Influence of Gaze, Vision, and Memory on Hand Kinematics in a Placement Task.

People usually reach for objects to place them in some position and orientation, but the placement component of this sequence is often ignored. For example, reaches are influenced by gaze position, visual feedback, and memory delays, but their influence on object placement is unclear. Here, we tested these factors in a task where participants placed and oriented a trapezoidal block against 2D visual templates displayed on a frontally located computer screen. In Experiment 1, participants matched the block to three possible orientations: 0o (horizontal), +45o and -45o, with gaze fixated 10o to the left/right. The hand and template either remained illuminated (closed-loop), or visual feedback was removed (open-loop). Here, hand location consistently overshot the template relative to gaze, especially in the open-loop task; likewise, orientation was influenced by gaze position (depending on template orientation and visual feedback). In Experiment 2, a memory delay was added, and participants sometimes performed saccades (towards, away from, or across the template). In this task, the influence of gaze on orientation vanished, but location errors were influenced by both template orientation and final gaze position. Contrary to our expectations, the previous saccade metrics also impacted placement overshoot. Overall, hand orientation was influenced by template orientation in a nonlinear fashion. These results demonstrate interactions between gaze and orientation signals in the planning and execution of hand placement and suggest different neural mechanisms for closed-loop, open-loop, and memory delay placement.

Determination of metabolisable and net energy contents of corn fed to Arbor Acres broilers and Beijing You chickens.

This study was done to compare the energy and nutrient utilisation of corn in Arbor Acres (AA) broilers and Beijing You (BJY) chickens. BJY chickens with the same age as AA broilers were named BJY1 chickens, and with the same body weight as AA broilers were named BJY2 chickens. Three groups of broilers (36 male AA broilers, 72 male BJY1 chickens, and 36 male BJY2 chickens), 2 treatments per group, 6 replicates per treatment, 3 chickens or 6 chickens per replicate. During each period, birds were fed in chambers for 11 days, including 5 days for adaptation to the feed, 3 days for excreta and gas data collection and another 3 days for fasting were recorded. Results showed that the fasting heat production (FHP) of AA, BJY1 and BJY2 chickens gradually stabilised after fasting for 72 h, the FHP of AA, BJY1 and BJY2 chickens were 486.54, 536.22 and 548.90 KJ/kg BW0.70 /day respectively. AA broilers had significantly lower (p < 0.01) apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of starch in corn than that of BJY1 and BJY2 chickens, whereas there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) observed in ATTD of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract and crude fibre. The apparent metabolisable energy (AME) values of corn in AA, BJY1 and BJY2 chickens were 16.18, 16.81, and 16.39 MJ/kg dry matter (DM) and the corresponding nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn) values were 15.71, 16.38 and 15.99 MJ/kg DM respectively. The net energy (NE) values of corn in AA, BJY1 and BJY2 chickens were 12.03, 12.28 and 11.97 MJ/kg DM respectively. In conclusion, BJY chickens had a higher maintenance energy requirement than that of AA broilers, and AA broilers of the same age and weight as BJY chickens showed no significant differences in AME, AMEn and NE values of corn.

Nutrient utilisation, metabolisable and net energy values of corn for broiler chickens during the starter and grower phases.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the energy values and nutrient utilisation of five corns at starer (14-16 days) and grower (28-30 days) phases. The 1-5 corn samples were obtained from Jinzhou, Liaoning; Gongzhuling, Jilin; Qingdao, Shandong; Songyuan, Jilin and Xinxiang, Henan, China. Each phase of the trial consisted of six treatments with six replicates each. The number of birds per replicate was 4 (Days 14-16) and 2 (Days 28-30). Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and five test diets contained 30% of each corn sample, which replaced 30% of the energy-yielding components of the basal diet (as-fed basis). The trial consisted of six cycles, each cycle was 7 days, including 4 days for adaptation to feed. On Day 4, the birds were transferred to the respiration chambers. In the following 3 days, total excreta were collected and daily heat production was measured. The apparent total tract retention of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and starch improved with age, showing the same trend as energy values. The nitrogen-corrected metabolisable energy (AMEn) values for corn samples at the starter phase were in the range of 16.25-17.41 MJ/kg DM and at the grower phase were in the range of 17.23-17.60 MJ/kg DM. On the other hand, the net energy (NE) values of the five corn samples ranged from 9.93 to 11.67 MJ/kg DM during the starter period and from 11.19 to 12.27 MJ/kg DM during the grower period. The AMEn and NE values of the five corn samples were close to the literature values for corn. Results from our research indicated the nutrient digestibility and energy values of corn samples increase with the age of the broiler.

Fermentation of NaHCO3-treated corn germ meal by Bacillus velezensis CL-4 promotes lignocellulose degradation and nutrient utilization.

Sodium bicarbonate pretreatment and solid-state fermentation (SSF) were used to maximize the nutritional value of corn germ meal (CGM) by inoculating it with Bacillus velezensis CL-4 (isolated from chicken cecal contents and capable of degrading lignocellulose). Based on genome sequencing, B. velezensis CL-4 has a 4,063,558 bp ring chromosome and 46.27% GC content. Furthermore, genes associated with degradation of lignocellulose degradation were detected. Pretreatment of CGM (PCGM) with sodium bicarbonate (optimized to 0.06 g/mL) neutralized low pH. Fermented and pretreated CGM (FPCGM) contained more crude protein (CP), soluble protein of trichloroacetic acid (TCA-SP), and total amino acids (aa) than CGM and PCGM. Degradation rates of cellulose and hemicellulose were reduced by 21.33 and 71.35%, respectively, after 48 h fermentation. Based on electron microscopy, FPCGM destroys the surface structure and adds small debris of the CGM substrate, due to lignocellulose breakdown. Furthermore, 2-oxoadipic acid and dimethyl sulfone were the most important metabolites during pretreatment. Concentrations of adenosine, cytidine, guanosine, S-methyl-5'-thioadenosine, and adenine decreased significantly after 48 h fermentation, whereas concentrations of probiotics, enzymes, and fatty acids (including palmitic, 16-hydroxypalmitic, and linoleic acids) were significantly improved after fermentation. In conclusion, the novel pretreatment of CGM provided a proof of concept for using B. velezensis CL-4 to degrade lignocellulose components, improve nutritional characteristics of CGM, and expand CGM lignocellulosic biological feed production. KEY POINTS: • Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) can be used as an economical and green additive to pretreat corn germ meal; • Fermentation with B. velezensis degrades the cellulose and hemicellulose component of corn germ meal and improves its feed quality; • As a novel qualified presumption of safety (QPS) strain, B. velezensis should have broad potential applications in food and feed industries.

Application of advanced molecular spectroscopy and modern evaluation techniques in canola molecular structure and nutrition property research.

This review aims to provide research update and progress on applications of advanced molecular spectroscopy to current research on canola related bio-processing technology, molecular structure, and nutrient utilization and availability. The studies focused on how inherent molecular structure changes affect nutritional quality of canola and its co-products from bio-processing. The molecular spectroscopic techniques (SR-IMS, DRIFT, ATR-FTIR) used for molecular structure and nutrition association were reviewed, including the synchrotron radiation with infrared microspectroscopy, the synchrotron radiation with soft x-ray microspectroscopy, the diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, the grading near infrared reflectance spectroscopy, and the Fourier transform infrared vibrational spectroscopy. Nutritional evaluation with other techniques in association with molecular structure was also reviewed. This study provides updated research progress on application of molecular spectroscopy in combination with various nutrition evaluation techniques to current research in the canola-related bio-oil/bio-energy processing and nutrition sciences.

Integration of Eye-Centered and Landmark-Centered Codes in Frontal Eye Field Gaze Responses.

The visual system is thought to separate egocentric and allocentric representations, but behavioral experiments show that these codes are optimally integrated to influence goal-directed movements. To test if frontal cortex participates in this integration, we recorded primate frontal eye field activity during a cue-conflict memory delay saccade task. To dissociate egocentric and allocentric coordinates, we surreptitiously shifted a visual landmark during the delay period, causing saccades to deviate by 37% in the same direction. To assess the cellular mechanisms, we fit neural response fields against an egocentric (eye-centered target-to-gaze) continuum, and an allocentric shift (eye-to-landmark-centered) continuum. Initial visual responses best-fit target position. Motor responses (after the landmark shift) predicted future gaze position but embedded within the motor code was a 29% shift toward allocentric coordinates. This shift appeared transiently in memory-related visuomotor activity, and then reappeared in motor activity before saccades. Notably, fits along the egocentric and allocentric shift continua were initially independent, but became correlated across neurons just before the motor burst. Overall, these results implicate frontal cortex in the integration of egocentric and allocentric visual information for goal-directed action, and demonstrate the cell-specific, temporal progression of signal multiplexing for this process in the gaze system.

Evaluation of origanum oil, hydrolysable tannins and tea saponin in mitigating ruminant methane: In vitro and in vivo methods.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of origanum oil (ORO), hydrolysable tannins (HYT) and tea saponin (TES) on methane (CH4 ) emission, rumen fermentation, productive performance and gas exchange in sheep by using in vitro and in vivo methods. The ORO, HYT and TES additive levels were normalized per kg dry matter (DM) in both in vitro and in vivo experiments: ORO-0, 10, 20 and 40 ml/kg; HYT-0, 15, 30 and 60 g/kg; and TES-0, 15, 30 and 60 g/kg, respectively. During in vitro incubation, 40 ml/kg ORO linearly decreased CH4 emission (p < 0.05); 20 and 40 ml/kg ORO cubically decreased carbon dioxide (CO2 ) production (p < 0.05), and rumen pH was cubically raised with the increasing ORO additive level (p < 0.01). The 60 g/kg HYT cubically decreased CH4 production (p < 0.05). The pH of 60 g/kg HYT was higher than that of 15 and 30 g/kg (p < 0.01); the pH of 20 g/kg TES was higher than that of 5 g/kg (p < 0.05). In the in vivo experiments, 40 ml/kg ORO inhibited dry matter intake (p < 0.01) cubically and reduced average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) cubically (p < 0.05), and 20 or 40 ml/kg ORO linearly decreased CH4 production based on per day or metabolic weight (W0.75 ) (p < 0.05). Both 30 and 60 g/kg HYT linearly inhibited CH4 emission on the bases of per day and W0.75 (p < 0.05). The 20 g/kg TES improved the apparent digestibility of crude protein (p < 0.05), 10 and 20 g/kg of TES decreased CH4 emission (p < 0.05), and 5 g/kg of TES reduced O2 consumption and CO2 production (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these three plant extracts all showed the abilities on mitigating CH4 emission of sheep with appropriate additive ranges.

Eye-head-hand coordination during visually guided reaches in head-unrestrained macaques.

Nonhuman primates have been used extensively to study eye-head coordination and eye-hand coordination, but the combination-eye-head-hand coordination-has not been studied. Our goal was to determine whether reaching influences eye-head coordination (and vice versa) in rhesus macaques. Eye, head, and hand motion were recorded in two animals with search coil and touch screen technology, respectively. Animals were seated in a customized "chair" that allowed unencumbered head motion and reaching in depth. In the reach condition, animals were trained to touch a central LED at waist level while maintaining central gaze and were then rewarded if they touched a target appearing at 1 of 15 locations in a 40° × 20° (visual angle) array. In other variants, initial hand or gaze position was varied in the horizontal plane. In similar control tasks, animals were rewarded for gaze accuracy in the absence of reach. In the Reach task, animals made eye-head gaze shifts toward the target followed by reaches that were accompanied by prolonged head motion toward the target. This resulted in significantly higher head velocities and amplitudes (and lower eye-in-head ranges) compared with the gaze control condition. Gaze shifts had shorter latencies and higher velocities and were more precise, despite the lack of gaze reward. Initial hand position did not influence gaze, but initial gaze position influenced reach latency. These results suggest that eye-head coordination is optimized for visually guided reach, first by quickly and accurately placing gaze at the target to guide reach transport and then by centering the eyes in the head, likely to improve depth vision as the hand approaches the target.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Eye-head and eye-hand coordination have been studied in nonhuman primates but not the combination of all three effectors. Here we examined the timing and kinematics of eye-head-hand coordination in rhesus macaques during a simple reach-to-touch task. Our most novel finding was that (compared with hand-restrained gaze shifts) reaching produced prolonged, increased head rotation toward the target, tending to center the binocular field of view on the target/hand.

