Effects of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesion on motor habit and performance assessed with manual grasping and control of force in macaque monkeys.

In the context of an autologous adult neural cell ecosystem (ANCE) transplantation study, four intact adult female macaque monkeys underwent a unilateral biopsy of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) to provide the cellular material needed to obtain the ANCE. Monkeys were previously trained to perform quantitative motor (manual dexterity) tasks, namely, the "modified-Brinkman board" task and the "reach and grasp drawer" task. The aim of the present study was to extend preliminary data on the role of the prefrontal cortex in motor habit and test the hypothesis that dlPFC contributes to predict the grip force required when a precise level of force to be generated is known beforehand. As expected for a small dlPFC biopsy, neither the motor performance (score) nor the spatiotemporal motor sequences were affected in the "modified-Brinkman board" task, whereas significant changes (mainly decreases) in the maximal grip force (force applied on the drawer knob) were observed in the "reach and grasp drawer" task. The present data in the macaque monkey related to the prediction of grip force are well in line with the previous fMRI data reported for human subjects. Moreover, the ANCE transplantation strategy (in the case of stroke or Parkinson's disease) based on biopsy in dlPFC does not generate unwanted motor consequences, at least as far as motor habit and motor performance are concerned in the context of a sequential grasping a small objects, which does not require the development of significant force levels

New design and comparative study via two techniques for wind energy conversion system

Introduction. With the advancements in the variable speed direct drive design and control of wind energy systems, the efficiency and energy capture of these systems is also increasing. As such, numerous linear controllers have also been developed, in literature, for MPPT which use the linear characteristics of the wind turbine system. The major limitation in all of those linear controllers is that they use the linearized model and they cannot deal with the nonlinear dynamics of a system. However, real systems exhibit nonlinear dynamics and a nonlinear controller is required to handle such nonlinearities in real-world systems. The novelty of the proposed work consists in the development of a robust nonlinear controller to ensure maximum power point tracking by handling nonlinearities of a system and making it robust against changing environmental conditions. Purpose. In the beginning, sliding mode control has been considered as one of the most powerful control techniques, this is due to the simplicity of its implementation and robustness compared to uncertainties of the system and external disturbances. Unfortunately, this type of controller suffers from a major disadvantage, that is, the phenomenon of chattering. Methods. So in this paper and in order to eliminate this phenomenon, a novel non-linear control algorithm based on a synergetic controller is proposed. The objective of this control is to maximize the power extraction of a variable speed wind energy conversion system compared to sliding mode control by eliminating the phenomenon of chattering and have a good power quality by fixing the power coefficient at its maximum value and the Tip Speed Ratio maintained at its optimum value. Results. The performance of the proposed nonlinear controllers has been validated in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, suppression of the chattering phenomenon and robustness of the proposed controller compared to the sliding mode control law.Вступ. З досягненнями у проектуванні та керуванні вітряними енергосистемами з регульованою швидкістю, зростають також ефективність та захоплення енергії цих систем. Так, в літературі також розроблено численні лінійні контролери для відстеження точки максимальної потужності, які використовують лінійні характеристики системи з вітряними турбінами. Основним обмеженням у всіх цих лінійних контролерах є те, що вони використовують лінеаризовану модель і не можуть мати справу з нелінійною динамікою системи. Однак реальні системи демонструють нелінійну динаміку, і для обробки таких нелінійностей у реальних системах необхідний нелінійний контролер. Новизна запропонованої роботи полягає у розробці надійного нелінійного контролера для забезпечення відстеження точки максимальної потужності шляхом обробки нелінійності системи та забезпечення її стійкості до змін умов навколишнього середовища. Мета. Спочатку управління ковзним режимом вважалося одним з найпотужніших методів управління, що пов’язано з простотою його реалізації та надійністю порівняно з невизначеністю системи та зовнішніми збуреннями. На жаль, цей тип контролера страждає від головного недоліку, а саме явища вібрування. Методи. Тому у цій роботі з метою усунення цього явища пропонується новий нелінійний алгоритм управління, заснований на синергетичному контролері. Завдання цього контролю – максимізувати відбір потужності системи перетворення енергії вітру зі змінною швидкістю порівняно із регулюванням ковзного режиму, усуваючи явище вібрування, і мати хорошу якість енергії, фіксуючи коефіцієнт потужності на його максимальному значенні та підтримуючи кінцевий коефіцієнт швидкості на його оптимальному значенні. Результати. Ефективність запропонованих нелінійних контролерів перевірена в середовищі MATLAB/Simulink. Результати моделювання показують ефективність запропонованої схеми, придушення явища вібрування та стійкість запропонованого контролера порівняно із законом управління ковзного режиму

Energy management based on a fuzzy controller of a photovoltaic/fuel cell/Li-ion battery/supercapacitor for unpredictable, fluctuating, high-dynamic three-phase AC load

