Thalamic integration of basal ganglia and cerebellar circuits during motor learning.

The ability to control movement and learn new motor skills is one of the fundamental functions of the brain. The basal ganglia (BG) and the cerebellum (CB) are two key brain regions involved in controlling movement, and neuronal plasticity within these two regions is crucial for acquiring new motor skills. However, how these regions interact to produce a cohesive unified motor output remains elusive.

A high-performance genetically encoded sensor for cellular imaging of PKC activity .

We report a genetically encoded fluorescence lifetime sensor for protein kinase C (PKC) activity, named CKAR3, based on Förster resonance energy transfer. CKAR3 exhibits a 10-fold increased dynamic range compared to its parental sensors and enables imaging of PKC activity during animal behavior. Our results reveal robust PKC activity in a sparse neuronal subset in the motor cortex during locomotion, in part mediated by muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.

Fine-tuning TrailMap: The utility of transfer learning to improve the performance of deep learning in axon segmentation of light-sheet microscopy images.

Light-sheet microscopy has made possible the 3D imaging of both fixed and live biological tissue, with samples as large as the entire mouse brain. However, segmentation and quantification of that data remains a time-consuming manual undertaking. Machine learning methods promise the possibility of automating this process.

Fine-tuning TrailMap: The utility of transfer learning to improve the performance of deep learning in axon segmentation of light-sheet microscopy images.

Light-sheet microscopy has made possible the 3D imaging of both fixed and live biological tissue, with samples as large as the entire mouse brain. However, segmentation and quantification of that data remains a time-consuming manual undertaking. Machine learning methods promise the possibility of automating this process.

Treatment of paradoxical eczematous eruption in psoriasis treated with secukinumab: A case report.

Rationale: Eczematous eruption is an increasingly recognized form of drug-related eruption, typically reported in association with interleukin 17 (IL-17)A inhibitors. However, severe paradoxical eczematous eruption due to IL-17A inhibitors has been rarely reported. Herein, we reported a case of a man with severe psoriasis with erythematous scaly plaques on the scalp, trunk, and arms and legs after the administration of secukinumab was initiated.

An unusual case report of porokeratosis ptychotropica on the buttocks.

Rationale: Porokeratosis ptychotropica represents an unusual form of porokeratosis characterized by symmetrical dyskeratotic skin lesions on the gluteal clefts. Herein, we report a case of porokeratosis ptychotropica.

Patient Concerns: A 33-year-old man, who complained of itching papules and plaques in the gluteal cleft and the buttocks for the last 7 years.

Locomotion activates PKA through dopamine and adenosine in striatal neurons.

The canonical model of striatal function predicts that animal locomotion is associated with the opposing regulation of protein kinase A (PKA) in direct and indirect pathway striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs) by dopamine. However, the precise dynamics of PKA in dorsolateral SPNs during locomotion remain to be determined. It is also unclear whether other neuromodulators are involved.

Sensitive genetically encoded sensors for population and subcellular imaging of cAMP in vivo.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling integrates information from diverse G-protein-coupled receptors, such as neuromodulator receptors, to regulate pivotal biological processes in a cellular-specific and subcellular-specific manner. However, in vivo cellular-resolution imaging of cAMP dynamics remains challenging. Here, we screen existing genetically encoded cAMP sensors and further develop the best performer to derive three improved variants, called cAMPFIREs.

Valence-arousal classification of emotion evoked by Chinese ancient-style music using 1D-CNN-BiLSTM model on EEG signals for college students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are using multimedia content more frequently to communicate with each other on Internet platforms. Among them, music, as psychological support for a lonely life in this special period, is a powerful tool for emotional self-regulation and getting rid of loneliness. More and more attention has been paid to the music recommender system based on emotion.

Labeling Endogenous Proteins Using CRISPR-mediated Insertion of Exon (CRISPIE).

The CRISPR/Cas9 technology has transformed our ability to edit eukaryotic genomes. Despite this breakthrough, it remains challenging to precisely knock-in large DNA sequences, such as those encoding a fluorescent protein, for labeling or modifying a target protein in post-mitotic cells. Previous efforts focusing on sequence insertion to the protein coding sequence often suffer from insertions/deletions (INDELs) resulting from the efficient non-homologous end joining pathway (NHEJ).

Static coded aperture in robotic X-ray tomography systems.

Coded aperture X-ray computed tomography is a computational imaging technique capable of reconstructing inner structures of an object from a reduced set of X-ray projection measurements. Coded apertures are placed in front of the X-ray sources from different views and thus significantly reduce the radiation dose. This paper introduces coded aperture X-ray computed tomography for robotic X-ray systems which offer positioning flexibility.

Genetically encoded fluorescent sensors for imaging neuronal dynamics in vivo.

The brain relies on many forms of dynamic activities in individual neurons, from synaptic transmission to electrical activity and intracellular signaling events. Monitoring these neuronal activities with high spatiotemporal resolution in the context of animal behavior is a necessary step to achieve a mechanistic understanding of brain function. With the rapid development and dissemination of highly optimized genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, a growing number of brain activities can now be visualized in vivo.

