Neurofeedback and attention modulate somatosensory alpha oscillations but not pain perception.

Pain is closely linked to alpha oscillations (8 < 13 Hz) which are thought to represent a supra-modal, top-down mediated gating mechanism that shapes sensory processing. Consequently, alpha oscillations might also shape the cerebral processing of nociceptive input and eventually the perception of pain. To test this mechanistic hypothesis, we designed a sham-controlled and double-blind electroencephalography (EEG)-based neurofeedback study.

Effects of centrally acting analgesics on resting-state electroencephalography biomarker candidates of chronic pain.

Resting-state electroencephalography (rsEEG) holds promise as a biomarker of chronic pain. However, the impact of centrally acting analgesics like opioids, antiepileptics, and antidepressants on rsEEG remains unclear. This confounds and limits the interpretability of previous studies and questions the specificity of rsEEG biomarker candidates of chronic pain, especially for potential diagnostic biomarkers.

Assessing the balance between excitation and inhibition in chronic pain through the aperiodic component of EEG.

Chronic pain is a prevalent and debilitating condition whose neural mechanisms are incompletely understood. An imbalance of cerebral excitation and inhibition (E/I), particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is believed to represent a crucial mechanism in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Thus, identifying a non-invasive, scalable marker of E/I could provide valuable insights into the neural mechanisms of chronic pain and aid in developing clinically useful biomarkers.

NFDB (Nitrogen Fixation DataBase)-a comprehensive integrated database for robust 'omics analysis of diazotrophs.

Biological nitrogen fixation is a fundamental biogeochemical process that transforms molecular nitrogen into biologically available nitrogen via diazotrophic microbes. Diazotrophs anaerobically fix nitrogen using the nitrogenase enzyme which is arranged in three different gene clusters: (i) molybdenum nitrogenase () is the most abundant, followed by it's alternatives, (ii) vanadium nitrogenase () and (iii) iron nitrogenase (). Multiple databases have been constructed as resources for diazotrophic 'omics analysis; however, an integrated database based on whole genome references does not exist.

MerCat2: a versatile -mer counter and diversity estimator for database-independent property analysis obtained from omics data.

Motivation: MerCat2 ("Mer-Catenate2") is a versatile, parallel, scalable and modular property software package for robustly analyzing features in omics data. Using massively parallel sequencing raw reads, assembled contigs, and protein sequences from any platform as input, MerCat2 performs -mer counting of any length , resulting in feature abundance counts tables, quality control reports, protein feature metrics, and graphical representation (i.e.

DISCOVER-EEG: an open, fully automated EEG pipeline for biomarker discovery in clinical neuroscience.

Biomarker discovery in neurological and psychiatric disorders critically depends on reproducible and transparent methods applied to large-scale datasets. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a promising tool for identifying biomarkers. However, recording, preprocessing, and analysis of EEG data is time-consuming and researcher-dependent.

Regional biogeography versus intra-annual dynamics of the root and soil microbiome.

Background: Root and soil microbial communities constitute the below-ground plant microbiome, are drivers of nutrient cycling, and affect plant productivity. However, our understanding of their spatiotemporal patterns is confounded by exogenous factors that covary spatially, such as changes in host plant species, climate, and edaphic factors. These spatiotemporal patterns likely differ across microbiome domains (bacteria and fungi) and niches (root vs.

Local brain oscillations and interregional connectivity differentially serve sensory and expectation effects on pain.

Pain emerges from the integration of sensory information about threats and contextual information such as an individual's expectations. However, how sensory and contextual effects on pain are served by the brain is not fully understood so far. To address this question, we applied brief painful stimuli to 40 healthy human participants and independently varied stimulus intensity and expectations.

Microbial necromass in cropland soils: A global meta-analysis of management effects.

Microbial necromass is a large and persistent component of soil organic carbon (SOC), especially under croplands. The effects of cropland management on microbial necromass accumulation and its contribution to SOC have been measured in individual studies but have not yet been summarized on the global scale. We conducted a meta-analysis of 481-paired measurements from cropland soils to examine the management effects on microbial necromass and identify the optimal conditions for its accumulation.

Acoustically Induced Giant Synthetic Hall Voltages in Graphene.

Any departure from graphene's flatness leads to the emergence of artificial gauge fields that act on the motion of the Dirac fermions through an associated pseudomagnetic field. Here, we demonstrate the tunability of strong gauge fields in nonlocal experiments using a large planar graphene sheet that conforms to the deformation of a piezoelectric layer by a surface acoustic wave. The acoustic wave induces a longitudinal and a giant synthetic Hall voltage in the absence of external magnetic fields.

Soil Invertebrates Generate Microplastics From Polystyrene Foam Debris.

