bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Test-Retest Reliability of Dynamic Functional Connectivity Parameters for a Two-State Model
Authors: Fang Xiaojing , Marxen Michael 
Published: November 2022

AbstractDynamic functional connectivity (DFC) metrics derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) that measure dynamic features of brain communications that change over time are gaining more and more attention. A key concern is the reliability of DFC parameters, especially given the many methodological options. The DFC parameters mean dwell time (MDT), prevalence (Prev.), inter-transition interval (ITI) and state variability (Var.) were computed in 23 participants using a two-state model, sliding window analysis, and two imaging sessions. Reliability of the connectivity states, test-retest reliability of the parameters as well as correlations between DFC parameters were investigated for different scan lengths (i.e., 16 vs 8 min.), atlases (i.e., 116 vs. 442 regions of interest) and with/without within-subject centering of DFC matrices. The results showed an integrated (I) and a segregated (S) brain state with high intra-class correlation (ICC) values of the states between sessions (0.67 ≥ ICC ≥ 0.99). Reliability of the DFC parameters is, at best, intermediate with an ICC = 0.51 for prevalence for not-centered, 16 min. data and the coarse atlas. Moreover,MDTsof both states were positively correlated for centered data. Prevalence of one state was positively correlated withMDTof the same state and frequently negatively correlated withMDTof the other state.Varwas positively correlated withMDTandPrevfor the same state and negatively correlated for the other state for not-centered data. This study suggests that prevalence is the most reliable DFC parameter with lower reliability for shorter scans, more atlas regions and centering. Thus, it is advantageous to formulate hypotheses related to brain dynamics in terms of prevalence, especially in small-scale studies.
Selective control of synaptic plasticity in heterogeneous networks through transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)
Authors: Pariz Aref , Trotter Daniel , Hutt Axel , Lefebvre Jeremie 
Published: November 2022

AbstractTranscranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) represents a promising non-invasive treatment for an increasingly wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The ability to use periodically oscillating electric fields to non-invasively engage neural dynamics opens up the possibility of recruiting synaptic plasticity and to modulate brain function. However, despite consistent reports about tACS clinical effectiveness, strong state-dependence combined with the ubiquitous heterogeneity of cortical networks collectively results in high outcome variability. Introducing variations in intrinsic neuronal timescales, we explored how such heterogeneity influences stimulation-induced change in synaptic connectivity. We examined how spike timing dependent plasticity, at the level of cells, intra- and inter-laminar cortical networks, can be selectively and preferentially engaged by periodic stimulation. Using computational simulations informed by human experimental data, we analyzed cortical circuits comprised of multiple cell-types, alongside superficial multi-layered networks expressing distinct layer-specific timescales. Our results show that mismatch in neuronal timescales within and/or between cells - and the resulting variability in excitability, temporal integration properties and frequency tuning - enables selective and directional control on synaptic connectivity by tACS. Our work provides new vistas on how to recruit neural heterogeneity to guide brain plasticity using non-invasive stimulation paradigms.Author summaryBrain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), are increasingly used to treat mental health disorders and to probe brain function. Despite promising results, it remains unclear how these non-invasive interventions impact both the dynamics and connectivity of neural circuits. We developed an interdisciplinary framework showing that heterogeneity in neuronal timescales, and its consequences on cellular excitability and temporal integration properties of cortical neurons, may lead to selective and directional control on synaptic modifications by tACS. Differences in neuron responses resulting from timescale mismatch establishes phase- and frequency-specific tuning relationships which may be recruited by periodic stimuli to guide synaptic plasticity. We confirmed this using both intra - and inter-laminar cortical circuit models comprised of multiple cell-types and informed by experimental data. Our work showcases how heterogeneity might be used to guide synaptic plasticity using non-invasive stimulation paradigms.
Pseudomonas aeruginosamechanosensing controls cell polarity during twitching by activating two antagonistic response regulators
Authors: Kühn Marco J. , Macmillan Henriette , Talà Lorenzo , Inclan Yuki , Patino Ramiro , Pierrat Xavier , Al-Mayyah Zainebe , Engel Joanne N. , Persat Alexandre 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe opportunistic pathogenPseudomonas aeruginosaadapts to solid surfaces to enhance virulence and infect its host. Type IV pili (T4P), long and thin filaments that power surface-specific twitching motility, allow single cells to mechanosense surfaces. For example, cells sense T4P attachment to control the direction of twitching motility. In this process, they establish a local positive feedback that polarizes T4P distribution to the sensing pole. A complex chemotaxis-like system called Chp mediates this response. The signalling mechanism allowing for transduction of this spatially-resolved signal is however unresolved. Here we demonstrate that the two Chp response regulators PilG and PilH enable dynamic cell polarization by coupling their antagonistic functions on T4P extension. By precisely quantifying the localization of fluorescent protein fusions, we show that PilG polarizes in response to mechanosensing through phosphorylation by the histidine kinase ChpA. We find that PilH is not inherently required for reversals. However, PilH activation is necessary to break the local positive feedback established by PilG so that forward-twitching cells can reverse. To spatially resolve mechanical signals, Chp thus locally transduces signals with a main output response regulator, PilG. To respond to signal changes, Chp uses its second regulator PilH to break the local feedback. By identifying the molecular functions of two response regulators that dynamically control cell polarization, our work provides a rationale for the diversity of architectures often found in non-canonical chemotaxis systems.
Partially observable Markov models inferred using statistical tests reveal context-dependent syllable transitions in Bengalese finch songs
Authors: Lu Jiali , Surendralal Sumithra , Bouchard Kristofer E. , Jin Dezhe Z. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractGenerative models have broad applications, ranging from language processing to analyzing bird-song. In this study, we demonstrate how a statistical test, designed to prevent overgeneralization in sequence generation, can be used to deduce minimal models for the syllable sequences in Bengalese finch songs. We focus on the partially observable Markov model (POMM), which consists of states and the probabilistic transitions between them. Each state is associated with a specific syllable, with the possibility of multiple states being associated to a single syllable. This feature sets the POMM apart from a standard Markov model, where each syllable is associated to just one state. This multiplicity suggests that syllable transitions are influenced by the specific contexts in which the transitions appear. We apply this method to analyze the songs of six adult male Bengalese finches, both before and after they are deafened. Our findings indicate that auditory feedback is crucial in shaping the context-dependent syllable transitions characteristic of Bengalese finch songs.SignificanceGenerative models are adept at representing sequences where the order of elements, such as words or birdsong syllables, depends on the context. In this study, we demonstrate that a probabilistic model, inspired by neural encoding of song production in songbirds, effectively captures context-dependent transitions of syllables in Bengalese finch songs. Our findings indicate that the absence of auditory input, as seen in deafened finches, diminishes these context dependencies. This implies that auditory feedback is vital for establishing context-based sequencing in their songs. Our method can be applied to various behavioral sequences, offering insights into the neural underpinnings that govern statistical patterns in these sequences.
Transforming inert cycloalkanes into α,ω-diamines through designed enzymatic cascade catalysis
Authors: Zhang Zhongwei , Fang Lin , Wang Fei , Deng Yu , Jiang Zhengbin , Li Aitao 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAliphatic α,ω-diamines (DAs) are important monomer precursors in polyamide plastic manufacturing. However, the dominant industrial process for DA synthesis involves energy-intensive, multistage chemical reactions that are harmful to the environment. For instance, 1,6-hexanediamine (HMD), one of most prominent monomers in nylon-66 synthesis, is mainly synthesized with currently high technological control by butadiene hydrocyanation, which suffers from the use of highly toxic hydrogen cyanide, unsatisfactory selectivity and a complex separation process. Thus, the development of sustainable green DA synthetic routes is highly desired. Herein, we report an efficient one-potin vivobiocatalytic cascade for the transformation of cycloalkanes into DAs with the aid of advanced techniques, including the RetroBioCat tool for biocatalytic route design, enzyme mining for finding appropriate enzymes and microbial consortia construction for efficient pathway assembly. As a result, DAs are successfully produced by the developed microbial consortia-based biocatalytic system, especially HMD, and product concentrations as high as 16.5 mM and 7.6 mM are achieved when using cyclohexanol (CHOL) or cyclohexane (CH) as substrates, respectively. This also represents the highest HMD biosynthesis productivity to date. Other cycloalkanes also serve as substrates, indicating the generality of our approach.
SLIPMAT: a pipeline for extracting tissue-specific spectral profiles from1H MR spectroscopic imaging data
Authors: Vella Olivia , Bagshaw Andrew P. , Wilson Martin 
Published: November 2022

