Review on the Use of Brain Computer Interface Rehabilitation Methods for Treating Mental and Neurological Conditions.

This review provides a comprehensive examination of recent developments in both neurofeedback and brain-computer interface (BCI) within the medical field and rehabilitation. By analyzing and comparing results obtained with various tools and techniques, we aim to offer a systematic understanding of BCI applications concerning different modalities of neurofeedback and input data utilized. Our primary objective is to address the existing gap in the area of meta-reviews, which provides a more comprehensive outlook on the field, allowing for the assessment of the current landscape and developments within the scope of BCI. Our main methodologies include meta-analysis, search queries employing relevant keywords, and a network-based approach. We are dedicated to delivering an unbiased evaluation of BCI studies, elucidating the primary vectors of research development in this field. Our review encompasses a diverse range of applications, incorporating the use of brain-computer interfaces for rehabilitation and the treatment of various diagnoses, including those related to affective spectrum disorders. By encompassing a wide variety of use cases, we aim to offer a more comprehensive perspective on the utilization of neurofeedback treatments across different contexts. The structured and organized presentation of information, complemented by accompanying visualizations and diagrams, renders this review a valuable resource for scientists and researchers engaged in the domains of biofeedback and brain-computer interfaces.

Proteomic analysis of nontuberculous bacteria protein spectra as the element of subtyping of strains.

Background: For the present, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-ToF) mass spectrometry is the fastest and the most correct method for species identification of microorganisms. Apart from species-level identification, it allows to use a variety of approaches for the analysis and comparison of protein spectra of microorganisms of the same species, which are isolated from a patient at various disease states, that can be used in routine microbiological practice in laboratories fitted with mass analyzers. Methods: Two strains of Mycobacterium fortuitum and two strains of Mycobacterium peregrinum were isolated from sputum samples, which were obtained from patients with different clinical aspects of mycobacteriosis, whereat were reinoculated on the universal chromogenic culture medium "UriSelect 4." Further, the MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry method was used, aiming to obtain protein profiles, which were analyzed using the FlexAnalysis 3.0 software package. Results of the statistical proteomic comparison of mass spectra were visualized using MALDI Biotyper 3.0 Offline Classification software. Results: Presented clinical examples demonstrate that strains of the same species, which are isolated from the same patient at different times of infection, change their cultural properties. Dynamic changes in cultural properties are reflected in changes in protein profiles by comparison spectra of isolates at different stages of colonization, which is reflected in the correlation with the clinical condition of the patient. Conclusion: Thus, the mentioned examples of proteomic analysis, using MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry, demonstrate the possibility of subtyping of strains, that are isolated on a universal chromogenic culture medium, in case of detection in the culture signs of population's heterogeneity, based on cultural properties.

Psychophysiological Parameters Predict the Performance of Naive Subjects in Sport Shooting Training.

In this study, we investigated the neural and behavioral mechanisms associated with precision visual-motor control during the learning of sport shooting. We developed an experimental paradigm adapted for naïve individuals and a multisensory experimental paradigm. We showed that in the proposed experimental paradigms, subjects trained well and significantly increased their accuracy. We also identified several psycho-physiological parameters that were associated with shooting outcomes, including EEG biomarkers. In particular, we observed an increase in head-averaged delta and right temporal alpha EEG power before missing shots, as well as a negative correlation between theta-band energies in the frontal and central brain regions and shooting success. Our findings suggest that the multimodal analysis approach has the potential to be highly informative in studying the complex processes involved in visual-motor control learning and may be useful for optimizing training processes.

Evaluation of possibility of cultivation of acid resistant bacteria on solid egg-based and agar cultural media.

Background: The increase in the number of patients at risk for opportunistic infections caused by rare bacteria, which include individual representatives of acid-resistant bacteria (ARB), is a serious problem in modern health care. Significant difficulties in the etiological diagnosis of mycobacteriosis, nocardiosis, and actinomycosis are associated not only with the problem of identifying the main pathogens but also with certain difficulties in isolating pathogens from biological material. Methods: The research provides data on 402 strains of ARB, which were isolated from various biological materials obtained from patients during examination for tuberculosis. All samples of biological material were negative on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The isolates were identified on the MALDI-ToF mass spectrometer. The cultural characteristics of ARB were evaluated on the solid Löwenstein-Jensen egg-based culture media, universal chromogenic media, and 5% blood agar with lamb blood. Results: The studies carried out indicate the possibility of culturing ARB representatives on agar media. At the same time, based on the comparison of the growth properties of ARB, it was found that the universal chromogenic media provides more acceptable conditions for the isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) compared to blood agar. The comparison of the growth rate of bacteria did not reveal significant differences for fastly growing NTM. For slowly growing species, the growth rate on blood agar was lower than on chromogenic media and on the Löwenstein-Jensen media. Conclusion: Thus, the use of a universal chromogenic media during incubation makes it possible to isolate and preidentify representatives of the ARB under the conditions of standard operating procedures of the microbiological laboratory.

Application of chromogenic media for preliminary identification of acid-resistant bacteria.

