Effect of parasympathetic stimulation on brain activity during appraisal of fearful expressions

Autonomic nervous system activity is an important component of human emotion. Mental processes influence bodily physiology, which in turn feeds back to influence thoughts and feelings. Afferent cardiovascular signals from arterial baroreceptors in the carotid sinuses are processed within the brain and contribute to this two-way communication with the body. These carotid baroreceptors can be stimulated non-invasively by externally applying focal negative pressure bilaterally to the neck. In an experiment combining functional neuroimaging (fMRI) with carotid stimulation in healthy participants, we tested the hypothesis that manipulating afferent cardiovascular signals alters the central processing of emotional information (fearful and neutral facial expressions). Carotid stimulation, compared with sham stimulation, broadly attenuated activity across cortical and brainstem regions. Modulation of emotional processing was apparent as a significant expression-by-stimulation interaction within left amygdala, where responses during appraisal of fearful faces were selectively reduced by carotid stimulation. Moreover, activity reductions within insula, amygdala, and hippocampus correlated with the degree of stimulation-evoked change in the explicit emotional ratings of fearful faces. Across participants, individual differences in autonomic state (heart rate variability, a proxy measure of autonomic balance toward parasympathetic activity) predicted the extent to which carotid stimulation influenced neural (amygdala) responses during appraisal and subjective rating of fearful faces. Together our results provide mechanistic insight into the visceral component of emotion by identifying the neural substrates mediating cardiovascular influences on the processing of fear signals, potentially implicating central baroreflex mechanisms for anxiolytic treatment targets

A Concise Bounded Anonymous Broadcast Yielding Combinatorial Trace-and-Revoke Schemes

Broadcast Encryption is a fundamental primitive supporting sending a secure message to any chosen target set of $N$ users. While many efficient constructions are known, understanding the efficiency possible for an ``Anonymous Broadcast Encryption\u27\u27 (ANOBE), i.e., one which can hide the target set itself, is quite open. The best solutions by Barth, Boneh, and Waters (\u2706) and Libert, Paterson, and Quaglia (\u2712) are built on public key encryption (PKE) and their ciphertext sizes are, in fact, $N$ times that of the underlying PKE (rate=$N$). Kiayias and Samary (\u2712), in turn, showed a lower bound showing that such rate is the best possible if $N$ is an independent unbounded parameter. However, when considering certain user set size bounded by a system parameter (e.g., the security parameter), the problem remains interesting. We consider the problem of comparing ANOBE with PKE under the same assumption. We call such schemes Anonymous Broadcast Encryption for Bounded Universe -- AnoBEB. We first present an AnoBEB construction for up to $k$ users from LWE assumption, where $k$ is bounded by the scheme security parameter. The scheme does not grow with the parameter and beat the PKE method. Actually, our scheme is as efficient as the underlying LWE public-key encryption; namely, the rate is, in fact, $1$ and thus optimal. The scheme is achieved easily by an observation about an earlier scheme with a different purpose. More interestingly, we move on to employ the new AnoBEB in other multimedia broadcasting methods and, as a second contribution, we introduce a new approach to construct an efficient ``Trace and Revoke scheme\u27\u27 which combines the functionalites of revocation and of tracing people (called traitors) who in a broadcasting schemes share their keys with the adversary which, in turn, generates a pirate receiver. Note that, as was put forth by Kiayias and Yung (EUROCRYPT \u2702), combinatorial traitor tracing schemes can be constructed by combining a system for small universe, integrated via an outer traceability codes (collusion-secure code or identifying parent property (IPP) code). There were many efficient traitor tracing schemes from traceability codes, but no known scheme supports revocation as well. Our new approach integrates our AnoBEB system with a Robust IPP code, introduced by Barg and Kabatiansky (IEEE IT \u2713). This shows an interesting use for robust IPP in cryptography. The robust IPP codes were only implicitly shown by an existence proof. In order to make our technique concrete, we propose two explicit instantiations of robust IPP codes. Our final construction gives the most efficient trace and revoke scheme in the bounded collusion model

