Evaluation of COVID-19 intervention policies in South Korea using the stochastic individual-based model.

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, and countries have responded with various intervention policies to prevent its spread. In this study, we aim to analyze the effectiveness of intervention policies implemented in South Korea. We use a stochastic individual-based model (IBM) with a synthetic population to simulate the spread of COVID-19.

Emotion recognition while applying cosmetic cream using deep learning from EEG data; cross-subject analysis.

We report a deep learning-based emotion recognition method using EEG data collected while applying cosmetic creams. Four creams with different textures were randomly applied, and they were divided into two classes, "like (positive)" and "dislike (negative)", according to the preference score given by the subject. We extracted frequency features using well-known frequency bands, i.

Oscillation death in coupled counter-rotating identical nonlinear oscillators.

We study oscillatory and oscillation suppressed phases in coupled counter-rotating nonlinear oscillators. We demonstrate the existence of limit cycle, amplitude death, and oscillation death, and also clarify the Hopf, pitchfork, and infinite period bifurcations between them. Especially, the oscillation death is a new type of oscillation suppressions of which the inhomogeneous steady states are neutrally stable.

Amplitude death in a ring of nonidentical nonlinear oscillators with unidirectional coupling.

We study the collective behaviors in a ring of coupled nonidentical nonlinear oscillators with unidirectional coupling, of which natural frequencies are distributed in a random way. We find the amplitude death phenomena in the case of unidirectional couplings and discuss the differences between the cases of bidirectional and unidirectional couplings. There are three main differences; there exists neither partial amplitude death nor local clustering behavior but an oblique line structure which represents directional signal flow on the spatio-temporal patterns in the unidirectional coupling case.

Neural dynamics of two players when using nonverbal cues to gauge intentions to cooperate during the Prisoner's Dilemma Game.

Social interaction is a fundamental part of our daily lives; however, exactly how our brains use social cues to determine whether to cooperate without being exploited remains unclear. In this study, we used an electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning approach to investigate the effect of face-to-face contact on the brain mechanisms underlying the decision to cooperate or defect in an iterated version of the Prisoner's Dilemma Game. Participants played the game either in face-to-face or face-blocked conditions.

Exceptional points in coupled dissipative dynamical systems.

We study the transient behavior in coupled dissipative dynamical systems based on the linear analysis around the steady state. We find that the transient time is minimized at a specific set of system parameters and show that at this parameter set, two eigenvalues and two eigenvectors of the Jacobian matrix coalesce at the same time; this degenerate point is called the exceptional point. For the case of coupled limit-cycle oscillators, we investigate the transient behavior into the amplitude death state, and clarify that the exceptional point is associated with a critical point of frequency locking, as well as the transition of the envelope oscillation.

Prevalence of and Sociodemographic Factors Related to Voice Disorders in South Korea.

Objectives: Studies on the prevalence of and the sociodemographic factors related to voice disorders are rare. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of voice disorders and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with an increased risk of voice disorder.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2011.

Functional network organizations of two contrasting temperament groups in dimensions of novelty seeking and harm avoidance.

Novelty seeking (NS) and harm avoidance (HA) are two major dimensions of temperament in Cloninger׳s neurobiological model of personality. Previous neurofunctional and biological studies on temperament dimensions of HA and NS suggested that the temperamental traits have significant correlations with cortical and subcortical brain regions. However, no study to date has investigated the functional network modular organization as a function of the temperament dimension.

Multiscale ensemble clustering for finding modules in complex networks.

The identification of modules in complex networks is important for the understanding of systems. Here, we propose an ensemble clustering method incorporating node groupings in various sizes and the sequential removal of weak ties between nodes which are rarely grouped together. This method successfully detects modules in various networks, such as hierarchical random networks and the American college football network, with known modular structures.

Granger causality relationships between local field potentials in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

An understanding of the in vivo spatial emergence of abnormal brain activity during spontaneous seizure onset is critical to future early seizure detection and closed-loop seizure prevention therapies. In this study, we use Granger causality (GC) to determine the strength and direction of relationships between local field potentials (LFPs) recorded from bilateral microelectrode arrays in an intermittent spontaneous seizure model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy before, during, and after Racine grade partial onset generalized seizures. Our results indicate distinct patterns of directional GC relationships within the hippocampus, specifically from the CA1 subfield to the dentate gyrus, prior to and during seizure onset.

Synchrony with shunting inhibition in a feedforward inhibitory network.

Recent experiments have shown that GABA(A) receptor mediated inhibition in adult hippocampus is shunting rather than hyperpolarizing. Simulation studies of realistic interneuron networks with strong shunting inhibition have been demonstrated to exhibit robust gamma band (20-80 Hz) synchrony in the presence of heterogeneity in the intrinsic firing rates of individual neurons in the network. In order to begin to understand how shunting can contribute to network synchrony in the presence of heterogeneity, we develop a general theoretical framework using spike time response curves (STRC's) to study patterns of synchrony in a simple network of two unidirectionally coupled interneurons (UCI network) interacting through a shunting synapse in the presence of heterogeneity.

Predicting synchrony in heterogeneous pulse coupled oscillators.

Pulse coupled oscillators (PCOs) represent an ubiquitous model for a number of physical and biological systems. Phase response curves (PRCs) provide a general mathematical framework to analyze patterns of synchrony generated within these models. A general theoretical approach to account for the nonlinear contributions from higher-order PRCs in the generation of synchronous patterns by the PCOs is still lacking.

Circadian control of neural excitability in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

We provide experimental evidence for the emerging imbalance in the firing activity of two distinct classes (type 1 and type 2) of population spikes recorded from the hippocampal area CA1 in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy. We show that during the latent period of epileptogenesis following status epilepticus inducing brain injury, there is a sustained increase in the firing rate of type 1 population spikes (PS1) with a concurrent decrease in the firing rate of type 2 population spikes (PS2). Both PS1 and PS2 firing rates are observed to follow a circadian rhythm and are in-phase in control rats.

Temporal lobe epilepsy: anatomical and effective connectivity.

While temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been treatable with anti-seizure medications over the past century, there still remain a large percentage of patients whose seizures remain untreatable pharmacologically. To better understand and treat TLE, our laboratory uses several in vivo analytical techniques to estimate connectivity in epilepsy. This paper reviews two different connectivity-based approaches with an emphasis on application to the study of epilepsy.

Transport control in a deterministic ratchet system.

We study the control of transport properties in a deterministic inertia ratchet system via the extended delay feedback method. A chaotic current of a deterministic inertia ratchet system is controlled to a regular current by stabilizing unstable periodic orbits embedded in a chaotic attractor of the unperturbed system. By selecting an unstable periodic orbit, which has a desired transport property, and stabilizing it via the extended delay feedback method, we can control transport properties of the deterministic inertia ratchet system.

Non-parametric early seizure detection in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

The performance of five non-parametric, univariate seizure detection schemes (embedding delay, Hurst scale, wavelet scale, nonlinear autocorrelation and variance energy) were evaluated as a function of the sampling rate of EEG recordings, the electrode types used for EEG acquisition, and the spatial location of the EEG electrodes in order to determine the applicability of the measures in real-time closed-loop seizure intervention. The criteria chosen for evaluating the performance were high statistical robustness (as determined through the sensitivity and the specificity of a given measure in detecting a seizure) and the lag in seizure detection with respect to the seizure onset time (as determined by visual inspection of the EEG signal by a trained epileptologist). An optimality index was designed to evaluate the overall performance of each measure.

Spike timing dependent plasticity promotes synchrony of inhibitory networks in the presence of heterogeneity.

Recently Haas et al. (J Neurophysiol 96: 3305-3313, 2006), observed a novel form of spike timing dependent plasticity (iSTDP) in GABAergic synaptic couplings in layer II of the entorhinal cortex. Depending on the relative timings of the presynaptic input at time t (pre) and the postsynaptic excitation at time t (post), the synapse is strengthened (Deltat = t(post) - t(pre) > 0) or weakened (Deltat < 0).

Phase-model analysis of coupled neuronal oscillators with multiple connections.

Synchronization of the coupled neuronal oscillators with multiple connections of different coupling nature is analyzed using the phase-model reduction method. Each coupling connection contributes to the dynamic behavior of the system in a complex nonlinear fashion. In the phase-model scheme, the contribution of the individual connections can be separated in terms of the effective coupling functions associated with each connection and a linear superposition of them provides the total effective coupling of the coupled system.

Thresholds for epidemic outbreaks in finite scale-free networks.

We numerically investigate the existence of a threshold for epidemic outbreaks in a class of scale-free networks characterized by a parametri- cal dependence of the scaling exponent, influencing the convergence of fluctuations in the degree distribution. In finite-size networks, finite thresholds for the spreading of an epidemic are always found. However, both the thresholds and the behavior of the epidemic prevalence are quite diferent with respect to the type of network considered and the system size.