The Insula and Its Epilepsies

Insular seizures are great mimickers of seizures originating elsewhere in the brain. The insula is a highly connected brain structure. Seizures may only become clinically evident after ictal activity propagates out of the insula with semiology that reflects the propagation pattern. Insular seizures with perisylvian spread, for example, manifest first as throat constriction, followed next by perioral and hemisensory symptoms, and then by unilateral motor symptoms. On the other hand, insular seizures may spread instead to the temporal and frontal lobes and present like seizures originating from these regions. Due to the location of the insula deep in the brain, interictal and ictal scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) changes can be variable and misleading. Magnetic reso- nance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and single-photon computed tomography imaging may assist in establishing a diagnosis of insular epilepsy. Intracranial EEG recordings from within the insula, using stereo-EEG or depth electrode techniques, can prove insular seizure origin. Seizure onset, most commonly seen as low-voltage, fast gamma activity, however, can be highly localized and easily missed if the insula is only sparsely sampled. Moreover, seizure spread to the contralateral insula and other brain regions may occur rapidly. Extensive sampling of the insula with multiple electrode trajectories is necessary to avoid these pitfalls. Understanding the functional organization of the insula is helpful when interpreting the semiology produced by insular seizures. Electrical stimulation mapping around the central sulcus of the insula results in paresthesias, while stimulation of the posterior insula typically produces painful sensations. Visceral sensations are the next most common result of insular stimulation. Treatment of insular epilepsy is evolving, but poses challenges. Surgical resections of the insula are effective but risk significant morbidity if not carefully planned. Neurostimulation is an emerging option for treatment, especially for seizures with onset in the posterior insula. The close association of the insula with marked autonomic changes has led to interest in the role of the insula in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and warrants additional study with larger patient cohorts

Wissenschaftliche, technologische und finanzielle investitionen und interaktionen europäischer Staaten im Zarenreich und die Vorzeichen des Ersten Weltkriegs seit der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jh.

Translated by Andrey Keller. The article was submitted on 01.07.2015.Study of Russia’s cooperation with Western European countries prior to World War I is of considerable importance to understand its economic condition. Investments of various types testify that Russia was a reliable partner capable both of absorbing those investments, and of using new advanced technologies. Cheap labor and policy of the government also contributed to high status of Russia as a country to invest in. Referring to archival materials, the author provides data on the amount of investments and the return thereon, and explains foreign investors’ interest in certain spheres of Russia’s economy. Additionally, the article focuses on the infrastructure of investment in Russia and abroad, the limitations and measures against adventurism and fraud introduced by the state. The author enumerates reasons for the foreign cultural and scientific presence, introduces data on expeditions and archaeological research. The historical and biographic aspect of investment process is based on information on businessmen’s lives. Finally, the article presents a review of reports made at a Symposium on European investments into Russia and precursors of the World War I in Vienna (September, 2014) and describes urgent issues of the technological and sociocultural interaction in this research field.Изучение взаимодействия России и западноевропейских держав перед Первой мировой войной существенно дополняет представление о ее экономическом состоянии. Факты инвестирования разного характера свидетельствуют о высоком статусе России как надежного партнера в их освоении, вполне способного применять новые передовые технологии. Этому же способствовало наличие дешевой рабочей силы и политика государства. Конкретные данные о размере вложений и получаемых инвесторами дивидендах приводятся на основании архивных материалов. Выявляется логика обращения иностранцев к конкретным сферам российского хозяйства, определяются параметры оценки перспективности. Рассматривается инфраструктура инвестирования в России и за рубежом, фиксируются вводимые государством ограничения и меры против авантюризма и обмана. Конкретизируются сведения о культурных и научных целях иностранного присутствия, об организации экспедиций и археологических изысканиях. Автором рассматривается историко-биографический аспект процесса инвестирования, основаный на конкретных сведениях о жизни бизнесменов. Дается обзор докладов, прозвучавших на симпозиуме «Научные, технологические и финансовые инвестиции европейских государств в России и предвестники Первой мировой войны» (Вена, сентябрь 2014 г.), и обрисовываются актуальные проблемы технологического и социокультурного взаимодействия в исследовательском поле настоящего и будущего

Oscillation Phase Locking and Late ERP Components of Intracranial Hippocampal Recordings Correlate to Patient Performance in a Working Memory Task

In working memory tasks, stimulus presentation induces a resetting of intracranial temporal lobe oscillations in multiple frequency bands. To further understand the functional relevance of this phenomenon, we investigated whether working memory performance depends on the phase precision of ongoing oscillations in the hippocampus. We recorded intra-hippocampal local field potentials in individuals performing a working memory task. Two types of trials were administered. For high memory trials presentation of a list of four letters ( List ) was followed by a single letter memory probe ( Test ). Low memory load trials, consisting of four identical letters (AAAA) followed by a probe with the same letter (A), were interspersed. Significant phase locking of ongoing oscillations across trials, estimated by the Pairwise Phase Consistency Index (PPCI) was observed in delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (5-7 Hz), and alpha (8-12 Hz) bands during stimulus presentation and recall but was increased in low memory load trials. Across patients however, higher delta PPCIs during recall in the left hippocampus were associated with faster reaction times. Because phase locking could also be interpreted as a consequence of a stimulus evoked potential, we performed event related potential analysis (ERP) and examined the relationship of ERP components with performance. We found that both amplitude and latency of late ERP components correlated with both reaction time and accuracy. We propose that, in the Sternberg task, phase locking of oscillations, or alternatively its ERP correlate, synchronizes networks within the hippocampus and connected structures that are involved in working memory

Correlation Structures of Correlated Binomial Models and Implied Default Distribution

We show how to analyze and interpret the correlation structures, the conditional expectation values and correlation coefficients of exchangeable Bernoulli random variables. We study implied default distributions for the iTraxx-CJ tranches and some popular probabilistic models, including the Gaussian copula model, Beta binomial distribution model and long-range Ising model. We interpret the differences in their profiles in terms of the correlation structures. The implied default distribution has singular correlation structures, reflecting the credit market implications. We point out two possible origins of the singular behavior.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

The probiotic Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) stops acute diarrhoea in infants and toddlers

In most cases, acute diarrhoea will become self-limiting during the first few days after onset. For young children, however, health risks may develop when the disease lasts longer than 3 days. The purpose of the present trial was to determine whether the stool frequency of infants and toddlers suffering from acute diarrhoea could be normalised more quickly by administering the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) solution than by administering a placebo. The safety of EcN were also assessed. A total of 113 children (aged 2–47 months) with acute diarrhoea (> three watery or loose stools in 24 h) were randomised to either a group receiving the probiotic EcN suspension (n = 55) or a group receiving the placebo suspension (n = 58) in a confirmative, double-blind clinical trial. Depending on the age of patients, 1–3 ml per day of verum suspension (10(8) viable EcN cells per millilitre) or placebo were administered orally. The causes of the diarrhoea were viral rather than bacterial, but they were mainly unspecific infections. The median onset of treatment response (reduction of daily stool frequency to ≤ three watery or loose stools over at least 2 consecutive days) occurred more rapidly in the children receiving the EcN solution (2.5 days) than in those receiving the placebo (4.8 days), a significant difference (2.3 days; p = 0.0007). The number of patients showing a response was clearly higher (p < 0.0001) in the EcN group (52/55; 94.5%) than in the placebo group (39/58; 67.2%). EcN was found to be safe and well-tolerated, and it showed a significant superiority compared to the placebo in the treatment of acute diarrhoea in infants and toddlers. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00431-007-0419-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Moody's Correlated Binomial Default Distributions for Inhomogeneous Portfolios

This paper generalizes Moody's correlated binomial default distribution for homogeneous (exchangeable) credit portfolio, which is introduced by Witt, to the case of inhomogeneous portfolios. As inhomogeneous portfolios, we consider two cases. In the first case, we treat a portfolio whose assets have uniform default correlation and non-uniform default probabilities. We obtain the default probability distribution and study the effect of the inhomogeneity on it. The second case corresponds to a portfolio with inhomogeneous default correlation. Assets are categorized in several different sectors and the inter-sector and intra-sector correlations are not the same. We construct the joint default probabilities and obtain the default probability distribution. We show that as the number of assets in each sector decreases, inter-sector correlation becomes more important than intra-sector correlation. We study the maximum values of the inter-sector default correlation. Our generalization method can be applied to any correlated binomial default distribution model which has explicit relations to the conditional default probabilities or conditional default correlations, e.g. Credit Risk${}^{+}$, implied default distributions. We also compare some popular CDO pricing models from the viewpoint of the range of the implied tranche correlation.Comment: 29 pages, 17 figures and 1 tabl

Human Verbal Memory Encoding Is Hierarchically Distributed in a Continuous Processing Stream.

Processing of memory is supported by coordinated activity in a network of sensory, association, and motor brain regions. It remains a major challenge to determine where memory is encoded for later retrieval. Here, we used direct intracranial brain recordings from epilepsy patients performing free recall tasks to determine the temporal pattern and anatomical distribution of verbal memory encoding across the entire human cortex. High γ frequency activity (65-115 Hz) showed consistent power responses during encoding of subsequently recalled and forgotten words on a subset of electrodes localized in 16 distinct cortical areas activated in the tasks. More of the high γ power during word encoding, and less power before and after the word presentation, was characteristic of successful recall and observed across multiple brain regions. Latencies of the induced power changes and this subsequent memory effect (SME) between the recalled and forgotten words followed an anatomical sequence from visual to prefrontal cortical areas. Finally, the magnitude of the memory effect was unexpectedly found to be the largest in selected brain regions both at the top and at the bottom of the processing stream. These included the language processing areas of the prefrontal cortex and the early visual areas at the junction of the occipital and temporal lobes. Our results provide evidence for distributed encoding of verbal memory organized along a hierarchical posterior-to-anterior processing stream