Low Gamma Research Articles

P119 PERI– MYOCARDITIS A RARE CASE OF ESCHERICHIA COLI INFECTION, A BACTERIUM THAT SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED

Abstract Myopericarditis is defined as inflammation of the heart muscle and pericardium, which can be caused by infectious agents, toxins, or immunological reactions. The most recognized cases are secondary to cardiotropic viral infections. Escherichia coli rarely causes myopericarditis and is secondary to the septic dissemination of bacteria or myocardial toxicity of endotoxins. We describe a case of bacterial sepsis due to Escherichia coli which caused myocardial damage with pericardial effusion. 32 year old woman without cardiovascular risk factors, suffering from congenital immunodeficiency for IG type A, B–cell NH lymphoma undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Hashimoto‘s thyroiditis. The patient arrives for dyspnoea and fever. The ECG showed mild PR depression and an over diffuse ST in all leads with low voltage QRS and increased TNI. PA 120/70 mmHg, HR 74 b / m, FR of 15 acts / m. ETT showed diffuse hypokinesia with FE40% and moderate, circumferential, corpuscular and hyperechoic pericardial effusion without signs of cardiac tamponade. CRP, ESR, Procalcitonin, Leukocytes were elevated, hypothyroidism and low gamma globulin values. The serology of pericardiotropic viruses is negative. Chest x–ray of mild bilateral pleural effusion. Urine culture was performed for pollakiuria, dysuria, fever: positive for Escherichiacoli. After gamma globulin replacement therapy, levothyroxine and targeted antibiotic therapy, the patient presents clinical and laboratory improvement and improvement in FE with persistence of pericardial effusion. Pericardiocentesis is performed with drainage of 800 ml of serous–looking liquid with coarse fibrin shoots. Cytological examination of the liquid shows a blood serum aspect with a carpet of granulocytic inflammatory elements. The patient was discharged after therapy with colchicine, prednisone, levothyroxine sodium, indomethacin, ramipril, omeprazole. The ECG showed an evolved ischemic type pattern. Conclusion Very rare cases of Escherichia coli cystitis complicated by myo–pericarditis have been described in the literature. Presumably hypothyroidism and congenital IgA immunodeficiency contributed to favoring and worsening the formation of the effusion. However, further studies are still needed to clarify the mechanisms of myocardial damage, although reversible during this type of bacterial infection.

Frequency-specific medial septal nucleus deep brain stimulation improves spatial memory in MK-801-treated male rats

BackgroundFew treatments exist for the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Pharmacological agents resulting in glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor hypofunction, such as MK-801, mimic many of these symptoms and disrupt neural activity. Recent evidence suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the medial septal nucleus (MSN) can modulate medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampal activity and improve spatial memory. ObjectiveHere, we examine the effects of acute MK-801 administration on oscillatory activity within the septohippocampal circuit and behavior. We also evaluate the potential for MSN stimulation to improve cognitive behavioral measures following MK-801 administration. Methods59 Sprague Dawley male rats received either acute intraperitoneal (IP) saline vehicle injections or MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg). Theta (5–12 Hz), low gamma (30–50 Hz) and high frequency oscillatory (HFO) power were analyzed in the mPFC, MSN, thalamus and hippocampus. Rats underwent MSN theta (7.7 Hz), gamma (100 Hz) or no stimulation during behavioral tasks (Novel object recognition (NOR), elevated plus maze, Barnes maze (BM)). ResultsInjection of MK-801 resulted in frequency-specific changes in oscillatory activity, decreasing theta while increasing HFO power. Theta, but not gamma, stimulation enhanced the anxiolytic effects of MK-801 on the elevated plus maze. While MK-801 treated rats exhibited spatial memory deficits on the Barnes maze, those that also received MSN theta, but not gamma, stimulation found the escape hole sooner. ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that acute MK-801 administration leads to altered neural activity in the septohippocampal circuit and impaired spatial memory. Further, these findings suggest that MSN theta-frequency stimulation improves specific spatial memory deficits and may be a possible treatment for cognitive impairments caused by NMDA hypofunction.

Low Dose Gamma Irradiation of Trypanosoma evansi Parasites Identifies Molecular Changes That Occur to Repair Radiation Damage and Gene Transcripts That May Be Involved in Establishing Disease in Mice Post-Irradiation.

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma evansi is responsible for causing surra in a variety of mammalian hosts and is spread by many vectors over a wide geographical area making it an ideal target for irradiation as a tool to study the initial events that occur during infection. Parasites irradiated at the representative doses 100Gy, 140Gy, and 200Gy were used to inoculate BALB/c mice revealing that parasites irradiated at 200Gy were unable to establish disease in all mice. Cytokine analysis of mice inoculated with 200Gy of irradiated parasites showed significantly lower levels of interleukins when compared to mice inoculated with non-irradiated and 100Gy irradiated parasites. Irradiation also differentially affected the abundance of gene transcripts in a dose-dependent trend measured at 6- and 20-hours post-irradiation with 234, 325, and 484 gene transcripts affected 6 hours post-irradiation for 100Gy-, 140Gy- and 200Gy-irradiated parasites, respectively. At 20 hours post-irradiation, 422, 381, and 457 gene transcripts were affected by irradiation at 100Gy, 140Gy, and 200Gy, respectively. A gene ontology (GO) term analysis was carried out for the three representative doses at 6 hours and 20 hours post-irradiation revealing different processes occurring at 20 hours when compared to 6 hours for 100Gy irradiation. The top ten most significant processes had a negative Z score. These processes fall in significance at 140Gy and even further at 200Gy, revealing that they were least likely to occur at 200Gy, and thus may have been responsible for infection in mice by 100Gy and 140Gy irradiated parasites. When looking at 100Gy irradiated parasites 20 hours post-irradiation processes with a positive Z score, we identified genes that were involved in multiple processes and compared their fold change values at 6 hours and 20 hours. We present these genes as possibly necessary for repair from irradiation damage at 6 hours and suggestive of being involved in the establishment of disease in mice at 20 hours post-irradiation. A potential strategy using this information to develop a whole parasite vaccine is also postulated.

A Practical Procedure to Determine Natural Radionuclides in Solid Materials from Mining

There are many regulations related to the radiological control of NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) in activities such as mining, industry, etc. Consequently, it is necessary to apply fast and accurate methods to measure the activity concentrations of long-lived natural radionuclides (e.g., 238U, 234,232,230,228Th, 228,226Ra, 210Pb, 210Po, and 40K) in samples characterized by a wide variety of compositions and densities, such as mining samples (wastes, minerals, and scales). Thus, it is relevant to calculate the radioactive index (RI), which summarizes for all radionuclides the ratio between the activity concentration and its respective threshold activity concentration as established by regulations, in order to classify a material as a NORM. To proceed with the determinations of these radionuclides, two spectrometric techniques based on both alpha-particle and gamma-ray detections should be employed. In the case of gamma-ray spectrometry, it is necessary to correct the full-energy peak efficiency (FEPE) obtained for the calibration sample, εc, due to self-attenuation and true coincidence summing (TCS) effects. The correction is especially significant at low gamma emission energies, that is, Eγ < 150 keV, such as 46 keV (210Pb) and 63 keV (234Th). On the other hand, in samples which contain radionuclides that are in secular disequilibrium with others belonging to the same series (238U or 232Th series), like wastes or intermediate products, it is necessary to measure some pure-alpha emitters (232Th, 230Th, 210Po) by employing alpha-particle spectrometry. A practical and general validated procedure based on both alpha and gamma spectrometric techniques and using semiconductor detectors is presented in this study.

Monitoring of Ionizing radiation measurements during December 2021 to March 2022 in São José dos Campos, Brazil region

In the months of December 2021 to March 2022 the ITA group of research (ATMOSRAD)* have made the monitoring of rainfall and low energy gamma rays in São José dos Campos, Brazil region. A sodium iodide NaI (Tl) (3” x 3”) scintillator was used, coupled to a photomultiplier (PM) and associated electronics. All of these instruments are capable of measuring ionizing radiation between 200 keV and 10.0 MeV. It can be seen from the measurements made by the scintillator that the detected radiation is related to the intensity of rainfall at the same time of the observations.

