Global motor dynamics - Invariant neural representations of motor behavior in distributed brain-wide recordings.

Motor-related neural activity is more widespread than previously thought, as pervasive brain-wide neural correlates of motor behavior have been reported in various animal species. Brain-wide movement-related neural activity have been observed in individual brain areas in humans as well, but it is unknown to what extent global patterns exist.Here, we use a decoding approach to capture and characterize brain-wide neural correlates of movement.

Quantification Approaches in Non-Target LC/ESI/HRMS Analysis: An Interlaboratory Comparison.

Nontargeted screening (NTS) utilizing liquid chromatography electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/ESI/HRMS) is increasingly used to identify environmental contaminants. Major differences in the ionization efficiency of compounds in ESI/HRMS result in widely varying responses and complicate quantitative analysis. Despite an increasing number of methods for quantification without authentic standards in NTS, the approaches are evaluated on limited and diverse data sets with varying chemical coverage collected on different instruments, complicating an unbiased comparison.

Decoding executed and imagined grasping movements from distributed non-motor brain areas using a Riemannian decoder.

Using brain activity directly as input for assistive tool control can circumventmuscular dysfunction and increase functional independence for physically impaired people. The motor cortex is commonly targeted for recordings, while growing evidence shows that there exists decodable movement-related neural activity outside of the motor cortex. Several decoding studies demonstrated significant decoding from distributed areas separately.

Towards predicting ECoG-BCI performance: assessing the potential of scalp-EEG.

. Implanted brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) employ neural signals to control a computer and may offer an alternative communication channel for people with locked-in syndrome (LIS). Promising results have been obtained using signals from the sensorimotor (SM) area.

Dataset of Speech Production in intracranial.Electroencephalography.

Speech production is an intricate process involving a large number of muscles and cognitive processes. The neural processes underlying speech production are not completely understood. As speech is a uniquely human ability, it can not be investigated in animal models.

Decoding four hand gestures with a single bipolar pair of electrocorticography electrodes.

Electrocorticography (ECoG) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can be used to restore communication in individuals with locked-in syndrome. In motor-based BCIs, the number of degrees-of-freedom, and thus the speed of the BCI, directly depends on the number of classes that can be discriminated from the neural activity in the sensorimotor cortex. When considering minimally invasive BCI implants, the size of the subdural ECoG implant must be minimized without compromising the number of degrees-of-freedom.

A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Approach for Language Laterality Assessment in Young Children.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a usable technique to determine hemispheric dominance of language function, but high-quality fMRI images are difficult to acquire in young children. Here we aimed to develop and validate an fMRI approach to reliably determine hemispheric language dominance in young children. We designed two new tasks (story, SR; Letter picture matching, LPM) that aimed to match the interests and the levels of cognitive development of young children.

Modulation of Brain Activity by Selective Attention to Audiovisual Dialogues.

In real-life noisy situations, we can selectively attend to conversations in the presence of irrelevant voices, but neurocognitive mechanisms in such natural listening situations remain largely unexplored. Previous research has shown distributed activity in the mid superior temporal gyrus (STG) and sulcus (STS) while listening to speech and human voices, in the posterior STS and fusiform gyrus when combining auditory, visual and linguistic information, as well as in left-hemisphere temporal and frontal cortical areas during comprehension. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated how selective attention modulates neural responses to naturalistic audiovisual dialogues.

Genetic and environmental influences on functional connectivity within and between canonical cortical resting-state networks throughout adolescent development in boys and girls.

The human brain is active during rest and hierarchically organized into intrinsic functional networks. These functional networks are largely established early in development, with reports of a shift from a local to more distributed organization during childhood and adolescence. It remains unknown to what extent genetic and environmental influences on functional connectivity change throughout adolescent development.

Involvement of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the expression of extracellular matrix genes in retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Emerging evidence suggests that dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous senile degenerative diseases including retinal disorders. The aim of this study was to assess whether there is a link between proteasome regulation and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-mediated expression of extracellular matrix genes. For this purpose, human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) were treated with different concentrations of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), interferon-γ (IFNγ) and the irreversible proteasome inhibitor epoxomicin.

Modulation of the Proteasome Pathway by Nano-Curcumin and Curcumin in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.

Introduction: Curcumin has multiple biological effects including the modulation of protein homeostasis by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro cytotoxic and oxidative effects of nano-curcumin and standard curcumin and characterize their effects on proteasome regulation in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells.

Methods: Viability, cell cycle progression, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were determined after treatment with nano-curcumin or curcumin.

Can plants grow on Mars and the moon: a growth experiment on Mars and moon soil simulants.

When humans will settle on the moon or Mars they will have to eat there. Food may be flown in. An alternative could be to cultivate plants at the site itself, preferably in native soils.

Tracheal intubation with a camera embedded in the tube tip (Vivasight(™) ).

We studied tracheal intubation in manikins and patients with a camera embedded in the tip of the tracheal tube (Vivasight(™) ). Four people in two teams and two individuals attempted intubation of a manikin through an i-gel(™) 10 times each. The tracheas of 12 patients with a Mallampati grade of 1 were intubated with a Vivasight tracheal tube through a Berman airway, passed over a Frova(™) introducer.