All training and testing took place in a custom-built behavioral chamber (43 × 43 × 53 cm; MED Associates, St Albans, VT, USA) housed in a sound-attenuating cabinet. The interior walls of the cabinet were covered in metal mesh to provide insulation from external electrical signals. Chambers were illuminated Ribociclib mw by a houselight located

on the ceiling. Masking noise and ventilation were provided by a wall-mounted fan. A ceiling-mounted digital camera enabled digital recording on a computer (api Software), which was later scored by the experimenter. A centrally-located foodcup (approximately 4 cm above the floor) was mounted on the right wall of the chamber. Flanking the foodcup on either side Smad signaling were two retractable levers (Coulbourn Instruments, Whitehall, PA, USA), both 4 cm above the chamber floor. During Pavlovian training, the levers were retracted from the chamber, but remained extended into the chamber during instrumental training and the final transfer session. Auditory cues consisted of either a tone (70 dB, 1500 Hz) or white noise (65 dB) delivered by a speaker 18 cm above the floor. A red light-emitting diode (LED) was located behind the foodcup (not visible to the rats but recorded on a video camera to aid in behavioral scoring). The LED illuminated

at 10 s prior to auditory cue onset and remained illuminated for the duration of the auditory cues. Electrophysiological recordings were taken on the final day of transfer, although the rats were connected to the recording apparatus for two sessions prior to transfer to habituate them to the tether. Details

on electrophysiological recording have been reported previously (Carelli et al., 2000). Briefly, rats were connected to a recording harness that terminated in a headstage (Plexon Inc., Dallas, TX, USA). The harness was connected at the other end to a commutator (MED Associates and Crist Instruments) allowing free movement throughout the chamber during sessions. C1GALT1 Amplified neural signals were then passed to a Multichannel Acquisition Processor (MAP) system (Plexon Inc.) where they were captured by a neural analysis program (Sort Client, Plexon Inc.). A separate computer controlled external stimuli and captured behavioral events (TRANS IV, MED Associates). Neural data were acquired using techniques and apparatus similar to those described elsewhere (Roitman et al., 2005). Briefly, software was employed to sort neural waveforms by principal components analysis (Offline Sorter, Plexon Inc.). Finally, the resulting timestamps for valid waveforms were further analyzed in relation to behavioral markers using NeuroExplorer software (NEX Technologies, Littleton, MA, USA). Pavlovian training.  An overview of all behavioral training appears in Table 1.

Survey teams worked with as many arriving groups as possible, interviewing and swabbing as many pilgrims as possible in each group after they passed through immigration. In each survey, pilgrims were asked for their consent to participate. A nasopharyngeal and throat swab were obtained after the interview. The questionnaire in the arrival

survey included questions about pilgrims’ demographics (age, gender, occupation, and nationality), medical history (chronic disease and smoking), vaccination history (including Histone Methyltransferase inhibitor separate questions about vaccination against pandemic influenza A(H1N1) and against seasonal influenza), knowledge about H1N1 influenza (symptoms, transmission, and ways to avoid), and compliance with wearing face masks. The questionnaire used in the departure survey included only questions about age, gender, and pandemic influenza A(H1N1) vaccination history. Respiratory specimens were placed in viral transport media (VTM) at the point of collection and transported to Jeddah Regional Laboratory where they were stored at −80°C before testing. Specimens selected for analysis were thawed and subjected to total nucleic acid extraction using Corbett X-tractor Gene (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) and RNA DNA CorProtocol 25101 (Qiagen). Extracts were then tested using the xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) FAST assay (Luminex Molecular Diagnostics Inc.,

Toronto, Canada) per manufacturer’s instructions. The xTAG RVP FAST is a qualitative Linsitinib in vivo multiplex amplification assay allowing the simultaneous detection of multiple viral nucleic acid targets. In addition to influenza A and B, this test can detect respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus 1, 2, 3, and 4; rhino-enterovirus, adenovirus, and minor respiratory viruses: coronaviruses, metapneumovirus, and bocavirus. Amplification of specific matrix target was used to detect influenza A and B. Seasonal influenza H1 and H3 subtypes were detected after amplification with hemagglutinin-specific primers and probes. Specimens positive for influenza A but negative for seasonal H1 and H3 were subjected learn more to additional PCR amplification to detect pandemic H1 and avian H5 (Qiagen

Artus Influenza/H1 RG/LC for H1N1 and TIB MOLBIOL, LightMix kit, Berlin, Germany for H5N1). Demographics, medical history, vaccination history, knowledge of H1N1 influenza, and compliance with infection control practices among arriving pilgrims were analyzed as frequency distributions. Differences in the prevalence of respiratory viruses between the arriving and departing pilgrims were examined using chi-square test or Fisher exact, as appropriate. Differences in the prevalence of respiratory viruses between potential confounding groups such as age groups and getting pandemic influenza A(H1N1) vaccine were examined using chi-square test or Fisher exact, as appropriate. All p values were two-tailed. p Value <0.05 was considered as significant. SPSS (release 17.

pulmonis (Teachman et al., 2002). These results underscore the important consideration that past studies have inferred the essentiality of a mycoplasmal gene based on the use of elements that transpose actively in the genome and thus have overestimated the minimal gene set. The use of minitransposons that are stable once inserted into the genome provide a more accurate appraisal of gene essentiality. This work was supported by NIH grant AI63909. Table S1. Genes inactivated by Tn4001TF1 but

not by Tn4001T. Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. “
“The metabolic syndrome Bafetinib molecular weight (MS) is a common and complex disorder combining obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and insulin resistance. It is a primary risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and in the HIV-positive population it is increasingly considered as an emerging risk factor. The recently published guidelines from the European AIDS Clinical Society recommend measurement of waist circumference (WC) in clinical practice learn more at initial and subsequent visits in HIV-infected patients [1]. WC is considered an essential component of the definition of MS, because central obesity is more strongly correlated with other features of MS and with

insulin resistance than any other parameter [2]. Thus, a measure of abdominal obesity appears to be required to define MS, and studies

on MS should include WC measurement. However, as WC was not measured in several epidemiological Aurora Kinase studies carried out in the HIV-infected population, the use of body mass index (BMI) as a surrogate measure for WC has been advocated in the general population as well as in HIV-infected subjects, based on the assumption that BMI and WC have a strong direct relationship. In the D:A:D study [3], a cut-off of >30 kg/m2 for BMI was considered to be equivalent to a WC of 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women, which represent the cut-offs for defining MS. However, HIV-infected subjects with normal or minimally increased BMI values may well have increased visceral adiposity. In two multicentre Italian studies on MS in HIV-infected patients, the SIMONE [4] and the HERMES studies [5], we collected WC, weight and height measurements in people infected with HIV. Using these two databases, we evaluated the relationship between BMI and WC, and the BMI values corresponding to a WC of 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women. We aimed to obtain a specific equation which would be more appropriate for predicting WC from BMI for HIV-infected patients. The two databases included 1522 patients (mean age 42±9 years; 72% men; 69% on antiretroviral treatment). We performed a regression analysis of WC on BMI, separately in the two genders (Fig. 1).

Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus is an obligately anaerobic butyrate-forming, rod-shaped bacterium isolated from the rumen. Originally classified as Clostridium proteoclasticum (Attwood et al., 1996) and isolated because of its protein-degrading ability (Attwood & Reilly, 1996), it has been reclassified recently as B. proteoclasticus (Moon et al., 2008). Although it is likely that B. proteoclasticus was originally classified as the genus Fusocillus (Kemp et al., 1975; Wallace et al., 2006), these cultures could not Metformin cost be resuscitated from culture

collections. In addition to protein degradation, B. proteoclasticus is able to utilize hemicellulose (xylan) as a major growth substrate (Attwood et al., 1996; Moon et al., 2008). We have recently sequenced the genome of the type strain B. proteoclasticus B316T (Kelly et al., 2010) in an RAD001 solubility dmso attempt to further elucidate its role in plant fibre degradation, with an aim to exploit its genome to improve ruminant

animal productivity. Analysis of the 4.4-Mb B316T genome (39 G+C%) indicates that it is composed of four separate replicons: a main chromosome, a chromid (Harrison et al., 2010) and two megaplasmids, of approximately 3.55 Mb, 302 kb, 361 kb (pCY360) and 186 kb (pCY186), respectively (Kelly et al., 2010) (Table 1). Vectors suitable for gene transfer or gene expression in Butyrivibrio species are not well developed and hence there have been few genetic studies with Butyrivibrio species. Some shuttle vectors have been generated (Ware et al., 1992; Beard et al., 1995; Kobayashi et al., 1995; Gobius et al., 2002), but, most likely due to the diverse nature of the various Butyrivibrio species (Moon et al., 2008), effective transfer

between different host strains is limited. Previous work has, however, shown that the transposon Tn916 (18.032 kb) can be introduced by conjugal transfer to rumen bacteria such as Butyrivibrio species from an Enterococcus faecalis donor (Hespell & Whitehead, 1991). The use of Tn916 offers a convenient mechanism by which foreign DNA can be introduced into Butyrivibrio species for mutagenesis studies. Moreover, previous studies from our laboratory using B. proteoclasticus have Sunitinib manufacturer refined the methodology by which conjugation and transconjugant selection can be performed (Hussein et al., 2008) and used metabolomics to propose a putative gene function for Tn916 mutants (Villas-Bôas et al., 2008). In light of the unique genomic arrangement of B316T, this work aimed to determine the insertion characteristics in each of the four replicons and to investigate the use of Tn916 as a tool for generating a panel of mutants to assist with assigning gene function. Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus B316T was grown anaerobically using RGM or DM media (Hespell & Whitehead, 1991), or TYAR medium (Hussein et al., 2008).

9 Each of our two cases occurred in the rainy season, but we should always be reminded that there are seasonal areas such as Texas and year-round Selleckchem CP-868596 critical areas such as Hawaii.1 The incubation period of murine typhus is 7 to 14 days and many cases are said to be mild. Bernabeu-Wittel and colleagues reported that serious cases accounted for as few as four of 104 reported.10 Many of the symptoms are nonspecific and because there are no distinctive bites found, as in the case of scrub typhus, the organism enters from wounds on human skin via flea feces, and hence it is difficult to diagnose. However, complications of case 1 included liver dysfunction, platelet reduction, and kidney dysfunction, and the patient’s condition

became grave, although antimicrobial treatment was effective. Meanwhile,

case 2, who returned from the same area in the same season and was of the same age, had mild symptoms and tended to improve without antimicrobial agents or treatments. As Southeast Asia is also an endemic area of dengue fever, to consider murine typhus as a differential diagnosis Selleckchem PD0325901 is important. Tetracyclines are effective antimicrobial agents and patients are said to improve after about 3 days of treatment, similar to case 1 who improved soon after minocycline administration began. Rickettsial infections are generally considered rare among cases of infectious disease, but as the diagnosis requires antibody and PCR tests, they may be underdiagnosed. Case 1 in this report was identified by PCR with skin specimens from eruptions, which is an important means of diagnosis for difficult cases. As we have reported, rickettsial infections have various symptoms, which differ in seriousness, and it is difficult to know their frequencies. Therefore it is necessary to consider them in the differential diagnoses of patients with fever and to administer appropriate antimicrobial agents science as required, because we do believe that most cases of mild murine typhus may be missed in endemic areas

around the world, and especially those with marine resorts. The authors wish to thank Dr. Koichiro Kudo, Director, Disease Control and Prevention Center, International Medical Center of Japan, and Dr. Shinichi Oka, Director, AIDS Clinical Center, International Medical Center of Japan, for their critical review of the manuscript. The authors state that they have no conflicts of interest. “
“We report the case of two brothers who returned from Madagascar presenting all the acute phase symptoms of a primary invasive Schistosoma mansoni infection, together with brain involvement characterized by acute encephalitis. This rarely described issue should be considered in travelers returning from endemic areas with acute neurological symptoms. Schistosomiasis is recognized as being of growing concern for persons traveling to endemic countries.1 Neurological complications of schistosomiasis may occur in the preliminary stages of infection, as well as later on.

