Whilst previous research has linked attenuation of the mu rhythm to the observation of specific visual categories, and even to a potential role in action observation via a putative mirror neuron system, much of this work has not considered what specific type of information might be coded in this oscillatory response when triggered via vision. Here, we sought to determine whether the mu rhythm contains content-specific information about the identity of familiar (and also unfamiliar) graspable objects. In the present study, right-handed participants (N = 27) viewed images of both familiar (apple, wine glass) and unfamiliar (cubie, smoothie) graspable objects, whilst performing an orthogonal task at fixation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Diagnostic delays in autism are common, with the time to diagnosis being up to 3 years from the onset of symptoms. Such delays have a proven detrimental effect on individuals and families going through the process. Digital health products, such as mobile apps, can help close this gap due to their scalability and ease of access.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond for many businesses, employees have had to adapt to new ways of working due to disruptions in traditional practices. It is therefore crucial to understand the new challenges that employees are facing when it comes to taking care of their mental wellbeing at work. To that end, we distributed a survey to full-time UK employees (N = 451) to explore how supported they felt throughout the pandemic, and to identify whether there are any additional types of support they would like to receive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurons, even in the earliest sensory regions of cortex, are subject to a great deal of contextual influences from both within and across modality connections. Recent work has shown that primary sensory areas can respond to and, in some cases, discriminate stimuli that are not of their target modality: for example, primary somatosensory cortex (SI) discriminates visual images of graspable objects. In the present work, we investigated whether SI would discriminate sounds depicting hand-object interactions (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInexpensive and sustainable methods are needed to reclaim nutrients from agricultural waste solutions for use as a fertilizer while decreasing nutrient runoff. Fe(III)-polysaccharide hydrogels are able to flocculate solids and absorb nutrients in liquid animal waste from Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Fe(III)-alginate beads absorbed 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotoresponsive hydrogels from polysaccharides and Fe(III) were used as a new system to capture and release PO from waste solutions. Uptake of 0.6-1.
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