Development of machine learning-based regression models to predict inter-individual differences from MEG-based resting-state functional connectivity

openRecent research has demonstrated that functional connectivity profiles act as a unique fingerprint that can accurately identify subjects from a large group. As a result, brain connectomics has emerged as a rapidly growing research field that focuses on identifying individuals based on inter-individual variability in brain connectivity during resting-state and task-evoked responses. The main objective of this study, which is part of the ERC HANDmade project (SH4, ERC-2017-STG) led by Prof. Betti Viviana, is to investigate and predict inter-individual differences in motor tasks based on resting-state functional connectivity measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Several regression-based models are discussed and compared to improve the identification rate on 51 subjects from the Human Connectome Project. A residualisation approach is also presented to enhance model performance by increasing variability across subjects. Results indicate that interindividual differences in brain connectomes during spontaneous and task-evoked activity can be accurately predicted. However, it is observed that no improvement can be obtained in the identification rate considering the muscle activity, compared to Vettoruzzo’s MSc thesis. Regardless of the model complexity and the number of the EMG features considered, the results show the inadequacy of predicting muscular activity from individual brain connectivity. Therefore, the investigation is addressed to understand the relationship between the brain activity and muscular activity, and non-linear approaches employing neural networks are considered the best choices for this type of motor tasks. The study’s findings can have implications in clinical research and rehabilitation fields for comprehending the neural mechanism underlying various neurological and muscular disorders and for developing personalized treatment approaches.Recent research has demonstrated that functional connectivity profiles act as a unique fingerprint that can accurately identify subjects from a large group. As a result, brain connectomics has emerged as a rapidly growing research field that focuses on identifying individuals based on inter-individual variability in brain connectivity during resting-state and task-evoked responses. The main objective of this study, which is part of the ERC HANDmade project (SH4, ERC-2017-STG) led by Prof. Betti Viviana, is to investigate and predict inter-individual differences in motor tasks based on resting-state functional connectivity measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Several regression-based models are discussed and compared to improve the identification rate on 51 subjects from the Human Connectome Project. A residualisation approach is also presented to enhance model performance by increasing variability across subjects. Results indicate that interindividual differences in brain connectomes during spontaneous and task-evoked activity can be accurately predicted. However, it is observed that no improvement can be obtained in the identification rate considering the muscle activity, compared to Vettoruzzo’s MSc thesis. Regardless of the model complexity and the number of the EMG features considered, the results show the inadequacy of predicting muscular activity from individual brain connectivity. Therefore, the investigation is addressed to understand the relationship between the brain activity and muscular activity, and non-linear approaches employing neural networks are considered the best choices for this type of motor tasks. The study’s findings can have implications in clinical research and rehabilitation fields for comprehending the neural mechanism underlying various neurological and muscular disorders and for developing personalized treatment approaches

Effect of fresh pork meat conditioning on quality characteristics of salami

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of pork meat conditioning under different relative humidity (RH) values on salami quality characteristics. During a 6 days conditioning period at 0 \ub0C under two levels of RH (95% vs. 80%), meat pH and weight loss were measured. Salami characteristics (moisture, weight loss, texture, appearance properties) were evaluated during 20 days of ripening. Results showed that conditioning at 80% RH yielded a significantly drier meat, being the weight loss rate 1.6 times higher than at 95% RH. The lower water content of meat allowed a shorter salami ripening phase, guaranteeing an appropriate weight loss and the development of the desired texture, while maintaining good appearance properties. The acceleration of this production phase represents a clear economic advantage for producers and consumers, leading to higher profit margins and lower retail prices. The possibility of using FT-NIR spectroscopy as a valid tool for the rapid evaluation of salami ripening was also demonstrated

Estudo da incidência de vírus humanos de veiculação hídrica em águas de mananciais