To fully understand microplastics' impact on soil ecosystems, one must recognize soil organisms as not just passively enduring their negative effects, but potentially contributing to microplastics' formation, distribution, and dynamics in soil. We investigated the ability of four soil invertebrates, the cricket Acheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), the isopod Oniscus asellus L.

Longitudinal resting-state electroencephalography in patients with chronic pain undergoing interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy.

Chronic pain is a major healthcare issue posing a large burden on individuals and society. Converging lines of evidence indicate that chronic pain is associated with substantial changes of brain structure and function. However, it remains unclear which neuronal measures relate to changes of clinical parameters over time and could thus monitor chronic pain and treatment responses.

Temporal-spectral signaling of sensory information and expectations in the cerebral processing of pain.

The perception of pain is shaped by somatosensory information about threat. However, pain is also influenced by an individual's expectations. Such expectations can result in clinically relevant modulations and abnormalities of pain.

MetaFunPrimer: an Environment-Specific, High-Throughput Primer Design Tool for Improved Quantification of Target Genes.

Genes belonging to the same functional group may include numerous and variable gene sequences, making characterizing and quantifying difficult. Therefore, high-throughput design tools are needed to simultaneously create primers for improved quantification of target genes. We developed MetaFunPrimer, a bioinformatic pipeline, to design primers for numerous genes of interest.

Meta-analysis dataset of soil extracellular enzyme activities in intercropping systems.

This dataset accompanies the meta-analysis entitled "Intercropping increases soil extracellular enzyme activity: A meta-analysis" Curtright and Tiemann (2021). Sustainable agriculture practices often aim to increase plant diversity. One means of doing this is through intercropping, where two or more plants are grown in the same field at the same time.

Dynamics of brain function in patients with chronic pain assessed by microstate analysis of resting-state electroencephalography.

Chronic pain is a highly prevalent and severely disabling disease that is associated with substantial changes of brain function. Such changes have mostly been observed when analyzing static measures of resting-state brain activity. However, brain activity varies over time, and it is increasingly recognized that the temporal dynamics of brain activity provide behaviorally relevant information in different neuropsychiatric disorders.

Modulating Brain Rhythms of Pain Using Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) - A Sham-Controlled Study in Healthy Human Participants.

Chronic pain is a major health care problem. A better mechanistic understanding and new treatment approaches are urgently needed. In the brain, pain has been associated with neural oscillations at alpha and gamma frequencies, which can be targeted using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).

Westdrive X LoopAR: An Open-Access Virtual Reality Project in Unity for Evaluating User Interaction Methods during Takeover Requests.

With the further development of highly automated vehicles, drivers will engage in non-related tasks while being driven. Still, drivers have to take over control when requested by the car. Here, the question arises, how potentially distracted drivers get back into the control-loop quickly and safely when the car requests a takeover.

Exploring Dynamic Connectivity Biomarkers of Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

A recent study by Lee et al. showed that a dynamic functional connectivity pattern induced by tonic experimental pain might serve as a biomarker of chronic pain. The study illustrates key topics in translational neuroscience: the differentiation of biomarker functions, the multimodal integration of biomarkers, and the functional relevance of dynamic connectivity.

Niche Differentiation of Bacterial Versus Archaeal Soil Nitrifiers Induced by Ammonium Inhibition Along a Management Gradient.

Soil nitrification, mediated mainly by ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), converts ammonium (NH ) to nitrite (NO ) and thence nitrate (NO ). To better understand ecological differences between AOA and AOB, we investigated the nitrification kinetics of AOA and AOB under eight replicated cropped and unmanaged ecosystems (including two fertilized natural systems) along a long-term management intensity gradient in the upper U.S.

Infantile Hemangioma: A Review of Current Pharmacotherapy Treatment and Practice Pearls.

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common vascular tumor of infancy, affecting as many as 5% to 10% of all infants. The exact cause is unclear, but specific risk factors, such as low birth weight, prematurity, female sex, white race, and family history are associated with IH development. Most IHs are benign and self-resolving, but a small subset of patients with IHs are at risk of severe or life-threatening outcomes.

Impacts of nitrogen addition on switchgrass root-associated diazotrophic community structure and function.

Cellulosic bioenergy crops, like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), have potential for growth on lands unsuitable for food production coupled with potential for climate mitigation. Sustainability of these systems lies in identifying conditions that promote high biomass yields on marginal lands under low-input agricultural practices. Associative nitrogen fixation (ANF) is a potentially important nitrogen (N) source for these crops, yet ANF contributions to plant N, especially under fertilizer N addition are unclear.

Development, Processing and Applications of a UV-Curable Polymer with Surface Active Thiol Groups.

We present here a novel resist formulation with active thiol groups at the surface. The material is UV curable, and can be patterned at the micro- and nanoscale by UV nanoimprint lithography. The resist formulation development, its processing, patterning and surface characterization are presented here.