Simultaneous fNIRS and thermal infrared imaging during cognitive task reveal autonomic correlates of prefrontal cortex activity

Functional Near Infrared-Spectroscopy (fNIRS) represents a powerful tool to non-invasively study task-evoked brain activity. fNIRS assessment of cortical activity may suffer for contamination by physiological noises of different origin (e.g. heart beat, respiration, blood pressure, skin blood flow), both task-evoked and spontaneous. Spontaneous changes occur at different time scales and, even if they are not directly elicited by tasks, their amplitude may result task-modulated. In this study, concentration changes of hemoglobin were recorded over the prefrontal cortex while simultaneously recording the facial temperature variations of the participants through functional infrared thermal (fIR) imaging. fIR imaging provides touch-less estimation of the thermal expression of peripheral autonomic. Wavelet analysis revealed task-modulation of the very low frequency (VLF) components of both fNIRS and fIR signals and strong coherence between them. Our results indicate that subjective cognitive and autonomic activities are intimately linked and that the VLF component of the fNIRS signal is affected by the autonomic activity elicited by the cognitive task. Moreover, we showed that task-modulated changes in vascular tone occur both at a superficial and at larger depth in the brain. Combined use of fNIRS and fIR imaging can effectively quantify the impact of VLF autonomic activity on the fNIRS signals

Influence of Different Surface Morphologies on the Performance of High Voltage, Low Resistance Diamond Schottky Diodes

Vertical diamond Schottky diodes with blocking voltages $V_{\text{BD}} > 2.4 \text{ kV}$ and on-resistances $R_{\text{On}} < 400 \text{ m}\Omega \text{cm}^{2}$ were fabricated on homoepitaxially grown diamond layers with different surface morphologies. The morphology (smooth as-grown, hillock-rich, polished) influences the Schottky barrier, the carrier transport properties, and consequently the device performance. The smooth as-grown sample exhibited a low reverse current density $J_{\text{Rev}} < 10^{-4} \text{ A}/\text{cm}^{2}$ for reverse voltages up to $2.2 \text{ kV}$. The hillock-rich sample blocked similar voltages with a slight increase in the reverse current density ($J_{\text{Rev}} < 10^{-3} \text{ A}/\text{cm}^{2}$). The calculated 1D-breakdown field, however, was reduced by $30 \text{ } \%$, indicating a field enhancement induced by the inhomogeneous surface. The polished sample demonstrated a similar breakdown voltage and reverse current density as the smooth as-grown sample, suggesting that a polished surface can be suitable for device fabrication. However, a statistical analysis of several diodes of each sample showed the importance of the substrate quality: A high density of defects both reduces the feasible device area and increases the reverse current density. In forward direction, the hillock-rich sample exhibited a secondary Schottky barrier, which could be fitted with a modified thermionic emission model employing the Lambert W-function. Both polished and smooth sample showed nearly ideal thermionic emission with ideality factors $1.08$ and $1.03$, respectively. Compared with literature, all three diodes exhibit an improved Baliga Figure of Merit for diamond Schottky diodes with $V_{\text{BD}} > 2 \text{ kV}$.Comment: Accepted April 20, 202

The potential of major ion chemistry to assess groundwater vulnerability of a regional aquifer in southern Quebec (Canada)

Groundwater vulnerability mapping provides useful but limited information for developing protection plans of the resource. Classical vulnerability ranking methods often do not take into account complex hydrostratigraphy and never consider groundwater flow dynamics. The objective of this work was to test the potential of major ion chemistry to assess regional-scale intrinsic groundwater vulnerability. Because it reflects water–sediment and water–rock interactions, the new vulnerability index reflects both infiltration processes and groundwater hydrodynamics. The method was applied on a regional fractured bedrock aquifer located in the Becancour region of southern Quebec (Canada). In this region, hydrogeochemistry shows that freshly recharged groundwater evolves from (Ca, Mg)–HCO3 and Ca–SO4 to Na–HCO3 type with gradually increasing confinement conditions in the fractured aquifer and tends to Na–Cl type locally by mixing with trapped marine pore-water. The new method identified recharge areas as those of the highest vulnerability and gradually decreasing vulnerability as confinement of the aquifer increased. It also highlights local discontinuities in confinement that differ from the regional pattern. Results showed a good correlation between groundwater vulnerability estimated with the new method and nitrate occurrence in groundwater. Eighty-two per cent of all samples presenting detectable nitrate concentrations were characterized by a Hydrogeochemical Vulnerability Index greater than 9 (maximum is 10). The ability of the new vulnerability method to identify areas vulnerable to detectable nitrate concentrations was much higher than that deriving from the DRASTIC method. This work confirms that major ions chemistry contains significant information about groundwater vulnerability and could be used to improve groundwater resource management

Place of financial controlling in the financial management of industrial enterprises

