Assessment of high-frequency steady-state visual evoked potentials from below-the-hairline areas for a brain-computer interface based on Depth-of-Field

Background and Objective: Recently, a promising Brain-Computer Interface based on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP-BCI) was proposed, which composed of two stimuli presented together in the center of the subject's field of view, but at different depth planes (Depth-of-Field setup). Thus, users were easily able to select one of them by shifting their eye focus. However, in that work, EEG signals were collected through electrodes placed on occipital and parietal regions (hair-covered areas), which demanded a long preparation time. Also, that work used low-frequency stimuli, which can produce visual fatigue and increase the risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures. In order to improve the practicality and visual comfort, this work proposes a BCI based on Depth-of-Field using the high-frequency SSVEP response measured from below-the-hairline areas (behind-the-ears). Methods: Two high-frequency stimuli (31 Hz and 32 Hz) were used in a Depth-of-Field setup to study the SSVEP response from behind-the-ears (TP9 and TP10). Multivariate Spectral F-test (MSFT) method was used to verify the elicited response. Afterwards, a BCI was proposed to command a mobile robot in a virtual reality environment. The commands were recognized through Temporally Local Multivariate Synchronization Index (TMSI) method. Results: The data analysis reveal that the focused stimuli elicit distinguishable SSVEP response when measured from hairless areas, in spite of the fact that the non-focused stimulus is also present in the field of view. Also, our BCI shows a satisfactory result, reaching average accuracy of 91.6% and Information Transfer Rate (ITR) of 5.3 bits/min. Conclusion: These findings contribute to the development of more safe and practical BCI.Fil: Floriano, Alan. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Delisle Rodriguez, Denis. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Diez, Pablo Federico. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electrónica y Automática. Gabinete de Tecnología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Bastos Filho, Teodiano Freire. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Brasi

The strangeness of commonplace: magritte’s poetics beneath a psychoanalytical glance

This article aims to build possible relationships between psychoanalysis and some of the most puzzling works of René Magritte (1898 - 1967), keeping consistent with the curating of an exhibition called "Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary". Thus, we dedicated to reading materials of commentators and critics of the painter's work, we also investigated the texts produced by Magritte himself, in which the painter introduces some key-concepts for the understanding of his artistic thinking: aesthetic emotion, poetics, mysteries of the ordinary, uncanny (resounding the Freudian’s Umheimlich). Thereby, we were careful to not produce superficial and reductionist interpretations, which only implement psychoanalysis to the art. Therefore, we aimed to produce a critical interpretation, attentive to details of art works, demonstrating the implications present there and showing possible links between the work of Magritte and psychoanalytic theory

On the three-finger protein domain fold and CD59-like proteins in Schistosoma mansoni

Background: It is believed that schistosomes evade complement-mediated killing by expressing regulatory proteins on their surface. Recently, six homologues of human CD59, an important inhibitor of the complement system membrane attack complex, were identified in the schistosome genome. Therefore, it is important to investigate whether these molecules could act as CD59-like complement inhibitors in schistosomes as part of an immune evasion strategy. Methodology/Principal Findings: Herein, we describe the molecular characterization of seven putative SmCD59-like genes and attempt to address the putative biological function of two isoforms. Superimposition analysis of the 3D structure of hCD59 and schistosome sequences revealed that they contain the three-fingered protein domain (TFPD). However, the conserved amino acid residues involved in complement recognition in mammals could not be identified. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis determined that most of these genes are up-regulated in the transition from free-living cercaria to adult worm stage. Immunolocalization experiments and tegument preparations confirm that at least some of the SmCD59-like proteins are surface-localized; however, significant expression was also detected in internal tissues of adult worms. Finally, the involvement of two SmCD59 proteins in complement inhibition was evaluated by three different approaches: (i) a hemolytic assay using recombinant soluble forms expressed in Pichia pastoris and E. coli; (ii) complement-resistance of CHO cells expressing the respective membrane-anchored proteins; and (iii) the complement killing of schistosomula after gene suppression by RNAi. Our data indicated that these proteins are not involved in the regulation of complement activation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that this group of proteins belongs to the TFPD superfamily. Their expression is associated to intra-host stages, present in the tegument surface, and also in intra-parasite tissues. Three distinct approaches using SmCD59 proteins to inhibit complement strongly suggested that these proteins are not complement inhibitors and their function in schistosomes remains to be determined.Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Grant Number:04/12872-3)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)National Institute of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH-NIAID), Grant AI-095893NIH-NIAID Grant AI-056273FAPESP 00/11624-

CREACIÓN DE RITUALES: Capoeira, literatura infantil negra y otros saberes como instrumentos para la socialización de los niños

