Chronic neural probe for simultaneous recording of single-unit, multi-unit, and local field potential activity from multiple brain sites

Drug resistant focal epilepsy can be treated by resecting the epileptic focus requiring a precise focus localization using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) probes. As commercial SEEG probes offer only a limited spatial resolution, probes of higher channel count and design freedom enabling the incorporation of macro and microelectrodes would help increasing spatial resolution and thus open new perspectives for investigating mechanisms underlying focal epilepsy and its treatment. This work describes a new fabrication process for SEEG probes with materials and dimensions similar to clinical probes enabling recording single neuron activity at high spatial resolution. Polyimide is used as a biocompatible flexible substrate into which platinum electrodes and leads are... The resulting probe features match those of clinically approved devices. Tests in saline solution confirmed the probe stability and functionality. Probes were implanted into the brain of one monkey (Macaca mulatta), trained to perform different motor tasks. Suitable configurations including up to 128 electrode sites allow the recording of task-related neuronal signals. Probes with 32 and 64 electrode sites were implanted in the posterior parietal cortex. Local field potentials and multi-unit activity were recorded as early as one hour after implantation. Stable single-unit activity was achieved for up to 26 days after implantation of a 64-channel probe. All recorded signals showed modulation during task execution. With the novel probes it is possible to record stable biologically relevant data over a time span exceeding the usual time needed for epileptic focus localization in human patients. This is the first time that single units are recorded along cylindrical polyimide probes chronically implanted 22 mm deep into the brain of a monkey, which suggests the potential usefulness of this probe for human applications

Generalization of seizures parallels the formation of "dark" neurons in the hippocampus and pontine reticular formation after focal-cortical application of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) in the rat.

Distribution and time course of the occurrence of "dark" neurons were compared with the EEG activity and behavior of rats during 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) induced epileptic seizures. A crystal of the K(+) channel blocker 4-AP (0.5 mg/kg) was placed onto the exposed parieto-occipital cortex of Halothane-anesthetized rats for 40 min. Thereafter, the anesthesia was discontinued and the behavioral signs of the epileptic seizure activity were observed. The presence of "dark" neurons was demonstrated by the sensitive silver method of Gallyas in rats sacrificed at 0, 3 and 6 h after the end of the 4-AP crystal application. The EEG activity was recorded in the rats with longer survival times. The EEG analysis revealed the generalization of the epileptic seizures. We found that the formation of "dark" neurons in the hippocampus and the pontine reticular formation paralleled the generalization of the seizures

Implementing a smooth exact penalty function for equality-constrained nonlinear optimization

We develop a general equality-constrained nonlinear optimization algorithm based on a smooth penalty function proposed by Fletcher (1970). Although it was historically considered to be computationally prohibitive in practice, we demonstrate that the computational kernels required are no more expensive than other widely accepted methods for nonlinear optimization. The main kernel required to evaluate the penalty function and its derivatives is solving a structured linear system. We show how to solve this system efficiently by storing a single factorization each iteration when the matrices are available explicitly. We further show how to adapt the penalty function to the class of factorization-free algorithms by solving the linear system iteratively. The penalty function therefore has promise when the linear system can be solved efficiently, e.g., for PDE-constrained optimization problems where efficient preconditioners exist. We discuss extensions including handling simple constraints explicitly, regularizing the penalty function, and inexact evaluation of the penalty function and its gradients. We demonstrate the merits of the approach and its various features on some nonlinear programs from a standard test set, and some PDE-constrained optimization problems

Potential Vorticity Evolution of a Protoplanetary Disk with An Embedded Protoplanet

We present two-dimensional inviscid hydrodynamic simulations of a protoplanetary disk with an embedded planet, emphasizing the evolution of potential vorticity (the ratio of vorticity to density) and its dependence on numerical resolutions. By analyzing the structure of spiral shocks made by the planet, we show that progressive changes of the potential vorticity caused by spiral shocks ultimately lead to the excitation of a secondary instability. We also demonstrate that very high numerical resolution is required to both follow the potential vorticity changes and identify the location where the secondary instability is first excited. Low-resolution results are shown to give the wrong location. We establish the robustness of a secondary instability and its impact on the torque onto the planet. After the saturation of the instability, the disk shows large-scale non-axisymmetry, causing the torque on the planet to oscillate with large amplitude. The impact of the oscillating torque on the protoplanet's migration remains to be investigated.Comment: 17 pages total with 9 figures (Fig.4,5,9 are in .jpg), accepted to Ap

Atg23 and Atg27 Act at the Early Stages of Atg9 Trafficking in S. cerevisiae

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110581/1/tra12240.pd

The CASPER project: an integrated approach for pollution risk assessment in peri-urban groundwater catchment areas

In 2020, the European Union has established a recast of the 1998 EU Directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption, hereafter called Drinking Water Directive – DWD. One of the most significant innovative point in this recast is the introduction of an innovative “complete risk-based approach to water safety, covering the whole supply chain from the catchment area, abstraction, treatment, storage and distribution to the point of compliance” (article 7). In practice, a 3-level risk assessment and risk management is expected: (1) at the level of the catchment area (article 8), (2) at the level of the water supply systems (article 9) and (3) at the level of the domestic distribution system (article 10). In this context, the CASPER project, funded by SPGE in the Walloon Region of Belgium, aims at developing an integrated approach for the evaluation and management of pollution risks for peri-urban groundwater catchments. The approach, which fully complies with the requirements of the DWD recast, consists of several key components. First, point and diffuse pollution sources are identified in the groundwater catchment area based on a mapping of hazardous activities combined with a specific groundwater monitoring survey aiming at identifying specific tracers of such sources of pollution. In a second step, risks associated to each of the identified source of pollution is estimated based on the measurement of pollutant mass fluxes and mass discharges downgradient these sources. Finally, a groundwater flow and transport model is developed at the scale of the groundwater catchment area, with the aim of evaluating the cumulative effect of the multiple sources on groundwater quality deterioration in the catchment and at the abstraction points. The objective here is to describe the CASPER approach and to illustrate it using ongoing investigations in a peri-urban groundwater catchment exploiting groundwater from a chalk aquifer in Western Belgium.</p

Decomposing Tool-Action Observation: A Stereo-EEG Study

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Sparse Coding Predicts Optic Flow Specificities of Zebrafish Pretectal Neurons

Zebrafish pretectal neurons exhibit specificities for large-field optic flow patterns associated with rotatory or translatory body motion. We investigate the hypothesis that these specificities reflect the input statistics of natural optic flow. Realistic motion sequences were generated using computer graphics simulating self-motion in an underwater scene. Local retinal motion was estimated with a motion detector and encoded in four populations of directionally tuned retinal ganglion cells, represented as two signed input variables. This activity was then used as input into one of two learning networks: a sparse coding network (competitive learning) and backpropagation network (supervised learning). Both simulations develop specificities for optic flow which are comparable to those found in a neurophysiological study (Kubo et al. 2014), and relative frequencies of the various neuronal responses are best modeled by the sparse coding approach. We conclude that the optic flow neurons in the zebrafish pretectum do reflect the optic flow statistics. The predicted vectorial receptive fields show typical optic flow fields but also "Gabor" and dipole-shaped patterns that likely reflect difference fields needed for reconstruction by linear superposition.Comment: Published Conference Paper from ICANN 2018, Rhode