlling reproduction despotically rather than helping their relatives. Here, we demonstrate that the dominant females of the primitively eusocial bee Euglossa melanotricha (Apidae: Euglossini) control reproduction, but concede part of the reproductive output with their related and unrelated subordinates. As expected, a dominant female capitalizes on the direct reproduction of related subordinates, according to her interests. We found that reproductive skew was positively correlated with relatedness. The concessions were highly reduced in mother-daughter and sibling nests (relatedness r ± s.d. = 0.54 ± 0.02 and 0.79 ± 0.02, respectively) but much more egalitarian in unrelated associations (r = -0.10 ± 0.01). We concluded that reproductive skew in these primitively eusocial bees is strongly related to the genetic structure of associations, and also that females are able to assess pairwise relatedness, either directly or indirectly, and use this information to mediate social contracts.

Guanfacine potentiates the activation of prefrontal cortex evoked by warning signals.

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Clerkin, Suzanne M; Schulz, Kurt P; Halperin, Jeffrey M; Newcorn, Jeffrey H; Ivanov, Iliyan; Tang, Cheuk Y; Fan, Jin

2009-08-15

Warning signals evoke an alert state of readiness that prepares for a rapid response by priming a thalamo-frontal-striatal network that includes the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Animal models indicate that noradrenergic input is essential for this stimulus-driven activation of DLPFC, but the precise mechanisms involved have not been determined. We tested the role that postsynaptic alpha(2A) adrenoceptors play in the activation of DLPFC evoked by warning cues using a placebo-controlled challenge with the alpha(2A) agonist guanfacine. Sixteen healthy young adults were scanned twice with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while performing a simple cued reaction time (RT) task following administration of a single dose of oral guanfacine (1 mg) and placebo in counterbalanced order. The RT task temporally segregates the neural effects of warning cues and motor responses and minimizes mnemonic demands. Warning cues produced a marked reduction in RT accompanied by significant activation in a distributed thalamo-frontal-striatal network, including bilateral DLPFC. Guanfacine selectively increased the cue-evoked activation of the left DLPFC and right anterior cerebellum, although this increase was not accompanied by further reductions in RT. The effects of guanfacine on DLPFC activation were specifically associated with the warning cue and were not seen for visual- or target-related activation. Guanfacine produced marked increases in the cue-evoked activation of DLPFC that correspond to the well-described actions of postsynaptic alpha(2) adrenoceptor stimulation. The current procedures provide an opportunity to test postsynaptic alpha(2A) adrenoceptor function in the prefrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders.

[Effects of sevoflurane and propofol on evoked potentials during neurosurgical anesthesia].

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Itsuo; Hidaka, Syozo; Okada, Hironori; Kubo, Takashi; Okamura, Kenta; Kato, Takahiro

2006-06-01

The effect of anesthetics on somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and auditory brain stem response (ABR) has been a subject of intense reseach over the last two decades. In fact, volatile anesthetics have been repeatedly shown to decrease cortical amplitude in a dose-dependent fashion but the information regarding the effect of propofol is incomplete. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of sevoflurane and propofol on evoked potentials during comparable depth of anesthesia guided by bispectral index (BIS). Forty four patients scheduled for neurosurgery were studied. Anesthesia was maintained with intravenous propofol using target controlled infusion (TCI). We measured the change of amplitude and latency of SEP(N20-P25), ABR (V wave) and visual evoked potential (VEP: P100) at three sets of sevoflurane (0%, 1%, 2%) or propofol concentrations (effect site concentration of 1.5, 2.0, 3.0 microug x ml(-1)). BIS monitor was used to measure relative depth of hypnosis. With increasing concentrations of sevoflurane (0, 1% and 2%), SEP showed dose-related reduction in its amplitude, ABR produced less marked changes and VEP showed a significant reduction at 1%. VEP at the propofol concentration of 3.0 microg x ml(-1) was decreased significantly compared with the amplitude at 1.5 microg x ml(-1) concentration. No significant change was observed with SEP and ABR during the change of propofol dosages. BIS values were almost the same with each anesthetics. VEP was most strongly affected with anesthetics, and ABR showed less marked influence of sevoflurane and propofol. Propofol based TIVA technique would induce less change in evoked potentials than sevoflurane.

Single gene microdeletions and microduplication of 3p26.3 in three unrelated families

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kashevarova, Anna A; Nazarenko, Lyudmila P; Schultz-Pedersen, Soren

2014-01-01

contain several protein-coding genes and regulatory elements, complicating the understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations. We report two siblings with ID and an unrelated patient with atypical autism who had 3p26.3 microdeletions and one intellectually disabled patient with a 3p26.3 microduplication...

Cortical modulation of short-latency TMS-evoked potentials

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Domenica eVeniero

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Transcranial magnetic stimulation - electroencephalogram (TMS-EEG co-registration offers the opportunity to test reactivity of brain areas across distinct conditions through TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs. Several TEPs have been described, their functional meaning being largely unknown. In particular, short-latency potentials peaking at 5 (P5 and 8 (N8 ms after the TMS pulse have been recently described, but because of their huge amplitude, the problem of whether their origin is cortical or not has been opened. To gain information about these components, we employed a protocol that modulates primary motor cortex excitability (MI through an exclusively cortical phenomena: low frequency stimulation of premotor area (PMC. TMS was applied simultaneously with EEG recording from 70 electrodes. Amplitude of TEPs evoked by 200 single-pulses TMS delivered over MI at 110% of resting motor threshold was measured before and after applying 900 TMS conditioning stimuli to left premotor cortex with 1 Hz repetition rate. Single subject analyses showed reduction in TEPs amplitude after PMC conditioning in a sample of participants and increase in TEPs amplitude in two subjects. No effects were found on corticospinal excitability as recorded by motor evoked potentials (MEPs. Furthermore, correlation analysis showed an inverse relation between the effects of the conditioning protocol on P5-N8 complex amplitude and MEPs amplitude. Because the effects of the used protocol have been ascribed to a cortical interaction between premotor area and MI, we suggest that despite the sign of P5-N8 amplitude modulation is not consistent across participant, this modulation could indicate, at least in part, their cortical origin. We conclude that with an accurate experimental procedure early-latency components can be used to evaluate the reactivity of the stimulated cortex.

Single-sweep spectral analysis of contact heat evoked potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Tine M; Graversen, Carina; Frøkjaer, Jens B

2015-01-01

AIMS: The cortical response to nociceptive thermal stimuli recorded as contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) may be altered by morphine. However, previous studies have averaged CHEPs over multiple stimuli, which are confounded by jitter between sweeps. Thus, the aim was to assess single-sweep ch......AIMS: The cortical response to nociceptive thermal stimuli recorded as contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) may be altered by morphine. However, previous studies have averaged CHEPs over multiple stimuli, which are confounded by jitter between sweeps. Thus, the aim was to assess single...... by 13% (P = 0.04) and 9% (P = 0.007), while the beta and gamma bands were increased by 10% (P = 0.006) and 24% (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The decreases in the delta and theta band are suggested to represent a decrease in the pain specific morphology of the CHEPs, which indicates a diminished pain response...

The roles of superficial amygdala and auditory cortex in music-evoked fear and joy.

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Koelsch, Stefan; Skouras, Stavros; Fritz, Thomas; Herrera, Perfecto; Bonhage, Corinna; Küssner, Mats B; Jacobs, Arthur M

2013-11-01

This study investigates neural correlates of music-evoked fear and joy with fMRI. Studies on neural correlates of music-evoked fear are scant, and there are only a few studies on neural correlates of joy in general. Eighteen individuals listened to excerpts of fear-evoking, joy-evoking, as well as neutral music and rated their own emotional state in terms of valence, arousal, fear, and joy. Results show that BOLD signal intensity increased during joy, and decreased during fear (compared to the neutral condition) in bilateral auditory cortex (AC) and bilateral superficial amygdala (SF). In the right primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) BOLD signals increased during exposure to fear-evoking music. While emotion-specific activity in AC increased with increasing duration of each trial, SF responded phasically in the beginning of the stimulus, and then SF activity declined. Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) analysis revealed extensive emotion-specific functional connectivity of AC with insula, cingulate cortex, as well as with visual, and parietal attentional structures. These findings show that the auditory cortex functions as a central hub of an affective-attentional network that is more extensive than previously believed. PPI analyses also showed functional connectivity of SF with AC during the joy condition, taken to reflect that SF is sensitive to social signals with positive valence. During fear music, SF showed functional connectivity with visual cortex and area 7 of the superior parietal lobule, taken to reflect increased visual alertness and an involuntary shift of attention during the perception of auditory signals of danger. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of digital signage on shoppers’ behavior: the role of the evoked experience

OpenAIRE

Dennis, Charles; Brakus, J. Joško; Gupta, Suraksha; Alamanos, Eleftherios

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the role of digital signage as experience provider in retail spaces. The findings of a survey-based field experiment demonstrate that digital signage content high on sensory cues evokes affective experience and strengthens customers' experiential processing route. In contrast, digital signage messages high on “features and benefits” information evoke intellectual experience and strengthen customers' deliberative processing route. The affective experience is more strong...

Perceptual learning of acoustic noise generates memory-evoked potentials.

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Andrillon, Thomas; Kouider, Sid; Agus, Trevor; Pressnitzer, Daniel

2015-11-02

Experience continuously imprints on the brain at all stages of life. The traces it leaves behind can produce perceptual learning [1], which drives adaptive behavior to previously encountered stimuli. Recently, it has been shown that even random noise, a type of sound devoid of acoustic structure, can trigger fast and robust perceptual learning after repeated exposure [2]. Here, by combining psychophysics, electroencephalography (EEG), and modeling, we show that the perceptual learning of noise is associated with evoked potentials, without any salient physical discontinuity or obvious acoustic landmark in the sound. Rather, the potentials appeared whenever a memory trace was observed behaviorally. Such memory-evoked potentials were characterized by early latencies and auditory topographies, consistent with a sensory origin. Furthermore, they were generated even on conditions of diverted attention. The EEG waveforms could be modeled as standard evoked responses to auditory events (N1-P2) [3], triggered by idiosyncratic perceptual features acquired through learning. Thus, we argue that the learning of noise is accompanied by the rapid formation of sharp neural selectivity to arbitrary and complex acoustic patterns, within sensory regions. Such a mechanism bridges the gap between the short-term and longer-term plasticity observed in the learning of noise [2, 4-6]. It could also be key to the processing of natural sounds within auditory cortices [7], suggesting that the neural code for sound source identification will be shaped by experience as well as by acoustics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semantic relation vs. surprise: the differential effects of related and unrelated co-verbal gestures on neural encoding and subsequent recognition.

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Straube, Benjamin; Meyer, Lea; Green, Antonia; Kircher, Tilo

2014-06-03

Speech-associated gesturing leads to memory advantages for spoken sentences. However, unexpected or surprising events are also likely to be remembered. With this study we test the hypothesis that different neural mechanisms (semantic elaboration and surprise) lead to memory advantages for iconic and unrelated gestures. During fMRI-data acquisition participants were presented with video clips of an actor verbalising concrete sentences accompanied by iconic gestures (IG; e.g., circular gesture; sentence: "The man is sitting at the round table"), unrelated free gestures (FG; e.g., unrelated up down movements; same sentence) and no gestures (NG; same sentence). After scanning, recognition performance for the three conditions was tested. Videos were evaluated regarding semantic relation and surprise by a different group of participants. The semantic relationship between speech and gesture was rated higher for IG (IG>FG), whereas surprise was rated higher for FG (FG>IG). Activation of the hippocampus correlated with subsequent memory performance of both gesture conditions (IG+FG>NG). For the IG condition we found activation in the left temporal pole and middle cingulate cortex (MCC; IG>FG). In contrast, for the FG condition posterior thalamic structures (FG>IG) as well as anterior and posterior cingulate cortices were activated (FG>NG). Our behavioral and fMRI-data suggest different mechanisms for processing related and unrelated co-verbal gestures, both of them leading to enhanced memory performance. Whereas activation in MCC and left temporal pole for iconic co-verbal gestures may reflect semantic memory processes, memory enhancement for unrelated gestures relies on the surprise response, mediated by anterior/posterior cingulate cortex and thalamico-hippocampal structures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Parallel World for the World Bank: A Case Study of Urgent: Evoke, An Educational Alternate Reality Game

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David I. Waddington

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In 2010, the World Bank launched Urgent: Evoke, an alternate reality game. Conceived in response to the demands of African universities, the game was designed to promote the World Bank Institute’s vision of positive global change through social innovation, and made substantial use of Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, personal profiles, and social networks. This article offers a case study of Urgent: Evoke, divided into four sections: first, the potential to use video games as citizenship education tools is discussed; second, the unique game genre (alternate reality games into which Evoke falls is explained and some possible uses of this genre in higher education are examined; third, the functioning of the Evoke game world is explained; and fourth, the results of the Evoke educational project are assessed. The case study concludes with some commentary on Evoke’s ideological message, which those less sympathetic to capitalism may view as problematic.

Integrative Scenario Development

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Joerg A. Priess

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Scenarios are employed to address a large number of future environmental and socioeconomic challenges. We present a conceptual framework for the development of scenarios to integrate the objectives of different stakeholder groups. Based on the framework, land-use scenarios were developed to provide a common base for further research. At the same time, these scenarios assisted regional stakeholders to bring forward their concerns and arrive at a shared understanding of challenges between scientific and regional stakeholders, which allowed them to eventually support regional decision making. The focus on the integration of views and knowledge domains of different stakeholder groups, such as scientists and practitioners, required rigorous and repeated measures of quality control. The application of the integrative concept provided products for both stakeholder groups, and the process of scenario development facilitated cooperation and learning within both the scientist and practitioner groups as well as between the two groups.

Dynamic properties of sensory stimulation evoked responses in mouse cerebellar granule cell layer and molecular layer.

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Bing, Yan-Hua; Zhang, Guang-Jian; Sun, Lei; Chu, Chun-Ping; Qiu, De-Lai

2015-01-12

Sensory information coming from climbing fiber and mossy fiber-granule cell pathways, generates motor-related outputs according to internal rules of integration and computation in the cerebellar cortex. However, the dynamic properties of sensory information processing in mouse cerebellar cortex are less understood. Here, we studied the dynamic properties of sensory stimulation-evoked responses in the cerebellar granule cell layer (GCL) and molecular layer (ML) by electrophysiological recordings method. Our data showed that air-puff stimulation (5-10 ms in duration) of the ipsilateral whisker pad evoked single-peak responses in the GCL and ML; whereas a duration of stimulation ≥30 ms in GCL and ≥60 ms in ML, evoked double-peak responses that corresponded with stimulation-on and -off responses via mossy fiber pathway. The highest frequency of stimulation train for evoking GCL responses was 33 Hz. In contrast, the highest frequency of stimulation train for evoking ML responses was 4 Hz. These results indicate that the cerebellar granule cells transfer the high-fidelity sensory information from mossy fibers, which is cut-off by molecular layer interneurons (MLIs). Our results suggest that the MLIs network acts as a low-pass filter during the processing of high-frequency sensory information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reciprocal cooperation between unrelated rats depends on cost to donor and benefit to recipient

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Schneeberger Karin

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although evolutionary models of cooperation build on the intuition that costs of the donor and benefits to the receiver are the most general fundamental parameters, it is largely unknown how they affect the decision of animals to cooperate with an unrelated social partner. Here we test experimentally whether costs to the donor and need of the receiver decide about the amount of help provided by unrelated rats in an iterated prisoner's dilemma game. Results Fourteen unrelated Norway rats were alternately presented to a cooperative or defective partner for whom they could provide food via a mechanical apparatus. Direct costs for this task and the need of the receiver were manipulated in two separate experiments. Rats provided more food to cooperative partners than to defectors (direct reciprocity. The propensity to discriminate between helpful and non-helpful social partners was contingent on costs: An experimentally increased resistance in one Newton steps to pull food for the social partner reduced the help provided to defectors more strongly than the help returned to cooperators. Furthermore, test rats provided more help to hungry receivers that were light or in poor condition, which might suggest empathy, whereas this relationship was inverse when experimental partners were satiated. Conclusions In a prisoner's dilemma situation rats seem to take effect of own costs and potential benefits to a receiver when deciding about helping a social partner, which confirms the predictions of reciprocal cooperation. Thus, factors that had been believed to be largely confined to human social behaviour apparently influence the behaviour of other social animals as well, despite widespread scepticism. Therefore our results shed new light on the biological basis of reciprocity.

The future of scenarios: issues in developing new climate change scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitcher, Hugh M

2009-01-01

In September, 2007, the IPCC convened a workshop to discuss how a new set of scenarios to support climate model runs, mitigation analyses, and impact, adaptation and vulnerability research might be developed. The first phase of the suggested new approach is now approaching completion. This article discusses some of the issues raised by scenario relevant research and analysis since the last set of IPCC scenarios were created (IPCC SRES, 2000) that will need to be addressed as new scenarios are developed by the research community during the second phase. These include (1) providing a logic for how societies manage to transition from historical paths to the various future development paths foreseen in the scenarios, (2) long-term economic growth issues, (3) the appropriate GDP metric to use (purchasing power parity or market exchange rates), (4) ongoing issues with moving from the broad geographic and time scales of the emission scenarios to the finer scales needed for impacts, adaptation and vulnerability analyses and (5) some possible ways to handle the urgent request from the policy community for some guidance on scenario likelihoods. The challenges involved in addressing these issues are manifold; the reward is greater credibility and deeper understanding of an analytic tool that does much to form the context within which many issues in addition to the climate problem will need to be addressed.

The future of scenarios: issues in developing new climate change scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Pitcher, Hugh M.

2009-04-01

In September, 2007, the IPCC convened a workshop to discuss how a new set of scenarios to support climate model runs, mitigation analyses, and impact, adaptation and vulnerability research might be developed. The first phase of the suggested new approach is now approaching completion. This article discusses some of the issues raised by scenario relevant research and analysis since the last set of IPCC scenarios were created (IPCC SRES, 2000) that will need to be addressed as new scenarios are developed by the research community during the second phase. These include (1) providing a logic for how societies manage to transition from historical paths to the various future development paths foreseen in the scenarios, (2) long-term economic growth issues, (3) the appropriate GDP metric to use (purchasing power parity or market exchange rates), (4) ongoing issues with moving from the broad geographic and time scales of the emission scenarios to the finer scales needed for impacts, adaptation and vulnerability analyses and (5) some possible ways to handle the urgent request from the policy community for some guidance on scenario likelihoods. The challenges involved in addressing these issues are manifold; the reward is greater credibility and deeper understanding of an analytic tool that does much to form the context within which many issues in addition to the climate problem will need to be addressed.

A comparison of auditory evoked potentials to acoustic beats and to binaural beats

OpenAIRE

Pratt, H; Starr, A; Michalewski, HJ; Dimitrijevic, A; Bleich, N; Mittelman, N

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cortical brain responses evoked by amplitude modulated acoustic beats of 3 and 6 Hz in tones of 250 and 1000 Hz with those evoked by their binaural beats counterparts in unmodulated tones to indicate whether the cortical processes involved differ. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to 3- and 6-Hz acoustic and binaural beats in 2000 ms duration 250 and 1000 Hz tones presented with approximately 1 s intervals. Latency, amplitude and source cur...

Occipital lobe lesions result in a displacement of magnetoencephalography visual evoked field dipoles.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Elizabeth W; Chu, Bill H W; Otsubo, Hiroshi

2014-10-01

The pattern-reversal visual evoked potential measured electrically from scalp electrodes is known to be decreased, or absent, in patients with occipital lobe lesions. We questioned whether the measurement and source analysis of the neuromagnetic visual evoked field (VEF) might offer additional information regarding visual cortex relative to the occipital lesion. We retrospectively examined 12 children (6-18 years) with occipital lesions on MRI, who underwent magnetoencephalography and ophthalmology as part of their presurgical assessment. Binocular half-field pattern-reversal VEFs were obtained in a 151-channel whole-head magnetoencephalography. Data were averaged and dipole source analyses were performed for each half-field stimulation. A significant lateral shift (P occipital lesions. Magnetoencephalography may be useful as a screening test of visual function in young patients. We discuss potential explanations for this lateral shift and emphasize the utility of adding the magnetoencephalography pattern-reversal visual evoked field protocol to the neurologic work-up.

Evoked traveling alpha waves predict visual-semantic categorization-speed

Science.gov (United States)

Fellinger, Robert; Gruber, Walter; Zauner, Andrea; Freunberger, Roman; Klimesch, Wolfgang

2012-01-01

In the present study we have tested the hypothesis that evoked traveling alpha waves are behaviorally significant. The results of a visual-semantic categorization task show that three early ERP components including the P1–N1 complex had a dominant frequency characteristic in the alpha range and behaved like traveling waves do. They exhibited a traveling direction from midline occipital to right lateral parietal sites. Phase analyses revealed that this traveling behavior of ERP components could be explained by phase-delays in the alpha but not theta and beta frequency range. Most importantly, we found that the speed of the traveling alpha wave was significantly and negatively correlated with reaction time indicating that slow traveling speed was associated with fast picture-categorization. We conclude that evoked alpha oscillations are functionally associated with early access to visual-semantic information and generate – or at least modulate – the early waveforms of the visual ERP. PMID:22100769

Analysis of Spontaneous and Nerve-Evoked Calcium Transients in Intact Extraocular Muscles in Vitro

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Cheng-Yuan; Hennig, Grant W.; Corrigan, Robert D.; Smith, Terence K.; von Bartheld, Christopher S.

2012-01-01

Extraocular muscles (EOMs) have unique calcium handling properties, yet little is known about the dynamics of calcium events underlying ultrafast and tonic contractions in myofibers of intact EOMs. Superior oblique EOMs of juvenile chickens were dissected with their nerve attached, maintained in oxygenated Krebs buffer, and loaded with fluo-4. Spontaneous and nerve stimulation-evoked calcium transients were recorded and, following calcium imaging, some EOMs were double-labeled with rhodamine-conjugated alpha-bungarotoxin (rhBTX) to identify EOM myofiber types. EOMs showed two main types of spontaneous calcium transients, one slow type (calcium waves with 1/2max duration of 2–12 s, velocity of 25–50 μm/s) and two fast “flash-like” types (Type 1, 30–90 ms; Type 2, 90–150 ms 1/2max duration). Single pulse nerve stimulation evoked fast calcium transients identical to the fast (Type 1) calcium transients. Calcium waves were accompanied by a local myofiber contraction that followed the calcium transient wavefront. The magnitude of calcium-wave induced myofiber contraction far exceeded those of movement induced by nerve stimulation and associated fast calcium transients. Tetrodotoxin eliminated nerve-evoked transients, but not spontaneous transients. Alpha-bungarotoxin eliminated both spontaneous and nerve-evoked fast calcium transients, but not calcium waves, and caffeine increased wave activity. Calcium waves were observed in myofibers lacking spontaneous or evoked fast transients, suggestive of multiply-innervated myofibers, and this was confirmed by double-labeling with rhBTX. We propose that the abundant spontaneous calcium transients and calcium waves with localized contractions that do not depend on innervation may contribute to intrinsic generation of tonic functions of EOMs. PMID:22579493

Thermoreceptive innervation of human glabrous and hairy skin: a contact heat evoked potential analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Granovsky, Yelena; Matre, Dagfinn; Sokolik, Alexander; Lorenz, Jürgen; Casey, Kenneth L

2005-06-01

The human palm has a lower heat detection threshold and a higher heat pain threshold than hairy skin. Neurophysiological studies of monkeys suggest that glabrous skin has fewer low threshold heat nociceptors (AMH type 2) than hairy skin. Accordingly, we used a temperature-controlled contact heat evoked potential (CHEP) stimulator to excite selectively heat receptors with C fibers or Adelta-innervated AMH type 2 receptors in humans. On the dorsal hand, 51 degrees C stimulation produced painful pinprick sensations and 41 degrees C stimuli evoked warmth. On the glabrous thenar, 41 degrees C stimulation produced mild warmth and 51 degrees C evoked strong but painless heat sensations. We used CHEP responses to estimate the conduction velocities (CV) of peripheral fibers mediating these sensations. On hairy skin, 41 degrees C stimuli evoked an ultra-late potential (mean, SD; N wave latency: 455 (118) ms) mediated by C fibers (CV by regression analysis: 1.28 m/s, N=15) whereas 51 degrees C stimuli evoked a late potential (N latency: 267 (33) ms) mediated by Adelta afferents (CV by within-subject analysis: 12.9 m/s, N=6). In contrast, thenar responses to 41 and 51 degrees C were mediated by C fibers (average N wave latencies 485 (100) and 433 (73) ms, respectively; CVs 0.95-1.35 m/s by regression analysis, N=15; average CV=1.7 (0.41) m/s calculated from distal glabrous and proximal hairy skin stimulation, N=6). The exploratory range of the human and monkey palm is enhanced by the abundance of low threshold, C-innervated heat receptors and the paucity of low threshold AMH type 2 heat nociceptors.

Univariate/multivariate genome-wide association scans using data from families and unrelated samples.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Zhang

2009-08-01

Full Text Available As genome-wide association studies (GWAS are becoming more popular, two approaches, among others, could be considered in order to improve statistical power for identifying genes contributing subtle to moderate effects to human diseases. The first approach is to increase sample size, which could be achieved by combining both unrelated and familial subjects together. The second approach is to jointly analyze multiple correlated traits. In this study, by extending generalized estimating equations (GEEs, we propose a simple approach for performing univariate or multivariate association tests for the combined data of unrelated subjects and nuclear families. In particular, we correct for population stratification by integrating principal component analysis and transmission disequilibrium test strategies. The proposed method allows for multiple siblings as well as missing parental information. Simulation studies show that the proposed test has improved power compared to two popular methods, EIGENSTRAT and FBAT, by analyzing the combined data, while correcting for population stratification. In addition, joint analysis of bivariate traits has improved power over univariate analysis when pleiotropic effects are present. Application to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 (GAW16 data sets attests to the feasibility and applicability of the proposed method.

Optimizing Decision Preparedness by Adapting Scenario Complexity and Automating Scenario Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Dunne, Rob; Schatz, Sae; Flore, Stephen M.; Nicholson, Denise

2011-01-01

Klein's recognition-primed decision (RPD) framework proposes that experts make decisions by recognizing similarities between current decision situations and previous decision experiences. Unfortunately, military personnel arQ often presented with situations that they have not experienced before. Scenario-based training (S8T) can help mitigate this gap. However, SBT remains a challenging and inefficient training approach. To address these limitations, the authors present an innovative formulation of scenario complexity that contributes to the larger research goal of developing an automated scenario generation system. This system will enable trainees to effectively advance through a variety of increasingly complex decision situations and experiences. By adapting scenario complexities and automating generation, trainees will be provided with a greater variety of appropriately calibrated training events, thus broadening their repositories of experience. Preliminary results from empirical testing (N=24) of the proof-of-concept formula are presented, and future avenues of scenario complexity research are also discussed.

Direct electrical stimulation of human cortex evokes high gamma activity that predicts conscious somatosensory perception

Science.gov (United States)

Muller, Leah; Rolston, John D.; Fox, Neal P.; Knowlton, Robert; Rao, Vikram R.; Chang, Edward F.

2018-04-01

Objective. Direct electrical stimulation (DES) is a clinical gold standard for human brain mapping and readily evokes conscious percepts, yet the neurophysiological changes underlying these percepts are not well understood. Approach. To determine the neural correlates of DES, we stimulated the somatosensory cortex of ten human participants at frequency-amplitude combinations that both elicited and failed to elicit conscious percepts, meanwhile recording neural activity directly surrounding the stimulation site. We then compared the neural activity of perceived trials to that of non-perceived trials. Main results. We found that stimulation evokes distributed high gamma activity, which correlates with conscious perception better than stimulation parameters themselves. Significance. Our findings suggest that high gamma activity is a reliable biomarker for perception evoked by both natural and electrical stimuli.

Normalization reduces intersubject variability in cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

van Tilburg, Mark J; Herrmann, Barbara S; Guinan, John J; Rauch, Steven D

2014-09-01

Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials are used to assess saccular and inferior vestibular nerve function. Normalization of the VEMP waveform has been proposed to reduce the variability in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials by correcting for muscle activation. In this study, we test the hypothesis that normalization of the raw cervical VEMP waveform causes a significant decrease in the intersubject variability. Prospective cohort study. Large specialty hospital, department of otolaryngology. Twenty healthy subjects were used in this study. All subjects underwent cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing using short tone bursts at 250, 500, 750, and 1,000 Hz. Both intersubject and intrasubject variability was assessed. Variability between raw and normalized peak-to-peak amplitudes was compared using the coefficient of variation. Intrasubject variability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and interaural asymmetry ratio. cVEMPs were present in most ears. Highest peak-to-peak amplitudes were recorded at 750 Hz. Normalization did not alter cVEMP tuning characteristics. Normalization of the cVEMP response caused a significant reduction in intersubject variability of the peak-to-peak amplitude. No significant change was seen in the intrasubject variability. Normalization significantly reduces cVEMP intersubject variability in healthy subjects without altering cVEMP characteristics. By reducing cVEMP amplitude variation due to nonsaccular, muscle-related factors, cVEMP normalization is expected to improve the ability to distinguish between healthy and pathologic responses in the clinical application of cVEMP testing.

Evoked responses of the superior olive to amplitude-modulated signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreeva, N G; Lang, T T

1977-01-01

Evoked potentials of some auditory centers of Rhinolophidae bats to amplitude-modulated signals were studied. A synchronization response was found in the cochlear nuclei (with respect to the fast component of the response) and in the superior olivary complex (with respect to both fast and slow components of the response) within the range of frequency modulation from 50 to 2000 Hz. In the inferior colliculus a synchronized response was recorded at modulation frequencies below 150 Hz, but in the medial geniculate bodies no such response was found. Evoked responses of the superior olivary complex were investigated in detail. The lowest frequencies of synchronization were recorded within the carrier frequency range of 15-30 and 80-86 kHz. The amplitude of the synchronized response is a function of the frequency and coefficient of modulation and also of the angle of stimulus presentation.

Role played by acid-sensitive ion channels in evoking the exercise pressor reflex.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Shawn G; McCord, Jennifer L; Rainier, Jon; Liu, Zhuqing; Kaufman, Marc P

2008-10-01

The exercise pressor reflex arises from contracting skeletal muscle and is believed to play a role in evoking the cardiovascular responses to static exercise, effects that include increases in arterial pressure and heart rate. This reflex is believed to be evoked by the metabolic and mechanical stimulation of thin fiber muscle afferents. Lactic acid is known to be an important metabolic stimulus evoking the reflex. Until recently, the only antagonist for acid-sensitive ion channels (ASICs), the receptors to lactic acid, was amiloride, a substance that is also a potent antagonist for both epithelial sodium channels as well as voltage-gated sodium channels. Recently, a second compound, A-317567, has been shown to be an effective and selective antagonist to ASICs in vitro. Consequently, we measured the pressor responses to the static contraction of the triceps surae muscles in decerebrate cats before and after a popliteal arterial injection of A-317567 (10 mM solution; 0.5 ml). We found that this ASIC antagonist significantly attenuated by half (Pacid injection into the popliteal artery. In contrast, A-317567 had no effect on the pressor responses to tendon stretch, a pure mechanical stimulus, and to a popliteal arterial injection of capsaicin, which stimulated transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 channels. We conclude that ASICs on thin fiber muscle afferents play a substantial role in evoking the metabolic component of the exercise pressor reflex.

Intrasexual competition at work : Sex differences in the jealousy-evoking effect of rival characteristics in work settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buunk, Abraham P.; 't Goor, Joel Aan; Solano, Alejandro C.

Sex differences in jealousy-evoking rival characteristics in the relationship with a supervisor at work were examined in a community sample of 188 individuals from Argentina. Among men, the rivals' social dominance and communal attributes evoked the most jealousy, followed by physical dominance.

The impact of living-unrelated transplant on establishing deceased-donor liver program in Syria.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeed, Bassam

2014-10-01

Liver transplant is the criterion standard for patients with end-stage liver disease. Yet there is no liver transplant in Syria. Traveling abroad for a liver transplant is a luxury few Syrians can afford. There is currently an on-going debate whether to start a liver transplant program using living or deceased donors. In 2003, a new law was enacted, authorizing the use of organs from volunteer strangers and deceased donors. Despite the positive aspects of this law (allowing unrelated donors to increase the number of transplants in the country); the negative aspects also were obvious. The poor used the law to sell their organs to the rich, and this model is in violation of the Istanbul Declaration. To better document transplant communities' perceptions on organ donation, an e-mail survey was sent to a nationally representative sample of physicians (n = 115) that showed that 58% of respondents did not support the start of liver transplant from live donors, as they fear a considerable risk for the donor and the recipient. Seventy-one percent of respondents believe that unrelated kidney donation has contributed to tarnishing the reputation of transplant, and 56% believe that a deceased-donor program can run in parallel with unrelated organ donations. The interest in deceased-donor program has been affected negatively by the systematic approach of using poor persons as the source of the organ. This lack of interest has affected starting a liver program that relies on deceased donors; especially the need for kidneys is more than livers. Health authorities in Syria were inclined to initiate a liver transplant program from live donors, despite the risks of serious morbidities and mortality. In conclusion then, paid kidney donation in actual effect is actually a hindrance to establishing a deceased-donor liver program.

The role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Visual Evoked ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: To report our experience in management of patients with optic neuritis. The effects of brain magnetic resonance imaging and visual evoked potential on management were investigated. Methods: This is a four years clinical trial that included patients presenting with first attack of optic neuritis older than 16 years ...

Therapeutic profile of single-fraction radiosurgery of vestibular schwannoma: unrelated malignancy predicts tumor control

Science.gov (United States)

Wowra, Berndt; Muacevic, Alexander; Fürweger, Christoph; Schichor, Christian; Tonn, Jörg-Christian

2012-01-01

Radiosurgery has become an accepted treatment option for vestibular schwannomas. Nevertheless, predictors of tumor control and treatment toxicity in current radiosurgery of vestibular schwannomas are not well understood. To generate new information on predictors of tumor control and cranial nerve toxicity of single-fraction radiosurgery of vestibular schwannomas, we conducted a single-institution long-term observational study of radiosurgery for sporadic vestibular schwannomas. Minimum follow-up was 3 years. Investigated as potential predictors of tumor control and cranial nerve toxicity were treatment technology; tumor resection preceding radiosurgery; tumor size; gender; patient age; history of cancer, vascular disease, or metabolic disease; tumor volume; radiosurgical prescription dose; and isodose line. Three hundred eighty-six patients met inclusion criteria. Treatment failure was observed in 27 patients. History of unrelated cancer (strongest predictor) and prescription dose significantly predicted tumor control. The cumulative incidence of treatment failure was 30% after 6.5 years in patients with unrelated malignancy and 10% after ≥15 years in patients without such cancer (P making in ambiguous cases. PMID:22561798

Prior Expectations Evoke Stimulus Templates in the Primary Visual Cortex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kok, P.; Failing, F.M.; de Lange, F.P.

2014-01-01

Exposure to rhythmic stimulation results in facilitated responses to events that appear in-phase with the rhythm and modulation of anticipatory and target-evoked brain activity, presumably reflecting "exogenous," unintentional temporal expectations. However, the extent to which this effect is

Multimodal evoked potentials follow up in multiple sclerosis patients under fingolimod therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iodice, R; Carotenuto, A; Dubbioso, R

2016-01-01

related to EDSS at baseline (t=-1), while MEP and total EP sum score were related to EDSS at all time points. CONCLUSION: Fingolimod is able to improve visual and somatosensory evoked potential in RR-MS patients even if clinical disability scale remains stable. VEP and SEP could give eloquent information...... patients examined 12months prior to initiation of fingolimod (t=-1), at treatment initiation (t=0) and 1year later (t=+1) were compared. Each EP (VEP, MEP, SEP) and EP sum score, a global evoked potential score as the sum score of the each EP score was evaluated and correlated with Expanded Disability...

Effect of mechanical tactile noise on amplitude of visual evoked potentials: multisensory stochastic resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Méndez-Balbuena, Ignacio; Huidobro, Nayeli; Silva, Mayte; Flores, Amira; Trenado, Carlos; Quintanar, Luis; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Kristeva, Rumyana; Manjarrez, Elias

2015-10-01

The present investigation documents the electrophysiological occurrence of multisensory stochastic resonance in the human visual pathway elicited by tactile noise. We define multisensory stochastic resonance of brain evoked potentials as the phenomenon in which an intermediate level of input noise of one sensory modality enhances the brain evoked response of another sensory modality. Here we examined this phenomenon in visual evoked potentials (VEPs) modulated by the addition of tactile noise. Specifically, we examined whether a particular level of mechanical Gaussian noise applied to the index finger can improve the amplitude of the VEP. We compared the amplitude of the positive P100 VEP component between zero noise (ZN), optimal noise (ON), and high mechanical noise (HN). The data disclosed an inverted U-like graph for all the subjects, thus demonstrating the occurrence of a multisensory stochastic resonance in the P100 VEP. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Classifying Scenarios in a Product Design Process: a study to achieve automated scenario generation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anggreeni, Irene; van der Voort, Mascha C.; van Houten, F.J.A.M.; Miedema, J.; Lutters, D.

