Model-Based Fitting of EEG Signals With Uncertainty Quantification for Robust Alpha Wave Identification

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive technique widely used to assess the brain's electrical activity, suitable for a variety of applications in clinical and nonclinical environments. However, the reliable identification of specific EEG features still remains a challenge, especially if the signals are recorded from wearable devices, notably less accurate than their hospital counterparts. The uncertainty analysis can help to address this challenge, by providing a robust and rigorous tool to assess the validity of the information extracted from the signals. This is particularly important in automated processes, such as brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), to avoid misclassifications and misinterpretation. This article proposes the use of a model-based fitting of prefiltered EEG signals, combined with uncertainty quantification, to extract the alpha amplitude oscillation with an optimal trade-off between accuracy and time resolution and, importantly, to allow the identification of those parts of the signal that do not follow the expected alpha dynamics, e.g., because affected by artifacts. This is achieved through a metrology-sound analysis of compatibility between measurement and model, taking their respective uncertainties into consideration. The proposed method has been successfully tested on real EEG signals and shown to have significant advantages in terms of time resolution and interpretability, compared with more traditional techniques, such as the independent component analysis (ICA) by temporal decorrelation, especially when applied to single-channel signals

Anemia in the Elderly: not Always what it Seems.

Anemia in the elderly is a common but challenging clinical scenario. Here we the described the case of an elderly women who presented with anemia and elevated inflammation markers. After a complete diagnostic workup a clear etiology of the anemia could not be found and eventually a bone marrow biopsy was performed: she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. She responded well to erythropoietin treatment but her inflammation markers remained elevated and a positron emission tomography was eventually performed. It turned out that the patient suffered from giant cell artheritis, and after steroid treatment her anemia completely resolved. Our case outlines that it is necessary to pay particular attention to anemia of chronic inflammation, which could be due to several and often masked conditions. Myelodysplatic syndromes should be considered when other causes have been ruled out, but their diagnosis can be difficult and requires expertise in the field

Maschilità (dis)abilitate? (Ri)fare il genere attraverso disabilità e sport

In this article we aim to investigate how sport represents an area of practices that allows (re)building a masculinity considered socially adequate within biographies crossed by the turning point of an onset physical impairment. Making use of the approach of illness narratives, we analyze the life stories of three men who encountered severe physical accidents during adolescence. In this way, we try to outline some strategies of management of the so-called "dilemma of the disabled masculinity" (Shuttleworth et al 2012), showing how the manhood acts adopted by our participants are placed between the neutralization of the disabling impact of impairments and the attempt to enhance some aspects of their physical and emotional experiences that partially hybridize the dominant masculinity patterns

The Estrogen Receptor α Signaling Pathway Controls Alternative Splicing in the Absence of Ligands in Breast Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND: The transcriptional activity of estrogen receptor α (ERα) in breast cancer (BC) is extensively characterized. Our group has previously shown that ERα controls the expression of a number of genes in its unliganded form (apoERα), among which a large group of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) encode genes, suggesting its role in the control of co- and post-transcriptional events. METHODS: apoERα-mediated RNA processing events were characterized by the analysis of transcript usage and alternative splicing changes in an RNA-sequencing dataset from MCF-7 cells after siRNA-induced ERα downregulation. RESULTS: ApoERα depletion induced an expression change of 681 RBPs, including 84 splicing factors involved in translation, ribonucleoprotein complex assembly, and 3'end processing. ApoERα depletion results in 758 isoform switching events with effects on 3'end length and the splicing of alternative cassette exons. The functional enrichment of these events shows that post-transcriptional regulation is part of the mechanisms by which apoERα controls epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and BC cell proliferation. In primary BCs, the inclusion levels of the experimentally identified alternatively spliced exons are associated with overall and disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: Our data supports the role of apoERα in maintaining the luminal phenotype of BC cells by extensively regulating gene expression at the alternative splicing level

Silicon and Silicon Carbide Recrystallization by Laser Annealing: A Review

Modifying material properties within a specific spatial region is a pivotal stage in the fabrication of microelectronic devices. Laser annealing emerges as a compelling technology, offering precise control over the crystalline structure of semiconductor materials and facilitating the activation of doping ions in localized regions. This obviates the necessity for annealing the entire wafer or device. The objective of this review is to comprehensively investigate laser annealing processes specifically targeting the crystallization of amorphous silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) samples. Silicon finds extensive use in diverse applications, including microelectronics and solar cells, while SiC serves as a crucial material for developing components designed to operate in challenging environments or high-power integrated devices. The review commences with an exploration of the underlying theory and fundamentals of laser annealing techniques. It then delves into an analysis of the most pertinent studies focused on the crystallization of these two semiconductor materials