A Real-Time Phase Vector Display for EEG Monitoring

A real-time, computer-based, phase vector display system has been developed which will output a vector whose phase is equal to the delay between a trigger and the peak of a function which is quasi-coherent with respect to the trigger. The system also contains a sliding averager which enables the operator to average successive trials before calculating the phase vector. Data collection, averaging and display generation are performed on a LINC-8 computer. Output displays appear on several X-Y CRT display units and on a kymograph camera/oscilloscope unit which is used to generate photographs of time-varying phase vectors or contourograms of time-varying averages of input functions

Application of multi-criteria decision-making tools for assessing biogas plants: a case study in Reykjavik, Iceland

The European Union is planning a new program to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In this context, the Icelandic government plans to ban new registrations of fossil fuel cars after 2030 as one of the strategies to make Iceland a carbon-neutral country by 2040. Upgraded biogas can be directly used in vehicles with CNG engines, reducing CO2 emissions by 80%. In this paper, several alternatives of biogas plants, simulated in previous research, were evaluated by considering techno-economic and environmental criteria through the application of multi-criteria decision-making tools. Twelve alternatives were analyzed using the Definite 3.1 software. A weighted summation algorithm, which transforms all criteria into the same scale by multiplying them by weights and then summing them to obtain the results, was used in the analysis. The multi-criteria analysis of the twelve proposed alternatives included eleven criteria (three technical, five economic, and three environmental) whose weights were changed in a total of eleven scenarios. From a global perspective, when all criteria were considered (9.1% weight) the best alternative with a score of 0.58 was the single-stage biogas plant working with municipal solid waste. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses also demonstrated that the multi-criteria results obtained were robust and reliable.The APC was paid by the COST Action CA17133 Circular City (“Implementing naturebased solutions for creating a resourceful circular city”, http://www.circular-city.eu, duration 22 October 2018–21 October 2022)

Factors associated with generic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a cross-sectional study

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is impaired in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but determining factors for HRQOL are still not unequivocal. This study measures HRQOL among patients with COPD and aims to determine factors associated with HRQOL. Methods: Data for cross-sectional analyses were obtained from the baseline of a cohort study. The study population includes adult COPD patients (disease duration >= 3 months), recruited from primary and secondary care settings in Germany, without acute psychiatric/neurologic disease (exception: affective/anxiety disorders). HRQOL was assessed using the Short-Form 12 (SF-12) Health Survey Questionnaire, comprising a physical and mental component. Independent variables encompass socio-demographic, disease-specific, treatment-related and psychological factors. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted. Results: In total, 206 COPD patients (60.7% male; mean age: 65.3 years) took part in the study. In multivariable analysis, the physical component score showed a significant negative association with the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) (P<0.001) and a higher total number of prescribed medications (P=0.001). A higher forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) value in percent predicted was significantly related to the physical component score in a positive manner (P=0.006). The mental component score was significantly associated with elevated patient-reported symptoms of anxiety (P=0.002) or depression (P<0.001), measured by the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) in a negative way. Like for the physical component score (P<0.001), a worse CAT score was significantly associated with a lower mental component score (P=0.033). Conclusions: Focusing on patient reported outcomes and screening for depression and anxiety with potential successive treatment might be promising approaches to improve HRQOL in patients with COPD

SAS-1 Is a C2 Domain Protein Critical for Centriole Integrity in C. elegans

Centrioles are microtubule-based organelles important for the formation of cilia, flagella and centrosomes. Despite progress in understanding the underlying assembly mechanisms, how centriole integrity is ensured is incompletely understood, including in sperm cells, where such integrity is particularly critical. We identified C. elegans sas-1 in a genetic screen as a locus required for bipolar spindle assembly in the early embryo. Our analysis reveals that sperm-derived sas-1 mutant centrioles lose their integrity shortly after fertilization, and that a related defect occurs when maternal sas-1 function is lacking. We establish that sas-1 encodes a C2 domain containing protein that localizes to centrioles in C. elegans, and which can bind and stabilize microtubules when expressed in human cells. Moreover, we uncover that SAS-1 is related to C2CD3, a protein required for complete centriole formation in human cells and affected in a type of oral-facial-digital (OFD) syndrome

