Healthy full-term infants' brain responses to emotionally and linguistically relevant sounds using a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm

We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in studying auditory processing of healthy newborns. The aim was to examine the automatic change-detection and processing of semantic and emotional information in speech in newborns. Brain responses of 202 healthy newborns were recorded with a multi-feature paradigm including a Finnish bi-syllabic pseudo-word/ta-ta/as a standard stimulus, six linguistically relevant deviant stimuli and three emotionally relevant stimuli (happy, sad, angry). Clear responses to emotional sounds were found already at the early latency window 100-200 ms, whereas responses to linguistically relevant minor changes and emotional stimuli at the later latency window 300-500 ms did not reach significance. Moreover, significant interaction between gender and emotional stimuli was found in the early latency window. Further studies on using multi-feature paradigms with linguistic and emotional stimuli in newborns are needed, especially those containing of follow-ups, enabling the assessment of the predictive value of early variations between subjects.Peer reviewe

Arvostelut

Urpo Kovala Fiktion talossa kuuluu ääniä Mikko Keskinen: Audio Book. Essays on Sound Technologies in Narrative Fiction. Maria Mäkelä Kirjoitetut identiteetit ja muita oman alan töitä kirjallisuudentutkijoille Birgit Neumann, Ansgar Nünning & Bo Pettersson (toim.): Narrative and Identity. Mikko Keskinen Outoja mielikertomuksia Lisa Zunshine: Strange Concepts and the Stories They Make Possible. Jari Kauppinen Derrida ja tulkinta Tomi Kaarto: Jacques Derrida and the Question of Interpretation. Harri Veivo Digitaalisesta fiktiosta semiotiikan ja reseptioestetiikan kannalta Mikko Nortela: Bittien poetiikka

Apofaattisuus ja houkkuus venäläisessä nykykirjallisuudessa

This article focuses on the question of the transformation of the Orthodox tradition in the postmodern context. Apophatic theology and the institute of Holy Fools (jurodstvo) are the most hermeneutic and mystical parts of the Byzantine and Russian Orthodox cultures. These practices have now become detached from their original sacral context and are used as rhetorical devices. The process and results of such transgression are studied using examples from the works of Dmitry Prigov and Vladimir Sorokin. In this article, I concentrate on three rhetorical figures that are used by these authors: logogriph, amplification and ostranenie.Artikkeli tarkastelee ortodoksisen tradition muutokseen liittyviä kysymyksiä postmodernistisen sanataiteen kontekstissa. Apofaattinen teologia ja Pyhien hullujen instituutio (jurodstvo) ovat kaikkein tulkinnallisin ja mystisin osa Bysantin ja Venäjän ortodoksista kulttuuria. Nämä käytännöt on nyt etäännytetty niiden alkuperäisestä sakraalista kontekstista ja otettu retoriseen käyttöön. Tätä prosessia ja sen vaikutusta tarkastellaan käyttäen esimerkkeinä Dmitry Prigovin ja Vladimir Sorokinin töitä. Analyysi keskittyy erityisesti kolmeen retoriseen keinoon, joita he käyttävät: logogryfi, amplifikaatio ja vieraannuttaminen

Healthy full-term infants’ brain responses to emotionally and linguistically relevant sounds using a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm

We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-feature mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm in studying auditory processing of healthy newborns. The aim was to examine the automatic change-detection and processing of semantic and emotional information in speech in newborns. Brain responses of 202 healthy newborns were recorded with a multi-feature paradigm including a Finnish bi-syllabic pseudo-word/ta-ta/as a standard stimulus, six linguistically relevant deviant stimuli and three emotionally relevant stimuli (happy, sad, angry). Clear responses to emotional sounds were found already at the early latency window 100–200 ms, whereas responses to linguistically relevant minor changes and emotional stimuli at the later latency window 300–500 ms did not reach significance. Moreover, significant interaction between gender and emotional stimuli was found in the early latency window. Further studies on using multi-feature paradigms with linguistic and emotional stimuli in newborns are needed, especially those containing of follow-ups, enabling the assessment of the predictive value of early variations between subjects.</p

EC-Earth3-AerChem : a global climate model with interactive aerosols and atmospheric chemistry participating in CMIP6

