Application of a direct-current electrical field for very short times can serve as a practical nonthermal procedure to reduce or modify the microbial distribution in gel beads. The viability of Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens entrapped in alginate and agarose beads decreases as the field intensity and duration of electrical field increase.

Interindividual response variability to various motor-cortex stimulation protocols has been recently reported. Comparative data of stimulation protocols with different modes of action is lacking. We aimed to compare the efficacy and response variability of two LTP-inducing stimulation protocols in the human motor cortex: anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) and paired-associa...

A new design methodology for a model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) is presented, which is applied to a brushed direct current (DC) motor with pendular load, whose exact model is unknown. This controller is designed for the trajectory tracking control problem, and the respective convergence analysis is presented. In order to avoid singularities in the controller equations, projectors are ...

There is evidence that noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), and especially transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), can improve some cognitive functions, at least temporarily. However, as the improvement only applies to some "lucky" people, it may raise ethical, social and legal issues related to fairness in selective contexts (exams, competitions, job interviews). In this regard, an im...

This publication is a follow-up study to MTI publication 00-01, Why Campaigns for Local Transportation Funding Initiatives Succeed or Fail: An Analysis of Four Communities and National Data. The earlier publication was case studies of four local ballot tax measures for transportation packages. The current study, Factors Influencing Voting Results of Local Transportation Funding Initiatives with...

A new CCII-based circuit for the simulation of mutually coupled circuits is presented. The circuit uses six commercially available plus-type secondgeneration current conveyors (CCIIþs), six resistors and two grounded capacitors. The primary self-inductance, the secondary self-inductance and the mutual inductance can be independently controlled using three different resistors. SPICE simulation r...

Nitsche MA, Doemkes S, Karaköse T, Antal A, Liebetanz D, Lang N, Tergau F, Paulus W. Shaping the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the human motor cortex. J Neurophysiol 97: 3109 –3117, 2007. First published January 24, 2007; doi:10.1152/jn.01312.2006. Transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) induces stimulation polarity-dependent neuroplastic excitability shifts in the human brai...

Background: Panic disorder (PD) is characterized primarily by the presence of recurrent and unexpected panic attacks, followed by at least one month of persistent concern about other attacks, the possible consequences of attacks and a significant behavioral change related to the attacks. The neurocircuitry of fear includes two pathways for processing of sensory information. Transcranial direct ...

This paper provides an overview of the conventional therapeutic stimulation methodologies and proposes a more effective stimulation approach based on a consideration of the inherently fractal nature of normal biological dynamics. There are varying forms of physiological stimulations including the use of electrical currents, electromagnetic fields, temperature change, ultrasound, light and so fo...

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive, low-cost, well-tolerated technique producing lasting modulation of cortical excitability. Behavioral and therapeutic outcomes of tDCS are linked to the targeted brain regions, but there is little evidence that current reaches the brain as intended. We aimed to: (1) validate a computational model for estimating cortical electric f...