Value encoding in the globus pallidus: fMRI reveals an interaction effect between reward and dopamine drive

The external part of the globus pallidus (GPe) is a core nucleus of the basal ganglia (BG) whose activity is disrupted under conditions of low dopamine release, as in Parkinson's disease. Current models assume decreased dopamine release in the dorsal striatum results in deactivation of dorsal GPe, which in turn affects motor expression via a regulatory effect on other nuclei of the BG. However, recent studies in healthy and pathological animal models have reported neural dynamics that do not match with this view of the GPe as a relay in the BG circuit. Thus, the computational role of the GPe in the BG is still to be determined. We previously proposed a neural model that revisits the functions of the nuclei of the BG, and this model predicts that GPe encodes values which are amplified under a condition of low striatal dopaminergic drive. To test this prediction, we used an fMRI paradigm involving a within-subject placebo-controlled design, using the dopamine antagonist risperidone, wherein healthy volunteers performed a motor selection and maintenance task under low and high reward conditions. ROI-based fMRI analysis revealed an interaction between reward and dopamine drive manipulations, with increased BOLD activity in GPe in a high compared to low reward condition, and under risperidone compared to placebo. These results confirm the core prediction of our computational model, and provide a new perspective on neural dynamics in the BG and their effects on motor selection and cognitive disorders

A new approach for global synchronization in hierarchical scheduled real-time systems

We present our ongoing work to improve an existing synchronization protocol SIRAP for hierarchically scheduled real-time systems. A less pessimistic schedulability analysis is presented which can make the SIRAP protocol more efficient in terms of calculated CPU resource needs. In addition and for the same reason, an extended version of SIRAP is proposed, which decreases the interference from lower priority tasks. The new version of SIRAP has the potential to make the protocol more resource efficient than the original one

Tighter schedulability analysis of synchronization protocols based on overrun without payback for hierarchical scheduling frameworks

In this paper, we show that both global as well as local schedulability analysis of synchronization protocols based on the stack resource policy (SRP) and overrun without payback for hierarchical scheduling frameworks based on fixed-priority preemptive scheduling (FPPS) are pessimistic. We present tighter global and local schedulability analysis, illustrate the improvements of the new analysis by means of examples, and show that the improved global analysis is both uniform and sustainable. We evaluate the new global and local schedulability analysis based on an extensive simulation study and compare the results with the existing analysis

Schedulability analysis of synchronization protocols based on overrun without payback for hierarchical scheduling frameworks revisited

In this paper, we revisit global as well as local schedulability analysis of synchronization protocols based on the stack resource policy (SRP) and overrun without payback for hierarchical scheduling frameworks based on fixed-priority preemptive scheduling (FPPS). We show that both the existing global and local schedulability analysis are pessimistic, present improved analysis, and illustrate the improvements by means of examples

Opaque analysis for resource sharing in compositional real-time systems

In this paper we propose opaque analysis methods to integrate dependent real-time components into hierarchical fixed-priority scheduled systems. To arbitrate mutually exclusive resource access between components, we consider two existing protocols: HSRP - comprising overrun with and without payback - and SIRAP. An opaque analysis allows to postpone the choice of a synchronization protocol until component integration time. First, we identify the sources of pessimism in the existing analysis techniques and we conclude that both protocols assume different models in their local analysis. In particular, the compositional analysis for overrun with payback (OWP) is not opaque and is pessimistic. The latter makes OWP expensive compared to its counter part without a payback mechanism (ONP). This paper presents an opaque and less pessimistic OWP analysis. Secondly, SIRAP requires more timing information to perform a task-level schedulability analysis. In many practical situations, however, detailed timing characteristics of tasks are hard to obtain. We introduce an opaque analysis for SIRAP using the analysis of ONP to reduce the required timing information during the local analysis. We show that the analysis for ONP cannot deem systems schedulable which are infeasible with SIRAP. The SIRAP analysis may therefore reduce the required system resources of a component by sacrificing the choice for an arbitrary synchronization protocol at system integration time

Opaque analysis for resource-sharing components in hierarchical real-time systems : extended version

A real-time component may be developed under the assumption that it has the entire platform at its disposal. Composing a real-time system from independently developed components may require resource sharing between components. We propose opaque analysis methods to integrate resource-sharing components into hierarchically scheduled systems. Resource sharing imposes blocking times within an individual component and between components. An opaque local analysis ignores global blocking between components and allows to analyse an individual component while assuming that shared resources are exclusively available for a component. To arbitrate mutually exclusive resource access between components, we consider four existing protocols: SIRAP, BROE and HSRP - comprising overrun with payback (OWP) and overrun without payback (ONP). We classify local analyses for each synchronization protocol based on the notion of opacity and we develop new analysis for those protocols that are non-opaque. Finally, we compare SIRAP, ONP, OWP and BROE by means of an extensive simulation study. From the results, we derive guidelines for selecting a global synchronization protocol

Uniform Interfaces for Resource-Sharing Components in Hierarchically Scheduled Real-Time Systems

In literature, several hierarchical scheduling frameworks (HSFs) have been proposed for enabling resource sharing between components on a uni-processor system. Each HSF comes with its own set of composition rules which take into account a specific synchronization protocol for arbitrating access to resources. However, the inventors of these synchronization protocols have also chosen to describe these composition rules with the help of protocol-specific component interfaces. This creates unnecessary framework dependencies on components

High-accuracy determination of the neutron flux in the new experimental area n_TOF-EAR2 at CERN

A new high flux experimental area has recently become operational at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This new measuring station, n_TOF-EAR2, is placed at the end of a vertical beam line at a distance of approximately 20m from the spallation target. The characterization of the neutron beam, in terms of flux, spatial profile and resolution function, is of crucial importance for the feasibility study and data analysis of all measurements to be performed in the new area. In this paper, the measurement of the neutron flux, performed with different solid-state and gaseous detection systems, and using three neutron-converting reactions considered standard in different energy regions is reported. The results of the various measurements have been combined, yielding an evaluated neutron energy distribution in a wide energy range, from 2meV to 100MeV, with an accuracy ranging from 2%, at low energy, to 6% in the high-energy region. In addition, an absolute normalization of the n_TOF-EAR2 neutron flux has been obtained by means of an activation measurement performed with 197Au foils in the beam.Peer reviewe

Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather

The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence, stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure

1000 Genomes-based meta-analysis identifies 10 novel loci for kidney function.

HapMap imputed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed >50 loci at which common variants with minor allele frequency >5% are associated with kidney function. GWAS using more complete reference sets for imputation, such as those from The 1000 Genomes project, promise to identify novel loci that have been missed by previous efforts. To investigate the value of such a more complete variant catalog, we conducted a GWAS meta-analysis of kidney function based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in 110,517 European ancestry participants using 1000 Genomes imputed data. We identified 10 novel loci with p-value < 5 × 10(-8) previously missed by HapMap-based GWAS. Six of these loci (HOXD8, ARL15, PIK3R1, EYA4, ASTN2, and EPB41L3) are tagged by common SNPs unique to the 1000 Genomes reference panel. Using pathway analysis, we identified 39 significant (FDR < 0.05) genes and 127 significantly (FDR < 0.05) enriched gene sets, which were missed by our previous analyses. Among those, the 10 identified novel genes are part of pathways of kidney development, carbohydrate metabolism, cardiac septum development and glucose metabolism. These results highlight the utility of re-imputing from denser reference panels, until whole-genome sequencing becomes feasible in large samples