Task-related enhancement in corticomotor excitability during haptic sensing with the contra- or ipsilateral hand in young and senior adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Haptic sensing with the fingers represents a unique class of manipulative actions, engaging motor, somatosensory and associative areas of the cortex while requiring only minimal forces and relatively simple movement patterns. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we investigated task-related changes in motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude associated with unimanual haptic sensing in two related experiments. In Experiment I, we contrasted changes in the excitability of the hemisphere controlling the task hand in young and old adults under two trial conditions, i.e. when participants either touched a fine grating (<it>smooth trials</it>) or touched a coarse grating to detect its groove orientation (<it>grating trials</it>). In Experiment II, the same contrast between tasks was performed but with TMS applied over the hemisphere controlling the resting hand, while also addressing hemispheric (right vs. left) and age differences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Experiment I, a main effect of <it>trial type </it>on MEP amplitude was detected (p = 0.001), MEPs in the task hand being ~50% larger during grating than smooth trials. No interaction with age was detected. Similar results were found for Experiment II, <it>trial type </it>having a large effect on MEP amplitude in the resting hand (p < 0.001) owing to selective increase in MEP size (~2.6 times greater) for grating trials. No interactions with age or side (right vs. left) were detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, these results indicate that adding a haptic component to a simple unilateral finger action can elicit robust corticomotor facilitation not only in the working hemisphere but also in the opposite hemisphere. The fact that this facilitation seems well preserved with age, when task difficulty is adjusted, has some potential clinical implications.</p

Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) in the scleractinian phylogeny and its intraspecific diversity

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 7 (2012): e50215, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050215.The cosmopolitan solitary deep-water scleractinian coral Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) was selected as a representative model species of the polyphyletic Caryophylliidae family to (1) examine phylogenetic relationships with respect to the principal Scleractinia taxa, (2) check population structure, (3) test the widespread connectivity hypothesis and (4) assess the utility of different nuclear and mitochondrial markers currently in use. To carry out these goals, DNA sequence data from nuclear (ITS and 28S) and mitochondrial (16S and COI) markers were analyzed for several coral species and for Mediterranean populations of D. dianthus. Three phylogenetic methodologies (ML, MP and BI), based on data from the four molecular markers, all supported D. dianthus as clearly belonging to the “robust” clade, in which the species Lophelia pertusa and D. dianthus not only grouped together, but also shared haplotypes for some DNA markers. Molecular results also showed shared haplotypes among D. dianthus populations distributed in regions separated by several thousands of kilometers and by clear geographic barriers. These results could reflect limited molecular and morphological taxonomic resolution rather than real widespread connectivity. Additional studies are needed in order to find molecular markers and morphological features able to disentangle the complex phylogenetic relationship in the Order Scleractinia and to differentiate isolated populations, thus avoiding the homoplasy found in some morphological characters that are still considered in the literature.This study was funded by CTM2009-00496 and CGL2011-23306 projects of the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (Spain). Research at sea was partly supported by the European Commission F. P.VI Project HERMES Contract No. GOCE-CT-2005-511234-1) and the EU F.P. VII Project HERMIONE(contract number no. 226354)

Genetic Connectivity and Conservation of Temperate and Cold-Water Habitat-Forming Corals

Recent explorations of rocky habitats from 40 to about 6,000 m depth disclosed the role of gorgonian and scleractinian corals as habitat formers in tropical, temperate, and polar deep waters. Deep biogenic habitats host high species richness and complexity and their conservation requires a profound understand- ing of biological and ecological features of sessile species inhabiting them, such as the habitat-forming corals. In sessile species, earliest life history stages and larval processes (e.g., reproduction mode, larval development, behavior, and feeding mode) ensure the exchange of individuals within and among subpopula- tions, supporting species and habitat resistance and resilience. Genetic studies allow investigating larval processes when direct observations cannot be used. Parameters such as genetic connectivity, gene flow, and levels of genetic diversity are essential to monitor health and resilience of populations under current and future scenarios of anthropogenic environmental changes. In this chapter a review of studies on genetic connectivity of temperate and cold-water habitat-forming corals and associated invertebrate species will be presented. Among them, two case studies, Desmophyllum dianthus, a deep-sea worldwide-distributed scleractinian, and Corallium rubrum, a harvested Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic alcyonacean with a wide bathymetric distribution, will be discussed in detail. This chapter will also show how these studies contributed to develop, implement, and recommend future conservation strategies and management plans. Existing gaps in literature on genetic connectivity of habitat-forming corals and other invertebrates have been also stressed and discussed. Finally, a concep- tual framework for optimizing and planning effective studies on genetic connec- tivity is provided, including general recommendations on sampling design, key species and new molecular markers to use with a special emphasis on the \u201cnext- generation\u201d DNA sequencing technologies

Database on blue carbon in European seagrass and saltmarsh habitats

This database is a compilation of sediment organic carbon (blue carbon, hereafter) data in European seagrass and saltmarsh habitats in response to a data call with a common template launched under the framework of the Horizon Europe project MPA Europe (Grant Agreement no. 101059988). The dataset is the first part of the wider “EURO-CARBON” database on blue carbon in marine sediments of the European seas, which is under preparation. The database contains excel sheets, one with explanation of data; one with a dataset on blue carbon of seagrass and saltmarsh sediments; and one with a dataset on the habitat biomass. Contents are summarized below: 1) “Explanation”: descriptions of column headings and content 2) “Sediment_SeagrassSaltmarsh”: Location information: Country, Marine region, Habitat, Key species, Location name, Station ID, Core ID, Year, Month, Day, Latitude, Longitude. Field measurements: Water depth (m), Temperature (Celsius), Salinity. Core samples: Start depth (compacted), end depth (compacted), start depth (decompacted), end depth (decompacted). Sediment measurements: Porosity (%), water content (%), Dry bulk density (g cm-3), Dry bulk density_flag, Organic matter (OM) (%), Organic Carbon (OC) (%), Carbon-density (g C cm- 3), δ13C (‰), Nitrogen (N) (%), N-density (g N cm-3), δ15N (‰), Phosphorus (P) (%), P- density (g cm-3), Carbon reactivity index (CRI-index). Core dating: Sediment accumulation rate (SAR) (mm yr-1), SAR_se, Mass accumulation rate (MAR) (g cm-2 yr-1), MAR_se, Carbon accumulation rate (CAR) (g C m-2 yr-1), CAR_se, Total 210Pb_activity (Bq kg-1), Total 210Pb_activity_sd, Excess 210Pb_activity (Bq kg-1), Excess 210Pb_activity_sd, Supported 210Pb_activity (Bq kg-1), Supported 210Pb_activity_sd, 14C_age, 14C_age_sd, 14C_material. Sediment fractions: Mud (1 mm). Methods used: Sampling type, OM (%), OC (%) and N (%), δ13C (‰) and δ15N (‰), P(%), CRI-index. Information on data input: Data originator, Originator institution, Originator contact, Publications, Comments. 3) “Biomass_SeagrassSaltmarsh”: Location information: As above. Field measurements: Water depth (m), Temperature (Celsius), Salinity, Frame replicate no., Frame area (m2), Dominating plant species, Type of biomass. Biomass measurements: Wet weight (g), Dry weight (g), Biomass (g m-2), OC (%), C (%) and N (%), δ13C (‰), δ15N (‰). Methods used: Biomass collection, C (%) and N (%), δ13C (‰) and δ15N (‰). Information on data input: Data originator, Originator institution, Originator contact, Publications, Comments. Minimum requested data were location, depth, core depth, organic carbon (directly measured), associated method, and information on data inpu

The large scale polarization explorer (LSPE) for CMB measurements:Performance forecast

The measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is one of the current frontiers in cosmology. In particular, the detection of the primordial divergence-free component of the polarization field, the B-mode, could reveal the presence of gravitational waves in the early Universe. The detection of such a component is at the moment the most promising technique to probe the inflationary theory describing the very early evolution of the Universe. We present the updated performance forecast of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE), a program dedicated to the measurement of the CMB polarization. LSPE is composed of two instruments: LSPE-Strip, a radiometer-based telescope on the ground in Tenerife-Teide observatory, and LSPE-SWIPE (Short-Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer) a bolometer-based instrument designed to fly on a winter arctic stratospheric long-duration balloon. The program is among the few dedicated to observation of the Northern Hemisphere, while most of the international effort is focused into ground-based observation in the Southern Hemisphere. Measurements are currently scheduled in Winter 2022/23 for LSPE-SWIPE, with a flight duration up to 15 days, and in Summer 2022 with two years observations for LSPE-Strip. We describe the main features of the two instruments, identifying the most critical aspects of the design, in terms of impact on the performance forecast. We estimate the expected sensitivity of each instrument and propagate their combined observing power to the sensitivity to cosmological parameters, including the effect of scanning strategy, component separation, residual foregrounds and partial sky coverage. We also set requirements on the control of the most critical systematic effects and describe techniques to mitigate their impact. LSPE will reach a sensitivity in tensor-to-scalar ratio of σ r &lt; 0.01, set an upper limit r &lt; 0.015 at 95% confidence level, and improve constraints on other cosmological parameters.</p