bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Coherence-based spectro-spatial fillters for stimulus features prediction from electrocorticographic recordings
Authors: Delgado Jaime , Christen Andy , Martin Stephanie , Pasley Brian N. , Knight Robert T. , Giraud Anne-Lise 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe traditional approach in neuroscience relies on encoding models where brain responses to different stimuli are related to the latter to establish reproducible dependencies. To reduce neuronal and experimental noise, brain signals are usually averaged across trials to detect reliable and coherent brain activity. However, neural representations of stimulus features can be spread over time, frequency, and space, motivating the use of alternative methods that relate stimulus features to brain responses. We propose a Coherence-based spectro-spatial filter method that reconstructs stimulus features from intracortical brain signals. The proposed method models trials of an experiment as realizations of a random process and extracts patterns that are common across brain signals and the presented stimuli. These patterns, originating from different recording sites, are then combined (spatial filtering) to form a final prediction. Our results from three different cognitive tasks (motor movements, speech perception and speech production), concur to show that the proposed method significantly improves the ability to predict stimulus features over traditional methods such as multilinear regression with distributed lags and artificial neural networks. Furthermore, analyses of the model parameters show anatomical discriminability for execution of different motor movements. This anatomical discriminability is also observed in the perception and production of different words. These features could be exploited in the design of neuroprosthesis, as well as for exploring normal brain functioning.
Transitioning between preparatory and precisely sequenced neuronal activity in production of a skilled behavior
Authors: Daliparthi Vamsi K. , Tachibana Ryosuke O. , Cooper Brenton G. , Hahnloser Richard H.R. , Kojima Satoshi , Sober Samuel J. , Roberts Todd F. 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTPrecise neural sequences are associated with the production of well-learned skilled behaviors. Yet, how neural sequences arise in the brain remains unclear. In songbirds, premotor projection neurons in the cortical song nucleus HVC are necessary for producing learned song and exhibit precise sequential activity during singing. Using cell-type specific calcium imaging we identify populations of HVC premotor neurons associated with the beginning and ending of singing-related neural sequences. We discovered neurons that bookend singing-related sequences and neuronal populations that transition from sparse preparatory activity prior to song to precise neural sequences during singing. Recordings from downstream premotor neurons or the respiratory system suggest that pre-song activity may be involved in motor preparation to sing. These findings reveal population mechanisms associated with moving from non-vocal to vocal behavioral states and suggest that precise neural sequences begin and end as part of orchestrated activity across functionally diverse populations of cortical premotor neurons.
Neural sensitization improves encoding ﬁdelity in the primate retina
Authors: Appleby Todd R. , Manookin Michael B. 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTAn animal’s motion through the environment can induce large and frequent fluctuations in light intensity on the retina. These fluctuations pose a major challenge to neural circuits tasked with encoding visual information, as they can cause cells to adapt and lose sensitivity. Here, we report that sensitization, a short-term plasticity mechanism, solves this difficult computational problem by maintaining neuronal sensitivity in the face of these fluctuations. The numerically dominant output pathway in the macaque monkey retina, the midget (parvocellular-projecting) pathway, undergoes sensitization under specific conditions, including simulated eye movements. Sensitization is present in the excitatory synaptic inputs from midget bipolar cells and is mediated by presynaptic disinhibition from wide-field amacrine cells. Direct physiological recordings and a computational model indicate that sensitization in the midget pathway supports accurate sensory encoding and prevents a loss of responsiveness during dynamic visual processing.
Real-time markerless video tracking of body parts in mice using deep neural networks
Authors: Forys Brandon , Xiao Dongsheng , Gupta Pankaj , Boyd Jamie D , Murphy Timothy H 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTMarkerless and accurate tracking of mouse movement is of interest to many biomedical, pharmaceutical, and behavioral science applications. The additional capability of tracking body parts in real-time with minimal latency opens up the possibility of manipulating motor feedback, allowing detailed explorations of the neural basis for behavioral control. Here we describe a system capable of tracking specific movements in mice at a frame rate of 30.3 Hz. To achieve these results, we adapt DeepLabCut – a robust movement-tracking deep neural network framework – for real-time tracking of body movements in mice. We estimate paw movements of mice in real time and demonstrate the concept of movement-triggered optogenetic stimulation by flashing a USB-CGPIO controlled LED that is triggered when real time analysis of movement exceeds a pre-set threshold. The mean time delay between movement initiation and LED flash was 93.44 ms, a latency sufficient for applying behaviorally-triggered feedback. This manuscript presents the rationale and details of the algorithms employed and shows implementation of the system using behaving mice. This system lays the groundwork for a behavior-triggered ‘closed loop’ brain-machine interface with optogenetic stimulation of specific brain regions for feedback.
Influence of serum lead level on prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, quality of life and cardiopulmonary function among welders in Enugu metropolis, Southeast, Nigeria
Authors: Ezema CI , Nwafulume CK , Nweke M. , Eneh OC , Uchenwoke C , Abugu JO , Anyachukwu CC 
Published: November 2018