Loss of Estrogen‐Related Receptor Alpha (ESRRA) Impairs Neuronal Mitochondrial Function and Results in Disturbed Sleep and Neural Oscillatory Patterns

ESRRA is an orphan nuclear receptor enriched in metabolically active tissues and has been known to affect the transcription of a set of genes that regulate mitochondrial bioenergetics in peripheral organs. Of note, ESRRA is also abundantly expressed in the brain, but the functional role of brain ESRRA remains poorly understood. To test the role of ESRRA on energy metabolism in neurons, we performed the Seahorse assay in mouse primary cortical neurons with or without ESRRA expression and found that neurons lacking ESRRA have significantly reduced cellular respiration compared to control neurons, indicating that loss of ESRRA decreases mitochondrial oxidative capacity and thus neuronal energy production. We have previously reported that global ESRRA null (KO) displayed markedly reduced locomotor activity (home cage vibration plate p<0.05, wheel running p<0.001), suggesting that these mice do display an energy deficit as a result of this manipulation. Based on the commonly appreciated role of sleep in the replenishment of energy stores for normal brain function, we hypothesized that reduced brain energy levels caused by genetic loss of ESRRA would lead to hypersomnia and diminished neural oscillations, which may underlie hypolocomotion seen in ESRRA KO mice. To test this hypothesis, wireless electroencephalography/electromyography (EEG/EMG) devices were implanted in a cohort of ESRRA KO and wildtype (WT) mice and 24hr sleep state was recorded and scored. Sleep architecture analysis from 24‐hour wireless EEG/EMG recording revealed that ESRRA KO mice exhibit significantly increased non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) (p<0.05) sleep as well as disrupted circadian pattern of rapid eye movement (REM) (p<0.01) sleep compared to WT littermates. Power spectral analysis further revealed that high range gamma (40‐100Hz) (p<0.001) and alpha (9‐13Hz) (p<0.05) oscillations are significantly decreased while low range gamma (25‐40Hz) (p<0.05) and beta (13‐25Hz) (p<0.05) oscillations are increased in ESRRA KO mice. Our findings not only reveal a previously unappreciated role of ESRRA in regulating neuronal mitochondrial function, sleep‐wake cycle, and neural oscillations, but also support a novel concept that a single molecular cause of diminished brain energy levels can prolong sleep duration and results in aberrant REM sleep pattern.

The Effect of Gamma Value Alterations for Detecting Vertical Root Fracture in Indirect Digital Radiograph (an In-vitro Study)

Background and Objectives Most digital imaging systems offer a variety of image processing techniques. Due to the importance of the accuracy of these images and their widespread application, this study aims to evaluate the detection of vertical root fracture (VRF) in indirect digital images by changing their gamma values. Subjects and Methods In this study, 23 extracted teeth were prepared as samples from dental clinics in Ahvaz, Iran. The radiographs were obtained from the samples before and after VRF induction. After root canal preparation, a very thin disc was used to divide the teeth into two halves in the buccal-lingual direction to create a VRF. The two halves were re-attached to each other and mounted in in molds filled with a mixture of plaster and sawdust. After processing the images by adjusting their gamma values using low, medium and high settings, the images were viewed by two radiologists for the presence or absence of VRF. Results In all three modes of gamma adjustment, the sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of images were high and there was no significant difference between the three modes. Conclusion The high gamma for digital images can used to as a filter to detect VRF. The images with medium and low gamma values are less helpful for detecting VRF

Radioactive source strength effect on gamma radiation monitoring with a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector

The accurate monitoring of gamma radiation doses in the environment has become essential due to its effect on human health. In this study, the temperature dependence of NaI (Tl) scintillation detectors based on the daily/annually measured dose rate in the environment as well as the importance of selecting the appropriate radioactive source strength when calibrating NaI (Tl) detectors for gamma radiation monitoring were investigated. The temperature correction coefficients discovered during the calibration of the BDKG-03 detector by Atomtex were verified, and whether the time duration of the measurement interval has an effect on readings of gamma radiation was also investigated in the city of Tomsk. NaI (Tl) scintillation detectors were used to monitor the gamma background radiation in the environment. The detectors were calibrated with both high and low radioactive sources to obtain a temperature correction coefficient in order to stabilize the influence of temperature change on the detector at different time intervals. This was used to study the correlation between the daily and annual dose rates of low gamma background radiation. The results showed that there was a shift in the spectrum of the daily and annual dose rates calculated using the algorithm obtained when the detector was calibrated with a highly radioactive source to the position of the constant coefficient for low-level dose. However, the ones obtained when the detector was calibrated with a low radioactive source and that of the constant coefficient for a low-level dose overlapped each other. This demonstrated that the type of radioactive source used in detector calibration during manufacture has an effect on the temperature correction coefficient, which in turn has an effect on the accuracy of the ambient dose rate when used to monitor gamma radiation. The duration of the time interval for measurement was found to be very important since it has an effect on dose rate readings.

