Human CSF movement influenced by vascular low frequency oscillations and respiration

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) movement through the pathways within the central nervous system is of high significance for maintaining normal brain health and function. Low frequency hemodynamics and respiration have been shown to drive CSF in humans independently. Here, we hypothesize that CSF movement may be driven simultaneously (and in synchrony) by both mechanisms and study their independent and coupled effects on CSF movement using novel neck fMRI scans. Caudad CSF movement at the fourth ventricle and hemodynamics of the major neck blood vessels (internal carotid arteries and internal jugular veins) was measured from 11 young, healthy volunteers using novel neck fMRI scans with simultaneous measurement of respiration. Two distinct models of CSF movement (1. Low-frequency hemodynamics and 2. Respiration) and possible coupling between them were investigated. We show that the dynamics of brain fluids can be assessed from the neck by studying the interrelationships between major neck blood vessels and the CSF movement in the fourth ventricle. We also demonstrate that there exists a cross-frequency coupling between these two separable mechanisms. The human CSF system can respond to multiple coupled physiological forces at the same time. This information may help inform the pathological mechanisms behind CSF movement-related disorders

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Search for associated production of dark matter with a Higgs boson decaying to bbˉb\bar{b} or γγ\gamma\gamma at s\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search for dark matter is performed using events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying either to a pair of bottom quarks or to a pair of photons. The data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse-femtobarns. Results are interpreted in the context of a Z'-two-Higgs-doublet model, where a high-mass resonance Z' decays into a pseudoscalar boson A and a CP-even scalar Higgs boson, and the A decays to a pair of dark matter particles. No significant excesses are observed over the background prediction. Combining results from the two decay channels yields exclusion limits in the signal cross section in the m[Z']-m[A] phase space. The observed data exclude, for Z' coupling strength g[Z'] = 0.8 and m[A] = 300 GeV for example, the Z' mass range of 600 to 1860 GeV. This is the first result on a search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson that includes constraints on h to gamma-gamma obtained at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV

Search for associated production of dark matter with a Higgs boson decaying to bb‾ \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}} or γγ\gamma \gamma at s=13 \sqrt{s}=13 TeV

A search for dark matter is performed looking for events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying either to a pair of bottom quarks or to a pair of photons. The data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in 2015 with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb$^{−1}$. Results are interpreted in the context of a Z′-two-Higgs-doublet model, where the gauge symmetry of the standard model is extended by a U(1)$_{Z ′}$ group, with a new massive Z′ gauge boson, and the Higgs sector is extended with four additional Higgs bosons. In this model, a high-mass resonance Z′ decays into a pseudoscalar boson A and a light SM-like scalar Higgs boson, and the A decays to a pair of dark matter particles. No significant excesses are observed over the background prediction. Combining results from the two decay channels yields exclusion limits in the signal cross section in the m$_{Z ′}$ - m$_{A}$ phase space. For example, the observed data exclude the Z$^{′}$ mass range from 600 to 1860 GeV, for Z′ coupling strength g$_{Z ′}$ = 0.8, the coupling of A with dark matter particles g$_{χ}$ = 1, the ratio of the vacuum expectation values tan β = 1, and m$_{A}$ = 300 GeV. The results of this analysis are valid for any dark matter particle mass below 100 GeV

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a vector boson and a Higgs boson in final states with charged leptons, neutrinos, and b quarks

A search for heavy resonances decaying to a Higgs boson and a vector boson is presented. The analysis is performed using data samples collected in 2015 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 2.2-2.5 inverse femtobarns. The search is performed in channels in which the vector boson decays into leptonic final states ($\mathrm{Z} \to \nu\nu$, $\mathrm{W}\to \ell \nu$, and $\mathrm{Z} \to \ell \ell$, with $\ell = \mathrm{e}$, $\mu$), while the Higgs boson decays to collimated b quark pairs detected as a single massive jet. The discriminating power of a jet mass requirement and a b jet tagging algorithm are exploited to suppress the standard model backgrounds. The event yields observed in data are consistent with the background expectation. In the context of a theoretical model with a heavy vector triplet, a resonance with mass less than 2 TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits on the parameters of the model, improving on the reach of previous searches

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a vector boson and a Higgs boson in final states with charged leptons, neutrinos, and b quarks

A search for heavy resonances decaying to a Higgs boson and a vector boson is presented. The analysis is performed using data samples collected in 2015 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 2.2–2.5 fb$^{−1}$ . The search is performed in channels in which the vector boson decays into leptonic final states (Z → $\nu\nu$ , W → ℓ $\nu$, and Z → ℓℓ , with ℓ = e, $\mu$), while the Higgs boson decays to collimated b quark pairs detected as a single massive jet. The discriminating power of a jet mass requirement and a b jet tagging algorithm are exploited to suppress the standard model backgrounds. The event yields observed in data are consistent with the background expectation. In the context of a theoretical model with a heavy vector triplet, a resonance with mass less than 2 TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits on the parameters of the model, improving on the reach of previous searches