Design of a VLC-based Beaconing Infrastructure for Indoor Localization Applications

In this paper the design of an LED-based beaconing infrastructure is introduced, which can be utilized in indoor localization systems. The LED beacons, which may be part of the existing lighting infrastructure, are blinking with high frequency invisible for human eyes, while the detectors are regular cameras. Since the sampling frequency of the cameras is much lower than the blinking frequency, the detection is based on a coding system, which tolerates the undersampling of the signal. The performance of the proposed system is analyzed and a possible application is introduced

The Social and Mental Dynamics of Cooperation = SOCIAL AND MENTAL DYNAMICS OF COOPERATION

Az ESF Eurocores The Evolution of Cooperation and Trading (TECT) programjához kapcsolódó nemzetközi kutatási program keretén belül négy kutatási altémával foglalkoztunk: (1) A nyelv biológiai alapjai és eredete, (2) Akooperáció evolúciójának általános problémái, (3) A replikátor elmélet, és végül (4) A neuronális replikátor hipotézis. A kiemelkedő eredmények rendre a következők: (1) Biological Foundations and Origins of Syntax c. könyv szerkesztése az MIT Press gondozásában; egy, a hierarchikus kifejezés-szerkezet feldolgozására alkalmas, veremmemóriát működtető neuronális modell; Az emberi nyelvkészség és a kooperáció közös eredete, (2) Az erős altruizmus kezdeti elterjedésének lehetőségét megalapozó modell a hasonló egyedek pozitív asszociációja nélkül; A korai evolúcióban az ásványi felszíneken kibontakozó, növekvő komplexitást eredményező szelekciós dinamika vizsgálata (3) A replikátorok újszerű,hierarchikus osztályozása, (4) Annak megmutatása, hogy elvben miként lehetséges a neuronok közötti lokális kapcsolati háló másolása ismert neurális komponens-folyamatok segítségével; dacára annak, hogy az idegsejtek nem szaporodnak. | Within the ESF Eurocores The Evolution of Cooperation and Trading (TECT) we have been doing research on four topics: (1) The biological foundations and origins of language, (2) General problems of the evolution of cooperation, (3) Replicator theory, and (4) The neuronal replicator hypothesis. The most important results obtained in order are: (1) Editing of the book Biologocal Foundations and Origins of Syntax by MIT Press; a neuronal model able to handle inputs conforming to phrase structure grammar; The common origins of human language and cooperation, (2) Inital spread of strong altruism without positive assortment in groups; Dynamics of competing and cooperating molecular replicators on mineral surfaces, (3) A novel, hierarchical classification of replicators, (4) The feasiblilty of neuronal replicators in the brain: connectivity copying of local neuronal groups by known component mechanisms, without the reproduction of neurons

The dynamics of the RNA world : Insights and challenges

The problem of the origin of life is not only one of structure but also that of dynamics. Ever since the seminal result of Manfred Eigen in 1971 showing that early template replication suffers from an error threshold, research has tackled the issue of how early genomes could have been dynamically stable without highly evolved mechanisms such as accurate replication and chromosomes. We review the theory of the origin, maintenance and enhancement of the RNA world as an evolving population of dynamical systems. Investigation of sequence space has revealed how structures are allocated in sequence space and how this affects the nature of the error threshold that sets the selectively maintainable genome length. New applications of old dynamical theory are still possible: the application of Gause’s principle of competitive exclusion, based on resource utilisation, to RNA replication predicts that at most four pairs (plus and minus strands) can stably be maintained on four nucleotides. Other mechanisms of early template coexistence should be regarded as additional means to raise the number of coexisting species above the number set by the competitive exclusion principle. One such example is the hypercycle in which templates were postulated to help replication of the next member in a cycle superimposed on individual replication cycles. Although the hypercycle is ecologically unstable it is evolutionarily unstable because it cannot efficiently compete against emerging parasites. Population structure can modify this conclusion but not without further qualification. The simplest form of population structure is limited diffusion on a surface. This simple mechanism can ensure the coexistence of competing ribozymes contributing to surface metabolism as well as the spread of efficient replicases despite the parasite problem. Hypercycles can only be saved by active compartmentalization when replicators are enclosed in reproducing protocells. Once there are protocells there is no need for internal hypercyclic organization, however. Finally we review two crucial adaptations that enhanced the RNA world: chromosomes and enzymatic metabolism. Interestingly, it was shown that these two have been presumably coevolutionarily linked because protocells harbouring unlinked, competing ribozymes are better off if the ribozymes remain inefficient but generalists. The appearance of chromosomes alleviates intragenomic conflict and is enabling constraint for the emergence of specific and efficient enzymes

