Neural networks mediating sentence reading in the deaf

The present work addresses the neural bases of sentence reading in deaf populations. To better understand the relative role of deafness and spoken language knowledge in shaping the neural networks that mediate sentence reading, three populations with different degrees of English knowledge and depth of hearing loss were included-deaf signers, oral deaf and hearing individuals. The three groups were matched for reading comprehension and scanned while reading sentences. A similar neural network of left perisylvian areas was observed, supporting the view of a shared network of areas for reading despite differences in hearing and English knowledge. However, differences were observed, in particular in the auditory cortex, with deaf signers and oral deaf showing greatest bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) recruitment as compared to hearing individuals. Importantly, within deaf individuals, the same STG area in the left hemisphere showed greater recruitment as hearing loss increased. To further understand the functional role of such auditory cortex re-organization after deafness, connectivity analyses were performed from the STG regions identified above. Connectivity from the left STG toward areas typically associated with semantic processing (BA45 and thalami) was greater in deaf signers and in oral deaf as compared to hearing. In contrast, connectivity from left STG toward areas identified with speech-based processing was greater in hearing and in oral deaf as compared to deaf signers. These results support the growing literature indicating recruitment of auditory areas after congenital deafness for visually-mediated language functions, and establish that both auditory deprivation and language experience shape its functional reorganization. Implications for differential reliance on semantic vs. phonological pathways during reading in the three groups is discussed. © 2014 Hirshorn, Dye, Hauser, Supalla and Bavelier

Увеличение темпов прироста запасов углеводородов с помощью инновационных технологий на примере Омской области

Проведен анализ перспектив нефтегазоносности Омской области на основе данных инновационной технологии квантово-оптической фильтрации космоснимков. Приведены физические принципы технологии квантово-оптической фильтрации. На примере Омской области показана эффективность применения технологии квантово-оптической фильтрации при решении задачи повышения темпов прироста запасов углеводородного сырья

A Theory of Cheap Control in Embodied Systems

We present a framework for designing cheap control architectures for embodied agents. Our derivation is guided by the classical problem of universal approximation, whereby we explore the possibility of exploiting the agent's embodiment for a new and more efficient universal approximation of behaviors generated by sensorimotor control. This embodied universal approximation is compared with the classical non-embodied universal approximation. To exemplify our approach, we present a detailed quantitative case study for policy models defined in terms of conditional restricted Boltzmann machines. In contrast to non-embodied universal approximation, which requires an exponential number of parameters, in the embodied setting we are able to generate all possible behaviors with a drastically smaller model, thus obtaining cheap universal approximation. We test and corroborate the theory experimentally with a six-legged walking machine. The experiments show that the sufficient controller complexity predicted by our theory is tight, which means that the theory has direct practical implications. Keywords: cheap design, embodiment, sensorimotor loop, universal approximation, conditional restricted Boltzmann machineComment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Doppler findings in a rare Coronary Artery Fistula

One of the primary forms of congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries is coronary artery fistula (CAF). It is defined as a direct communication between the coronary artery and any surrounding cardiac chamber or vascular structure, which bypasses the myocardial capillary bed. We present a newborn baby with a large coronary artery fistula connecting the left anterior descending (LAD) artery to the left ventricular (LV) apex. Associated cardiac abnormalities were found: a ventricular septal defect (diameter 4 mm), a patent foramen ovale as well as trivial tricuspid and mitral regurgitation. Here we demonstrate the echocardiograms of an extremely rare form of CAF diagnosed within the first days of postnatal life

Recessive Antimorphic Alleles Overcome Functionally Redundant Loci to Reveal TSO1 Function in Arabidopsis Flowers and Meristems

