Active alignment control system for thin disk regenerative amplifier.

We present an active alignment and stabilization control system for laser setups based on a thin-disk regenerative amplifier. This method eliminates power and pointing instability during the warm-up period and improves long-term stability throughout the entire operation. The alignment method is based on a four-mirror control system consisting of two motorized mirrors placed within the regenerative amplifier cavity, two additional motorized mirrors external to the amplifier cavity, and four camera detectors.

Mescaline-induced behavioral alterations are mediated by 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors in rats.

Rationale: Mescaline is a classical psychedelic compound with a phenylethylamine structure that primarily acts on serotonin 5-HT2A/C receptors, but also binds to 5-HT1A and 5-HT2B receptors. Despite being the first psychedelic ever isolated and synthesized, the precise role of different serotonin receptor subtypes in its behavioral pharmacology is not fully understood.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate how selective antagonists of 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT1A receptors affect the behavioral changes induced by subcutaneous administration of mescaline (at doses of 10, 20, and 100 mg/kg) in rats.

Three-Dimensional Finite Element Modeling of the Singer's Formant Cluster Optimization by Epilaryngeal Narrowing With and Without Velopharyngeal Opening.

This study aimed to find the optimal geometrical configuration of the vocal tract (VT) to increase the total acoustic energy output of human voice in the frequency interval 2-3.5 kHz "singer's formant cluster," (SFC) for vowels [a:] and [i:] considering epilaryngeal changes and the velopharyngeal opening (VPO). The study applied 3D volume models of the vocal and nasal tract based on computer tomography images of a female speaker.

Trustworthiness for an Ultra-Wideband Localization Service.

Trustworthiness assessment is an essential step to assure that interdependent systems perform critical functions as anticipated, even under adverse conditions. In this paper, a holistic trustworthiness assessment framework for ultra-wideband self-localization is proposed, including the attributes of reliability, security, privacy, and resilience. Our goal is to provide guidance for evaluating a system's trustworthiness based on objective evidence, i.

Pitfalls of cytological diagnosis of tumours of the pancreaticobiliary tract.

The recent introduction of the WHO cytology classification of pancreatobiliary tumours aimed to improve the diagnosis and management of these tumours. The present paper briefly describes the methods of diagnosis. Emphasis is then put on a detailed comparison of the previous Papanicolaou classification and the new WHO classification and description of the changes brought about by the introduction of the WHO classification.

Glottal Imaging Study Comparing Vowel Phonation with Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises (SOVTEs) Produced Loudly.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate vocal loading in loud phonation of a vowel and two widely used semiocclusion voice exercises (SOVTEs). Impact stress (IS) was estimated from glottal closing speed, inertial forces from the second derivative of glottal opening and closing.

Study Design: Experimental study in vivo.

Exploring the Role of GDF-15 in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Controlled Study Comparing Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis with Non-Inflammatory Controls.

Inflammatory bowel disease, encompassing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a persistent immune-mediated inflammatory gastrointestinal disease. This study investigates the role of growth differentiation factor 15 in severe IBD cases, aiming to identify a reliable parameter to assess disease severity and monitor activity. We analyzed plasma samples from 100 patients undergoing biologic therapy for severe IBD and 50 control subjects.

EEG alpha reactivity on eyes opening discriminates patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Objective: Alpha activity in the electroencephalogram (EEG) is typically dominant during rest with closed eyes but suppressed by visual stimulation. Previous research has shown that alpha-blockade is less pronounced in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy individuals, but no studies have examined it in schizoaffective disorder.

Methods: A resting state EEG was used for the analysis of the alpha-reactivity between the eyes closed and the eyes opened conditions in overall (8 - 13 Hz), low (8 - 10 Hz) and high (10 - 13 Hz) alpha bands in three groups: schizophrenia patients (SC, n = 30), schizoaffective disorder (SA, n = 30), and healthy controls (HC, n = 36).

Rapid triage and transfer system for patients with proven Covid-19 at emergency department.

Background: COVID-19 is a viral disease notorious for frequent worldwide outbreaks. It is difficult to control, thereby resulting in overload of the healthcare system. A possible solution to prevent overcrowding is rapid triage of patients, which makes it possible to focus care on the high-risk patients and minimize the impact of crowding on patient prognosis.

The Gaze of Schizophrenia Patients Captured by Bottom-up Saliency.

Schizophrenia (SCHZ) notably impacts various human perceptual modalities, including vision. Prior research has identified marked abnormalities in perceptual organization in SCHZ, predominantly attributed to deficits in bottom-up processing. Our study introduces a novel paradigm to differentiate the roles of top-down and bottom-up processes in visual perception in SCHZ.

Open field test for the assessment of anxiety-like behavior in fish.

The open field test (OFT) is a basic and most widely used test for investigation in animal studies of the neurobiological basis of anxiety and screening for novel drug targets. Here, we present the results of an OFT for weakly electric fish This study aimed to describe the behavioral response of exposed to an OFT, simultaneously with an evaluation of electrical organ discharges (EOD), to determine whether any association between EOD and patterns of motor behavior in the OFT exists. Treatment of OFT activity and its temporal patterning was assessed for the whole 6-min trial as well as per-minute distributions of activity using a near-infrared camera and an EOD data acquisition system.

Pretreatment Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment in Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients.

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is one of the most serious side effects of cancer that negatively impacts the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. There is evidence of CRCI in Hodgkin lymphoma patients (HL); however, there is a lack of studies examining the presence of cognitive deficits before starting any treatment in HL patients.

Methods: Forty adult patients ( = 40) newly diagnosed with HL (with no previous cancer diagnoses) and 40 healthy controls ( = 40) matched for age, sex, education, and premorbid intellect completed the neuropsychological battery and subjective and objective measures of affective distress and quality of life.