Abstract1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) is an important non-invasive tool for measuring brain metabolism, with numerous applications in the neuroscientific and clinical domains. In this work we present a new analysis pipeline (SLIPMAT), designed to extract high-quality, tissue-specific, spectral profiles from MR spectroscopic imaging data (MRSI). Spectral decomposition is combined with spatially dependant frequency and phase correction to yield high SNR white and grey matter spectra without partial-volume contamination. A subsequent series of spectral processing steps are applied to reduce unwanted spectral variation, such as baseline correction and linewidth matching, before direct spectral analysis with machine learning and traditional statistical methods. The method is validated using a 2D semi-LASER MRSI sequence, with a 5-minute duration, from data acquired in triplicate across 8 healthy participants. Reliable spectral profiles are confirmed with principal component analysis, revealing the importance of total-choline and scyllo-inositol levels in distinguishing between individuals – in good agreement with our previous work. Furthermore, since the method allows the simultaneous measurement of metabolites in grey and white matter, we show the strong discriminative value of these metabolites in both tissue types for the first time. In conclusion, we present a novel and time efficient MRSI acquisition and processing pipeline, capable of detecting reliable neuro-metabolic differences between healthy individuals, and suitable for the sensitive neurometabolic profiling of in-vivo brain tissue.
Psychedelic compounds directly excite 5-HT2ALayer 5 Pyramidal Neurons in the Prefrontal Cortex through a 5-HT2AGq -mediated activation mechanism
Authors: Schmitz Gavin P. , Chiu Yi-Ting , König Gabriele M. , Kostenis Evi , Roth Bryan L. , Herman Melissa A. 
Published: November 2022

SummaryPsilocin, the active compound inPsilocybe sp. mushrooms, is a serotonergic psychedelic that has recently gained renewed interest due to its potential as a therapeutic tool. Despite promising clinical findings, the underlying signaling mechanisms and brain region-specific effects of psilocin and other psychedelic drugs remain unclear. Psilocin, like other psychedelic compounds, is an agonist at many serotonin and other biogenic amine receptors; however, activation of serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) 2A receptors (5-HT2ARs) is understood as the main molecular target for the psychoactive effects in animals and humans. 5-HT2ARs are abundantly expressed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC); however, the biochemical actions of psilocin on PFC neurons remain poorly understood. In this study, we usedin vitroslice electrophysiology to examine how psilocin acutely alters the activity and electrophysiological properties of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the mouse PFC. Focal application of psilocin (10μM) onto nonspecified Layer 5 Pyramidal neurons in the prelimbic PFC of C57BL/6J mice produced variable effects on firing (increase, decrease, or no change). 5-HT2AR layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the mouse prelimbic PFC were identified via labeling in a 5-HT2A-ERT2-Cre mouse crossed with an Ai9 tdTomato reporter. Focal application of psilocin increased firing in all identified 5-HT2AR neurons but did not result in any significant changes in synaptic transmission. Overall, the results demonstrate that psilocin evokes strong firing changes in the PFC that are 5-HT2AR and Gαqdependent, thereby providing valuable insights into the effects of psilocin on a brain region implicated in mediating psychedelic drug actions.
Social Curiosity in Monkeys
Authors: Joiner Jessica A. , Nair Amrita R. , Fagan Nicholas A. , Chang Steve W. C. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractHumans and nonhuman animals derive value from many different sources. Some of these sources, notably primary reinforcers like food, are clearly rewarding and can powerfully shape our behaviors. Other sources of reward, such as information, are more intangible and abstract. Like humans, nonhuman primates also find information inherently rewarding, displaying a preference to reveal information about upcoming primary reinforcers even though the information has no bearing on the outcome itself. For animals living in social groups, the need for information extends beyond primary reinforcers like food. They need to acquire information from others or about others. This is especially true for animals, such as nonhuman primates, which live in large and often hierarchically organized societies, where processing social information for the purpose of learning and socializing can be just as critical to survival. To quantify curiosity for knowing social information in monkeys, we extend the advanced informationseeking paradigm (Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka, 2009) into the realm of abstract, social information. We first replicated the finding that monkeys prefer advanced information about juice size (Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka, 2009). We next trained monkeys on a social variant of this task. In the advanced social information-seeking task, monkeys had the option to choose a cue that tells them in advance the valence, or facial expression, on a monkey’s face that they will be viewing before receiving the invariant amount of juice. Even though this cue did not impact which facial expression the monkeys would see, they preferred to know the valence of the facial expression in advance. Our results indicate that information-seeking behavior generalizes to seeking social information. Our findings also suggest that curiosity in nonhuman primates can be translated into increasingly abstract levels of information.
Factors influencing users' online information disclosure intention and the moderating effect of cultural background and platform type
Authors: Wang Ning , Zhao Yang , Zhou Ruoxin , Li Yixuan 
Published: November 2022

