Induktion präfrontaler Dysfunktion bei gesunden Probanden durch inhibitorische TMS: Eine NIRS-Messung / Induction of a prefrontal dysfunction on healthy subjects with inhibitory TMS: a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study

Our ability to interact with the environment requires the integration of multisensory information for the construction of spatial representations. The peripersonal space (i.e., the sector of space closely surrounding one's body) and the integrative processes between visual and tactile inputs originating from this sector of space have been at the center of recent years investigations. Neurophysiological studies provided evidence for the presence in the monkey brain of bimodal neurons, which are activated by tactile as well as visual information delivered near to a specific body part (e.g., the hand). Neuropsychological studies on right brain-damaged patients who present extinction and functional neuroimaging findings suggest the presence of similar bimodal systems in the human brain. Studies on the effects of tool-use on visual-tactile interaction revealed similar dynamic properties of the peripersonal space in monkeys and humans. The functional role of the multisensory coding of peripersonal space is, in our hypothesis, that of providing the brain with a sensori-motor interface for body-objects interactions. Thus, not only it could be involved in driving involuntary defensive movements in response to objects approaching the body, but could be also dynamically maintained and updated as a function of manual voluntary actions performed towards objects in the reaching space. We tested the hypothesis of an involvement of peripersonal space in executing both voluntary and defensive actions. To these aims, we joined a well known cross-modal congruency effect between visual and tactile information to a kinematic approach to demonstrate that voluntary grasping actions induce an on-line re-weighting of multisensory interactions in the peripersonal space. We additionally show that this modulation is handcentred. We also used a motor evoked potentials approach to investigate which coordinates system is used to code the peripersonal space during motor preparation if real objects rapidly approach the body. Our findings provide direct evidence for automatic hand-centred coding of visual space and suggest that peripersonal space may also serve to represent rapidly 3 approaching and potentially noxious objects, thus enabling the rapid selection of appropriate motor responses. These results clearly show that peripersonal space is a multisensori-motor interface that might have been selected through evolution for optimising the interactions between the body and the objects in the external world.

A key issue in understanding how the brain functions is the ability to correlate functional information with anatomical localisation. Functional information can be provided by a variety of techniques like positron emission tomography (PET), functional MRI (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). All these methods provide different, but complementary, information about the functional areas of the brain. PET and fMRI provide spatially accurate picture of brain regions involved in a given task. TMS permits to infer the contribution of the stimulated brain area to the task under investigation. EEG and MEG, which reflects brain activity directly, have temporal accuracy of the order of a millisecond. TMS, EEG and MEG are offset by their low spatial resolution. In this thesis, we propose two methods to improve the spatial accuracy of method based on TMS and EEG. The first part of this thesis presents an automatic method to improve the localisation of TMS points. The method enables real-time visualisation and registration of TMS evoked responses and MRI. A MF digitiser is used to sample approximately 200 points on the subject's head following a specific digitisation pattern. Registration is obtained by minimising the RMS point to surface distance, computed efficiently using the Euclidean distance transform. Functional maps are created from TMS evoked responses projected onto the brain surface previously segmented from MRI. The second part presents the possibilities to set up a brain-computer interface (BCI) based on reconstructed sources of EEG activity and the parameters to adjust. Reconstructed sources could improve the EEG spatial accuracy as well as add biophysical information on the origin of the signal. Both informations could improve the BCI classification step. Eight BCIs are built to enable comparison between electrode-based and reconstructed source-based BCIs. Tests on detection of laterality of upcoming hand movement demonstrate the interest of reconstructed sources.

