To Bet, or Not to Bet: That Is the Question of SEF Spikes

The ability of animals to monitor their own cognitive processes is called metacognition. In this issue of Neuron, Middlebrooks and Sommer (2012) show that single-unit activity of SEF neurons exhibit a metacognitive signal while monkeys perform a postdecision wagering task

Fracture behavior of single crystal silicon with thermal oxide layer

This paper reports on the effect of oxidation on fracture behavior of single crystal silicon (SCS). SCS specimens were fabricated from (1. 0. 0) silicon-on-insulator wafer with 5-μm-thick device layer and oxide layer were thermally grown. Quasi-static tensile testing of as-fabricated, oxidized and oxidized layer removed specimens was performed. The fracture origin location transited from the surface to silicon/oxide interface and inside of silicon. The transition may be caused by surface smoothing, thickening oxide layer and formation of oxide precipitation defects in silicon during oxidation. The radius of the oxide precipitation defects was estimated, which is well agreed with the fracture-initiating crack sizes

Subquery Allocation Problem and Heuristics for Secret Sharing Distributed Database System

We discuss query optimization in a secure distributed database system, called the Secret Sharing Distributed DataBase System (SSDDBS). We have to consider not only subquery allocations to distributed servers and data transfer on the network but also decoding distributed shared data. At first, we formulated the subquery allocation problem as a constraints satisfaction problem. Since the subquery allocation problem is NP-complete in general, it is not easy to obtain the optimal solution in practical time. Secondly, we proposed a heuristic evaluation function for the best-first search. We constructed an optimization model on an available optimization software, and evaluated the proposed method. The results showed that feasible solutions could be obtained by using the proposed method in practical time, and that quality of the obtained solutions was good

Infection of RANKL-Primed RAW-D Macrophages with Porphyromonas gingivalis Promotes Osteoclastogenesis in a TNF-α-Independent Manner

Infection of macrophages with bacteria induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α. TNF-α directly stimulates osteoclast differentiation from bone marrow macrophages in vitro as well as indirectly via osteoblasts. Recently, it was reported that bacterial components such as LPS inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in early stages, but promoted osteoclast differentiation in late stages. However, the contribution to osteoclast differentiation of TNF-α produced by infected macrophages remains unclear. We show here that Porphyromonas gingivalis, one of the major pathogens in periodontitis, directly promotes osteoclastogenesis from RANKL-primed RAW-D (subclone of RAW264) mouse macrophages, and we show that TNF-α is not involved in the stimulatory effect on osteoclastogenesis. P. gingivalis infection of RANKL-primed RAW-D macrophages markedly stimulated osteoclastogenesis in a RANKL-independent manner. In the presence of the TLR4 inhibitor, polymyxin B, infection of RANKL-primed RAW-D cells with P. gingivalis also induced osteoclastogenesis, indicating that TLR4 is not involved. Infection of RAW-D cells with P. gingivalis stimulated the production of TNF-α, whereas the production of TNF-α by similarly infected RANKL-primed RAW-D cells was markedly down-regulated. In addition, infection of RANKL-primed macrophages with P. gingivalis induced osteoclastogenesis in the presence of neutralizing antibody against TNF-α. Inhibitors of NFATc1 and p38MAPK, but not of NF-κB signaling, significantly suppressed P. gingivalis-induced osteoclastogenesis from RANKL-primed macrophages. Moreover, re-treatment of RANKL-primed macrophages with RANKL stimulated osteoclastogenesis in the presence or absence of P. gingivalis infection, whereas re-treatment of RANKL-primed macrophages with TNF-α did not enhance osteoclastogenesis in the presence of live P. gingivalis. Thus, P. gingivalis infection of RANKL-primed macrophages promoted osteoclastogenesis in a TNF-α independent manner, and RANKL but not TNF-α was effective in inducing osteoclastogenesis from RANKL-primed RAW-D cells in the presence of P. gingivalis

Molecular nutrition of intestinal oligopeptide transporter

The oligopeptide transporter (PepT 1), which is located in the intestinal brush border membrane, provides a major mechanism for protein absorption in the small intestine. Molecular cloning of the gene encoding rat PepT 1 has predicted a 78,710 -kilodalton protein consisting of 710 amino acid residues and processing 12 putative membrane-spanning domains. The characterization of its function has shown that (1) it transports dipeptides, tripeptides, and β-lactam antibiotics but not free amino acids or peptides with more than four amino acid residues, and (2) its driving force for uphill transport requires proton binding. A human intestinal cell line (Caco-2) has been used to investigate the molecular regulation of the PepT 1 gene. These studies suggest that amino acids directly stimulate the promoter activity of the PepT 1 gene. Thus, PepT 1 plays important roles in nutritional and pharmacological therapies