The dynamics of the RNA world : Insights and challenges

The problem of the origin of life is not only one of structure but also that of dynamics. Ever since the seminal result of Manfred Eigen in 1971 showing that early template replication suffers from an error threshold, research has tackled the issue of how early genomes could have been dynamically stable without highly evolved mechanisms such as accurate replication and chromosomes. We review the theory of the origin, maintenance and enhancement of the RNA world as an evolving population of dynamical systems. Investigation of sequence space has revealed how structures are allocated in sequence space and how this affects the nature of the error threshold that sets the selectively maintainable genome length. New applications of old dynamical theory are still possible: the application of Gause’s principle of competitive exclusion, based on resource utilisation, to RNA replication predicts that at most four pairs (plus and minus strands) can stably be maintained on four nucleotides. Other mechanisms of early template coexistence should be regarded as additional means to raise the number of coexisting species above the number set by the competitive exclusion principle. One such example is the hypercycle in which templates were postulated to help replication of the next member in a cycle superimposed on individual replication cycles. Although the hypercycle is ecologically unstable it is evolutionarily unstable because it cannot efficiently compete against emerging parasites. Population structure can modify this conclusion but not without further qualification. The simplest form of population structure is limited diffusion on a surface. This simple mechanism can ensure the coexistence of competing ribozymes contributing to surface metabolism as well as the spread of efficient replicases despite the parasite problem. Hypercycles can only be saved by active compartmentalization when replicators are enclosed in reproducing protocells. Once there are protocells there is no need for internal hypercyclic organization, however. Finally we review two crucial adaptations that enhanced the RNA world: chromosomes and enzymatic metabolism. Interestingly, it was shown that these two have been presumably coevolutionarily linked because protocells harbouring unlinked, competing ribozymes are better off if the ribozymes remain inefficient but generalists. The appearance of chromosomes alleviates intragenomic conflict and is enabling constraint for the emergence of specific and efficient enzymes

Kamarai autonómiák Magyarországon és az Európai Unióban - 1990-2004. = Chamber autonomies in Hungary and the European Union between 1990 and 2004

Kutatócsoportunk a kutatás ideje alatt a szakirodalmi és primér forrásállományok feldolgozása mellett aktív kapcsolatokat épített ki külföldi tudományos műhelyekkel, mind a hazai, mind külföldi kamarai vezetőkkel. A pályázat ideje alatt két teljes időben foglalkoztatott doktorandusz és posztdoktor, valamint egy félállásban dolgozó kutató, továbbá egy egyetemi hallgató segítségével végezte munkáját. Az ő segítségükkel került megszervezésre 2007 márciusában egy nemzetközi konferencia, melyen nemcsak munkatársaink, hanem a magyar és nemzetközi kamarai és tudományos élet meghatározó személyiségei is részt vettek. A rendezvényen elhangzott előadások szerkesztett, lábjegyzetelt változatát tanulmánykötetben kiadtuk. "A kamarai tevékenység Magyarországon és az Európai Unióban" című, Gergely Jenő főszerkesztésében, a munkacsoport kutatói által szerkesztett tanulmánykötetben összesen 9 tanulmány, 3 forráspublikáció és egy kerekasztal-beszélgetés lejegyzett szövege, valamint ezek angol és német nyelvű összefoglalása kapott helyet. A kutatás futamidejének végére annak végeredményeként jelent meg a "Gazdasági és szakmai kamarák Magyarországon és az Európai Unióban" címet viselő, több mint háromszáz oldalas záró monográfiánk, valamint a "Kamarák a két világháború között Magyarországon" című, kétszáz oldalas kötetünk is. A tudományos művek használhatóságát növeli, hogy igen terjedelmes angol és német nyelvű rezümét tartalmaznak, illetve CD-ROM változatban is napvilágot láttak. | During the project our research group beside elaborating the sources and scientific literature created lively contacts with foreign scientific workshops, and the leaders of chambers in Hungary and foreign countries. A PhD-student and a PhD working full time, a half time employed researcher and a university student worked in our group. They organized our international conference in March of 2007, where beside our colleagues the important players and experts of Hungarian and foreign chamber and academic life gave lectures. The edited collection of these lectures with footnotes was published in a volume called A kamarai tevékenység Magyarországon és az Európai Unióban (The activity of chambers in Hungary and the European Union). This book edited by Gergely Jenő contains nine studies, three resource-publishing, the text of the scientific debate and its English and German resumes. At the end of our research a book called Gazdasági és szakmai kamarák Magyarországon és az Európai Unióban(Economical and professional chambers in Hungary and the European Union) with more than 300 pages and a monography Kamarák a két világháború között Magyarországon(Chambers of Hungary in the interwar period) with more than 200 pages was published. The utility of these scientific works was increased by the fact that they contain very long English and German abstracts and were published on CD-ROM as well

Subpallialis rendszerek szerepe madarak tanulásában = Subpallial systems in avian learning

Elsőként írtunk le madárban (emlős homológiára alapozva) olyan pályarendszert, amely L-aszpartátot (Asp) tartalmaz. Patkányban a basolateralis amygdalába, csirkéken az ekvivalens területre juttatott anterográd pályajelölő anyagokkal azonosítottuk a nucl. accumbensben megjelenő projekciókat és szinapszisaikat, amelyekben az Asp immuno-elektronmikroszkópia segítségével kimutatható volt. Mindkét fajon az Asp és az L-glutamát (Glu) morfológiailag azonos elemekben fordul elő. Ugyancsak elsőként igazoltuk madár striatumban, túlélő agyszeleten az Asp direkt posztszinaptikus hatásait elektrofiziológiai módszerrel, a glutamáterg mechanizmusokkal együttesen elemezve. A fent leírt kétféle megközelítésen túl, amelyek a transzmitter jelenlétét valamint posztszinaptikus hatását igazolták, újabb független módszer (in vivo mikrodialízis) segítségével mutattuk ki az Asp Glu-tól elkülöníthető release mechanizmusát a madár striatum/accumbens területén. A madár nucl. accumbens pontosabb lokalizációjára és szubdivízióira vonatkozó eredeti megfigyeléseket tettünk. Az emlős viszonyokhoz jórészt hasonló projekciók mellett új, sajátos projekciók voltak kimutathatók, főleg az alsó agytörzsben. Leírtuk a csirke septum afferens kapcsolatrendszerét, a septalis szubdiviziók szerint. Fiatal csirkék vizsgálatával megállapítottuk, hogy jelentős számban képződnek posztembrionálisan is új neuronok a telencephalonban és a kisagyban, míg a subtelencephalonban a neurogenesis folyamata hamarabb befejeződik. | Based on homologies with mammals, we were first to describe in birds a pathway, which contains L-aspartate (Asp). By injecting anterograde tracers into the basolateral amygdala of rats, or the equivalent region of chicken, the Asp-containing projections and synapses terminating in the nucl. accumbens were identified using electronmicroscopic immunocytochemistry. In both species Asp and L-glutamate (Glu) occur in morphologically identical tissue elements (partly colocalize). Also, we were first to demonstrate on surviving tissue slices from avian striatum the direct postsynaptic effects of Asp co-acting with Glu. In addition to the previous approaches, verifying the presence and postsynaptic effects of Asp, the release of Asp as distinct from Glu has been shown using yet another independent method, in vivo microdialysis, in the avian striatum/accumbens. Original observations have been reported on the precise localization and subdivisions of avian nucl. accumbens. Apart from projections largely similar to those of mammals, novel and specific projections were revealed, mainly in the lower brainstem. We also described the afferent connectivity of chicken septum according to septal subdivisions. By investigations on young chicks, a significant degree of postembryonic neurogenesis has been established in the telencephalon and cerebellum, whereas in the subtelencephalic region the neurogenetic process ends sooner

Tanulással összefüggő előagyi rendszerek madarakban = Learning-associated forebrain systems in birds

A kutatóprogram a viselkedés motivációjának idegi alapjait vizsgálja multidiszciplináris megközelítéssel, madár idegrendszeri modell felhasználásával. A vizsgálatból extrapolálható eredmények felhasználhatók az emlős viszonyok leírására és értelmezésére is. A kutatócsoport korábbi nemzetközi tapasztalataira épülő program megvalósításával a következő területeken értünk el eredményeket: (1) A tanulással és motivációval összefüggő agyterületek (thalamus, septum, nucl. accumbens, ventralis tegmentalis area) funkciós morfológiai jellemzése. Ezen belül a jutalmazásban és addikcióban kulcsszerepet játszó nucleus accumbens pontos lokalizációja, szubdiviziói és kapcsolatrendszerének feltárása madarakon, valamint az amygdalo-accumbens pályarendszer elhárító tanulásban játszott szerepének igazolása; (2) Dopaminerg és dopaminoceptív neuronrendszerek szerepe háziszárnyas tanulási és motivációs folyamataiban. Dopamin receptor antagonisták hatása a memória retenciójára. Striato-tegmentalis pályarendszerek és szelektív projekciókkal rendelkező neuronjaik jellemzése. (3) A serkentő neurotranszmitterek és a dopamin striatalis kölcsönhatása, motivációban, döntéshozatalban és tanulásban játszott szerepe. Az aszpartát sajátos magatartásfüggő szerepének kimutatása a striatum és a törzsdúcok neurális hálózatában. (4) Cannabinoid receptorok megoszlása és a tanulási folyamatra gyakorolt hatása. | In the research program we investigated the neural foundations of motivation, using multidisciplinary approach and the avian nervous system as a model. The results extrapolated from the study may be adapted also for the description and interpretation of mammalian systems. Based upon international experience of the group, progress has been made primarily in the following areas: (1) Functional morphological characterisation of learning and behaviour associated brain regions (thalamus, septum, nucl. accumbens, ventral tegmental area). In particular, precise localization of the nucleus accumbens, its subdivisions and connectivity, and evidence for the role of amygdalo-accumbens pathway in avoidance learning. (2) The role of dopaminergic and dopaminoceptive neuronal systems in learning and motivation of domestic chicks. Effect of dopamine receptor antagonists on memory retention. Characterisation of striato-tegmental pathways and neurons with selective projections. (3) Striatal interaction between excitatory transmitter amino acids and dopamine, its role in motivation, decision-making and learning. Verification of specific behaviour-linked effect of the excitatory transmitter aspartate in the neural circuits of striatum and basal ganglia. (4) Tissue distribution of cannabinoid receptors and their effect on the learning process

