Predicting sex from brain rhythms with deep learning

We have excellent skills to extract sex from visual assessment of human faces, but assessing sex from human brain rhythms seems impossible. Using deep convolutional neural networks, with unique potential to find subtle differences in apparent similar patterns, we explore if brain rhythms from either sex contain sex specific information. Here we show, in a ground truth scenario, that a deep neural net can predict sex from scalp electroencephalograms with an accuracy of >80% (p < 10-5), revealing that brain rhythms are sex specific. Further, we extracted sex-specific features from the deep net filter layers, showing that fast beta activity (20-25 Hz) and its spatial distribution is a main distinctive attribute. This demonstrates the ability of deep nets to detect features in spatiotemporal data unnoticed by visual assessment, and to assist in knowledge discovery. We anticipate that this approach may also be successfully applied to other specialties where spatiotemporal data is abundant, including neurology, cardiology and neuropsychology

Assessing the Value of Public Library Services: A Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis (Project META)

ABSTRACT This poster summarizes results of the IMLS funded University of South Carolina META project that explored the application of meta-analysis techniques to develop a robust model of public library economic value. Completed in 2014, the project approached this topic with two fundamental questions

Coronaviruses Detected in Brazilian Wild Birds Reveal Close Evolutionary Relationships with Beta- and Deltacoronaviruses Isolated From Mammals

This study showed that the most of the coronaviruses (CoVs) detected in Brazilian wild birds clustered with the mouse hepatitis virus A59 strain, belonging to the BetaCoV group. Furthermore, CoV detected in two different bird species, Amazona vinacea and Brotogeris tirica, clustered with a CoV isolated from Sparrow (SpaCoV HKU17) belonging to a monophyletic group related with the CoVs isolated from swines (PorCoV HKU15), both belonging to the DeltaCoV genus, previously unreported in South America. Considering the risk of inter-species host switching and further adaptation to new hosts, detection in bird species of CoVs closely related to mammal CoVs should warn for the potential emergence of new threatening viruses.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Grants 2013/03922-6 and 2011/50919-5

Adubação e arranjo de plantas no consórcio milho e braquiária.

A otimização do manejo de milho consorciado com braquiária depende da fertilidade do solo, da densidade de plantas de braquiária e do arranjo de plantas do milho. Avaliaram-se as interações desses fatores e sua influência na produtividade de grãos e da pastagem, em experimento conduzido por duas safras, num fatorial 2x2x3+1, combinando-se duas condições de adubação do milho (para produtividade de 6 ou > 10 t ha-1 de grãos), densidade média ou alta de braquiária ( 30 plantas m-2), três arranjos de plantas de milho (A = 90 cm entre linhas, 5 plantas m-1; B = 45 cm entre linhas, 2,5 plantas m-1; e C = 45 cm entre linhas, 3 plantas m-1) e um tratamento adicional (maior adubação, sem braquiária e arranjo A do milho). A disponibilidade hídrica influenciou as respostas aos tratamentos. Em ano chuvoso, maior adubação resultou em expressivo incremento da produtividade de grãos, independentemente do arranjo de plantas de milho e da presença de braquiária. Em ano com veranico, o ganho do milho, devido à adubação, foi menor e houve efeito prejudicial da maior densidade de braquiária. A produção de matéria seca pela braquiária não apresentou relação direta com a variação na densidade de plantas

Detection Of An Untyped Strain Of Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus In A Dairy Herd