This research, based on literature discussion related to issues on intraorganizational power, aims to discover the critical factors affecting the power of HR department within a firm and measure their causal relation as well as correlation through questionnaires. The questionnaires, being sent to any possible representative firms within each industry on our lists, were distributed in a convenient way. They mainly contain two sets of items, one for the HR department manager, another three for the line department manager. In the HR manager one, the questionnaires has 10 questions on HR departmental power index as dependent variable in our study; in the line manager one, it has 15, 5 and 5 questions on HR effectiveness, Top Management Support and HR Innovativeness respectively as independent variable. Based on our findings after statistical analysis, we conclude the followings: 1. As the HR effectiveness increases, the power of HR department does in the same. 2. As the Top Management Support increases, the power of HR department does in the same. 3. As the HR Innovativeness increases, the power of HR department does in the same.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has become an increasingly popular rehabilitative treatment approach for swallowing disorders (dysphagia). However, its precise effects on swallowing biomechanics and measures of swallowing neurophysiology are unclear. Clearly defined NMES treatment protocols that have been corroborated by thorough empirical research are lacking. The primary objective of this research programme was therefore to establish optimal NMES treatment parameters for the anterior hyo-mandibular (submental) musculature, a muscle group that is critically involved in the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing. Based on previous research, the primary hypothesis was that various NMES treatment protocols would have differential effects of either enhancing or inhibiting the excitability of corticobulbar projections to this muscle group. The research paradigm used to test this hypothesis was an evaluation of MEP amplitude and onset latency, recorded in the functional context of volitional contraction of the submental musculature (VC) and contraction of this muscle group during the pharyngeal phase of volitional swallowing (VPS, volitional pharyngeal swallow). Outcome measures were recorded before and at several time points after each NMES treatment trial. This methodology is similar to, but improved upon, research paradigms previously reported. Changes in corticobulbar excitability in response to various NMES treatment protocols were recorded in a series of experiments. Ten healthy research participants were recruited into a study that evaluated the effects of event-related NMES, whereas 15 healthy research participants were enrolled in a study that investigated the effects of non-event-related NMES. In a third cohort of 35 healthy research participants, task-dependent differences in corticobulbar excitability were evaluated during three conditions of submental muscle contraction: VC, VPS and submental muscle contraction during the pharyngeal phase of reflexive swallowing (RPS, reflexive pharyngeal swallowing). Event-related NMES induced frequency-depended changes in corticobulbar excitability. NMES administered at 80 Hz facilitated MEP amplitude, whereas NMES at 5 Hz and 20 Hz inhibited MEP amplitude. No changes were observed after NMES at 40 Hz. Maximal excitatory or inhibitory changes occurred 60 min post-treatment. Changes in MEP amplitude in response to event-related NMES were only observed when MEPs were recorded during the VC condition, whereas MEPs recorded during the VPS condition remained unaffected. Non-event-related NMES did not affect MEP amplitude in either of the muscle contraction conditions. Similarly, MEP onset latencies remained unchanged across all comparisons. MEPs were detected most consistently during the VC contraction condition. They were less frequently detected and were smaller in amplitude for the VPS condition and they were infrequently detected during pre-activation by RPS. The documented results indicate that event-related NMES has a more substantial impact on MEP amplitude than non-event-related NMES, producing excitatory and inhibitory effects. Comparison of MEPs recorded during VC, VPS and RPS suggests that different neural networks may govern the motor control of submental muscle activation during these tasks. This research programme is the first to investigate the effects of various NMES treatment protocols on the excitability of submental corticobulbar projections. It provides important new information for the use of NMES in clinical rehabilitation practices and our understanding of the neural networks governing swallowing motor control.