Parietal area BA7 integrates motor programs for reaching, grasping, and bimanual coordination.

Skillful interaction with the world requires that the brain uses a multitude of sensorimotor programs and subroutines, such as for reaching, grasping, and the coordination of the two body halves. However, it is unclear how these programs operate together. Networks for reaching, grasping, and bimanual coordination might converge in common brain areas. For example, Brodmann area 7 (BA7) is known to activate in disparate tasks involving the three types of movements separately. Here, we asked whether BA7 plays a key role in integrating coordinated reach-to-grasp movements for both arms together. To test this, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to disrupt BA7 activity in the left and right hemispheres, while human participants performed a bimanual size-perturbation grasping task using the index and middle fingers of both hands to grasp a rectangular object whose orientation (and thus grasp-relevant width dimension) might or might not change. We found that TMS of the right BA7 during object perturbation disrupted the bimanual grasp and transport/coordination components, and TMS over the left BA7 disrupted unimanual grasps. These results show that right BA7 is causally involved in the integration of reach-to-grasp movements of the two arms. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: Our manuscript describes a role of human Brodmann area 7 (BA7) in the integration of multiple visuomotor programs for reaching, grasping, and bimanual coordination. Our results are the first to suggest that right BA7 is critically involved in the coordination of reach-to-grasp movements of the two arms. The results complement previous reports of right-hemisphere lateralization for bimanual grasps.

Effect of allocentric landmarks on primate gaze behavior in a cue conflict task.

The relative contributions of egocentric versus allocentric cues on goal-directed behavior have been examined for reaches, but not saccades. Here, we used a cue conflict task to assess the effect of allocentric landmarks on gaze behavior. Two head-unrestrained macaques maintained central fixation while a target flashed in one of eight radial directions, set against a continuously present visual landmark (two horizontal/vertical lines spanning the visual field, intersecting at one of four oblique locations 11° from the target). After a 100-ms delay followed by a 100-ms mask, the landmark was displaced by 8° in one of eight radial directions. After a second delay (300-700 ms), the fixation point extinguished, signaling for a saccade toward the remembered target. When the landmark was stable, saccades showed a significant but small (mean 15%) pull toward the landmark intersection, and endpoint variability was significantly reduced. When the landmark was displaced, gaze endpoints shifted significantly, not toward the landmark, but partially (mean 25%) toward a virtual target displaced like the landmark. The landmark had a larger influence when it was closer to initial fixation, and when it shifted away from the target, especially in saccade direction. These findings suggest that internal representations of gaze targets are weighted between egocentric and allocentric cues, and this weighting is further modulated by specific spatial parameters.

The inter-relationship between processing-induced molecular structure features and metabolic and digestive characteristics in hulled and hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare) grains with altered carbohydrate traits.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to determine the microwave irradiation (MIR)-induced changes in protein molecular structures in barley (Hordeum vulgare) grains in relation to the truly absorbable protein nutrient supply to ruminant livestock systems. Samples from hulled and hulless cultivars of barley, harvested in consecutive years from four replicate plots, were evaluated. The samples were either kept raw or were irradiated with microwaves for 3 min (MIR3) or 5 min (MIR5). The truly absorbable protein nutrient supply to ruminant livestock systems was evaluated using the DVE/OEB system (DVE, truly absorbed protein in the small intestine; OEB, degraded protein balance). Molecular structure changes as a result of processing were revealed by vibrational molecular spectroscopy in the mid-infrared electromagnetic radiation region. RESULTS: Compared to the raw samples, MIR processing decreased (P < 0.05) the truly absorbable microbial crude protein and increased (P < 0.05) the truly absorbable rumen undegraded protein and endogenous protein supply without affecting the total truly absorbed protein supply to the small intestine (DVE) and degraded protein balance (OEB) in ruminant livestock systems. Changes in protein molecular structure (spectral intensities) were highly correlated with the changes in the truly absorbed protein nutrient supply to ruminant livestock systems. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study show that the changes in protein molecular structure as a result of MIR feed processing were associated with the truly absorbed protein supply to ruminant livestock systems. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Visual-Motor Transformations Within Frontal Eye Fields During Head-Unrestrained Gaze Shifts in the Monkey.

A fundamental question in sensorimotor control concerns the transformation of spatial signals from the retina into eye and head motor commands required for accurate gaze shifts. Here, we investigated these transformations by identifying the spatial codes embedded in visually evoked and movement-related responses in the frontal eye fields (FEFs) during head-unrestrained gaze shifts. Monkeys made delayed gaze shifts to the remembered location of briefly presented visual stimuli, with delay serving to dissociate visual and movement responses. A statistical analysis of nonparametric model fits to response field data from 57 neurons (38 with visual and 49 with movement activities) eliminated most effector-specific, head-fixed, and space-fixed models, but confirmed the dominance of eye-centered codes observed in head-restrained studies. More importantly, the visual response encoded target location, whereas the movement response mainly encoded the final position of the imminent gaze shift (including gaze errors). This spatiotemporal distinction between target and gaze coding was present not only at the population level, but even at the single-cell level. We propose that an imperfect visual-motor transformation occurs during the brief memory interval between perception and action, and further transformations from the FEF's eye-centered gaze motor code to effector-specific codes in motor frames occur downstream in the subcortical areas.

Allocentric versus egocentric representation of remembered reach targets in human cortex.

The location of a remembered reach target can be encoded in egocentric and/or allocentric reference frames. Cortical mechanisms for egocentric reach are relatively well described, but the corresponding allocentric representations are essentially unknown. Here, we used an event-related fMRI design to distinguish human brain areas involved in these two types of representation. Our paradigm consisted of three tasks with identical stimulus display but different instructions: egocentric reach (remember absolute target location), allocentric reach (remember target location relative to a visual landmark), and a nonspatial control, color report (report color of target). During the delay phase (when only target location was specified), the egocentric and allocentric tasks elicited widely overlapping regions of cortical activity (relative to the control), but with higher activation in parietofrontal cortex for egocentric task and higher activation in early visual cortex for allocentric tasks. In addition, egocentric directional selectivity (target relative to gaze) was observed in the superior occipital gyrus and the inferior occipital gyrus, whereas allocentric directional selectivity (target relative to a visual landmark) was observed in the inferior temporal gyrus and inferior occipital gyrus. During the response phase (after movement direction had been specified either by reappearance of the visual landmark or a pro-/anti-reach instruction), the parietofrontal network resumed egocentric directional selectivity, showing higher activation for contralateral than ipsilateral reaches. These results show that allocentric and egocentric reach mechanisms use partially overlapping but different cortical substrates and that directional specification is different for target memory versus reach response.

Spatial transformations between superior colliculus visual and motor response fields during head-unrestrained gaze shifts.

