Fractal temporal organisation of motricity is altered in major depression.

OBJECTIVE: Motor changes in major depression (MD) may represent potential markers of treatment response. Physiological rhythms (heart rate/gait cycle/hand movements) have been recently shown to be neither random nor regular but to display a fractal temporal organisation, possibly reflecting a unique central "internal clock" control. Sleep and mood circadian rhythm modifications observed in MD also suggest a role for this "internal clock". We set out to examine the fractal pattern of motor activity in MD. METHODS: Ten depressed patients (46±20 years) and ten age- and gender-matched healthy controls (48±21 years) underwent a 6-h ambulatory monitoring of spontaneous hand activity with a validated wireless device. Fractal scaling exponent (α) was analysed. An α value close to 1 means the pattern is fractal. RESULTS: Healthy controls displayed a fractal pattern of spontaneous motor hand activity (α: 1.0±0.1), whereas depressed patients showed an alteration of that pattern (α:1.2±0.15, p<0.01), towards a smoother organisation. CONCLUSION: The alteration of fractal pattern of hand activity by depression further supports the role of a central internal clock in the temporal organisation of movements. This novel way of studying motor changes in depression might have an important role in the detection of endophenotypes and potential predictors of treatment response.

Spatial and temporal variability of crop yield and some Rhodic Hapludox properties under no-tillage

Soil properties are closely related with crop production and spite of the measures implemented, spatial variation has been repeatedly observed and described. Identifying and describing spatial variations of soil properties and their effects on crop yield can be a powerful decision-making tool in specific land management systems. The objective of this research was to characterize the spatial and temporal variations in crop yield and chemical and physical properties of a Rhodic Hapludox soil under no-tillage. The studied area of 3.42 ha had been cultivated since 1985 under no-tillage crop rotation in summer and winter. Yield and soil property were sampled in a regular 10 x 10 m grid, with 302 sample points. Yields of several crops were analyzed (soybean, maize, triticale, hyacinth bean and castor bean) as well as soil chemical (pH, Soil Organic Matter (SOM), P, Ca2+, Mg2+, H + Al, B, Fe, Mn, Zn, CEC, sum of bases (SB), and base saturation (V %)) and soil physical properties (saturated hydraulic conductivity, texture, density, total porosity, and mechanical penetration resistance). Data were analyzed using geostatistical analysis procedures and maps based on interpolation by kriging. Great variation in crop yields was observed in the years evaluated. The yield values in the Northern region of the study area were high in some years. Crop yields and some physical and soil chemical properties were spatially correlated.

Resting-state temporal synchronization networks emerge from connectivity topology and heterogeneity.

Spatial patterns of coherent activity across different brain areas have been identified during the resting-state fluctuations of the brain. However, recent studies indicate that resting-state activity is not stationary, but shows complex temporal dynamics. We were interested in the spatiotemporal dynamics of the phase interactions among resting-state fMRI BOLD signals from human subjects. We found that the global phase synchrony of the BOLD signals evolves on a characteristic ultra-slow (<0.01Hz) time scale, and that its temporal variations reflect the transient formation and dissolution of multiple communities of synchronized brain regions. Synchronized communities reoccurred intermittently in time and across scanning sessions. We found that the synchronization communities relate to previously defined functional networks known to be engaged in sensory-motor or cognitive function, called resting-state networks (RSNs), including the default mode network, the somato-motor network, the visual network, the auditory network, the cognitive control networks, the self-referential network, and combinations of these and other RSNs. We studied the mechanism originating the observed spatiotemporal synchronization dynamics by using a network model of phase oscillators connected through the brain's anatomical connectivity estimated using diffusion imaging human data. The model consistently approximates the temporal and spatial synchronization patterns of the empirical data, and reveals that multiple clusters that transiently synchronize and desynchronize emerge from the complex topology of anatomical connections, provided that oscillators are heterogeneous.

BIO-INSPIRED COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO THE CLUSTERING AND VISUALIZATION OF SPATIO-TEMPORAL GEOSPATIAL DATA

The coverage and volume of geo-referenced datasets are extensive and incessantly¦growing. The systematic capture of geo-referenced information generates large volumes¦of spatio-temporal data to be analyzed. Clustering and visualization play a key¦role in the exploratory data analysis and the extraction of knowledge embedded in¦these data. However, new challenges in visualization and clustering are posed when¦dealing with the special characteristics of this data. For instance, its complex structures,¦large quantity of samples, variables involved in a temporal context, high dimensionality¦and large variability in cluster shapes.¦The central aim of my thesis is to propose new algorithms and methodologies for¦clustering and visualization, in order to assist the knowledge extraction from spatiotemporal¦geo-referenced data, thus improving making decision processes.¦I present two original algorithms, one for clustering: the Fuzzy Growing Hierarchical¦Self-Organizing Networks (FGHSON), and the second for exploratory visual data analysis:¦the Tree-structured Self-organizing Maps Component Planes. In addition, I present¦methodologies that combined with FGHSON and the Tree-structured SOM Component¦Planes allow the integration of space and time seamlessly and simultaneously in¦order to extract knowledge embedded in a temporal context.¦The originality of the FGHSON lies in its capability to reflect the underlying structure¦of a dataset in a hierarchical fuzzy way. A hierarchical fuzzy representation of¦clusters is crucial when data include complex structures with large variability of cluster¦shapes, variances, densities and number of clusters. The most important characteristics¦of the FGHSON include: (1) It does not require an a-priori setup of the number¦of clusters. (2) The algorithm executes several self-organizing processes in parallel.¦Hence, when dealing with large datasets the processes can be distributed reducing the¦computational cost. (3) Only three parameters are necessary to set up the algorithm.¦In the case of the Tree-structured SOM Component Planes, the novelty of this algorithm¦lies in its ability to create a structure that allows the visual exploratory data analysis¦of large high-dimensional datasets. This algorithm creates a hierarchical structure¦of Self-Organizing Map Component Planes, arranging similar variables' projections in¦the same branches of the tree. Hence, similarities on variables' behavior can be easily¦detected (e.g. local correlations, maximal and minimal values and outliers).¦Both FGHSON and the Tree-structured SOM Component Planes were applied in¦several agroecological problems proving to be very efficient in the exploratory analysis¦and clustering of spatio-temporal datasets.¦In this thesis I also tested three soft competitive learning algorithms. Two of them¦well-known non supervised soft competitive algorithms, namely the Self-Organizing¦Maps (SOMs) and the Growing Hierarchical Self-Organizing Maps (GHSOMs); and the¦third was our original contribution, the FGHSON. Although the algorithms presented¦here have been used in several areas, to my knowledge there is not any work applying¦and comparing the performance of those techniques when dealing with spatiotemporal¦geospatial data, as it is presented in this thesis.¦I propose original methodologies to explore spatio-temporal geo-referenced datasets¦through time. Our approach uses time windows to capture temporal similarities and¦variations by using the FGHSON clustering algorithm. The developed methodologies¦are used in two case studies. In the first, the objective was to find similar agroecozones¦through time and in the second one it was to find similar environmental patterns¦shifted in time.¦Several results presented in this thesis have led to new contributions to agroecological¦knowledge, for instance, in sugar cane, and blackberry production.¦Finally, in the framework of this thesis we developed several software tools: (1)¦a Matlab toolbox that implements the FGHSON algorithm, and (2) a program called¦BIS (Bio-inspired Identification of Similar agroecozones) an interactive graphical user¦interface tool which integrates the FGHSON algorithm with Google Earth in order to¦show zones with similar agroecological characteristics.

Spatial, temporal and subcellular localization of islet-brain 1 (IB1), a homologue of JIP-1, in mouse brain.

Islet-brain 1 (IB1) was recently identified as a DNA-binding protein of the GLUT2 gene promoter. The mouse IB1 is the rat and human homologue of the Jun-interacting protein 1 (JIP-1) which has been recognized as a key player in the regulation of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. JIP-1 is involved in the control of apoptosis and may play a role in brain development and aging. Here, IB1 was studied in adult and developing mouse brain tissue by in situ hybridization, Northern and Western blot analysis at cellular and subcellular levels, as well as by immunocytochemistry in brain sections and cell cultures. IB1 expression was localized in the synaptic regions of the olfactory bulb, retina, cerebral and cerebellar cortex and hippocampus in the adult mouse brain. IB1 was also detected in a restricted number of axons, as in the mossy fibres from dentate gyrus in the hippocampus, and was found in soma, dendrites and axons of cerebellar Purkinje cells. After birth, IB1 expression peaks at postnatal day 15. IB1 was located in axonal and dendritic growth cones in primary telencephalon cells. By biochemical and subcellular fractionation of neuronal cells, IB1 was detected both in the cytosolic and membrane fractions. Taken together with previous data, the restricted neuronal expression of IB1 in developing and adult brain and its prominent localization in synapses suggest that the protein may be critical for cell signalling in developing and mature nerve terminals.

Temporal variability of soil water content under different surface conditions in the semiarid region of the Pernambuco state

Rainfall in the semiarid region of Pernambuco is characterized by irregular distribution in time and space, which significantly hinders the rainfed agriculture in the region. This work aims to evaluate the temporal profile of soil moisture in the semiarid region of the Pernambuco State (Brazil) and the effect of different soil surface conditions on soil water content variation and the yield of rainfed beans. To monitor soil water content, five plots 4.5 m wide by 11 m long were installed in a Yellow Argisol (Ultisol). The following treatments were adopted in the experimental plots: natural vegetation, bean intercropped with cactus, beans planted down the slope, beans planted along contour lines with mulch and rock barriers, and bare soil. In each plot, eight PVC access tubes were installed for monitoring the soil water content profile at depths of 0.20 and 0.40 m using a neutron probe device. The surface condition significantly influenced the soil water content variation, both in the dry and rainy seasons. The use of mulch, associated with rock barriers, provided higher soil water content levels than the other treatments and increased the rainfed beans production.

Estabilidade temporal do conteúdo de água em três condições de uso do solo, em uma bacia hidrográfica da região da Serra da Mantiqueira, MG

A descrição de processos hidrológicos é relativamente complexa, principalmente da variação do conteúdo de água no solo, devido à influência de fatores edáficos, topográficos, climáticos e de vegetação. Em condições de campo, a estimativa do conteúdo de água no solo requer um plano de amostragem adequado, considerando as variações no tempo e no espaço. Visando representar adequadamente o conteúdo de água no solo com reduzido esforço amostral e custo, o conceito de estabilidade temporal tem sido muitas vezes empregado. Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de analisar a estabilidade temporal do conteúdo de água na camada superficial do solo (0-0,20 m de profundidade), sob diferentes usos do solo, em uma bacia hidrográfica experimental da região da Serra da Mantiqueira, Minas Gerais, nos períodos de estiagem e chuvoso, estimando os pontos mais representativos para essa determinação. Houve maior estabilidade temporal do conteúdo de água no solo na área de vegetação de várzea, menor na área ocupada por Mata Atlântica e intermediária na área de pastagem. Ocorreram, também, variações significativas da diferença relativa média entre os períodos de medição, concluindo-se que as características de cada área devem ser consideradas particularmente para escolha dos pontos. Na área de pastagem, foi possível identificar apenas um ponto para monitoramento tanto para o período chuvoso como para o de estiagem. Por outro lado, nas áreas de Mata Atlântica e vegetação de várzea foram identificados dois pontos, sendo um especificamente para o período chuvoso e outro para o período de estiagem, sendo recomendada uma análise individual específica para cada estação.

Unusual fatal petrositis presenting as myofascial pain and dysfunction of the temporal muscle.

Petrositis is a rare and severe complication of acute otitis media and mastoiditis. Although the extension of the inflammatory process from the petrous apex to the adjacent Meckel cave can lead to trigeminal pain, an irritation of the trigeminal nerve roots resulting in acute or chronic hyperactivity of masticatory muscles has never been reported. We report here the unusual case of an 86-year-old man who presented with a handicapping myofascial pain and dysfunction syndrome of the right temporal muscle as a heralding manifestation of an unusual form of petrositis. The patient progressively developed a retropharyngeal abscess, a right sphenoid sinusitis, and fatal meningitis. This case demonstrated that (1) myofascial pain and dysfunction syndrome that does not respond to conventional treatments may suggest an unusual etiology and warrant further medical investigations and a detailed medical history and that (2) petrositis can manifest itself with atypical clinical symptoms and radiologic signs. (Quintessence Int 2011;42:419-422).

Temporal distribution and magnitude of the vulnerability period around stroke depend on stroke subtype.

