Reinforcement learning modulates the stability of cognitive control settings for object selection.

Cognitive flexibility reflects both a trait that reliably differs between individuals and a state that can fluctuate moment-to-moment. Whether individuals can undergo persistent changes in cognitive flexibility as a result of reward learning is less understood. Here, we investigated whether reinforcing a periodic shift in an object selection strategy can make an individual more prone to switch strategies in a subsequent unrelated task.

Conditional automaticity in response selection: contingent involuntary response inhibition with varied stimulus-response mapping.

One aspect of effective cognitive control is the ability to withhold contextually inappropriate responses. The inhibition of a response can be elicited by a goal-relevant stop signal, which has been characterized as a voluntary cognitive process. Cases in which inhibition is triggered automatically by a stimulus have been reported but are limited to instances in which the withholding of a response is associated with the same stimulus over repeated trials, which reflects the gradual emergence of automaticity through associative learning.

Stimulation of natural killer T cells by glycolipids.

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a subset of T cells that recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the CD1d protein. The initial discovery of immunostimulatory glycolipids from a marine sponge and the T cells that respond to the compounds has led to extensive research by chemists and immunologists to understand how glycolipids are recognized, possible responses by NKT cells, and the structural features of glycolipids necessary for stimulatory activity. The presence of this cell type in humans and most mammals suggests that it plays critical roles in antigen recognition and the interface between innate and adaptive immunity.

Carbon dioxide hydrate phase equilibrium and cage occupancy calculations using ab initio intermolecular potentials.

Gas hydrate deposits are receiving increased attention as potential locations for CO2 sequestration, with CO2 replacing the methane that is recovered as an energy source. In this scenario, it is very important to correctly characterize the cage occupancies of CO2 to correctly assess the sequestration potential as well as the methane recoverability. In order to predict accurate cage occupancies, the guest–host interaction potential must be represented properly.

Comparison and visualization of focusing wave fields from various time reversal techniques in elastic media.

This Letter presents a series of time reversal experiments conducted on the surface of a fused silica glass block. Four different time reversal techniques are compared using three different imaging conditions. The techniques include two classical time reversal experiments: one with a pulse waveform source and one with an impulse response generated from a chirp signal.

Crystal structure of Vδ1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self-lipid by human γδ T cells.

The nature of the antigens recognized by γδ T cells and their potential recognition of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-like molecules has remained unclear. Members of the CD1 family of lipid-presenting molecules are suggested ligands for Vδ1 TCR-expressing γδ T cells, the major γδ lymphocyte population in epithelial tissues. We crystallized a Vδ1 TCR in complex with CD1d and the self-lipid sulfatide, revealing the unusual recognition of CD1d by germline Vδ1 residues spanning all complementarity-determining region (CDR) loops, as well as sulfatide recognition separately encoded by nongermline CDR3δ residues.

Attentional bias for nondrug reward is magnified in addiction.

Attentional biases for drug-related stimuli play a prominent role in addiction, predicting treatment outcomes. Attentional biases also develop for stimuli that have been paired with nondrug rewards in adults without a history of addiction, the magnitude of which is predicted by visual working-memory capacity and impulsiveness. We tested the hypothesis that addiction is associated with an increased attentional bias for nondrug (monetary) reward relative to that of healthy controls, and that this bias is related to working-memory impairments and increased impulsiveness.

Intranasal sufentanil/ketamine analgesia in children.

Background: The management of procedural pain in children ranges from physical restraint to pharmacological interventions. Pediatric formulations that permit accurate dosing, are accepted by children and a have a rapid onset of analgesia are lacking.

Objectives: To investigate a pediatric formulation of intranasal sufentanil 0.

2-[1-(2-Hy-droxy-4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethyl-idene]-N-methyl-hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide.

In the title compound, C11H15N3O2S, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene ring and hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide group is 9.2 (1)°. An intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed, serving to maintain an approximately planar conformation for the molecule.

{2-[1-(2-Meth-oxy-6-oxidophenyl-κO (6))ethyl-idene]-N-methyl-hydrazinecarbo-thio-amidato-κ(2) N (2),S}(tri-phenyl-phosphane-κP)palladium(II) ethanol monosolvate.

In the title compound, [Pd(C11H13N3O2S)(C18H15P)]·C2H5OH, the Pd(II) atom is tetra-coordinated in a slightly distorted square-planar environment by three donor atoms (NOS) from a thio-semicarbazonate ligand, forming five- and six-membered chelate rings, and a P atom from a neutral tri-phenyl-phosphane group. The five-membered ring adopts a distorted envelope conformation with Pd(II) as the flap atom, while the six-membered ring forms a slightly twisted screw-boat conformation. A slightly distorted screw-boat form of a meth-oxy-phenyl group is fused to the six-membered ring.

Use of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) to characterize dissolved hydrocarbon fractions of both dispersed and undispersed oil.

Crude oil contamination remains a problem along coastal California and its impacts on pelagic organisms are of concern. Previous crude and dispersed oil studies showed a decrease in fish toxicity when Corexit 9500 dispersant was applied. However, observed sublethal metabolic effects were similar for both oil conditions, suggesting fish were accumulating similar dissolved hydrocarbons.

A high amplitude, time reversal acoustic non-contact excitation (trance).

This paper describes the principle behind a high amplitude non-contact acoustic source based on the principle of time reversal (TR), a process to focus energy at a point in space. By doing the TR in an air filled, hollow cavity and using a laser vibrometer in the calibration of the system, a non-contact source may be created. This source is proven to be more energetic than an off the shelf focused ultrasound transducer.

Evaluation of moving-coil loudspeaker and passive radiator parameters using normal-incidence sound transmission measurements: theoretical developments.

The parameters of moving-coil loudspeaker drivers are typically determined using direct electrical excitation and measurement. However, as electro-mechano-acoustical devices, their parameters should also follow from suitable mechanical or acoustical evaluations. This paper presents the theory of an acoustical method of excitation and measurement using normal-incidence sound transmission through a baffled driver as a plane-wave tube partition.

Understanding dosing: children are small adults, neonates are immature children.

Paediatric dose cannot be scaled down directly from an adult using weight (eg, mg/kg). This results in a dose too small in infants and children because elimination does not change in direct proportion to weight, and a dose too large in neonates whose drug elimination pathways are immature. The goal of treatment is a desired response (the target effect).

Hypersalinity toxicity thresholds for nine California ocean plan toxicity test protocols.

Currently, several desalination facilities have been proposed to operate or are actually operating in California. These facilities' use of reverse osmosis (RO) may discharge hypersaline reject brine into the marine environment. The risks, if any, this brine would pose to coastal receiving waters are unknown.

Environmental fate of fungicides and other current-use pesticides in a central California estuary.

The current study documents the fate of current-use pesticides in an agriculturally-dominated central California coastal estuary by focusing on the occurrence in water, sediment and tissue of resident aquatic organisms. Three fungicides (azoxystrobin, boscalid, and pyraclostrobin), one herbicide (propyzamide) and two organophosphate insecticides (chlorpyrifos and diazinon) were detected frequently. Dissolved pesticide concentrations in the estuary corresponded to the timing of application while bed sediment pesticide concentrations correlated with the distance from potential sources.

Samter's triad in childhood: a warning for those prescribing NSAIDs.

Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) has been recognized in adults with chronic asthma. Samter's triad is a subset of AERD where adult patients develop nasal polyps, asthma, and sensitivity to aspirin. This condition is thought not to occur before the third decade of life.

Reward predictions bias attentional selection.

Attention selects stimuli for perceptual and cognitive processing according to an adaptive selection schedule. It has long been known that attention selects stimuli that are task relevant or perceptually salient. Recent evidence has shown that stimuli previously associated with reward persistently capture attention involuntarily, even when they are no longer associated with reward.

Amino acid treatment enhances protein recovery from sediment and soils for metaproteomic studies.

Characterization of microbial protein expression provides information necessary to better understand the unique biological pathways that occur within soil microbial communities that contribute to atmospheric CO2 levels and the earth's changing climate. A significant challenge in studying the soil microbial community proteome is the initial dissociation of bacterial proteins from the complex mixture of particles found in natural soil. The differential extraction of intact bacterial cells limits the characterization of the complete representation of a microbial community.

Optimization of the array mirror for time reversal techniques used in a half-space environment.

Time reversal (TR) utilizes an array of transducers, a time reversal mirror (TRM), to locate sources. Here TR is applied to simple sources using steady-state waveforms in a numerical, point source model in a half-space environment. It is found that TR can effectively localize a simple source broadcasting a continuous wave, depending on the angular spacing.

A pharmacokinetic standard for babies and adults.

The pharmacokinetic behavior of medicines used in humans follows largely predictable patterns across the human age range from premature babies to elderly adults. Most of the differences associated with age are in fact due to differences in size. Additional considerations are required to describe the processes of maturation of clearance processes and postnatal changes in body composition.