Observations of Mare Serenitatis from lunar orbit and their interpretation

Visual observations are investigated of color differences of Serenitatis mare materials from orbit complement photography and other remotely sensed data. The light tan gray inner fill of the Serenitatis basin is younger than the dark blue gray annulus; the latter continues into and appears to be contemporaneous with the fill of Mare Tranquillitatis. Mare ridges occur in both the inner basin fill and the dark annulus of Serenitatis. Ridges are interpreted as the result of structural deformation and up-doming after the solidification of the basaltic lavas. On the southeastern rim of the Serenitatis basin is the darkes blue gray unit within which Apollo 17 landed. Highland massifs surrounding this unit have unstable slopes which are believed to be the result of localized tectonic activity. On the southwest rim of the basin are the dark tan to brown gray mantling materials of the Sulpicius Gallus Formation. Farther west on the rim are dark blue grap patches which resemble the mare material of the Serenitatis dark annulus

Characterization of anomalous Zeeman patterns in complex atomic spectra

The modeling of complex atomic spectra is a difficult task, due to the huge number of levels and lines involved. In the presence of a magnetic field, the computation becomes even more difficult. The anomalous Zeeman pattern is a superposition of many absorption or emission profiles with different Zeeman relative strengths, shifts, widths, asymmetries and sharpnesses. We propose a statistical approach to study the effect of a magnetic field on the broadening of spectral lines and transition arrays in atomic spectra. In this model, the sigma and pi profiles are described using the moments of the Zeeman components, which depend on quantum numbers and Land\'{e} factors. A graphical calculation of these moments, together with a statistical modeling of Zeeman profiles as expansions in terms of Hermite polynomials are presented. It is shown that the procedure is more efficient, in terms of convergence and validity range, than the Taylor-series expansion in powers of the magnetic field which was suggested in the past. Finally, a simple approximate method to estimate the contribution of a magnetic field to the width of transition arrays is proposed. It relies on our recently published recursive technique for the numbering of LS-terms of an arbitrary configuration.Comment: submitted to Physical Review

Screening for subtle chromosomal rearrangements in an Egyptian sample of children with unexplained mental retardation

Mental retardation is present in about 1–3% of individuals in the general population, but it can be explained in about half of the cases. A descriptive study was carried out to screen for subtle chromosomal rearrangements in a group of Egyptian children with idiopathic mental retardation (IMR) to estimate its frequency if detected. The study enrolled 30 patients with IMR, with the perquisite criteria of bein

Neurophysiological markers predicting recovery of standing in humans with chronic motor complete spinal cord injury

The appropriate selection of individual-specific spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES) parameters is crucial to re-enable independent standing with self-assistance for balance in individuals with chronic, motor complete spinal cord injury, which is a key achievement toward the recovery of functional mobility. To date, there are no available algorithms that contribute to the selection of scES parameters for facilitating standing in this population. Here, we introduce a novel framework for EMG data processing that implements spectral analysis by continuous wavelet transform and machine learning methods for characterizing epidural stimulation-promoted EMG activity resulting in independent standing. Analysis of standing data collected from eleven motor complete research participants revealed that independent standing was promoted by EMG activity characterized by lower median frequency, lower variability of median frequency, lower variability of activation pattern, lower variability of instantaneous maximum power, and higher total power. Additionally, the high classification accuracy of assisted and independent standing allowed the development of a prediction algorithm that can provide feedback on the effectiveness of muscle-specific activation for standing promoted by the tested scES parameters. This framework can support researchers and clinicians during the process of selection of epidural stimulation parameters for standing motor rehabilitation

ABNORMALITIES OF THE GYRAL WINDOW IN AUTISM: A MACROSCOPIC CORRELATE TO A PUTATIVE MINICOLUMNOPATHY

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, language, and range of interests. Recent studies suggest that the brains of autistic patients have an increased number of minicolumns. This finding helps explain the presence of macroencephaly or increased brain size in a significant proportion of autistic patients. Changes in brain size and gyrification are usually concurrent. In this study we have implemented an algorithm that measured the gyrification window in the brains of 23 postmortem autistic and 16 postmortem control brains. At the 85% confidence level the algorithm correctly classified 22/23 autistics, a 0.96 accuracy rate, and 15/16 controls, a 0.94 accuracy rate. Previous structural neuroimaging studies in autism have emphasized volumetric measures. These methodologies are very sensitive to segmentation artifacts, being compromised by image noise, lack of strong edges, and sharing of color/texture among different structures. The present study offers a new approach to the classification of autism based on structural MRI.The finding bears relevance to the clinical presentation of autism as increased gyrification reduces the gyral window and constrains connectivity in favor of short corticocortical fibers

