Identification of the human cerebral cortical hemodynamic response to passive whole-body movements using near-infrared spectroscopy

The human vestibular system is crucial for motion perception, balance control, and various higher cognitive functions. Exploring how the cerebral cortex responds to vestibular signals is not only valuable for a better understanding of how the vestibular system participates in cognitive and motor functions but also clinically significant in diagnosing central vestibular disorders. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides a portable and non-invasive brain imaging technology to monitor cortical hemodynamics under physical motion.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the cerebral cortical response to naturalistic vestibular stimulation induced by real physical motion and to validate the vestibular cerebral cortex previously identified using alternative vestibular stimulation.ApproachFunctional NIRS data were collected from 12 right-handed subjects when they were sitting in a motion platform that generated three types of whole-body passive translational motion (circular, lateral, and fore-and-aft).Main resultsThe study found that different cortical regions were activated by the three types of motion. The cortical response was more widespread under circular motion in two dimensions compared to lateral and fore-and-aft motions in one dimensions. Overall, the identified regions were consistent with the cortical areas found to be activated in previous brain imaging studies.SignificanceThe results provide new evidence of brain selectivity to different types of motion and validate previous findings on the vestibular cerebral cortex

Leveraging age diversity for organizational performance

The global trend of increasing workplace age diversity has led to growing research attention to the organizational consequences of age-diverse workforces. Prior research has primarily focused on the statistical relationship between age diversity and organizational performance without empirically probing potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. Adopting an intellectual capital perspective, we posit that age diversity affects organizational performance via human and social capital. Furthermore, we examine workplace functional diversity and age-inclusive management as two contingent factors shaping the effects of age diversity on human and social capital. Our hypotheses were tested with a large manager-report workplace survey data from the Society for Human Resource Management (N 3,888). Results indicate that age diversity was positively associated wit

Nanoscale potassium niobate crystal structure and phase transition

Nanoscale potassium niobate (KNbO3) powders of orthorhombic structure were synthesized using the sol-gel method. The heat-treatment temperature of the gels had a pronounced effect on KNbO3 particle size and morphology. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to determine particle size and morphology. The average KNbO3 grain size was estimated to be less than 100 nm, and transmission electron microscopy images indicated that KNbO3 particles had a brick-like morphology. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction was used to identify the room-temperature structures using Rietveld refinement. The ferroelectric orthorhombic phase was retained even for particles smaller than 50 nm. The orthorhombic to tetragonal and tetragonal to cubic phase transitions of nanocrystalline KNbO3 were investigated using temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to examine the temperature dependence of KNbO3 phase transition. The Curie temperature and phase transition were independent of particle size, and Rietveld analyses showed increasing distortions with decreasing particle size

High Expression Levels of Total IGF-1R and Sensitivity of NSCLC Cells In Vitro to an Anti-IGF-1R Antibody (R1507)

© 2009 Gong et al

Sequential Neural Processes in Abacus Mental Addition: An EEG and fMRI Case Study

Abacus experts are able to mentally calculate multi-digit numbers rapidly. Some behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested a visuospatial and visuomotor strategy during abacus mental calculation. However, no study up to now has attempted to dissociate temporally the visuospatial neural process from the visuomotor neural process during abacus mental calculation. In the present study, an abacus expert performed the mental addition tasks (8-digit and 4-digit addends presented in visual or auditory modes) swiftly and accurately. The 100% correct rates in this expert’s task performance were significantly higher than those of ordinary subjects performing 1-digit and 2-digit addition tasks. ERPs, EEG source localizations, and fMRI results taken together suggested visuospatial and visuomotor processes were sequentially arranged during the abacus mental addition with visual addends and could be dissociated from each other temporally. The visuospatial transformation of the numbers, in which the superior parietal lobule was most likely involved, might occur first (around 380 ms) after the onset of the stimuli. The visuomotor processing, in which the superior/middle frontal gyri were most likely involved, might occur later (around 440 ms). Meanwhile, fMRI results suggested that neural networks involved in the abacus mental addition with auditory stimuli were similar to those in the visual abacus mental addition. The most prominently activated brain areas in both conditions included the bilateral superior parietal lobules (BA 7) and bilateral middle frontal gyri (BA 6). These results suggest a supra-modal brain network in abacus mental addition, which may develop from normal mental calculation networks

De novo design of potent and resilient hACE2 decoys to neutralize SARS-CoV-2

We developed a de novo protein design strategy to swiftly engineer decoys for neutralizing pathogens that exploit extracellular host proteins to infect the cell. Our pipeline allowed the design, validation, and optimization of de novo hACE2 decoys to neutralize SARS-CoV-2. The best decoy, CTC-445.2, binds with low nanomolar affinity and high specificity to the RBD of the spike protein. Cryo-EM shows that the design is accurate and can simultaneously bind to all three RBDs of a single spike protein. Because the decoy replicates the spike protein target interface in hACE2, it is intrinsically resilient to viral mutational escape. A bivalent decoy, CTC-445.2d, shows ~10-fold improvement in binding. CTC-445.2d potently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells in vitro and a single intranasal prophylactic dose of decoy protected Syrian hamsters from a subsequent lethal SARS-CoV-2 challenge