Where the indication for PLCS is PMTCT, the earlier timing reflects the importance of avoiding the onset of labour. In these cases, the risk of MTCT associated with labour and ROMs is considered to outweigh the risk of TTN. Where PLCS is undertaken only for obstetric indications, the optimal timing of PLCS is between 39 and 40 weeks [228]. The risk of TTN at this gestation is approximately 1 in 300 and this risk doubles for every week

earlier that delivery occurs. The administration of steroids to the mother to reduce the risk of TTN should be considered for PLCS prior to 38 completed weeks. 7.3.1 In all cases of term pre-labour spontaneous ROM, delivery should be expedited. Grading: this website 1C 7.3.2 If maternal HIV VL is <50 HIV RNA copies/mL immediate induction of labour is recommended, with a low threshold for CDK assay treatment of intrapartum pyrexia. Grading: 1C 7.3.3 For women with a last measured plasma VL 50–999 HIV RNA copies/mL, immediate CS should be considered, taking into account the actual VL, the trajectory of the VL, length of time on treatment, adherence issues, obstetric factors and the woman’s views. Grading: 1C 7.3.4 If maternal HIV VL is ≥1000 RNA copies/mL plasma, immediate CS is recommended. Grading: 1C In the pre-HAART era, several studies [37],[39],[235] suggested that prolonged duration of ruptured membranes, usually analysed as >4 h, in women

who were either untreated or if treated were largely receiving zidovudine monotherapy, resulted in a significantly increased risk of MTCT. A widely quoted meta-analysis (not reporting VL data) subsequently showed a 2% increase in relative risk of transmission per hour of membrane rupture (AOR 1.02). Transmission increased from 12% with <1 h membrane rupture to 19% with >12 h of membrane

rupture [236]. There are few published studies from the HAART era. A study from Spain of 500 HIV-positive women examined the effect of various obstetric risk factors on MTCT rates in women on no treatment, monotherapy or dual therapy, and finally unless in those on HAART. ROMs >6 h compared to <6 h was only significantly associated with MTCT in the group of women on no treatment (26.6% vs. 11.9%; P ≤ 0.01). Corresponding transmission rates for the mono–dual therapy group were 14.3% vs. 7.1% (P = NS) and in the women on HAART (0.8% vs. 0.0%; P = NS) [237]. The NSHPC study of HIV-positive women in the UK and Ireland reported on 1050 women where length of time of ROM was recorded from 2007. In 618 women delivering with a VL <50 HIV RNA copies/mL when comparing those with ROM ≤4 h to >4 h the MTCT rate was 0.3% (one of 326) and 0.0% (none of 292), respectively (P = 0.34). Restricting the analysis to the 386 women with a VL <50 copies/mL who delivered vaginally did not alter this conclusion [238]. Therefore, for women on HAART who rupture their membranes at term with a VL <50 HIV RNA copies/mL and who do not have an obstetric contraindication to vaginal delivery, a CS is not recommended.

05, P < 0.0001; Fig. 7A). Tukey post hoc analysis revealed that the severe lesion was significantly different from the intermediate lesion (P < 0.05) and highly significantly different from the mild lesion (P < 0.0001), while the intermediate lesion was significantly different from the mild lesion (P < 0.05). Apomorphine-induced rotation was also able to differentiate between the three subgroups (Group, F2,33 = 15.09, P < 0.0001; Fig. 7B). The post hoc analysis revealed that the severe lesion was significantly different from the intermediate lesion (P < 0.05) and

highly significantly different from the mild lesion (P < 0.0001), while the intermediate lesion was significanly different from the mild lesion (P < 0.05). Amphetamine

rotation was clearly less informative and could only differentiate between the animals with a mild lesion and those with > 60% striatal denervation (Group, F2,33 = 10.69, selleck chemicals P < 0.0001; Fig. 7C); Tukey post hoc analysis revealed that the mild lesion was significantly different Smad inhibitor from both the intermediate and the severe lesions (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). By contrast, neither the stepping test nor the cylinder tests were able to distinguish between any of the lesion types (Group, F2,33 = 2.08, P = 0.15, n.s; Group, F2,27 = 1.31, P = 0.29, n.s, respectively; Fig. 5D and E). A subset of seven severely lesioned mice was followed long-term in four of the tests that showed profound deficits at the early post-lesion time-point (6–7 weeks), and were compared to a group of seven intact control animals (Fig. 8A–D). In all four tests the two groups showed stable

