WorldWideScience

Sample records for human direct actions

  1. Planning Ahead: Object-Directed Sequential Actions Decoded from Human Frontoparietal and Occipitotemporal Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallivan, Jason P.; Johnsrude, Ingrid S.; Randall Flanagan, J.

    2016-01-01

    Object-manipulation tasks (e.g., drinking from a cup) typically involve sequencing together a series of distinct motor acts (e.g., reaching toward, grasping, lifting, and transporting the cup) in order to accomplish some overarching goal (e.g., quenching thirst). Although several studies in humans have investigated the neural mechanisms supporting the planning of visually guided movements directed toward objects (such as reaching or pointing), only a handful have examined how manipulatory sequences of actions—those that occur after an object has been grasped—are planned and represented in the brain. Here, using event-related functional MRI and pattern decoding methods, we investigated the neural basis of real-object manipulation using a delayed-movement task in which participants first prepared and then executed different object-directed action sequences that varied either in their complexity or final spatial goals. Consistent with previous reports of preparatory brain activity in non-human primates, we found that activity patterns in several frontoparietal areas reliably predicted entire action sequences in advance of movement. Notably, we found that similar sequence-related information could also be decoded from pre-movement signals in object- and body-selective occipitotemporal cortex (OTC). These findings suggest that both frontoparietal and occipitotemporal circuits are engaged in transforming object-related information into complex, goal-directed movements. PMID:25576538

  2. Direct action of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human sperm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schiffer, Christian; Müller, Astrid; Egeberg, Dorte L

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), omnipresent in food, household, and personal care products, have been implicated in adverse trends in human reproduction, including infertility and increasing demand for assisted reproduction. Here, we study the action of 96 ubiquitous EDCs on huma...

  3. Fronto-parietal coding of goal-directed actions performed by artificial agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupferberg, Aleksandra; Iacoboni, Marco; Flanagin, Virginia; Huber, Markus; Kasparbauer, Anna; Baumgartner, Thomas; Hasler, Gregor; Schmidt, Florian; Borst, Christoph; Glasauer, Stefan

    2018-03-01

    With advances in technology, artificial agents such as humanoid robots will soon become a part of our daily lives. For safe and intuitive collaboration, it is important to understand the goals behind their motor actions. In humans, this process is mediated by changes in activity in fronto-parietal brain areas. The extent to which these areas are activated when observing artificial agents indicates the naturalness and easiness of interaction. Previous studies indicated that fronto-parietal activity does not depend on whether the agent is human or artificial. However, it is unknown whether this activity is modulated by observing grasping (self-related action) and pointing actions (other-related action) performed by an artificial agent depending on the action goal. Therefore, we designed an experiment in which subjects observed human and artificial agents perform pointing and grasping actions aimed at two different object categories suggesting different goals. We found a signal increase in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule and the premotor cortex when tool versus food items were pointed to or grasped by both agents, probably reflecting the association of hand actions with the functional use of tools. Our results show that goal attribution engages the fronto-parietal network not only for observing a human but also a robotic agent for both self-related and social actions. The debriefing after the experiment has shown that actions of human-like artificial agents can be perceived as being goal-directed. Therefore, humans will be able to interact with service robots intuitively in various domains such as education, healthcare, public service, and entertainment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Mirroring "meaningful" actions: sensorimotor learning modulates imitation of goal-directed actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catmur, Caroline; Heyes, Cecilia

    2017-06-19

    Imitation is important in the development of social and technological skills throughout the lifespan. Experiments investigating the acquisition and modulation of imitation (and of its proposed neural substrate, the mirror neuron system) have produced evidence that the capacity for imitation depends on associative learning in which connections are formed between sensory and motor representations of actions. However, evidence that the development of imitation depends on associative learning has been found only for non-goal-directed actions. One reason for the lack of research on goal-directed actions is that imitation of such actions is commonly confounded with the tendency to respond in a spatially compatible manner. However, since the most prominent account of mirror neuron function, and hence of imitation, suggests that these cells encode goal-directed actions, it is important to establish whether sensorimotor learning can also modulate imitation of goal-directed actions. Experiment 1 demonstrated that imitation of goal-directed grasping can be measured while controlling for spatial compatibility, and Experiment 2 showed that this imitation effect can be modulated by sensorimotor training. Together these data support the hypothesis that the capacity for behavioural imitation, and the properties of the mirror neuron system, are constructed in the course of development through associative learning.

  5. Theory of direct interparticle action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vladimirov, Yu.S.; Turygin, A.Yu.

    1986-01-01

    Unusual point of view on the physical picture of the Universe and ratio between main physical categories is considered. Principal moments and theory peculiarities based on the conception of direct interparticle action are underlined. The direct interparticle action theory (DIAT) is considered from the position of choosing one or another axiomatics. At first the Fokker action principle is postulated there and then identical satisfiability of field equations is proved. All that relates to vacuum DIAT ignores and actions of matter formations are used as the basis. DIAT bears up against a global factor-account of absrbers of all surroundings (the Mach principle). The DIAT pretended to relativistic description of only additional concepts with the previously asigned space-time ratios. Concept for construction of the physical picture of the Universe, where classical space-time ratios being of secondary character, is suggested

  6. Evidence of directional and stabilizing selection in contemporary humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanjak, Jaleal S; Sidorenko, Julia; Robinson, Matthew R; Thornton, Kevin R; Visscher, Peter M

    2018-01-02

    Modern molecular genetic datasets, primarily collected to study the biology of human health and disease, can be used to directly measure the action of natural selection and reveal important features of contemporary human evolution. Here we leverage the UK Biobank data to test for the presence of linear and nonlinear natural selection in a contemporary population of the United Kingdom. We obtain phenotypic and genetic evidence consistent with the action of linear/directional selection. Phenotypic evidence suggests that stabilizing selection, which acts to reduce variance in the population without necessarily modifying the population mean, is widespread and relatively weak in comparison with estimates from other species.

  7. The Kinetics Human Action Video Dataset

    OpenAIRE

    Kay, Will; Carreira, Joao; Simonyan, Karen; Zhang, Brian; Hillier, Chloe; Vijayanarasimhan, Sudheendra; Viola, Fabio; Green, Tim; Back, Trevor; Natsev, Paul; Suleyman, Mustafa; Zisserman, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    We describe the DeepMind Kinetics human action video dataset. The dataset contains 400 human action classes, with at least 400 video clips for each action. Each clip lasts around 10s and is taken from a different YouTube video. The actions are human focussed and cover a broad range of classes including human-object interactions such as playing instruments, as well as human-human interactions such as shaking hands. We describe the statistics of the dataset, how it was collected, and give some ...

  8. Everyday robotic action: Lessons from human action control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy eDe Kleijn

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Robots are increasingly capable of performing everyday human activities such as cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. This requires the real-time planning and execution of complex, temporally-extended sequential actions under high degrees of uncertainty, which provides many challenges to traditional approaches to robot action control. We argue that important lessons in this respect can be learned from research on human action control. We provide a brief overview of available psychological insights into this issue and focus on four principles that we think could be particularly beneficial for robot control: the integration of symbolic and subsymbolic planning of action sequences, the integration of feedforward and feedback control, the clustering of complex actions into subcomponents, and the contextualization of action-control structures through goal representations.

  9. Differential diagnosis and management of human-directed aggression in cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Diane; Dehasse, Joel

    2003-03-01

    Human-directed aggression in cats should be evaluated as a multifactorial problem. It results from the combined actions of heredity, environment, learning, human social requirements (or needs), client interactions, lack of understanding of normal feline behavior, unrealistic client expectations, and lack of meeting the cat's basic ethologic needs. Managing human-directed aggression in cats encompasses the use of environmental modification, therapies, and, when and if needed, regulatory drugs so as to increase learning capabilities and adaptation and decrease danger to the human victims.

  10. Facilitation of voluntary goal-directed action by reward cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovibond, Peter F; Colagiuri, Ben

    2013-10-01

    Reward-associated cues are known to influence motivation to approach both natural and man-made rewards, such as food and drugs. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. To model these processes in the laboratory with humans, we developed an appetitive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer procedure with a chocolate reward. We used a single unconstrained response that led to an actual rather than symbolic reward to assess the strength of reward motivation. Presentation of a chocolate-paired cue, but not an unpaired cue, markedly enhanced instrumental responding over a 30-s period. The same pattern was observed with 10-s and 30-s cues, showing that close cue-reward contiguity is not necessary for facilitation of reward-directed action. The results confirm that reward-related cues can instigate voluntary action to obtain that reward. The effectiveness of long-duration cues suggests that in clinical settings, attention should be directed to both proximal and distal cues for reward.

  11. Associative theories of goal-directed behaviour: a case for animal-human translational models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Wit, S.; Dickinson, A.

    2009-01-01

    Associative accounts of goal-directed action, developed in the fields of human ideomotor action and that of animal learning, can capture cognitive belief-desire psychology of human decision-making. Whereas outcome-response accounts can account for the fact that the thought of a goal can call to mind

  12. Human Actions Made Tangible

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buur, Jacob; Caglio, Agnese; Jensen, Lars Christian

    2014-01-01

    , a method developed to engage people from different backgrounds in collaboratively analysing videos with the help of physical objects. We will present one of these tools, Action Scrabble, for analysing temporal organisation of human actions. We work with a case of skilled forklift truck driving...

  13. Rangers and the Strategic Requirements for Direct Action Forces

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Zunde, Aidis

    1998-01-01

    .... This analysis indicates that the achievement of strategic ends also requires a large-scale special operations ground direct action force to accomplish direct action missions beyond the capabilities of other assets...

  14. Human dorsal striatum encodes prediction errors during observational learning of instrumental actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Jeffrey C; Dunne, Simon; Furey, Teresa; O'Doherty, John P

    2012-01-01

    The dorsal striatum plays a key role in the learning and expression of instrumental reward associations that are acquired through direct experience. However, not all learning about instrumental actions require direct experience. Instead, humans and other animals are also capable of acquiring instrumental actions by observing the experiences of others. In this study, we investigated the extent to which human dorsal striatum is involved in observational as well as experiential instrumental reward learning. Human participants were scanned with fMRI while they observed a confederate over a live video performing an instrumental conditioning task to obtain liquid juice rewards. Participants also performed a similar instrumental task for their own rewards. Using a computational model-based analysis, we found reward prediction errors in the dorsal striatum not only during the experiential learning condition but also during observational learning. These results suggest a key role for the dorsal striatum in learning instrumental associations, even when those associations are acquired purely by observing others.

  15. Human Action Recognition Using Ordinal Measure of Accumulated Motion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Wonjun

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a method for recognizing human actions from a single query action video. We propose an action recognition scheme based on the ordinal measure of accumulated motion, which is robust to variations of appearances. To this end, we first define the accumulated motion image (AMI using image differences. Then the AMI of the query action video is resized to a subimage by intensity averaging and a rank matrix is generated by ordering the sample values in the sub-image. By computing the distances from the rank matrix of the query action video to the rank matrices of all local windows in the target video, local windows close to the query action are detected as candidates. To find the best match among the candidates, their energy histograms, which are obtained by projecting AMI values in horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, are compared with those of the query action video. The proposed method does not require any preprocessing task such as learning and segmentation. To justify the efficiency and robustness of our approach, the experiments are conducted on various datasets.

  16. Observed Human Actions, and Not Mechanical Actions, Induce Searching Errors in Infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Moriguchi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent neurophysiological studies have shown that several human brain regions involved in executing actions are activated by merely observing such actions via a human, and not by a mechanical hand. At a behavioral level, observing a human’s movements, but not those of a robot, significantly interferes with ongoing executed movements. However, it is unclear whether the biological tuning in the observation/execution matching system are functional during infancy. The present study examines whether a human’s actions, and not a mechanical action, influence infants’ execution of the same actions due to the observation/execution matching system. Twelve-month-old infants were given a searching task. In the tasks, infants observed an object hidden at location A, after which either a human hand (human condition or a mechanical one (mechanical condition searched the object correctly. Next, the object was hidden at location B and infants were allowed to search the object. We examined whether infants searched the object at location B correctly. The results revealed that infants in the human condition were more likely to search location A than those in the mechanical condition. Moreover, the results suggested that infants’ searching behaviors were affected by their observations of the same actions by a human, but not a mechanical hand. Thus, it may be concluded that the observation/execution matching system may be biologically tuned during infancy.

  17. Use of an action-selection framework for human-carnivore conflict in the Bangladesh Sundarbans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlow, Adam C D; Greenwood, Christina J; Ahmad, Ishtiaq U; Smith, James L D

    2010-10-01

    Human-carnivore conflict is manifested in the death of humans, livestock, and carnivores. The resulting negative local attitudes and retribution killings imperil the future of many endangered carnivores. We tailored existing management tools to create a framework to facilitate the selection of actions to alleviate human-carnivore conflict and applied the framework to the human-tiger conflict in the Bangladesh Sundarbans. We identified potential actions that consider previous management efforts, local knowledge, cost-effectiveness, fieldwork experience of authors and project staff, previous research on tiger ecology by the authors, and recommendations from human-carnivore conflict studies in other countries. Our framework includes creation of a profile to improve understanding of the nature of the conflict and its underlying causality. Identified actions include deterrents, education, direct tiger management, and response teams. We ranked actions by their potential to reduce conflict and the monetary cost of their implementation. We ranked tiger-response teams and monitoring problem tigers as the two best actions because both had relatively high impact and cost-effectiveness. We believe this framework could be used under a wide range of human-wildlife conflict situations because it provides a structured approach to selection of mitigating actions. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

  18. Infants distinguish antisocial actions directed towards fair and unfair agents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marek Meristo

    Full Text Available Three experiments provide evidence of an incipient sense of fairness in preverbal infants. Ten-month-old infants were shown cartoon videos with two agents, the 'donors', who distributed resources to two identical recipients. One donor always distributed the goods equally, while the other performed unequal distributions by giving everything to one recipient. In the test phase, a third agent hit or took resources away from either the fair or the unfair donor. We found that infants looked longer when the antisocial actions were directed towards the unfair rather than the fair donor. These findings support the view that infants are able to evaluate agents based on their distributive actions and suggest that the foundations of human socio-moral competence are acquired independently of parental feedback and linguistic experience.

  19. Action recognition and movement direction discrimination tasks are associated with different adaptation patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephan eDe La Rosa

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The ability to discriminate between different actions is essential for action recognition and social interaction. Surprisingly previous research has often probed action recognition mechanisms with tasks that did not require participants to discriminate between actions, e.g. left-right direction discrimination tasks. It is not known to what degree visual processes in direction discrimination tasks are also involved in the discrimination of actions, e.g. when telling apart a handshake from a high-five. Here, we examined whether action discrimination is influenced by movement direction and whether direction discrimination depends on the type of action. We used an action adaptation paradigm to target action and direction discrimination specific visual processes. In separate conditions participants visually adapted to forward and backward moving handshake and high-five actions. Participants subsequently either categorized the action or the movement direction of an ambiguous action. The results showed that direction discrimination adaptation effects were modulated by the type of action but action discrimination adaptation effects were unaffected by movement direction. These results suggest that action discrimination and direction categorization rely on partly different visual information. We propose that action discrimination tasks should be considered for the exploration of visual action recognition mechanisms.

  20. Spatio-Temporal Layout of Human Actions for Improved Bag-of-Words Action Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Burghouts, G.J.; Schutte, K.

    2013-01-01

    We investigate how human action recognition can be improved by considering spatio-temporal layout of actions. From literature, we adopt a pipeline consisting of STIP features, a random forest to quantize the features into histograms, and an SVM classifier. Our goal is to detect 48 human actions,

  1. Action and reaction in the theories of direct interparticle action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narlikar, J.V.

    1975-01-01

    Newton's third law of motion is examined in the context of the theories of direct interpaticle action. In such theories, interactions between particles travel backward and forward in time at speeds not exceeding the speed of light. It is shown that while in the flat spacetime the equality of action and reaction can be clearly demonstrated, the situation is considerably more complicated in the curved spacetime. The phenomenon of gravitational scattering intervenes to destroy the equality of action and reaction. Nevertheless, when gravitation is taken into account, there is no violation of the conservation law of energy and momentum. These results are discussed in the framework of general relativity for the case of the electromagnetic interaction

  2. The direct perception hypothesis: perceiving the intention of another’s action hinders its precise imitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Froese, Tom; Leavens, David A.

    2014-01-01

    We argue that imitation is a learning response to unintelligible actions, especially to social conventions. Various strands of evidence are converging on this conclusion, but further progress has been hampered by an outdated theory of perceptual experience. Comparative psychology continues to be premised on the doctrine that humans and non-human primates only perceive others’ physical “surface behavior,” while mental states are perceptually inaccessible. However, a growing consensus in social cognition research accepts the direct perception hypothesis: primarily we see what others aim to do; we do not infer it from their motions. Indeed, physical details are overlooked – unless the action is unintelligible. On this basis we hypothesize that apes’ propensity to copy the goal of an action, rather than its precise means, is largely dependent on its perceived intelligibility. Conversely, children copy means more often than adults and apes because, uniquely, much adult human behavior is completely unintelligible to unenculturated observers due to the pervasiveness of arbitrary social conventions, as exemplified by customs, rituals, and languages. We expect the propensity to imitate to be inversely correlated with the familiarity of cultural practices, as indexed by age and/or socio-cultural competence. The direct perception hypothesis thereby helps to parsimoniously explain the most important findings of imitation research, including children’s over-imitation and other species-typical and age-related variations. PMID:24600413

  3. Human action recognition using trajectory-based representation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiam A. Abdul-Azim

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Recognizing human actions in video sequences has been a challenging problem in the last few years due to its real-world applications. A lot of action representation approaches have been proposed to improve the action recognition performance. Despite the popularity of local features-based approaches together with “Bag-of-Words” model for action representation, it fails to capture adequate spatial or temporal relationships. In an attempt to overcome this problem, a trajectory-based local representation approaches have been proposed to capture the temporal information. This paper introduces an improvement of trajectory-based human action recognition approaches to capture discriminative temporal relationships. In our approach, we extract trajectories by tracking the detected spatio-temporal interest points named “cuboid features” with matching its SIFT descriptors over the consecutive frames. We, also, propose a linking and exploring method to obtain efficient trajectories for motion representation in realistic conditions. Then the volumes around the trajectories’ points are described to represent human actions based on the Bag-of-Words (BOW model. Finally, a support vector machine is used to classify human actions. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was evaluated on three popular datasets (KTH, Weizmann and UCF sports. Experimental results showed that the proposed approach yields considerable performance improvement over the state-of-the-art approaches.

  4. Post-event human decision errors: operator action tree/time reliability correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, R.E.; Fragola, J.; Wreathall, J.

    1982-11-01

    This report documents an interim framework for the quantification of the probability of errors of decision on the part of nuclear power plant operators after the initiation of an accident. The framework can easily be incorporated into an event tree/fault tree analysis. The method presented consists of a structure called the operator action tree and a time reliability correlation which assumes the time available for making a decision to be the dominating factor in situations requiring cognitive human response. This limited approach decreases the magnitude and complexity of the decision modeling task. Specifically, in the past, some human performance models have attempted prediction by trying to emulate sequences of human actions, or by identifying and modeling the information processing approach applicable to the task. The model developed here is directed at describing the statistical performance of a representative group of hypothetical individuals responding to generalized situations

  5. Post-event human decision errors: operator action tree/time reliability correlation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hall, R E; Fragola, J; Wreathall, J

    1982-11-01

    This report documents an interim framework for the quantification of the probability of errors of decision on the part of nuclear power plant operators after the initiation of an accident. The framework can easily be incorporated into an event tree/fault tree analysis. The method presented consists of a structure called the operator action tree and a time reliability correlation which assumes the time available for making a decision to be the dominating factor in situations requiring cognitive human response. This limited approach decreases the magnitude and complexity of the decision modeling task. Specifically, in the past, some human performance models have attempted prediction by trying to emulate sequences of human actions, or by identifying and modeling the information processing approach applicable to the task. The model developed here is directed at describing the statistical performance of a representative group of hypothetical individuals responding to generalized situations.

  6. Conduction velocity of action potentials measured from unidimensional latency-topography in human and frog skeletal muscle fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homma, S; Nakajima, Y; Hayashi, K; Toma, S

    1986-01-01

    Conduction of an action potential along skeletal muscle fibers was graphically displayed by unidimensional latency-topography, UDLT. Since the slopes of the equipotential line were linear and the width of the line was constant, it was possible to calculate conduction velocity from the slope. To determine conduction direction of the muscle action potential elicited by electric stimulation applied directly to the muscle, surface recording electrodes were placed on a two-dimensional plane over a human muscle. Thus a bi-dimensional topography was obtained. Then, twelve or sixteen surface electrodes were placed linearly along the longitudinal direction of the action potential conduction which was disclosed by the bi-dimensional topography. Thus conduction velocity of muscle action potential in man, calculated from the slope, was for m. brachioradialis, 3.9 +/- 0.4 m/s; for m. biceps brachii, 3.6 +/- 0.2 m/s; for m. sternocleidomastoideus, 3.6 +/- 0.4 m/s. By using a tungsten microelectrode to stimulate the motor axons, a convex-like equipotential line of an action potential in UDLT was obtained from human muscle fibers. Since a similar pattern of UDLT was obtained from experiments on isolated frog muscles, in which the muscle action potential was elicited by stimulating the motor axon, it was assumed that the maximum of the curve corresponds to the end-plate region, and that the slopes on both sides indicate bi-directional conduction of the action potential.

  7. Understanding human action: integrating meanings, mechanisms, causes, and contexts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keestra, M.; Repko, A.F.; Newell, W.H.; Szostak, R.

    2012-01-01

    Humans are capable of understanding an incredible variety of actions performed by other humans. Even though these range from primary biological actions like eating and fleeing, to acts in parliament or in poetry, humans generally can make sense of each other’s actions. Understanding other people’s

  8. SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS OF GOAL-DIRECTED ACTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GIOVANNI eMIRABELLA

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available All actions, even the simplest like moving an arm to grasp a pen, are associated with energy costs. Thus all mobile organisms possess the ability to evaluate resources and select those behaviours that are most likely to lead to the greatest accrual of valuable items (rewards in the near or, especially in the case of humans, distant future. The evaluation process is performed at all possible stages of the series of decisions that lead to the building of a goal-directed action or to its suppression. This is because all animals have a limited amount of energy and resources; to survive and be able to reproduce they have to minimize the costs and maximize the outcomes of their actions. These computations are at the root of behavioral flexibility. Two executive functions play a major role in generating flexible behaviors: i the ability to predict future outcomes of goal-directed actions; and ii the ability to cancel them when they are unlikely to accomplish valuable results. These two processes operate continuously during the entire course of a movement: during its genesis, its planning and even its execution, so that the motor output can be modulated or suppressed at any time before its execution.In this review, functional interactions of the extended neural network subserving generation and inhibition of goal-directed movements will be outlined, leading to the intriguing hypothesis that the performance of actions and their suppression are not specified by independent sets of brain regions. Rather, it will be proposed that acting and stopping are functions emerging from specific interactions between largely overlapping brain regions, whose activity is intimately linked (directly or indirectly to the evaluations of pros and cons of an action. Such mechanism would allow the brain to perform as a highly efficient and flexible system, as different functions could be computed exploiting the same components operating in different configurations.

  9. Human action analysis with randomized trees

    CERN Document Server

    Yu, Gang; Liu, Zicheng

    2014-01-01

    This book will provide a comprehensive overview on human action analysis with randomized trees. It will cover both the supervised random trees and the unsupervised random trees. When there are sufficient amount of labeled data available, supervised random trees provides a fast method for space-time interest point matching. When labeled data is minimal as in the case of example-based action search, unsupervised random trees is used to leverage the unlabelled data. We describe how the randomized trees can be used for action classification, action detection, action search, and action prediction.

  10. Episodic Reasoning for Vision-Based Human Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria J. Santofimia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Smart Spaces, Ambient Intelligence, and Ambient Assisted Living are environmental paradigms that strongly depend on their capability to recognize human actions. While most solutions rest on sensor value interpretations and video analysis applications, few have realized the importance of incorporating common-sense capabilities to support the recognition process. Unfortunately, human action recognition cannot be successfully accomplished by only analyzing body postures. On the contrary, this task should be supported by profound knowledge of human agency nature and its tight connection to the reasons and motivations that explain it. The combination of this knowledge and the knowledge about how the world works is essential for recognizing and understanding human actions without committing common-senseless mistakes. This work demonstrates the impact that episodic reasoning has in improving the accuracy of a computer vision system for human action recognition. This work also presents formalization, implementation, and evaluation details of the knowledge model that supports the episodic reasoning.

  11. Adaboost-based algorithm for human action recognition

    KAUST Repository

    Zerrouki, Nabil

    2017-11-28

    This paper presents a computer vision-based methodology for human action recognition. First, the shape based pose features are constructed based on area ratios to identify the human silhouette in images. The proposed features are invariance to translation and scaling. Once the human body features are extracted from videos, different human actions are learned individually on the training frames of each class. Then, we apply the Adaboost algorithm for the classification process. We assessed the proposed approach using the UR Fall Detection dataset. In this study six classes of activities are considered namely: walking, standing, bending, lying, squatting, and sitting. Results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methodology.

  12. Adaboost-based algorithm for human action recognition

    KAUST Repository

    Zerrouki, Nabil; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Houacine, Amrane

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a computer vision-based methodology for human action recognition. First, the shape based pose features are constructed based on area ratios to identify the human silhouette in images. The proposed features are invariance to translation and scaling. Once the human body features are extracted from videos, different human actions are learned individually on the training frames of each class. Then, we apply the Adaboost algorithm for the classification process. We assessed the proposed approach using the UR Fall Detection dataset. In this study six classes of activities are considered namely: walking, standing, bending, lying, squatting, and sitting. Results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methodology.

  13. A word in the hand: action, gesture and mental representation in humans and non-human primates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartmill, Erica A.; Beilock, Sian; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2012-01-01

    The movements we make with our hands both reflect our mental processes and help to shape them. Our actions and gestures can affect our mental representations of actions and objects. In this paper, we explore the relationship between action, gesture and thought in both humans and non-human primates and discuss its role in the evolution of language. Human gesture (specifically representational gesture) may provide a unique link between action and mental representation. It is kinaesthetically close to action and is, at the same time, symbolic. Non-human primates use gesture frequently to communicate, and do so flexibly. However, their gestures mainly resemble incomplete actions and lack the representational elements that characterize much of human gesture. Differences in the mirror neuron system provide a potential explanation for non-human primates' lack of representational gestures; the monkey mirror system does not respond to representational gestures, while the human system does. In humans, gesture grounds mental representation in action, but there is no evidence for this link in other primates. We argue that gesture played an important role in the transition to symbolic thought and language in human evolution, following a cognitive leap that allowed gesture to incorporate representational elements. PMID:22106432

  14. Human action recognition based on estimated weak poses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Wenjuan; Gonzàlez, Jordi; Roca, Francesc Xavier

    2012-12-01

    We present a novel method for human action recognition (HAR) based on estimated poses from image sequences. We use 3D human pose data as additional information and propose a compact human pose representation, called a weak pose, in a low-dimensional space while still keeping the most discriminative information for a given pose. With predicted poses from image features, we map the problem from image feature space to pose space, where a Bag of Poses (BOP) model is learned for the final goal of HAR. The BOP model is a modified version of the classical bag of words pipeline by building the vocabulary based on the most representative weak poses for a given action. Compared with the standard k-means clustering, our vocabulary selection criteria is proven to be more efficient and robust against the inherent challenges of action recognition. Moreover, since for action recognition the ordering of the poses is discriminative, the BOP model incorporates temporal information: in essence, groups of consecutive poses are considered together when computing the vocabulary and assignment. We tested our method on two well-known datasets: HumanEva and IXMAS, to demonstrate that weak poses aid to improve action recognition accuracies. The proposed method is scene-independent and is comparable with the state-of-art method.

  15. Recognition and Prediction of Human Actions for Safe Human-Robot Collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Rasmus Skovgaard; Bøgh, Simon; Ceballos, Iker

    Collaborative industrial robots are creating new opportunities for collaboration between humans and robots in shared workspaces. In order for such collaboration to be efficient, robots - as well as humans - need to have an understanding of the other's intentions and current ongoing action....... In this work, we propose a method for learning, classifying, and predicting actions taken by a human. Our proposed method is based on the human skeleton model from a Kinect. For demonstration of our approach we chose a typical pick-and-place scenario. Therefore, only arms and upper body are considered......; in total 15 joints. Based on trajectories on these joints, different classes of motion are separated using partitioning around medoids (PAM). Subsequently, SVM is used to train the classes to form a library of human motions. The approach allows run-time detection of when a new motion has been initiated...

  16. Skeleton-based human action recognition using multiple sequence alignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Wenwen; Liu, Kai; Cheng, Fei; Zhang, Jin; Li, YunSong

    2015-05-01

    Human action recognition and analysis is an active research topic in computer vision for many years. This paper presents a method to represent human actions based on trajectories consisting of 3D joint positions. This method first decompose action into a sequence of meaningful atomic actions (actionlets), and then label actionlets with English alphabets according to the Davies-Bouldin index value. Therefore, an action can be represented using a sequence of actionlet symbols, which will preserve the temporal order of occurrence of each of the actionlets. Finally, we employ sequence comparison to classify multiple actions through using string matching algorithms (Needleman-Wunsch). The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated on datasets captured by commodity depth cameras. Experiments of the proposed method on three challenging 3D action datasets show promising results.

  17. Human action perspectives based on individual plant examination results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forester, J.; Thompson, C.; Drouin, M.; Lois, E.

