University of Mons

About: University of Mons is a education organization based out in Mons, Belgium. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Standard Model. The organization has 3073 authors who have published 9465 publications receiving 294776 citations.

A P300-based Quantitative Comparison between the Emotiv Epoc Headset and a Medical EEG Device

Abstract: EEG-based systems have been the most widely used in the field of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) for two decades. Plenty of applications have been proposed from games to rehabilitation systems. Until recently, EEG recording devices were too expensive for an end-user. Today, several low-cost alternatives have appeared on the market. The most sophisticated of these low-cost devices is the Emotiv Epoc headset. Some studies reported that this device is suitable for customers in terms of performance. However, none of the previous studies reported to what extent the Emotiv headset is working well compared to a medical system. The aim of this paper is thus to scientifically compare a medical system and the Emotiv Epoc headset by determining their respective performances in the context of a P300 BCI paradigm. In this study, seven healthy subjects performed P300 experiments and two different conditions were studied: sitting on a chair and walking on a treadmill at constant speed. Results show that the Emotiv headset, although able to record EEG data and not only artifacts, is sometimes significantly worse than a medical system. Those results suggest that the design of a specific low-cost EEG recording systems for rehabilitation purposes at a low price is still required.

Rapid Detection of Circulating Breast Cancer Cells Using a Multiresonant Optical Fiber Aptasensor with Plasmonic Amplification.

Abstract: The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are responsible for metastasis in several forms of cancer, represents an important goal in oncological diagnosis and treatment. These cells remain extremely challenging to detect, despite numerous previous studies, due to their low concentration (1-10 cells/mL of blood). In this work, an all-fiber plasmonic aptasensor featuring multiple narrowband resonances in the near-infrared wavelength range was developed to detect metastatic breast cancer cells. To this aim, specific aptamers against mammaglobin-A were selected and immobilized as receptors on the sensor surface. In vitro assays confirm that the label-free and real-time detection of cancer cells [limit of detection (LOD) of 49 cells/mL] occurs within 5 min, while the additional use of functionalized gold nanoparticles allows a 2-fold amplification of the biosensor response. Differential measurements on selected optical resonances were used to process the sensor response, and results were confirmed by microscopy. The detection of only 10 cancer cells/mL was achieved with relevant specificity against control cells and with quick response time.

Qualitative and quantitative saponin contents in five sea cucumbers from the Indian ocean.

Abstract: To avoid predation, holothuroids produce feeding-deterrent molecules in their body wall and viscera, the so-called saponins. Five tropical sea cucumber species of the family Holothuriidae were investigated in order to study their saponin content in two different organs, the body wall and the Cuvierian tubules. Mass spectrometry techniques (MALDI- and ESI-MS) were used to detect and analyze saponins. The smallest number of saponins was observed in Holothuria atra, which contained a total of four congeners, followed by Holothuria leucospilota, Pearsonothuria graeffei and Actinopyga echinites with six, eight and ten congeners, respectively. Bohadschia subrubra revealed the highest saponin diversity (19 congeners). Saponin mixtures also varied between the two body compartments within a given animal. A semi-quantitative approach completed these results and showed that a high diversity of saponins is not particularly correlated to a high saponin concentration. Although the complexity of the saponin mixtures described makes the elucidation of their respective biological roles difficult, the comparisons between species and between body compartments give some clues about how these molecules may act as predator repellents.