Multi-Device for Signal

Nowadays, we spend our life juggling with many devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptops, and we expect to easily and efficiently switch between them without losing time or security. However, most applications have been designed for single device usage. This is the case for secure instant messaging (SIM) services based on the Signal protocol, that implements the Double Ratchet key exchange algorithm. While some adaptations, like the Sesame protocol released by the developers of Signal, have been proposed to fix this usability issue, they have not been designed as specific multi-device solutions and no security model has been formally defined either. In addition, even though the group key exchange problematic appears related to the multi-device case, group solutions are too generic and do not take into account some properties of the multi-device setting.Indeed, the fact that all devices belong to a single user can be exploited to build more efficient solutions. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Device Instant Messaging protocol based on Signal, ensuring all the security properties of the original Signal

Activated CD4+ T cells enhance radiation effect through the cooperation of interferon-γ and TNF-α

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Approaches that enhance radiation effect may lead to improved clinical outcome and decrease toxicity. Here we investigated whether activated CD4+ T cells (aCD4) can serve as an effective radiosensitizer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>CD4+ T cells were activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 mAbs. Hela cells were presensitized with aCD4 or conditioned supernatant (aCD4S) or recombinant cytokines for 2 days, followed γ-irradiation. The treated cells were cultured for an additional 2 to 5 days for cell proliferation, cell cycle, and western blot assays. For confirmation, other cancer cell lines were also used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Presensitization of tumor cells with aCD4 greatly increased tumor cell growth inhibition. Soluble factors secreted from activated CD4⁺T cells were primarily responsible for the observed effect. IFN-γ seemed to play a major role. TNF-α, though inactive by itself, significantly augmented the radiosensitizing activity of IFN-γ. aCD4S, but not IFN-γ or IFN-γ/TNF-α combination, was found to enhance the γ-irradiation-induced G2/M phase arrest. Bax expression was highly upregulated in Hela cells presensitized with aCD4S followed by γ-irradiation. The radio-sensitizing activity of aCD4 is not uniquely observed with Hela cell line, but also seen with other cancer cell lines of various histology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest possible molecular and cellular mechanisms that may help explain the radio-sensitization effect of activated lymphocytes, and may provide an improved strategy in the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy.</p

High diversity of picornaviruses in rats from different continents revealed by deep sequencing

Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases in humans and livestock are not uncommon, and an important component in containment of such emerging viral diseases is rapid and reliable diagnostics. Such methods are often PCR-based and hence require the availability of sequence data from the pathogen. Rattus norvegicus (R. norvegicus) is a known reservoir for important zoonotic pathogens. Transmission may be direct via contact with the animal, for example, through exposure to its faecal matter, or indirectly mediated by arthropod vectors. Here we investigated the viral content in rat faecal matter (n=29) collected from two continents by analyzing 2.2 billion next-generation sequencing reads derived from both DNA and RNA. Among other virus families, we found sequences from members of the Picornaviridae to be abundant in the microbiome of all the samples. Here we describe the diversity of the picornavirus-like contigs including near-full-length genomes closely related to the Boone cardiovirus and Theiler's encephalomyelitis virus. From this study, we conclude that picornaviruses within R. norvegicus are more diverse than previously recognized. The virome of R. norvegicus should be investigated further to assess the full potential for zoonotic virus transmission

Bisbibenzyls, a New Type of Antifungal Agent, Inhibit Morphogenesis Switch and Biofilm Formation through Upregulation of DPP3 in Candida albicans

The yeast-to-hypha transition plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of C. albicans. Farnesol, a quorum sensing molecule (QSM) secreted by the fungal itself, could prevent the formation of hyphae and subsequently lead to the defect of biofilm formation. The DPP3, encoding phosphatase, is a key gene in regulating farnesol synthesis. In this study, we screened 24 bisbibenzyls and 2 bibenzyls that were isolated from bryophytes or chemically synthesized by using CLSI method for antifungal effect. Seven bisbibenzyls were found to have antifungal effects with IC80 less than 32 µg/ml, and among them, plagiochin F, isoriccardin C and BS-34 were found to inhibit the hyphae and biofilm formation of C. albicans in a dose-dependent manner. To uncover the underlying relationship between morphogenesis switch and QSM formation, we measured the farnesol production by HPLC-MS and quantified Dpp3 expression by detecting the fluorescent intensity of green fluorescent protein tagged strain using Confocal Laser Scanning microscopy and Multifunction Microplate Reader. The DPP3 transcripts were determined by real-time PCR. The data indicated that the bisbibenzyls exerted antifungal effects through stimulating the synthesis of farnesol via upregulation of Dpp3, suggesting a potential antifungal application of bisbibenzyls. In addition, our assay provides a novel, visual and convenient method to measure active compounds against morphogenesis switch

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration