Ultra high density imaging arrays in diffuse optical tomography for human brain mapping improve image quality and decoding performance.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has dramatically advanced non-invasive human brain mapping and decoding. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) non-invasively measure blood oxygen fluctuations related to brain activity, like fMRI, at the brain surface, using more-lightweight equipment that circumvents ergonomic and logistical limitations of fMRI. HD-DOT grids have smaller inter-optode spacing (~ 13 mm) than sparse fNIRS (~ 30 mm) and therefore provide higher image quality, with spatial resolution ~ 1/2 that of fMRI, when using the several source-detector distances (13-40 mm) afforded by the HD-DOT grid.

Multisensory naturalistic decoding with high-density diffuse optical tomography.

Significance: Decoding naturalistic content from brain activity has important neuroscience and clinical implications. Information about visual scenes and intelligible speech has been decoded from cortical activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electrocorticography, but widespread applications are limited by the logistics of these technologies.

Aim: High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) offers image quality approaching that of fMRI but with the silent, open scanning environment afforded by optical methods, thus opening the door to more naturalistic research and applications.

Real-world experience of abemaciclib for adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer.

Objective: Hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer is the most common subtype. Abemaciclib, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6, was approved to reduce risk of recurrence in high-risk, HR+, HER2-, early breast cancer based on the monarchE trial. The most common adverse events reported in monarchE were diarrhea, neutropenia, and fatigue.

Mapping neural correlates of biological motion perception in autistic children using high-density diffuse optical tomography.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by social communication deficits plus repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, currently affects 1/36 children in the general population. Recent advances in functional brain imaging show promise to provide useful biomarkers of ASD diagnostic likelihood, behavioral trait severity, and even response to therapeutic intervention. However, current gold-standard neuroimaging methods (e.

Quantifying abnormal alveolar microstructure in cystic fibrosis lung disease via hyperpolarized Xe diffusion MRI.

Rationale: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) progresses through recurrent infection and inflammation, causing permanent lung function loss and airway remodeling. CT scans reveal abnormally low-density lung parenchyma in CF, but its microstructural nature remains insufficiently explored due to clinical CT limitations. To this end, diffusion-weighted Xe MRI is a non-invasive and validated measure of lung microstructure.

Mapping brain function in adults and young children during naturalistic viewing with high-density diffuse optical tomography.

Human studies of early brain development have been limited by extant neuroimaging methods. MRI scanners present logistical challenges for imaging young children, while alternative modalities like functional near-infrared spectroscopy have traditionally been limited by image quality due to sparse sampling. In addition, conventional tasks for brain mapping elicit low task engagement, high head motion, and considerable participant attrition in pediatric populations.

Identifying Naturalistic Movies from Human Brain Activity with High-Density Diffuse Optical Tomography.

Modern neuroimaging modalities, particularly functional MRI (fMRI), can decode detailed human experiences. Thousands of viewed images can be identified or classified, and sentences can be reconstructed. Decoding paradigms often leverage encoding models that reduce the stimulus space into a smaller yet generalizable feature set.

Ultra-high density imaging arrays for diffuse optical tomography of human brain improve resolution, signal-to-noise, and information decoding.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has dramatically advanced non-invasive human brain mapping and decoding. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) non-invasively measure blood oxygen fluctuations related to brain activity, like fMRI, at the brain surface, using more-lightweight equipment that circumvents ergonomic and logistical limitations of fMRI. HD-DOT grids have smaller inter-optode spacing (∼13 mm) than sparse fNIRS (∼30 mm) and therefore provide higher image quality, with spatial resolution ∼1/2 that of fMRI.

Mapping cortical activations underlying covert and overt language production using high-density diffuse optical tomography.

Gold standard neuroimaging modalities such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and more recently electrocorticography (ECoG) have provided profound insights regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of language, but they are limited in applications involving naturalistic language production especially in developing brains, during face-to-face dialogues, or as a brain-computer interface. High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) provides high-fidelity mapping of human brain function with comparable spatial resolution to that of fMRI but in a silent and open scanning environment similar to real-life social scenarios. Therefore, HD-DOT has potential to be used in naturalistic settings where other neuroimaging modalities are limited.

The efficacy and safety of alpelisib in breast cancer: A real-world analysis.

Published trials of alpelisib + fulvestrant demonstrate efficacy and high rates of adverse effects as a first-line treatment option for metastatic breast cancer and as an option after cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i). The purpose of this analysis is to determine the real-world efficacy and safety of this regimen in heavily pretreated patients. This is a retrospective cohort analysis evaluating patients receiving alpelisib + fulvestrant for hormone receptor positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer who previously received ≤ 2 lines of therapy in the metastatic setting and those who previously received ≥ 3 lines of therapy in the metastatic setting.

Decoding visual information from high-density diffuse optical tomography neuroimaging data.

Background: Neural decoding could be useful in many ways, from serving as a neuroscience research tool to providing a means of augmented communication for patients with neurological conditions. However, applications of decoding are currently constrained by the limitations of traditional neuroimaging modalities. Electrocorticography requires invasive neurosurgery, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is too cumbersome for uses like daily communication, and alternatives like functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offer poor image quality.

Revisiting same day administration of pegfilgrastim in the age of biosimilars: A review of literature.

Purpose: Since 2018, several pegfilgrastim biosimilars were approved, which may affect insurance reimbursement. Guidelines recommend pegfilgrastim be administered the days following chemotherapy to prevent hematopoietic toxicity. To date, only the reference pegfilgrastim product has an available autoinjector-device.

