Polymer translocation through a nanopore under a pulling force

We investigate polymer translocation through a nanopore under a pulling force using Langevin dynamics simulations. We concentrate on the influence of the chain length N and the pulling force F on the translocation time τ. The distribution of τ is symmetric and narrow for strong F. We find that τ∼N2 and translocation velocity v∼N−1 for both moderate and strong F. For infinitely wide pores, three regimes are observed for τ as a function of F. With increasing F, τ is independent of F for weak F, and then τ∼F−2+ν−1 for moderate F, where ν is the Flory exponent, which finally crosses over to τ∼F−1 for strong force. For narrow pores, even for moderate force τ∼F−1. Finally, the waiting time, for monomer s and monomer s+1 to exit the pore, has a maximum for s close to the end of the chain, in contrast to the case where the polymer is driven by an external force within the pore.Peer reviewe

Imaging affective and non-affective touch processing in two-year-old children

Touch is an important component of early parent-child interaction and plays a critical role in the socio-emotional development of children. However, there are limited studies on touch processing amongst children in the age range from one to three years. The present study used frequency-domain diffuse optical tomography (DOT) to investigate the processing of affective and non-affective touch over left frontotemporal brain areas contralateral to the stimulated forearm in two-year-old children. Affective touch was administered by a single stroke with a soft brush over the child's right dorsal forearm at 3 cm/s, while non-affective touch was provided by multiple brush strokes at 30 cm/s. We found that in the insula, the total haemoglobin (HbT) response to slow brushing was significantly greater than the response to fast brushing (slow > fast). Additionally, a region in the postcentral gyrus, Rolandic operculum and superior temporal gyrus exhibited greater response to fast brushing than slow brushing (fast > slow). These findings confirm that an adult-like pattern of haemodynamic responses to affective and non-affective touch can be recorded in two-year-old subjects using DOT. To improve the accuracy of modelling light transport in the two-year-old subjects, we used a published age-appropriate atlas and deformed it to match the exterior shape of each subject's head. We estimated the combined scalp and skull, and grey matter (GM) optical properties by fitting simulated data to calibrated and coupling error corrected phase and amplitude measurements. By utilizing a two-compartment cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) model, the accuracy of estimation of GM optical properties and the localization of activation in the insula was improved. The techniques presented in this paper can be used to study neural development of children at different ages and illustrate that the technology is well-tolerated by most two-year-old children and not excessively sensitive to subject movement. The study points the way towards exciting possibilities in functional imaging of deeper functional areas near sulci in small children.Peer reviewe

Relationship between maternal pregnancy-related anxiety and infant brain responses to emotional speech – a pilot study

Background: Maternal pregnancy-related anxiety (PRA) is reportedly related to neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants. However, the relationship between maternal PRA and the processing of emotions in the infant brain has not been extensively studied with neuroimaging. The objective of the present pilot study is to investigate the relationship between maternal PRA and infant hemodynamic responses to emotional speech at two months of age. Methods: The study sample included 19 mother-infant dyads from a general sample of a population of Caucasian mothers. Self-reported Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ-R2) data was collected from mothers during pregnancy at gestational weeks (gwks) 24 (N = 19) and 34 (N = 18). When their infants were two months old, the infants' brains functional responses to emotional speech in the left fronto-temporoparietal cortex were recorded using diffuse optical tomography (DOT). Results: Maternal PRAQ-R2 scores at gwk 24 correlated negatively with the total hemoglobin (HbT) responses to sad speech on both sides of the temporoparietal junction (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient rho = -0.87). The correlation was significantly greater at gwk 24 than gwk 34 (rho = -0.42). Limitations: The field of view of the measurement did not include the right hemisphere or parts of the frontal cortex. The sample size is moderate and the mothers were relatively highly educated, thus there may be some differences between the study sample and the general population. Conclusions: Maternal pregnancy-related anxiety may affect child brain emotion processing development. Further research is needed to understand the functional and developmental significance of the findings.Peer reviewe

Imaging affective and non-affective touch processing in two-year-old children

Touch is an important component of early parent-child interaction and plays a critical role in the socio-emotional development of children. However, there are limited studies on touch processing amongst children in the age range from one to three years. The present study used frequency-domain diffuse optical tomography (DOT) to investigate the processing of affective and non-affective touch over left frontotemporal brain areas contralateral to the stimulated forearm in two-year-old children. Affective touch was administered by a single stroke with a soft brush over the child's right dorsal forearm at 3 cm/s, while non-affective touch was provided by multiple brush strokes at 30 cm/s. We found that in the insula, the total haemoglobin (HbT) response to slow brushing was significantly greater than the response to fast brushing (slow > fast). Additionally, a region in the postcentral gyrus, Rolandic operculum and superior temporal gyrus exhibited greater response to fast brushing than slow brushing (fast > slow). These findings confirm that an adult-like pattern of haemodynamic responses to affective and non-affective touch can be recorded in two-year-old subjects using DOT. To improve the accuracy of modelling light transport in the two-year-old subjects, we used a published age-appropriate atlas and deformed it to match the exterior shape of each subject's head. We estimated the combined scalp and skull, and grey matter (GM) optical properties by fitting simulated data to calibrated and coupling error corrected phase and amplitude measurements. By utilizing a two-compartment cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) model, the accuracy of estimation of GM optical properties and the localization of activation in the insula was improved. The techniques presented in this paper can be used to study neural development of children at different ages and illustrate that the technology is well-tolerated by most two-year-old children and not excessively sensitive to subject movement. The study points the way towards exciting possibilities in functional imaging of deeper functional areas near sulci in small children

Selvitys Team Finland -verkoston toiminnan ja johtamisen uudistamisesta

Ulkoministeriön (UM) ja työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön (TEM) työryhmä on selvittänyt pääministeri Petteri Orpon hallitusohjelman Team Finland -toimintaa koskevien kirjausten toimeenpanoa. Hallitusohjelman mukaan Team Finland -verkoston johtamista ja toimintaa tulee uudistaa yhdessä elinkeinoelämän kanssa, vahvistaa UM:n ohjausroolia sekä selvittää Business Finlandin (BF) ulkomaantoimintojen siirtoa osaksi Suomen edustustoverkkoa. Selvitystyöryhmä on tunnistanut vertaismaiden vienninedistämismalleista hyviä käytänteitä Team Finland (TF) -verkoston kehittämistyöhön. Suomen vienninedistämisjärjestelmän keskeiseksi epäkohdaksi todetaan hajanainen johtamisjärjestelmä erityisesti ulkomaanverkostossa, jota johdetaan kahdesta eri organisaatiosta. Selvitys esittää kolme ratkaisumallia, joilla Team Finland verkoston johtamista ja vienninedistämistoimintaa voidaan tehostaa ja yksinkertaistaa. Selvitys esittää alustavat arviot näiden mallien toteutuksesta ml. tarvittavat lainsäädäntömuutokset sekä arviot kunkin mallin eduista, haitoista ja riskeistä. Selvityksessä esitettävät ratkaisumallit ovat: 1. Team Finland -verkoston johtamisrakenteen uudistaminen kotimaassa 2. Team Finland -verkoston johtamisrakenteen uudistaminen kotimaassa sekä UM:n ohjausroolin vahvistaminen ulkomaaverkostossa 3. BF:n ulkomaantoimintojen siirto ulkoasianhallintoo

Report on the reform of the operations and management of the Team Finland network

A working group of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment examined the implementation of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government Programme’s entries on Team Finland’s operations. According to the Programme, the Government needs to reform the operations and management of the Team Finland network in cooperation with business and industry, strengthen the Foreign Ministry’s guiding role and examine whether Business Finland’s activities abroad could be incorporated into Finland’s network of diplomatic and consular missions. The working group examined export promotion models of peer countries and identified best practices for the development of the Team Finland network. The working group found fragmented management to be a key shortcoming in Finland’s export promotion system, especially the management of the network abroad, which is dispersed across two different organisations. The report proposes three solutions to simplify and enhance the management and export promotion activities of the Team Finland network. The report gives a preliminary assessment of the implementation of these solutions, including the necessary legislative amendments and an assessment of the advantages, disadvantages and risks of each solution. The report proposes the following solutions: 1. Reforming the management structure of the Team Finland network in Finland 2. Reforming the management structure of the Team Finland network in Finland andstrengthening the Foreign Ministry’s guiding role in the network abroad 3. Incorporating Business Finland’s activities abroad into the Foreign Servic