Methods for analyzing the influence of molecular dynamics on neuronal activity

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2015von Stefan Sokol

Neuronal cell signal analysis: spike detection algorithm development for microelectrode array recordings

Neural signal acquisition and processing techniques are rising trends among wide scientific and commercial areas. Microelectrode array (MEA) technology makes it possible to access and record the electrical activity of neural cells. In this work, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) -derived neuronal populations were grown on MEA plates. The activity of the cells was recorded and the research about modern signal processing methods for the neural spike detection was performed. A list of approaches was selected for detailed investigation and the most efficient one was chosen as the new technique for permanent use in the research group. The performed laboratory activities involved cell culture plating, regular medium changes, spontaneous activity recordings and pharmacological manipulations. The data acquired from pharmacological experiments were used for the comparison between the old and new spike detection algorithms in terms of the numbers of the detected events. The Stationary Wavelet Transform-based Teager Energy Operator (SWTTEO) shows prominent performance in the tests with synthetic data. The use of the proposed algorithm in conjunction with the common amplitude-based thresholding enables to lower the threshold and to detect more spikes without an excessive number of false positives. This mode is applicable for real cell data. The detection method was considered superior and was further distributed for the processing of all neural data of the research group which include signals acquired from neuronal populations derived from human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (hESCs and iPSCs) as well as rat cells

In vitro neuronal cultures on MEA: an engineering approach to study physiological and pathological brain networks

Reti neuronali accoppiate a matrici di microelettrodi: un metodo ingegneristico per studiare reti cerebrali in situazioni fisiologiche e patologich

Anti-angiogenic and toxicity effects of Derris trifoliata extract in zebrafish embryo

Introduction: Derris trifoliata has been traditionally used as folk for the treatment of , rheumatic joints, diarrhoea, and dysmenorrhea, and rotenoids isolated from the plant have shown to exhibit anti-cancer properties. This study aimed to assess the toxicity effects and antiangiogenic activity of extract of Derris trifoliata on zebrafish embryo model. Materials and Methods: Zebrafihs embryos were treated with aqueous extract of Derris Trifoliata to evaluate its effects on angiogenesis and zebrafish-toxicity. Angiogenic response was analyzed using whole-mount alkaline phosphatase (AP) vessel staining on 72 hours post fertilization (hpf) zebrafish embryos. Results: 1.0 mg/ml concentration was toxic to zebrafish embryos and embryos exposed to concentrations at 0.5 mg/ml and below showed some malformations. Derris trifoliata aqueous extract also showed some anti-angiogenic activity in vivo in the zebrafish embryo model wereby at high concentration inhibited vessel formation in zebrafish embryo. Conclusions: The anti-angiogenic response of extract of Derris trifoliata in zebrafish in vivo model suggest its therapeutic potential as anti-cancer agent