Separate neural subsystems support goal-directed speech listening.

How do humans excel at tracking the narrative of a particular speaker with a distracting noisy background? This feat places great demands on the collaboration between speech processing and goal-related regulatory functions. Here, we propose that separate subsystems with different cross-task dynamic activity properties and distinct functional purposes support goal-directed speech listening. We adopted a naturalistic dichotic speech listening paradigm in which listeners were instructed to attend to only one narrative from two competing inputs. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging with inter- and intra-subject correlation techniques, we discovered a dissociation in response consistency in temporal, parietal and frontal brain areas as the task demand varied. Specifically, some areas in the bilateral temporal cortex (SomMotB_Aud and TempPar) and lateral prefrontal cortex (DefaultB_PFCl and ContA_PFCl) always showed consistent activation across subjects and across scan runs, regardless of the task demand. In contrast, some areas in the parietal cortex (DefaultA_pCunPCC and ContC_pCun) responded reliably only when the task goal remained the same. These results suggested two dissociated functional neural networks that were independently validated by performing a data-driven clustering analysis of voxelwise functional connectivity patterns. A subsequent meta-analysis revealed distinct functional profiles for these two brain correlation maps. The different-task correlation map was strongly associated with language-related processes (e.g., listening, speech and sentences), whereas the same-task versus different-task correlation map was linked to self-referencing functions (e.g., default mode, theory of mind and autobiographical topics). Altogether, the three-pronged findings revealed two anatomically and functionally dissociated subsystems supporting goal-directed speech listening.

Evaluation of matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction for 11 ß-agonists in swine feed by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of 11 ß-agonists (clenbuterol, salbutamol, ractopamine, terbutaline, fenoterol, cimaterol, isoxsuprine, mabuterol, mapenterol, clenproperol, and tulobuterol) in swine feed. This rapid, simple, and effective extraction method was based on matrix solid-phase dispersion. The limit of quantification of clenbuterol, cimaterol, mabuterol, salbutamol, terbutaline, mapenterol, clenproperol, and tulobuterol was 1 µg/kg and that of ractopamine, fenoterol, and isoxsuprine was 2 µg/kg. The recoveries of ß-agonists spiked in swine feeds at a concentration range of 1-8 µg/kg were >83.1% with relative standard deviations <9.3%. This rapid and reliable method can be used to efficiently separate, characterize, and quantify the residues of 11 ß-agonists in swine feeds with advantages of simple pretreatment and environmental friendliness.

Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Dendrocalumus brandisii in vitro, and the Inhibitory Mechanism of Colchicine.

Bamboos seldom bloom and almost no seeds could be harvested, and, hence, few works are focused on germination physiology. Systematic research on the physiological effects of colchicine on germination and seedling growth of bamboo seeds is lacking. In this study, we finely recorded seed germination and seedling growth of Dendrocalamus brandisii in media supplemented with different colchicine concentrations. Physiological effects and mechanisms of colchicine were analyzed. The results showed that D. brandisii seeds were non-dormant, and seed lots achieved their highest germination rates on the 4th day and finished the whole germination period after 21 days. Colchicine inhibited seed germination and seedling growth but did not change its germination pattern. Seed germination and seedling growth decreased constantly with colchicine concentration. Colchicine showed more negative effects on seedling growth than on seed germination and root growth. High concentrations of colchicine retarded the development of plumules and even caused their aberrant development. Under tissue culture conditions, seed germination, and seedling growth relied mainly on the endogenous starch and soluble sugar degradation, in which α-amylase, STP, and SUSY played the key role. Colchicine inhibited seed germination and seedling growth by suppressing the α-amylase, STP, and SUSY activities. Colchicine showed more negative effects on sucrose degradation than on starch degradation during seed germination and seedling growth. This study provides new basic information on the seedling physiology for the genetic breeding of bamboo plants.

Evaluation of matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) extraction for multi-fenicols determination in shrimp and fish by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry.

A quantitative LC-MS/MS method was developed for the determination of chloramphenicol (CAP), thiamphenicol (TAP), florfenicol (FF) and florfenicol amine (FFA) in shrimp and fish. This rapid simple and effective extraction method was based on matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD). The best results were obtained using C18 as dispersant sorbent. The correlation coefficient (r) with each matrix-matched calibration curve is higher than 0.999 at the range of 0.05-0.8µg/kg for CAP and FF, 0.1-1.6µg/kg for FFA and TAP. CCα and CCß of the fenicols upon the method were ranged from 0.01 to 0.09µg/kg and 0.04 to 0.25µg/kg respectively. In the fortified levels recoveries of the four compounds ranged from 83.8% to 98.8% with RSDs lower than 13.7%. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the analysis of CAP, TAP, FF and FFA in shrimp and fish samples, which demonstrates that this method is fast, sensitive, reliable and environmental friendly.