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia.Dentre os patógenos humanos de veiculação hídrica, destacam-se os vírus de transmissão fecal-oral, como é o caso dos adenovírus (HAdV), rotavírus-A (RVA), vírus da hepatite A (HAV) e urino-oral como o poliomavírus (JCPyV). Estes vírus estão envolvidos, principalmente em episódios de gastroenterites, podendo causar ainda infecções respiratórias, conjuntivites, meningite asséptica, encefalites e sérias complicações em pacientes imunocomprometidos, além do que, possuem a característica de serem estáveis e permanecerem longos períodos no ambiente e por isso são apontados como potenciais indicadores ambientais de contaminação por efluentes humanos. Nesse contexto, a hipótese desse estudo foi que os vírus de transmissão fecal e urinária são prevalentes nas águas de consumo humano, não possuem correlação com perfis físico-químicos e de nutrientes, além de possuírem potencial infeccioso. Assim os principais objetivos desse trabalho foram: 1) Estudar a incidência de HAdV, JCPyV, HAV e RVA em águas de mananciais superficiais utilizadas para consumo humano; 2) Analisar a correlação viral com parâmetros físico-químicos e de nutrientes da água; 3) Estudar a relação da sazonalidade com a presença de contaminação viral 4) Avaliar a integridade, infecciosidade e realizar estudos filogenéticos de HAdV nas matrizes aquáticas estudadas. Três sítios de coletas, na cidade de Florianópolis-SC, foram selecionados: Sítio 1) Lagoa do Peri (em quatro Micro-ambientes (MA): i) MA1 centro ii), MA2 local preservado, iii) MA3 local degradado e iv) MA4 local de coleta de água para consumo humano e atividades recreacionais); Sítio 2) Fonte/Nascente natural de água, utilizada para consumo humano sem tratamento prévio e Sítio 3) Solução Alternativa de Abastecimento Coletivo (SAC), água utilizada para abastecimento humano, previamente clorada. Para as análises virais, dois litros de água foram coletados mensalmente, durante um ano e processadas (método de adsorção-eluição e reconcentração em dispositivo Centriprep®). Posteriormente, o material genético foi extraído e a presença e quantificação viral determinada por qPCR. As análises físico-químicas e de nutrientes das águas contemplaram todos os Micro-ambientes da Lagoa do Peri (físico-químicas foram realizadas in situ, utilizando Sonda Multiparâmetros (YSI-85) e as de nutrientes determinadas em laboratório). Os HAdVs detectados nas amostras provenientes do Micro-ambiente 4 da Lagoa do Peri, Fonte/Nascente e da SAC foram avaliados quanto a sua integridade (por meio de tratamento com enzimático com DNAse), infecciosidade (por meio do ensaio de placa de lise (EPL) e por cultura celular integrada ao RT-qPCR (ICC-et-RT-qPCR), bem como submetidos a estudos filogenéticos. Das amostras analisadas 93% (67/72) foram positivas para HAdV, 45,8% (33/72) para RVA, 13,8% (10/72) para JCPyV e 12,5% (9/72) para HAV. A distribuição sazonal viral foi determinada e o HAdV mostrou-se o mais prevalente em todas as estações. Os estudos físico-químicos e de nutrientes nos MAs da Lagoa do Peri não apresentaram diferenças espaciais significativas, concluindo que a lagoa é homogênea em sua coluna d'água. Quanto a correlação viral com parâmetros físico-químicos e de nutrientes, apenas JCPyV e nitrito correlacionaram-se positivamente no MA4. A integridade e infecciosidade de HAdV foi determinada, sendo que nas amostras do MA4 da Lagoa do Peri 83% (10/12) continham partículas íntegras, 66% ( 8/12) infecciosas por EPL e 75% (9/12) infecciosas por ICC-et-RT-qPCR; Na Fonte/Nascente 66% (8/12) continham partículas íntegras, 33% (4/12) infecciosas por EPL e 58% (7/12) infecciosas por ICC-et-RT-qPCR; Na SAC 58% (7/12) continham partículas de HAdV íntegras, 8% (1/12) infecciosas por EPL e 25% (3/12) infecciosas por ICC-et-RT-qPCR. Os estudos filogenéticos de HAdV demonstraram que o sorotipo circulante prevalente foi o 2 (HAdV-2 respiratório). Em conclusão, estes resultados demonstraram a fragilidade do sistema de segurança sanitária, principalmente em águas de mananciais superficiais utilizadas para abastecimento e consumo da população. Frente a ampla distribuição e persistência dos vírus de veiculação hídrica, há necessidade de implementar o monitoramento e remoção viral no processo de potabilização da água, o que traria reflexos positivos na manutenção da saúde humana e ambienta

L’habit ne fait pas le moine: ‘La Maison des Morts’ dans ‘Alcools’

L’étude du poème La Maison des Morts doit commencer par le rappel des étapes de la publication de ce texte. D’abord, sous le titre L’Obituaire, et sous la forme d’un conte en prose, il paraît dans le journal Le Soleil, le 31 août 1907. Deux ans plus tard, le même texte avec le même titre est publié dans la revue Vers et Prose de juillet-septembre 1909, sous la forme d’un poème constitué de segments très inégaux. Il est repris sous cette dernière forme dans l’Anthologie des Poètes nouveaux, pu..

