Specificity and coherence of body representations

Bodily illusions differently affect body representations underlying perception and action. We investigated whether this task dependence reflects two distinct dimensions of embodiment: the sense of agency and the sense of the body as a coherent whole. In experiment 1 the sense of agency was manipulated by comparing active versus passive movements during the induction phase in a video rubber hand illusion (vRHI) setup. After induction, proprioceptive biases were measured both by perceptual judgments of hand position, as well as by measuring end-point accuracy of subjects' active pointing movements to an external object with the affected hand. The results showed, first, that the vRHI is largely perceptual: passive perceptual localisation judgments were altered, but end-point accuracy of active pointing responses with the affected hand to an external object was unaffected. Second, within the perceptual judgments, there was a novel congruence effect, such that perceptual biases were larger following passive induction of vRHI than following active induction. There was a trend for the converse effect for pointing responses, with larger pointing bias following active induction. In experiment 2, we used the traditional RHI to investigate the coherence of body representation by synchronous stimulation of either matching or mismatching fingers on the rubber hand and the participant's own hand. Stimulation of matching fingers induced a local proprioceptive bias for only the stimulated finger, but did not affect the perceived shape of the hand as a whole. In contrast, stimulation of spatially mismatching fingers eliminated the RHI entirely. The present results show that (i) the sense of agency during illusion induction has specific effects, depending on whether we represent our body for perception or to guide action, and (ii) representations of specific body parts can be altered without affecting perception of the spatial configuration of the body as a whole

Converting CooA from a Carbon Monoxide to an Oxygen-Sensing Heme Protein Transcription Factor: Investigations into the Structure and Mechanism of Gas Binding

CooA is a carbon monoxide-sensing (CO-sensing) heme protein transcription factor that regulates gene activation in several bacteria and, importantly, is a convenient model for studying analogous proteins in the human body. In the present study, the specificity and mechanism of gas-binding of CooA have been investigated by efforts to convert CooA from a CO to an oxygen (O2) sensor through site directed mutagenesis of residues in the gas binding pocket of the heme group. The resulting mutated proteins were then isolated and characterized with spectroscopy. The results of this research project will provide further insight into the current model for the specificity and mechanisms of gas binding in heme proteins

Acute oxygen sensing: diverse but convergent mechanisms in airway and arterial chemoreceptors

Airway neuroepithelial bodies sense changes in inspired O2, whereas arterial O2 levels are monitored primarily by the carotid body. Both respond to hypoxia by initiating corrective cardiorespiratory reflexes, thereby optimising gas exchange in the face of a potentially deleterious O2 supply. One unifying theme underpinning chemotransduction in these tissues is K+ channel inhibition. However, the transduction components, from O2 sensor to K+ channel, display considerable tissue specificity yet result in analogous end points. Here we highlight how emerging data are contributing to a more complete understanding of O2 chemosensing at the molecular level

Representing Complexity in Part-Whole Relationships within the Foundational Model of Anatomy

The Foundational Model of Anatomy (FMA) is a frame-based ontology that represents declarative knowledge about the structural organization of the human body. Part-whole relationships play a particularly important role in this representation. In order to assure that knowledge-based applications relying on the FMA as a resource can reason about anatomy, we have modified and enhanced currently available schemes of meronymic relationships. We have introduced and defined distinct partitions for decomposing anatomical structures and attributed the part relationships in order to eliminate ambiguity and enhance specificity in the richness of meronymic relationships within the FMA

Accuracy of mobile digital teledermoscopy for skin self-examinations in adults at high risk of skin cancer: an open-label, randomised controlled trial

