Axon diversity of lamina I local-circuit neurons in the lumbar spinal cord

Spinal lamina I is a key area for relaying and integrating information from nociceptive primary afferents with various other sources of inputs. Although lamina I projection neurons have been intensively studied, much less attention has been given to local-circuit neurons (LCNs), which form the majority of the lamina I neuronal population. In this work the infrared light-emitting diode oblique illumination technique was used to visualize and label LCNs, allowing reconstruction and analysis of their dendritic and extensive axonal trees. We show that the majority of lamina I neurons with locally branching axons fall into the multipolar (with ventrally protruding dendrites) and flattened (dendrites limited to lamina I) somatodendritic categories. Analysis of their axons revealed that the initial myelinated part gives rise to several unmyelinated small-diameter branches that have a high number of densely packed, large varicosities and an extensive rostrocaudal (two or three segments), mediolateral, and dorsoventral (reaching laminae III–IV) distribution. The extent of the axon and the occasional presence of long, solitary branches suggest that LCNs may also form short and long propriospinal connections. We also found that the distribution of axon varicosities and terminal field locations show substantial heterogeneity and that a substantial portion of LCNs is inhibitory. Our observations indicate that LCNs of lamina I form intersegmental as well as interlaminar connections and may govern large numbers of neurons, providing anatomical substrate for rostrocaudal “processing units” in the dorsal horn

Combining inhomogeneous magnetization transfer and multipoint Dixon acquisition: potential utility and evaluation

Purpose The recently introduced inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) method has predominantly been applied for imaging the central nervous system. Future applications of ihMT, such as in peripheral nerves and muscles, will involve imaging in the vicinity of adipose tissues. This work aims to systematically investigate the partial volume effect of fat on the ihMT signal and to propose an efficient fat-separation method that does not interfere with ihMT measurements.Methods First, the influence of fat on ihMT signal was studied using simulations. Next, the ihMT sequence was combined with a multi-echo Dixon acquisition for fat separation. The sequence was tested in 9 healthy volunteers using a 3T human scanner. The ihMT ratio (ihMTR) values were calculated in regions of interest in the brain and the spinal cord using standard acquisition (no fat saturation), water-only, in-phase, and out-of-phase reconstructions. The values obtained were compared with a standard fat suppression method, spectral presaturation with inversion recovery.Results Simulations showed variations in the ihMTR values in the presence of fat, depending on the TEs used. The IhMTR values in the brain and spinal cord derived from the water-only ihMT multi-echo Dixon images were in good agreement with values from the unsuppressed sequence. The ihMT-spectral presaturation with inversion recovery combination resulted in 24%-35% lower ihMTR values compared with the standard non-fat-suppressed acquisition.Conclusion The presence of fat within a voxel affects the ihMTR calculations. The IhMT multi-echo Dixon method does not compromise the observable ihMT effect and can potentially be used to remove fat influence in ihMT.Neuro Imaging Researc

The response of a multi-directional composite laminate to through-thickness loading

International audienceThe through-thickness mechanical response of a carbon fibre / epoxy laminated composite of lay-up [0/45/-45] is measured at low rates of strain. Uniaxial tension and compression experiments are carried out on dogbone specimens cut from a thick laminate along different directions, and failure mechanisms are observed via optical and electron microscopy. The effect of direct and shear stresses at the ply interfaces on the onset of failure is measured, and a failure envelope is constructed. The compressive response of specimens of different shape is investigated. Composite beams of different volume and aspect ratios are tested to failure in three-point bending and these tests reveal a strong dependence of the apparent out-of-plane tensile strength of the composite on the beam volume; this effect is modelled by Weibull theory

Correlação de variáveis espectrais e estoque de carbono da biomassa aérea de sistemas agroflorestais

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a correlação entre variáveis espectrais e o estoque de carbono da biomassa aérea de sistemas agroflorestais da região de Tomé‑Açu, PA. Foram testados 24 índices de vegetação de três grupos (razão simples, diferença normalizada e complexos), gerados a partir de imagens do sensor TM/Landsat‑5, adquiridas em 2008. As variáveis obtidas foram correlacionadas, por meio de regressão linear simples, ao estoque de carbono de quatro classes de sistemas agroflorestais, de diferentes idades e composições florísticas. As correlações obtidas entre as variáveis espectrais e o estoque de carbono foram significativas em 47% dos índices testados e variaram de acordo com as diferenças de biomassa nos sistemas analisados. As melhores correlações foram obtidas pelos índices de vegetação de razão simples e de diferença normalizada, em sistemas agroflorestais jovens, e pelos índices de vegetação complexos, em sistemas agroflorestais mais antigos