This paper documents the global climate model EC-Earth3-AerChem, one of the members of the EC-Earth3 family of models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). EC-Earth3-AerChem has interactive aerosols and atmospheric chemistry and contributes to the Aerosols and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP). In this paper, we give an overview of the model, describe in detail how it differs from the other EC-Earth3 configurations, and outline the new features compared with the previously documented version of the model (EC-Earth 2.4). We explain how the model was tuned and spun up under preindustrial conditions and characterize the model's general performance on the basis of a selection of coupled simulations conducted for CMIP6. The net energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere in the preindustrial control simulation is on average 0.09 Wm(-2) with a standard deviation due to interannual variability of 0.25 Wm(-2), showing no significant drift. The global surface air temperature in the simulation is on average 14.08 degrees C with an interannual standard deviation of 0.17 degrees C, exhibiting a small drift of 0.015 +/- 0.005 degrees C per century. The model's effective equilibrium climate sensitivity is estimated at 3.9 degrees C, and its transient climate response is estimated at 2.1 degrees C. The CMIP6 historical simulation displays spurious interdecadal variability in Northern Hemisphere temperatures, resulting in a large spread across ensemble members and a tendency to underestimate observed annual surface temperature anomalies from the early 20th century onwards. The observed warming of the Southern Hemisphere is well reproduced by the model. Compared with the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5), the surface air temperature climatology for 1995-2014 has an average bias of -0.86 +/- 0.05 degrees C with a standard deviation across ensemble members of 0.35 degrees C in the North-ern Hemisphere and 1.29 +/- 0.02 degrees C with a corresponding standard deviation of 0.05 degrees C in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere warm bias is largely caused by errors in shortwave cloud radiative effects over the Southern Ocean, a deficiency of many climate models. Changes in the emissions of near-term climate forcers (NTCFs) have significant effects on the global climate from the second half of the 20th century onwards. For the SSP3-7.0 Shared Socioeconomic Pathway, the model gives a global warming at the end of the 21st century (2091-2100) of 4.9 degrees C above the preindustrial mean. A 0.5 degrees C stronger warming is obtained for the AerChemMIP scenario with reduced emissions of NTCFs. With concurrent reductions of future methane concentrations, the warming is projected to be reduced by 0.5 degrees C.Peer reviewe

Association of Cumulative Paternal Early Life Stress With White Matter Maturation in Newborns

This cohort study examines infants and parents in the FinnBrain Birth Cohort to assess the association between paternal cumulative early life stress and offspring brain development.Question Is there an association between paternal early life stress exposure and newborn offspring brain development? Findings In the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study, among 72 trios of infants and their parents, a statistically significant association was found between paternal cumulative early life stress and child brain development, which persisted after controlling for several maternal variables. Meaning These data suggest an intergenerational mode of inheritance of offspring brain development; this finding may have implications for pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders.Importance Early life stress (ELS) has been shown to affect brain development and health outcomes. Recent animal studies have linked paternal early stress exposures with next-generation outcomes. Epigenetic inheritance through the male germline has been suggested to be one of the mechanisms. Objectives To test whether paternal ELS, as measured using the Trauma and Distress Scale, is associated with neonate brain development. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study included data from participants from the prospective 2-generation FinnBrain Birth Cohort, which was collected from 2011 to 2015. Pregnant women and the fathers were consecutively recruited at gestational week 12 from maternity clinics in Finland. Magnetic resonance imaging data were analyzed in 2019. Participants in this study were 72 families (infant, father, mother). Exposure Paternal exposure to ELS. Main Outcomes and Measures Fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the major white-matter tracts of the newborn brain. Results A total of 72 trios (infant, mother, and father) were analyzed. At the time of delivery, the mean (SD) age was 31.0 (4.4) years for fathers and 30.3 (4.5) years for mothers. Forty-one infants (57%) were boys; mean (SD) child age at inclusion was 26.9 (7.2) days from birth and 205 (8) days from estimated conception. Increasing levels of paternal ELS were associated with higher FA values in the newborn brain in the body of the corpus callosum, right superior corona radiata, and retrolenticular parts of the internal capsule. This association persisted after controlling for maternal ELS, maternal socioeconomic status (SES), maternal body mass index, maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy, child sex, and child age from birth and gestation corrected age when imaged. In additional region-of-interest analyses, the association between FA values and paternal Trauma and Distress Scale sum scores remained statistically significant in the earliest maturing regions of the brain, eg, the genu of the corpus callosum (in the regression models, beta = 0.00096; 95% CI, 0.00034-0.00158; P = .003) and the splenium (beta = 0.00090; 95% CI, 0.00000-0.00180; P = .049). Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study found a statistically significant association between paternal ELS and offspring brain development. This finding may have far-reaching implications in pediatrics, as it suggests the possibility of a novel route of intergenerational inheritance of ELS on next-generation brain development