2008-01-01

This paper explains the possible uses of scenarios in product design. A scenario classification is proposed as a framework to create, use and reuse different types of scenarios in a product design process. Our aims are three-fold: (1) to obtain a better view on the extent to which scenarios can be

Event-Related EEG Oscillations to Semantically Unrelated Words in Normal and Learning Disabled Children

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Thalia; Harmony, Thalia; Mendoza, Omar; Lopez-Alanis, Paula; Marroquin, Jose Luis; Otero, Gloria; Ricardo-Garcell, Josefina

2012-01-01

Learning disabilities (LD) are one of the most frequent problems for elementary school-aged children. In this paper, event-related EEG oscillations to semantically related and unrelated pairs of words were studied in a group of 18 children with LD not otherwise specified (LD-NOS) and in 16 children with normal academic achievement. We propose that…

DC-Evoked Modulation of Excitability of Myelinated Nerve Fibers and Their Terminal Branches; Differences in Sustained Effects of DC.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaczmarek, Dominik; Jankowska, Elzbieta

2018-03-15

Direct current (DC) evokes long-lasting changes in neuronal networks both presynaptically and postsynaptically and different mechanisms were proposed to be involved in them. Different mechanisms were also suggested to account for the different dynamics of presynaptic DC actions on myelinated nerve fibers stimulated before they entered the spinal gray matter and on their terminal branches. The aim of the present study was to examine whether these different dynamics might be related to differences in the involvement of K + channels. To this end, we compared effects of the K + channel blocker 4-amino-pyridine (4-AP) on DC-evoked changes in the excitability of afferent fibers stimulated within the dorsal columns (epidurally) and within their projection areas in the dorsal horn and motor nuclei (intraspinally). 4-AP was applied systemically in deeply anesthetized rats. DC-evoked increases in the excitability of epidurally stimulated afferent nerve fibers, and increases in field potentials evoked by these fibers, were not affected by 4-AP. In contrast, sustained decreases rather than increases in the excitability of intraspinally stimulated terminal nerve branches were evoked by local application of DC in conjunction with 4-AP. The study leads to the conclusion that 4-AP-sensitive K + channels contribute to the sustained DC-evoked post-polarization increases in the excitability at the level of terminal branches of nerve fibers but not of the nodes of Ranvier nor within the juxta-paranodal regions where other mechanisms would be involved in inducing the sustained DC-evoked changes. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Torque and mechanomyogram relationships during electrically-evoked isometric quadriceps contractions in persons with spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibitoye, Morufu Olusola; Hamzaid, Nur Azah; Hasnan, Nazirah; Abdul Wahab, Ahmad Khairi; Islam, Md Anamul; Kean, Victor S P; Davis, Glen M

2016-08-01

The interaction between muscle contractions and joint loading produces torques necessary for movements during activities of daily living. However, during neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-evoked contractions in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), a simple and reliable proxy of torque at the muscle level has been minimally investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between muscle mechanomyographic (MMG) characteristics and NMES-evoked isometric quadriceps torques in persons with motor complete SCI. Six SCI participants with lesion levels below C4 [(mean (SD) age, 39.2 (7.9) year; stature, 1.71 (0.05) m; and body mass, 69.3 (12.9) kg)] performed randomly ordered NMES-evoked isometric leg muscle contractions at 30°, 60° and 90° knee flexion angles on an isokinetic dynamometer. MMG signals were detected by an accelerometer-based vibromyographic sensor placed over the belly of rectus femoris muscle. The relationship between MMG root mean square (MMG-RMS) and NMES-evoked torque revealed a very high association (R(2)=0.91 at 30°; R(2)=0.98 at 60°; and R(2)=0.97 at 90° knee angles; Ptorque, between 0.65 and 0.79 for MMG-RMS, and from 0.67 to 0.73 for MMG-PTP. Their standard error of measurements (SEM) ranged between 10.1% and 31.6% (of mean values) for torque, MMG-RMS and MMG-PTP. The MMG peak frequency (MMG-PF) of 30Hz approximated the stimulation frequency, indicating NMES-evoked motor unit firing rate. The results demonstrated knee angle differences in the MMG-RMS versus NMES-isometric torque relationship, but a similar torque related pattern for MMG-PF. These findings suggested that MMG was well associated with torque production, reliably tracking the motor unit recruitment pattern during NMES-evoked muscle contractions. The strong positive relationship between MMG signal and NMES-evoked torque production suggested that the MMG might be deployed as a direct proxy for muscle torque or fatigue measurement during

Intermediate Latency-Evoked Potentials of Multimodal Cortical Vestibular Areas: Galvanic Stimulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Kammermeier

2017-11-01

Full Text Available IntroductionHuman multimodal vestibular cortical regions are bilaterally anterior insulae and posterior opercula, where characteristic vestibular-related cortical potentials were previously reported under acoustic otolith stimulation. Galvanic vestibular stimulation likely influences semicircular canals preferentially. Galvanic stimulation was compared to previously established data under acoustic stimulation.Methods14 healthy right-handed subjects, who were also included in the previous acoustic potential study, showed normal acoustic and galvanic vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials. They received 2,000 galvanic binaural bipolar stimuli for each side during EEG recording.ResultsVestibular cortical potentials were found in all 14 subjects and in the pooled data of all subjects (“grand average” bilaterally. Anterior insula and posterior operculum were activated exclusively under galvanic stimulation at 25, 35, 50, and 80 ms; frontal regions at 30 and 45 ms. Potentials at 70 ms in frontal regions and at 110 ms at all of the involved regions could also be recorded; these events were also found using acoustic stimulation in our previous study.ConclusionGalvanic semicircular canal stimulation evokes specific potentials in addition to those also found with acoustic otolith stimulation in identically located regions of the vestibular cortex. Vestibular cortical regions activate differently by galvanic and acoustic input at the peripheral sensory level.SignificanceDifferential effects in vestibular cortical-evoked potentials may see clinical use in specific vertigo disorders.

Automatic classification of visual evoked potentials based on wavelet decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Stasiakiewicz, Paweł; Dobrowolski, Andrzej P.; Tomczykiewicz, Kazimierz

2017-04-01

Diagnosis of part of the visual system, that is responsible for conducting compound action potential, is generally based on visual evoked potentials generated as a result of stimulation of the eye by external light source. The condition of patient's visual path is assessed by set of parameters that describe the time domain characteristic extremes called waves. The decision process is compound therefore diagnosis significantly depends on experience of a doctor. The authors developed a procedure - based on wavelet decomposition and linear discriminant analysis - that ensures automatic classification of visual evoked potentials. The algorithm enables to assign individual case to normal or pathological class. The proposed classifier has a 96,4% sensitivity at 10,4% probability of false alarm in a group of 220 cases and area under curve ROC equals to 0,96 which, from the medical point of view, is a very good result.

Thermal grill-evoked sensations of heat correlate with cold pain threshold and are enhanced by menthol and cinnamaldehyde.

Science.gov (United States)

Averbeck, B; Rucker, F; Laubender, R P; Carr, R W

2013-05-01

Thunberg's thermal grill produces a sensation of strong heat upon skin contact with spatially interlaced innocuous warm and cool stimuli. To examine the classes of peripheral axons that might contribute to this illusion, the effects of topical l-menthol, an activator of TRPM8, and cinnamaldehyde, a TRPA1 agonist, on the magnitude of thermal sensations were examined during grill stimulation in healthy volunteers. Under control conditions, cutaneous grill stimulation (interlaced 20/40 °C) evoked a sensation of heat, and for individual subjects, the magnitude of this heat sensation was positively correlated with cold pain threshold (CPT). Menthol increased the CPT and enhanced the magnitude of grill-evoked heat. Cinnamaldehyde intensified warm sensations, reduced heat pain threshold and also enhanced grill-evoked heat. Both TRPM8-expressing and TRPA1-expressing afferent axons can affect grill-evoked thermal sensations. The enhancement of grill-evoked sensations of temperature with menthol and cinnamaldehyde may provide an additional clinically relevant means of testing altered thermal sensitivity, which is often affected in neuropathic patient groups. © 2012 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

Scenario planning and nanotechnological futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farber, Darryl; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh

2009-01-01

Scenario planning may assist us in harnessing the benefits of nanotechnology and managing the associated risks for the good of the society. Scenario planning is a way to describe the present state of the world and develop several hypotheses about the future of the world, thereby enabling discussions about how the world ought to be. Scenario planning thus is not only a tool for learning and foresight, but also for leadership. Informed decision making by experts and political leaders becomes possible, while simultaneously allaying the public's perception of the risks of new and emerging technologies such as nanotechnology. Two scenarios of the societal impact of nanotechnology are the mixed-signals scenario and the confluence scenario. Technoscientists have major roles to play in both scenarios.

Land-Use Scenarios: National-Scale Housing-Density Scenarios Consistent with Climate Change Storylines (Final Report)

Science.gov (United States)

EPA announced the availability of the final report, Land-Use Scenarios: National-Scale Housing-Density Scenarios Consistent with Climate Change Storylines. This report describes the scenarios and models used to generate national-scale housing density scenarios for the con...

Neurophysiological mechanisms of bradykinin-evoked mucosal chloride secretion in guinea pig small intestine.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Mei-Hua; Ji, Wan-Sheng; Zhao, Ting-Kun; Fang, Chun-Yan; Mao, Shu-Mei; Gao, Zhi-Qin

2016-02-15

To investigate the mechanism for bradykinin (BK) to stimulate intestinal secretomotor neurons and intestinal chloride secretion. Muscle-stripped guinea pig ileal preparations were mounted in Ussing flux chambers for the recording of short-circuit current (Isc). Basal Isc and Isc stimulated by BK when preincubated with the BK receptors antagonist and other chemicals were recorded using the Ussing chamber system. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in the intestine was determined by enzyme immunologic assay (EIA). Application of BK or B2 receptor (B2R) agonist significantly increased the baseline Isc compared to the control. B2R antagonist, tetrodotoxin and scopolamine (blockade of muscarinic receptors) significantly suppressed the increase in Isc evoked by BK. The BK-evoked Isc was suppressed by cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 or COX-2 specific inhibitor as well as nonselective COX inhibitors. Preincubation of submucosa/mucosa preparations with BK for 10 min significantly increased PGE2 production and this was abolished by the COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors. The BK-evoked Isc was suppressed by nonselective EP receptors and EP4 receptor antagonists, but selective EP1 receptor antagonist did not have a significant effect on the BK-evoked Isc. Inhibitors of PLC, PKC, calmodulin or CaMKII failed to suppress BK-induced PGE2 production. The results suggest that BK stimulates neurogenic chloride secretion in the guinea pig ileum by activating B2R, through COX increasing PGE2 production. The post-receptor transduction cascade includes activation of PLC, PKC, CaMK, IP3 and MAPK.

Is the auditory evoked P2 response a biomarker of learning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly eTremblay

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Even though auditory training exercises for humans have been shown to improve certain perceptual skills of individuals with and without hearing loss, there is a lack of knowledge pertaining to which aspects of training are responsible for the perceptual gains, and which aspects of perception are changed. To better define how auditory training impacts brain and behavior, electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography have been used to determine the time course and coincidence of cortical modulations associated with different types of training. Here we focus on P1-N1-P2 auditory evoked responses (AEP, as there are consistent reports of gains in P2 amplitude following various types of auditory training experiences; including music and speech-sound training. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the auditory evoked P2 response is a biomarker of learning. To do this, we taught native English speakers to identify a new pre-voiced temporal cue that is not used phonemically in the English language so that coinciding changes in evoked neural activity could be characterized. To differentiate possible effects of repeated stimulus exposure and a button-pushing task from learning itself, we examined modulations in brain activity in a group of participants who learned to identify the pre-voicing contrast and compared it to participants, matched in time, and stimulus exposure, that did not. The main finding was that the amplitude of the P2 auditory evoked response increased across repeated EEG sessions for all groups, regardless of any change in perceptual performance. What’s more, these effects were retained for months. Changes in P2 amplitude were attributed to changes in neural activity associated with the acquisition process and not the learned outcome itself. A further finding was the expression of a late negativity (LN wave 600-900 ms post-stimulus onset, post-training, exclusively for the group that learned to identify the pre

Electroencephalogram oscillations support the involvement of task-unrelated thoughts in the mechanism of boredom: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyauchi, Eri; Kawasaki, Masahiro

2018-06-11

Boredom is a universal experience; however, the neural mechanisms underlying the phenomenon remain unclear. Previous research suggests that boredom is related to attentional failure and derives a possible explanation for the cognitive processes of boredom as a product of appraisals made about task-unrelated thoughts. There are little published data regarding proposed processes from neuroscientific perspectives. Therefore, the authors aimed to examine whether cognitive processes of boredom with task-unrelated thoughts followed by appraisals of them can be explained by examining oscillatory correlates. Electroencephalography was used to measure changes in neural oscillatory activity during subjective experiences of boredom or dislike in healthy subjects. Using this approach, temporal information of brain activity particular to the boredom experience was acquired. Additionally, the Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale was used to evaluate the effects of attentional deficits in the neural processing of boredom. Tonic increase in theta and transient increases in alpha activity were exhibited before the key press response for experiencing boredom; however, only tonic increases in theta amplitudes were boredom specific. The results of this pilot study suggest that the boredom experience is possibly associated with cognitive processes involved in task-unrelated thoughts, followed by their appraisals to be bored, mediated by alpha and theta activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison of myogenic motor evoked responses to electrical and magnetic transcranial stimulation during nitrous oxide/opioid anesthesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ubags, L. H.; Kalkman, C. J.; Been, H. D.; Koelman, J. H.; Ongerboer de Visser, B. W.

1999-01-01

Transcranial motor evoked potentials (tc-MEPs) are used to monitor spinal cord integrity intraoperatively. We compared myogenic motor evoked responses with electrical and magnetic transcranial stimuli during nitrous oxide/opioid anesthesia. In 11 patients undergoing spinal surgery, anesthesia was

Acute hypotension in a patient undergoing posttraumatic cervical spine fusion with somatosensory and motor-evoked potential monitoring while under total intravenous anesthesia: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Cann, David F

2009-02-01

Hypotension should be vigilantly prevented in patients with spinal cord injury. Recent advances in neurological, intraoperative monitoring techniques have allowed Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to assess the effects of spinal cord ischemia and compression as they occur. This case report describes a young, healthy man who sustained a cervical spine fracture and was scheduled for anterior spinal fusion with somatosensory and motor-evoked potential (MEP) monitoring while under total intravenous anesthesia. This patient experienced a brief period of intraoperative hypotension with evidence of abnormal MEPs. A wake-up test was performed, which showed normal functioning, and the case resumed an uneventful course. Although this scenario resulted in no neurological sequelae, the effects of spinal cord ischemia due to hypotension can lead to permanent, devastating motor and sensory damage.

Lifting the veil on the dynamics of neuronal activities evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bingshuo; Virtanen, Juha P; Oeltermann, Axel; Schwarz, Cornelius; Giese, Martin A; Ziemann, Ulf; Benali, Alia

2017-11-22

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used non-invasive tool to study and modulate human brain functions. However, TMS-evoked activity of individual neurons has remained largely inaccessible due to the large TMS-induced electromagnetic fields. Here, we present a general method providing direct in vivo electrophysiological access to TMS-evoked neuronal activity 0.8-1 ms after TMS onset. We translated human single-pulse TMS to rodents and unveiled time-grained evoked activities of motor cortex layer V neurons that show high-frequency spiking within the first 6 ms depending on TMS-induced current orientation and a multiphasic spike-rhythm alternating between excitation and inhibition in the 6-300 ms epoch, all of which can be linked to various human TMS responses recorded at the level of spinal cord and muscles. The advance here facilitates a new level of insight into the TMS-brain interaction that is vital for developing this non-invasive tool to purposefully explore and effectively treat the human brain.

Head movements evoked in alert rhesus monkey by vestibular prosthesis stimulation: implications for postural and gaze stabilization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana E Mitchell

Full Text Available The vestibular system detects motion of the head in space and in turn generates reflexes that are vital for our daily activities. The eye movements produced by the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR play an essential role in stabilizing the visual axis (gaze, while vestibulo-spinal reflexes ensure the maintenance of head and body posture. The neuronal pathways from the vestibular periphery to the cervical spinal cord potentially serve a dual role, since they function to stabilize the head relative to inertial space and could thus contribute to gaze (eye-in-head + head-in-space and posture stabilization. To date, however, the functional significance of vestibular-neck pathways in alert primates remains a matter of debate. Here we used a vestibular prosthesis to 1 quantify vestibularly-driven head movements in primates, and 2 assess whether these evoked head movements make a significant contribution to gaze as well as postural stabilization. We stimulated electrodes implanted in the horizontal semicircular canal of alert rhesus monkeys, and measured the head and eye movements evoked during a 100 ms time period for which the contribution of longer latency voluntary inputs to the neck would be minimal. Our results show that prosthetic stimulation evoked significant head movements with latencies consistent with known vestibulo-spinal pathways. Furthermore, while the evoked head movements were substantially smaller than the coincidently evoked eye movements, they made a significant contribution to gaze stabilization, complementing the VOR to ensure that the appropriate gaze response is achieved. We speculate that analogous compensatory head movements will be evoked when implanted prosthetic devices are transitioned to human patients.

Biomarkers of neuropathic pain in skin nerve degeneration neuropathy: contact heat-evoked potentials as a physiological signature.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shao-Wei; Wang, Yi-Chia; Hsieh, Paul-Chen; Tseng, Ming-Tsung; Chiang, Ming-Chang; Chu, Chih-Pang; Feng, Fang-Ping; Lin, Yea-Huey; Hsieh, Sung-Tsang; Chao, Chi-Chao

2017-03-01

Contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs) have become an established method of assessing small-fiber sensory nerves; however, their potential as a physiological signature of neuropathic pain symptoms has not been fully explored. To investigate the diagnostic efficacy in examining small-fiber sensory nerve degeneration, the relationship with skin innervations, and clinical correlates with sensory symptoms, we recruited 188 patients (115 men) with length-dependent sensory symptoms and reduced intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density at the distal leg to perform CHEP, quantitative sensory testing, and nerve conduction study. Fifty-seven age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled for comparison of CHEP and skin innervation. Among patients with neuropathy, 144 patients had neuropathic pain and 64 cases had evoked pain. Compared with quantitative sensory testing and nerve conduction study parameters, CHEP amplitudes showed the highest sensitivity for diagnosing small-fiber sensory nerve degeneration and exhibited the strongest correlation with IENF density in multiple linear regression. Contact heat-evoked potential amplitudes were strongly correlated with the degree of skin innervation in both patients with neuropathy and controls, and the slope of the regression line between CHEP amplitude and IENF density was higher in patients with neuropathy than in controls. Patients with evoked pain had higher CHEP amplitude than those without evoked pain, independent of IENF density. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that CHEP had better performance in diagnosing small-fiber sensory nerve degeneration than thermal thresholds. Furthermore, CHEPs showed superior classification accuracy with respect to evoked pain. In conclusion, CHEP is a sensitive tool to evaluate pathophysiology of small-fiber sensory nerve and serves as a physiological signature of neuropathic pain symptoms.

Short-interval and long-interval intracortical inhibition of TMS-evoked EEG potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Premoli, Isabella; Király, Julia; Müller-Dahlhaus, Florian; Zipser, Carl M; Rossini, Pierre; Zrenner, Christoph; Ziemann, Ulf; Belardinelli, Paolo

2018-03-15

Inhibition in the human motor cortex can be probed by means of paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) at interstimulus intervals of 2-3 ms (short-interval intracortical inhibition, SICI) or ∼100 ms (long-interval intracortical inhibition, LICI). Conventionally, SICI and LICI are recorded as motor evoked potential (MEP) inhibition in the hand muscle. Pharmacological experiments indicate that they are mediated by GABAA and GABAB receptors, respectively. SICI and LICI of TMS-evoked EEG potentials (TEPs) and their pharmacological properties have not been systematically studied. Here, we sought to examine SICI by ppTMS-evoked compared to single-pulse TMS-evoked TEPs, to investigate its pharmacological manipulation and to compare SICI with our previous results on LICI. PpTMS-EEG was applied to the left motor cortex in 16 healthy subjects in a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design, testing the effects of a single oral dose 20 mg of diazepam, a positive modulator at the GABAA receptor, vs. 50 mg of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen on SICI of TEPs. We found significant SICI of the N100 and P180 TEPs prior to drug intake. Diazepam reduced SICI of the N100 TEP, while baclofen enhanced it. Compared to our previous ppTMS-EEG results on LICI, the SICI effects on TEPs, including their drug modulation, were largely analogous. Findings suggest a similar interaction of paired-pulse effects on TEPs irrespective of the interstimulus interval. Therefore, SICI and LICI as measured with TEPs cannot be directly derived from SICI and LICI measured with MEPs, but may offer novel insight into paired-pulse responses recorded directly from the brain rather than muscle. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex differences in the jealousy-evoking effect of rival characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, P; Buunk, BP; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)

2002-01-01

Four studies examined sex differences in the jealousy-evoking nature of rival characteristics. Study 1, among 130 undergraduates, made an inventory of all relevant rival characteristics that were spontaneously mentioned when asked about a rival to whom one's partner might feel attracted. On the

A translational study on looming-evoked defensive response and the underlying subcortical pathway in autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Chen, Zhuoming; Huang, Lu; Xi, Yue; Li, Bingxiao; Wang, Hong; Yan, Jiajian; Lee, Tatia M C; Tao, Qian; So, Kwok-Fai; Ren, Chaoran

2017-11-07

Rapidly approaching objects indicating threats can induce defensive response through activating a subcortical pathway comprising superior colliculus (SC), lateral posterior nucleus (LP), and basolateral amygdala (BLA). Abnormal defensive response has been reported in autism, and impaired synaptic connections could be the underlying mechanism. Whether the SC-LP-BLA pathway processes looming stimuli abnormally in autism is not clear. Here, we found that looming-evoked defensive response is impaired in a subgroup of the valproic acid (VPA) mouse model of autism. By combining the conventional neurotracer and transneuronal rabies virus tracing techniques, we demonstrated that synaptic connections in the SC-LP-BLA pathway were abnormal in VPA mice whose looming-evoked defensive responses were absent. Importantly, we further translated the finding to children with autism and observed that they did not present looming-evoked defensive response. Furthermore, the findings of the DTI with the probabilistic tractography showed that the structural connections of SC-pulvinar-amygdala in autism children were weak. The pulvinar is parallel to the LP in a mouse. Because looming-evoked defensive response is innate in humans and emerges much earlier than do social and language functions, the absence of defensive response could be an earlier sign of autism in children.

A new scenario framework for Climate Change Research: scenario matrix architecture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vuuren, D.P.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/11522016X; Kriegler, E.; O'Neill, B.C.; Ebi, K.L.; Riahi, K.; Carter, T.R.; Edmonds, J.; Hallegatte, S.; Kram, T.; Mathur, R.; Winkler, H.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the scenario matrix architecture that underlies a framework for developing new scenarios for climate change research. The matrix architecture facilitates addressing key questions related to current climate research and policy-making: identifying the effectiveness of different

Role of Active Listening and Listening Effort on Contralateral Suppression of Transient Evoked Otoacousic Emissions

OpenAIRE

Kalaiah, Mohan Kumar; Theruvan, Nikhitha B; Kumar, Kaushlendra; Bhat, Jayashree S

2017-01-01

Background and Objectives The present study aimed to investigate the effect of active listening and listening effort on the contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (CSTEOAEs). Subjects and Methods Twenty eight young adults participated in the study. Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were recorded using ?linear? clicks at 60 dB peSPL, in three contralateral noise conditions. In condition 1, TEOAEs were obtained in the presence of white noise in the con...

Strategic Scenario Construction Made Easy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duus, Henrik Johannsen

2016-01-01

insights from the area of strategic forecasting (of which scenario planning is a proper subset) and experiences gained from a recent course in that area to develop a simpler, more direct, hands-on method for scenario construction and to provide several ideas for scenario construction that can be used......Scenario planning is a well-known way to develop corporate strategy by creating multiple images of alternative futures. Yet although scenario planning grew from very hands-on strategy development efforts in the military and from operations research dedicated to solving practical problems, the use...... of scenarios in business has, in many cases, remained a cumbersome affair. Very often a large group of consultants, employees and staff is involved in the development of scenarios and strategies, thus making the whole process expensive in terms of time, money and human resources. In response, this article uses...

"Passie, Hartstocht": Painting and Evoking Emotions in Rembrandt’s Studio

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weststeijn, T.; Fritsche, C.; Leonhard, K.; Weber, G.J.M.

2013-01-01

Focusing on Rembrandt’s studio, this chapter explores the theory and practice in the depiction of the passions. It argues that the central importance alotted to portraying and evoking emotions in rhetorical theory inspired painterly experiments in the 1630s and theoretical ideals that were first

Scenario? Guilty!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kyng, Morten

1992-01-01

Robert Campbell categorizes the word "scenario" as a buzzword, identifies four major uses within HCI and suggests that we adopt new terms differentiating these four uses of the word. My first reaction to reading the article was definitely positive, but rereading it gave me enough second thoughts...... to warrant a response. I should probably confess that I searched my latest paper for the word "scenario" and found eight occurrences, none of which fell in the categories described by Campbell....

Learning from global emissions scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Neill, Brian C; Nakicenovic, Nebojsa

2008-01-01

Scenarios of global greenhouse gas emissions have played a key role in climate change analysis for over twenty years. Currently, several research communities are organizing to undertake a new round of scenario development in the lead-up to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To help inform this process, we assess a number of past efforts to develop and learn from sets of global greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. We conclude that while emissions scenario exercises have likely had substantial benefits for participating modeling teams and produced insights from individual models, learning from the exercises taken as a whole has been more limited. Model comparison exercises have typically focused on the production of large numbers of scenarios while investing little in assessing the results or the production process, perhaps on the assumption that later assessment efforts could play this role. However, much of this assessment potential remains untapped. Efforts such as scenario-related chapters of IPCC reports have been most informative when they have gone to extra lengths to carry out more specific comparison exercises, but in general these assessments do not have the remit or resources to carry out the kind of detailed analysis of scenario results necessary for drawing the most useful conclusions. We recommend that scenario comparison exercises build-in time and resources for assessing scenario results in more detail at the time when they are produced, that these exercises focus on more specific questions to improve the prospects for learning, and that additional scenario assessments are carried out separately from production exercises. We also discuss the obstacles to better assessment that might exist, and how they might be overcome. Finally, we recommend that future work include much greater emphasis on understanding how scenarios are actually used, as a guide to improving scenario production.

Feasibility and performance evaluation of generating and recording visual evoked potentials using ambulatory Bluetooth based system.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellingson, Roger M; Oken, Barry

2010-01-01

Report contains the design overview and key performance measurements demonstrating the feasibility of generating and recording ambulatory visual stimulus evoked potentials using the previously reported custom Complementary and Alternative Medicine physiologic data collection and monitoring system, CAMAS. The methods used to generate visual stimuli on a PDA device and the design of an optical coupling device to convert the display to an electrical waveform which is recorded by the CAMAS base unit are presented. The optical sensor signal, synchronized to the visual stimulus emulates the brain's synchronized EEG signal input to CAMAS normally reviewed for the evoked potential response. Most importantly, the PDA also sends a marker message over the wireless Bluetooth connection to the CAMAS base unit synchronized to the visual stimulus which is the critical averaging reference component to obtain VEP results. Results show the variance in the latency of the wireless marker messaging link is consistent enough to support the generation and recording of visual evoked potentials. The averaged sensor waveforms at multiple CPU speeds are presented and demonstrate suitability of the Bluetooth interface for portable ambulatory visual evoked potential implementation on our CAMAS platform.

Intrinsic and task-evoked network architectures of the human brain

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Michael W.; Bassett, Danielle S.; Power, Jonathan D.; Braver, Todd S.; Petersen, Steven E.

2014-01-01

Summary Many functional network properties of the human brain have been identified during rest and task states, yet it remains unclear how the two relate. We identified a whole-brain network architecture present across dozens of task states that was highly similar to the resting-state network architecture. The most frequent functional connectivity strengths across tasks closely matched the strengths observed at rest, suggesting this is an “intrinsic”, standard architecture of functional brain organization. Further, a set of small but consistent changes common across tasks suggests the existence of a task-general network architecture distinguishing task states from rest. These results indicate the brain’s functional network architecture during task performance is shaped primarily by an intrinsic network architecture that is also present during rest, and secondarily by evoked task-general and task-specific network changes. This establishes a strong relationship between resting-state functional connectivity and task-evoked functional connectivity – areas of neuroscientific inquiry typically considered separately. PMID:24991964

Effect of caffeine on vestibular evoked myogenic potential: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Maria Eduarda Di Cavalcanti Alves de; Costa, Klinger Vagner Teixeira da; Menezes, Pedro de Lemos

2017-12-24

Caffeine can be considered the most consumed drug by adults worldwide, and can be found in several foods, such as chocolate, coffee, tea, soda and others. Overall, caffeine in moderate doses, results in increased physical and intellectual productivity, increases the capacity of concentration and reduces the time of reaction to sensory stimuli. On the other hand, high doses can cause noticeable signs of mental confusion and error induction in intellectual tasks, anxiety, restlessness, muscle tremors, tachycardia, labyrinthine changes, and tinnitus. Considering that the vestibular evoked myogenic potential is a clinical test that evaluates the muscular response of high intensity auditory stimulation, the present systematic review aimed to analyze the effects of caffeine on vestibular evoked myogenic potential. This study consisted of the search of the following databases: MEDLINE, CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, SciELO and ClinicalTrials.gov. Additionally, the gray literature was also searched. The search strategy included terms related to intervention (caffeine or coffee consumption) and the primary outcome (vestibular evoked myogenic potential). Based on the 253 potentially relevant articles identified through the database search, only two full-text publications were retrieved for further evaluation, which were maintained for qualitative analysis. Analyzing the articles found, caffeine has no effect on vestibular evoked myogenic potential in normal individuals. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Cytogenetically Unrelated Clones in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Showing Different Responses to Chemotherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kohei Kasahara

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We report a case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML with two cytogenetically unrelated clones. The patient was a 45-year-old male who was diagnosed with acute monoblastic leukemia (AMoL. Initial G-band analysis showed 51,XY,+6,+8,inv(9(p12q13c,+11,+13,+19[12]/52,idem,+Y[8], but G-band analysis after induction therapy showed 45,XY,-7,inv(9(p12q13c[19]/46,XY,inv(9(p12q13c[1]. Retrospective FISH analysis revealed a cryptic monosomy 7 clone in the initial AML sample. The clone with multiple trisomies was eliminated after induction therapy and never recurred, but a clone with monosomy 7 was still detected in myelodysplastic marrow with a normal blast percentage. Both clones were successfully eliminated after related peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, but the patient died of relapsed AML with monosomy 7. We concluded that one clone was de novo AMoL with chromosome 6, 8, 11, 13, and 19 trisomy and that the other was acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes　(AML-MRC with chromosome 7 monosomy showing different responses to chemotherapy. Simultaneous onset of cytogenetically unrelated hematological malignancies that each have a different disease status is a rare phenomenon but is important to diagnose for a correct understanding of the disease status and for establishing an appropriate treatment strategy.

Alternative donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for mature lymphoid malignancies after reduced-intensity conditioning regimen: Similar outcomes with umbilical cord blood and unrelated donor peripheral blood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.A. Rodrigues (Celso Arrais); V. Rocha (Vanderson); P. Dreger (Peter); C.G. Brunstein (Claudio); H. Sengeloev (Henrik); J. Finke (Jürgen); M. Mohty (Mohamad); B. Rio (Bernard); E. Petersen (Eefke); F. Guilhot (François); D. Niederwieser (Dietger); J.J. Cornelissen (Jan); P. Jindra (Pavel); A. Nagler (Arnon); N. Fegueux (Nathalie); H. Schoemans (Hélène); A. Ruggeri (Annelisa); S.P. Robinson (Stephen); E. Gluckman (Eliane); C. Canals (Carmen); A. Sureda (Anna)

2014-01-01

textabstractWe have reported encouraging results of unrelated cord blood transplantation for patients with lymphoid malignancies. Whether those outcomes are comparable to matched unrelated donor transplants remains to be defined. We studied 645 adult patients with mature lymphoid malignancies who

[Intraoperative pain stimuli change somatosensory evoked potentials, but not auditory evoked potentials during isoflurane/nitrous oxide anesthesia].

Science.gov (United States)

Rundshagen, I; Kochs, E; Bischoff, P; Schulte am Esch, J

1997-10-01

Evoked potentials are used for intraoperative monitoring to assess changes of cerebral function. This prospective randomised study assesses the influence of surgical stimulation on midlatency components of somatosensory (SEPs) and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in anaesthetised patients. After approval of the Ethics Committee and written informed consent 36 orthopaedic patients (34 +/- 15 y, 73 +/- 14 kg. 1.71 +/- 0.07 m, ASA I-II) were randomly included in the study. Anaesthesia was induced with 1.5 micrograms/kg fentanyl, 0.3 mg/kg etomidate and 0.1 mg/kg vecuronium. The lungs were intubated and patients normoventilated in steady state anaesthesia with isoflurane (end-tidal 0.6%) and 66% nitrous oxide. 18 patients (group 1) were assigned to the SEP group: median nerve stimulation, recording at Erb, C 6 and the contralateral somatosensory cortex (N20, P25, N35) vs Fz. AEPs were recorded in group 2 (n = 18): binaural stimulation, recording at Cz versus linked mastoid (V, Na, Pa, Nb). Recordings were performed during 30 min before the start of surgery (baseline: BL), at skin incision (SURG1) and at the preparation of the periost (SURG2). Heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, oxygen saturation, endtidal pCO2 and isoflurane (PetISO) concentrations were registered simultaneously. Data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance. Post hoc comparison were made by Mann-Whitney U-Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test with p beats/min) to SURG2 (76 +/- 12 beats/min). Increases of amplitudes of midlatency SEP amplitudes indicate increased nociceptive signal transmission which is not blunted by isoflurane-nitrous oxide anaesthesia. In contrast, unchanged AEPs indicate adequate levels of the hypnotic components of anaesthesia.

Use of the Stockwell Transform in the Detection of P300 Evoked Potentials with Low-Cost Brain Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan F. Pérez-Vidal

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The evoked potential is a neuronal activity that originates when a stimulus is presented. To achieve its detection, various techniques of brain signal processing can be used. One of the most studied evoked potentials is the P300 brain wave, which usually appears between 300 and 500 ms after the stimulus. Currently, the detection of P300 evoked potentials is of great importance due to its unique properties that allow the development of applications such as spellers, lie detectors, and diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. The present study was developed to demonstrate the usefulness of the Stockwell transform in the process of identifying P300 evoked potentials using a low-cost electroencephalography (EEG device with only two brain sensors. The acquisition of signals was carried out using the Emotiv EPOC® device—a wireless EEG headset. In the feature extraction, the Stockwell transform was used to obtain time-frequency information. The algorithms of linear discriminant analysis and a support vector machine were used in the classification process. The experiments were carried out with 10 participants; men with an average age of 25.3 years in good health. In general, a good performance (75–92% was obtained in identifying P300 evoked potentials.

Synaptic responses evoked by tactile stimuli in Purkinje cells in mouse cerebellar cortex Crus II in vivo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Ping Chu

Full Text Available Sensory stimuli evoke responses in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs via the mossy fiber-granule cell pathway. However, the properties of synaptic responses evoked by tactile stimulation in cerebellar PCs are unknown. The present study investigated the synaptic responses of PCs in response to an air-puff stimulation on the ipsilateral whisker pad in urethane-anesthetized mice.Thirty-three PCs were recorded from 48 urethane-anesthetized adult (6-8-week-old HA/ICR mice by somatic or dendritic patch-clamp recording and pharmacological methods. Tactile stimulation to the ipsilateral whisker pad was delivered by an air-puff through a 12-gauge stainless steel tube connected with a pressurized injection system. Under current-clamp conditions (I = 0, the air-puff stimulation evoked strong inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs in the somata of PCs. Application of SR95531, a specific GABA(A receptor antagonist, blocked IPSPs and revealed stimulation-evoked simple spike firing. Under voltage-clamp conditions, tactile stimulation evoked a sequence of transient inward currents followed by strong outward currents in the somata and dendrites in PCs. Application of SR95531 blocked outward currents and revealed excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs in somata and a temporal summation of parallel fiber EPSCs in PC dendrites. We also demonstrated that PCs respond to both the onset and offset of the air-puff stimulation.These findings indicated that tactile stimulation induced asynchronous parallel fiber excitatory inputs onto the dendrites of PCs, and failed to evoke strong EPSCs and spike firing in PCs, but induced the rapid activation of strong GABA(A receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents in the somata and dendrites of PCs in the cerebellar cortex Crus II in urethane-anesthetized mice.

Pharmacology of Bradykinin-Evoked Coughing in Guinea Pigs

OpenAIRE

Hewitt, Matthew M.; Adams, Gregory; Mazzone, Stuart B.; Mori, Nanako; Yu, Li; Canning, Brendan J.

2016-01-01

Bradykinin has been implicated as a mediator of the acute pathophysiological and inflammatory consequences of respiratory tract infections and in exacerbations of chronic diseases such as asthma. Bradykinin may also be a trigger for the coughing associated with these and other conditions. We have thus set out to evaluate the pharmacology of bradykinin-evoked coughing in guinea pigs. When inhaled, bradykinin induced paroxysmal coughing that was abolished by the bradykinin B2 receptor antagonis...

Sympathetic skin response evoked by laser skin stimulation

OpenAIRE

Rossi, P.; Truini, A.; Serrao, M.; Iannetti, G. D.; Parisi, L.; Pozzessere, G.; Cruccu, G.

2002-01-01

The objective of this study was to evoke sympathetic skin responses (SSRs) in healthy subjects using laser stimulation and to compare these responses with those induced by conventional electrical stimuli. Twenty healthy subjects were investigated. SSRs were obtained using electrical and laser stimuli delivered to the wrist controlateral to the recording site. The sympathetic sudomotor conduction velocity (SSFCV) was measured in 8 subjects by simultaneously recording the SSR from the hand and ...

Brain stem auditory evoked responses in chronic alcoholics.

OpenAIRE

Chan, Y W; McLeod, J G; Tuck, R R; Feary, P A

1985-01-01

Brain stem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) were performed on 25 alcoholic patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, 56 alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, 24 of whom had cerebellar ataxia, and 37 control subjects. Abnormal BAERs were found in 48% of patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, in 25% of alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome but with cerebellar ataxia, and in 13% of alcoholic patients without Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or ataxia. The mean...

Conditioning stimulation techniques for enhancement of transcranially elicited evoked motor responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Journee, H. -L.; Polak, H. E.; De Kleuver, M.

2007-01-01

Introduction. - In spite of the use of multipulse, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is still insufficient in a subgroup of patients to elicit motor-evoked potentials during intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM). Classic facilitation methods used in awake patients are precluded

Water pollution and income relationships: A seemingly unrelated partially linear analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pandit, Mahesh; Paudel, Krishna P.

2016-10-01

We used a seemingly unrelated partially linear model (SUPLM) to address a potential correlation between pollutants (nitrogen, phosphorous, dissolved oxygen and mercury) in an environmental Kuznets curve study. Simulation studies show that the SUPLM performs well to address potential correlation among pollutants. We find that the relationship between income and pollution follows an inverted U-shaped curve for nitrogen and dissolved oxygen and a cubic shaped curve for mercury. Model specification tests suggest that a SUPLM is better specified compared to a parametric model to study the income-pollution relationship. Results suggest a need to continually assess policy effectiveness of pollution reduction as income increases.

36 CFR 1275.52 - Restriction of materials of general historical significance unrelated to abuses of governmental...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... general historical significance unrelated to abuses of governmental power. 1275.52 Section 1275.52 Parks... abuses of governmental power. (a) The Archivist will restrict access to materials determined during the processing period to be of general historical significance, but not related to abuses of governmental power...

Scenarios and innovative systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-11-01

The purpose of this workshop is to present to the GEDEON community the scenarios for the deployment of innovative nuclear solutions. Both steady state situations and possible transitions from the present to new reactors and fuel cycles are considered. Innovative systems that satisfy improved natural resource utilization and waste minimization criteria will be described as well as the R and D orientations of various partners. This document brings together the transparencies of 17 communications given at this workshop: general policy for transmutation and partitioning; Amster: a molten salt reactor (MSR) concept; MSR capabilities; potentials and capabilities of accelerator driven systems (ADS); ADS demonstrator interest as an experimental facility; innovative systems: gas coolant technologies; Pu management in EPR; scenarios with thorium fuel; scenarios at the equilibrium state; scenarios for transition; partitioning and specific conditioning; management of separated radio-toxic elements; European programs; DOE/AAA (Advanced Accelerator Applications) program; OECD scenario studies; CEA research programs and orientations; partitioning and transmutation: an industrial point of view. (J.S.)

Scenarios for Gluino Coannihilation

CERN Document Server

Ellis, John; Luo, Feng; Olive, Keith A

2016-01-01

We study supersymmetric scenarios in which the gluino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), with a mass sufficiently close to that of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) that gluino coannihilation becomes important. One of these scenarios is the MSSM with soft supersymmetry-breaking squark and slepton masses that are universal at an input GUT renormalization scale, but with non-universal gaugino masses. The other scenario is an extension of the MSSM to include vector-like supermultiplets. In both scenarios, we identify the regions of parameter space where gluino coannihilation is important, and discuss their relations to other regions of parameter space where other mechanisms bring the dark matter density into the range allowed by cosmology. In the case of the non-universal MSSM scenario, we find that the allowed range of parameter space is constrained by the requirement of electroweak symmetry breaking, the avoidance of a charged LSP and the measured mass of the Higgs boson, in parti...

Functional deficits in peripheral nerve mitochondria in rats with paclitaxel- and oxaliplatin-evoked painful peripheral neuropathy

OpenAIRE

Zheng, Huaien; Xiao, Wen Hua; Bennett, Gary J.