PurposeOnline platforms are providing diversified and personalized services with user information. Users should decide if they should give up parts of information for convenience, with their information being at the risk of being illegally collected, leaked, spread and misused. This study aims to explore the main factors influencing users' online information disclosure intention from the perspectives of privacy, technology acceptance and trust, and the authors extend previous research with two moderators.Design/methodology/approachBased on 48 independent empirical studies, this paper conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize existing results from collected individual studies. This meta-analysis explored the main factors influencing users' online information disclosure intention from the perspectives of privacy, technology acceptance and trust.FindingsThe meta-analysis results based on 48 independent studies revealed that perceived benefit, trust, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have significant positive effects, while perceived privacy risk and privacy concern have significant negative effects. Moreover, cultural background and platform type moderate the relationship between antecedents and online information disclosure intention.Originality/valueThis paper explored the moderating effects of an individual factor and a platform factor on users' online information disclosure intention. The moderating effect of cultural differences is examined with Hofstede's dimensions, and the moderating role of the purpose of online information disclosure is examined with platform type. This study extends online information disclosure literature with a multi-perspective meta-analysis and provides guidelines for practitioners.
A big-data analysis of the communication patterns of parliament members with the public on Facebook: top-down, non-inclusive and non-egalitarian
Authors: Steinfeld Nili , Lev-On Azi 
Published: November 2022

PurposeSocial media have become the main channel of direct communication between members of parliament and constituents. The study analyzes the content in all Israeli MPs' Facebook channels throughout an entire term of parliament and asks if the results are consistent with the equalization or the normalization hypotheses.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses automatic analysis to produce a birds-eye-view of the content uploaded to the Facebook pages of all Israeli MPs during a full term of parliament. All 106 MP pages were automatically scraped. Some complementary information was added to each post in the dataset, such as post length (number of words) and whether the page belongs to a member of the opposition or coalition. The total of 441,974 posts was analyzed to compare engagement and publication rates between pages, coalition vs opposition MPs, MPs vs users etc.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the MP-Facebook sphere is non-egalitarian, in that it follows skewed distributions by MPs in terms of post publication and engagement rates; non-inclusive, in that pages of coalition members receive significantly much more engagement vis-a-vis pages of members of the oppositions; and “top-down”, in that MP-authored posts receive dramatically more engagement then user-authored posts, suggesting MPs have a near-monopoly on setting the agendas manifest in their pages, while users have extremely limited agenda-setting capabilities in these pages.Originality/valuePrevious studies have looked at the character of the interactions between MPs and constituents on the Internet and particularly on online social media. Yet, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study provides a birds-eye-view of the content in all MPs' Facebook channels throughout a full term of parliament. Such an analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of the character and dynamics of conversations that take place in such arenas.
Poison or remedy? Masculinity in a pathos-based sustainable brand story
Authors: Huang Chaohua , Zhuang Shaoshuang , Ma Haiyan 
Published: November 2022

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effects of pathos in sustainable brand stories featuring masculinity on brand masculinity and men’s sustainable brand attitude using Aristotle’s rhetoric theory.Design/methodology/approachThree independent online experiments (N = 398; N = 216; N = 247) were conducted to observe how participants responded to a sustainable brand story. Data collected through a post-experimental survey were used to test the proposed model. Research hypotheses were inspected using SPSS.FindingsThe authors reveal brand masculinity is influenced by varying degrees of pathos: participants who read stories with all three pathos elements (metaphor, humor and empathy) demonstrated the highest level of perceived brand masculinity. Male consumers showed more positive attitudes toward masculine sustainable brand stories than feminine ones. The authors also identify the moderating effect of consumer generation: Gen Z (versus Gen Y) consumers demonstrated stronger character identification with hybrid masculinity (versus hegemonic masculinity) sustainable brand stories, resulting in more favorable sustainable brand attitudes.Originality/valueThe study provides a new angle for exploring the relationship between gendered sustainable brand stories and sustainable brand attitudes. It is the first (to the authors’ knowledge) that links Aristotle’s rhetoric theory to brand gender research, and it empirically demonstrates how male consumers from different generational cohorts respond to different masculinity strategies used by sustainable brands.
Three dimensions of transforming the advantages of the basic socialist economic system into governance efficacy
Authors: Li Nan , Chen Wei 
Published: November 2022

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is further leveraging the advantages of the basic socialist economic system and exploring the realistic way of transforming the advantages of the socialist economic system with Chinese characteristics into governance efficacy. At its Fourth Plenary Session, the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) elevated the socialist market economy system to China's basic economic system, further affirming the significant advantages embedded in the socialist market economy from an institutional perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe essence of the basic socialist economic system consists of the ownership structure with public ownership as the mainstay, the income distribution system with distribution according to work as the mainstay and the socialist market economy, which are interrelated, supportive and reinforcing mutually, forming an organic whole.FindingsOver the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, it has been proven through practice that the basic socialist economic system has played a fundamental role in guaranteeing rapid economic development and social stability. The system not only corresponds to the development level of the productive forces in the primary stage of socialism in China but also demonstrates its strengths in eliminating polarization between the poor and the rich and achieving common prosperity.Originality/valueIt is necessary to make the basic economic system more coordinated and consistent and be committed to the philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts to form a systemic synergy, so as to achieve synergistic enhancement of institutional advantages and governance efficacy.