Traditional approaches to human information processing tend to deal with perception and action planning in isolation, so that an adequate account of the perception-action interface is still missing. ...On the perceptual side, the dominant cognitive view largely underestimates, and thus fails to account for, the impact of action-related processes on both the processing of perceptual information and on perceptual learning. On the action side, most approaches conceive of action planning as a mere continuation of stimulus processing, thus failing to account for the goal-directedness of even the simplest reaction in an experimental task. We propose a new framework for a more adequate theoretical treatment of perception and action planning, in which perceptual contents and action plans are coded in a common representational medium by feature codes with distal reference. Perceived events (perceptions) and to-be-produced events (actions) are equally represented by integrated, task-tuned networks of feature codes--cognitive structures we call event codes. We give an overview of evidence from a wide variety of empirical domains, such as spatial stimulus-response compatibility, sensorimotor synchronization, and ideomotor action, showing that our main assumptions are well supported by the data.
In view of heavy reliance on teacher ratings with the Conners scale in studies of hyperactivity, careful consideration of the potential confounding of hyperactivity and aggression is recommended. ...Implications for classification, longitudinal investigation, and evaluation of treatment of hyperactive children were discussed. (Author)
Today, every modern organization aspires to improve its performance through better use of information technology. As communication technology improves, organizations can operate over wider distances ...and can even assemble operational components on an ad-hoc basis to meet requirements of a specific objective. Future air traffic communication studies are already discussing whether to operate IP networks that are combining voice and data transport. The problem is that although voice and data are using a common infrastructure, they remain separate at the application level. Probably, some service providers have already enjoyed reduced network infrastructure and operational costs by merging voice and data transport, but the majority may have failed to realize the significant cost, productivity, and service differentiation capabilities that converged, collaborative applications could bring. This elaborates mechanisms needed for a robust and globally interconnected network environment (including infrastructure, systems, processes, and people) in which data is shared timely and seamlessly among users, applications, and platforms. Such an environment enables substantially improved situational awareness and shortened decision-making cycles. Stepping ahead, our contribution discusses standards making application or service convergence a reality.
The enteric nervous system is largely autonomous, and the central nervous system is compartmentalized behind the blood-brain barrier. Yet the intestinal microbiota shapes gut function, local and ...systemic immune responses, and central nervous system functions including cognition and mood. In this review, we address how the gut microbiota can profoundly influence neural and immune networks. Although many of the interactions between these three systems originate in the intestinal mucosa, intestinal function and immunity are modulated by neural pathways that connect the gut and brain. Furthermore, a subset of microbe-derived penetrant molecules enters the brain and regulates central nervous system function. Understanding how these seemingly isolated entities communicate has the potential to open up new avenues for therapies and interventions.
Although the events associated with divorce can have negative effects on children who are involved, child maladjustment is not the inevitable consequence of divorce. To investigate the factors which ...may account for observed variation in children's response to divorce, 46 elementary school children (22 boys, 24 girls), residing with their mothers, were assessed by teachers having no knowledge about the family or child, using Achenbach's Teacher Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. The mother and child were separately interviewed about interpersonal relations, the child's perceptions, the functioning of the mother, and status and behavioral variables. An anaylsis of the results showed a high amount of variability in children's behavioral adjustment at school following the marital separation of their parents, particularly for boys. The characteristics of the family and of the separation were related to how the child fared at school. Boys whose parents engaged in less frequent negative interchanges and who saw their fathers often after separation were doing better in school than boys who witnessed overt marital hostility in the home prior to separation. Boys who scored lower on adaptive functioning tended to attribute more blame to themselves for their parents' breakup, to show a fear of abandonment by their families, and to report that the mother frequently made derogatory comments about the father. Finally, mothers whose sons were doing better at school reflected higher performance on a parental skills test and lower stress attributable to the restrictions of the parental role. (BL)
Context:
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been recently identified in thyroid neoplasm. Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) contains a higher percentage of CSCs than well-differentiated thyroid cancer. The ...signaling pathways and the transcription factors that regulate thyroid CSC self-renewal remain poorly understood.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to use two ATC cell lines (KAT-18 and SW1736) as a model to study the role of the sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway in maintaining thyroid CSC self-renewal and to understand its underlying molecular mechanisms.
Design:
The expression and activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), a marker for thyroid CSCs, was analyzed by Western blot and ALDEFLUOR assay, respectively. The effect of three Shh pathway inhibitors (cyclopamine, HhAntag, GANT61), Shh, Gli1, Snail knockdown, and Gli1 overexpression on thyroid CSC self-renewal was analyzed by ALDEFLUOR assay and thyrosphere formation. The sensitivity of transfected KAT-18 cells to radiation was evaluated by a colony survival assay.
Results:
Western blot analysis revealed that ALDH protein levels in five thyroid cancer cell lines (WRO82, a follicular thyroid cancer cell line; BCPAP and TPC1, two papillary thyroid cancer cell lines; KAT-18 and SW1736, two ATC cell lines) correlated with the percentage of the ALDHHigh cells as well as Gli1 and Snail expression. The Shh pathway inhibitors, Shh and Gli1 knockdown, in KAT-18 cells decreased thyroid CSC self-renewal and increased radiation sensitivity. In contrast, Gli1 overexpression led to increased thyrosphere formation, an increased percentage of ALDHHigh cells, and increased radiation resistance in KAT-18 cells. Inhibition of the Shh pathway by three specific inhibitors led to decreased Snail expression and a decreased number of ALDHHigh cells in KAT-18 and SW1736. Snail gene knockdown decreased the number of ALDHHigh cells in KAT-18 and SW1736 cells.
Conclusions:
The Shh pathway promotes the CSC self-renewal in ATC cell lines by Gli1-induced Snail expression.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells were fabricated by direct sputter deposition of platinum on the surface of Nafion 117 membranes. A sharp spike in the performance of these sputtered platinum fuel ...cells was observed at ultra-low platinum thickness values of 5–10
nm. Within this narrow thickness range, the power output capability of sputtered platinum fuel cells is several orders of magnitude better than the performance produced by thinner or thicker coatings. The spike in performance is explained by rapid changes in the sputtered film microstructure at the nanometer thickness level. When the membrane surface is deliberately modified by abrasion prior to sputtering, this sharp peak is not seen. Instead, a broad plateau is observed, where the performance is insensitive to the amount of sputtered platinum. This behavior stems from how surface roughening affects the sputtered catalyst layer continuity. The performance of a sputter-deposited membrane with a platinum loading level of 0.04
mg/cm
2 is compared to a commercial membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with a platinum loading of 0.4
mg/cm
2. The maximum power output of the sputtered cell is three-fifths that of the commercial MEA, but uses one-tenth the platinum.
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