    1996-01-01

    This paper provides perspectives on human actions gained from reviewing 76 individual plant examination (IPE) submittals. Human actions found to be important in boiling water reactors (BWRs) and in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are presented and the events most frequently found important are discussed. Since there are numerous factors that can influence the quantification of human error probabilities (HEPs) and introduce significant variability in the resulting HEPs (which in turn can influence which events are found to be important), the variability in HEPs for similar events across IPEs is examined to assess the extent to which variability in results is due to real versus artifactual differences. Finally, similarities and differences in human action observations across BWRs and PWRs are examined

  18. The dependence level analysis between the human actions in NPP Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farcasiu, M.; Nitoi, M.; Apostol, M.; Florescu, G.; Prisecaru, Ilie

    2009-01-01

    The Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is an important method in Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies and offers desirability for concrete improvement of the man - machine - organization interfaces, reliability and safety. An important step in HRA is the dependence level analysis between the human actions performed by the same person or between the actions performed by different persons, step in quantitative analysis of the human errors probabilities. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model to analyze the dependence level between human actions for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operation. The model estimates the conditional human error probabilities (CHEP) and joint human error probabilities (JHEP). The achieved sensitivity analyses determine human performance sensibility to systematic variations for dependence level between human actions. The human error probabilities estimated in this paper are adequate values for integration both in HRA and in PSA realized for NPP. This type of analysis helps in finding and analyzing the ways of reducing the likelihood of human errors, so that the impact of human factor to systems availability, reliability and safety can be realistically estimated. In order to demonstrate the usability of this model an analysis is performed upon the dependences between the necessary human actions in mitigating the consequences of LOCA events, particularly for the case of Cernavoda NPP. (authors)

  19. Effect of exercise on insulin action in human skeletal muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richter, Erik; Mikines, K J; Galbo, Henrik

    1989-01-01

    The effect of 1 h of dynamic one-legged exercise on insulin action in human muscle was studied in 6 healthy young men. Four hours after one-legged knee extensions, a three-step sequential euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp combined with arterial and bilateral femoral vein catheterization...... was performed. Increased insulin action on glucose uptake was found in the exercised compared with the rested thigh at mean plasma insulin concentrations of 23, 40, and 410 microU/ml. Furthermore, prior contractions directed glucose uptake toward glycogen synthesis and increased insulin effects on thigh O2...... consumption and at some insulin concentrations on potassium exchange. In contrast, no change in insulin effects on limb exchange of free fatty acids, glycerol, alanine or tyrosine were found after exercise. Glycogen concentration in rested vastus lateralis muscle did not increase measurably during the clamp...

  20. Rhythm Patterns Interaction - Synchronization Behavior for Human-Robot Joint Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mörtl, Alexander; Lorenz, Tamara; Hirche, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    Interactive behavior among humans is governed by the dynamics of movement synchronization in a variety of repetitive tasks. This requires the interaction partners to perform for example rhythmic limb swinging or even goal-directed arm movements. Inspired by that essential feature of human interaction, we present a novel concept and design methodology to synthesize goal-directed synchronization behavior for robotic agents in repetitive joint action tasks. The agents’ tasks are described by closed movement trajectories and interpreted as limit cycles, for which instantaneous phase variables are derived based on oscillator theory. Events segmenting the trajectories into multiple primitives are introduced as anchoring points for enhanced synchronization modes. Utilizing both continuous phases and discrete events in a unifying view, we design a continuous dynamical process synchronizing the derived modes. Inverse to the derivation of phases, we also address the generation of goal-directed movements from the behavioral dynamics. The developed concept is implemented to an anthropomorphic robot. For evaluation of the concept an experiment is designed and conducted in which the robot performs a prototypical pick-and-place task jointly with human partners. The effectiveness of the designed behavior is successfully evidenced by objective measures of phase and event synchronization. Feedback gathered from the participants of our exploratory study suggests a subjectively pleasant sense of interaction created by the interactive behavior. The results highlight potential applications of the synchronization concept both in motor coordination among robotic agents and in enhanced social interaction between humanoid agents and humans. PMID:24752212

  1. Novel experimental results in human cardiac electrophysiology: measurement of the Purkinje fibre action potential from the undiseased human heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagy, Norbert; Szél, Tamás; Jost, Norbert; Tóth, András; Gy Papp, Julius; Varró, András

    2015-09-01

    Data obtained from canine cardiac electrophysiology studies are often extrapolated to the human heart. However, it has been previously demonstrated that because of the lower density of its K(+) currents, the human ventricular action potential has a less extensive repolarization reserve. Since the relevance of canine data to the human heart has not yet been fully clarified, the aim of the present study was to determine for the first time the action potentials of undiseased human Purkinje fibres (PFs) and to compare them directly with those of dog PFs. All measurements were performed at 37 °C using the conventional microelectrode technique. At a stimulation rate of 1 Hz, the plateau potential of human PFs is more positive (8.0 ± 1.8 vs 8.6 ± 3.4 mV, n = 7), while the amplitude of the spike is less pronounced. The maximal rate of depolarization is significantly lower in human PKs than in canine PFs (406.7 ± 62 vs 643 ± 36 V/s, respectively, n = 7). We assume that the appreciable difference in the protein expression profiles of the 2 species may underlie these important disparities. Therefore, caution is advised when canine PF data are extrapolated to humans, and further experiments are required to investigate the characteristics of human PF repolarization and its possible role in arrhythmogenesis.

  2. When Humanoid Robots Become Human-Like Interaction Partners: Corepresentation of Robotic Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenzel, Anna; Chinellato, Eris; Bou, Maria A. Tirado; del Pobil, Angel P.; Lappe, Markus; Liepelt, Roman

    2012-01-01

    In human-human interactions, corepresenting a partner's actions is crucial to successfully adjust and coordinate actions with others. Current research suggests that action corepresentation is restricted to interactions between human agents facilitating social interaction with conspecifics. In this study, we investigated whether action…

  3. Educational actions in human communication health: telehealth contributions in primary care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Guedes de Sá Leitão

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to characterize educational actions related to human communication health produced at the Tele-Health Center for health professionals in primary care. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted at the Tele-Health Center at the Federal University of Pernambuco Clinical Hospital. Educational actions produced by tele-consultants between 2008 and 2014 linked to the health of human communication were considered. Data collection was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the data were explored and educational actions were selected based on the title and the relationship with human communication. In the second phase, each action was observed and evaluated for content. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: a few educational actions related to human communication health were concentrated in 2014. Throughout the period analyzed, the actions were restricted to the field of language and concentrated on the education issue as well as the strategic area of child and adolescent health. The most frequent occupational category among the tele-consultants was nursing. Conclusion: a small number of educational actions addressing the health of human communication was produced and the participation of speech therapists remains incipient.

  4. Humanities for the Environment—A Manifesto for Research and Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poul Holm

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Human preferences, practices and actions are the main drivers of global environmental change in the 21st century. It is crucial, therefore, to promote pro-environmental behavior. In order to accomplish this, we need to move beyond rational choice and behavioral decision theories, which do not capture the full range of commitments, assumptions, imaginaries, and belief systems that drive those preferences and actions. Humanities disciplines, such as philosophy, history, religious studies, gender studies, language and literary studies, psychology, and pedagogics do offer deep insights into human motivations, values, and choices. We believe that the expertise of such fields for transforming human preferences, practices and actions is ignored at society’s peril. We propose an agenda that focuses global humanities research on stepping up to the challenges of planetary environmental change. We have established Environmental Humanities Observatories through which to observe, explore and enact the crucial ways humanistic disciplines may help us understand and engage with global ecological problems by providing insight into human action, perceptions, and motivation. We present this Manifesto as an invitation for others to join the “Humanities for the Environment” open global consortium of humanities observatories as we continue to develop a shared research agenda.

  5. Direct versus indirect actions of ghrelin on hypothalamic NPY neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashiguchi, Hiroshi; Sheng, Zhenyu; Routh, Vanessa; Gerzanich, Volodymyr; Simard, J Marc; Bryan, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    Assess direct versus indirect action(s) of ghrelin on hypothalamic NPY neurons. Electrophysiology was used to measure ion channel activity in NPY-GFP neurons in slice preparations. Ca2+ imaging was used to monitor ghrelin activation of isolated NPY GFP-labeled neurons. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize Trpm4, SUR1 and Kir6.2 in the hypothalamus. Acylated ghrelin depolarized the membrane potential (MP) of NPY-GFP neurons in brain slices. Depolarization resulted from a decreased input resistance (IR) in ~70% of neurons (15/22) or an increased IR in the remainder (7/22), consistent with the opening or closing of ion channels, respectively. Although tetrodotoxin (TTX) blockade of presynaptic action potentials reduced ghrelin-induced changes in MP and IR, ghrelin still significantly depolarized the MP and decreased IR in TTX-treated neurons, suggesting that ghrelin directly opens cation channel(s) in NPY neurons. In isolated NPY-GFP neurons, ghrelin produced a sustained rise of [Ca2+]c, with an EC50 ~110 pM. Pharmacologic studies confirmed that the direct action of ghrelin was through occupation of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, GHS-R, and demonstrated the importance of the adenylate cyclase/cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) and phospholipase C/inositol triphosphate (PLC/IP3) pathways as activators of 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Activation of isolated neurons was not affected by CNQX or TTX, but reducing [Na+]o suppressed activation, suggesting a role for Na+-permeable cation channels. SUR1 and two channel partners, Kir6.2 and Trpm4, were identified immunologically in NPY-GFP neurons in situ. The actions of SUR1 and Trpm4 modulators were informative: like ghrelin, diazoxide, a SUR1 agonist, elevated [Ca2+]c and glibenclamide, a SUR1 antagonist, partially suppressed ghrelin action, while 9-phenanthrol and flufenamic acid, selective Trpm4 antagonists, blocked ghrelin actions on isolated neurons. Ghrelin activation was unaffected by nifedipine and

  6. Outcome producing potential influences twelve-month-olds' interpretation of a novel action as goal-directed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biro, Szilvia; Verschoor, Stephan; Coalter, Esther; Leslie, Alan M

    2014-11-01

    Learning about a novel, goal-directed action is a complex process. It requires identifying the outcome of the action and linking the action to its outcome for later use in new situations to predict the action or to anticipate its outcome. We investigated the hypothesis that linking a novel action to a salient change in the environment is critical for infants to assign a goal to the novel action. We report a study in which we show that 12-month-old infants, who were provided with prior experience with a novel action accompanied with a salient visible outcome in one context, can interpret the same action as goal-directed even in the absence of the outcome in another context. Our control condition shows that prior experience with the action, but without the salient effect, does not lead to goal-directed interpretation of the novel action. We also found that, for the case of 9-month-olds infants, prior experience with the outcome producing potential of the novel action does not facilitate a goal-directed interpretation of the action. However, this failure was possibly due to difficulties with generalizing the learnt association to another context rather than with linking the action to its outcome. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Slips of action and sequential decisions: a cross-validation study of tasks assessing habitual and goal-directed action control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsuzsika Sjoerds

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Instrumental learning and decision-making rely on two parallel systems: a goal-directed and a habitual system. In the past decade, several paradigms have been developed to study these systems in animals and humans by means of e.g. overtraining, devaluation procedures and sequential decision-making. These different paradigms are thought to measure the same constructs, but cross-validation has rarely been investigated. In this study we compared two widely used paradigms that assess aspects of goal-directed and habitual behavior. We correlated parameters from a two-step sequential decision-making task that assesses model-based and model-free learning with a slips-of-action paradigm that assesses the ability to suppress cue-triggered, learnt responses when the outcome has been devalued and is therefore no longer desirable. Model-based control during the two-step task showed a very moderately positive correlation with goal-directed devaluation sensitivity, whereas model-free control did not. Interestingly, parameter estimates of model-based and goal-directed behavior in the two tasks were positively correlated with higher-order cognitive measures (e.g. visual short-term memory. These cognitive measures seemed to (at least partly mediate the association between model-based control during sequential decision-making and goal-directed behavior after instructed devaluation. This study provides moderate support for a common framework to describe the propensity towards goal-directed behavior as measured with two frequently used tasks. However, we have to caution that the amount of shared variance between the goal-directed and model-based system in both tasks was rather low, suggesting that each task does also pick up distinct aspects of goal-directed behavior. Further investigation of the commonalities and differences between the model-free and habit systems as measured with these, and other, tasks is needed. Also, a follow-up cross-validation on the neural

  8. Bidirectional modulation of goal-directed actions by prefrontal cortical dopamine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitchcott, Paul K; Quinn, Jennifer J; Taylor, Jane R

    2007-12-01

    Instrumental actions are a vital cognitive asset that endows an organism with sensitivity to the consequences of its behavior. Response-outcome feedback allows responding to be shaped in order to maximize beneficial, and minimize detrimental, outcomes. Lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) result in behavior that is insensitive to changes in outcome value in animals and compulsive behavior in several human psychopathologies. Such insensitivity to changes in outcome value is a defining characteristic of instrumental habits: responses that are controlled by antecedent stimuli rather than goal expectancy. Little is known regarding the neurochemical substrates mediating this sensitivity. The present experiments used sensitivity to posttraining outcome devaluation to index the action-habit status of instrumental responding. Infusions of dopamine into the ventral mPFC (vmPFC), but not dorsal mPFC, restored outcome sensitivity bidirectionally-decreasing responding following outcome devaluation and increasing responding when the outcome was not devalued. This bidirectionality makes the possibility that these infusions nonspecifically dysregulated vmPFC dopamine transmission unlikely. VmPFC dopamine promoted instrumental responding appropriate to outcome value. Reinforcer consumption data indicated that this was not a consequence of altered sensitivity to the reinforcer itself. We suggest that vmPFC dopamine reengages attentional processes underlying goal-directed behavior.

  9. Human action recognition with depth cameras

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Jiang; Wu, Ying

    2014-01-01

    Action recognition technology has many real-world applications in human-computer interaction, surveillance, video retrieval, retirement home monitoring, and robotics. The commoditization of depth sensors has also opened up further applications that were not feasible before. This text focuses on feature representation and machine learning algorithms for action recognition from depth sensors. After presenting a comprehensive overview of the state of the art, the authors then provide in-depth descriptions of their recently developed feature representations and machine learning techniques, includi

  10. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: Humanism in Action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Larry K.

    1996-01-01

    Claims that humanism, in both concept and philosophy, is encased in a literature that is predominantly abstract, making humanism difficult to translate into tangible day-to-day action. Argues that rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), however, provides a detailed method for translating humanist concepts into humanist behavior. (RJM)

  11. Multi-task learning with group information for human action recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Li; Wu, Song; Pu, Nan; Xu, Shulin; Xiao, Guoqiang

    2018-04-01

    Human action recognition is an important and challenging task in computer vision research, due to the variations in human motion performance, interpersonal differences and recording settings. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task learning framework with group information (MTL-GI) for accurate and efficient human action recognition. Specifically, we firstly obtain group information through calculating the mutual information according to the latent relationship between Gaussian components and action categories, and clustering similar action categories into the same group by affinity propagation clustering. Additionally, in order to explore the relationships of related tasks, we incorporate group information into multi-task learning. Experimental results evaluated on two popular benchmarks (UCF50 and HMDB51 datasets) demonstrate the superiority of our proposed MTL-GI framework.

  12. A survey on vision-based human action recognition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poppe, Ronald Walter

    Vision-based human action recognition is the process of labeling image sequences with action labels. Robust solutions to this problem have applications in domains such as visual surveillance, video retrieval and human–computer interaction. The task is challenging due to variations in motion

  13. Direct and indirect pathways for choosing objects and actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hikosaka, Okihide; Kim, Hyoung F; Amita, Hidetoshi; Yasuda, Masaharu; Isoda, Masaki; Tachibana, Yoshihisa; Yoshida, Atsushi

    2018-02-23

    A prominent target of the basal ganglia is the superior colliculus (SC) which controls gaze orientation (saccadic eye movement in primates) to an important object. This 'object choice' is crucial for choosing an action on the object. SC is innervated by the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) which is controlled mainly by the caudate nucleus (CD). This CD-SNr-SC circuit is sensitive to the values of individual objects and facilitates saccades to good objects. The object values are processed differently in two parallel circuits: flexibly by the caudate head (CDh) and stably by the caudate tail (CDt). To choose good objects, we need to reject bad objects. In fact, these contrasting functions are accomplished by the circuit originating from CDt: The direct pathway focuses on good objects and facilitates saccades to them; the indirect pathway focuses on bad objects and suppresses saccades to them. Inactivation of CDt deteriorated the object choice, because saccades to bad objects were no longer suppressed. This suggests that the indirect pathway is important for object choice. However, the direct and indirect pathways for 'object choice', which aim at the same action (i.e., saccade), may not work for 'action choice'. One possibility is that circuits controlling different actions are connected through the indirect pathway. Additional connections of the indirect pathway with brain areas outside the basal ganglia may also provide a wider range of behavioral choice. In conclusion, basal ganglia circuits are composed of the basic direct/indirect pathways and additional connections and thus have acquired multiple functions. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Is Insulin Action in the Brain Relevant in Regulating Blood Glucose in Humans?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dash, Satya; Xiao, Changting; Morgantini, Cecilia; Koulajian, Khajag; Lewis, Gary F

    2015-07-01

    In addition to its direct action on the liver to lower hepatic glucose production, insulin action in the central nervous system (CNS) also lowers hepatic glucose production in rodents after 4 hours. Although CNS insulin action (CNSIA) modulates hepatic glycogen synthesis in dogs, it has no net effect on hepatic glucose output over a 4-hour period. The role of CNSIA in regulating plasma glucose has recently been examined in humans and is the focus of this review. Intransal insulin (INI) administration increases CNS insulin concentration. Hence, INI can address whether CNSIA regulates plasma glucose concentration in humans. We and three other groups have sought to answer this question, with differing conclusions. Here we will review the critical aspects of each study, including its design, which may explain these discordant conclusions. The early glucose-lowering effect of INI is likely due to spillover of insulin into the systemic circulation. In the presence of simultaneous portal and CNS hyperinsulinemia, portal insulin action is dominant. INI administration does lower plasma glucose independent of peripheral insulin concentration (between ∼3 and 6 h after administration), suggesting that CNSIA may play a role in glucose homeostasis in the late postprandial period when its action is likely greatest and portal insulin concentration is at baseline. The potential physiological role and purpose of this pathway are discussed in this review. Because the effects of INI are attenuated in patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, this is unlikely to be of therapeutic utility.

  15. Signed language and human action processing: evidence for functional constraints on the human mirror-neuron system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corina, David P; Knapp, Heather Patterson

    2008-12-01

    In the quest to further understand the neural underpinning of human communication, researchers have turned to studies of naturally occurring signed languages used in Deaf communities. The comparison of the commonalities and differences between spoken and signed languages provides an opportunity to determine core neural systems responsible for linguistic communication independent of the modality in which a language is expressed. The present article examines such studies, and in addition asks what we can learn about human languages by contrasting formal visual-gestural linguistic systems (signed languages) with more general human action perception. To understand visual language perception, it is important to distinguish the demands of general human motion processing from the highly task-dependent demands associated with extracting linguistic meaning from arbitrary, conventionalized gestures. This endeavor is particularly important because theorists have suggested close homologies between perception and production of actions and functions of human language and social communication. We review recent behavioral, functional imaging, and neuropsychological studies that explore dissociations between the processing of human actions and signed languages. These data suggest incomplete overlap between the mirror-neuron systems proposed to mediate human action and language.

  16. Social interaction enhances motor resonance for observed human actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogeveen, Jeremy; Obhi, Sukhvinder S

    2012-04-25

    Understanding the neural basis of social behavior has become an important goal for cognitive neuroscience and a key aim is to link neural processes observed in the laboratory to more naturalistic social behaviors in real-world contexts. Although it is accepted that mirror mechanisms contribute to the occurrence of motor resonance (MR) and are common to action execution, observation, and imitation, questions remain about mirror (and MR) involvement in real social behavior and in processing nonhuman actions. To determine whether social interaction primes the MR system, groups of participants engaged or did not engage in a social interaction before observing human or robotic actions. During observation, MR was assessed via motor-evoked potentials elicited with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Compared with participants who did not engage in a prior social interaction, participants who engaged in the social interaction showed a significant increase in MR for human actions. In contrast, social interaction did not increase MR for robot actions. Thus, naturalistic social interaction and laboratory action observation tasks appear to involve common MR mechanisms, and recent experience tunes the system to particular agent types.

  17. Vision-based Human Action Classification Using Adaptive Boosting Algorithm

    KAUST Repository

    Zerrouki, Nabil; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Houacine, Amrane

    2018-01-01

    Precise recognition of human action is a key enabler for the development of many applications including autonomous robots for medical diagnosis and surveillance of elderly people in home environment. This paper addresses the human action recognition based on variation in body shape. Specifically, we divide the human body into five partitions that correspond to five partial occupancy areas. For each frame, we calculated area ratios and used them as input data for recognition stage. Here, we consider six classes of activities namely: walking, standing, bending, lying, squatting, and sitting. In this paper, we proposed an efficient human action recognition scheme, which takes advantages of superior discrimination capacity of AdaBoost algorithm. We validated the effectiveness of this approach by using experimental data from two publicly available databases fall detection databases from the University of Rzeszow’s and the Universidad de Málaga fall detection datasets. We provided comparisons of the proposed approach with state-of-the-art classifiers based on the neural network, K-nearest neighbor, support vector machine and naïve Bayes and showed that we achieve better results in discriminating human gestures.

  18. Vision-based Human Action Classification Using Adaptive Boosting Algorithm

    KAUST Repository

    Zerrouki, Nabil

    2018-05-07

    Precise recognition of human action is a key enabler for the development of many applications including autonomous robots for medical diagnosis and surveillance of elderly people in home environment. This paper addresses the human action recognition based on variation in body shape. Specifically, we divide the human body into five partitions that correspond to five partial occupancy areas. For each frame, we calculated area ratios and used them as input data for recognition stage. Here, we consider six classes of activities namely: walking, standing, bending, lying, squatting, and sitting. In this paper, we proposed an efficient human action recognition scheme, which takes advantages of superior discrimination capacity of AdaBoost algorithm. We validated the effectiveness of this approach by using experimental data from two publicly available databases fall detection databases from the University of Rzeszow’s and the Universidad de Málaga fall detection datasets. We provided comparisons of the proposed approach with state-of-the-art classifiers based on the neural network, K-nearest neighbor, support vector machine and naïve Bayes and showed that we achieve better results in discriminating human gestures.

  19. Response actions influence the categorization of directions in auditory space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcella de Castro Campos Velten

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Spatial region concepts such as front, back, left and right reflect our typical interaction with space, and the corresponding surrounding regions have different statuses in memory. We examined the representation of spatial directions in the auditory space, specifically in how far natural response actions, such as orientation movements towards a sound source, would affect the categorization of egocentric auditory space. While standing in the middle of a circle with 16 loudspeakers, participants were presented acoustic stimuli coming from the loudspeakers in randomized order, and verbally described their directions by using the concept labels front, back, left, right, front-right, front-left, back-right and back-left. Response actions varied in three blocked conditions: 1 facing front, 2 turning the head and upper body to face the stimulus, and 3 turning the head and upper body plus pointing with the hand and outstretched arm towards the stimulus. In addition to a protocol of the verbal utterances, motion capture and video recording generated a detailed corpus for subsequent analysis of the participants’ behavior. Chi-square tests revealed an effect of response condition for directions within the left and right sides. We conclude that movement-based response actions influence the representation of auditory space, especially within the sides’ regions.

  20. Robotic situational awareness of actions in human teaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahmoush, Dave

    2015-06-01

    When robots can sense and interpret the activities of the people they are working with, they become more of a team member and less of just a piece of equipment. This has motivated work on recognizing human actions using existing robotic sensors like short-range ladar imagers. These produce three-dimensional point cloud movies which can be analyzed for structure and motion information. We skeletonize the human point cloud and apply a physics-based velocity correlation scheme to the resulting joint motions. The twenty actions are then recognized using a nearest-neighbors classifier that achieves good accuracy.

  1. Action Search: Learning to Search for Human Activities in Untrimmed Videos

    KAUST Repository

    Alwassel, Humam

    2017-06-13

    Traditional approaches for action detection use trimmed data to learn sophisticated action detector models. Although these methods have achieved great success at detecting human actions, we argue that huge information is discarded when ignoring the process, through which this trimmed data is obtained. In this paper, we propose Action Search, a novel approach that mimics the way people annotate activities in video sequences. Using a Recurrent Neural Network, Action Search can efficiently explore a video and determine the time boundaries during which an action occurs. Experiments on the THUMOS14 dataset reveal that our model is not only able to explore the video efficiently but also accurately find human activities, outperforming state-of-the-art methods.

  2. Experimental study on coil of direct action solenoid valve with temperature increasing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Lu; Liu Qianfeng; Bo Hanliang

    2012-01-01

    Hydraulic control rod drive technology (HCRDT) is a newly invented patent and Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University owns HCRDT's independent intellectual property rights. The integrated valve which is made up of three direct action solenoid valves is the key part of this technology, so the performance of the solenoid valve directly affects the function of the integrated valve and the HCRDT. Based on the conditions occurring in the operation of the control rod hydraulic drive system, the coil of the direct action solenoid valve with temperature increasing was studied by the experiment and analyzed by ANSYS code. The result shows that the temperature of the coil for the solenoid valve increases with the current increasing firstly. The temperature of the inner wall of the coil is higher than that of the exterior wall. The temperature of the middle coil is higher than that of the edge of the coil. The design of the direct action solenoid valve can be optimized. (authors)

  3. Analysis of electromagnetic field of direct action solenoid valve with current changing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Qianfeng; Bo Hanliang; Qin Benke

    2009-01-01

    Control rod hydraulic drive mechanism(CRHDM) is a newly invented patent of Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University. The direct action solenoid valve is the key part of this technology, so the performance of the solenoid valve directly affects the function of the CRHDM. With the current and the air gap changing,the electromagnetic field of the direct action solenoid valve was analyzed using the ANSYS software,which was validated by the experiment. The result shows that the electromagnetic force of the solenoid valve increases with the current increasing or the gap between the two armatures decreasing. Further more, the working current was confirmed. (authors)

  4. Predicting human activities in sequences of actions in RGB-D videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jardim, David; Nunes, Luís.; Dias, Miguel

    2017-03-01

    In our daily activities we perform prediction or anticipation when interacting with other humans or with objects. Prediction of human activity made by computers has several potential applications: surveillance systems, human computer interfaces, sports video analysis, human-robot-collaboration, games and health-care. We propose a system capable of recognizing and predicting human actions using supervised classifiers trained with automatically labeled data evaluated in our human activity RGB-D dataset (recorded with a Kinect sensor) and using only the position of the main skeleton joints to extract features. Using conditional random fields (CRFs) to model the sequential nature of actions in a sequence has been used before, but where other approaches try to predict an outcome or anticipate ahead in time (seconds), we try to predict what will be the next action of a subject. Our results show an activity prediction accuracy of 89.9% using an automatically labeled dataset.

  5. Action Search: Learning to Search for Human Activities in Untrimmed Videos

    KAUST Repository

    Alwassel, Humam; Heilbron, Fabian Caba; Ghanem, Bernard

    2017-01-01

    Traditional approaches for action detection use trimmed data to learn sophisticated action detector models. Although these methods have achieved great success at detecting human actions, we argue that huge information is discarded when ignoring

  6. Exemplar-based human action pose correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Wei; Deng, Ke; Bai, Xiang; Leyvand, Tommer; Guo, Baining; Tu, Zhuowen

    2014-07-01

    The launch of Xbox Kinect has built a very successful computer vision product and made a big impact on the gaming industry. This sheds lights onto a wide variety of potential applications related to action recognition. The accurate estimation of human poses from the depth image is universally a critical step. However, existing pose estimation systems exhibit failures when facing severe occlusion. In this paper, we propose an exemplar-based method to learn to correct the initially estimated poses. We learn an inhomogeneous systematic bias by leveraging the exemplar information within a specific human action domain. Furthermore, as an extension, we learn a conditional model by incorporation of pose tags to further increase the accuracy of pose correction. In the experiments, significant improvements on both joint-based skeleton correction and tag prediction are observed over the contemporary approaches, including what is delivered by the current Kinect system. Our experiments for the facial landmark correction also illustrate that our algorithm can improve the accuracy of other detection/estimation systems.

  7. John porter lecture: waves of protest--direct action, deliberation, and diffusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Lesley

    2015-02-01

    The book Direct Action, Deliberation and Diffusion: Collective Action After the WTO Protests in Seattle argues that the process of diffusion is dependent on social processes in the receiving context. The most important in social movements is an egalitarian and reflexive deliberation among diverse actors. The book traces the direct action tactics associated with the Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization in 1999 and how these spread to activists in Toronto and New York City. It shows how the structure of the political field, racial and class inequalities, identity boundaries, and organizational and conversational dynamics limited deliberation among activists, and thus limited the diffusion of the Seattle tactics. By constraining the spread of the Seattle tactics, this slowed the global justice movement's wave of protest. In this paper, I explore the application of and implications of this model of protest tactic diffusion to the recent Idle No More mobilizations. © 2015 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

  8. Side effect of acting on the world: Acquisition of action-outcome statistic relation alters visual interpretation of action outcome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takahiro eKawabe

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Humans can acquire the statistical features of the external world and employ them to control behaviors. Some external events occur in harmony with an agent’s action, and thus humans should also be able to acquire the statistical features between an action and its external outcome. We report that the acquired action-outcome statistical features alter the visual appearance of the action outcome. Pressing either of two assigned keys triggered visual motion whose direction was statistically biased either upward or downward, and observers judged the stimulus motion direction. Points of subjective equality (PSE for judging motion direction were shifted repulsively from the mean of the distribution associated with each key. Our Bayesian model accounted for the PSE shifts, indicating the optimal acquisition of the action-effect statistical relation. The PSE shifts were moderately attenuated when the action-outcome contingency was reduced. The Bayesian model again accounted for the attenuated PSE shifts. On the other hand, when the action-outcome contiguity was greatly reduced, the PSE shifts were greatly attenuated, and however, the Bayesian model could not accounted for the shifts. The results indicate that visual appearance can be modified by prediction based on the optimal acquisition of action-effect causal relation.

  9. Key challenges in the combat of human trafficking : Evaluating the EU trafficking strategy and EU trafficking directive

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosma, Alice; Rijken, Conny

    2016-01-01

    The problem of trafficking in human beings (THB) is still omnipresent in Europe, despite the numerous preventive and retributive actions taken. This article evaluates the two most important EU-instruments to combat trafficking: the EU Directive and the EU Strategy. Based on secondary analysis of

  10. Dielectric fluid directional spreading under the action of corona discharge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Shangru; Liu, Jie; Hu, Qun; Jiang, Teng; Yang, Jinchu; Liu, Sheng; Zheng, Huai

    2018-01-01

    Liquid spreading is a very common nature phenomenon and of significant importance for a broad range of applications. In this study, a dielectric fluid directional spreading phenomenon is presented. Under the action of corona discharge, a dielectric fluid, here a typical silicone directionally spreads along conductive patterns on conductive/nonconductive substrates. Directional spreading behaviors of silicone were experimentally observed on different conductive patterns in detail. Spreading speeds were analyzed at different driving voltages, which induced the corona discharge. The presented phenomenon may be useful to inspire several techniques of manipulating liquid transportation and fabricating micropatterns.