ASSOCIATION OF OBESITY WITH RS1421085 AND RS9939609 POLYMORPHISMS OF FTO GENE WITH T2DM IN EGYPTIAN FEMALES

Objective: Obesity has been described as a worldwide increasing health problem and risk factor of various disorders including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). So, our study aim to determine of common variants of fat mass and obesity associated gene polymorphisms rs1421085 and rs 9939609; confers risk of obesity and type 2 diabetic mellitus in Egyptian females.Methods: In this population rs1421085 and rs9939609 polymorphisms of fat mass and obesity (FTO) gene were genotyped in 105 obese patients and 100 healthy controls with ages 14-60 y were collected from Medicine Specialized Hospital, Mansoura University, Egypt during the period between Jul.-Oct. 2016, genotyping of SNPs was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay, fasting blood glucose, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA IR), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) lipid profile was determined.Results: There was the significantly higher frequency of the AA compared to controls p=0.0001) of genotypers9939609. Also, cases have shown a significantly higher frequency of the C allele, p<0.00001) of rs1421085 genotype polymorphisms increased the risks of obesity. On the other hand, there were no significant correlations between genotypes and obesity-related (anthropometric body composition) parameters. Only the fasting blood glucose was significantly higher in the TA p=0.004).Conclusion: The FTO rs9939609 and rs1421085 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was associated with increased risk of obesity in type 2 diabetic populations on Egyptian females

Caracterización estructural y actividad biológica de sulfolípidos de algas marinas seleccionadas

The sulfolipid classes (SLs) in the total lipids of five species of marine algae, two species of Rhodophyta (Laurencia popillose, Galaxoura cylindriea), one species of Chlorophyta (Ulva fasciata), and two species of Phaeophyta (Dilophys fasciola, Taonia atomaria) were separated and purified on DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The SLs component was identified by IR, gas chromatography MS/MS and liquid chromatography MS/MS. The level of SLs contents va ried from 1.25% (in L. papillose) to 11.82% (in D. fasciola) of the total lipid contents. However, no significant differences in sulfate content (0.13 – 0.21%) were observed among all these algae species. All SLs were characterized by high contents of palmitic acid (C 16:0), which ranged from 30.91% in G. cylindriea to 63.11% in T. atomatia. The main constitutes of algal sulfolipids were identified as sulfoquinovosyl-di-acylglycerol and sulfoquinovosyl acylglycerol. The sulfolipids of different algal species exhibited remarkable antiviral activity against herps simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) with an IC50 ranging from 18.75 to 70. 2 μg mL–1. Moreover, algal sulfolipid inhibited the growth of the tumor cells of breast and liver human cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 0.40 to 0.67 μg mL–1 for human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF7).Se separaron diferentes clases sulfolípidos (SL) a partir de los lípidos totales de cinco especies de algas marinas: una especie de Chlorophyta (Ulva fasciata), dos especies de Phaeophyta (Dilophys fasciola, Taonia atomaria) y dos especies de Rhodophyta (Laurencia popillose, Galaxoura cylindriea) que se purificaron mediante cromatografía en columna de DEAE-celulosa. Los components de SLs fueron identificados por IR, cromatografía de gases MS/MS y cromatografía líquida MS/ MS. Los contenidos de SL en relación al total de lípidos varió de 1,25% (en L. papilosa) al 11,82% (en D. fasciola). Sin embargo, no hay diferencias significativas en el contenido de sulfato observado entre todas estas especies de algas (desde 0,13 hasta 0,21%). Todos los SL se caracterizaron por un alto contenido de ácido palmítico (C16:0), que osciló entre 30,91% en G. cylindriea a 63,11% en T. atomatia. Sulfoquinovosyl-di-acilglicerol y acilglicerol sulfoquinovosyl fueron identificados como los principales constituyentes de los sulfolípidos de estas algas. Los sulfolípidos de las diferentes especies de algas estudiadas mostraron una notable actividad antiviral contra el virus del herpes simple tipo 1 (VHS-1) con una IC50 que osciló entre 18,75 y 70. 2 g mL–1. Por otra parte, los sulfolípidos de estas algas inhibieron el crecimiento de células tumorales de mama y células de cáncer de hígado humano con valores de IC50 que van desde 0,40 hasta 0,67 g mL–1 para las células de adenocarcinoma de mama humano (MCF7)