Background: We aimed to analyze the rate and time distribution of pre- and post-morbid cerebrovascular events in a single ischemic stroke population, and whether these depend on the etiology of the index stroke. Methods: In 2,203 consecutive patients admitted to a single stroke center registry (ASTRAL), the ischemic stroke that led to admission was considered the index event. Frequency distribution and cumulative relative distribution graphs of the most recent and first recurrent event (ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, intracranial or subarachnoid hemorrhage) were drawn in weekly and daily intervals for all strokes and for all stroke types. Results: The frequency of events at identical time points before and after the index stroke was mostly reduced in the first week after (vs. before) stroke (1.0 vs. 4.2%, p < 0.001) and the first month (2.7 vs. 7.4%, p < 0.001), and then ebbed over the first year (8.4 vs. 13.1%, p < 0.001). On daily basis, the peak frequency was noticed at day -1 (1.6%) with a reduction to 0.7% on the index day and 0.17% 24 h after. The event rate in patients with atherosclerotic stroke was particularly high around the index event, but 1-year cumulative recurrence rate was similar in all stroke types. Conclusions: We confirm a short window of increased vulnerability in ischemic stroke and show a 4-, 3- and 2-fold reduction in post-stroke events at 1 week, 1 month and 1 year, respectively, compared to identical pre-stroke periods. This break in the 'stroke wave' is particularly striking after atherosclerotic and lacunar strokes.

A temporal hierarchy for conspecific vocalization discrimination in humans.

The ability to discriminate conspecific vocalizations is observed across species and early during development. However, its neurophysiologic mechanism remains controversial, particularly regarding whether it involves specialized processes with dedicated neural machinery. We identified spatiotemporal brain mechanisms for conspecific vocalization discrimination in humans by applying electrical neuroimaging analyses to auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) in response to acoustically and psychophysically controlled nonverbal human and animal vocalizations as well as sounds of man-made objects. AEP strength modulations in the absence of topographic modulations are suggestive of statistically indistinguishable brain networks. First, responses were significantly stronger, but topographically indistinguishable to human versus animal vocalizations starting at 169-219 ms after stimulus onset and within regions of the right superior temporal sulcus and superior temporal gyrus. This effect correlated with another AEP strength modulation occurring at 291-357 ms that was localized within the left inferior prefrontal and precentral gyri. Temporally segregated and spatially distributed stages of vocalization discrimination are thus functionally coupled and demonstrate how conventional views of functional specialization must incorporate network dynamics. Second, vocalization discrimination is not subject to facilitated processing in time, but instead lags more general categorization by approximately 100 ms, indicative of hierarchical processing during object discrimination. Third, although differences between human and animal vocalizations persisted when analyses were performed at a single-object level or extended to include additional (man-made) sound categories, at no latency were responses to human vocalizations stronger than those to all other categories. Vocalization discrimination transpires at times synchronous with that of face discrimination but is not functionally specialized.

Spatial variation in the temporal change of male and female melanic ornamentation in the barn owl.

Because the magnitude of selection can vary between sexes and in space and time, sexually antagonistic selection is difficult to demonstrate. In a Swiss population of barn owls (Tyto alba), a heritable eumelanic colour trait (size of black spots on ventral feathers) was positively selected with respect to yearling survival only in females. It remains unclear whether the absence of negative selection in males is typical in this species. To tackle this issue indirectly, we measured the size of black spots in 1733 skin specimens collected by museums from 1816 to 2001 in seven European countries and in the Middle-East. The temporal change in spot size was sex- and country-specific. In males, spots became smaller particularly in three countries (Middle-East, Italy and Switzerland). In females, the size of spots increased significantly in two countries (UK and Spain) and decreased in two others (Germany and Switzerland). Because migration and phenotypic plasticity cannot explain these results, selection is the most likely cause. The weaker temporal change in spot size in females than males may be because of the combined effect of strong genetic correlation between the sexes and stronger negative selection in males than positive selection in females. We thus suggest that in the barn owl, spot size (or genetically correlated traits) is sexually antagonistically selected and that its pattern of selection may account for the maintenance of its variation and sexual dimorphism.

Front dynamics in the presence of spatio-temporal structured noises

Front dynamics modeled by a reaction-diffusion equation are studied under the influence of spatiotemporal structured noises. An effective deterministic model is analytical derived where the noise parameters, intensity, correlation time, and correlation length appear explicitly. The different effects of these parameters are discussed for the Ginzburg-Landau and Schlögl models. We obtain an analytical expression for the front velocity as a function of the noise parameters. Numerical simulation results are in a good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Estabilidade temporal e variabilidade espacial da distribuição da armazenagem de água no solo numa sucessão feijão/aveia-preta

