Theta synchronization over occipito‐temporal cortices during visual perception of body parts

Categorical clustering in the visual system is thought to have evolved as a function of intrinsic (intra-areal) and extrinsic (interareal) connectivity and experience. In the visual system, the extrastriate body area (EBA), an occipito-temporal region, responds to full body and body part images under the organizational principle of their functional/semantic meaning. Although frequency-specific modulations of neural activity associated with perceptive and cognitive functions are increasingly attracting the interest of neurophysiologists and cognitive neuroscientists, perceiving single body parts with different functional meaning and full body images induces time-frequency modulations over occipito-temporal electrodes are yet to be described. Here, we studied this issue by measuring EEG in participants who passively observed fingers, hands, arms and faceless full body images with four control plant stimuli, each bearing hierarchical analogy with the body stimuli. We confirmed that occipito-temporal electrodes (compatible with the location of EBA) show a larger event-related potential (ERP, N190) for body-related images. Furthermore, we identified a body part-specific (i.e. selective for hands and arms) theta event-related synchronization increase under the same electrodes. This frequency modulation associated with the perception of body effectors over occipito-temporal cortices is in line with recent findings of categorical organization of neural responses to human effectors in the visual system

Trading Safety Versus Performance: Rapid Deployment of Robotic Swarms with Robust Performance Constraints

In this paper we consider a stochastic deployment problem, where a robotic swarm is tasked with the objective of positioning at least one robot at each of a set of pre-assigned targets while meeting a temporal deadline. Travel times and failure rates are stochastic but related, inasmuch as failure rates increase with speed. To maximize chances of success while meeting the deadline, a control strategy has therefore to balance safety and performance. Our approach is to cast the problem within the theory of constrained Markov Decision Processes, whereby we seek to compute policies that maximize the probability of successful deployment while ensuring that the expected duration of the task is bounded by a given deadline. To account for uncertainties in the problem parameters, we consider a robust formulation and we propose efficient solution algorithms, which are of independent interest. Numerical experiments confirming our theoretical results are presented and discussed

Rick on His Way to Rachel

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Clusters of specializations in the automotive supply chain in Italy. An empirical analysis using text mining

The wide literature exploring supply chains is polarized on two perspectives: micro analyses focusing on management strategies of companies, and macro assessment of cross-country interdependences. In order to explore the ongoing innovation paths, this paper adopts a third perspective on the supply chain, focusing on the internal structure of specializations within the automotive supply chain in Italy. If we compare the degree of fragmentation across global value chains, the automotive supply chain has the highest degree of fragmentation. With regard to Italy, its structural characteristics (number, size of companies, location) and dynamics of change deserve attention both for its large share in domestic production and for its interconnections with other supply chains. In this paper, we explore a strategy to identify a classification of specializations within the automotive supply chain grounded on the textual description of activities provided by companies when they register their business. Pending the acquisition of the database for the other years of the Observatory, in this work the analysis refers only to 2017 data

Strategie, pubbliche e private, in azione per ri-costruire meglio. Analisi dei testi di quattro interviste

In this paper we present the methodology and results of the automatic analysis of the transcripts of the interviews carried out under the project "ideas and projects for better reconstruction" (Esposito et al., 2017). Four strategic areas are considered: the Territorial Cohesion Agency, the Casa Italia Plan, the Civil Protection, and that of a community model of action in the community. The goal is twofold. On the one hand, it is intended to offer a systematic reading of the specificities and elements common to the various aspects considered in the interviews. On the other hand, we want to explore some methodological ideas in the automatic analysis of the texts on the following issues: integration of analytical tools, constraints resulting from the size of the corpus, interpretative potential of graphical representation of results, integration between automatic information retrieval, auto-coding of a corpus and expert reading

What innovation policy mix does matter for which countries? Patterns emerging from multidimensional analysis on STIP Compass platform

An increasing consensus is shared among scholars on the relevance of policy mix in supporting innovation processes. An essential support for a comparative analysis of innovation policies is provided by STIP Compass. As a joint initiative of the European Commission and OECD, STIP Compass contains taxonomies of policies, databases, monitoring tools, and links between various data sources. The paper addresses two research questions: the first one concerns the way to single out a pattern of innovation policy mix. The second one specifically focuses on the dimensions in the narratives adopted to describe the current policy issues. The paper refers to the STIP Compass database downloaded on 24th August 2019. Results can be browsed by using the navigation on Tableau Public. Being aware that the potential of STIP Compass relies on the quality of information that is entered by the countries, this paper aims at enhancing the awareness of both scholars and policy makers involved in the innovation policy field by suggesting its use to outline patterns of policy mix across countries. Although the database is incomplete and currently under revision, the exercise undertaken in this paper outlines methods for text analysis that will be applied to the new updated edition of STIP Compass, when available. One urgent message is drawn from the analysis undertaken in this paper: aiming at providing an effective analytical framework a tools for innovation policies in Europe, the European Commission cannot overlook that subnational policies need to be entered in STIP Compass, and this could be done in a straightforward way, by using information on regional innovation policies already available in the DG Regio

Short-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Term Neonates Treated with Phenobarbital versus Levetiracetam: A Single-Center Experience

BACKGROUND: Phenobarbital (PB) has been traditionally used as the first-line treatment for neonatal seizures. More recently, levetiracetam (LEV) has been increasingly used as a promising newer antiepileptic medication for treatment of seizures in neonates. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to compare the effect of PB vs. LEV on short-term neurodevelopmental outcome in infants treated for neonatal seizures. METHOD: This randomized, one-blind prospective study was conducted on term neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of S. Bambino Hospital, University Hospital "Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele," Catania, Italy, from February 2016 to February 2018. Thirty term neonates with seizures were randomized to receive PB or LEV; the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination (HNNE) was used at baseline (T0) and again one month after the initial treatment (T1). RESULTS: We found a significantly positive HNNE score for the developmental outcomes, specifically tone and posture, in neonates treated with LEV. There was no significant improvement in the HNNE score at T1 in the neonates treated with PB. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a positive effect of levetiracetam on tone and posture in term newborns treated for neonatal seizures. If future randomized-controlled studies also show better efficacy of LEV in the treatment of neonatal seizures, LEV might potentially be considered as the first-line anticonvulsant in this age grou

Congenital muscular dystrophy: from muscle to brain.

Congenital muscular dystrophies (CMDs) are a wide group of muscular disorders that manifest with very early onset of muscular weakness, sometime associated to severe brain involvement.The histologic pattern of muscle anomalies is typical of dystrophic lesions but quite variable depending on the different stages and on the severity of the disorder.Recent classification of CMDs have been reported most of which based on the combination of clinical, biochemical, molecular and genetic findings, but genotype/phenotype correlation are in constant progression due to more diffuse utilization of the molecular analysis.In this article, the Authors report on CMDs belonging to the group of dystroglycanopathies and in particular on the most severe forms represented by the Fukuyama CMD, Muscle-Eye-Brain disease and Walker Walburg syndrome.Clinical diagnosis of infantile hypotonia is particularly difficult considering the different etiologic factors causing the lesions, the difficulty in localizing the involved CNS area (central vs. peripheral) and the limited role of the diagnostic procedures at this early age.The diagnostic evaluation is not easy mainly in differentiating the various types of CMDs, and represents a challenge for the neonatologists and pediatricians. Suggestions are reported on the way to reach a correct diagnosis with the appropriate use of the diagnostic means