Treatment of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Czech Republic in the period 2007-2020.

Background: Pediatric-inspired protocols with prospective monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) are considered the standard of intensive treatment for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They have been used in the Czech Republic since 2007.

Patients And Methods: Two hundred and ninety-seven patients aged 18-65 years were treated at five hematology centers between 2007-2020 according to the GMALL 07/2003 protocol.

Glutamatergic abnormalities in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder using magnetic resonance spectroscopy: A controlled study.

In this study, we utilized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to understand the role of glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) of OCD patients in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). In total, 54 patients with OCD and 54 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and sex were included in the study. They underwent MRS in the pgACC region to calculate the concentrations of Glu, Gln, GABA, and Glu + Gln (Glx).

Spectroscopic abnormalities in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex in obsessive-compulsive disorder using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a controlled study.

Background: The main aim of the present study is to determine the role of metabolites observed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As the literature describing biochemical changes in OCD yields conflicting results, we focused on accurate metabolite quantification of total N-acetyl aspartate (tNAA), total creatine (tCr), total choline-containing compounds (tCh), and myo-inositol (mI) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to capture the small metabolic changes between OCD patients and controls and between OCD patients with and without medication.

Methods: In total 46 patients with OCD and 46 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and sex were included in the study.

Alterations of sleep initiation in NREM parasomnia after sleep deprivation - A multimodal pilot study.

Objectives: NREM parasomnias also known as disorders of arousal (DOA) are characterised by abnormal motor and autonomic activation during arousals primarily from slow wave sleep. Dissociative state between sleep and wake is likely responsible for clinical symptoms of DOA. We therefore investigated potential dissociation outside of parasomnic events by using simultaneous 256-channel EEG (hdEEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Underlying pharmacological mechanisms of psilocin-induced broadband desynchronization and disconnection of EEG in rats.

Introduction: Psilocybin is one of the most extensively studied psychedelic drugs with a broad therapeutic potential. Despite the fact that its psychoactivity is mainly attributed to the agonism at 5-HT receptors, it has high binding affinity also to 5-HT and 5-HT receptors and indirectly modulates the dopaminergic system. Psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin, as well as other serotonergic psychedelics, induce broadband desynchronization and disconnection in EEG in humans as well as in animals.

Psilocybin intoxication did not affect daytime or sleep-related declarative memory consolidation in a small sample exploratory analysis.

Psilocybin is investigated as a fast-acting antidepressant used in conjunction with psychotherapy. Intact cognitive functions, including memory, are one of the basic conditions of effective psychedelic-assisted therapy. While cognitive and memory processing is attenuated on various domains during psilocybin intoxication, the effect of psilocybin on the consolidation of memories learned outside of acute intoxication is not known.

Chemobrain in blood cancers: How chemotherapeutics interfere with the brain's structure and functionality, immune system, and metabolic functions.

Cancer treatment brings about a phenomenon not fully clarified yet, termed chemobrain. Its strong negative impact on patients' well-being makes it a trending topic in current research, interconnecting many disciplines from clinical oncology to neuroscience. Clinical and animal studies have often reported elevated concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in various types of blood cancers.

High-Speed Image Analysis Comparing Loading of Vocal Folds During Coughing and Phonation: A Case Study.

Purpose: Coughing is related to voice problems, since it involves firm glottal closure, fast glottal opening, and high subglottic pressure and flow rate. In this study, the glottal area variation and movements of laryngeal structures during coughing and phonation are compared.

Methods: High-speed laryngoscopy recordings were made of a normophonic male participant with a healthy larynx producing a neutral vowel and coughing.

Acute pharmacological profile of 2C-B-Fly-NBOMe in male Wistar rats-pharmacokinetics, effects on behaviour and thermoregulation.

-2-methoxy-benzylated ("NBOMe") analogues of phenethylamine are a group of new psychoactive substances (NPS) with reported strong psychedelic effects in sub-milligram doses linked to a number of severe intoxications, including fatal ones. In our present work, we provide a detailed investigation of pharmacokinetics and acute behavioural effects of 2C-B-Fly-NBOMe (2-(8-bromo-2,3,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo [1,2-b:4,5-b']difuran-4-yl)-[(2-methoxybenzyl]ethan-1-amine), an analogue of popular psychedelic entactogen 2C-B (4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine). All experiments were conducted on adult male Wistar rats.

Effects of pre-freeze pathogen reduction with riboflavin and UV light on red cells stored post-thaw in AS-3 additive solution.

Background: Pathogen reduction technology (PRT) may improve the safety of RBCs for transfusion. As the Czech Republic considers PRT, we asked what effects riboflavin and UV light PRT pre-freezing has on the post-thaw recovery and properties of cryopreserved RBCs (CRBCs) after deglycerolization and liquid storage.

Study Design And Methods: 24 Group O whole blood (WB) units were leukoreduced and then treated with riboflavin and UV light PRT (Mirasol, Terumo BCT, USA) before cryopreservation (T-CRBC); 20 similarly-collected units were untreated controls (C-CRBC).

New Low Morphine Opium Poppy Genotype Obtained by TILLING Approach.

The opium poppy's ability to produce various alkaloids is both useful and problematic. Breeding of new varieties with varying alkaloid content is therefore an important task. In this paper, the breeding technology of new low morphine poppy genotypes, based on a combination of a TILLING approach and single-molecule real-time NGS sequencing, is presented.

Ketamine disrupts locomotion and electrolocation in a novel model of schizophrenia, Gnathonemus petersii fish.

The present study aimed to examine a weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii (G. petersii) as a candidate model organism of glutamatergic theory of schizophrenia. The idea of G.