Research

Over the last 50 years, the success rate of surgical interventions in drug-resistant epilepsy has not significantly improved, remaining at around 50-60%. During presurgical evaluation, the identification of the “epileptogenic zone” (EZ) is crucial for its subsequent removal. In the past, high frequency oscillations (HFOs, 80-500 Hz) were shown to be a promising interictal (seizure independent) marker of the EZ.

The project is oriented towards the development of microscopic thin-cells filled with absorption gases, the key part of compact and portable laser frequency standards for telecom wavelengths. The proposed technology of thin cells will allow to realize optical frequency references with unique spectral properties and it will open the possibility to study the narrowing of spectral transitions based on the Dicke effect, which allows to reach ultimate frequency stability of the laser standards while maintaing their compactness and robustness.

Oxime cholinesterase reactivators are used for life endangering intoxications caused by organophosphate agents. However, clinically used (so called charged reactivators) or experimental uncharged reactivators have very limited penetration to central nervous system, where organophosphates mediate irreversible changes in nerve tissue. For this reason, the various delivery systems are investigated to be able to encapsulate the oxime reactivators, help their blood-brain barrier permeation and release in the central nervous system for reactivation of organophosphate inhibited cholinesterases.

Deficits in memory and cognition are one of the main health problems of our aging society with very few therapeutic options. Direct brain stimulation in specific brain regions has recently emerged as a promising tool to enhance performance in memory tasks. In this project, we aim to identify neurophysiological events that are related to memory encoding and recall. To achieve this goal we will use data from cognitive tasks performed by epileptic patients and advanced signal processing algorithms.

The project aims to improve and intensify the scientific cooperation between two eminent electron microscopy research laboratories and connect the experts in the field of a scanning (ISI Brno, CAS) and a transmission electron microscopy (Toyama University) in order to obtain a novel insight into advanced lightweight materials structure.

Multimode fiber (MMF) endoscopes have emerged as tools for minimally invasive imaging with optical resolution at depth in tissue, due to their small, 100 um, diameter. They have found use in imaging in brain in animal models, and have potential for clinical use for in situ diagnosis in sensitive tissues. In this project we will develop a method for single particle tracking (SPT)through a MMF, overcoming limitations of the lack of a practical way of implementing wide-field imaging in MMFs.

The grant deals with basic research of electron-gas interactions for observation of highly sensitive wet immuno-labelled plant cells at low electron beam energies. This will enable the realization of new concept of correlative fluorescence microscopy and advanced low-energy environmental scanning electron microscopy (LEESEM) for studies of immunostained plasma membrane protein complexes in the tobacco cells.