Abstract
Despite the large number of studies on the phenomenon of imposex, the mechanism underlying the abnormal growth of male sexual characters onto females in numerous gastropod species is yet to be fully elucidated. Although several hypotheses have been raised over the years, a convincing body of evidence indicates that tributyltin-induced imposex involves the abnormal modulation of the retinoid X receptor (RXR). Here, we investigate the RXR gene transcription at different timings and tissues upon exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of tributyltin (TOT) (100 ng Sn/L TBT) in both genders of the imposex susceptible gastropod Nucella lapillus. RXR gene transcription was determined at two time-points (i.e., before and after imposex initiation) by quantitative Real Time PCR in potential target tissues: the central nervous system (CNS), penis/penis forming area (PFA), gonads and digestive gland. TBT-exposure altered transcription of RXR gene in a tissue and sex specific manner. In the CNS, a significant down-regulation was observed in females both before and after imposex initiation (P <= 0.01 and P <= 0.05, respectively). A similar trend was observed in male CNS at the first time-point, although differences between control and the TBT-exposed group were just above significance (P=0.059). The penis/PFA showed no differences in transcription of RXR gene between control and TBT exposed female snails before imposex induction, or before and after imposex initiation for males. However, male penis showed higher transcription of RXR gene in comparison to the PFA of females. After imposex has been induced, a significant (P <= 0.001) increase in transcription of RXR gene was observed in penis of females with vas deference sequence index (VDS) levels of 3-4 in comparison with the PFA of both control and imposex females with VDS 1-2. At advanced stages of imposex, females displayed RXR transcription patterns in penis identical to those of males, which points to a functional role of RXR in the penis of both genders. In the other tissues, gonads and digestive gland. RXR gene transcription was not affected by TBT, at any of the analysed time-points. These patterns of RXR gene transcription upon TOT exposure highlight the pivotal involvement of the CNS in the mechanism of imposex induction. We integrate the results in a conceptual model, and discuss the central role of RXR and the retinoic acid signalling pathways in imposex and male genitalia formation in gastropods.

Abstract
FP7 ICT4Depression project aims at providing a set of tools to,further improve both patient outcome and increase of access to treatment of the patients suffering from major depression. This article describes the Information Systems (IS) architecture used in the project. ICT4Depression uses a service oriented architecture as means of bringing together different kinds of information concerning the patient, the therapeutic modules he is advised to follow and the sensors used to assess his status.

Abstract
This paper studies the suitability of brain activity, namely electroencephalogram signals, as raw material for conducting biometric authentication of individuals. Brain responses were extracted in particular scenarios, namely with visual stimulation leading to biological brain responses known as visual evoked potentials. In our study, we evaluated a novel method, using only 8 occipital electrodes and the energy of differential EEG signals, to extract information about the subjects for further use as their biometric features. To classify the features obtained from each individual we used a one-class classifier per subject. These classifiers are trained only with target class features, which is the correct procedure to apply in biometric authentication scenarios. Two types of one-class classifiers were tested, K-Nearest Neighbor and Support Vector Data Description. Two other classifier architectures were also studied, both resulting from the combination of the two previously mentioned classifiers. After testing these classifiers with the features extracted from 70 subjects, the results showed that brain responses to visual stimuli are suitable for an accurate biometric authentication.

Abstract
The analysis of epileptic seizures is typically performed by visual inspection, limited by interrater variation. Our aim was to differentiate seizures characterized by automatisms with an objective, quantitative movement analysis. In part 1 of this study we found parameters (extent and speed of movement of the wrist and trunk) separating seizures with predominant proximal (hyperkinetic, n=10) and distal (automotor, n=10) limb automatisms (P<0.002). For each movement parameter we used the lowest value recorded for a hyperkinetic seizure in part 1 as the cutoff parameter in part 2 on a consecutive sample of 100 motor seizures. As in part 1, the difference between hyperkinetic and non-hyperkinetic seizures was highly significant (<0.001). When all movement parameters were above the threshold, a hyperkinetic seizure was identified with a probability of 80.8%, but the probability for a non-hyperkinetic seizure to have all parameters above the threshold was only 0.02%.

Abstract
Purpose: To quantitatively evaluate the difference of ictal head turning movements between patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). Methods: We investigated 38 seizures of 31 patients with unilateral TLE and 22 seizures of 14 patients with unilateral FLE where head turning occurred in the seizure evolution. The head movements were defined as ipsilateral or contralateral in reference to the lateralization of the patient's focal epilepsy syndrome. Head movements were quantified by either referencing the head position with manually placed markers or by automatic detection of infrared marked reference points. The time of onset, duration, and angular speed of the head movements were computed, and interindividual and intraindividual analyses were performed. Key Findings: All of the TLE seizures had both contralateral and ipsilateral head turning, whereas all FLE had contralateral head turning; only 6 of 22 seizures were associated with ipsilateral head turning. Ipsilateral head turning always preceded contralateral head turning in both TLE and FLE. The head turning occurred significantly sooner after clinical seizure onset in FLE than in TLE patients (ipsilateral 0.5 vs. 16.0 s, contralateral: 4.5 vs. 21.3 s; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the duration of head turning was shorter in FLE for contralateral head turning (4.1 s) than in TLE (contralateral 6.0 s, p < 0.01); the ipsilateral head turning in the two groups did not differ (3.0 vs. 2.9 s) in duration. The angular speed of head turning did not differ for ipsilateral and for contralateral head turning in FLE and TLE. Significance: Quantitative analysis of head turning demonstrates significant differences between patients with FLE and TLE. These differences likely represent differences in spread of epileptic activity. This information may be useful in the seizure evaluation of patients considered for resective epilepsy surgery.

Abstract
Objective: In human speech, the changes in intonation, rhythm, or stress reflect emotions or intentions and are called prosody. Dysprosody is the impairment of prosody and has been described in stroke and neurodegenerative disorders. Reports in epilepsy patients are limited to case reports. Methods: We assessed prosody qualitatively and quantitatively in 967 focal epilepsy patients. The qualitative assessment was performed by 2 native German speakers, and the quantitative frequency analysis used linguistic software tools. For the quantitative analysis, the formant F0 (a frequency peak, which is an approximation of pitch) and the further spectral frequency peaks of our patients' voices were analyzed. Results: We found 26 patients with ictal dysprosody through qualitative analysis (2.7% of all focal epilepsies). The qualitative changes affected mostly the pitch and the loss of melody. The seizure patterns at the time of ictal dysprosody were always in the nondominant hemisphere (100%) and were mostly right temporal (n = 22; 84.6%). Quantitative analysis of 15 audio samples (11 patients) showed a change in the frequency of formant F0 of several patients and a reduction of frequency variation during ictal speech, expressed as the SD of formant F0 (ictal 14.1 vs interictal 27.2). Conclusions: Ictal dysprosody localizes seizure onset or propagation to the nondominant temporal lobe. This information can be used in the evaluation of patients considered for resective epilepsy surgery. Neurology (R) 2011; 77: 1482-1486