A armazenagem de água no solo é muito variável no tempo e no espaço devido à influência de vários fatores ambientais e topográficos. Objetivou-se neste estudo: quantificar a armazenagem de água no solo; avaliar sua estabilidade temporal e sua variabilidade espacial em um local próximo e outro distante do sistema radicular numa sucessão feijão/aveia-preta; e constatar sua variabilidade espacial em função do relevo. Em área experimental de 1.500 m², situada em Piracicaba-SP (latitude de 22° 42' 30" S, longitude de 47° 38' 00" W e 546 m de altitude), estabeleceram-se 60 pontos de amostragem, distanciados entre si de 5 m, numa grade de 10 por 6 pontos (50 x 30 m). Os valores da armazenagem de água no solo apresentaram comportamento-padrão para o solo estudado, com valores maiores em profundidade do que na camada mais superficial. Houve maior estabilidade temporal da armazenagem de água no solo durante o período chuvoso, porém na fase de secagem do solo a estabilidade temporal também foi constatada, mas com valores de coeficiente de correlação mais elevados na camada de 0,0-0,80 m, mostrando que essa estabilidade foi claramente devida à posição topográfica desses pontos, os quais estão localizados na porção mais baixa do relevo. Assim, o ponto 52 foi escolhido como representativo da média na fase de recarga de água no solo em ambas as camadas estudadas, e o ponto 46, na camada superior durante a fase de secagem do solo. A dependência espacial da variabilidade da armazenagem de água no solo foi detectada em ambas as camadas de solo, porém com maior alcance na camada de 0,0-0,40 m, quando houve ocorrência de precipitação. Quando as chuvas cessaram, o alcance foi maior na camada de 0,0-0,80 m. Durante o período chuvoso, o padrão de variabilidade espacial foi muito semelhante em ambas as camadas de solo, com armazenagens maiores na faixa de maior inclinação e depressões do terreno.

Análise espaço-temporal de componentes do balanço hídrico em um Latossolo

O monitoramento das variáveis que constituem a equação do balanço hídrico do solo em campo cultivado é necessário para avaliar com confiabilidade os períodos de déficits hídricos durante o ciclo das culturas, manejar a irrigação e quantificar perdas de nutrientes por lixiviação. Os componentes da equação do balanço hídrico podem variar no espaço e no tempo, e o estudo da estabilidade temporal da variabilidade espacial desses componentes é essencial para determinar quais são os pontos de observação no campo (locais) para monitorar a água do solo com precisão e esforço amostral reduzido. Assim, os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar os componentes do balanço da água (especificamente a variação de armazenamento de água do solo, drenagem interna e evapotranspiração real) de plantas de milho em um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo e analisar a variabilidade espacial e temporal, por meio da técnica de estabilidade temporal. O estudo foi realizado em uma área do Campus da ESALQ/USP, município de Piracicaba, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. O relevo da área experimental, que tem 1.500 m², é plano. Nessa área foram instalados 60 tubos de alumínio para acesso de uma sonda de nêutrons e 120 tensiômetros com manômetro de mercúrio (60 na profundidade de 0,75 m e 60 na profundidade de 0,85 m). Isso permitiu estimar a densidade de fluxo de água do solo na profundidade de 0,80 m por meio da equação de Darcy-Buckingham e o armazenamento de água na camada de 0,0-0,80 m, ao longo do ciclo da cultura. A precipitação pluvial foi medida por meio de um pluviômetro instalado no centro da área experimental, e a evaporação real foi considerada como desconhecida da equação do balanço hídrico. A pesquisa foi realizada dividindo o ciclo de cultivo em 13 períodos (P1 a P13). O uso da estatística descritiva foi feito para evidenciar a variação do comportamento dos dados após a remoção dos pontos discrepantes, que representaram entre 0,0 e 3,9 % dos pontos amostrais por período. O uso da estatística descritiva foi útil por ter apresentado a mudança no comportamento dos dados, após a retirada de valores discrepantes e extremos em alguns períodos. A técnica da estabilidade temporal é viável para avaliação do balanço hídrico no espaço e no tempo. Os coeficientes de correlação de Spearman entre os períodos indicaram estabilidade temporal para a armazenagem da água independentemente do teor de umidade do solo, mas não expressaram confiabilidade para a avaliação da drenagem interna e a evapotranspiração real da cultura. A evapotranspiração oscilou ao longo do ciclo da cultura mantendo-se praticamente constante nos períodos P5 a P9, em que houve maior desenvolvimento vegetativo das plantas.