Brain substrates for automatic retrieval of value memory in the primate basal ganglia

Our behavior is often carried out automatically. Automatic behavior can be guided by past experiences, such as learned values associated with objects. Passive-viewing and free-viewing tasks with no immediate outcomes provide a testable condition in which monkeys and humans automatically retrieve value memories and perform habitual searching. Interestingly, in these tasks, caudal regions of the basal ganglia structures are involved in automatic retrieval of learned object values and habitual gaze. In contrast, rostral regions do not participate in these activities but instead monitor the changes in outcomes. These findings indicate that automatic behaviors based on the value memories are processed selectively by the caudal regions of the primate basal ganglia system. Understanding the distinct roles of the caudal basal ganglia may provide insight into finding selective causes of behavioral disorders in basal ganglia disease.This work was supported by the New Faculty Startup Fund from Seoul National University, the Neurological Disorder Research Program (NRF2020M3E5D9079908), the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) Research Initiative Program (KGM4562121) and the Basic Science Research Program (NRF-2019R1A2C2005213 and NRF2019R1A6A1A10073437) of the National Research Foundation (NRF) by the Korean government (MSIT). Creative-Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University supported this work

Zero mode in the time-dependent symmetry breaking of λϕ4\lambda\phi^4 theory

We apply the quartic exponential variational approximation to the symmetry breaking phenomena of scalar field in three and four dimensions. We calculate effective potential and effective action for the time-dependent system by separating the zero mode from other non-zero modes of the scalar field and treating the zero mode quantum mechanically. It is shown that the quantum mechanical properties of the zero mode play a non-trivial role in the symmetry breaking of the scalar $\lambda \phi^4$ theory.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Internal solitons in the northeastern south China Sea. Part I: sources and deep water propagation

Author Posting. © IEEE, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of IEEE for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 29 (2004): 1157-1181, doi:10.1109/JOE.2004.840839.A moored array of current, temperature, conductivity, and pressure sensors was deployed across the Chinese continental shelf and slope in support of the Asian Seas International Acoustics Experiment. The goal of the observations was to quantify the water column variability in order to understand the along- and across-shore low-frequency acoustic propagation in shallow water. The moorings were deployed from April 21–May 19, 2001 and sampled at 1–5 min intervals to capture the full range of temporal variability without aliasing the internal wave field. The dominant oceanographic signal by far was in fact the highly nonlinear internal waves (or solitons) which were generated near the Batan Islands in the Luzon Strait and propagated 485 km across deep water to the observation region. Dubbed trans-basin waves, to distinguish them from other, smaller nonlinear waves generated locally near the shelf break, these waves had amplitudes ranging from 29 to greater than 140 m and were among the largest such waves ever observed in the world’s oceans. The waves arrived at the most offshore mooring in two clusters lasting 7–8 days each separated by five days when no waves were observed.Within each cluster, two types of waves arrived which have been named type-a and type-b. The type-a waves had greater amplitude than the type-b waves and arrived with remarkable regularity at the same time each day, 24 h apart. The type-b waves were weaker than the type-a waves, arrived an hour later each day, and generally consisted of a single soliton growing out of the center of the wave packet. Comparison with modeled barotropic tides from the generation region revealed that: 1) The two clusters were generated around the time of the spring tides in the Luzon strait; and 2) The type-a waves were generated on the strong side of the diurnal inequality while the type-b waves were generated on the weaker beat. The position of the Kuroshio intrusion into the Luzon Strait may modulate the strength of the waves being produced. As the waves shoaled, the huge lead solitons first split into two solitons then merged together into a broad region of thermocline depression at depths less than 120 m. Elevation waves sprang up behind them as they continued to propagate onshore. The elevation waves also grew out of regions where the locally-generated internal tide forced the main thermocline down near the bottom. The “critical point” where the upper and lower layers were equal was a good indicator of when the depression or elevation waves would form, however this was not a static point, but rather varied in both space and time according to the presence or absence of the internal tides and the incoming trans-basin waves themselves.The planning, execution, and analysis of this work was supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research Ocean Acoustics and Physical Oceanography Programs. Significant funding contributions were also made by the National Science Council of Taiwan

Towards greenhouse cultivation of Artemisia annua: The application of LEDs in regulating plant growth and secondary metabolism

Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone produced in glandular trichomes of Artemisia annua, and is extensively used in the treatment of malaria. Growth and secondary metabolism of A. annua are strongly regulated by environmental conditions, causing unstable supply and quality of raw materials from field grown plants. This study aimed to bring A. annua into greenhouse cultivation and to increase artemisinin production by manipulating greenhouse light environment using LEDs. A. annua plants were grown in a greenhouse compartment for five weeks in vegetative stage with either supplemental photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (blue, green, red or white) or supplemental radiation outside PAR wavelength (far-red, UV-B or both). The colour of supplemental PAR hardly affected plant morphology and biomass, except that supplemental green decreased plant biomass by 15% (both fresh and dry mass) compared to supplemental white. Supplemental far-red increased final plant height by 23% whereas it decreased leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight by 30%, 17% and 7%, respectively, compared to the treatment without supplemental radiation. Supplemental UV-B decreased plant leaf area and dry weight (both by 7%). Interestingly, supplemental green and UV-B increased leaf glandular trichome density by 11% and 9%, respectively. However, concentrations of artemisinin, arteannuin B, dihydroartemisinic acid and artemisinic acid only exhibited marginal differences between the light treatments. There were no interactive effects of far-red and UV-B on plant biomass, morphology, trichome density and secondary metabolite concentrations. Our results illustrate the potential of applying light treatments in greenhouse production of A. annua to increase trichome density in vegetative stage. However, the trade-off between light effects on plant growth and trichome initiation needs to be considered. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms of light spectrum regulation on artemisinin biosynthesis need further clarification to enhance artemisinin yield in greenhouse production of A. annua

Gas tungsten arc welding of as-rolled CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy

Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT)- project UID/EMS/00667/2019 (UNIDEMI). FMBF acknowledges funding of CENIMAT by FEDER through the program COMPETE 2020 and National Funds through FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/CTM/50025/2019 and FCT/MCTES. This work was supported by the Future Material Discovery Project of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea (NRF-2016M3D1A1023383). NFFA-Europe Transnational Access Activity (project reference Nf-20010136 EC and ID-806).High entropy alloys have emerged as novel engineering alloys with remarkable mechanical properties in a wide range of temperatures. Among the several high entropy alloys that were already described, the equiatomic CrMnFeCoNi alloy is the most studied one. In this work, gas tungsten arc welding of as-rolled CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy sheets was performed. The microstructural characterization encompassed the use of electron microscopy, including electron backscattered diffraction, synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis, microhardness testing and mechanical evaluation. A comprehensive description of the microstructural evolution, including texture and microstrain determination, of the joint is presented and discussed. Upon mechanical testing, the joints systematically failed in the fusion zone due. The large grain size and low hardness of this region justifies the failure location. The joints' mechanical behaviour is correlated with the material microstructure.publishersversionpublishe

Perturbative Expansion around the Gaussian Effective Potential of the Fermion Field Theory

We have extended the perturbative expansion method around the Gaussian effective action to the fermionic field theory, by taking the 2-dimensional Gross-Neveu model as an example. We have computed both the zero temperature and the finite temperature effective potentials of the Gross-Neveu model up to the first perturbative correction terms, and have found that the critical temperature, at which dynamically broken symmetry is restored, is significantly improved for small value of the flavour number.Comment: 14pages, no figures, other comments Typographical errors are corrected and new references are adde

Potential Association of DCBLD2 Polymorphisms with Fall Rates of FEV1 by Aspirin Provocation in Korean Asthmatics

Aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis and aspirin hypersensitivity. The aspirin-induced bronchospasm is mediated by mast cell and eosinophilic inflammation. Recently, it has been reported that the expression of discoidin, CUB and LCCL domain-containing protein 2 (DCBLD2) is up-regulated in lung cancers and is regulated by transcription factor AP-2 alpha (TFAP2A), a component of activator protein-2 (AP-2) that is known to regulate IL-8 production in human lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells. To investigate the associations between AERD and DCBLD2 polymorphisms, 12 common variants were genotyped in 163 AERD subjects and 429 aspirin tolerant asthma (ATA) controls. Among these variants, seven SNPs (rs1371687, rs7615856, rs828621, rs828618, rs828616, rs1062196, and rs8833) and one haplotype (DCBLD2-ht1) show associations with susceptibility to AERD. In further analysis, this study reveals significant associations between the SNPs or haplotypes and the percentage of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) decline following aspirin challenge using multiple linear regression analysis. Furthermore, a non-synonymous SNP rs16840208 (Asp723Asn) shows a strong association with FEV1 decline in AERD patients. Although further studies for the non-synonymous Asp723Asn variation are needed, our findings suggest that DCBLD2 could be related to FEV1-related phenotypes in asthmatics

Phonon structure in I-V characteristic of MgB2_{2} point-contacts

The search of the phonon structure at the above-gap energies was carried out for $d^{2}V/dI^{2}(V)$ spectra of MgB$_{2}$ point contacts with a normal metal. The two-band model is assumed not only for the gap structure in $dV/dI(V)$-characteristics, but also for phonons in $d^{2}V/dI^{2}(V)$ point-contact spectra, with up to the maximum lattice vibration energy. Since the current is carried mostly by charges of 3D-band, whereas the strong electron-phonon interaction occurs in 2D-band, we observe the phonon peculiarities due to ''proximity'' effect in {\it k}-space, which depends on the variation of interband coupling through the elastic scattering.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, revtex4, reported in International Conference "Modern Problems in Superconductivity", 9-13 September, Yalta, Ukrain