Este trabalho relata processos educacionais ocorridos entre uma pedagoga com grande interesse na literatura infantil, um sociólogo formado nas práticas da capoeira angola e um grupo heterogêneo de crianças de 4 a 12 anos frequentadoras de uma organização não-governamental na cidade de Itirapina, SP. Nesse processo foram combinados saberes acadêmicos como a pedagogia e a sociologia com saberes não acadêmicos como a capoeira angola e a literatura. O resultado foi a construção de uma série de pequenos rituais que, por sua vez, constituíram um espaço de socialização que trouxe segurança psíquica para as crianças expressarem sua subjetividade de maneira cooperativa e não violenta. No que tange ao saber sociológico e pedagógico, esses rituais foram construídos a partir dos aportes teóricos da sociologia da infância, sobretudo da categoria de processos de socialização, dentro dos quais a criança é considerada um agente ativo em seu tornar-se pessoa. Os resultados apreendidos a partir dos relatos das crianças e de observações diretas, mostram um aumento significativo no relacionamento intersubjetivo baseado na cooperação.  Este trabajo relata procesos educativos que se dieron entre una pedagoga con gran interés por la literatura infantil, una socióloga formada en las prácticas de capoeira angola y un grupo heterogéneo de niños de 4 a 12 años que asisten a una organización no gubernamental en la ciudad de Itirapina, SP. En este proceso se combinaron saberes académicos como la pedagogía y la sociología con saberes no académicos como la capoeira angola y la literatura. El resultado fue la construcción de una serie de pequeños rituales que, a su vez, constituyeron un espacio de socialización que brindó seguridad psíquica a los niños para expresar su subjetividad de manera cooperativa y no violenta. En cuanto al saber sociológico y pedagógico, estos rituales fueron construidos a partir de aportes teóricos de la sociología de la infancia, en especial la categoría de procesos de socialización, dentro de los cuales el niño es considerado un agente activo en el devenir persona. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de los relatos de los niños y de las observaciones directas, muestran un aumento significativo de la relación intersubjetiva basada en la cooperación. Palabras llave: Capoeira; literatura infantil negra; niño; socializaciónThis work reports educational processes that took place between a pedagogue with a great interest in children's literature, a sociologist trained in the practices of capoeira angola and a heterogeneous group of children from 4 to 12 years old who attend an non-governmental organization in the city of Itirapina, SP. In this process, academic knowledge such as pedagogy and sociology were combined with non-academic knowledge such as capoeira angola and literature. The result was the construction of a series of small rituals that, in turn, constituted a space for socialization that brought psychic security for children to express their subjectivity in a cooperative and non-violent way. With regard to sociological and pedagogical knowledge, these rituals were constructed from theoretical contributions from the sociology of childhood, especially the category of socialization processes, within which the child is considered an active agent in becoming a person. The results obtained from the children's reports and from direct observations, show a significant increase in the intersubjective relationship based on cooperation. Keywords: Capoeira; black children's literature; child; socializatio

Evaluating the Influence of Chromatic and Luminance Stimuli on SSVEPs from Behind-the-Ears and Occipital Areas

This work presents a study of chromatic and luminance stimuli in low-, medium-, and high-frequency stimulation to evoke steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) in the behind-the-ears area. Twelve healthy subjects participated in this study. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured on occipital (Oz) and left and right temporal (TP9 and TP10) areas. The SSVEP was evaluated in terms of amplitude, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and detection accuracy using power spectral density analysis (PSDA), canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and temporally local multivariate synchronization index (TMSI) methods. It was found that stimuli based on suitable color and luminance elicited stronger SSVEP in the behind-the-ears area, and that the response of the SSVEP was related to the flickering frequency and the color of the stimuli. Thus, green-red stimulus elicited the highest SSVEP in medium-frequency range, and green-blue stimulus elicited the highest SSVEP in high-frequency range, reaching detection accuracy rates higher than 80%. These findings will aid in the development of more comfortable, accurate and stable BCIs with electrodes positioned on the behind-the-ears (hairless) areas

New records and checklist of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera: Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha) from the Southern region of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

A list of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera species from the southern region of Mato Grosso do Sul State is presented. The material was collected between 2008 and 2009. Samples were obtained from 10 streams (Água Boa, Cerro Verde, Cumprida, Ponte, Doradão, Guaçú, Guaporites, Nhu-Verá, Perobão and Santa Maria), one river (Iguatemi River) and nine ponds (Bacal, Balan, Ponte, Cinco, Macrófitas, Bugão, Sítio, Cascalho, and Oxbow). A total of 63 aquatic and semi-aquatic species of Heteroptera were recorded, of which 32 are new records

A study of SSVEP from below-the-hairline areas in low-, medium-, and high-frequency ranges

Purpose: Recent studies have analyzed steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) measured on belowthe-hairline areas, such as behind-the-ears (temporal area) and face (frontal area) using different montages of channels and frequency bands. This study aims to investigate how both reference electrode and frequency ranges (low, medium, and high bands) affect the SSVEP measured on hairless areas of temporal and frontal. Methods: The EEG signals were acquired from 12 individuals, and the elicited SSVEP was evaluated in terms of amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Results: The best electrode combinations for measuring SSVEP on hairless areas are obtained with Fpz-Tp9 and Fpz-Tp10 (up to 40 Hz); however, for stimuli frequencies higher than 40 Hz, the best result is obtained with the temporal area and with the reference electrode located on the ear. Conclusion: The SSVEP amplitude and the SNR depend on the combination of the electrode reference and the range of visual stimulus frequency. These findings can aid in the development of more practical and comfortable SSVEP-based BCIs.Fil: Floriano, Alan. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Carmona Viglianco, Victor Luciano. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electrónica y Automática. Gabinete de Tecnología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Diez, Pablo Federico. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electrónica y Automática. Gabinete de Tecnología Médica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Bastos Filho, Teodiano Freire. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Brasi