Introduction. Nowadays, environmental pollution becomes an urgent issue that undoubtedly influences the health of humans and other creatures living in the world. The growth of hydrogen energy increased 97.3 % and was forecast to remain the world’s largest source of green energy. It can be seen that hydrogen is one of the essential elements in the energy structure as well as has great potential to be widely used in the 21st century. Purpose. This paper aims to propose an energy management strategy based a fuzzy logic control, which includes a hybrid renewable energy sources system dedicated to the power supply of a three-phase AC variable load (unpredictable high dynamic). Photovoltaic (PV), fuel cell (FC), Li-ion battery, and supercapacitor (SC) are the four sources that make up the renewable hybrid power system; all these sources are coupled in the DC-link bus. Unlike usual the SC was connected to the DC-link bus directly in this research work in order to ensure the dominant advantage which is a speedy response during load fast change and loads transient. Novelty. The power sources (PV/FC/Battery/SC) are coordinated based on their dynamics in order to keep the DC voltage around its reference. Among the main goals achieved by the fuzzy control strategy in this work are to reduce hydrogen consumption and increase battery lifetime. Methods. This is done by controlling the FC current and by state of charge (SOC) of the battery and SC. To verify the fuzzy control strategy, the simulation was carried out with the same system and compared with the management flowchart strategy. The results obtained confirmed that the hydrogen consumption decreased to 26.5 g and the SOC for the battery was around 62.2-65 and this proves the desired goal.Вступ. В даний час забруднення навколишнього середовища стає актуальною проблемою, яка, безперечно, впливає на здоров’я людини та інших істот, які живуть у світі. Зростання водневої енергетики збільшилося на 97,3 %, і прогнозувалося, що вона залишиться найбільшим у світі джерелом зеленої енергії. Видно, що водень є одним із найважливіших елементів у структурі енергетики, а також має великий потенціал для широкого використання у 21 столітті. Мета. У цій статті пропонується стратегія управління енергоспоживанням, заснована на нечіткому логічному управлінні, яка включає гібридну систему відновлюваних джерел енергії, призначену для живлення трифазного змінного навантаження змінного струму (непередбачувана висока динаміка). Фотоелектричні (PV), паливні елементи (FC), літій-іонні батареї та суперконденсатори (SC) – це чотири джерела, з яких складається відновлювана гібридна енергосистема; всі ці джерела підключені до шини постійного струму. На відміну від звичайних застосувань,ув цій дослідницькій роботі SC був підключений до шини постійного струму безпосередньо, щоб забезпечити домінуючу перевагу, що полягає в швидкому реагуванні при швидкій зміні навантаження та перехідних режимах навантаження. Новизна. Джерела живлення (PV/FC/батареї/SC) координуються на основі їхньої динаміки, щоб підтримувати напругу постійного струму біля свого еталонного значення. Серед основних цілей, досягнутих стратегією нечіткого управління у цій роботі, - зниження споживання водню та збільшення терміну служби батареї. Методи. Це робиться шляхом керування струмом FC та станом заряду (SOC) батареї та SC. Для перевірки стратегії нечіткого управління було проведено моделювання з тією самою системою та порівняння зі стратегією блок-схеми керування. Отримані результати підтвердили, що споживання водню знизилося до 26,5 г, а SOC для батареї становило близько 62,2-65, що доводить досягнення бажаної мети

Roles of age, gender and psychological difficulties in adolescent mentalizing

INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a critical period for the development of mentalizing – the imaginative capacity to understand one's own and others' behaviour in terms of underlying mental states. Yet, factors and mechanisms underlying individual differences in adolescent mentalizing remain poorly understood. This exploratory study examined whether and how a) age and gender and b) psychological difficulties correlate with mentalizing performance in adolescents from the general population. METHODS: 89 adolescents from Geneva, Switzerland (54 females, age 12–17 years) completed a computerized task of mentalizing and a self-report measure of psychopathology. RESULTS: Mentalizing performance improved with age. Males showed lower scores on the mentalizing task and made more hypermentalizing errors than females. The main findings revealed a negative association between mentalizing performance and self-reported attention problems. Post-hoc analyses further demonstrated that self-reported attentional difficulties were particularly associated with weaker scores on items requiring mentalizing about intentions, while self-reported withdrawal/depression symptoms were particularly associated with weaker scores on items requiring mentalizing about emotions and thoughts. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights a negative association between attentional difficulties and mentalizing performance in community adolescents. Moreover, it provides preliminary evidence suggesting that age, gender and psychological difficulties can be distinctively associated with patterns of correct and incorrect mentalizing in community adolescents. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed

Longitudinal Relationships Between Reflective Functioning, Empathy, and Externalizing Behaviors During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Reflective functioning (RF) refers to the understanding of one’s own and others’ behaviors in terms of mental states, whereas empathy entails the abilities to understand (cognitive empathy) and to share (affective empathy) the emotions of others. Low RF and low empathy have been previously related to externalizing behaviors, such as aggression and rule breaking. However, few longitudinal studies have simultaneously examined the relationships between these variables during adolescence. The aim of the present study is to investigate the longitudinal effects of both RF and empathy on potential changes in externalizing behaviors over time, in a group of 103 adolescents and young adults from the general population assessed repeatedly up to four times. We conducted multilevel analysis in order to examine the effects of RF and empathy on the initial levels and the trajectories of externalizing behaviors over time, while accounting for other variables previously associated with externalizing behaviors, such as age, gender, internalizing problems, and cognitive abilities. The results suggest that the ability to reflect on behaviors in terms of mental states predicted a sharper decrease in externalizing behaviors over time. Moreover, externalizing behaviors at the first assessment were associated with RF impairments and low affective empathy. Age, gender, cognitive abilities, and cognitive empathy were not associated with externalizing behaviors. We discuss how our results, based on a typically developing population, might inform primary or indicated prevention strategies for externalizing behaviors by focusing on socio-cognitive processes such as RF and affective empathy

