Number Of Different Stimuli Research Articles

Sensitivity Analysis of CMAP Scan Step Index to Different Stimulation Parameters and Examination of Muscles Affected by Spinal Cord Injury.

Step index (STEPIX) is a recently developed compound muscle action potential (CMAP) scan method for evaluating motor unit loss and remodeling changes. This study investigates the influence of different stimulation parameters during CMAP scan on STEPIX and its examination of muscles affected by spinal cord injury (SCI). CMAP scan of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle was performed using different stimulus pulse widths (0.1 ms, 0.2 ms) and different numbers of stimuli (500, 1000) in 12 neurologically intact subjects. STEPIX was derived from each CMAP scan of all subjects. A significantly higher STEPIX was obtained using 1000 stimuli than 500 stimuli, while no significant difference in STEPIX was observed using 0.1 and 0.2 ms stimulus pulse widths. STEPIX was further applied to process CMAP scans of the FDI muscle from 13 tetraplegia and 13 healthy control subjects using the same stimulation parameter setting (0.1 ms, 500 stimuli), along with other methods including MScanFit motor unit number estimation (MUNE) and D50. STEPIX was significantly lower for the SCI subjects compared with the healthy control subjects. STEPIX was significantly correlated with MscanFit MUNE and D50, but had a smaller relative width of the overlapping zone (WOZ%) between tetraplegic and healthy control groups compared with MScanFit MUNE and D50. The findings of the study highlight the importance of maintaining a consistent stimulation parameter setting in CMAP scan studies and confirm the usefulness of STEPIX as a convenient CMAP scan parameter for examination of motor unit number changes.

A unified theory of discrete and continuous responding.

Understanding the cognitive processes underlying choice requires theories that can disentangle the representation of stimuli from the processes that map these representations onto observed responses. We develop a dynamic theory of how stimuli are mapped onto discrete (choice) and onto continuous response scales. It proposes that the mapping from a stimulus to an internal representation and then to an evidence accumulation process is accomplished using multiple reference points or "anchors." Evidence is accumulated until a threshold amount for a particular response is obtained, with the relative balance of support for each anchor at that time determining the response. We tested this multiple anchored accumulation theory (MAAT) using the results of two experiments requiring discrete or continuous responses to line length and color stimuli. We manipulated the number of options for discrete responses, the number of different stimuli, and the similarity among them, and compared the outcomes to continuous response conditions. We show that MAAT accounts for several key phenomena: more accurate, faster, and more skewed distributions of responses near the ends of a response scale; lower accuracy and slower responses as the number of discrete choice options increases; and longer response times and lower accuracy when alternative responses are more similar to the target response. Our empirical and modeling results suggest that discrete and continuous response tasks can share a common evidence representation, and that the decision process is sensitive to the perceived similarity among the response options. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Memristive Synapse Based on Single‐Crystalline LiNbO3 Thin Film with Bioinspired Microstructure for Experience‐Based Dynamic Image Mask Generation

AbstractOne of the key steps toward constructing neuromorphic systems is to develop reliable bio‐realistic synaptic devices. Here, memristors based on single‐crystalline LiNbO3 (SC‐LNO) thin film are fabricated as artificial synapses. A reservoir of oxygen vacancies is induced by Ar+ irradiation to resemble synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters. Phenomena of saturation and adaptivity, short‐term plasticity, paired‐pulse facilitation, paired‐pulse depression, and long‐term potentiation are successfully mimicked. The dynamic transition from sensory memory to short‐term memory, and further to long‐term memory, is also successfully emulated for multipattern memorization. In addition, first, taking advantage of short‐ and long‐term synaptic plasticity is proposed, to realize experience‐based image mask generation with different stimuli schemes. During the experience‐based generation process, memristive multi‐value masks (MMVMs) are generated with different numbers of stimuli applied to the memristor at each pixel, which corresponds to the times the region occurred in the history image set. The experience‐based memristive multi‐value mask successfully extracts multiple regions of interest with different priorities. This work demonstrates that the memristor based on Ar+‐irradiated SC‐LNO thin film with bioinspired microstructure shows great potential in future neuromorphic systems for experience‐based intelligent image processing.

Reliability of TMS measurements using conventional hand-hold method with different numbers of stimuli for tibialis anterior muscle in healthy adults.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the reliability of corticomotor excitability measurements using the conventional hand-hold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) method for the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle in healthy adults and the number of stimuli required for reliable assessment.Methods: Forty healthy adults participated in three repeated sessions of corticomotor excitability assessment in terms of resting motor threshold (rMT), slope of recruitment curve (RC), peak motor evoked potential amplitude (pMEP), and MEP latency using conventional TMS method. The first two sessions were conducted with a rest interval of 1 h, and the last session was conducted 7–10 days afterward. With the exception of rMT, the other three outcomes measure elicited with the block of first 3–10 stimuli were analyzed respectively. The within-day (session 1 vs. 2) and between-day (session 1 vs. 3) reliability for all four outcome measures were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement, and minimum detectable difference at 95% confidence interval.Results: Good to excellent within-day and between-day reliability was found for TMS-induced outcome measures examined using 10 stimuli (ICC ≥ 0.823), except in pMEP, which showed between-day reliability at moderate level (ICC = 0.730). The number of three stimuli was adequate to achieve minimum acceptable within-day reliability for all TMS-induced parameters and between-day reliability for MEP latency. With regard to between-day reliability of RC slope and pMEP, at least seven and nine stimuli were recommended respectively.Conclusion: Our findings indicated the high reliability of corticomotor excitability measurement by TMS with adequate number of stimuli for the TA muscle in healthy adults. This result should be interpreted with caveats for the specific methodological choices, equipment setting, and the characteristics of the sample in the current study.Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2100045141.

Preliminary Study on Haptics of Textile Surfaces via Digital Visual Cues

AbstractHumans perceive through various sensory impressions, including the five senses. Not only the number of different stimuli in everyday life increase, but also the degree of assessment of urgent and irrelevant information. But online it is not possible for the customer to physically perceive and assess the haptics of a product. This paper focus on the questions if it is possible for humans to perceive and identify surface properties without using their sense of touch and if humans can judge and classify the haptics of a textile materials via digital channels through a purely visual perception?

Detrimental impact of allergic airway disease on live attenuated influenza vaccine.

Historically, live attenuated, as opposed to inactivated, vaccines have been highly successful against many infectious diseases (see Ref. 1). However, curiously, seasonal live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIV) or “Flumist” have not demonstrated superior efficacy when compared to inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV), especially in the past several influenza seasons.2, 3 This is in striking contrast to animal models in which Flumist consistently exhibits a clear advantage over IIV in inducing not only robust humoral immunity but also cytotoxic T cell immunity,4-7 which is believed to be important in cross-protection against mismatched influenza viruses.8-11 The reason for this discrepancy between human and animal data is not fully understood, but host factors have been suggested to contribute to highly variable LAIV efficacy.12 Given that chronic conditions, such as asthma, are highly prevalent among adults, that is, 1 in 13 (7.7%) adults in the United States according to centers for disease control and prevention (CDC),13 we propose that they can negatively impact vaccine efficacy. To test our hypothesis, we utilized mouse models of allergic airway disease (AAD) to assess LAIV efficacy in asthmatic mice (Figure 1A). LAIV-elicited systemic IgG responses were significantly diminished in AAD mice (Figure 1B,C). Antibody class switching is a complex process that involves a number of different stimuli.14 In particular, cytokines are known stimuli that direct antibody isotype switching. For example, the type 1 cytokine IFN-γ drives class switching to IgG2a and the type 2 cytokine IL-4 promotes switching to IgG1.15 Since mouse models of asthma are known to trigger type 2-biased immune responses,16, 17 it is plausible that the type 2 cytokine environment in AAD mice is suppressing type 1 immunity-based LAIV. Indeed, analysis of IgG subclasses shows that type 1 immunity-associated IgG2a was downregulated in AAD mice following intranasal (i.n.) LAIV vaccination (Figure 1B,C). Consistent with the systemic antibody profile, mucosal IgG and IgG2a antibodies were also suppressed in AAD mice (Figure 1D). In addition, mucosal IgA titer was reduced in mice with AAD (Figure 1D). We next investigated the protective efficacy of LAIV in AAD vs non-AAD mice. While LAIV-immunized AAD mice were protected against homologous challenge (data not shown), the cross-protective efficacy against heterologous infection was severely compromised (Figure 1E). This observation is consistent with our previous report that live influenza virus infection establishes inferior mucosal antibody immunity in AAD mice.18 Taken together, our results show that AAD is a host-associated factor that can negatively impact LAIV efficacy. Our finding may help explain why LAIV efficacy is highly variable in humans. The implication of our finding is that vaccine research should consider the impact of host factors such as chronic diseases for evaluation of experimental vaccines because the magnitude of interference may differ depending on the vaccine type. It is important to note that LAIV is not recommended for individuals with asthma due to increased incidence of wheezing post LAIV administration.19, 20 Further, people with severe asthma are often excluded from clinical trials that evaluate LAIV efficacy. Therefore, the use of LAIV among asthmatics has been relatively limited and whether asthma exacerbation has a negative effect on the efficacy of LAIV in humans remains unknown. In addition to asthma, other conditions that induce lung inflammation may also impact the efficacy of LAIV, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.21, 22 SARS-CoV-2 is particularly concerning given the high prevalence of asymptomatic infections, and therefore vaccine recipients may unknowingly receive LAIV vaccination while infected with SARS-CoV-2. Further research efforts are clearly warranted to elucidate the precise mechanism by which allergic lung inflammation interferes with the B cell immunogenicity of LAIV. Knowing the detrimental immune pathway that exists in AAD mice may help design a better vaccination approach to circumvent the negative interference imposed by host factors. Yoichi Furuya is supported by R56 AI146434 and American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant. Yoichi Furuya and Sreeja Roy are supported through The American Association of Immunologists Careers in Immunology Fellowship Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors declare no competing interests. Conceptualization: Yoichi Furuya, Sreeja Roy Data Curation: Yoichi Furuya, Clare M. Williams Formal Analysis: Yoichi Furuya Funding Acquisition: Yoichi Furuya Writing—Original Draft Preparation: Yoichi Furuya, Sreeja Roy, Clare M. Williams Writing—Review & Editing: Yoichi Furuya, Sreeja Roy, Clare M. Williams Yoichi Furuya had full access to all of the data in this study and takes complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The data that support the findings of the study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abstract 1874: MDX-124, a novel annexin-A1 antibody, induces an anti-tumor immune response and wide-ranging anti-cancer activity in multiple preclinical models

Abstract Major recent advances have increased the understanding of both the molecular mechanisms and the immune response in cancer. This has led to the discovery of new agents that regulate the tumor immune microenvironment. Annexin-A1 (ANXA1) is a phospholipid binding protein that has been shown to have immunomodulatory effects on T-cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. Although normally localized in the cytoplasm, ANXA1 is secreted in response to a number of different stimuli and can modulate cellular functions through interactions with formyl peptide receptors (FPR1/2). Overexpression of ANXA1 has been observed in several cancer types including triple-negative breast (TNBC), lung, pancreatic and ovarian, and correlates with poor prognosis and decreased overall survival. Furthermore, ANXA1 has also been shown to influence cancer cell proliferation, angiogenesis, migration and drug resistance. Hence, we explored the role of MDX-124, a novel humanized antibody targeting ANXA1, and here present data from several pre-clinical cancer models. Results: Incubation of a panel of cell lines representing several histological cancer subtypes with MDX-124 for 72h resulted in a statistically significant dose-dependent reduction in cell viability compared to control. ANXA1 expression in the subcellular compartments (nucleus, cytoplasm and membrane) was quantified in a panel of cancer cell lines via imaging flow cytometry and the anti-proliferative effect of MDX-124 was shown to correlate with membrane ANXA1 expression. Using a transwell assay, TNBC and acute myeloid leukemia cell lines exposed to MDX-124 exhibited a statistically significant reduction in migration compared to untreated controls. We also observed that MDX-124 induced antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity in a dose-dependent manner using a reporter bioassay (EC50 = 0.38 nM). MDX-124 was further evaluated in an additional panel of in-vitro assays and shown to exert consistent anti-cancer activity. In conclusion, our data indicate that targeting ANXA1 with MDX-124 inhibits tumorigenic processes and induces an immune response in tumors overexpressing ANXA1. MDX-124 therefore provides an innovative approach to cancer therapy. Investigations are continuing to explore the efficacy of MDX-124 in syngeneic mouse models as both a single agent and in combination with standard of care agents. Citation Format: Fiona C. Dempsey, Hussein Al-Ali, Scott J. Crichton, Chris Pepper, Christopher N. Parris. MDX-124, a novel annexin-A1 antibody, induces an anti-tumor immune response and wide-ranging anti-cancer activity in multiple preclinical models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1874.

Solid Multiresponsive Materials Based on Nitrospiropyran-Doped Ionogels.

The application of molecular switches for the fabrication of multistimuli-responsive chromic materials and devices still remains a challenge because of the restrictions imposed by the supporting solid matrices where these compounds must be incorporated: they often critically affect the chromic response as well as limit the type and nature of external stimuli that can be applied. In this work, we propose the use of ionogels to overcome these constraints, as they provide a soft, fluidic, transparent, thermally stable, and ionic-conductive environment where molecular switches preserve their solution-like properties and can be exposed to a number of different stimuli. By exploiting this strategy, we herein pioneer the preparation of nitrospiropyran-based materials using a single solid platform that exhibit optimal photo-, halo-, thermo-, and electrochromic switching behaviors.

Production of erythrocyte microparticles in a sub-hemolytic environment.

Microparticles are produced by various cells due to a number of different stimuli in the circulatory system. Shear stress has been shown to injure red blood cells resulting in hemolysis or non-reversible sub-hemolytic damage. We hypothesized that, in the sub-hemolytic shear range, there exist sufficient mechanical stimuli for red blood cells to respond with production of microparticles. Red blood cells isolated from blood of healthy volunteers were exposed to high shear stress in a microfluidic channel to mimic mechanical trauma similar to that occurring in ventricular assist devices. Utilizing flow cytometry techniques, both an increase of shear rate and exposure time showed higher concentrations of red blood cell microparticles. Controlled shear rate exposure shows that red blood cell microparticle concentration may be indicative of sub-hemolytic damage to red blood cells. In addition, properties of these red blood cell microparticles produced by shear suggest that mechanical trauma may underlie some complications for cardiovascular patients.

The Validity of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials as Attention Tags and Input Signals: A Critical Perspective of Frequency Allocation and Number of Stimuli.

Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) is a periodic response to a repetitive visual stimulus at a specific frequency. Currently, SSVEP is widely treated as an attention tag in cognitive activities and is used as an input signal for brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). However, whether SSVEP can be used as a reliable indicator has been a controversial issue. We focused on the independence of SSVEP from frequency allocation and number of stimuli. First, a cue–target paradigm was adopted to examine the interaction between SSVEPs evoked by two stimuli with different frequency allocations under different attention conditions. Second, we explored whether signal strength and the performance of SSVEP-based BCIs were affected by the number of stimuli. The results revealed that no significant interaction of SSVEP responses appeared between attended and unattended stimuli under various frequency allocations, regardless of their appearance in the fundamental or second-order harmonic. The amplitude of SSVEP suffered no significant gain or loss under different numbers of stimuli, but the performance of SSVEP-based BCIs varied along with duration of stimuli; that is, the recognition rate was not affected by the number of stimuli when the duration of stimuli was long enough, while the information transfer rate (ITR) presented the opposite trend. It can be concluded that SSVEP is a reliable tool for marking and monitoring multiple stimuli simultaneously in cognitive studies, but much caution should be taken when choosing a suitable duration and the number of stimuli, in order to achieve optimal utility of BCIs in the future.

Commercialization of small holder farming in Assam

Commercialization of agriculture is an activity where farmers produce principally for sale in far off markets, rather than to fulfil their demand for food or to sell in local or nearby markets. Number of different stimuli at different times is responsible for agricultural commercialisation. In Assam about 86% farmers belong to the small and marginal category. These groups should be oriented towards commercialization of their farms for improving their standard of living. The present study attempted to measure the level of commercialization among the small farmers in Nagaon district of Assam. Multistage random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Household commercialization index was used to measure the level of commercialization. The study revealed that the level of commercialization ranged from 63.3% to 74%. It was reported that the higher farm size and access to market encouraged the farmers to go for higher level of commercialization.

Cell sheets prepared via gel–sol transition of calcium RGD–alginate

The formation of layered tissues through the use of cell sheet harvesting has recently emerged as a potentially viable approach for clinical tissue engineering applications. Since the demonstration of effective cell sheet formation using temperature responsive substrates, a number of different stimuli have been utilized to facilitate cell sheet detachment. Each approach has differing advantages and disadvantages. Herein we demonstrate the ability of calcium alginate hydrogels to function as an effective substrate for cell sheet formation. By conjugating the integrin binding peptide sequence RGD to the alginate and crosslinking it with calcium ions, the hydrogel formed supported the attachment and growth of both 3T3 fibroblasts and human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). Once the cells had grown to confluence, exposing the calcium alginate to the chelating agent citrate caused the release of a consolidated cell sheet. When HCEC sheets were stacked, the cell layers adhered to each other and the cells began to integrate. Statement of significanceHerein we describe a simple and inexpensive process for creating cell sheets using the ability of calcium alginate hydrogels to be dissolved under mild conditions. The alginate was first modified to possess cell attachment sites and in this demonstration of feasibility we employed an RGD peptide, but other peptides could be readily attached. The modified alginate was then formed into stable hydrogels through a drying and re-hydration step, and used as a substrate to grow confluent cell sheets of human corneal epithelial cells and 3T3 fibroblasts as examples. The cell sheets were released through chelating the calcium using citrate. The cell–cell connections were retained following this release and the cell sheets interconnect and grew following being stacked.

Sensory discrimination by consumers of multiple stimuli from a reference: Stimulus configuration in A-Not AR and constant-ref. duo-trio superior to triangle and unspecified tetrad?

In the food industry, overall discrimination tests are used with untrained/naïve consumer subjects to compare multiple test stimuli against a fixed reference, such as a company’s gold standard or a stimulus familiar to the consumer. Such tests are used for various objectives, including reformulation and cost reduction. Yet, studies on relative discrimination power and efficiency have been limited to experimental designs with a fixed pair of stimuli and method comparisons based on the same numbers of tests. In the present study, two reminder methods, A-Not A with Reminder (A-Not AR) and 2-AFC with Reminder (2-AFCR), were investigated as potentially better methods for experimental designs including comparisons of multiple pairs of stimuli for consumer discrimination. 2-AFCR is procedurally equivalent to a constant-reference duo-trio test with the reference presented first (DTF) and thus this test is referred to as the constant-ref. DTF/2-AFCR test in this paper. The practical efficiency of these two reminder methods, attributed to their effective stimulus configurations in replicated tests (i.e. using a fixed reference and lower number of different stimuli required in a test), was tested in comparison with the two most commonly used balanced reference classification methods, the triangle test and the unspecified tetrad test, by equalizing the number of stimuli required for the different methods. Namely the relative operational discrimination power was studied based on the same number of stimuli rather than the same number of tests. 180 naïve consumers performed a set of 12 replicated triangle tests and, based on the results, were divided into one of three equally-performing groups. A related-samples design was implemented for comparison between the triangle and the other three methods. An independent-samples design was implemented across the three groups to compare the A-Not AR, constant-ref. DTF/2-AFCR, and unspecified tetrad methods. Statistical ratio comparisons of d′ estimates obtained from different methods revealed that discrimination performance in the reminder methods was better than in both the tetrad and triangle methods. No discrimination difference was found between the triangle and tetrad tests having all possible test sequences, although the triangle test considering only the optimal test sequences, which were the same as those in the constant-ref. DTF/2-AFCR, resulted in superior discrimination than the tetrad test. Collectively, these results suggest that when assessing the discriminability of multiple stimuli from a fixed reference, the reminder scheme is the superior research design.

Surface plasmon resonance fiber sensor for real-time and label-free monitoring of cellular behavior

This paper reports on the application of an optical fiber biosensor for real-time analysis of cellular behavior. Our findings illustrate that a fiber sensor fabricated from a traditional telecommunication fiber can be integrated into conventional cell culture equipment and used for real-time and label-free monitoring of cellular responses to chemical stimuli. The sensing mechanism used for the measurement of cellular responses is based on the excitation of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) on the surface of the optical fiber. In this proof of concept study, the sensor was utilized to investigate the influence of a number of different stimuli on cells—we tested the effects of trypsin, serum and sodium azide. These stimuli induced detachment of cells from the sensor surface, uptake of serum and inhibition of cellular metabolism, accordingly. The effects of different stimuli were confirmed with alamar blue assay, phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy. The results indicated that the fiber biosensor can be successfully utilized for real-time and label-free monitoring of cellular response in the first 30min following the introduction of a stimulus. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the optical fiber biosensors can be easily regenerated for repeated use, proving this platform as a versatile and cost-effective sensing tool.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Inflammatory Disease

In this issue of Endocrinology, Miani and colleagues (1) provide evidence that increased circulating levels of free fatty acids (FFA) associated with obesity induce a mild endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in pancreatic -cells that predisposes them to an augmented inflammatory response when exposed to cytokines such as IL-1 or TNF. They found that rat insulinoma cells (INS-1E), or primary rat -cells, when exposed to the ER stressor sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca -ATPase (SERCA) blocker (cyctopiazonic acid) or free fatty acids (FFA), followed by exposure to low-dose IL-1 or TNF, had enhanced expression of the inflammatory markers CCL2, CXCL1, iNOS, and Fas. Interrogation of the molecular pathway showed augmented nuclear factorB (NFB) activation, after degradation of forkhead box O1 (FoxO1) protein. Using small interfering RNA that targeted specific ER stress pathways, the investigators demonstrated involvement of the inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1)/X-box binding protein-1s (XBP1s) pathway. The importance of these findings is that obesity-associated FFA may easily induce mild -cell ER stress that, in turn, triggers a heightened inflammatory response that could drive apoptosis. -cell apoptosis is the primary pathogenic mechanism that underlies type 1 diabetes, an area of growing concern because the worldwide incidence of type 1 diabetes is increasing at a rapid rate. The ER is central for the processing, folding, and exporting of newly synthesized proteins (2). The folding of proteins into their native structure in the ER is mediated by folding enzymes, molecular chaperones, and folding sensor proteins (3). The whole process is regulated by a stringent quality control system that inhibits the export of incompletely folded or misfolded proteins (4). This ensures that potentially malfunctioning proteins that could be detrimental to the cell are not deployed. Excessive demands on the protein-folding capacity of the ER can cause irremediable ER stress that contributes to cell death. ER stress is sensed as intrinsic cell damage, and in turn, this leads to ER release of proapoptotic factors such as BCL2-associated x protein, NADPH oxidase activator 1, v-crk sarcoma virus CT1O oncogene; BCL2antagonist/killer 1, BCL-2 interacting mediator, p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis, and the newly recognized major player, CRK (5–7). These proteins activate the BAXand/or BAK-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic pathway culminating in outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and the release of pro-death mitochondrial proteins (such as cytochrome c) into the cytosol, causing activation of effector caspases (8–10). Before irremediable ER stress, and activation of the pro-death pathway, an unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated, which alters gene expression and translational programs to try and overcome the stressful conditions and to restore ER homeostasis (11–14). ER stress can be caused by a number of different stimuli, including heat shock, energy deprivation, hypoxia, metabolic dysfunction, drugs, increased levels of circulating cytokines, FFA, and nutrient excess (15, 16). Indeed, the ER is highly responsive to cellular nutrient and energy status. The intracellular pathways that mediate the UPR are well characterized. There are three UPR signaling cascades, each of which are initiated through different ERlocalized transmembrane proteins, namely, IRE1, pancreatic ER kinase (PERK), and activating transcription factor

Detecting categorical perception in continuous discrimination data

We present a method for assessing categorical perception from continuous discrimination data. Until recently, categorical perception of speech has exclusively been measured by discrimination and identification experiments with a small number of different stimuli, each of which is presented multiple times. Experiments by Rogers and Davis (2009), however, suggest that using non-repeating stimuli yields a more reliable measure of categorization. If this idea is applied to a single phonetic continuum, the continuum has to be densely sampled and the obtained discrimination data is nearly continuous. In the present study, we describe a maximum-likelihood method that is appropriate for analysing such continuous discrimination data.

Prevalence study of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection among foreign manpower in Jeddah Saudi Arabia

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a species-specific DNA virus of the Herpetoviridae family. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is more widespread in developing countries and in areas of low socio-economic conditions. It causes high morbidity and mortality. After primary infection CMV is not eradicated but establishes life-long infection in its host. CMV dispersed and become dormant or latent in multiple end organs, and can later be reactivated by a number of different stimuli, including immunosuppresion and inflammation. To determine CMV prevalence in a sample of the foreign manpower population in Jeddah region, Saudi Arabia, we tested serum samples for CMV-specific immunoglobulin G from participants aged 20 to 60 years (n = 514) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The prevalence of CMV infection was 80.7% in studied population. CMV prevalence differed significantly by sex (p<0.05). The prevalence of cytomegalovirus was higher significantly in females (86.8%) than in males (75.00%). CMV seroprevalence increased gradually with age, ranging from 53.8% in 20–24 year olds to 95.2% in those aged 55 to 60 years. CMV seroprevalence differed significantly (p<0.05) by nationality and/or ethnicity as follows: 66.7% in Indian, 78.7% in Egyptian, 76.7% in Yemeni, 87.8% in Sudani, 82.7% in Pakistani, 83.6% in Bangladeshi, to 88.9% in Ethiopian. The seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus among the African population (85.1%) varied significantly (p<0.05) from Asian population (77.5%). The finding that high levels of CMV exposure occur in the first years of life suggests that for a universal vaccination program to have maximal impact, the vaccine would need to be delivered to infants and have a long duration of protective efficacy. This is the first seroprevalence looking at cytomegalovirus in the foreign manpower community in Jeddah region, Saudi Arabia. This study provides valuable information that can be used to examine the incidence of infection in the community and help focus the administration of a future CMV vaccine to appropriate target populations. Key words: Cytomegalovirus (CMV), virus, seroprevalence, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunoglobulin G (IgG).

An evaluation of the use of eye gaze to measure preference of individuals with severe physical and developmental disabilities

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether duration of eye gaze could be used to identify reinforcing stimuli for four individuals with severe physical and developmental disabilities, as well as the effectiveness of the assessment using different numbers of stimuli (i.e. 6 vs 14).Methods: This study measured each student's preferences in a paired stimulus preference assessment using duration of eye gaze toward various stimuli. Following the preference assessment, a reinforcer assessment was conducted within a reversal design to determine the accuracy of the preference hierarchy.Results: Results indicated that duration of eye gaze toward a stimulus was successful in identifying preferred stimuli that functioned as reinforcers for all participants. Additionally, the shorter preference assessment produced measures of similar accuracy in considerably less time.Conclusion: Eye gaze can be used to identify reinforcing stimuli for individuals with severe physical and developmental disabilities.

The effect of summation of contraction on acceleration signals in human skeletal muscle

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of summation of contraction on acceleration signals in human skeletal muscle. The torque parameters of dorsiflexion and acceleration signals in the tibialis anterior muscle were measured during evoked isometric contractions. In an examination of two-pulse trains with different inter-pulse intervals, the torque and accelerometer responses to inter-pulse intervals of 10–100 ms were recorded. In an investigation of the effects of different numbers of stimuli, the torque and accelerometer responses to 1–8 pulses with a constant inter-pulse interval of 10 ms were recorded. The present study found that there was a difference in acceleration amplitude between the single-pulse and two-pulse trains with an inter-pulse interval of 10 ms but not two-pulse trains with an inter-pulse interval of 20 ms or more. In the investigation of different numbers of stimuli, we found a similar MMG amplitude across 2–8 pulses. Moreover, we observed that the maximal time to the peak acceleration signal was ∼27 ms. In a comparison of torque parameters with acceleration signals, the present study clearly shows that acceleration amplitude is poorly correlated to changes in force parameters when the inter-pulse interval or the number of stimuli are increased. These results suggest that the absence of associated changes in acceleration peak is due to the long interval for the subsequent pulses relative to the time at which acceleration peak is achieved (∼27 ms). These findings will provide useful information concerning the method for assessing summation of contraction with an accelerometer.

Shadows control microsaccades and drift

Are microsaccades simply random movements that return a drifting eye to a fixation point? Or do microsaccades and drift play a functional role in visual analysis? Our work on lightness algorithms for computer vision suggests that movements on the temporal and spatial scale of microsaccades and drift might be extremely useful for measuring colorimetric phenomena that are critical for recognizing illumination flux. To test this hypothesis, we created a number of different stimuli that simulate the spatial distribution of color and intensity, i.e., the spatiospectral order, typically created by shadows or, more generically, illumination boundaries. As a control, we generated another set of stimuli constituted of exactly the same colors in the same quantities but that did not contain patterns plausibly created by illumination boundaries, and thus appeared to represent only material boundaries. We then monitored the microsaccades and drift of 40 subjects who were asked to free-view each of the stimuli for 20 seconds each. Our experiments suggest that microsaccades and drift are indeed substantially controlled by the high-order spatiospectral differences between material and illumination boundaries, often thought to be accessible only at the cortical level. To a significant extent, microsaccades and drift are not random and may be tied to the functional detection of illumination flux and shadows.