Endocrine remodelling of the adult intestine sustains reproduction in Drosophila.

The production of offspring is energetically costly and relies on incompletely understood mechanisms that generate a positive energy balance. In mothers of many species, changes in key energy-associated internal organs are common yet poorly characterised functionally and mechanistically. In this study, we show that, in adult Drosophila females, the midgut is dramatically remodelled to enhance reproductive output. In contrast to extant models, organ remodelling does not occur in response to increased nutrient intake and/or offspring demands, but rather precedes them. With spatially and temporally directed manipulations, we identify juvenile hormone (JH) as an anticipatory endocrine signal released after mating. Acting through intestinal bHLH-PAS domain proteins Methoprene-tolerant (Met) and Germ cell-expressed (Gce), JH signals directly to intestinal progenitors to yield a larger organ, and adjusts gene expression and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) activity in enterocytes to support increased lipid metabolism. Our findings identify a metabolically significant paradigm of adult somatic organ remodelling linking hormonal signals, epithelial plasticity, and reproductive output. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06930.00

Brain-Computer Interface Based on Generation of Visual Images

This paper examines the task of recognizing EEG patterns that correspond to performing three mental tasks: relaxation and imagining of two types of pictures: faces and houses. The experiments were performed using two EEG headsets: BrainProducts ActiCap and Emotiv EPOC. The Emotiv headset becomes widely used in consumer BCI application allowing for conducting large-scale EEG experiments in the future. Since classification accuracy significantly exceeded the level of random classification during the first three days of the experiment with EPOC headset, a control experiment was performed on the fourth day using ActiCap. The control experiment has shown that utilization of high-quality research equipment can enhance classification accuracy (up to 68% in some subjects) and that the accuracy is independent of the presence of EEG artifacts related to blinking and eye movement. This study also shows that computationally-inexpensive Bayesian classifier based on covariance matrix analysis yields similar classification accuracy in this problem as a more sophisticated Multi-class Common Spatial Patterns (MCSP) classifier

Monitoring the orientation of rare-earth-doped nanorods for flow shear tomography

Rare-earth phosphors exhibit unique luminescence polarization features originating from the anisotropic symmetry of the emitter ion's chemical environment. However, to take advantage of this peculiar property, it is necessary to control and measure the ensemble orientation of the host particles with a high degree of precision. Here, we show a methodology to obtain the photoluminescence polarization of Eu-doped LaPO4 nano rods assembled in an electrically modulated liquid-crystalline phase. We measure Eu3+ emission spectra for the three main optimal configurations ({\sigma}, {\pi} and {\alpha}, depending on the direction of observation and the polarization axes) and use them as a reference for the nano rod orientation analysis. Based on the fact that flowing nano rods tend to orient along the shear strain profile, we use this orientation analysis to measure the local shear rate in a flowing liquid. The potential of this approach is then demonstrated through tomographic imaging of the shear rate distribution in a microfluidic system.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures + supplementary files for experimental and numerical method

Epidemiology and outcome predictors in 450 patients with hanging-induced cardiac arrest: a retrospective study

BackgroundCardiac arrest is the most life-threatening complication of attempted suicide by hanging. However, data are scarce on its characteristics and outcome predictors.MethodsThis retrospective observational multicentre study in 31 hospitals included consecutive adults admitted after cardiac arrest induced by suicidal hanging. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality were identified by multivariate logistic regression with multiple imputations for missing data and adjusted to the temporal trends over the study period.ResultsOf 450 patients (350 men, median age, 43 [34–52] years), 305 (68%) had a psychiatric history, and 31 (6.9%) attempted hanging while hospitalized. The median time from unhanging to cardiopulmonary resuscitation was 0 [0–5] min, and the median time to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was 20 [10–30] min. Seventy-nine (18%) patients survived to hospital discharge. Three variables were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality: time from collapse or unhanging to ROSC>20 min (odds ratio [OR], 4.71; 95% confidence intervals [95%CIs], 2.02–10.96; p = 0.0004); glycaemia >1.4 g/L at admission (OR, 6.38; 95%CI, 2.60–15.66; p < 0.0001); and lactate >3.5 mmol/L at admission (OR, 6.08; 95%CI, 1.71–21.06; p = 0.005). A Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of >5 at admission was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (OR, 0.009; 95%CI, 0.02–0.37; p = 0.0009).ConclusionIn patients with hanging-induced cardiac arrest, time from collapse or unhanging to return of spontaneous circulation, glycaemia, arterial lactate, and coma depth at admission were independently associated with survival to hospital discharge. Knowledge of these risk factors may help guide treatment decisions in these patients at high risk of hospital mortality

The contributions of image content and behavioral relevancy to overt attention

During free-viewing of natural scenes, eye movements are guided by bottom-up factors inherent to the stimulus, as well as top-down factors inherent to the observer. The question of how these two different sources of information interact and contribute to fixation behavior has recently received a lot of attention. Here, a battery of 15 visual stimulus features was used to quantify the contribution of stimulus properties during free-viewing of 4 different categories of images (Natural, Urban, Fractal and Pink Noise). Behaviorally relevant information was estimated in the form of topographical interestingness maps by asking an independent set of subjects to click at image regions that they subjectively found most interesting. Using a Bayesian scheme, we computed saliency functions that described the probability of a given feature to be fixated. In the case of stimulus features, the precise shape of the saliency functions was strongly dependent upon image category and overall the saliency associated with these features was generally weak. When testing multiple features jointly, a linear additive integration model of individual saliencies performed satisfactorily. We found that the saliency associated with interesting locations was much higher than any low-level image feature and any pair-wise combination thereof. Furthermore, the low-level image features were found to be maximally salient at those locations that had already high interestingness ratings. Temporal analysis showed that regions with high interestingness ratings were fixated as early as the third fixation following stimulus onset. Paralleling these findings, fixation durations were found to be dependent mainly on interestingness ratings and to a lesser extent on the low-level image features. Our results suggest that both low- and high-level sources of information play a significant role during exploration of complex scenes with behaviorally relevant information being more effective compared to stimulus features.publisher versio

Deux procédésde modulation de luminosité du spot pour l'oscillographie cathodique de potentiels bioélectriques

The paper describes a two-section electronic device for better recording of rapid bioelectric phenomena on the cathode-ray oscillograph screen. In section A (fig. 2), proportional brightening of the trace during transient phenomena is achieved by application of a suitable positive voltage to the cathode-ray tube grid (Z input). This voltage, proportional to the increase in writing-speed of the spot, is obtained by differentiation of the input signal. In section B (fig. 3), intensity modulation is produced by a positive square voltage applied to the grid. The square pulse is delivered by a one-shot multivibrator, triggered by the phenomenon under observation. This same device, used as a negative pulse-generator driven by an external oscillator, may produce intensity-modulated timing markers which blank the trace at known intervals. The use of either beam-intensifying device described is discussed in the paper. © 1956, All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Application à la technique électrophysiologique et particulièrement microphysiologique d'un convertisseur d'impédances d'un principe nouveau

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe