The notion of a somatotopically organized motor cortex, with movements of different body parts being controlled by spatially distinct areas of cortex, is well known. However, recent studies have challenged this notion and suggested a more distributed representation of movement control. This shift in perspective has significant implications, particularly when considering the implantation location of electrode arrays for intracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe hippocampus supports a multiplicity of functions, with the dorsal region contributing to spatial representations and memory, and the ventral hippocampus (vH) being primarily involved in emotional processing. While spatial encoding has been extensively investigated, how the vH activity is tuned to emotional states, e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe notion of a somatotopically organized motor cortex, with movements of different body parts being controlled by spatially distinct areas of cortex, is well known. However, recent studies have challenged this notion and suggested a more distributed representation of movement control. This shift in perspective has significant implications, particularly when considering the implantation location of electrode arrays for intracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBayesian Active Learning (BAL) is an efficient framework for learning the parameters of a model, in which input stimuli are selected to maximize the mutual information between the observations and the unknown parameters. However, the applicability of BAL to experiments is limited as it requires performing high-dimensional integrations and optimizations in real time. Current methods are either too time consuming, or only applicable to specific models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynapses are highly stochastic transmission units. A classical model describing this stochastic transmission is called the binomial model, and its underlying parameters can be estimated from postsynaptic responses to evoked stimuli. The accuracy of parameter estimates obtained via such a model-based approach depends on the identifiability of the model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynaptic computation is believed to underlie many forms of animal behavior. A correct identification of synaptic transmission properties is thus crucial for a better understanding of how the brain processes information, stores memories and learns. Recently, a number of new statistical methods for inferring synaptic transmission parameters have been introduced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea worldwide. As a result, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have designated C. difficile as an urgent threat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is the most common form of dementia in the elderly individuals. Among the pathogenic mechanisms in AD, chronic systemic inflammation is described and characterized by massive production of proinflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which may contribute to an altered immune response and exacerbation of neurodegeneration. Studies have also reported increased double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) activation in the PBMCs of patients with AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed at evaluating the interest of a thickened infant formula with lactase activity by comparison with a standard infant formula in the management of benign digestive disorders in infants. Infants of both sex (N =109), ranging in age from 0 to 3 months, were included in a randomised double blind trial. Infants went to the paediatrician because of benign digestive disorders such as regurgitation, eructation or hiccup, colic, persistent crying and/or meteorism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors report a case of acute idiopathic eosinophilic pneumonia, a recently described entity of unknown etiology. The patients develop a rapidly progressive respiratory failure which is reversible following steroid therapy. The key to the diagnosis is an eosinophilia in the broncho-alveolar lavage or in the lung biopsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Mal Respir
February 1995
We report a study of 8 patients with acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection of the respiratory tract admitted to the Army Hospital Desgenettes over a 10 months period. Our clinical observations are compared with a review of the literature. We observed a seasonal outbreak in spring and autumn.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonary disease is an uncommon extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease. We report the case of a patient in whom colectomy for ulcerative colitis was followed by development of bronchiectasis. A discussion of the relation between ulcerative colitis and bronchial disease is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of beta-propiolactone (BPL), an alkylating and virus inactivating agent, on the structural and in vitro biological properties of different DNA preparations from BHK-21 cells were investigated. Both uninfected and rabies virus-infected cells were used. Purified cellular DNA (celDNA) was used as the reference, and supernatants from infected cells were treated with BPL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe activity of an immunostimulatory complex (PICKCa) which is widely used against several human diseases in China was tested in experimental rabies prophylaxis. PICKCa protected mice against peripheral infection with both fixed and wild rabies strains. It also enhanced the protective activity of an experimental rabies vaccine injected either before or after rabies infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper presents a modification of the previously described Rapid Rabies Enzyme Immuno-Diagnosis test (RREID) by using biotinylated antibodies, streptavidin conjugate and a mixture of monospecific polyclonal antibodies against several lyssaviruses. In the modified technique (RREID-lyssa), microplates were sensitized with a mixture of purified antibodies against ribonucleoprotein (RNP) from Pasteur virus (Lyssavirus serotype 1), European Bat Lyssavirus (EBL, unclassified) and Mokola virus (Lyssavirus serotype 3). Bound RNP was detected by the same antibodies labelled with biotin and peroxidase-strepavidin conjugate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-mediated immunity induced by rabies vaccination was studied in humans by the determination of specific interleukin-2 (IL-2) production in a large number of donors (postexposure immunized patients and pre-exposure immunized laboratory workers). Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 35 donors were tested for IL-2 production after in vitro stimulation by different rabies and rabies-related viruses. IL-2 responses were compared to antibody recognition of these different virus serotypes by sera from the same individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteosarcoma is a tumour that is encountered in children and young adults but is exceptional in elderly people. Moreover, it is very rarely located in the chest. A case of costal osteosarcoma revealed by a pleural blood effusion is reported in a 66-year old male patient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThree biochemically distinct isotypic forms of the human T cell receptor (TcR) gamma delta structure can be expressed at the cell membrane. This unique variation in structure of TcR, which is due to C gamma gene segments utilization, prompted us to look for isotype-association functional differences. In this regard, we have developed human T cell clones or lines from normal thymus or peripheral blood from several patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have defined transcriptional enhancing sequences inside the TCR-delta gene locus, using transient transfections with constructs containing DNA fragments cloned upstream to a reporter gene fused to a heterologous promoter. A 14-kb DNA region extending from the J delta 3 segment to 6 kb 3' to C delta was analyzed. We show the presence of positive regulatory sequences inside the J delta 3-C delta intron and have localized these sequences to two DNA fragments of approximately 300 and 258 bp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMediastinal hemangiomas are rare tumours occurring more often in children and young adults. A new case is reported in a 21 years old male who had an anterior mediastinal mass detected on a routine chest roentgenogram. Pre-operative investigations including CT, venous digital angiography, MRI did not aid in the right diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors present the 61st published case of an aorticopulmonary chemodectoma diagnosed in patient of 59 years who had been operated on 7 years previously for a right sided adrenal pheochromocytoma. The diagnosis was provided by the histological examination of the operative specimen, since computerised tomography had predicted that this large hypervascular tumour of the anterior mediastinum would be totally resectable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPneumatocele, a special form of lung injury, is characterized by intrathoracic images of cavities detected on X-ray films. These cavities develop immediately after a trauma of the thorax, disappear rapidly and have a relatively favourable outcome.
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