Arabidopsis TSO1 encodes a protein with conserved CXC domains known to bind DNA and is homologous to animal proteins that function in chromatin complexes. tso1 mutants fall into two classes due to their distinct phenotypes. Class I, represented by two different missense mutations in the CXC domain, leads to failure in floral organ development, sterility, and fasciated inflorescence meristems. Class II, represented by a nonsense mutation and a T-DNA insertion line, develops wild-type–like flowers and inflorescences but shows severely reduced fertility. The phenotypic variability of tso1 alleles presents challenges in determining the true function of TSO1. In this study, we use artificial microRNA, double mutant analysis, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay to investigate the molecular basis underlying these two distinct classes of phenotypes. We show that the class I mutants could be converted into class II by artificial microRNA knockdown of the tso1 mutant transcript, suggesting that class I alleles produce antimorphic mutant proteins that interfere with functionally redundant loci. We identified one such redundant factor coded by the closely related TSO1 homolog SOL2. We show that the class I phenotype can be mimicked by knocking out both TSO1 and its homolog SOL2 in double mutants. Such antimorphic alleles targeting redundant factors are likely prevalent in Arabidopsis and maybe common in organisms with many sets of paralogous genes such as human. Our data challenge the conventional view that recessive alleles are always hypomorphic or null and that antimorphic alleles are always dominant. This study shows that recessive alleles can also be antimorphic and can produce a phenotype more severe than null by interfering with the function of related loci. This finding adds a new paradigm to classical genetic concepts, with important implications for future genetic studies both in basic research as well as in agriculture and medicine

Ultra-Strong Machine Learning: comprehensibility of programs learned with ILP

During the 1980s Michie defined Machine Learning in terms of two orthogonal axes of performance: predictive accuracy and comprehensibility of generated hypotheses. Since predictive accuracy was readily measurable and comprehensibility not so, later definitions in the 1990s, such as Mitchell’s, tended to use a one-dimensional approach to Machine Learning based solely on predictive accuracy, ultimately favouring statistical over symbolic Machine Learning approaches. In this paper we provide a definition of comprehensibility of hypotheses which can be estimated using human participant trials. We present two sets of experiments testing human comprehensibility of logic programs. In the first experiment we test human comprehensibility with and without predicate invention. Results indicate comprehensibility is affected not only by the complexity of the presented program but also by the existence of anonymous predicate symbols. In the second experiment we directly test whether any state-of-the-art ILP systems are ultra-strong learners in Michie’s sense, and select the Metagol system for use in humans trials. Results show participants were not able to learn the relational concept on their own from a set of examples but they were able to apply the relational definition provided by the ILP system correctly. This implies the existence of a class of relational concepts which are hard to acquire for humans, though easy to understand given an abstract explanation. We believe improved understanding of this class could have potential relevance to contexts involving human learning, teaching and verbal interaction

Does Pilocarpine-Induced Epilepsy in Adult Rats Require Status epilepticus?

Pilocarpine-induced seizures in rats provide a widely animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Some evidences reported in the literature suggest that at least 1 h of status epilepticus (SE) is required to produce subsequent chronic phase, due to the SE-related acute neuronal damage. However, recent data seems to indicate that neuro-inflammation plays a crucial role in epileptogenesis, modulating secondarily a neuronal insult. For this reason, we decided to test the following hypotheses: a) whether pilocarpine-injected rats that did not develop SE can exhibit long-term chronic spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) and b) whether acute neurodegeneration is mandatory to obtain chronic epilepsy. Therefore, we compared animals injected with the same dose of pilocarpine that developed or did not SE, and saline treated rats. We used telemetric acquisition of EEG as long-term monitoring system to evaluate the occurrence of seizures in non-SE pilocarpineinjected animals. Furthermore, histology and MRI analysis were applied in order to detect neuronal injury and neuropathological signs. Our observations indicate that non-SE rats exhibit SRS almost 8 (+/22) months after pilocarpine-injection, independently to the absence of initial acute neuronal injury. This is the first time reported that pilocarpine injected rats without developing SE, can experience SRS after a long latency period resembling human pathology. Thus, we strongly emphasize the important meaning of including these animals to model human epileptogenesis in pilocarpine induced epilepsy

Single-nanoparticle phase transitions visualized by four-dimensional electron microscopy

The advancement of techniques that can probe the behaviour of individual nanoscopic objects is of paramount importance in various disciplines, including photonics and electronics. As it provides images with a spatiotemporal resolution, four-dimensional electron microscopy, in principle, should enable the visualization of single-nanoparticle structural dynamics in real and reciprocal space. Here, we demonstrate the selectivity and sensitivity of the technique by visualizing the spin crossover dynamics of single, isolated metal–organic framework nanocrystals. By introducing a small aperture in the microscope, it was possible to follow the phase transition and the associated structural dynamics within a single particle. Its behaviour was observed to be distinct from that imaged by averaging over ensembles of heterogeneous nanoparticles. The approach reported here has potential applications in other nanosystems and those that undergo (bio)chemical transformations