This manuscript presents the quantification and correlation of three aspects of Alzheimer's Disease evolution, including structural, biochemical, and cognitive assessments. We aimed to test a novel ...structural biomarker for neurodegeneration based on a cortical folding model for mammals. Our central hypothesis is that the cortical folding variable, representative of axonal tension in white matter, is an optimal discriminator of pathological aging and correlates with altered loadings in Cerebrospinal Fluid samples and a decline in cognition and memory. We extracted morphological features from T1w 3T MRI acquisitions using FreeSurfer from 77 Healthy Controls (age = 66 ± 8.4, 69% females), 31 Mild Cognitive Impairment (age = 72 ± 4.8, 61% females), and 13 Alzheimer's Disease patients (age = 77 ± 6.1, 62% females) of recruited volunteers in Brazil to test its discriminative power using optimal cut-point analysis. Cortical folding distinguishes the groups with reasonable accuracy (Healthy Control-Alzheimer's Disease, accuracy = 0.82; Healthy Control-Mild Cognitive Impairment, accuracy = 0.56). Moreover, Cerebrospinal Fluid biomarkers (total Tau, AFormula: see text1-40, AFormula: see text1-42, and Lipoxin) and cognitive scores (Cognitive Index, Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test, Digit Span Backward) were correlated with the global neurodegeneration in MRI aiming to describe health, disease, and the transition between the two states using morphology.
Interfacial or separate phase location of carbonaceous nanofillers (graphene and carbon nanotubes) in polymer blends with co‐continuous phases can lead to double percolation behavior, significantly ...increasing rheological and electrical properties. The prediction of the morphology and the location of the nanofillers has been used as a tool to evaluate the proprieties of co‐continuous polymer blends. This work aims to highlight the superior conductivity levels achieved using a low amount of carbon‐based fillers, by the proper selection in a multiphase polymer matrix as a template for controlled dispersion and spatial distribution of the nanoparticles, offering a compromise between easy processability and enhanced performance. Here, two polymers (linear low‐density polyethylene LLDPE and ethylene‐co‐methylacrylate EMA) and their co‐continuous blend (LLDPE/EMA) were loaded with nanofillers (few‐layer graphene FLG, few‐walled carbon nanotube FWCNT) via continuous melt mixing in twin‐screw extrusion, separate and simultaneously. It was observed that the addition of the nanofillers changed the co‐continuity of the blend, with the probable migration of the nanofillers from the EMA (hydrophilic) phase to the LLDPE (hydrophobic) phase. Rheological percolation occurred preferentially in blends containing FWCNT and FLG/FWCNT. Electrical conductivity was observed in all compositions, with higher electrical conductivity being noticed in hybrids.
Co‐continuous blend morphology of linear low‐density polyethylene/poly(ethylene‐co‐methyl acrylate) was designed and subsequently confirmed. Rheological percolation occurred preferentially in blends containing few‐walled carbon nanotube (FWCNT) and few‐layer graphene/FWCNT. Electrical conductivity between 10−5 and 10−4 S/cm was achieved, without surfactant.
During the last decades, neurofeedback training for emotional self-regulation has received significant attention from scientific and clinical communities. Most studies have investigated emotions ...using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), including the real-time application in neurofeedback training. However, the electroencephalogram (EEG) is a more suitable tool for therapeutic application. Our study aims at establishing a method to classify discrete complex emotions (e.g., tenderness and anguish) elicited through a near-immersive scenario that can be later used for EEG-neurofeedback. EEG-based affective computing studies have mainly focused on emotion classification based on dimensions, commonly using passive elicitation through single-modality stimuli. Here, we integrated both passive and active elicitation methods. We recorded electrophysiological data during emotion-evoking trials, combining emotional self-induction with a multimodal virtual environment. We extracted correlational and time-frequency features, including frontal-alpha asymmetry (FAA), using Complex Morlet Wavelet convolution. Thinking about future real-time applications, we performed within-subject classification using 1-s windows as samples and we applied trial-specific cross-validation. We opted for a traditional machine-learning classifier with low computational complexity and sufficient validation in online settings, the Support Vector Machine. Results of individual-based cross-validation using the whole feature sets showed considerable between-subject variability. The individual accuracies ranged from 59.2 to 92.9% using time-frequency/FAA and 62.4 to 92.4% using correlational features. We found that features of the temporal, occipital, and left-frontal channels were the most discriminative between the two emotions. Our results show that the suggested pipeline is suitable for individual-based classification of discrete emotions, paving the way for future personalized EEG-neurofeedback training.