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) causes important lower respiratory tract illness in calves. According to F and G proteins genetic sequences, three BRSV subgroups have been reported and characterized in several countries, showing differences in its distribution. In Brazil, the virus is widely disseminated throughout the herds and the few characterized isolates revealed the solely occurrence of the subgroup B. This study describes the detection and characterization of an untyped BRSV strain from a twenty-days-old calf from a herd without clinical respiratory disease. Nasal swabs were analyzed by RT-nested PCR for the F and G proteins genes. One sample has amplified the F protein gene. Sequencing and subsequent phylogenetic reconstruction were accomplished, revealing that the strain could not be grouped with any other BRSV subgroups reported. This result may suggest that the BRSV is in constantly evolution, even in Brazil, where the vaccination is not a common practice. More detailed studies about BRSV characterization are necessary to know the virus subgroups distribution among the Brazilian herds to recommend appropriated immunoprophylaxis.35525392550Affonso, I.B., Gatti, S.P., Alexandrino, B., Oliveira, M.C., Medeiros, A.S.R., Buzinaro, M.G., Samara, S.I., Detection of antibodies against bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) in dairy cattle with different prevalences of bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) in São Paulo State, Brazil (2011) Semina: Ciências Agrárias, 32 (1), pp. 295-300. , LondrinaAlmeida, R.S., Domingues, H.G., Spilki, F.R., Larsen, L.E., Hagglund, S., Belák, S., Arns, C.W., Circulation of bovine respiratory syncytial virus in Brazil (2006) Veterinary Record, 158 (18), pp. 632-634. , LondonAlmeida, R.S., Spilki, F.R., Roehe, P.M., Arns, C.W., Detection of Brazilian bovine respiratory syncytial virus strain by a reverse transcriptase-nestedpolymerase chain reaction in experimentally infected calves (2005) Veterinary Microbiology, 105 (2), pp. 131-135. , AmsterdamArns, C.W., Campalans, J., Costa, S.C.B., Domingues, H.G., D'Arce, R.C.F., Almeida, R.S., Characterization of bovine respiratory syncytial virus isolated in Brazil (2003) Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 36 (2), pp. 213-218. , Ribeirão PretoBaker, J.C., Frey, M., Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (1985) Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice, 1 (2), pp. 259-272. , PhiladelphiaBidokhti, M.R.M., Travén, M., Ohlson, A., Zarnegar, B., Baule, C., Belák, S., Alenius, S., Liu, L., Phylogenetic analysis of bovine respiratory syncytial viruses from recent outbreaks in feedlot and dairy cattle herds (2012) Archives of Virology, 157 (4), pp. 601-607. , New YorkBunt, A.A., Milne, R.G., Sayaya, T., Verbeek, M., Vetten, H.J., Walsh, J.A., Paramyxoviridae (2005) Virus Taxonomy, Eigth Report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, pp. 655-671. , In: FAUQUET, C. M.MAYO, M. A.MANILOFF, J.DESSELBERGER, U.BALL, L. A. (Ed.). London: Elsevier: Academic PressCampalans, J., Arns, C.W., Serological evidence of bovine respiratory syncytial virus in Brazil (1997) Virus Reviews and Research, 2 (1-2), pp. 50-56. , Belo HorizonteDomingues, H.G., Spilki, F.R., Arns, C.W., Detecção molecular e análise filogenética de vírus respiratório sincicial bovino (BRSV) em swabs e tecido pulmonar de bovinos adultos (2011) Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira, 31 (11), pp. 961-966. , Rio de JaneiroFurze, J.M., Roberts, S.R., Wertz, G.W., Taylor, G., Antigenically distinct G glycoproteins of BRSV strains share a high degree of genetic homogeneity (1997) Virology, 231 (1), pp. 48-58. , New YorkFurze, J., Wertz, G., Lerch, R., Taylor, G., Antigenic heterogeneity of the attachment protein of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (1994) Journal of General Virology, 75 (2), pp. 363-370. , LondonGonçalves, I.P.D., Simanke, A.T., Jost, H.C., Hötzel, I., Dal Soglio, A., Moojen, V., Detection of bovine respiratory syncytial virus in calves of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (1993) Ciência Rural, 23 (3), pp. 389-390. , Santa MariaHall, T.A., BioEdit: A user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT (1999) Nucleic Acids Symposium Series, 41, pp. 95-98. , OxfordLarsen, L.E., Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV): A review (2000) Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 41 (1), pp. 1-24. , CopenhagenLarsen, L.E., Tjornehoj, K., Viuff, B., Extensive sequence divergence among bovine respiratory syncytial viruses isolated during recurrent outbreaks in closed herds (2000) Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 38 (11), pp. 4222-4227. , WashingtonNettleton, P.F., Gilray, J.A., Caldow, G., Gidlow, J.R., Durkovic, B., Vilcek, S., Recent isolates of Bovine respiratory syncytial virus from Britain are more closely related to isolates from USA than to earlier British and current mainland European isolates (2003) Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B-Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, 50 (4), pp. 196-199. , BerlinProzzi, D., Walravens, K., Langedijk, J.P., Daus, F., Kramps, J.A., Letesson, J.J., Antigenic and molecular analyses of the variability of bovine respiratory syncytial virus G glycoprotein (1997) Journal of General Virology, 78 (2), pp. 359-366. , LondonSchrijver, R.S., Daus, F., Kramps, J.A., Langedijk, J.P.M., Buijs, R., Middel, W.G.J., Taylor, G., Van Oirschot, J.T., Subgrouping of bovine respiratory syncytial virus strains detected in lung tissue (1996) Veterinary Microbiology, 53 (3-4), pp. 253-260. , AmsterdamSchrijver, R.S., Langedijk, J.P.M., Poel, V.D.M.W.H., Middel, W.G.J., Kramps, J.A., Van Oirschot, J.T., Antibody responses against the G and F proteins of bovine respiratory syncytial virus after experimental and natural infections (1996) Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, 3 (5), pp. 500-506. , WashingtonSchrijver, R.S., Langedijk, J.P.M., Middel, W.G.J., Kramps, J.A., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Van Oirschot, J.T., A bovine respiratory syncytial virus strain with mutations in subgroup-specific antigenic domains of the G protein induces partial heterologous protection in cattle (1998) Veterinary Microbiology, 63 (2-4), pp. 159-175. , AmsterdamSpilki, F.R., Almeida, R.S., Domingues, H.G., D'Arce, R.C.F., Ferreira, H.L., Campalans, J., Costa, S.C.B., Arns, C.W., Phylogenetic relationships of Brazilian bovine respiratory syncyctial virus isolates and molecular homology modeling of attachment glycoprotein (2006) Virus Research, 116 (1-2), pp. 161-168. , AmsterdamSpilki, F.R., Arns, C.W., Vírus respiratório sincicial bovino (2008) Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 36 (3), pp. 197-214. , Porto AlegreStine, L.C., Hoppe, D.K., Clayton, L.K., Sequence conservation in attachment glycoproteins and antigenic diversity among bovine respiratory syncytial virus isolates (1997) Veterinary Microbiology, 54 (3-4), pp. 201-221. , AmsterdamTamura, K., Dudley, J., Nei, M., Kumar, S., MEGA 4: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (MEGA) software version 4.0 (2007) Molecular Biology and Evolution, 24 (8), pp. 1596-1599. , ChicagoTaylor, G., Stott, E.J., Furze, J., Ford, J., Sopp, P., Protective epitopes on the fusion protein of respiratory syncytial virus recognized by murine and bovine monoclonal antibodies (1992) Journal of General Virology, 73 (9), pp. 2217-2223. , LondonTaylor, G., Thomas, L.H., Furze, J.M., Cook, R.S., Wyld, S.G., Lerch, R., Hardy, R., Wertz, G.W., Recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing the F, G or N, but not the M2, protein of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) induce resistance to BRSV challenge in the calf and protect against the development of pneumonic lesions (1997) Journal of General Virology, 78 (12), pp. 3195-3206. , LondonThomas, L.H., Cook, R.S., Wyld, S.G., Furze, J.M., Taylor, G., Passive protection of gnotobiotic calves using monoclonal antibodies directed at different epitopes on the fusion protein of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (1998) Journal of Infectious Diseases, 177 (4), pp. 874-880. , ChicagoThompson, J.D., Higgins, D.G., Gibson, T.J., Clustal W: Improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, positions-specific gag penalties and weight matrix choice (1994) Nucleic Acids Research, 22 (22), pp. 4673-4680. , OxfordValarcher, J.F., Schelcher, F., Bourhy, H., Evolution of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (2000) Journal of Virology, 74 (22), pp. 10714-10728. , WashingtonValarcher, J.F., Taylor, G., Bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection (2007) Veterinary Research, 38 (2), pp. 153-180. , Les UlisPoel, V.D.W., Brand, A., Kramps, J.A., Van Oirschot, J.T., Respiratory syncytial virus infections in human beings and in cattle (1994) Journal of Infectious Diseases, 29 (2), pp. 215-228. , ChicagoVilcek, S., Elvander, M., Ballagi-Pordány, A., Belák, S., Development of nested PCR assays for detection of bovine respiratory syncytial virus in clinical samples (1994) Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 32 (9), pp. 2225-2231. , WashingtonWoelk, C.H., Holmes, E.C., Variable immune-driven natural selection in the attachment (G) glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (2001) Journal of Molecular Evolution, 52 (2), pp. 182-192. , ChicagoYaegashi, G., Seimiya, Y.M., Seki, Y., Tsunemitsu, H., Genetic and antigenic analyses of bovine respiratory syncytial virus detected in Japan (2005) Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 67 (2), pp. 145-150. , Toky

