The sleep as an activator on epileptic patient's electroencephalogram

In order to study the influence of sleep on the electroencephalograms of epileptic patients the tracings obtained of 1.868 such patients were analised (572 generalized seizures; 121 non-psychomotor temporal; 118 psychomotor; 410 non-temporal focal; 314 noctural seizures; 165 febrile seizures; 168 convulsive seizures associated with psychomotor retard). The electroencephalograms were made with the patients awake (rest and hyperpnea) and sleeping (slow phase), the findings being compared. There was not found any significant difference between the EEG tracings obtained during spontaneous sleep and medically induced sleep. In the majority of the cases the records obtained while the patients were asleep merely confirmed the ones made while the patients were awake. The activator action of sleep appeared only in small number of the cases, having it's peak on the group with psychomotor seizures (26%). In the generalized non-psychomotor temporal, non-temporal focal and noctural seizures the sleep acted as an antiactivator instead of an activator of the abnormalities recorded while the patients were awake.Visando ao estudo da ação do sono como ativador do eletrencefalograma em pacientes epilépticos, foram estudados 1.868 pacientes com síndromes convulsivas (572 com crises generalizadas, 121 com crises temporais não psicomostras, 118 com crises psicomotoras, 410 com crises focais não temporais, 314 com crises noturnas, 165 com crises febris, 168 com crises convulsivas associadas a retardo psicomotor). Em todos os pacientes foram feitos eletrencefalogramas em vigília (repouso e hiperpnéia) e durante o sono (fase lenta) sendo os achados comparados. Em nosso material não encontramos diferença significativa de resposta entre o sono espontâneo e o medicamentoso. Na maioria de nossos pacientes o traçado realizado durante o sono confirmou os achados registrados em vigília. A ação ativadora do sono foi evidenciada em um número relativamente pequeno de casos, tendo atingido o seu máximo no grupo de pacientes com crises psicomotoras (26%). Nas crises generalizadas, temporais não psicomotoras, focais não temporais e noturnas o sono funcionou mais como desativador do que como ativador das anormalidades registradas em vigília.Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Neurologia e NeurocirurgiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Neurologia e NeurocirurgiaSciEL

EEG focal abnormalities in P.M. epilepsy

Thirty one patients with P.M. epileptic crisis whose EEG showed centrencephalic disrythmia secondary to focal irritating activity where thoroughly observed. 19% of the cases showed centroencephalic disrythmia secondary to deeply situated focus and 8% to focus of cortical situation; in these cases the temporal projection was predominant. The clinical type of the crisis was analysed with emphasis on the fact that 8 patients did not show a sheer P.M. type crisis (absence): 4 showed mioclonic P.M. and 4 akynetic P.M. The high incidency of personal antecedents (33%) is emphasized.Foram estudados 31 pacientes com crises clínicas tipo P.M. cujos eletrencefalogramas revelaram disritmia centrencefálica secundária a atividade irritativa focal. A sua freqüência entre as disritmias centrencefálicas foi de 27% (19% secundárias a foco de localização profunda e 8% secundárias a foco de localização cortical). O tipo clínico das crises foi analizado, sendo ressaltado o fato de que 8 pacientes não apresentaram crise tipo P.M. puro (ausência): 4 apresentaram P.M. mioclônico e 4 P.M. acinético. A alta incidência de antecedentes pessoais de valor (33%) foi enfatizada.Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Neurologia e NeurocirurgiaEscola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de NeurologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Neurologia e NeurocirurgiaEscola Paulista de Medicina Depto. de NeurologiaSciEL

Eletroencephalogram and anticonceptional drugs

An electroencephalogram was made in 28 women who had been using oral anticonceptional for at least three menstrual cycles and had no neurological or psychiatric complaint. The electroencephalogram was abnormal in 7 (25%). No slowness of the sleep spindle was found in any of the cases.Após comentários sobre a literatura, os autores apresentam o material composto de 28 pacientes sem queixa neurológica ou psiquiátrica, que estavam fazendo uso de anticoncepcional oral, e nas quais foi realizado um eletrencefalograma. Este se mostrou anormal em 7 (25%). As anormalidades foram predominantemente paroxísticas e difusas. Em nenhum caso foi encontrada lentificação do fuso do sono.Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamentos de Neurologia-Neurocirurgia e de Toco-GinecologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto.s de Neurologia-Neurocirurgia e de Toco-GinecologiaSciEL

Photolumiscent properties of nanorods and nanoplates Y2O3:Eu3+

Nanorods and nanoplates of Y2O3:Eu3+ powders were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of the Y(OH)3 precursors using a microwave-hydrothermal method in a very short reaction time. These powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourrier transform Raman, as well as photoluminescence measurements. Based on these results, these materials presented nanoplates and nanorods morphologies. The broad emission band between 300 and 440 nm ascribed to the photoluminescence of Y2O3 matrix shifts as the procedure used in the microwave-hydrothermal assisted method changes in the Y2O3:Eu3+ samples. The presence of Eu3+ and the hydrothermal treatment time are responsible for the band shifts in Y2O3:Eu3+ powders, since in the pure Y2O3 matrix this behavior was not observed. Y2O3:Eu3+ powders also show the characteristic Eu3+ emission lines at 580, 591, 610, 651 and 695 nm, when excited at 393 nm. The most intense band at 610 nm is responsible for the Eu3+ red emission in these materials, and the Eu3+ lifetime for this transition presented a slight increase as the time used in the microwave-hydrothermal assisted method increases

Influence of Antisynthetase Antibodies Specificities on Antisynthetase Syndrome Clinical Spectrum TimeCourse

Introduction: Increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality is observed in inflammatory joint diseases (IJDs) such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis. However, the management of CV disease in these conditions is far from being well established.Areas covered: This review summarizes the main epidemiologic, pathophysiological, and clinical risk factors of CV disease associated with IJDs. Less common aspects on early diagnosis and risk stratification of the CV disease in these conditions are also discussed. In Europe, the most commonly used risk algorithm in patients with IJDs is the modified SCORE index based on the revised recommendations proposed by the EULAR task force in 2017.Expert opinion: Early identification of IJD patients at high risk of CV disease is essential. It should include the use of complementary noninvasive imaging techniques. A multidisciplinary approach aimed to improve heart-healthy habits, including strict control of classic CV risk factors is crucial. Adequate management of the underlying IJD is also of main importance since the reduction of disease activity decreases the risk of CV events. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may have a lesser harmful effect in IJD than in the general population, due to their anti-inflammatory effects along with other potential beneficial effects.This research was partially funded by FOREUM—Foundation for Research in Rheumatolog

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects