Annotating Synapses in Large EM Datasets

Reconstructing neuronal circuits at the level of synapses is a central problem in neuroscience and becoming a focus of the emerging field of connectomics. To date, electron microscopy (EM) is the most proven technique for identifying and quantifying synaptic connections. As advances in EM make acquiring larger datasets possible, subsequent manual synapse identification ({\em i.e.}, proofreading) for deciphering a connectome becomes a major time bottleneck. Here we introduce a large-scale, high-throughput, and semi-automated methodology to efficiently identify synapses. We successfully applied our methodology to the Drosophila medulla optic lobe, annotating many more synapses than previous connectome efforts. Our approaches are extensible and will make the often complicated process of synapse identification accessible to a wider-community of potential proofreaders

Evaluación de la percepción de padres acerca del desempeño en el lenguajes comprensivo de sus hijos después de la aplicación de un programa de entrenamiento auditivo.

128 p.La afectación que la hipoacusia tiene para quienes la padecen y para susfamilias ha llevado a numerosas instituciones a crear e implementar programas desalud quepermitan ofrecer una mejor calidad de vida para estas personas. LaJunta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas (JUNAEB) ofrece adaptaciónaudioprotésica para niños preescolares y escolares que sean detectados conhipoacusia sobre 30decibeles (promedio tonal puro). Junto aello, ingresan aunprograma de entrenamiento auditivo, cuyo propósito es educar a los niños y susfamilias en el uso y manejo de la prótesis auditiva. Entrega además orientacionesacerca de la estimulación del lenguaje y estrategias para el desarrollo auditivo.Surge la duda de saber si la exposición de los sujetos al programa deentrenamiento auditivoprovocará variaciones comunicativas encuanto a lacomprensión del lenguaje. Es por eso que se realizó un cuestionario a los padresde los menores participantes en el programa, de manera tal de contar con uninstrumento aplicable a todos los niños,evitando que interfieran variables externasa la aplicación de instrumentos estandarizados. Esto permite además obtenerdatos sobre el desempeño comunicativo del niño en contextos familiares para él,evitando someterlo a contextos clínicos y poco comunes

A smartphone-based system for detecting hand tremors in unconstrained environments

The detection of tremors can be crucial for the early diagnosis and proper treatment of some disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. A smartphone-based applica- tion has been developed for detecting hand tremors. This application runs in background and distinguishes hand tremors from common daily activities. This application can facilitate the continuous monitoring of patients or the early detection of this symptom. The evaluation analyzes 1770 accelerometer samples with cross-validation for assessing the ability of the system for processing unknown data, obtaining a sensitivity of 95.8 % and a specificity of 99.5 %. It also analyzes continuous data for some volun- teers for several days, which corroborated its high performance

Density-based fractionation of soil organic matter: effects of heavy liquid and heavy fraction washing

Physical fractionation methods used in soil organic matter (SOM) research commonly include density-based procedures with heavy liquids to separate SOM pools with varying turnover rates and functions. Once separated, the heavy SOM pools are often thoroughly rinsed with water to wash off any residues of the heavy liquids. Using four soils with contrasting properties, we investigated the effects of using either sodium polytungstate (SPT) or sodium iodide (NaI), two of the most commonly used heavy liquids, on the distribution of organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) in free light, intra-aggregate light, and mineral-associated heavy SOM pools isolated by a common fractionation scheme. We also determined the effects of washing the mineral-associated heavy SOM fractions on the recovery of organic C and total N after separation. Because of its smaller viscosity compared to that of NaI, SPT consistently yielded greater intra-aggregate and smaller mineral-associated soil organic C contents. We also confirm that some commercial SPT products, such as the one used here, can contaminate organo-mineral heavy pools with N during density-based fractionation procedures. We do not recommend the repeated washing of heavy fractions separated with Na-based heavy liquids, as this can mobilize SOM

Peranan Elit dalam Rekonstruksi Budaya Lokal “Ingot-ingot” di Desa Panribuan Kabupaten Simalungun

The research was based on the strong position of a group of elite in a village in Karo Tribe called "Simantek kuta". Position is Obtained through elite role when Reconstructing a culture called "Ingot-ingot" meaning returning the favor. The purpose of this research was to know and describe the role of the elite in the reconstruction of the local culture Ingot-ingot in the village of Panribuan, Simalungun Regency. The theory used is the elite theory and the theory of cultural studies. The methods used by qualitative research. The technique of collecting data through observation, interviews, literature and documentation. This study yields findings where the reconstruction is done by doing a social approach, cultural hegemony and build relations of power in society. The culture of Ingot-ingot is a culture that is very sacred because when a debt of gratitude to appear then this debt is not just a personal debt but also debt into spirit, family debt, and debt of the ancestors, so that if not paid or dibalaskan then it can be a catastrophe. This definition is used by the elite through the power of capital in the form of material wealth and knowledge of the cultural aspects to revive culture of ingot-Ingot in an attempt to menghegemoni the community. Social approach undertaken to understand culture in a diverse community in the Batak tribe. This approach then yields the reconstruction of Ingot-ingots that was built through the existing cultural concept that already exist namely the awarding of "Jabatan" as the Organization of indigenous institutions, the granting of "Marga" as a form of tribal identity and "Perkawinan" in the concept formation of kinship. Elite calculations appear on each value from the third awarding it. On the other hand, the concept of marriage even produce power relations in the system of kinship

Application of multivariate statistical analyses to Itrax core scanner data for the identification of deep-marine sedimentary facies: a case study in the Galician Continental Margin

The validity and usefulness of multivariate statistical tools for the facies characterization in deep-marine environments have been applied on the geochemical, sedimentological and magnetic data from a piston core extracted from the Transitional Zone in the Galician Continental Margin. The combination of geochemical profiles of Fe, Mn, Ti, Ba and Ca and magnetic susceptibility (MS) obtained using the ItraxTM Core Scanner at the University of Vigo, together with the grain-size, grey level and R (red) G (green) B (blue) colour analyses have allowed characterizing and classifying the sediments of the core PC13-3 using SPSS package v. 23. Cluster Analysis (CA) displays, in the first level of the hierarchy, two major groups that correspond with clay-silt and sand facies. In a second level, it is possible to observe six subfacies that match de visu preliminary classification and allowed us to complete and improve the characterization and the facies limits in the whole core. Discriminant Analysis (DA) confirmed the validity of the cluster analyses and enhanced the results of the classification. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows four principal components: coarse lithogenic fraction (PC1), fine lithogenic fraction (PC2), high density fraction (PC3) and biogenic fraction (PC4). These results are in concordance with the Pearson correlation coefficient and the SEM observations. In general terms, the results confirm the utility of the multivariate statistical methods applied on high resolution geochemical and magnetic data acquired with ItraxTM corer scanner, as a quick and complementary tool in sedimentary facies analysis and description in deep marine environments.publishe