Empirical Mode Decomposition-Based Filter Applied to Multifocal Electroretinograms in Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis.

As multiple sclerosis (MS) usually affects the visual pathway, visual electrophysiological tests can be used to diagnose it. The objective of this paper is to research methods for processing multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) recordings to improve the capacity to diagnose MS. MfERG recordings from 15 early-stage MS patients without a history of optic neuritis and from 6 control subjects were examined.

Empirical mode decomposition processing to improve multifocal-visual-evoked-potential signal analysis in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To study the performance of multifocal-visual-evoked-potential (mfVEP) signals filtered using empirical mode decomposition (EMD) in discriminating, based on amplitude, between control and multiple sclerosis (MS) patient groups, and to reduce variability in interocular latency in control subjects.

Methods: MfVEP signals were obtained from controls, clinically definitive MS and MS-risk progression patients (radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) and clinically isolated syndrome (CIS)). The conventional method of processing mfVEPs consists of using a 1-35 Hz bandpass frequency filter (XDFT).

Conservation genetics of threatened Hippocampus guttulatus in vulnerable habitats in NW Spain: temporal and spatial stability of wild populations with flexible polygamous mating system in captivity.

This study was focused on conservation genetics of threatened Hippocampus guttulatus on the Atlantic coast of NW Iberian Peninsula. Information about spatial structure and temporal stability of wild populations was obtained based on microsatellite markers, and used for monitoring a captive breeding program firstly initiated in this zone at the facilities of the Institute of Marine Research (Vigo, Spain). No significant major genetic structure was observed regarding the biogeographical barrier of Cape Finisterre.

Sensation seeking, attitudes toward drug use, and actual use among adolescents: testing a model for alcohol and ecstacy use.

The use of ecstasy (MDMA), one of the most popular substances among young people in the context of many leisure and fun activities, is moving from party and recreation circuits to high schools and college dorms, in many cases in combination with alcohol consumption. Bearing in mind the concurrent use of the two drugs and the "gateway" thesis of a progression from legal drugs to illegal ones, a causal(1) model of linkages among sensation seeking, attitudes toward alcohol and ecstasy consumption, and frequency of use was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The data were obtained from a sample of 450 high school students ranging in age from 14 to 18 (47% male, 53% female).

Changes in NOS activity and protein expression during acute and prolonged ANG II administration.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of acute or prolonged increases of ANG II on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activities and protein expression in mesenteric resistance vessels, left ventricle, renal cortex, and renal medulla. The response of NOS activities to ANG II is compared with that induced by phenylephrine. ANG II or phenylephrine were infused over either 3 h or 3 days to conscious rats.