Behavioural effects in mice orally exposed to domoic acid or ibotenic acid are influenced by developmental stages and sex differences

The structure of the brain is dramatically altered during the critical period. Physiological substances (neurotransmitters, hormones, etc.) in the body fluctuate significantly before and after sexual maturation. Therefore, the effect of chemical exposure on the central nervous system often differs depending on the developmental stage and sex. We aimed to compare the behavioural effects that emerged from the administration of chemicals to mice of different life stages (immature or mature) and different sex (male or female). We administered mice with domoic acid (DA), a marine poison, and ibotenic acid (IA), found in poisonous mushrooms. These excitatory amino acids act as agonists for glutamate and are potent neurotoxins. Interestingly, the behavioural effects of these chemicals were completely different. Following DA administration, we observed memory deficits only in groups of male mice treated at maturity. Following IA administration, we observed deviations in emotional behaviour in groups of male mice treated at both immaturity and maturity. In contrast, few characteristic changes were detected in all groups of females. Our results support the theory that the behavioural effects of chemical administration vary considerably with developmental stages and sex. In conclusion, our findings promote better understanding of individual differences in excitatory chemical-induced neurotoxicity and provide evidence for future risk strategies and treatments.

iSignDB: A database for smartphone signature biometrics

The signature has long been in use for the user verification. These signatures have user specific features that differentiate the individual for authentication. The signature verification can be offline or online. The offline verification considers only the static features of the signatures through the signature image, while the online verification considers various dynamic features associated with the signature such as pen pressure, pen tilt angle, velocity, acceleration, pen up and pen down, etc at various time stamps which are recorded using special digitizing tablets such as Wacom devices (STU-500, STU-530 and DTU-1031) [1,14] etc. In todays scenario, smartphones are widely used world-wide, and come equipped with various sensors e.g. accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, GPS, etc. able to capture sensor logs and have been used widely in the literature to capture the dynamics of users' behaviour while a signer signs on his smartphone. However, there is scarcity of publicly available databases for the online signatures collected using smartphone. In the present work, we describe biometric signature dataset iSignDB captured using smartphone. The iSignDB [6,10] consists of the genuine signature samples of a user as well as the skilled forgery samples where imposter was given multiple attempts to mimic the mannerisms of the original signer before giving skilled forgery samples. A total of 30 samples towards the genuine signature over 3 sessions with 10 samples per session while 15 samples of the skilled forgery with 5 samples per session were collected. Each of the session were at least 15 days apart. The iOS and Android based smartphones (namely iPhone7 and Redmi Note 7) were used for the data collection. The sensors used to collect this data, present in the smartphone are the gyroscope, magnetometer, GPS, and accelerometer. Smartphones having sensors any one lesser than these four, were not used for data collection, in order to have consistent number of features under each sample. They generate the following sensor readings: angular velocity, acceleration, orientation, geomagnetic field in the x, y, and z directions, position, which is collected using the MATLAB Mobile App installed in the smartphone, that sends the data to a licensed MathWorks cloud account in the form of a multitude of sensor logs. Each sample has image of the signature along with sensor readings. Some of the publicly available smartphone biometric signature databases are DooDB [2], MOBISIG [3], eBioSign DS 2 [7], etc. in which at least acceleration sensor reading is present but the iSignDB ensures these five of the sensor readings (acceleration, angular velocity, magnetic field, orientation, position) under each sample. This dataset can be successfully used to design smartphone biometric signature authentication system which is robust against a number of spoof attacks [11], [12], [13], [14]. As every user has a unique way of handling his/her smartphone which varies over different level of emotional intelligence of the user over a time period, this dataset can also be used for behavioural analysis of the users.

Characterizations of handwashing sink activities in a single hospital medical intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

Handwashing sink drains are increasingly implicated as a potential reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital outbreaks; however, usage patterns that may promote this source remain unknown.

AIM

To understand behaviours in the intensive care unit (ICU) that may facilitate establishment and nosocomial transmission of multidrug-resistant Gram negatives from a sink-trap reservoir to a patient.

METHODS

Motion-sensitive cameras captured anonymized activity paired with periodic in-person observations during a quality investigation from four ICU sinks (two patient rooms and two patient bathrooms) in a university hospital.

