Going with the Flow: The Neural Mechanisms Underlying Illusions of Complex-Flow Motion.

Studying the mismatch between perception and reality helps us better understand the constructive nature of the visual brain. The Pinna-Brelstaff motion illusion is a compelling example illustrating how a complex moving pattern can generate an illusory motion perception. When an observer moves toward (expansion) or away (contraction) from the Pinna-Brelstaff figure, the figure appears to rotate. The neural mechanisms underlying the illusory complex-flow motion of rotation, expansion, and contraction remain unknown. We studied this question at both perceptual and neuronal levels in behaving male macaques by using carefully parametrized Pinna-Brelstaff figures that induce the above motion illusions. We first demonstrate that macaques perceive illusory motion in a manner similar to that of human observers. Neurophysiological recordings were subsequently performed in the middle temporal area (MT) and the dorsal portion of the medial superior temporal area (MSTd). We find that subgroups of MSTd neurons encoding a particular global pattern of real complex-flow motion (rotation, expansion, contraction) also represent illusory motion patterns of the same class. They require an extra 15 ms to reliably discriminate the illusion. In contrast, MT neurons encode both real and illusory local motions with similar temporal delays. These findings reveal that illusory complex-flow motion is first represented in MSTd by the same neurons that normally encode real complex-flow motion. However, the extraction of global illusory motion in MSTd from other classes of real complex-flow motion requires extra processing time. Our study illustrates a cascaded integration mechanism from MT to MSTd underlying the transformation from external physical to internal nonveridical flow-motion perception.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The neural basis of the transformation from objective reality to illusory percepts of rotation, expansion, and contraction remains unknown. We demonstrate psychophysically that macaques perceive these illusory complex-flow motions in a manner similar to that of human observers. At the neural level, we show that medial superior temporal (MSTd) neurons represent illusory flow motions as if they were real by globally integrating middle temporal area (MT) local motion signals. Furthermore, while MT neurons reliably encode real and illusory local motions with similar temporal delays, MSTd neurons take a significantly longer time to process the signals associated with illusory percepts. Our work extends previous complex-flow motion studies by providing the first detailed analysis of the neuron-specific mechanisms underlying complex forms of illusory motion integration from MT to MSTd.

Multi-robot cooperative autonomous exploration via task allocation in terrestrial environments.

Cooperative autonomous exploration is a challenging task for multi-robot systems, which can cover larger areas in a shorter time or path length. Using multiple mobile robots for cooperative exploration of unknown environments can be more efficient than a single robot, but there are also many difficulties in multi-robot cooperative autonomous exploration. The key to successful multi-robot cooperative autonomous exploration is effective coordination between the robots. This paper designs a multi-robot cooperative autonomous exploration strategy for exploration tasks. Additionally, considering the fact that mobile robots are inevitably subject to failure in harsh conditions, we propose a self-healing cooperative autonomous exploration method that can recover from robot failures.

Predicting bioconcentration factor and estrogen receptor bioactivity of bisphenol a and its analogues in adult zebrafish by directed message passing neural networks.

The bioconcentration factor (BCF) is a key parameter for bioavailability assessment of environmental pollutants in regulatory frameworks. The comparative toxicology and mechanism of action of congeners are also of concern. However, there are limitations to acquire them by conducting field and laboratory experiments while machinelearning is emerging as a promising predictive tool to fill the gap. In this study, the Direct Message Passing Neural Network (DMPNN) was applied to predict logBCFs of bisphenol A (BPA) and its four analogues (bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS)). For the test set, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) and mean square error (MSE) were 0.85 and 0.52 respectively, suggesting a good predictive performance. The predicted logBCFs values by the DMPNN ranging from 0.35 (BPS) to 2.14 (BPAF) coincided well with those by the classical EPI Suite (BCFBAF model). Besides, estrogen receptor α (ERα) bioactivity of these bisphenols was also predicted well by the DMPNN, with a probability of 97.0 % (BPB) to 99.7 % (BPAF), which was validated by the extent of vitellogenin (VTG) induction in male zebrafish as a biomarker except BPS. Thus, with little need for expert knowledge, DMPNN is confirmed to be a useful tool to accurately predict logBCF and screen for estrogenic activity from molecular structures. Moreover, a gender difference was noted in the changes of three endpoints (logBCF, ER binding affinity and VTG levels), the rank order of which was BPAF > BPB > BPA > BPF > BPS consistently, and abnormal amino acid metabolism is featured as an omics signature of abnormal hormone protein expression.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Bromus inermis Leyss.

