Neural coding tools, based on Information Theory, applied to discrete time series: from electrophysiology to neuroethology

This work is supported by Brazilian agencies Fapesp, CAPES and CNP

Case Report: Patient with Deficiency of ADA2 Presenting Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis and Pericarditis during Infliximab Treatment

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Measurement-induced disturbance and thermal negativity of qutrit-qubit mixed spin chain

We investigate the quantum correlation in a qutrit-qubit mixed spin chain based on measurement-induced disturbance (MID) [S. Luo, Phys. Rev. A, 77, (2008) 022301]. We also compare MID and thermal entanglement measured by negativity and illustrate their different characteristics.Comment: 1 text and 3 eps figures;accepted by solid state communication

Tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma masquerading asthma: A case report

BACKGROUND: Tracheal tumors are often misdiagnosed as asthma and are treated with inhaled steroids and bronchodilators without resolution. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, a patient with tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma who had been previously diagnosed with difficult asthma was reported. The possibility of the presence of localized airway obstruction was raised when the flow-volume curve suggesting fixed airway obstruction, was obtained. CONCLUSION: The presenting case report emphasizes the fact that not all wheezes are asthma. It is critical to bear in mind that if a patient does not respond to appropriate anti-asthma therapy, localized obstructions should be ruled out before establishing the diagnosis of asthma

Serum amyloid A proteins reduce bone mass during mycobacterial infections

IntroductionOsteopenia has been associated to several inflammatory conditions, including mycobacterial infections. How mycobacteria cause bone loss remains elusive, but direct bone infection may not be required. MethodsGenetically engineered mice and morphometric, transcriptomic, and functional analyses were used. Additionally, inflammatory mediators and bone turnover markers were measured in the serum of healthy controls, individuals with latent tuberculosis and patients with active tuberculosis. Results and discussionWe found that infection with Mycobacterium avium impacts bone turnover by decreasing bone formation and increasing bone resorption, in an IFN gamma- and TNF alpha-dependent manner. IFN gamma produced during infection enhanced macrophage TNF alpha secretion, which in turn increased the production of serum amyloid A (SAA) 3. Saa3 expression was upregulated in the bone of both M. avium- and M. tuberculosis-infected mice and SAA1 and 2 proteins (that share a high homology with murine SAA3 protein) were increased in the serum of patients with active tuberculosis. Furthermore, the increased SAA levels seen in active tuberculosis patients correlated with altered serum bone turnover markers. Additionally, human SAA proteins impaired bone matrix deposition and increased osteoclastogenesis in vitro. Overall, we report a novel crosstalk between the cytokine-SAA network operating in macrophages and bone homeostasis. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of bone loss during infection and open the way to pharmacological intervention. Additionally, our data and disclose SAA proteins as potential biomarkers of bone loss during infection by mycobacteria.This article is a result of the project HEALTH-UNORTE: Setting-up biobanks and regenerative medicine strategies to boost research in cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, neurological, oncological, immunological and infectious diseases (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000039), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was supported by KOG-202108-00929 from the European Haematology Society, awarded to AG. Work in the MS lab was financed by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020 - Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia/Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028955 (PTDC/SAU-INF/28955/2017). AG and MS are supported by an Individual Scientific Employment contract (CEECIND/00048/2017; CEECIND/00241/2017 respectively). DS acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the Post-Doc fellowship (SFRH/BPD/115341/2016). RP, DS and AF have PhD grants (SFRH/BD/145217/2019; SFRH/BD/143536/2019; 2020.05949.BD, respectively) financed by FCT

Effects of the functional HOTAIR rs920778 and rs12826786 genetic variants in glioma susceptibility and patient prognosis

