Conspecific images require longer visual processing than simple stimuli in healthy four-week old piglets.

Swine are a common neurobehavioral model. Visual event related potentials (VERPs) are an electroencephalogram (EEG) technique that assesses visual processing and can inform brain function and sensory changes after trauma or disease. We hypothesized that piglet visual EEG processing for 2D conspecific (CS) images would produce more cortical activity than a simple white square stimulus.

Population-Specific Radiomics From Biparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Improves Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification in African American Men.

Purpose: To quantify population-specific differences in prostate cancer (PCa) presentation between African American (AA) and White (W) men on MRI using radiomics.

Materials And Methods: We identified N = 149 men with PCa who underwent 3T MRI, a confirmatory biopsy and for whom self-reported race was available. Patient studies were partitioned into training (D) and hold-out test set (D).

RNA Polymerase III Promoters Compatible with CRISPR Gene Regulation in .

is a model organism commonly used to study gene regulation and function recently via CRISPR-()Cas9 technologies. Modulating the expression of multiple gene targets simultaneously is often important for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering applications and is crucial for genetic interaction studies. CRISPR-based systems can be used to target multiple genetic loci via expression of multiple single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) in a single cell.

Chronic Changes on Kidney Histology by a Multiclass Artificial Intelligence Model.

Introduction: Chronic changes in kidney histology are often approximated by using human vision but with limited accuracy.

Methods: An interactive annotation tool trained an artificial intelligence (AI) model for segmenting structures on whole slide images (WSIs) of kidney tissue. A total of 20,509 annotations trained the AI model with 20 classes of structures, including separate detection of cortex from medulla.

Deep brain stimulation-induced local evoked potentials outperform spectral features in spatial and clinical STN mapping.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an established therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Yet, optimizing lead placement and stimulation programming remains challenging. Current techniques rely on imaging and intraoperative microelectrode recordings (MER), while programming relies on trial-and-error clinical testing, which can be time-consuming.

Indoor Localization Using Multi-Bluetooth Beacon Deployment in a Sparse Edge Computing Environment.

Bluetooth low energy (BLE)-based indoor localization has been extensively researched due to its cost-effectiveness, low power consumption, and ubiquity. Despite these advantages, the variability of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements, influenced by physical obstacles, human presence, and electronic interference, poses a significant challenge to accurate localization. In this work, we present an optimised method to enhance indoor localization accuracy by utilising multiple BLE beacons in a radio frequency (RF)-dense modern building environment.

Independent assessment of a point of care HCV RNA test by laboratory analytical testing and a prospective field study in the U.S.

Improvements in HCV testing, including Point of Care (POC) HCV RNA tests, are necessary to eliminate HCV. With this goal in mind, we established methods to collect capillary whole blood (CWB) via fingerstick, ensured its stability in a microtainer, and determined limit of detection (LoD) for various HCV genotypes. Next, we conducted a prospective study where CWB samples were collected from a cohort of 109 adult subjects at a safety-net hospital and tested for HCV RNA using the Xpert® HCV test on the GeneXpert® Xpress system and the cobas® HCV platform.

Decoding depression: Event related potential dynamics and predictive neural signatures of depression severity.

Depression is a heterogeneous disorder marked by disruptions in cognitive and affective processing. While self-reported measures and clinical interviews remain the diagnostic standard, integrating objective neurophysiological markers could enhance assessment accuracy. This study demonstrates that event-related potentials (ERPs) derived from electroencephalography (EEG) can accurately classify individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and predict depression severity.

Frequency and duration of sensory flicker control transcriptional profiles in 5xFAD mice.

Current clinical trials are investigating gamma frequency sensory stimulation as a potential therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease (AD); yet, we lack a comprehensive picture of the effects of this stimulation on multiple aspects of brain function. We previously showed that exposing mice to visual flickering stimulation increased mitogen activated protein kinase and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells signaling in the visual cortex (VC) in a manner dependent on the duration and frequency of stimulation. Because these pathways control multiple neuronal and glial functions, here we aimed to define the transcriptional effects of different frequencies and durations of audiovisual flicker (AV flicker) stimulation on multiple brain functions.

Computer-aided tumor cell fraction (TCF) estimation by medical students, residents, and pathologists improves inter-observer agreement while highlighting the risk of automation bias.

The potential for computer-aided diagnostics (CAD) to augment learning outcomes for medical education in histopathology are vast. However, over-reliance in CAD tools could lead to important errors if the output is inaccurate, such as automation bias. Here, we analyze the influence of a CAD tool for tumor cell fraction (TCF) estimation, named TCFCAD, on medical students with limited histopathological expertise, compared to pathology residents and practicing pathologists.

Dissection of the MeCP2 repressor protein enables CRISPR platform optimization via localization engineering.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat interference (CRISPRi), the fusion of nuclease-inactive Cas9 with transcriptional repressor domains, is a powerful platform enabling site-specific gene knockdown across diverse biological contexts. Previously described CRISPRi systems typically utilize two distinct domain classes: (1) Krüppel-associated box domains and (2) truncations of the multifunctional protein, MeCP2. Despite widespread adoption of MeCP2 truncations for developing CRISPRi platforms, individual contributions of subdomains within MeCP2's transcriptional repression domain (TRD) toward enhancing gene knockdown remain unclear.

Modulating transformation of DNA origami nanoarray via sequence design.

