Mechanisms of network changes in cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis

Background and objectives: Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with functional connectivity abnormalities. While there have been calls to use functional connectivity measures as biomarkers, there remains to be a full understanding of why they are affected in MS. In this cross-sectional study, we tested the hypothesis that functional network regions may be susceptible to disease-related "wear and tear" and that this can be observable on co-occurring abnormalities on other magnetic resonance metrics. We tested whether functional connectivity abnormalities in cognitively impaired patients with MS co-occur with (1) overlapping, (2) local, or (3) distal changes in anatomic connectivity and cerebral blood flow abnormalities. Methods: Multimodal 3T MRI and assessment with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests were performed in 102 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 27 healthy controls. Patients with MS were classified as cognitively impaired if they scored ≥1.5 SDs below the control mean on ≥2 tests (n = 55) or as cognitively preserved (n = 47). Functional connectivity was assessed with Independent Component Analysis and dual regression of resting-state fMRI images. Cerebral blood flow maps were estimated, and anatomic connectivity was assessed with anatomic connectivity mapping and fractional anisotropy of diffusion-weighted MRI. Changes in cerebral blood flow and anatomic connectivity were assessed within resting-state networks that showed functional connectivity abnormalities in cognitively impaired patients with MS. Results: Functional connectivity was significantly decreased in the anterior and posterior default mode networks and significantly increased in the right and left frontoparietal networks in cognitively impaired relative to cognitively preserved patients with MS (threshold-free cluster enhancement corrected at p ≤ 0.05, 2 sided). Networks showing functional abnormalities showed altered cerebral blood flow and anatomic connectivity locally and distally but not in overlapping locations. Discussion: We provide the first evidence that functional connectivity abnormalities are accompanied by local cerebral blood flow and structural connectivity abnormalities but also demonstrate that these effects do not occur in exactly the same location. Our findings suggest a possibly shared pathologic mechanism for altered functional connectivity in brain networks in MS

Brain data:Scanning, scraping and sculpting the plastic learning brain through neurotechnology

Neurotechnology is an advancing field of research and development with significant implications for education. As 'postdigital' hybrids of biological and informational codes, novel neurotechnologies combine neuroscience insights into the human brain with advanced technical development in brain imaging, brain-computer interfaces, neurofeedback platforms, brain stimulation and other neuroenhancement applications. Merging neurobiological knowledge about human life with computational technologies, neurotechnology exemplifies how postdigital science will play a significant role in societies and education in decades to come. As neurotechnology developments are being extended to education, they present potential for businesses and governments to enact new techniques of 'neurogovernance' by 'scanning' the brain, 'scraping' it for data and then 'sculpting' the brain toward particular capacities. The aim of this article is to critically review neurotechnology developments and implications for education. It examines the purposes to which neurotechnology development is being put in education, interrogating the commercial and governmental objectives associated with it and the neuroscientific concepts and expertise that underpin it. Finally, the article raises significant ethical and governance issues related to neurotechnology development and postdigital science that require concerted attention from education researchers

Candida glabrata : a review of its features and resistance

Candida species belong to the normal microbiota of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal and vaginal tracts, and are responsible for several clinical manifestations, from mucocutaneous overgrowth to bloodstream infections. Once believed to be non-pathogenic, Candida glabrata was rapidly blamable for many human diseases. Year after year, these pathological circumstances are more recurrent and problematic to treat, especially when patients reveal any level of immunosuppression. These difficulties arise from the capacity of C. glabrata to form biofilms and also from its high resistance to traditional antifungal therapies. Thus, this review intends to present an excerpt of the biology, epidemiology, and pathology of C. glabrata, and detail an approach to its resistance mechanisms based on studies carried out up to the present.The authors are grateful to strategic project PTDC/SAU-MIC/119069/2010 for the financial support to the research center and for Celia F. Rodrigues' grant

