Diagnostic biomarkers for Parkinson's disease at a glance : where are we?

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder whose aetiology remains unclear: degeneration involves several neurotransmission systems, resulting in a heterogeneous disease characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. PD causes progressive disability that responds only to symptomatic therapies. Future advances include neuroprotective strategies for use in at-risk populations before the clinical onset of disease, hence the continuing need to identify reliable biomarkers that can facilitate the clinical diagnosis of PD. In this evaluative review, we summarize information on potential diagnostic biomarkers for use in the clinical and preclinical stages of PD

Protocol for soil functionality assessment in vineyards

Protocols used by Resolve partners during the project, to assess soil functionality on degraded aeras and evaluate soil restoration after applying recovering practices

Protocols for soil functionality assessment in vineyards

The purpose of this guideline is to describe the methods used during ReSolVe project for soil functionality assessment, so they can be implemented in similar studies. A brief introduction first underlines what are the main functions of soil and why maintaining an optimal soil functionality is particularly of major interest in viticulture. Then the different protocols selected for ReSolVe project and this guideline are presented according to the following classification: - Part I: assessment of soil physical and chemical features; - Part II: assessment of soil biological features (ecosystem service provision and providers); - Part III: assessment of rhizosphere biological features; - Part IV: assessment of grapevine quantitative and qualitative indicators reflecting soil functionality. In each part, global objectives of the monitoring are explained (what is it used for, in which cases…) and the parameters to evaluate are listed with their corresponding methodological sheet. In these sheets, instructions and information are given about: - Materials needed to perform the sampling and the measurement - Sampling procedure - Analysis procedure - Possible interpretations and conclusions that can be drawn (value and meaning of the results, indication of reference values when existing, potential limit of the protocol) - Bibliographic references related to the method described - Additional helpful information where appropriate (ex: template of sampling sheet

Protocol for soil functionality assessment in vineyards

Protocols used by Resolve partners during the project, to assess soil functionality on degraded aeras and evaluate soil restoration after applying recovering practices

Thalidomide: Focus on its employment in rheumatologic diseases

Thalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent; although its mechanisms of action are not fully understood, many authors have described its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. More interestingly, thalidomide has shown the ability to suppress tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) production and to modify the expression of TNFα induced adhesion molecules on endothelial cells and on human leukocytes. Thalidomide has been used in several diseases (i.e. dermatological, autoimmune, gastrointestinal). In this review we focus specifically on the use of this drug in disorders with rheumatological features such as lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and Still's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and Behçet's disease. Despite its well known side effects, first of all peripheral nerve involvement and teratogenesis, which can be avoided by following strict guidelines, thalidomide could represent an alternative drug in some rheumatological conditions, particularly in patients who show resistance, contraindication or toxicity with other conventional treatments

Spinal direct current stimulation modulates the activity of gracile nucleus and primary somatosensory cortex in anaesthetized rats

Afferent somatosensory activity from the spinal cord has a profound impact on the activity of the brain. Here we investigated the effects of spinal stimulation using direct current, delivered at the thoracic level, on the spontaneous activity and on the somatosensory evoked potentials of the gracile nucleus, which is the main entry point for hindpaw somatosensory signals reaching the brain from the dorsal columns, and of the primary somatosensory cortex in anaesthetized rats. Anodal spinal direct current stimulation (sDCS) increased the spontaneous activity and decreased the amplitude of evoked responses in the gracile nucleus, whereas cathodal sDCS produced the opposite effects. At the level of the primary somatosensory cortex, the changes in spontaneous activity induced by sDCS were consistent with the effects observed in the gracile nucleus, but the changes in cortical evoked responses were more variable and state dependent. Therefore, sDCS can modulate in a polarity-specific manner the supraspinal activity of the somatosensory system, offering a versatile bottom-up neuromodulation technique that could potentially be useful in a number of clinical applications

Subthalamic neural activity patterns anticipate economic risk decisions in gambling

Economic decision-making is disrupted in individuals with gambling disorder, an addictive behavior observed in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients receiving dopaminergic therapy. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is involved in the inhibition of impulsive behaviors; however its role in impulse control disorders and addiction is still unclear. Here, we recorded STN local field potentials (LFPs) in PD patients with and without gambling disorder during an economic decision-making task. Reaction times analysis showed that for all patients the decision whether to risk preceded task onset. We compared then for both groups the STN LFP preceding high and low risk economic decisions. We found that risk avoidance in gamblers correlated with larger STN LFP low frequency (<12 Hz) fluctuations preceding task onset. In particular, the amplitude of low frequency LFP fluctuations carried significant information about future decisions. Decisions of patients not affected by gambling disorder were instead not correlated with pre-task STN LFP. Our results suggest that STN activity preceding task onset affects risk decisions by pre-emptively inhibiting attraction to high but unlikely rewards in favor of a long-term payoff

The weak core inverse

[EN] In this paper, we introduce a new generalized inverse, called weak core inverse (or, in short, WC inverse) of a complex square matrix. This new inverse extends the notion of the core inverse defined by Baksalary and Trenkler (Linear Multilinear Algebra 58(6):681-697, 2010). We investigate characterizations, representations, and properties for this generalized inverse. In addition, we introduce weak core matrices (or, in short, WC matrices) and we show that these matrices form a more general class than that given by the known weak group matrices, recently investigated by H. Wang and X. Liu.In what follows, we detail the acknowledgements. D.E. Ferreyra, F.E. Levis, A.N. Priori - Partially supported by Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto (Grant PPI 18/C559) and CONICET (Grant PIP 112-201501-00433CO). D.E. Ferreyra F.E. Levis - Partially supported by ANPCyT (Grant PICT 201803492). D.E. Ferreyra, N. Thome -Partially supported by Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Facultad de Ingenieria (Grant Resol. Nro. 135/19). N. Thome -Partially supported by Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad of Spain (Grant Red de Excelencia MTM2017-90682-REDT) and by Universidad Nacional del Sur of Argentina (Grant 24/L108). We would like to thank the Referees for their valuable comments and suggestions which helped us to considerably improve the presentation of the paperFerreyra, DE.; Levis, FE.; Priori, AN.; Thome, N. (2021). The weak core inverse. Aequationes Mathematicae. 95(2):351-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00010-020-00752-zS351373952Ben-Israel, A., Greville, T.N.E.: Generalized Inverses: Theory and Applications, 2nd edn. Springer, New York (2003)Baksalary, O.M., Trenkler, G.: Core inverse of matrices. Linear Multilinear Algebra 58(6), 681–697 (2010)Baksalary, O.M., Trenkler, G.: On a generalized core inverse. Appl. Math. 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Transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS): motor control, cognition, learning and emotions

The neurological manifestations of cerebellar diseases range from motor to cognitive or behavioral abnormalities. Experimental data in healthy subjects extend the cerebellar role to learning, emotional and mood control. The need for a non-invasive tool to influence cerebellar function in normal and pathological conditions led researchers to develop transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS). tcDCS, like tDCS, depends on the principle that weak direct currents delivered at around 2. mA for minutes over the cerebellum through surface electrodes induce prolonged changes in cerebellar function. tcDCS modulates several cerebellar skills in humans including motor control, learning and emotional processing. tcDCS also influences the cerebello-brain interactions induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), walking adaptation, working memory and emotional recognition. Hence tcDCS is a simple physiological tool that can improve our physiological understanding of the human cerebellum, and should prove useful also in patients with cerebellar dysfunction or psychiatric disorders and those undergoing neurorehabilitation to enhance neuroplasticity