Abnormal expression of the long non-coding RNA HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is oncogenic in several human cancers, including gliomas. The HOTAIR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs920778 (C > T) and rs12826786 (C > T) present in the intronic enhancer and promoter regions of HOTAIR, respectively, are associated with expression, cancer susceptibility, and patient prognosis in some tumor types. However, the relevance of these HOTAIR SNPs has not been studied in glioma. Here, we report a case-control study comprising 177 Portuguese glioma patients and 199 cancer-free controls. All subjects were genotyped by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). No statistically significant differences were found in the genotype or allele distributions of either rs920778 or rs12826786 between glioma patients and controls, suggesting these SNPs are not associated with glioma risk. No significant associations were found between rs920778 variants and HOTAIR expression levels, while rs12826786 CT genotype was associated with increased intratumoral HOTAIR RNA levels when compared to TT genotype (p-value = 0.04). Univariate (Log-rank) and multivariate (Cox proportional) analyses showed both rs920778 CT and rs12826786 CT genotypes were significantly associated with longer overall survival of WHO grade III anaplastic oligodendroglioma patients. Our results suggest that HOTAIR SNPs rs920778 and rs12826786 do not play a significant role in glioma susceptibility, but may be important prognostic factors in anaplastic oligodendroglioma patients. Future studies are warranted to validate and expand these findings, and to further dissect the importance of these SNPs in glioma.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dynamic clamp with StdpC software

Dynamic clamp is a powerful method that allows the introduction of artificial electrical components into target cells to simulate ionic conductances and synaptic inputs. This method is based on a fast cycle of measuring the membrane potential of a cell, calculating the current of a desired simulated component using an appropriate model and injecting this current into the cell. Here we present a dynamic clamp protocol using free, fully integrated, open-source software (StdpC, for spike timing-dependent plasticity clamp). Use of this protocol does not require specialist hardware, costly commercial software, experience in real-time operating systems or a strong programming background. The software enables the configuration and operation of a wide range of complex and fully automated dynamic clamp experiments through an intuitive and powerful interface with a minimal initial lead time of a few hours. After initial configuration, experimental results can be generated within minutes of establishing cell recording

Hypernovae and Other Black-Hole-Forming Supernovae

During the last few years, a number of exceptional core-collapse supernovae (SNe) have been discovered. Their kinetic energy of the explosions are larger by more than an order of magnitude than the typical values for this type of SNe, so that these SNe have been called `Hypernovae'. We first describe how the basic properties of hypernovae can be derived from observations and modeling. These hypernovae seem to come from rather massive stars, thus forming black holes. On the other hand, there are some examples of massive SNe with only a small kinetic energy. We suggest that stars with non-rotating black holes are likely to collapse "quietly" ejecting a small amount of heavy elements (Faint supernovae). In contrast, stars with rotating black holes are likely to give rise to very energetic supernovae (Hypernovae). We present distinct nucleosynthesis features of these two types of "black-hole-forming" supernovae. Hypernova nucleosynthesis is characterized by larger abundance ratios (Zn,Co,V,Ti)/Fe and smaller (Mn,Cr)/Fe. Nucleosynthesis in Faint supernovae is characterized by a large amount of fall-back. We show that the abundance pattern of the most Fe deficient star, HE0107-5240, and other extremely metal-poor carbon-rich stars are in good accord with those of black-hole-forming supernovae, but not pair-instability supernovae. This suggests that black-hole-forming supernovae made important contributions to the early Galactic (and cosmic) chemical evolution.Comment: 49 pages, to be published in "Stellar Collapse" (Astrophysics and Space Science; Kluwer) ed. C. L. Fryer (2003

Initial Solution Heuristic for Portfolio Optimization of Electricity Markets Participation

Meta-heuristic search methods are used to find near optimal global solutions for difficult optimization problems. These meta-heuristic processes usually require some kind of knowledge to overcome the local optimum locations. One way to achieve diversification is to start the search procedure from a solution already obtained through another method. Since this solution is already validated the algorithm will converge easily to a greater global solution. In this work, several well-known meta-heuristics are used to solve the problem of electricity markets participation portfolio optimization. Their search performance is compared to the performance of a proposed hybrid method (ad-hoc heuristic to generate the initial solution, which is combined with the search method). The addressed problem is the portfolio optimization for energy markets participation, where there are different markets where it is possible to negotiate. In this way the result will be the optimal allocation of electricity in the different markets in order to obtain the maximum return quantified through the objective function.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794 (project DREAM-GO) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio