Grey matter alterations co-localize with functional abnormalities in developmental dyslexia : an ALE meta-analysis

The neural correlates of developmental dyslexia have been investigated intensively over the last two decades and reliable evidence for a dysfunction of left-hemispheric reading systems in dyslexic readers has been found in functional neuroimaging studies. In addition, structural imaging studies using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) demonstrated grey matter reductions in dyslexics in several brain regions. To objectively assess the consistency of these findings, we performed activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on nine published VBM studies reporting 62 foci of grey matter reduction in dyslexic readers. We found six significant clusters of convergence in bilateral temporo-parietal and left occipito-temporal cortical regions and in the cerebellum bilaterally. To identify possible overlaps between structural and functional deviations in dyslexic readers, we conducted additional ALE meta-analyses of imaging studies reporting functional underactivations (125 foci from 24 studies) or overactivations (95 foci from 11 studies ) in dyslexics. Subsequent conjunction analyses revealed overlaps between the results of the VBM meta-analysis and the meta-analysis of functional underactivations in the fusiform and supramarginal gyri of the left hemisphere. An overlap between VBM results and the meta-analysis of functional overactivations was found in the left cerebellum. The results of our study provide evidence for consistent grey matter variations bilaterally in the dyslexic brain and substantial overlap of these structural variations with functional abnormalities in left hemispheric regions

Edge length dynamics on graphs with applications to pp-adic AdS/CFT

We formulate a Euclidean theory of edge length dynamics based on a notion of Ricci curvature on graphs with variable edge lengths. In order to write an explicit form for the discrete analog of the Einstein-Hilbert action, we require that the graph should either be a tree or that all its cycles should be sufficiently long. The infinite regular tree with all edge lengths equal is an example of a graph with constant negative curvature, providing a connection with $p$-adic AdS/CFT, where such a tree takes the place of anti-de Sitter space. We compute simple correlators of the operator holographically dual to edge length fluctuations. This operator has dimension equal to the dimension of the boundary, and it has some features in common with the stress tensor.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figure

Tumor necrosis factor-α\alpha in combination with interferon-γ\gamma, but not with interleukin 4 activates murine macrophages for elimination of Leishmania major amastigotes

We have previously shown that during an infection with Leishmania major, susceptible BALB/c mice, as opposed to mice of a resistant strain (C57BLl6), are primed by lipopolysaccharide for the production of high levels of tumor necrosis factor-$\alpha$ (TNF-$\alpha$) which is known to be a potent maerophage M$\Phi$ stimulator in other parasitic diseases. In the present study we investigated whether TNF-$\alpha$ activates M$\Phi$ for killing of L. major parasites. In the absence of interferon-y (IFN-$\gamma$) or lipopolysaccharide, TNF-$\alpha$ (0.025-25000 U/ml) failed to activate peritoneal exudate M$\Phi$ from BALB/c mice for killling of L. major amastigotes. In the presence of suboptimal doses of IFN-$\gamma$ (5 or 10 Vlml), however, TNF-$\alpha$ mediated a rapid elimination of intracellular parasites, which was highly significant compared to IFN-$\gamma$ alone. Tbe combination of TNF with interleukin 4, in contrast, was inactive in this respect and allowed survival of intracellular parasites. From these data we conelude that the presence of IFN-$\gamma$ is crucial for TNF-$\alpha$-mediated killing of L. major parasites by M$\Phi$. Disease progression in susceptible mice therefore seems to be a consequence of a deficiency of IFN-$\gamma$ and a predominance of interleukin 4 rather than the result of an excess amount of TNF-$\alpha$

The Case for Polymorphic Registers in Dataflow Computing

Heterogeneous systems are becoming increasingly popular, delivering high performance through hardware specialization. However, sequential data accesses may have a negative impact on performance. Data parallel solutions such as Polymorphic Register Files (PRFs) can potentially accelerate applications by facilitating high-speed, parallel access to performance-critical data. This article shows how PRFs can be integrated into dataflow computational platforms. Our semi-automatic, compiler-based methodology generates customized PRFs and modifies the computational kernels to efficiently exploit them. We use a separable 2D convolution case study to evaluate the impact of memory latency and bandwidth on performance compared to a state-of-the-art NVIDIA Tesla C2050 GPU. We improve the throughput up to 56.17X and show that the PRF-augmented system outperforms the GPU for 9×9 or larger mask sizes, even in bandwidth-constrained systems

Praktische Entwicklung einer wissensorientierten Unternehmenskultur. Entwurf einer Zertifizierungsmethode.

Unternehmen können erfolgskritisches Wissen leicht verlieren, wenn sie den Erhalt nicht durch ein integriertes Wissensmanagement steuern. Dieser Beitrag skizziert das Instrument einer Zertifizierung, die Unternehmen bei der Umsetzung von Maßnahmen unterstützt

Characterizing aging in the human brainstem using quantitative multimodal MRI analysis.

Aging is ubiquitous to the human condition. The MRI correlates of healthy aging have been extensively investigated using a range of modalities, including volumetric MRI, quantitative MRI (qMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging. Despite this, the reported brainstem related changes remain sparse. This is, in part, due to the technical and methodological limitations in quantitatively assessing and statistically analyzing this region. By utilizing a new method of brainstem segmentation, a large cohort of 100 healthy adults were assessed in this study for the effects of aging within the human brainstem in vivo. Using qMRI, tensor-based morphometry (TBM), and voxel-based quantification (VBQ), the volumetric and quantitative changes across healthy adults between 19 and 75 years were characterized. In addition to the increased R2* in substantia nigra corresponding to increasing iron deposition with age, several novel findings were reported in the current study. These include selective volumetric loss of the brachium conjunctivum, with a corresponding decrease in magnetization transfer and increase in proton density (PD), accounting for the previously described “midbrain shrinkage.” Additionally, we found increases in R1 and PD in several pontine and medullary structures. We consider these changes in the context of well-characterized, functional age-related changes, and propose potential biophysical mechanisms. This study provides detailed quantitative analysis of the internal architecture of the brainstem and provides a baseline for further studies of neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by early, pre-clinical involvement of the brainstem, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases

Awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content website users and non-users towards privacy in Germany : a qualitative study

This document presents the Germany results of a qualitative study undertaken as part of the CONSENT project (work package 8). The analyses and results are based on a set of ten semi-structured in-depth interviews regarding the awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content (UGC) website users towards privacy. The interview guideline consisted of 27 questions and sub-questions. The selection of interviewees was aiming at a 8:2 split between UGC users and non-users, an even gender distribution, and a further split by age group to ensure as wide a representation as possible.CONSENT Consumer Sentiment regarding privacy on user generated content (UGC) services in the digital economy (G.A. 244643). The project was co-financed by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013).peer-reviewe