A wireless 64-channel ECoG recording electronic for implantable monitoring and BCI applications: WIMAGINE

A wireless, low power, 64-channel data acquisition system named WIMAGINE has been designed for ElectroCorticoGram (ECoG) recording. This system is based on a custom integrated circuit (ASIC) for amplification and digitization on 64 channels. It allows the RF transmission (in the MICS band) of 32 ECoG recording channels (among 64 channels available) sampled at 1 kHz per channel with a 12-bit resolution. The device is powered wirelessly through an inductive link at 13.56 MHz able to provide 100mW (30mA at 3.3V). This integration is a first step towards an implantable device for brain activity monitoring and Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) applications. The main features of the WIMAGINE platform and its architecture will be presented, as well as its performances and in vivo studies.

A wireless multichannel EEG recording platform

A wireless multichannel data acquisition system is being designed for ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) recording. The system is based on a custom integrated circuit (ASIC) for signal conditioning, amplification and digitization and also on commercial components for RF transmission. It supports the RF transmission of a 32-channel EEG recording sampled at 1 kHz with a 12-bit resolution. The RF communication uses the MICS band (Medical Implant Communication Service) at 402-405 Mhz. This integration is a first step towards a lightweight EEG cap for Brain Computer Interface (BCI) studies. Here, we present the platform architecture and its submodules. In vivo validations are presented with noise characterization and wireless data transfer measurements.

Vanadium haloperoxidases from brown algae of the Laminariaceae family

Vanadium haloperoxidases were extracted, purified and characterized from three different species of Laminariaceae--Laminaria saccharina (Linné) Lamouroux, Laminaria hyperborea (Gunner) Foslie and Laminaria ochroleuca de la Pylaie. Two different forms of the vanadium haloperoxidases were purified from L. saccharina and L. hyperborea and one form from L. ochroleuca species. Reconstitution experiments in the presence of several metal ions showed that only vanadium(V) completely restored the enzymes activity. The stability of some enzymes in mixtures of buffer solution and several organic solvents such as acetone, ethanol, methanol and 1-propanol was noteworthy; for instance, after 30 days at least 40% of the initial activity for some isoforms remained in mixtures of 3:1 buffer solution/organic solvent. The enzymes were also moderately thermostable, keeping full activity up to 40 degrees C. Some preliminary steady-state kinetic studies were performed and apparent Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters were determined for the substrates iodide and hydrogen peroxide. Histochemical studies were also performed in fresh tissue sections from stipe and blade of L. hyperborea and L. saccharina, showing that haloperoxidase activity was concentrated in the external cortex near the cuticle, although some activity was also observed in the inner cortical region.

Antibiotic resistance as a stress response: complete sequencing of a large number of chromosomal loci in Staphylococcus aureus strain COL that impact on the expression of resistance to methicillin

Tn551 inactivation has identified several determinants--fem or auxiliary genes--that, in addition to the mecA gene, are also critical for the expression of high-level and homogeneous resistance to methicillin. Genetic and/or biochemical analysis has shown that of the nearly dozen aux mutations described so far most are in genes involved in cell wall synthesis (murE, pbp2, glmM, glnR, femA/B, llm, etc.) or in complex regulatory functions (sigmaB), suggesting that optimal expression of resistance may involve the cooperative functioning of a number of genes in cell wall metabolism as well as stress response. The exact mechanism of these functions is not known. In an attempt to explore this unusual aspect of methicillin resistance more fully, a Tn551 transposon library, constructed in the background of the highly and homogeneously methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain COL, was screened for all independent insertional mutants in which the level of methicillin resistance of the parental strain (MIC, 1,600 microg/ml) was reduced by at least 15-fold and up to 500-fold. We now describe the sequencing of 21 Tn551-inactivated genes and their vicinities in 23 new auxiliary mutants that have been studied before. Using the inverted polymerase chain reaction (IPCR), we amplified fragments corresponding to the right and left junction of the Tn551 insertions, which were then sequenced by primer walking. The two largest groups of these new auxiliary genes encoded either proteins of unknown functions (6 genes) or showed homology with genes encoding proteins involved with putative sensory/regulatory activities (7 genes: protein kinases, ABC transporters, and a catabolite control protein). Sequencing upstream and downstream allowed the identification of a number of additional open reading frames, some of which may also include functions relevant for the expression of antibiotic resistance.