performance over the entire test period (20–23 weeks), and the lesioned and intact mice performed significantly different from one another in all four tests, including the corridor test (Group, χ21,48 = 827.14, P < 0.0001; Fig. 8A), apomorphine-induced rotation (Group, χ21,48 = 159.69, P < 0.0001; Fig. 8B), amphetamine-induced rotation (Group, χ21,48 = 26.91, P < 0.0001; Fig. 8C) and the stepping test (Group, χ21,36 = 208.26, P < 0.0001; Fig. 8D). There was no significant effect Rutecarpine of time measured in any of the behavioural tests, thus confirming the stability performance in both the intact and lesioned groups (data not shown). The results show that intranigral 6-OHDA lesions can be used to induce profound loss of midbrain dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons, accompanied by extensive denervation of the striatum and behavioural impairments in a range of drug-induced and spontaneous motor tests. Based on the extent of striatal TH+ denervation we allocated the mice into three subgroups, exhibiting severe, intermediate and mild lesions of the mesostriatal pathway. From the behavioural impairments seen in these subgroups, it was possible to predict the severity of the lesion, i.e.

, 1996). Subsequent studies revealed that the O1 serogroup, which replaced the O139, was a new clone of the O1 El Tor biotype (Faruque et al., 1997; Sharma et al., 1997; Yamasaki et al., 1997). Due to the quiescent period in the incidence of V. cholerae O139, it was thought that the appearance of O139 was a one-time event. But a resurgence of O139 was recorded in August 1996 in Kolkata (Mitra et al., 1996) and this serogroup remained dominant until 1997 (Fig. 1). Between December 1999 and December 2000, escalating association of V. cholerae

O139 with outbreaks of cholera were recorded in many parts of India, including Kolkata selleck chemical (Sinha et al., 2002). After this period, V. cholerae O1 continued to be a dominant serogroup in Kolkata, and the incidence of O139 gradually decreased over the years (Raychoudhuri

et al., 2007) (Fig. 1). Cholera toxin (CT) is the principal toxin of epidemic-causing V. cholerae serogroup O1 and O139 and is encoded by ctxA and ctxB, the major enzymatic subunit and the binding subunit, respectively. Generally, ctxB is polymorphic in nature and exists Enzalutamide purchase in three major genotypes, namely genotype 1, found among strains of the classical biotype worldwide and the US Gulf Coast, genotype 2, found among El Tor biotype strains from Australia and genotype 3, found in El Tor biotype strains from the seventh pandemic and the Latin American epidemic (Olsvik et al., 1993). Previous studies have shown that the V. cholerae serogroup O139 originated from the seventh pandemic El Tor biotype by horizontal transfer of novel O antigen genes (Bik et al., 1995; Comstock et al., 1996).

click here A recent study revealed that the prototype seventh pandemic El Tor biotype of V. cholerae O1 was completely replaced in 1995 by El Tor strains that had classical type ctxB in Kolkata (Raychoudhuri et al., 2009). This shift of CT from genotype 3 to genotype 1 in V. cholerae O1 strains of Kolkata and detection of diversity in the CTX phage repressor, rstR (Kimsey et al., 1998; Davis et al., 1999; Nusrin et al., 2004), has formed the impetus for a retrospective analysis of CT genotypes along with rstR of CTX prophages in O139 strains isolated from Kolkata over a period of 13 years. A total of 125 O139 strains were selected for this study from the strain repository of the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and were isolated in different time frames between 1993 and 2005. All the strains were grown in Luria–Bertani (LB) broth (Difco) for 18 h and then streaked on Luria agar plates. These strains were confirmed serologically by slide agglutination with O139-specific antiserum. A 1-mL aliquot of overnight LB broth culture was taken into a sterile 1.

, 1996). Subsequent studies revealed that the O1 serogroup, which replaced the O139, was a new clone of the O1 El Tor biotype (Faruque et al., 1997; Sharma et al., 1997; Yamasaki et al., 1997). Due to the quiescent period in the incidence of V. cholerae O139, it was thought that the appearance of O139 was a one-time event. But a resurgence of O139 was recorded in August 1996 in Kolkata (Mitra et al., 1996) and this serogroup remained dominant until 1997 (Fig. 1). Between December 1999 and December 2000, escalating association of V. cholerae

O139 with outbreaks of cholera were recorded in many parts of India, including Kolkata GSK3 inhibitor (Sinha et al., 2002). After this period, V. cholerae O1 continued to be a dominant serogroup in Kolkata, and the incidence of O139 gradually decreased over the years (Raychoudhuri

et al., 2007) (Fig. 1). Cholera toxin (CT) is the principal toxin of epidemic-causing V. cholerae serogroup O1 and O139 and is encoded by ctxA and ctxB, the major enzymatic subunit and the binding subunit, respectively. Generally, ctxB is polymorphic in nature and exists Quizartinib order in three major genotypes, namely genotype 1, found among strains of the classical biotype worldwide and the US Gulf Coast, genotype 2, found among El Tor biotype strains from Australia and genotype 3, found in El Tor biotype strains from the seventh pandemic and the Latin American epidemic (Olsvik et al., 1993). Previous studies have shown that the V. cholerae serogroup O139 originated from the seventh pandemic El Tor biotype by horizontal transfer of novel O antigen genes (Bik et al., 1995; Comstock et al., 1996).

Niclosamide A recent study revealed that the prototype seventh pandemic El Tor biotype of V. cholerae O1 was completely replaced in 1995 by El Tor strains that had classical type ctxB in Kolkata (Raychoudhuri et al., 2009). This shift of CT from genotype 3 to genotype 1 in V. cholerae O1 strains of Kolkata and detection of diversity in the CTX phage repressor, rstR (Kimsey et al., 1998; Davis et al., 1999; Nusrin et al., 2004), has formed the impetus for a retrospective analysis of CT genotypes along with rstR of CTX prophages in O139 strains isolated from Kolkata over a period of 13 years. A total of 125 O139 strains were selected for this study from the strain repository of the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, and were isolated in different time frames between 1993 and 2005. All the strains were grown in Luria–Bertani (LB) broth (Difco) for 18 h and then streaked on Luria agar plates. These strains were confirmed serologically by slide agglutination with O139-specific antiserum. A 1-mL aliquot of overnight LB broth culture was taken into a sterile 1.

In accordance, correlation of the alpha rhythm with the BOLD signal during complete darkness revealed activity in right frontal cortical regions known to be related to attention allocation. Overall, these findings suggest that attention allocation might modulate the alpha rhythm independently of external sensory input. Given the known relation of alpha to arousal (Lansing et al., 1959; Barry et al., 2007; Sadaghiani et al., 2010), it

is further possible that attention-related alpha desynchronisation Proteasome inhibitor is a prerequisite for its known modulation by external sensory stimulation. This suggestion supports the inhibition hypothesis (Klimesch et al., 2007) and corresponds to earlier propositions, that it is the ‘looking’ and not the ‘seeing’ which causes alpha desynchronisation (Mulholland, 1974; Paskewitz, 1977). During complete darkness, negative correlation of the alpha rhythm with the BOLD signal revealed activity in the right IFG and medial frontal gyrus alongside the ACC. A network comprising right frontal regions and the ACC has been repeatedly shown as linked to intrinsic alertness (Sturm & Willmes, 2001; Sturm et al., 2004; Mottaghy

et al., 2006), which is defined as the internal control of arousal in the absence of an external cue (Sturm et al., 1999). In the current study, alpha-related BOLD activation in these regions was more robust in the dark condition, suggesting MG-132 in vivo a higher arousal state, most probably elicited by the complete darkness. Similarly, using EEG and fMRI, Laufs et al. PFKL (2006) suggested that frontoparietal regions negatively correlated with the alpha rhythm might imply a state of higher vigilance. In EEG research the alpha rhythm is a reliable measure of vigilance (e.g. in determining EEG vigilance states – Loomis et al., 1938; De Gennaro et al., 2001), also supported by skin conductance (Barry et al., 2007) as well as fMRI (Olbrich et al., 2009) studies. For example, a recent EEG–fMRI study revealed that drowsiness

caused a diminished ‘Berger effect’, i.e. alpha was not desynchronised due to eyes opening (Henning et al., 2006). This finding, much like the one reported in the current study, suggests a strong relation of the alpha band to ongoing arousal perhaps more so than to visual sensory input. In accordance, it is suggested that future combined imaging studies on the role of alpha would benefit from emphasising fluctuating arousal state (e.g. Foucher et al., 2004) while studying alpha rhythm modulations. During complete darkness, alpha modulation due to eyes open/closed paradigm is only associated with a change in the subject’s attention and less with sensory input (Yu & Boytsova, 2010). In accordance, the relation of alpha to intrinsic alertness might also be linked to its involvement in attention allocation.