AbstractExposure of welders to welding fumes is a serious occupational health problem all over the world. This often leads to musculoskeletal pain and influences quality of life and cardiopulmonary function, which can be acute or chronic, localized or widespread. The study aimed to assess the serum level of lead and relate it to musculoskeletal pains, quality of life and cardiopulmonary functions of welders in Enugu metropolis, Southeast, Nigeria. Snowball sampling technique was adopted to reach over 100 welders working and residing in Enugu metropolis and who met the inclusion criteria for their informed consent to participate in the study. The first 100 to give the consent were selected for the study. results showed that the mean serum level of lead in welders in Enugu metropolis was 0.522µg/dl with a range of 0.06-1.26 µg/dl. Low back pain was prevalent among welders. The welders had a very high quality of life for the domain of physical health with a score of 94, and high psychosocial and social relationship domains for quality of life with the scores of 69 and 75 respectively. The welders perceived their quality of life as regards environment as average, as they reported their physical environment as being a little or moderately safe, having little money to meet their needs, moderate; availability to information needed for their day to day life, satisfaction with access to health services and time for leisure activities, and a majority reported being satisfied and/or slightly satisfied with their transportation. About 64.2% of the welders had an elevated systolic blood pressure above 120mmHg and 52.6% had diastolic blood pressure elevated above 80mmHg, while only 3.2% of the welders had pulse rates above 100 beats per minute. The mean values for lung function reported for the study were FVC = 1.43, FEV1 = 1.13 and PEF = 1.61. The significant relationship between serum lead levels (FVC, FEV1 and PEF) could be attributed to inhalation. The significant relationship between serum lead levels and low back pain and knee pain could be attributed to lead’s effect on the musculoskeletal system.
Willingness to pay for spectacle among presbyopic population in South Gondar, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Alemu Haile Woretaw 
Published: November 2018

