Bayesian log-Gaussian Cox process regression: applications to meta-analysis of neuroimaging working memory studies

Working memory (WM) was one of the first cognitive processes studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging. With now over 20 years of studies on WM, each study with tiny sample sizes, there is a need for meta-analysis to identify the brain regions that are consistently activated by WM tasks, and to understand the interstudy variation in those activations. However, current methods in the field cannot fully account for the spatial nature of neuroimaging meta-analysis data or the heterogeneity observed among WM studies. In this work, we propose a fully Bayesian random-effects metaregression model based on log-Gaussian Cox processes, which can be used for meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme for posterior simulations is presented which makes use of some recent advances in parallel computing using graphics processing units. Application of the proposed model to a real data set provides valuable insights regarding the function of the WM

Revoltierendes Anerkennen des Alter(n)s. Für eine unzeitgemäße Sicht auf das Alter

Das vielfach propagierte und gesellschaftlich positiv besetzte Bild des "aktiven Alterns" wird in diesem Beitrag kritisch betrachtet. Es wird die Frage aufgeworfen, inwiefern sich die Erwachsenenbildung mit ihrem Einsatz für ein aktives Altern in die Logiken einer neuen Sozialpolitik der Aktivierung verstrickt. Die Kritik aufgreifend, dass es mit den aktuell im Trend liegenden positiven Alterszuschreibungen zu einem Ausschluss von leidvollen Aspekten des Alterns kommt, wird aus einer bildungstheoretischen Perspektive für die Thematisierung von Körperlichkeit und die Anerkennung der Ambiguität menschlicher Existenz appelliert. "Revoltierendes Anerkennen des Alter(n)s" bietet der Erwachsenenbildung eine Sichtweise, die nicht zwischen Aktivität und Passivität polarisiert, sondern der Mehrdeutigkeit des Menschseins Rechnung trägt und damit auch einer möglichen ökonomischen und politischen Indienstnahme entgegentritt. (DIPF/Orig.)This article critically examines the idea of “active ageing” frequently propagated and positively seen by society. The question is raised to what extent adult education with its commitment to active ageing is caught up in the logic of a new social policy of activation. Responding to criticism that the current trend of attaching positive attributes to ageing leads to an exclusion of the painful aspects of ageing, the article employs an educational theory perspective to thematise physicality and to acknowledge the ambiguity of human existence. The “revolutionising acknowledgement of ageing and old age” provides adult education with a perspective that instead of polarising between activity and passivity accommodates the ambiguity of being human and thus takes steps against any possible economic and political exploitation. (DIPF/Orig.

Передача данных сетью БПЛА вдоль линейного объекта на противололожных курсах

The process of data transmission by a network of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on DPMR (Digital Private Mobile Radio) along an extended linear object is considered. A method of forming a network with the help of two UAVs moving in opposite directions with equal intervals between the devices within each of them is shown

Проблема утилизации и вторичной переработки пластиковых бутылок

Происходящие глобальные изменения преобразовывают обычную сырьевую экономику в высокотехнологичную, позволяющую рационально использовать имеющиеся ресурсы и при этом не загрязнять окружающую нас среду. Переработка ПЭТ-бутылок позволит решить проблему утилизации пластикового мусора и может стать прибыльным бизнесом. Результаты исследования показали, что сырье, полученное в процессе переработки пластиковых бутылок, может быть использовано для изготовления востребованной продукции.The ongoing global changes transform the conventional raw material economy into a high-tech one, allowing rational use of available resources and at the same time to not polluting the environment around us. Recycling of PET bottles will solve the problem of recycling plastic trash and can become a profitable business. The results of the research showed that secondary raw material, obtained during the processing of plastic bottles can be used for the production of the demanded products

ALE Meta-Analysis Workflows Via the Brainmap Database: Progress Towards A Probabilistic Functional Brain Atlas

With the ever-increasing number of studies in human functional brain mapping, an abundance of data has been generated that is ready to be synthesized and modeled on a large scale. The BrainMap database archives peak coordinates from published neuroimaging studies, along with the corresponding metadata that summarize the experimental design. BrainMap was designed to facilitate quantitative meta-analysis of neuroimaging results reported in the literature and supports the use of the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method. In this paper, we present a discussion of the potential analyses that are possible using the BrainMap database and coordinate-based ALE meta-analyses, along with some examples of how these tools can be applied to create a probabilistic atlas and ontological system of describing function–structure correspondences

Behavior, sensitivity, and power of activation likelihood estimation characterized by massive empirical simulation

Given the increasing number of neuroimaging publications, the automated knowledge extraction on brain-behavior associations by quantitative meta-analyses has become a highly important and rapidly growing field of research. Among several methods to perform coordinate-based neuroimaging meta-analyses, Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) has been widely adopted. In this paper, we addressed two pressing questions related to ALE meta-analysis: i) Which thresholding method is most appropriate to perform statistical inference? ii) Which sample size, i.e., number of experiments, is needed to perform robust meta-analyses? We provided quantitative answers to these questions by simulating more than 120,000 meta-analysis datasets using empirical parameters (i.e., number of subjects, number of reported foci, distribution of activation foci) derived from the BrainMap database. This allowed to characterize the behavior of ALE analyses, to derive first power estimates for neuroimaging meta-analyses, and to thus formulate recommendations for future ALE studies. We could show as a first consequence that cluster-level family-wise error (FWE) correction represents the most appropriate method for statistical inference, while voxel-level FWE correction is valid but more conservative. In contrast, uncorrected inference and false-discovery rate correction should be avoided. As a second consequence, researchers should aim to include at least 20 experiments into an ALE meta-analysis to achieve sufficient power for moderate effects. We would like to note, though, that these calculations and recommendations are specific to ALE and may not be extrapolated to other approaches for (neuroimaging) meta-analysis

Functional hierarchy of oculomotor and visual motion subnetworks within the human cortical optokinetic system

© 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. Optokinetic look nystagmus (look OKN) is known to engage cortical visual motion and oculomotor hubs. Their functional network hierarchy, however, and the role of the cingulate eye field (CEF) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in particular have not been investigated. We used look OKN in fMRI to identify all cortical visual motion and oculomotor hubs involved. Using these activations as seed regions, we employed hierarchical clustering in two differing resting state conditions from a separate public data set. Robust activations in the CEF highlight its functional role in OKN and involvement in higher order oculomotor control. Deactivation patterns indicate a decreased modulatory involvement of the DLPFC. The hierarchical clustering revealed a changeable organization of the eye fields, hMT, V3A, and V6 depending on the resting state condition, segregating executive from higher order visual subnetworks. Overall, hierarchical clustering seems to allow for a robust delineation of physiological cortical networks

Imaging-based parcellations of the human brain

A defining aspect of brain organization is its spatial heterogeneity, which gives rise to multiple topographies at different scales. Brain parcellation — defining distinct partitions in the brain, be they areas or networks that comprise multiple discontinuous but closely interacting regions — is thus fundamental for understanding brain organization and function. The past decade has seen an explosion of in vivo MRI-based approaches to identify and parcellate the brain on the basis of a wealth of different features, ranging from local properties of brain tissue to long-range connectivity patterns, in addition to structural and functional markers. Given the high diversity of these various approaches, assessing the convergence and divergence among these ensuing maps is a challenge. Inter-individual variability adds to this challenge but also provides new opportunities when coupled with cross-species and developmental parcellation studies