У статті розглянуто проблеми, пов’язані із впровадженням та розвитком фінансового контролінгу як функції фінансового менеджменту промислових підприємств. Проаналізовано та конкретизовано проблеми фінансового менеджменту і контролінгу на українських промислових підприємствах в сучасних умовах. Визначено роль і місце фінансового контролінгу в системі фінансового менеджменту підприємства. На підставі аналізу проблем фінансового менеджменту та контролінгу доведено, що фінансовий контролінг є найбільш раціональним способом досягнення ефективної діяльності промислового підприємства. Обґрунтовано необхідність застосування та удосконалення окремих специфічних методів та інструментів фінансового контролінгу на промислових підприємствах.В статье рассмотрены проблемы, связанные с внедрением и развитием финансового контроллинга как функции финансового менеджмента промышленных предприятий. Проанализированы и конкретизированы проблемы финансового менеджмента и контроллинга на украинских промышленных предприятиях в современных условиях. Определены роль и место финансового контроллинга в системе финансового менеджмента предприятия. На основании анализа проблем финансового менеджмента и контроллинга доказано, что финансовый контроллинг является наиболее рациональным способом достижения эффективной деятельности промышленного предприятия. Обоснована необходимость применения и усовершенствования отдельных специфических методов и инструментов контроллинга на промышленных предприятиях.The article deals with the problems associated with the introduction and development of financial controlling as the financial management function of industrial enterprises. It analyzes and concretizes specific problems of financial management and controlling of Ukrainian industrial enterprises in the modern conditions. The role and place of financial controlling in the system of financial management of the company are identified. It is proved that financial controlling is the most rational way to achieve efficient operation of the industrial enterprises based on the analysis of problems of financial management and controlling. The necessity of usage and improvement of different specific methods and tools of controlling at industrial enterprises is substantiated

Dual Adaptive Filtering by Optimal Projection Applied to Filter Muscle Artifacts on EEG and Comparative Study

Muscle artifacts constitute one of the major problems in electroencephalogram (EEG) examinations, particularly for the diagnosis of epilepsy, where pathological rhythms occur within the same frequency bands as those of artifacts. This paper proposes to use the method dual adaptive filtering by optimal projection (DAFOP) to automatically remove artifacts while preserving true cerebral signals. DAFOP is a two-step method. The first step consists in applying the common spatial pattern (CSP) method to two frequency windows to identify the slowest components which will be considered as cerebral sources. The two frequency windows are defined by optimizing convolutional filters. The second step consists in using a regression method to reconstruct the signal independently within various frequency windows. This method was evaluated by two neurologists on a selection of 114 pages with muscle artifacts, from 20 clinical recordings of awake and sleeping adults, subject to pathological signals and epileptic seizures. A blind comparison was then conducted with the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method and conventional low-pass filtering at 30 Hz. The filtering rate was 84.3% for muscle artifacts with a 6.4% reduction of cerebral signals even for the fastest waves. DAFOP was found to be significantly more efficient than CCA and 30 Hz filters. The DAFOP method is fast and automatic and can be easily used in clinical EEG recordings

A novel GLM-based method for the Automatic IDentification of functional Events (AIDE) in fNIRS data recorded in naturalistic environments.

Recent technological advances have allowed the development of portable functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) devices that can be used to perform neuroimaging in the real-world. However, as real-world experiments are designed to mimic everyday life situations, the identification of event onsets can be extremely challenging and time-consuming. Here, we present a novel analysis method based on the general linear model (GLM) least square fit analysis for the Automatic IDentification of functional Events (or AIDE) directly from real-world fNIRS neuroimaging data. In order to investigate the accuracy and feasibility of this method, as a proof-of-principle we applied the algorithm to (i) synthetic fNIRS data simulating both block-, event-related and mixed-design experiments and (ii) experimental fNIRS data recorded during a conventional lab-based task (involving maths). AIDE was able to recover functional events from simulated fNIRS data with an accuracy of 89%, 97% and 91% for the simulated block-, event-related and mixed-design experiments respectively. For the lab-based experiment, AIDE recovered more than the 66.7% of the functional events from the fNIRS experimental measured data. To illustrate the strength of this method, we then applied AIDE to fNIRS data recorded by a wearable system on one participant during a complex real-world prospective memory experiment conducted outside the lab. As part of the experiment, there were four and six events (actions where participants had to interact with a target) for the two different conditions respectively (condition 1: social-interact with a person; condition 2: non-social-interact with an object). AIDE managed to recover 3/4 events and 3/6 events for conditions 1 and 2 respectively. The identified functional events were then corresponded to behavioural data from the video recordings of the movements and actions of the participant. Our results suggest that "brain-first" rather than "behaviour-first" analysis is possible and that the present method can provide a novel solution to analyse real-world fNIRS data, filling the gap between real-life testing and functional neuroimaging

Reliable and Accurate CD4+ T Cell Count and Percent by the Portable Flow Cytometer CyFlow MiniPOC and \u201cCD4 Easy Count Kit-Dry\u201d, as Revealed by the Comparison with the Gold Standard Dual Platform Technology

An accurate and affordable CD4+ T cells count is an essential tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Flow cytometry (FCM) is the "gold standard" for counting such cells, but this technique is expensive and requires sophisticated equipment, temperature-sensitive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and trained personnel. The lack of access to technical support and quality assurance programs thus limits the use of FCM in resource-constrained countries. We have tested the accuracy, the precision and the carry-over contamination of Partec CyFlow MiniPOC, a portable and economically affordable flow cytometer designed for CD4+ count and percentage, used along with the "CD4% Count Kit-Dry"

Drosophila Helical factor is an inducible protein acting as an immune-regulated cytokine in S2 cells.

The innate immunity of Drosophila melanogaster is based on cellular and humoral components. Drosophila Helical factor (Hf), is a molecule previously discovered using an in silico approach and whose expression is controlled by the immune deficiency (Imd) pathway. Here we present evidence demonstrating that Hf is an inducible protein constitutively produced by the S2 hemocyte-derived cell line. Hf expression is stimulated by bacterial extracts that specifically trigger the Imd pathway. In absence of any bacterial challenge, the recombinant form of Hf can influence the expression of the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) defensin but not drosomycin. These data suggest that in vitro Hf is an inducible and immune-regulated factor, with functions comparable to those of secreted vertebrate cytokine