Surface-based morphometry (SBM) is extremely useful for estimating the indices of cortical morphology, such as volume, thickness, area, and gyrification, whereas voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a typical method of gray matter (GM) volumetry that includes cortex measurement. In cases where SBM is used to estimate cortical morphology, it remains controversial as to whether VBM should be used in addition to estimate GM volume. Therefore, this review has two main goals. First, we summarize the differences between the two methods regarding preprocessing, statistical analysis, and reliability. Second, we review studies that estimate cortical morphological changes using VBM and/or SBM and discuss whether using VBM in conjunction with SBM produces additional values. We found cases in which detection of morphological change in either VBM or SBM was superior, and others that showed equivalent performance between the two methods. Therefore, we concluded that using VBM and SBM together can help researchers and clinicians obtain a better understanding of normal neurobiological processes of the brain. Moreover, the use of both methods may improve the accuracy of the detection of morphological changes when comparing the data of patients and controls. In addition, we introduce two other recent methods as future directions for estimating cortical morphological changes: a multi-modal parcellation method using structural and functional images, and a synthetic segmentation method using multi-contrast images (such as T1- and proton density-weighted images).

SUMMARY:Two assay methods for recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (rH-TNF) were developed, one a biological L-cell assay and the other an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The accuracy and reproducibility of each and the correlation between the two were studied. As a result of this investigation, the two assay methods were found appropriate for standardization of rH-TNF. A freeze-dried reference was prepared, and examination of its potency and stability showed it to be suitable for use as a reference standard for rH-TNF assays. INTRODUCTIONTumor necrosis factor (TNF) was first discovered in mouse serum after iv injection of bacterial endotoxin into mice primed with Bacillus Cal mette Guerin (1).Recently the gene-encoding human TNF has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli in several laboratories (2-6), resulting in wide availability of recombinant human TNF (rH-TNF), and world-wide interest in its clinical application has developed due to its in vivo antitumor activity (7,8) and in vitro cytotoxic activity against various tumor cell lines (8). It has therefore become important to provide a basis for comparison of the materials used among different laboratories and the activity of the preparations intended for clinical application.This has been done for interferons by the establishment of standard assay methods,

The development of optimized motions of humanoid robots that guarantee fast and also stable walking is an important task, especially in the context of autonomous soccer-playing robots in RoboCup. We present a walking motion optimization approach for the humanoid robot prototype HR18 which is equipped with a low-dimensional parameterized walking trajectory generator, joint motor controller and an internal stabilization. The robot is included as hardware-in-the-loop to define a low-dimensional black-box optimization problem. In contrast to previously performed walking optimization approaches, we apply a sequential surrogate optimization approach using stochastic approximation of the underlying objective function and sequential quadratic programming to search for a fast and stable walking motion. This is done under the conditions that only a small number of physical walking experiments should have to be carried out during the online optimization process. For the identified walking motion for the considered 55 cm tall humanoid robot, we measured a forward walking speed of more than 30 cm s 11 . With a modified version of the robot, even more than 40 cm s 11 could be achieved in permanent operation.

Abstract-Many different and high-quality humanoid motions have been developed based on a tailored, 55cm tall humanoid robot kinematics and design using 21 servo motors and inertial sensors for stabilization. These include fast forward walking of about 1.5 km/h in permanent operation, multidirectional walking capabilities, a variety of standard and spectacular kicks, standing up motions as well as motions displaying an emotional state of the robot. While all robot motions are executed in real-time on a controller board an adaptive selection of different motions and autonomous robot behavior are controlled by hierarchical state machine executed on an onboard Pocket PC. Information about the current state of the dynamic environment in a soccer game is obtained from two directed cameras with wide and narrow angles. During RoboCup 2006 the robot demonstrated the fastest walking of all kid-and teen-size humanoid robots on regular terrain as well as in the rough terrain challenge. Also a large variety of different motions as well as individual and team behaviors during successful autonomous soccer games have been demonstrated including the scoring of a goal with the first autonomously performed backheel kick of a humanoid robot.

Aim: Valbenazine is approved in the US for treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD); however, efficacy/safety data in Asian populations are lacking. We assessed the efficacy/ safety of valbenazine in Japanese patients.Methods: This phase II/III, multicenter, randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled study (NCT03176771) included adult psychiatric patients with TD, who were randomly allocated to receive placebo or valbenazine (once-daily 40-or 80-mg) for a 6-week, double-blind period, after which the placebo group was switched to valbenazine for a 42-week extension. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) total score at Week 6; clinical global impression of improvement of TD (CGI-TD) was also assessed.Results: Of 256 patients, 86, 85, and 85 were allocated to the 40-mg valbenazine, 80-mg valbenazine, and placebo groups, respectively. Least-squares mean (95% confidence interval) change from baseline in AIMS score at Week 6 was À2.3 (À3.0 to À1.7) in the valbenazine 40-mg group, À3.7 (À4.4 to À3.0) in the 80-mg group, and À0.1 (À0.8 to 0.5) in the placebo group; both treatment groups showed statistically significant improvements vs. placebo. Patients switched to valbenazine at Week 6 showed similar improvements in AIMS scores, which were maintained to Week 48. Improvements in CGI-TD scores were observed for both treatment groups vs. placebo. Incidence of adverse events was highest in the 80-mg group; common events included nasopharyngitis, somnolence, schizophrenia worsening, hypersalivation, insomnia, and tremor. Conclusion:The efficacy/safety profile of valbenazine was similar to that of previous clinical trials, supporting its use for TD treatment in Japanese patients.