Overcoming Inter-Subject Variability in BCI Using EEG-Based Identification

The high dependency of the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system performance on the BCI user is a well-known issue of many BCI devices. This contribution presents a new way to overcome this problem using a synergy between a BCI device and an EEG-based biometric algorithm. Using the biometric algorithm, the BCI device automatically identifies its current user and adapts parameters of the classification process and of the BCI protocol to maximize the BCI performance. In addition to this we present an algorithm for EEG-based identification designed to be resistant to variations in EEG recordings between sessions, which is also demonstrated by an experiment with an EEG database containing two sessions recorded one year apart. Further, our algorithm is designed to be compatible with our movement-related BCI device and the evaluation of the algorithm performance took place under conditions of a standard BCI experiment. Estimation of the mu rhythm fundamental frequency using the Frequency Zooming AR modeling is used for EEG feature extraction followed by a classifier based on the regularized Mahalanobis distance. An average subject identification score of 96 % is achieved

Repurposing tin mesoporphyrin as an immune checkpoint inhibitor shows therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of cancer

none17Purpose: Unprecedented clinical outcomes have been achieved in a variety of cancers by targeting immune checkpoint molecules. This preclinical study investigates heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an immunosuppressive enzyme that is expressed in a wide variety of cancers, as a potential immune checkpoint target in the context of a chemotherapy-elicited antitumor immune response. We evaluate repurposing tin mesoporphyrin (SnMP), which has demonstrated safety and efficacy targeting hepatic HO in the clinic for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia, as an immune checkpoint blockade therapy for the treatment of cancer. Experimental Design: SnMP and genetic inactivation of myeloid HO-1 were evaluated alongside 5-fluorouracil in an aggressive spontaneous murine model of breast cancer (MMTV-PyMT). Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, tumor microarray, and clinical survival data from breast cancer patients were used to support the clinical relevance of our observations. Results: We demonstrate that SnMP inhibits immune suppression of chemotherapy-elicited CD8þ T cells by targeting myeloid HO-1 activity in the tumor microenvironment. Micro-array and survival data from breast cancer patients reveal that HO-1 is a poor prognostic factor in patients receiving chemotherapy. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis suggests that the myeloid lineage is a significant source of HO-1 expression, and is co-expressed with the immune checkpoints PD-L1/2 in human breast tumors. In vivo, we therapeutically compare the efficacy of targeting these two pathways alongside immune-stimulating chemotherapy, and demonstrate that the efficacy of SnMP compares favorably with PD-1 blockade in preclinical models. Conclusions: SnMP could represent a novel immune checkpoint therapy, which may improve the immunological response to chemotherapy.openMuliaditan T.; Opzoomer J.W.; Caron J.; Okesola M.; Kosti P.; Lall S.; Van Hemelrijck M.; Dazzi F.; Tutt A.; Grigoriadis A.; Gillett C.E.; Madden S.F.; Burchell J.M.; Kordasti S.; Diebold S.S.; Spicer J.F.; Arnold J.N.Muliaditan, T.; Opzoomer, J. W.; Caron, J.; Okesola, M.; Kosti, P.; Lall, S.; Van Hemelrijck, M.; Dazzi, F.; Tutt, A.; Grigoriadis, A.; Gillett, C. E.; Madden, S. F.; Burchell, J. M.; Kordasti, S.; Diebold, S. S.; Spicer, J. F.; Arnold, J. N

Pain-motor integration in the primary motor cortex in Parkinson's disease

In Parkinson's disease (PD), the influence of chronic pain on motor features has never been investigated. We have recently designed a technique that combines nociceptive system activation by laser stimuli and primary motor cortex (M1) activation through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in a laser-paired associative stimulation design (Laser-PAS). In controls, Laser-PAS induces long-term changes in motor evoked potentials reflecting M1 long-term potentiation-like plasticity, arising from pain-motor integration

Suhopolje – Kliškovac 2008

Institut za arheologiju proveo je četvrtu kampanju sustavnih arheoloških istraživanja na lokalitetu Suhopolje – Kliškovac, u trajanju od mjesec dana. Istraživanje je provedeno u okviru projekta Ministarstva znanosti, obrazovanja i športa ‘’Srednjovjekovno arheološko nasljeđe Hrvatske (5.-17. st.)’’, kojega je voditelj prof. dr. sc. Željko Tomičić. Potporu istraživanju pružili su Ministarstvo kulture Republike Hrvatske i Poglavarstvo općine Suhopolje. Ovogodišnja istraživanja obuhvatila su površinu od 117 m˛, u kvadrantima M 3, L 4, M 4, L 5 i M 5. Definirana je pravokutna prostorija čiji se zapadni i istočni zidovi pružaju u pravcu sjever – jug. Istražena su 34 groba. U južnoj prostoriji istraženi su najstariji grobovi, tj. oni koji su ukopani u zdravicu koja se nalazi ispod sloja SJ 003 i definirana je kao SJ 335. U kvadrantima L/M 5 istražen je poluukopan objekt (zemunica ?) koji je datiran C14 analizom ugljena, od druge polovice 13. do druge polovice 14. st.The Institute of Archaeolog y conducted the fourth campaign of systematic archaeological excavations at the Suhopolje-Kliškovac site, lasting one month. The excavations were conducted within the framework of the project of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport called “Croatia’s Medieval Archaeological Heritage (5th – 17th centuries)”, led by Professor Željko Tomičić Ph.D., and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and the Municipal Government Suhopolje. This year’s excavations encompassed a surface of 117 m² in quadrants M 3, L 4, M 4, L 5 and M 5, of which quadrants L/M 4 were examined in 2006 and 2007, and quadrants L/M 5 and M 3 were opened this year. The reason for opening a new surface was to single out the ground plan of the medieval building, southern, eastern and western walls of which were identified during the excavations of 2006 and 2007. A rectangular ground-plan was defined, its western and eastern walls extending in the north-south direction, cut by a railway track. The width of the room (east-west) without walls is 3.5 m, and with walls 5.51 m. The length of the room (north-south) without walls is 3.09 m, and with walls 5.2 m. This year, 34 graves were excavated. First the graves whose fill was defined at the end of the excavations of 2007 were excavated in □ M 4, situated east of the building. In □ L 4, graves were excavated lying within the northern space, and graves in the space to its south. In the southern space, the oldest graves were excavated, i.e. those sunk into sterile soil, which lies under layer SU 003 and was defined as SU 335. It is exceedingly packed, hard and wet sandy earth with a high quantity of oxides. All excavated graves are oriented west-east with heads westwards. Anthropological remains were sent to the Archaeolog y Department of the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts (HAZU) for a detailed anthropological analysis, which yielded precise details of the sex and age of the deceased, and of any pathological changes in the bones of the deceased. Graves 83, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 84, 85 and 93 are arranged in a single row east of the facility, and at present it is assumed that they are coterminous with the facility. As for the other graves, it is necessary to conduct a parallel analysis of the burials and conduct a C14 analysis. The graves that were crosscut by walls or that lay at the bottom of the wall’s imprint in the soil are older than the facility. In quadrants L/M 5, north of the impression left by the north wall in the ground, under a layer of recent humus, there is a layer designated as SU 138 in which, apart from the impression of the north wall SU 196, several closed complexes were sunken as well. Some were made during demolition of the structure, like the impression of the wall, while others were probably geologically filled. Under layer SU 138 in □ M/L 5 there is a layer, SU 002, in which the pit-dwelling SU 248 was sunken with a serious of smaller pillars surrounding it. The pit-dwelling is rather shallow (or it has been preserved by ploughing), with an irregular, triangularly shaped ground-plan. Along the southern margin there is a structure – fireplace SU 252. In the fill there are fragments of brick and soot particles, as well as tiny fragments of medieval pottery. This facility confirms the assumption that there was a settlement here; (it can be dated from the middle of the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries according to C14 analysis, conducted in the BETA laboratory, Florida)

STM analiza površine srebrnog ogledala

In this work, the structure of a silver mirror surface was examined by the STM technique. It was shown that the structural characteristics which enable a high degree of mirror reflection from this surface, which is very close to the ideal reflectivity of silver, are: flat and mutually parallel parts of the surface which are smooth on the atomic level, and distances between adjacent flat parts which state several atomic diameters.STM tehnikom je ispitana struktura površine srebrnog ogledala. Pokazano je da su strukturne karakteristike koje su omogućile visok stepen ogledalske refleksije koji je bio veoma blizak idealnoj refleksivnosti srebra: ravni i međusobno paralelni delovi površine koji su glatki na atomskom nivou, i rastojanja između susednih ravnih delova koja iznose nekoliko atomskih prečnika

Rescue Excavations in the Sacristy of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in 2008

Prilikom građevinskih radova na sakristiji crkve Sv. Marije Magdalene u središtu Čazme pronađeni su ostaci ljudskih kostiju te je u razdoblju od 18. veljače do 6.ožujka 2008. obavljeno zaštitno istraživanje područja sakristije. Istraživanjem je otkriveno sedam grobnih cjelina. Grobovi sadrže vrlo malo nalaza, a na temelju stratigrafskih odnosa mogu se datirati u razdoblje novog vijeka.From 18 February to 6 March 2008, prior to construction works, archaeological rescue excavations were conducted in the sacristy of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Čazma. The excavations were lead by Vjekoslav Štrk from the Slavko Kolar Culture Centre in Čazma, with the participation of Siniša Krznar, M.S. from the Institute of Archaeolog y of the Republic of Croatia. The excavation area was limited by the sacristy walls and encompassed 21.70 m2. In the excavations, 53 stratigraphic units were defined and 25 sacks of finds (mostly pottery fragments and nails) and 8 special finds were excavated and 37 samples taken. Additionally, 8 graves were revealed, which can be dated to the New Era. Upon the conclusion of archaeological works and site mapping, construction works in the area of the sacristy resumed, facilitating the restoration of the sacristy’s ritual function