Background: The variety of morphological and cultural characteristics of acid-resistant bacteria (ARB) makes it possible to use microscopy and estimate the growth rate and pigment formation when cultivating on solid egg media for preliminary identification only as additional indicative methods. It is necessary to develop new approaches for the cultivation and primary identification of ARB isolated from the biological material. It will allow to obtain data on the prevalence, structure, epidemiological, and clinical features of infectious processes caused by opportunistic ARB. Methods: Three hundred and sixty strains of ARB were isolated from the various biological materials obtained from the patients during the examination for tuberculosis. All biological material samples were negative on Mycobacteria tuberculosis complex. Species identification of all bacteria was performed by matrix-assisted lazer desorption/ion-ization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The cultural characteristics of ARB were evaluated on a universal chromogenic media. As a selective additive, a mixture of bacitracin and polymyxin sulfate which had no effect on ARB was tested to suppress concomitant Gram-positive and Gram-negative microflora. Results: Cultural characteristics were identified and described for all tested representatives of fast-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), as well as for all types of nocardia, gordonia, and streptomycetes. Representatives of other genera of ARB on a universal chromogenic media gave meager growth or did not show it at all. When inoculated on a universal chromogenic media with a selective addition, 100% of the strains from the ARB group showed abundant or moderate growth. Incubation time for fast-growing species was up to 7 days; for slow-growing species, it was up to 28 days. Concomitant control strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria on universal chromogenic media with selective growth additive did not show the growth. Conclusions: The use of a universal chromogenic media allows to preliminarily identify NTM and other ARB by cultural characteristics. The addition of bacitracin and polymyxin sulfate does not reduce the growth properties of ARB, which can be used when working with both biological materials and for the isolation of pure ARB cultures from mixtures with other bacteria.

Reduction of amputations of frostbitten limbs by treatment using microwave rewarming.

Drug treatment of limb frostbite injuries is complicated due to the poor delivery of medications to affected tissues. External rewarming of the frostbitten area is risky and does not always result in positive outcomes because the dilatation of superficial vessels with constricted deep vessels can lead to irreversible damage, necrosis, and amputation. One of the techniques to restore perfusion of deep vessels in an affected extremity is rewarming with low-power microwave radiation in a specially designed metal chamber. Below are findings following treatment of 14 volunteers with this technique in 2 Tomsk hospitals during winters of 2018-2021. It is demonstrated that timely, i.e. in the early reactive period, application of microwave radiation and appropriate supportive drug treatment results in positive amputation-free outcomes. The key requirement is prompt thermal insulation of the trauma and no prior exposure to external heat sources.

Microwave Treatment of Cold Injuries.

In spite of the fact that extremity frostbites are a widespread type of injuries in many countries, specialized equipment for frostbite treatment is lacking. Treatment is carried out by conservative methods. The best results are obtained by using thermal isolation of injured tissues and activation of internal warming. It is proposed to initiate deep warming of frostbitten extremities on exposure to low-power microwave radiation. A microwave chamber has been developed to implement this technique. The efficiency of the approach was earlier demonstrated on animals. An example is given of successful treatment of a cold injury of patient hands and feet that allowed amputation to be avoided.

Multilayer PZT 95/5 Antiferroelectric Film Energy Storage Devices with Giant Power Density.

A new type of energy storage devices utilizing multilayer Pb(Zr0.95 Ti0.05 )0.98 Nb0.02 O3 films is studied experimentally and numerically. To release the stored energy, the multilayer ferroelectric structures are subjected to adiabatic compression perpendicular to the polarization direction. Obtained results indicate that electrical interference between layers (10-120 layers) during stress wave transit through the structures has an effect on the generated current waveforms, but no impact on the released electric charge. The multilayer films undergo a pressure-induced phase transition to antiferroelectric phase at 1.7 GPa adiabatic compression and become completely depolarized, releasing surface screening charge with density equal to their remnant polarization. An energy density of 3 J cm-3 is successfully achieved with giant power density on the order of 2 MW cm-3 , which is four orders of magnitude higher than that of any other type of energy storage device. The outputs of multilayer structures can be precisely controlled by the parameters of the ferroelectric layer and the number of layers. Multilayer film modules with a volume of 0.7 cm3 are capable of producing 2.4 kA current, not achievable in electrochemical capacitors or batteries, which will greatly enhance the miniaturization and integration requirements for emerging high-power applications.

The EEG Activity during Binocular Depth Perception of 2D Images.

The central brain functions underlying a stereoscopic vision were a subject of numerous studies investigating the cortical activity during binocular perception of depth. However, the stereo vision is less explored as a function promoting the cognitive processes of the brain. In this work, we investigated a cortical activity during the cognitive task consisting of binocular viewing of a false image which is observed when the eyes are refocused out of the random-dot stereogram plane (3D phenomenon). The power of cortical activity before and after the onset of the false image perception was assessed using the scull EEG recording. We found that during stereo perception of the false image the power of alpha-band activity decreased in the left parietal area and bilaterally in frontal areas of the cortex, while activity in beta-1, beta-2, and delta frequency bands remained to be unchanged. We assume that this suppression of alpha rhythm is presumably associated with increased attention necessary for refocusing the eyes at the plane of the false image.

Ultrahigh energy density harvested from domain-engineered relaxor ferroelectric single crystals under high strain rate loading.

Relaxor ferroelectric single crystals have triggered revolution in electromechanical systems due to their superior piezoelectric properties. Here the results are reported on experimental studies of energy harvested from (1-y-x)Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-(y)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-(x)PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT) crystals under high strain rate loading. Precise control of ferroelectric properties through composition, size and crystallographic orientation of domains made it possible to identify single crystals that release up to three times more electric charge density than that produced by PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT 52/48) and PbZr0.95Ti0.05O3 (PZT 95/5) ferroelectric ceramics under identical loading conditions. The obtained results indicate that PIN-PMN-PT crystals became completely depolarized under 3.9 GPa compression. It was found that the energy density generated in the crystals during depolarization in the high voltage mode is four times higher than that for PZT 52/48 and 95/5. The obtained results promise new single crystal applications in ultrahigh-power transducers that are capable of producing hundreds kilovolt pulses and gigawatt-peak power microwave radiation.