2011-01-01

Cancer chemotherapeutics like paclitaxel and oxaliplatin produce a dose-limiting chronic sensory peripheral neuropathy that is often accompanied by neuropathic pain. The cause of the neuropathy and pain is unknown. In animal models, paclitaxel-evoked and oxaliplatin-evoked painful peripheral neuropathies are accompanied by an increase in the incidence of swollen and vacuolated mitochondria in peripheral nerve axons. It has been proposed that mitochondrial swelling and vacuolation are indicati...

Lifting the veil on the dynamics of neuronal activities evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bingshuo; Virtanen, Juha P; Oeltermann, Axel; Schwarz, Cornelius; Giese, Martin A; Ziemann, Ulf

2017-01-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used non-invasive tool to study and modulate human brain functions. However, TMS-evoked activity of individual neurons has remained largely inaccessible due to the large TMS-induced electromagnetic fields. Here, we present a general method providing direct in vivo electrophysiological access to TMS-evoked neuronal activity 0.8–1 ms after TMS onset. We translated human single-pulse TMS to rodents and unveiled time-grained evoked activities of motor cortex layer V neurons that show high-frequency spiking within the first 6 ms depending on TMS-induced current orientation and a multiphasic spike-rhythm alternating between excitation and inhibition in the 6–300 ms epoch, all of which can be linked to various human TMS responses recorded at the level of spinal cord and muscles. The advance here facilitates a new level of insight into the TMS-brain interaction that is vital for developing this non-invasive tool to purposefully explore and effectively treat the human brain. PMID:29165241

Objective quantification of the tinnitus decompensation by synchronization measures of auditory evoked single sweeps.

Science.gov (United States)

Strauss, Daniel J; Delb, Wolfgang; D'Amelio, Roberto; Low, Yin Fen; Falkai, Peter

2008-02-01

Large-scale neural correlates of the tinnitus decompensation might be used for an objective evaluation of therapies and neurofeedback based therapeutic approaches. In this study, we try to identify large-scale neural correlates of the tinnitus decompensation using wavelet phase stability criteria of single sweep sequences of late auditory evoked potentials as synchronization stability measure. The extracted measure provided an objective quantification of the tinnitus decompensation and allowed for a reliable discrimination between a group of compensated and decompensated tinnitus patients. We provide an interpretation for our results by a neural model of top-down projections based on the Jastreboff tinnitus model combined with the adaptive resonance theory which has not been applied to model tinnitus so far. Using this model, our stability measure of evoked potentials can be linked to the focus of attention on the tinnitus signal. It is concluded that the wavelet phase stability of late auditory evoked potential single sweeps might be used as objective tinnitus decompensation measure and can be interpreted in the framework of the Jastreboff tinnitus model and adaptive resonance theory.

Comparison of sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging and evoked potentials in the detection of brainstem involvement in multiple sclerosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comi, G.; Martinelli, V.; Medaglini, S.; Locatelli, T.; Magnani, G.; Poggi, A.; Triulzi, F.

1988-01-01

A comparison was made of the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging and the combined use of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential and Median Somatosensory Evoked Potential in the detection of brainstem dysfunction in 54 multiple sclerosis patients. 10 refs.; 2 tabs

A working definition of scenario and a method of scenario construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barr, G.E.; Dunn, E.

1992-01-01

The event-tree method of scenario construction has been chosen for the Yucca Mountain performance assessment. Its applicability and suitability to the problem are discussed and compared with those of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) method. The event-tree method is appropriate for an incompletely characterized site, where there must be an evolving understanding, over time, of the processes at work, for a site that may require analysis of details in specific context, and when the scenario functions to guide site characterization. Anticipating the eventual requirement for using the NRC method, we show that the event-tree method can be translated to the NRC format after final scenario screening

PET/CT presentation of primary effusion lymphoma-like lymphoma unrelated to human herpes virus 8, a rare NHL subtype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Vivek V; Sideras, Panagiotis; Machac, Josef

2014-01-01

We present a 71-year-old female with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8)-unrelated primary effusion lymphoma (PEL)-like lymphoma. Dyspnea and pericardial effusion led to pericardiocentesis, diagnosing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. She underwent positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), which demonstrated hypermetabolic pericardial, pleural, and ascites fluid without lymphadenopathy elsewhere. Malignant fluid in the absence of lymphadenopathy is a hallmark of PEL. PEL is associated with immunodeficiency states such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and infectious agents such as HHV8. Our patient had no such history and had not received immunosuppressive chemotherapy. We present the PET/CT findings of this rare case of HHV8-unrelated PEL-like lymphoma

Effect of T-cell-epitope matching at HLA-DPB1 in recipients of unrelated-donor haemopoietic-cell transplantation: a retrospective study

Science.gov (United States)

Fleischhauer, Katharina; Gooley, Theodore; Malkki, Mari; Bardy, Peter; Bignon, Jean-Denis; Dubois, Valérie; Horowitz, Mary M; Madrigal, J Alejandro; Morishima, Yasuo; Oudshoorn, Machteld; Ringden, Olle; Spellman, Stephen; Velardi, Andrea; Zino, Elisabetta; Petersdorf, Effie W

2013-01-01

Summary Background The risks after unrelated-donor haemopoietic-cell transplantation with matched HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1 alleles between donor and recipient (10/10 matched) can be decreased by selection of unrelated donors who also match for HLA-DPB1; however, such donors are difficult to find. Classification of HLA-DPB1 mismatches based on T-cell-epitope groups could identify mismatches that might be tolerated (permissive) and those that would increase risks (non-permissive) after transplantation. We did a retrospective study to compare outcomes between permissive and non-permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatches in unrelated-donor haemopoietic-cell transplantation. Methods HLA and clinical data for unrelated-donor transplantations submitted to the International Histocompatibility Working Group in haemopoietic-cell transplantation were analysed retrospectively. HLA-DPB1 T-cell-epitope groups were assigned according to a functional algorithm based on alloreactive T-cell crossreactivity patterns. Recipients and unrelated donors matching status were classified as HLA-DPB1 match, non-permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatch (those with mismatched T-cell-epitope groups), or permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatch (those with matched T-cell-epitope groups). The clinical outcomes assessed were overall mortality, non-relapse mortality, relapse, and severe (grade 3–4) acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD). Findings Of 8539 transplantations, 5428 (64%) were matched for ten of ten HLA alleles (HLA 10/10 matched) and 3111 (36%) for nine of ten alleles (HLA 9/10 matched). Of the group overall, 1719 (20%) were HLA-DPB1 matches, 2670 (31%) non-permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatches, and 4150 (49%) permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatches. In HLA 10/10-matched transplantations, non-permissive mismatches were associated with a significantly increased risk of overall mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1·15, 95% CI 1·05–1·25; p=0·002), non-relapse mortality (1·28, 1·14–1·42; pKarolinska Institutet; and

Exploring the methods of data analysis in multifocal visual evoked potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmqvist, Lasse; Santiago de Abreu, Lucimar; Fraser, C.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The multifocal visual evoked potential (mfVEP) provides a topographical assessment of visual function, which has already shown potential for use in patients with glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. However, the variability in mfVEP measurements has limited its broader application. The purpo...

HLA-C incompatibilities in allogeneic unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Marie eTIERCY

2014-05-01

Full Text Available An increasingly larger fraction of patients with hematological diseases are treated by hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT from HLA matched unrelated donors. Polymorphism of HLA genes represent a major barrier to HSCT because HLA-A,B,C and DRB1 incompatibilities confer a higher risk of aGVHD and mortality. Although >22 million volunteer HLA-typed donors are available worldwide, still a significant number of patients do not find a highly matched HSC donor. Because of the large haplotypic diversity in HLA-B-C associations, incompatibilities occur most frequently at HLA-C, so that unrelated donors with a single HLA-C mismatch often represent the only possible choice. The ratio of HLA-C-mismatched HSCT over the total number of transplants varies from 15-30%, as determined in 12 multicenter studies. Six multicenter studies involving >1800 patients have reported a 21-43% increase in mortality risk. By using in vitro cellular assays a large heterogeneity in T-cell allorecognition has been observed. Yet the permissiveness of individual HLA-C mismatches remains poorly defined. It could be linked to the position and nature of the mismatched residues on HLA-C molecules, but also to variability in the expression levels of the mismatched alleles. The permissive C*03:03-03:04 mismatch is caracterized by full compatibility at residues 9, 97, 99, 116, 152, 156 and 163 reported to be key positions influencing T-cell allorecognition. With a single difference in these key residues the C*07:01-07:02 mismatch might also be considered by analogy as permissive. High variability of HLA-C expression as determined by quantitative RT-PCR has been observed within individual allotypes and shows some correlation with A-B-C-DRB1 haplotypes. Thus in addition to the position of mismatched amino acid residues, expression level of patient’s mismatched HLA-C allotype might influence T-cell allorecognition, with patient's low expression-C alleles representing possible

Task-evoked brain functional magnetic susceptibility mapping by independent component analysis (χICA).

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zikuan; Calhoun, Vince D

2016-03-01

Conventionally, independent component analysis (ICA) is performed on an fMRI magnitude dataset to analyze brain functional mapping (AICA). By solving the inverse problem of fMRI, we can reconstruct the brain magnetic susceptibility (χ) functional states. Upon the reconstructed χ dataspace, we propose an ICA-based brain functional χ mapping method (χICA) to extract task-evoked brain functional map. A complex division algorithm is applied to a timeseries of fMRI phase images to extract temporal phase changes (relative to an OFF-state snapshot). A computed inverse MRI (CIMRI) model is used to reconstruct a 4D brain χ response dataset. χICA is implemented by applying a spatial InfoMax ICA algorithm to the reconstructed 4D χ dataspace. With finger-tapping experiments on a 7T system, the χICA-extracted χ-depicted functional map is similar to the SPM-inferred functional χ map by a spatial correlation of 0.67 ± 0.05. In comparison, the AICA-extracted magnitude-depicted map is correlated with the SPM magnitude map by 0.81 ± 0.05. The understanding of the inferiority of χICA to AICA for task-evoked functional map is an ongoing research topic. For task-evoked brain functional mapping, we compare the data-driven ICA method with the task-correlated SPM method. In particular, we compare χICA with AICA for extracting task-correlated timecourses and functional maps. χICA can extract a χ-depicted task-evoked brain functional map from a reconstructed χ dataspace without the knowledge about brain hemodynamic responses. The χICA-extracted brain functional χ map reveals a bidirectional BOLD response pattern that is unavailable (or different) from AICA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Click-Evoked Auditory Efferent Activity: Rate and Level Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Boothalingam, Sriram; Kurke, Julianne; Dhar, Sumitrajit

2018-05-07

There currently are no standardized protocols to evaluate auditory efferent function in humans. Typical tests use broadband noise to activate the efferents, but only test the contralateral efferent pathway, risk activating the middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR), and are laborious for clinical use. In an attempt to develop a clinical test of bilateral auditory efferent function, we have designed a method that uses clicks to evoke efferent activity, obtain click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs), and monitor MEMR. This allows for near-simultaneous estimation of cochlear and efferent function. In the present study, we manipulated click level (60, 70, and 80 dB peak-equivalent sound pressure level [peSPL]) and rate (40, 50, and 62.5 Hz) to identify an optimal rate-level combination that evokes measurable efferent modulation of CEOAEs. Our findings (n = 58) demonstrate that almost all click levels and rates used caused significant inhibition of CEOAEs, with a significant interaction between level and rate effects. Predictably, bilateral activation produced greater inhibition compared to stimulating the efferents only in the ipsilateral or contralateral ear. In examining the click rate-level effects during bilateral activation in greater detail, we observed a 1-dB inhibition of CEOAE level for each 10-dB increase in click level, with rate held constant at 62.5 Hz. Similarly, a 10-Hz increase in rate produced a 0.74-dB reduction in CEOAE level, with click level held constant at 80 dB peSPL. The effect size (Cohen's d) was small for either monaural condition and medium for bilateral, faster-rate, and higher-level conditions. We were also able to reliably extract CEOAEs from efferent eliciting clicks. We conclude that clicks can indeed be profitably employed to simultaneously evaluate cochlear health using CEOAEs as well as their efferent modulation. Furthermore, using bilateral clicks allows the evaluation of both the crossed and uncrossed elements of the auditory

Auditory- and visual-evoked potentials in Mexican infants are not affected by maternal supplementation with 400 mg/d docosahexaenoic acid in the second half of pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Aryeh D; Wang, Meng; Rivera, Juan A; Martorell, Reynaldo; Ramakrishnan, Usha

2012-08-01

The evidence relating prenatal supplementation with DHA to offspring neurological development is limited. We investigated the effect of prenatal DHA supplementation on infant brainstem auditory-evoked responses and visual- evoked potentials in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Pregnant women were supplemented daily with 400 mg DHA or placebo from gestation wk 18-22 through delivery. DHA and placebo groups did not differ in maternal characteristics at randomization or infant characteristics at birth. Brainstem auditory-evoked responses were measured at 1 and 3 mo in 749 and 664 infants, respectively, and visual-evoked potentials were measured at 3 and 6 mo in 679 and 817 infants, respectively. Left-right brainstem auditory-evoked potentials were moderately correlated (range, 0.26-0.43; all P right visual-evoked potentials were strongly correlated (range, 0.79-0.94; all P 0.10). We conclude that DHA supplementation during pregnancy did not influence brainstem auditory-evoked responses at 1 and 3 mo or visual-evoked potentials at 3 and 6 mo.

Learning Through Scenario Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balarezo, Jose

level variables, this research corrects this void by investigating the dynamics of organizational learning through the lenses of a corporate scenario planning process. This enhances our scientific understanding of the role that scenario planning might play in the context of organizational learning......This project investigates the uses and effects of scenario planning in companies operating in highly uncertain and dynamic environments. Whereas previous research on scenario planning has fallen short of providing sufficient evidence of its mechanisms and effects on individual or organizational...... and strategic renewal. Empirical evidence of the various difficulties that learning flows has to overcome as it journeys through organizational and hierarchical levels are presented. Despite various cognitive and social psychological barriers identified along the way, the results show the novel...

A comparison of N-methyl-D-aspartate-evoked release of adenosine and [3H]norepinephrine from rat cortical slices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoehn, K.; Craig, C.G.; White, T.D.

1990-01-01

Tetrodotoxin reduced N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-evoked release of adenosine by 35% but virtually abolished [3H]norepinephrine release. Although [3H]norepinephrine release from rat cortical slices evoked by 500 microM NMDA was abolished by 1.2 mM Mg++, which produces a voltage-sensitive, uncompetitive block of NMDA-channels, adenosine release was increased in the presence of Mg++. Partial depolarization with 12 mM K+ relieved the Mg++ block of 500 microM NMDA-evoked [3H]norepinephrine release but did not affect adenosine release, indicating that a Mg++ requirement for the adenosine release process per se cannot account for this discrepancy. NMDA was 33 times more potent in releasing adenosine than [3H]norepinephrine. At submaximal concentrations of NMDA (10 and 20 microM), adenosine release was augmented in Mg+(+)-free medium. Although a high concentration of the uncompetitive NMDA antagonist MK-801 [(+)-5-methyl-10,11,dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5-10-imine maleate] (3 microM) blocked NMDA-evoked release of [3H]norepinephrine and adenosine, a lower concentration (300 nM) decreased NMDA-evoked [3H]norepinephrine release by 66% without affecting adenosine release. These findings suggest that maximal adenosine release occurs when relatively few NMDA receptors are activated, raising the possibility that spare receptors exist for NMDA-evoked adenosine release. Rather than acting as a protectant against excessive NMDA excitation, released adenosine might provide an inhibitory threshold which must be overcome for NMDA-mediated neurotransmission to proceed

Comparison of joint torque evoked with monopolar and tripolar-cuff electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarler, Matthew D; Mortimer, J Thomas

2003-09-01

Using a self-sizing spiral-cuff electrode placed on the sciatic nerve of the cat, the joint torque evoked with stimulation applied to contacts in a monopolar configuration was judged to be the same as the torque evoked by stimulation applied to contacts in a tripolar configuration. Experiments were carried out in six acute cat preparations. In each experiment, a 12-contact electrode was placed on the sciatic nerve and used to effect both the monopolar and tripolar electrode configurations. The ankle torque produced by electrically evoked isometric muscle contraction was measured in three dimensions: plantar flexion, internal rotation, and inversion. Based on the recorded ankle torque, qualitative and quantitative comparisons were performed to determine if any significant difference existed in the pattern or order in which motor nerve fibers were recruited. No significant difference was found at a 98% confidence interval in either the recruitment properties or the repeatability of the monopolar and tripolar configurations. Further, isolated activation of single fascicles within the sciatic nerve was observed. Once nerve fibers in a fascicle were activated, recruitment of that fascicle was modulated over the full range before "spill-over" excitation occurred in neighboring fascicles. These results indicate that a four contact, monopolar nerve-cuff electrode is a viable substitute for a 12 contact, tripolar nerve-cuff electrode. The results of this study are also consistent with the hypothesis that multicontact self-sizing spiral-cuff electrodes can be used in motor prostheses to provide selective control of many muscles. These findings should also apply to other neuroprostheses employing-cuff electrodes on nerve trunks.

Intramuscular temperature modulates glutamate-evoked masseter muscle pain intensity in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Hitoshi; Castrillon, Eduardo E; Cairns, Brian E; Bendixen, Karina H; Wang, Kelun; Nakagawa, Taneaki; Wajima, Koichi; Svensson, Peter

2015-01-01

To determine whether glutamate-evoked jaw muscle pain is altered by the temperature of the solution injected. Sixteen healthy volunteers participated and received injections of hot (48°C), neutral (36°C), or cold (3°C) solutions (0.5 mL) of glutamate or isotonic saline into the masseter muscle. Pain intensity was assessed with an electronic visual analog scale (eVAS). Numeric rating scale (NRS) scores of unpleasantness and temperature perception, pain-drawing areas, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were also measured. Participants filled out the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). Two-way or three-way repeated measures ANOVA were used for data analyses. Injection of hot glutamate and cold glutamate solutions significantly increased and decreased, respectively, the peak pain intensity compared with injection of neutral glutamate solution. The duration of glutamate-evoked pain was significantly longer when hot glutamate was injected than when cold glutamate was injected. No significant effect of temperature on pain intensity was observed when isotonic saline was injected. No effect of solution temperature was detected on unpleasantness, heat perception, cold perception, area of pain drawings, or PPTs. There was a significantly greater use of the "numb" term in the MPQ to describe the injection of cold solutions compared to the injection of both neutral and hot solutions. Glutamate-evoked jaw muscle pain was significantly altered by the temperature of the injection solution. Although temperature perception in the jaw muscle is poor, pain intensity is increased when the muscle tissue temperature is elevated.

Inhibition of somatosensory-evoked cortical responses by a weak leading stimulus.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Kei; Inui, Koji; Yuge, Louis; Kakigi, Ryusuke

2014-11-01

We previously demonstrated that auditory-evoked cortical responses were suppressed by a weak leading stimulus in a manner similar to the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle reflexes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a similar phenomenon was present in the somatosensory system, and also whether this suppression reflected an inhibitory process. We recorded somatosensory-evoked magnetic fields following stimulation of the median nerve and evaluated the extent by which they were suppressed by inserting leading stimuli at an intensity of 2.5-, 1.5-, 1.1-, or 0.9-fold the sensory threshold (ST) in healthy participants (Experiment 1). The results obtained demonstrated that activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated side (cSII) was significantly suppressed by a weak leading stimulus with the intensity larger than 1.1-fold ST. This result implied that the somatosensory system had an inhibitory process similar to that of PPI. We then presented two successive leading stimuli before the test stimulus, and compared the extent of suppression between the test stimulus-evoked responses and those obtained with the second prepulse alone and with two prepulses (first and second) (Experiment 2). When two prepulses were preceded, cSII responses to the second prepulse were suppressed by the first prepulse, whereas the ability of the second prepulse to suppress the test stimulus remained unchanged. These results suggested the presence of at least two individual pathways; response-generating and inhibitory pathways. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Scenario-based strategizing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehr, Thomas; Lorenz, Ullrich; Willert, Markus

2017-01-01

For over 40 years, scenarios have been promoted as a key technique for forming strategies in uncertain en- vironments. However, many challenges remain. In this article, we discuss a novel approach designed to increase the applicability of scenario-based strategizing in top management teams. Drawi...... Ministry) and a firm affected by disruptive change (Bosch, leading global supplier of technology and solutions)....

The involuntary nature of music-evoked autobiographical memories in Alzheimer's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

El Haj, M.; Fasotti, L.; Allain, P.

2012-01-01

The main objective of this paper was to examine the involuntary nature of music-evoked autobiographical memories. For this purpose, young adults, older adults, and patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were asked to remember autobiographical events in two

A De Novo Mutation in Causes Generalized Dystonia in 2 Unrelated Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasemin Gulcan Kurt MD

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Dystonia is often associated with the symmetrical basal ganglia lesions of Leigh syndrome. However, it has also been associated with mitochondrial ND mutations, with or without Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. The m.14459G>A mutation in ND6 causes dystonia with or without familial Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. We report heteroplasmic 14459G>A mutations in 2 unrelated children with nonmaternally inherited generalized dystonia and showing bilateral magnetic resonance imaging lesions in nucleus pallidus and putamen. Both children have reached their teenage years, and they are intellectually active, despite their motor problems.

Inhibition of synaptically evoked cortical acetylcholine release by adenosine: an in vivo microdialysis study in the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Materi, L M; Rasmusson, D D; Semba, K

2000-01-01

The release of cortical acetylcholine from the intracortical axonal terminals of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons is closely associated with electroencephalographic activity. One factor which may act to reduce cortical acetylcholine release and promote sleep is adenosine. Using in vivo microdialysis, we examined the effect of adenosine and selective adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists on cortical acetylcholine release evoked by electrical stimulation of the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus in urethane anesthetized rats. All drugs were administered locally within the cortex by reverse dialysis. None of the drugs tested altered basal release of acetylcholine in the cortex. Adenosine significantly reduced evoked cortical acetylcholine efflux in a concentration-dependent manner. This was mimicked by the adenosine A(1) receptor selective agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine and blocked by the selective A(1) receptor antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX). The A(2A) receptor agonist 2-[p-(2-carboxyethyl)-phenethylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosi ne hydrochloride (CGS 21680) did not alter evoked cortical acetylcholine release even in the presence of DPCPX. Administered alone, neither DPCPX nor the non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine affected evoked cortical acetylcholine efflux. Simultaneous delivery of the adenosine uptake inhibitors dipyridamole and S-(4-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine significantly reduced evoked cortical acetylcholine release, and this effect was blocked by the simultaneous administration of caffeine. These data indicate that activation of the A(1) adenosine receptor inhibits acetylcholine release in the cortex in vivo while the A(2A) receptor does not influence acetylcholine efflux. Such inhibition of cortical acetylcholine release by adenosine may contribute to an increased propensity to sleep during prolonged wakefulness.

40 Years of Shell Scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-02-15

Shell has been using scenario planning for four decades. During that time these scenarios have helped the company and governments across the world to make better strategic choices. Scenarios provide lenses that help see future prospects more clearly, make richer judgments and be more sensitive to uncertainties. Discover how the Shell Scenarios team has helped guide decision makers at major moments in history and get a peek at the team future focus, including the intricate relationship between energy, water and food.

Scenarios in society, society in scenarios: toward a social scientific analysis of storyline-driven environmental modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garb, Yaakov; Pulver, Simone; VanDeveer, Stacy D

2008-01-01

Scenario analysis, an approach to thinking about alternative futures based on storyline-driven modeling, has become increasingly common and important in attempts to understand and respond to the impacts of human activities on natural systems at a variety of scales. The construction of scenarios is a fundamentally social activity, yet social scientific perspectives have rarely been brought to bear on it. Indeed, there is a growing imbalance between the increasing technical sophistication of the modeling elements of scenarios and the continued simplicity of our understanding of the social origins, linkages, and implications of the narratives to which they are coupled. Drawing on conceptual and methodological tools from science and technology studies, sociology and political science, we offer an overview of what a social scientific analysis of scenarios might include. In particular, we explore both how scenarios intervene in social microscale and macroscale contexts and how aspects of such contexts are embedded in scenarios, often implicitly. Analyzing the social 'work' of scenarios (i) can enhance the understanding of scenario developers and modeling practitioners of the knowledge production processes in which they participate and (ii) can improve the utility of scenario products as decision-support tools to actual, rather than imagined, decision-makers.

Scenarios for remote gas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tangen, Grethe; Molnvik, Mona J.

2009-01-01

The amount of natural gas resources accessible via proven production technology and existing infrastructure is declining. Therefore, smaller and less accessible gas fields are considered for commercial exploitation. The research project Enabling production of remote gas builds knowledge and technology aiming at developing competitive remote gas production based on floating LNG and chemical gas conversion. In this project, scenarios are used as basis for directing research related to topics that affect the overall design and operation of such plants. Selected research areas are safety, environment, power supply, operability and control. The paper summarises the scenario building process as a common effort among research institutes and industry. Further, it documents four scenarios for production of remote gas and outlines how the scenarios are applied to establish research strategies and adequate plans in a multidisciplinary project. To ensure relevance of the scenarios, it is important to adapt the building process to the current problem and the scenarios should be developed with extensive participation of key personnel.

Use of auditory evoked potentials for intra-operative awareness in anesthesia: a consciousness-based conceptual model.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Xuebao; Suo, Puxia; Yuan, Xin; Yao, Xuefeng

2015-01-01

Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) have been used as a measure of the depth of anesthesia during the intra-operative process. AEPs are classically divided, on the basis of their latency, into first, fast, middle, slow, and late components. The use of auditory evoked potential has been advocated for the assessment of Intra-operative awareness (IOA), but has not been considered seriously enough to universalize it. It is because we have not explored enough the impact of auditory perception and auditory processing on the IOA phenomena as well as on the subsequent psychological impact of IOA on the patient. More importantly, we have seldom tried to look at the phenomena of IOP from the perspective of consciousness itself. This perspective is especially important because many of IOA phenomena exist in the subconscious domain than they do in the conscious domain of explicit recall. Two important forms of these subconscious manifestations of IOA are the implicit recall phenomena and post-operative dreams related to the operation. Here, we present an integrated auditory consciousness-based model of IOA. We start with a brief description of auditory awareness and the factors affecting it. Further, we proceed to the evaluation of conscious and subconscious information processing by auditory modality and how they interact during and after intra-operative period. Further, we show that both conscious and subconscious auditory processing affect the IOA experience and both have serious psychological implications on the patient subsequently. These effects could be prevented by using auditory evoked potential during monitoring of anesthesia, especially the mid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAERs). To conclude our model with present hypothesis, we propose that the use of auditory evoked potential should be universal with general anesthesia use in order to prevent the occurrences of distressing outcomes resulting from both conscious and subconscious auditory processing during

Choline evokes fluid secretion by perfused rat mandibular gland without desensitization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Murakami, M; Novak, I; Young, J A

1986-01-01

M and evoked secretory responses comparable with those of acetylcholine (0.05-1.0 microM) administered at similar Na concentrations. Continuous infusion of choline, in contrast to acetylcholine, did not lead to a fall off in the secretory response (desensitization or tachyphylaxis) until the choline...

2015 Standard Scenarios Annual Report: U.S. Electric Sector Scenario Exploration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, Patrick [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cole, Wesley [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Blair, Nate [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lantz, Eric [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Krishnan, Venkat [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mai, Trieu [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mulcahy, David [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Porro, Gian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-07-16

This report is one of several products resulting from an initial effort to provide a consistent set of technology cost and performance data and to define a conceptual and consistent scenario framework that can be used in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) future analyses. The long-term objective of this effort is to identify a range of possible futures of the U.S. electricity sector in which to consider specific energy system issues through (1) defining a set of prospective scenarios that bound ranges of key technology, market, and policy assumptions and (2) assessing these scenarios in NREL’s market models to understand the range of resulting outcomes, including energy technology deployment and production, energy prices, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Scenario Development for Water Resources Planning and Management

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, S.; Mahmoud, M.; Liu, Y.; Hartman, H.; Wagener, T.; Gupta, H.

2006-12-01

The main objective of scenario development for water resources is to inform policy-makers about the implications of various policies to inform decision-making. Although there have been a number of studies conducted in the relatively-new and recent field of scenario analysis and development, very few of those have been explicitly applied to water resource issues. More evident is the absence of an established formal approach to develop and apply scenarios. Scenario development is a process that evaluates possible future states of the world by examining several feasible scenarios. A scenario is a projection of various physical and socioeconomic conditions that describe change from the current state to a future state. In this paper, a general framework for scenario development with special emphasis on applications to water resources is considered. The process comprises several progressive and reiterative phases: scenario definition, scenario construction, scenario analysis, scenario assessment, and risk management. Several characteristics of scenarios that are important in describing scenarios are also taken into account; these include scenario types, scenario themes, scenario likelihoods and scenario categories. A hindrance to the adoption of a unified framework for scenario development is inconsistency in the terminology used by scenario developers. To address this problem, we propose a consistent terminology of basic and frequent terms. Outreach for this formal approach is partially maintained through an interactive community website that seeks to educate potential scenario developers about the scenario development process, share and exchange information and resources on scenarios to foster a multidisciplinary community of scenario developers, and establish a unified framework for scenario development with regards to terminology and guidelines. The website provides information on scenario development, current scenario-related activities, key water resources scenario

Effects of insomnia disorder and knee osteoarthritis on resting and pain-evoked inflammatory markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Quartana, Phillip J; Finan, Patrick H; Page, Gayle G; Smith, Michael T

2015-07-01

Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent arthritic condition. Systemic inflammatory cytokines appear to have an important role in the onset and maintenance of the disease. Sleep disturbances are prevalent in osteoarthritis and associated with alterations in systemic inflammatory cytokines, suggesting a common pathophysiology across these conditions. A comparative investigation of the effects of insomnia disorder and osteoarthritis on pain-evoked cytokine responses has yet to be undertaken. We examined the influence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and insomnia disorder on resting C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 levels, and pain-evoked IL-6 and IL-10 responses. Participants were N=117 older adults (mean age=59.7years; 61.8% women) rigorously evaluated for knee osteoarthritis and insomnia disorder using established diagnostic guidelines. Results revealed no association of osteoarthritis or insomnia disorder with CRP. Resting IL-6 was greater in osteoarthritis participants versus those without osteoarthritis, although this association was largely attributable to BMI. IL-10 was highest among participants with osteoarthritis or insomnia disorder. Growth curve modeling revealed that participants with insomnia disorder had greater pain-evoked IL-6 responses than participants without insomnia disorder or osteoarthritis. These findings highlight the utility of laboratory pain testing methods for understanding individual differences in inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, our findings provide evidence for amplified pain-evoked pro-inflammatory cytokine reactivity among older adults with clinically diagnosed insomnia disorder, even after controlling for individual differences in BMI and age. Additional research will be required determine whether an amplified pain-related cytokine response contributes to OA, and possibly other age-related disease, associated with insomnia disorder. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass augments the feeding responses evoked by gastrin releasing peptides

Science.gov (United States)

Washington, Martha C.; Mhalhal, Thaer R.; Berger, Tanisha Johnson-Rouse Jose; Heath, John; Seeley, Randy; Sayegh, Ayman I.

2016-01-01

Background Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most effective method for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disease Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) may reduce body weight by altering the feeding responses evoked by the short term satiety peptides. Materials and Methods Here, we measured meal size (MS, chow), intermeal interval (IMI) length and satiety ratio (SR, IMI/MS; food consumed per a unit of time) by the small and the large forms of gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) in rats, GRP-10 and GRP-29 (0, 0.1, 0.5 nmol/kg) infused in the celiac artery (CA, supplies stomach and upper duodenum) and the cranial mesenteric artery (CMA, supplies small and large intestine) in a RYGB rat model. Results GRP-10 reduced MS, prolonged the IMI and increased the SR only in the RYGB group, whereas GRP-29 evoked these responses by both routes and in both groups. Conclusion The RYGB procedure augments the feeding responses evoked by exogenous GRP, possibly by decreasing total food intake, increasing latency to the first meal, decreasing number of meals or altering the sites of action regulating MS and IMI length by the two peptides. PMID:27884350

Visually-evoked pattern and photomyoclonic responses in video game and television epilepsy: case reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Anyanwu, E; Watson, N A

1996-01-01

This research paper reports a case study of two male photosensitive epileptic patients, aged 14 and 16 years old respectively, whose epileptic seizures were often triggered by the flickers from television and video games respectively. The 14-year old patient had no family history of epilepsy, while the 16 year old had a family history of epilepsy. A comprehensive electroencephalogram (EEG), including hyperventilation, intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) and pattern stimulation were carried out on them and EEG abnormalities including photoparoxysmal responses (PPR) and generalized myoclonic responses were evoked. A thorough analysis of the EEG morphology of the myclonic responses and the clinical manifestations showed evidence of two separate entitles of seizures namely: visually evoked pattern-myoclonic responses (PTMR) and visually evoked photomyoclonic responses (PMR). PTMR was independent of flash rate and occurred before a PPR and at the same time as the flash rate, while PMR occurred after the PPR and was dependent on flash rate. These findings suggest that "Video Game" epilepsy is probably a pattern sensitive epilepsy, electronic screen being the source of the triggering patterns; hence, the morphology and the family histories and the myoclonic phenomena differ from those of pure photosensitive epilepsy.

Memory for semantically related and unrelated declarative information: the benefit of sleep, the cost of wake.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica D Payne

Full Text Available Numerous studies have examined sleep's influence on a range of hippocampus-dependent declarative memory tasks, from text learning to spatial navigation. In this study, we examined the impact of sleep, wake, and time-of-day influences on the processing of declarative information with strong semantic links (semantically related word pairs and information requiring the formation of novel associations (unrelated word pairs. Participants encoded a set of related or unrelated word pairs at either 9 am or 9 pm, and were then tested after an interval of 30 min, 12 hr, or 24 hr. The time of day at which subjects were trained had no effect on training performance or initial memory of either word pair type. At 12 hr retest, memory overall was superior following a night of sleep compared to a day of wakefulness. However, this performance difference was a result of a pronounced deterioration in memory for unrelated word pairs across wake; there was no sleep-wake difference for related word pairs. At 24 hr retest, with all subjects having received both a full night of sleep and a full day of wakefulness, we found that memory was superior when sleep occurred shortly after learning rather than following a full day of wakefulness. Lastly, we present evidence that the rate of deterioration across wakefulness was significantly diminished when a night of sleep preceded the wake period compared to when no sleep preceded wake, suggesting that sleep served to stabilize the memories against the deleterious effects of subsequent wakefulness. Overall, our results demonstrate that 1 the impact of 12 hr of waking interference on memory retention is strongly determined by word-pair type, 2 sleep is most beneficial to memory 24 hr later if it occurs shortly after learning, and 3 sleep does in fact stabilize declarative memories, diminishing the negative impact of subsequent wakefulness.

Exposure scenarios for workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marquart, H.; Northage, C.; Money, C.

2007-01-01

The new European chemicals legislation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) requires the development of Exposure Scenarios describing the conditions and risk management measures needed for the safe use of chemicals. Such Exposure Scenarios should integrate

Regional climate change scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somot, S.

2005-01-01

Because studies of the regional impact of climate change need higher spatial resolution than that obtained in standard global climate change scenarios, developing regional scenarios from models is a crucial goal for the climate modelling community. The zoom capacity of ARPEGE-Climat, the Meteo-France climate model, allows use of scenarios with a horizontal resolution of about 50 km over France and the Mediterranean basin. An IPCC-A2 scenario for the end of the 21. century in France shows higher temperatures in each season and more winter and less summer precipitation than now. Tuning the modelled statistical distributions to observed temperature and precipitation allows us to study changes in the frequency of extreme events between today's climate and that at the end of century. The frequency of very hot days in summer will increase. In particular, the frequency of days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C will be multiplied by a factor of 10, on average. In our scenario, the Toulouse area and Provence might see one quarter of their summer days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C. (author)

Quantifying interhemispheric symmetry of somatosensory evoked potentials with the intraclass correlation coefficient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Wassenberg, Wilma J. G.; van der Hoeven, Johannes H.; Leenders, Klaus L.; Maurits, Natasha M.

Although large intersubject variability is reported for cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), variability between hemispheres within one subject is thought to be small. Therefore, interhemispheric comparison of SEP waveforms might be clinically useful to detect unilateral abnormalities in

Portal-venous gas unrelated to mesenteric ischemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiesner, Walter; Mortele, Koenraad J.; Ji, Hoon; Ros, Pablo R.; Glickman, Jonathan N.

2002-01-01

The aim of this study was to report on 8 patients with all different non-ischemic etiologies for portal-venous gas and to discuss this rare entity and its potentially misleading CT findings in context with a review of the literature. The CT examinations of eight patients who presented with intrahepatic portal-venous gas, unrelated to bowel ischemia or infarction, were reviewed and compared with their medical records with special emphasis on the pathogenesis and clinical impact of portal-venous gas caused by non-ischemic conditions. The etiologies for portal-venous gas included: abdominal trauma (n=1); large gastric cancer (n=1); prior gastroscopic biopsy (n=1); prior hemicolectomy (n=1); graft-vs-host reaction (n=1); large paracolic abscess (n=1); mesenteric recurrence of ovarian cancer superinfected with clostridium septicum (n=1); and sepsis with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=1). The clinical outcome of all patients was determined by their underlying disease and not negatively influenced by the presence of portal-venous gas. Although the presence of portal-venous gas usually raises the suspicion of bowel ischemia and/or intestinal necrosis, this CT finding may be related to a variety of non-ischemic etiologies and pathogeneses as well. The knowledge about these conditions may help to avoid misinterpretation of CT findings, inappropriate clinical uncertainty and unnecessary surgery in certain cases. (orig.)

Personal Conflict Impairs Performance on an Unrelated Self-Control Task: Lingering Costs of Uncertainty and Conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Alquist, Jessica L; Baumeister, Roy F; McGregor, Ian; Core, Tammy J; Benjamin, Ilil; Tice, Dianne M

2018-01-01

People have the ability to make important choices in their lives, but deliberating about these choices can have costs. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that writing about conflicted personal goals and values (conflict condition) would impair self-control on an unrelated subsequent task as compared to writing about clear personal goals and values (clarity condition). Personal conflict activates the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; Hirsh, Mar, & Peterson, 2012), which may make it harder for participants to successfully execute self-control. In this large ( N =337), pre-registered study participants in the conflict condition performed worse on anagrams than participants in the clarity condition, and the effect of condition on anagram performance was mediated by a subjective uncertainty measure of BIS activation. This suggests that BIS activation leads to poor self-control. Moreover, given that conflict is inherent in the exercise of self-control, results point to BIS activation as a mechanism for why initial acts of self-control impair self-control on subsequent, unrelated tasks.