Studying the responsiveness of specific central nervous system (CNS) pathways to electrical or magnetic stimulation can provide important information regarding fatigue processes occurring as a result of ongoing muscle activity. While there are some studies assessing CNS responsiveness during sustained maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) few papers have examined such changes during sustained submaximal contractions, particularly in muscles of the lower limbs. The location of the underlying central fatigue process can be partially determined by assessing the responsiveness to magnetic or electrical stimulation at different sites along the CNS. This has been investigated during maximal and submaximal contractions in the upper limb muscles, however changes in corticospinal responsiveness at different CNS locations has yet to be determined during fatigue of lower limb muscles. Therefore, the focus of this study was to investigate changes in corticospinal responsiveness during a sustained submaximal contraction of the triceps surae. Comparisons were made between the size of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by motor cortical stimulation and cervicomedullary motor evoked potentials (CMEPs) elicited via magnetic stimulation of the descending tracts, in order to determine the site of any change in corticospinal responsiveness. Participants maintained an isometric contraction of triceps surae at 30% of MVC for as long as possible on two occasions. Stimulation was applied either to the motor cortex or to the cervicomedullary junction every minute during a contraction until task failure. Peripheral nerve stimulation was also applied to evoke maximal M-waves (Mmax) and a superimposed twitch. Additionally, MEPs and CMEPs were evoked during brief contractions at 80, 90 and 100% MVC as a non-fatigue control. During the sustained contractions, MEP size increased significantly in both soleus (113%; SOL) and medial gastrocnemius (108%; MG) and at endurance limit matched MEP size in the pre-fatigue MVC (≈20-25% Mmax). In contrast, CMEP size increased significantly in MG (51%) but not in SOL (63%), and at endurance limit was significantly smaller than during pre-fatigue MVC (5-6% Mmax versus 11-13% Mmax). The data indicate that cortical processes contribute substantially to the increase in corticospinal responsiveness observed during sustained submaximal contraction of triceps surae. The strength of corticospinal projections and the upper-limit of motor unit recruitment may explain differences in corticospinal responsiveness between SOL and upper arm muscles. Furthermore, differences in motor unit recruitment and firing rate may explain differences in spinal responsiveness between submaximal and maximal voluntary contractions.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has become an increasingly popular rehabilitative treatment approach for swallowing disorders (dysphagia). However, its precise effects on swallowing biomechanics and measures of swallowing neurophysiology are unclear. Clearly defined NMES treatment protocols that have been corroborated by thorough empirical research are lacking. The primary objective of this research programme was therefore to establish optimal NMES treatment parameters for the anterior hyo-mandibular (submental) musculature, a muscle group that is critically involved in the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing. Based on previous research, the primary hypothesis was that various NMES treatment protocols would have differential effects of either enhancing or inhibiting the excitability of corticobulbar projections to this muscle group. The research paradigm used to test this hypothesis was an evaluation of MEP amplitude and onset latency, recorded in the functional context of volitional contraction of the submental musculature (VC) and contraction of this muscle group during the pharyngeal phase of volitional swallowing (VPS, volitional pharyngeal swallow). Outcome measures were recorded before and at several time points after each NMES treatment trial. This methodology is similar to, but improved upon, research paradigms previously reported. Changes in corticobulbar excitability in response to various NMES treatment protocols were recorded in a series of experiments. Ten healthy research participants were recruited into a study that evaluated the effects of event-related NMES, whereas 15 healthy research participants were enrolled in a study that investigated the effects of non-event-related NMES. In a third cohort of 35 healthy research participants, task-dependent differences in corticobulbar excitability were evaluated during three conditions of submental muscle contraction: VC, VPS and submental muscle contraction during the pharyngeal phase of reflexive swallowing (RPS, reflexive pharyngeal swallowing). Event-related NMES induced frequency-depended changes in corticobulbar excitability. NMES administered at 80 Hz facilitated MEP amplitude, whereas NMES at 5 Hz and 20 Hz inhibited MEP amplitude. No changes were observed after NMES at 40 Hz. Maximal excitatory or inhibitory changes occurred 60 min post-treatment. Changes in MEP amplitude in response to event-related NMES were only observed when MEPs were recorded during the VC condition, whereas MEPs recorded during the VPS condition remained unaffected. Non-event-related NMES did not affect MEP amplitude in either of the muscle contraction conditions. Similarly, MEP onset latencies remained unchanged across all comparisons. MEPs were detected most consistently during the VC contraction condition. They were less frequently detected and were smaller in amplitude for the VPS condition and they were infrequently detected during pre-activation by RPS. The documented results indicate that event-related NMES has a more substantial impact on MEP amplitude than non-event-related NMES, producing excitatory and inhibitory effects. Comparison of MEPs recorded during VC, VPS and RPS suggests that different neural networks may govern the motor control of submental muscle activation during these tasks. This research programme is the first to investigate the effects of various NMES treatment protocols on the excitability of submental corticobulbar projections. It provides important new information for the use of NMES in clinical rehabilitation practices and our understanding of the neural networks governing swallowing motor control.

O Gerenciamento Autonômico de Redes é uma visão que utiliza princípios da Computação Autonômica para o Gerenciamento de Redes. Além disso, algum grau de descentralização é necessário para habilitar capacidades autonômicas completas. Uma alternativa interessante de infraestrutura para essa união é a utilização de overlays Peer-to-Peer (P2P). No entanto, a consistência do estado dos dados de gerenciamento entre os peers é um desafio importante. Mecanismos tradicionais para manter a consistência desses estados são implementados por meio de centralização, o que desperdiça algumas propriedades desejáveis de abordagens P2P. Em contraste com esses mecanismos, é proposto um mecanismo distribuído, escalável e robusto para a manutenção da consistência do estado dos dados de gerenciamento pela introdução de funcionalidades de Manutenção da Verdade Multiagente. Além disso, são propostas estratégias de comunicação para prover suporte a essas funcionalidades. São apresentados também estudos de caso para ilustrar as possibilidades da proposta: o gerenciamento cooperativo de falhas em enlaces Ethernet em provedores de serviços e a ativação distribuída de políticas de gerenciamento de redes. Experimentos simulados são realizados a fim de verificar as propriedades de escalabilidade e robustez da presente proposta. / Autonomic network management is a vision that brings Autonomic Computing principles to Network Management. Besides, it is necessary some level of decentralization to enable broad autonomic capabilities. An interesting alternative of infrastructure for this union is the utilization of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) overlays. However, the consistency of state of management data among peers is an important challenge. Traditional mechanisms to maintain consistency of these states are supported by some centralization which wastes some desirable properties of P2P approach. In contrast to these mechanisms, a distributed, scalable and robust mechanism to maintain the consistency of state of management data is proposed through the introduction of Multi-Agent Truth Maintenance features. Besides, communication strategies are proposed to support these features. Case studies are presented to show possibilities of this proposal: cooperative fault management of Ethernet links in service providers and distributed activation of network management policies. Simulated experiments are performed to verify the scalability and robustness properties of this proposal.