ЭЭГ БИОУПРАВЛЕНИЕ УЛУЧШАЕТ СФОКУСИРОВАННОЕ ВНИМАНИЕ ПРИ СИНДРОМЕ ДЕФИЦИТА ВНИМАНИЯ И ГИПЕРАКТИВНОСТИ

EEG biofeedback (so called neurofeedback) is considered as an efficacious treatment for ADHD. We propose that operant conditioning of EEG in neurofeedback training mode, aimed to mitigate inattention and low arousal in ADHD, will be accompanied by changes in EEG bands' relative power. Patients were 18 children diagnosed with ADHD. The neurofeedback protocol (“Focus/Alertness” by Peak Achievement Trainer, Neurotek, KY) used to train patients has focused attention training procedure, which according to specifications, represents wide band EEG amplitude suppression training. Quantitative EEG analysis was completed on each of 25 min long twelve sessions to determine the relative power of each of the EEG bands of interest throughout each session, and from the first session to the last session. Additional statistical analysis was performed to determine significant changes in relative power within sessions (from minute 1 to minute 25), and between sessions (from session 1 to session 12) for an individual patient. We performed analysis of relative power of Theta, Alpha, Low and High Beta, Theta/Alpha, Theta/Beta, and Theta/Low Beta and Theta/High Beta ratios. We performed also analysis between the “Focus”measure and changes in relative power of above EEG rhythms and their ratios. Additional secondary measures of patients’ post-neurofeedback outcomes were assessed using an audio-visual selective attention test (IVA + Plus) and behavioral evaluation scores from Aberrant Behavior Checklist. We found that, as expected, Theta/Low Beta and Theta/Alpha ratios decreased significantly from Session 1 to Session 12 and from minute 1 to minute 25 within sessions. The ‘Focus” measure of protocol showed high negative correlation with both Theta/Alpha and Theta/Beta ratios. The findings regarding EEG changes resulting from self-regulation training along with behavioral evaluations will help in elucidation of neural mechanisms of neurofeedback aimed to improve focused attention and alertness in ADHD.Электроэнцефалографическое биоуправление, или нейробиоуправление, – эффективная технология при лечении синдрома дефицита внимания и гиперактивности (СДВГ). Предполагалось, что оперантное обусловливание электроэнцефалографии (ЭЭГ) в тренинге нейробиоуправления, направленном на снижение невнимательности и низкой активности детей с СДВГ, будет сопровождаться изменениями относительной мощности в разных ЭЭГ-частотных диапазонах. Пациентами были 18 детей с диагнозом «синдром дефицита внимания и гиперактивности». Протокол нейробиоуправления (Focus/Alertness, Peak Achievement Trainer, Neurotek, KY), используемый для тренинга, включал обучающие процедуры фокусировки внимания, которые, согласно спецификации, представляли собой интерактивные процедуры, направленные на подавление амплитуды в широком ЭЭГ-диапазоне. Количественный анализ ЭЭГ был проведен для двенадцати 25-минутных сессий, чтобы определить относительную мощность каждого из интересующих частотных диапазонов ЭЭГ в ходе каждой сессии, а также с первой по последнюю сессию. Проведен дополнительный статистический анализ определения значимых изменений относительной мощности внутри сессии (от 1-й до 25-й мин) и в период между сессиями (от 1-й до 12-й мин) для конкретного пациента. Проанализированы относительная мощность в диапазонах тета, альфа, низкочастотного и высокочастотного бета, а также их соотношений: тета/альфа, тета/бета, тета/низкочастотный бета и тета/высокочастотный бета. Сравнивались динамика показателя «фокус» и изменения относительной мощности вышеперечисленных ритмов ЭЭГ и их соотношений.Дополнительные повторные измерения результатов нейробиоуправления у пациентов оценивались с использованием аудиовизуального теста селективного внимания (IVA + Plus) и поведенческих оценок из опросника Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Как и ожидалось, соотношения диапазонов тета/низкочастотный бета и тета/альфа значимо снижались с 1-й до 12-й сессии и с 1-й до 25-й мин внутри сессии. Показатель «фокус» в протоколе обнаружил высокую отрицательную корреляцию как с тета/альфа-, так и с тета/бета-коэффициентами. Полученные результаты, касающиеся изменений ЭЭГ вследствие обучения саморегуляции, наряду с поведенческими оценками могут способствовать выяснению нейрональных механизмов нейробиоуправления, направленных на увеличение фокусировки внимания и активности при СДВГ