Amygdala lesions do not compromise the cortical network for false-belief reasoning

The amygdala plays an integral role in human social cognition and behavior, with clear links to emotion recognition, trust judgments, anthropomorphization, and psychiatric disorders ranging from social phobia to autism. A central feature of human social cognition is a theory-of-mind (ToM) that enables the representation other people's mental states as distinct from one's own. Numerous neuroimaging studies of the best studied use of ToM—false-belief reasoning—suggest that it relies on a specific cortical network; moreover, the amygdala is structurally and functionally connected with many components of this cortical network. It remains unknown whether the cortical implementation of any form of ToM depends on amygdala function. Here we investigated this question directly by conducting functional MRI on two patients with rare bilateral amygdala lesions while they performed a neuroimaging protocol standardized for measuring cortical activity associated with false-belief reasoning. We compared patient responses with those of two healthy comparison groups that included 480 adults. Based on both univariate and multivariate comparisons, neither patient showed any evidence of atypical cortical activity or any evidence of atypical behavioral performance; moreover, this pattern of typical cortical and behavioral response was replicated for both patients in a follow-up session. These findings argue that the amygdala is not necessary for the cortical implementation of ToM in adulthood and suggest a reevaluation of the role of the amygdala and its cortical interactions in human social cognition

Attitudes of North Carolina law enforcement officers toward syringe decriminalization

North Carolina, like much of the U.S. South, is disproportionately affected by HIV and hepatitis. This persistently high disease burden may be driven in part by laws that criminalize the possession and distribution of syringes for illicit drug use. Legal change to decriminalize syringes may reduce infection rates in the state, but is unlikely absent support from law enforcement actors

miRNA Regulatory Circuits in ES Cells Differentiation: A Chemical Kinetics Modeling Approach

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in gene regulation for Embryonic Stem cells (ES cells), where they either down-regulate target mRNA genes by degradation or repress protein expression of these mRNA genes by inhibiting translation. Well known tables TargetScan and miRanda may predict quite long lists of potential miRNAs inhibitors for each mRNA gene, and one of our goals was to strongly narrow down the list of mRNA targets potentially repressed by a known large list of 400 miRNAs. Our paper focuses on algorithmic analysis of ES cells microarray data to reliably detect repressive interactions between miRNAs and mRNAs. We model, by chemical kinetics equations, the interaction architectures implementing the two basic silencing processes of miRNAs, namely “direct degradation” or “translation inhibition” of targeted mRNAs. For each pair (M,G) of potentially interacting miRMA gene M and mRNA gene G, we parameterize our associated kinetic equations by optimizing their fit with microarray data. When this fit is high enough, we validate the pair (M,G) as a highly probable repressive interaction. This approach leads to the computation of a highly selective and drastically reduced list of repressive pairs (M,G) involved in ES cells differentiation

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog IV. Fifth Data Release

We present the fourth edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog contains 77,429 objects; this is an increase of over 30,000 entries since the previous edition. The catalog consists of the objects in the SDSS Fifth Data Release that have luminosities larger than M_i = -22.0 (in a cosmology with H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc, Omega_M = 0.3, and Omega_Lambda = 0.7) have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km/s, or have interesting/complex absorption features, are fainter than i=15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is 5740 sq. deg. The quasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.48; the catalog includes 891 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 36 are at redshifts greater than five. Approximately half of the catalog quasars have i < 19; nearly all have i < 21. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.2 arcsec. rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains basic radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800--9200A at a spectral resolution of ~2000. The spectra can be retrieved from the public database using the information provided in the catalog. The average SDSS colors of quasars as a function of redshift, derived from the catalog entries, are presented in tabular form. Approximately 96% of the objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS.Comment: 37 pages, Accepted for publication in A

Analysis of graft survival in a trial of stem cell transplant in ALS

Objective The first US Food and Drug Administration–approved clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS ) with neural stem cell–based therapy is in progress. The goal of the current study was to identify and assess the survival of human spinal cord–derived neural stem cells ( HSSC s) transplanted into the spinal cord in patients with ALS . Methods Spinal cords transplanted with HSSCs were examined from six autopsy cases. Homogenized tissues were interrogated for the presence of donor versus recipient DNA using real‐time PCR methods ( qPCR ). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed using DNA probes for XY chromosomes to identify male donor HSSCs in one female case, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to characterize the identified donor cells. Results Genomic DNA from donor HSSC s was identified in all cases, comprising 0.67–5.4% of total tissue DNA in patients surviving 196 to 921 days after transplantation. In the one female patient a “nest” of cells identified on H&E staining were XY ‐positive by FISH , confirming donor origin. A subset of XY ‐positive cells labeled for the neuronal marker NeuN and stem cell marker SOX 2. Interpretation This is the first study to identify human neural stem cells transplanted into a human spinal cord. Transplanted HSSC s survived up to 2.5 years posttransplant. Some cells differentiated into neurons, while others maintained their stem cell phenotype. This work is a proof of concept of the survival and differentiation of human stems cell transplanted into the spinal cord of ALS patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109593/1/acn3134.pd

