Validation of a Novel Sensing Approach for Continuous Pavement Monitoring Using Full-Scale APT Testing

The objective of this paper is to present a novel approach for the continuous monitoring of pavement condition through the use of combined piezoelectric sensing and novel condition-based interpretation methods. The performance of the developed approach is validated for the detection of bottom-up fatigue cracking through full-scale accelerated pavement testing (APT). The innovative piezoelectric sensors are installed at the bottom of a thin 102 mm (4 in.) asphalt layer. The structure is then loaded until failure (up to 1 million loading cycles in this study). The condition-based approach, used in this work, does not rely on stain measurements and allows users to bypass the need for any structural or finite-element models. Instead, the data compression approach relies on variations in strain energy harvested by smart sensors to track changes in material and structural conditions. Falling weight deflectometer (FWD) measurements and visual inspections were used to validate the observations from the sensing system. The results in this paper present a first large-scale validation in pavement structures for a piezopowered sensing system combined with a new response-only based approach for data reduction and interpretation. The proposed data analysis method has demonstrated a very early detection capability compared to classical inspection methods, which unveils a huge potential for improved pavement monitoring

Superparamagnetic Liposomes for MRI Monitoring and External Magnetic Field-Induced Selective Targeting of Malignant Brain Tumors

Magnetic-fluid-loadedliposomes (MFLs) of optimized magnetic responsiveness are newly worked out from the entrapment of superparamagnetic maghemite nanocrystals in submicronic PEG-ylated rhodamine-labelled phospholipid vesicles. This nanoplatform provides an efficient tool for the selective magnetic targeting of malignant tumors localized in brain and non-invasive traceability by MRI through intravascular administration. As assessed by in vivo 7-T MRI and ex vivo electron spin resonance, 4-h exposure to 190-T m–1magnetic field gradient efficiently concentrates MFLs into human U87 glioblastoma implanted in the striatum of mice. The magnetoliposomes are then longer retained therein as checked by MRI monitoring over a 24-h period. Histological analysis by confocal fluorescence microscopy confirms the significantly boosted accumulation of MFLs in the malignant tissue up to the intracellular level. Electron transmission microscopy reveals effective internalization by endothelial and glioblastoma cells of the magnetically conveyed MFLs as preserved vesicle structures. The magnetic field gradient emphasizes MFL distribution solely in the tumors according to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect while comparatively very low amounts are recovered in the other cerebral areas. Such a selective targeting precisely traceable by MRI is promising for therapeutic applications since the healthy brain tissue can be expected to be spared during treatments by deleterious anticancer drugs carried by magnetically guided MFLs

The Independent Effects of Psychosocial Stressors on Subclinical Psychosis: Findings From the Multinational EU-GEI Study

The influence of psychosocial stressors on psychosis risk has usually been studied in isolation and after the onset of the disorder, potentially ignoring important confounding relationships or the fact that some stressors that may be the consequence of the disorder rather than preexisting. The study of subclinical psychosis could help to address some of these issues. In this study, we investigated whether there was (i) an association between dimensions of subclinical psychosis and several psychosocial stressors including: childhood trauma, self-reported discrimination experiences, low social capital, and stressful life experiences, and (ii) any evidence of environment-environment (ExE) interactions between these factors. Data were drawn from the EUGEI study, in which healthy controls (N = 1497) and siblings of subjects with a psychotic disorder (N = 265) were included in six countries. The association between psychosocial stressors and subclinical psychosis dimensions (positive, negative and depressive dimension as measured by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) scale) and possible ExE interactions were assessed using linear regression models. After adjusting for sex, age, ethnicity, country, and control/sibling status, childhood trauma (β for positive dimension: 0.13, negative: 0.49, depressive: 0.26) and stressful life events (positive: 0.08, negative: 0.16, depressive: 0.17) were associated with the three dimensions. Lower social capital was associated with the negative and depression dimensions (negative: 0.26, depressive: 0.13), and self-reported discrimination experiences with the positive dimension (0.06). Our findings are in favor of independent, cumulative and non-specific influences of social adversities in subclinical psychosis in non-clinical populations, without arguments for E × E interactions

Detection of Epileptic High Frequency Oscillations Using Support Vector Machines

International audienceRecently, several studies have proved that High Frequency Oscillations (HFOs) of [80500] Hz are reliable biomarkers for delineating the epileptogenic zone. The total duration of HFOs is extremely short compared to the entire duration of EEG dataset to be analyzed. Therefore, visual marking of HFOs is timeconsuming and laborious process. In order to promote the clinical use of HFOs oscillations as reliable biomarkers of epileptogenic tissue and to conduct large-scale investigations on cerebral HFOs activities, several automatic detection techniques have been proposed over the past few years. In the present framework, we propose a novel approach for detecting HFOs based on Support Vector Machines (SVM). Our method is subsequently compared with six other methods. HFOs detection performance is evaluated in terms of sensitivity, false discovery rate, area under the ROC curve and execution time. Our results demonstrate that SVM approach yields low false detection (FDR = 6.36%) but, in its current implementation, is moderately sensitive to detect HFOs with a sensitivity of 71.06%. © 2020 IEEE

Association between childhood dimensions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and adulthood clinical severity of bipolar disorders

International audienceBackground: Clinical features of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be frequently observed in cases with bipolar disorders and associated with greater severity of bipolar disorders. Although designed as a screening tool for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the Wender Utah Rating Scale could, given its factorial structure, be useful in investigating the early history of impulsive, inattentive or mood-related symptoms among patients with bipolar disorders. Methods: We rated the Wender Utah Rating Scale in 276 adult bipolar disorder cases and 228 healthy controls and tested its factorial structure and any associations with bipolar disorder phenomenology. Results: We confirmed a three-factor structure for the Wender Utah Rating Scale (‘ impulsivity/temper’, ‘ inattentiveness’ and ‘ mood/self-esteem’). Cases and controls differed significantly on Wender Utah Rating Scale total score and sub-scale scores ( p-values < 10 −5 ). About 23% of bipolar disorder cases versus 5% of controls were classified as ‘ WURS positive’ (odds ratio = 5.21 [2.73–9.95]). In bipolar disorders, higher Wender Utah Rating Scale score was associated with earlier age at onset, severity of suicidal behaviors and polysubstance misuse; multivariate analyses, controlling for age and gender, confirmed the associations with age at onset ( p = 0.001) and alcohol and substance misuse ( p = 0.001). Conclusion: Adults with bipolar disorders who reported higher levels of childhood symptoms on the Wender Utah Rating Scale presented a more severe expression of bipolar disorders in terms of age at onset and comorbidity. The Wender Utah Rating Scale could be employed to screen for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but also for ‘ at-risk behaviors’ in adult bipolar disorder cases and possibly for prodromal signs of early onset in high-risk subjects

Childhood trauma and mixed episodes are associated with poor response to lithium in bipolar disorders

International audienceObjectives: Reliable predictors of response to lithium are still lacking in bipolar disorders (BDs). However, childhood trauma has been hypothesized to be associated with poor response to lithium.Methods: We included 148 patients with BD, euthymic when retrospectively and clinically assessed for response to lithium and childhood trauma using reliable scales.Results: According to the 'Alda scale', the sample consisted in 20.3% of excellent responders, 49.3% of partial responders and 30.4% of non-responders to lithium. A higher level of physical abuse significantly correlated with a lower level of response to lithium (P = 0.009). As compared to patients not exposed to any abuse, patients with at least two trauma abuses (emotional, physical or sexual) were more at risk of belonging to the non-responders group (OR = 4.91 95% CI (1.01-27.02)). Among investigated clinical variables, lifetime presence of mixed episodes and alcohol misuse were associated with non-response to lithium. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that physical abuse and mixed episodes were independently associated with poor response to lithium (P = 0.005 and P = 0.013 respectively).Conclusions: Childhood physical abuse might be involved in a poor future response to lithium prophylaxis, this effect being independent of the association between clinical expression of BD and poor response to lithium

Affective lability mediates the association between childhood trauma and suicide attempts, mixed episodes and co-morbid anxiety disorders in bipolar disorders

International audienceBackground Many studies have shown associations between a history of childhood trauma and more severe or complex clinical features of bipolar disorders (BD), including suicide attempts and earlier illness onset. However, the psychopathological mechanisms underlying these associations are still unknown. Here, we investigated whether affective lability mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and the severe clinical features of BD. Method A total of 342 participants with BD were recruited from France and Norway. Diagnosis and clinical characteristics were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS) or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I). Affective lability was measured using the short form of the Affective Lability Scale (ALS-SF). A history of childhood trauma was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Mediation analyses were performed using the SPSS process macro. Results Using the mediation model and covariation for the lifetime number of major mood episodes, affective lability was found to statistically mediate the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and several clinical variables, including suicide attempts, mixed episodes and anxiety disorders. No significant mediation effects were found for rapid cycling or age at onset. Conclusions Our data suggest that affective lability may represent a psychological dimension that mediates the association between childhood traumatic experiences and the risk of a more severe or complex clinical expression of BD