Food sharing is linked to urinary oxytocin levels and bonding in related and unrelated wild chimpanzees

Science.gov (United States)

Wittig, Roman M.; Crockford, Catherine; Deschner, Tobias; Langergraber, Kevin E.; Ziegler, Toni E.; Zuberbühler, Klaus

2014-01-01

Humans excel in cooperative exchanges between unrelated individuals. Although this trait is fundamental to the success of our species, its evolution and mechanisms are poorly understood. Other social mammals also build long-term cooperative relationships between non-kin, and recent evidence shows that oxytocin, a hormone involved in parent–offspring bonding, is likely to facilitate non-kin as well as kin bonds. In a population of wild chimpanzees, we measured urinary oxytocin levels following a rare cooperative event—food sharing. Subjects showed higher urinary oxytocin levels after single food-sharing events compared with other types of social feeding, irrespective of previous social bond levels. Also, urinary oxytocin levels following food sharing were higher than following grooming, another cooperative behaviour. Therefore, food sharing in chimpanzees may play a key role in social bonding under the influence of oxytocin. We propose that food-sharing events co-opt neurobiological mechanisms evolved to support mother–infant bonding during lactation bouts, and may act as facilitators of bonding and cooperation between unrelated individuals via the oxytocinergic system across social mammals. PMID:24430853

Systematic donor blood qualification by flow cytometry would have been able to avoid CLL-type MBL transmission after unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrand, Christophe; Garnache-Ottou, Francine; Collonge-Rame, Marie Agnès; Larosa, Fabrice; Blanc, Michel; Behar, Catherine; Giannoli, Catherine; Garnier, Frédérico; Tiberghien, Pierre; Deconinck, Eric; Rohrlich, Pierre Simon

2012-03-01

The current screening for eligibility of unrelated volunteer marrow donors comprises a complete clinical check-up, a blood CBC and serum protein immunoelectrophoresis. This allows to eliminate acute leukemias, myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic disorders, myelomas and MGUS. To date, the risk of transmission of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) disease is only evaluated by the clinical evaluation and CBC. We report here the case of a CLL-type MBL disease occurring in a 12-year-old boy after unrelated BMT. Deep biological investigations, as Immunophenotyping, cytogenetic and molecular biology allow us to determine the donor origin of the CLL clone. In 2010, 14.2% donor (105/737) for unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were over 45y. It is currently estimated (USA) that 1 in 210 men and women will be diagnosed with CLL during their lifetime. Given the long asymptomatic phase of CLL, this raises the case for a detection strategy analog to that used for MGUS and myeloma through serum protein electrophoresis. This case-report, to our knowledge, of a CLL-type MBL unrelated donor-to-recipient transmission through BMT raises ethical and practical questions, such as the proper information about disease transmission risk. The cost-effectiveness of a systematic peripheral blood Immunophenotyping in donors elder than 40y at time of stem cell donation should be evaluated. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Neurofeedback-Based Enhancement of Single-Trial Auditory Evoked Potentials: Treatment of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieger, Kathryn; Rarra, Marie-Helene; Diaz Hernandez, Laura; Hubl, Daniela; Koenig, Thomas

2018-03-01

Auditory verbal hallucinations depend on a broad neurobiological network ranging from the auditory system to language as well as memory-related processes. As part of this, the auditory N100 event-related potential (ERP) component is attenuated in patients with schizophrenia, with stronger attenuation occurring during auditory verbal hallucinations. Changes in the N100 component assumingly reflect disturbed responsiveness of the auditory system toward external stimuli in schizophrenia. With this premise, we investigated the therapeutic utility of neurofeedback training to modulate the auditory-evoked N100 component in patients with schizophrenia and associated auditory verbal hallucinations. Ten patients completed electroencephalography neurofeedback training for modulation of N100 (treatment condition) or another unrelated component, P200 (control condition). On a behavioral level, only the control group showed a tendency for symptom improvement in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score in a pre-/postcomparison ( t (4) = 2.71, P = .054); however, no significant differences were found in specific hallucination related symptoms ( t (7) = -0.53, P = .62). There was no significant overall effect of neurofeedback training on ERP components in our paradigm; however, we were able to identify different learning patterns, and found a correlation between learning and improvement in auditory verbal hallucination symptoms across training sessions ( r = 0.664, n = 9, P = .05). This effect results, with cautious interpretation due to the small sample size, primarily from the treatment group ( r = 0.97, n = 4, P = .03). In particular, a within-session learning parameter showed utility for predicting symptom improvement with neurofeedback training. In conclusion, patients with schizophrenia and associated auditory verbal hallucinations who exhibit a learning pattern more characterized by within-session aptitude may benefit from electroencephalography neurofeedback

Brain state-dependence of electrically evoked potentials monitored with head-mounted electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Andrew G; Fetz, Eberhard E

2012-11-01

Inferring changes in brain connectivity is critical to studies of learning-related plasticity and stimulus-induced conditioning of neural circuits. In addition, monitoring spontaneous fluctuations in connectivity can provide insight into information processing during different brain states. Here, we quantified state-dependent connectivity changes throughout the 24-h sleep-wake cycle in freely behaving monkeys. A novel, head-mounted electronic device was used to electrically stimulate at one site and record evoked potentials at other sites. Electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) revealed the connectivity pattern between several cortical sites and the basal forebrain. We quantified state-dependent changes in the EEPs. Cortico-cortical EEP amplitude increased during slow-wave sleep, compared to wakefulness, while basal-cortical EEP amplitude decreased. The results demonstrate the utility of using portable electronics to document state-dependent connectivity changes in freely behaving primates.

Nuclear power prospects and potential: scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogner, Hans-Hogler; McDonald, Alan; )

2002-01-01

This paper outlines a range of scenarios describing what the world's energy system might look in the middle of the century, and what nuclear energy's most profitable role might be. The starting point is the 40 non-greenhouse-gas-mitigation scenarios in the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Given their international authorship and comprehensive review by governments and scientific experts, the SRES scenarios are the state of the art in long-term energy scenarios

Not that neglected! Base rates influence related and unrelated judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Białek, Michał

2017-06-01

It is claimed that people are unable (or unwilling) to incorporate prior probabilities into posterior assessments, such as their estimation of the likelihood of a person with characteristics typical of an engineer actually being an engineer given that they are drawn from a sample including a very small number of engineers. This paper shows that base rates are incorporated in classifications (Experiment 1) and, moreover, that base rates also affect unrelated judgments, such as how well a provided description of a person fits a stereotypical engineer (Experiment 2). Finally, Experiment 3 shows that individuals who make both types of assessments - though using base rates to the same extent in the former judgments - are able to decrease the extent to which they incorporate base rates in the latter judgments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scenario-based roadmapping assessing nuclear technology development paths for future nuclear energy system scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Den Durpel, Luc; Roelofs, Ferry; Yacout, Abdellatif

2009-01-01

Nuclear energy may play a significant role in a future sustainable energy mix. The transition from today's nuclear energy system towards a future more sustainable nuclear energy system will be dictated by technology availability, energy market competitiveness and capability to achieve sustainability through the nuclear fuel cycle. Various scenarios have been investigated worldwide each with a diverse set of assumptions on the timing and characteristics of new nuclear energy systems. Scenario-based roadmapping combines the dynamic scenario-analysis of nuclear energy systems' futures with the technology roadmap information published and analysed in various technology assessment reports though integrated within the nuclear technology roadmap Nuclear-Roadmap.net. The advantages of this combination is to allow mutual improvement of scenario analysis and nuclear technology roadmapping providing a higher degree of confidence in the assessment of nuclear energy system futures. This paper provides a description of scenario-based roadmapping based on DANESS and Nuclear-Roadmap.net. (author)

Neural responses to nostalgia-evoking music modeled by elements of dynamic musical structure and individual differences in affective traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Frederick S; Janata, Petr

2016-10-01

Nostalgia is an emotion that is most commonly associated with personally and socially relevant memories. It is primarily positive in valence and is readily evoked by music. It is also an idiosyncratic experience that varies between individuals based on affective traits. We identified frontal, limbic, paralimbic, and midbrain brain regions in which the strength of the relationship between ratings of nostalgia evoked by music and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal was predicted by affective personality measures (nostalgia proneness and the sadness scale of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales) that are known to modulate the strength of nostalgic experiences. We also identified brain areas including the inferior frontal gyrus, substantia nigra, cerebellum, and insula in which time-varying BOLD activity correlated more strongly with the time-varying tonal structure of nostalgia-evoking music than with music that evoked no or little nostalgia. These findings illustrate one way in which the reward and emotion regulation networks of the brain are recruited during the experiencing of complex emotional experiences triggered by music. These findings also highlight the importance of considering individual differences when examining the neural responses to strong and idiosyncratic emotional experiences. Finally, these findings provide a further demonstration of the use of time-varying stimulus-specific information in the investigation of music-evoked experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Central pathway for spontaneous and prostaglandin E2-evoked cutaneous vasoconstriction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rathner, Joseph A; Madden, Christopher J; Morrison, Shaun F

2008-07-01

A reduction of heat loss to the environment through increased cutaneous vasoconstrictor (CVC) sympathetic outflow contributes to elevated body temperature during fever. We determined the role of neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) in increases in CVC sympathetic tone evoked by PGE2 into the preoptic area (POA) in chloralose/urethane-anesthetized rats. The frequency of axonal action potentials of CVC sympathetic ganglion cells recorded from the surface of the tail artery was increased by 1.8 Hz following nanoinjections of bicuculline (50 pmol) into the DMH. PGE2 nanoinjection into the POA elicited a similar excitation of tail CVC neurons (+2.1 Hz). Subsequent to PGE2 into the POA, muscimol (400 pmol/side) into the DMH did not alter the activity of tail CVC neurons. Inhibition of neurons in the rostral raphé pallidus (rRPa) eliminated the spontaneous discharge of tail CVC neurons but only reduced the PGE2-evoked activity. Residual activity was abolished by subsequent muscimol into the rostral ventrolateral medulla. Transections through the neuraxis caudal to the POA increased the activity of tail CVC neurons, which were sustained through transections caudal to DMH. We conclude that while activation of neurons in the DMH is sufficient to activate tail CVC neurons, it is not necessary for their PGE2-evoked activity. These results support a CVC component of increased core temperature elicited by PGE2 in POA that arises from relief of a tonic inhibition from neurons in POA of CVC sympathetic premotor neurons in rRPa and is dependent on the excitation of CVC premotor neurons from a site caudal to DMH.

A girl without a chiasm : Electrophysiologic and MRI evidence for the absence of crossing optic nerve fibers in a girl with a congenital nystagmus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansonius, NM; van der Vliet, TM; Cornelissen, FW; Pott, JWR; Kooijman, AC

An otherwise healthy 15-year-old girl with a congenital nystagmus was evaluated at our department using visual evoked potential recording and magnetic resonance imaging. She appears to have the unique isolated inborn absence of the optic chiasm, described only once before in two unrelated girls.

Elaborating SRES scenarios for nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, Alan; Riahi, Keywan; Rogner, Hans-Holger

2003-01-01

The objective of this paper is identifying mid-century economic targets for nuclear energy. The first step is to describe what the mid-century energy market might look like: the major competitors for nuclear energy, what products are in demand, how much of each, where is growth greatest, and so forth. The mechanism for systematically describing the future market is scenario building. The starting point is the scenarios in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. SRES developed four narrative story lines, each representing a different coherent set of demographic, social, economic, technological, and environmental developments. For each story line several different scenarios were developed by six international modelling teams, resulting in 40 scenarios grouped in the 4 story lines. For three of the story lines this paper uses a single marker scenario representative of central tendencies within the scenario family. For the fourth story line the authors chose the scenario that assumes that advances in non-fossil technologies - renewable, nuclear, and high-efficiency conservation technologies - make them most cost-competitive. (BA)

Analysis of electrically evoked compound action potential of the auditory nerve in children with bilateral cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Caldas, Fernanda Ferreira; Cardoso, Carolina Costa; Barreto, Monique Antunes de Souza Chelminski; Teixeira, Marina Santos; Hilgenberg, Anacléia Melo da Silva; Serra, Lucieny Silva Martins; Bahmad Junior, Fayez

2016-01-01

The cochlear implant device has the capacity to measure the electrically evoked compound action potential of the auditory nerve. The neural response telemetry is used in order to measure the electrically evoked compound action potential of the auditory nerve. To analyze the electrically evoked compound action potential, through the neural response telemetry, in children with bilateral cochlear implants. This is an analytical, prospective, longitudinal, historical cohort study. Six children, aged 1-4 years, with bilateral cochlear implant were assessed at five different intervals during their first year of cochlear implant use. There were significant differences in follow-up time (p=0.0082) and electrode position (p=0.0019) in the T-NRT measure. There was a significant difference in the interaction between time of follow-up and electrode position (p=0.0143) when measuring the N1-P1 wave amplitude between the three electrodes at each time of follow-up. The electrically evoked compound action potential measurement using neural response telemetry in children with bilateral cochlear implants during the first year of follow-up was effective in demonstrating the synchronized bilateral development of the peripheral auditory pathways in the studied population. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Assessment of visual disability using visual evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Jihoon; Oh, Seiyul; Kyung, Sungeun

2012-08-06

The purpose of this study is to validate the use of visual evoked potential (VEP) to objectively quantify visual acuity in normal and amblyopic patients, and determine if it is possible to predict visual acuity in disability assessment to register visual pathway lesions. A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients diagnosed with normal vision, unilateral amblyopia, optic neuritis, and visual disability who visited the university medical center for registration from March 2007 to October 2009. The study included 20 normal subjects (20 right eyes: 10 females, 10 males, ages 9-42 years), 18 unilateral amblyopic patients (18 amblyopic eyes, ages 19-36 years), 19 optic neuritis patients (19 eyes: ages 9-71 years), and 10 patients with visual disability having visual pathway lesions. Amplitude and latencies were analyzed and correlations with visual acuity (logMAR) were derived from 20 normal and 18 amblyopic subjects. Correlation of VEP amplitude and visual acuity (logMAR) of 19 optic neuritis patients confirmed relationships between visual acuity and amplitude. We calculated the objective visual acuity (logMAR) of 16 eyes from 10 patients to diagnose the presence or absence of visual disability using relations derived from 20 normal and 18 amblyopic eyes. Linear regression analyses between amplitude of pattern visual evoked potentials and visual acuity (logMAR) of 38 eyes from normal (right eyes) and amblyopic (amblyopic eyes) subjects were significant [y = -0.072x + 1.22, x: VEP amplitude, y: visual acuity (logMAR)]. There were no significant differences between visual acuity prediction values, which substituted amplitude values of 19 eyes with optic neuritis into function. We calculated the objective visual acuity of 16 eyes of 10 patients to diagnose the presence or absence of visual disability using relations of y = -0.072x + 1.22 (-0.072). This resulted in a prediction reference of visual acuity associated with malingering vs. real

Her-2/neu overexpression is associated with thrombospondin-1-related angiogenesis and thrombospondin-1-unrelated lymphangiogenesis in breast cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Chuan Hong

2013-11-01

Conclusion: Our in vivo results showed that Her-2/neu affects the biological manifestations of breast cancer by increasing angiogenesis (which is TSP-1-related and lymphangiogenesis, which is TSP-1-unrelated.

Energy scenarios for New Zealand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harris, G. S.; Ellis, M. J.; Scott, G. C.; Wood, J. R.

1977-10-15

Three energy scenarios have been formulated for New Zealand. They concentrate on those aspects of society which have a direct bearing on energy, emphasizing three important issues: major shifts in society's values in relation to material wealth, pollution, and resources. The scenarios make assumptions that certain overall social conditions would prevail so that all decisions of government, the private sector, and individuals would be governed by the requirement to conform to the scenario theme in a way not possible under existing social and political conditions. The 3 scenarios are known as Continuation, Low New Zealand Pollution, and Limited Growth.

Role of the autonomic nervous system and baroreflex in stress-evoked cardiovascular responses in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Dos Reis, Daniel Gustavo; Fortaleza, Eduardo Albino Trindade; Tavares, Rodrigo Fiacadori; Corrêa, Fernando Morgan Aguiar

2014-07-01

Restraint stress (RS) is an experimental model to study stress-related cardiovascular responses, characterized by sustained pressor and tachycardiac responses. We used pharmacologic and surgical procedures to investigate the role played by sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) in the mediation of stress-evoked cardiovascular responses. Ganglionic blockade with pentolinium significantly reduced RS-evoked pressor and tachycardiac responses. Intravenous treatment with homatropine methyl bromide did not affect the pressor response but increased tachycardia. Pretreatment with prazosin reduced the pressor and increased the tachycardiac response. Pretreatment with atenolol did not affect the pressor response but reduced tachycardia. The combined treatment with atenolol and prazosin reduced both pressor and tachycardiac responses. Adrenal demedullation reduced the pressor response without affecting tachycardia. Sinoaortic denervation increased pressor and tachycardiac responses. The results indicate that: (1) the RS-evoked cardiovascular response is mediated by the autonomic nervous system without an important involvement of humoral factors; (2) hypertension results primarily from sympathovascular and sympathoadrenal activation, without a significant involvement of the cardiac sympathetic component (CSNS); (3) the abrupt initial peak in the hypertensive response to restraint is sympathovascular-mediated, whereas the less intense but sustained hypertensive response observed throughout the remaining restraint session is mainly mediated by sympathoadrenal activation and epinephrine release; (4) tachycardia results from CSNS activation, and not from PSNS inhibition; (5) RS evokes simultaneous CSNS and PSNS activation, and heart rate changes are a vector of both influences; (6) the baroreflex is functional during restraint, and modulates both the vascular and cardiac responses to restraint.

Energy scenarios: a prospective outlook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salomon, Thierry; Claustre, Raphael; Charru, Madeleine; Sukov, Stephane; Marignac, Yves; Fink, Meike; Bibas, Ruben; Le Saux, Gildas

2011-01-01

A set of articles discusses the use of energy scenarios: how useful they can be to describe a possible future and even to gather the involved actors, how they have been used in France in the past (for planning or prediction purposes, with sometimes some over-assessed or contradictory results, without considering any decline of nuclear energy, or by setting an impossible equation in the case of the Grenelle de l'Environnement), how the scenario framework impacts its content (depending on the approach type: standard, optimization, bottom-up, top-down, or hybrid). It also discusses the issue of choice of hypotheses on growth-based and de-growth-based scenarios, outlines how energy saving is a key for a sustainable evolution. Two German scenarios regarding electricity production (centralisation or decentralisation) and French regional scenarios for Nord-Pas-de-Calais are then briefly discussed

Negatep: A Scenario for Combating Global Warming; Le scenario Negatep. Un scenario de lutte contre le rechauffement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acket, C.; Bacher, P. [Sauvons Le Climat, 92 - Boulogne Billancourt (France)

2011-07-15

There have been an increasing number of foresight exercises in the field of energy and global warming in recent years, as we have seen from the articles devoted to these questions by Futuribles in 2011 (both in this special issue and in the April number). It is certainly the case that the goals for greenhouse-gas emission reduction are rather ambitious, particularly in France, it being the aim of the 2005 French framework law on energy to reduce carbon gas discharges by a factor of four. Among these scenarios, the Negatep scenario developed by Claude Acket and Pierre Bacher from the 'Sauvons le climat' [Let's save the climate] Association proposes to achieve this ('factor 4') goal in France by 2050 by reducing fossil fuel use by 75% and replacing this as quickly as possible with electricity produced from non-carbon-gas-emitting sources - chiefly, nuclear power and renewables. The authors lay out their goals here, backed up by figures, comparing these with the reference scenario. They also show the path that must be followed to arrive at these goals, particularly in the residential and tertiary sectors, and in transport and industry (through control of needs and recourse to alternative energy sources). They close by comparing the Negatep scenario with two other more recent scenarios aimed also at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, on the one hand in Europe, and on the other in Germany. The comparison confirms that they were right to rely on electricity as a substitute for oil, but gives them cause for concern in respect of the consequences (formidable in their view) that the replacement of nuclear power and coal energy by intermittent renewable energies might have in Europe, both with regard to costs and to the effects on the power network. (authors)

Effect of extradural morphine on somatosensory evoked potentials to dermatomal stimulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, C; Selmar, P; Hansen, O B

1987-01-01

The effect of the extradural (L2-3) administration of morphine 6 mg on early (less than 0.5 s) somatosensory evoked cortical potentials (SEP) to electrical stimulation of the L1- and S1-dermatomes was examined in eight patients. Extradural morphine did not influence SEP amplitude. SEP latency did...

Prognostic value of unrelated atypical serum immunofixation patterns during multiple myeloma therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Guimarães, Cristina; Bergantim, Rui; Ramalho, Renata; Couto, Nuno; Guimarães, João T; Trigo, Fernanda

2012-06-26

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the gold standard therapy for suitable multiple myeloma (MM) patients after induction with high dose therapy. To date, the evidence of a reliable marker of prognosis in these cases remains scarce. Our aim was to evaluate appearance of unrelated atypical serum immunofixation patterns (ASIPs) as a marker of prognosis in MM patients submitted to ASCT. We retrospectively analysed data from 65 patients. Interestingly, we observed that presence of ASIPs was associated with longer progression-free survival and longer overall survival. Our results suggested that presence of ASIPs could be a novel marker of good prognosis in MM patients submitted to ASCT.

Engaging Personas and Narrative Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lene

2004-01-01

design ideas. The concept of engaging personas and narrative scenario explores personas in the light of what what it is to identify with and have empathy with a character. The concept of narrative scenarios views the narrative as aid for exploration of design ideas. Both concepts incorporate...... a distinktion between creating, writing and reading. Keywords: personas, scenarios, user-centered design, HCI...

Mars base buildup scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blacic, J.D.

1985-01-01

Two surface base build-up scenarios are presented in order to help visualize the mission and to serve as a basis for trade studies. In the first scenario, direct manned landings on the Martian surface occur early in the missions and scientific investigation is the main driver and rationale. In the second scenario, early development of an infrastructure to exploite the volatile resources of the Martian moons for economic purposes is emphasized. Scientific exploration of the surface is delayed at first, but once begun develops rapidly aided by the presence of a permanently manned orbital station

The Role of Auditory Evoked Potentials in the Context of Cochlear Implant Provision.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoth, Sebastian; Dziemba, Oliver Christian

2017-12-01

: Auditory evoked potentials (AEP) are highly demanded during the whole process of equipping patients with cochlear implants (CI). They play an essential role in preoperative diagnostics, intraoperative testing, and postoperative monitoring of auditory performance and success. The versatility of AEP's is essentially enhanced by their property to be evokable by acoustic as well as electric stimuli. Thus, the electric responses of the auditory system following acoustic stimulation and recorded by the conventional surface technique as well as by transtympanic derivation from the promontory (Electrocochleography [ECochG]) are used for the quantitative determination of hearing loss and, additionally, electrically evoked compound actions potentials (ECAP) can be recorded with the intracochlear electrodes of the implant just adjacent to the stimulation electrode to check the functional integrity of the device and its coupling to the auditory system. The profile of ECAP thresholds is used as basis for speech processor fitting, the spread of excitation (SOE) allows the identification of electrode mislocations such as array foldover, and recovery functions may serve to optimize stimulus pulse rate. These techniques as well as those relying on scalp surface activity originating in the brainstem or the auditory cortex accompany the CI recipient during its whole life span and they offer valuable insights into functioning and possible adverse effects of the CI for clinical and scientific purposes.

Neuromagnetic detection of the laryngeal area: Sensory-evoked fields to air-puff stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyaji, Hideaki; Hironaga, Naruhito; Umezaki, Toshiro; Hagiwara, Koichi; Shigeto, Hiroshi; Sawatsubashi, Motohiro; Tobimatsu, Shozo; Komune, Shizuo

2014-03-01

The sensory projections from the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx are crucial in assuring safe deglutition, coughing, breathing, and voice production/speaking. Although several studies using neuroimaging techniques have demonstrated cortical activation related to pharyngeal and laryngeal functions, little is known regarding sensory projections from the laryngeal area to the somatosensory cortex. The purpose of this study was to establish the cortical activity evoked by somatic air-puff stimulation at the laryngeal mucosa using magnetoencephalography. Twelve healthy volunteers were trained to inhibit swallowing in response to air stimuli delivered to the larynx. Minimum norm estimates was performed on the laryngeal somatosensory evoked fields (LSEFs) to best differentiate the target activations from non-task-related activations. Evoked magnetic fields were recorded with acceptable reproducibility in the left hemisphere, with a peak latency of approximately 100ms in 10 subjects. Peak activation was estimated at the caudolateral region of the primary somatosensory area (S1). These results establish the ability to detect LSEFs with an acceptable reproducibility within a single subject and among subjects. These results also suggest the existence of laryngeal somatic afferent input to the caudolateral region of S1 in human. Our findings indicate that further investigation in this area is needed, and should focus on laryngeal lateralization, swallowing, and speech processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Temporary hyperthyroidism (hypertriiodothyroninemia) to be evoked by stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehni, A.; Kampmann, H.

1982-01-01

From patients of intensive care unit suffering from acute myocardial infarction, decompensated hypertension with left heart insufficiency, severe coronary heart disease, pulmonary infarction, cerebral ischemia 102 were selected with suspicion of hyperthyroidism because of clinical signs. 12 patients fulfilled the criteria of temporary hyperthyroidism, 6 patients revealed persistent hyperthyroidism. Excluding other causes for evoked hyperthyroidism as common etiological factor psychogenic stress is discussed. It is concluded, that increased thyroid hormone concentration in patients of intensive care units should be controlled within a short time in order to delineate temporary hyperthyroidism against permanent hyperthyroidism. (orig.) [de

Temporary hyperthyroidism (hypertriiodothyroninemia) to be evoked by stress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehni, A.; Kampmann, H.

1982-10-01

From patients of intensive care unit suffering from acute myocardial infarction, decompensated hypertension with left heart insufficiency, severe coronary heart disease, pulmonary infarction, cerebral ischemia 102 were selected with suspicion of hyperthyroidism because of clinical signs. 12 patients fulfilled the criteria of temporary hyperthyroidism, 6 patients revealed persistent hyperthyroidism. Excluding other causes for evoked hyperthyroidism as common etiological factor psychogenic stress is discussed. It is concluded, that increased thyroid hormone concentration in patients of intensive care units should be controlled within a short time in order to delineate temporary hyperthyroidism against permanent hyperthyroidism.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy to probe sensorimotor region activation during electrical stimulation-evoked movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthalib, Makii; Ferrari, Marco; Quaresima, Valentina; Kerr, Graham; Perrey, Stephane

2017-11-07

This study used non-invasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging to monitor bilateral sensorimotor region activation during unilateral voluntary (VOL) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-evoked movements. In eight healthy male volunteers, fNIRS was used to measure relative changes in oxyhaemoglobin (O 2 Hb) and deoxyhaemoglobin (HHb) concentrations from a cortical sensorimotor region of interest in the left (LH) and right (RH) hemispheres during NMES-evoked and VOL wrist extension movements of the right arm. NMES-evoked movements induced significantly greater activation (increase in O 2 Hb and concomitant decrease in HHb) in the contralateral LH than in the ipsilateral RH (O 2 Hb: 0·44 ± 0·16 μM and 0·25 ± 0·22 μM, P = 0·017; HHb: -0·19 ± 0·10 μM and -0·12 ± 0·09 μM, P = 0·036, respectively) as did VOL movements (0·51 ± 0·24 μΜ and 0·34 ± 0·21 μM, P = 0·031; HHb: -0·18 ± 0·07 μΜ and -0·12 ± 0·04 μΜ, P = 0·05, respectively). There was no significant difference between conditions for O 2 Hb (P = 0·144) and HHb (P = 0·958). fNIRS neuroimaging enables quantification of bilateral sensorimotor regional activation profiles during voluntary and NMES-evoked wrist extension movements. © 2017 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

From scenarios to components

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fahland, D.

2010-01-01

Scenario-based modeling has evolved as an accepted paradigm for developing complex systems of various kinds. Its main purpose is to ensure that a system provides desired behavior to its users. A scenario is generally understood as a behavioral requirement, denoting a course of actions that shall

The dynamic allocation of attention to emotion: simultaneous and independent evidence from the late positive potential and steady state visual evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajcak, Greg; MacNamara, Annmarie; Foti, Dan; Ferri, Jamie; Keil, Andreas

2013-03-01

Emotional stimuli capture and hold attention without explicit instruction. The late positive potential (LPP) component of the event related potential can be used to track motivated attention toward emotional stimuli, and is larger for emotional compared to neutral pictures. In the frequency domain, the steady state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) has also been used to track attention to stimuli flickering at a particular frequency. Like the LPP, the ssVEP is also larger for emotional compared to neutral pictures. Prior work suggests that both the LPP and ssVEP are sensitive to "top-down" manipulations of attention, however the LPP and ssVEP have not previously been examined using the same attentional manipulation in the same participants. In the present study, LPP and ssVEP amplitudes were simultaneously elicited by unpleasant and neutral pictures. Partway through picture presentation, participants' attention was directed toward an arousing or non-arousing region of unpleasant pictures. In line with prior work, the LPP was reduced when attention was directed toward non-arousing compared to arousing regions of unpleasant pictures; similar results were observed for the ssVEP. Thus, both electrocortical measures index affective salience and are sensitive to directed (here: spatial) attention. Variation in the LPP and ssVEP was unrelated, suggesting that these measures are not redundant with each other and may capture different neurophysiological aspects of affective stimulus processing and attention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predictability of painful stimulation modulates the somatosensory-evoked potential in the rat

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schaap, M.W.H.; van Oostrom, H.; Doornenbal, A.; Baars, A.M.; Arndt, S.S.; Hellebrekers, L.J.

2013-01-01

Abstract Somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) are used in humans and animals to increase knowledge about nociception and pain. Since the SEP in humans increases when noxious stimuli are administered unpredictably, predictability potentially influences the SEP in animals as well. To assess the

Italian energy scenarios comparative evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contaldi, Mario

2005-01-01

This paper reviews some representative scenarios of the evolution of the Italian primary energy consumption, updated recently. After an overview of the main macroeconomics assumptions the scenario results are cross checked at sectorial level, with a brief discussion of the underlining data and energy intensity trends. The emissions of CO 2 , SO 2 and NO x resulting from the considered scenarios are also reported and discussed [it

EEG and EMG responses to emotion-evoking stimuli processed without conscious awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Wexler, B E; Warrenburg, S; Schwartz, G E; Janer, L D

1992-12-01

Dichotic stimulus pairs were constructed with one word that was emotionally neutral and another that evoked either negative or positive feelings. Temporal and spectral overlap between the members of each pair was so great that the two words fused into a single auditory percept. Subjects were consciously aware of hearing only one word from most pairs; sometimes the emotion-evoking word was heard consciously, other times the neutral word was heard consciously. Subjects were instructed to let their thoughts wander in response to the word they heard, during which time EEG alpha activity over left and right frontal regions, and muscle activity (EMG) in the corrugator ("frowning") and zygomatic ("smiling") regions were recorded. Both EEG and EMG provided evidence of emotion-specific responses to stimuli that were processed without conscious awareness. Moreover both suggested relatively greater right hemisphere activity with unconscious rather than conscious processing.

Contact Heat Evoked Potentials (CHEPs) in Patients with Mild-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease and Matched Control-A Pilot Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen-Dahm, Christina; Madsen, Caspar Skau; Waldemar, Gunhild

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Clinical studies have found that patients with Alzheimer's disease report pain of less intensity and with a lower affective response, which has been thought to be due to altered pain processing. The authors wished to examine the cerebral processing of non-painful and painful stimuli...... threshold and heat pain threshold. Somatosensory evoked potentials, amplitude, and latency were within normal range and similar for the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the processing of non-painful and painful stimuli is preserved in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease....... using somatosensory evoked potentials and contact heat evoked potentials in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in healthy elderly controls. DESIGN: Case-control study SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Twenty outpatients with mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease and in 17 age- and gender-matched healthy controls...

Temporal suppression and augmentation of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verhulst, Sarah; Harte, James; Dau, Torsten

2008-01-01

This study investigates temporal suppression of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs), occurring when a suppressor-click is presented close in time to a test-click (e.g. 0-8ms). Various temporal suppression methods for examining temporal changes in cochlear compression were evaluated and me...... under test. Temporal suppression was shown to be comparable for CEOAEs and SSOAEs, indicating similar underlying cochlear nonlinear mechanisms. This study contributes to a better understanding of the temporal properties of cochlear dynamics....

Scenarios

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pérez-Soba, Marta; Maas, Rob

2015-01-01

We cannot predict the future with certainty, but we know that it is influenced by our current actions, and that these in turn are influenced by our expectations. This is why future scenarios have existed from the dawn of civilization and have been used for developing military, political and economic

Mecamylamine, dihydro-β-erythroidine, and dextromethorphan block conditioned responding evoked by the conditional stimulus effects of nicotine

Science.gov (United States)

Struthers, Amanda M.; Wilkinson, Jamie L.; Dwoskin, Linda P.; Crooks, Peter A.; Bevins, Rick A.

2009-01-01

Current smokers express the desire to quit. However, the majority find it difficult to remain abstinent. As such, research efforts continually seek to develop more effective treatment. One such area of research involves the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine as either a discriminative stimulus in an operant drug discrimination task, or more recently as a conditional stimulus (CS) in a discriminated goal-tracking task. The present work investigated the potential role nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the CS effects of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) using antagonists with differential selectivity for β2*, α7*, α6β2*, and α3β4* receptors. Methyllycaconitine (MLA) had no effect on nicotine-evoked conditioned responding. Mecamylamine and dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHβE) dose dependently blocked responding evoked by the nicotine CS. In a time-course assessment of mecamylamine and DHβE, each blocked conditioned responding when given 5 min before testing and still blocked conditioned responding when administered 200 min before testing. Two novel bis-picolinium analogs (N, N’-(3, 3′-(dodecan-1,12-diyl)-bis-picolinium dibromide [bPiDDB], and N, N’-(decan-1,10-diyl)-bis-picolinium diiodide [bPiDI]) did not block nicotine-evoked conditioned responding. Finally, pretreatment with low dose combinations of mecamylamine, dextromethorphan, and/or bupropion were used to target α3β4* receptors. No combination blocked conditioned responding evoked by the training dose of nicotine. However, a combination of mecamylamine and dextromethorphan partially blocked nicotine-evoked conditioned responding to a lower dose of nicotine (0.1 mg/kg). These results indicate that β2* and potentially α3β4* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors play a role in the CS effects of nicotine and are potential targets for the development of nicotine cessation aids. PMID:19778551

Combined ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential in individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and in patients with Ménière's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Tatiana Rocha; de Resende, Luciana Macedo; Santos, Marco Aurélio Rocha

The vestibular evoked myogenic potential is a potential of mean latency that measures the muscle response to auditory stimulation. This potential can be generated from the contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and also from the contraction of extraocular muscles in response to high-intensity sounds. This study presents a combined or simultaneous technique of cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential in individuals with changes in the vestibular system, for use in otoneurologic diagnosis. To characterize the records and analyze the results of combined cervical and ocular VEMP in individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and in those with Ménière's disease. The study included 120 subjects: 30 subjects with vestibular hyporeflexia, 30 with Ménière's disease, and 60 individuals with normal hearing. Data collection was performed by simultaneously recording the cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. There were differences between the study groups (individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and individuals with Ménière's disease) and the control group for most of wave parameters in combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. For cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential, it was observed that the prolongation of latency of the P13 and N23 waves was the most frequent finding in the group with vestibular hyporeflexia and in the group with Ménière's disease. For ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential, prolonged latency of N10 and P15 waves was the most frequent finding in the study groups. Combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential presented relevant results for individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and for those with Ménière's disease. There were differences between the study groups and the control group for most of the wave parameters in combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia

Unmasking of an early laser evoked potential by a point localization task

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valeriani, M.; Restuccia, D.; Le Pera, D.

2000-01-01

Objectives: The investigation of the CO2 laser evoked potential (LEP) modifications following a point localization task. Methods: LEPs were recorded from 10 healthy subjects in two different conditions. (1) Task condition: laser stimuli were shifted among 3 different locations on the right hand d...

SCENARIO PLANNING AS LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Lourenço Junior

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Scenario Planning has been increasingly used, from its introduction to the decision process as effective tools to test decisions, and improve performance in a dynamic environment (Chermack, 2005. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the potential of an experimental Scenario Planning Model to mobilize, encourage and add more content to the organization’s decision making process – mainly with respect to Strategic Plans of two governmental institutions, a pharmaceutical company and a technology education foundation.  This study describes the application stages of a hybrid scenario-planning model – herein referred to as Planning as Learning – via action-research, showing the scenarios resulting from the experiment and describes the main results of an assessment of such practice. In order to do that, two well-established Scenario Planning models (Prospective school and Shell’s model were analyzed. They were used as a reference for the proposition and application of an experimental model in the two study objects. A questionnaire was used to assess the technique impact. It was possible to obtain high levels of reliability. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the participants. At the end, the results confirmed the model efficiency as a basis for decision making in the competitive environment in which the two institutions are inserted, also to encourage the learning process as a group, as observed throughout the work.

Effects of stimulation intensity, gender and handedness upon auditory evoked potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susana Camposano

1992-03-01

Full Text Available Left handers and women show less anatomical brain asymmetry, larger corpus callosum and more bilateral representation of specific functions. Sensory and cognitive components of cortical auditory evoked potentials (AEF have been shown to be asymmetric in right handed males and to be influenced by stimulus intensity. In this study the influence of sex, handedness and stimulus intensity upon AEP components is investigated under basal conditions of passive attention. 14 right handed males, 14 right handed females, 14 left handed males, and 14 left handed females were studied while lying awake and paying passive attention to auditory stimulation (series of 100 binaural clicks, duration 1 msec, rate 1/sec, at four intensities. Cz, C3 and C4 referenced to linked mastoids and right EOG were recorded. Analysis time was 400 msec, average evoked potentials were based on 100 clicks. Stimulus intensity and gender affect early sensory components (P1N1 and N1P2 at central leads, asymmetry is influenced only by handedness, right handers showing larger P1N1 amplitudes over the right hemisphere.

Postural threat differentially affects the feedforward and feedback components of the vestibular-evoked balance response.

Science.gov (United States)

Osler, Callum J; Tersteeg, M C A; Reynolds, Raymond F; Loram, Ian D

2013-10-01

Circumstances may render the consequence of falling quite severe, thus maximising the motivation to control postural sway. This commonly occurs when exposed to height and may result from the interaction of many factors, including fear, arousal, sensory information and perception. Here, we examined human vestibular-evoked balance responses during exposure to a highly threatening postural context. Nine subjects stood with eyes closed on a narrow walkway elevated 3.85 m above ground level. This evoked an altered psycho-physiological state, demonstrated by a twofold increase in skin conductance. Balance responses were then evoked by galvanic vestibular stimulation. The sway response, which comprised a whole-body lean in the direction of the edge of the walkway, was significantly and substantially attenuated after ~800 ms. This demonstrates that a strong reason to modify the balance control strategy was created and subjects were highly motivated to minimise sway. Despite this, the initial response remained unchanged. This suggests little effect on the feedforward settings of the nervous system responsible for coupling pure vestibular input to functional motor output. The much stronger, later effect can be attributed to an integration of balance-relevant sensory feedback once the body was in motion. These results demonstrate that the feedforward and feedback components of a vestibular-evoked balance response are differently affected by postural threat. Although a fear of falling has previously been linked with instability and even falling itself, our findings suggest that this relationship is not attributable to changes in the feedforward vestibular control of balance. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rivalry of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions: Dehydration attenuates olfactory disgust and its neural correlates.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Lea; Friedrich, Hergen; Federspiel, Andrea; Jann, Kay; Morishima, Yosuke; Landis, Basile Nicolas; Wiest, Roland; Strik, Werner; Dierks, Thomas

2015-07-01

Neural correlates have been described for emotions evoked by states of homeostatic imbalance (e.g. thirst, hunger, and breathlessness) and for emotions induced by external sensory stimulation (such as fear and disgust). However, the neurobiological mechanisms of their interaction, when they are experienced simultaneously, are still unknown. We investigated the interaction on the neurobiological and the perceptional level using subjective ratings, serum parameters, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a situation of emotional rivalry, when both a homeostatic and a sensory-evoked emotion were experienced at the same time. Twenty highly dehydrated male subjects rated a disgusting odor as significantly less repulsive when they were thirsty. On the neurobiological level, we found that this reduction in subjective disgust during thirst was accompanied by a significantly reduced neural activity in the insular cortex, a brain area known to be considerably involved in processing of disgust. Furthermore, during the experience of disgust in the satiated condition, we observed a significant functional connectivity between brain areas responding to the disgusting odor, which was absent during the stimulation in the thirsty condition. These results suggest interference of conflicting emotions: an acute homeostatic imbalance can attenuate the experience of another emotion evoked by the sensory perception of a potentially harmful external agent. This finding offers novel insights with regard to the behavioral relevance of biologically different types of emotions, indicating that some types of emotions are more imperative for behavior than others. As a general principle, this modulatory effect during the conflict of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions may function to safeguard survival. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The negaWatt 2011 scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-03-01

This article presents the approach adopted for the negaWatt scenario and its obtained results. It is based on sobriety (energy savings), on energy efficiency, and on the use of renewable energies. After having outlined the different reasons for an energy transition (increasing energy consumption, critics and risks related to nuclear energy, and high potential of renewable energies), the scenario is presented with its main principles. The scenario identifies possibilities ranging from half to two thirds of energy saving in the different energy consuming sectors. The building sector is presented as a major issue. The transport is described as a sector to be addressed on the long term. The necessary change of the industry sector is highlighted. The agriculture sector is presented as being at the heart of transition. Energy usages are to become sober, efficient and renewable. The scenario is based on a high rate development of renewable energies, while fossil energies are to become marginal, nuclear is to be progressively and reasonably given up, and networks are to become compatible to ensure the scenario success. Thus, the scenario demonstrates the feasibility of a 100 pc sustainable assessment for primary energy, complies with stakes and objectives by 2050. The cost of energy transition is briefly discussed

Rethinking the role of scenarios: Participatory scripting of low-carbon scenarios for France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathy, Sandrine; Fink, Meike; Bibas, Ruben

2015-01-01

This article considers the usefulness of low-carbon scenarios in public decision-making. They may be useful as a product-oriented trajectory. The scenarios on the agenda of the 2013 Energy Debate in France belong to this category. But a scenario may also be process-oriented, in the sense that its scripting process helps build consensus and a minimum level of agreement. We have scripted scenarios using a codevelopment method, involving about 40 stakeholders from the private and public sectors, and from the state: NGOs, consumer groups, trade unions, banks and local authorities. They selected policies they considered acceptable for achieving 75% greenhouse gases emission reductions in 2050. These policies were then integrated in the Imaclim-R-France technico-economic simulation model, as part of a high or moderate acceptability scenario. In the first case emissions were cut by between 58% and 72% by 2050; in the second case by between 68% and 81%, depending on the energy price assumptions. All these measures benefited jobs and economic growth, swiftly and durably cutting household spending on energy services. This offers a solid basis for gaining acceptability for low carbon trajectories; the process constitutes also a framework for consolidating collective learning centering on the acceptability of climate policies. - Highlights: • The article develops a ‘process-oriented’ low carbon scenario for France. • Stakeholders define a set of sectoral and fiscal ‘acceptable’ climate policies. • These policies are integrated within a technico-economic model Imaclim-R-France. • Economic impacts and CO 2 emission reductions are computed. •The co-development methodology favors joint production of solutions and shared vision-building

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of human sensory-evoked potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Ian J; McNair, Nicolas A; Hamm, Jeffrey P; Clapp, Wesley C; Mathalon, Daniel H; Cavus, Idil; Teyler, Timothy J

2010-09-01

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the principal candidate synaptic mechanism underlying learning and memory, and has been studied extensively at the cellular and molecular level in laboratory animals. Inquiry into the functional significance of LTP has been hindered by the absence of a human model as, until recently, LTP has only been directly demonstrated in humans in isolated cortical tissue obtained from patients undergoing surgery, where it displays properties identical to those seen in non-human preparations. In this brief review, we describe the results of paradigms recently developed in our laboratory for inducing LTP-like changes in visual-, and auditory-evoked potentials. We describe how rapid, repetitive presentation of sensory stimuli leads to a persistent enhancement of components of sensory-evoked potential in normal humans. Experiments to date, investigating the locus, stimulus specificity, and NMDA receptor dependence of these LTP-like changes suggest that they have the essential characteristics of LTP seen in experimental animals. The ability to elicit LTP from non-surgical patients will provide a human model system allowing the detailed examination of synaptic plasticity in normal subjects and may have future clinical applications in the assessment of cognitive disorders. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Carbon-constrained scenarios. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-05-01

This report provides the results of the study entitled 'Carbon-Constrained Scenarios' that was funded by FONDDRI from 2004 to 2008. The study was achieved in four steps: (i) Investigating the stakes of a strong carbon constraint for the industries participating in the study, not only looking at the internal decarbonization potential of each industry but also exploring the potential shifts of the demand for industrial products. (ii) Developing an hybrid modelling platform based on a tight dialog between the sectoral energy model POLES and the macro-economic model IMACLIM-R, in order to achieve a consistent assessment of the consequences of an economy-wide carbon constraint on energy-intensive industrial sectors, while taking into account technical constraints, barriers to the deployment of new technologies and general economic equilibrium effects. (iii) Producing several scenarios up to 2050 with different sets of hypotheses concerning the driving factors for emissions - in particular the development styles. (iv) Establishing an iterative dialog between researchers and industry representatives on the results of the scenarios so as to improve them, but also to facilitate the understanding and the appropriate use of these results by the industrial partners. This report provides the results of the different scenarios computed in the course of the project. It is a partial synthesis of the work that has been accomplished and of the numerous exchanges that this study has induced between modellers and stakeholders. The first part was written in April 2007 and describes the first reference scenario and the first mitigation scenario designed to achieve stabilization at 450 ppm CO 2 at the end of the 21. century. This scenario has been called 'mimetic' because it has been build on the assumption that the ambitious climate policy would coexist with a progressive convergence of development paths toward the current paradigm of industrialized countries: urban sprawl, general

Unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the pediatric population: single institution experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Hespanha Marinho

2015-08-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been successfully used to treat the pediatric population with malignant and non-malignant hematological diseases. This paper reports the results up to 180 days after the procedure of all unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantations in pediatric patients that were performed in one institution.METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all under 18-year-old patients who received unrelated transplantations between 1995 and 2009. Data were analyzed using the log-rank test, Cox stepwise model, Kaplan-Meier method, Fine and Gray model and Fisher's exact test.RESULTS: This study included 118 patients (46.8% who received bone marrow and 134 (53.2% who received umbilical cord blood transplants. Engraftment occurred in 89.47% of the patients that received bone marrow and 65.83% of those that received umbilical cord blood (p-value < 0.001. Both neutrophil and platelet engraftments were faster in the bone marrow group. Acute graft-versus-host disease occurred in 48.6% of the patients without statistically significant differences between the two groups (p-value = 0.653. Chronic graft-versus-host disease occurred in 9.2% of the patients with a higher incidence in the bone marrow group (p-value = 0.007. Relapse occurred in 24% of the 96 patients with malignant disease with 2-year cumulative incidences of 45% in the bone marrow group and 25% in the umbilical cord blood group (p-value = 0.117. Five-year overall survival was 47%, with an average survival time of 1207 days, and no significant differences between the groups (p-value = 0.4666.CONCLUSION: Despite delayed engraftment in the umbilical cord blood group, graft-versus-host disease, relapse and survival were similar in both groups.

A perspective on the selection of unrelated donors and cord blood units for transplantation

Science.gov (United States)

Spellman, Stephen R.; Eapen, Mary; Logan, Brent R.; Mueller, Carlheinz; Rubinstein, Pablo; Setterholm, Michelle I.; Woolfrey, Ann E.; Confer, Dennis L.; Hurley, Carolyn K.

2012-01-01

Selection of a suitable graft for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves consideration of both donor and recipient characteristics. Of primary importance is sufficient donor-recipient HLA matching to ensure engraftment and acceptable rates of GVHD. In this Perspective, the National Marrow Donor Program and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research provide guidelines, based on large studies correlating graft characteristics with clinical transplantation outcomes, on appropriate typing strategies and matching criteria for unrelated adult donor and cord blood graft selection. PMID:22596257

Biomass Scenario Model | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Biomass Scenario Model Biomass Scenario Model The Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) is a unique range of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks into biofuels. Over the past 25 years, the corn ethanol plant matter (lignocellulosic biomass) to fermentable sugars for the production of fuel ethanol

[Recognition of the spatially transformed objects in men and women: an analysis of the behavior and evoked potentials].

Science.gov (United States)

Slavutskaia, A V; Gerasimenko, N Iu; Mikhaĭlova, E S

2012-01-01

In 16 men and 15 women analyzed the accuracy, reaction time and visual evoked potentials during the recognition of familiar objects at different levels of spatial transformation. We used the three levels of transformation: in a fixed position relative to each other details were carried out (1) the displacement of all the details in the radial direction and (2 and 3) a similar shift in conjunction with the rotation of all the details of the figure by +/- 0-45 and +/- 45-90 degrees. The task performance was not dependent on gender: the transformation of the image led to a deterioration of identification with the most identification impairment in the case of maximal details' rotation. Changes in evoked potentials (ERP) are different for men and women. Only in men early (100 ms after stimulus) response of the parietal cortex associated with the level of figure transformation: the more rotation evoked the higher the response. In women figure transformation evoked the ERP changes in the time window of negativity N170, they are associated with figure ungrouping but not with details rotation, and are localized in other visual areas--occipital and temporal. The data obtained are discussed in light of theory of gender specificity of the visual representations of space.

Towards a global system of vigilance and surveillance in unrelated donors of haematopoietic progenitor cells for transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, B E; Chapman, J; Fechter, M; Foeken, L; Greinix, H; Hwang, W; Phillips-Johnson, L; Korhonen, M; Lindberg, B; Navarro, W H; Szer, J

2013-11-01

Safety of living donors is critical to the success of blood, tissue and organ transplantation. Structured and robust vigilance and surveillance systems exist as part of some national entities, but historically no global systems are in place to ensure conformity, harmonisation and the recognition of rare adverse events (AEs). The World Health Assembly has recently resolved to require AE/reaction (AE/R) reporting both nationally and globally. The World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) is an international organisation promoting the safety of unrelated donors and progenitor cell products for use in haematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplantation. To address this issue, we established a system for collecting, collating, analysing, distributing and reacting to serious adverse events and reactions (SAE/R) in unrelated HPC donors. The WMDA successfully instituted this reporting system with 203 SAE/R reported in 2011. The committee generated two rapid reports, reacting to specific SAE/R, resulting in practice changing policies. The system has a robust governance structure, formal feedback to the WMDA membership and transparent information flows to other agencies, specialist physicians and transplant programs and the general public.

Evoked EMG versus Muscle Torque during Fatiguing Functional Electrical Stimulation-Evoked Muscle Contractions and Short-Term Recovery in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Science.gov (United States)

Estigoni, Eduardo H.; Fornusek, Che; Hamzaid, Nur Azah; Hasnan, Nazirah; Smith, Richard M.; Davis, Glen M.

2014-01-01

This study investigated whether the relationship between muscle torque and m-waves remained constant after short recovery periods, between repeated intervals of isometric muscle contractions induced by functional electrical stimulation (FES). Eight subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) were recruited for the study. All subjects had their quadriceps muscles group stimulated during three sessions of isometric contractions separated by 5 min of recovery. The evoked-electromyographic (eEMG) signals, as well as the produced torque, were synchronously acquired during the contractions and during short FES bursts applied during the recovery intervals. All analysed m-wave variables changed progressively throughout the three contractions, even though the same muscle torque was generated. The peak to peak amplitude (PtpA), and the m-wave area (Area) were significantly increased, while the time between the stimulus artefact and the positive peak (PosT) were substantially reduced when the muscles became fatigued. In addition, all m-wave variables recovered faster and to a greater extent than did torque after the recovery intervals. We concluded that rapid recovery intervals between FES-evoked exercise sessions can radically interfere in the use of m-waves as a proxy for torque estimation in individuals with SCI. This needs to be further investigated, in addition to seeking a better understanding of the mechanisms of muscle fatigue and recovery. PMID:25479324

Endogenous attention signals evoked by threshold contrast detection in human superior colliculus.

Science.gov (United States)

Katyal, Sucharit; Ress, David

2014-01-15

Human superior colliculus (SC) responds in a retinotopically selective manner when attention is deployed on a high-contrast visual stimulus using a discrimination task. To further elucidate the role of SC in endogenous visual attention, high-resolution fMRI was used to demonstrate that SC also exhibits a retinotopically selective response for covert attention in the absence of significant visual stimulation using a threshold-contrast detection task. SC neurons have a laminar organization according to their function, with visually responsive neurons present in the superficial layers and visuomotor neurons in the intermediate layers. The results show that the response evoked by the threshold-contrast detection task is significantly deeper than the response evoked by the high-contrast speed discrimination task, reflecting a functional dissociation of the attentional enhancement of visuomotor and visual neurons, respectively. Such a functional dissociation of attention within SC laminae provides a subcortical basis for the oculomotor theory of attention.

Long latency auditory evoked potentials in children with cochlear implants: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Liliane Aparecida Fagundes; Couto, Maria Inês Vieira; Matas, Carla Gentile; Carvalho, Ana Claudia Martinho de

2013-11-25

The aim of this study was to analyze the findings on Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in children with cochlear implant through a systematic literature review. After formulation of research question and search of studies in four data bases with the following descriptors: electrophysiology (eletrofisiologia), cochlear implantation (implante coclear), child (criança), neuronal plasticity (plasticidade neuronal) and audiology (audiologia), were selected articles (original and complete) published between 2002 and 2013 in Brazilian Portuguese or English. A total of 208 studies were found; however, only 13 contemplated the established criteria and were further analyzed; was made data extraction for analysis of methodology and content of the studies. The results described suggest rapid changes in P1 component of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in children with cochlear implants. Although there are few studies on the theme, cochlear implant has been shown to produce effective changes in central auditory path ways especially in children implanted before 3 years and 6 months of age.

Energy scenarios for Colombia - Environmental Aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Ricardo A; Vesga A, Daniel R; Boman, Ulf

2000-01-01

The planning unit of the Colombian ministry of energy -UPME -has done an energy scenario project for Colombia with a 20-year horizon (vision year 2020) in this project the scenario methodology was used in a systemic way involving a great number of local and international energy experts. As a result four energy scenarios were designed and in all of them the possible evolution of all energy was analyzed. In this article a description of the used methodology is presented with the developed scenarios. Also a discussion of the long-range future environmental considerations in the energy sector, taking into account the developed scenarios, is presented. Finally some conclusions and recommendations are presented

A5 region modulation of the cardiorespiratory responses evoked from parabrachial cell bodies in the anaesthetised rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawid Milner, M S; Lara, J P; López de Miguel, M P; López-González, M V; Spyer, K M; González-Barón, S

2003-08-22

We have examined the importance of the A5 region modulating cardiorespiratory responses evoked from the parabrachial complex (PB) in spontaneously breathing rats. Cardiorespiratory changes were analyzed in response to electrical stimulation and glutamate microinjections into the PB (10-20 nl, 1-2 nmol) before and after ipsilateral microinjection of muscimol (50 nl, 0.25 nmol) or lidocaine (50 nl, 0.5 nmol) within the A5 region. Stimulation of medial parabrachial and Kölliker-Fuse nuclei (mPB-KF) evoked a decrease in respiratory rate (Pinteractions between A5 and PB, extracellular recordings of putative A5 neurones were obtained during PB stimulation. Eighty-three A5 cells were recorded, 35 were activated from the mPB-KF (42%). The results indicate that neurones of the A5 region participate in the cardiorespiratory response evoked from the different regions of the PB complex. The possible mechanisms involved in these interactions are discussed.

Fast detection of unexpected sound intensity decrements as revealed by human evoked potentials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heike Althen

Full Text Available The detection of deviant sounds is a crucial function of the auditory system and is reflected by the automatically elicited mismatch negativity (MMN, an auditory evoked potential at 100 to 250 ms from stimulus onset. It has recently been shown that rarely occurring frequency and location deviants in an oddball paradigm trigger a more negative response than standard sounds at very early latencies in the middle latency response of the human auditory evoked potential. This fast and early ability of the auditory system is corroborated by the finding of neurons in the animal auditory cortex and subcortical structures, which restore their adapted responsiveness to standard sounds, when a rare change in a sound feature occurs. In this study, we investigated whether the detection of intensity deviants is also reflected at shorter latencies than those of the MMN. Auditory evoked potentials in response to click sounds were analyzed regarding the auditory brain stem response, the middle latency response (MLR and the MMN. Rare stimuli with a lower intensity level than standard stimuli elicited (in addition to an MMN a more negative potential in the MLR at the transition from the Na to the Pa component at circa 24 ms from stimulus onset. This finding, together with the studies about frequency and location changes, suggests that the early automatic detection of deviant sounds in an oddball paradigm is a general property of the auditory system.

Scenario Planning as Organizational Intervention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balarezo, Jose; Nielsen, Bo Bernhard

2017-01-01

existing contributions on scenario planning within a new consolidating framework that includes antecedents, processes, and outcomes. The proposed framework allows for integration of the extant literature on scenario planning from a wide variety of fields, including strategic management, finance, human...... resource management, operations management, and psychology. Findings: This study contributes to research by offering a coherent and consistent framework for understanding scenario planning as a dynamic process. As such, it offers future researchers with a systematic way to ascertain where a particular......Purpose: This paper identifies four areas in need of future research to enhance our theoretical understanding of scenario planning, and sets the basis for future empirical examination of its effects on individual and organizational level outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper organizes...

Behavioral and fMRI Evidence that Cognitive Ability Modulates the Effect of Semantic Context on Speech Intelligibility

Science.gov (United States)

Zekveld, Adriana A.; Rudner, Mary; Johnsrude, Ingrid S.; Heslenfeld, Dirk J.; Ronnberg, Jerker

2012-01-01

Text cues facilitate the perception of spoken sentences to which they are semantically related (Zekveld, Rudner, et al., 2011). In this study, semantically related and unrelated cues preceding sentences evoked more activation in middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than nonword cues, regardless of acoustic quality (speech…

Social Foundation of Scenario Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rowland, Nicholas James; Spaniol, Matthew Jon

2017-01-01

In this article, the authors establish that models of scenario planning typically involve a series of phases, stages, or steps that imply a sequenced (i.e., linear or chronological) process. Recursive models, in contrast, allow phases to repeat, thus, incorporating iteration. The authors acknowle......In this article, the authors establish that models of scenario planning typically involve a series of phases, stages, or steps that imply a sequenced (i.e., linear or chronological) process. Recursive models, in contrast, allow phases to repeat, thus, incorporating iteration. The authors...... from science and technology studies (STS) on knowledge production, the authors explain transition from one phase to the next and iteration between and within phases based on social negotiation. To this end, the authors examine the interplay between the “scenario development” phase and the “scenario use......” phase of a planning process with a non-governmental organization in Denmark. The upshot for facilitators is practical insight into how transition between phases and phase iteration in scenario planning can be identified, leveraged, and, thus, managed. The upshot for scholars is a related insight...

IPCC Special report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon

2001-01-01

This special report on emissions scenarios (SRES) is intended to reflect the most recent trends in driving forces of emissions; population projections economic development, and structural and technological change. It serves as an update to IS92 scenarios developed by IPCC in the early 1990s to illustrate a plausible range of future greenhouse gas emissions. This update is based on a review of the literature and the development of a database of over 400 global and regional scenarios; 190 of these extend from 1900 to 2100 and thus fed into the development of the narrative scenarios and storylines. Based on the literature review, a set of four alternative scenario families, having a total of 40 emission scenarios have been developed. Each scenario family includes a narrative storyline which describes a demographic, social. economic, technological, environmental and policy future. Characteristic features of each of the four families are summarized and a comparison is made between the IS92 and SRES. One of the main conclusions of this recent scenario construction effort is the realization that alternative combinations of main scenario driving forces can lead to similar levels of GHG emissions by the end of the 21st century, and that scenarios with different underlying assumptions can result in very similar climate change

SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS IN DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE - 2

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Rekha

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder affecting majority of population. It is estimated that over 400 million people throughout the world have diabetes. It has progressed to be a pandemic from an epidemic causing morbidity and mortality in the population. Among the many complications of diabetes, diabetic neuropathies contribute majorly to the morbidity associated with the disease. Axonal conduction is affected by elevated levels of protein kinase c causing neuronal ischemia; decreased ce llular myoinositol affecting sodium potassium ATPase pump leads to decreased nerve conduction; Somatosensory E voked P otentials (SSEPs reflect the activity of somatosensory pathways mediated through the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and the specific so matosensory cortex. Recording of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in diabetics is done to assess the sensory involvement of spinal cord. Presence of SEPs provides clear evidence for axonal continuity and by using different stimulation sites, the rate of reg eneration can be determined. Both onset and peak latencies of all SEP components are prolonged in patients with diabetes. Present study is done to compare somatosensory evoked potentials in diabetics and normal subjects. MATERIALS AND METHOD S: The present study was undertaken at the Upgraded Department of Physiology, Osmania Medical College, Koti, Hyderabad. The study was conducted on subjects, both male and female in the age group of 45 to 55 years, suffering from type II diabetes excluding other neurologi cal disorders. Non - invasive method of estimation of nerve conduction studies using SFEMG/EP — Electromyography or evoked potential system (Nicolet systems — USA using surface electrodes with automated computerized monitor attached with printer is used. RESUL TS : ANOVA showed statistically significant N9 latency (right & left sides. Latencies of all the components of SSEPs were more significant than amplitudes in Diabetic

Norepinephrine-evoked salt-sensitive hypertension requires impaired renal sodium chloride cotransporter activity in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Kathryn R; Kuwabara, Jill T; Shim, Joon W; Wainford, Richard D

2016-01-15

Recent studies have implicated a role of norepinephrine (NE) in the activation of the sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC) to drive the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. However, the interaction between NE and increased salt intake on blood pressure remains to be fully elucidated. This study examined the impact of a continuous NE infusion on sodium homeostasis and blood pressure in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats challenged with a normal (NS; 0.6% NaCl) or high-salt (HS; 8% NaCl) diet for 14 days. Naïve and saline-infused Sprague-Dawley rats remained normotensive when placed on HS and exhibited dietary sodium-evoked suppression of peak natriuresis to hydrochlorothiazide. NE infusion resulted in the development of hypertension, which was exacerbated by HS, demonstrating the development of the salt sensitivity of blood pressure [MAP (mmHg) NE+NS: 151 ± 3 vs. NE+HS: 172 ± 4; P salt-sensitive animals, increased NE prevented dietary sodium-evoked suppression of peak natriuresis to hydrochlorothiazide, suggesting impaired NCC activity contributes to the development of salt sensitivity [peak natriuresis to hydrochlorothiazide (μeq/min) Naïve+NS: 9.4 ± 0.2 vs. Naïve+HS: 7 ± 0.1; P salt-sensitive component of NE-mediated hypertension, while chronic ANG II type 1 receptor antagonism significantly attenuated NE-evoked hypertension without restoring NCC function. These data demonstrate that increased levels of NE prevent dietary sodium-evoked suppression of the NCC, via an ANG II-independent mechanism, to stimulate the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Steady-state pattern electroretinogram and short-duration transient visual evoked potentials in glaucomatous and healthy eyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Amarasekera, Dilru C; Resende, Arthur F; Waisbourd, Michael; Puri, Sanjeev; Moster, Marlene R; Hark, Lisa A; Katz, L Jay; Fudemberg, Scott J; Mantravadi, Anand V

2018-01-01

This study evaluates two rapid electrophysiological glaucoma diagnostic tests that may add a functional perspective to glaucoma diagnosis. This study aimed to determine the ability of two office-based electrophysiological diagnostic tests, steady-state pattern electroretinogram and short-duration transient visual evoked potentials, to discern between glaucomatous and healthy eyes. This is a cross-sectional study in a hospital setting. Forty-one patients with glaucoma and 41 healthy volunteers participated in the study. Steady-state pattern electroretinogram and short-duration transient visual evoked potential testing was conducted in glaucomatous and healthy eyes. A 64-bar-size stimulus with both a low-contrast and high-contrast setting was used to compare steady-state pattern electroretinogram parameters in both groups. A low-contrast and high-contrast checkerboard stimulus was used to measure short-duration transient visual evoked potential parameters in both groups. Steady-state pattern electroretinogram parameters compared were MagnitudeD, MagnitudeD/Magnitude ratio, and the signal-to-noise ratio. Short-duration transient visual evoked potential parameters compared were amplitude and latency. MagnitudeD was significantly lower in glaucoma patients when using a low-contrast (P = 0.001) and high-contrast (P state pattern electroretinogram stimulus. MagnitudeD/Magnitude ratio and SNR were significantly lower in the glaucoma group when using a high-contrast 64-bar-size stimulus (P state pattern electroretinogram was effectively able to discern between glaucomatous and healthy eyes. Steady-state pattern electroretinogram may thus have a role as a clinically useful electrophysiological diagnostic tool. © 2017 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

The effect of nucleotides and adenosine on stimulus-evoked glutamate release from rat brain cortical slices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, G C; Boarder, M R

2000-10-01

Evidence has previously been presented that P1 receptors for adenosine, and P2 receptors for nucleotides such as ATP, regulate stimulus-evoked release of biogenic amines from nerve terminals in the brain. Here we investigated whether adenosine and nucleotides exert presynaptic control over depolarisation-elicited glutamate release. Slices of rat brain cortex were perfused and stimulated with pulses of 46 mM K(+) in the presence of the glutamate uptake inhibitor L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (0.2 mM). High K(+) substantially increased efflux of glutamate from the slices. Basal glutamate release was unchanged by the presence of nucleotides or adenosine at concentrations of 300 microM. Adenosine, ATP, ADP and adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphoshate) at 300 microM attenuated depolarisation-evoked release of glutamate. However UTP, 2-methylthio ATP, 2-methylthio ADP, and alpha,beta-methylene ATP at 300 microM had no effect on stimulated glutamate efflux. Adenosine deaminase blocked the effect of adenosine, but left the response to ATP unchanged. The A(1) antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1, 3-dipropylxanthine antagonised the inhibitory effect of both adenosine and ATP. Cibacron blue 3GA inhibited stimulus-evoked glutamate release when applied alone. When cibacron blue 3GA was present with ATP, stimulus-evoked glutamate release was almost eliminated. However, this P2 antagonist had no effect on the inhibition by adenosine. These results show that the release of glutamate from depolarised nerve terminals of the rat cerebral cortex is inhibited by adenosine and ATP. ATP appears to act directly and not through conversion to adenosine.

Scenarios for gluino coannihilation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, John [Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, King’s College London, London, WC2R 2LS United Kingdom (United Kingdom); Theory Division, CERN,Geneva 23, CH-1211 (Switzerland); Evans, Jason L. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota,Minneapolis, MN, 55455 (United States); William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 (United States); Luo, Feng [Theory Division, CERN,Geneva 23, CH-1211 (Switzerland); Olive, Keith A. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota,Minneapolis, MN, 55455 (United States); William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 (United States)

2016-02-11

We study supersymmetric scenarios in which the gluino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), with a mass sufficiently close to that of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) that gluino coannihilation becomes important. One of these scenarios is the MSSM with soft supersymmetry-breaking squark and slepton masses that are universal at an input GUT renormalization scale, but with non-universal gaugino masses. The other scenario is an extension of the MSSM to include vector-like supermultiplets. In both scenarios, we identify the regions of parameter space where gluino coannihilation is important, and discuss their relations to other regions of parameter space where other mechanisms bring the dark matter density into the range allowed by cosmology. In the case of the non-universal MSSM scenario, we find that the allowed range of parameter space is constrained by the requirement of electroweak symmetry breaking, the avoidance of a charged LSP and the measured mass of the Higgs boson, in particular, as well as the appearance of other dark matter (co)annihilation processes. Nevertheless, LSP masses m{sub χ}≲8 TeV with the correct dark matter density are quite possible. In the case of pure gravity mediation with additional vector-like supermultiplets, changes to the anomaly-mediated gluino mass and the threshold effects associated with these states can make the gluino almost degenerate with the LSP, and we find a similar upper bound.

Scenario group summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorndike, A.

1976-01-01

A scenario is given for ISABELLE which provides a plausible sequence of events from FY 1980 to 1990. No doubt reality will be quite different. The scenario is based on the construction schedule of the 1976 proposal. Assembly and testing of the accelerator will occur until the end of FY 1983, and the next six years will provide pp interactions for the initial high energy physics research. By 1990 any temporary conditions associated with start-up of ISABELLE should be a thing of the past and all experimental capabilities fully utilized

Scenario group summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorndike, A.

1976-01-01

The scenario is given which provides a plausible sequence of events for ISABELLE from FY 1980 to 1990. No doubt reality will be quite different. The scenario is based on the construction schedule of the 1976 proposal. Assembly and testing of the accelerator will occur until the end of FY 1983, and the next six years will provide pp interactions for the initial high energy physics research. By 1990 any temporary conditions associated with start-up of ISABELLE should be a thing of the past and all experimental capabilities fully utilized

Computer Algorithms in the Search for Unrelated Stem Cell Donors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Steiner

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT is a medical procedure in the field of hematology and oncology, most often performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow. A lot of patients have no suitable HLA-matched donor within their family, so physicians must activate a “donor search process” by interacting with national and international donor registries who will search their databases for adult unrelated donors or cord blood units (CBU. Information and communication technologies play a key role in the donor search process in donor registries both nationally and internationaly. One of the major challenges for donor registry computer systems is the development of a reliable search algorithm. This work discusses the top-down design of such algorithms and current practice. Based on our experience with systems used by several stem cell donor registries, we highlight typical pitfalls in the implementation of an algorithm and underlying data structure.

Biosimilar G-CSF versus filgrastim and lenograstim in healthy unrelated volunteer hematopoietic stem cell donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Farhan, Roiya; Urbanowska, Elżbieta; Zborowska, Hanna; Król, Małgorzata; Król, Maria; Torosian, Tigran; Piotrowska, Iwona; Bogusz, Krzysztof; Skwierawska, Kamila; Wiktor-Jędrzejczak, Wiesław; Snarski, Emilian

2017-10-01

The World Marrow Donor Organization recommends original granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for the mobilization of stem cells in healthy unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors. We report the comparison of a biosimilar G-CSF (Zarzio) with two original G-CSFs (filgrastim and lenograstim) in mobilization in unrelated donors. We included data of 313 consecutive donors who were mobilized during the period from October 2014 to March 2016 at the Medical University of Warsaw. The primary endpoints of this study were the efficiency of CD34+ cell mobilization to the circulation and results of the first apheresis. The mean daily dose of G-CSF was 9.1 μg/kg for lenograstim, 9.8 μg/kg for biosimilar filgrastim, and 9.3 μg/kg for filgrastim (p blood before the first apheresis was 111 for lenograstim, 119 for biosimilar filgrastim, and 124 for filgrastim (p = 0.354); the mean difference was even less significant when comparing CD34+ number per dose of G-CSF per kilogram (p = 0.787). Target doses of CD34+ cells were reached with one apheresis in 87% donors mobilized with lenograstim and in 93% donors mobilized with original and biosimilar filgrastim (p = 0.005). The mobilized apheresis outcomes (mean number of CD34+ cells/kg of donor collected during the first apheresis) was similar with lenograstim, biosimilar filgrastim, and filgrastim: 6.2 × 10 6 , 7.6 × 10 6 , and 7.3 × 10 6 , respectively, p = 0.06. There was no mobilization failure in any of the donors. Biosimilar G-CSF is as effective in the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells in unrelated donors as original G-CSFs. Small and clinically irrelevant differences seen in the study can be attributed to differences in G-CSF dose and collection-related factors. Active safety surveillance concurrent to clinical use and reporting to donor outcome registry (e.g., EBMT donor outcome registry or WMDA SEAR/SPEAR) might help to evaluate the possible short- and long-term complications of

Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions in children and adolescents with gender identity disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burke, Sarah M; Menks, Willeke M; Cohen-Kettenis, Peggy T; Klink, Daniel T; Bakker, J.

2014-01-01

Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) are echo-like sounds that are produced by the inner ear in response to click-stimuli. CEOAEs generally have a higher amplitude in women compared to men and neonates already show a similar sex difference in CEOAEs. Weaker responses in males are proposed to

Click-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions in Children and Adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burke, S.M.; Menks, W.M.; Cohen-Kettenis, P.T.; Klink, D.T.; Bakker, J.

2014-01-01

Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) are echo-like sounds that are produced by the inner ear in response to click-stimuli. CEOAEs generally have a higher amplitude in women compared to men and neonates already show a similar sex difference in CEOAEs. Weaker responses in males are proposed to

Economic assessment of energetic scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grandjean, Alain; Bureau, Dominique; Schubert, Katheline; Henriet, Fanny; Maggiar, Nicolas; Criqui, Patrick; Le Teno, Helene; Baumstark, Luc; Crassous, Renaud; Roques, Fabien

2013-09-01

This publication gathers contributions proposed by different members of the Economic Council for a Sustainable Development (CEDD) on the issue of energy transition, and more precisely on scenarios elaborated with respect to energy transition. A first set of contributions addresses models of energy transition (assessment of scenario costs to reach a factor 4; the issue of de-carbonation of energy consumption; study of ELECsim, a tool to highlight costs of scenarios of evolution of the electric power system). The second part addresses arbitrations and choice assessment (the importance of social and economic impacts of scenarios; challenges related to the joint definition of the discount rate and of the evolution of carbon value in time; the issue of assessment of the integration of renewable energies into the power system)

Nuclear Security Futures Scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Elizabeth James Kistin; Warren, Drake Edward; Hayden, Nancy Kay; Passell, Howard D.; Malczynski, Leonard A.; Backus, George A.

2017-01-01

This report provides an overview of the scenarios used in strategic futures workshops conducted at Sandia on September 21 and 29, 2016. The workshops, designed and facilitated by analysts in Center 100, used scenarios to enable thought leaders to think collectively about the changing aspects of global nuclear security and the potential implications for the US Government and Sandia National Laboratories.

Nuclear Security Futures Scenarios.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keller, Elizabeth James Kistin [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Warren, Drake Edward [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hayden, Nancy Kay [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Passell, Howard D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Malczynski, Leonard A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Backus, George A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-01-01

This report provides an overview of the scenarios used in strategic futures workshops conducted at Sandia on September 21 and 29, 2016. The workshops, designed and facilitated by analysts in Center 100, used scenarios to enable thought leaders to think collectively about the changing aspects of global nuclear security and the potential implications for the US Government and Sandia National Laboratories.

Normative data for Aδ contact heat evoked potentials in adult population: a multicenter study.

Science.gov (United States)

Granovsky, Yelena; Anand, Praveen; Nakae, Aya; Nascimento, Osvaldo; Smith, Benn; Sprecher, Elliot; Valls-Solé, Josep

2016-05-01

There has been a significant increase over recent years in the use of contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) for the evaluation of small nerve fiber function. Measuring CHEP amplitude and latency has clinical utility for the diagnosis and assessment of conditions with neuropathic pain. This international multicenter study aimed to provide reference values for CHEPs to stimuli at 5 commonly examined body sites. Contact heat evoked potentials were recorded from 226 subjects (114 females), distributed per age decade between 20 and 79 years. Temperature stimuli were delivered by a thermode (32°C-51°C at a rate of 70°C/s). In phase I of the study, we investigated side-to-side differences and reported the maximum normal side-to-side difference in Aδ CHEP peak latency and amplitude for leg, forearm, and face. In phase II, we obtained normative data for 3 CHEP parameters (N2P2 amplitude, N2 latency, and P2 latency), stratified for gender and age decades from face, upper and lower limbs, and overlying cervical and lumbar spine. In general, larger CHEP amplitudes were associated with higher evoked pain scores. Females had CHEPs of larger amplitude and shorter latency than males. This substantive data set of normative values will facilitate the clinical use of CHEPs as a rapid, noninvasive, and objective technique for the assessment of patients presenting with neuropathic pain.

Limb venous distension evokes sympathetic activation via stimulation of the limb afferents in humans

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jian; McQuillan, Patrick M.; Blaha, Cheryl; Kunselman, Allen R.

2012-01-01

We have recently shown that a saline infusion in the veins of an arterially occluded human forearm evokes a systemic response with increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and blood pressure. In this report, we examined whether this response was a reflex that was due to venous distension. Blood pressure (Finometer), heart rate, and MSNA (microneurography) were assessed in 14 young healthy subjects. In the saline trial (n = 14), 5% forearm volume normal saline was infused in an arterially occluded arm. To block afferents in the limb, 90 mg of lidocaine were added to the same volume of saline in six subjects during a separate visit. To examine whether interstitial perfusion of normal saline alone induced the responses, the same volume of albumin solution (5% concentration) was infused in 11 subjects in separate studies. Lidocaine abolished the MSNA and blood pressure responses seen with saline infusion. Moreover, compared with the saline infusion, an albumin infusion induced a larger (MSNA: Δ14.3 ± 2.7 vs. Δ8.5 ± 1.3 bursts/min, P blood pressure responses. These data suggest that venous distension activates afferent nerves and evokes a powerful systemic sympathoexcitatory reflex. We posit that the venous distension plays an important role in evoking the autonomic adjustments seen with postural stress in human subjects. PMID:22707559

Assessment of nuclear power scenarios allowing for matrix behavior in radiological impact modeling of disposal scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tronche, E.; Boussier, H.

2000-01-01

Under the provisions of the 1991 French radioactive waste management law, various fuel cycle scenarios will be assessed and compared in terms of feasibility, flexibility, cost, and ultimate waste radio-toxic inventory. The latter criterion may be further broken down into 'potential radio-toxic inventory' (the radio-toxic inventory of all the radionuclides produced) and 'residual radio-toxic inventory' (the radionuclide fraction reaching the biosphere after migration from the repository). The innovative scientific contribution of this study is to consider a third type of radio-toxic inventory: the potential radio-toxic inventory after conditioning, i.e. taking into account the containment capacity of the radionuclide conditioning matrices. The matrix fraction subjected to alteration over time determines the potential for radionuclide release, hence the notion of the potential radio-toxic inventory after conditioning. An initial comparison of possible scenarios is proposed by considering orders of magnitude for the radionuclide containment capacity of the disposal matrices and for their mobilization potential. All the scenarios investigated are normalized to the same annual electric power production so that a legitimate comparison can be established for the ultimate wasteform produced per year of operation. This approach reveals significant differences among the scenarios considered that do not appear when only the raw potential radio-toxic inventory is taken into account. The matrix containment performance has a decisive effect on the final impact of a given scenario or type of scenario. Pu recycling scenarios thus reduce the potential radio-toxicity by roughly a factor of 50 compared with an open cycle; the gain rises to a factor of about 300 for scenarios in which Pu and the minor actinides are recycled. Interestingly, the results obtained by the use of a dedicated containment matrix for the minor actinides in a scenario limited to Pu recycling were comparable to

Modulation of visually evoked postural responses by contextual visual, haptic and auditory information: a 'virtual reality check'.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Georg F; Shao, Fei; White, Mark D; Hopkins, Carl; Robotham, Antony J

2013-01-01

Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection) and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR). These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR) environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1) visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2) real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3) visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR.

