Normalization of Pain-Evoked Neural Responses Using Spontaneous EEG Improves the Performance of EEG-Based Cross-Individual Pain Prediction

An effective physiological pain assessment method that complements the gold standard of self-report is highly desired in pain clinical research and practice. Recent studies have shown that pain-evoked electroencephalography (EEG) responses could be used as a readout of perceived pain intensity. Existing EEG-based pain assessment is normally achieved by cross-individual prediction (i.e., to train a prediction model from a group of individuals and to apply the model on a new individual), so its performance is seriously hampered by the substantial inter-individual variability in pain-evoked EEG responses. In this study, to reduce the inter-individual variability in pain-evoked EEG and to improve the accuracy of cross-individual pain prediction, we examined the relationship between pain-evoked EEG, spontaneous EEG, and pain perception on a pain EEG dataset, where a large number of laser pulses (>100) with a wide energy range were delivered. Motivated by our finding that an individual’s pain-evoked EEG responses is significantly correlated with his/her spontaneous EEG in terms of magnitude, we proposed a normalization method for pain-evoked EEG responses using one’s spontaneous EEG to reduce the inter-individual variability. In addition, a nonlinear relationship between the level of pain perception and pain-evoked EEG responses was obtained, which inspired us to further develop a new two-stage pain prediction strategy, a binary classification of low-pain and high-pain trials followed by a continuous prediction for high-pain trials only, both of which used spontaneous-EEG-normalized magnitudes of evoked EEG responses as features. Results show that the proposed normalization strategy can effectively reduce the inter-individual variability in pain-evoked responses, and the two-stage pain prediction method can lead to a higher prediction accuracy.published_or_final_versio

Myelin is remodeled cell-autonomously by oligodendroglial macroautophagy

Myelination of axons in the CNS by oligodendrocytes (OLs) is critical for the rapid and reliable conduction of action potentials down neuronal axons, as evidenced by the severe disabilities associated with myelin loss in multiple sclerosis and other diseases of myelin. The specification, differentiation, and maturation of OLs along with myelin formation by OLs have been thoroughly characterized. How myelin is turned over, however remains unclear. It is unsurprising that little is known about myelin turnover considering that for decades following their discovery, myelin and OLs were considered static elements in the adult nervous system. Recent evidence, however, shows that myelin in the CNS is actually plastic. Moreover, myelin remodeling in humans has been suggested to be mediated by mature OLs. As mature OLs have limited capacity to generate new myelin sheaths, we must ask whether mature OLs can remodel the myelin at preexisting myelin sheaths. One intriguing but unproven possibility is that myelin at individual internodes may be remodeled cell-autonomously by mature OLs to modulate neuronal circuit function. Macroautophagy (MA) is responsible for the lysosome-mediated elimination of cytosolic proteins, lipids, and organelles. MA achieves this by capturing cargo in bulk or selectively in a transient, multilamellar structure known as an autophagosome (AP). In this study, we used a combination of in vivo and cellular approaches to test the hypothesis that MA in OLs may be important for myelin remodeling in the adult CNS. We establish that myelin of individual internodes is remodeled, and does so through the coordinated efforts of endocytosis and MA. We found that autophagy protein Atg7 is essential for myelin remodeling in vivo: loss of Atg7 in OLs leads to an age-dependent increase of myelin at the internode and the formation of aberrant myelin structures, most notably myelin outfoldings. In addition, we find that MA has the potential to occur throughout the mature OL, and examination of OLs in culture suggests that formation of a mature AP structure, the amphisome, is required to facilitate the efficient degradation of myelin-containing endocytic structures. Together, we propose that myelin is a dynamic structure that is regularly remodeled through the cooperative efforts of MA and endocytosis. These findings raise the possibility that myelin remodeling is involved in neural plasticity and the tuning of neural circuits

On Measuring the Expertise of Patent-Pilot Judges: Encouraging Enhancement of Claim-Construction Uniformity, 12 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 309 (2013)

A Pilot Program to “encourage enhancement of expertise” in patent cases among district judges recently got underway in the federal courts. The program is designed to funnel patent cases to judges who volunteer to become “pilot judges.” The idea is that as these judges hear more patent cases and become more familiar with patent law, they will be able to craft claim constructions and opinions that are increasingly likely to survive the scrutiny of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Unfortunately, the Federal Circuit’s jurisprudence may itself encumber these efforts because of a split among the Federal Circuit judges concerning the correct approach to interpreting patent claims. This Article explores that split and its potential to undermine the pilot judges’ efforts to make the program a success

Haggadah in Jewish Bible Study

Christian Biblical interpreters adopted and adapted the interpretative principles and methods of their Jewish and Greek teachers and neighbors whenever and insofar as they judged them to be compatible with the Biblical text. One method of Scriptural interpretation and application in Judaism was that of Haggadah. Jesus used a form of this method when in Matt. 12:1-7 He added an interpretative story (Haggadah) about David and his soldiers to the Biblical principle that Yahweh desires mercy and not sacrifice

Numerical Study of Optical Delay in Semiconductor Multilayer Distributed Bragg Reflector and Tunable Microcavity Structures

The Air Force has a growing need for the greater bandwidth, speed, and flexibility offered by optical communication links. Future space systems and airborne platforms will most likely use optical signals for efficient power transmission and to minimize the possibility of spoofing and eavesdropping. Tunable optical delays play an important role in the implementation of free space optical communication links. The primary challenge in implementing these systems is the active maintenance of coherent wave fronts across the system\u27s optical aperture. For space applications, this aperture may he hundreds of meters in diameter. Spatial segmentation of a large aperture into smaller elements is one approach that can be used to solve the problem of coherent waveform maintenance. In this research I explore three methods of achieving electrically tunable optical delay in a semiconductor structure. My first approach entails the use of multiple quantum wells inserted within the high index layers of a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) to produce tunable optical delay when a transverse electric field is applied across the DBR. The second approach uses a cantilever mounted on top of a DBR structure. The cantilever is also a DBR and is used to vary the thickness of an air gap within the structure. A third approach relies on changing the angle of incidence of light on a DBR structure to produce a delay. All three methods produce acceptable results

Coronary Aneurysm Occurring Late after Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation

Drug-eluting stents may affect the normal healing process of the vessel wall and the remodeling process and may lead to late stent malapposition (LSM). The known incidence of this phenomen originates from short-term angiographic follow-up studies. We describe a case report of very late stent malapposition and marked positive vessel remodeling 3 years after sirolimus-eluting coronary stent implantation. Angiography performed one year after stent implantation was normal. Thus, the abnormalities developed sometime between years 1 and 3. The cause is unknown, but it is reasonable to suggest a local effect of the medication/polymer of the stent. LSM rate and aneurysmal formation is higher in DES than in BMS and may be associated with increased risk for late stent thrombosis. Currently, the risk of very late stent thrombosis after DES implantation is of major concern. As observed in this case report, LSM might occur and develop very late. This has significant consequences especially to the many asymptomatic patients with DES implanted many years ago and the recommendation of dual antiplatelet therapy. More studies with late and very late follow up are needed to better define this finding, its mechanism, how to avoid it, and how to treat it properly

Suicide Attacks or "Martyrdom Operations" in Contemporary Jihad Literature

Martyrdom operations are a factor in contemporary radical Islam. These operations have their roots in classical jihad literature, but fundamentally are a by-product of widespread frustration and perceived humiliations on the part of Muslims. The attacks of 11 September 2001 are rooted within this tradition

Multi-Method Self-Training: Improving Code Generation With Text, And Vice Versa

Large Language Models have many methods for solving the same problem. This introduces novel strengths (different methods may work well for different problems) and weaknesses (it may be difficult for users to know which method to use). In this paper, we introduce Multi-Method Self-Training (MMST), where one method is trained on the filtered outputs of another, allowing us to augment the strengths and ameliorate the weaknesses of each method. Using a 176B parameter model trained on both language and code, we show that MMST can 1) improve the less performant method (up to 30%) making the model easier to use, 2) improve the more performant method (up to 32.2%) making the model more performant, and 3) improve the performance of related but distinct tasks (up to 10.3%) by improving the ability of the model to generate rationales. We then conduct ablation analyses to explore why MMST works. We show that MMST generates more data than traditional self-training, but the improvement in performance is driven by the use of multiple methods. We also analyze prompt-engineering and anti-correlated performance between methods as means of making MMST more effective. We hope the evidence from our paper motivates machine learning researchers to explore ways in which advances in language models allow for new forms of training.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure

Some Aspects of Higher Continued Fractions

We investigate some properties of the higher continued fractions defined recently by Musiker, Ovenhouse, Schiffler, and Zhang. We prove that the maps defining the higher continued fractions are increasing continuous functions on the positive real numbers. We also investigate some asymptotics of these maps

Seamless Wireless Connection Switching on a Mobile Device

This publication describes techniques and methods to provide a seamless switch from one wireless network to another wireless network on a mobile device. The described techniques and methods include an on-device application capable of switching wireless networks (network manager) that leverages a hardware capability present in wireless chipsets allowing for a seamless switch from one wireless network to another. The hardware capability includes a chipset handling two concurrent wireless connections (e.g., a first (default) network connection and a second network connection) on different networks. If the quality of the first network connection deteriorates, the device can evaluate and connect to a second network. If the network manager decides the second network is a better connection, it will make the second network the new default network. The first network can stay connected until all ongoing transfers utilizing the first network have been completed. This switch will not use the cellular network during the transition and will decrease disruption for the user