La protection des personnes vulnérables en droit français

En droit français, de nombreuses branches du droit s’intéressent à la vulnérabilité. Lorsqu’une personne apparaît comme étant vulnérable, ou bien lorsqu’une situation permet de caractériser une vulnérabilité, le droit tend à assurer la protection de la personne. Le droit des personnes illustre le mieux la façon dont le droit traite de la vulnérabilité. Celui-ci attache une importance toute particulière aux mineurs et aux majeurs dont les facultés personnelles se trouvent altérées. Le droit français, à l’égard du mineur, a institué des organes de protection chargés de veiller à la sauvegarde, tant physique que matérielle de l’enfant. C’est ainsi que les parents se trouvent investis de l’autorité parentale et de l’administration légale. Certains enfants peuvent aussi être protégés au moyen d’une mesure de tutelle. En ce qui concerne la condition juridique des majeurs protégés, le droit positif français est le fruit d’une longue évolution. La dernière réforme importante a été la loi núm 2007-308 du 5 mars 2007 portant réforme de la protection juridique des majeurs. Même si la loi du 5 mars 2007 a pour objet la protection des majeurs, le texte constitue une réforme d’ensemble, produisantégalement des incidences sur la protection des mineurs

Processi non adiabatici nell' interazione tra particelle e onde di bassa frequenza

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Classification of uranium ore concentrates applying support vector machine to spectrophotometric and textural features

Uranium ore concentrates (UOCs) are produced in the early stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, prior to conversion to uranium hexafluoride. Because of their high uranium content and the large-scale production, UOCs diversion from civilian use and proliferation are potential risks. This implies the necessity to develop methods able to recognise characteristic parameters correlating each UOC powder to its history and origin. Here, a novel methodology is proposed: first the reflectance spectra of 79 commercial UOCs are acquired and clustered by means of Ward\u27s clustering analysis, then classified by Support Vector Machine (SVM). Second, SVM classification is applied to the image textural features extracted with the Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and the Angle Measure Technique (AMT) algorithms for powders in two different colour groups. The developed SVM models present good classification quality: a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.95 is obtained for the classification based on colours while macro-F1 is generally greater than 0.81 (MCC larger than 0.75) for the texture-based classification. These results reveal the potentiality of the present automated classification for the scopes of nuclear forensics in the identification of an unknown uranium ore concentrate sample

Structuring and texturing gluten‑free pasta: egg albumen or whey proteins?

The effects of adding egg albumen or whey proteins to pasta made from parboiled rice flour (PR) were investigated. Pasta quality was evaluated in terms of color, furosine content, and cooking properties (water absorption, cooking loss, and consistency at the optimal cooking time). The surface heterogeneity of the cooked and uncooked materials was studied, and some starch properties (pasting properties and starch susceptibility to \u3b1-amylase hydrolysis) were assessed, along with the features of the protein network as determined by conditional solubility studies and with ultrastructural features of the cooked products. Egg albumen improved pasta appearance and gave a product with low cooking loss, firmer, and nutritionally more valuable than the other ones. In albumen-enriched pasta, small starch granules appear homogeneously surrounded by a protein network. In the uncooked product, the protein network is stabilized mostly by hydrophobic interactions, but additional disulfide interprotein bonds form upon cooking. Thus, addition of 15 % liquid albumen to PR results in significant improvement of the textural and structural features of rice-based gluten-free pasta

Bacteriophages as Biotechnological Tools

Bacteriophages are ubiquitous organisms that can be specific to one or multiple strains of hosts, in addition to being the most abundant entities on the planet. It is estimated that they exceed ten times the total number of bacteria. They are classified as temperate, which means that phages can integrate their genome into the host genome, originating a prophage that replicates with the host cell and may confer immunity against infection by the same type of phage; and lytics, those with greater biotechnological interest and are viruses that lyse the host cell at the end of its reproductive cycle. When lysogenic, they are capable of disseminating bacterial antibiotic resistance genes through horizontal gene transfer. When professionally lytic—that is, obligately lytic and not recently descended from a temperate ancestor—they become allies in bacterial control in ecological imbalance scenarios; these viruses have a biofilm-reducing capacity. Phage therapy has also been advocated by the scientific community, given the uniqueness of issues related to the control of microorganisms and biofilm production when compared to other commonly used techniques. The advantages of using bacteriophages appear as a viable and promising alternative. This review will provide updates on the landscape of phage applications for the biocontrol of pathogens in industrial settings and healthcare.This study was funded by CNPQ and the Federal University of Santa Catarina, SIGPEX UFSC–201917940

Monitoring the colour changes during aging of salami by MIA

The red colour intensity of a meat product like salami mainly depends on the relative quantity of each myoglobin oxidation state. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether MIA could monitor the colour changes occurring during the aging of salami, in comparison with the assessment of the colour coordinates (R, G, B, Intensity mean) by Image Analysis