„Mild-behavioral-impairment“-Checkliste

Hintergrund: Das Syndrom einer leichten Verhaltensbeeinträchtigung („mild behavioral impairment syndrome“, MBI) ist definiert durch das Auftreten anhaltender neuropsychiatrischer Symptome im Alter. Die Mild-behavioral-impairment-Checkliste (MBI-C) dient der Erfassung von persistierenden neuropsychiatrischen Symptomen, welche die Präsenz des MBI definieren. Ziel: Erarbeitung einer deutschsprachigen Version der MBI-C und Beurteilung der klinischen Anwendbarkeit. Material undMethoden: ImAustausch mit dem federführenden Autor der englischen Originalversionwurde eine deutsche Version erstellt. Die Praktikabilität der Anwendung wurde im Rahmen einer Anwendbarkeitsstudie an einer Kohorte von 21 stationären alterspsychiatrischen Patienten überprüft. Dabei wurden die Compliance der Patienten, die Verständlichkeit, der Zeitaufwand, das Vorgehen bei der Auswertung und die Unterschiede zwischen den Angaben der Patienten und der Angehörigen beurteilt. Ergebnisse: Die erstellte Übersetzung der MBI-C gilt als offizielle deutsche Version und kann auf https://mbitest.org heruntergeladen werden. Alle Patienten beantworteten alle 34 Fragen vollständig, die Verständlichkeit zeigte sich als sehr gut, der durchschnittliche Zeitaufwand lag bei 16min. Es zeigten sich z. T. bedeutsame Unterschiede zwischen den Angaben der Patienten und der Angehörigen. Diskussion: Das MBI kann bei einem Teil der Personen mit neurodegenerativer demenzieller Erkrankung das ansonsten präsymptomatische Stadium markieren. Die MBI-C könnte somit bei der Früherkennung von neurodegenerativen Demenzen helfen. Diese Hypothese kann mithilfe der hier präsentierten sprachlich lokalisierten Version der MBI-C auch im deutschsprachigen Raumzukünftig überprüft werden

Early symptoms in symptomatic and preclinical genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Funder: UK Medical Research CouncilFunder: The Bluefield ProjectFunder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research CentreFunder: Weston Brain InstituteFunder: Swedish Brain FoundationFunder: StratNeuro, Swedish DemensfondenFunder: NIHR Queen Square Dementia Biomedical Research Unit, the NIHR UCL/H Biomedical Research Centre and the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre (LWENC) Clinical Research FacilityFunder: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research as part of a Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration grantFunder: Karolinska Institutet Doctoral FundingFunder: Stockholm County Council ALFFunder: Swedish Alzheimer FoundationObjectives: The clinical heterogeneity of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) complicates identification of biomarkers for clinical trials that may be sensitive during the prediagnostic stage. It is not known whether cognitive or behavioural changes during the preclinical period are predictive of genetic status or conversion to clinical FTD. The first objective was to evaluate the most frequent initial symptoms in patients with genetic FTD. The second objective was to evaluate whether preclinical mutation carriers demonstrate unique FTD-related symptoms relative to familial mutation non-carriers. Methods: The current study used data from the Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative multicentre cohort study collected between 2012 and 2018. Participants included symptomatic carriers (n=185) of a pathogenic mutation in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72), progranulin (GRN) or microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and their first-degree biological family members (n=588). Symptom endorsement was documented using informant and clinician-rated scales. Results: The most frequently endorsed initial symptoms among symptomatic patients were apathy (23%), disinhibition (18%), memory impairments (12%), decreased fluency (8%) and impaired articulation (5%). Predominant first symptoms were usually discordant between family members. Relative to biologically related non-carriers, preclinical MAPT carriers endorsed worse mood and sleep symptoms, and C9orf72 carriers endorsed marginally greater abnormal behaviours. Preclinical GRN carriers endorsed less mood symptoms compared with non-carriers, and worse everyday skills. Conclusion: Preclinical mutation carriers exhibited neuropsychiatric symptoms compared with non-carriers that may be considered as future clinical trial outcomes. Given the heterogeneity in symptoms, the detection of clinical transition to symptomatic FTD may be best captured by composite indices integrating the most common initial symptoms for each genetic group

Ventricular volume expansion in presymptomatic genetic frontotemporal dementia

Ventricular volume expansion in presymptomatic genetic frontotemporal dementiaMRC, NIHR, Wellcome Trus

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world\u27s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (−0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature.

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0-5 and 5-15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications