182 research outputs found
Development of modularity in the neural activity of children's brains
We study how modularity of the human brain changes as children develop into
adults. Theory suggests that modularity can enhance the response function of a
networked system subject to changing external stimuli. Thus, greater cognitive
performance might be achieved for more modular neural activity, and modularity
might likely increase as children develop. The value of modularity calculated
from fMRI data is observed to increase during childhood development and peak in
young adulthood. Head motion is deconvolved from the fMRI data, and it is shown
that the dependence of modularity on age is independent of the magnitude of
head motion. A model is presented to illustrate how modularity can provide
greater cognitive performance at short times, i.e.\ task switching. A fitness
function is extracted from the model. Quasispecies theory is used to predict
how the average modularity evolves with age, illustrating the increase of
modularity during development from children to adults that arises from
selection for rapid cognitive function in young adults. Experiments exploring
the effect of modularity on cognitive performance are suggested. Modularity may
be a potential biomarker for injury, rehabilitation, or disease.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figure
Strategies for High-Throughput, Templated Zeolite Synthesis
How best to design and redesign high-throughput experiments for zeolite
synthesis is addressed. A model that relates materials function to chemical
composition of the zeolite and the structure directing agent is introduced.
Using this model, several Monte Carlo-like design protocols are evaluated.
Multi-round protocols are found to be effective, and strategies that use a
priori information about the structure-directing libraries are found to be the
best.Comment: 21 pages. 3 figure
Influenza Evolution and H3N2 Vaccine Effectiveness, with Application to the 2014/2015 Season
Influenza A is a serious disease that causes significant morbidity and
mortality, and vaccines against the seasonal influenza disease are of variable
effectiveness. In this paper, we discuss use of the method to
predict the dominant influenza strain and the expected vaccine effectiveness in
the coming flu season. We illustrate how the effectiveness of the 2014/2015
A/Texas/50/2012 [clade 3C.1] vaccine against the A/California/02/2014 [clade
3C.3a] strain that emerged in the population can be estimated via pepitope. In
addition, we show by a multidimensional scaling analysis of data collected
through 2014, the emergence of a new A/New Mexico/11/2014-like cluster [clade
3C.2a] that is immunologically distinct from the A/California/02/2014-like
strains.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
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