Effectiveness of Broad-Spectrum Chemical Produce Sanitizers against Foodborne Pathogens as In Vitro Planktonic Cells and on the Surface of Whole Cantaloupes and Watermelons.

Over the past few years, foodborne disease outbreaks linked to enteric pathogens present on cantaloupe and watermelon surfaces have raised concerns in the melon industry. This research evaluated the effectiveness of commercially available produce sanitizers against selected foodborne pathogens, both in cell suspensions and on the outer rind surface of melons. The sanitizers (65 and 200 ppm of chlorine, 5 and 35% hydrogen peroxide, 5 and 50 ppm of liquid chlorine dioxide, various hydrogen peroxide-acid combinations, 0.

Survival of Escherichia coli on strawberries grown under greenhouse conditions.

Strawberries are soft fruit that are not recommended to have a post-harvest wash due to quality concerns. Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been linked to outbreaks with strawberries but little is known about the survival of E. coli during the growth cycle of strawberries.

Blue colour preference in honeybees distracts visual attention for learning closed shapes.

Spatial vision is an important cue for how honeybees (Apis mellifera) find flowers, and previous work has suggested that spatial learning in free-flying bees is exclusively mediated by achromatic input to the green photoreceptor channel. However, some data suggested that bees may be able to use alternative channels for shape processing, and recent work shows conditioning type and training length can significantly influence bee learning and cue use. We thus tested the honeybees' ability to discriminate between two closed shapes considering either absolute or differential conditioning, and using eight stimuli differing in their spectral characteristics.

Presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O-groups in small and very-small beef-processing plants and resulting ground beef detected by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are associated with foodborne illnesses, including hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans. Cattle and consequently, beef products are considered a major source of STEC. E.

SU-E-T-315: Planning and Verification of CT-Based HDR Intraluminal Brachytherapy Treatment for Malignant Obstructive Jaundice.

Purpose: To present our experience using CT to plan and verify intraluminal HDR treatment for a patient with obstructive jaundice. Due to the obstruction's proximity to the small bowel, along with small bowel adhesions from past surgical history, it was imperative to verify source position relative to the bowel before each treatment.

Methods: Treatment was administered to a total dose of 2000cGy in 5 fractions via a 6F intraluminal catheter inserted into the patient's 14F percutaneous drainage catheter.

No evidence of blood parasites in Little Auks (Alle alle) breeding on Svalbard.

Absence of blood parasites in birds occurring in polar regions is believed to be a common phenomenon but only few surveys have been conducted on truly polar bird species. We examined blood parasites in a seabird with an exclusively high-Arctic breeding distribution, the Little Auk (Alle alle). Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect haemosporidians and traditional optical microscopy was used to detect a wider range of haematozoans in birds breeding on Svalbard (Norway).

Identification of blood parasites in old world warbler species from the Danube River Delta.

Warbler species of the families Sylviidae and Acrocephalidae occurring in the Danube river delta are frequently exposed to blood-sucking arthropods that transmit avian blood parasites. We investigated infections by three genera of hemosporidian parasites in blood samples from six warbler species. Altogether in 17 (32.

The cytoskeleton in the unique cell reproduction by conidiogenesis of the long-neck yeast Fellomyces (Sterigmatomyces) fuzhouensis.

The morphology of conidiogenesis and associated changes in microtubules, actin distribution and ultrastructure were studied in the basidiomycetous yeast Fellomyces fuzhouensis by phase-contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopy. The interphase cell showed a central nucleus with randomly distributed bundles of microtubules and actin, and actin patches in the cortex. The conidiogenous mother cell developed a slender projection, or stalk, that contained cytoplasmic microtubules and actin cables stretched parallel to the longitudinal axis and actin patches accumulated in the tip.

The role of actin in the apoptotic cell death of P19 embryonal carcinoma cells.

The P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line was used as a model for a study of apoptosis accompanying differentiation induced by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). Apoptosis was detected both on the basis of morphological features (nuclear fragmentation, blebbing of plasma membrane, and formation of apoptotic bodies), and by using DNA electrophoresis and flow-cytometric measurement of DNA content. Actin cytoskeleton was studied both on morphological and submicroscopic levels.

Luminescence study of singlet oxygen production by meso-tetraphenylporphine.

The research in the field of the photodynamic therapy of cancer (PDT) is focused on a development of photosensitizers exhibiting high quantum yield of singlet oxygen production. Direct time-resolved spectroscopic observation of singlet oxygen phosphorescence can provide time constants of its population and depopulation as well as photosensitizer phosphorescence lifetime and relative quantum yields. In our contribution, a study of time and spectral resolved phosphorescence of singlet oxygen photosensitized by meso-tetraphenylporphine in acetone together with the photosensitizer phosphorescence is presented.

Immunodetection of spectrin-like proteins in yeasts.

Spectrin, a component of the membrane skeleton in erythrocytes and other animal cells, has also been identified in plant and fungal cells. However, its postulated role, i.e.

Specific cytoskeleton changes during apoptosis accompanying induced differentiation of HL-60 myeloid leukemia cells.

Changes in actin filaments and microtubules were studied in the human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cell line during the process of apoptotic cell death accompanying induced differentiation. These cytoskeleton changes were assessed during a 6-day cultivation in the presence of 10(-6) M all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a specific inductor of both differentiation into granulocytes and apoptosis, or during a 18-day cultivation in the presence of 1.6 nM phorbol myristylacetate (PMA), which induces differentiation into macrophages.