Potential use of electrical somatosensory modality for BCI

INTRODUCTION: P300 is commonly used in noninvasive brain computer interface (BCI). Most P300 based BCIs were focus on visual and auditory stimulation [1]. Several previous reports present the potential use of vibrotactile stimulus for P300 BCI [2,3]. As an alternative, electrical somatosensory stimuli can be used for BCI ...published_or_final_versio

Studies on the diversity of ciliate species in Gahai Alpine Wetland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Abstract This study investigated the community structure of ciliates in Gahai Alpine Wetland of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. We hypothesized that the ciliate community in the Plateau is more complex and the species diversity is richer than those in other climate zones of China. In particular, we studied how the ciliate species responded to environmental temperature, soil moisture content and the manner of pasture utilization. We determined key features of the ciliate communities such as trophic functional groups, ciliate seasonal distribution, species diversity and similarity index at six sample sites from January 2015 to October 2016. To count and characterize ciliates, we combined the non-flooded Petri dish method with in vivo observation and silver staining. We identified 162 ciliate species in this area, showing a high species and functional diversity. The mode of nutrition was diverse, with the lowest number of ciliates in group N (Nonselective omnivores, 4 species) and the highest number in group B (Bacterivores-detritivores, 118 species, corresponding to 73% of the total species number). Ciliate species richness was significantly positively correlated with environmental temperature and moisture and adversely related to the intensity of agricultural land use. Rotational grazing by livestock or suspended grazing might be useful for maintaining good soil quality, thereby favoring ciliate diversity. Our study may serve as a reference to evaluate the ecosystem status of the Gahai Alpine Wetland and other similar areas in future studies

Interactions of energetic electrons with ULF waves triggered by interplanetary shock: Van Allen Probes observations in the magnetotail

Abstract We present in situ observations of a shock-induced substorm-like event on 13 April 2013 observed by the newly launched Van Allen twin probes. Substorm-like electron injections with energy of 30-500 keV were observed in the region from L∼5.2 to 5.5 immediately after the shock arrival (followed by energetic electron drift echoes). Meanwhile, the electron flux was clearly and strongly varying on the ULF wave time scale. It is found that both toroidal and poloidal mode ULF waves with a period of 150 s emerged following the magnetotail magnetic field reconfiguration after the interplanetary (IP) shock passage. The poloidal mode is more intense than the toroidal mode. The 90 phase shift between the poloidal mode Br and Ea suggests the standing poloidal waves in the Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the energetic electron flux modulations indicate that the azimuthal wave number is ∼14. Direct evidence of drift resonance between the injected electrons and the excited poloidal ULF wave has been obtained. The resonant energy is estimated to be between 150 keV and 230 keV. Two possible scenaria on ULF wave triggering are discussed: vortex-like flow structure-driven field line resonance and ULF wave growth through drift resonance. It is found that the IP shock may trigger intense ULF wave and energetic electron behavior at L∼3 to 6 on the nightside, while the time profile of the wave is different from dayside cases

Heavy-tailed statistics in short-message communication

Short-message (SM) is one of the most frequently used communication channels in the modern society. In this Brief Report, based on the SM communication records provided by some volunteers, we investigate the statistics of SM communication pattern, including the interevent time distributions between two consecutive short messages and two conversations, and the distribution of message number contained by a complete conversation. In the individual level, the current empirical data raises a strong evidence that the human activity pattern, exhibiting a heavy-tailed interevent time distribution, is driven by a non-Poisson nature.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and 1 tabl

Pulmonary fissure integrity and collateral ventilation in COPD patients

Purpose: To investigate whether the integrity (completeness) of pulmonary fissures affects pulmonary function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and Methods: A dataset consisting of 573 CT exams acquired on different subjects was collected from a COPD study. According to the global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) criteria, these subjects (examinations) were classified into five different subgroups, namely non-COPD (222 subjects), GOLD-I (83 subjects), GOLD-II (141 subjects), GOLD-III (63 subjects), and GOLD-IV (64 subjects), in terms of disease severity. An available computer tool was used to aid in an objective and efficient quantification of fissure integrity. The correlations between fissure integrity, and pulmonary functions (e.g., FEV1, and FEV1/FVC) and COPD severity were assessed using Pearson and Spearman's correlation coefficients, respectively. Results: For the five sub-groups ranging from non-COPD to GOLD-IV, the average integrities of the right oblique fissure (ROF) were 81.8%, 82.4%, 81.8%, 82.8%, and 80.2%, respectively; the average integrities of the right horizontal fissure (RHF) were 62.6%, 61.8%, 62.1%, 62.2%, and 62.3%, respectively; the average integrities of the left oblique fissure (LOF) were 82.0%, 83.2%, 81.7%, 82.0%, and 78.4%, respectively; and the average integrities of all fissures in the entire lung were 78.0%, 78.6%, 78.1%, 78.5%, and 76.4%, respectively. Their Pearson correlation coefficients with FEV1 and FE1/FVC range from 0.027 to 0.248 with p values larger than 0.05. Their Spearman correlation coefficients with COPD severity except GOLD-IV range from -0.013 to -0.073 with p values larger than 0.08. Conclusion: There is no significant difference in fissure integrity for patients with different levels of disease severity, suggesting that the development of COPD does not change the completeness of pulmonary fissures and incomplete fissures alone may not contribute to the collateral ventilation. © 2014 Pu et al

Safety and efficacy of intracoronary hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow mononuclear cell administration for acute myocardial infarction patients: The CHINA-AMI randomized controlled trial

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Evidence of Rapid Phenocryst Growth of Olivine During Ascent in Basalts From the Big Pine Volcanic Field: Application of Olivine‐Melt Thermometry and Hygrometry at the Liquidus

The Quaternary Big Pine (BP) volcanic field in eastern California is notable for the occurrence of mantle xenoliths in several flows. This points to rapid ascent of basalt through the crust and precludes prolonged storage in a crustal reservoir. In this study, the hypothesis of phenocryst growth during ascent is tested for several basalts (13–7 wt% MgO) and shown to be viable. Phenocrysts of olivine and clinopyroxene frequently display diffusion‐limited growth textures, and clinopyroxene compositions are consistent with polybaric crystallization. When the most Mg‐rich olivine in each sample is paired with the whole‐rock composition, resulting Fe2+‐MgKD(olivine‐melt) values (0.31–0.36) match those calculated from literature models (0.32–0.36). Application of a Mg‐ and a Ni‐based olivine‐melt thermometer from the literature, both calibrated on the same experimental data set, leads to two sets of temperatures that vary linearly with whole‐rock MgO wt%. Because the Ni thermometer is independent of water content, it provides the actual temperature at the onset of olivine crystallization (1247–1097°C), whereas the Mg thermometer gives the temperature under anhydrous conditions and thus allows ΔT (=TMg − TNi = depression of liquidus due to water) to be obtained. The average ΔT for all samples is ~59°C, which is consistent with analyzed water contents of 1.5–3.0 wt% in olivine‐hosted melt inclusions from the literature. Because the application of olivine‐melt thermometry/hygrometry at the liquidus only requires microprobe analyses of olivine combined with whole‐rock compositions, it can be used to obtain large global data sets of the temperature and water contents of basalts from different tectonic settings.Plain Language SummaryBasaltic lavas are a window into their mantle source regions, which is why it is important to determine their temperatures and water contents. In this study, a new approach that allows these two parameters to be quantified is demonstrated for basalts from the Big Pine volcanic field, CA. They were targeted because many contain chunks of dense mantle rocks, which precludes storage in a crustal magma chamber and points to direct ascent from the mantle to the surface along fractures. Two hypotheses are proposed, tested, and shown to be viable in this study: (1) olivine crystallized in the basalts during ascent, and (2) the most Mg‐rich olivine analyzed in each basalt represents the first olivine to grow during ascent. This enables the most Mg‐rich olivine to be paired with the whole‐rock composition in the application of olivine‐melt thermometry and hygrometry. The results match those from published, independent studies. The success of this approach paves the way for the attainment of large, high‐quality data sets for basalts from a wide variety of tectonic settings. This, in turn, may allow global variations in mantle temperature and volatile content to be mapped in greater detail and better understood.Key PointsRapid phenocryst growth occurs during ascent in Mg‐rich basalts (some carry mantle xenoliths) from the Big Pine volcanic field, CAThe most Mg‐rich olivine can be paired with the whole‐rock composition to apply olivine‐melt thermometry/hygrometry at the liquidusLarge, high‐quality data sets on the temperature and water content of basalts from various tectonic settings can be obtained by this methodPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/3/ggge22329-sup-0001-2020GC009264-SI.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/2/ggge22329.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/1/ggge22329_am.pd

Three-dimensional magnetic flux rope structure formed by multiple sequential X-line reconnection at the magnetopause

