EEG dipole analysis of motor-priming foreperiod activity reveals separate sources for motor and spatial attention components

OBJECTIVE: This study employed EEG source localisation procedures to study the contribution of motor preparatory and attentional processing to foreperiod activity in an S1-S2 motor priming task. METHODS: Behavioural and high-density event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded in an S1-S2 priming task where participants responded to S2 with a left or right-hand button press. S1 either provided information about response hand (informative) or ambiguous information (uninformative). RESULTS: Responses were significantly faster in informative trials compared with uninformative trials. Dipole source analysis of foreperiod lateralized ERPs revealed sources of motor preparatory activity in the dorsolateral premotor cortex (PMd) in line with previous work. In addition, two spatial attention components (ADAN, LDAP) were identified with generators in the PMd and occipitotemporal visual areas in the middle temporal (MT) region, respectively. Separation of motor-related and attentional PMd source locations was reliable along the rostral-caudal axis. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of attentional components in a motor priming paradigm supports the premotor theory of attention which suggests a close link between attention and motor preparatory processes. Separation of components in the premotor cortex is in accord with a functional division of PMd into rostral (higher-order processing) and caudal (motor-related processing) areas as suggested by imaging work. SIGNIFICANCE: A prime for response preparation is a trigger for separate, but closely linked, attention-related activity in premotor areas.     

湖南省洪涝灾害高发地区钩端螺旋体病流行因素的研究

目的研究湖南省洪涝灾害高发地区钩端螺旋体病的流行因素。方法选择洞庭湖区6个县研究传染源密度、带茵情况和自然人群、病人与动物抗体水平，按国家有关标准进行实验室和现场工作。结果(1)传染源：灭鼠前、后和钩体病流行后期鼠密度分别为7．02％、2．31％和4．64％，优势鼠种为黑线姬鼠，灭鼠后鼠密度下降了67．09％：村民家庭家畜饲养以圈养形式占99．15％，喂商品混合饲料的占72．33％。(2)病原学：对鼠、猪、犬和病人的标本进行钩体培养，分离出82株钩体，黄疸出血群占70．73％，1株国内新型茵，黑线姬鼠分离率高达11．03％。(3)血清学：检测1263名自然人15个群钩体抗体，一群以上抗体阳性率未接种钩体苗为50．88％，接种一针四价钩体为72．55％，人群抗体有14群之多；检测85例病人双份血清抗体，确诊63例，符合率74．11％，黄疸出血群感染比例最高；流行季节牛、犬和出栏猪抗体分别有14、8和7个群，牛阳性率最高。结论流行前灭鼠效果好，不仅降低了鼠密度，还降低了带茵率；主要传染源是鼠和牛，牛作为传染源的意义大于猪和犬；人群接种一针四价钩体菌苗亦有效；病人感染黄疸出血、澳洲和秋季群为多。     

Measured attenuation correction methods

Accurate attenuation correction is a prerequisite for the determination of exact local radioactivity concentrations in positron emission tomography. Attenuation correction factors range from 4–5 in brain studies to 50–100 in whole body measurements. This report gives an overview of the different methods of determining the attenuation correction factors by transmission measurements using an external positron emitting source. The long-lived generator nuclide⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga is commonly used for this purpose. The additional patient dose from the transmission source is usually a small fraction of the dose due to the subsequent emission measurement. Ring-shaped transmission sources as well as rotating point or line sources are employed in modern positron tomographs. By masking a rotating line or point source, random and scattered events in the transmission scans can be effectively suppressed. The problems of measured attenuation correction are discussed: transmission/emission mismatch, random and scattered event contamination, counting statistics, transmission/emission scatter compensation, transmission scan after administration of activity to the patient. By using a double masking technique simultaneous emission and transmission scans become feasible.This article was presented at the 1st EEC workshop on accuracy determination in PET, January 19–20th. 1989 Pisa, Italy (COMAC-BME Concerted Project Characterization and Standardization of PET Instrumentation)     

Producción científica en educación médica en Latinoamérica en Scopus, 2011-2015

Objective

To describe the scientific production in medical education in Latin America in Scopus, in the period 2011-2015.

Source-density mapping of human visual receptive fields using scalp electrodes

Summary A triangular array of 20 electrodes spaced by 1.5 cm was used to record the distribution of current source-densities at 12 locations over the occipital scalp, in response to tachistoscopic presentation of a 1/2° × 1/2° scanning pattern element which explored a 2° × 2° area of the visual field. Single scalp locations had visual receptive fields of the order of 1°–2° in diameter, their shape varying somewhat according to the response in question. Source density analysis can resolve details of the AEP scalp map to better than 1 cm. Even with a 1/2° × 1/2° stimulus, averages of only a few tens of sweeps gave adequate signal-to-noise ratios.     

