Morgan André
In 2018, Ferrari et al. wrote a paper called "Phase Transition for Infinite Systems of Spiking Neurons" in which they introduced a continuous time stochastic model of interacting neurons. This model has a parameter γ, corresponding to the rate of the leaking times of the neurons and, as the title says, it was proven there to present a phase transition phenomenon with respect to this γ. Here we prove that this model also exhibit a metastable behavior. By this we mean that if γ is small enough, then the re-normalized time of extinction converges toward an exponential random variable of mean 1 as the number of neurons goes to infinity.
The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (RIDC NeuroMat) has sustained an ongoing project for the development of new strategies of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This project involves the development of several tools and equipments, and is mostly informed by basic questions on how to model brain functioning.
Saeideh Arsalani, Soudabeh Arsalani, Yaser Hadadian, Diego Ronaldo Thomaz Sampaio, Oswaldo Baffa, Theo Zeferino Pavan and Antonio Adilton Oliveira Carneiro
The shear wave dispersion magneto-motive ultrasound (SDMMUS) method was recently developed to analyze the mechanical properties of a viscoelastic medium. This technique is based on the interaction of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with an external magnetic field to generate a shear wave within the medium labeled with MNPs. The propagation of this wave provides information about viscoelastic properties of the medium. In the previous work Arsalani et al. magnetite NPs were synthesized by co-precipitation method coated with natural rubber latex (NRL). In order to investigate the effect of NRL on the size and magnetization of MNPs, different amount of NRL, 0 μL, 100 μL, and 800 μL of a stock solution of NRL, were used during the synthesis process. The results showed that MNPs prepared with 800 μL of NRL, named as MNPs-800NRL, had the smallest size and highest magnetization. In the present paper, the main goal is to investigate if the MNPs-800NRL having the highest magnetization is also the best option for SDMMUS experiments among the others. All experiments were performed using gelatin tissue mimicking phantoms labeled with the aforementioned MNPs. Two factors including core size and magnetization were considered and based on the observed results the effect of magnetization was more prominent than the core size on the induced displacements. MNPs coated with a thicker NRL shell having the highest magnetization value enhanced the sensitivity and signal to noise ratio in SDMMUS. Different concentrations of this optimized MNPs were also examined to investigate the lowest possible concentration for observing shear waves in the SDMMUS technique.
The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (RIDC NeuroMat) released its sixth report of activities in August. The report comprises activities in research, innovation and dissemination from January to August, 2019. The RIDC NeuroMat was created in 2013 by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and is coordinated by Antonio Galves.
Bia Lima Ramalho, Maria Luíza Rangel, Ana Carolina Schmaedeke, Fátima Smith Erthal and Claudia D. Vargas
Unilateral brachial plexus injury (BPI) impairs sensory and motor functions of the upper limb. This study aimed to map in detail brachial plexus sensory impairment both in the injured and the uninjured upper limb. Touch sensation was measured through Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments at the autonomous regions of the brachial plexus nerves, hereafter called points of exclusive innervation (PEIs). Seventeen BPI patients (31.35 years±6.9 SD) and 14 age-matched healthy controls (27.57 years±5.8 SD) were tested bilaterally at six selected PEIs (axillary, musculocutaneous, median, radial, ulnar, and medial antebrachial cutaneous [MABC]). As expected, the comparison between the control group and the brachial plexus patients' injured limb showed a robust difference for all PEIs (p ≤ 0.001).
