Comparison of short-channel separation and spatial domain filtering for removal of non-neural components in functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals

Significance: With the increasing popularity of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the need to determine localization of the source and nature of the signals has grown. Aim: We compare strategies for removal of non-neural signals for a finger-thumb tapping task, which shows responses in contralateral motor cortex and a visual checkerboard viewing task that produces activity within the occipital lobe. Approach: We compare temporal regression strategies using short-channel separation to a spatial principal component (PC) filter that removes global signals present in all channels. For short-channel temporal regression, we compare non-neural signal removal using first and combined first and second PCs from a broad distribution of short channels to limited distribution on the forehead. Results: Temporal regression of non-neural information from broadly distributed short channels did not differ from forehead-only distribution. Spatial PC filtering provides results similar to short-channel separation using the temporal domain. Utilizing both first and second PCs from short channels removes additional non-neural information. Conclusions: We conclude that short-channel information in the temporal domain and spatial domain regression filtering methods remove similar non-neural components represented in scalp hemodynamics from fNIRS signals and that either technique is sufficient to remove non-neural components

Corneal topographic changes in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To asses the effect of menopause on the corneal curvature changes using corneal computerized videokeratography (CVK) in premenopausal and postmenopausal healthy women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-six postmenopausal women with mean ages of 49.2 (range 39 to 57) were enrolled in this randomized, prospective study, comparing with 26 healthy controls with mean ages of 38.5 +/- 4.9 (range 32 to 49). Subjects were determined to be postmenopausal, by the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, based on blood Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Estradiol, Progesterone levels and clinical complaints. Complete ophthalmic examination and CVK using Haag-Streit System was performed in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean horizontal curvature and vertical curvature of central corneal power in premenopausal women were 43.5 +/- 1.25 Diopter (D), and 44.1 +/- 1.53 D. Mean horizontal curvature and vertical curvature of central corneal power in postmenopausal women were 43.9 +/- 1.4 D, and 44.6 +/- 1.3 D. The mean keratometric astigmatisms of premenopausal and postmenopausal women were 0.81 +/- 0.57 D (4–179 degrees), 0.74 degrees +/- 0.5 D (1–180 degrees) respectively. No significant corneal curvature changes were detected between premenopausal and postmenopausal groups (P > 0.05). On the other hand, we only found negative but significant correlation between horizontal corneal curvature and estrogen level of postmenopausal women (r = -0.346, p = 0.038).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Menopause is physiologic process and may also affect corneal topographic changes. In postmenopausal women, corneal steeping was observed minimally compared to premenopausal women. The results suggest that changes in estrogen level of women with menopause are associated with slightly alteration of horizontal curvature of cornea.</p

Forward-backward Asymmetry and Branching Ratio of B \rar K_1 \ell^+ \ell^- Transition in Supersymmetric Models

The mass eigen states $K_1(1270)$ and $K_1(1400)$ are mixture of the strange members of two axial-vector SU(3) octet, $^3P_1(K_1^A)$ and $^1P_1(K_1^B)$. Taking into account this mixture, the forward-backward asymmetry and branching ratio of B \rar K_1(1270,1400) \ell^+ \ell^- transitions are studied in the framework of different supersymmetric models. It is found that the results have considerable deviation from the standard model predictions. Any measurement of these physical observables and their comparison with the results obtained in this paper can give useful information about the nature of interactions beyond the standard model.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

RBF-TSS: Identification of Transcription Start Site in Human Using Radial Basis Functions Network and Oligonucleotide Positional Frequencies

Accurate identification of promoter regions and transcription start sites (TSS) in genomic DNA allows for a more complete understanding of the structure of genes and gene regulation within a given genome. Many recently published methods have achieved high identification accuracy of TSS. However, models providing more accurate modeling of promoters and TSS are needed. A novel identification method for identifying transcription start sites that improves the accuracy of TSS recognition for recently published methods is proposed. This method incorporates a metric feature based on oligonucleotide positional frequencies, taking into account the nature of promoters. A radial basis function neural network for identifying transcription start sites (RBF-TSS) is proposed and employed as a classification algorithm. Using non-overlapping chunks (windows) of size 50 and 500 on the human genome, the proposed method achieves an area under the Receiver Operator Characteristic curve (auROC) of 94.75% and 95.08% respectively, providing increased performance over existing TSS prediction methods

Karyotype, Sex Determination, and Meiotic Chromosome Behavior in Two Pholcid (Araneomorphae, Pholcidae) Spiders: Implications for Karyotype Evolution

There are 1,111 species of pholcid spiders, of which less than 2% have published karyotypes. Our aim in this study was to determine the karyotypes and sex determination mechanisms of two species of pholcids: Physocyclus mexicanus (Banks, 1898) and Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763), and to observe sex chromosome behavior during meiosis. We constructed karyotypes for P. mexicanus and H. pluchei using information from both living and fixed cells. We found that P. mexicanus has a chromosome number of 2n = 15 in males and 2n = 16 in females with X0-XX sex determination, like other members of the genus Physocyclus. H. pluchei has a chromosome number of 2n = 28 in males and 2n = 28 in females with XY-XX sex determination, which is substantially different from its closest relatives. These data contribute to our knowledge of the evolution of this large and geographically ubiquitous family, and are the first evidence of XY-XX sex determination in pholcids

Potentiating Effects of MPL on DSPC Bearing Cationic Liposomes Promote Recombinant GP63 Vaccine Efficacy: High Immunogenicity and Protection

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a vector-transmitted disease caused by Leishmania donovani, is potentially fatal if left untreated. Vaccination against VL has received limited attention compared with cutaneous leishmaniasis, although the need for an effective vaccine is pressing for the control of the disease. Earlier, we observed protective efficacy using leishmanial antigen (Ag) in the presence of either cationic liposomes or monophosphoryl lipid A-trehalose dicorynomycolate (MPL-TDM) against experimental VL through the intraperitoneal (i.p.) route of administration in the mouse model. However, this route of immunization is not adequate for human use. For this work, we developed vaccine formulations combining cationic liposomes with MPL-TDM using recombinant GP63 (rGP63) as protein Ag through the clinically relevant subcutaneous (s.c.) route. Two s.c. injections with rGP63 in association with cationic liposomes and MPL-TDM showed enhanced immune responses that further resulted in high protective levels against VL in the mouse model. This validates the combined use of MPL-TDM as an immunopotentiator and liposomes as a suitable vaccine delivery system