Mirror Neurons, Embodied Cognitive Agents and Imitation Learning

Mirror neurons are a relatively recent discovery; it has been conjectured that these neurons play an important role in imitation learning and other cognitive phenomena. We will study a possible place and role of mirror neurons in the neural architecture of embodied cognitive agents. We will formulate and investigate the hypothesis that mirror neurons serve as a mechanism which coordinates the multimodal (i.e., motor, perceptional and proprioceptive) information and completes it so that the agent remains always situated even when parts of the multimodal information are missing. We show that such a hypothesis forms a basis on which plausible explanation of the development of a host of mental abilities could be founded. These abilities range from imitation learning, communication via a sign language up to the dawn of thinking. Our results build a bridge between the theory of embodied cognition and mirror neurons; they also justify the hopes related to the discovery of mirror neurons

Spatial network surrogates for disentangling complex system structure from spatial embedding of nodes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS MW and RVD have been supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) via the Young Investigators Group CoSy-CC2 (grant no. 01LN1306A). JFD thanks the Stordalen Foundation and BMBF (project GLUES) for financial support. JK acknowledges the IRTG 1740 funded by DFG and FAPESP. MT Gastner is acknowledged for providing his data on the airline, interstate, and Internet network. P Menck thankfully provided his data on the Scandinavian power grid. We thank S Willner on behalf of the entire zeean team for providing the data on the world trade network. All computations have been performed using the Python package pyunicorn [41] that is available at https://github.com/pik-copan/pyunicorn.Peer reviewedPreprin

Systematic review of randomized clinical trials on the use of hydroxyethyl starch for fluid management in sepsis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with sepsis typically require large resuscitation volumes, but the optimal type of fluid remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of hydroxyethyl starch for fluid management in sepsis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Computer searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were performed using search terms that included hydroxyethyl starch; hetastarch; shock, septic; sepsis; randomized controlled trials; and random allocation. Additional methods were examination of reference lists and hand searching. Randomized clinical trials comparing hydroxyethyl starch with other fluids in patients with sepsis were selected. Data were extracted on numbers of patients randomized, specific indication, fluid regimen, follow-up, endpoints, hydroxyethyl starch volume infused and duration of administration, and major study findings.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twelve randomized trials involving a total of 1062 patients were included. Ten trials (83%) were acute studies with observation periods of 5 days or less, most frequently assessing cardiorespiratory and hemodynamic variables. Two trials were designed as outcome studies with follow-up for 34 and 90 days, respectively. Hydroxyethyl starch increased the incidence of acute renal failure compared both with gelatin (odds ratio, 2.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–5.83) and crystalloid (odds ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.22–2.71). In the largest and most recent trial a trend was observed toward increased overall mortality among hydroxyethyl starch recipients (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.94–1.95), and mortality was higher (p < 0.001) in patients receiving > 22 mL·kg^-1hydroxyethyl starch per day than lower doses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Hydroxyethyl starch increases the risk of acute renal failure among patients with sepsis and may also reduce the probability of survival. While the evidence reviewed cannot necessarily be applied to other clinical indications, hydroxyethyl starch should be avoided in sepsis.</p

Generischer Architekturansatz für Telemedizin Portale und verteilte Krankenakten

Dieser Aufsatz beschäftigt sich mit Softwarearchitekturen und Kriterien für deren längerfristige Verwendbarkeit als Basisansatz für die Entwicklung von verteilten Krankenakten und Telemedizin-Portalen. Im Vorfeld der Entwicklung eines verteilten Krankenaktensystems mit Portalfrontend am Klinikum der Universität Regensburg werden hierfür verschiedene Architekturansätze untersucht. Dabei soll ein Architekturprinzip gefunden werden, das unabhängig von Technologien und Standards die Entwicklung flexibler und gut integrierbarer verteilter Krankenaktensysteme ermöglicht. Nichtfunktionale Anforderungen der gesuchten Lösung sind Veränderbarkeit, Anpassbarkeit, Zuverlässigkeit, Erweiterbarkeit und Fehlerrobustheit. Das hier vorgestellte Konzept wurde während der Vorstudien zum Aufbau des Portalsystems entwickelt; bisherige Erfahrungen aus dem Betrieb des Portals stützen die dort getroffenen Annahmen. Als zentraler Anwendungsfall für die beiden genannten Systemtypen wird die gemeinsame Nutzung medizinischer Dokumente innerhalb einer stark heterogenen Systemlandschaft vorausgesetzt