The implementation of robotic dogs in automatic detection and surveillance of red imported fire ant nests.

Background: The Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA), scientifically known as Solenopsis invicta, is a destructive invasive species causing considerable harm to ecosystems and generating substantial economic costs globally. Traditional methods for RIFA nests detection are labor-intensive and may not be scalable to larger field areas. This study aimed to develop an innovative surveillance system that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic dogs to automate the detection and geolocation of RIFA nests, thereby improving monitoring and control strategies.

Infrared neural stimulation with 7T fMRI: A rapid in vivo method for mapping cortical connections of primate amygdala.

We have previously shown that INS-fMRI is a rapid method for mapping mesoscale brain networks in the macaque monkey brain. Focal stimulation of single cortical sites led to the activation of connected cortical locations, resulting in a global connectivity map. Here, we have extended this method for mapping brainwide networks following stimulation of single subcortical sites.

Focal infrared neural stimulation with high-field functional MRI: A rapid way to map mesoscale brain connectomes.

We have developed a way to map brain-wide networks using focal pulsed infrared neural stimulation in ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The patterns of connections revealed are similar to those of connections previously mapped with anatomical tract tracing methods. These include connections between cortex and subcortical locations and long-range cortico-cortical connections.

Mechanisms of dietary response in mice and primates: a role for EGR1 in regulating the reaction to human-specific nutritional content.

Background: Humans have a widely different diet from other primate species, and are dependent on its high nutritional content. The molecular mechanisms responsible for adaptation to the human diet are currently unknown. Here, we addressed this question by investigating whether the gene expression response observed in mice fed human and chimpanzee diets involves the same regulatory mechanisms as expression differences between humans and chimpanzees.

Development and application of a modified dynamic time warping algorithm (DTW-S) to analyses of primate brain expression time series.

Background: Comparing biological time series data across different conditions, or different specimens, is a common but still challenging task. Algorithms aligning two time series represent a valuable tool for such comparisons. While many powerful computation tools for time series alignment have been developed, they do not provide significance estimates for time shift measurements.

Intergenic and repeat transcription in human, chimpanzee and macaque brains measured by RNA-Seq.

Transcription is the first step connecting genetic information with an organism's phenotype. While expression of annotated genes in the human brain has been characterized extensively, our knowledge about the scope and the conservation of transcripts located outside of the known genes' boundaries is limited. Here, we use high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) to characterize the total non-ribosomal transcriptome of human, chimpanzee, and rhesus macaque brain.