We previously reported that visuomotor activity in the superior colliculus (SC)--a key midbrain structure for the generation of rapid eye movements--preferentially encodes target position relative to the eye (Te) during low-latency head-unrestrained gaze shifts (DeSouza et al., 2011). Here, we trained two monkeys to perform head-unrestrained gaze shifts after a variable post-stimulus delay (400-700 ms), to test whether temporally separated SC visual and motor responses show different spatial codes. Target positions, final gaze positions and various frames of reference (eye, head, and space) were dissociated through natural (untrained) trial-to-trial variations in behaviour. 3D eye and head orientations were recorded, and 2D response field data were fitted against multiple models by use of a statistical method reported previously (Keith et al., 2009). Of 60 neurons, 17 showed a visual response, 12 showed a motor response, and 31 showed both visual and motor responses. The combined visual response field population (n = 48) showed a significant preference for Te, which was also preferred in each visual subpopulation. In contrast, the motor response field population (n = 43) showed a preference for final (relative to initial) gaze position models, and the Te model was statistically eliminated in the motor-only population. There was also a significant shift of coding from the visual to motor response within visuomotor neurons. These data confirm that SC response fields are gaze-centred, and show a target-to-gaze transformation between visual and motor responses. Thus, visuomotor transformations can occur between, and even within, neurons within a single frame of reference and brain structure.

Novel red phosphorescent polymers bearing both ambipolar and functionalized Ir(III) phosphorescent moieties for highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes.

A series of novel red phosphorescent polymers is successfully developed through Suzuki cross-coupling among ambipolar units, functionalized Ir(III) phosphorescent blocks, and fluorene-based silane moieties. The photophysical and electrochemical investigations indicate not only highly efficient energy-transfer from the organic segments to the phosphorescent units in the polymer backbone but also the ambipolar character of the copolymers. Benefiting from all these merits, the phosphorescent polymers can furnish organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with exceptional high electroluminescent (EL) efficiencies with a current efficiency (η L ) of 8.31 cd A(-1) , external quantum efficiency (η ext ) of 16.07%, and power efficiency (η P ) of 2.95 lm W(-1) , representing the state-of-the-art electroluminescent performances ever achieved by red phosphorescent polymers. This work here might represent a new pathway to design and synthesize highly efficient phosphorescent polymers.

The right anterior intraparietal sulcus is critical for bimanual grasping: a TMS study.

Grasping with 2 limbs in opposition to one another is older than the hand, yet the neural mechanisms for bimanual grasps remain unclear. Similar to unimanual grasping, bimanual grasping may require regions in the parietal cortex that use visual object-feature information to find matching stable grasp points on the object. The localization of matching points is computationally expensive, so it might make sense for the signals to converge in a single cortical area. To examine this, we use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe the contribution of cortical areas known to be associated with unimanual grasping, while participants performed bimanual grasps. We applied TMS to the anterior and caudal portion of the intra-parietal sulcus (aIPS and cIPS) in each hemisphere during a size-perturbation task using the index fingers of both hands to grasp an object whose orientation might or might not change. We found significant interaction effects between TMS and perturbation of the grasp-relevant object dimension that increased grip aperture only for the right aIPS. These results indicate that the aIPS is involved not only in unimanual, but also bimanual grasping, and the right aIPS is critically involved in bimanual grasps. This suggests that information from both hemispheres converges in the right hemisphere to achieve bimanual grasps.

Phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes bearing 2-vinylpyridine-type ligands: synthesis, electrochemical and photophysical properties, and tuning of electrophosphorescent behavior by main-group moieties.

