A quantitative analysis of thalamocortical white matter development in benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS)

BACKGROUND: A number of epilepsy syndromes are characterized by sleep-activated epileptiform discharges, however drivers of this process are not well understood. Previous research has found that thalamic injury in early life may increase the odds of sleep-activated spikes. Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is among the most common pediatric-onset epilepsy syndromes, characterized by sleep-potentiated spike activity, a focal sensorimotor seizure semiology, and deficits in language, attention, and behavioral functioning. Though ictal and interictal electro-clinical activity resolves during mid-adolescence, adverse psychosocial outcomes may persist. Previous findings from monozygotic twin and neuroimaging studies suggest a multifactorial pattern of disease and raise suspicion for structural changes in thalamocortical connectivity focal to the seizure onset zone, though this has not been explored. OBJECTIVE: This research aims to (1) assess white matter differences in focal thalamocortical connectivity between BECTS cases and healthy controls using validated probabilistic tractography methods, (2) assess the association between spike burden and white matter connectivity focal to the seizure onset zone, and (3) evaluate longitudinal changes in thalamocortical connectivity across four cases. METHODS: 42 subjects ages 6-15 years were recruited between November 2015 and February 2018, including 23 BECTS cases and 19 healthy controls. Subjects underwent 3 Tesla structural and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (2mm x 2mm x 2mm) with 64 gradient directions (b-value=2000) and 72 electrode sleep-deprived electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Seed and target regions of interest (ROIs) were created within each hemisphere using the Desikan-Killiany atlas, with the thalamus set as a seed ROI, and SOZ cortex and non-SOZ (NSOZ) cortex as target ROIs. Probabilistic tractography was executed using PROBTRACKX2 with 500 streamlines per seed voxel, 0.5 millimeter steps, and a curvature threshold of 0.2. All streamlines reaching the target ROI were summed and normalized by seed voxel count. Results for BECTS and healthy controls were plotted by age. The slope of thalamocortical connectivity versus age was computed for each group and compared between groups using nonparametric bootstrap analysis. Additionally, the association between SOZ connectivity and spike burden was assessed in a subgroup analysis using a linear regression model, controlling for age. RESULTS: A significant difference in the developmental trajectory of thalamocortical connectivity to the SOZ in BECTS cases compared to healthy controls was found (p=0.014), where the increase in connectivity with age observed in healthy controls was not present in BECTS children. These results did not extend to NSOZ thalamocortical connections (p=0.192). Longitudinal results support these observations, where all BECTS cases who underwent repeat imaging (N=4) showed a decrease in thalamocortical connectivity to the SOZ over the follow-up period. No relationship was found between thalamocortical connectivity and spike burden (p=0.840). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that children with BECTS show subtle alterations in thalamocortical white matter development focal to the seizure onset zone. Thalamocortical connectivity to the SOZ does not appear to directly mediate non-REM sleep spike potentiation in BECTS. Limitations of this study include the potential for selection bias and limited power to detect sample differences. Additional research is needed to further characterize thalamocortical network changes and electrographic and neuropsychological correlates

THE MEANING OF MARKETS: HOW THE DOMESTIC FAIR TRADE ASSOCIATION UNDERSTANDS CREATING SOCIAL CHANGE USING MARKET INITIATIVES

Agriculture in North America has tended toward consolidation and industrialization in the past century. Responding to the narrowing of market advantage for small-scale organic farmers and the plight of farm workers, as well as to both the failures and potentials of international fair trade and organic initiatives, members of the nascent Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA) seek to insert social justice into the North American food system using a market-based initiative mediated by independent that conform to stringent criteria. This study examines the meaning of fair trade in a North American context; the challenges facing domestic fair trade initiatives, and the ways the DFTA confronts them; and the ways those involved with the DFTA intend to move ahead with a domestic fair trade initiative. I argue that through a strong collaborative approach both structurally and in its vision for a transformed food system, the DFTA may bring a new and productive element to the discussion of alternative agro-food initiatives in North America. Central to DFTA members’ understanding of their goals is the formation of a coalition representing all the stakeholders in the food system, the creation of alternative economic models which embody social justice, the education and empowerment of the consumer as a political actor, and the role of policy in a complete transformation of the food system