The four-way DNA junction is the most prevalent structural motif in DNA nanotechnology. Recently, a reconfigurable DNA nanoarray (domino array) was created with this basic motif to realize intricate, stepwise transformation by the information relay between neighboring four-way junction units. Here, we generate a DNA domino array with same sequences at every junction, and use it as a platform to study how the design of DNA bases at junctions influences the kinetics and thermodynamics of transformation of four-way junctions in reconfigurable DNA nanoarrays.

Generating combinatorial diversity via engineered V(D)J-like recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

V(D)J recombination is integral to the development of antibody diversity and proceeds through a complex DNA cleavage and repair process mediated by several proteins, including recombination-activating genes 1 and 2, RAG1 and RAG2. V(D)J recombination occurs in all jawed vertebrates but is absent from evolutionarily distant relatives, including the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As yeast grow quickly and are a platform for antibody display, engineering yeast to undergo V(D)J recombination could expand their applicability for studying antibody development.

Deep brain stimulation-induced local evoked potentials outperform spectral features in spatial and clinical STN mapping.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an established therapy for Parkinson's Disease (PD). Yet, optimizing lead placement and stimulation programming remains challenging. Current techniques rely on imaging and intraoperative microelectrode recordings (MER), while programming rely on trial-and-error clinical testing, which can be time-consuming.

Computing muscle mechanical state variables from combined proprioceptive sensory feedback.

Proprioceptive sensory feedback is crucial for the control of movement. In many ways, sensorimotor control loops in the neuromuscular system act as state feedback controllers. These controllers combine input commands and sensory feedback regarding the mechanical state of the muscle, joint or limb to modulate the mechanical output of the muscles.

Quantitative and qualitative metrics of tumor stroma in predicting ovarian cancer outcomes and expansion of its study with AI-based tools.

Epithelial ovarian cancer remains one of the deadliest gynecologic malignancies, with late-stage diagnosis, high recurrence rates, and resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy contributing to poor survival outcomes. Central to the effective management of ovarian cancer is the thorough evaluation of diagnostic and prognostic indicators. Critical determinants encompass the extent of the tumor; its stage and grade; and level of the circulating biomarker, CA-125.

FAK activity exacerbates disturbed flow-mediated atherosclerosis via VEGFR2-CBL-NF-κB signaling.

Atherosclerosis develops at predictable sites in the vasculature where branch points and curvatures create non-laminar disturbed flow. This disturbed flow causes vascular inflammation by increased endothelial cell (EC) barrier permeability and the expression of inflammatory genes such as vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) regulates flow-induced EC inflammation; however, there are still some gaps in understanding the precise signaling mechanism or pathway.

AI-based radiomic features predict outcomes and the added benefit of chemoimmunotherapy over chemotherapy in extensive stage small cell lung cancer: A multi-institutional study.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is aggressive with poor survival outcomes, and most patients develop resistance to chemotherapy. No predictive biomarkers currently guide therapy. This study evaluates radiomic features to predict PFS and OS in limited-stage SCLC (LS-SCLC) and assesses PFS, OS, and the added benefit of chemoimmunotherapy (CHIO) in extensive-stage SCLC (ES-SCLC).

Encoding of speech modes and loudness in ventral precentral gyrus.

The ability to vary the mode and loudness of speech is an important part of the expressive range of human vocal communication. However, the encoding of these behaviors in the ventral precentral gyrus (vPCG) has not been studied at the resolution of neuronal firing rates. We investigated this in two participants who had intracortical microelectrode arrays implanted in their vPCG as part of a speech neuroprosthesis clinical trial.

Pseudo-linear summation explains neural geometry of multi-finger movements in human premotor cortex.

How does the motor cortex combine simple movements (such as single finger flexion/extension) into complex movements (such as hand gestures, or playing the piano)? To address this question, motor cortical activity was recorded using intracortical multi-electrode arrays in two male people with tetraplegia as they attempted single, pairwise and higher-order finger movements. Neural activity for simultaneous movements was largely aligned with linear summation of corresponding single finger movement activities, with two violations. First, the neural activity exhibited normalization, preventing a large magnitude with an increasing number of moving fingers.

New information triggers prospective codes to adapt for flexible navigation.

Navigating a dynamic world requires rapidly updating choices by integrating past experiences with new information. In hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, neural activity representing future goals is theorized to support navigational planning. However, it remains unknown how prospective goal representations incorporate new, pivotal information.

Clinical relevance of computationally derived tubular features and their spatial relationships with the interstitial microenvironment in minimal change disease/focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Background: Visual scoring of tubular damage has limitations in capturing the full spectrum of structural changes and prognostic potential. Here, we investigated if computationally quantified tubular features can enhance prognostication and reveal spatial relationships with interstitial fibrosis.

Methods: Deep-learning and image-analysis approaches were employed on 254/266 Periodic acid Schiff-stained whole slide image (WSI) kidney biopsies from participants in the NEPTUNE/CureGN prospective observational cohort studies (135/153 with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and 119/113 with minimal change disease (MCD)) to segment cortex, tubular lumen (TL), epithelium (TE), nuclei (TN), and basement membrane (TBM).

Stabilizing brain-computer interfaces through alignment of latent dynamics.

Intracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs) restore motor function to people with paralysis by translating brain activity into control signals for external devices. In current iBCIs, instabilities at the neural interface result in a degradation of decoding performance, which necessitates frequent supervised recalibration using new labeled data. One potential solution is to use the latent manifold structure that underlies neural population activity to facilitate a stable mapping between brain activity and behavior.