A series of 2-vinylpyridine-type platinum(II) complexes bearing different main-group blocks (B(Mes)2, SiPh3, GePh3, NPh2, POPh2, OPh, SPh, and SO2Ph, where Mes = 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid) were successfully prepared. As indicated by the X-ray single-crystal diffraction, the concerned phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes exhibit distinct molecular packing patterns in the solid state to bring forth different interactions between individual molecules. The photophysical characterizations showed that the emission maxima together with phosphorescent quantum yield of these complexes can also be affected by introducing distinct main-group moieties with electron-donating or electron-withdrawing characters. Furthermore, these 2-vinylpyridine-type platinum(II) complexes exhibit markedly different photophysical and electrochemical properties compared with their 2-phenylpyridine-type analogues, such as higher-lying highest occupied molecular orbital levels and lower-energy phosphorescent emissions. Importantly, these complexes can show good potential as deep red phosphorescent emitters to bring attractive electroluminescent performances with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates very close to the standard red CIE coordinates of (0.67, 0.33) recommended by the National Television Standards Committee. Hence, these results successfully established structure-property relationship concerning photophysics, electrochemistry, and electroluminescence, which will not only provide important information about the optoelectronic features of these novel complexes but also give valuable clues for developing novel platinum(II) phosphorescent complexes.

Neural activity in superior parietal cortex during rule-based visual-motor transformations.

Cognition allows for the use of different rule-based sensorimotor strategies, but the neural underpinnings of such strategies are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to compare neural activity in the superior parietal lobule during a standard (direct interaction) reaching task, with two nonstandard (gaze and reach spatially incongruent) reaching tasks requiring the integration of rule-based information. Specifically, these nonstandard tasks involved dissociating the planes of reach and vision or rotating visual feedback by 180°. Single unit activity, gaze, and reach trajectories were recorded from two female Macaca mulattas. In all three conditions, we observed a temporal discharge pattern at the population level reflecting early reach planning and on-line reach monitoring. In the plane-dissociated task, we found a significant overall attenuation in the discharge rate of cells from deep recording sites, relative to standard reaching. We also found that cells modulated by reach direction tended to be significantly tuned either during the standard or the plane-dissociated task but rarely during both. In the standard versus feedback reversal comparison, we observed some cells that shifted their preferred direction by 180° between conditions, reflecting maintenance of directional tuning with respect to the reach goal. Our findings suggest that the superior parietal lobule plays an important role in processing information about the nonstandard nature of a task, which, through reciprocal connections with precentral motor areas, contributes to the accurate transformation of incongruent sensory inputs into an appropriate motor output. Such processing is crucial for the integration of rule-based information into a motor act.

Isolation, characterization and whole genome analysis of the novel genus Lederbergvirus, phage vB_EcoP_E212 infecting enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88.

The newly discovered phage vB_EcoP_E212 (also known as E212) was characterized and its genome was annotated in this study, which was conducted in Jilin, China. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that phage E212 belongs to the class Caudoviricetes. This phage exclusively infects enterotoxigenic E. coli K88. E212 was found to have a short latent period of 20 min, and a burst size of 125 PFU/cell. Additionally, E212 remained stable at all pH levels (3.0-12.0) and temperatures between -20 and 60 ºC. The genome of the phage E212 consists of 38,252 bp dsDNA molecule with a G + C content of 46.98%. The genome is projected to include 53 ORFs but no tRNAs. This phage lacks homologs of virulence factors or antimicrobial resistance genes, but it has lysogeny-related genes. Phage E212 was placed in the genus Lederbergvirus as a result of nucleotide sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis.

Integration of landmark and saccade target signals in macaque frontal cortex visual responses.

Visual landmarks influence spatial cognition and behavior, but their influence on visual codes for action is poorly understood. Here, we test landmark influence on the visual response to saccade targets recorded from 312 frontal and 256 supplementary eye field neurons in rhesus macaques. Visual response fields are characterized by recording neural responses to various target-landmark combinations, and then we test against several candidate spatial models. Overall, frontal/supplementary eye fields response fields preferentially code either saccade targets (40%/40%) or landmarks (30%/4.5%) in gaze fixation-centered coordinates, but most cells show multiplexed target-landmark coding within intermediate reference frames (between fixation-centered and landmark-centered). Further, these coding schemes interact: neurons with near-equal target and landmark coding show the biggest shift from fixation-centered toward landmark-centered target coding. These data show that landmark information is preserved and influences target coding in prefrontal visual responses, likely to stabilize movement goals in the presence of noisy egocentric signals.