Bromus Inermis Leyss 1761 is a perennial herb with large yield and famous for its high nutritional value and long utilization season. The study of B. inermis chloroplast (cp) genome provides an important basis for the study of chloroplast genetic engineering and system evolution. Its cp genome was 137,153 bp in length, containing a pair of inverted repeated (IR) regions (21,699 bp), separated by a large single copy region (LSC) of 81,137 bp, and a small single copy (SSC) region of 12,618 bp. Moreover, a total of 129 functional genes were annotated, including 83 mRNA, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic relationships of 15 species indicated that B. inermis was closely related to Bromus biebersteinii. This study might contribute to provide a theoretical basis for species identification and biological research.

Biotransformation and bioconcentration of 6:2 and 8:2 polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diesters in common carp (Cyprinus carpio): Underestimated ecological risks.

Polyfluoroalkyl phosphates esters (PAPs) are widely used in a variety of commercial products, and have been detected in many aquatic organisms. In this study, common carps (Cyprinus carpio) were administered with 6:2 and 8:2 diPAP in water to investigate their bio-accumulation and transformation in fish. Several degradation products, including fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acids (6:2 and 8:2 FTUCA), 5:3 and 7:3 fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (5:3 and 7:3 FTCA), perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) were identified in the carp liver. In addition, several phase-II metabolites, such as glutathione- and glucuronide-conjugated compounds were detected in the carp bile. 8:2 diPAP displayed lower accumulation potential than 6:2 diPAP probably due to its relatively large molecular size. However, 8:2 diPAP experienced more extensive transformation (transformation rate 6.78-14.6 mol%) and produced more phase I metabolites than 6:2 diPAP (0.49-0.66 mol%). The in vitro incubation with the liver S9 fraction confirmed that biotransformation of 6:2 and 8:2 diPAP took place in the carp liver. Further analyses of enzyme activities indicated that acid phosphatase (ACP) could be involved in mediating phase I while glutathione S-transferase (GST) involved in phase II metabolism of 6:2 and 8:2 diPAP in carp.

Effect of tributyltin on the food intake and brain neuropeptide expression in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Tributyltin (TBT) is a largely diffused environmental pollutant. Several studies have demonstrated that TBT is involved in the development of obesity. However, few studies addressing the effects of TBT on the brain neuropeptides involved in appetite and body weight homeostasis have been published. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Experiments were carried out on female and male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were exposed to TBT (0.5 µg/kg body weight) for 54 days. The hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol were determined using commercial enzyme kits. The NPY, AgRP, POMC and CART mRNA expression in brains were quantified by real-time PCR. RESULTS: TBT exposure resulted in significant increases in the hepatic total cholesterol and triglyceride concentration of both male and female rats. Interestingly, increases in body weight and fat mass were only found in the TBT-treated male rats. TBT exposure also led to a significant increase in food intake by the female rats, while no change was observed in the male rats. Moreover, the neuropeptides expression was different between males and females after TBT exposure. TBT induced brain NPY expression in the female rats, and depressed brain POMC, AgRP and CART expression in the males. CONCLUSIONS: TBT can increase food intake in female rats, which is associated with the disturbance of NPY in brains. TBT had sex-different effects on brain NPY, AgRP, POMC and CART mRNA expression, which indicates a complex neuroendocrine mechanism of TBT.