Evaluation of radiation shielding characteristics of B2O3–K2O– Li2O - HMO (HMO = TeO2/ SrO /PbO/Bi2O3) glass system: A simulation study using MCNP5 code

We fabricated borate glass samples by using 10 mol% of PbO, Bi2O3, TeO2 and SrO to the 10 Li2O - 20 K2O - 60 B2O3 glass. The impact of these four oxides on the mechanical and photon shielding features has been studied. The Monte Carlo simulation was utilized in order to estimate the shielding capacity in the low energy range between 23.1 and 103 keV. Among the fabricated glasses, glasses reinforced with a concentration of 10 mol% of Bi2O3 have the highest linear attenuation coefficient decreased from 84.796 to 7.161 cm−1. In contrast, the lowest linear attenuation coefficient was achieved for the glasses reinforced with 10 mol % of SrO. The linear attenuation coefficient varied between 17.874 and 0.591 cm−1, raising the energy between 23.1 and 103 keV, respectively. Moreover, the transmission factor, radiation protection efficiency, lead equivalent thickness, and the half-value thickness for the fabricated glasses were also estimated. The results refer that the glasses reinforced the Bi2O3 have a high shielding capacity in the low energy interval compared to the glasses reinforced with SrO, TeO2, and PbO. Therefore, glasses reinforced with Bi2O3 are a good candidate for use in medical low gamma and X-rays protection applications.

Influence of low dose rate gamma radiation on breakdown voltage and electrical breakdown time delay of working gas Geiger-Muller chamber

This paper presents the experimental data on the dynamic breakdown voltage and electrical breakdown time delay of commercial Geiger-Muller chamber manufactured by PHILIPS. The distributions of these data were determined. Static breakdown voltage was estimated based on the mean value of dynamic breakdown voltage as the function of voltage increase rate, for the cases when gamma radiation was not presented and in its presence. In order to separate the mechanisms that predominantly influence the initiation of breakdown for different values of relaxation time, the dependences of mean value of electrical breakdown time delay as the function of relaxation time was analyzed. It has been shown that during the relaxation times up to 3 ms positive ions plays a dominant role in initiating the breakdown while for relaxation times from 3 ms to 30 s initiation of the breakdown is caused by electrically neutral active particles. The effect of gamma radiation on electrical breakdown time delay was observed for relaxation time greater than 7 s.

Prenatal morphine exposure increases gamma oscillation and theta coherence in the rat reward system

Previous studies have found that prenatal morphine (PNM) exposure leads to both increased and decreased risk of substance abuse in offspring. Understanding more about the neurobiological changes after the PNM exposure would help to understand more about this issue. Signaling from dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the mesoaccumbal and mesocortical pathways plays a vital role in drug dependency. To provide further knowledge about the effects of PNM on drug seeking behavior and the dopamine system. We recorded local field potentials (LFP) simultaneously in the VTA, NAc (nucleus accumbens), BLA (basolateral amygdala) and mPFC (medial prefrontal cortex) in male adult rats prenatally treated with saline or morphine. Morphine (10 mg/kg) induced conditioned place preference (CPP) establishment, extinction and priming were tested to investigate the effects of PNM on addictive-like behavior. In addition, the expression of nuclear histone deacetylases (HDAC4, HDAC5), which plays essential epigenetic roles in neuroplasticity after drug use were also tested in VTA and NAc. The results showed that PNM did not change the acquisition of morphine CPP in male rats, but impaired CPP extinction and morphine (5 mg/kg) - primed reinstatement of CPP after extinction. PNM increased the low gamma (30–60 Hz) and high (60–90 Hz) gamma LFP powers in NAc and BLA. PNM also leads to increased theta (4–9 Hz) coherence between VTA and NAc, and increased HDAC5 expression in VTA. After chronic morphine administration, coherence between VTA-NAc, mPFC-NAc and mPFC-BLA increased significantly in PNS rats, but no changes were find in PNM rats, indicating impaired plasticity in brain circuits. All these results suggest that PNM exposure increased reward processing in adult male rats, but impaired morphine CPP extinction and reinstatement, which relate to decreases network plasticity and increased HDAC5 expression in the reward system.