  11. An action selection architecture for autonomous virtual humans in persistent worlds

    OpenAIRE

    Sevin, Etienne de; Thalmann, Daniel

    2007-01-01

    Nowadays, virtual humans such as non-player characters in computer games need to have a strong autonomy in order to live their own life in persistent virtual worlds. When designing autonomous virtual humans, the action selection problem needs to be considered, as it is responsible for decision making at each moment in time. Indeed action selection architectures for autonomous virtual humans need to be reactive, proactive, motivational, and emotional to obtain a high degree of autonomy and ind...

  12. Children Perseverate to a Human's Actions but Not to a Robot's Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moriguchi, Yusuke; Kanda, Takayuki; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Itakura, Shoji

    2010-01-01

    Previous research has shown that young children commit perseverative errors from their observation of another person's actions. The present study examined how social observation would lead children to perseverative tendencies, using a robot. In Experiment 1, preschoolers watched either a human model or a robot sorting cards according to one…

  13. Goal-directed action control in children with autism spectrum disorders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geurts, H.M.; de Wit, S.

    2014-01-01

    Repetitive behavior is a key characteristic of autism spectrum disorders. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis that this abnormal behavioral repetition results from a tendency to over-rely on habits at the expense of flexible, goal-directed action. Twenty-four children with autism spectrum

  14. ROBOT LEARNING OF OBJECT MANIPULATION TASK ACTIONS FROM HUMAN DEMONSTRATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kyrarini

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Robot learning from demonstration is a method which enables robots to learn in a similar way as humans. In this paper, a framework that enables robots to learn from multiple human demonstrations via kinesthetic teaching is presented. The subject of learning is a high-level sequence of actions, as well as the low-level trajectories necessary to be followed by the robot to perform the object manipulation task. The multiple human demonstrations are recorded and only the most similar demonstrations are selected for robot learning. The high-level learning module identifies the sequence of actions of the demonstrated task. Using Dynamic Time Warping (DTW and Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM, the model of demonstrated trajectories is learned. The learned trajectory is generated by Gaussian mixture regression (GMR from the learned Gaussian mixture model.  In online working phase, the sequence of actions is identified and experimental results show that the robot performs the learned task successfully.

  15. Fast programming of peg-in-hole actions by human demonstration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Yang; Lin, Linglong; Song, Y. T.

    2014-01-01

    Peg-in-Hole actions play an important role in industrial assembly. In this paper, we present a system which performs such actions after learning by human demonstration. Strategies for getting robust human-demonstrated PiH trajectories are investigated, and a number of PiH experiments are conducte...... to verify the performance of the proposed approach. The results show that our approach leads to a high PiH success rate and allows the robot to fine-tune the PiH trajectories to achieve faster performance....

  16. Brain-to-brain hyperclassification reveals action-specific motor mapping of observed actions in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnov, Dmitry; Lachat, Fanny; Peltola, Tomi; Lahnakoski, Juha M; Koistinen, Olli-Pekka; Glerean, Enrico; Vehtari, Aki; Hari, Riitta; Sams, Mikko; Nummenmaa, Lauri

    2017-01-01

    Seeing an action may activate the corresponding action motor code in the observer. It remains unresolved whether seeing and performing an action activates similar action-specific motor codes in the observer and the actor. We used novel hyperclassification approach to reveal shared brain activation signatures of action execution and observation in interacting human subjects. In the first experiment, two "actors" performed four types of hand actions while their haemodynamic brain activations were measured with 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The actions were videotaped and shown to 15 "observers" during a second fMRI experiment. Eleven observers saw the videos of one actor, and the remaining four observers saw the videos of the other actor. In a control fMRI experiment, one of the actors performed actions with closed eyes, and five new observers viewed these actions. Bayesian canonical correlation analysis was applied to functionally realign observers' and actors' fMRI data. Hyperclassification of the seen actions was performed with Bayesian logistic regression trained on actors' data and tested with observers' data. Without the functional realignment, between-subjects accuracy was at chance level. With the realignment, the accuracy increased on average by 15 percentage points, exceeding both the chance level and the accuracy without functional realignment. The highest accuracies were observed in occipital, parietal and premotor cortices. Hyperclassification exceeded chance level also when the actor did not see her own actions. We conclude that the functional brain activation signatures underlying action execution and observation are partly shared, yet these activation signatures may be anatomically misaligned across individuals.

  17. Antimatter in the Direct-Action Theory of Fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth E. Kastner

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available One of Feynman's greatest contributions to physics was the interpretation of negative energies as antimatter in quantum field theory. A key component of this interpretation is the Feynman propagator, which seeks to describe the behavior of antimatter at the virtual particle level. Ironically, it turns out that one can dispense with the Feynman propagator in a direct-action theory of fields, while still retaining the interpretation of negative energy solutions as antiparticles. Quanta 2016; 5: 12–18.

  18. Human fMRI Reveals That Delayed Action Re-Recruits Visual Perception

    OpenAIRE

    Singhal, Anthony; Monaco, Simona; Kaufman, Liam D.; Culham, Jody C.

    2013-01-01

    Behavioral and neuropsychological research suggests that delayed actions rely on different neural substrates than immediate actions; however, the specific brain areas implicated in the two types of actions remain unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure human brain activation during delayed grasping and reaching. Specifically, we examined activation during visual stimulation and action execution separated by a 18-s delay interval in which subjects had to rememb...

  19. Language for action: Motor resonance during the processing of human and robotic voices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Cesare, G; Errante, A; Marchi, M; Cuccio, V

    2017-11-01

    In this fMRI study we evaluated whether the auditory processing of action verbs pronounced by a human or a robotic voice in the imperative mood differently modulates the activation of the mirror neuron system (MNs). The study produced three results. First, the activation pattern found during listening to action verbs was very similar in both the robot and human conditions. Second, the processing of action verbs compared to abstract verbs determined the activation of the fronto-parietal circuit classically involved during the action goal understanding. Third, and most importantly, listening to action verbs compared to abstract verbs produced activation of the anterior part of the supramarginal gyrus (aSMG) regardless of the condition (human and robot) and in the absence of any object name. The supramarginal gyrus is a region considered to underpin hand-object interaction and associated to the processing of affordances. These results suggest that listening to action verbs may trigger the recruitment of motor representations characterizing affordances and action execution, coherently with the predictive nature of motor simulation that not only allows us to re-enact motor knowledge to understand others' actions but also prepares us for the actions we might need to carry out. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Multi-stream CNN: Learning representations based on human-related regions for action recognition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tu, Zhigang; Xie, Wei; Qin, Qianqing; Poppe, R.W.; Veltkamp, R.C.; Li, Baoxin; Yuan, Junsong

    2018-01-01

    The most successful video-based human action recognition methods rely on feature representations extracted using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Inspired by the two-stream network (TS-Net), we propose a multi-stream Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture to recognize human actions. We

  1. Human action quality evaluation based on fuzzy logic with application in underground coal mining.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ionica, Andreea; Leba, Monica

    2015-01-01

    The work system is defined by its components, their roles and the relationships between them. Any work system gravitates around the human resource and the interdependencies between human factor and the other components of it. Researches in this field agreed that the human factor and its actions are difficult to quantify and predict. The objective of this paper is to apply a method of human actions evaluation in order to estimate possible risks and prevent possible system faults, both at human factor level and at equipment level. In order to point out the importance of the human factor influence on all the elements of the working systems we propose a fuzzy logic based methodology for quality evaluation of human actions. This methodology has a multidisciplinary character, as it gathers ideas and methods from: quality management, ergonomics, work safety and artificial intelligence. The results presented refer to a work system with a high degree of specificity, namely, underground coal mining and are valuable for human resources risk evaluation pattern. The fuzzy logic evaluation of the human actions leads to early detection of possible dangerous evolutions of the work system and alarm the persons in charge.

  2. Goal-Directed Action Control in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geurts, Hilde M; de Wit, Sanne

    2014-01-01

    Repetitive behavior is a key characteristic of autism spectrum disorders. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis that this abnormal behavioral repetition results from a tendency to over-rely on habits at the expense of flexible, goal-directed action. Twenty-four children with autism spectrum disorders and 24 age- and gender-matched controls…

  3. Directive and incentive functions of affective action consequences: an ideomotor approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eder, Andreas B; Rothermund, Klaus; De Houwer, Jan; Hommel, Bernhard

    2015-07-01

    Five experiments examined whether affective consequences become associated with the responses producing them and whether anticipations of positive and negative action outcomes influence action control differently. In a learning phase, one response produced pleasant and another response unpleasant visual effects. In a subsequent test phase, the same actions were carried out in response to a neutral feature of affective stimuli. Results showed that responses were faster when the irrelevant valence of the response cue matched the valence of the response outcome, but only when the responses still produced outcomes. These results suggest that affective action consequences have a directive function in that they facilitate the selection of the associated response over other responses, even when the response outcome is unpleasant (Experiment 4A). Results of another experiment showed that affective action consequences can also have an incentive function in that responses with pleasant outcomes are generally facilitated relative to responses with unpleasant outcomes. However, this motivational effect was seen only in a free-choice test (Experiment 5). The results suggest that behavioral impulses induced by ideomotor processes are constrained by the motivational evaluation of the anticipated action outcome. A model that integrates motivational factors into ideomotor theory is presented.

  4. Insulin action in the human brain: evidence from neuroimaging studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kullmann, S; Heni, M; Fritsche, A; Preissl, H

    2015-06-01

    Thus far, little is known about the action of insulin in the human brain. Nonetheless, recent advances in modern neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or magnetoencephalography (MEG), have made it possible to investigate the action of insulin in the brain in humans, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of brain insulin resistance and obesity. Using MEG, the clinical relevance of the action of insulin in the brain was first identified, linking cerebral insulin resistance with peripheral insulin resistance, genetic predisposition and weight loss success in obese adults. Although MEG is a suitable tool for measuring brain activity mainly in cortical areas, fMRI provides high spatial resolution for cortical as well as subcortical regions. Thus, the action of insulin can be detected within all eating behaviour relevant regions, which include regions deeply located within the brain, such as the hypothalamus, midbrain and brainstem, as well as regions within the striatum. In this review, we outline recent advances in the field of neuroimaging aiming to investigate the action of insulin in the human brain using different routes of insulin administration. fMRI studies have shown a significant insulin-induced attenuation predominantly in the occipital and prefrontal cortical regions and the hypothalamus, successfully localising insulin-sensitive brain regions in healthy, mostly normal-weight individuals. However, further studies are needed to localise brain areas affected by insulin resistance in obese individuals, which is an important prerequisite for selectively targeting brain insulin resistance in obesity. © 2015 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

  5. Principles Of Directed Energy Action In Food Nanotechnologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burdo O.G.

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The prospects of technologies of directed en ergy action (DEA are discussed. Classification of DEA-technologies is offered. The purpose of the wo rk is to give analysis of possibilities of DEA in food nanotechnologies. Combined processes of mass tr ansfer during the extraction and drying are con- sidered by methods of mathematical modeling. The physical model of combined processes in DEA- technologies is analyzed. The classification of hy drodynamic flow from the capillary structures of food raw materials is given. Conditions of upgrowth of laminar and turbulent barodiffusion are set. Problems of experimental modeling are grounded. A new number of similarities, the number of ener- getic action, is discussed. That number correctly ta kes into account the specific of combined processes of DEA-technologies. It has been shown that im pulse electromagnetic field is effective tool for realization DEA-technologies. Degree of intensification processes of mass transfer with application of barodiffusion and DEA-technologies can be by th e order greater than possibilities of traditional technologies.

  6. Adaptive control of human action: The role of outcome representations and reward signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans eMarien

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aims to advance the understanding of the control of human behavior by integrating two lines of literature that so far have led separate lives. First, one line of literature is concerned with the ideomotor principle of human behavior, according to which actions are represented in terms of their outcomes. The second line of literature mainly considers the role of reward signals in adaptive control. Here, we offer a combined perspective on how outcome representations and reward signals work together to modulate adaptive control processes. We propose that reward signals signify the value of outcome representations and facilitate the recruitment of control resources in situations where behavior needs to be maintained or adapted to attain the represented outcome. We discuss recent research demonstrating how adaptive control of goal-directed behavior may emerge when outcome representations are co-activated with positive reward signals.

  7. Peripheral inflammation acutely impairs human spatial memory via actions on medial temporal lobe glucose metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Neil A; Doeller, Christian F; Voon, Valerie; Burgess, Neil; Critchley, Hugo D

    2014-10-01

    Inflammation impairs cognitive performance and is implicated in the progression of neurodegenerative disorders. Rodent studies demonstrated key roles for inflammatory mediators in many processes critical to memory, including long-term potentiation, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis. They also demonstrated functional impairment of medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures by systemic inflammation. However, human data to support this position are limited. Sequential fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography together with experimentally induced inflammation was used to investigate effects of a systemic inflammatory challenge on human MTL function. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning was performed in 20 healthy participants before and after typhoid vaccination and saline control injection. After each scanning session, participants performed a virtual reality spatial memory task analogous to the Morris water maze and a mirror-tracing procedural memory control task. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography data demonstrated an acute reduction in human MTL glucose metabolism after inflammation. The inflammatory challenge also selectively compromised human spatial, but not procedural, memory; this effect that was independent of actions on motivation or psychomotor response. Effects of inflammation on parahippocampal and rhinal glucose metabolism directly mediated actions of inflammation on spatial memory. These data demonstrate acute sensitivity of human MTL to mild peripheral inflammation, giving rise to associated functional impairment in the form of reduced spatial memory performance. Our findings suggest a mechanism for the observed epidemiologic link between inflammation and risk of age-related cognitive decline and progression of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Building public trust: Actions to respond to the report of the Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-03-01

    Democratic government requires trust: people need to know and believe that the government is telling the truth. Without information about what the government is doing and why, citizens cannot exercise democratic control over government institutions. During his first year in office, President Clinton became concerned about reports that the government had conducted unethical secret human radiation experiments during the Cold War. To address this issue, in January 1994, President Clinton established the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE), chaired by bioethicist Dr. Ruth Faden of Johns Hopkins University. The President also directed all Federal agencies to search for records related to human subjects radiation research and provide them to the Advisory Committee. This report presents the Administration's actions to respond to the ACHRE's findings and recommendations

  9. Direct dating of human fossils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grün, Rainer

    2006-01-01

    The methods that can be used for the direct dating of human remains comprise of radiocarbon, U-series, electron spin resonance (ESR), and amino acid racemization (AAR). This review gives an introduction to these methods in the context of dating human bones and teeth. Recent advances in ultrafiltration techniques have expanded the dating range of radiocarbon. It now seems feasible to reliably date bones up to 55,000 years. New developments in laser ablation mass spectrometry permit the in situ analysis of U-series isotopes, thus providing a rapid and virtually non-destructive dating method back to about 300,000 years. This is of particular importance when used in conjunction with non-destructive ESR analysis. New approaches in AAR analysis may lead to a renaissance of this method. The potential and present limitations of these direct dating techniques are discussed for sites relevant to the reconstruction of modern human evolution, including Florisbad, Border Cave, Tabun, Skhul, Qafzeh, Vindija, Banyoles, and Lake Mungo. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  10. 76 FR 47237 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Monterey County, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCA9300000 L58790000 EU0000; CACA 50168-14] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Monterey County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of realty action. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM...

  11. Human reinforcement learning subdivides structured action spaces by learning effector-specific values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gershman, Samuel J; Pesaran, Bijan; Daw, Nathaniel D

    2009-10-28

    Humans and animals are endowed with a large number of effectors. Although this enables great behavioral flexibility, it presents an equally formidable reinforcement learning problem of discovering which actions are most valuable because of the high dimensionality of the action space. An unresolved question is how neural systems for reinforcement learning-such as prediction error signals for action valuation associated with dopamine and the striatum-can cope with this "curse of dimensionality." We propose a reinforcement learning framework that allows for learned action valuations to be decomposed into effector-specific components when appropriate to a task, and test it by studying to what extent human behavior and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity can exploit such a decomposition in a multieffector choice task. Subjects made simultaneous decisions with their left and right hands and received separate reward feedback for each hand movement. We found that choice behavior was better described by a learning model that decomposed the values of bimanual movements into separate values for each effector, rather than a traditional model that treated the bimanual actions as unitary with a single value. A decomposition of value into effector-specific components was also observed in value-related BOLD signaling, in the form of lateralized biases in striatal correlates of prediction error and anticipatory value correlates in the intraparietal sulcus. These results suggest that the human brain can use decomposed value representations to "divide and conquer" reinforcement learning over high-dimensional action spaces.

  12. Direct detection of a single evoked action potential with MRS in Lumbricus terrestris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poplawsky, Alexander J; Dingledine, Raymond; Hu, Xiaoping P

    2012-01-01

    Functional MRI (fMRI) measures neural activity indirectly by detecting the signal change associated with the hemodynamic response following brain activation. In order to alleviate the temporal and spatial specificity problems associated with fMRI, a number of attempts have been made to detect neural magnetic fields (NMFs) with MRI directly, but have thus far provided conflicting results. In this study, we used MR to detect axonal NMFs in the median giant fiber of the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, by examining the free induction decay (FID) with a sampling interval of 0.32 ms. The earthworm nerve cords were isolated from the vasculature and stimulated at the threshold of action potential generation. FIDs were acquired shortly after the stimulation, and simultaneous field potential recordings identified the presence or absence of single evoked action potentials. FIDs acquired when the stimulus did not evoke an action potential were summed as background. The phase of the background-subtracted FID exhibited a systematic change, with a peak phase difference of (-1.2 ± 0.3) × 10(-5) radians occurring at a time corresponding to the timing of the action potential. In addition, we calculated the possible changes in the FID magnitude and phase caused by a simulated action potential using a volume conductor model. The measured phase difference matched the theoretical prediction well in both amplitude and temporal characteristics. This study provides the first evidence for the direct detection of a magnetic field from an evoked action potential using MR. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Human-directed aggression in the cat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Terry Marie

    2008-09-01

    Feline aggression-between cats or directed at humans-is, after inappropriate elimination and urine-marking behaviors, the second most common reason cats are seen by behavioral specialists. For diagnosis and treatment it is important to determine the motivation for the aggression. The more common causes for human-directed aggression in cats include play, fear, petting intolerance, and redirected aggression. Other causes include pain and maternal behavior. Sexually motivated and status related aggression are much more rare. Treatment includes a combination of behavioral modification, environmental modification, and, in some cases, medication.

  14. Collective Nostalgia Is Associated With Stronger Outgroup-Directed Anger and Participation in Ingroup-Favoring Collective Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wing-Yee Cheung

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Collective nostalgia refers to longing for the way society used to be. We tested whether collective nostalgia is associated with ingroup-favoring collective action and whether this association is mediated by outgroup-directed anger and outgroup-directed contempt. We conducted an online study of Hong Kong residents (N = 111 during a large-scale democratic social movement, the Umbrella Movement, that took place in Hong Kong in 2014 in response to proposed electoral reforms by the Chinese government in Mainland China. Reported collective nostalgia for Hong Kong’s past was high in our sample and collective nostalgia predicted stronger involvement in ingroup-favoring collective action, and it did so indirectly via higher intensity of outgroup-directed anger (but not through outgroup-directed contempt. We argue that collective nostalgia has implications for strengthening ingroup-serving collective action, and we highlight the importance of arousal of group-based emotions in this process.

  15. Action and language integration: from humans to cognitive robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borghi, Anna M; Cangelosi, Angelo

    2014-07-01

    The topic is characterized by a highly interdisciplinary approach to the issue of action and language integration. Such an approach, combining computational models and cognitive robotics experiments with neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and linguistic approaches, can be a powerful means that can help researchers disentangle ambiguous issues, provide better and clearer definitions, and formulate clearer predictions on the links between action and language. In the introduction we briefly describe the papers and discuss the challenges they pose to future research. We identify four important phenomena the papers address and discuss in light of empirical and computational evidence: (a) the role played not only by sensorimotor and emotional information but also of natural language in conceptual representation; (b) the contextual dependency and high flexibility of the interaction between action, concepts, and language; (c) the involvement of the mirror neuron system in action and language processing; (d) the way in which the integration between action and language can be addressed by developmental robotics and Human-Robot Interaction. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  16. The action of sennosides and related compounds on human colon and rectum 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardcastle, J. D.; Wilkins, J. L.

    1970-01-01

    The direct action of intraluminal senna and related compounds on the human colon and rectum has been investigated. Motility was recorded by balloon kymography with recording units inserted into well established transverse colostomies or into the rectum. The motility of the colon was not changed by intraluminal senna glycosides but the introduction of senna previously incubated with faeces or Esch. coli stimulated the colon to peristalt. The peristalsis was similar to that stimulated by rheinanthrone, an oxanthrone produced by chemical hydrolysis and reduction of senna. Both activated senna and rheinanthrone appeared to act in the colon by contact stimulation. No peristaltic response was stimulated in the rectum, either with activated senna or with rheinanthrone. PMID:4929273

  17. Impairments in goal-directed actions predict treatment response to cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gail A Alvares

    Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive fear and habitual avoidance of social situations. Decision-making models suggest that patients with anxiety disorders may fail to exhibit goal-directed control over actions. We therefore investigated whether such biases may also be associated with social anxiety and to examine the relationship between such behavior with outcomes from cognitive-behavioral therapy. Patients diagnosed with social anxiety and controls completed an instrumental learning task in which two actions were performed to earn food outcomes. After outcome devaluation, where one outcome was consumed to satiety, participants were re-tested in extinction. Results indicated that, as expected, controls were goal-directed, selectively reducing responding on the action that previously delivered the devalued outcome. Patients with social anxiety, however, exhibited no difference in responding on either action. This loss of a devaluation effect was associated with greater symptom severity and poorer response to therapy. These findings indicate that variations in goal-directed control in social anxiety may represent both a behavioral endophenotype and may be used to predict individuals who will respond to learning-based therapies.

  18. Building public trust: Actions to respond to the report of the Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    Democratic government requires trust: people need to know and believe that the government is telling the truth. Without information about what the government is doing and why, citizens cannot exercise democratic control over government institutions. During his first year in office, President Clinton became concerned about reports that the government had conducted unethical secret human radiation experiments during the Cold War. To address this issue, in January 1994, President Clinton established the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE), chaired by bioethicist Dr. Ruth Faden of Johns Hopkins University. The President also directed all Federal agencies to search for records related to human subjects radiation research and provide them to the Advisory Committee. This report presents the Administration`s actions to respond to the ACHRE`s findings and recommendations.

  19. Integrating women's human rights into global health research: an action framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baptiste, Donna; Kapungu, Chisina; Khare, Manorama H; Lewis, Yvonne; Barlow-Mosha, Linda

    2010-11-01

    This article uses Scale of Change theory as a framework to guide global health researchers to synergistically target women's health outcomes in the context of improving their right to freedom, equity, and equality of opportunities. We hypothesize that health researchers can do so through six action strategies. These strategies include (1) becoming fully informed of women's human rights directives to integrate them into research, (2) mainstreaming gender in the research, (3) using the expertise of grass roots women's organizations in the setting, (4) showcasing women's equity and equality in the organizational infrastructure, (5) disseminating research findings to policymakers in the study locale to influence health priorities, and (6) publicizing the social conditions that are linked to women's diseases. We explore conceptual and logistical dilemmas in transforming a study using these principles and also provide a case study of obstetric fistula reduction in Nigeria to illustrate how these strategies can be operationalized. Our intent is to offer a feasible approach to health researchers who, conceptually, may link women's health to social and cultural conditions but are looking for practical implementation strategies to examine a women's health issue through the lens of their human rights.

  20. Self-Organizing Neural Integration of Pose-Motion Features for Human Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    German Ignacio Parisi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The visual recognition of complex, articulated human movements is fundamental for a wide range of artificial systems oriented towards human-robot communication, action classification, and action-driven perception. These challenging tasks may generally involve the processing of a huge amount of visual information and learning-based mechanisms for generalizing a set of training actions and classifying new samples. To operate in natural environments, a crucial property is the efficient and robust recognition of actions, also under noisy conditions caused by, for instance, systematic sensor errors and temporarily occluded persons. Studies of the mammalian visual system and its outperforming ability to process biological motion information suggest separate neural pathways for the distinct processing of pose and motion features at multiple levels and the subsequent integration of these visual cues for action perception. We present a neurobiologically-motivated approach to achieve noise-tolerant action recognition in real time. Our model consists of self-organizing Growing When Required (GWR networks that obtain progressively generalized representations of sensory inputs and learn inherent spatiotemporal dependencies. During the training, the GWR networks dynamically change their topological structure to better match the input space. We first extract pose and motion features from video sequences and then cluster actions in terms of prototypical pose-motion trajectories. Multi-cue trajectories from matching action frames are subsequently combined to provide action dynamics in the joint feature space. Reported experiments show that our approach outperforms previous results on a dataset of full-body actions captured with a depth sensor, and ranks among the best 21 results for a public benchmark of domestic daily actions.

  1. Modeling Geometric-Temporal Context With Directional Pyramid Co-Occurrence for Action Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Chunfeng; Li, Xi; Hu, Weiming; Ling, Haibin; Maybank, Stephen J

    2014-02-01

    In this paper, we present a new geometric-temporal representation for visual action recognition based on local spatio-temporal features. First, we propose a modified covariance descriptor under the log-Euclidean Riemannian metric to represent the spatio-temporal cuboids detected in the video sequences. Compared with previously proposed covariance descriptors, our descriptor can be measured and clustered in Euclidian space. Second, to capture the geometric-temporal contextual information, we construct a directional pyramid co-occurrence matrix (DPCM) to describe the spatio-temporal distribution of the vector-quantized local feature descriptors extracted from a video. DPCM characterizes the co-occurrence statistics of local features as well as the spatio-temporal positional relationships among the concurrent features. These statistics provide strong descriptive power for action recognition. To use DPCM for action recognition, we propose a directional pyramid co-occurrence matching kernel to measure the similarity of videos. The proposed method achieves the state-of-the-art performance and improves on the recognition performance of the bag-of-visual-words (BOVWs) models by a large margin on six public data sets. For example, on the KTH data set, it achieves 98.78% accuracy while the BOVW approach only achieves 88.06%. On both Weizmann and UCF CIL data sets, the highest possible accuracy of 100% is achieved.

  2. Neural theory for the perception of causal actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischer, Falk; Christensen, Andrea; Caggiano, Vittorio; Thier, Peter; Giese, Martin A

    2012-07-01

    The efficient prediction of the behavior of others requires the recognition of their actions and an understanding of their action goals. In humans, this process is fast and extremely robust, as demonstrated by classical experiments showing that human observers reliably judge causal relationships and attribute interactive social behavior to strongly simplified stimuli consisting of simple moving geometrical shapes. While psychophysical experiments have identified critical visual features that determine the perception of causality and agency from such stimuli, the underlying detailed neural mechanisms remain largely unclear, and it is an open question why humans developed this advanced visual capability at all. We created pairs of naturalistic and abstract stimuli of hand actions that were exactly matched in terms of their motion parameters. We show that varying critical stimulus parameters for both stimulus types leads to very similar modulations of the perception of causality. However, the additional form information about the hand shape and its relationship with the object supports more fine-grained distinctions for the naturalistic stimuli. Moreover, we show that a physiologically plausible model for the recognition of goal-directed hand actions reproduces the observed dependencies of causality perception on critical stimulus parameters. These results support the hypothesis that selectivity for abstract action stimuli might emerge from the same neural mechanisms that underlie the visual processing of natural goal-directed action stimuli. Furthermore, the model proposes specific detailed neural circuits underlying this visual function, which can be evaluated in future experiments.

  3. Alcohol-paired contextual cues produce an immediate and selective loss of goal-directed action in rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean B Ostlund

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available We assessed whether the presence of contextual cues paired with alcohol would disrupt rats’ capacity to express appropriate goal-directed action control. Rats were first given differential context conditioning such that one set of contextual cues was paired with the injection of ethanol and a second, distinctive set of cues was paired with the injection of saline. All rats were then trained in a third, neutral context to press one lever for grain pellets and another lever for sucrose pellets. They were then given two extinction tests to evaluate their ability to choose between the two actions in response to the devaluation of one of the two food outcomes with one test conducted in the alcohol-paired context and the other conducted in the control (saline-paired context. In the control context, rats exhibited goal-directed action control; i.e., they were able selectively to withhold the action that previously earned the now devalued outcome. However, these same rats were impaired when tested in the alcohol-paired context, performing both actions at the same rate regardless of the current value of their respective outcomes. Subsequent testing revealed that the rats were capable of overcoming this impairment if they were giving response-contingent feedback about the current value of the food outcomes. These results provide a clear demonstration of the disruptive influence that alcohol-paired cues can exert on decision-making in general and goal-directed action selection and choice in particular.

  4. Handling of future human actions in the safety assessment SR-Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-12-01

    This report documents the future human actions, FHA, considered in the long-term safety analysis of a KBS-3 repository. The report is one of the supporting documents to the safety assessment SR-Site (see further the Main report /SKB 2011/). The purpose of this report is to provide an account of general considerations concerning FHA, the methodology applied in SR-Site to assess FHA, the aspects of FHA needed to be considered in the evaluation of their impact on a deep geological repository and to select and analyse representative scenarios for illustrative consequence analysis. The main focus of this report is a time period when institutional control has ceased to be effective, thereby permitting inadvertent intrusion. However, a brief discussion of the earlier period when the repository has been closed, sealed and continuously kept under institutional control is also provided. General The potential exposure to large quantities of radiotoxic material is an inescapable consequence of the deposition of spent nuclear fuel in a final repository, and consequently intrusion into the repository needs to be considered in repository design and safety assessment. In accordance with ICRP recommendations /ICRP 2000/, intrusion in the post-closure phase of institutional control and beyond is primarily prevented through the design of the repository. In addition to that there will presumably continue to be safeguards measures, preservation of information (record keeping) and possibly some sort of markers placed at the site. During the institutional control period, activities at the site have to be restricted or directed if they have the potential to interfere with or hinder surveillance of the site, but this does not necessarily rule out all forms of access to the area. Also the fact that the repository contains fissile materials is an important aspect. Control of safeguards measures will most likely be upheld by national as well as international agencies. Furthermore, the

  5. Handling of future human actions in the safety assessment SR-Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2010-12-15

    This report documents the future human actions, FHA, considered in the long-term safety analysis of a KBS-3 repository. The report is one of the supporting documents to the safety assessment SR-Site (see further the Main report /SKB 2011/). The purpose of this report is to provide an account of general considerations concerning FHA, the methodology applied in SR-Site to assess FHA, the aspects of FHA needed to be considered in the evaluation of their impact on a deep geological repository and to select and analyse representative scenarios for illustrative consequence analysis. The main focus of this report is a time period when institutional control has ceased to be effective, thereby permitting inadvertent intrusion. However, a brief discussion of the earlier period when the repository has been closed, sealed and continuously kept under institutional control is also provided. General The potential exposure to large quantities of radiotoxic material is an inescapable consequence of the deposition of spent nuclear fuel in a final repository, and consequently intrusion into the repository needs to be considered in repository design and safety assessment. In accordance with ICRP recommendations /ICRP 2000/, intrusion in the post-closure phase of institutional control and beyond is primarily prevented through the design of the repository. In addition to that there will presumably continue to be safeguards measures, preservation of information (record keeping) and possibly some sort of markers placed at the site. During the institutional control period, activities at the site have to be restricted or directed if they have the potential to interfere with or hinder surveillance of the site, but this does not necessarily rule out all forms of access to the area. Also the fact that the repository contains fissile materials is an important aspect. Control of safeguards measures will most likely be upheld by national as well as international agencies. Furthermore, the

  6. The Neurobiology of Collective Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Joseph Zak

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This essay introduces a neurologically-informed mathematical model of collective action that reveals the role for empathy and distress in motivating costly helping behaviors. We report three direct tests of model with a key focus on the neuropeptide oxytocin as well as a variety of indirect tests. These studies, from our lab and other researchers, show support for the model. Our findings indicate that empathic concern, via the brain's release of oxytocin, is a trigger for collective action. We discuss the implications from this model for our understanding why human beings engage in costly collective action.

  7. A novel video recommendation system based on efficient retrieval of human actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani, Mohsen; Yaghmaee, Farzin

    2016-09-01

    In recent years, fast growth of online video sharing eventuated new issues such as helping users to find their requirements in an efficient way. Hence, Recommender Systems (RSs) are used to find the users' most favorite items. Finding these items relies on items or users similarities. Though, many factors like sparsity and cold start user impress the recommendation quality. In some systems, attached tags are used for searching items (e.g. videos) as personalized recommendation. Different views, incomplete and inaccurate tags etc. can weaken the performance of these systems. Considering the advancement of computer vision techniques can help improving RSs. To this end, content based search can be used for finding items (here, videos are considered). In such systems, a video is taken from the user to find and recommend a list of most similar videos to the query one. Due to relating most videos to humans, we present a novel low complex scalable method to recommend videos based on the model of included action. This method has recourse to human action retrieval approaches. For modeling human actions, some interest points are extracted from each action and their motion information are used to compute the action representation. Moreover, a fuzzy dissimilarity measure is presented to compare videos for ranking them. The experimental results on HMDB, UCFYT, UCF sport and KTH datasets illustrated that, in most cases, the proposed method can reach better results than most used methods.

  8. 76 FR 50492 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in San Benito County, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCA930000.L58790000.EU0000; CACA 50168 13] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in San Benito County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Realty Action. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM...

  9. Human reinforcement learning subdivides structured action spaces by learning effector-specific values

    OpenAIRE

    Gershman, Samuel J.; Pesaran, Bijan; Daw, Nathaniel D.

    2009-01-01

    Humans and animals are endowed with a large number of effectors. Although this enables great behavioral flexibility, it presents an equally formidable reinforcement learning problem of discovering which actions are most valuable, due to the high dimensionality of the action space. An unresolved question is how neural systems for reinforcement learning – such as prediction error signals for action valuation associated with dopamine and the striatum – can cope with this “curse of dimensionality...

  10. Incorporating gender, equity, and human rights into the action planning process: moving from rhetoric to action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjeev Sridharan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Mainstreaming of gender, equity, and human rights (GER is an important focus of the World Health Organization (WHO and other UN organizations. This paper explores the role of action plans in mainstreaming GER. This paper is informed by a theory-driven evaluation lens. Design: A theory of change framework explored the following seven dimensions of how action plans can implement mainstreaming of GER: awareness of the foundations of GER; understanding of context; planning to impact GER; implementation for GER; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; planning for sustainability; agenda setting and buy-in. The seven dimensions were used to analyze the action plans. Reviewers also explored innovations within each of the action plans for the seven dimensions. Results: GER mainstreaming is more prominent in the foundation, background, and planning components of the plan but becomes less so along the theory of change including implementation; monitoring and evaluation; sustainability; and agenda setting and buy-in. Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates that much more can be done to incorporate GER considerations into the action planning process. Nine specific recommendations are identified for WHO and other organizations. A theory-driven approach as described in the paper is potentially helpful for developing clarity by which action plans can help with mainstreaming GER considerations.

  11. Plerocercoid growth factor (PGF), a human growth hormone (hGH) analogue produced by the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides, has direct insulin-like action in adipose tissue of normal rats in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, M.A.M.; Phares, C.K.

    1986-01-01

    The metabolic actions of GH can be divided into acute (insulin-like) and chronic (lipolytic/anti-insulin). The insulin-like actions of GH are most readily elicited in GH-deficient animals as GH induces resistance to its own insulin-like action. Like GH, PGF stimulates growth and cross-reacts with anti-hGH antibodies. Independent experiments were conducted comparing the direct actions of PGF to insulin or hGH in vitro. Insulin-like effects were determined by the ability of PGF, insulin or hGH to stimulate [U- 14 C]glucose metabolism in epidydimal fat pads from normal rats and by inhibition of epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis. Direct stimulation of lipolysis was used as anti-insulin activity. To determine if PGF competes for insulin or GH receptors, adipocytes (3 x 10 5 cells/ml) were incubated with either [ 125 I]insulin or [ 125 I]hGH +/- PGF, +/- insulin or +/- hGH. PGF stimulated glucose oxidation and 14 C-incorporation into lipids. Insulin, hGH and PGF inhibited lipolysis (33%, 29% and 34%, respectively). Adipose tissue was very sensitive to the lipolytic effect of hGH but PGF was neither lipolytic nor did it confer refractoriness to its insulin-like action. PGF bound to GH but not to insulin receptors. Therefore, PGF had direct insulin-like effects but did not stimulate lipolysis in tissue from normal rats in vitro

  12. Bringing humanity into view: action research with Qatar's ambulance service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Gill; Wiggins, Liz

    2017-08-21

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the widening of attention in healthcare improvement efforts, to include an awareness of the humanity of people who work in the sector and an appreciation of the part human connection plays in engagement around good quality work. Theoretical frameworks and research approaches which draw on action-based, interpretive and systemic thinking are proposed, as a complement to current practices. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes the early stages of an action research (AR) project, which used the appreciative inquiry "4D" framework to conduct participative inquiry in Hamad Medical Corporation's ambulance service in Qatar, in which staff became co-researchers. Findings The co-researchers were highly motivated to work with improvement goals as a result of their participation in the AR. They, and their managers, saw each other and the work in new ways and discovered that they had much to offer. Research limitations/implications This was a small-scale pilot project, from which findings must be considered tentative. The challenges of establishing good collaboration across language, culture and organisational divides are considerable. Practical implications Appreciative and action-oriented inquiry methods can serve not only to find things out, but also to highlight and give value to aspects of humanity in the workplace that are routinely left invisible in formal processes. This, in turn, can help with quality improvement. Originality/value This paper is a challenge to the orthodox way of viewing healthcare organisations, and improvement processes within them, as reliant on control rather than empowerment. An alternative is to actively include the agency, sense-making capacity and humanity of those involved.

  13. "Unwilling" versus "Unable": Capuchin Monkeys' ("Cebus Apella") Understanding of Human Intentional Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Webb; Barnes, Jennifer L.; Mahajan, Neha; Yamaguchi, Mariko; Santos, Laurie R.

    2009-01-01

    A sensitivity to the intentions behind human action is a crucial developmental achievement in infants. Is this intention reading ability a unique and relatively recent product of human evolution and culture, or does this capacity instead have roots in our non-human primate ancestors? Recent work by Call and colleagues (2004) lends credence to the…

  14. Human neural tuning estimated from compound action potentials in normal hearing human volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verschooten, Eric; Desloovere, Christian; Joris, Philip X.

    2015-12-01

    The sharpness of cochlear frequency tuning in humans is debated. Evoked otoacoustic emissions and psychophysical measurements suggest sharper tuning in humans than in laboratory animals [15], but this is disputed based on comparisons of behavioral and electrophysiological measurements across species [14]. Here we used evoked mass potentials to electrophysiologically quantify tuning (Q10) in humans. We combined a notched noise forward masking paradigm [9] with the recording of trans tympanic compound action potentials (CAP) from masked probe tones in awake human and anesthetized monkey (Macaca mulatta). We compare our results to data obtained with the same paradigm in cat and chinchilla [16], and find that CAP-Q10values in human are ˜1.6x higher than in cat and chinchilla and ˜1.3x higher than in monkey. To estimate frequency tuning of single auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) in humans, we derive conversion functions from ANFs in cat, chinchilla, and monkey and apply these to the human CAP measurements. The data suggest that sharp cochlear tuning is a feature of old-world primates.

  15. Strategic directions and actions for advanced practice nursing in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha N. Hill

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a need and opportunity for China to develop education and practice innovations given that advance practice nurses (APNs improve health care and outcomes. The China Medical Board (CMB China Nursing Network (CCNN began planning for an Advanced Nursing Practice Program for education and career development that will facilitate CCNN's contributions to meeting national nursing policy priorities. This paper presents the discussion, recommendations and action plans developed at the inaugural planning meeting on June 26, 2015 at Fudan University in Shanghai. The recommendations are: Develop standards for advanced nursing practice; Develop Master's level curricula based on the standards; Commence pilot projects across a number of University affiliated hospitals; and Prepare clinical tutors and faculty. The strategic directions and actions are: Develop a clinical career ladder system; Expand the nursing role from hospital to community; and Build a specialty nurse accreditation system.

  16. Insider Threat: Preventing Direct Action Attacks Within the United States Army

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-09

    Intelligence Agency, 2012. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Publication (JP) 3-07.2, Antiterrorism. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2010. 81...Federal Bureau of Investigation GEN General (Army rank, O-10) HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 INSCOM Intelligence and...commanders, and the intelligence community to prevent insider threats from developing into direct action attacks, this study sought to answer the

  17. What did domestication do to dogs? A new account of dogs' sensitivity to human actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udell, Monique A R; Dorey, Nicole R; Wynne, Clive D L

    2010-05-01

    Over the last two decades increasing evidence for an acute sensitivity to human gestures and attentional states in domestic dogs has led to a burgeoning of research into the social cognition of this highly familiar yet previously under-studied animal. Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) have been shown to be more successful than their closest relative (and wild progenitor) the wolf, and than man's closest relative, the chimpanzee, on tests of sensitivity to human social cues, such as following points to a container holding hidden food. The "Domestication Hypothesis" asserts that during domestication dogs evolved an inherent sensitivity to human gestures that their non-domesticated counterparts do not share. According to this view, sensitivity to human cues is present in dogs at an early age and shows little evidence of acquisition during ontogeny. A closer look at the findings of research on canine domestication, socialization, and conditioning, brings the assumptions of this hypothesis into question. We propose the Two Stage Hypothesis, according to which the sensitivity of an individual animal to human actions depends on acceptance of humans as social companions, and conditioning to follow human limbs. This offers a more parsimonious explanation for the domestic dog's sensitivity to human gestures, without requiring the use of additional mechanisms. We outline how tests of this new hypothesis open directions for future study that offer promise of a deeper understanding of mankind's oldest companion.

  18. A Generalized Pyramid Matching Kernel for Human Action Recognition in Realistic Videos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Zhang

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Human action recognition is an increasingly important research topic in the fields of video sensing, analysis and understanding. Caused by unconstrained sensing conditions, there exist large intra-class variations and inter-class ambiguities in realistic videos, which hinder the improvement of recognition performance for recent vision-based action recognition systems. In this paper, we propose a generalized pyramid matching kernel (GPMK for recognizing human actions in realistic videos, based on a multi-channel “bag of words” representation constructed from local spatial-temporal features of video clips. As an extension to the spatial-temporal pyramid matching (STPM kernel, the GPMK leverages heterogeneous visual cues in multiple feature descriptor types and spatial-temporal grid granularity levels, to build a valid similarity metric between two video clips for kernel-based classification. Instead of the predefined and fixed weights used in STPM, we present a simple, yet effective, method to compute adaptive channel weights of GPMK based on the kernel target alignment from training data. It incorporates prior knowledge and the data-driven information of different channels in a principled way. The experimental results on three challenging video datasets (i.e., Hollywood2, Youtube and HMDB51 validate the superiority of our GPMK w.r.t. the traditional STPM kernel for realistic human action recognition and outperform the state-of-the-art results in the literature.

  19. 77 FR 61023 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Shasta County, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCA930000.L1430000.EU0000. CACA 053115] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Shasta County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Redding Field Office...

  20. Observation and imitation of actions performed by humans, androids, and robots: an EMG study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofree, Galit; Urgen, Burcu A.; Winkielman, Piotr; Saygin, Ayse P.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding others’ actions is essential for functioning in the physical and social world. In the past two decades research has shown that action perception involves the motor system, supporting theories that we understand others’ behavior via embodied motor simulation. Recently, empirical approach to action perception has been facilitated by using well-controlled artificial stimuli, such as robots. One broad question this approach can address is what aspects of similarity between the observer and the observed agent facilitate motor simulation. Since humans have evolved among other humans and animals, using artificial stimuli such as robots allows us to probe whether our social perceptual systems are specifically tuned to process other biological entities. In this study, we used humanoid robots with different degrees of human-likeness in appearance and motion along with electromyography (EMG) to measure muscle activity in participants’ arms while they either observed or imitated videos of three agents produce actions with their right arm. The agents were a Human (biological appearance and motion), a Robot (mechanical appearance and motion), and an Android (biological appearance and mechanical motion). Right arm muscle activity increased when participants imitated all agents. Increased muscle activation was found also in the stationary arm both during imitation and observation. Furthermore, muscle activity was sensitive to motion dynamics: activity was significantly stronger for imitation of the human than both mechanical agents. There was also a relationship between the dynamics of the muscle activity and motion dynamics in stimuli. Overall our data indicate that motor simulation is not limited to observation and imitation of agents with a biological appearance, but is also found for robots. However we also found sensitivity to human motion in the EMG responses. Combining data from multiple methods allows us to obtain a more complete picture of action

  1. Elements of a regulatory strategy for the consideration of future human actions in safety assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilmot, R.D.; Wickham, S.M.; Galson, D.A.

    1999-09-01

    The objective of this report is to discuss issues that should be considered in the development of a regulatory strategy for assessing future human actions in any forthcoming license application for a deep repository for spent fuel in Sweden and for sites of other repositories. The report comprises an outline of key issues concerning the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, reviews of regulatory developments, recent safety assessments and supporting studies, and international initiatives on the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, and the principal elements of a regulatory strategy. Performance assessments (PAs) are generally accepted as providing illustrations of system performance under given sets of assumptions. The results of PAs are clearer and easier to understand if certain large uncertainties are accounted for by determining performance under several different sets of assumptions or scenarios, each of which defines a possible evolution of the disposal system. A number of assumptions can be made that would restrict the scope of an assessment without reducing the credibility of the corresponding safety case. Reducing speculation about technological development, by assuming that the techniques used in future human activities are similar to those currently in use in the region or at similar sites, will simplify the assessment. A distinction is generally made between inadvertent and intentional intrusion, with intentional activities excluded because society cannot protect future populations from their own actions if they understand the potential consequences. A division of human activities into 'recent and ongoing' and 'future' activities considers not only the timing of the activities but also the degree of control or influence that can be imposed on them. Recent and ongoing human activities are those that affect an area beyond the immediate vicinity of the disposal facility and which neither the proponent nor the regulator

  2. Deactivation in the Sensorimotor Area during Observation of a Human Agent Performing Robotic Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimada, Sotaro

    2010-01-01

    It is well established that several motor areas, called the mirror-neuron system (MNS), are activated when an individual observes other's actions. However, whether the MNS responds similarly to robotic actions compared with human actions is still controversial. The present study investigated whether and how the motor area activity is influenced by…

  3. Earliest directly-dated human skull-cups.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia M Bello

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The use of human braincases as drinking cups and containers has extensive historic and ethnographic documentation, but archaeological examples are extremely rare. In the Upper Palaeolithic of western Europe, cut-marked and broken human bones are widespread in the Magdalenian (∼15 to 12,000 years BP and skull-cup preparation is an element of this tradition. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe the post-mortem processing of human heads at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Gough's Cave (Somerset, England and identify a range of modifications associated with the production of skull-cups. New analyses of human remains from Gough's Cave demonstrate the skilled post-mortem manipulation of human bodies. Results of the research suggest the processing of cadavers for the consumption of body tissues (bone marrow, accompanied by meticulous shaping of cranial vaults. The distribution of cut-marks and percussion features indicates that the skulls were scrupulously 'cleaned' of any soft tissues, and subsequently modified by controlled removal of the facial region and breakage of the cranial base along a sub-horizontal plane. The vaults were also 'retouched', possibly to make the broken edges more regular. This manipulation suggests the shaping of skulls to produce skull-cups. CONCLUSIONS: Three skull-cups have been identified amongst the human bones from Gough's Cave. New ultrafiltered radiocarbon determinations provide direct dates of about 14,700 cal BP, making these the oldest directly dated skull-cups and the only examples known from the British Isles.

  4. Human-Nature for Climate Action: Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen Santiago Fink

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The global climate change agenda proceeds at an incremental pace while the Earth is approaching critical tipping points in its development trajectory. Climate action at this pinnacle juncture needs to be greatly accelerated and rooted in the fundamentals of the problem—human beings’ disconnection from nature. This paper underscores the valuable role nature and nature-based solutions can play in addressing climate change at the city scale and its implications for broader sustainability. Urban ecosystems (nature in cities are seen as an integral part of a proposed local climate action rubric wherein policy measures and integrated planning guide lowcarbon/impact development to create more resilient and sustainable urban environments. The use of green infrastructure is highlighted as a cost-effective means to contribute to mitigation and adaptation needs as well as to promote human wellbeing. The paper takes an exploratory view of the influence of ecosystem services, particularly cultural services, and its economics in relation to the individual and society to understand how biophilia can be nurtured to promote environmental stewardship and climate action.

  5. A study on the dependency evaluation for multiple human actions in human reliability analysis of probabilistic safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, D. I.; Yang, J. E.; Jung, W. D.; Sung, T. Y.; Park, J. H.; Lee, Y. H.; Hwang, M. J.; Kim, K. Y.; Jin, Y. H.; Kim, S. C.

    1997-02-01

    This report describes the study results on the method of the dependency evaluation and the modeling, and the limited value of human error probability (HEP) for multiple human actions in accident sequences of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). THERP and Parry's method, which have been generally used in dependency evaluation of human reliability analysis (HRA), are introduced and their limitations are discussed. New dependency evaluation method in HRA is established to make up for the weak points of THERP and Parry's methods. The limited value of HEP is also established based on the review of several HRA related documents. This report describes the definition, the type, the evaluation method, and the evaluation example of dependency to help the reader's understanding. It is expected that this study results will give a guidance to HRA analysts in dependency evaluation of multiple human actions and enable PSA analysts to understand HRA in detail. (author). 23 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs

  6. Action Video Games Improve Direction Discrimination of Parafoveal Translational Global Motion but Not Reaction Times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavan, Andrea; Boyce, Matthew; Ghin, Filippo

    2016-10-01

    Playing action video games enhances visual motion perception. However, there is psychophysical evidence that action video games do not improve motion sensitivity for translational global moving patterns presented in fovea. This study investigates global motion perception in action video game players and compares their performance to that of non-action video game players and non-video game players. Stimuli were random dot kinematograms presented in the parafovea. Observers discriminated the motion direction of a target random dot kinematogram presented in one of the four visual quadrants. Action video game players showed lower motion coherence thresholds than the other groups. However, when the task was performed at threshold, we did not find differences between groups in terms of distributions of reaction times. These results suggest that action video games improve visual motion sensitivity in the near periphery of the visual field, rather than speed response. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. The Coordination Dynamics of Observational Learning: Relative Motion Direction and Relative Phase as Informational Content Linking Action-Perception to Action-Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, John J

    2016-01-01

    The primary goal of this chapter is to merge together the visual perception perspective of observational learning and the coordination dynamics theory of pattern formation in perception and action. Emphasis is placed on identifying movement features that constrain and inform action-perception and action-production processes. Two sources of visual information are examined, relative motion direction and relative phase. The visual perception perspective states that the topological features of relative motion between limbs and joints remains invariant across an actor's motion and therefore are available for pickup by an observer. Relative phase has been put forth as an informational variable that links perception to action within the coordination dynamics theory. A primary assumption of the coordination dynamics approach is that environmental information is meaningful only in terms of the behavior it modifies. Across a series of single limb tasks and bimanual tasks it is shown that the relative motion and relative phase between limbs and joints is picked up through visual processes and supports observational learning of motor skills. Moreover, internal estimations of motor skill proficiency and competency are linked to the informational content found in relative motion and relative phase. Thus, the chapter links action to perception and vice versa and also links cognitive evaluations to the coordination dynamics that support action-perception and action-production processes.

  8. Action understanding and imitation learning in a robot-human task

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erlhagen, W.; Mukovskiy, A.; Bicho, E.; Panin, G.; Kiss, C.; Knoll, A.; Schie, H.T. van; Bekkering, H.

    2005-01-01

    We report results of an interdisciplinary project which aims at endowing a real robot system with the capacity for learning by goal-directed imitation. The control architecture is biologically inspired as it reflects recent experimental findings in action observation/execution studies. We test its

  9. Perspectives on object manipulation and action grammar for percussive actions in primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashi, Misato

    2015-11-19

    The skill of object manipulation is a common feature of primates including humans, although there are species-typical patterns of manipulation. Object manipulation can be used as a comparative scale of cognitive development, focusing on its complexity. Nut cracking in chimpanzees has the highest hierarchical complexity of tool use reported in non-human primates. An analysis of the patterns of object manipulation in naive chimpanzees after nut-cracking demonstrations revealed the cause of difficulties in learning nut-cracking behaviour. Various types of behaviours exhibited within a nut-cracking context can be examined in terms of the application of problem-solving strategies, focusing on their basis in causal understanding or insightful intentionality. Captive chimpanzees also exhibit complex forms of combinatory manipulation, which is the precursor of tool use. A new notation system of object manipulation was invented to assess grammatical rules in manipulative actions. The notation system of action grammar enabled direct comparisons to be made between primates including humans in a variety of object-manipulation tasks, including percussive-tool use. © 2015 The Author(s).

  10. Observation and Imitation of Actions Performed by Humans, Androids and Robots: An EMG study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galit eHofree

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding others’ actions is essential for functioning in the physical and social world. In the past two decades research has shown that action perception involves the motor system, supporting theories that we understand others’ behavior via embodied motor simulation. Recently, action perception has been facilitated by using well-controlled artificial stimuli, such as robots. One key question this approach enables is what aspects of similarity between the observer and the observed agent facilitate motor simulation? Since humans have evolved among other humans and animals, using artificial stimuli such as robots allows us to probe whether our social perceptual systems are tuned to process other biological entities. In this study, we used humanoid robots with different degrees of humanlikeness in appearance and motion along with electromyography (EMG to measure muscle activity in participants’ arms while they either observed or imitated videos of three agents produce actions with their right arm. The agents were a Human (biological appearance and motion, a Robot (mechanical appearance and motion and an Android (biological appearance, mechanical motion. Right arm muscle activity increased when participants imitated all agents. Increased muscle activation was found also in the stationary arm both during imitation and observation. Furthermore, muscle activity was sensitive to motion dynamics: activity was significantly stronger for imitation of the human than both mechanical agents. There was also a relationship between the dynamics of the muscle activity and motion dynamics in stimuli. Overall our data indicate that motor simulation is not limited to observation and imitation of agents with a biological appearance, but is also found for robots. However we also found sensitivity to human motion in the EMG responses. Combining data from multiple methods allows us to obtain a more complete picture of action understanding and the underlying

  11. Elements of a regulatory strategy for the consideration of future human actions in safety assessments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmot, R.D.; Wickham, S.M.; Galson, D.A. [Galson Sciences Ltd, Oakham (United Kingdom)

    1999-09-01

    The objective of this report is to discuss issues that should be considered in the development of a regulatory strategy for assessing future human actions in any forthcoming license application for a deep repository for spent fuel in Sweden and for sites of other repositories. The report comprises an outline of key issues concerning the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, reviews of regulatory developments, recent safety assessments and supporting studies, and international initiatives on the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, and the principal elements of a regulatory strategy. Performance assessments (PAs) are generally accepted as providing illustrations of system performance under given sets of assumptions. The results of PAs are clearer and easier tounderstand if certain large uncertainties are accounted for by determining performance under several different sets of assumptions or scenarios, each of which defines a possible evolution of the disposal system. A number of assumptions can be made that would restrict the scope of an assessment without reducing the credibility of the corresponding safety case. Reducing speculation about technological development, by assuming that the techniques used in future human activities are similar to those currently in use in the region or at similar sites, will simplify the assessment. A distinction is generally made between inadvertent and intentional intrusion, with intentional activities excluded because society cannot protect future populations from their own actions if they understand the potential consequences. A division of human activities into 'recent and ongoing' and 'future' activities considers not only the timing of the activities but also the degree of control or influence that can be imposed on them. Recent and ongoing human activities are those that affect an area beyond the immediate vicinity of the disposal facility and which neither the proponent

  12. A statistical model of future human actions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, G.

    1992-02-01

    A critical review has been carried out of models of future human actions during the long term post-closure period of a radioactive waste repository. Various Markov models have been considered as alternatives to the standard Poisson model, and the problems of parameterisation have been addressed. Where the simplistic Poisson model unduly exaggerates the intrusion risk, some form of Markov model may have to be introduced. This situation may well arise for shallow repositories, but it is less likely for deep repositories. Recommendations are made for a practical implementation of a computer based model and its associated database. (Author)

  13. Abstract Representations of Object-Directed Action in the Left Inferior Parietal Lobule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Quanjing; Garcea, Frank E; Jacobs, Robert A; Mahon, Bradford Z

    2018-06-01

    Prior neuroimaging and neuropsychological research indicates that the left inferior parietal lobule in the human brain is a critical substrate for representing object manipulation knowledge. In the present functional MRI study we used multivoxel pattern analyses to test whether action similarity among objects can be decoded in the inferior parietal lobule independent of the task applied to objects (identification or pantomime) and stimulus format in which stimuli are presented (pictures or printed words). Participants pantomimed the use of objects, cued by printed words, or identified pictures of objects. Classifiers were trained and tested across task (e.g., training data: pantomime; testing data: identification), stimulus format (e.g., training data: word format; testing format: picture) and specific objects (e.g., training data: scissors vs. corkscrew; testing data: pliers vs. screwdriver). The only brain region in which action relations among objects could be decoded across task, stimulus format and objects was the inferior parietal lobule. By contrast, medial aspects of the ventral surface of the left temporal lobe represented object function, albeit not at the same level of abstractness as actions in the inferior parietal lobule. These results suggest compulsory access to abstract action information in the inferior parietal lobe even when simply identifying objects.

  14. Decoding natural reach-and-grasp actions from human EEG

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Andreas; Ofner, Patrick; Pereira, Joana; Ioana Sburlea, Andreea; Müller-Putz, Gernot R.

    2018-02-01

    Objective. Despite the high number of degrees of freedom of the human hand, most actions of daily life can be executed incorporating only palmar, pincer and lateral grasp. In this study we attempt to discriminate these three different executed reach-and-grasp actions utilizing their EEG neural correlates. Approach. In a cue-guided experiment, 15 healthy individuals were asked to perform these actions using daily life objects. We recorded 72 trials for each reach-and-grasp condition and from a no-movement condition. Main results. Using low-frequency time domain features from 0.3 to 3 Hz, we achieved binary classification accuracies of 72.4%, STD  ±  5.8% between grasp types, for grasps versus no-movement condition peak performances of 93.5%, STD  ±  4.6% could be reached. In an offline multiclass classification scenario which incorporated not only all reach-and-grasp actions but also the no-movement condition, the highest performance could be reached using a window of 1000 ms for feature extraction. Classification performance peaked at 65.9%, STD  ±  8.1%. Underlying neural correlates of the reach-and-grasp actions, investigated over the primary motor cortex, showed significant differences starting from approximately 800 ms to 1200 ms after the movement onset which is also the same time frame where classification performance reached its maximum. Significance. We could show that it is possible to discriminate three executed reach-and-grasp actions prominent in people’s everyday use from non-invasive EEG. Underlying neural correlates showed significant differences between all tested conditions. These findings will eventually contribute to our attempt of controlling a neuroprosthesis in a natural and intuitive way, which could ultimately benefit motor impaired end users in their daily life actions.

  15. Improved Collaborative Representation Classifier Based on l2-Regularized for Human Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirui Huo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human action recognition is an important recent challenging task. Projecting depth images onto three depth motion maps (DMMs and extracting deep convolutional neural network (DCNN features are discriminant descriptor features to characterize the spatiotemporal information of a specific action from a sequence of depth images. In this paper, a unified improved collaborative representation framework is proposed in which the probability that a test sample belongs to the collaborative subspace of all classes can be well defined and calculated. The improved collaborative representation classifier (ICRC based on l2-regularized for human action recognition is presented to maximize the likelihood that a test sample belongs to each class, then theoretical investigation into ICRC shows that it obtains a final classification by computing the likelihood for each class. Coupled with the DMMs and DCNN features, experiments on depth image-based action recognition, including MSRAction3D and MSRGesture3D datasets, demonstrate that the proposed approach successfully using a distance-based representation classifier achieves superior performance over the state-of-the-art methods, including SRC, CRC, and SVM.

  16. Direct construction of the effective action of chiral gauge fermions in the anomalous sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salcedo, L.L.

    2009-01-01

    The anomaly implies an obstruction to a fully chiral covariant calculation of the effective action in the abnormal-parity sector of chiral theories. The standard approach then is to reconstruct the anomalous effective action from its covariant current. In this work, we use a recently introduced formulation which allows one to directly construct the non-trivial chiral invariant part of the effective action within a fully covariant formalism. To this end we develop an appropriate version of Chan's approach to carry out the calculation within the derivative expansion. The result to four derivatives, i.e., to leading order in two and four dimensions and next-to-leading order in two dimensions, is explicitly worked out. Fairly compact expressions are found for these terms. (orig.)

  17. The action characterization matrix: A link between HERA (Human Events Reference for ATHEANA) and ATHEANA (a technique for human error analysis)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, H.A.

    1997-01-01

    The Technique for Human Error Analysis (ATHEANA) is a newly developed human reliability analysis (HRA) methodology that aims to facilitate better representation and integration of human performance into probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) modeling and quantification by analyzing risk-significant operating experience in the context of existing behavior science models. The fundamental premise of ATHEANA is that error-forcing contexts (EFCs), which refer to combinations of equipment/material conditions and performance shaping factors (PSFs), set up or create the conditions under which unsafe actions (UAs) can occur. ATHEANA is being developed in the context of nuclear power plant (NPP) PRAs, and much of the language used to describe the method and provide examples of its application are specific to that industry. Because ATHEANA relies heavily on the analysis of operational events that have already occurred as a mechanism for generating creative thinking about possible EFCs, a database, called the Human Events Reference for ATHEANA (HERA), has been developed to support the methodology. Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) Human Factors Group has recently joined the ATHEANA project team; LANL is responsible for further developing the database structure and for analyzing additional exemplar operational events for entry into the database. The Action Characterization Matrix (ACM) is conceived as a bridge between the HERA database structure and ATHEANA. Specifically, the ACM allows each unsafe action or human failure event to be characterized according to its representation along each of six different dimensions: system status, initiator status, unsafe action mechanism, information processing stage, equipment/material conditions, and performance shaping factors. This report describes the development of the ACM and provides details on the structure and content of its dimensions

  18. Human Performance Evaluation System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardwick, R.J. Jr.

    1985-01-01

    Operating nuclear power plants requires high standards of performance, extensive training and responsive management. Despite our best efforts inappropriate human actions do occur, but they can be managed. An extensive review of License Event Reports (LERs) was conducted which indicated continual inadequacy in human performance and in evaluation of root causes. Of some 31,000 LERs, about 5,000 or 16% were directly attributable to inappropriate actions. A recent analysis of 87 Significant Event Reports (issued by INPO in 1983) identified inappropriate actions as being the most frequent root cause (44% of the total). A more recent analysis of SERs issued in 1983 and 1984 indicate that 52% of the root causes were attributed to human performance. The Human Performance Evaluation System (HPES) is a comprehensive, coordinated utility/industry system for evaluating and reporting human performance situtations. HPES is a result of the realization that current reporting system provide limited treatment of human performance and rarely provide adequate information about root causes of inappropriate actions by individuals. The HPES was implemented to identify and eliminate root causes of inappropriate actions

  19. Human fMRI reveals that delayed action re-recruits visual perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singhal, Anthony; Monaco, Simona; Kaufman, Liam D; Culham, Jody C

    2013-01-01

    Behavioral and neuropsychological research suggests that delayed actions rely on different neural substrates than immediate actions; however, the specific brain areas implicated in the two types of actions remain unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure human brain activation during delayed grasping and reaching. Specifically, we examined activation during visual stimulation and action execution separated by a 18-s delay interval in which subjects had to remember an intended action toward the remembered object. The long delay interval enabled us to unambiguously distinguish visual, memory-related, and action responses. Most strikingly, we observed reactivation of the lateral occipital complex (LOC), a ventral-stream area implicated in visual object recognition, and early visual cortex (EVC) at the time of action. Importantly this reactivation was observed even though participants remained in complete darkness with no visual stimulation at the time of the action. Moreover, within EVC, higher activation was observed for grasping than reaching during both vision and action execution. Areas in the dorsal visual stream were activated during action execution as expected and, for some, also during vision. Several areas, including the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), primary motor cortex (M1) and the supplementary motor area (SMA), showed sustained activation during the delay phase. We propose that during delayed actions, dorsal-stream areas plan and maintain coarse action goals; however, at the time of execution, motor programming requires re-recruitment of detailed visual information about the object through reactivation of (1) ventral-stream areas involved in object perception and (2) early visual areas that contain richly detailed visual representations, particularly for grasping.

  20. Human fMRI reveals that delayed action re-recruits visual perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony Singhal

    Full Text Available Behavioral and neuropsychological research suggests that delayed actions rely on different neural substrates than immediate actions; however, the specific brain areas implicated in the two types of actions remain unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to measure human brain activation during delayed grasping and reaching. Specifically, we examined activation during visual stimulation and action execution separated by a 18-s delay interval in which subjects had to remember an intended action toward the remembered object. The long delay interval enabled us to unambiguously distinguish visual, memory-related, and action responses. Most strikingly, we observed reactivation of the lateral occipital complex (LOC, a ventral-stream area implicated in visual object recognition, and early visual cortex (EVC at the time of action. Importantly this reactivation was observed even though participants remained in complete darkness with no visual stimulation at the time of the action. Moreover, within EVC, higher activation was observed for grasping than reaching during both vision and action execution. Areas in the dorsal visual stream were activated during action execution as expected and, for some, also during vision. Several areas, including the anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS, dorsal premotor cortex (PMd, primary motor cortex (M1 and the supplementary motor area (SMA, showed sustained activation during the delay phase. We propose that during delayed actions, dorsal-stream areas plan and maintain coarse action goals; however, at the time of execution, motor programming requires re-recruitment of detailed visual information about the object through reactivation of (1 ventral-stream areas involved in object perception and (2 early visual areas that contain richly detailed visual representations, particularly for grasping.

  1. Probabilistic Mapping of Human Visual Attention from Head Pose Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Veronese

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Effective interaction between a human and a robot requires the bidirectional perception and interpretation of actions and behavior. While actions can be identified as a directly observable activity, this might not be sufficient to deduce actions in a scene. For example, orienting our face toward a book might suggest the action toward “reading.” For a human observer, this deduction requires the direction of gaze, the object identified as a book and the intersection between gaze and book. With this in mind, we aim to estimate and map human visual attention as directed to a scene, and assess how this relates to the detection of objects and their related actions. In particular, we consider human head pose as measurement to infer the attention of a human engaged in a task and study which prior knowledge should be included in such a detection system. In a user study, we show the successful detection of attention to objects in a typical office task scenario (i.e., reading, working with a computer, studying an object. Our system requires a single external RGB camera for head pose measurements and a pre-recorded 3D point cloud of the environment.

  2. Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrmann, Esther; Keupp, Stefanie; Hare, Brian; Vaish, Amrisha; Tomasello, Michael

    2013-02-01

    Humans make decisions about when and with whom to cooperate based on their reputations. People either learn about others by direct interaction or by observing third-party interactions or gossip. An important question is whether other animal species, especially our closest living relatives, the nonhuman great apes, also form reputations of others. In Study 1, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human children experienced a nice experimenter who tried to give food/toys to the subject and a mean experimenter who interrupted the food/toy giving. In studies 2 and 3, nonhuman great apes and human children could only passively observe a similar interaction, in which a nice experimenter and a mean experimenter interacted with a third party. Orangutans and 2.5-year-old human children preferred to approach the nice experimenter rather than the mean one after having directly experienced their respective behaviors. Orangutans, chimpanzees, and 2.5-year-old human children also took into account experimenter actions toward third parties in forming reputations. These studies show that the human ability to form direct and indirect reputation judgment is already present in young children and shared with at least some of the other great apes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  3. Thyrotropic action of human chorionic gonadotropin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshimura, M; Hershman, J M

    1995-10-01

    with the finding that the beta-CTP truncated hCG with higher thyrotropic potency is substantially deglycosylated and desialylated in the beta-subunit relative to intact hCG because all four O-linked glycosylation sites occur within the missing C-terminal extension. The desialylated hCG variant also interacts directly with recombinant hTSH receptors transfected into human thyroid cancer cells. There is thyroid-stimulating activity in sera of normal pregnant women, and this correlates with serum hCG levels. The thyroid gland of normal pregnant women may be stimulated by hCG to secrete slightly excessive quantities of T4 and induce a slight suppression of TSH, perhaps being about 1 mU/L less than nongravid levels, but not high enough to induce overt hyperthyroidism. Maternal thyroid glands may secrete more thyroid hormone during early pregnancy in response to the thyrotropic activity of hCG that overrides the normal operation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid feedback system. Biochemical hyperthyroidism associated with hyperemesis gravidarum has been attributed to hCG. In patients with hyperemesis gravidarum, thyrotropic in serum correlated with hCG immunoreactivity, and the severity of vomiting as indicated by clinical and biochemical parameters correlated with the degree of thyroid stimulation. To understand the thyrotropic action of hCG, it is necessary to know whether hCG activates the same domain of the TSH receptor as does TSH. The identification of the molecular structure of the hCG isoform with the highest thyrotropic potency will resolve the enigma of gestational thyrotoxicosis and the hyperthyroidism associated with trophoblastic disease and hCG-producing tumors.

  4. Efficient Human Action and Gait Analysis Using Multiresolution Motion Energy Histogram

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo-Chin Fan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Average Motion Energy (AME image is a good way to describe human motions. However, it has to face the computation efficiency problem with the increasing number of database templates. In this paper, we propose a histogram-based approach to improve the computation efficiency. We convert the human action/gait recognition problem to a histogram matching problem. In order to speed up the recognition process, we adopt a multiresolution structure on the Motion Energy Histogram (MEH. To utilize the multiresolution structure more efficiently, we propose an automated uneven partitioning method which is achieved by utilizing the quadtree decomposition results of MEH. In that case, the computation time is only relevant to the number of partitioned histogram bins, which is much less than the AME method. Two applications, action recognition and gait classification, are conducted in the experiments to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed approach.

  5. Dopaminergic modulation of positive expectations for goal-directed action: evidence from Parkinson’s disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noham eWolpe

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Parkinson’s disease (PD impairs the control of movement and cognition, including the planning of action and its consequences. This provides the opportunity to study the dopaminergic influences on the perception and awareness of action. Here we examined the perception of the outcome of a goal-directed action made by medicated patients with PD. A visuomotor task probed the integration of sensorimotor signals with the positive expectations of outcomes (Self priors, which in healthy adults bias perception towards success in proportion to trait optimism. We tested the hypotheses that (i the priors on the perception of the consequences of one’s own actions differ between patients and age- and sex-matched controls, and (ii that these priors are modulated by the levodopa dose equivalent in patients. There was no overall difference between patients and controls in the perceptual priors used. However, the precision of patient priors was inversely related to their levodopa dose equivalent. Patients with high levodopa dose equivalent showed more accurate priors, representing predictions that were closer to the true distribution of performance. Such accuracy has previously been demonstrated when observing the actions of others, suggesting abnormal awareness of action in these patients. These results confirm a link between dopamine and the positive expectation of the outcome of one’s own actions, and may have implications for the management of PD.

  6. Cortical drive of low-frequency oscillations in the human nucleus accumbens during action selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenner, Max-Philipp; Litvak, Vladimir; Rutledge, Robb B; Zaehle, Tino; Schmitt, Friedhelm C; Voges, Jürgen; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Dolan, Raymond J

    2015-07-01

    The nucleus accumbens is thought to contribute to action selection by integrating behaviorally relevant information from multiple regions, including prefrontal cortex. Studies in rodents suggest that information flow to the nucleus accumbens may be regulated via task-dependent oscillatory coupling between regions. During instrumental behavior, local field potentials (LFP) in the rat nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex are coupled at delta frequencies (Gruber AJ, Hussain RJ, O'Donnell P. PLoS One 4: e5062, 2009), possibly mediating suppression of afferent input from other areas and thereby supporting cortical control (Calhoon GG, O'Donnell P. Neuron 78: 181-190, 2013). In this report, we demonstrate low-frequency cortico-accumbens coupling in humans, both at rest and during a decision-making task. We recorded LFP from the nucleus accumbens in six epilepsy patients who underwent implantation of deep brain stimulation electrodes. All patients showed significant coherence and phase-synchronization between LFP and surface EEG at delta and low theta frequencies. Although the direction of this coupling as indexed by Granger causality varied between subjects in the resting-state data, all patients showed a cortical drive of the nucleus accumbens during action selection in a decision-making task. In three patients this was accompanied by a significant coherence increase over baseline. Our results suggest that low-frequency cortico-accumbens coupling represents a highly conserved regulatory mechanism for action selection. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  7. Where one hand meets the other: limb-specific and action-dependent movement plans decoded from preparatory signals in single human frontoparietal brain areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallivan, Jason P; McLean, D Adam; Flanagan, J Randall; Culham, Jody C

    2013-01-30

    Planning object-directed hand actions requires successful integration of the movement goal with the acting limb. Exactly where and how this sensorimotor integration occurs in the brain has been studied extensively with neurophysiological recordings in nonhuman primates, yet to date, because of limitations of non-invasive methodologies, the ability to examine the same types of planning-related signals in humans has been challenging. Here we show, using a multivoxel pattern analysis of functional MRI (fMRI) data, that the preparatory activity patterns in several frontoparietal brain regions can be used to predict both the limb used and hand action performed in an upcoming movement. Participants performed an event-related delayed movement task whereby they planned and executed grasp or reach actions with either their left or right hand toward a single target object. We found that, although the majority of frontoparietal areas represented hand actions (grasping vs reaching) for the contralateral limb, several areas additionally coded hand actions for the ipsilateral limb. Notable among these were subregions within the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), dorsal premotor cortex (PMd), ventral premotor cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, presupplementary motor area, and motor cortex, a region more traditionally implicated in contralateral movement generation. Additional analyses suggest that hand actions are represented independently of the intended limb in PPC and PMd. In addition to providing a unique mapping of limb-specific and action-dependent intention-related signals across the human cortical motor system, these findings uncover a much stronger representation of the ipsilateral limb than expected from previous fMRI findings.

  8. HiRITER - An evaluation tool to reduce the adverse effect of inappropriate human actions in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, J.; Jung, W.; Kim, J.; Kim, S.; Heo, G.

    2012-01-01

    From end-users to regulatory bodies, it is widely recognized that human-induced events including inappropriate human actions are one of the most crucial sources degrading the overall safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs). This means that a systematic framework through which inappropriate human actions can be effectively identified is necessary to enhance the safety of NPPs. For this reason, HiRITER (High Risk Inducible Task Evaluator) has been developed, which is able to evaluate the effect of inappropriate human actions on risk as well as performance. To this end, HiRITER integrates three modules that have distinctive roles: human error prediction module that is able to determine the types of failure modes resulting from inappropriate human actions with the associated daily task, performance evaluation module that computes the loss of electric power due to the change of component configurations caused by human error and risk evaluation module that clarifies whether or not the propagation of human error can trigger an unexpected shutdown of NPPs. In addition, a couple of real events that had occurred in domestic NPPs are simulated in order to validate the feasibility of HiRITER. As a result, it is observed that the results of HiRITER are largely congruent with those of real events. Therefore, although a huge amount of additional effort is indispensable to enhance the overall accuracy of estimated results, it is expected that HiRITER could be a good starting point to reduce the adverse effect of inappropriate human actions in NPPs

  9. Human rights literacy: Moving towards rights-based education and transformative action through understandings of dignity, equality and freedom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Becker

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The twentieth century has been characterised by the proliferation of human rights in the discursive practices of the United Nations (Baxi, 1997. In this article, we explore the continual process of rights-based education towards transformative action, and an open and democratic society, as dependent upon the facilitation of human rights literacy in teacher training. Our theoretical framework examines the continual process of moving towards an open and democratic society through the facilitation of human rights literacy, rights-based education and transformative action. We focus specifically on understandings of dignity, equality and freedom, as both rights (legal claims and values (moral action across horizontal and vertical applications, considering the internalisation and implementation of dignity, equality and freedom towards transformative action. Our analysis of data stemming from a project funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF entitled 'Human Rights Literacy: A quest for meaning', brought student-teachers' understandings into conversation with the proposed theoretical framework. In terms of understandings related to dignity, equality and freedom, participants seemingly understand human rights either as legal interests, or alternatively, as they pertain to values such as caring, ubuntu, respect, human dignity and equality. Legal understandings primarily focus on the vertical application of the Bill of Rights (RSA, 1996a and the role of government in this regard, whereas understandings related to the realisation of values tended to focus on the horizontal applications of particularly dignity and equality as the product of the relation between self and other. We conclude the article by linking the analysis and the theoretical framework to education as a humanising practice within human rights as a common language of humanity. In so doing, we argue that human rights literacy and rights-based education transcend knowledge about human

  10. Human genome sequencing with direct x-ray holographic imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, C.K.

    1993-01-01

    Direct holographic imaging of biological materials is widely applicable to the study of the structure, properties and action of genetic material. This particular application involves the sequencing of the human genome where prospective genomic imaging technology is composed of three subtechnologies, name an x-ray holographic camera, suitable chemistry and enzymology for the preparation of tagged DNA samples, and the illuminator in the form of an x-ray laser. We report appropriate x-ray camera, embodied by the instrument developed by MCR, is available and that suitable chemical and enzymatic procedures exist for the preparation of the necessary tagged DNA strands. Concerning the future development of the x-ray illuminator. We find that a practical small scale x-ray light source is indeed feasible. This outcome requires the use of unconventional physical processes in order to achieve the necessary power-compression in the amplifying medium. The understanding of these new physical mechanisms is developing rapidly. Importantly, although the x-ray source does not currently exist, the understanding of these new physical mechanisms is developing rapidly and the research has established the basic scaling laws that will determine the properties of the x-ray illuminator. When this x-ray source becomes available, an extremely rapid and cost effective instrument for 3-D imaging of biological materials can be applied to a wide range of biological structural assays, including the base-pair sequencing of the human genome and many questions regarding its higher levels of organization

  11. Two Equals One: Two Human Actions During Social Interaction Are Grouped as One Unit in Working Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Xiaowei; Gao, Zaifeng; Shen, Mowei

    2017-09-01

    Every day, people perceive other people performing interactive actions. Retaining these actions of human agents in working memory (WM) plays a pivotal role in a normal social life. However, whether the semantic knowledge embedded in the interactive actions has a pervasive impact on the storage of the actions in WM remains unknown. In the current study, we investigated two opposing hypotheses: (a) that WM stores the interactions individually (the individual-storage hypothesis) and (b) that WM stores the interactions as chunks (the chunk-storage hypothesis). We required participants to memorize a set of individual actions while ignoring the underlying social interactions. We found that although the social-interaction aspect was task irrelevant, the interactive actions were stored in WM as chunks that were not affected by memory load (Experiments 1 and 2); however, inverting the human actions vertically abolished this chunking effect (Experiment 3). These results suggest that WM automatically and efficiently used semantic knowledge about interactive actions to store them and support the chunk-storage hypothesis.

  12. Sex differences in impulsive action and impulsive choice

    OpenAIRE

    Weafer, Jessica; de Wit, Harriet

    2013-01-01

    Here, we review the evidence for sex differences in behavioral measures of impulsivity for both humans and laboratory animals. We focus on two specific components of impulsivity: impulsive action (i.e., difficulty inhibiting a prepotent response) and impulsive choice (i.e., difficulty delaying gratification). Sex differences appear to exist on these measures, but the direction and magnitude of the differences vary. In laboratory animals, impulsive action is typically greater in males than fem...

  13. Direct and indirect cardiovascular actions of cathinone and MDMA in the anaesthetized rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsufyani, Hadeel A; Docherty, James R

    2015-07-05

    The stimulants cathinone (from Khat leaves) and methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine (MDMA) produce adrenoceptor mediated tachycardia and vasopressor actions that may be the result of direct receptor stimulation, actions on the noradrenaline transporter, and/or displacement of noradrenaline from nerve terminals. Effects of cathinone or MDMA were compared with those of the indirect sympathomimetic tyramine. Male Wistar rats were anaesthetized with pentobarbitone for blood pressure and heart rate recording. Some rats were sympathectomised by treatment with 6-hydroxydopamine. In the anaesthetised rat, cathinone, MDMA and tyramine (all 0.001-1 mg/kg) produced marked tachycardia, tyramine produced marked pressor responses and MDMA produced small pressor responses. The tachycardia to cathinone and MDMA was almost abolished by propranolol (1mg/kg). Pretreatment with cocaine (1mg/kg) did not significantly affect the tachycardia to cathinone or MDMA, but reduced the response to tyramine. However, in sympathectomised rats, the tachycardia to cathinone or MDMA was markedly attenuated, but the tachycardia to tyramine was only partially reduced. Blood pressure effects of tyramine and MDMA were also markedly attenuated by sympathectomy. The results demonstrate firstly that cocaine may not be the most suitable agent for assessing direct versus indirect agonism in cardiovascular studies. Secondly, the use of chemical sympathectomy achieved the desired goal of demonstrating that cardiac β-adrenoceptor mediated actions of cathinone and MDMA are probably largely indirect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Directly Converted Human Fibroblasts Mature to Neurons and Show Long-Term Survival in Adult Rodent Hippocampus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Avaliani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Direct conversion of human somatic cells to induced neurons (iNs, using lineage-specific transcription factors has opened new opportunities for cell therapy in a number of neurological diseases, including epilepsy. In most severe cases of epilepsy, seizures often originate in the hippocampus, where populations of inhibitory interneurons degenerate. Thus, iNs could be of potential use to replace these lost interneurons. It is not known, however, if iNs survive and maintain functional neuronal properties for prolonged time periods in in vivo. We transplanted human fibroblast-derived iNs into the adult rat hippocampus and observed a progressive morphological differentiation, with more developed dendritic arborisation at six months as compared to one month. This was accompanied by mature electrophysiological properties and fast high amplitude action potentials at six months after transplantation. This proof-of-principle study suggests that human iNs can be developed as a candidate source for cell replacement therapy in temporal lobe epilepsy.

  15. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of parietal cortex enhances action naming in Corticobasal Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa eManenti

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS is a neurodegenerative disorder that overlaps both clinically and neuropathologically with Frontotemporal dementia and is characterized by apraxia, alien limb phenomena, cortical sensory loss, cognitive impairment, behavioural changes and aphasia. It has been recently demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS improves naming in healthy subjects and in subjects with language deficits.Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the extent to which anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (anodal tDCS over the parietal cortex (PARC could facilitate naming performance in CBS subjects. Methods: Anodal tDCS was applied to the left and right PARC during object and action naming in seventeen patients with a diagnosis of possible CBS. Participants underwent two sessions of anodal tDCS (left and right and one session of placebo tDCS. Vocal responses were recorded and analyzed for accuracy and vocal Reaction Times (vRTs. Results: A shortening of naming latency for actions was observed only after active anodal stimulation over the left PARC, as compared to placebo and right stimulations. No effects have been reported for accuracy.Conclusions: Our preliminary finding demonstrated that tDCS decreased vocal reaction time during action naming in a sample of patients with CBS. A possible explanation of our results is that anodal tDCS over the left PARC effects the brain network implicated in action observation and representation. Further studies, based on larger patient samples, should be conducted to investigate the usefulness of tDCS as an additional treatment of linguistic deficits in CBS patients.

  16. Dissociable brain systems mediate vicarious learning of stimulus-response and action-outcome contingencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liljeholm, Mimi; Molloy, Ciara J; O'Doherty, John P

    2012-07-18

    Two distinct strategies have been suggested to support action selection in humans and other animals on the basis of experiential learning: a goal-directed strategy that generates decisions based on the value and causal antecedents of action outcomes, and a habitual strategy that relies on the automatic elicitation of actions by environmental stimuli. In the present study, we investigated whether a similar dichotomy exists for actions that are acquired vicariously, through observation of other individuals rather than through direct experience, and assessed whether these strategies are mediated by distinct brain regions. We scanned participants with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed an observational learning task designed to encourage either goal-directed encoding of the consequences of observed actions, or a mapping of observed actions to conditional discriminative cues. Activity in different parts of the action observation network discriminated between the two conditions during observational learning and correlated with the degree of insensitivity to outcome devaluation in subsequent performance. Our findings suggest that, in striking parallel to experiential learning, neural systems mediating the observational acquisition of actions may be dissociated into distinct components: a goal-directed, outcome-sensitive component and a less flexible stimulus-response component.

  17. How to support action prediction: Evidence from human coordination tasks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vesper, Cordula

    2014-01-01

    When two or more people perform actions together such as shaking hands, playing ensemble music or carrying an object together, they often naturally adjust the spatial and temporal parameters of their movements to facilitate smooth task performance. This paper reviews recent findings from experime......When two or more people perform actions together such as shaking hands, playing ensemble music or carrying an object together, they often naturally adjust the spatial and temporal parameters of their movements to facilitate smooth task performance. This paper reviews recent findings from......”) might be a useful approach also for robotic systems to assist human users, thereby reducing cognitive load and flexibly supporting the acquisition of new skills....

  18. Anticlockwise or Clockwise? A Dynamic Perception-Action-Laterality Model for Directionality Bias in Visuospatial Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, A.K.M. Rezaul; Proulx, Michael J.; Likova, Lora T.

    2016-01-01

    Reviewing the relevant literature in visual psychophysics and visual neuroscience we propose a three-stage model of directionality bias in visuospatial functioning. We call this model the ‘Perception-Action-Laterality’ (PAL) hypothesis. We analyzed the research findings for a wide range of visuospatial tasks, showing that there are two major directionality trends: clockwise versus anticlockwise. It appears these preferences are combinatorial, such that a majority of people fall in the first category demonstrating a preference for stimuli/objects arranged from left-to-right rather than from right-to-left, while people in the second category show an opposite trend. These perceptual biases can guide sensorimotor integration and action, creating two corresponding turner groups in the population. In support of PAL, we propose another model explaining the origins of the biases– how the neurogenetic factors and the cultural factors interact in a biased competition framework to determine the direction and extent of biases. This dynamic model can explain not only the two major categories of biases, but also the unbiased, unreliably biased or mildly biased cases in visuosptial functioning. PMID:27350096

  19. Anti-addiction Drug Ibogaine Prolongs the Action Potential in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubi, Lena; Eckert, Daniel; Boehm, Stefan; Hilber, Karlheinz; Koenig, Xaver

    2017-04-01

    Ibogaine is a plant alkaloid used as anti-addiction drug in dozens of alternative medicine clinics worldwide. Recently, alarming reports of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and cases of sudden death associated with the ingestion of ibogaine have accumulated. Using whole-cell patch clamp recordings, we assessed the effects of ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine on action potentials in human ventricular-like cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Therapeutic concentrations of ibogaine and its long-lived active metabolite noribogaine significantly retarded action potential repolarization in human cardiomyocytes. These findings represent the first experimental proof that ibogaine application entails a cardiac arrhythmia risk for humans. In addition, they explain the clinically observed delayed incidence of cardiac adverse events several days after ibogaine intake. We conclude that therapeutic concentrations of ibogaine retard action potential repolarization in the human heart. This may give rise to a prolongation of the QT interval in the electrocardiogram and cardiac arrhythmias.

  20. HERCA Action Plan in relation to the transposition and implementation of Directive 2013/59/Euratom (Euratom BSS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fremout, An; Vanderlinck, Annie; Berlamont, Jolien; Van Bladel, Lodewijk; Petrova, Karla; Ulbak, Kaare; Mundigl, Stefan; ); Markkanen, Mika; Godet, Jean-Luc; Tran-Thien, Vivien; Koch, Isabell Christin; Hackstein, Matthias; Griebel, Juergen; Kamenopoulou, Vasiliki; Fennel, Stephan; Ryan, Tom; Schreiner, Alexandra; Majerus, Patrick; Vermeulen, Ton; Holo, Eldri; Wiklund, Asa; RYF, Salome; Thomas, Gareth; Wellens, Rob; Ebdon-Jackson, Steve

    2014-10-01

    On 5 December 2013, the Council of the European Union adopted Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation.1 Member States have to transpose the new Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSS Directive) into their national legal systems by 6 February 2018 at the latest. At the 13. meeting of the Board of HERCA (BoH) in Vilnius in June 2014, a proposal to establish a special Task Force (TF) to make proposals in relation to HERCA activities in support of the transposition and implementation of the new Euratom BSS Directive was agreed. The BSS-TF was established, commenced its work on the basis of a 'non-questionnaire' and a discussion document. It met on one occasion on 7 October 2014 and agreed an action plan for consideration by the BoH. The agreed action plan proposal was approved by the BoH on the occasion of its 14. meeting in Stockholm, on 21-22 October 2014. The approved Action Plan covers the following areas: - Identification of HERCA's role in the transposition of the new Euratom BSS; - Definition of actions for HERCA in relation to the transposition of the BSS; - Coordination between HERCA and the EC in relation to BSS transposition activities. The Actions identified relate to several subject areas: Emergency preparedness and response; Medical exposures; Radon; Non-medical imaging exposures; RPE/RPO; General exchange of information. HERCA is a voluntary association, in which the Heads of European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities work together in order to identify common issues and propose practical solutions for these issues. It has no statutory role in relation to the transposition of the Euratom BSS. However, additional work by HERCA can support the transposition process as indicated in the Action Plan. Uniform transposition or implementation in the Member States is not an objective of HERCA activities. Clearly it will remain a matter for

  1. Developing Library GIS Services for Humanities and Social Science: An Action Research Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Ningning; Fosmire, Michael; Branch, Benjamin Dewayne

    2017-01-01

    In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

  2. Adductor magnus: An EMG investigation into proximal and distal portions and direction specific action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benn, Matthew L; Pizzari, Tania; Rath, Leanne; Tucker, Kylie; Semciw, Adam I

    2018-05-01

    Cadaveric studies indicate that adductor magnus is structurally partitioned into at least two regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the direction-specific actions of proximal and distal portions of adductor magnus, and in doing so determine if these segments have distinct functional roles. Fine-wire EMG electrodes were inserted into two portions of adductor magnus of 12 healthy young adults. Muscle activity was recorded during maximum voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) across eight tests (hip flexion/extension, internal/external rotation, abduction, and adduction at 0°, 45°, and 90° hip flexion). Median activity within each action (normalized to peak) was compared between segments using repeated measures nonparametric tests (α = 0.05). An effect size (ES = z-score/√sample size) was calculated to determine the magnitude of difference between muscle segments. The relative contribution of each muscle segment differed significantly during internal rotation (P magnus has at least two functionally unique regions. Differences were most evident during rotation. The different direction-specific actions may imply that each segment performs separate roles in hip stability and movement. These findings may have implications on injury prevention and rehabilitation for adductor-related groin injuries, hamstring strain injury, and hip pathology. Clin. Anat. 31:535-543, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Sailing: Cognition, action, communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thora Tenbrink

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available How do humans perceive and think about space, and how can this be represented adequately? For everyday activities such as locating objects or places, route planning, and the like, many insights have been gained over the past few decades, feeding into theories of spatial cognition and frameworks for spatial information science. In this paper, we explore sailing as a more specialized domain that has not yet been considered in this way, but has a lot to offer precisely because of its peculiarities. Sailing involves ways of thinking about space that are not normally required (or even acquired in everyday life. Movement in this domain is based on a combination of external forces and internal (human intentions that impose various kinds of directionality, affecting local action as well as global planning. Sailing terminology is spatial to a high extent, and involves a range of concepts that have received little attention in the spatial cognition community. We explore the area by focusing on the core features of cognition, action, and communication, and suggest a range of promising future areas of research in this domain as a showcase of the fascinating flexibility of human spatial cognition.

  4. A Comprehensive Review on Handcrafted and Learning-Based Action Representation Approaches for Human Activity Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allah Bux Sargano

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human activity recognition (HAR is an important research area in the fields of human perception and computer vision due to its wide range of applications. These applications include: intelligent video surveillance, ambient assisted living, human computer interaction, human-robot interaction, entertainment, and intelligent driving. Recently, with the emergence and successful deployment of deep learning techniques for image classification, researchers have migrated from traditional handcrafting to deep learning techniques for HAR. However, handcrafted representation-based approaches are still widely used due to some bottlenecks such as computational complexity of deep learning techniques for activity recognition. However, approaches based on handcrafted representation are not able to handle complex scenarios due to their limitations and incapability; therefore, resorting to deep learning-based techniques is a natural option. This review paper presents a comprehensive survey of both handcrafted and learning-based action representations, offering comparison, analysis, and discussions on these approaches. In addition to this, the well-known public datasets available for experimentations and important applications of HAR are also presented to provide further insight into the field. This is the first review paper of its kind which presents all these aspects of HAR in a single review article with comprehensive coverage of each part. Finally, the paper is concluded with important discussions and research directions in the domain of HAR.

  5. Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rochlis, Jennifer; Ezer, Neta; Sandor, Aniko

    2011-01-01

    Human-robot interaction (HRI) is about understanding and shaping the interactions between humans and robots (Goodrich & Schultz, 2007). It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human s ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively (Crandall, Goodrich, Olsen Jr., & Nielsen, 2005) It is also critical to evaluate the effects of human-robot interfaces and command modalities on operator mental workload (Sheridan, 1992) and situation awareness (Endsley, Bolt , & Jones, 2003). By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed that support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for design. Because the factors associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI are too numerous to address in 3 years of research, the proposed research concentrates on three manageable areas applicable to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) robot systems. These topic areas emerged from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 work that included extensive literature reviews and observations of NASA systems. The three topic areas are: 1) video overlays, 2) camera views, and 3) command modalities. Each area is described in detail below, along with relevance to existing NASA human-robot systems. In addition to studies in these three topic areas, a workshop is proposed for FY12. The workshop will bring together experts in human-robot interaction and robotics to discuss the state of the practice as applicable to research in space robotics. Studies proposed in the area of video overlays consider two factors in the implementation of augmented reality (AR) for operator displays during teleoperation. The first of these factors is the type of navigational guidance provided by AR symbology. In the proposed

  6. Human action contribution to ET-RR-II reactor systems unstems unavailability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabek, M.G.

    2001-01-01

    This paper gives a study on the human action contribution to the systems unavailability of ET-RR-II reactor as a result of the test and maintenance procedures. The human contribution is expressed in terms of Fussel-Vesely importance which is defined by the probability that event is contributing to system failure (unavailability). The human error basic events contribution was analyzed for all initiating events and systems fault trees. The calculations result shows a high contribution value (61%) for the human error to systems unavailability. This means that the operator and the maintenance people should be highly qualified trained. Moreover, there should be programs for continuous training. Also, the procedures of tests and maintenance should be in a simple way and clear in order to minimize the contribution of the human errors. The calculations were done using the IRRAS cods

  7. Just do it: action-dependent learning allows sensory prediction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Itai Novick

    Full Text Available Sensory-motor learning is commonly considered as a mapping process, whereby sensory information is transformed into the motor commands that drive actions. However, this directional mapping, from inputs to outputs, is part of a loop; sensory stimuli cause actions and vice versa. Here, we explore whether actions affect the understanding of the sensory input that they cause. Using a visuo-motor task in humans, we demonstrate two types of learning-related behavioral effects. Stimulus-dependent effects reflect stimulus-response learning, while action-dependent effects reflect a distinct learning component, allowing the brain to predict the forthcoming sensory outcome of actions. Together, the stimulus-dependent and the action-dependent learning components allow the brain to construct a complete internal representation of the sensory-motor loop.

  8. Researcher liability for negligence in human subject research: informed consent and researcher malpractice actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansson, Roger L

    2003-02-01

    Two sets of federal regulations, the "Common Rule" and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, govern human subject research that is either federally-funded or involves FDA regulated products. These regulations require, inter alia, that: (1) researchers obtain informed consent from human subjects, and (2) that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) independently review and approve the research protocol. Although the federal regulations do not provide an express cause of action against researchers, research subjects should be able to bring informed consent and malpractice actions against researchers by establishing a duty of care and standard of care. Researchers owe human subjects a duty of care analogous to the special relationship between physicians and patients. The federal regulations should provide the minimum standard of care for informed consent in human subject research, and complying with them should be a partial defense. In contrast, expert testimony should establish the standard of care for researcher malpractice, and IRB approval should be a partial defense.

  9. GestuRe and ACtion Exemplar (GRACE) video database: stimuli for research on manners of human locomotion and iconic gestures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aussems, Suzanne; Kwok, Natasha; Kita, Sotaro

    2018-06-01

    Human locomotion is a fundamental class of events, and manners of locomotion (e.g., how the limbs are used to achieve a change of location) are commonly encoded in language and gesture. To our knowledge, there is no openly accessible database containing normed human locomotion stimuli. Therefore, we introduce the GestuRe and ACtion Exemplar (GRACE) video database, which contains 676 videos of actors performing novel manners of human locomotion (i.e., moving from one location to another in an unusual manner) and videos of a female actor producing iconic gestures that represent these actions. The usefulness of the database was demonstrated across four norming experiments. First, our database contains clear matches and mismatches between iconic gesture videos and action videos. Second, the male actors and female actors whose action videos matched the gestures in the best possible way, perform the same actions in very similar manners and different actions in highly distinct manners. Third, all the actions in the database are distinct from each other. Fourth, adult native English speakers were unable to describe the 26 different actions concisely, indicating that the actions are unusual. This normed stimuli set is useful for experimental psychologists working in the language, gesture, visual perception, categorization, memory, and other related domains.

  10. Effect of lipopolysaccharide on inflammation and insulin action in human muscle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Hanyu; Hussey, Sophie E; Sanchez-Avila, Alicia; Tantiwong, Puntip; Musi, Nicolas

    2013-01-01

    Accumulating evidence from animal studies suggest that chronic elevation of circulating intestinal-generated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (i.e., metabolic endotoxemia) could play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. However, the effect of LPS in human muscle is unclear. Moreover, it is unknown whether blockade/down regulation of toll-like receptor (TLR)4 can prevent the effect of LPS on insulin action and glucose metabolism in human muscle cells. In the present study we compared plasma LPS concentration in insulin resistant [obese non-diabetic and obese type 2 diabetic (T2DM)] subjects versus lean individuals. In addition, we employed a primary human skeletal muscle cell culture system to investigate the effect of LPS on glucose metabolism and whether these effects are mediated via TLR4. Obese non-diabetic and T2DM subjects had significantly elevated plasma LPS and LPS binding protein (LBP) concentrations. Plasma LPS (r = -0.46, P = 0.005) and LBP (r = -0.49, P = 0.005) concentrations negatively correlated with muscle insulin sensitivity (M). In human myotubes, LPS increased JNK phosphorylation and MCP-1 and IL-6 gene expression. This inflammatory response led to reduced insulin-stimulated IRS-1, Akt and AS160 phosphorylation and impaired glucose transport. Both pharmacologic blockade of TLR4 with TAK-242, and TLR4 gene silencing, suppressed the inflammatory response and insulin resistance caused by LPS in human muscle cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that elevations in plasma LPS concentration found in obese and T2DM subjects could play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and that antagonists of TLR4 may improve insulin action in these individuals.

  11. Comparing sequencing assays and human-machine analyses in actionable genomics for glioblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wrzeszczynski, Kazimierz O; Frank, Mayu O; Koyama, Takahiko; Rhrissorrakrai, Kahn; Robine, Nicolas; Utro, Filippo; Emde, Anne-Katrin; Chen, Bo-Juen; Arora, Kanika; Shah, Minita; Vacic, Vladimir; Norel, Raquel; Bilal, Erhan; Bergmann, Ewa A; Moore Vogel, Julia L; Bruce, Jeffrey N; Lassman, Andrew B; Canoll, Peter; Grommes, Christian; Harvey, Steve; Parida, Laxmi; Michelini, Vanessa V; Zody, Michael C; Jobanputra, Vaidehi; Royyuru, Ajay K; Darnell, Robert B

    2017-08-01

    To analyze a glioblastoma tumor specimen with 3 different platforms and compare potentially actionable calls from each. Tumor DNA was analyzed by a commercial targeted panel. In addition, tumor-normal DNA was analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and tumor RNA was analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The WGS and RNA-seq data were analyzed by a team of bioinformaticians and cancer oncologists, and separately by IBM Watson Genomic Analytics (WGA), an automated system for prioritizing somatic variants and identifying drugs. More variants were identified by WGS/RNA analysis than by targeted panels. WGA completed a comparable analysis in a fraction of the time required by the human analysts. The development of an effective human-machine interface in the analysis of deep cancer genomic datasets may provide potentially clinically actionable calls for individual patients in a more timely and efficient manner than currently possible. NCT02725684.

  12. Six-and-a-Half-Month-Old Children Positively Attribute Goals to Human Action and to Humanoid-Robot Motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamewari, K.; Kato, M.; Kanda, T.; Ishiguro, H.; Hiraki, K.

    2005-01-01

    Recent infant studies indicate that goal attribution (understanding of goal-directed action) is present very early in infancy. We examined whether 6.5-month-olds attribute goals to agents and whether infants change the interpretation of goal-directed action according to the kind of agent. We conducted three experiments using the visual habituation…

  13. The human-animal relationship: a new field of socio-educational action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan-María Senent

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the educational approaches towards the animal-human relationship which have been developed during the last 20 years. The article establishes a chain of states in that relationship and presents the reasons why those states are consecutive or, occasionally, simultaneous. Next, the different European profiles of social educators are reviewed to see which of these are more open towards educational action with animals, something which could be considered a new field for educators if they have adequate professional training. A series of European (and some American websites are analysed in order to determine their approach towards the human-animal relationship. Although most of them are related to animal-assisted therapy, some francophone and Italian websites show approaches that go beyond that. That could imply an extension of the social educators’ field of action. Indeed, French and Southern-European models are closer to that point than the rest of the profiles analysed, in terms of the openness and flexibility they show towards new fields.

  14. How to support action prediction: Evidence from human coordination tasks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vesper, Cordula

    2014-01-01

    When two or more people perform actions together such as shaking hands, playing ensemble music or carrying an object together, they often naturally adjust the spatial and temporal parameters of their movements to facilitate smooth task performance. This paper reviews recent findings from experime......”) might be a useful approach also for robotic systems to assist human users, thereby reducing cognitive load and flexibly supporting the acquisition of new skills....

  15. Distinct prediction errors in mesostriatal circuits of the human brain mediate learning about the values of both states and actions: evidence from high-resolution fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colas, Jaron T; Pauli, Wolfgang M; Larsen, Tobias; Tyszka, J Michael; O'Doherty, John P

    2017-10-01

    Prediction-error signals consistent with formal models of "reinforcement learning" (RL) have repeatedly been found within dopaminergic nuclei of the midbrain and dopaminoceptive areas of the striatum. However, the precise form of the RL algorithms implemented in the human brain is not yet well determined. Here, we created a novel paradigm optimized to dissociate the subtypes of reward-prediction errors that function as the key computational signatures of two distinct classes of RL models-namely, "actor/critic" models and action-value-learning models (e.g., the Q-learning model). The state-value-prediction error (SVPE), which is independent of actions, is a hallmark of the actor/critic architecture, whereas the action-value-prediction error (AVPE) is the distinguishing feature of action-value-learning algorithms. To test for the presence of these prediction-error signals in the brain, we scanned human participants with a high-resolution functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) protocol optimized to enable measurement of neural activity in the dopaminergic midbrain as well as the striatal areas to which it projects. In keeping with the actor/critic model, the SVPE signal was detected in the substantia nigra. The SVPE was also clearly present in both the ventral striatum and the dorsal striatum. However, alongside these purely state-value-based computations we also found evidence for AVPE signals throughout the striatum. These high-resolution fMRI findings suggest that model-free aspects of reward learning in humans can be explained algorithmically with RL in terms of an actor/critic mechanism operating in parallel with a system for more direct action-value learning.

  16. Inferring Action Structure and Causal Relationships in Continuous Sequences of Human Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    and MySQL . However, all participants participated from in-lab computers. Results Figure 6 shows the distribution of participants’ raw key presses... Java program to present video of action sequences and collect ratings. The program presented all 12 actions, non-actions, and part-actions

  17. Automated grouping of action potentials of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorospe, Giann; Zhu, Renjun; Millrod, Michal A; Zambidis, Elias T; Tung, Leslie; Vidal, Rene

    2014-09-01

    Methods for obtaining cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are improving at a significant rate. However, the characterization of these cardiomyocytes (CMs) is evolving at a relatively slower rate. In particular, there is still uncertainty in classifying the phenotype (ventricular-like, atrial-like, nodal-like, etc.) of an hESC-derived cardiomyocyte (hESC-CM). While previous studies identified the phenotype of a CM based on electrophysiological features of its action potential, the criteria for classification were typically subjective and differed across studies. In this paper, we use techniques from signal processing and machine learning to develop an automated approach to discriminate the electrophysiological differences between hESC-CMs. Specifically, we propose a spectral grouping-based algorithm to separate a population of CMs into distinct groups based on the similarity of their action potential shapes. We applied this method to a dataset of optical maps of cardiac cell clusters dissected from human embryoid bodies. While some of the nine cell clusters in the dataset are presented with just one phenotype, the majority of the cell clusters are presented with multiple phenotypes. The proposed algorithm is generally applicable to other action potential datasets and could prove useful in investigating the purification of specific types of CMs from an electrophysiological perspective.

  18. President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities 2009-2016: A Legacy of Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 2016

    2016-01-01

    The "President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities 2009-2016: A Legacy of Action" highlights the results of the synergy of collaboration the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) forged with the private sector and each of the cultural agencies--National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the…

  19. Reliance on habits at the expense of goal-directed control following dopamine precursor depletion

    OpenAIRE

    de Wit, Sanne; Standing, Holly R.; DeVito, Elise E.; Robinson, Oliver J.; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard; Robbins, Trevor W.; Sahakian, Barbara J.

    2011-01-01

    Rationale Dopamine is well known to play an important role in learning and motivation. Recent animal studies have implicated dopamine in the reinforcement of stimulus?response habits, as well as in flexible, goal-directed action. However, the role of dopamine in human action control is still not well understood. Objectives We present the first investigation of the effect of reducing dopamine function in healthy volunteers on the balance between habitual and goal-directed action control. Metho...

  20. Effects and mechanisms of action of sildenafil citrate in human chorionic arteries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynch Tadhg

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objectives Sildenafil citrate, a specific phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, is increasingly used for pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy. Sildenafil is also emerging as a potential candidate for the treatment of intra-uterine growth retardation and for premature labor. Its effects in the feto-placental circulation are not known. Our objectives were to determine whether phosphodiesterase-5 is present in the human feto-placental circulation, and to characterize the effects and mechanisms of action of sildenafil citrate in this circulation. Study Design Ex vivo human chorionic plate arterial rings were used in all experiments. The presence of phosphodiesterase-5 in the feto-placental circulation was determined by western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. In a subsequent series of pharmacologic studies, the effects of sildenafil citrate in pre-constricted chorionic plate arterial rings were determined. Additional studies examined the role of cGMP and nitric oxide in mediating the effects of sildenafil. Results Phosphodiesterase-5 mRNA and protein was demonstrated in human chorionic plate arteries. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated phosphodiesterase-5 within the arterial muscle layer. Sildenafil citrate produced dose dependent vasodilatation at concentrations at and greater than 10 nM. Both the direct cGMP inhibitor methylene blue and the cGMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS significantly attenuated the vasodilation produced by sildenafil citrate. Inhibition of NO production with L-NAME did not attenuate the vasodilator effects of sildenafil. In contrast, sildenafil citrate significantly enhanced the vasodilation produced by the NO donor sodium nitroprusside. Conclusion Phosphodiesterase-5 is present in the feto-placental circulation. Sildenafil citrate vasodilates the feto-placental circulation via a cGMP dependent mechanism involving increased responsiveness to NO.

  1. Effects and mechanisms of action of sildenafil citrate in human chorionic arteries.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Maharaj, Chrisen H

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Sildenafil citrate, a specific phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, is increasingly used for pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy. Sildenafil is also emerging as a potential candidate for the treatment of intra-uterine growth retardation and for premature labor. Its effects in the feto-placental circulation are not known. Our objectives were to determine whether phosphodiesterase-5 is present in the human feto-placental circulation, and to characterize the effects and mechanisms of action of sildenafil citrate in this circulation. STUDY DESIGN: Ex vivo human chorionic plate arterial rings were used in all experiments. The presence of phosphodiesterase-5 in the feto-placental circulation was determined by western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. In a subsequent series of pharmacologic studies, the effects of sildenafil citrate in pre-constricted chorionic plate arterial rings were determined. Additional studies examined the role of cGMP and nitric oxide in mediating the effects of sildenafil. RESULTS: Phosphodiesterase-5 mRNA and protein was demonstrated in human chorionic plate arteries. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated phosphodiesterase-5 within the arterial muscle layer. Sildenafil citrate produced dose dependent vasodilatation at concentrations at and greater than 10 nM. Both the direct cGMP inhibitor methylene blue and the cGMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS significantly attenuated the vasodilation produced by sildenafil citrate. Inhibition of NO production with L-NAME did not attenuate the vasodilator effects of sildenafil. In contrast, sildenafil citrate significantly enhanced the vasodilation produced by the NO donor sodium nitroprusside. CONCLUSION: Phosphodiesterase-5 is present in the feto-placental circulation. Sildenafil citrate vasodilates the feto-placental circulation via a cGMP dependent mechanism involving increased responsiveness to NO.

  2. How Action Understanding can be Rational, Bayesian and Tractable

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blokpoel, M.; Kwisthout, J.H.P.; Weide, Th.P. van der; Rooij, I.J.E.I. van; Ohlsson, S.; Catrambone, R.

    2010-01-01

    An important aspect of human sociality is our ability to understand the actions of others as being goal-directed. Recently, the now classic rational approach to explaining this ability has been given a formal incarnation in the Bayesian Inverse Planning (BIP) model of Baker, Saxe, and Tenenbaum

  3. The Measure of Human Error: Direct and Indirect Performance Shaping Factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; Candice D. Griffith; Jeffrey C. Joe

    2007-08-01

    The goal of performance shaping factors (PSFs) is to provide measures to account for human performance. PSFs fall into two categories—direct and indirect measures of human performance. While some PSFs such as “time to complete a task” are directly measurable, other PSFs, such as “fitness for duty,” can only be measured indirectly through other measures and PSFs, such as through fatigue measures. This paper explores the role of direct and indirect measures in human reliability analysis (HRA) and the implications that measurement theory has on analyses and applications using PSFs. The paper concludes with suggestions for maximizing the reliability and validity of PSFs.

  4. Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of selective phenolic acids on T47D human breast cancer cells: potential mechanisms of action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kampa, Marilena; Boskou, Dimitrios; Gravanis, Achille; Castanas, Elias; Alexaki, Vassilia-Ismini; Notas, George; Nifli, Artemissia-Phoebe; Nistikaki, Anastassia; Hatzoglou, Anastassia; Bakogeorgou, Efstathia; Kouimtzoglou, Elena; Blekas, George

    2004-01-01

    The oncoprotective role of food-derived polyphenol antioxidants has been described but the implicated mechanisms are not yet clear. In addition to polyphenols, phenolic acids, found at high concentrations in a number of plants, possess antioxidant action. The main phenolic acids found in foods are derivatives of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 4-hydroxycinnamic acid. This work concentrates on the antiproliferative action of caffeic acid, syringic acid, sinapic acid, protocatechuic acid, ferulic acid and 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid (PAA) on T47D human breast cancer cells, testing their antioxidant activity and a number of possible mechanisms involved (interaction with membrane and intracellular receptors, nitric oxide production). The tested compounds showed a time-dependent and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cell growth with the following potency: caffeic acid > ferulic acid = protocatechuic acid = PAA > sinapic acid = syringic acid. Caffeic acid and PAA were chosen for further analysis. The antioxidative activity of these phenolic acids in T47D cells does not coincide with their inhibitory effect on tumoral proliferation. No interaction was found with steroid and adrenergic receptors. PAA induced an inhibition of nitric oxide synthase, while caffeic acid competes for binding and results in an inhibition of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-induced CYP1A1 enzyme. Both agents induce apoptosis via the Fas/FasL system. Phenolic acids exert a direct antiproliferative action, evident at low concentrations, comparable with those found in biological fluids after ingestion of foods rich in phenolic acids. Furthermore, the direct interaction with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, the nitric oxide synthase inhibition and their pro-apoptotic effect provide some insights into their biological mode of action

  5. Anxiolytic-Like Actions of Fatty Acids Identified in Human Amniotic Fluid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Isela García-Ríos

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Eight fatty acids (C12–C18 were previously identified in human amniotic fluid, colostrum, and milk in similar proportions but different amounts. Amniotic fluid is well known to be the natural environment for development in mammals. Interestingly, amniotic fluid and an artificial mixture of fatty acids contained in amniotic fluid produce similar anxiolytic-like actions in Wistar rats. We explored whether the lowest amount of fatty acids contained in amniotic fluid with respect to colostrum and milk produces such anxiolytic-like effects. Although a trend toward a dose-response effect was observed, only an amount of fatty acids that was similar to amniotic fluid fully mimicked the effect of diazepam (2 mg/kg, i.p. in the defensive burying test, an action devoid of effects on locomotor activity and motor coordination. Our results confirm that the amount of fatty acids contained in amniotic fluid is sufficient to produce anxiolytic-like effects, suggesting similar actions during intrauterine development.

  6. By the sound of it. An ERP investigation of human action sound processing in 7-month-old infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Geangu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests that human adults perceive human action sounds as a distinct category from human vocalizations, environmental, and mechanical sounds, activating different neural networks (Engel et al., 2009; Lewis et al., 2011. Yet, little is known about the development of such specialization. Using event-related potentials (ERP, this study investigated neural correlates of 7-month-olds’ processing of human action (HA sounds in comparison to human vocalizations (HV, environmental (ENV, and mechanical (MEC sounds. Relative to the other categories, HA sounds led to increased positive amplitudes between 470 and 570 ms post-stimulus onset at left anterior temporal locations, while HV led to increased negative amplitudes at the more posterior temporal locations in both hemispheres. Collectively, human produced sounds (HA + HV led to significantly different response profiles compared to non-living sound sources (ENV + MEC at parietal and frontal locations in both hemispheres. Overall, by 7 months of age human action sounds are being differentially processed in the brain, consistent with a dichotomy for processing living versus non-living things. This provides novel evidence regarding the typical categorical processing of socially relevant sounds.

  7. Direct action of low doses of radiation of neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peimer, S.I.; Dudkin, A.O.; Sverdlov, A.G.

    1986-01-01

    The authors experiment with new technology of surviving mammalian brain sections for the detection of the direct action of ionizing radiation on the functioning neurons of mammals. The authors selected the rat hippocampus as the object of investigation. Sections of the hippocampus were prepared according to standard procedure, 0.3 mm thick, and incubated for several hours under the following conditions: temperature 35.5 0 C, rate of perfusion 2-3 ml/min, rate of delivery of a mixture of oxygen (95%), and carbon monoxide (5%), in the perfusion solution 35 ml/min. Composition of solution (mM): NaCl 124, KCl 5, CACl 2 2.4, MgSO 4 1.3, NaHCO 3 26, glucose 10; pH 7.4. In an individual series of experiments, calcium was not added to the solution, but an excess of magnesium ions was introduced up to 2.6 mM. Extracellular takeoffs were performed with glass microelectrodes. For irradiation, the authors used sources of x-rays and gamma radiation. In the 5-DI x-ray apparatus, the working voltage and current on the tube were 50 quanta and 8 mA, respectively; there were no filters. Gamma irradiation was performed using ampuls with the radionuclide cesium-137 (IGI-C-3 type), which can be delivered on a holder directly to the section for 1 min

  8. How to Build an Intentional Android: Infants' Imitation of a Robot's Goal-Directed Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itakura, Shoji; Ishida, Hiraku; Kanda, Takayuki; Shimada, Yohko; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Lee, Kang

    2008-01-01

    This study examined whether young children are able to imitate a robot's goal-directed actions. Children (24-35 months old) viewed videos showing a robot attempting to manipulate an object (e.g., putting beads inside a cup) but failing to achieve its goal (e.g., beads fell outside the cup). In 1 video, the robot made eye contact with a human…

  9. Sex differences in impulsive action and impulsive choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weafer, Jessica; de Wit, Harriet

    2014-11-01

    Here, we review the evidence for sex differences in behavioral measures of impulsivity for both humans and laboratory animals. We focus on two specific components of impulsivity: impulsive action (i.e., difficulty inhibiting a prepotent response) and impulsive choice (i.e., difficulty delaying gratification). Sex differences appear to exist on these measures, but the direction and magnitude of the differences vary. In laboratory animals, impulsive action is typically greater in males than females, whereas impulsive choice is typically greater in females. In humans, women discount more steeply than men, but sex differences on measures of impulsive action depend on tasks and subject samples. We discuss implications of these findings as they relate to drug addiction. We also point out the major gaps in this research to date, including the lack of studies designed specifically to examine sex differences in behavioral impulsivity, and the lack of consideration of menstrual or estrous phase or sex hormone levels in the studies. © 2013.

  10. Human-directed social behaviour in dogs shows significant heritability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, M E; Roth, L S V; Johnsson, M; Wright, D; Jensen, P

    2015-04-01

    Through domestication and co-evolution with humans, dogs have developed abilities to attract human attention, e.g. in a manner of seeking assistance when faced with a problem solving task. The aims of this study were to investigate within breed variation in human-directed contact seeking in dogs and to estimate its genetic basis. To do this, 498 research beagles, bred and kept under standardized conditions, were tested in an unsolvable problem task. Contact seeking behaviours recorded included both eye contact and physical interactions. Behavioural data was summarized through a principal component analysis, resulting in four components: test interactions, social interactions, eye contact and physical contact. Females scored significantly higher on social interactions and physical contact and age had an effect on eye contact scores. Narrow sense heritabilities (h(2) ) of the two largest components were estimated at 0.32 and 0.23 but were not significant for the last two components. These results show that within the studied dog population, behavioural variation in human-directed social behaviours was sex dependent and that the utilization of eye contact seeking increased with age and experience. Hence, heritability estimates indicate a significant genetic contribution to the variation found in human-directed social interactions, suggesting that social skills in dogs have a genetic basis, but can also be shaped and enhanced through individual experiences. This research gives the opportunity to further investigate the genetics behind dogs' social skills, which could also play a significant part into research on human social disorders such as autism. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

  11. Direct effects of fermented cow's milk product with Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 on human enterocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paparo, L; Aitoro, R; Nocerino, R; Fierro, C; Bruno, C; Canani, R Berni

    2018-01-29

    Cow's milk fermented with Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 (FM-CBAL74) exerts a preventive effect against infectious diseases in children. We evaluated if this effect is at least in part related to a direct modulation of non-immune and immune defence mechanisms in human enterocytes. Human enterocytes (Caco-2) were stimulated for 48 h with FM-CBAL74 at different concentrations. Cell growth was assessed by colorimetric assay; cell differentiation (assessed by lactase expression), tight junction proteins (zonula occludens1 and occludin), mucin 2, and toll-like receptor (TRL) pathways were analysed by real-time PCR; innate immunity peptide synthesis, beta-defensin-2 (HBD-2) and cathelicidin (LL-37) were evaluated by ELISA. Mucus layer thickness was analysed by histochemistry. FMCBA L74 stimulated cell growth and differentiation, tight junction proteins and mucin 2 expression, and mucus layer thickness in a dose-dependent fashion. A significant stimulation of HBD-2 and LL-37 synthesis, associated with a modulation of TLR pathway, was also observed. FM-CBAL74 regulates non-immune and immune defence mechanisms through a direct interaction with the enterocytes. These effects could be involved in the preventive action against infectious diseases demonstrated by this fermented product in children.