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog I. Early Data Release

We present the first edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of the 3814 objects (3000 discovered by the SDSS) in the initial SDSS public data release that have at least one emission line with a full width at half maximum larger than 1000 km/s, luminosities brighter than M_i^* = -23, and highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is 494 square degrees; the majority of the objects were found in SDSS commissioning data using a multicolor selection technique. The quasar redshifts range from 0.15 to 5.03. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.2" rms per coordinate, five band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.05 mag, radio and X-ray emission properties, and information on the morphology and selection method. Calibrated spectra of all objects in the catalog, covering the wavelength region 3800 to 9200 Angstroms at a spectral resolution of 1800-2100, are also available. Since the quasars were selected during the commissioning period, a time when the quasar selection algorithm was undergoing frequent revisions, the sample is not homogeneous and is not intended for statistical analysis.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted by A

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog V. Seventh Data Release

We present the fifth edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog, which is based upon the SDSS Seventh Data Release. The catalog, which contains 105,783 spectroscopically confirmed quasars, represents the conclusion of the SDSS-I and SDSS-II quasar survey. The catalog consists of the SDSS objects that have luminosities larger than M_i = -22.0 (in a cosmology with H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc Omega_M = 0.3, and Omega_Lambda = 0.7) have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km/s or have interesting/complex absorption features, are fainter than i > 15.0 and have highly reliable redshifts. The catalog covers an area of 9380 deg^2. The quasar redshifts range from 0.065 to 5.46, with a median value of 1.49; the catalog includes 1248 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 56 are at redshifts greater than five. The catalog contains 9210 quasars with i < 18; slightly over half of the entries have i< 19. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.1" rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800-9200 Ang. at a spectral resolution R = 2000 the spectra can be retrieved from the SDSS public database using the information provided in the catalog. Over 96% of the objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS. We also include a supplemental list of an additional 207 quasars with SDSS spectra whose archive photometric information is incomplete.Comment: Accepted, to appear in AJ, 7 figures, electronic version of Table 2 is available, see http://www.sdss.org/dr7/products/value_added/qsocat_dr7.htm

High-Redshift Quasars Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data V. Hobby-Eberly Telescope Observations

We report the discovery of 27 quasars with redshifts between 3.58 and 4.49. The objects were identified as high-redshift candidates based on their colors in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data. The redshifts were confirmed with low resolution spectra obtained at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The quasars' $i^*$ magnitudes range from 18.55 to 20.97. Nearly 60% of the quasar candidates observed are confirmed spectroscopically as quasars. Two of the objects are Broad Absorption Line quasars, and several other quasars appear to have narrow associated absorption features.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, AJ accepte

L Dwarfs Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data II. Hobby-Eberly Telescope Observations

Low dispersion optical spectra have been obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope of 22 very red objects found in early imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The objects are assigned spectral types on the 2MASS system (Kirkpatrick et al. 1999) and are found to range from late M to late L. The red- and near-infrared colors from SDSS and 2MASS correlate closely with each other, and most of the colors are closely related to spectral type in this range; the exception is the (i^* - z^*) color, which appears to be independent of spectral type between about M7 and L4. The spectra suggest that this independence is due to the disappearance of the TiO and VO absorption in the i-band for later spectral types; to the presence of strong Na I and K I absorption in the i-band; and to the gradual disappearance of the 8400 Angstrom absorption of TiO and FeH in the z-band.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted by AJ, a version with higher resolution figures can be found at ftp://ftp.astro.psu.edu/pub/dps/hetld.p

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog III. Third Data Release

We present the third edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of the 46,420 objects in the SDSS Third Data Release that have luminosities larger than M_i = -22 (in a cosmology with H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc, Omega_M = 0.3, and Omega_Lambda = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km/s or are unambiguously broad absorption line quasars, are fainter than i = 15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is 4188 sq. deg. The quasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.47; the high-redshift sample includes 520 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 17 are at redshifts greater than five. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.2 arcsec. rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800--9200A at a spectral resolution about 2000; the spectra can be retrieved from the public database using the information provided in the catalog. A total of 44,221 objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS; 28,400 of the SDSS discoveries are reported here for the first time.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in A