P 4 The impact of low affinity immunoglobulin gamma Fc region receptor III-A gene polymorphisms in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and implications for treatment outcomes: results from the N-MOmentum study

Introduction: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoantibody-mediated CNS disease. The rs396991 F176V polymorphism of the low-affinity IgG Fc region receptor III-A (FCGR3A) gene affects IgG binding affinity. The V allele is linked to poor outcomes in antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases but enhanced response to monoclonal antibody therapies. Characterize the relationship between rs396991 polymorphism, NMOSD disease activity and treatment response in N–MOmentum trial participants. Material and method: N-MOmentum had a randomized controlled period (RCP; inebilizumab 300 mg or placebo on days 1 and 15) of up to 28 weeks, followed by an open-label period (OLP). 142 participants (104 randomized to inebilizumab, 38 to placebo) consented for polymorphism genotyping via TaqMan qPCR assay. Results: Historical annualized attack rates (AAR) and change in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores from NMOSD onset to enrolment were nominally higher in rs396991 V allele participants (V; V/V or V/F genotype; n=74) than in F/F allele participants (F/F; n=68): mean (±SEM) AAR: V, 1.0 (0.8–1.3); F/F, 0.7 (0.5–0.9); EDSS score change: V, 0.6 (0.5–0.7); F/F, 0.4 (0.3–0.5). In the placebo group, the rates of attacks, new/enlarged T2 MRI lesions and NMOSD-related hospitalizations were higher in V allele (n=22) than in F/F allele participants (n=16), but not statistically significant: mean (±SEM) AAR: V, 1.3 (0.9–1.7); F/F, 0.8 (0.5–1.2); new T2 lesions: V, 4.5 (2.6–6.3); F/F, 2.1 (1.0–3.1); hospitalizations: V, 0.5 (0.2–0.8); F/F, 0.2 (0.0–0.4). At end of RCP, V-allele carriers randomized to inebilizumab (n=52) had greater median (IQR) B-cell, plasma-cell and Ig depletion than F/F homozygotes (n=52): B cells; V, 0.6 (0.1–3.2) vs F/F, 1.3 (0.5–4.2) cells/µl; plasma cells: V, 0.04 (0.02–0.2) vs F/F, 0.05 (0.03–0.2) fold change from control mean; Ig: V, 1050 (867–1284) vs F/F, 1238 (1076–1455) Ig/µl. V allele carriers also had lower attack rates and new/enlarged T2 lesions than F/F homozygotes but differences were not statistically significant: mean (±SEM): AAR: V, 0.1 (0.1–0.2); F/F, 0.3 (0.2–0.4); new T2 lesions: V, 1.4 (0.9–1.8); F/F, 1.7 (1.2–2.2). By dose 4 in the OLP, there was little difference between the subgroups in clinical metrics or B-cell depletion. Conclusion: V allele carriers may have increased NMOSD disease activity but may have greater early pharmacodynamic response to inebilizumab compared with those with the wild F/F genotype.

Precision Medicine Approach for Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Therapeutic Apheresis.

Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) is currently the most powerful intervention possible to reach a maximal reduction of lipids in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia and lipoprotein(a) hyperlipidemia. Although LA is an invasive method, it has few side effects and the best results in preventing further major cardiovascular events. It has been suggested that the highly significant reduction of cardiovascular complications in patients with severe lipid disorders achieved by LA is mediated not only by the potent reduction of lipid levels but also by the removal of other proinflammatory and proatherogenic factors. Here we performed a comprehensive proteomic analysis of patients on LA treatment using intra-individually a set of differently sized apheresis filters with the INUSpheresis system. This study revealed that proteomic analysis correlates well with routine clinical chemistry in these patients. The method is eminently suited to discover new biomarkers and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in these patients. Different filters achieve reduction and removal of proatherogenic proteins in different quantities. This includes not only apolipoproteins, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, and plasminogen but also proteins like complement factor B (CFAB), protein AMBP, afamin, and the low affinity immunoglobulin gamma Fc region receptor III-A (FcγRIIIa) among others that have been described as atherosclerosis and metabolic vascular diseases promoting factors. We therefore conclude that future trials should be designed to develop an individualized therapy approach for patients on LA based on their metabolic and vascular risk profile. Furthermore, the power of such cascade filter treatment protocols may improve the prevention of cardiometabolic disease and its complications.

Synaptic Variability and Cortical Gamma Oscillation Power in Schizophrenia.

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are associated with lower gamma oscillation power in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Gamma power depends in part on excitatory drive to fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons (PVIs). Excitatory drive to cortical neurons varies in strength, which could affect how these neurons regulate network oscillations. The authors investigated whether variability in excitatory synaptic strength across PVIs could contribute to lower prefrontal gamma power in schizophrenia. In postmortem PFC from 20 matched pairs of comparison and schizophrenia subjects, levels of vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGlut1) and postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) proteins were quantified to assess variability in excitatory synaptic strength across PVIs. A computational model network was then used to simulate how variability in excitatory synaptic strength across fast-spiking (a defining feature of PVIs) interneurons (FSIs) regulates gamma power. The variability of VGlut1 and PSD95 levels at excitatory inputs across PVIs was larger in schizophrenia relative to comparison subjects. This alteration was not influenced by schizophrenia-associated comorbid factors, was not present in monkeys chronically exposed to antipsychotic medications, and was not present in calretinin interneurons. In the model network, variability in excitatory synaptic strength across FSIs regulated gamma power by affecting network synchrony. Finally, greater synaptic variability interacted synergistically with other synaptic alterations in schizophrenia (i.e., fewer excitatory inputs to FSIs and lower inhibitory strength from FSIs) to robustly reduce gamma power. The study findings suggest that greater variability in excitatory synaptic strength across PVIs, in combination with other modest synaptic alterations in these neurons, can markedly lower PFC gamma power in schizophrenia.

Engineering nonlinear epileptic biomarkers using deep learning and Benford\u2019s law

In this study, we designed two deep neural networks to encode 16 features for early seizure detection in intracranial EEG and compared them and their frequency responses to 16 widely used engineered metrics to interpret their properties: epileptogenicity index (EI), phase locked high gamma (PLHG), time and frequency domain Cho Gaines distance (TDCG, FDCG), relative band powers, and log absolute band powers (from alpha, beta, theta, delta, low gamma, and high gamma bands). The deep learning models were pretrained for seizure identification on the time and frequency domains of 1 s, single-channel clips of 127 seizures (from 25 different subjects) using “leave-one-out” (LOO) cross validation. Each neural network extracted unique feature spaces that were interpreted using spectral power modulations before being used to train a Random Forest Classifier (RFC) for seizure identification. The Gini Importance of each feature was calculated from the pretrained RFC, enabling the most significant features (MSFs) for each task to be identified. The MSFs were extracted to train another RFC for UPenn and Mayo Clinic’s Seizure Detection Kaggle Challenge. They obtained an AUC score of 0.93, demonstrating a transferable method to identify and interpret biomarkers for seizure detection.

An Exploratory EEG Analysis on the Effects of Virtual Reality in People with Neuropathic Pain Following Spinal Cord Injury.

Neuropathic pain in people with spinal cord injury is thought to be due to altered central neuronal activity. A novel therapeutic intervention using virtual reality (VR) head-mounted devices was investigated in this study for pain relief. Given the potential links to neuronal activity, the aim of the current study was to determine whether use of VR was associated with corresponding changes in electroencephalography (EEG) patterns linked to the presence of neuropathic pain. Using a within-subject, randomised cross-over pilot trial, we compared EEG activity for three conditions: no task eyes open state, 2D screen task and 3D VR task. We found an increase in delta activity in frontal regions for 3D VR with a decrease in theta activity. There was also a consistent decrease in relative alpha band (8–12 Hz) and an increase in low gamma (30–45 Hz) power during 2D screen and 3D VR corresponding, with reduced self-reported pain. Using the nonlinear and non-oscillatory method of extracting fractal dimensions, we found increases in brain complexity during 2D screen and 3D VR. We successfully classified the 3D VR condition from 2D screen and eyes opened no task conditions with an overall accuracy of 80.3%. The findings in this study have implications for using VR applications as a therapeutic intervention for neuropathic pain in people with spinal cord injury.