  12. Cinnamic Acid Is Partially Involved in Propolis Immunomodulatory Action on Human Monocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno José Conti

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Propolis is a beehive product used in traditional medicine due to its biological properties. It shows a complex chemical composition including phenolics, such as cinnamic acid (Ci. The mechanisms of action of propolis have been the subject of research recently; however, the involvement of Ci on propolis activity was not investigated on immune cells. Ci effects were evaluated on human monocytes, assessing the expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs, HLA-DR, and CD80. Cytokine production (TNF-α and IL-10 and the fungicidal activity of monocytes were evaluated as well. Data showed that Ci downregulated TLR-2, HLA-DR, and CD80 and upregulated TLR-4 expression by human monocytes. High concentrations of Ci inhibited both TNF-α and IL-10 production, whereas the same concentrations induced a higher fungicidal activity against Candida albicans. TNF-α and IL-10 production was decreased by blocking TLR-4, while the fungicidal activity of monocytes was not affected by blocking TLRs. These results suggest that Ci modulated antigen receptors, cytokine production, and the fungicidal activity of human monocytes depending on concentration, and TLR-4 may be involved in its mechanism of action. Ci seemed to be partially involved in propolis activities.

  13. Effects of flow gradients on directional radiation of human voice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulkki, Ville; Lähivaara, Timo; Huhtakallio, Ilkka

    2018-02-01

    In voice communication in windy outdoor conditions, complex velocity gradients appear in the flow field around the source, the receiver, and also in the atmosphere. It is commonly known that voice emanates stronger towards the downstream direction when compared with the upstream direction. In literature, the atmospheric effects are used to explain the stronger emanation in the downstream direction. This work shows that the wind also has an effect to the directivity of voice also favouring the downstream direction. The effect is addressed by measurements and simulations. Laboratory measurements are conducted by using a large pendulum with a loudspeaker mimicking the human head, whereas practical measurements utilizing the human voice are realized by placing a subject through the roof window of a moving car. The measurements and a simulation indicate congruent results in the speech frequency range: When the source faces the downstream direction, stronger radiation coinciding with the wind direction is observed, and when it faces the upstream direction, radiation is not affected notably. The simulated flow gradients show a wake region in the downstream direction, and the simulated acoustic field in the flow show that the region causes a wave-guide effect focusing the sound in the direction.

  14. Conscious Thought Does Not Guide Moment-to-Moment Actions – It Serves Social and Cultural Functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. J. eMasicampo

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Humans enjoy a private, mental life that is richer and more vivid than that of any other animal. Yet as central as the conscious experience is to human life, numerous disciplines have long struggled to explain it. The present paper reviews the latest theories and evidence from psychology that addresses what conscious thought is and how it affects human behavior. We suggest that conscious thought adapts human behavior to life in complex society and culture. First, we review research challenging the common notion that conscious thought directly guides and controls action. Second, we present an alternative view—that conscious thought processes actions and events that are typically removed from the here and now, and that it indirectly shapes action to favor culturally adaptive responses. Third, we summarize recent empirical work on conscious thought, which generally supports this alternative view. We see conscious thought as the place where the unconscious mind assembles ideas so as to reach new conclusions about how best to behave, or what outcomes to pursue or avoid. Rather than directly controlling action, conscious thought provides the input from these kinds of mental simulations to the executive. Conscious thought offers insights about the past and future, socially shared information, and cultural rules. Without it, the complex forms of social and cultural coordination that define human life would not be possible.

  15. Unsupervised Learning of Action Primitives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baby, Sanmohan; Krüger, Volker; Kragic, Danica

    2010-01-01

    and scale, the use of the object can provide a strong invariant for the detection of motion primitives. In this paper we propose an unsupervised learning approach for action primitives that makes use of the human movements as well as the object state changes. We group actions according to the changes......Action representation is a key issue in imitation learning for humanoids. With the recent finding of mirror neurons there has been a growing interest in expressing actions as a combination meaningful subparts called primitives. Primitives could be thought of as an alphabet for the human actions....... In this paper we observe that human actions and objects can be seen as being intertwined: we can interpret actions from the way the body parts are moving, but as well from how their effect on the involved object. While human movements can look vastly different even under minor changes in location, orientation...

  16. Lifelong learning of human actions with deep neural network self-organization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parisi, German I; Tani, Jun; Weber, Cornelius; Wermter, Stefan

    2017-12-01

    Lifelong learning is fundamental in autonomous robotics for the acquisition and fine-tuning of knowledge through experience. However, conventional deep neural models for action recognition from videos do not account for lifelong learning but rather learn a batch of training data with a predefined number of action classes and samples. Thus, there is the need to develop learning systems with the ability to incrementally process available perceptual cues and to adapt their responses over time. We propose a self-organizing neural architecture for incrementally learning to classify human actions from video sequences. The architecture comprises growing self-organizing networks equipped with recurrent neurons for processing time-varying patterns. We use a set of hierarchically arranged recurrent networks for the unsupervised learning of action representations with increasingly large spatiotemporal receptive fields. Lifelong learning is achieved in terms of prediction-driven neural dynamics in which the growth and the adaptation of the recurrent networks are driven by their capability to reconstruct temporally ordered input sequences. Experimental results on a classification task using two action benchmark datasets show that our model is competitive with state-of-the-art methods for batch learning also when a significant number of sample labels are missing or corrupted during training sessions. Additional experiments show the ability of our model to adapt to non-stationary input avoiding catastrophic interference. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. Reliance on habits at the expense of goal-directed control following dopamine precursor depletion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wit, Sanne; Standing, Holly R; Devito, Elise E; Robinson, Oliver J; Ridderinkhof, K Richard; Robbins, Trevor W; Sahakian, Barbara J

    2012-01-01

    Dopamine is well known to play an important role in learning and motivation. Recent animal studies have implicated dopamine in the reinforcement of stimulus-response habits, as well as in flexible, goal-directed action. However, the role of dopamine in human action control is still not well understood. We present the first investigation of the effect of reducing dopamine function in healthy volunteers on the balance between habitual and goal-directed action control. The dietary intervention of acute dietary phenylalanine and tyrosine depletion (APTD) was adopted to study the effects of reduced global dopamine function on action control. Participants were randomly assigned to either the APTD or placebo group (ns = 14) to allow for a between-subjects comparison of performance on a novel three-stage experimental paradigm. In the initial learning phase, participants learned to respond to different stimuli in order to gain rewarding outcomes. Subsequently, an outcome-devaluation test and a slips-of-action test were conducted to assess whether participants were able to flexibly adjust their behaviour to changes in the desirability of the outcomes. APTD did not prevent stimulus-response learning, nor did we find evidence for impaired response-outcome learning in the subsequent outcome-devaluation test. However, when goal-directed and habitual systems competed for control in the slips-of-action test, APTD tipped the balance towards habitual control. These findings were restricted to female volunteers. We provide direct evidence that the balance between goal-directed and habitual control in humans is dopamine dependent. The results are discussed in light of gender differences in dopamine function and psychopathologies.

  18. Toxicogenomics-based identification of mechanisms for direct immunotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Jia; Katika, Madhumohan R; Schmeits, Peter C J; Hendriksen, Peter J M; van Loveren, Henk; Peijnenburg, Ad A C M; Volger, Oscar L

    2013-10-01

    Compounds with direct immunotoxic properties, including metals, mycotoxins, agricultural pesticides, and industrial chemicals, form potential human health risks due to exposure through food, drinking water, and the environment. Insights into the mechanisms of action are currently lacking for the majority of these direct immunotoxicants. Therefore, the present work aimed to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying direct immunotoxicity. To this end, we assessed in vitro the effects of 31 test compounds on the transcriptome of the human Jurkat T-cell line. These compounds included direct immunotoxicants, immunosuppressive drugs with different mode of actions, and nonimmunotoxic control chemicals. Pathway analysis of the microarray data allowed us to identify canonical pathways and Gene Ontology processes that were transcriptionally regulated in common by immunotoxicants (1) with structural similarities, such as tributyltin chloride and tributyltin oxide that activated the retinoic acid/X receptor signaling pathway and (2) without structural similarities, such as As2O3, dibutyltin chloride, diazinon, MeHg, ochratoxin A (OTA), S9-treated OTA, S9-treated cyclophosphamide, and S9-treated benzo[a]pyrene, which activated unfolded protein response, and FTY720, lindane, and propanil, which activated the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. In addition, processes uniquely affected by individual immunotoxicants were identified, such as the induction of Notch receptor signaling and the downregulation of acute-phase response genes by OTA. These findings were validated by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of genes involved in these processes. Our study indicated that diverse modes of action are involved in direct immunotoxicity and that a set of pathways or genes, rather than one single gene, can be used to screen compounds for direct immunotoxicity.

  19. Direct effects of locally administered lipopolysaccharide on glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism in the placebo-controlled, bilaterally infused human leg

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mads; Bosnjak, Ermina; Vendelbo, Mikkel H.

    2013-01-01

    Context: Accumulating evidence suggests that chronic exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) maycreate a constant low-grade inflammation, leading to insulin resistance and diabetes. All previous human studies assessing the metabolic actions of LPS have used systemic administration, making...... palmitate isotopic dilution, although primary ANOVA tests did not reveal significant dilution. Leg blood flows, phenylalanine, lactate kinetics, cytokines, and intramyocellular insulin signaling were not affected by LPS. LPS thus directly inhibits insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and increases palmitate...... and stress hormone release may lead to overt glucose intolerance and diabetes....

  20. Reafferent copies of imitated actions in the right superior temporal cortex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iacoboni, Marco; Koski, Lisa M.; Brass, Marcel; Bekkering, Harold; Woods, Roger P.; Dubeau, Marie-Charlotte; Mazziotta, John C.; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

    2001-01-01

    Imitation is a complex phenomenon, the neural mechanisms of which are still largely unknown. When individuals imitate an action that already is present in their motor repertoire, a mechanism matching the observed action onto an internal motor representation of that action should suffice for the purpose. When one has to copy a new action, however, or to adjust an action present in one's motor repertoire to a different observed action, an additional mechanism is needed that allows the observer to compare the action made by another individual with the sensory consequences of the same action made by himself. Previous experiments have shown that a mechanism that directly matches observed actions on their motor counterparts exists in the premotor cortex of monkeys and humans. Here we report the results of functional magnetic resonance experiments, suggesting that in the superior temporal sulcus, a higher order visual region, there is a sector that becomes active both during hand action observation and during imitation even in the absence of direct vision of the imitator's hand. The motor-related activity is greater during imitation than during control motor tasks. This newly identified region has all the requisites for being the region at which the observed actions, and the reafferent motor-related copies of actions made by the imitator, interact. PMID:11717457

  1. The human dorsal action control system develops in the absence of vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiehler, Katja; Burke, Michael; Bien, Siegfried; Röder, Brigitte; Rösler, Frank

    2009-01-01

    The primate dorsal pathway has been proposed to compute vision for action. Although recent findings suggest that dorsal pathway structures contribute to somatosensory action control as well, it is yet not clear whether or not the development of dorsal pathway functions depends on early visual experience. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the pattern of cortical activation in congenitally blind and matched blindfolded sighted adults while performing kinesthetically guided hand movements. Congenitally blind adults activated similar dorsal pathway structures as sighted controls. Group-specific activations were found in the extrastriate cortex and the auditory cortex for congenitally blind humans and in the precuneus and the presupplementary motor area for sighted humans. Dorsal pathway activity was in addition observed for working memory maintenance of kinesthetic movement information in both groups. Thus, the results suggest that dorsal pathway functions develop in the absence of vision. This favors the idea of a general mechanism of movement control that operates regardless of the sensory input modality. Group differences in cortical activation patterns imply different movement control strategies as a function of visual experience.

  2. Action of methotrexate and tofacitinib on directly stimulated and bystander-activated lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piscianz, Elisa; Candilera, Vanessa; Valencic, Erica; Loganes, Claudia; Paron, Greta; De Iudicibus, Sara; Decorti, Giuliana; Tommasini, Alberto

    2016-07-01

    Chronic inflammation associated with autoimmune activation is characteristic of rheumatic diseases from childhood to adulthood. In recent decades, significant improvements in the treatment of these types of disease have been achieved using disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as methotrexate (MTX) and, more recently, using biologic inhibitors. The recent introduction of kinase inhibitors (for example, tofacitinib; Tofa) further increases the available ARDs. However, there are patients that do not respond to any treatment strategies, for whom combination therapies are proposed. The data regarding the combined action of different drugs is lacking and the knowledge of the mechanisms of ARDs and their actions upon pathogenic lymphocytes, which are hypothesized to sustain disease, is poor. An in vitro model of inflammation was developed in the current study, in which stimulated and unstimulated lymphocytes were cultured together, but tracked separately, to investigate the action of MTX and Tofa on the two populations. By analysing lymphocyte proliferation and activation, and cytokine secretion in the culture supernatants, it was established that, due to the presence of activated cells, unstimulated cells underwent a bystander activation that was modulated by the ARDs. Additionally, varying administration schedules were demonstrated to affect lymphocytes differently in vitro, either directly or via bystander activation. Furthermore, MTX and Tofa exerted different effects; while MTX showed an antiproliferative effect, Tofa marginally effected activation, although only a slight antiproliferative action, which could be potentiated by sequential treatment with MTX. Thus, it was hypothesized that these differences may be exploited in sequential therapeutic strategies, to maximize the anti‑rheumatic effect. These findings are notable and must be accounted for, as bystander‑activated cells in vivo could contribute to the spread of autoimmune activation

  3. Efficient Temporal Action Localization in Videos

    KAUST Repository

    Alwassel, Humam

    2018-04-17

    State-of-the-art temporal action detectors inefficiently search the entire video for specific actions. Despite the encouraging progress these methods achieve, it is crucial to design automated approaches that only explore parts of the video which are the most relevant to the actions being searched. To address this need, we propose the new problem of action spotting in videos, which we define as finding a specific action in a video while observing a small portion of that video. Inspired by the observation that humans are extremely efficient and accurate in spotting and finding action instances in a video, we propose Action Search, a novel Recurrent Neural Network approach that mimics the way humans spot actions. Moreover, to address the absence of data recording the behavior of human annotators, we put forward the Human Searches dataset, which compiles the search sequences employed by human annotators spotting actions in the AVA and THUMOS14 datasets. We consider temporal action localization as an application of the action spotting problem. Experiments on the THUMOS14 dataset reveal that our model is not only able to explore the video efficiently (observing on average 17.3% of the video) but it also accurately finds human activities with 30.8% mAP (0.5 tIoU), outperforming state-of-the-art methods

  4. Extension of the Method of Direct Separation of Motions for Problems of Oscillating Action on Dynamical Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blekhman, Iliya I.; Sorokin, Vladislav

    2016-01-01

    A general approach to study oscillating action on nonlinear dynamical systems is developed. It implies a transition from initial governing equations of motion to much more simple equations describing only the main slow component of motions (the vibro-transformed dynamics equations). The approach...... is named as the Oscillatory Strobodynamics, since motions are perceived as under a stroboscopic light. The vibro-transformed dynamics equations comprise terms that represent the averaged effect of the oscillating action. The method of direct separation of motions (MDSM) appears to be an efficient...

  5. Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warinner, C.; Hendy, J.; Speller, C.

    2014-01-01

    directly to individuals and their dairy livestock. Here we report the first direct evidence of milk consumption, the whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG), preserved in human dental calculus from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the present day. Using protein tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BLG...... is a species-specific biomarker of dairy consumption, and we identify individuals consuming cattle, sheep, and goat milk products in the archaeological record. We then apply this method to human dental calculus from Greenland's medieval Norse colonies, and report a decline of this biomarker leading up...

  6. An ergonomics action research demonstration: integrating human factors into assembly design processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Village, J; Greig, M; Salustri, F; Zolfaghari, S; Neumann, W P

    2014-01-01

    In action research (AR), the researcher participates 'in' the actions in an organisation, while simultaneously reflecting 'on' the actions to promote learning for both the organisation and the researchers. This paper demonstrates a longitudinal AR collaboration with an electronics manufacturing firm where the goal was to improve the organisation's ability to integrate human factors (HF) proactively into their design processes. During the three-year collaboration, all meetings, workshops, interviews and reflections were digitally recorded and qualitatively analysed to inform new 'actions'. By the end of the collaboration, HF tools with targets and sign-off by the HF specialist were integrated into several stages of the design process, and engineers were held accountable for meeting the HF targets. We conclude that the AR approach combined with targeting multiple initiatives at different stages of the design process helped the organisation find ways to integrate HF into their processes in a sustainable way. Researchers acted as a catalyst to help integrate HF into the engineering design process in a sustainable way. This paper demonstrates how an AR approach can help achieve HF integration, the benefits of using a reflective stance and one method for reporting an AR study.

  7. Skeleton-Based Human Action Recognition With Global Context-Aware Attention LSTM Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jun; Wang, Gang; Duan, Ling-Yu; Abdiyeva, Kamila; Kot, Alex C.

    2018-04-01

    Human action recognition in 3D skeleton sequences has attracted a lot of research attention. Recently, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks have shown promising performance in this task due to their strengths in modeling the dependencies and dynamics in sequential data. As not all skeletal joints are informative for action recognition, and the irrelevant joints often bring noise which can degrade the performance, we need to pay more attention to the informative ones. However, the original LSTM network does not have explicit attention ability. In this paper, we propose a new class of LSTM network, Global Context-Aware Attention LSTM (GCA-LSTM), for skeleton based action recognition. This network is capable of selectively focusing on the informative joints in each frame of each skeleton sequence by using a global context memory cell. To further improve the attention capability of our network, we also introduce a recurrent attention mechanism, with which the attention performance of the network can be enhanced progressively. Moreover, we propose a stepwise training scheme in order to train our network effectively. Our approach achieves state-of-the-art performance on five challenging benchmark datasets for skeleton based action recognition.

  8. Risk factors for human-directed canine aggression in a referral level clinical population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lord, M; Casey, R A; Loftus, B A; Blackwell, E J

    2017-07-07

    Risk factors for human-directed aggression were investigated using retrospective analysis of data from a referral-level clinical behaviour population in the UK. A sample of 200 cases involving human-directed canine aggression and 200 control cases involving no instance of human-directed aggression were selected at random from a population of 746 cases. The final model suggested that clinical cases with human-directed aggression were significantly younger than those presenting with other undesired behaviours (P=0.008) and that male dogs were 1.4 times more likely to be aggressive towards human beings than female dogs (P=0.019). Dogs were 1.7 times more likely to be aggressive towards people if they had attended more than five puppy classes than if they had never attended puppy class (P=0.015) and that dogs were 2.8 times more likely to be aggressive towards human beings if there was another dog between 0 months and 24 months of age in the home (P=0.004). These factors only account for 7 per cent to 10 per cent of the variance between the human-directed aggression population and the control population, but factors such as attendance at puppy classes and numbers of dogs in the household suggest the need for longitudinal studies to investigate temporal relationships.

  9. Habits as action sequences: hierarchical action control and changes in outcome value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dezfouli, Amir; Lingawi, Nura W; Balleine, Bernard W

    2014-11-05

    Goal-directed action involves making high-level choices that are implemented using previously acquired action sequences to attain desired goals. Such a hierarchical schema is necessary for goal-directed actions to be scalable to real-life situations, but results in decision-making that is less flexible than when action sequences are unfolded and the decision-maker deliberates step-by-step over the outcome of each individual action. In particular, from this perspective, the offline revaluation of any outcomes that fall within action sequence boundaries will be invisible to the high-level planner resulting in decisions that are insensitive to such changes. Here, within the context of a two-stage decision-making task, we demonstrate that this property can explain the emergence of habits. Next, we show how this hierarchical account explains the insensitivity of over-trained actions to changes in outcome value. Finally, we provide new data that show that, under extended extinction conditions, habitual behaviour can revert to goal-directed control, presumably as a consequence of decomposing action sequences into single actions. This hierarchical view suggests that the development of action sequences and the insensitivity of actions to changes in outcome value are essentially two sides of the same coin, explaining why these two aspects of automatic behaviour involve a shared neural structure. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  10. Quantitative determination of the contribution of indirect and direct radiation action to the production of lethal lesions in mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pohlit, W.; Drenkard, S.

    1985-01-01

    For quantitative models of radiation action in living cells it is necessary to know what fraction of the absorbed dose affects the target molecule by direct radiation action and what fraction by indirect radiation action. Mammalian cells were irradiated in suspension, saturated with N 2 O or CO 2 . With these gases the production of OH-radicals is changed by a factor of two in aqueous solutions and a corresponding change in cell survival would be expected, if only indirect radiation action is involved in the production of lethal lesions in the living cell. No difference could be detected, however, and it is concluded that indirect radiation action does not contribute to radiation lethality in mammalian cells. (author)

  11. On the relationship between feelings and action tendencies in the emotional regulation of goal-directed behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert eLowe

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we review the nature of the functional and causal relationship between neurophysiologically/psychologically generated states of emotional feeling and action tendencies and extrapolate a novel perspective. Emotion research, over the past century and beyond, has tended to view feeling and action tendency as independent phenomena: Attempts to outline the functional and causal relationship that exists between them have been framed therein. Classically, such relationships have been viewed as unidirectional, but an argument for bidirectionality rooted in a dynamic systems perspective has gained strength in recent years whereby the feeling-action tendency relationship is viewed as a composite whole. On the basis of our review of somatic-visceral theories of feelings, we argue that feelings are grounded upon neural-dynamic representations (elevated and stable activation patterns of action tendency. Such representations amount to predictions, updated by cognitive and bodily feedback. Specifically, we view emotional feelings as minimalist predictions of the action tendency (what the agent is likely to do in a given situation. The essence of this point is captured by our exposition of action tendency prediction-feedback loops (ATPFL which we consider, above all, in the context of emotion regulation, and in particular, of emotion regulation of goal-directed behaviour. The perspective outlined may be of use to emotion theorists, computational modellers and roboticists.

  12. Change of Direction Speed: Toward a Strength Training Approach with Accentuated Eccentric Muscle Actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaabene, Helmi; Prieske, Olaf; Negra, Yassine; Granacher, Urs

    2018-03-28

    There is growing evidence that eccentric strength training appears to have benefits over traditional strength training (i.e., strength training with combined concentric and eccentric muscle actions) from muscular, neuromuscular, tendinous, and metabolic perspectives. Eccentric muscle strength is particularly needed to decelerate and stabilize the body during the braking phase of a jump exercise or during rapid changes of direction (CoD) tasks. However, surprisingly little research has been conducted to elucidate the effects of eccentric strength training or strength training with accentuated eccentric muscle actions on CoD speed performance. In this current opinion article, we present findings from cross-sectional studies on the relationship between measures of eccentric muscle strength and CoD speed performance. In addition, we summarize the few available studies on the effects of strength training with accentuated eccentric muscle actions on CoD speed performance in athletic populations. Finally, we propose strength training with accentuated eccentric muscle actions as a promising element in strength and conditioning programs of sports with high CoD speed demands. Our findings from five cross-sectional studies revealed statistically significant moderate- to large-sized correlations (r = 0.45-0.89) between measures of eccentric muscle strength and CoD speed performance in athletic populations. The identified three intervention studies were of limited methodological quality and reported small- to large-sized effects (d = 0.46-1.31) of strength training with accentuated eccentric muscle actions on CoD speed performance in athletes. With reference to the available but preliminary literature and from a performance-related point of view, we recommend strength and conditioning coaches to include strength training with accentuated eccentric muscle actions in training routines of sports with high CoD speed demands (e.g., soccer, handball, basketball, hockey) to

  13. Contents of a regulatory strategy for assessing future human actions in the safety evaluation of a repository for spent fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilmot, R.D.; Wickham, S.M.; Galson, D.A.

    2001-08-01

    The objective of this report is to discuss issues that should be considered in the development of a regulatory strategy for assessing future human actions in any forthcoming license application for a deep repository for spent fuel in Sweden and for sites of other repositories. The report comprises an outline of key issues concerning the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, reviews of regulatory developments, recent safety assessments and supporting studies, and international initiatives on the treatment of future human actions in safety assessment, and the principal elements of a regulatory strategy. Performance assessments (PAs) are generally accepted as providing illustrations of system performance under given sets of assumptions. The results of PAs are clearer and easier to understand if certain large uncertainties are accounted for by determining performance under several different sets of assumptions or scenarios, each of which defines a possible evolution of the disposal system. A number of assumptions can be made that would restrict the scope of an assessment without reducing the credibility of the corresponding safety case. Reducing speculation about technological development, by assuming that the techniques used in future human activities are similar to those currently in use in the region or at similar sites, will simplify the assessment. A distinction is generally made between inadvertent and intentional intrusion, with intentional activities excluded because society cannot protect future populations from their own actions if they understand the potential consequences. A division of human activities into 'recent and ongoing' and 'future' activities considers not only the timing of the activities but also the degree of control or influence that can be imposed on them. Recent and ongoing human activities are those that affect an area beyond the immediate vicinity of the disposal facility and which neither the proponent nor the regulator

  14. Human actions in the pre-operational probabilistic safety analysis of Juragua Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferro, R.

    1995-01-01

    Human error is one of the main contributors to the biggest industrial disasters that the world has suffered in the last years. Safety probabilistic analysis techniques allow to consider, in the some study, the contribution of a facility's mechanical and human components safety, this guaranteeing a move integral assessment of these two factors although the PSA study of Juragua Nuclear Power Plant is carried out at a preoperational stage which causes important information limitations fos assessment of human reliability some considerations and suppositions in order to conduct treatment of human actions this stage were adopted. The present work describes the projected targets, approach applied and results obtained from the lakes of human reliability of this study

  15. Reliance on habits at the expense of goal-directed control following dopamine precursor depletion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Wit, S.; Standing, H.R.; DeVito, E.E.; Robinson, O.J.; Ridderinkhof, K.R.; Robbins, T.W.; Sahakian, B.J.

    2012-01-01

    Rationale Dopamine is well known to play an important role in learning and motivation. Recent animal studies have implicated dopamine in the reinforcement of stimulus-response habits, as well as in flexible, goal-directed action. However, the role of dopamine in human action control is still not

  16. Enabling robots to make use of the structure of human actions - a user study employing Acoustic Packaging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lohse, M.; Wrede, Britta; Schillingmann, Lars

    2013-01-01

    Human learning strongly depends on the ability to structure the actions of teachers in order to identify relevant parts. We propose that this is also true for learning in robots. Therefore, we apply a method for multimodal action segmentation called Acoustic Packaging to a corpus of pairs of users

  17. Valenced action/inhibition learning in humans is modulated by a genetic variant linked to dopamine D2 receptor expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anni eRichter

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Motivational salience plays an important role in shaping human behavior, but recent studies demonstrate that human performance is not uniformly improved by motivation. Instead, action has been shown to dominate valence in motivated tasks, and it is particularly difficult for humans to learn the inhibition of an action to obtain a reward, but the neural mechanism behind this behavioral specificity is yet unclear. In all mammals, including humans, the monoamine neurotransmitter dopamine is particularly important in the neural manifestation of appetitively motivated behavior, and the human dopamine system is subject to considerable genetic variability. The well-studied TaqIA restriction fragment length polymorphism (rs1800497 has previously been shown to affect striatal dopamine metabolism. In this study we investigated a potential effect of this genetic variation on motivated action/inhibition learning. Two independent cohorts consisting of 87 and 95 healthy participants, respectively, were tested using the previously described valenced go/no-go learning paradigm in which participants learned the reward-associated no-go condition significantly worse than all other conditions. This effect was modulated by the TaqIA polymorphism, with carriers of the A1 allele showing a diminished learning-related performance enhancement in the rewarded no-go condition compared to the A2 homozygotes. This result highlights a modulatory role for genetic variability of the dopaminergic system in individual learning differences of action-valence interaction.

  18. Human Trafficking: A Call for Counselor Awareness and Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stotts, Edward L., Jr.; Ramey, Luellen

    2009-01-01

    The counseling profession has given little attention to human trafficking, a form of modern slavery that is one of the most damaging forms of social injustice that exists today. Focusing on victims within the United States, the authors provide advocacy suggestions, treatment recommendations, and directions for research for this population.

  19. 76 FR 62831 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Shasta County, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLCA930000.L58790000.EU0000; CACA 48506] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Shasta County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land... serial number CACA 24929 and a ROW for a telephone line issued under serial number CACA 26611. 4. A...

  20. Processing and Integration of Contextual Information in Monkey Ventrolateral Prefrontal Neurons during Selection and Execution of Goal-Directed Manipulative Actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruni, Stefania; Giorgetti, Valentina; Bonini, Luca; Fogassi, Leonardo

    2015-08-26

    The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is deemed to underlie the complexity, flexibility, and goal-directedness of primates' behavior. Most neurophysiological studies performed so far investigated PFC functions with arm-reaching or oculomotor tasks, thus leaving unclear whether, and to which extent, PFC neurons also play a role in goal-directed manipulative actions, such as those commonly used by primates during most of their daily activities. Here we trained two macaques to perform or withhold grasp-to-eat and grasp-to-place actions, depending on the combination of two subsequently presented cues: an auditory go/no-go cue (high/low tone) and a visually presented target (food/object). By varying the order of presentation of the two cues, we could segment and independently evaluate the processing and integration of contextual information allowing the monkey to make a decision on whether or not to act, and what action to perform. We recorded 403 task-related neurons from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC): unimodal sensory-driven (37%), motor-related (21%), unimodal sensory-and-motor (23%), and multisensory (19%) neurons. Target and go/no-go selectivity characterized most of the recorded neurons, particularly those endowed with motor-related discharge. Interestingly, multisensory neurons appeared to encode a behavioral decision independently from the sensory modality of the stimulus allowing the monkey to make it: some of them reflected the decision to act or refraining from acting (56%), whereas others (44%) encoded the decision to perform (or withhold) a specific action (e.g., grasp-to-eat). Our findings indicate that VLPFC neurons play a role in the processing of contextual information underlying motor decision during goal-directed manipulative actions. We demonstrated that macaque ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) neurons show remarkable selectivity for different aspects of the contextual information allowing the monkey to select and execute goal-directed

  1. [Development of human resources and the Plan of Action].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal, C

    1984-01-01

    This article (whose first part was published in the previous issue of Educación Médica y Salud) concludes an exhaustive review of manpower development in the Americas. This part considers the specific measures in this field enunciated in the Plan of Action; these measures pertain to four main areas: planning and programming of human resources, training in priority areas, utilization of human resources, and educational technology. The author discusses the present and future possibilities and obstacles of each of these activities and the steps to be taken to bring needs into line with real situations. It is of paramount importance that the national health authorities clearly spell out their policies for the development of human resources in the health field within the framework of general development policies. Another point to be insisted upon is the multiprofessional and multidisciplinary training of the health team and the importance of the education-service-supervision function, which usually results in permanent and continuing education, which in turn optimizes the utilization of personnel. However, none of this will be possible without an appropriate education technology with which to innovate, analyze and refine the entire education process and so meet the needs of both society and the health services.