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, offers many advantages and, particularly in the medical field, it has stood out for its potential for the manufacture of patient-specific ...implantable devices. Thus, the unique properties of 3D-printed biocompatible polymers such as Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) have made these materials the focus of recent research where new post-processing and joining techniques need to be investigated. This study investigates the weldability of PLA and PEEK 3D-printed plates through stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SS-FSW) with assisted heating. An SS-FSW apparatus was developed to address the challenges of rotating shoulder FSW of thermoplastics, with assisted heating either through the shoulder or through the backing plate, thus minimizing material removal defects in the welds. Successful welds revealed that SS-FSW improves surface quality in both PLA and PEEK welds compared to rotating shoulder tools. Process parameters for PLA welds are investigated using the Taguchi method, emphasizing the importance of lower travel speeds to achieve higher joint efficiencies. In PEEK welds, the heated backing plate proved effective in increasing process heat input and reducing cooldown rates which were associated with higher crystallinity PEEK. Despite these findings, further research is needed to improve the weld strength of SS-FSW with these materials considering aspects like tool design, process stability, and 3D printing parameters. This investigation emphasizes the potential of SS-FSW in the assembly of thermoplastic materials, offering insights into the weldability of additively manufactured biocompatible polymers like PLA and PEEK.
In Ridley Scott's film "Blade Runner", empathy-detection devices are employed to measure affiliative emotions. Despite recent neurocomputational advances, it is unknown whether brain signatures of ...affiliative emotions, such as tenderness/affection, can be decoded and voluntarily modulated. Here, we employed multivariate voxel pattern analysis and real-time fMRI to address this question. We found that participants were able to use visual feedback based on decoded fMRI patterns as a neurofeedback signal to increase brain activation characteristic of tenderness/affection relative to pride, an equally complex control emotion. Such improvement was not observed in a control group performing the same fMRI task without neurofeedback. Furthermore, the neurofeedback-driven enhancement of tenderness/affection-related distributed patterns was associated with local fMRI responses in the septohypothalamic area and frontopolar cortex, regions previously implicated in affiliative emotion. This demonstrates that humans can voluntarily enhance brain signatures of tenderness/affection, unlocking new possibilities for promoting prosocial emotions and countering antisocial behavior.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Display omitted
•Microporous silicate Eu-AV-20 synthesised for Cs+ removal from aqueous solutions.•Fixed-bed ion exchange experiments performed under distinct operating conditions.•Modelling based on ...Nernst–Planck, Thomas, Bohart–Adams, Yoon–Nelson and Clark equations.•Reliable correlation and prediction of breakthrough curves with Nernst–Planck based model.•Photoluminescence spectroscopy disclosed the potential of Eu-AV-20 for Cs+ sensing.
Microporous silicate Eu-AV-20 has recently proved to be a promising ion exchange material for cesium removal from aqueous solutions, and its potential for Cs+ photoluminescence sensing was additionally demonstrated. In this work, Cs+ removal was performed in a fixed-bed column, and the influence of linear velocity and mass of ion exchanger on the breakthrough curves was analysed. The experimental data were modelled on the basis of Nernst–Planck (NP) equations and with four well-known analytic models. The analytic expressions provided low errors (root mean square deviation, RMSD, between 3.20% and 6.47%); the 2-parameter NP-based model fitted the data quite well (RMSD=6.66% for correlation and 6.54% for prediction), yielding crucial information on both the transport mechanism within the Eu-AV-20 particles, and the intrinsic dynamic behaviour of the fixed-bed ion exchange column. Taking into account that Eu-AV-20 samples loaded with different amounts of Cs+ exhibited distinct photoluminescence spectra, our results reinforce the potential of AV-20 materials for Cs+ sensing, which raises the possibility of online monitoring the ion exchange in a fixed-bed column using an optical fibre and a spectrometer.
Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is a heterogeneous syndrome, characterized by deficient antibody production and recurrent bacterial infections in addition abnormalities in T cells. ...CD4(+)CD25(high) regulatory T cells (Treg) are essential modulators of immune responses, including down-modulation of immune response to pathogens, allergens, cancer cells and self-antigens.
In this study we set out to investigate the frequency of Treg cells in CVID patients and correlate with their immune activation status.
Sixteen patients (6 males and 10 females) with CVID who had been treated with regular intravenous immunoglobulin and 14 controls were enrolled. Quantitative analyses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were performed by multiparametric flow cytometry using the following cell markers: CD38, HLA-DR, CCR5 (immune activation); CD4, CD25, FOXP3, CD127, and OX40 (Treg cells); Ki-67 and IFN-gamma (intracellular cytokine).
A significantly lower proportion of CD4(+)CD25(high)FOXP3 T cells was observed in CVID patients compared with healthy controls (P<0.05). In addition to a higher proportion of CD8(+) T cells from CVID patients expressing the activation markers, CD38(+) and HLA-DR(+) (P<0.05), we observed no significant correlation between Tregs and immune activation.
Our results demonstrate that a reduction in Treg cells could have impaired immune function in CVID patients.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The influence of different emulsifying salts (ES) on the physicochemical parameters and sensory qualities of spreadable processed cheese (SPPC) was evaluated. The fat and moisture contents of the ...SPPC were not affected significantly by varying proportions of ES. The replacement of sodium‐based polyphosphate blends by their monopotassium phosphate counterpart at 25% (w/w) markedly improved the sensory quality of the SPPC (on a weight basis). An SPPC of acceptable quality labelled as a ‘reduced sodium’ product was obtained using a blend of commercial emulsifying salts and monopotassium phosphate (1:1 w/w) added at 1.2% (w/w) of the total formulation weight.
In this methods article, we present a new implementation of a recently reported FSL-integrated neurofeedback tool, the standalone version of "Functional Real-time Interactive Endogenous ...Neuromodulation and Decoding" (FRIEND). We will refer to this new implementation as the FRIEND Engine Framework. The framework comprises a client-server cross-platform solution for real time fMRI and fMRI/EEG neurofeedback studies, enabling flexible customization or integration of graphical interfaces, devices, and data processing. This implementation allows a fast setup of novel plug-ins and frontends, which can be shared with the user community at large. The FRIEND Engine Framework is freely distributed for non-commercial, research purposes.
The orchid bees includes many species whose integument color is predominantly metallic, in particular those from the genus Euglossa. In the Atlantic Forest, some species exhibit color variation that ...seems to be linked with their distribution, with warmer colors (green, with coppery and reddish tones) in lower latitudes and cooler colors (blue, with purple shades) in higher latitudes. Contrasting taxonomic interpretations of this color variation lead to the recognition of distinct species for the different color morphs. In all three case studies investigated in this work (Euglossa iopoecila, Euglossa stellfeldi, and Euglossa townsendi), the different forms were sampled throughout their distribution. Thirty samples from 16 different localities were used, which had their DNA extracted, amplified, and sequenced for fragments of the genes cytochrome b (cytb) and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (CO1). A concatenated data matrix, totaling 1,089 bp, was submitted for Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses. The resulting phylogenetic trees, together with the estimated genetic distances between samples, led to the conclusion that the different color morphs in all the three case studies do not represent separate species, but only integumental color variations of their respective species.
PDF
