Comparison of perceptual learning of real and virtual line orientations: An event-related potential study

AbstractWhen investigating perceptual learning (PL), most researchers use real figures as stimuli, but PL can occur when subjects are trained with virtual stimuli or even without any visual stimuli at all. Here, we first demonstrated that virtual lines have the same perceptual attributes as real lines by confirming that there is also an oblique effect in virtual lines (formed by a pair of circles) in an orientation discrimination task. Then, our ERP study showed that orientation discrimination learning and its transfer across real and virtual lines were associated with more negative parietal–occipital P1–N1 (reduced P1 and enhanced N1), which indicated the involvement of high-level stages of visual information processing or the involvement of top-down influences. At the same time, the specific ERP changes in the frontal ERP components were differently associated with real versus virtual line orientation learning. That is, real line learning was characterized by an early and short-lasting frontal N1 (120–140ms) reduction, in contrast to a much later, widespread, and long-lasting P150–300 decrease in virtual line learning. These results contribute to the understanding of the neural basis of perceptual learning and the distinction between real and virtual stimulus learning

Diaqua­bis­[2-(5-isopropyl-5-methyl-4-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)nicotinato]cobalt(II)

In the title complex, [Co(C13H14N3O3)2(H2O)2], the CoII atom has a distorted octa­hedral coordination, formed by four N atoms from two (±)-2-(5-isopropyl-5-methyl-4-oxo-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)nicotinate ligands and two O atoms from two water mol­ecules. Intra­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are present. In the crystal, inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the complex mol­ecules into a chain along [010]

Improving the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast and Detection Methods with Engineered Magnetic Nanoparticles

Engineering and functionalizing magnetic nanoparticles have been an area of the extensive research and development in the biomedical and nanomedicine fields. Because their biocompatibility and toxicity are well investigated and better understood, magnetic nanoparticles, especially iron oxide nanoparticles, are better suited materials as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and for image-directed delivery of therapeutics. Given tunable magnetic properties and various surface chemistries from the coating materials, most applications of engineered magnetic nanoparticles take advantages of their superb MRI contrast enhancing capability as well as surface functionalities. It has been found that MRI contrast enhancement by magnetic nanoparticles is highly dependent on the composition, size and surface properties as well as the degree of aggregation of the nanoparticles. Therefore, understanding the relationships between these intrinsic parameters and the relaxivities that contribute to MRI contrast can lead to establishing essential guidance that may direct the design of engineered magnetic nanoparticles for theranostics applications. On the other hand, new contrast mechanism and imaging strategy can be developed based on the novel properties of engineered magnetic nanoparticles. This review will focus on discussing the recent findings on some chemical and physical properties of engineered magnetic nanoparticles affecting the relaxivities as well as the impact on MRI contrast. Furthermore, MRI methods for imaging magnetic nanoparticles including several newly developed MRI approaches aiming at improving the detection and quantification of the engineered magnetic nanoparticles are described

How to Attain Communication-Efficient DNN Training? Convert, Compress, Correct

In this paper, we introduce $\mathsf{CO}_3$, an algorithm for communication-efficiency federated Deep Neural Network (DNN) training.$\mathsf{CO}_3$ takes its name from three processing applied steps which reduce the communication load when transmitting the local gradients from the remote users to the Parameter Server.Namely:(i) gradient quantization through floating-point conversion, (ii) lossless compression of the quantized gradient, and (iii) quantization error correction.We carefully design each of the steps above so as to minimize the loss in the distributed DNN training when the communication overhead is fixed.In particular, in the design of steps (i) and (ii), we adopt the assumption that DNN gradients are distributed according to a generalized normal distribution.This assumption is validated numerically in the paper. For step (iii), we utilize an error feedback with memory decay mechanism to correct the quantization error introduced in step (i). We argue that this coefficient, similarly to the learning rate, can be optimally tuned to improve convergence. The performance of $\mathsf{CO}_3$ is validated through numerical simulations and is shown having better accuracy and improved stability at a reduced communication payload.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2203.0904

Exosomes: Novel Biomarkers for Clinical Diagnosis

Exosomes are 30–120 nm endocytic membrane-derived vesicles that participate in cell-to-cell communication and protein and RNA delivery. Exosomes harbor a variety of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids and are present in many and perhaps all bodily fluids. A significant body of literature has demonstrated that molecular constituents of exosomes, especially exosomal proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs), hold great promise as novel biomarkers for clinical diagnosis. In this minireview, we summarize recent advances in the research of exosomal biomarkers and their potential application in clinical diagnostics. We also provide a brief overview of the formation, function, and isolation of exosomes

Bis[4-(2-hydroxy­benzyl­ideneamino)benzoato-κO]tetrakis­(methanol-κO)manganese(II)

In the title mononuclear complex, [Mn(C14H10NO3)2(CH3OH)4], the MnII atom, lying on an inversion centre, exhibits a distorted octa­hedral geometry, defined by two O atoms from two monodentate ligands and four O atoms from four methanol mol­ecules. The crystal structure involves intra­molecular O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O and inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

catena-Poly[[dichloridozinc(II)]-μ-[1,1′-(butane-1,4-di­yl)diimidazole-κ2 N 3:N 3′]]

The title one-dimensional coordination polymer, [ZnCl2(C10H14N4)]n, was synthesized by hydro­thermal methods from ZnCl2 and 1,1′-(butane-1,4-di­yl)diimidazole. The Zn atom is coordinated by two chloride ions and two N atoms from two symmetry-independent organic ligands and shows a distorted tetra­hedral coordination geometry. The 1,1′-(butane-1,4-di­yl)diimidazole ligands are located around two sets of inversion centers and bridge ZnII ions, forming a zigzag polymeric chain. C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding results in the formation of a three-dimensional supra­molecular networ

Lack of association between apolipoprotein C3 gene polymorphisms and risk of coronary heart disease in a Han population in East China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several polymorphisms in the apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) gene have been found association with hypertriglyceridemia(HTG), but the link with coronary heart disease(CHD) risk between ethnicities was still controversial. Among them, reseachers paid more attentions to the promoter polymorphisms T-455C and C-482T because both of them located in insulin-responsive element (IRE) and insulin was thought to exert its action by down-regulating APOC3 gene expression. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the two polymorphisms of APOC3 with CHD in a Han population in East China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays were carried out to detect the genotypes of APOC3 gene, including the T-455C and C-482T, in 286 subjects with CHD and 325 controls without CHD. The levels of serum lipid profiles were also detected by biochemical methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no difference of genotype frequencies and allele frequencies between the CHD population and the controls(P > 0.05). Compared with the most common genotype -455TT or -482CC, the variants had neither significantly increased CHD risk, nor the lipid variables showed any statistically relevant differences in the research population. The adjusted OR of CHD were 5.67 [0.27-18.74] and 0.75 [0.20-2.73] in carriers of the APOC3 -455C and -482T variants, respectively(P > 0.05). There was also no significant difference in APOC3 haplotype distribution in CHD and controls, but there was a strong linkage disequilibrium between T-455C and C-482T with D' = 0.9293, 0.8881, respectively(P < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data did not support a relationship between the two polymorphisms of APOC3 gene and risk of CHD in the Han population in East China.</p