Brain Activity Tracks Population Information Sharing by Capturing Consensus Judgments of Value.

Information that is shared widely can profoundly shape society. Evidence from neuroimaging suggests that activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a core region of the brain's valuation system tracks with this sharing. However, the mechanisms linking vmPFC responses in individuals to population behavior are still unclear. We used a multilevel brain-as-predictor approach to address this gap, finding that individual differences in how closely vmPFC activity corresponded with population news article sharing related to how closely its activity tracked with social consensus about article value. Moreover, how closely vmPFC activity corresponded with population behavior was linked to daily life news experience: frequent news readers tended to show high vmPFC across all articles, whereas infrequent readers showed high vmPFC only to articles that were more broadly valued and heavily shared. Using functional connectivity analyses, we found that superior tracking of consensus value was related to decreased connectivity of vmPFC with a dorsolateral PFC region associated with controlled processing. Taken together, our results demonstrate variability in the brain's capacity to track crowd wisdom about information value, and suggest (lower levels of) stimulus experience and vmPFC-dlPFC connectivity as psychological and neural sources of this variability.

Connectome-wide network analysis of youth with Psychosis-Spectrum symptoms.

Adults with psychotic disorders have dysconnectivity in critical brain networks, including the default mode (DM) and the cingulo-opercular (CO) networks. However, it is unknown whether such deficits are present in youth with less severe symptoms. We conducted a multivariate connectome-wide association study examining dysconnectivity with resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in a population-based cohort of 188 youths aged 8-22 years with psychosis-spectrum (PS) symptoms and 204 typically developing (TD) comparators. We found evidence for multi-focal dysconnectivity in PS youths, implicating the bilateral anterior cingulate, frontal pole, medial temporal lobe, opercular cortex and right orbitofrontal cortex. Follow-up seed-based and network-level analyses demonstrated that these results were driven by hyper-connectivity among DM regions and diminished connectivity among CO regions, as well as diminished coupling between frontal and DM regions. Collectively, these results provide novel evidence for functional dysconnectivity in PS youths, which show marked correspondence to abnormalities reported in adults with established psychotic disorders.

Phase I study of the novel Cdc2/CDK1 and AKT inhibitor terameprocol in patients with advanced leukemias.

PURPOSE: Inhibiting survivin and Cdc2 (CDK1) has preclinical anti-leukemic activity. Terameprocol is a small molecule survivin and Cdc2/CDK1 inhibitor that was studied in a Phase I dose-escalation trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) were enrolled and 15 treated with Terameprocol in three dose cohorts intravenously three times per week for 2 weeks every 21 days. RESULTS: Patients had AML (n = 11), chronic myelogeneous leukemia in blast phase (CML-BP, n = 2) and one each T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and MDS. Four, five and six patients were treated at the 1000, 1500 and 2200 mg Terameprocol dose cohorts respectively. Common related treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE) were grade 1 or 2 headache, transaminitis and pruritus, with one grade 4 serious AE (SAE) of pneumonia. No dose limiting toxicity (DLT) was observed, however, due to other observed grade 3 TEAE the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) was determined at 1500 mg 3×/week for 2 weeks of a 21-day cycle. Partial remission and transfusion independence in a CML-BP patient (1500 mg cohort) and hematological improvement in erythroid (HI-E) and platelet lineage (HI-P) in an AML patient were observed. Five AML patients had stable disease greater/equal to 2 months. Pharmacodynamic studies showed a reduction of CDK1 and phospho-AKT protein expression. CONCLUSION: Terameprocol can be safely administered to advanced leukemia patients, sufficient drug exposure was obtained and clinical activity and biomarker modulation were observed.

Perfluorodecalin and bone regeneration.

Perfluorodecalin (PFD) is a chemically and biologically inert biomaterial and, as many perfluorocarbons, is also hydrophobic, radiopaque and has a high solute capacity for gases such as oxygen. In this article we have demonstrated, both in vitro and in vivo, that PFD may significantly enhance bone regeneration. Firstly, the potential benefit of PFD was demonstrated by prolonging the survival of bone marrow cells cultured in anaerobic conditions. These findings translated in vivo, where PFD incorporated into bone-marrow-loaded 3D-printed scaffolds substantially improved their capacity to regenerate bone. Secondly, in addition to biological applications, we have also shown that PFD improves the radiopacity of bone regeneration biomaterials, a key feature required for the visualisation of biomaterials during and after surgical implantation. Finally, we have shown how the extreme hydrophobicity of PFD enables the fabrication of highly cohesive self-setting injectable biomaterials for bone regeneration. In conclusion, perfluorocarbons would appear to be highly beneficial additives to a number of regenerative biomaterials, especially those for bone regeneration.

Recurring BALB/c mouse lung inflammatory responses to episodic allergen exposure.

This study detailed the sequence of recurring inflammatory events associated with episodic allergen exposures of mice resulting in airway hyperreactivity, sustained inflammation, goblet-cell hyperplasia, and fibrogenesis that characterize a lung with chronic asthma. Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized female BALB/c mice were exposed to saline-control or OVA aerosols for 1 h per day for episodes of 3 d/wk for up to 8 wk. Lung inflammation was assessed by inflammatory cell recoveries using bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) and tissue collagenase dispersions. Cell accumulations were observed within airway submucosal and associated perivascular spaces using immunohistochemical and tinctorial staining methods. Airway responsiveness to methacholine aerosols were elevated after 2 wk and further enhanced to a sustained level after wk 4 and 8. Although by wk 8 diminished OVA-induced accumulations of eosinophils, neutrophils, and monocyte-macrophages were observed, suggesting diminished responsiveness, the BAL recovery of lymphocytes remained elevated. Airway but not perivascular lesions persisted with a proliferating cell population, epithelial goblet-cell hyperplasia, and evidence of enhanced collagen deposition. Examination of lung inflammatory cell content before the onset of the first, second, and fourth OVA exposure episodes demonstrated enhancements in residual BAL lymphocyte and BAL and tissue eosinophil recoveries with each exposure episode. Although tissue monocyte-macrophage numbers returned to baseline prior to each exposure episode, the greatest level of accumulation was observed after wk 4. These results provide the basis for establishing the inflammatory and exposure criteria by which episodic environmental exposures to allergen might result in the development of a remodeled lung in asthma.

Gene expression informatics--it's all in your mine.

Technologies for whole-genome RNA expression studies are becoming increasingly reliable and accessible. However, universal standards to make the data more suitable for comparative analysis and for inter-operability with other information resources have yet to emerge. Improved access to large electronic data sets, reliable and consistent annotation and effective tools for 'data mining' are critical. Analysis methods that exploit large data warehouses of gene expression experiments will be necessary to realize the full potential of this technology.

Genome cross-referencing and XREFdb: implications for the identification and analysis of genes mutated in human disease.

Comparative genomics approaches and multi-organismal biology are valuable tools for genetic analysis. Cross-species connections between genes mutated in human disease states and homologues in model organisms can be particularly powerful, as model-organism gene function data and experimental approaches can shed light on the molecular mechanisms defective in the disease. We describe a project that is systematically identifying novel expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences that are highly related to genes in model organisms and mapping them to positions on the mouse and human maps. This process effectively cross-references model organism genes with mapped mammalian phenotypes, facilitating the identification of genes mutated in human disease states via the positional candidate approach. A public database, XREFdb (http:@www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/XREFdb/), disseminates similarity search, mapping and mammalian phenotype information and increases the rate at which these cross-species connections are established.

Relationships of occupational and non-occupational physical activity to abdominal obesity.

HYPOTHESIS: Physically active occupations may protect against the risk of abdominal obesity. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the interaction between non-occupational physical activity (NOA) (leisure-time, transport and domestic activity) and occupational activity (OA) in relation to abdominal obesity. METHODS: A total of 3539 adults over the age of 20, with no work limitations, employed in one of the 17 occupations classified as low OA (LOA) or high OA (HOA) were identified in the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Waist circumference (WC) was used to categorize individuals into either non-obese or abdominally obese (WC>88 cm in women and >102 cm in men) categories. NOA was divided into three categories based upon physical activity guidelines: (1) no NOA; (2) insufficient NOA; and (3) sufficient NOA. Logistic regression was used to examine possible associations between NOA, OA and abdominal obesity. RESULTS: In those who are sedentary outside of work, a high-activity occupation reduces the odds risk ratio of being categorized with abdominal obesity to 0.37 in comparison with those who work in low-activity occupations. For people working in low-activity occupations, there was a clear association with activity outside of work and the odds risk ratio of being categorized with abdominal obesity. In these adults, a reduced odds ratio was found only among those who met the physical activity guidelines through NOA (odds ratio=0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.40-0.75). CONCLUSION: HOA is associated with a reduced risk of abdominal obesity. Thus, it is important to include OA in studies seeking to understand the association between physical activity and abdominal adiposity.

Daily sensation-seeking and urgency in young adults: Examining associations with alcohol use and self-defined risky behaviors.

PURPOSE: To examine the dynamic expression of sensation-seeking and urgency in daily life and the implications for alcohol use and risk-taking during young adulthood. METHODS: Daily diary surveys were administered to young adults (n = 77) aged 18-25 years every evening for 21 days to assess day's sensation-seeking, urgency, risk-taking, and alcohol use. RESULTS: Days of higher than usual sensation-seeking are also days of higher than usual risk-taking and are more likely to be alcohol use days than days of lower than usual sensation-seeking. Day's urgency was not associated with day's alcohol use or risk-taking. We extracted 10 themes from self-reports of the day's riskiest behavior: transportation (29.9%), social (22.8%), recreation (17.4%), work (14.8%), school (13.5%), food (9.5%), sleep (9.2%), substance use (5.8%), other (5.2%), and jaywalking (1.5%), and 14.6% of self-reported risky behaviors were considered threatening to safety, health, or wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: Risks taken during daily life have mostly positive outcomes and a minority represent threats to safety, health, and wellbeing. Risk-taking and alcohol use in young adult's daily lives is more likely to be driven by the desire to experience novel and exciting experiences than by rash action.

Drug target validation and identification of secondary drug target effects using DNA microarrays.

We describe here a method for drug target validation and identification of secondary drug target effects based on genome-wide gene expression patterns. The method is demonstrated by several experiments, including treatment of yeast mutant strains defective in calcineurin, immunophilins or other genes with the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A or FK506. Presence or absence of the characteristic drug 'signature' pattern of altered gene expression in drug-treated cells with a mutation in the gene encoding a putative target established whether that target was required to generate the drug signature. Drug dependent effects were seen in 'targetless' cells, showing that FK506 affects additional pathways independent of calcineurin and the immunophilins. The described method permits the direct confirmation of drug targets and recognition of drug-dependent changes in gene expression that are modulated through pathways distinct from the drug's intended target. Such a method may prove useful in improving the efficiency of drug development programs.

Home range use and movement patterns of the yellow moray eel Gymnothorax prasinus.

This study investigated the movement patterns of yellow moray eels Gymnothorax prasinus using acoustic telemetry. Gymnothorax prasinus were found to use multiple sites within a localized area or home range.

The feeding response of Pseudophycas barbata to multisensory prey cues in a low light environment.

The nocturnal southern bastard cod Pseudophycis barbata was found to utilize chemo- and mechanosensory systems when hunting for prey under low light conditions. The sensory system used depended on whether prey produced a hydrodynamic signal.

Gendered Citation Practices in the Field of Communication.

In disciplines outside of communication, papers with women as first and last (i.e., senior) authors attract fewer citations than papers with men in those positions. Using data from 14 communication journals from 1995 to 2018, we find that reference lists include more papers with men as first and last author, and fewer papers with women as first and last author, than would be expected if gender were unrelated to referencing. This imbalance is driven largely by the citation practices of men and is slowly decreasing over time. The structure of men's co-authorship networks partly accounts for the observed over-citation of men by other men. We discuss ways researchers might approach gendered citations in their work.