A Novel Approach for Manual Segmentation of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in Neonate MRI

The gross anatomy of the infant brain at term is fairly similar to that of the adult brain, but structures are immature, and the brain undergoes rapid growth during the first 2 years of life. Neonate magnetic resonance (MR) images have different contrasts compared to adult images, and automated segmentation of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can thus be considered challenging as less software options are available. Despite this, most anatomical regions are identifiable and thus amenable to manual segmentation. In the current study, we developed a protocol for segmenting the amygdala and hippocampus in T2-weighted neonatal MR images. The participants were 31 healthy infants between 2 and 5 weeks of age. Intra-rater reliability was measured in 12 randomly selected MR images, where 6 MR images were segmented at 1-month intervals between the delineations, and another 6 MR images at 6-month intervals. The protocol was also tested by two independent raters in 20 randomly selected T2-weighted images, and finally with T1 images. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) for intra-rater, inter-rater, and T1 vs. T2 comparisons were computed. Moreover, manual segmentations were compared to automated segmentations performed by iBEAT toolbox in 10 T2-weighted MR images. The intra-rater reliability was high ICC >= 0.91, DSC >= 0.89, the inter-rater reliabilities were satisfactory ICC >= 0.90, DSC >= 0.75 for hippocampus and DSC >= 0.52 for amygdalae. Segmentations for T1 vs. T2-weighted images showed high consistency ICC >= 0.90, DSC >= 0.74. The manual and iBEAT segmentations showed no agreement, DSC >= 0.39. In conclusion, there is a clear need to improve and develop the procedures for automated segmentation of infant brain MR images

Mapping the CDIO Syllabus to the UNESO Key Competences for Sustainability

In this paper a framework of key competencies for sustainability defined by UNESCO is used\ua0to evaluate the relevance of the CDIO Syllabus for promoting engineering education for\ua0sustainable development. The evaluation is performed in two steps. First, topics, terms and\ua0concepts in the CDIO Syllabus that corresponds to the different UNESCO key competencies\ua0are identified. The second step is a qualitative discussion where areas of strong mapping are\ua0highlighted and aspects that could be better visualized or strengthened in, or added to, the\ua0Syllabus are identified. Differences in definitions of various concepts between the CDIO\ua0Syllabus and the UNESCO key competencies and the overall relation between the two\ua0frameworks are discussed. It is concluded that the CDIO Syllabus is rather well aligned with\ua0the UNESCO framework, however several opportunities (not to say needs) for strengthening\ua0the Syllabus in relation to the key competencies are identified. The UNESCO key\ua0competencies are found to be useful instruments for scrutinizing and updating the CDIO\ua0Syllabus. Other opportunities for knowledge and methods transfer between the Education for\ua0Sustainable Development (ESD) domain and the Engineering Education domain are\ua0identified. The paper is proposed to be used as basis for updating the CDIO Syllabus into a\ua0version 3.0 for maintaining its relevance in a changing world

Data Descriptor : Collocated observations of cloud condensation nuclei, particle size distributions, and chemical composition

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations alongside with submicrometer particle number size distributions and particle chemical composition have been measured at atmospheric observatories of the Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure (ACTRIS) as well as other international sites over multiple years. Here, harmonized data records from 11 observatories are summarized, spanning 98,677 instrument hours for CCN data, 157,880 for particle number size distributions, and 70,817 for chemical composition data. The observatories represent nine different environments, e.g., Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean maritime, boreal forest, or high alpine atmospheric conditions. This is a unique collection of aerosol particle properties most relevant for studying aerosol-cloud interactions which constitute the largest uncertainty in anthropogenic radiative forcing of the climate. The dataset is appropriate for comprehensive aerosol characterization (e.g., closure studies of CCN), model-measurement intercomparison and satellite retrieval method evaluation, among others. Data have been acquired and processed following international recommendations for quality assurance and have undergone multiple stages of quality assessment.Peer reviewe