Does pin tract infection after external fixator limits its advantage as a cost-effective solution for open fractures in low-middle income countries, a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of pin tract infection in external fixator tibia and its effects on the definite fracture fixation and bone healing. METHODS: The prospective study was conducted at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from August 2017 to July 2018, and comprised patients regardless of age and gender with open fracture tibia Gustillo-Anderson type II and type IIIA. Pin tract infection was assessed following the application of locally made external fixation of tibia open fractures. Follow-up was done fortnightly till soft tissue healing, removal of external fixator and definite fracture healing. Pin tract infection was classifiedand treated according to the Checketts-Otterburn classification system. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 117 patients, 95(81%) were males and 22(19%) were females with an overall mean age of 24.7±9.35 years. Pin tract infection was documented in 28(23.9%) patients. Minor and major pin tract infections were reported in 27(96.4%) and 1(3.5%) patient respectively. Soft tissues healed in 27(96.4%) cases. CONCLUSION: External fixator for initial stabilisation of open tibial fractures in all patients is recommende

Distributionally chaotic families of operators on Fréchet spaces

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Communications on Pure and Applied Analysis (CPAA) following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Conejero, J. A., Kostić, M., Miana, P. J., & Murillo-Arcila, M. (2016). Distributionally chaotic families of operators on Fréchet spaces.Communications on Pure and Applied Analysis, 2016, vol. 15, no 5, p. 1915-1939, is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3934/cpaa.2016022The existence of distributional chaos and distributional irregular vectors has been recently considered in the study of linear dynamics of operators and C-0-semigroups. In this paper we extend some previous results on both notions to sequences of operators, C-0-semigroups, C-regularized semigroups, and alpha-timesintegrated semigroups on Frechet spaces. We also add a study of rescaled distributionally chaotic C-0-semigroups. Some examples are provided to illustrate all these results.The first and fourth authors are supported in part by MEC Project MTM2010-14909, MTM2013-47093-P, and Programa de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la UPV, Ref. SP20120700. The second author is partially supported by grant 174024 of Ministry of Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia. The third author has been partially supported by Project MTM2013-42105-P, DGI-FEDER, of the MCYTS; Project E-64, D.G. Aragon, and Project UZCUD2014-CIE-09, Universidad de Zaragoza. The fourth author is supported by a grant of the FPU Program of Ministry of education of Spain.Conejero, JA.; Kostic, M.; Miana Sanz, PJ.; Murillo Arcila, M. (2016). Distributionally chaotic families of operators on Fréchet spaces. Communications on Pure and Applied Analysis. 15(5):1915-1939. https://doi.org/10.3934/cpaa.2016022S1915193915

Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo in Childhood

The aim of the paper is to describe the clinical picture of benign paroxysmal vertigo (BPV) in childhood. BPV in childhood often goes unrecognized in spite of the fact that vertigo and balance disorders are not uncommon in children. Four cases are described with clinical examination findings between the attacks

Danica Pinterović – the founder of systematic archaeological research alongside the limes in Croatia

(…) to start the archaeological examination on our Limes with the aim of identifying the character of military objects; whether they are fortresses, forts or late antique strongholds, or their accompanying facilities such as baths, temples, fora, canabae etc. Other sites, known only for the finds, should be examined; whether they were towers and watchtowers, or whether they were stations on the Limes road, village farms, i.e. vici or villae, which were used for supplying the army and maintaining the traffic at the border. Those were the words of Danica Pinterović about what should be done at the Croatian part of the Danube limes. With her extraordinary work in that area, she indebted the national archaeological experts, but also the public with interest in archaeology, by leaving the legacy of a significant number of notions that are the basis of numerous research papers today. However, the creative reach of this scientist was not bounded by the remains of Roman Mursa, or even by the part of the Danube limes on the Croatian soil; it was focused on a thorough examination of the whole, aforementioned, background. Taking into account that Danica Pinterović wrote a certain number of review, professional, and original scientific papers on those topics, establishing herself as an inevitable resource for researchers of that territory, the value of her papers does not lie only in the number of published papers on archaeological excavations, but also in creating the historical image about the Croatian Danube region. She conducted the first systematic archaeological excavation, which lasted several years, alongside the limes on the Croatian side directly building on field survey of the area that had been done a decade or two before, while she worked as a curator of the Museum of Slavonia in Osijek. The said excavations in the period of 1970 – 1972 were conducted in Batina and discovered traces of a Roman fort Ad Militare. Underneath, a partially Hallstatt, possibly La Tène, cultural layer was discovered. However, we do not know why she placed a larger number of narrow and long trenches, and not a smaller number of bigger trenches. But, we do know it was a land covered partially by vineyards. Even though in neither of her papers, written after the ending of the third season of Ad Militare fort excavation, she did not specifically mention the size of the military camp, we can deduct from one of her field diaries what she thought since they tried to measure the length of the walls in 1971. However, the only sketch about the research of the fort published to this day implies that the surface was almost three times smaller than it actually is (approximately 0.7 ha, instead of 2 ha). Taking into account that not all the trenches were charted on the sketch (the trenches VI/2, VII/2, VIII/3, IX/3, X/3, XI/3, XII/3, XVI/3 are missing), this article contributes with an original drawing with their positions marked