SEEG electrode shaft affects amplitude and latency of potentials evoked with single pulse electrical stimulation.

Background: Long and thin shaft electrodes are implanted intracerebrally for stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) in patients with pharmacoresistant focal epilepsies. Two adjacent contacts of one of such electrodes can deliver a train of single pulse electrical stimulations (SPES), and evoked potentials (EPs) are recorded on other contacts. In this study we assess if stimulating and recording on the same shaft, as opposed to different shafts, has an impact on common EP features.

Communication dynamics in the human connectome shape the cortex-wide propagation of direct electrical stimulation.

Communication between gray matter regions underpins all facets of brain function. We study inter-areal communication in the human brain using intracranial EEG recordings, acquired following 29,055 single-pulse direct electrical stimulations in a total of 550 individuals across 20 medical centers (average of 87 ± 37 electrode contacts per subject). We found that network communication models-computed on structural connectivity inferred from diffusion MRI-can explain the causal propagation of focal stimuli, measured at millisecond timescales.

Variability of Single Pulse Electrical Stimulation Responses Recorded with Intracranial Electroencephalography in Epileptic Patients.

Cohort studies of brain stimulations performed with stereo-electroencephalographic (SEEG) electrodes in epileptic patients allow to derive large scale functional connectivity. It is known, however, that brain responses to electrical or magnetic stimulation techniques are not always reproducible. Here, we study variability of responses to single pulse SEEG electrical stimulation.

Applicability Assessment of Different Materials for Standards Ensuring Comparability of Optical and Tactile Coordinate Measurements.

Multisensor CMMs are systems with an established position on the market, but their popularity still grows, as they provide access to the advantages offered by tactile and contactless measurement methods. Yet there are still questions of the comparability of results obtained using the optical and tactile operation modes of multisensor system. This phenomenon can be assessed by measuring appropriate gauges, most often reference rings or spheres.

A brain atlas of axonal and synaptic delays based on modelling of cortico-cortical evoked potentials.

Epilepsy presurgical investigation may include focal intracortical single-pulse electrical stimulations with depth electrodes, which induce cortico-cortical evoked potentials at distant sites because of white matter connectivity. Cortico-cortical evoked potentials provide a unique window on functional brain networks because they contain sufficient information to infer dynamical properties of large-scale brain connectivity, such as preferred directionality and propagation latencies.  Here, we developed a biologically informed modelling approach to estimate the neural physiological parameters of brain functional networks from the cortico-cortical evoked potentials recorded in a large multicentric database.

Tinnitus Perception in Light of a Parietal Operculo-Insular Involvement: A Review.

In tinnitus literature, researchers have increasingly been advocating for a clearer distinction between tinnitus perception and tinnitus-related distress. In non-bothersome tinnitus, the perception itself can be more specifically investigated: this has provided a body of evidence, based on resting-state and activation fMRI protocols, highlighting the involvement of regions outside the conventional auditory areas, such as the right parietal operculum. Here, we aim to conduct a review of available investigations of the human parietal operculo-insular subregions conducted at the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales arguing in favor of an auditory-somatosensory cross-talk.

A mean-field approach to the dynamics of networks of complex neurons, from nonlinear Integrate-and-Fire to Hodgkin-Huxley models.

We present a mean-field formalism able to predict the collective dynamics of large networks of conductance-based interacting spiking neurons. We apply this formalism to several neuronal models, from the simplest Adaptive Exponential Integrate-and-Fire model to the more complex Hodgkin-Huxley and Morris-Lecar models. We show that the resulting mean-field models are capable of predicting the correct spontaneous activity of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in asynchronous irregular regimes, typical of cortical dynamics.

Diagnostic effectiveness of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock.

Introduction: Sensitivities and specificities of clinical signs and biochemical tests in sepsis diagnosis are not satisfactory. The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic usefulness of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) in sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock against interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT).

Material And Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted in 85 adults with sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock and 22 with non-infective systemic inflammatory response syndrome (NI-SIRS).

Cholesterol and phosphatidylserine are engaged in adenoviral dodecahedron endocytosis.

Adenoviral dodecahedron is a virus-like particle composed of twelve penton base proteins, derived from the capsid of human adenovirus type 3. Due to the high cell penetration capacity, it was used as a vector for protein, peptide and drug delivery. Two receptors are known to be involved in the endocytic dodecahedron uptake, namely αv integrins and heparan sulfate proteoglycans.

Probabilistic functional tractography of the human cortex revisited.

In patients with pharmaco-resistant focal epilepsies investigated with intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG), direct electrical stimulations of a cortical region induce cortico-cortical evoked potentials (CCEP) in distant cerebral cortex, which properties can be used to infer large scale brain connectivity. In 2013, we proposed a new probabilistic functional tractography methodology to study human brain connectivity. We have now been revisiting this method in the F-TRACT project (f-tract.

Leukocytes and drug-resistant cancer cells are targets for intracellular delivery by adenoviral dodecahedron.

One of the major factors limiting the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy is inefficient drug delivery. Systems enabling efficient delivery and enhanced intracellular uptake appear particularly promising in this respect. Virus-like particle, adenoviral dodecahedron (Dd), employs receptor-mediated endocytosis for cell penetration and is able to deliver intracellularly dozens of cargo molecules attached to one particle.

Collective excitability in a mesoscopic neuronal model of epileptic activity.

At the mesoscopic scale, the brain can be understood as a collection of interacting neuronal oscillators, but the extent to which its sustained activity is due to coupling among brain areas is still unclear. Here we address this issue in a simplified situation by examining the effect of coupling between two cortical columns described via Jansen-Rit neural mass models. Our results show that coupling between the two neuronal populations gives rise to stochastic initiations of sustained collective activity, which can be interpreted as epileptic events.