Climate scenarios for California

Science.gov (United States)

Cayan, Daniel R.; Maurer, Ed; Dettinger, Mike; Tyree, Mary; Hayhoe, Katharine; Bonfils, Celine; Duffy, Phil; Santer, Ben

2006-01-01

Possible future climate changes in California are investigated from a varied set of climate change model simulations. These simulations, conducted by three state-of-the-art global climate models, provide trajectories from three greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios. These scenarios and the resulting climate simulations are not “predictions,” but rather are a limited sample from among the many plausible pathways that may affect California’s climate. Future GHG concentrations are uncertain because they depend on future social, political, and technological pathways, and thus the IPCC has produced four “families” of emission scenarios. To explore some of these uncertainties, emissions scenarios A2 (a medium-high emissions) and B1 (low emissions) were selected from the current IPCC Fourth climate assessment, which provides several recent model simulations driven by A2 and B1 emissions. The global climate model simulations addressed here were from PCM1, the Parallel Climate Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) group, and CM2.1 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluids Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL).

Mechanisms of constitutive and ATP-evoked ATP release in neonatal mouse olfactory epithelium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayoz Sébastien

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background ATP is an extracellular signaling molecule with many ascribed functions in sensory systems, including the olfactory epithelium. The mechanism(s by which ATP is released in the olfactory epithelium has not been investigated. Quantitative luciferin-luciferase assays were used to monitor ATP release, and confocal imaging of the fluorescent ATP marker quinacrine was used to monitor ATP release via exocytosis in Swiss Webster mouse neonatal olfactory epithelial slices. Results Under control conditions, constitutive release of ATP occurs via exocytosis, hemichannels and ABC transporters and is inhibited by vesicular fusion inhibitor Clostridium difficile toxin A and hemichannel and ABC transporter inhibitor probenecid. Constitutive ATP release is negatively regulated by the ATP breakdown product ADP through activation of P2Y receptors, likely via the cAMP/PKA pathway. In vivo studies indicate that constitutive ATP may play a role in neuronal homeostasis as inhibition of exocytosis inhibited normal proliferation in the OE. ATP-evoked ATP release is also present in mouse neonatal OE, triggered by several ionotropic P2X purinergic receptor agonists (ATP, αβMeATP and Bz-ATP and a G protein-coupled P2Y receptor agonist (UTP. Calcium imaging of P2X2-transfected HEK293 “biosensor” cells confirmed the presence of evoked ATP release. Following purinergic receptor stimulation, ATP is released via calcium-dependent exocytosis, activated P2X1,7 receptors, activated P2X7 receptors that form a complex with pannexin channels, or ABC transporters. The ATP-evoked ATP release is inhibited by the purinergic receptor inhibitor PPADS, Clostridium difficile toxin A and two inhibitors of pannexin channels: probenecid and carbenoxolone. Conclusions The constitutive release of ATP might be involved in normal cell turn-over or modulation of odorant sensitivity in physiological conditions. Given the growth-promoting effects of ATP, ATP-evoked ATP

Scenario development methods and practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The safe management of radioactive waste is an essential aspect of all nuclear power programmes. Although a general consensus has been reached in OECD countries on the use of geological repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, analysis of the long-term safety of these repositories, using performance assessment and other tools, is required prior to implementation. The initial stage in developing a repository safety assessment is the identification of all factors that may be relevant to the long-term safety of the repository and their combination to form scenarios. This must be done in a systematic and transparent way in order to assure the regulatory authorities that nothing important has been forgotten. Scenario development has become the general term used to describe the collection and organisation of the scientific and technical information necessary to assess the long-term performance or safety of radioactive waste disposal systems. This includes the identification of the relevant features, events and processes (FEPs), the synthesis of broad models of scientific understanding, and the selection of cases to be calculated. Scenario development provides the overall framework in which the cases and their calculated consequences can be discussed, including biases or shortcomings due to omissions or lack of knowledge. The NEA Workshop on Scenario Development was organised in Madrid, in May 1999, with the objective of reviewing developments in scenario methodologies and applications in safety assessments since 1992. The outcome of this workshop is the subject of this book. It is a review of developments in scenario methodologies based on a large body of practical experience in safety assessments. It will be of interest to radioactive waste management experts as well as to other specialists involved in the development of scenario methodologies. (author)

Roles of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors during the sensory stimulation-evoked field potential responses in mouse cerebellar cortical molecular layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yin-Hua; Zhang, Guang-Jian; Zhao, Jing-Tong; Chu, Chun-Ping; Li, Yu-Zi; Qiu, De-Lai

2017-11-01

The functions of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in cerebellar cortex have been widely studied under in vitro condition, but their roles during the sensory stimulation-evoked responses in the cerebellar cortical molecular layer in living animals are currently unclear. We here investigated the roles of NMDARs during the air-puff stimulation on ipsilateral whisker pad-evoked field potential responses in cerebellar cortical molecular layer in urethane-anesthetized mice by electrophysiological recording and pharmacological methods. Our results showed that cerebellar surface administration of NMDA induced a dose-dependent decrease in amplitude of the facial stimulation-evoked inhibitory responses (P1) in the molecular layer, accompanied with decreases in decay time, half-width and area under curve (AUC) of P1. The IC 50 of NMDA induced inhibition in amplitude of P1 was 46.5μM. In addition, application of NMDA induced significant increases in the decay time, half-width and AUC values of the facial stimulation-evoked excitatory responses (N1) in the molecular layer. Application of an NMDAR blocker, D-APV (250μM) abolished the facial stimulation-evoked P1 in the molecular layer. These results suggested that NMDARs play a critical role during the sensory information processing in cerebellar cortical molecular layer in vivo in mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gating of the vertex somatosensory and auditory evoked potential P50 and the correlation to skin conductance orienting response in healthy men

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arnfred, S M; Eder, D N; Hemmingsen, R P

2001-01-01

A defect in auditory evoked potential (AEP) P50 gating supports the theory of information-processing deficits in schizophrenia. The relationship between gating of the mid-latency evoked potentials (EP) in the somatosensory and the auditory modalities has not been studied together before. In schiz...

Sensory-Evoked Intrinsic Imaging Signals in the Olfactory Bulb Are Independent of Neurovascular Coupling

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Roberto Vincis

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Functional brain-imaging techniques used in humans and animals, such as functional MRI and intrinsic optical signal (IOS imaging, are thought to largely rely on neurovascular coupling and hemodynamic responses. Here, taking advantage of the well-described micro-architecture of the mouse olfactory bulb, we dissected the nature of odor-evoked IOSs. Using in vivo pharmacology in transgenic mouse lines reporting activity in different cell types, we show that parenchymal IOSs are largely independent of neurotransmitter release and neurovascular coupling. Furthermore, our results suggest that odor-evoked parenchymal IOSs originate from changes in light scattering of olfactory sensory neuron axons, mostly due to water movement following action potential propagation. Our study sheds light on a direct correlate of neuronal activity, which may be used for large-scale functional brain imaging.

Long-term visuo-gustatory appetitive and aversive conditioning potentiate human visual evoked potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Gert R.J.; Laugesen, Jakob L.; Møller, Per

2017-01-01

Human recognition of foods and beverages are often based on visual cues associated with flavors. The dynamics of neurophysiological plasticity related to acquisition of such long-term associations has only recently become the target of investigation. In the present work, the effects of appetitive...... and aversive visuo-gustatory conditioning were studied with high density EEG-recordings focusing on late components in the visual evoked potentials (VEPs), specifically the N2-P3 waves. Unfamiliar images were paired with either a pleasant or an unpleasant juice and VEPs evoked by the images were compared...... before and 1 day after the pairings. In electrodes located over posterior visual cortex areas, the following changes were observed after conditioning: the amplitude from the N2-peak to the P3-peak increased and the N2 peak delay was reduced. The percentage increase of N2-to-P3 amplitudes...

Identification of Genetic Defects Underlying FXII Deficiency in Four Unrelated Chinese Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lihong; Wang, Yingyu; Zhou, Jianpin; Cheng, Xiaoli; Hao, Xiuping; Xie, Haixiao; Jin, Yanhui; Wang, Mingshan

2016-01-01

Congenital factor XII (FXII) dexFB01;ciency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by a great variability in its clinical manifestations. In this study, we screened for mutations in the F12 gene of 4 unrelated patients with FXII coagulant activity Gly542 Ser), 1 insertion (7142insertC) and 2 deletions (5741-5742 delCA and 6753-6755delACA), were identixFB01;ed on the F12 gene. Three of them (Gly341Arg, 5741-5742delCA and 6753-6755delACA) are reported here for the first time. Computer-based algorithms predicted these missense mutations to be deleterious. This study has increased our knowledge of the mutational spectrum underlying FXII deficiency. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Multiscale scenarios for nature futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosa, Isabel M.D.; Pereira, Henrique M.; Ferrier, Simon; Alkemade, Rob; Acosta, Lilibeth A.; Akcakaya, H. Resit; Den Belder, Eefje; Fazel, Asghar M.; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Harfoot, Mike; Harhash, Khaled A.; Harrison, Paula A.; Hauck, Jennifer; Hendriks, Rob J.J.; Hernández, Gladys; Jetz, Walter; Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Sylvia I.; Kim, Hyejin; King, Nicholas; Kok, Marcel T.J.; Kolomytsev, Grygoriy O.; Lazarova, Tanya; Leadley, Paul; Lundquist, Carolyn J.; García Márquez, Jaime; Meyer, Carsten; Navarro, Laetitia M.; Nesshöver, Carsten; Ngo, Hien T.; Ninan, Karachepone N.; Palomo, Maria G.; Pereira, Laura M.; Peterson, Garry D.; Pichs, Ramon; Popp, Alexander; Purvis, Andy; Ravera, Federica; Rondinini, Carlo; Sathyapalan, Jyothis; Schipper, Aafke M.; Seppelt, Ralf; Settele, Josef; Sitas, Nadia; Van Vuuren, Detlef|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/11522016X

2017-01-01

Targets for human development are increasingly connected with targets for nature, however, existing scenarios do not explicitly address this relationship. Here, we outline a strategy to generate scenarios centred on our relationship with nature to inform decision-making at multiple scales.

Trust and the illusive force of scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selin, Cynthia Lea

2006-01-01

formulation and decision-making. By definition, scenarios are possible versions of the future so judging and evaluating scenarios is thus not about revealing truthfulness, but rather demonstrating trust, reliability, credibility in the absence of truth and in the face of varied influences and possible...... becomes interesting is how scenarios convey authority and trustworthiness. How is it that scenarios attain and maintain power to compel people to action, change their worldview, or influence the directions of decisions or consensus? This piece examines the process, participation and products of scenario...

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in healthy cats recorded with surface electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai Musteata

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the brainstem auditory evoked potentials of seven healthy cats, using surface electrodes. Latencies of waves I, III and V, and intervals I–III, I–V and III–V were recorded. Monaural and binaural stimulation of the cats were done with sounds ranging between 40 and 90 decibel Sound Pressure Level. All latencies were lower than those described in previous studies, where needle electrodes were used. In the case of binaural stimulation, latencies of waves III and V were greater compared to those obtained for monaural stimulation (P P > 0.05. Regardless of the sound intensity, the interwave latency was constant (P > 0.05. Interestingly, no differences were noticed for latencies of waves III and V when sound intensity was higher than 80dB SPL. This study completes the knowledge in the field of electrophysiology and shows that the brainstem auditory evoked potentials in cats using surface electrodes is a viable method to record the transmission of auditory information. That can be faithfully used in clinical practice, when small changes of latency values may be an objective factor in health status evaluation.

The functional neuroanatomy of odor evoked autobiographical memories cued by odors and words.

Science.gov (United States)

Arshamian, Artin; Iannilli, Emilia; Gerber, Johannes C; Willander, Johan; Persson, Jonas; Seo, Han-Seok; Hummel, Thomas; Larsson, Maria

2013-01-01

Behavioral evidence indicates that odor evoked autobiographical memories (OEAMs) are older, more emotional, less thought of and induce stronger time traveling characteristics than autobiographical memories (AMs) evoked by other modalities. The main aim of this study was to explore the neural correlates of AMs evoked by odors as a function of retrieval cue. Participants were screened for specific OEAMs and later presented with the odor cue and its verbal referent in an fMRI paradigm. Because the same OEAM was retrieved across both cue formats (odor and word), potential cue dependent brain activations were investigated. The overall results showed that odor and word cued OEAMs activated regions typically associated with recollection of autobiographical information. Although no odors were presented, a verbal cuing of the OEAMs activated areas associated with olfactory perception (e.g., piriform cortex). However, relative to word cuing, an odor cuing of OEAMs resulted in more activity in MTL regions such as the parahippocampus, and areas involved in visual vividness (e.g., occipital gyrus and precuneus). Furthermore, odor cues activated areas related to emotional processing, such as limbic and tempopolar regions significantly more. In contrast, word cues relative to odor cues recruited a more widespread and bilateral prefrontal activity. Hippocampus activity did not vary as function of the remoteness of the memory, but recollection of OEAMs from the 1(st) vs the 2(nd) decade of life showed specific activation in the right OFC, whereas the 2(nd) reflected a higher activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parabrachial complex glutamate receptors modulate the cardiorespiratory response evoked from hypothalamic defense area.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Casares, A; López-González, M V; Peinado-Aragonés, C A; González-Barón, S; Dawid-Milner, M S

2012-08-16

To characterize the possible role of glutamate in the interaction between Hypothalamic Defense Area (HDA) and Parabrachial complex (PBc) nuclei, cardiorespiratory changes were analyzed in response to electrical stimulation of the HDA (1 ms pulses, 30-50 μA given at 100 Hz for 5s) before and after the microinjection of the nonspecific glutamate receptor antagonist kynurenic acid (50 nl, 5 nmol), NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (50 nl, 50 nmol), non-NMDA receptor antagonist CNQX (50 nl, 50 nmol) or metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonist MCPG (50 nl, 5 nmol) within the PBc. HDA stimulation evoked an inspiratory facilitatory response, consisting of an increase in respiratory rate (pHDA stimulation. Similarly, the magnitude of the tachycardia and the pressor response was decreased after the microinjection of MK-801 (pHDA stimulation but the respiratory response persisted unchanged after MK-801 or CNQX microinjection into the lPB. Kynurenic acid within the medial parabrachial region (mPB) abolished the tachycardia (pHDA stimulation. MK-801 and CNQX microinjection in this region decreased the magnitude of the tachycardia (pHDA stimulation was not changed after the microinjection of kynurenic acid, MK-801 or CNQX within the mPB. No changes were observed in the cardiorespiratory response evoked to HDA stimulation after MCPG microinjection within lPB and mPB. These results indicate that glutamate PBc receptors are involved in the cardiorespiratory response evoked from the HDA. The possible mechanisms involved in these interactions are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Developmental Changes in Sensory-Evoked Optical Intrinsic Signals in the Rat Barrel Cortex

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Mikhail Sintsov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Optical Intrinsic Signal imaging (OISi is a powerful technique for optical brain studies. OIS mainly reflects the hemodynamic response (HR and metabolism, but it may also involve changes in tissue light scattering (LS caused by transient cellular swelling in the active tissue. Here, we explored the developmental features of sensory-evoked OIS in the rat barrel cortex during the first 3 months after birth. Multispectral OISi revealed that two temporally distinct components contribute to the neonatal OIS: an early phase of LS followed by a late phase of HR. The contribution of LS to the early response was also evidenced by an increase in light transmission through the active barrel. The early OIS phase correlated in time and amplitude with the sensory-evoked electrophysiological response. Application of the Modified Beer-Lambert Law (MBLL to the OIS data revealed that HR during the early phase involved only a slight decrease in blood oxygenation without any change in blood volume. In contrast, HR during the late phase manifested an adult-like increase in blood volume and oxygenation. During development, the peak time of the delayed HR progressively shortened with age, nearly reaching the stimulus onset and overlapping with the early LS phase by the fourth postnatal week. Thus, LS contributes to the sensory-evoked OIS in the barrel cortex of rats at all ages, and it dominates the early OIS phase in neonatal rats due to delayed HR. Our results are also consistent with the delayed blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD signal in human preterm infants.

Direct detection of a single evoked action potential with MRS in Lumbricus terrestris.

Science.gov (United States)

Poplawsky, Alexander J; Dingledine, Raymond; Hu, Xiaoping P

2012-01-01

Functional MRI (fMRI) measures neural activity indirectly by detecting the signal change associated with the hemodynamic response following brain activation. In order to alleviate the temporal and spatial specificity problems associated with fMRI, a number of attempts have been made to detect neural magnetic fields (NMFs) with MRI directly, but have thus far provided conflicting results. In this study, we used MR to detect axonal NMFs in the median giant fiber of the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, by examining the free induction decay (FID) with a sampling interval of 0.32 ms. The earthworm nerve cords were isolated from the vasculature and stimulated at the threshold of action potential generation. FIDs were acquired shortly after the stimulation, and simultaneous field potential recordings identified the presence or absence of single evoked action potentials. FIDs acquired when the stimulus did not evoke an action potential were summed as background. The phase of the background-subtracted FID exhibited a systematic change, with a peak phase difference of (-1.2 ± 0.3) × 10(-5) radians occurring at a time corresponding to the timing of the action potential. In addition, we calculated the possible changes in the FID magnitude and phase caused by a simulated action potential using a volume conductor model. The measured phase difference matched the theoretical prediction well in both amplitude and temporal characteristics. This study provides the first evidence for the direct detection of a magnetic field from an evoked action potential using MR. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of fusion power in energy scenarios. Proposed method and review of existing scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lako, P; Ybema, J.R.; Seebregts, A.J.

1998-04-01

The European Commission wishes more insight in the potential role of fusion energy in the second half of the 21st century. Therefore, several scenario studies are carried out in the so-called macro-task Long Term Scenarios to investigate the potential role of fusion power in the energy system. The main contribution of ECN to the macro-task is to perform a long term energy scenario study for Western Europe with special focus on the role of fusion power. This interim report gives some methodological considerations for such an analysis. A discussion is given on the problems related to the long time horizon of the scenario study such as the forecast of technological innovations, the selection of appropriate discount rates and the links with climate change. Key parameters which are expected to have large effects on the role and cost-effectiveness are discussed in general terms. The key parameters to be varied include level and structure of energy demand, availability and prices of fossil energy, CO2 reduction policy, discount rates, cost and potential of renewable energy sources, availability of fission power and CO2 capture and disposal and the cost and the maximum rate of market growth of fusion power. The scenario calculations are to be performed later in the project with the help of an existing cost minimisation model of the Western European energy system. This MARKAL model is briefly introduced. The results of the model calculations are expected to make clear under which combinations of scenario parameters fusion power is needed and how large the expected financial benefits will be. The present interim report also gives an evaluation of existing energy scenarios with respect to the role of fusion power. 18 refs

Premature infants display increased noxious-evoked neuronal activity in the brain compared to healthy age-matched term-born infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Rebeccah; Fabrizi, Lorenzo; Worley, Alan; Meek, Judith; Boyd, Stewart; Fitzgerald, Maria

2010-08-15

This study demonstrates that infants who are born prematurely and who have experienced at least 40days of intensive or special care have increased brain neuronal responses to noxious stimuli compared to healthy newborns at the same postmenstrual age. We have measured evoked potentials generated by noxious clinically-essential heel lances in infants born at term (8 infants; born 37-40weeks) and in infants born prematurely (7 infants; born 24-32weeks) who had reached the same postmenstrual age (mean age at time of heel lance 39.2+/-1.2weeks). These noxious-evoked potentials are clearly distinguishable from shorter latency potentials evoked by non-noxious tactile sensory stimulation. While the shorter latency touch potentials are not dependent on the age of the infant at birth, the noxious-evoked potentials are significantly larger in prematurely-born infants. This enhancement is not associated with specific brain lesions but reflects a functional change in pain processing in the brain that is likely to underlie previously reported changes in pain sensitivity in older ex-preterm children. Our ability to quantify and measure experience-dependent changes in infant cortical pain processing will allow us to develop a more rational approach to pain management in neonatal intensive care. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Music evokes vicarious emotions in listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawakami, Ai; Furukawa, Kiyoshi; Okanoya, Kazuo

2014-01-01

Why do we listen to sad music? We seek to answer this question using a psychological approach. It is possible to distinguish perceived emotions from those that are experienced. Therefore, we hypothesized that, although sad music is perceived as sad, listeners actually feel (experience) pleasant emotions concurrent with sadness. This hypothesis was supported, which led us to question whether sadness in the context of art is truly an unpleasant emotion. While experiencing sadness may be unpleasant, it may also be somewhat pleasant when experienced in the context of art, for example, when listening to sad music. We consider musically evoked emotion vicarious, as we are not threatened when we experience it, in the way that we can be during the course of experiencing emotion in daily life. When we listen to sad music, we experience vicarious sadness. In this review, we propose two sides to sadness by suggesting vicarious emotion.

Jealousy in response to online and offline infidelity: the role of sex and sexual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dijkstra, Pieternel; Barelds, Dick P H; Groothof, Hinke A K

2013-08-01

The goal of the present study was to examine the emotional content and intensity of jealousy in response to different types of infidelity (both online and offline unfaithful partner behaviors) among Dutch heterosexuals (n = 191) and homosexuals (n = 121). Based on previous research (Dijkstra, Barelds & Groothof, 2010), participants were presented with ten jealousy-evoking situations following which the intensity of two different emotional aspects of jealousy was assessed (betrayal/anger and threat). Results showed that scenarios describing a partner having sex with someone else or falling in love with someone else primarily evoked betrayal/anger-related jealousy, whereas scenarios describing an emotional connection between a partner and someone else primarily evoked threat-related jealousy. In addition, women experienced more jealousy than men in response to scenarios in which a partner engaged in potentially extra-dyadic online (but not offline) behaviors. Finally, compared to same-sex heterosexuals, homosexuals, both male and female, responded with less intense jealousy to scenarios describing a partner having sex with someone else. Implications for the treatment of (internet) infidelity are discussed. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Temporal suppression of long-latency click-evoked otoacoustic emissions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verhulst, Sarah; Harte, James; Dau, Torsten

2007-01-01

A comprehensive set of results from double click suppression experiments on otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) have been presented by Hine and Thornton (2002) and Kapadia and Lutman (2000). They found that suppression of a click-evoked otoacoustic emission (CEOAE) varied with the timing and level...... subjects showed that the nonlinear suppression effect remained on the long-latency CEOAE, indicating that both SOAEs and CEOAEs originate from the same cochlear nonlinearities, as earlier suggested by Kemp and Chum (1980). The apparent similar origin of both types of emissions implies that the same...

Multiscale scenarios for nature futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosa, Isabel M.D.; Pereira, Henrique Miguel; Ferrier, Simon; Alkemade, J.R.M.; Acosta, Lilibeth A.; Resit Akcakaya, H.; Belder, den E.; Fazel, Asghar M.; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Harfoot, Mike; Harhash, Khaled A.; Harrison, Paula A.; Hauck, Jennifer; Hendriks, Rob J.J.; Hernández, Gladys; Jetz, Walter; Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S.I.S.E.; Kim, Hyejin; King, Nicholas; Kok, Marcel; Kolomytsev, Grygoriy O.; Lazarova, Tanya; Leadley, Paul; Lundquist, Carolyn J.; García Márquez, Jaime; Meyer, Carsten; Navarro, Laetitia M.; Nesshöver, Carsten; Ngo, Hien T.; Ninan, Karachepone N.; Palomo, Maria G.; Pereira, Laura; Peterson, G.D.; Pichs, Ramon; Popp, Alexander; Purvis, Andy; Ravera, Federica; Rondinini, Carlo; Sathyapalan, Jyothis; Schipper, Aafke; Seppelt, Ralf; Settele, Josef; Sitas, Nadia; Vuuren, van D.

2017-01-01

Targets for human development are increasingly connected with targets for nature, however, existing scenarios do not explicitly address this relationship. Here, we outline a strategy to generate scenarios centred on our relationship
with nature to inform decision-making at multiple scales.

[The modified method registration of kinesthetic evoked potentials and its application for research of proprioceptive sensitivity disorders at spondylogenic cervical myelopathy].

Science.gov (United States)

Gordeev, S A; Voronin, S G

2016-01-01

To analyze the efficacy of modified (passive radiocarpal articulation flexion/extension) and «standard» (passive radiocarpal articulation flexion) methods of kinesthetic evoked potentials for proprioceptive sensitivity assessment in healthy subjects and patients with spondylotic cervical myelopathy. The study included 14 healthy subjects (4 women and 10 men, mean age 54.1±10.5 years) and 8 patients (2 women and 6 men, mean age 55.8±10.9 years) with spondylotic cervical myelopathy. Muscle-joint sensation was examined during the clinical study. A modified method of kinesthetic evoked potentials was developed. This method differed from the "standard" one by the organization of a cycle including several passive movements,where each new movement differed from the preceding one by the direction. The modified method of kinesthetic evoked potentials ensures more reliable kinesthetic sensitivity assessment due to movement variability. Asignificant increaseof the latent periods of the early components of the response was found in patients compared to healthy subjects. The modified method of kinesthetic evoked potentials can be used for objective diagnosis of proprioceptive sensitivity disorders in patients with spondylotic cervical myelopathy.

Effects of myelin or cell body brainstem lesions on 3-channel Lissajous' trajectories of feline auditory brainstem evoked potentials

OpenAIRE

Pratt, H; Zaaroor, M; Bleich, N; Starr, A

1991-01-01

Auditory brainstem evoked potentials (ABEP) were recorded from 16 awake cats to obtain 3-Channel Lissajous' Trajectories (3CLTs) using three orthogonal differential electrode configurations (nasion - midline nuchal ridge, left - right mastoids, vertex - midline under the mandible). Potentials, evoked by monaural 80 dBnHL (re. human threshold) clicks, were studied before, and up to 7 weeks after inducing neuronal lesions localized to the cochlear nucleus (CN) or the superior olivary complex (S...

Differential-associative processing or example elaboration: Which strategy is best for learning the definitions of related and unrelated concepts?

Science.gov (United States)

Hannon, Brenda

2012-10-01

Definitions of related concepts (e.g., genotype - phenotype ) are prevalent in introductory classes. Consequently, it is important that educators and students know which strategy(s) work best for learning them. This study showed that a new comparative elaboration strategy, called differential-associative processing, was better for learning definitions of related concepts than was an integrative elaborative strategy, called example elaboration. This outcome occurred even though example elaboration was administered in a naturalistic way (Experiment 1) and students spent more time in the example elaboration condition learning (Experiments 1, 2, 3), and generating pieces of information about the concepts (Experiments 2 and 3). Further, with unrelated concepts ( morpheme-fluid intelligence ), performance was similar regardless if students used differential-associative processing or example elaboration (Experiment 3). Taken as a whole, these results suggest that differential-associative processing is better than example elaboration for learning definitions of related concepts and is as good as example elaboration for learning definitions of unrelated concepts.

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Evokes Unique Segment-Specific Vasoconstriction of the Renal Microvasculature

Science.gov (United States)

Singletary, Sean T.; Cook, Anthony K.; Hobbs, Janet L.; Pollock, Jennifer S.; Inscho, Edward W.

2014-01-01

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a bioactive sphingolipid metabolite, has been implicated in regulating vascular tone and participating in chronic and acute kidney injury. However, little is known about the role of S1P in the renal microcirculation. Here, we directly assessed the vasoresponsiveness of preglomerular and postglomerular microvascular segments to exogenous S1P using the in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron preparation. Superfusion of S1P (0.001–10 μM) evoked concentration-dependent vasoconstriction in preglomerular microvessels, predominantly afferent arterioles. After administration of 10 μM S1P, the diameter of afferent arterioles decreased to 35%±5% of the control diameter, whereas the diameters of interlobular and arcuate arteries declined to 50%±12% and 68%±6% of the control diameter, respectively. Notably, efferent arterioles did not respond to S1P. The S1P receptor agonists FTY720 and FTY720-phosphate and the specific S1P1 receptor agonist SEW2871 each evoked modest afferent arteriolar vasoconstriction. Conversely, S1P2 receptor inhibition with JTE-013 significantly attenuated S1P-mediated afferent arteriolar vasoconstriction. Moreover, blockade of L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels with diltiazem or nifedipine attenuated S1P-mediated vasoconstriction. Intravenous injection of S1P in anesthetized rats reduced renal blood flow dose dependently. Western blotting and immunofluorescence revealed S1P1 and S1P2 receptor expression in isolated preglomerular microvessels and microvascular smooth muscle cells. These data demonstrate that S1P evokes segmentally distinct preglomerular vasoconstriction via activation of S1P1 and/or S1P2 receptors, partially via L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels. Accordingly, S1P may have a novel function in regulating afferent arteriolar resistance under physiologic conditions. PMID:24578134

Spontaneous and Evoked Activity from Murine Ventral Horn Cultures on Microelectrode Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bryan J. Black

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Motor neurons are the site of action for several neurological disorders and paralytic toxins, with cell bodies located in the ventral horn (VH of the spinal cord along with interneurons and support cells. Microelectrode arrays (MEAs have emerged as a high content assay platform for mechanistic studies and drug discovery. Here, we explored the spontaneous and evoked electrical activity of VH cultures derived from embryonic mouse spinal cord on multi-well plates of MEAs. Primary VH cultures from embryonic day 15–16 mice were characterized by expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT by immunocytochemistry. Well resolved, all-or-nothing spontaneous spikes with profiles consistent with extracellular action potentials were observed after 3 days in vitro, persisting with consistent firing rates until at least day in vitro 19. The majority of the spontaneous activity consisted of tonic firing interspersed with coordinated bursting across the network. After 5 days in vitro, spike activity was readily evoked by voltage pulses where a minimum amplitude and duration required for excitation was 300 mV and 100 μs/phase, respectively. We characterized the sensitivity of spontaneous and evoked activity to a host of pharmacological agents including AP5, CNQX, strychnine, ω-agatoxin IVA, and botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A. These experiments revealed sensitivity of the cultured VH to both agonist and antagonist compounds in a manner consistent with mature tissue derived from slices. In the case of BoNT/A, we also demonstrated intoxication persistence over an 18-day period, followed by partial intoxication recovery induced by N- and P/Q-type calcium channel agonist GV-58. In total, our findings suggest that VH cultures on multi-well MEA plates may represent a moderate throughput, high content assay for performing mechanistic studies and for screening potential therapeutics pertaining to paralytic toxins and neurological disorders.

Language related differences of the sustained response evoked by natural speech sounds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina Siu-Dschu Fan

Full Text Available In tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, the pitch contour of vowels discriminates lexical meaning, which is not the case in non-tonal languages such as German. Recent data provide evidence that pitch processing is influenced by language experience. However, there are still many open questions concerning the representation of such phonological and language-related differences at the level of the auditory cortex (AC. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG, we recorded transient and sustained auditory evoked fields (AEF in native Chinese and German speakers to investigate language related phonological and semantic aspects in the processing of acoustic stimuli. AEF were elicited by spoken meaningful and meaningless syllables, by vowels, and by a French horn tone. Speech sounds were recorded from a native speaker and showed frequency-modulations according to the pitch-contours of Mandarin. The sustained field (SF evoked by natural speech signals was significantly larger for Chinese than for German listeners. In contrast, the SF elicited by a horn tone was not significantly different between groups. Furthermore, the SF of Chinese subjects was larger when evoked by meaningful syllables compared to meaningless ones, but there was no significant difference regarding whether vowels were part of the Chinese phonological system or not. Moreover, the N100m gave subtle but clear evidence that for Chinese listeners other factors than purely physical properties play a role in processing meaningful signals. These findings show that the N100 and the SF generated in Heschl's gyrus are influenced by language experience, which suggests that AC activity related to specific pitch contours of vowels is influenced in a top-down fashion by higher, language related areas. Such interactions are in line with anatomical findings and neuroimaging data, as well as with the dual-stream model of language of Hickok and Poeppel that highlights the close and reciprocal interaction

Language related differences of the sustained response evoked by natural speech sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Christina Siu-Dschu; Zhu, Xingyu; Dosch, Hans Günter; von Stutterheim, Christiane; Rupp, André

2017-01-01

In tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, the pitch contour of vowels discriminates lexical meaning, which is not the case in non-tonal languages such as German. Recent data provide evidence that pitch processing is influenced by language experience. However, there are still many open questions concerning the representation of such phonological and language-related differences at the level of the auditory cortex (AC). Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we recorded transient and sustained auditory evoked fields (AEF) in native Chinese and German speakers to investigate language related phonological and semantic aspects in the processing of acoustic stimuli. AEF were elicited by spoken meaningful and meaningless syllables, by vowels, and by a French horn tone. Speech sounds were recorded from a native speaker and showed frequency-modulations according to the pitch-contours of Mandarin. The sustained field (SF) evoked by natural speech signals was significantly larger for Chinese than for German listeners. In contrast, the SF elicited by a horn tone was not significantly different between groups. Furthermore, the SF of Chinese subjects was larger when evoked by meaningful syllables compared to meaningless ones, but there was no significant difference regarding whether vowels were part of the Chinese phonological system or not. Moreover, the N100m gave subtle but clear evidence that for Chinese listeners other factors than purely physical properties play a role in processing meaningful signals. These findings show that the N100 and the SF generated in Heschl's gyrus are influenced by language experience, which suggests that AC activity related to specific pitch contours of vowels is influenced in a top-down fashion by higher, language related areas. Such interactions are in line with anatomical findings and neuroimaging data, as well as with the dual-stream model of language of Hickok and Poeppel that highlights the close and reciprocal interaction between

TURVA-2012: Formulation of radionuclide release scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcos, Nuria; Hjerpe, Thomas; Snellman, Margit; Ikonen, Ari; Smith, Paul

2014-01-01

TURVA-2012 is Posiva's safety case in support of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) and application for a construction licence for a repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel at the Olkiluoto site in south-western Finland. This paper gives a summary of the scenarios and the methodology followed in formulating them as described in TURVA-2012: Formulation of Radionuclide Release Scenarios (Posiva, 2013). The scenarios are further analysed in TURVA-2012: Assessment of Radionuclide Release Scenarios for the Repository System and TURVA-2012: Biosphere Assessment (Posiva, 2012a, 2012b). The formulation of scenarios takes into account the safety functions of the main barriers of the repository system and the uncertainties in the features, events, and processes (FEP) that may affect the entire disposal system (i.e. repository system plus the surface environment) from the emplacement of the first canister until the far future. In the report TURVA-2012: Performance Assessment (2012d), the performance of the engineered and natural barriers has been assessed against the loads expected during the evolution of the repository system and the site. Uncertainties have been identified and these are taken into account in the formulation of radionuclide release scenarios. The uncertainties in the FEP and evolution of the surface environment are taken into account in formulating the surface environment scenarios used ultimately in estimating radiation exposure. Formulating radionuclide release scenarios for the repository system links the reports Performance Assessment and Assessment of Radionuclide Release Scenarios for the Repository System. The formulation of radionuclide release scenarios for the surface environment brings together biosphere description and the surface environment FEP and is the link to the assessment of the surface environment scenarios summarised in TURVA-2012: Biosphere Assessment. (authors)

Automated Analysis of Infinite Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchholtz, Mikael

2005-01-01

The security of a network protocol crucially relies on the scenario in which the protocol is deployed. This paper describes syntactic constructs for modelling network scenarios and presents an automated analysis tool, which can guarantee that security properties hold in all of the (infinitely many...

Accident scenario diagnostics with neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Z.

1992-01-01

Nuclear power plants are very complex systems. The diagnoses of transients or accident conditions is very difficult because a large amount of information, which is often noisy, or intermittent, or even incomplete, need to be processed in real time. To demonstrate their potential application to nuclear power plants, neural networks axe used to monitor the accident scenarios simulated by the training simulator of TVA's Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant. A self-organization network is used to compress original data to reduce the total number of training patterns. Different accident scenarios are closely related to different key parameters which distinguish one accident scenario from another. Therefore, the accident scenarios can be monitored by a set of small size neural networks, called modular networks, each one of which monitors only one assigned accident scenario, to obtain fast training and recall. Sensitivity analysis is applied to select proper input variables for modular networks

Scenarios for Ecosystem Services: An Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen R. Carpenter

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA scenarios address changes in ecosystem services and their implications for human well-being. Ecological changes pose special challenges for long-term thinking, because of the possibility of regime shifts that occur rapidly yet alter the availability of ecosystem services for generations. Moreover, ecological feedbacks can intensify human modification of ecosystems, creating a spiral of poverty and ecosystem degradation. Such complex dynamics were evaluated by a mixture of qualitative and quantitative analyses in the MA scenarios. Collectively, the scenarios explore problems such as the connections of poverty reduction and ecosystem services, and trade-offs among ecosystem services. Several promising approaches are considered by the scenarios, including uses of biodiversity to build resilience of ecosystem services, actively adaptive management, and green technology. Although the scenarios do not prescribe an optimal path, they illuminate the consequences of different policies toward ecosystem services.

[Recommendations for the clinical use of motor evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, V; Valls-Sole, J; Relova, J L; Raguer, N; Miralles, F; Dinca, L; Taramundi, S; Costa-Frossard, L; Ferrandiz, M; Ramió-Torrentà, Ll; Villoslada, P; Saiz, A; Calles, C; Antigüedad, A; Alvarez-Cermeño, J C; Prieto, J M; Izquierdo, G; Montalbán, X; Fernández, O

2013-09-01

To establish clinical guidelines for the clinical use and interpretation of motor evoked potentials (MEP) in diagnosing and monitoring patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Recommendations for MEP use and interpretation will help us rationalise and optimise resources used in MS patient diagnosis and follow up. We completed an extensive literature review and pooled our own data to produce a consensus statement with recommendations for the clinical use of MEPs in the study of MS. MEPs, in addition to spinal and cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), help us diagnose and assess MS patients whose disease initially presents as spinal cord syndrome and those with non-specific brain MRI findings, or a normal brain MRI and clinical signs of MS. Whenever possible, a multimodal evoked potential study should be performed on patients with suspected MS in order to demonstrate involvement of the motor pathway which supports a diagnosis of dissemination in space. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Modulation of visually evoked postural responses by contextual visual, haptic and auditory information: a 'virtual reality check'.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georg F Meyer

Full Text Available Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR. These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1 visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2 real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3 visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR.

Auditory evoked responses to binaural beat illusion: stimulus generation and the derivation of the Binaural Interaction Component (BIC).

Science.gov (United States)

Ozdamar, Ozcan; Bohorquez, Jorge; Mihajloski, Todor; Yavuz, Erdem; Lachowska, Magdalena

2011-01-01

Electrophysiological indices of auditory binaural beats illusions are studied using late latency evoked responses. Binaural beats are generated by continuous monaural FM tones with slightly different ascending and descending frequencies lasting about 25 ms presented at 1 sec intervals. Frequency changes are carefully adjusted to avoid any creation of abrupt waveform changes. Binaural Interaction Component (BIC) analysis is used to separate the neural responses due to binaural involvement. The results show that the transient auditory evoked responses can be obtained from the auditory illusion of binaural beats.

Development on quantitative safety analysis method of accident scenario. The automatic scenario generator development for event sequence construction of accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kojima, Shigeo; Onoue, Akira; Kawai, Katsunori

1998-01-01

This study intends to develop a more sophisticated tool that will advance the current event tree method used in all PSA, and to focus on non-catastrophic events, specifically a non-core melt sequence scenario not included in an ordinary PSA. In the non-catastrophic event PSA, it is necessary to consider various end states and failure combinations for the purpose of multiple scenario construction. Therefore it is anticipated that an analysis work should be reduced and automated method and tool is required. A scenario generator that can automatically handle scenario construction logic and generate the enormous size of sequences logically identified by state-of-the-art methodology was developed. To fulfill the scenario generation as a technical tool, a simulation model associated with AI technique and graphical interface, was introduced. The AI simulation model in this study was verified for the feasibility of its capability to evaluate actual systems. In this feasibility study, a spurious SI signal was selected to test the model's applicability. As a result, the basic capability of the scenario generator could be demonstrated and important scenarios were generated. The human interface with a system and its operation, as well as time dependent factors and their quantification in scenario modeling, was added utilizing human scenario generator concept. Then the feasibility of an improved scenario generator was tested for actual use. Automatic scenario generation with a certain level of credibility, was achieved by this study. (author)

Evidence for evoked release of adenosine and glutamate from cultured cerebellar granule cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schousboe, A.; Frandsen, A.; Drejer, J.

