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Cell viability and cytotoxicity assays are highly important for drug screening and cytotoxicity tests of antineoplastic or other therapeutic drugs. Even though biochemical-based tests are very helpful to obtain preliminary preview, their results should be confirmed by methods based on direct cell death assessment. In this study, time-dependent changes in quantitative phase-based parameters during cell death were determined and methodology useable for rapid and label-free assessment of direct cell death was introduced. The goal of our study was distinction between apoptosis and primary lytic cell death based on morphologic features. We have distinguished the lytic and non-lytic type of cell death according to their end-point features (Dance of Death typical for apoptosis versus swelling and membrane rupture typical for all kinds of necrosis common for necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis and accidental cell death). Our method utilizes Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI) which enables the time-lapse observation of subtle changes in cell mass distribution. According to our results, morphological and dynamical features extracted from QPI micrographs are suitable for cell death detection (76% accuracy in comparison with manual annotation). Furthermore, based on QPI data alone and machine learning, we were able to classify typical dynamical changes of cell morphology during both caspase 3,7-dependent and -independent cell death subroutines. The main parameters used for label-free detection of these cell death modalities were cell density (pg/pixel) and average intensity change of cell pixels further designated as Cell Dynamic Score (CDS). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study introducing CDS and cell density as a parameter typical for individual cell death subroutines with prediction accuracy 75.4% for caspase 3,7-dependent and -independent cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compact laser interferometers with large dynamic range are one of the core emerging tools to improve low frequency performance in gravitational wave detectors by providing local displacement sensing with sub 1 pm Hz - 0.5 precision. Strong sinusoidal frequency modulations are used in such laser interferometers to create heterodyne-like photodetector signals from which the phase and other parameters, such as the absolute distance, can be extracted. The nested sinusoidal function in such signals is a challenge for the real-time parameter estimation in low-noise applications. In this article, we present an algorithm to calculate exact signal parameters in a non-iterative way from such interferometric signals. The algorithm makes use of a recurrence relation between Bessel functions to enable a direct extraction of modulation parameters from the signal. Additionally, the algorithm is capable of dealing with high phase dynamics where the Doppler-shift of the signal becomes relevant and can limit the range and precision of the parameter estimation, if not accounted for. Simulations show that the algorithm is computationally efficient, can be well parallelised and the phase estimation is close to optimal precision given by the Cramer–Rao lower bound of the signal parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of ex vivo Per2 bioluminescent rhythm previously recorded in the mouse dorsal vagal complex reveals a characteristic phase relationship between three distinct circadian oscillators. These signals represent core clock gene expression in the area postrema (AP), the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and the ependymal cells surrounding the 4th ventricle (4Vep). Initially, the data suggests a consistent phasing in which the AP peaks first, followed shortly by the NTS, with the 4Vep peaking 8–9 h later. Wavelet analysis reveals that this pattern is not consistently maintained throughout a recording, however, the phase dynamics strongly imply that oscillator interactions are present. A simple phase model of the three oscillators is developed and it suggests that realistic phase dynamics occur between three model oscillators with coupling close to a synchronisation transition. The coupling topology suggests that the AP bidirectionally communicates phase information to the NTS and the 4Vep to synchronise the three structures. A comparison of the model with previous experimental manipulations demonstrates its feasibility to explain DVC circadian phasing. Finally, we show that simulating steadily decaying coupling improves the model's ability to capture experimental phase dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Random lasers (RLs) are remarkable experimental platforms to advance the understanding of complex systems phenomena, such as the replica-symmetry-breaking (RSB) spin glass phase, dynamics modes correlations, and turbulence. Here we study these three phenomena jointly in a Nd:YAG based RL synthesized for the first time using a spray pyrolysis method. We propose a couple of modified Pearson correlation coefficients that are simultaneously sensitive to the emergence and fading out of photonic intermittency turbulent-like effects, dynamics evolution of modes correlations, and onset of RSB behavior. Our results show how intertwined these phenomena are in RLs, and suggest that they might share some common underlying mechanisms, possibly approached in future theoretical models under a unified treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention facilitates the gating of information from the sending brain area to the receiving areas, with this being achieved by dynamical changes in effective connectivity, which refers to the directional influences between cortical areas. To probe the effective connectivity and cortical excitability modulated by covertly shifted attention, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to directly perturb the right retinotopic visual cortex with respect to attended and unattended locations, and the impact of this was tracked from the stimulated area to other areas by concurrent use of electroencephalography (EEG). TMS to the contralateral visual hemisphere led to a stronger evoked potential than stimulation to the ipsilateral hemisphere. Moreover, stronger beta- and gamma-band effective connectivities assessed as time-delayed phase synchronizations between stimulated areas and other areas were observed when TMS was delivered to the contralateral hemisphere. These effects were more enhanced when they preceded more prominent alpha lateralization, which is known to be associated with attentional gating. Our results indicate that attention-regulated cortical feedforward effective connectivity can be probed by TMS-EEG with direct cortical stimulation, thereby bypassing thalamic gating. These results suggest that cortical gating of the feedforward input is achieved by regulating the effective connectivity in the phase dynamics between cortical areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the properties of low-frequency (LF) heart rate variability (HRV) and photoplethysmographic waveform variability (PPGV) and their interaction under conditions where the hemodynamic connection between them is obviously absent, as well as the LF regulation of PPGV in the absence of heart function. The parameters of HRV and finger PPGV were evaluated in 10 patients during cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (on-pump cardiac surgery) with or without cardioplegia. The following spectral indices of PPGV and HRV were ertimated: the total spectral power (TP), the high-frequency (HF) and the LF ranges of TP in percents (HF% and LF%), and the LF/HF ratio. We assessed also the index S of synchronization between the LF oscillations in finger photoplethysmogram (PPG) and heart rate (HR) signals. The analysis of directional couplings was carried out using the methods of phase dynamics modeling. It is shown that the mechanisms leading to the occurrence of oscillations in the LF range of PPGV are independent of the mechanisms causing oscillations in the LF range of HRV. At the same time, the both above-mentioned LF oscillations retain their activity under conditions of artificial blood circulation and cardioplegia (the latter case applies only to LF oscillations in PPG). In artificial blood circulation, there was a coupling from the LF oscillations in PPG to those in HR, whereas the coupling in the opposite direction was absent. The coupling from the LF oscillations in PPG to those in HR has probably a neurogenic nature, whereas the opposite coupling has a hemodynamic nature (due to cardiac output). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon (Si) nanoparticles were coated inflight with silver (Ag) atoms using a novel method to prepare multicomponent heterostructured metal-semiconductor nanoparticles. Molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations were employed, supported by high-resolution bright field (BF) transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with a resolution ⩽0.1 nm in high angle annular dark field (HAADF) mode. These studies revealed that the alloying behavior and phase dynamics during the coating process are more complex than when attaching hetero-atoms to preformed nanoparticles. According to the MD simulations, Ag atoms condense, nucleate and diffuse into the liquid Si nanoparticles in a process that we term "inoculation", and a phase transition begins. Subsequent solidification involves an intermediate alloying stage that enabled us to control the microstructure and crystallinity of the solidified hybrid heterostructured nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using wide-field and point detection modalities, we show how optical trapping dynamics under femtosecond pulsed excitation can be explored by complementing detection of two-photon fluorescence with backscatter. Radial trajectories of trapped particles are mapped from correlated/anti-correlated fluctuations in backscatter pattern whereas temporal evolution of two-photon fluorescence is used to mark the onset of trapping involving multiple particles. Simultaneous confocal detection of backscatter and two-photon fluorescence estimates axial trap stiffness, delineating short-time trapping dynamics. When a second particle is being trapped an oscillatory signal is observed which is due to interference of backscatter amplitudes, revealing inter-particle interactions within the trap. These findings are crucial steps forward to achieve controlled manipulation by harnessing optical nonlinearity under femtosecond pulsed excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent theoretical and experimental studies have shed light on how laser trapping dynamics under femtosecond pulsed excitation are fine-tuned by optical and thermal nonlinearities. Here, we present experimental results of trapping of single and multiple polystyrene beads (of 1 μm diameter). We show how integration and synchronization of bright-field video microscopy with confocal detection of backscatter provide both spatial and temporal resolution required to capture intricate details of nonlinear trapping dynamics. Such spatiotemporal detection is promising to have far-reaching applications in exploring controlled laser trapping and manipulations harnessed by optical and thermal nonlinearities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]