C2C_2-cofiniteness of 2-cyclic permutation orbifold models

In this article, we consider permutation orbifold models of $C_2$-cofinite vertex operator algebras of CFT type. We show the $C_2$-cofiniteness of the 2-cyclic permutation orbifold model $(V\otimes V)^{S_2}$ for an arbitrary $C_2$-cofinite simple vertex operator algebra $V$ of CFT type. We also give a proof of the $C_2$-cofiniteness of a $\Z_2$-orbifold model $V_L^+$ of the lattice vertex operator algebra $V_L$ associated with a rank one positive definite even lattice $L$ by using our result and the $C_2$-cofiniteness of $V_L$.Comment: 25 pages, no figure, some typo are correcte

Alteração de equilíbrio e nistagmo pós-rotatório em crianças com dificuldades de leitura

Several studies reporting reading deficits in children with vestibule system deficits have stressed the importance of assessing vestibule processing inlearning disabled children. SIPT (Sensory integration and Praxis Test) is usually the instrument of choice for global assessment of children suspect of vestibule system processing deficits. However, the standardized norms used for assessing SIPT data have not been sufficiently adapted to the Brazilian population, so that the use of non-adapted norms may lead to inaccurate and non-valid estimates. In this study a new preliminary Balance Test and SIPT Post-Rotary Nystagmus Test were applied to 61 first and second-grade elementary school children. Results were correlatedwith children's reading competence, as assessed by a Brazilian Standardized Reading Competence Test. Results showed that children whose scores on Post-Rotary Nystagmus were significantly decreased (i.e., equal to or lower than one standard deviation below average) or increased (i.e., equal to or higher than one standard deviation above average) presented reading performances that were significantly lower than those of children with normal Post-Rotary Nystagmus scores (i.e., within average plus or minus one standard deviation). Further, children who scored higher in Balance also scored higher in Reading Competence. Such results give further support to the literature on the importance of vestibule system involvement (as assessed by means of balance tests and post-rotatory nystagmus tests) to reading competence. In addition, the present study offers a Brazilian test for assessing balance, along with data suggesting its validity based on reading competence estimates as a well established criterion.Estudos têm revelado alterações no sistema vestibular em crianças com distúrbios de leitura, mostrando ser essencial avaliar a integridade de tal sistema de modo a promover intervenções focais e eficazes. Mundialmente, esta avaliação tem sido feita usando o SI PT, Sensoryintegration and Praxis Test, porém, como o teste e suas normas são americanas, seu uso pode levar a resultados enviesados se não for adaptado à realidade local. Este artigo descreve o Teste de Equilíbrio,desenvolvido para avaliar a integridade do sistema vestibular, o qual, juntamente com o subteste de Nistagmo Pós-rotatório do SI PT e o Teste de Competência de Leitura Silenciosa, foram aplicados a 61 crianças de 1ª e 2ª Séries do Ensino Fundamental para verificar possíveis correlações entre os desempenhos nos três instrumentos. Crianças com nistagmo pós-rotatório rebaixado (i.e., com duração inferior a um desvio-padrão abaixo da média) ou exacerbado (duração superior a um desviopadrão acima da média) apresentam desempenhos em leitura significativamenteinferiores aos de crianças com nistagmo pós-rotatório de duração média. Os desempenhos em leitura apresentaram ainda correlação positiva significativa com os desempenhos no Teste de Equilíbrio, ou seja, crianças com maiores escores em equilíbrio tenderam a apresentar maiores escores em leitura. Estes resultados corroboram as evidências bibliográficas sobre a relação entre a integridade do sistema vestibular, conforme avaliada por testes de nistagmo pós-rotatório e de equilíbrio, e o desempenho em leitura. O estudo fornece ainda um teste brasileiro para a avaliação do equilíbrio com dados preliminares que sugerem sua validade concorrente por correlação com um teste de leitura

Intraoperative hand strength as an indicator of consciousness during awake craniotomy: a prospective, observational study

握力が覚醒下開頭手術中の覚醒度の指標となる. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-01-11.Awake craniotomy enables mapping and monitoring of brain functions. For successful procedures, rapid awakening and the precise evaluation of consciousness are required. A prospective, observational study conducted to test whether intraoperative hand strength could be a sensitive indicator of consciousness during the awake phase of awake craniotomy. Twenty-three patients who underwent awake craniotomy were included. Subtle changes of the level of consciousness were assessed by the Japan Coma Scale (JCS). The associations of hand strength on the unaffected side with the predicted plasma concentration (Cp) of propofol, the bispectral index (BIS), and the JCS were analyzed. Hand strength relative to the preoperative maximum hand strength on the unaffected side showed significant correlations with the Cp of propofol (ρ =  − 0.219, p = 0.007), the BIS (ρ = 0.259, p = 0.002), and the JCS (τ =  − 0.508, p = 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for discriminating JCS 0–1 and JCS ≥ 2 demonstrated that the area under the curve was 0.76 for hand strength, 0.78 for Cp of propofol, and 0.66 for BIS. With a cutoff value of 75% for hand strength, the sensitivity was 0.76, and the specificity was 0.67. These data demonstrated that hand strength is a useful indicator for assessing the intraoperative level of consciousness during awake craniotomy