From Codes to Patterns: Designing Interactive Decoration for Tableware

ABSTRACT We explore the idea of making aesthetic decorative patterns that contain multiple visual codes. We chart an iterative collaboration with ceramic designers and a restaurant to refine a recognition technology to work reliably on ceramics, produce a pattern book of designs, and prototype sets of tableware and a mobile app to enhance a dining experience. We document how the designers learned to work with and creatively exploit the technology, enriching their patterns with embellishments and backgrounds and developing strategies for embedding codes into complex designs. We discuss the potential and challenges of interacting with such patterns. We argue for a transition from designing ‘codes to patterns’ that reflects the skills of designers alongside the development of new technologies

Customizing hybrid products

We explore how the convergence of the digital and physical into hybrid products leads to new possibilities for customization. We report on a technology probe, a hybrid advent calendar with both paper form and digital layers of content, both of which were designed to be customizable. We reveal how over two hundred active users adapted its physical and digital aspects in various ways, some anticipated and familiar, but others surprising. This leads us to contribute concepts to help understand and design for hybrid customization – the idea of broad customization spanning physical and digital; end-to-end customization by different stakeholders along the value chain for a product; and the combination of these into customization maps

Reduce Waste, Reuse Resources: Organics Recycling Plan for the City of Ramsey, MN

Report completed by students enrolled in SUST 4004: Sustainable Communities, taught by Amir Nadav in spring 2018.This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. The state of Minnesota is requiring municipalities to have a plan to divert 75% of waste from landfills by the year 2020. Many municipalities, including the City of Ramsey, are looking to organics recycling as a means to reach this goal. Many residents wish to have the option of recycling yard waste with other organic waste, such as food scraps. Recycling both yard waste and food waste requires special equipment and waste hauling protocols, making it difficult for cities to accomplish. Students in SUST 4004: Sustainable Communities, taught by Amir Nadav, investigated how other communities have accomplished this mixed-organics recycling system by interviewing stakeholders and staff in communities that have implemented similar programs. Based on these interviews and other research, the student team assembled a collection of best practices and case studies. The students’ final report is available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

GIFT:Hybrid Museum Experiences through Gifting and Play

he GIFT project develops new approaches to creating hybrid physi-cal-digital visitor experiences in museums. Through design exploration of two concepts focusing on gifting and playful appropriation, the project charts how museums can create a deeper and more meaningful experience by giving visitors the tools to tell their own stories. The project is highly cross-disciplinary com-bining HCI research, artist-led exploration, technology explorations, and experi-ence design in collaboration with museums. Furthermore, the project gathers 10 prominent museums from Europe and the US in an action research project that both serves to ground the prototypes and framework in the needs of museums, while also facilitating the museum sector's need to become 'digital-ready', under-standing and capitalising on digital technology. As the project has progressed through half of its duration, we report on initial findings and how these have shaped our direction of progress

Current application of capillary electrophoresis in nanomaterial characterisation and its potential to characterise the protein and small molecule corona

Due to the increasing use and production of nanomaterials (NMs), the ability to characterise their physical/chemical properties quickly and reliably has never been so important. Proper characterisation allows a thorough understanding of the material and its stability, and is critical to establishing dose-response curves to ascertain risks to human and environmental health. Traditionally, methods such as Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Flow Fractionation (FFF) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) have been favoured for size characterisation, due to their wide-availability and well-established protocols. Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) offers a faster and more cost-effective solution for complex dispersions including polydisperse or non-spherical NMs. CE has been used to rapidly separate NMs of varying sizes, shapes, surface modifications and compositions. This review will discuss the literature surrounding the CE separation techniques, detection and NM characteristics used for the analysis of a wide range of NMs. The potential of combining CE with mass spectrometry (CE-MS) will also be explored to further expand the characterisation of NMs, including the layer of biomolecules adsorbed to the surface of NMs in biological or environmental compartments, termed the acquired biomolecule corona. CE offers the opportunity to uncover new/poorly characterised low abundance and polar protein classes due to the high ionisation efficiency of CE-MS. Furthermore, the possibility of using CE-MS to characterise the poorly researched small molecule interactions within the NM corona is discussed.peer-reviewe