BCI learning induces core-periphery reorganization in M/EEG multiplex brain networks.

Objective.Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) constitute a promising tool for communication and control. However, mastering non-invasive closed-loop systems remains a learned skill that is difficult to develop for a non-negligible proportion of users. The involved learning process induces neural changes associated with a brain network reorganization that remains poorly understood.Approach.To address this inter-subject variability, we adopted a multilayer approach to integrate brain network properties from electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic data resulting from a four-session BCI training program followed by a group of healthy subjects. Our method gives access to the contribution of each layer to multilayer network that tends to be equal with time.Main results.We show that regardless the chosen modality, a progressive increase in the integration of somatosensory areas in theαband was paralleled by a decrease of the integration of visual processing and working memory areas in theßband. Notably, only brain network properties in multilayer network correlated with future BCI scores in theα2band: positively in somatosensory and decision-making related areas and negatively in associative areas.Significance.Our findings cast new light on neural processes underlying BCI training. Integrating multimodal brain network properties provides new information that correlates with behavioral performance and could be considered as a potential marker of BCI learning.

Validity of the Nike+ device during walking and running.

We determined the validity of the Nike+ device for estimating speed, distance, and energy expenditure (EE) during walking and running. Twenty trained individuals performed a maximal oxygen uptake test and underwent anthropometric and body composition testing. Each participant was outfitted with a Nike+ sensor inserted into the shoe and an Apple iPod nano. They performed eight 6-min stages on the treadmill, including level walking at 55, 82, and 107 m x min(-1), inclined walking (82 m x min(-1)) at 5 and 10% grades, and level running at 134, 161, and 188 m x min(-1). Speed was measured using a tachometer and EE was measured by indirect calorimetry. Results showed that the Nike+ device overestimated the speed of level walking at 55 m x min(-1) by 20%, underestimated the speed of level walking at 107 m x min(-1) by 12%, but closely estimated the speed of level walking at 82 m x min(-1), and level running at all speeds (p<0.05). Similar results were found for distance. The Nike+ device overestimated the EE of level walking by 18-37%, but closely estimated the EE of level running (p<0.05). In conclusion the Nike+ in-shoe device provided reasonable estimates of speed and distance during level running at the three speeds tested in this study. However, it overestimated EE during level walking and it did not detect the increased cost of inclined locomotion.

Digital phenotyping for psychiatry: Accommodating data and theory with network science methodologies.

Digital phenotyping is the moment-by-moment quantification of our interactions with digital devices. With appropriate tools, digital phenotyping data afford unprecedented insight into our transactions with the world and hold promise for developing novel signatures of psychopathology that will aid in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment selection of psychiatric disorders. In this review, we highlight empirical work merging digital phenotyping data, and particularly experience-sampling data collected via smartphone, with network theories of psychopathology and network science methodologies. The intensive, longitudinal, and multivariate data collected through digital phenotyping designs provide the necessary foundation for the application of network science methodologies to parsimoniously test network theories of psychopathology emphasizing causal interactions among psychiatric symptoms, as well as other phenotypes, across time.

Repetitive negative thinking in daily life and functional connectivity among default mode, fronto-parietal, and salience networks.

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a maladaptive response to sadness and a transdiagnostic risk-factor. A critical challenge hampering attempts to promote more adaptive responses to sadness is that the between-person characteristics associated with the tendency for RNT remain uncharacterized. From the perspective of the impaired disengagement hypothesis, we examine between-person differences in blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional networks underlying cognitive conflict signaling, self-referential thought, and cognitive flexibility, and the association between sadness and RNT in daily life. We pair functional magnetic resonance imaging with ambulatory assessments deployed 10 times per day over 4 consecutive days measuring momentary sadness and RNT from 58 participants (40 female, mean age = 36.69 years; 29 remitted from a lifetime episode of Major Depression) in a multilevel model. We show that RNT increases following sadness for participants with higher than average between-network connectivity of the default mode network and the fronto-parietal network. We also show that RNT increases following increases in sadness for participants with lower than average between-network connectivity of the fronto-parietal network and the salience network. We also find that flexibility of the salience network's pattern of connections with brain regions is protective against increases in RNT following sadness. Our findings highlight the importance of functional brain networks implicated in cognitive conflict signaling, self-referential thought, and cognitive flexibility for understanding maladaptive responses to sadness in daily life and provide support for the impaired disengagement hypothesis of RNT.

Exploiting the complete yeast genome sequence.

The completion of the genome sequence of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae marks the dawn of an exciting new era in eukaryotic biology that will bring with it a new understanding of yeast, other model organisms, and human beings. This body of sequence data benefits yeast researchers by obviating the need for piecemeal sequencing of genes, and allows researchers working with other organisms to tap into experimental advantages inherent in the yeast system and learn from functionally characterized yeast gene products which are their proteins of interest. In addition, the yeast post-genome sequence era is serving as a testing ground for powerful new technologies, and proven experimental approaches are being applied for the first time in a comprehensive fashion on a complete eukaryotic gene repertoire.

Accuracy of the Actiheart for the assessment of energy expenditure in adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The Actiheart (Mini Mitter, Sunriver, OR, USA) uses heart rate (HR) and activity data to predict activity energy expenditure (AEE). Currently, the Actiheart has only been tested during laboratory conditions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate the Actiheart prediction method against indirect calorimetry during a wide range of activities in a field setting. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Forty-eight participants (age: 35+/-11.4 years) were recruited for the study. Eighteen activities were split into three routines of six activities and each routine was performed by 20 participants. During each routine, the participants wore an Actiheart and simultaneously, AEE was measured with a Cosmed K4b(2) portable metabolic system. The manufacturer's HR algorithm, activity algorithm, and combined activity and HR algorithm were used to estimate AEE. RESULTS: The mean error (and 95% prediction intervals) for the combined activity and HR algorithm, HR algorithm, and activity algorithm versus the Cosmed K4b(2) were 0.02 kJ kg(-1) min(-1) (-0.17, 0.22 kJ kg(-1) min(-1)), -0.03 kJ kg(-1) min(-1) (-0.24, 0.18 kJ kg(-1) min(-1)), and 0.14 kJ kg(-1) min(-1) (-0.12, 0.40 kJ kg(-1) min(-1)), respectively. CONCLUSION: The Actiheart combined activity and HR algorithm and HR algorithm provide similar estimates of AEE on both a group and individual basis.

A new 2-regression model for the Actical accelerometer.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a new 2-regression model relating Actical activity counts to METs. METHODS: Forty-eight participants (mean (SD) age 35 (11.4) years) performed 10 min bouts of various activities ranging from sedentary behaviours to vigorous physical activities. Eighteen activities were split into three routines with each routine being performed by 20 individuals. Forty-five routines were randomly selected for the development of a new 2-regression model and 15 tests were used to cross-validate the new 2-regression model and compare it against existing equations. During each routine, the participant wore an Actical accelerometer on the hip and oxygen consumption was simultaneously measured by a portable metabolic system. The coefficient of variation (CV) of four consecutive 15 s epochs was calculated for each minute. For each activity, the average CV and the counts min(-1) were calculated for minutes 4-9. If the CV was < or =13% a walk/run regression equation was used and if the CV was >13% a lifestyle/leisure time physical activity regression was used. RESULTS: An exponential regression line (R(2) = 0.912; standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 0.149) was used for activities with a CV< or =13%, and a cubic regression line (R(2) = 0.884, SEE = 0.804) was used for activities with a CV>13%. In the cross-validation group the mean estimates, using the new 2-regression model with an inactivity threshold, were within 0.56 METs of measured METs for each of the activities performed (p> or =0.05), except cycling (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: For most activities examined the new 2-regression model predicted METs more accurately than currently available equations for the Actical accelerometer.