Mentalization-based treatment for adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A pilot study

Recent literature suggests that, in addition to its core cognitive and behavioural symptoms, socioemotional difficulties represent key characteristics of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Importantly, these deficits not only contribute negatively to the low social functioning and poorer professional achievements of ADHD patients relative to healthy individuals, they also respond poorly to medication and are not specifically addressed by current evidence-based psychological treatments. Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is a psychological intervention focused on promoting the imaginative capacity to understand human behaviour as being driven by mental states. MBT has been shown to be effective in patients with chronic emotional dysregulation; it may therefore represent a valuable approach to address sociocognitive deficits and shape adaptive functioning in ADHD. In this study, we tailored the timelimited MBT program developed for borderline personality disorder to the specific clinical needs of individuals with ADHD. We report on the first eight patients with ADHD included in our programme at the Geneva University Hospitals. Preliminary results support the feasibility and relevance of the MBT model for ADHD. We discuss conceptual and clinical implications of the current data

Corticotectal Projections From the Premotor or Primary Motor Cortex After Cortical Lesion or Parkinsonian Symptoms in Adult Macaque Monkeys: A Pilot Tracing Study

The corticotectal projections, together with the corticobulbar (corticoreticular) projections, work in parallel with the corticospinal tract (CST) to influence motoneurons in the spinal cord both directly and indirectly via the brainstem descending pathways. The tectospinal tract (TST) originates in the deep layers of the superior colliculus. In the present study, we analyzed the corticotectal projections from two motor cortical areas, namely the premotor cortex (PM) and the primary motor cortex (M1) in eight macaque monkeys subjected to either a cortical lesion of the hand area in M1 (n = 4) or Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms PD (n = 4). A subgroup of monkeys with cortical lesion was subjected to anti-Nogo-A antibody treatment whereas all PD monkeys were transplanted with Autologous Neural Cell Ecosystems (ANCEs). The anterograde tracer BDA was used to label the axonal boutons both en passant and terminaux in the ipsilateral superior colliculus. Individual axonal boutons were charted in the different layers of the superior colliculus. In intact animals, we previously observed that corticotectal projections were denser when originating from PM than from M1. In the present M1 lesioned monkeys, as compared to intact ones the corticotectal projection originating from PM was decreased when treated with anti-Nogo-A antibody but not in untreated monkeys. In PD-like symptoms’ monkeys, on the other hand, there was no consistent change affecting the corticotectal projection as compared to intact monkeys. The present pilot study overall suggests that the corticotectal projection is less affected by M1 lesion or PD symptoms than the corticoreticular projection previously reported in the same animals

Systemic effects of epidural methylprednisolone injection on glucose tolerance in diabetic patients

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that in diabetic patients, the glycemic profile was disturbed after intra-articular injection of corticosteroids. Little is known about the impact of epidural injection in such patients. The goal of this study was double, at first comparing the glycaemic profile in diabetic patients after a unique injection of 80 mg of acetate methylprednisolone either intra-articular or epidural and secondly to compare the amount of systemic diffusion of the drug after both procedures. METHODS: Seventeen patients were included. Glycemic changes were compared in 9 diabetic patients following intra-articular (4 patients) and epidural injections (5 patients). Epidural injections were performed using the sacral route under fluoroscopic control in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Diabetes control had to stable for more than 10 days and the renal function to be preserved. Blood glucose was monitored using a validated continuous measuring device (GMS, Medtronic) the day before and for two days following the injection. Results were expressed in the form of daily glycemic profiles and as by mean, peak and minimal values +/ SD. The urinary excretion of methylprednisolone after the 2 routes of injection was analyzed in 8 patients (4 in each group). Urine samples were cropped one hour before the injections, then 4 times during the first day and 3 times a week for 2 weeks. The measurements included the free and conjugated fraction RESULTS: The glycaemic profile remains unchanged with no significant changes in the group of the 5 diabetic patients receiving epidural injections. On the other end, the average peak and mean values were enhanced up to 3 mmol/l above baseline two days after the infiltration in the groups of the 4 diabetic patients infiltrated intra-articular. The mean urinary excretion of the steroid was about ten times higher in the intra-articular versus epidural group: 7000 ng/ml versus 700 ng/ml. Looking at each individual there were marked differences especially after intra-articular injections. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show that a single epidural steroid injection of 80 mg depot methylprednisolone had no effect on the glycemic control in diabetic patients. The absence of glycemic control changes correlated well with the very low urinary excretion of the drug after epidural injection. Trial registration NCT01420497