Single dipole localization: Some numerical aspects and a practical rejection criterion for the fitted parameters

Summary There have been a number of attempts in the last years to localize the generators of brain electromagnetic activity, considering one current dipole as the source model. Single Dipole Localization (SDL) requires the selection of an optimization algorithm (OA). General aspects related with the selection, implementation and evaluation of some of the OA employed for SDL are discussed in this paper. Specifically the performance of two algorithms, those of Hooke-Jeeves and Levenberg-Marquardt, are tested by simulations. Suggestions for including restrictions to the dipole position and comments about some commonly used measures of the goodness of fit are given. Examples of erroneous implementations of these algorithms are also illustrated. A simple graphic rejection criterion, which can be easily used by inexperienced researchers, is introduced and tested in noisy and noise free simulations.The authors are grateful to Roberto D. Pascual Marqui for programming the Hooke-Jeeves algorithm.     

Dipole Localization and Test-Retest Reliability of Frequency and Duration Mismatch Negativity Generator Processes

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event related potential component elicited by changes in duration, frequency or intensity of the stimuli during repetitive series of equal standard stimuli. In the present study we compared duration and frequency MMN using dipole source analysis concerning both the test-retest reliability of MMN-amplitudes and the locations of the potential sources. Furthermore, the influence of attention for test-retest-reliability was studied. Therefore, two groups of healthy subjects were investigated with different attentional manipulations. Twenty-one healthy subjects had to perform a visual attention task during the recording and 21 healthy subjects had no additional task to perform. All subjects were studied twice with a time interval of 3 weeks. Test-retest reliability was sufficiently high for the frequency but slightly lower for the duration MMN. The locations of the frequency and duration MMN-dipoles were in the auditory cortex with a more anterior and caudal location for the frequency MMN-dipoles. The latter finding supports the hypothesis that the frequency and duration MMNs have separate neuronal generators.     

Activation of the human posterior parietal cortex by median nerve stimulation

We recorded somatosensory evoked magnetic fields from ten healthy, right-handed subjects with a 122-channel whole-scalp SQUID magnetometer. The stimuli, exceeding the motor threshold, were delivered alternately to the left and right median nerves at the wrists, with interstimulus intervals of 1, 3, and 5 s. The first responses, peaking around 20 and 35 ms, were explained by activation of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (SI) hand area. All subjects showed additional deflections which peaked after 85 ms; the source locations agreed with the sites of the secondary somatosensory cortices (SII) in both hemispheres. The SII responses were typically stronger in the left than the right hemisphere. All subjects had an additional source, not previously reported in human evoked response data, in the contralateral parietal cortex. This source was posterior and medial to the SI hand area, and evidently in the wall of the postcentral sulcus. It was most active at 70–110 ms.     

南水北调前后北京市市政水源水水质状况分析

目的 了解“南水北调工程”对北京市市政水源水水质的影响。方法 分析和整理北京市2001—2019年市政水厂地表水源水及地下水源水的监测资料。结果 共监测市政水源水346件,其中地表水源水77件,地下水源水269件。南水进京后,北京市地表水源水的合格率由之前的68.63%上升至96.15%（P<0.05）,溶解性总固体、总硬度、氯化物、硫酸盐和氟化物的平均值从南水北调前的255.44±78.30、179.41±37.69、19.12±27.36、42.94±14.94和0.36±0.05 mg/L分别降低至181.04±25.94、127.05±21.12、7.04±2.54、32.01±4.47和0.20±0.03 mg/L（P<0.05）。地下水源水的水质指标与南水引入前相比没有明显变化（P>0.05）。结论 南水的引入提高了北京市地表水源水水质,增强了首都供水保障能力,社会、生态效应显著。     

基于镅铍中子源的简易照射装置及其剂量学特性研究

目的 拟利用²⁴¹Am-Be中子源设计并建立一套中子辐射照射实验装置。方法 采用蒙特卡洛（Monte Carlo）方法,模拟计算装置内外中子能谱和γ能谱空间分布数据,研究中子注量等随空间分布的变化规律;初步建立镅铍中子装置的数学模型,采用影锥法、平方反比律验证等数据分析方法,对中子输运过程进行研究。结果 模拟获得测量点处归一化快中子注量有效剂量约为72.9 pSv/n,光子约为3.04 pSv/γ,光子注量有效剂量与中子注量有效剂量的比值约为4.17%。结论 利用蒙特卡洛方法,构建了镅铍中子源标准装置模型,优化了影锥设计,初步讨论了将影锥转换法用于建立中子源辐射照射装置的可行性。