FINDINGS

We analysed 4810 sink videos from 60 days in patient rooms (3625) and adjoining bathrooms (1185). There was a false-positive rate of 38% (1837 out of 4810) in which the camera triggered but no sink interaction occurred. Of the 2973 videos with analysed behaviours there were 5614 observed behaviours which were assessed as: 37.4% medical care, 29.2% additional behaviours, 17.0% hand hygiene, 7.2% patient nutrition, 5.0% environmental care, 4.2% non-medical care. Handwashing was only 4% (224 out of 5614) of total behaviours. Sub-analysis of 2748 of the later videos further categorized 56 activities where a variety of nutrients, which could promote microbial growth, were disposed of in the sink.

CONCLUSION

Several non-hand hygiene activities took place regularly in ICU handwashing sinks; these may provide a mechanism for nosocomial transmission and promotion of bacterial growth in the drain. Redesigning hospital workflow and sink usage may be necessary as it becomes apparent that sink drains may be a reservoir for transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Towards improved behavioural testing in aquatic toxicology: Acclimation and observation times are important factors when designing behavioural tests with fish

The quality and reproducibility of science has recently come under scrutiny, with criticisms spanning disciplines. In aquatic toxicology, behavioural tests are currently an area of controversy since inconsistent findings have been highlighted and attributed to poor quality science. The problem likely relates to limitations to our understanding of basic behavioural patterns, which can influence our ability to design statistically robust experiments yielding ecologically relevant data. The present study takes a first step towards understanding baseline behaviours in fish, including how basic choices in experimental design might influence behavioural outcomes and interpretations in aquatic toxicology. Specifically, we explored how fish acclimate to behavioural arenas and how different lengths of observation time impact estimates of basic swimming parameters (i.e., average, maximum and angular velocity). We performed a semi-quantitative literature review to place our findings in the context of the published literature describing behavioural tests with fish. Our results demonstrate that fish fundamentally change their swimming behaviour over time, and that acclimation and observational timeframes may therefore have implications for influencing both the ecological relevance and statistical robustness of behavioural toxicity tests. Our review identified 165 studies describing behavioural responses in fish exposed to various stressors, and revealed that the majority of publications documenting fish behavioural responses report extremely brief acclimation times and observational durations, which helps explain inconsistencies identified across studies. We recommend that researchers applying behavioural tests with fish, and other species, apply a similar framework to better understand baseline behaviours and the implications of design choices for influencing study outcomes.

Regenerative medicine in Huntington's disease: Strengths and weaknesses of preclinical studies

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by impairment in motor, cognitive and psychiatric domains. Currently, there is no specific therapy to act on the onset or progression of HD. The marked neuronal death observed in HD is a main argument in favour of stem cells (SCs) transplantation as a promising therapeutic perspective to replace the population of lost neurons and restore the functionality of the damaged circuitry. The availability of rodent models of HD encourages the investigation of the restorative potential of SCs transplantation longitudinally. However, the results of preclinical studies on SCs therapy in HD are so far largely inconsistent; this hampers the individuation of the more appropriate model and precludes the comparative analysis of transplant efficacy on behavioural end points. Thus, this review will describe the state of the art of in vivo research on SCs therapy in HD, analysing in a translational perspective the strengths and weaknesses of animal studies investigating the therapeutic potential of cell transplantation on HD progression.

Cognitive behavioural therapy with behavioural analysis for pharmacological treatment-resistant chronic insomnia

This study aimed to determine whether (1) cognitive behavioural therapy with behavioural analysis for insomnia (CBTi-BA) is more effective for insomnia and co-morbid depressive symptoms than treatment as usual (TAU) and (2) whether CBTi-BA promotes earlier reduction of the daily dose of hypnotic medication in chronic insomnia resistant to pharmacological treatment. A total of 63 patients with chronic insomnia aged 20-77 years who already received hypnotic medication regularly were assigned to two interventions: combined therapy or TAU alone. The subjects provided demographic information and completed self-rating scales for insomnia and depressive symptoms. After treatment, the combined therapy group showed significant decreases in the symptoms of both insomnia and depression and significant reductions in the daily dose of hypnotic medication compared with the group receiving TAU alone. In the combined therapy group, 71% of the participants reported a reduction in insomnia to normal levels and 79% succeeded in decreasing the daily dose of hypnotics to 50% or less of the baseline dose. These results revealed that CBTi-BA can reduce insomnia and depressive symptoms as well as the daily dose of hypnotic medication in patients with chronic insomnia resistant to pharmacological treatment.