Current Opinions and Areas of Consensus on the Role of the Cerebellum in Dystonia

A role for the cerebellum in causing ataxia, a disorder characterized by uncoordinated movement, is widely accepted. Recent work has suggested that alterations in activity, connectivity, and structure of the cerebellum are also associated with dystonia, a neurological disorder characterized by abnormal and sustained muscle contractions often leading to abnormal maintained postures. In this manuscript, the authors discuss their views on how the cerebellum may play a role in dystonia

Paricle identification at VAMOS++ with machine learning techniques

Multi-nucleon transfer reaction between 136Xe beam and 198Pt target was performed using the VAMOS++ spectrometer at GANIL to study the structure of n-rich nuclei around N=126. Unambiguous charge state identification was obtained by combining two supervised machine learning methods, deep neural network (DNN) and positional correction using a gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT). The new method reduced the complexity of the kinetic energy calibration and outperformed the conventional method improving the charge state resolution by 8%

Panel: Who is the Enemy

This audiovisual recording from March 23, 2000 as part of the 31st annual UND Writers Conference: “Writing War” features Eavan Boland, Ha Jin, Helen Fremont, Louis Simpson, and Tessa Bridal forming the panel “Who is the Enemy?” The panelists discuss political and guerrilla warfare, peaceful resolution of disputes, the connection between capitalism and military action, establishing community through work and art rather than conflict, inspiring young people with the arts, deciding to work in academia, and the notion of giving back. Moderator: Laurel Reuter

Optic nerve head changes in early glaucoma: a comparison between stereophotography and Heidelberg retina tomography

ObjectiveTo evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of the Heidelberg retina tomograph (HRT) version 3 with that of glaucoma specialists using stereophotography in discriminating between normal eyes and patients with early glaucomatous visual field loss.Methods A total of 105 eyes of 105 individuals were prospectively and consecutively recruited. The sample comprised 51 normal and 54 early glaucomatous eyes, as defined by intraocular pressure and standard automated perimetry results, regardless of optic disc appearance. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for the HRT3 parameters and a linear discriminant function (LDF) developed in our hospital. Best sensitivity-specificity pairs were compared between the HRT3 parameters, with the highest areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) and evaluation of optic disc stereophotographs. Agreement between methods for measuring vertical cup-to-disc ratio was evaluated with the Bland-Altman plot.Results The average visual field mean deviation was-2.90 dB. The HRT3 parameters with the largest AUCs were our LDF (0.900), rim volume (0.883), and vertical cup/disk ratio (0.880), with no significant differences between these parameters. Sensitivity-specificity pairs were 79.6-100% (clinical evaluation), 83.3-86.3% (our LDF), 64.8-96.1% (final glaucoma probability score), and 68.5-90.2% (global Moorfields regression analysis).Conclusions The diagnostic accuracy for differentiating normal eyes from those with early visual field defects was similar between clinical evaluation of the optic disc and evaluation with the HRT3. The use of our LDF increased the sensitivity-specificity balance with respect to the HRT-provided parameters. The diagnostic accuracy of the HRT classifications was comparable to that of an experienced glaucoma specialist. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved