When we imagine a picture, we move our eyes even though the picture is physically not present. These eye movements provide information about the ongoing process of mental imagery. Eye movements ...unfold over time, and previous research has shown that the temporal gaze dynamics of eye movements in mental imagery have unique properties, which are unrelated to those in perception. In mental imagery, refixations of previously fixated locations happen more often and in a more systematic manner than in perception. The origin of these unique properties remains unclear. We tested how the temporal structure of eye movements is influenced by the complexity of the mental image. Participants briefly saw and then maintained a pattern stimulus, consisting of one (easy condition) to four black segments (most difficult condition). When maintaining a simple pattern in imagery, participants restricted their gaze to a narrow area, and for more complex stimuli, eye movements were more spread out to distant areas. At the same time, fewer refixations were made in imagery when the stimuli were complex. The results show that refixations depend on the imagined content. While fixations of stimulus-related areas reflect the so-called ‘looking at nothing’ effect, gaze restriction emphasizes differences between mental imagery and perception.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has overwhelmed health systems worldwide and highlighted limitations of diagnostic testing. Several types ...of diagnostic tests including RT-PCR-based assays and antigen detection by lateral flow assays, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, have been developed and deployed in a short time.
Here, we describe an immunoaffinity purification approach followed a by high resolution mass spectrometry-based targeted qualitative assay capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen from nasopharyngeal swab samples. Based on our discovery experiments using purified virus, recombinant viral protein and nasopharyngeal swab samples from COVID-19 positive patients, nucleocapsid protein was selected as a target antigen. We then developed an automated antibody capture-based workflow coupled to targeted high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) - parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) assay on an Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer. An ensemble machine learning-based model for determining COVID-19 positive samples was developed using fragment ion intensities from the PRM data.
The optimized targeted assay, which was used to analyze 88 positive and 88 negative nasopharyngeal swab samples for validation, resulted in 98% (95% CI = 0.922–0.997) (86/88) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI = 0.958–1.000) (88/88) specificity using RT-PCR-based molecular testing as the reference method.
Our results demonstrate that direct detection of infectious agents from clinical samples by tandem mass spectrometry-based assays have potential to be deployed as diagnostic assays in clinical laboratories, which has hitherto been limited to analysis of pure microbial cultures.
This study was supported by DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowship grant IA/M/15/1/502023 awarded to AP and the generosity of Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
Eye fixation patterns during mental imagery are similar to those during perception of the same picture, suggesting that oculomotor mechanisms play a role in mental imagery (i.e., the “looking at ...nothing” effect). Previous research has focused on the spatial similarities of eye movements during perception and mental imagery. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether the spatial similarity translates to the temporal domain. We used recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to assess the temporal structure of eye fixations in visual perception and mental imagery and we compared the temporal as well as the spatial characteristics in mental imagery with perception by means of Bayesian hierarchical regression models. We further investigated how person and picture-specific characteristics contribute to eye movement behavior in mental imagery. Working memory capacity and mental imagery abilities were assessed to either predict gaze dynamics in visual imagery or to moderate a possible correspondence between spatial or temporal gaze dynamics in perception and mental imagery. We were able to show the spatial similarity of fixations between visual perception and imagery and we provide first evidence for its moderation by working memory capacity. Interestingly, the temporal gaze dynamics in mental imagery were unrelated to those in perception and their variance between participants was not explained by variance in visuo-spatial working memory capacity or vividness of mental images. The semantic content of the imagined pictures was the only meaningful predictor of temporal gaze dynamics. The spatial correspondence reflects shared spatial structure of mental images and perceived pictures, while the unique temporal gaze behavior could be driven by generation, maintenance and protection processes specific to visual imagery. The unique temporal gaze dynamics offer a window to new insights into the genuine process of mental imagery independent of its similarity to perception
This paper presents a statistically more likely distribution (SMLD) approach for the evaluation of the presumed probability density function (PDF) in flamelet progress variable (FPV) models for ...non-premixed supersonic combustion. The numerical simulation of the NASA Langley Research Center supersonic H2–Air combustion chamber is performed using two approaches: the first one is a standard FPV model, built presuming the functional shape of the PDFs of the mixture fraction, Z, and of the progress parameter, Λ; the second approach employs the SMLD technique to presume the joint PDF of Z and Λ. The standard and FPV-SMLD models have been developed using the low Mach number assumption. In both cases, the temperature is evaluated by solving the total-energy conservation equation, providing a more suitable approach for the simulation of supersonic combustion. By comparison with experimental data, the proposed SMLD model is shown to provide a clear improvement with respect to the standard FPV model, especially in the auto-ignition and stabilization regions of the flame.
•An improved model for non-premixed supersonic turbulent combustion is proposed.•Statistically most likely distribution is used in a flamelet/progress-variable model.•The complex structure of the supersonic H2–air flame is correctly predicted.
This Comparative Handbook surveys the Judaic environment of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Analogies are traced with the Pseudepigrapha (together with Philo and Josephus), discoveries related to ...Qumran, and Rabbinic Literature (inclusive of the Targumim).
The Torn Veil Gurtner, Daniel M.
12/2006, Letnik:
v.Series Number 139
eBook
In this 2006 text, Daniel M. Gurtner examines the meaning of the rending of the veil at the death of Jesus in Matthew 27:51a by considering the functions of the veil in the Old Testament and its ...symbolism in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Gurtner incorporates these elements into a compositional exegesis of the rending text in Matthew. He concludes that the rending of the veil is an apocalyptic assertion like the opening of heaven revealing, in part, end-time images drawn from Ezekiel 37. Moreover, when the veil is torn Matthew depicts the cessation of its function, articulating the atoning role of Christ's death which gives access to God not simply in the sense of entering the Holy of Holies (as in Hebrews), but in trademark Matthean Emmanuel Christology: 'God with us'. This underscores the significance of Jesus' atoning death in the first gospel.
Several studies demonstrated similarities of eye fixations during mental imagery and visual perception but-to our knowledge-the temporal characteristics of eye movements during imagery have not yet ...been considered in detail. To fill this gap, the same data is analyzed with conventional spatial techniques such as analysis of areas of interest (AOI), ScanMatch, and MultiMatch and with recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), a new way of analyzing gaze data by tracking re-fixations and their temporal dynamics. Participants viewed and afterwards imagined three different kinds of pictures (art, faces, and landscapes) while their eye movements were recorded. While fixation locations during imagery were related to those during perception, participants returned more often to areas they had previously looked at during imagery and their scan paths were more clustered and more repetitive when compared to visual perception. Furthermore, refixations of the same area occurred sooner after initial fixation during mental imagery. The results highlight not only content-driven spatial similarities between imagery and perception but also shed light on the processes of mental imagery maintenance and interindividual differences in these processes.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) used in immunoglobulin gamma (IgG) index testing and oligoclonal bands (OCBs) are common laboratory tests used in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The measurement of CSF ...free light chains (FLC) could pose as an alternative to the labor-intensive isoelectric-focusing (IEF) gels used for OCBs.
A total of 325 residual paired CSF and serum specimens were obtained after physician-ordered OCB IEF testing. CSF kappa (cKFLC) and lambda FLC (cLFLC), albumin and total IgG were measured. Calculations were performed based on combinations of analytes: CSF sum of kappa and lambda (cKFLC+cLFLC), kappa-index (K-index) (cKFLC/sKFLC/CSF albumin/serum albumin), kappa intrathecal fraction (KFLCIF) {(cKFLC/sKFLC-0.9358×CSF albumin/serum albumin^0.6687×sKFLC/cKFLC)} and IgG-index (CSF IgG/CSF albumin/serum IgG/serum albumin).
Patients were categorized as: demyelination (n=67), autoimmunity (n=53), non-inflammatory (n=50), inflammation (n=38), degeneration (n=28), peripheral neuropathy (n=24), infection (n=13), cancer (n=11), neuromyelitis optica (n=10) and others (n=31). cKFLC measurement used alone at a cutoff of 0.0611 mg/dL showed >90% agreement to OCBs, similar or better performance than all other calculations, reducing the number of analytes and variables. When cases of demyelinating disease were reviewed, cKFLC measurements showed 86% clinical sensitivity/77% specificity.
cKFLC alone demonstrates comparable performance to OCBs along with increased sensitivity for demyelinating diseases. Replacing OCB with cKFLC would alleviate the need for serum and CSF IgG and albumin and calculated conversions. cKFLC can overcome challenges associated with performance, interpretation, and cost of traditional OCBs, reducing costs and maintaining sensitivity and specificity supporting MS diagnosis.
Synoptikon Chilton, Bruce D; Avery-Peck, Alan; Evans, Craig A ...
2022, Letnik:
3
eBook
The Synoptikon presents the texts of the Synoptic Gospels alongside one another and in relation to their Judaic contexts. Discrete typefaces highlight particular streams of tradition that interacted ...so as to produce the Gospels. The depth of the Synoptic tradition consequently emerges, as well as its breadth.
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