Autonomous 3D Exploration of Large Structures Using an UAV Equipped with a 2D LIDAR

This paper addressed the challenge of exploring large, unknown, and unstructured industrial environments with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The resulting system combined well-known components and techniques with a new manoeuvre to use a low-cost 2D laser to measure a 3D structure. Our approach combined frontier-based exploration, the Lazy Theta* path planner, and a flyby sampling manoeuvre to create a 3D map of large scenarios. One of the novelties of our system is that all the algorithms relied on the multi-resolution of the octomap for the world representation. We used a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HitL) simulation environment to collect accurate measurements of the capability of the open-source system to run online and on-board the UAV in real-time. Our approach is compared to different reference heuristics under this simulation environment showing better performance in regards to the amount of explored space. With the proposed approach, the UAV is able to explore 93% of the search space under 30 min, generating a path without repetition that adjusts to the occupied space covering indoor locations, irregular structures, and suspended obstaclesUnión Europea Marie Sklodowska-Curie 64215Unión Europea MULTIDRONE (H2020-ICT-731667)Uniión Europea HYFLIERS (H2020-ICT-779411

Dynamic BOLD functional connectivity in humans and its electrophysiological correlates

Neural oscillations subserve many human perceptual and cognitive operations. Accordingly, brain functional connectivity is not static in time, but fluctuates dynamically following the synchronization and desynchronization of neural populations. This dynamic functional connectivity has recently been demonstrated in spontaneous fluctuations of the Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal, measured with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). We analyzed temporal fluctuations in BOLD connectivity and their electrophysiological correlates, by means of long (≈50 min) joint electroencephalographic (EEG) and fMRI recordings obtained from two populations: 15 awake subjects and 13 subjects undergoing vigilance transitions. We identified positive and negative correlations between EEG spectral power (extracted from electrodes covering different scalp regions) and fMRI BOLD connectivity in a network of 90 cortical and subcortical regions (with millimeter spatial resolution). In particular, increased alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) power were related to decreased functional connectivity, whereas gamma (30-60 Hz) power correlated positively with BOLD connectivity between specific brain regions. These patterns were altered for subjects undergoing vigilance changes, with slower oscillations being correlated with functional connectivity increases. Dynamic BOLD functional connectivity was reflected in the fluctuations of graph theoretical indices of network structure, with changes in frontal and central alpha power correlating with average path length. Our results strongly suggest that fluctuations of BOLD functional connectivity have a neurophysiological origin. Positive correlations with gamma can be interpreted as facilitating increased BOLD connectivity needed to integrate brain regions for cognitive performance. Negative correlations with alpha suggest a temporary functional weakening of local and long-range connectivity, associated with an idling state

A Path to Implement Precision Child Health Cardiovascular Medicine.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) affect approximately 1% of live births and are a major source of childhood morbidity and mortality even in countries with advanced healthcare systems. Along with phenotypic heterogeneity, the underlying etiology of CHDs is multifactorial, involving genetic, epigenetic, and/or environmental contributors. Clear dissection of the underlying mechanism is a powerful step to establish individualized therapies. However, the majority of CHDs are yet to be clearly diagnosed for the underlying genetic and environmental factors, and even less with effective therapies. Although the survival rate for CHDs is steadily improving, there is still a significant unmet need for refining diagnostic precision and establishing targeted therapies to optimize life quality and to minimize future complications. In particular, proper identification of disease associated genetic variants in humans has been challenging, and this greatly impedes our ability to delineate gene-environment interactions that contribute to the pathogenesis of CHDs. Implementing a systematic multileveled approach can establish a continuum from phenotypic characterization in the clinic to molecular dissection using combined next-generation sequencing platforms and validation studies in suitable models at the bench. Key elements necessary to advance the field are: first, proper delineation of the phenotypic spectrum of CHDs; second, defining the molecular genotype/phenotype by combining whole-exome sequencing and transcriptome analysis; third, integration of phenotypic, genotypic, and molecular datasets to identify molecular network contributing to CHDs; fourth, generation of relevant disease models and multileveled experimental investigations. In order to achieve all these goals, access to high-quality biological specimens from well-defined patient cohorts is a crucial step. Therefore, establishing a CHD BioCore is an essential infrastructure and a critical step on the path toward precision child health cardiovascular medicine

Towards elimination of dog-mediated human rabies: experiences from implementing a large-scale demonstration project in Southern Tanzania

No abstract available

Spectral convergence in tapping and physiological fluctuations: coupling and independence of 1/f noise in the central and autonomic nervous systems.

When humans perform a response task or timing task repeatedly, fluctuations in measures of timing from one action to the next exhibit long-range correlations known as 1/f noise. The origins of 1/f noise in timing have been debated for over 20 years, with one common explanation serving as a default: humans are composed of physiological processes throughout the brain and body that operate over a wide range of timescales, and these processes combine to be expressed as a general source of 1/f noise. To test this explanation, the present study investigated the coupling vs. independence of 1/f noise in timing deviations, key-press durations, pupil dilations, and heartbeat intervals while tapping to an audiovisual metronome. All four dependent measures exhibited clear 1/f noise, regardless of whether tapping was synchronized or syncopated. 1/f spectra for timing deviations were found to match those for key-press durations on an individual basis, and 1/f spectra for pupil dilations matched those in heartbeat intervals. Results indicate a complex, multiscale relationship among 1/f noises arising from common sources, such as those arising from timing functions vs. those arising from autonomic nervous system (ANS) functions. Results also provide further evidence against the default hypothesis that 1/f noise in human timing is just the additive combination of processes throughout the brain and body. Our findings are better accommodated by theories of complexity matching that begin to formalize multiscale coordination as a foundation of human behavior

Numerical Activities and Information Learned at Home Link to the Exact Numeracy Skills in 5-6 Years-Old Children

It is currently accepted that certain activities within the family environment contribute to develop early numerical skills before schooling. However, it is unknown whether this early experience influences both the exact and the approximate representation of numbers, and if so, which is more important for numerical tasks. In the present study the mathematical performance of 110 children (mean age 5 years 11 months) was evaluated using a battery that included tests of approximate and exact numerical abilities, as well as everyday numerical problems. Moreover, children were assessed on their knowledge of number information learned at home. The parents of the participants provided information regarding daily activities of the children and socio-demographic characteristics of the family. The results showed that the amount of numerical information learned at home was a significant predictor of participants' performance on everyday numerical problems and exact number representations, even after taking account of age, memory span and socio-economic and educational status of the family. We also found that particular activities, such as board games, correlate with the children's counting skills, which are foundational for arithmetic. Crucially, tests relying on approximate representations were not predicted by the numerical knowledge acquired at home. The present research supports claims about the importance and nature of home experiences in the child's acquisition of mathematics

The spino-bulbar-cerebellar pathway: organization and neurochemical properties of spinal cells that project to the lateral reticular nucleus in the rat

In addition to classical spinocerebellar pathways, the cerebellum receives information from the spinal cord indirectly via spino-bulbar-cerebellar systems. One of the structures in this pathway is the lateral reticular nucleus (LRt). We performed series of experiments to investigate the organization and neurotransmitter content of spinoreticular tract (SRT) neurons in the lumbar spinal cord that project to the LRt. Three rats received injections of the b subunit of Cholera toxin (CTb) or Fluorogold (FG) within the left and right LRt. The majority of SRT cells (56–61%) were found within the contralateral medial intermediate gray matter where small numbers (7–10%) of double-labeled cells were also present on both sides of the cord. Six rats received unilateral spinal injections of CTb to label spinal projections to the LRt. Injections of FG were made also into the anterior lobe of the cerebellum to label LRt pre-cerebellar neurons. Terminals were found mainly ipsilateral to spinal injection sites within the central and ventrolateral regions of the LRt. Immunocytochemical analysis of SRT terminals revealed that the majority (75%) were contained vesicular glutamate transporter 2 but a minority (20%) contained the vesicular GABA transporter. The inhibitory subpopulation was found to be GABAergic, glycinergic, or contained both transmitters. Inhibitory and excitatory terminals were present within overlapping regions of the nucleus. Most CTb terminals contacting LRt pre-cerebellar neurons were excitatory (80%) whereas a minority were inhibitory and most cells (88%) received contacts from both inhibitory and excitatory terminals. This study shows that SRT axons in the LRt have the capacity to exert direct excitatory and inhibitory actions on LRt pre-cerebellar neurons. Thus spinal cord input has the capacity to facilitate or depress the activity of individual LRt cells which in turn adjust activity in the cerebellum to produce coordinated motor behaviors

Digging into Lipid Membrane Permeation for Cardiac Ion Channel Blocker d-Sotalol with All-Atom Simulations.

Interactions of drug molecules with lipid membranes play crucial role in their accessibility of cellular targets and can be an important predictor of their therapeutic and safety profiles. Very little is known about spatial localization of various drugs in the lipid bilayers, their active form (ionization state) or translocation rates and therefore potency to bind to different sites in membrane proteins. All-atom molecular simulations may help to map drug partitioning kinetics and thermodynamics, thus providing in-depth assessment of drug lipophilicity. As a proof of principle, we evaluated extensively lipid membrane partitioning of d-sotalol, well-known blocker of a cardiac potassium channel Kv11.1 encoded by the hERG gene, with reported substantial proclivity for arrhythmogenesis. We developed the positively charged (cationic) and neutral d-sotalol models, compatible with the biomolecular CHARMM force field, and subjected them to all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of drug partitioning through hydrated lipid membranes, aiming to elucidate thermodynamics and kinetics of their translocation and thus putative propensities for hydrophobic and aqueous hERG access. We found that only a neutral form of d-sotalol accumulates in the membrane interior and can move across the bilayer within millisecond time scale, and can be relevant to a lipophilic channel access. The computed water-membrane partitioning coefficient for this form is in good agreement with experiment. There is a large energetic barrier for a cationic form of the drug, dominant in water, to cross the membrane, resulting in slow membrane translocation kinetics. However, this form of the drug can be important for an aqueous access pathway through the intracellular gate of hERG. This route will likely occur after a neutral form of a drug crosses the membrane and subsequently re-protonates. Our study serves to demonstrate a first step toward a framework for multi-scale in silico safety pharmacology, and identifies some of the challenges that lie therein