As organizações em toda parte do mundo estão investindo em Tecnologia da Informação (TI) e aproveitando as vantagens dos sistemas de TI para alterar a conduta do negócio tanto no mercado interno como externo. Os recursos encontrados na TI podem aperfeiçoar o desempenho das organizações e aumentar a competitividade, sendo esta uma alternativa para enfrentar os desafios apresentados pelo mundo empresarial. É neste contexto que o impacto dos benefícios da utilização de um Sistema de Gestão de Transporte (TMS) é estudado neste trabalho. O objetivo geral da pesquisa é avaliar o impacto dos benefícios do uso do sistema de gestão de transporte e sua relação no desempenho das operações de transporte das empresas e na relação com fornecedores de serviço de transporte na percepção dos usuários. Para atingir este objetivo foram identificados na literatura, fatores relevantes sobre o tema para a elaboração de um instrumento de pesquisa sobre o impacto dos benefícios de um TMS. O método utilizado foi a pesquisa survey e um modelo conceitual foi elaborado e validado, por meio de testes estatísticos. Obteve-se um total de 118 respostas válidas para análise dos dados. Esta análise utilizou modelagem de equações estruturais para a avaliação do modelo conceitual e das hipóteses de pesquisa. O resultado indica que os benefícios de um TMS têm impacto positivo no desempenho das operações de transporte, que, por sua vez, têm impacto positivo na relação com fornecedores de serviço de transporte. Na percepção dos usuários participantes da pesquisa, esse impacto positivo tem mais força para os benefícios voltados aos processos operacionais do que para os benefícios gerenciais de um TMS. / Organizations around the world are investing in Information Technology (IT) and taking advantage of IT systems to change the conduct of business in both domestic and overseas market. The resources found in IT can improve organizational performance and increase competitiveness. This has been an alternative to deal with the challenges presented by the business in the world. In this context, the benefits impact of using a Transportation Management System (TMS) are studied in this research. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the TMS benefits impact and its relation to the transport operations performance and to the transport service suppliers relationship through users’ perception. To achieve this goal, factors to measure the benefits were identified on literature to develop a survey instrument about the TMS benefits impact. The method used was a survey and a conceptual model was developed and validated by statistical tests. A total of 118 usable questionnaires were obtained. The data analysis used structural equation modeling to evaluate the conceptual model and research hypotheses. The result indicates that the TMS benefits have a positive impact on the transport operations performance and the transport operations performance has a positive impact on the transport service suppliers relationship. The users’ perception indicates that the positive impact is stronger for the operational process benefits than for the management benefits of a TMS.

O Gerenciamento Autonômico de Redes é uma visão que utiliza princípios da Computação Autonômica para o Gerenciamento de Redes. Além disso, algum grau de descentralização é necessário para habilitar capacidades autonômicas completas. Uma alternativa interessante de infraestrutura para essa união é a utilização de overlays Peer-to-Peer (P2P). No entanto, a consistência do estado dos dados de gerenciamento entre os peers é um desafio importante. Mecanismos tradicionais para manter a consistência desses estados são implementados por meio de centralização, o que desperdiça algumas propriedades desejáveis de abordagens P2P. Em contraste com esses mecanismos, é proposto um mecanismo distribuído, escalável e robusto para a manutenção da consistência do estado dos dados de gerenciamento pela introdução de funcionalidades de Manutenção da Verdade Multiagente. Além disso, são propostas estratégias de comunicação para prover suporte a essas funcionalidades. São apresentados também estudos de caso para ilustrar as possibilidades da proposta: o gerenciamento cooperativo de falhas em enlaces Ethernet em provedores de serviços e a ativação distribuída de políticas de gerenciamento de redes. Experimentos simulados são realizados a fim de verificar as propriedades de escalabilidade e robustez da presente proposta. / Autonomic network management is a vision that brings Autonomic Computing principles to Network Management. Besides, it is necessary some level of decentralization to enable broad autonomic capabilities. An interesting alternative of infrastructure for this union is the utilization of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) overlays. However, the consistency of state of management data among peers is an important challenge. Traditional mechanisms to maintain consistency of these states are supported by some centralization which wastes some desirable properties of P2P approach. In contrast to these mechanisms, a distributed, scalable and robust mechanism to maintain the consistency of state of management data is proposed through the introduction of Multi-Agent Truth Maintenance features. Besides, communication strategies are proposed to support these features. Case studies are presented to show possibilities of this proposal: cooperative fault management of Ethernet links in service providers and distributed activation of network management policies. Simulated experiments are performed to verify the scalability and robustness properties of this proposal.