Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions

Parametric Investigation of Seismic Interaction Between Precast Concrete Cladding Systems and Moment Resisting Frames

This paper presents the results of a preliminary numerical investigation into the interaction between precast concrete cladding systems and moment resisting frames. Macro-scale models of cladding systems are implemented in existing lumped plasticity models for moment resisting frames. Different failure mechanisms and various configurations are considered in order to show the effect of the entire cladding system upon a structure’s seismic behavior. Several parameters are varied in order to establish their associated influence on the overall structural response. Results show that it is clearly more advantageous to have a failure mechanism governed by the connection than one governed by either the panel or the frame. An experimental program is now underway building on what has been learnt from the parametric investigation. The authors intend to continue the research to successively develop improved or innovative low-damage cladding-moment resisting frame systems. They also aim to produce simple design tools that provide easy inclusion of the seismic effects of cladding-frame interaction

hMENA11a contributes to HER3-mediated resistance to PI3K inhibitors in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.

Human Mena (hMENA), an actin regulatory protein of the ENA/VASP family, cooperates with ErbB receptor family signaling in breast cancer. It is overexpressed in high-risk preneoplastic lesions and in primary breast tumors where it correlates with HER2 overexpression and an activated status of AKT and MAPK. The concomitant overexpression of hMENA and HER2 in breast cancer patients is indicative of a worse prognosis. hMENA is expressed along with alternatively expressed isoforms, hMENA11a and hMENAΔv6 with opposite functions. A novel role for the epithelial-associated hMENA11a isoform in sustaining HER3 activation and pro-survival pathways in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells has been identified by reverse phase protein array and validated in vivo in a series of breast cancer tissues. As HER3 activation is crucial in mechanisms of cell resistance to PI3K inhibitors, we explored whether hMENA11a is involved in these resistance mechanisms. The specific hMENA11a depletion switched off the HER3-related pathway activated by PI3K inhibitors and impaired the nuclear accumulation of HER3 transcription factor FOXO3a induced by PI3K inhibitors, whereas PI3K inhibitors activated hMENA11a phosphorylation and affected its localization. At the functional level, we found that hMENA11a sustains cell proliferation and survival in response to PI3K inhibitor treatment, whereas hMENA11a silencing increases molecules involved in cancer cell apoptosis. As shown in three-dimensional cultures, hMENA11a contributes to resistance to PI3K inhibition because its depletion drastically reduced cell viability upon treatment with PI3K inhibitor BEZ235. Altogether, these results indicate that hMENA11a in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells sustains HER3/AKT axis activation and contributes to HER3-mediated resistance mechanisms to PI3K inhibitors. Thus, hMENA11a expression can be proposed as a marker of HER3 activation and resistance to PI3K inhibition therapies, to select patients who may benefit from these combined targeted treatments. hMENA11a activity could represent a new target for antiproliferative therapies in breast cancer

The United States Army Corps of Engineers\u27 Perspective on Environmental Dredging

This paper summarizes investigations conducted under the Dredged Material Research Program, Long-Term Effects of Dredging Operations Program, Field Verification Program, Dredging Operations Technical Support Program, and field reimbursable work funded by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Permission to publish this material was granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chief of Engineers

Using Speculative Computation and Parallelizing Techniques to Improve Scheduling of Control based Designs

partially_open5Recent research results have seen the application of parallelizing techniques to high-level synthesis. In particular, the effect of speculative code transformations on mixed control-data flow designs has demonstrated effective results on schedule lengths. In this paper we first analyze the use of the control and data dependence graph as an intermediate representation that provides the possibility of extracting the maximum parallelism. Then we analyze the scheduling problem by formulating an approach based on Integer Linear Programming (ILP) to minimize the number of control steps given the amount of resources. We improve the already proposed ILP scheduling approaches by introducing a new conditional resource sharing constraint which is then extended to the case of speculative computation. The ILP formulation has been solved by using a Branch and Cut framework which provides better results than standard branch and bound techniquesR. Cordone; F. Ferrandi; G. Palermo; M. Santambrogio; D. SciutoR., Cordone; Ferrandi, Fabrizio; Palermo, Gianluca; Santambrogio, MARCO DOMENICO; Sciuto, Donatell

Anodal tDCS and High-Frequency tRNS Targeting the Occipitotemporal Cortex Do Not Always Enhance Face Perception

There has been increasing interest in the utility of transcranial electrical stimulation as a tool to enhance cognitive abilities. In the domain of face perception, enhancements have been reported for both transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and high-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) targeting the occipitotemporal cortex. In a series of two experiments, we attempted to replicate these findings for face identity perception, and extend on previous studies, to determine if similar enhancements are also observed for object and facial expression perception. In Experiment 1, using a single blind, between-subjects design in healthy volunteers (N = 53), we examined whether anodal tDCS over the occipitotemporal cortex enhanced performance on tasks involving perception of face identity, facial expression, and object stimuli, when compared to sham stimulation. We failed to replicate previous findings of enhanced performance on face and object perception, nor extend findings to facial expression perception. In Experiment 2, using a single blind, between-subjects design (N = 39), we examined the effect of high-frequency tRNS over the occipitotemporal cortex using the same three tasks employed in Experiment 1. We failed to replicate previous findings of enhanced face perception following high-frequency tRNS over the occipitotemporal cortex, relative to sham stimulation (although we used different stimulation parameters to that employed in a previous study). We also found no evidence of enhanced facial expression and object perception following high-frequency tRNS. The findings align with a growing body of studies that have failed to replicate previously reported enhancements following administration of tDCS and hint for different efficacy of, on first sight, related stimulation protocols. Future studies should explore the foundation of these differential effects in greater detail

Antibacterial Activity of Polymers: Discussions on the Nature of Amphiphilic Balance

© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim The purpose of this Viewpoint is to discuss the molecular design principles that guide development of synthetic antimicrobial polymers, especially those intended to mimic the structure of host defense peptides (HDPs). In particular, we focus on the principle of “amphiphilic balance” as it relates to some recently developed polyphosphoniums with somewhat atypical structure. We find that the fundamental concept of amphiphilic balance is still applicable to these new polymers, but that the method to achieve such balance is somewhat unique. We then briefly outline the future challenges and opportunities in this field

Announcement of a special virtual issue on the EuroGRAPHENE program

The Carbon journal is pleased to announce the publication of a virtual special issue on research funded by the EuroGRAPHENE program of the European Science Foundation. In order to ensure rapid publication, the contributed primary research articles have already appeared in regular Carbon volumes over the course of 2014, and are now compiled together as a virtual special issue on the journal website.1 The present article by our team of guest editors serves as an introduction to this special issue, and also a commentary on the graphene field and the important role played by the EuroGRAPHENE program

Machines on Genes through the Computational Microscope

Macromolecular machines acting on genes are at the core of life's fundamental processes, including DNA replication and repair, gene transcription and regulation, chromatin packaging, RNA splicing, and genome editing. Here, we report the increasing role of computational biophysics in characterizing the mechanisms of "machines on genes", focusing on innovative applications of computational methods and their integration with structural and biophysical experiments. We showcase how state-of-the-art computational methods, including classical and ab initio molecular dynamics to enhanced sampling techniques, and coarse-grained approaches are used for understanding and exploring gene machines for real-world applications. As this review unfolds, advanced computational methods describe the biophysical function that is unseen through experimental techniques, accomplishing the power of the "computational microscope", an expression coined by Klaus Schulten to highlight the extraordinary capability of computer simulations. Pushing the frontiers of computational biophysics toward a pragmatic representation of large multimegadalton biomolecular complexes is instrumental in bridging the gap between experimentally obtained macroscopic observables and the molecular principles playing at the microscopic level. This understanding will help harness molecular machines for medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological purposes