Evaluation of Recurrent Neural Network Models for Parkinson's Disease Classification Using Drawing Data.

Parkinson's disease is a disorder that affects the neurons in the human brain. The various symptoms include slowness of motor functions (bradykinesia), motor instability, speech impairment and in some cases, psychiatric effects such as hallucinations. Most of these, however, are also common side effects of natural aging. This makes an accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease a challenging task. Some breakthroughs have been made in recent years with the help of deep learning. This work aims at considering figure drawing data as a time series of coordinates, angles and pressure readings to train recurrent neural network models. In addition, the work compares two recurrent network models, Long Short-Term Memory and Echo State Networks, to explore the advantages and disadvantages of both architectures.

IGF-1 supplementation in semen affects mitochondrial functional and calcium status of buffalo sperm following cryopreservation.

This study was designed to examine the effects of seminal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) supplementation on structural and functional properties of buffalo sperm post cryopreservation. Semen ejaculates from buffalo bulls (n = 6) were proportioned into four aliquots and diluted with egg yolk-based extender. Prior to equilibration, IGF-1 was added to extender as four treatments: group IGF0 (no supplementation), IGF150 (150 ng/mL), IGF250 (250 ng/mL) and IGF350 (350 ng/mL). The extended semen was transferred into 0.25 mL mini-straws, equilibrated (4 °C at 4 h), and cryopreserved. Total sperm motility was greater (P < 0.05) when there was the IGF150 treatment compared with values for other groups. Furthermore, with the IGF150 treatment there was the least and greatest (P < 0.05) mitochondrial superoxide status and membrane potential, respectively. Similarly, with the IGF150 treatment there was a greater (P < 0.05) sperm membrane integrity with a lesser (P < 0.05) calcium status compared to values for the other groups. In conclusion, seminal IGF-1 supplementation affects the structural and functional properties of buffalo sperm following cryopreservation.