Soluble TREM-1 Serum Level can Early Predict Mortality of Patients with Sepsis, Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock.

Early prognostic prediction of sepsis is essential in adjusting therapeutic protocols to prevent deterioration and reduce mortality. We compared the predictive value of the serum concentration of the soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (sTREM-1) for 28-day mortality and for the development of severe sepsis or septic shock on the third day with the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT). The study was conducted on 85 patients with sepsis.

A novel method for the determination of chemical purity and assay of menaquinone-7. Comparison with the methods from the official USP monograph.

An HPLC method with UV detection and separation with the use of a C30 reversed phase analytical column for the determination of chemical purity and assay of menaquinone-7 (MK7) in one chromatographic run was developed. The method is superior to the methods published in the USP Monograph in terms of selectivity, sensitivity and accuracy, as well as time, solvent and sample consumption. The developed methodology was applied to MK7 samples of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) purity, MK7 samples of lower quality and crude MK7 samples before purification.

Temporally correlated fluctuations drive epileptiform dynamics.

Macroscopic models of brain networks typically incorporate assumptions regarding the characteristics of afferent noise, which is used to represent input from distal brain regions or ongoing fluctuations in non-modelled parts of the brain. Such inputs are often modelled by Gaussian white noise which has a flat power spectrum. In contrast, macroscopic fluctuations in the brain typically follow a 1/f spectrum.

Cross-frequency transfer in a stochastically driven mesoscopic neuronal model.

The brain is known to operate in multiple coexisting frequency bands. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that interactions between those distinct bands play a crucial role in brain processes, but the dynamical mechanisms underlying this cross-frequency coupling are still under investigation. Two approaches have been proposed to address this issue.

Adenovirus Dodecahedron, a VLP, Can be Purified by Size Exclusion Chromatography Instead of Time-Consuming Sucrose Density Gradient Centrifugation.

Adenoviral dodecahedron (Dd) is a virus-like particle composed of twelve pentameric penton base (Pb) proteins, responsible for adenovirus cell penetration. It is generated spontaneously in the baculovirus system upon expression of the Pb gene of adenovirus serotype 3. This particle shows remarkable cell penetration ability with 2,00,000-3,00,000 Dd internalized into one cell in culture, conceivably delivering several millions of foreign cargo molecules to the target cell.

[The role of selected cytokines and proteins analyzed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in lung injury].

The early organism response to injury or infection involves activation of the innate immune system, in which pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) participate. They recognize highly conservative structures that are called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The interactions between PRRs and PAMPs or DAMPs lead to the activation of transcriptional factors which are responsible for gene expression of inflammatory mediators and synthesis and release of these factors, and result in the development of inflammation.

Molecular basics of sepsis developement.

Bacterial infections and sepsis remain major causes of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units. The normal host response to infection is a complex process that serves to localise and control the invasion of microbes and to repair injured tissue. Local inflammatory processes are regulated through the production of cytokines by macrophages.

Decreased serum level of IL-12 in the course of ischemia and reperfusion during abdominal aortic surgery.

Ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) is defined as tissue damage, organ dysfunction or failure developed in the course of inflammatory response following ischemia and reperfusion (IR). Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair required IR of distal parts of the body carries a risk of organ injury and postoperative mortality of between 4% and 12%. The aim of this study was the evaluation of IL-12 serum level during AAA repair in relation to IR.

Multifocal necrotizing fasciitis - case report.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare, life-threatening soft-tissue infection, characterized by rapidly spreading inflammation, with secondary necrosis of the fascia and surrounding tissues. It is mostly caused by group A beta-haemolytic streptococci or multibacterial. A case of the 25-year-old man admitted on September 2006 to the Department of Dermatology and Venereology with suspicion of erysipelas of the left upper limb and left foot is presented.

Serum chemokine growth-related oncogene alpha profile during abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: preliminary report.

Introduction: High postoperative mortality in patients undergoing aortic abdominal aneurysm (AAA) repair is predominantly associated with ischemia and reperfusion organ injury followed by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Experimental studies have shown a role of growth-related oncogene a (GROa) chemokine in mediating organ damage during ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Objectives: The study evaluated serum GROalpha levels during elective AAA repair in humans and the relationship between their changes and ischemia-reperfusion and the postoperative course.

[Stress related mucosal disease prophylaxis in intensive care unit patients].

Among the patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit there frequently occur disturbances of the upper gastrointestinal tract. They can be found as stress ulcerations which in turn may lead to bleeding. The high incidence of stress ulcers and bleedings from the upper gastrointestinal tract is associated with disturbances of gastric acid secretion, an interrupted integrity of gastric mucosa and abnormal motor activity of gastrointestinal tract.

[Lysosomal carboxypeptidase A].

Lysosomal carboxypeptidase A (cathepsin A) is synthetized in the form of preproenzyme, which undergoes to active enzyme as a result of post-translational modification. It splits off C-terminal amino acid residues from peptides and proteins and synergizes with other proteases in degradation of cellular proteins in lysosomes. Lysosomal carboxypeptidase A has an effect on peptide hormones and peptides of biological activity of tissues and body fluids as well.

Multistrange Baryon elliptic flow in Au+Au collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV.

We report on the first measurement of elliptic flow v2(pT) of multistrange baryons Xi- +Xi+ and Omega- + Omega+ in heavy-ion collisions. In minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at square root of s(NN)=200 GeV, a significant amount of elliptic flow, comparable to other nonstrange baryons, is observed for multistrange baryons which are expected to be particularly sensitive to the dynamics of the partonic stage of heavy-ion collisions. The pT dependence of v2 of the multistrange baryons confirms the number of constituent quark scaling previously observed for lighter hadrons.