A Blue Spectral Shift of the Hemoglobin Soret Band Correlates with the Age (Time Since Deposition) of Dried Bloodstains

The ability to determine the time since deposition of a bloodstain found at a crime scene could prove invaluable to law enforcement investigators, defining the time frame in which the individual depositing the evidence was present. Although various methods of accomplishing this have been proposed, none has gained widespread use due to poor time resolution and weak age correlation. We have developed a method for the estimation of the time since deposition (TSD) of dried bloodstains using UV-VIS spectrophotometric analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) that is based upon its characteristic oxidation chemistry. A detailed study of the Hb Soret band (λmax = 412 nm) in aged bloodstains revealed a blue shift (shift to shorter wavelength) as the age of the stain increases. The extent of this shift permits, for the first time, a distinction to be made between bloodstains that were deposited minutes, hours, days and weeks prior to recovery and analysis. The extent of the blue shift was found to be a function of ambient relative humidity and temperature. The method is extremely sensitive, requiring as little as a 1 µl dried bloodstain for analysis. We demonstrate that it might be possible to perform TSD measurements at the crime scene using a portable low-sample-volume spectrophotometer

Facile enolate alkylation of norbornenones

A facile direct enolate aikylation of norbornenones with various alkyl halides using HMPA as co-solvent is reported

Dosing of Electrical Parameters in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Intractable Depression: A Review of Clinical Studies

Background: The electrical parameters used for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in movement disorders have been relatively well studied, however for the newer indications of DBS for psychiatric indications these are less clear. Based on the movement disorder literature, use of the correct stimulation parameters should be crucial for clinical outcomes. This review examines the stimulation parameters used in DBS studies for treatment resistant depression (TRD) and their relevance to clinical outcome and brain targets.Methods: We examined the published studies on DBS for TRD archived in major databases. Data on stimulus parameters (frequency, pulse width, amplitude), stimulation mode, brain target, efficacy, safety, and duration of follow up were extracted from 29 observational studies including case reports of patients with treatment resistant unipolar, bipolar, and co-morbid depression.Results: The algorithms commonly used to optimize efficacy were increasing amplitude followed by changing the electric contacts or increasing pulse width. High frequency stimulation (>100 Hz) was applied in most cases across brain targets. Keeping the high frequency stimulation constant, three different combinations of parameters were mainly used: (i) short pulse width (60–90 us) and low amplitude (0–4 V), (ii) short pulse width and high amplitude (5–10 V), (iii) long pulse width (120–450 us) and low amplitude. There were individual variations in clinical response to electrical dosing and also in the time of clinical recovery. There was no significant difference in mean stimulation parameters between responders and non-responders suggesting a role for stimulation unrelated factors in response.Conclusions: Although limited by open trials and small sample size, three optimal stimulation parameter combinations emerged from this review. Studies are needed to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of these combinations, such as a registry of data from patients undergoing DBS for TRD with individual data on stimulation parameters

Acid catalyses fragmentation of 7,7-dimethoxy norborneols. A rapid entry to 5-substituted 2-cyclopentenones

A facile method for the synthesis of 2-cyclopentenones from the acid catalysed fragmentation of 7,7-dimethoxy 5-norbornen-2-ols and their derivatives is reported

Dosing of Electrical Parameters in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Intractable Depression: A Review of Clinical Studies

Background: The electrical parameters used for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in movement disorders have been relatively well studied, however for the newer indications of DBS for psychiatric indications these are less clear. Based on the movement disorder literature, use of the correct stimulation parameters should be crucial for clinical outcomes. This review examines the stimulation parameters used in DBS studies for treatment resistant depression (TRD) and their relevance to clinical outcome and brain targets. Methods: We examined the published studies on DBS for TRD archived in major databases. Data on stimulus parameters (frequency, pulse width, amplitude), stimulation mode, brain target, efficacy, safety, and duration of follow up were extracted from 29 observational studies including case reports of patients with treatment resistant unipolar, bipolar, and co-morbid depression. Results: The algorithms commonly used to optimize efficacy were increasing amplitude followed by changing the electric contacts or increasing pulse width. High frequency stimulation (>100 Hz) was applied in most cases across brain targets. Keeping the high frequency stimulation constant, three different combinations of parameters were mainly used: (i) short pulse width (60-90 us) and low amplitude (0-4 V), (ii) short pulse width and high amplitude (5-10 V), (iii) long pulse width (120-450 us) and low amplitude. There were individual variations in clinical response to electrical dosing and also in the time of clinical recovery. There was no significant difference in mean stimulation parameters between responders and non-responders suggesting a role for stimulation unrelated factors in response. Conclusions: Although limited by open trials and small sample size, three optimal stimulation parameter combinations emerged from this review. Studies are needed to assess the comparative efficacy and safety of these combinations, such as a registry of data from patients undergoing DBS for TRD with individual data on stimulation parameters

Multimodal imaging measures in the prediction of clinical response to deep brain stimulation for refractory depression: A machine learning approach

This study compared machine learning models using unimodal imaging measures and combined multi-modal imaging measures for deep brain stimulation (DBS) outcome prediction in treatment resistant depression (TRD). Regional brain glucose metabolism (CMRGlu), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and grey matter volume (GMV) were measured at baseline using 18F-fluorodeoxy glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), arterial spin labelling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and T1-weighted MRI, respectively, in 19 patients with TRD receiving subcallosal cingulate (SCC)-DBS. Responders (n = 9) were defined by a 50% reduction in HAMD-17 at 6 months from the baseline. Using an atlas-based approach, values of each measure were determined for pre-selected brain regions. OneR feature selection algorithm and the naïve Bayes model was used for classification. Leave-out-one cross validation was used for classifier evaluation. The performance accuracy of the CMRGlu classification model (84%) was greater than CBF (74%) or GMV (74%) models. The classification model using the three image modalities together led to a similar accuracy (84%0 compared to the CMRGlu classification model. CMRGlu imaging measures may be useful for the development of multivariate prediction models for SCC-DBS studies for TRD. The future of multivariate methods for multimodal imaging may rest on the selection of complementing features and the developing better models.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (#NCT 01983904)</p