A 64‐channel scheme for autism detection via scaled conjugate gradient‐based neural network classification of electroencephalogram ripples' complexity

AbstractThe description of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes typically the alterations in social skills and attitude as well as problems of communication. At present, the most promising approaches suggested for ASD automatic diagnosis are the machine learning (ML)‐based procedures that begin by the identification and extraction of the most discriminant features. One of the proposed discriminant features of ASD is electroencephalogram (EEG) entropy that reflects the level of complexity or randomness of brain dynamics. The two main techniques currently used to describe the entropy in ASD are multi‐scale entropy (MSE) and spectral entropy (SE). However, MSE is unable to track the exact frequency content on the different time scales that suffer—themselves—from mismatching. In addition, the outcomes of SE approaches in literature are contradictory and confusing about the altered band, direction of change as well as about the affected brain region. The common point in those SE approaches is the examination of one or more of the well‐known frequency bands: Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta and low Gamma. Hence, the range of high Gamma ripples (>80 Hz) is barely examined in ASD literature due to the needed high carefulness in its technical acquisition, detection and processing as well as to the common acceptance of the idea that it is rather related to pathological seizure activity; which is a misconception recently refuted. Further, the study of automatic ASD diagnosis based on ripples is almost inexistent in literature. The present work suggests an accurate automatic technique to classify ASD and neuro‐typical EEG entropy based on the whole range of ripples (75–250 Hz): (1) EEG signals are collected (120 ASD and neuro‐typical children) by an efficient 64‐channel system highly suitable in noisy environment with movement artefacts. (2) All signal disturbances are automatically removed. (3) The power spectra of all EEG channels are computed. (4) Shannon entropy values are calculated for the range of ripples without filtering. (5) Scaled Conjugate Gradient‐based Neural Network (NN) classification, k‐fold cross validation and T‐test are applied to entropy values. (6) Statistical assessment is conducted. The best testing and the overall accuracies were found to be 98.9% and 95.0% respectively.

Low Doses Gamma Irradiation as Quarantine Treatment for Controlling Bactrocera zonata (Saund, 1841) and Its Impact on Guava Fruits Quality

The current laboratory study investigates the effect of low doses of gamma irradiation range of (5-50 Gy) cesium cell- 137 on the different developmental stages eggs, 1st, 2nd , 3rd instars larvae and pupae of peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata. In addition to that the evaluation of phytosanitary irradiation dose on 3rd instar larvae and their effects on the biochemical quality of guava fruits were proven. The findings indicate that irradiation of eggs with dose 25Gy prevents adult emergence, while the dose 45Gy prevents pupation and the dose 50Gy prevents the hatchability of eggs. Moreover, exposure of larvae with the dose 50 Gy resulted in 98.5, 91 and 86 % mortality for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd instars larvae, respectively. No adult emergence was reported in 1st, 2nd and 3rd instars at the dose level 30, 35 and 45 Gy, respectively. The 3rd instar larvae appeared to be the most tolerant stage to radiation treatment than the 2nd and 1st larval instars. When adult emergence was used as a criterion for determination of the effective irradiation dose, 50 Gy was adopted for phytosanitary irradiation dose for B. zonata. Large scale confirmatory tests were applied to 25,000 3rd instar larvae of B. zonata in guava fruits resulting in non- F1 adults’ production with a confidence level of 91.8%. In conclusion, the irradiation dose of 50 Gy induces the inhibition of adult emergence of 3rd instar larvae and is suggested as a possible minimum dose for phytosanitary treatment of B. zonata fruit fly without causing significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on some biochemical characteristics of guava fruits.

Naming-related spectral responses predict neuropsychological outcome after epilepsy surgery.