On 14 June 2007, four Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms spacecraft observed a flux transfer event (FTE) on the dayside magnetopause, which has been previously proved to be generated by multiple, sequential X-line reconnection (MSXR) in a 2-D context. This paper reports a further study of the MSXR event to show the 3-D viewpoint based on additional measurements. The 3-D structure of the FTE flux rope across the magnetospheric boundary is obtained on the basis of multipoint measurements taken on both sides of the magnetopause. The flux rope's azimuthally extended section is found to lie approximately on the magnetopause surface and parallel to the X-line direction; while the axis of the magnetospheric branch is essentially along the local unperturbed magnetospheric field lines. In the central region of the flux rope, as distinct from the traditional viewpoint, we find from the electron distributions that two types of magnetic field topology coexist: opened magnetic field lines connecting the magnetosphere and the magnetosheath and closed field lines connecting the Southern and Northern hemispheres. We confirm, therefore, for the first time, the characteristic feature of the 3-D reconnected magnetic flux rope, formed through MSXR, through a determination of the field topology and the plasma distributions within the flux rope. Knowledge of the complex geometry of FTE flux ropes will improve our understanding of solar wind-magnetosphere interaction.Astronomy & AstrophysicsSCI(E)5ARTICLE51904-191111

Formulation and characterization of biocompatible and stable I.V. itraconazole nanosuspensions stabilized by a new stabilizer polyethylene glycol-poly(β-Benzyl-L-aspartate) (PEG-PBLA)

Abstract Amphiphilic block copolymers, PEG-PBLA with different molecular weights, were synthesized and used as new stabilizers for Itraconazole nannosuspensions (ITZ-PBLA-Nanos). ITZ-PBLA-Nanos were prepared by the microprecipitation-high pressure homogenization method, and the particle size and zeta potential were measured using a ZetaSizer Nano-ZS90. Morphology and crystallinity were studied using TEM, DSC and powder X-ray. The effect of the PEG-to-PBLA ratio, and the drug-to-stabilizer ratio were investigated to obtain the optimal formulation. It was found that the optimal length of hydrophobic block was 25 BLA-NCA molecules and the optimal ratio of drug/stabilizer was 1:1, where the resulted average particle size of ITZ-PBLA-Nanos was 262.1 ± 7.13 nm with a PDI value of 0.163 ± 0.011. The images of TEM suggest that ITZ-PBLA-Nanos were rectangular in shape. ITZ existed as crystals in the nanoparticles as suggested by the DSC and XRD results. Compared with the crude drug suspensions, the dissolution rate of ITZ nanocrystals, was significantly increased and was similar to Sporanox® injection. The ITZ-PBLA-Nanos also demonstrated better dilution stability and storage stability compared with ITZ-F68-Nanos. The particle size of ITZ-PBLA-Nanos did not change significantly after incubated in rat plasma for 24 h which is a good attribute for I.V. administration. Acute toxicity tests showed that ITZ-PBLA-Nanos has the highest LD50 compared with ITZ-F68-Nanos and Sporanox® injection. ITZ-PBLA-Nanos also showed stronger inhibiting effect on the growth of Candida albicans compared with Sporanox® injection. Therefore, PEG-PBLA has a promising potential as a biocompatible stabilizer for ITZ nanosuspensions and potentially for other nanosuspensions as well

Treatment of infarcted heart tissue via the capture and local delivery of circulating exosomes through antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles

The systemic biodistribution of endogenous extracellular vesicles is central to the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Here, we show that angiogenesis and heart function in infarcted heart tissue can be ameliorated by the local accumulation of exosomes collected from circulation using magnetic nanoparticles. The nanoparticles consist of a Fe3O4 core and a silica shell that is decorated with poly (ethylene glycol) conjugated through hydrazone bonds to two types of antibody, which bind either to CD63 antigens on the surface of extracellular vesicles or to myosin-light-chain surface markers on injured cardiomyocytes. On application of a local magnetic field, accumulation of the nanoparticles and cleavage of the hydrazone bonds under the acidic pH of injured cardiac tissue lead to the local release of the captured exosomes. In rabbit and rat models of myocardial infarction, the magnetic-guided accumulation of captured CD63-expressing exosomes in infarcted tissue led to reductions in infarct size as well as improved left-ventricle ejection fraction and angiogenesis. The approach could be used to manipulate endogenous exosome biodistribution for the treatment of other diseases