Interaction with a Virtual Coach for Active and Healthy Ageing

International audienceSince life expectancy has increased significantly over the past century, society is being forced to discover innovative ways to support active aging and elderly care. The e-VITA project, which receives funding from both the European Union and Japan, is built on a cutting edge method of virtual coaching that focuses on the key areas of active and healthy aging. The requirements for the virtual coach were ascertained through a process of participatory design in workshops, focus groups, and living laboratories in Germany, France, Italy, and Japan. Several use cases were then chosen for development utilising the open-source Rasa framework. The system uses common representations such as Knowledge Bases and Knowledge Graphs to enable the integration of context, subject expertise, and multimodal data, and is available in English, German, French, Italian, and Japanese

The effect of serotonergic modulation on visual processing

Cortical sensory processing results from the interplay between ongoing activity and sensory responses. In this thesis, using wide-field optical imaging and optogenetics, I showed that increased serotonergic input to the primary visual cortex reduces the gain of both the visually evoked response and the ongoing activity in a divisive manner. This suppressive modulation could be described via a normalization mechanism which consists of a linear combination of the ongoing and evoked components of the response. The integration of these components is regulated by the state-dependent change in the 5-HT-induced suppressive gain.Die kortikale sensorische Verarbeitung resultiert aus dem Zusammenspiel von laufender Aktivität und sensorischen Antworten. In dieser Arbeit konnte ich mit Hilfe von Wide-Field-Imaging und Optogenetik zeigen, dass eine erhöhte serotonerge Modulation auf die Populationsaktivität im primären visuellen Kortex die Gain der visuell evozierten Antwort und der laufenden Aktivität auf eine spaltende Weise reduziert. Dieser unterdrückende Effekt konnte über einen Normalisierungsmechanismus beschrieben werden, der sich aus einer linearen Kombination der laufenden und evozierten Komponente der Antwort zusammensetzt. Die Integration dieser Komponenten wurde durch die zustandsabhängige Veränderung der 5-HT-induzierten suppressiven Gain reguliert

Rating of Iranian Medical Sciences Universities in Education, Based on Efficiency Index

Introduction: Due to the development and the importance of universities of medical sciences in education system in Iran, this study was performed to rate universities of medical sciences in the field of education based on inputs and outputs. Methods: In This descriptive analytical study, educational efficiency of 41 universities of medical sciences was reviewed and analyzed using 4 inputs and 2 outputs in year 2008 through the method of Data Envelopment Analysis. Results: The results of types of efficiency measurement showed that 25 and 32 percent of universities of medical sciences had 100 percent technical and managerial efficiency, respectively. Seventy one percent of studied units did not act in optimal scale efficiency. The average technical efficiency of universities under investigation was 73 persent. Conclusion: Considering the capacity of 27 percent for increase of efficiency in the studied units, a proper planning using better efiiciency patterns and eficiency endorsement objectives could be applied for deficient universities

Effects of Ethinyl Estradiol Plus Desogestrel on Premenstrual Symptoms in Iranian Women

Marvelon®, a combined oral contraceptive, contains 30 μg ethinyl estradiol (EE) and 150 μg desogestrel (DE), and has been shown to be a well-tolerated and effective combination that provides high contraceptive reliability and good cycle control. However, its efficacy has not been yet evaluated among Iranian women. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of oral contraceptive pill on treating premenstrual symptoms and on various parameters associated with well-being and health in a sample of Iranian. This clinical trial (before- after) study was performed at the family-planning clinic of the centers under the supervision of Tehran University of Medical Sciences on sixty-one women. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and all participants received a 21/7-day regimen of oral contraceptive containing 150 μg desogestrel (DE) and 30 μg ethinyl estradiol (EE) for six cycles. Efficacy parameters included changes in premenstrual symptoms were also assessed. Clinical data was collected by calendar of premenstrual experiences (COPE) at baseline and treatment cycles 1,2, 3 and 6. Clinical variables were measured including low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride levels for two timing periods (baseline and last visit). Linear mixed model analyses were used to analyze differences in changes of the four factors of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), weight and blood pressure during these timing periods. The mean age of the women was 28.52 (SD=6.75) years. Participants on average had been pregnant 1.13 (SD=1.16) times. The linear mixed model analyses indicated that premenstrual syndrome symptoms reduced significantly over time (P0.05). A combined oral contraceptive containing ethinyl estradiol and desogestrel has a positive effect on women's health and reduces premenstrual symptoms

Optogenetic activation of mGluR1 signaling in the cerebellum induces synaptic plasticity

Summary: Neuronal plasticity underlying cerebellar learning behavior is strongly associated with type 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1) signaling. Activation of mGluR1 leads to activation of the Gq/11 pathway, which is involved in inducing synaptic plasticity at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse (PF-PC) in form of long-term depression (LTD). To optogenetically modulate mGluR1 signaling we fused mouse melanopsin (OPN4) that activates the Gq/11 pathway to the C-termini of mGluR1 splice variants (OPN4-mGluR1a and OPN4-mGluR1b). Activation of both OPN4-mGluR1 variants showed robust Ca2+ increase in HEK cells and PCs of cerebellar slices. We provide the prove-of-concept approach to modulate synaptic plasticity via optogenetic activation of OPN4-mGluR1a inducing LTD at the PF-PC synapse in vitro. Moreover, we demonstrate that light activation of mGluR1a signaling pathway by OPN4-mGluR1a in PCs leads to an increase in intrinsic activity of PCs in vivo and improved cerebellum driven learning behavior

Optogenetic activation of mGluR1 signaling in the cerebellum induces synaptic plasticity

Neuronal plasticity underlying cerebellar learning behavior is strongly associated with type 1 $\underline {metabotropic}$ $\underline {glutamate}$ $\underline {receptor}$ (mGluR1) signaling. Activation of mGluR1 leads to activation of the $G_{q/11}$ pathway, which is involved in inducing synaptic plasticity at the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse (PF-PC) in form of long-term depression (LTD). To optogenetically modulate mGluR1 signaling we fused mouse $\underline {melanopsin}$ (OPN4) that activates the $G_{q/11}$ pathway to the C-termini of mGluR1 splice variants (OPN4-mGluR1a and OPN4-mGluR1b). Activation of both OPN4-mGluR1 variants showed robust $Ca^{2+}$ increase in HEK cells and PCs of cerebellar slices. We provide the prove-of-concept approach to modulate synaptic plasticity via $\underline {optogenetic}$ activation of OPN4-mGluR1a inducing LTD at the PF-PC synapse $\textit {in vitro}$. Moreover, we demonstrate that light activation of mGluR1a $\underline {signaling}$ $\underline {pathway}$ by OPN4-mGluR1a in PCs leads to an increase in intrinsic activity of PCs $\textit {in vivo}$ and improved cerebellum driven learning behavior