1989-01-01

Evoked release of [ 3 H]-D-aspartate which labels the neurotransmitter glutamate pool in cultured cerebellar granule cells was compared with evoked release of adenosine from similar cultures. It was found that both adenosine and [3H]-D-aspartate could be released from the neurons in a calcium dependent manner after depolarization of the cells with either 10-100 microM glutamate or 50 mM KCl. Cultures of cerebellar granule cells treated with 50 microM kainate to eliminate GABAergic neurons behaved in the same way. This together with the observation that cultured astrocytes did not exhibit a calcium dependent, potassium stimulated adenosine release strongly suggest that cerebellar granule cells release adenosine in a neurotransmitter-like fashion together with glutamate which is the classical neurotransmitter of these neurons. Studies of the metabolism of adenosine showed that in the granule cells adenosine is rapidly metabolized to ATP, ADP, and AMP, but in spite of this, adenosine was found to be released preferential to ATP

On the Dynamics of Action Representations Evoked by Names of Manipulable Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Bub, Daniel N.; Masson, Michael E. J.

2012-01-01

Two classes of hand action representations are shown to be activated by listening to the name of a manipulable object (e.g., cellphone). The functional action associated with the proper use of an object is evoked soon after the onset of its name, as indicated by primed execution of that action. Priming is sustained throughout the duration of the…

Useful global-change scenarios: current issues and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parson, E A

2008-01-01

Scenarios are increasingly used to inform global-change debates, but their connection to decisions has been weak and indirect. This reflects the greater number and variety of potential users and scenario needs, relative to other decision domains where scenario use is more established. Global-change scenario needs include common elements, e.g., model-generated projections of emissions and climate change, needed by many users but in different ways and with different assumptions. For these common elements, the limited ability to engage diverse global-change users in scenario development requires extreme transparency in communicating underlying reasoning and assumptions, including probability judgments. Other scenario needs are specific to users, requiring a decentralized network of scenario and assessment organizations to disseminate and interpret common elements and add elements requiring local context or expertise. Such an approach will make global-change scenarios more useful for decisions, but not less controversial. Despite predictable attacks, scenario-based reasoning is necessary for responsible global-change decisions because decision-relevant uncertainties cannot be specified scientifically. The purpose of scenarios is not to avoid speculation, but to make the required speculation more disciplined, more anchored in relevant scientific knowledge when available, and more transparent.

Chronic asymptomatic hyperamylasemia unrelated to pancreatic disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Generoso Uomo

2013-05-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Almost all patients presenting with chronic hyperamylasemia undergo an expensive, long, difficult and often repeated diagnostic workup even if this occurrence is not associated with symptoms or with known pancreatotoxic factors. This is in relationship with the poor knowledge that, beside hyperenzymemia secondary to pancreatic diseases and systemic illnesses, various non-pathological forms of chronic hyperamylasemia can occur in clinical practice. AIM OF THE STUDY This study was addressed to assess the clinical characteristics of patients presenting with chronic hyperamylasemia unrelated to pancreatic diseases (CHUPD. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data of all patients with CHUPD were retrospectively reviewed (June 1997-March 2007. Forty patients were included in the study; median follow- up was 33 months (range 3-84 months. CHUPD was secondary to: a chronic benign pancreatic hyperamylasemia, 16 patients (40%; b macroamylasemia, 15 patients (37.5%; c salivary hyperamylasemia, 9 patients (22.5%. Gilbert’s syndrome was present in 13 patients (32.5%; 8 with macroamylasemia and hyperdyslipidemia in 8 patients (20%; 5 with chronic benign pancreatic hyperamylasemia. Diagnostic exams (all in the normal range performed before our observation were: Ca19-9 serum level in 37/40 (92.5%, ultrasonography and computed tomography-scan in all patients, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in 21/40 (52.5%, abdominal magnetic resonance in 14/40 (35%. Previous diagnosis in these asymptomatic subjects were: chronic pancreatitis in 26 cases (65%; recurrent pancreatitis in 10 cases (25%; the remaining 4 patients (10% were addressed without a specific diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS In clinical practice, the occurrence of an unexplained chronic hyperamylasemia very often allows to an unappropriate diagnostic workup due to the poor familiarity with CHUPD conditions.

Input parameters and scenarios, including economic inputs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boklund, Anette; Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq

2012-01-01

scenarios, we excluded hobby-type farms1 In the vaccination scenarios, herds within the vaccination zone were simulated to be vaccinated 14 days after detection of the first herd or when 10, 20, 30 or 50 herds were infected. All herds within the zones were simulated to be vaccinated. We used vaccination...... zones of either a 1, 2, 3 or 5 km. In some scenarios, hobby herds were not vaccinated. In one scenario, no sheep were vaccinated, and in another scenario no swine were vaccinated. from depopulation in zones. The resources for depopulation were estimated to 4,800 swine and 2,000 ruminants a day...

FEATURES OF FORMATION SCENARIOS OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serhiy Nozhenko

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the topic – the invention of approaches to enterprise development oil and fat industry. The goal – to identify features of formation scenarios for the food industry. The chosen methodology allowed to analyze and evaluate the functioning of state enterprises. Results are discovering the benefits of scenario planning to find ways of business development. Novelty – a rationale for the use of scenario planning for enterprise development oil and fat industry, developing a set of scenarios. The practical significance – providing specific scenarios for enterprises of oil and fat industry. Keywords: scenario planning, scenario development, enterprise, oil and fat industry outlook. JEL: L 66

FAST Plasma Scenarios and Equilibrium Configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calabro, G.; Crisanti, F.; Ramogida, G.; Cardinali, A.; Cucchiaro, A.; Maddaluno, G.; Pizzuto, A.; Pericoli Ridolfini, V.; Tuccillo, A.A.; Zonca, F.; Albanese, R.; Granucci, G.; Nowak, S.

2008-01-01

In this paper we present the Fusion Advanced Studies Torus (FAST) plasma scenarios and equilibrium configurations, designed to reproduce the ITER ones (with scaled plasma current) and suitable to fulfil plasma conditions for integrated studies of burning plasma physics, Plasma Wall interaction, ITER relevant operation problems and Steady State scenarios. The attention is focused on FAST flexibility in terms of both performance and physics that can be investigated: operations are foreseen at a wide range of parameters from high performance H-Mode (toroidal field, B T , up to 8.5 T; plasma current, I P , up to 8 MA) to advanced tokamak (AT) operation (I P =3 MA) as well as full non inductive current scenario (I P =2 MA). The coupled heating power is provided with 30MW delivered by an Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) system (30-90MHz), 6 MW by a Lower Hybrid (LH) system (3.7 or 5 GHz) for the long pulse AT scenario, 4 MW by an Electron Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ECRH) system (170 GHz-B T =6T) for MHD and electron heating localized control and, eventually, with 10 MW by a Negative Ion Beam (NNBI), which the ports are designed to accommodate. In the reference H-mode scenario FAST preserves (with respect to ITER) fast ions induced as well as turbulence fluctuation spectra, thus, addressing the cross-scale couplings issue of micro- to meso-scale physics. The noninductive scenario at I P =2MA is obtained with 60-70 % of bootstrap and the remaining by LHCD. Predictive simulations of the H-mode scenarios described above have been performed by means of JETTO code, using a semi-empirical mixed Bohm/gyro-Bohm transport model. Plasma position and Shape Control studies are also presented for the reference scenario

Modulation of Visually Evoked Postural Responses by Contextual Visual, Haptic and Auditory Information: A ‘Virtual Reality Check’

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Georg F.; Shao, Fei; White, Mark D.; Hopkins, Carl; Robotham, Antony J.

2013-01-01

Externally generated visual motion signals can cause the illusion of self-motion in space (vection) and corresponding visually evoked postural responses (VEPR). These VEPRs are not simple responses to optokinetic stimulation, but are modulated by the configuration of the environment. The aim of this paper is to explore what factors modulate VEPRs in a high quality virtual reality (VR) environment where real and virtual foreground objects served as static visual, auditory and haptic reference points. Data from four experiments on visually evoked postural responses show that: 1) visually evoked postural sway in the lateral direction is modulated by the presence of static anchor points that can be haptic, visual and auditory reference signals; 2) real objects and their matching virtual reality representations as visual anchors have different effects on postural sway; 3) visual motion in the anterior-posterior plane induces robust postural responses that are not modulated by the presence of reference signals or the reality of objects that can serve as visual anchors in the scene. We conclude that automatic postural responses for laterally moving visual stimuli are strongly influenced by the configuration and interpretation of the environment and draw on multisensory representations. Different postural responses were observed for real and virtual visual reference objects. On the basis that automatic visually evoked postural responses in high fidelity virtual environments should mimic those seen in real situations we propose to use the observed effect as a robust objective test for presence and fidelity in VR. PMID:23840760

The effectiveness of FES-evoked EMG potentials to assess muscle force and fatigue in individuals with spinal cord injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibitoye, Morufu Olusola; Estigoni, Eduardo H; Hamzaid, Nur Azah; Wahab, Ahmad Khairi Abdul; Davis, Glen M

2014-07-14

The evoked electromyographic signal (eEMG) potential is the standard index used to monitor both electrical changes within the motor unit during muscular activity and the electrical patterns during evoked contraction. However, technical and physiological limitations often preclude the acquisition and analysis of the signal especially during functional electrical stimulation (FES)-evoked contractions. Hence, an accurate quantification of the relationship between the eEMG potential and FES-evoked muscle response remains elusive and continues to attract the attention of researchers due to its potential application in the fields of biomechanics, muscle physiology, and rehabilitation science. We conducted a systematic review to examine the effectiveness of eEMG potentials to assess muscle force and fatigue, particularly as a biofeedback descriptor of FES-evoked contractions in individuals with spinal cord injury. At the outset, 2867 citations were identified and, finally, fifty-nine trials met the inclusion criteria. Four hypotheses were proposed and evaluated to inform this review. The results showed that eEMG is effective at quantifying muscle force and fatigue during isometric contraction, but may not be effective during dynamic contractions including cycling and stepping. Positive correlation of up to r = 0.90 (p peak-to-peak amplitude of the eEMG and the decline in the force output during fatiguing isometric contractions has been reported. In the available prediction models, the performance index of the eEMG signal to estimate the generated muscle force ranged from 3.8% to 34% for 18 s to 70 s ahead of the actual muscle force generation. The strength and inherent limitations of the eEMG signal to assess muscle force and fatigue were evident from our findings with implications in clinical management of spinal cord injury (SCI) population.

The Effectiveness of FES-Evoked EMG Potentials to Assess Muscle Force and Fatigue in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morufu Olusola Ibitoye

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The evoked electromyographic signal (eEMG potential is the standard index used to monitor both electrical changes within the motor unit during muscular activity and the electrical patterns during evoked contraction. However, technical and physiological limitations often preclude the acquisition and analysis of the signal especially during functional electrical stimulation (FES-evoked contractions. Hence, an accurate quantification of the relationship between the eEMG potential and FES-evoked muscle response remains elusive and continues to attract the attention of researchers due to its potential application in the fields of biomechanics, muscle physiology, and rehabilitation science. We conducted a systematic review to examine the effectiveness of eEMG potentials to assess muscle force and fatigue, particularly as a biofeedback descriptor of FES-evoked contractions in individuals with spinal cord injury. At the outset, 2867 citations were identified and, finally, fifty-nine trials met the inclusion criteria. Four hypotheses were proposed and evaluated to inform this review. The results showed that eEMG is effective at quantifying muscle force and fatigue during isometric contraction, but may not be effective during dynamic contractions including cycling and stepping. Positive correlation of up to r = 0.90 (p < 0.05 between the decline in the peak-to-peak amplitude of the eEMG and the decline in the force output during fatiguing isometric contractions has been reported. In the available prediction models, the performance index of the eEMG signal to estimate the generated muscle force ranged from 3.8% to 34% for 18 s to 70 s ahead of the actual muscle force generation. The strength and inherent limitations of the eEMG signal to assess muscle force and fatigue were evident from our findings with implications in clinical management of spinal cord injury (SCI population.

Altered Evoked Gamma-Band Responses Reveal Impaired Early Visual Processing in ADHD Children

Science.gov (United States)

Lenz, Daniel; Krauel, Kerstin; Flechtner, Hans-Henning; Schadow, Jeanette; Hinrichs, Hermann; Herrmann, Christoph S.

2010-01-01

Neurophysiological studies yield contrary results whether attentional problems of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are related to early visual processing deficits or not. Evoked gamma-band responses (GBRs), being among the first cortical responses occurring as early as 90 ms after visual stimulation in human EEG, have…

Chaos analysis of the electrical signal time series evoked by acupuncture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jiang; Sun Li; Fei Xiangyang; Zhu Bing

2007-01-01

This paper employs chaos theory to analyze the time series of electrical signal which are evoked by different acupuncture methods applied to the Zusanli point. The phase space is reconstructed and the embedding parameters are obtained by the mutual information and Cao's methods. Subsequently, the largest Lyapunov exponent is calculated. From the analyses we can conclude that the time series are chaotic. In addition, differences between various acupuncture methods are discussed

Modeling the Developmental Patterns of Auditory Evoked Magnetic Fields in Children

OpenAIRE

Kotecha, Rupesh; Pardos, Maria; Wang, Yingying; Wu, Ting; Horn, Paul; Brown, David; Rose, Douglas; deGrauw, Ton; Xiang, Jing

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: As magnetoencephalography (MEG) is of increasing utility in the assessment of deficits and development delays in brain disorders in pediatrics, it becomes imperative to fully understand the functional development of the brain in children. METHODOLOGY: The present study was designed to characterize the developmental patterns of auditory evoked magnetic responses with respect to age and gender. Sixty children and twenty adults were studied with a 275-channel MEG system. CONCLUSIONS:...

What reported food-evoked emotions may add : A model to predict consumer food choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gutjar, Swetlana; Dalenberg, Jelle R.; de Graaf, Cees; de Wijk, Rene A.; Palascha, Aikaterini; Renken, Remco J.; Jager, Gerry

2015-01-01

Food-evoked emotions provide information that goes beyond the information from traditional hedonic ratings. The objectives of our study were: (i) to investigate how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) cues affect consumers' emotional responses to foods, and (ii) to explore whether

What reported food-evoked emotions may add: A model to predict consumer food choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gutjar, S.; Dalenberg, J.R.; Graaf, de C.; Wijk, de R.A.; Palascha, A.; Renken, Remco J.; Jager, G.

2015-01-01

Food-evoked emotions provide information that goes beyond the information from traditional hedonic ratings. The objectives of our study were: (i) to investigate how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) cues affect consumers’ emotional responses to foods, and (ii) to explore whether

Motor unit activation order during electrically evoked contractions of paralyzed or partially paralyzed muscles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thomas, CK; Nelson, G; Than, L; Zijdewind, Inge

The activation order of motor units during electrically evoked contractions of paralyzed or partially paralyzed thenar muscles was determined in seven subjects with chronic cervical spinal cord injury. The median nerve was stimulated percutaneously with pulses of graded intensity to produce

High proportion of large genomic deletions and a genotype phenotype update in 80 unrelated families with juvenile polyposis syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aretz, S; Stienen, D; Uhlhaas, S

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: In patients with juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) the frequency of large genomic deletions in the SMAD4 and BMPR1A genes was unknown. METHODS: Mutation and phenotype analysis was used in 80 unrelated patients of whom 65 met the clinical criteria for JPS (typical JPS) and 15 were susp...

Evoked bioelectrical brain activity following exposure to ionizing radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Loganovsky, K; Kuts, K

2017-12-01

The article provides an overview of modern physiological evidence to support the hypothesis on cortico limbic sys tem dysfunction due to the hippocampal neurogenesis impairment as a basis of the brain interhemispheric asym metry and neurocognitive deficit after radiation exposure. The importance of the research of both evoked poten tials and fields as a highly sensitive and informative method is emphasized.Particular attention is paid to cerebral sensor systems dysfunction as a typical effect of ionizing radiation. Changes in functioning of the central parts of sensory analyzers of different modalities as well as the violation of brain integrative information processes under the influence of small doses of ionizing radiation can be critical when determining the radiation risks of space flight. The possible long term prospects for manned flights into space, including to Mars, given the effects identified are discussed. Potential risks to the central nervous system during space travel comprise cognitive functions impairment, including the volume of short term memory short ening, impaired motor functions, behavioral changes that could affect human performance and health. The remote risks for CNS are considered to be the following possible neuropsychiatric disorders: accelerated brain aging, Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The new radiocerebral dose dependent effect, when applied cog nitive auditory evoked potentials P300 technique with a possible threshold dose of 0.05 Gy, manifesting in a form of disruption of information processing in the Wernicke's area is under discussion. In order to identify neurophys iological biological markers of ionizing radiation further international researches with adequate dosimetry support are necessary. K. Loganovsky, K. Kuts.

The cortical spatiotemporal correlate of otolith stimulation: Vestibular evoked potentials by body translations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ertl, M; Moser, M; Boegle, R; Conrad, J; Zu Eulenburg, P; Dieterich, M

2017-07-15

The vestibular organ senses linear and rotational acceleration of the head during active and passive motion. These signals are necessary for bipedal locomotion, navigation, the coordination of eye and head movements in 3D space. The temporal dynamics of vestibular processing in cortical structures have hardly been studied in humans, let alone with natural stimulation. The aim was to investigate the cortical vestibular network related to natural otolith stimulation using a hexapod motion platform. We conducted two experiments, 1. to estimate the sources of the vestibular evoked potentials (VestEPs) by means of distributed source localization (n=49), and 2. to reveal modulations of the VestEPs through the underlying acceleration intensity (n=24). For both experiments subjects were accelerated along the main axis (left/right, up/down, fore/aft) while the EEG was recorded. We were able to identify five VestEPs (P1, N1, P2, N2, P3) with latencies between 38 and 461 ms as well as an evoked beta-band response peaking with a latency of 68 ms in all subjects and for all acceleration directions. Source localization gave the cingulate sulcus visual (CSv) area and the opercular-insular region as the main origin of the evoked potentials. No lateralization effects due to handedness could be observed. In the second experiment, area CSv was shown to be integral in the processing of acceleration intensities as sensed by the otolith organs, hinting at its potential role in ego-motion detection. These robust VestEPs could be used to investigate the mechanisms of inter-regional interaction in the natural context of vestibular processing and multisensory integration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Video outside versus video inside the web: do media setting and image size have an impact on the emotion-evoking potential of video?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verleur, R.; Verhagen, Pleunes Willem; Crawford, Margaret; Simonson, Michael; Lamboy, Carmen

2001-01-01

To explore the educational potential of video-evoked affective responses in a Web-based environment, the question was raised whether video in a Web-based environment is experienced differently from video in a traditional context. An experiment was conducted that studied the affect-evoking power of

Multifocal Visual Evoked Potential in Eyes With Temporal Hemianopia From Chiasmal Compression: Correlation With Standard Automated Perimetry and OCT Findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, Rafael M; Oyamada, Maria K; Cunha, Leonardo P; Monteiro, Mário L R

2017-09-01

To verify whether multifocal visual evoked potential (mfVEP) can differentiate eyes with temporal hemianopia due to chiasmal compression from healthy controls. To assess the relationship between mfVEP, standard automated perimetry (SAP), and Fourier domain-optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) macular and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements. Twenty-seven eyes with permanent temporal visual field (VF) defects from chiasmal compression on SAP and 43 eyes of healthy controls were submitted to mfVEP and FD-OCT scanning. Multifocal visual evoked potential was elicited using a stimulus pattern of 60 sectors and the responses were averaged for the four quadrants and two hemifields. Optical coherence tomography macular measurements were averaged in quadrants and halves, while peripapillary RNFL thickness was averaged in four sectors around the disc. Visual field loss was estimated in four quadrants and each half of the 24-2 strategy test points. Multifocal visual evoked potential measurements in the two groups were compared using generalized estimated equations, and the correlations between mfVEP, VF, and OCT findings were quantified. Multifocal visual evoked potential-measured temporal P1 and N2 amplitudes were significantly smaller in patients than in controls. No significant difference in amplitude was observed for nasal parameters. A significant correlation was found between mfVEP amplitudes and temporal VF loss, and between mfVEP amplitudes and the corresponding OCT-measured macular and RNFL thickness parameters. Multifocal visual evoked potential amplitude parameters were able to differentiate eyes with temporal hemianopia from controls and were significantly correlated with VF and OCT findings, suggesting mfVEP is a useful tool for the detection of visual abnormalities in patients with chiasmal compression.

The Duration of Motor Responses Evoked with Intracortical Microstimulation in Rats Is Primarily Modulated by Stimulus Amplitude and Train Duration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meghan Watson

Full Text Available Microstimulation of brain tissue plays a key role in a variety of sensory prosthetics, clinical therapies and research applications, however the effects of stimulation parameters on the responses they evoke remain widely unknown. In particular, the effects of parameters when delivered in the form of a stimulus train as opposed to a single pulse are not well understood despite the prevalence of stimulus train use. We aimed to investigate the contribution of each parameter of a stimulus train to the duration of the motor responses they evoke in forelimb muscles. We used constant-current, biphasic, square wave pulse trains in acute terminal experiments under ketamine anaesthesia. Stimulation parameters were systematically tested in a pair-wise fashion in the caudal forelimb region of the motor cortex in 7 Sprague-Dawley rats while motor evoked potential (MEP recordings from the forelimb were used to quantify the influence of each parameter in the train. Stimulus amplitude and train duration were shown to be the dominant parameters responsible for increasing the total duration of the MEP, while interphase interval had no effect. Increasing stimulus frequency from 100-200 Hz or pulse duration from 0.18-0.34 ms were also effective methods of extending response durations. Response duration was strongly correlated with peak time and amplitude. Our findings suggest that motor cortex intracortical microstimulations are often conducted at a higher frequency rate and longer train duration than necessary to evoke maximal response duration. We demonstrated that the temporal properties of the evoked response can be both predicted by certain response metrics and modulated via alterations to the stimulation signal parameters.

Transportation energy scenario analysis technical report No. 1: examination of four existing scenarios. [Projections for 1985, 1995, 2010, and 2025

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernard, M. J.; LaBelle, S. J.; Millar, M.; Walbridge, E. W.

1978-03-01

This project aims to provide the DOE Division of Transportation Energy Conservation (TEC) with a long-range forecasting framework in which to evaluate potential changes to the U.S. Transportation system. This initial report examines four existing, but diverse, 50-year scenarios of the future. It describes the scenarios and summarizes the changes in the major transportation system variables that would occur through the year 2025 in each scenario. Projections of variables of interest to TEC are explored, including passenger or ton miles and energy consumption. Each is reported for 1985, 1995, 2010, and 2025 under four scenarios: success, moderate economic growth, energy crisis, and transformation. The philosophy of this project is that the transportation system must support future lifestyles; by examining potential future lifestyles the required transportation system changes can be deduced. The project: (a) develops a set of scenarios that span likely futures; (b) describes the lifestyles in each scenario in order; (c) determines the characteristics of the transportation system supporting those lifestyles; (d) indicates transportation technologies and policies necessary in that system; and (e) derives the energy characteristics of that system. The implications of the four existing scenarios are examined with emphasis on current TEC electric-vehicle development. This preliminary investigation will be followed by detailed-scenario building (modifying existing scenarios or developing new ones) and generation of lifestyles and transportation system demands under each of the scenarios. This work will be reported in October 1978.

Temporal suppression and augmentation of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verhulst, Sarah; Harte, James; Dau, Torsten

2008-01-01

This study investigates and models temporal suppression of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs). This suppression-effect is created when a suppressor-click is presented close in time to a test-click. The analysis was carried out for short time-frames of short- and long-latency CEOAEs...... suppression is present in all CEOAEs for inter-click intervals (ICIs) less than 8 ms. The long-latency CEOAEs showed augmentation (i.e., negative suppression) for ICIs of 6-7 ms which was not reported for the short-latency CEOAE at these ICIs. A phenomenological approach is adopted here to explain both...

MIV Project: Mission scenario

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravazzotti, Mariolina T.; Jørgensen, John Leif; Thuesen, Gøsta

1997-01-01

Under the ESA contract #11453/95/NL/JG(SC), aiming at assessing the feasibility of Rendez-vous and docking of unmanned spacecrafts, a msiision scenario was defined. This report describes the secquence of manouvres and task allocations for such missions.......Under the ESA contract #11453/95/NL/JG(SC), aiming at assessing the feasibility of Rendez-vous and docking of unmanned spacecrafts, a msiision scenario was defined. This report describes the secquence of manouvres and task allocations for such missions....

An Experiment on Graph Analysis Methodologies for Scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brothers, Alan J.; Whitney, Paul D.; Wolf, Katherine E.; Kuchar, Olga A.; Chin, George

2005-09-30

Visual graph representations are increasingly used to represent, display, and explore scenarios and the structure of organizations. The graph representations of scenarios are readily understood, and commercial software is available to create and manage these representations. The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to explore whether these graph representations support quantitative assessments of the underlying scenarios. The underlying structure of the scenarios is the information that is being targeted in the experiment and the extent to which the scenarios are similar in content. An experiment was designed that incorporated both the contents of the scenarios and analysts’ graph representations of the scenarios. The scenarios’ content was represented graphically by analysts, and both the structure and the semantics of the graph representation were attempted to be used to understand the content. The structure information was not found to be discriminating for the content of the scenarios in this experiment; but, the semantic information was discriminating.

Action research Toolkit II: The Scenario Workshop

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard

2003-01-01

The article describes the scenario workshop within the action research paradigm. In addtion, the maina phases and the functions of the facilitator and the participants are outlined. Finally,it describes and analyses the experiences of using the scenario workshop in practice.......The article describes the scenario workshop within the action research paradigm. In addtion, the maina phases and the functions of the facilitator and the participants are outlined. Finally,it describes and analyses the experiences of using the scenario workshop in practice....

Novel Eye Movement Disorders in Whipple’s Disease—Staircase Horizontal Saccades, Gaze-Evoked Nystagmus, and Esotropia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aasef G. Shaikh

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Whipple’s disease, a rare systemic infectious disorder, is complicated by the involvement of the central nervous system in about 5% of cases. Oscillations of the eyes and the jaw, called oculo-masticatory myorhythmia, are pathognomonic of the central nervous system involvement but are often absent. Typical manifestations of the central nervous system Whipple’s disease are cognitive impairment, parkinsonism mimicking progressive supranuclear palsy with vertical saccade slowing, and up-gaze range limitation. We describe a unique patient with the central nervous system Whipple’s disease who had typical features, including parkinsonism, cognitive impairment, and up-gaze limitation; but also had diplopia, esotropia with mild horizontal (abduction more than adduction limitation, and vertigo. The patient also had gaze-evoked nystagmus and staircase horizontal saccades. Latter were thought to be due to mal-programmed small saccades followed by a series of corrective saccades. The saccades were disconjugate due to the concurrent strabismus. Also, we noted disconjugacy in the slow phase of gaze-evoked nystagmus. The disconjugacy of the slow phase of gaze-evoked nystagmus was larger during monocular viewing condition. We propose that interaction of the strabismic drifts of the covered eyes and the nystagmus drift, putatively at the final common pathway might lead to such disconjugacy.

Abnormalities in auditory evoked potentials of 75 patients with Arnold-Chiari malformations types I and II

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Henriques Filho Paulo Sergio A.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency and degree of severity of abnormalities in the auditory pathways in patients with Chiari malformations type I and II. METHOD: This is a series-of-case descriptive study in which the possible presence of auditory pathways abnormalities in 75 patients (48 children and 27 adults with Chiari malformation types I and II were analyzed by means of auditory evoked potentials evaluation. The analysis was based on the determination of intervals among potentials peak values, absolute latency and amplitude ratio among potentials V and I. RESULTS: Among the 75 patients studied, 27 (36% disclosed Arnold-Chiari malformations type I and 48 (64% showed Arnold-Chiari malformations type II. Fifty-three (71% of these patients showed some degree of auditory evoked potential abnormalities. Tests were normal in the remaining 22 (29% patients. CONCLUSION: Auditory evoked potentials testing can be considered a valuable instrument for diagnosis and evaluation of brain stem functional abnormalities in patients with Arnold-Chiari malformations type I and II. The determination of the presence and degree of severity of these abnormalities can be contributory to the prevention of further handicaps in these patients either through physical therapy or by means of precocious corrective surgical intervention.

Effect of surgery on sensory threshold and somatosensory evoked potentials after skin stimulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, C; Hansen, O B; Kehlet, H

1990-01-01

We have studied the effect of surgical injury on cutaneous sensitivity and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) to dermatomal electrical stimulation in 10 patients undergoing hysterectomy. Forty-eight hours after surgery, sensory threshold increased from 2.2 (SEM 0.3) mA to 4.4 (1.1) mA (P less...

Water use implications of biofuel scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Teter, J.; Mishra, G. S.; Yeh, S.

2012-12-01

Existing studies rely upon attributional lifecycle analysis (LCA) approaches to estimate water intensity of biofuels in liters of irrigated/evapotranspiration water consumed for biofuel production. Such approaches can be misleading. From a policy perspective, a better approach is to compare differential water impacts among scenarios on a landscape scale. We address the shortcomings of existing studies by using consequential LCA, and incorporate direct and indirect land use (changes) of biofuel scenarios, marginal vs. average biofuel water use estimates, future climate, and geographic heterogeneity. We use the outputs of a partial equilibrium economic model, climate and soil data, and a process-based crop-soil-climate-water model to estimate differences in green water (GW - directly from precipitation to soil) and blue water (BW - supplied by irrigation) use among three scenarios: (1) business-as-usual (BAU), (2) Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandates, and (3) a national Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) plus the RFS scenario. We use spatial statistical methods to interpolate key climatic variables using daily climate observations for the contiguous USA. Finally, we use FAO's crop model AquaCrop to estimate the domestic GW and BW impacts of biofuel policies from 2007-2035. We assess the differences among scenarios along the following metrics: (1) crop area expansion at the county level, including prime and marginal lands, (2) crop-specific and overall annual/seasonal water balances including (a) water inflows (irrigation & precipitation), (b) crop-atmosphere interactions: (evaporation & transpiration) and (d) soil-water flows (runoff & soil infiltration), in mm 3 /acre over the relevant time period. The functional unit of analysis is the BW and GW requirements of biofuels (mm3 per Btu biofuel) at the county level. Differential water use impacts among scenarios are a primarily a function of (1) land use conversion, in particular that of formerly uncropped land classes

CIEMAT analyses of transition fuel cycle scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez-Velarde, F.; Gonzalez-Romero, E.M.

2010-01-01

The efficient design of strategies for the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy or the phase-out of this technology is possible after the study of transition scenarios from the current fuel cycle to a future one with advanced technologies and concepts. CIEMAT has participated in numerous fuel cycle scenarios studies for more than a decade and, from some years ago, special attention has been put in the study of transition scenarios. In this paper, the main characteristics of each studied transition scenario are described. The main results and partial conclusions of each scenario are also analyzed. As general conclusions of transition studies, we highlight that the advantages of advanced technologies in transition scenarios can be obtained by countries or regions with sufficiently large nuclear parks, with a long-term implementation of the strategy. For small countries, these advantages are also accessible with an affordable cost, by means of the regional collaboration during several decades. (authors)

Differential effect of intravenous S-ketamine and fentanyl on atypical odontalgia and capsaicin-evoked pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baad-Hansen, Lene; Juhl, Gitte Irene; Jensen, Troels Staehelin

2007-01-01

temporal summation were compared between groups and sides. Both drugs failed to produce an analgesic effect on spontaneous AO pain, but fentanyl effectively reduced capsaicin-evoked pain. AO patients showed increased sensitivity to capsaicin and heat pain, but no significant differences in cold......Atypical odontalgia (AO) is an intraoral pain condition of currently unknown mechanisms. In 10 AO patients and 10 matched healthy controls, we examined the effect of intravenous infusion of an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist S-ketamine and a mu-opioid agonist fentanyl on spontaneous...... AO pain and on an acute intraoral nociceptive input evoked by topical application of capsaicin. The drugs were administered in a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over manner. Furthermore, measures of intraoral sensitivity to mechanical and thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST) including...

Subsequent donation requests among 2472 unrelated hematopoietic progenitor cell donors are associated with bone marrow harvest

Science.gov (United States)

Lown, Robert N.; Tulpule, Sameer; Russell, Nigel H.; Craddock, Charles F.; Roest, Rochelle; Madrigal, J. Alejandro; Shaw, Bronwen E.

2013-01-01

Approximately 1 in 20 unrelated donors are asked to make a second donation of hematopoietic progenitor cells, the majority for the same patient. Anthony Nolan undertook a study of subsequent hematopoietic progenitor cell donations made by its donors from 2005 to 2011, with the aims of predicting those donors more likely to be called for a second donation, assessing rates of serious adverse reactions and examining harvest yields. This was not a study of factors predictive of second allografts. During the study period 2591 donations were made, of which 120 (4.6%) were subsequent donations. The median time between donations was 179 days (range, 21–4016). Indications for a second allogeneic transplant included primary graft failure (11.7%), secondary graft failure (53.2%), relapse (30.6%) and others (1.8%). On multivariate analysis, bone marrow harvest at first donation was associated with subsequent donation requests (odds ratio 2.00, P=0.001). The rate of serious adverse reactions in donors making a subsequent donation appeared greater than the rate in those making a first donation (relative risk=3.29, P=0.005). Harvest yields per kilogram recipient body weight were equivalent between donations, although females appeared to have a lower yield at the subsequent donation. Knowledge of these factors will help unrelated donor registries to counsel their donors. PMID:23812935

Scenarios of future energy intensities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

In this chapter, the authors present scenarios of potential change in energy intensities in the OECD countries and in the Soviet Union. These scenarios are meant to illustrate how intensities might evolve over the next 20 years given different conditions with respect to energy prices, energy-efficiency policies, and other key factors. Changes in intensity will also be affected by the rates of growth and stock turnover in each sector. They have not tried to forecast how activity levels and structure will evolve. However, the OECD scenarios assume a world in which GDP averages growth in the 2-3%/year range, with some differences among countries. For the Soviet Union, the degree and pace of intensity decline will be highly dependent on the success of the transition to a market economy; each scenario explicitly envisions a different degree of success. They have not constructed comparable scenarios for the developing countries. The scenarios presented in this chapter do not predict what will happen in the future. They believe, however, that they illustrate a plausible set of outcomes if energy prices, policies, programs, and other factors evolve as described in each case. With higher energy prices and vigorous policies and programs, intensities in the OECD countries in 2010 could be nearly 50% less on average than the level where trends seem to be point. In the former Soviet Union, a combination of rapid, successful economic reform and extra effort to improve energy efficiency might result in average intensity being nearly 40% less than in a slow reform case. And in the LDCs, a mixture of sound policies, programs, and energy pricing reform could also lead to intensities being far lower than they would be otherwise. 8 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab

Brand’s CSR Influence on Consumers’ Prosocial Behavior in Unrelated Domains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Negrão

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study proposes that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR activity may positively influence consumers’ prosocial behavior. However, this effect is moderated by the consumer-brand social distance. In two experiments, we show that consumers close to the brand become more prosocial in situations unrelated to the cause supported by the company when they are exposed to the brand’s prosocial communication, compared to those who are distant from the brand. This paper contributes to furthering CSR theory by showing the positive effects of brand CSR initiatives on secondary social outcomes, such as consumers’ volunteering and donating money to a social cause not closely related to the one promoted by the company. Besides, this paper also contributes theoretically by showing the moderation role played by consumer-brand social distance. Important implications for the role of CSR are useful for companies and society in general, since the paper demonstrates that brand’s prosocial behavior can influence consumers’ prosocial behavior beyond the brand context only.

Energy scenarios for the 21. century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lauerman, V.

2002-01-01

The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) has adopted a scenario approach in developing its energy outlook to 2025. These scenarios can be used in developing strategies to optimize opportunities and avoid the dangers that often accompany the more deterministic approach to forecasting. The scenarios are not predictions, but are instead feasible outcomes for the future. They encompass 5 major areas of uncertainty for the world energy market through 2025 that impact energy demand and fuel mix. These include the economy, technology, energy policy, resource availability, and market structure. The drivers for the energy scenarios are the environment, demography, economics, culture geopolitics and technology. The paper referred to the world energy market, the OECD energy markets, the non-OECD energy markets and the FSU energy markets under 3 energy scenarios including: (1) the material world in which the new economy drives the global economy, (2) a very dark Orwellian world in which there is a rise in terrorism and a breakdown in international cooperation, and (3) a utopia in which the major powers become increasingly serious about achieving sustainable development. 22 refs., 48 figs

Future nuclear energy scenarios for Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roelofs, F.; Van Heek, A.