AbstractAimTo assess the willingness to pay for spectacles among the south Gondar presbyopic adult population.MethodsAn interview-based questionnaire was employed to elicit the willingness to pay for spectacles among people refracted during an outreach service at Debre-Tabor Zonal Hospital.ResultsOf the total 322 people participating in the study, only 53.4% (172) were experienced spectacles users. The median gross monthly income of participants was US$ 75.0 (ranged US$ 7.1 - 321.4) and the mean amount of money willing to pa for a pair of spectacles was US$ 17.9 (ranged US$ 1.1-107.1). Participants who were willing to pay US$ 12.5 for a pair of spectacles from a government optical accounted 63.0% (95% CI: 57.8-68.3), while those willing to pay the minimum international pair of spectacle price US$ 5.6 were accounted 73.9% (95% CI: 68.9-79.2%) and spectacle from local private optical price US$ 17.8 accounted 46.6% (95% CI: 40.4-52.2). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated factors such as age (P=0.049), occupation (0.001), monthly income (0.001) and history of previous spectacle wear (0.005) to be significantly associated with willingness to pay for a pair of spectacles.ConclusionDetermining willingness to pay and affordable price could increase spectacle coverage among presbyopic individuals. confirmatory public willingness to pay for a pair of spectacles has to be considered as a useful aspect in establishing affordable and a financially sustainable optical service. The positive willingness to pay for a pair of spectacle has to be supported with accessible provision of spectacles.
GRAM: A generalized model to predict the molecular effect of a non-coding variant in a cell-type specific manner
Authors: Lou Shaoke , Cotter Kellie A. , Li Tianxiao , Liang Jin , Mohsen Hussein , Liu Jason , Zhang Jing , Cohen Sandra , Xu Jinrui , Yu Haiyuan , Rubin Mark , Gerstein Mark 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThere has been much effort to prioritize genomic variants with respect to their impact on “function”. However, function is often not precisely defined: Sometimes, it is the disease association of a variant; other times, it reflects a molecular effect on transcription or epigenetics. Here we coupled multiple genomic predictors to build GRAM, a generalized model, to predict a well-defined experimental target: the expression-modulating effect of a non-coding variant in a cell-specific manner. As a first step, we performed feature engineering: using a LASSO regularized linear model, we found transcription factor (TF) binding most predictive, especially for TFs that are hubs in the regulatory network; in contrast, evolutionary conservation, a popular feature in many other functional-impact predictors, has almost no contribution. Moreover, TF binding inferred from in vitro SELEX is as effective as that from in vivo ChIP-Seq. Second, we implemented GRAM integrating SELEX features and expression profiles. The program combines a universal regulatory score for a variant in a non-coding element with a modifier score reflecting the particular cell type. We benchmarked GRAM on a large-scale MPRA dataset in the GM12878 cell line, achieving a ROC score of ∼0.73; performance on the K562 cell line was similar. Finally, we evaluated the performance of GRAM on targeted regions using luciferase assays in MCF7 and K562 cell lines. We noted that changing the insertion position of the construct relative to the reporter gene gives very different results, highlighting the importance of carefully defining the functional target the model is predicting.Author SummaryNoncoding variants lie outside of protein-coding regions, and are found to have disease associations. However, knowledge on the molecular effect of these non-coding variants in a cell-specific context is very limited. Also, different output between multiple experiment platforms may introduce extra complexity in analyzing the molecular function of these variants. We developed GRAM, a generalized model to predict molecular effect of non-coding variants in multiple cell types for different experimental platforms. We first selected the most informative cell-independent SELEX transcription factor binding score on the variant locus as features and then combine cell-specific gene expression profile to build a multi-step prediction model. GRAM has been successfully tested on both MPRA and Luciferase assay, and on three different cell lines: GM12878, K562 and MCF7, shows high performance.
New public management and the rise of public sector performance audit
Authors: Parker Lee D. , Jacobs Kerry , Schmitz Jana 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
In the context of global new public management reform trends and the associated phenomenon of performance auditing (PA), the purpose of this paper is to explore the rise of performance audit in Australia and examines its focus across audit jurisdictions and the role key stakeholders play in driving its practice.

Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a multi-jurisdictional analysis of PA in Australia to explore its scale and focus, drawing on the theoretical tools of Goffman. Documentary analysis and interview methods are employed.

Findings
Performance audit growth has continued but not always consistently over time and across audit jurisdictions. Despite auditor discourse concerning backstage performance audit intentions being strongly focussed on evaluating programme outcomes, published front stage reports retain a strong control focus. While this appears to reflect Auditors-General (AGs) reluctance to critique government policy, nonetheless there are signs of direct and indirectly recursive relationships emerging between AGs and parliamentarians, the media and the public.

Research limitations/implications
PA merits renewed researcher attention as it is now an established process but with ongoing variability in focus and stakeholder influence.

Social implications
As an audit technology now well-embedded in the public sector accountability setting, it offers potential insights into matters of local, state and national importance for parliament and the public, but exhibits variable underlying drivers, agendas and styles of presentation that have the capacity to enhance or detract from the public interest.

Originality/value
Performance audit emerges as a complex practice deployed as a mask by auditors in managing their relationship with key stakeholders.
Entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Farrukh Muhammad , Alzubi Yazan , Shahzad Imran Ahmad , Waheed Abdul , Kanwal Nagina 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThis study aims to inculcate personality traits in theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and analyze mediation of perceived behavior control (PBC) and attitude toward entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from students at four universities located in capital city of Pakistan. SmartPLS has been used to run structural equation modeling technique.FindingsFindings of PLS analysis revealed that the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and personality traits was mediated by PBC and attitude toward entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis study contributes toward the understanding of EI of students in Pakistan – a developing economy. More specifically, it sheds light on the vitality of personality traits in determining the antecedents of EI. Leaning on TPB and intention models, the study incorporated personality traits to unveil a unique and testable multidimensional model of EI, which supports the notion that external factors such as personality characteristics can indirectly affect EI. This research also supports the incorporation of personality traits in TPB and suggests that these socio cognitive theories should concede the indirect effect of personality on intention and behavior.
Effect of entrepreneurial orientation on competency and micro-enterprise performance
Authors: Al Mamun Abdullah , Fazal Syed Ali 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of creativity and innovativeness, risk taking propensity, proactiveness and autonomy on entrepreneurial competency and performance among micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a cross-sectional design, the authors collected data from 403 micro-entrepreneurs who were registered under “Majlis Amanah Rakyat” and “Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat”. Quantitative data were collected through structured interviews from September 2017 to December 2017.FindingsThe findings revealed that creativity and innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy had a positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies. In addition, autonomy and entrepreneurial competencies had a positive effect on micro-enterprise performance. Then, entrepreneurial competencies showed a mediating effect on the relationships between creativity, innovativeness, autonomy and micro-enterprise performance.Originality/valueThe findings contributed to resource-based view and enriched the entrepreneurship literature, particularly in the context of small businesses in emerging economies. This study recommended underlying organizations to pay attention to the improvement of creativity and innovativeness, proactiveness, autonomy and entrepreneurial competencies among low-income entrepreneurs through useful policies and training programs, which were expected to improve micro-enterprise performance and encourage poor households to perform entrepreneurial activities for better socio-economic conditions.
Complementarity effect of supply chain competencies on innovation capability
Authors: Liao Ying , Li Yulong 
Published: November 2018

PurposeFrom the perspective of the economic theory of complementarity, the purpose of this paper is to examine how internal collaboration and external competencies would provoke and strengthen each other, and subsequently enhance organizational innovation capability.Design/methodology/approachThe survey data were collected from 201 manufacturing firms and checked for common method variance, validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was then used to test the hypothetical complementarity effect.FindingsThe results suggest that internal collaboration (as a manifestation of exploitative learning) and external competencies, which include supply network flexibility and supplier operational capabilities (as manifestation of exploratory learning), do in fact compensate for each other’s deficiencies. Complementary deployment of internal collaboration and external competencies enhances each other’s contribution to innovation capability. Practically, the study indicates that organizations should consider making concerted efforts to develop internal collaboration, supply network flexibility and supplier operational capability as a bundle.Originality/valueExtensive discussions exist in the literature on exploration and exploitation being essential components of innovation and their conflicting impact on innovation efficiency and effectiveness. But how an organization should operationally develop supply chain competencies in order to maximize overall innovation capability still remains largely an unanswered question. The current study advances the research on the inter-relationships between exploration and exploitation by empirically demonstrating the complementary nature of internal collaboration and external competencies in developing sustainable innovation capabilities.
Numerical prediction of the elastoplastic response of FG tubes using nonlinear kinematic hardening rule with power-law function model under thermomechanical loadings
Authors: Mehditabar Aref , Rahimi Gholam H. 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThis study aims to explain the characterization of cyclic behavior of a tube made of functionally graded material (FGM) under different combinations of internal pressure and cyclic through-thickness temperature gradients.Design/methodology/approachThe normality rule, nonlinear kinematic hardening Chaboche model and Von Mises yield criterion were used to model the constitutive behavior of an FG tube in the incremental form. The material properties and hardening parameters of the Chaboche model vary according to the power-law function in the radial direction. The backward Euler integration scheme combined with return mapping algorithm which relies on the solution of a nonlinear equation performs the numerical procedure. The algorithm is implemented within the user subroutine UMAT in ABAQUS/standard.FindingsThe published works on FG components considering only the mechanical and physical properties as a function of spatial coordinate and nonlinear kinematic hardening parameters have not been considered to be changed continuously from one surface to another. Motivated by this, the present paper has deliberately been targeted to tackle this kind of problem to simulate the cyclic behavior of an FG tube as accurately as possible. In addition, to classify various behaviors the FG tube under cyclic thermomechanical loadings, Bree’s interaction diagram as an essential tool in designing of the FG pressure vessels in many engineering sectors is presented.Originality/valueProvides a detailed description of the FG parameters of Chaboche kinematic hardening parameters in the adopted constitutive equations. In this paper, the significant effects of internal pressure values, kinematic hardening models and also FG inhomogeneity index related to the hardening rule parameters on plastic deformation of the FG tube are illustrated. Finally, the various cyclic behaviors of the FG tube under different combinations of thermomechanical loading are fully explored.