This prospective study determined the use of intracranially recorded spectral responses during naming tasks in predicting neuropsychological performance following epilepsy surgery. We recruited 65 patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy who underwent preoperative neuropsychological assessment and intracranial EEG recording. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals evaluated the baseline and postoperative language function. During extra-operative intracranial EEG recording, we assigned patients to undergo auditory and picture naming tasks. Time-frequency analysis determined the spatiotemporal characteristics of naming-related amplitude modulations, including high gamma augmentation at 70-110 Hz. We surgically removed the presumed epileptogenic zone based on the intracranial EEG and MRI abnormalities while maximally preserving the eloquent areas defined by electrical stimulation mapping. The multivariate regression model incorporating auditory naming-related high gamma augmentation predicted the postoperative changes in Core Language Score with r2 of 0.37 and in Expressive Language Index with r2 of 0.32. Independently of the effects of epilepsy and neuroimaging profiles, higher high gamma augmentation at the resected language-dominant hemispheric area predicted a more severe postoperative decline in Core Language Score and Expressive Language Index. Conversely, the model incorporating picture naming-related high gamma augmentation predicted the change in Receptive Language Index with an r2 of 0.50. Higher high gamma augmentation independently predicted a more severe postoperative decline in Receptive Language Index. Ancillary regression analysis indicated that naming-related low gamma augmentation and alpha/beta attenuation likewise independently predicted a more severe Core Language Score decline. The machine learning-based prediction model suggested that naming-related high gamma augmentation, among all spectral responses used as predictors, most strongly contributed to the improved prediction of patients showing a >5-point Core Language Score decline (reflecting the lower 25th percentile among patients). We generated the model-based atlas visualizing sites, which, if resected, would lead to such a language decline. With a 5-fold cross-validation procedure, the auditory naming-based model predicted patients who had such a postoperative language decline with an accuracy of 0.80. The model indicated that virtual resection of an electrical stimulation mapping-defined language site would have increased the relative risk of the Core Language Score decline by 5.28 (95% confidence interval: 3.47-8.02). Especially, that of an electrical stimulation mapping-defined receptive language site would have maximized it to 15.90 (95% confidence interval: 9.59-26.33). In summary, naming-related spectral responses predict neuropsychological outcomes after epilepsy surgery. We have provided our prediction model as an open-source material, which will indicate the postoperative language function of future patients and facilitate external validation at tertiary epilepsy centres.

Interictal EEG and ECG for SUDEP Risk Assessment: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

ObjectiveSudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of epilepsy-related mortality. Although lots of effort has been made in identifying clinical risk factors for SUDEP in the literature, there are few validated methods to predict individual SUDEP risk. Prolonged postictal EEG suppression (PGES) is a potential SUDEP biomarker, but its occurrence is infrequent and requires epilepsy monitoring unit admission. We use machine learning methods to examine SUDEP risk using interictal EEG and ECG recordings from SUDEP cases and matched living epilepsy controls.MethodsThis multicenter, retrospective, cohort study examined interictal EEG and ECG recordings from 30 SUDEP cases and 58 age-matched living epilepsy patient controls. We trained machine learning models with interictal EEG and ECG features to predict the retrospective SUDEP risk for each patient. We assessed cross-validated classification accuracy and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve.ResultsThe logistic regression (LR) classifier produced the overall best performance, outperforming the support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and convolutional neural network (CNN). Among the 30 patients with SUDEP [14 females; mean age (SD), 31 (8.47) years] and 58 living epilepsy controls [26 females (43%); mean age (SD) 31 (8.5) years], the LR model achieved the median AUC of 0.77 [interquartile range (IQR), 0.73–0.80] in five-fold cross-validation using interictal alpha and low gamma power ratio of the EEG and heart rate variability (HRV) features extracted from the ECG. The LR model achieved the mean AUC of 0.79 in leave-one-center-out prediction.ConclusionsOur results support that machine learning-driven models may quantify SUDEP risk for epilepsy patients, future refinements in our model may help predict individualized SUDEP risk and help clinicians correlate predictive scores with the clinical data. Low-cost and noninvasive interictal biomarkers of SUDEP risk may help clinicians to identify high-risk patients and initiate preventive strategies.