Background: Skin self-examinations supplemented with mobile teledermoscopy might improve early detection of skin cancers compared with naked-eye skin self-examinations. We aimed to assess whether mobile teledermoscopy-enhanced skin self-examination can improve sensitivity and specificity of self-detection of skin cancers when compared with naked-eye skin self-examination. Methods: This randomised, controlled trial was done in Brisbane (QLD, Australia). Eligible participants (aged ≥18 years) had at least two skin cancer risk factors as self-reported in the eligibility survey and had to own or have access to an iPhone compatible with a dermatoscope attachment (iPhone versions 5–8). Participants were randomly assigned (1:1), via a computer-generated randomisation procedure, to the intervention group (mobile dermoscopy-enhanced self-skin examination) or the control group (naked-eye skin self-examination). Control group and intervention group participants received web-based instructions on how to complete a whole body skin self-examination. All participants completed skin examinations at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months; intervention group participants submitted photographs of suspicious lesions to a dermatologist for telediagnosis after each skin examination and control group participants noted lesions on a body chart that was sent to the research team after each skin examination. All participants had an in-person whole-body clinical skin examination within 3 months of their last skin self-examination. Primary outcomes were sensitivity and specificity of skin self-examination, patient selection of clinically atypical lesions suspicious for melanoma or keratinocyte skin cancers (body sites examined, number of lesions photographed, types of lesions, and lesions missed), and diagnostic concordance of telediagnosis versus in-person whole-body clinical skin examination diagnosis. All primary outcomes were analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population, which included all patients who had a clinical skin examination within 3 months of their last skin self-examination. This trial was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616000989448. Findings: Between March 6, 2017, and June 7, 2018, 234 participants consented to enrol in the study, of whom 116 (50%) were assigned to the intervention group and 118 (50%) were assigned to the control group. 199 participants (98 participants in the intervention group and 101 participants in the control group) attended the clinical skin examination and thus were eligible for analyses. Participants in the intervention group submitted 615 lesions (median 6·0 per person; range 1–24) for telediagnosis and participants in the control group identified and recorded 673 lesions (median 6·0 per person; range 1–16). At the lesion level, sensitivity for lesions clinically suspicious for skin cancer was 75% (95% CI 63–84) in the intervention group and 88% (95% CI 80–91) in the control group (p=0·04). Specificity was 87% (95% CI 85–90) in the intervention group and 89% (95% CI 87–91) in the control group (p=0·42). At the individual level, the intervention group had a sensitivity of 87% (95% CI 76–99) compared with 97% (95% CI 91–100) in the control group (p=0·26), and a specificity of 95% (95% CI 90–100) compared with 96% (95% CI 91–100) in the control group. The overall diagnostic concordance between the telediagnosis and in-person clinical skin examination was 88%. Interpretation: The use of mobile teledermoscopy did not increase sensitivity for the detection of skin cancers compared with naked-eye skin self-examination; thus, further evidence is necessary for inclusion of skin self-examination technology for public health benefit. Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)

Body image distortions and muscle dysmorphia symptoms among Asian men : do exercise status and type matter?

Theoretical Framework: Body image distortions and muscle dysmorphia symptoms were assessed among 78 Asian men who engaged in regular resistance training, aerobic training or did not engage in either. Method: Body fat and muscularity were measured and participants also completed the Muscle Dysmorphia Disorder Inventory. Results: Resistance trained men selected a body shape ideal that was higher in muscularity and lower in body fat. Aerobically trained men also reported higher perceived current Body Fat even though their actual levels were close to their ideal. Conclusion: The results suggest that specificity in body image distortion (e.g., perceived current-ideal versus perceived current-actual) when examining body image distortions might reduce conflicting findings in extant research

microRNA. Diagnostic Perspective

Biomarkers are biological measures of a biological state. An ideal marker should be safe and easy to measure, cost efficient, modifiable with treatment, and consistent across gender and ethnic groups. To date, none of the available biomarkers satisfy all of these criteria. In addition, the major limitations of these markers are low specificity, sensitivity, and false positive results. Recently identified, microRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, evolutionarily conserved small non-coding RNA (about 22-25 nt long), also known as micro-coordinators of gene expression, which have been shown to be an effective tools to study the biology of diseases and to have great potential as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity. In fact, it has been demonstrated that miRNAs play a pivotal role in the regulation of a wide range of developmental and physiological processes and their deficiencies have been related to a number of disease. In addition, miRNAs are stable and can be easily isolated and measured from tissues and body fluids. In this review, we provide a perspective on emerging concepts and potential usefulness of miRNAs as diagnostic markers, emphasizing the involvement of specific miRNAs in particular tumor types, subtypes, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, infectious diseases, and forensic test

The Circulari Project

The Circulari project was a collaboration with Paula Meijerink landscape architect for WANTED and associate professor at the Graduate School of Design Harvard.Within the context of the conference Topologies, Bodies, Sites and Technologies this paper presents the Circulari art project. Circulari could be described as a movement landscape, a video garden or a choreographic field. The paper reveals the different disciplinary facets of 'circulari' which triangulate movement, land art installation and screen technologies to investigate notions of mass movement from a macroscopic to a microscopic scale. With this project inscribing land and cultivating kinaesthetic rhythms is discussed with a historical and contemporary perspective .It focuses on the circulatory and the transformative relationships between landscape and the body. The paper references and makes tangible global shifts within landscapes of production, while simultaneously affecting the personal scale of the body in movement, resulting in site-specificity expressed though reference, materiality and proximity.Society of Dance and History Scholars, Conference Proceedings 2009 Stanford University