Seminal plasma (SP) is the microenvironment of spermatozoa whose composition reflects semen quality and constitutes an excellent source for detecting non-invasive biomarkers. This study characterizes good vs. poor quality semen using seminal extracellular vesicles coupled proteins and miRNA. Fresh boar semen samples were screened, centrifuged, and SP supernatants were collected for near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis. EVs were extracted from SP (SP-EVs), characterized, and those of extremely poor or good sperm quality groups were subjected to proteomics and small RNA sequencing. Significant differences were set for P

The flow state is a subjective experience that most people can relate to. It represents an optimal balance between skills and difficulty and is the state that people often refer to when performing their best, with phrases like: “I was in the zone” or “I was in the bubble”. The flow state has mainly been studied through its psychological and behavioral components; it is not until lately the neuroscientific aspects have been investigated. This review attempts to go through the existing literature and find potential neural signatures of the flow state. The studies indicate that flow is related to activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and putamen, but the findings are too divided to reach a conclusion.

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Cerebral hemodynamics monitoring is vital in the neuroscience intensive care unit to assess brain health. Diffuse optical methods using near-infrared light, e.g., near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), allow for non-invasive prolonged monitoring of cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation and blood flow. For patients suffering from cerebral fluid or tissue volume buildup, intracranial pressure (ICP) is monitored invasively as its elevation compromises cerebral perfusion. The critical closing pressure (CrCP) is a transcranial doppler (TCD) derived non-invasive parameter that correlates with ICP; however, its use is limited due to discomfort during extended TCD measurement. I expanded on Sutin’s preliminary study using DCS to estimate CrCP and found high correlations between DCS obtained CrCP against TCD (R2: 0.77-0.83) in stroke patients. The use of DCS to monitor CrCP is advantageous because its sensors are comfortable to wear and easy to use continuously without the need of a specialized operator. However, the low DCS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) limits the depth sensitivity and temporal resolution of CrCP measures. Following these encouraging results, I built a low-cost wireless cerebral oximeter based on multi-distance continuous wave NIRS called FlexNIRS, which exhibits high SNR (NEP < 70 fw/Hz0.5) and high sampling rate (266 Hz). This device not only quantifies cerebral oxygenation but resolves the pulsatile blood volume signal at large source-detector separations (33 mm). Using the relationship between blood flow and volume, I augmented pulsatile DCS blood flow measurements with FlexNIRS pulsatile signals. I experimentally demonstrated the high fidelity (R2: 0.98) and > 50-fold SNR improvement of the method, resulting in a one order of magnitude increase in the temporal resolution of CrCP estimates. / 2024-06-12T00:00:00Z

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