Early cellular and synaptic changes in dopaminoceptive forebrain regions of juvenile mice following gestational exposure to valproate

Gestational exposure of mice to valproic acid (VPA) is one currently used experimental model for the investigation of typical failure symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the present study we hypothesized that the reduction of dopaminergic source neurons of the VTA, followed by perturbed growth of the mesotelencephalic dopamine pathway (MT), should also modify pattern formation in the dopaminoceptive target regions (particularly its mesoaccumbens/mesolimbic portion). Here, we investigated VPA-evoked cellular morphological (apoptosis-frequency detected by Caspase-3, abundance of Ca-binding proteins, CaBP), as well as synaptic proteomic (western blotting) changes, in selected dopaminoceptive subpallial, as compared to pallial, regions of mice, born to mothers treated with 500 mg/kg VPA on day 13.5 of pregnancy. We observed a surge of apoptosis on VPA treatment in nearly all investigated subpallial and pallial regions; with a non-significant trend of similar increase the nucleus accumbens (NAc) at P7, the age at which the MT pathway reduction has been reported (also supplemented by current findings). Of the CaBPs, calretinin (CR) expression was decreased in pallial regions, most prominently in retrosplenial cortex, but not in the subpallium of P7 mice. Calbindin-D 28K (CB) was selectively reduced in the caudate-putamen (CPu) of VPA exposed animals at P7 but no longer at P60, pointing to a potency of repairment. The VPA-associated overall increase in apoptosis at P7 did not correlate with the abundance and distribution of CaBPs, except in CPu, in which the marked drop of CB was negatively correlated with increased apoptosis. Abundance of parvalbumin (PV) at P60 showed no significant response to VPA treatment in any of the observed regions we did not find colocalization of apoptotic (Casp3+) cells with CaBP-immunoreactive neurons. The proteomic findings suggest reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase in the crude synaptosome fraction of NAc, but not in the CPu, without simultaneous decrease of the synaptic protein, synaptophysin, indicating selective impairment of dopaminergic synapses. The morpho-functional changes found in forebrain regions of VPA-exposed mice may signify dendritic and synaptic reorganization in dopaminergic target regions, with potential translational value to similar impairments in the pathogenesis of human ASD

Neuronal activation in zebra finch parents associated with reintroduction of nestlings

Recent studies of the brain mechanisms of parental behaviors have mainly focused on rodents. Using other vertebrate taxa, such as birds, can contribute to a more comprehensive, evolutionary view. In the present study, we investigated a passerine songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), with a biparental caring system. Parentingrelated neuronal activation was induced by first temporarily removing the nestlings, and then, either reuniting the focal male or female parent with the nestlings (parental group) or not (control group). To identify activated neurons, the immediate early gene product, Fos protein, was labeled. Both parents showed an increased level of parental behavior following reunion with the nestlings, and no sexual dimorphism occurred in the neuronal activation pattern. Offspring-induced parental behavior-related neuronal activation was found in the preoptic, ventromedial (VMH), paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, and in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. In addition, the number of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) neurons in the nucleus accumbens predicted the frequency of the feeding of the nestlings. No difference was found in Fos expression when the effect of isolation or the presence of the mate was examined. Thus, our study identified a number of nuclei involved in parental care in birds and suggests similar regulatory mechanisms in caring females and males. The activated brain regions show similarities to rodents, while a generally lower number of brain regions were activated in the zebra finch. Furthermore, future studies are necessary to establish the role of the apparently avian-specific neuronal activation in the VMH of zebra finch parents