On-the-fly Uniformization of Time-Inhomogeneous Infinite Markov Population Models

This paper presents an on-the-fly uniformization technique for the analysis of time-inhomogeneous Markov population models. This technique is applicable to models with infinite state spaces and unbounded rates, which are, for instance, encountered in the realm of biochemical reaction networks. To deal with the infinite state space, we dynamically maintain a finite subset of the states where most of the probability mass is located. This approach yields an underapproximation of the original, infinite system. We present experimental results to show the applicability of our technique

Quantitative properties of complex porous materials calculated from X-ray μCT images

A microcomputed tomography (μCT) facility and computational infrastructure developed at the Department of Applied Mathematics at the Australian National University is described. The current experimental facility is capable of acquiring 3D images made up of 20003 voxels on porous specimens up to 60 mm diameter with resolutions down to 2 μm. This allows the three-dimensional (3D) pore-space of porous specimens to be imaged over several orders of magnitude. The computational infrastructure includes the establishment of optimised and distributed memory parallel algorithms for image reconstruction, novel phase identification, 3D visualisation, structural characterisation and prediction of mechanical and transport properties directly from digitised tomographic images. To date over 300 porous specimens exhibiting a wide variety of microstructure have been imaged and analysed. In this paper, analysis of a small set of porous rock specimens with structure ranging from unconsolidated sands to complex carbonates are illustrated. Computations made directly on the digitised tomographic images have been compared to laboratory measurements. The results are in excellent agreement. Additionally, local flow, diffusive and mechanical properties can be numerically derived from solutions of the relevant physical equations on the complex geometries; an experimentally intractable problem. Structural analysis of data sets includes grain and pore partitioning of the images. Local granular partitioning yields over 70,000 grains from a single image. Conventional grain size, shape and connectivity parameters are derived. The 3D organisation of grains can help in correlating grain size, shape and orientation to resultant physical properties. Pore network models generated from 3D images yield over 100000 pores and 200000 throats; comparing the pore structure for the different specimens illustrates the varied topology and geometry observed in porous rocks. This development foreshadows a new numerical laboratory approach to the study of complex porous materials