Photon-efficient 3D reconstruction employing a edge enhancement method.

Photon-efficient 3D reconstruction under sparse photon conditions remains challenges. Especially for scene edge locations, the light scattering results in a weaker echo signal than non-edge locations. Depth images can be viewed as smooth regions stitched together by edge segmentation, yet none of the existing methods focus on how to improve the accuracy of edge reconstruction when performing 3D reconstruction.

Distinct in vivo dynamics of excitatory synapses onto cortical pyramidal neurons and parvalbumin-positive interneurons.

Cortical function relies on the balanced activation of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. However, little is known about the organization and dynamics of shaft excitatory synapses onto cortical inhibitory interneurons. Here, we use the excitatory postsynaptic marker PSD-95, fluorescently labeled at endogenous levels, as a proxy for excitatory synapses onto layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons and parvalbumin-positive (PV) interneurons in the barrel cortex of adult mice.

Frequency upconversion imaging based on Hadamard coding.

A frequency upconversion imaging based on Hadamard coding is presented to remove the distorting effect on condition that the pump beam is tightly focused to optimize the conversion efficiency. The distortion caused by the convolution between the object field and the pump field is ascribed to the point spread function effect. In order to remove the blurring in an upconversion imaging system optimized by tight focused pump, the object is encoded by measurement matrices and the corresponding intensity of the converted field is measured.

Genetically encoded sensors towards imaging cAMP and PKA activity in vivo.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is a universal second messenger that plays a crucial role in diverse biological functions, ranging from transcription to neuronal plasticity, and from development to learning and memory. In the nervous system, cAMP integrates inputs from many neuromodulators across a wide range of timescales - from seconds to hours - to modulate neuronal excitability and plasticity in brain circuits during different animal behavioral states. cAMP signaling events are both cell-specific and subcellularly compartmentalized.

High-fidelity, efficient, and reversible labeling of endogenous proteins using CRISPR-based designer exon insertion.

Precise and efficient insertion of large DNA fragments into somatic cells using gene editing technologies to label or modify endogenous proteins remains challenging. Non-specific insertions/deletions (INDELs) resulting from the non-homologous end joining pathway make the process error-prone. Further, the insert is not readily removable.

Single-snapshot X-ray imaging for nonlinear compressive tomosynthesis.

Traditional compressive X-ray tomosynthesis uses sequential illumination to interrogate the object, leading to long scanning time and image distortion due to the object variation. This paper proposes a single-snapshot compressive tomosynthesis imaging approach, where the object is simultaneously illuminated by multiple X-ray emitters equipped with coded apertures. Based on rank, intensity and sparsity prior models, a nonlinear image reconstruction framework is established.

Visualizing Protein Kinase A Activity In Head-fixed Behaving Mice Using In Vivo Two-photon Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy.

Neuromodulation exerts powerful control over brain function. Dysfunction of neuromodulatory systems results in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite their importance, technologies for tracking neuromodulatory events with cellular resolution are just beginning to emerge.

Synapse-specific opioid modulation of thalamo-cortico-striatal circuits.

The medial thalamus (MThal), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum play important roles in affective-motivational pain processing and reward learning. Opioids affect both pain and reward through uncharacterized modulation of this circuitry. This study examined opioid actions on glutamate transmission between these brain regions in mouse.

Source and coded aperture joint optimization for compressive X-ray tomosynthesis.

Compressive X-ray tomosynthesis is an emerging technique to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) objects from two-dimensional projection measurements generated by a set of spatially distributed X-ray sources, where coded apertures are used in front of each source to modulate a set of X-rays to interrogate an object with a reduced radiation dose without loss of image reconstruction quality. The reconstruction performance in compressive tomosynthesis is influenced by several factors including the locations of the X-ray sources, their incident angles, and the coded apertures that determine the structured illumination patterns. This paper develops a source and coded aperture joint optimization (SCO) approach to improve the image reconstruction performance of compressive X-ray tomosynthesis.

Target-switched triplex nanotweezer and synergic fluorophore translocation for highly selective melamine assay.

This paper describes a triplex DNA nanotweezer to specifically capture melamine (MEL). The triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) arm can be switched from the open state to the closed state once MEL binds to the abasic site (AP site) in duplex via the bifacial hydrogen bonding with thymines. Following this nanotweezer operation, the AP site-bound fluorophore is translocated to the terminal triplet to subsequently light up the nanotweezer.

Fast optimization of coded apertures in X-ray computed tomography.

Coded aperture X-ray computed tomography (CAXCT) is a novel X-ray imaging system capable of reconstructing high quality images from a reduced set of measurements. Coded apertures are placed in front of the X-ray source in CAXCT so as to obtain patterned projections onto a detector array. Then, compressive sensing (CS) reconstruction algorithms are used to reconstruct the linear attenuation coefficients.