2010-01-01

Nuclear energy is back on the agenda worldwide. In order to prepare for the next decades and to set priorities in nuclear R and D and investment, market share scenarios are evaluated. This allows to identify the triggers which influence the market penetration of future nuclear reactor technologies. To this purpose, scenarios for a future nuclear reactor park in Europe have been analysed applying an integrated dynamic process modelling technique. Various market share scenarios for nuclear energy are derived including sub-variants with regard to the intra-nuclear options taken, e.g. introduction date of Gen-III (i.e. EPR) and Gen-IV (i.e. SCWR, HTR, FR) reactors, level of reprocessing, and so forth. The assessment was undertaken using the DANESS code which allows to provide a complete picture of mass-flow and economics of the various nuclear energy system scenarios. The analyses show that the future European nuclear park will exist of combinations of Gen-III and Gen-IV reactors. This mix will always consist of a set of reactor types each having its specific strengths. Furthermore, the analyses highlight the triggers influencing the choice between different nuclear energy deployment scenarios. In addition, a dynamic assessment is made with regard to manpower requirements for the construction of a future nuclear fleet in the different scenarios. (authors)

Functional MRI brain imaging studies using the Contact Heat Evoked Potential Stimulator (CHEPS in a human volunteer topical capsaicin pain model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenoy R

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Ravikiran Shenoy1, Katherine Roberts1, Anastasia Papadaki2, Donald McRobbie2, Maarten Timmers3, Theo Meert3, Praveen Anand11Peripheral Neuropathy Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London; 2Imaging Sciences Department, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom; 3Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Beerse, BelgiumAbstract: Acute application of topical capsaicin produces spontaneous burning and stinging pain similar to that seen in some neuropathic states, with local hyperalgesia. Use of capsaicin applied topically or injected intradermally has been described as a model for neuropathic pain, with patterns of activation in brain regions assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and positron emission tomography. The Contact Heat Evoked Potential Stimulator (CHEPS is a noninvasive clinically practical method of stimulating cutaneous A-delta nociceptors. In this study, topical capsaicin (1% was applied to the left volar forearm for 15 minutes of twelve adult healthy human volunteers. fMRI scans and a visual analog pain score were recorded during CHEPS stimulation precapsaicin and postcapsaicin application. Following capsaicin application there was a significant increase in visual analog scale (mean ± standard error of the mean; precapsaicin 26.4 ± 5.3; postcapsaicin 48.9 ± 6.0; P < 0.0001. fMRI demonstrated an overall increase in areas of activation, with a significant increase in the contralateral insular signal (mean ± standard error of the mean; precapsaicin 0.434 ± 0.03; postcapsaicin 0.561 ± 0.07; P = 0.047. The authors of this paper recently published a study in which CHEPS-evoked A-delta cerebral potential amplitudes were found to be decreased postcapsaicin application. In patients with neuropathic pain, evoked pain and fMRI brain responses are typically increased, while A-delta evoked potential amplitudes are decreased. The protocol of recording fMRI following CHEPS stimulation

Syria and Iran: what next? Three potential scenarios; Syrie, Iran: et maintenant? Trois scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tertrais, Bruno [Fondation pour la recherche strategique, 4 bis rue des Patures 75016 Paris (France)

2013-10-15

Now that the United Nations resolution has been voted, the most complicated task begins: ensuring that Syria entirely and definitively gets rid of its chemical arsenal, which unfortunately has every chance of enduring. In this respect three scenarios are possible, each of which would have different repercussions for the region, notably regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, which is now being considered in a new light following Hassan Rohani's charm offensive. Yet, these consequences could also have a profound and lasting effect on the relationship between the United States and its allies. In the first scenario the agreement with Syria will be applied in a satisfactory manner, and could serve as a positive example to Iran, which might be more inclined to signing a nuclear deal. To date, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Guide, has been wary of the ongoing negotiations, considering that it is impossible to trust the Western States whose sole objective is the downfall of the Iranian regime. Russia, buoyed by its new role in the region, would contribute in a more constructive manner to the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue... Care must be taken, however, as Iran could just as well conclude as a result of the events of the summer of 2013, particularly from U.S. procrastination, that Western States are not willing to use force in the Middle East, and thus on the contrary draw out the negotiations without fearing the possibility of a U.S. strike. According to the second scenario, Syria will not implement the agreement, the crisis will be renewed, and will end with a Western strike, most probably without a U.N. mandate. This scenario would boost the confidence of U.S. allies in the region, who have a tendency to doubt the United States' determination to defend them. This could be seen as a warning to Iran, but the lessons that Iran would take from this scenario would undoubtedly depend on the balance of power in Tehran at the time: the moderates would push for a deal to avoid

Chaos analysis of the electrical signal time series evoked by acupuncture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Jiang [School of Electrical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)]. E-mail: jiangwang@tju.edu.cn; Sun Li [School of Electrical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Fei Xiangyang [School of Electrical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Zhu Bing [Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700 (China)

2007-08-15

This paper employs chaos theory to analyze the time series of electrical signal which are evoked by different acupuncture methods applied to the Zusanli point. The phase space is reconstructed and the embedding parameters are obtained by the mutual information and Cao's methods. Subsequently, the largest Lyapunov exponent is calculated. From the analyses we can conclude that the time series are chaotic. In addition, differences between various acupuncture methods are discussed.

Impact of substance P on the correlation of spike train evoked by electro acupuncture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Chen; Zhang, Xuan; Wang, Jiang; Guo, Yi; Zhao, Xue; Guo, Yong-Ming

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We analyze spike trains induced by EA before and after inhibiting SP in PC6 area. • Inhibiting SP leads to an increase of spiking rate of median nerve. • SP may modulate membrane potential to affect the spiking rate. • SP has an influence on long-range correlation of spike train evoked by EA. • SP play an important role in EA-induced neural spiking and encoding. - Abstract: Substance P (SP) participates in the neural signal transmission evoked by electro-acupuncture (EA). This paper investigates the impact of SP on the correlation of spike train in the median nerve evoked by EA at 'Neiguan' acupoint (PC6). It shows that the spiking rate and interspike interval (ISI) distribution change obviously after inhibiting SP. This variation of spiking activity indicates that SP affects the temporal structure of spike train through modulating the action potential on median nerve filaments. Furtherly, the correlation coefficient and scaling exponent are considered to measure the correlation of spike train. Scaled Windowed Variance (SWV) method is applied to calculate scaling exponent which quantifies the long-range correlation of the neural electrical signals. It is found that the correlation coefficients of ISI increase after inhibiting SP released. In addition, the scaling exponents of neuronal spike train have significant differences between before and after inhibiting SP. These findings demonstrate that SP has an influence on the long-range correlation of spike train. Our results indicate that SP may play an important role in EA-induced neural spiking and encoding.

Comparison of future energy scenarios for Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kwon, Pil Seok; Østergaard, Poul Alberg

2012-01-01

Scenario-making is becoming an important tool in energy policy making and energy systems analyses. This article probes into the making of scenarios for Denmark by presenting a comparison of three future scenarios which narrate 100% renewable energy system for Denmark in 2050; IDA 2050, Climate...... Commission 2050, and CEESA (Coherent Energy and Environmental System Analysis). Generally, although with minor differences, the scenarios suggest the same technological solutions for the future such as expansion of biomass usage and wind power capacity, integration of transport sector into the other energy...

USING UML SCENARIOS IN B2B SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Jakimi

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Scenarios has become a popular technique for requirements elicitation and specification building. Since scenarios capture only partial descriptions of the system behavior, an approach for scenario composition and/or integration is needed to produce more complete specifications. The Unified Modeling Language (UML, which has become a standard notation for object-oriented modeling, provides a suitable framework for scenario acquisition using Use Case diagrams and Sequence or Collaboration diagrams. In this paper, we suggest an algorithmic and tool support for composing and integrating scenarios that are represented in form of sequence diagrams. We suggest four operators (;: sequential operator, ||: concurrent operator, ?: conditional operator and  * :iteration operator to compose a set of scenarios that describe a use case of a given system. In this paper, we suggest also to apply the scenario approach to B2B systems (Business to Business. We propose to develop B2B systems as a three activities process deriving formal specifications and code skeletons from UML scenarios. Activities of this proposed process are generally automatic and are supported by a set of developed algorithms and tools.

Scenario Archetypes: Converging Rather than Diverging Themes

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Jon P. Sadler

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Future scenarios provide challenging, plausible and relevant stories about how the future could unfold. Urban Futures (UF research has identified a substantial set (>450 of seemingly disparate scenarios published over the period 1997–2011 and within this research, a sub-set of >160 scenarios has been identified (and categorized based on their narratives according to the structure first proposed by the Global Scenario Group (GSG in 1997; three world types (Business as Usual, Barbarization, and Great Transitions and six scenarios, two for each world type (Policy Reform—PR, Market Forces—MF, Breakdown—B, Fortress World—FW, Eco-Communalism—EC and New Sustainability Paradigm—NSP. It is suggested that four of these scenario archetypes (MF, PR, NSP and FW are sufficiently distinct to facilitate active stakeholder engagement in futures thinking. Moreover they are accompanied by a well-established, internally consistent set of narratives that provide a deeper understanding of the key fundamental drivers (e.g., STEEP—Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental and Political that could bring about realistic world changes through a push or a pull effect. This is testament to the original concept of the GSG scenarios and their development and refinement over a 16 year period.

Estimasi Model Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR dengan Metode Generalized Least Square (GLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ade Widyaningsih

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Regression analysis is a statistical tool that is used to determine the relationship between two or more quantitative variables so that one variable can be predicted from the other variables. A method that can used to obtain a good estimation in the regression analysis is ordinary least squares method. The least squares method is used to estimate the parameters of one or more regression but relationships among the errors in the response of other estimators are not allowed. One way to overcome this problem is Seemingly Unrelated Regression model (SUR in which parameters are estimated using Generalized Least Square (GLS. In this study, the author applies SUR model using GLS method on world gasoline demand data. The author obtains that SUR using GLS is better than OLS because SUR produce smaller errors than the OLS.

Estimasi Model Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR dengan Metode Generalized Least Square (GLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ade Widyaningsih

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Regression analysis is a statistical tool that is used to determine the relationship between two or more quantitative variables so that one variable can be predicted from the other variables. A method that can used to obtain a good estimation in the regression analysis is ordinary least squares method. The least squares method is used to estimate the parameters of one or more regression but relationships among the errors in the response of other estimators are not allowed. One way to overcome this problem is Seemingly Unrelated Regression model (SUR in which parameters are estimated using Generalized Least Square (GLS. In this study, the author applies SUR model using GLS method on world gasoline demand data. The author obtains that SUR using GLS is better than OLS because SUR produce smaller errors than the OLS.

Free-boundary simulations of ITER advanced scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besseghir, K.

2013-06-01

The successful operation of ITER advanced scenarios is likely to be a major step forward in the development of controlled fusion as a power production source. ITER advanced scenarios raise specific challenges that are not encountered in presently-operated tokamaks. In this thesis, it is argued that ITER advanced operation may benefit from optimal control techniques. Optimal control ensures high performance operation while guaranteeing tokamak integrity. The application of optimal control techniques for ITER operation is assessed and it is concluded that robust optimisation is appropriate for ITER operation of advanced scenarios. Real-time optimisation schemes are discussed and it is concluded that the necessary conditions of optimality tracking approach may potentially be appropriate for ITER operation, thus offering a viable closed-loop optimal control approach. Simulations of ITER advanced operation are necessary in order to assess the present ITER design and uncover the main difficulties that may be encountered during advanced operation. The DINA-CH and CRONOS full tokamak simulator is used to simulate the operation of the ITER hybrid and steady-state scenarios. It is concluded that the present ITER design is appropriate for performing a hybrid scenario pulse lasting more than 1000 sec, with a flat-top plasma current of 12 MA, and a fusion gain of Q ≅ 8. Similarly, a steady-state scenario without internal transport barrier, with a flat-top plasma current of 10 MA, and with a fusion gain of Q ≅ 5 can be realised using the present ITER design. The sensitivity of the advanced scenarios with respect to transport models and physical assumption is assessed using CRONOS. It is concluded that the hybrid scenario and the steady-state scenario are highly sensitive to the L-H transition timing, to the value of the confinement enhancement factor, to the heating and current drive scenario during ramp-up, and, to a lesser extent, to the density peaking and pedestal

Free-boundary simulations of ITER advanced scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Besseghir, K.

2013-06-15

The successful operation of ITER advanced scenarios is likely to be a major step forward in the development of controlled fusion as a power production source. ITER advanced scenarios raise specific challenges that are not encountered in presently-operated tokamaks. In this thesis, it is argued that ITER advanced operation may benefit from optimal control techniques. Optimal control ensures high performance operation while guaranteeing tokamak integrity. The application of optimal control techniques for ITER operation is assessed and it is concluded that robust optimisation is appropriate for ITER operation of advanced scenarios. Real-time optimisation schemes are discussed and it is concluded that the necessary conditions of optimality tracking approach may potentially be appropriate for ITER operation, thus offering a viable closed-loop optimal control approach. Simulations of ITER advanced operation are necessary in order to assess the present ITER design and uncover the main difficulties that may be encountered during advanced operation. The DINA-CH and CRONOS full tokamak simulator is used to simulate the operation of the ITER hybrid and steady-state scenarios. It is concluded that the present ITER design is appropriate for performing a hybrid scenario pulse lasting more than 1000 sec, with a flat-top plasma current of 12 MA, and a fusion gain of Q ≅ 8. Similarly, a steady-state scenario without internal transport barrier, with a flat-top plasma current of 10 MA, and with a fusion gain of Q ≅ 5 can be realised using the present ITER design. The sensitivity of the advanced scenarios with respect to transport models and physical assumption is assessed using CRONOS. It is concluded that the hybrid scenario and the steady-state scenario are highly sensitive to the L-H transition timing, to the value of the confinement enhancement factor, to the heating and current drive scenario during ramp-up, and, to a lesser extent, to the density peaking and pedestal

The SAFRR Tsunami Scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, K.; Jones, Lucile M.; Ross, Stephanie L.; Borrero, J.; Bwarie, J.; Dykstra, D.; Geist, Eric L.; Johnson, L.; Kirby, Stephen H.; Long, K.; Lynett, P.; Miller, K.; Mortensen, Carl E.; Perry, S.; Plumlee, G.; Real, C.; Ritchie, L.; Scawthorn, C.; Thio, H.K.; Wein, Anne; Whitmore, P.; Wilson, R.; Wood, Nathan J.; Ostbo, Bruce I.; Oates, Don

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey and several partners operate a program called Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) that produces (among other things) emergency planning scenarios for natural disasters. The scenarios show how science can be used to enhance community resiliency. The SAFRR Tsunami Scenario describes potential impacts of a hypothetical, but realistic, tsunami affecting California (as well as the west coast of the United States, Alaska, and Hawaii) for the purpose of informing planning and mitigation decisions by a variety of stakeholders. The scenario begins with an Mw 9.1 earthquake off the Alaska Peninsula. With Pacific basin-wide modeling, we estimate up to 5m waves and 10 m/sec currents would strike California 5 hours later. In marinas and harbors, 13,000 small boats are damaged or sunk (1 in 3) at a cost of $350 million, causing navigation and environmental problems. Damage in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach amount to $110 million, half of it water damage to vehicles and containerized cargo. Flooding of coastal communities affects 1800 city blocks, resulting in $640 million in damage. The tsunami damages 12 bridge abutments and 16 lane-miles of coastal roadway, costing $85 million to repair. Fire and business interruption losses will substantially add to direct losses. Flooding affects 170,000 residents and workers. A wide range of environmental impacts could occur. An extensive public education and outreach program is underway, as well as an evaluation of the overall effort.

Current scenario

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Current scenario. India , like other parts of the world, is also facing the problem of increase in the incidence of drug resistance in tuberculosis. Multi-drug resistance (MDR, resistance to RIF & INH) and extensively drug resistant strains (X-DR, resistance to RIF, INH, FQs ...

Maximising the Effectiveness of a Scenario Planning Process: Tips for Scenario Planners in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sayers, Nicola

2011-01-01

Scenario planning is a tool which can help organisations and people to think about, and plan for, the long-term future. In basic terms, it involves creating a number of in-depth scenarios (stories), each of which tells of a different possible future for an organisation or issue, and considering how each different future might influence…

Synaptically evoked glutamate transporter currents in Spinal Dorsal Horn Astrocytes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dougherty Patrick M

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Removing and sequestering synaptically released glutamate from the extracellular space is carried out by specific plasma membrane transporters that are primarily located in astrocytes. Glial glutamate transporter function can be monitored by recording the currents that are produced by co-transportation of Na+ ions with the uptake of glutamate. The goal of this study was to characterize glutamate transporter function in astrocytes of the spinal cord dorsal horn in real time by recording synaptically evoked glutamate transporter currents. Results Whole-cell patch clamp recordings were obtained from astrocytes in the spinal substantia gelatinosa (SG area in spinal slices of young adult rats. Glutamate transporter currents were evoked in these cells by electrical stimulation at the spinal dorsal root entry zone in the presence of bicuculline, strychnine, DNQX and D-AP5. Transporter currents were abolished when synaptic transmission was blocked by TTX or Cd2+. Pharmacological studies identified two subtypes of glutamate transporters in spinal astrocytes, GLAST and GLT-1. Glutamate transporter currents were graded with stimulus intensity, reaching peak responses at 4 to 5 times activation threshold, but were reduced following low-frequency (0.1 – 1 Hz repetitive stimulation. Conclusion These results suggest that glutamate transporters of spinal astrocytes could be activated by synaptic activation, and recording glutamate transporter currents may provide a means of examining the real time physiological responses of glial cells in spinal sensory processing, sensitization, hyperalgesia and chronic pain.

Stress-evoked opioid release inhibits pain in major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Frew, Ashley K; Drummond, Peter D

2008-10-15

To determine whether stress-evoked release of endogenous opioids might account for hypoalgesia in major depressive disorder (MDD), the mu-opioid antagonist naltrexone (50mg) or placebo was administered double-blind to 24 participants with MDD and to 31 non-depressed controls. Eighty minutes later participants completed a painful foot cold pressor test and, after a 5-min interval, began a 25-min arithmetic task interspersed with painful electric shocks. Ten minutes later participants completed a second cold pressor test. Negative affect was greater in participants with MDD than in non-depressed controls throughout the experiment, and increased significantly in both groups during mental arithmetic. Before the math task, naltrexone unmasked direct linear relationships between severity of depression, negative affect while resting quietly, and cold-induced pain in participants with MDD. In contrast, facilitatory effects of naltrexone on cold- and shock-induced pain were greatest in controls with the lowest depression scores. Naltrexone strengthened the relationship between negative affect and shock-induced pain during the math task, particularly in the depressed group, and heightened anxiety in both groups toward the end of the task. Thus, mu-opioid activity apparently masked a positive association between negative affect and pain in the most distressed participants. These findings suggest that psychological distress inhibits pain via stress-evoked release of opioid peptides in severe cases of MDD. In addition, tonic endogenous opioid neurotransmission could inhibit depressive symptoms and pain in people with low depression scores.

Toward Managing & Automating CyberCIEGE Scenario Definition File Creation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johns, Kenneth

2004-01-01

.... These scenarios are written CyberCIEGE Scenarios Definition Language. Unfortunately, the trade-off for flexibility, extendibility and fully customizable Scenarios is syntax complexity in the Scenarios definition language...

A Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential Brain-Computer Interface System Evaluation as an In-Vehicle Warning Device

Science.gov (United States)

Riyahi, Pouria

This thesis is part of current research at Center for Intelligence Systems Research (CISR) at The George Washington University for developing new in-vehicle warning systems via Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). The purpose of conducting this research is to contribute to the current gap between BCI and in-vehicle safety studies. It is based on the premise that accurate and timely monitoring of human (driver) brain's signal to external stimuli could significantly aide in detection of driver's intentions and development of effective warning systems. The thesis starts with introducing the concept of BCI and its development history while it provides a literature review on the nature of brain signals. The current advancement and increasing demand for commercial and non-medical BCI products are described. In addition, the recent research attempts in transportation safety to study drivers' behavior or responses through brain signals are reviewed. The safety studies, which are focused on employing a reliable and practical BCI system as an in-vehicle assistive device, are also introduced. A major focus of this thesis research has been on the evaluation and development of the signal processing algorithms which can effectively filter and process brain signals when the human subject is subjected to Visual LED (Light Emitting Diodes) stimuli at different frequencies. The stimulated brain generates a voltage potential, referred to as Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP). Therefore, a newly modified analysis algorithm for detecting the brain visual signals is proposed. These algorithms are designed to reach a satisfactory accuracy rate without preliminary trainings, hence focusing on eliminating the need for lengthy training of human subjects. Another important concern is the ability of the algorithms to find correlation of brain signals with external visual stimuli in real-time. The developed analysis models are based on algorithms which are capable of generating results

Adaptive memory: the survival scenario enhances item-specific processing relative to a moving scenario.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Daniel J; Hart, Joshua; Griffith, Samantha E; Burns, Amy D

2013-01-01

Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada (2007) found that retention of words rated for their relevance to survival is superior to that of words encoded under numerous other deep processing conditions. They suggested that our memory systems might have evolved to confer an advantage for survival-relevant information. Burns, Burns, and Hwang (2011) suggested a two-process explanation of the proximate mechanisms responsible for the survival advantage. Whereas most control tasks encourage only one type of processing, the survival task encourages both item-specific and relational processing. They found that when control tasks encouraged both types of processing, the survival processing advantage was eliminated. However, none of their control conditions included non-survival scenarios (e.g., moving, vacation, etc.), so it is not clear how this two-process explanation would explain the survival advantage when scenarios are used as control conditions. The present experiments replicated the finding that the survival scenario improves recall relative to a moving scenario in both a between-lists and within-list design and also provided evidence that this difference was accompanied by an item-specific processing difference, not a difference in relational processing. The implications of these results for several existing accounts of the survival processing effect are discussed.

Long-Term Visuo-Gustatory Appetitive and Aversive Conditioning Potentiate Human Visual Evoked Potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gert R. J. Christoffersen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Human recognition of foods and beverages are often based on visual cues associated with flavors. The dynamics of neurophysiological plasticity related to acquisition of such long-term associations has only recently become the target of investigation. In the present work, the effects of appetitive and aversive visuo-gustatory conditioning were studied with high density EEG-recordings focusing on late components in the visual evoked potentials (VEPs, specifically the N2-P3 waves. Unfamiliar images were paired with either a pleasant or an unpleasant juice and VEPs evoked by the images were compared before and 1 day after the pairings. In electrodes located over posterior visual cortex areas, the following changes were observed after conditioning: the amplitude from the N2-peak to the P3-peak increased and the N2 peak delay was reduced. The percentage increase of N2-to-P3 amplitudes was asymmetrically distributed over the posterior hemispheres despite the fact that the images were bilaterally symmetrical across the two visual hemifields. The percentage increases of N2-to-P3 amplitudes in each experimental subject correlated with the subject’s evaluation of positive or negative hedonic valences of the two juices. The results from 118 scalp electrodes gave surface maps of theta power distributions showing increased power over posterior visual areas after the pairings. Source current distributions calculated from swLORETA revealed that visual evoked currents rose as a result of conditioning in five cortical regions—from primary visual areas and into the inferior temporal gyrus (ITG. These learning-induced changes were seen after both appetitive and aversive training while a sham trained control group showed no changes. It is concluded that long-term visuo-gustatory conditioning potentiated the N2-P3 complex, and it is suggested that the changes are regulated by the perceived hedonic valence of the US.

Estimates of future climate based on SRES emission scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godal, Odd; Sygna, Linda; Fuglestvedt, Jan S.; Berntsen, Terje

2000-02-14

The preliminary emission scenarios in the Special Report on Emission Scenario (SRES) developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will eventually replace the old IS92 scenarios. By running these scenarios in a simple climate model (SCM) we estimate future temperature increase between 1.7 {sup o}C and 2.8 {sup o}C from 1990 to to 2100. The global sea level rise over the same period is between 0.33 m and 0.45 m. Compared to the previous IPCC scenarios (IS92) the SRES scenarios generally results in changes in both development over time and level of emissions, concentrations, radiative forcing, and finally temperature change and sea level rise. The most striking difference between the IS92 scenarios and the SRES scenarios is the lower level of SO{sub 2} emissions. The range in CO{sub 2} emissions is also expected to be narrower in the new scenarios. The SRES scenarios result in a narrower range both for temperature change and sea level rise from 1990 to 2100 compared to the range estimated for the IS92 scenarios. (author)

Event-related fields evoked by vocal response inhibition: a comparison of younger and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Meneses, Leidy J; Johnson, Blake W; Sowman, Paul F

2016-06-01

The current study examined event-related fields (ERFs) evoked by vocal response inhibition in a stimulus-selective stop-signal task. We compared inhibition-related ERFs across a younger and an older group of adults. Behavioural results revealed that stop-signal reaction times (RTs), go-RTs, ignore-stop RTs and failed stop RTs were longer in the older, relative to the younger group by 38, 123, 149 and 116 ms, respectively. The amplitude of the ERF M2 peak (approximately 200 ms after the stop signal) evoked on successful stop trials was larger compared to that evoked on both failed stop and ignore-stop trials. The M4 peak (approximately 450 ms after stop signal) was of larger amplitude in both successful and failed stops compared to ignore-stop trials. In the older group, the M2, M3 and M4 peaks were smaller in amplitude and peaked later in time (by 24, 50 and 76 ms, respectively). We demonstrate that vocal response inhibition-related ERFs exhibit a similar temporal evolution to those previously described for manual response inhibition: an early peak at 200 ms (i.e. M2) that differentiates successful from failed stopping, and a later peak (i.e. M4) that is consistent with a neural marker of response checking and error processing. Across groups, our data support a more general decline of stimulus processing speed with age.

Music evoked autobiographical memory after severe acquired brain injury: preliminary findings from a case series.

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, A; Samson, S

2014-01-01

Music evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) have been characterised in the healthy population, but not, to date, in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Our aim was to investigate music compared with verbal evoked autobiographical memories. Five patients with severe ABI and matched controls completed the experimental music (MEAM) task (a written questionnaire) while listening to 50 "Number 1 Songs of the Year" (from 1960 to 2010). Patients also completed the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) and a standard neuropsychological assessment. With the exception of Case 5, who reported no MEAMs and no autobiographical incidents on the AMI and who also had impaired pitch perception, the range of frequency and type of MEAMs in patients was broadly in keeping with their matched controls. The relative preservation of MEAMs in four cases was particularly noteworthy given their impaired verbal and/or visual anterograde memory, and in three cases, autobiographical memory impairment. The majority of MEAMs in both cases and matched controls were of a person/people or a period of life. In three patients music was more efficient at evoking autobiographical memories than the AMI verbal prompts. This is the first study of MEAMs after ABI. The findings suggest that music is an effective stimulus for eliciting autobiographical memories, and may be beneficial in the rehabilitation of autobiographical amnesia, but only in patients without a fundamental deficit in autobiographical recall memory and intact pitch perception.

Determination of an unrelated donor pool size for human leukocyte antigen-matched platelets in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Bonet Bub

2016-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background: Successful transfusion of platelet refractory patients is a challenge. Many potential donors are needed to sustain human leukocyte antigen matched-platelet transfusion programs because of the different types of antigens and the constant needs of these patients. For a highly mixed population such as the Brazilian population, the pool size required to provide adequate platelet support is unknown. Methods: A mathematical model was created to estimate the appropriate size of an unrelated donor pool to provide human leukocyte antigen-compatible platelet support for a Brazilian population. A group of 154 hematologic human leukocyte antigen-typed patients was used as the potential patient population and a database of 65,500 human leukocyte antigen-typed bone marrow registered donors was used as the donor population. Platelet compatibility was based on the grading system of Duquesnoy. Results: Using the mathematical model, a pool containing 31,940, 1710 and 321 donors would be necessary to match more than 80% of the patients with at least five completely compatible (no cross-reactive group, partial compatible (one cross-reactive group or less compatible (two cross-reactive group donors, respectively. Conclusion: The phenotypic diversity of the Brazilian population has probably made it more difficulty to find completely compatible donors. However, this heterogeneity seems to have facilitated finding donors when cross-reactive groups are accepted as proposed by the grading system of Duquesnoy. The results of this study may help to establish unrelated human leukocyte antigen-compatible platelet transfusions, a procedure not routinely performed in most Brazilian transfusion services.

Elevated plasma oxytocin levels in children with Prader-Willi syndrome compared with healthy unrelated siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Lisa; Manzardo, Ann M; Miller, Jennifer L; Driscoll, Daniel J; Butler, Merlin G

2016-03-01

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder associated with distinct abnormal behaviors including hyperphagia, profound social deficits, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. PWS males showed reduced oxytocin receptor (OTR) gene expression and density in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus that may play a role in PWS psychopathology. Oxytocin is an anorexigenic neuropeptide similar to vasopressin that is associated with social cognition and obsessive-compulsive behavior. To evaluate oxytocin biology in PWS, we examined overnight fasting plasma oxytocin levels in 23 children with PWS (mean ± SD age: 8.2 ± 2.0 year) having genetic confirmation and 18 age matched healthy unrelated siblings without PWS (mean ± SD age: 8.2 ± 2.3 year) and a similar gender ratio under the same clinical assessments, specimen processing and laboratory conditions. Multiplex immune assays were carried out using the Milliplex Human Neuropeptide Magnetic panel and the Luminex system. Natural log-transformed oxytocin levels were analyzed using general linear model adjusting for diagnosis, gender, age and body mass index (BMI). Oxytocin plasma levels were significantly elevated in children with PWS (168 ± 121 pg/ml) compared with unrelated and unaffected siblings without the diagnosis of PWS (64.8 ± 83.8 pg/ml, F = 8.8, P model fit R(2) = 0.33 (P < 0.01). The symptoms of hyperphagia, anxiety and repetitive behaviors classically seen in PWS may be related to the disruption of oxytocin responsivity or feedback in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus possibly influencing vasopressin signaling. Further study is needed to characterize oxytocin function in PWS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Variable epidemiology of the three outbreaks of unrelated highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in the United States, 2014-2017

Science.gov (United States)

Three unrelated highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks have occurred in the United States (US) during 2014-2017. Late in 2014, Canada reported the first outbreak of an H5N2 reassortment virus between the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD)-lineage H5Nx clade 2.3.4.4A HPAI and North American...

Phasing out nuclear, a credible scenario; Sortir du nucleaire, un scenario credible

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chatelain, C.; Mulot, R.; Chauveau, L.; Hait, J.F.

2011-08-15

Based on data from different companies, institutions and associations involved in nuclear energy (either in its production or in its critic), this article comments the possible energy savings (50 to 64%) that may be reached in the different sectors, and more particularly in the building sector and in electrical equipment. It discusses the potential production from solar, wind and biogas energy. It notices that phasing out nuclear is possible by 2030-2050, but would entail an increase of electricity prices. The German approach is presented. An article comments the anger of Fukushima Japanese farmers and evokes the slow building up of a solidarity network between France and Japan. A last article comments the authorization given to a further exploitation of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (ten more years)

Language performance and auditory evoked fields in 2- to 5-year-old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Yuko; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Shitamichi, Kiyomi; Ueno, Sanae; Remijn, Gerard B; Haruta, Yasuhiro; Oi, Manabu; Munesue, Toshio; Tsubokawa, Tsunehisa; Higashida, Haruhiro; Minabe, Yoshio

2012-02-01

Language development progresses at a dramatic rate in preschool children. As rapid temporal processing of speech signals is important in daily colloquial environments, we performed magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the linkage between speech-evoked responses during rapid-rate stimulus presentation (interstimulus interval language performance in 2- to 5-year-old children (n = 59). Our results indicated that syllables with this short stimulus interval evoked detectable P50m, but not N100m, in most participants, indicating a marked influence of longer neuronal refractory period for stimulation. The results of equivalent dipole estimation showed that the intensity of the P50m component in the left hemisphere was positively correlated with language performance (conceptual inference ability). The observed positive correlations were suggested to reflect the maturation of synaptic organisation or axonal maturation and myelination underlying the acquisition of linguistic abilities. The present study is among the first to use MEG to study brain maturation pertaining to language abilities in preschool children. © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Circulatory response evoked by a 3 s bout of dynamic leg exercise in humans

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieling, W.; Harms, M. P.; ten Harkel, A. D.; van Lieshout, J. J.; Sprangers, R. L.

1996-01-01

1. The mechanisms underlying the pronounced transient fall in arterial blood pressure evoked by a 3 s bout of bicycle exercise were investigated in twenty healthy young adults and four patients with hypoadrenergic orthostatic hypotension. 2. In healthy subjects a 3 s bout of upright cycling induced

Cortical evoked potential and extracellular K+ and H+ at critical levels of brain ischemia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, J; Symon, L; Branston, N M

1977-01-01

+ as well as evoked potential were made in the baboon neocortex. Reductions in blood flow were obtained by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and depression beyond the ischemic threshold of electrical function achieved by a reduction of systemic blood pressure which, in the ischemic zones, changed...

Long-term scenarios for global energy demand and supply. Four global greenhouse mitigation scenarios. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soerensen, B.; Meibom, P.; Kuemmel, B.

1999-01-01

The scenario method is used to investigate energy demand and supply systems for the 21st century. A geographical information system (GIS) is employed to assess the spatial match between supply and demand, and the robustness of the scenario against changes in assumptions is discussed, for scenarios using fossil fuels without carbon dioxide emissions, nuclear fuels with reduced accident and proliferation risks, and renewable energy from local and from more centralised installations: The year 2050 demand scenario is based on a very high goal satisfaction in all regions of the world, for the middle UN population projection. All energy efficiency measures that are technically ready and economic today are assumed in effect by year 2050. An increased fraction of total activities are assumed to occur in non-material sectors. Technical, economic and implementation issues are discussed, including the resilience to changes in particularly demand assumptions and the type of framework that would allow energy policy to employ any of (or a mix of) the scenario options. Results are presented as average energy flows per unit of land area. This geographically based presentation method gives additional insights, particularly for the dispersed renewable energy systems, but in all cases it allows to identify the need for energy transmission and trade between regions, and to display it in a visually suggestive fashion. The scenarios are examples of greenhouse mitigation scenarios, all characterised by near-zero emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. All are more expensive than the present system, but only if the cost of the negative impacts from the current system is neglected. As options for global energy policy during the next decades, the clean fossil and the renewable energy options (possibly in combination) are the only realistic ones, because the safe nuclear option requires research and development that most likely will take longer time, if it can at all be carried

Long-term scenarios for global energy demand and supply. Four global greenhouse mitigation scenarios. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soerensen, B; Meibom, P [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark); Kuemmel, B [Royal Agricultural and Veterinary Univ., Tastrup (Denmark)

1999-01-01

The scenario method is used to investigate energy demand and supply systems for the 21st century. A geographical information system (GIS) is employed to assess the spatial match between supply and demand, and the robustness of the scenario against changes in assumptions is discussed, for scenarios using fossil fuels without carbon dioxide emissions, nuclear fuels with reduced accident and proliferation risks, and renewable energy from local and from more centralised installations: The year 2050 demand scenario is based on a very high goal satisfaction in all regions of the world, for the middle UN population projection. All energy efficiency measures that are technically ready and economic today are assumed in effect by year 2050. An increased fraction of total activities are assumed to occur in non-material sectors. Technical, economic and implementation issues are discussed, including the resilience to changes in particularly demand assumptions and the type of framework that would allow energy policy to employ any of (or a mix of) the scenario options. Results are presented as average energy flows per unit of land area. This geographically based presentation method gives additional insights, particularly for the dispersed renewable energy systems, but in all cases it allows to identify the need for energy transmission and trade between regions, and to display it in a visually suggestive fashion. The scenarios are examples of greenhouse mitigation scenarios, all characterised by near-zero emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. All are more expensive than the present system, but only if the cost of the negative impacts from the current system is neglected. As options for global energy policy during the next decades, the clean fossil and the renewable energy options (possibly in combination) are the only realistic ones, because the safe nuclear option requires research and development that most likely will take longer time, if it can at all be carried

Energy scenarios for Colombia: process and content

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Ricardo A. [National Univ. of Colombia, Escuela de Geosciencias y Medio Ambiente, Medellin (Colombia); Vesga, Daniel R.A. [Unidad de Planeacion Minero Energetica, Bogota (Colombia); Cadena, Angela I. [Los Andes Univ., School of Engineering, Bogota (Colombia); Boman, Ulf [Kairos Future AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Larsen, Erik [Cass Business School, London (United Kingdom); Dyner, Isaac [Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Energy Inst., Medellin (Colombia)

2005-02-01

This paper presents the approach undertaken, and the four energy scenarios that have been developed, to support long term energy policy in Colombia. The scenarios were constructed with emphasis on maximum interaction between stakeholders in the Colombian energy sector. The process directly involved over 120 people. The scenarios were developed as strategic support tools for the Energy and Mining Planning Unit (UPME), which is the Colombian institution in charge of developing the country's energy strategies and National Energy Policy. The methodology employed is presented, followed by a detailed description of each of the four scenarios. (Author)

Shell energy scenarios to 2050

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Shell developed two scenarios that describe alternative ways the energy future may develop. In the first scenario (Scramble) policymakers pay little attention to more efficient energy use until supplies are tight. Likewise, greenhouse gas emissions are not seriously addressed until there are major climate shocks. In the second scenario (Blueprints) growing local actions begin to address the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution. A price is applied to a critical mass of emissions giving a huge stimulus to the development of clean energy technologies, such as carbon dioxide capture and storage, and energy efficiency measures. The result is far lower carbon dioxide emissions. Both these scenarios can help Shell to test their strategy against a range of possible developments over the long-term. However, according to Shell, the Blueprints' outcomes offer the best hope for a sustainable future, whether or not they arise exactly in the way described. However, with the right combination of policy, technology and commitment from governments, industry and society globally, Shell believes it can be realized. But achieving the targets will not be easy, and time is short. Clear thinking, huge investment, and effective leadership are required

Auditory evoked field measurement using magneto-impedance sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, K., E-mail: o-kabou@echo.nuee.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Tajima, S.; Song, D.; Uchiyama, T. [Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan); Hamada, N.; Cai, C. [Aichi Steel Corporation, Tokai (Japan)

2015-05-07

The magnetic field of the human brain is extremely weak, and it is mostly measured and monitored in the magnetoencephalography method using superconducting quantum interference devices. In this study, in order to measure the weak magnetic field of the brain, we constructed a Magneto-Impedance sensor (MI sensor) system that can cancel out the background noise without any magnetic shield. Based on our previous studies of brain wave measurements, we used two MI sensors in this system for monitoring both cerebral hemispheres. In this study, we recorded and compared the auditory evoked field signals of the subject, including the N100 (or N1) and the P300 (or P3) brain waves. The results suggest that the MI sensor can be applied to brain activity measurement.

Baseline scenarios of global environmental change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcamo, J.; Kreileman, G.J.J.; Bollen, J.C.; Born, G.J. van den; Krol, M.S.; Toet, A.M.C.; Vries, H.J.M. de; Gerlagh, R.

1996-01-01

This paper presents three baseline scenarios of no policy action computed by the IMAGE2 model. These scenarios cover a wide range of coupled global change indicators, including: energy demand and consumption; food demand, consumption, and production; changes in land cover including changes in extent of agricultural land and forest; emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone precursors; and climate change and its impacts on sea level rise, crop productivity and natural vegetation. Scenario information is available for the entire world with regional and grid scale detail, and covers from 1970 to 2100. (author)

Scenario research: The food industry in 2010

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stacey, Julia; Sonne, Anne-Mette; Jensen, Birger Boutrup

2001-01-01

What kind of foods will the consumers choose to buy in 2010? Will they be buying organic foods, functional foods or go for the cheapest products? Nobody can predict the future. However, by using scenario techniques qualified indications on future developments can be put together. Researchers...... at MAPP and the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management, The Technical University of Denmark have constructed three scenarios about the Danish food industry in 2010. The aim has been to identify the demands the food industry can expect to meet in the future plus which research areas...... the public research should prioritise in order to support the development of competences within the food industry. The scenarios are isolated developments. In practise, the future is likely to be a combination of the different tendencies within the scenarios. The first scenario 'Naturalness' has focus...

Global Water Scarcity Assessment under Post-SRES Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Hanasaki, N.; Fujimori, S.

2011-12-01

A large number of future projections contributed to the fourth Assessment Report of IPCC were based on Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES). Processes toward the fifth Assessment Report are under way, and post-SRES scenarios, called Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP) are being prepared. One of the key challenges of SSP is provision of detailed socio-economic scenarios compared to SRES for impact, adaptation and vulnerability studies. In this study, a comprehensive global water scarcity assessment was conducted, using a state of the art global water resources model H08 (Hanasaki et al., 2008a, 2008b, 2010). We used a prototype of SSP developed by National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan. Two sets of socio economic scenarios and two sets of climate scenarios were prepared to run H08 for the period 2001-2100. Socio-economic scenarios include Business As Usual and High Mitigation Capacity. Climate scenarios include Reference and Mitigation which stabilizes green house gas concentration at a certain level. We analyzed the simulation results of four combinations, particularly focusing on the sensitivity of socio-economic scenarios to major water resources indices.

Passive Double-Sensory Evoked Coherence Correlates with Long-Term Memory Capacity

OpenAIRE

Horwitz, Anna; Mortensen, Erik L.; Osler, Merete; Fagerlund, Birgitte; Lauritzen, Martin; Benedek, Krisztina

2017-01-01

HIGHLIGHTS Memory correlates with the difference between single and double-sensory evoked steady-state coherence in the gamma range (ΔC). The correlation is most pronounced for the anterior brain region (ΔC A ). The correlation is not driven by birth size, education, speed of processing, or intelligence. The sensitivity of ΔC A for detecting low memory capacity is 90%. Cerebral rhythmic activity and oscillations are important pathways of communication between cortical cell assemblies and may ...