A calibration facility for automatic weather stations

Environmental monitoring by automatic weather stations (AWSs) is growing as a result of the increasing number and reliability of surface observations. In order to ensure data traceability and obtain more comprehensive data on the performance of AWSs, a new transportable calibration facility was manufactured at the Italian Institute of Metrology (INRiM) in the framework of the project MeteoMet. The facility is equipped with temperature and pressure reference sensors directly traceable to the International System of Units (SI) to obtain meteorological data with well-documented calibration uncertainty. In this calibration system, temperature and pressure can be controlled simultaneously and independently so that all combinations over the ranges are possible. The nominal ranges are: absolute pressure 50 to 110 kPa and temperature -25 to 50 degrees C. The availability of a large range of atmospheric variability and the possibility of studying the mutual influence effects on sensors response are important characteristics of the facility. This apparatus is also designed to permit a control in humidity, in order to complete the characterization of the whole AWS pressure-temperature-humidity modulus. As a matter of fact, the final version of the facility will be equipped with a humidity generator for hygrometer calibrations. Finally, the calibration system is designed to be transportable, therefore allowing the calibration of AWSs located at sites that are difficult to access such as Ny-angstrom lesund (Svalbard) stations, where the facility was employed. The design and the technical characteristics are reported in this paper

Collective writing: An inquiry into praxis

This is the second text in the series collectively written by members of the Editors' Collective, which comprises a series of individual and collaborative reflections upon the experience of contributing to the previous and first text written by the Editors' Collective: 'Towards a Philosophy of Academic Publishing.' In the article, contributors reflect upon their experience of collective writing and summarize the main themes and challenges. They show that the act of collective writing disturbs the existing systems of academic knowledge creation, and link these disturbances to the age of the digital reason. They conclude that the collaborative and collective action is a thing of learning-by-doing, and that collective writing seems to offer a possible way forward from the co-opting of academic activities by economics. Through detaching knowledge creation from economy, collaborative and collective writing address the problem of forming new collective intelligences

Home-made software development for optimizing the uncertainty evaluation of silver fixed point cell used for practical realization of ITS-90

In order to enhance the availability of facilities in the field of high temperature contact thermometry in European emerging National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes (DIs), where access to types of facilities is currently limited an EMPIR Research Potential Project named Eura- Thermal has been launched. This project develop skills and tools for less experienced NMIs/DIs in order to acquire the required knowledge and expertise in temperature metrology. Within the frame of the work package dedicated to contact thermometry, the work is focused on the silver fixed point cell which is one of the fixed points defined by the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90). In this way, the traceability for the practical realization of the kelvinin accordance with the International System of Units (SI) would be provided with the lowest uncertainties. The home-made software has been developed in Lab View language which includes and standardizes the validated measurement procedure. Moreover, the software provides a practical tool for the evaluation of uncertainties according to the “Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurements". This enables to quantifying the main component contribution on uncertainty budget during the realization of the Silver fixed point cell measurements. Performance and usefulness of the software and evaluation of uncertainty will be discussed in this paper. This work is funded through the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) project “RPT05 - EuraThermal”. EMPIR is jointly funded by the EMPIR participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union

Ten theses on the the shift from (static) text to (moving) image

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RU EU? A game-based approach to exploring 21st century European identity and values

The RU EU game and support materials are clearly relevant to specific themes of the conference in describing the research and development tasks required for developing a sophisticated and engaging approach to pedagogical Innovations in Education, especially in the field of game based learning. Our paper specifically encourages individuals to think about the nature of both European and National identity, specifically with the context of the EU. At a time when the European Union is subject to significant challenges, the need to better understand and appreciate the role of national and supra-national identity in the European sphere, and the need for people to better understand their own sense of belonging and that of others, is clear. RU EU, an Erasmus + funded project, aims to develop an innovative online game that will help students, and others, across Europe to develop a better understanding of their own National and European identity. The game will allow individuals, and groups of students within the educational environment, understand their own perspectives and values, as well as those of others, and to further examine and reflect upon the impact of such on their identity. The game will seek to challenge attitudes and prejudices by allowing people to engage with real world problems, solving tasks involving a sense of both National and European identities. The game will be a platform for the discussion and analysis of complex and confusing issues relating to a wide range of issues. The development of such a game, in terms of content scenarios and focus has been a major interdisciplinary enterprise bringing together experts with content knowledge, pedagogical understanding and technical expertise. We are still in the early stages of the game development process, specifically in the areas of content, design and future development. Our international team have amassed material ranging from widespread literature reviews, academic interviews and student focus groups and surveys. Our paper describes the process of engaging with these outputs and how we have created an academically sound context for developing the innovative game. In particular, the use of these tasks in designing the game are considered, with an eye to how they will impact the final game design and operation