  2. 77 FR 13145 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Esmeralda County, Nevada

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNVB00000. 14300000. EU0000. LXSS129F0000 241A; N-88014; 11-08807; MO 4500022284; TAS: 14X1109] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public... sale offer is received. Payments must be by certified check, U.S. postal money order, bank draft, or...

  3. Facilitating Dissident Action

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thydal, Signe; Svensson, Christian Franklin

    2018-01-01

    Firefund.net. crowdfunds and provides resources for direct action movements. The organisation positions itself within a political struggle to create a global solidarity network. Firefund.net’s challenges and possibilities are analysed in relation to juridical issues and issues of control and shar......Firefund.net. crowdfunds and provides resources for direct action movements. The organisation positions itself within a political struggle to create a global solidarity network. Firefund.net’s challenges and possibilities are analysed in relation to juridical issues and issues of control...... to support radical initiatives without breaking the law: some activists sympathise with movements in a juridical grey zone. Both issues are relevant to social movements and current direct action....

  4. Lethal action of ultraviolet and visible (blue violet) radiations at defined wavelengths on human lymphoblastoid cells; action spectra and interaction sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tyrrell, R.M.; Werfelli, P.; Moraes, E.C. (Institut Suisse de Recherches Experimentales sur le Cancer, Lausanne)

    1984-02-01

    The repair proficient human lymphoblastoid line (TK6) has been employed to construct an action spectrum for the lethal action of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the range 254 to 434 nm and to examine possible interactions between longer (334, 365 and 405 nm) and shorter wavelength (254 and 313 nm) radiations. The action spectrum follows a DNA absorption spectrum fairly closely out to 360 nm. As in previously determined lethal action spectra for procaryotic and eucaryotic cell populations, there is a broad shoulder in the 334 to 405 nm region which could reflect the existence of either (a) a non-DNA chromophore or (b) a unique photochemical reaction in the DNA over this region. Pre-treatment with radiation at 334 or 365 nm causes either a slight sensitivity to (low fluences) or protection from (higher fluences) subsequent exposure to radiation at a shorter wavelength (254 or 313 nm). Pre-irradiation at a visible wavelength (405 nm) at all fluence levels employed sensitizes the populations to treatment with 254 or 313 nm radiations. These interactions will influence the lethal outcome of cellular exposure to broad-band radiation sources.

  5. Lethal action of ultraviolet and visible (blue violet) radiations at defined wavelengths on human lymphoblastoid cells; action spectra and interaction sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyrrell, R.M.; Werfelli, P.; Moraes, E.C.

    1984-01-01

    The repair proficient human lymphoblastoid line (TK6) has been employed to construct an action spectrum for the lethal action of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the range 254 to 434 nm and to examine possible interactions between longer (334, 365 and 405 nm) and shorter wavelength (254 and 313 nm) radiations. The action spectrum follows a DNA absorption spectrum fairly closely out to 360 nm. As in previously determined lethal action spectra for procaryotic and eucaryotic cell populations, there is a broad shoulder in the 334 to 405 nm region which could reflect the existence of either (a) a non-DNA chromophore or (b) a unique photochemical reaction in the DNA over this region. Pre-treatment with radiation at 334 or 365 nm causes either a slight sensitivity to (low fluences) or protection from (higher fluences) subsequent exposure to radiation at a shorter wavelength (254 or 313 nm). Pre-irradiation at a visible wavelength (405 nm) at all fluence levels employed sensitizes the populations to treatment with 254 or 313 nm radiations. These interactions will influence the lethal outcome of cellular exposure to broad-band radiation sources. (author)

  6. Direction-selective circuitry in rat retina develops independently of GABAergic, cholinergic and action potential activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Le Sun

    Full Text Available The ON-OFF direction selective ganglion cells (DSGCs in the mammalian retina code image motion by responding much more strongly to movement in one direction. They do so by receiving inhibitory inputs selectively from a particular sector of processes of the overlapping starburst amacrine cells, a type of retinal interneuron. The mechanisms of establishment and regulation of this selective connection are unknown. Here, we report that in the rat retina, the morphology, physiology of the ON-OFF DSGCs and the circuitry for coding motion directions develop normally with pharmacological blockade of GABAergic, cholinergic activity and/or action potentials for over two weeks from birth. With recent results demonstrating light independent formation of the retinal DS circuitry, our results strongly suggest the formation of the circuitry, i.e., the connections between the second and third order neurons in the visual system, can be genetically programmed, although emergence of direction selectivity in the visual cortex appears to require visual experience.

  7. Perimovement decrease of alpha/beta oscillations in the human nucleus accumbens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenner, Max-Philipp; Dürschmid, Stefan; Rutledge, Robb B; Zaehle, Tino; Schmitt, Friedhelm C; Kaufmann, Jörn; Voges, Jürgen; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Dolan, Raymond J; Schoenfeld, Mircea Ariel

    2016-10-01

    The human nucleus accumbens is thought to play an important role in guiding future action selection via an evaluation of current action outcomes. Here we provide electrophysiological evidence for a more direct, i.e., online, role during action preparation. We recorded local field potentials from the nucleus accumbens in patients with epilepsy undergoing surgery for deep brain stimulation. We found a consistent decrease in the power of alpha/beta oscillations (10-30 Hz) before and around the time of movements. This perimovement alpha/beta desynchronization was observed in seven of eight patients and was present both before instructed movements in a serial reaction time task as well as before self-paced, deliberate choices in a decision making task. A similar beta decrease over sensorimotor cortex and in the subthalamic nucleus has been directly related to movement preparation and execution. Our results support the idea of a direct role of the human nucleus accumbens in action preparation and execution. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  8. The minimalist grammar of action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastra, Katerina; Aloimonos, Yiannis

    2012-01-01

    Language and action have been found to share a common neural basis and in particular a common ‘syntax’, an analogous hierarchical and compositional organization. While language structure analysis has led to the formulation of different grammatical formalisms and associated discriminative or generative computational models, the structure of action is still elusive and so are the related computational models. However, structuring action has important implications on action learning and generalization, in both human cognition research and computation. In this study, we present a biologically inspired generative grammar of action, which employs the structure-building operations and principles of Chomsky's Minimalist Programme as a reference model. In this grammar, action terminals combine hierarchically into temporal sequences of actions of increasing complexity; the actions are bound with the involved tools and affected objects and are governed by certain goals. We show, how the tool role and the affected-object role of an entity within an action drives the derivation of the action syntax in this grammar and controls recursion, merge and move, the latter being mechanisms that manifest themselves not only in human language, but in human action too. PMID:22106430

  9. Human action pattern monitor for telecare system utilizing magnetic thin film infrared sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osada, H.; Chiba, S.; Oka, H.; Seki, K.

    2002-01-01

    The magnetic thin film infrared sensor (MFI) is an infrared sensing device utilizing a temperature-sensitive magnetic thin film with marked temperature dependence in the room temperature range. We propose a human action pattern monitor (HPM) constructed with the MFI, without a monitor camera to save the clients' privacy, as a telecare system

  10. 77 FR 31034 - Notice of Realty Action: Non-Competitive Direct Sale of Reversionary Interest Recreation and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-24

    ...-08807; MO 4500030924; TAS: 14X5232] Notice of Realty Action: Non-Competitive Direct Sale of Reversionary... check, U.S. postal money order, or bank draft, and made payable in U.S. dollars to the ``Department of... percent deposit. Payment must be submitted in the form of a certified check, U.S. postal money order, bank...

  11. Hearing sounds, understanding actions: action representation in mirror neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Evelyne; Keysers, Christian; Umiltà, M Alessandra; Fogassi, Leonardo; Gallese, Vittorio; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

    2002-08-02

    Many object-related actions can be recognized by their sound. We found neurons in monkey premotor cortex that discharge when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears the related sound. Most of the neurons also discharge when the monkey observes the same action. These audiovisual mirror neurons code actions independently of whether these actions are performed, heard, or seen. This discovery in the monkey homolog of Broca's area might shed light on the origin of language: audiovisual mirror neurons code abstract contents-the meaning of actions-and have the auditory access typical of human language to these contents.

  12. Enactment versus observation: item-specific and relational processing in goal-directed action sequences (and lists of single actions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janette Schult

    Full Text Available What are the memory-related consequences of learning actions (such as "apply the patch" by enactment during study, as compared to action observation? Theories converge in postulating that enactment encoding increases item-specific processing, but not the processing of relational information. Typically, in the laboratory enactment encoding is studied for lists of unrelated single actions in which one action execution has no overarching purpose or relation with other actions. In contrast, real-life actions are usually carried out with the intention to achieve such a purpose. When actions are embedded in action sequences, relational information provides efficient retrieval cues. We contrasted memory for single actions with memory for action sequences in three experiments. We found more reliance on relational processing for action-sequences than single actions. To what degree can this relational information be used after enactment versus after the observation of an actor? We found indicators of superior relational processing after observation than enactment in ordered pair recall (Experiment 1A and in emerging subjective organization of repeated recall protocols (recall runs 2-3, Experiment 2. An indicator of superior item-specific processing after enactment compared to observation was recognition (Experiment 1B, Experiment 2. Similar net recall suggests that observation can be as good a learning strategy as enactment. We discuss possible reasons why these findings only partly converge with previous research and theorizing.

  13. Precursor processes of human self-initiated action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalighinejad, Nima; Schurger, Aaron; Desantis, Andrea; Zmigrod, Leor; Haggard, Patrick

    2018-01-15

    A gradual buildup of electrical potential over motor areas precedes self-initiated movements. Recently, such "readiness potentials" (RPs) were attributed to stochastic fluctuations in neural activity. We developed a new experimental paradigm that operationalized self-initiated actions as endogenous 'skip' responses while waiting for target stimuli in a perceptual decision task. We compared these to a block of trials where participants could not choose when to skip, but were instead instructed to skip. Frequency and timing of motor action were therefore balanced across blocks, so that conditions differed only in how the timing of skip decisions was generated. We reasoned that across-trial variability of EEG could carry as much information about the source of skip decisions as the mean RP. EEG variability decreased more markedly prior to self-initiated compared to externally-triggered skip actions. This convergence suggests a consistent preparatory process prior to self-initiated action. A leaky stochastic accumulator model could reproduce this convergence given the additional assumption of a systematic decrease in input noise prior to self-initiated actions. Our results may provide a novel neurophysiological perspective on the topical debate regarding whether self-initiated actions arise from a deterministic neurocognitive process, or from neural stochasticity. We suggest that the key precursor of self-initiated action may manifest as a reduction in neural noise. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The Early Development of Human Mirror Mechanisms: Evidence from Electromyographic Recordings at 3 and 6 Months

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turati, Chiara; Natale, Elena; Bolognini, Nadia; Senna, Irene; Picozzi, Marta; Longhi, Elena; Cassia, Viola Macchi

    2013-01-01

    In primates and adult humans direct understanding of others' action is provided by mirror mechanisms matching action observation and action execution (e.g. Casile, Caggiano & Ferrari, 2011). Despite the growing body of evidence detailing the existence of these mechanisms in the adult human brain, their origins and early development are…

  15. SHARP1: A revised systematic human action reliability procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakefield, D.J.; Parry, G.W.; Hannaman, G.W.; Spurgin, A.J.

    1990-12-01

    Individual plant examinations (IPE) are being performed by utilities to evaluate plant-specific vulnerabilities to severe accidents. A major tool in performing an IPE is a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). The importance of human interactions in determining the plant response in past PRAs is well documented. The modeling and quantification of the probabilities of human interactions have been the subjects of considerable research by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). A revised framework, SHARP1, for incorporating human interactions into PRA is summarized in this report. SHARP1 emphasizes that the process stages are iterative and directed at specific goals rather than being performed sequentially in a stepwise procedure. This expanded summary provides the reader with a flavor of the full report content. Excerpts from the full report are presented, following the same outline as the full report. In the full report, the interface of the human reliability analysis with the plant logic model development in a PRA is given special attention. In addition to describing a methodology framework, the report also discusses the types of human interactions to be evaluated, and how to formulate a project team to perform the human reliability analysis. A concise description and comparative evaluation of the selected existing methods of quantification of human error are also presented. Four case studies are also provided to illustrate the SHARP1 process

  16. A model for production, perception, and acquisition of actions in face-to-face communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kröger, Bernd J; Kopp, Stefan; Lowit, Anja

    2010-08-01

    The concept of action as basic motor control unit for goal-directed movement behavior has been used primarily for private or non-communicative actions like walking, reaching, or grasping. In this paper, literature is reviewed indicating that this concept can also be used in all domains of face-to-face communication like speech, co-verbal facial expression, and co-verbal gesturing. Three domain-specific types of actions, i.e. speech actions, facial actions, and hand-arm actions, are defined in this paper and a model is proposed that elucidates the underlying biological mechanisms of action production, action perception, and action acquisition in all domains of face-to-face communication. This model can be used as theoretical framework for empirical analysis or simulation with embodied conversational agents, and thus for advanced human-computer interaction technologies.

  17. Nicorandil directly and cyclic GMP-dependently opens K+ channels in human bypass grafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Marinko

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available As we previously demonstrated the role of different K+ channels in the action of nicorandil on human saphenous vein (HSV and human internal mammary artery (HIMA, this study aimed to analyse the contribution of the cGMP pathway in nicorandil-induced vasorelaxation and to determine the involvement of cGMP in the K+ channel-activating effect of nicorandil. An inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase (GC, ODQ, significantly inhibited nicorandil-induced relaxation, while ODQ plus glibenclamide, a selective ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP channel inhibitor, produced a further inhibition of both vessels. In HSV, ODQ in combination with 4-aminopyridine, a blocker of voltage-gated K+ (KV channels, did not modify the concentration-response to nicorandil compared with ODQ, whereas in HIMA, ODQ plus iberiotoxin, a selective blocker of large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BKCa channels, produced greater inhibition than ODQ alone. We showed that the cGMP pathway plays a significant role in the vasorelaxant effect of nicorandil on HSV and HIMA. It seems that nicorandil directly opens KATP channels in both vessels and BKCa channels in HIMA, although it is possible that stimulation of GC contributes to KATP channels activation in HIMA. Contrary, the activation of KV channels in HSV is probably due to GC activation and increased levels of cGMP.

  18. 76 FR 68784 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Santa Clara County, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-07

    ... California Limited Liability Company, for the appraised fair market value of $16,000. DATES: Written comments...] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land in Santa Clara County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land...), Hollister Field Office, proposes to sell a parcel of public land consisting of approximately 15.97 acres...

  19. Contestation internationale contre élites mondiales : l’action directe et la politique délibérative sont-elles conciliables ?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis Dupuis-Déri

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Dans cet article, j’analyse à la lumière des normes libérales de la politique délibérative le bien-fondé de l’action directe contre les institutions internationales associées au néolibéralisme et à la mondialisation du capitalisme (Banque mondiale, Organisation mondiale du commerce, etc.. Le processus délibératif de ces organismes étant illégitime du point de vue de la théorie de la politique délibérative, les activistes du mouvement altermondialiste sont en droit de contester ces organismes. De plus, une attitude de contestation peut avoir en elle-même une valeur délibérative pour au moins sept raisons : (1 lancer une délibération ; (2 élargir la participation à la délibération ; (3 renforcer la représentativité ; (4 faire circuler l’information et faire connaître les arguments (publicité ; (5 stimuler l’imagination ; (6 pousser à l’action ; (7 relancer la délibération. Finalement, les mouvements sociaux tels que le mouvement altermondialiste peuvent être vus comme des forums délibératifs. Ainsi, qui veut évaluer la légitimité de l’action directe doit prendre en considération la nature délibérative du processus par lequel les activistes choisissent les moyens les plus efficaces à utiliser pour corriger les défauts du processus délibératif officiel et pour faire avancer l’égalité, la liberté et la justice.In this article I examine the legitimacy of direct action in relation to liberal deliberative norms and global institutions (World Bank, World Trade Organization, etc.. Since the deliberative processes of these institutions are illegitimate according to the theory of deliberative politics, the activists of the movement for global justice should be legitimate to confront these institutions. Moreover, confrontational action in itself may have a deliberative value for at least seven reasons: (1 initiating deliberation (agenda-setting ; (2 enlarging participation ; (3 enlarging

  20. Statistical learning of action: the role of conditional probability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Meredith; Baldwin, Dare

    2011-12-01

    Identification of distinct units within a continuous flow of human action is fundamental to action processing. Such segmentation may rest in part on statistical learning. In a series of four experiments, we examined what types of statistics people can use to segment a continuous stream involving many brief, goal-directed action elements. The results of Experiment 1 showed no evidence for sensitivity to conditional probability, whereas Experiment 2 displayed learning based on joint probability. In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that additional exposure to the input failed to engender sensitivity to conditional probability. However, the results of Experiment 4 showed that a subset of adults-namely, those more successful at identifying actions that had been seen more frequently than comparison sequences-were also successful at learning conditional-probability statistics. These experiments help to clarify the mechanisms subserving processing of intentional action, and they highlight important differences from, as well as similarities to, prior studies of statistical learning in other domains, including language.

  1. Driving and driven architectures of directed small-world human brain functional networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaogan Yan

    Full Text Available Recently, increasing attention has been focused on the investigation of the human brain connectome that describes the patterns of structural and functional connectivity networks of the human brain. Many studies of the human connectome have demonstrated that the brain network follows a small-world topology with an intrinsically cohesive modular structure and includes several network hubs in the medial parietal regions. However, most of these studies have only focused on undirected connections between regions in which the directions of information flow are not taken into account. How the brain regions causally influence each other and how the directed network of human brain is topologically organized remain largely unknown. Here, we applied linear multivariate Granger causality analysis (GCA and graph theoretical approaches to a resting-state functional MRI dataset with a large cohort of young healthy participants (n = 86 to explore connectivity patterns of the population-based whole-brain functional directed network. This directed brain network exhibited prominent small-world properties, which obviously improved previous results of functional MRI studies showing weak small-world properties in the directed brain networks in terms of a kernel-based GCA and individual analysis. This brain network also showed significant modular structures associated with 5 well known subsystems: fronto-parietal, visual, paralimbic/limbic, subcortical and primary systems. Importantly, we identified several driving hubs predominantly located in the components of the attentional network (e.g., the inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, insula and fusiform gyrus and several driven hubs predominantly located in the components of the default mode network (e.g., the precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobule. Further split-half analyses indicated that our results were highly reproducible between two

  2. Differential beta-band event-related desynchronization during categorical action sequence planning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hame Park

    Full Text Available A primate study reported the existence of neurons from the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex which fired prior to executing categorical action sequences. The authors suggested these activities may represent abstract level information. Here, we aimed to find the neurophysiological representation of planning categorical action sequences at the population level in healthy humans. Previous human studies have shown beta-band event-related desynchronization (ERD during action planning in humans. Some of these studies showed different levels of ERD according to different types of action preparation. Especially, the literature suggests that variations in cognitive factors rather than physical factors (force, direction, etc modulate the level of beta-ERD. We hypothesized that the level of beta-band power will differ according to planning of different categorical sequences. We measured magnetoencephalography (MEG from 22 subjects performing 11 four-sequence actions--each consisting of one or two of three simple actions--in 3 categories; 'Paired (ooxx', 'Alternative (oxox' and 'Repetitive (oooo' ('o' and 'x' each denoting one of three simple actions. Time-frequency representations were calculated for each category during the planning period, and the corresponding beta-power time-courses were compared. We found beta-ERD during the planning period for all subjects, mostly in the contralateral fronto-parietal areas shortly after visual cue onset. Power increase (transient rebound followed ERD in 20 out of 22 subjects. Amplitudes differed among categories in 20 subjects for both ERD and transient rebound. In 18 out of 20 subjects 'Repetitive' category showed the largest ERD and rebound. The current result suggests that beta-ERD in the contralateral frontal/motor/parietal areas during planning is differentiated by the category of action sequences.

  3. Human movement is both diffusive and directed.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Padgham

    Full Text Available Understanding the influence of the built environment on human movement requires quantifying spatial structure in a general sense. Because of the difficulty of this task, studies of movement dynamics often ignore spatial heterogeneity and treat movement through journey lengths or distances alone. This study analyses public bicycle data from central London to reveal that, although journey distances, directions, and frequencies of occurrence are spatially variable, their relative spatial patterns remain largely constant, suggesting the influence of a fixed spatial template. A method is presented to describe this underlying space in terms of the relative orientation of movements toward, away from, and around locations of geographical or cultural significance. This produces two fields: one of convergence and one of divergence, which are able to accurately reconstruct the observed spatial variations in movement. These two fields also reveal categorical distinctions between shorter journeys merely serving diffusion away from significant locations, and longer journeys intentionally serving transport between spatially distinct centres of collective importance. Collective patterns of human movement are thus revealed to arise from a combination of both diffusive and directed movement, with aggregate statistics such as mean travel distances primarily determined by relative numbers of these two kinds of journeys.

  4. Fast Temporal Activity Proposals for Efficient Detection of Human Actions in Untrimmed Videos

    KAUST Repository

    Heilbron, Fabian Caba; Niebles, Juan Carlos; Ghanem, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    In many large-scale video analysis scenarios, one is interested in localizing and recognizing human activities that occur in short temporal intervals within long untrimmed videos. Current approaches for activity detection still struggle to handle large-scale video collections and the task remains relatively unexplored. This is in part due to the computational complexity of current action recognition approaches and the lack of a method that proposes fewer intervals in the video, where activity processing can be focused. In this paper, we introduce a proposal method that aims to recover temporal segments containing actions in untrimmed videos. Building on techniques for learning sparse dictionaries, we introduce a learning framework to represent and retrieve activity proposals. We demonstrate the capabilities of our method in not only producing high quality proposals but also in its efficiency. Finally, we show the positive impact our method has on recognition performance when it is used for action detection, while running at 10FPS.

  5. Fast Temporal Activity Proposals for Efficient Detection of Human Actions in Untrimmed Videos

    KAUST Repository

    Heilbron, Fabian Caba

    2016-12-13

    In many large-scale video analysis scenarios, one is interested in localizing and recognizing human activities that occur in short temporal intervals within long untrimmed videos. Current approaches for activity detection still struggle to handle large-scale video collections and the task remains relatively unexplored. This is in part due to the computational complexity of current action recognition approaches and the lack of a method that proposes fewer intervals in the video, where activity processing can be focused. In this paper, we introduce a proposal method that aims to recover temporal segments containing actions in untrimmed videos. Building on techniques for learning sparse dictionaries, we introduce a learning framework to represent and retrieve activity proposals. We demonstrate the capabilities of our method in not only producing high quality proposals but also in its efficiency. Finally, we show the positive impact our method has on recognition performance when it is used for action detection, while running at 10FPS.

  6. Domestic dogs and puppies can use human voice direction referentially.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossano, Federico; Nitzschner, Marie; Tomasello, Michael

    2014-06-22

    Domestic dogs are particularly skilled at using human visual signals to locate hidden food. This is, to our knowledge, the first series of studies that investigates the ability of dogs to use only auditory communicative acts to locate hidden food. In a first study, from behind a barrier, a human expressed excitement towards a baited box on either the right or left side, while sitting closer to the unbaited box. Dogs were successful in following the human's voice direction and locating the food. In the two following control studies, we excluded the possibility that dogs could locate the box containing food just by relying on smell, and we showed that they would interpret a human's voice direction in a referential manner only when they could locate a possible referent (i.e. one of the boxes) in the environment. Finally, in a fourth study, we tested 8-14-week-old puppies in the main experimental test and found that those with a reasonable amount of human experience performed overall even better than the adult dogs. These results suggest that domestic dogs' skills in comprehending human communication are not based on visual cues alone, but are instead multi-modal and highly flexible. Moreover, the similarity between young and adult dogs' performances has important implications for the domestication hypothesis.

  7. Neurons in primary motor cortex engaged during action observation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dushanova, Juliana; Donoghue, John

    2010-01-01

    Neurons in higher cortical areas appear to become active during action observation, either by mirroring observed actions (termed mirror neurons) or by eliciting mental rehearsal of observed motor acts. We report the existence of neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1), an area that is generally considered to initiate and guide movement performance, responding to viewed actions. Multielectrode recordings in monkeys performing or observing a well-learned step-tracking task showed that approximately half of the M1 neurons that were active when monkeys performed the task were also active when they observed the action being performed by a human. These 'view' neurons were spatially intermingled with 'do' neurons, which are active only during movement performance. Simultaneously recorded 'view' neurons comprised two groups: approximately 38% retained the same preferred direction (PD) and timing during performance and viewing, and the remainder (62%) changed their PDs and time lag during viewing as compared with performance. Nevertheless, population activity during viewing was sufficient to predict the direction and trajectory of viewed movements as action unfolded, although less accurately than during performance. 'View' neurons became less active and contained poorer representations of action when only subcomponents of the task were being viewed. M1 'view' neurons thus appear to reflect aspects of a learned movement when observed in others, and form part of a broadly engaged set of cortical areas routinely responding to learned behaviors. These findings suggest that viewing a learned action elicits replay of aspects of M1 activity needed to perform the observed action, and could additionally reflect processing related to understanding, learning or mentally rehearsing action.

  8. Endogenous glutathione protects human skin fibroblasts against the cytotoxic action of UVB, UVA and near-visible radiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyrell, R.M.; Pidoux, Mireille

    1986-01-01

    Both the UVB (290-320 nm) and UVA (320-380 nm) regions of sunlight damage human skin cells but, particularly at the longer wavelengths, information is scant concerning the mechanism(s) of damage induction and the roles of cellular defense mechanisms. Following extensive glutathione depletion of cultured human skin fibroblasts, the cells become strongly sensitized to the cytotoxic action of near-visible (405 nm), UVA (334 nm, 365 nm) and UVB (313 nm) but not UVC (254 nm) radiations. In the critical UVB region, the magnitude of the protection afforded by endogenous glutathione approaches that of the protection provided by excision repair. The results suggest that a significant fraction of even UVB damage can be mediated by free radical attack and that a major role of glutathione in human skin cells is to protect them from the cytotoxic action of sunlight. (author)

  9. Direction of movement is encoded in the human primary motor cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolien M Toxopeus

    Full Text Available The present study investigated how direction of hand movement, which is a well-described parameter in cerebral organization of motor control, is incorporated in the somatotopic representation of the manual effector system in the human primary motor cortex (M1. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and a manual step-tracking task we found that activation patterns related to movement in different directions were spatially disjoint within the representation area of the hand on M1. Foci of activation related to specific movement directions were segregated within the M1 hand area; activation related to direction 0° (right was located most laterally/superficially, whereas directions 180° (left and 270° (down elicited activation more medially within the hand area. Activation related to direction 90° was located between the other directions. Moreover, by investigating differences between activations related to movement along the horizontal (0°+180° and vertical (90°+270° axis, we found that activation related to the horizontal axis was located more anterolaterally/dorsally in M1 than for the vertical axis, supporting that activations related to individual movement directions are direction- and not muscle related. Our results of spatially segregated direction-related activations in M1 are in accordance with findings of recent fMRI studies on neural encoding of direction in human M1. Our results thus provide further evidence for a direct link between direction as an organizational principle in sensorimotor transformation and movement execution coded by effector representations in M1.

  10. Social Injustice, Human Rights-Based Education and Citizens' Direct Action to Promote Social Transformation in the Philippines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ty, Reynaldo

    2011-01-01

    This article opens with a proposed framework for human rights education (HRE), which synthesizes ideas drawn from Zinn's people's history, Sen's theory of justice and Freire's critical pedagogy. A review of the literature on HRE and human rights-based learning suggests three existent interrelated models of HRE. Drawing on human rights-based…

  11. Nucleus accumbens is involved in human action monitoring: evidence from invasive electrophysiological recordings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas F Münte

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available The Nucleus accumbens (Nacc has been proposed to act as a limbic-motor interface. Here, using invasive intraoperative recordings in an awake patient suffering from obsessive-compulsive disease (OCD, we demonstrate that its activity is modulated by the quality of performance of the subject in a choice reaction time task designed to tap action monitoring processes. Action monitoring, that is, error detection and correction, is thought to be supported by a system involving the dopaminergic midbrain, the basal ganglia, and the medial prefrontal cortex. In surface electrophysiological recordings, action monitoring is indexed by an error-related negativity (ERN appearing time-locked to the erroneous responses and emanating from the medial frontal cortex. In preoperative scalp recordings the patient's ERN was found to be signifi cantly increased compared to a large (n= 83 normal sample, suggesting enhanced action monitoring processes. Intraoperatively, error-related modulations were obtained from the Nacc but not from a site 5 mm above. Importantly, crosscorrelation analysis showed that error-related activity in the Nacc preceded surface activity by 40 ms. We propose that the Nacc is involved in action monitoring, possibly by using error signals from the dopaminergic midbrain to adjust the relative impact of limbic and prefrontal inputs on frontal control systems in order to optimize goal-directed behavior.

  12. Chondroprotective effects of a proanthocyanidin rich Amazonian genonutrient reflects direct inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases and upregulation of IGF-1 production by human chondrocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gupta Kalpana

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Amazonian medicinal plant Sangre de grado (Croton palanostigma has traditional applications for the treatment of wound healing and inflammation. We sought to characterize two extracts (progrado and zangrado in terms of safety and oligomeric proanthocyanidin chain length. Additionally progrado was evaluated for antioxidant activity and possible chondroprotective actions. Methods Acute oral safety and toxicity was tested in rats according under OECD protocol number 420. The profile of proanthocyanidin oligomers was determined by HPLC and progrado's antioxidant activity quantified by the ORAC, NORAC and HORAC assays. Human cartilage explants, obtained from surgical specimens, were used to assess chondroproteciton with activity related to direct inhibitory effects on human matrix metalloproteinase (MMP, gelatinolytic activity using synovial fluid and chondrocytes activated with IL-1β (10 ng/ml. Additionally, progrado (2–10 μg/ml was tested for its ability to maintain optimal IGF-1 transcription and translation in cartilage explants and cultured chondrocytes. Results Both progrado and zangrado at doses up to 2000 mg/kg (po displayed no evidence of toxicity. Oligomeric proanthocyanidin content was high for both progrado (158 mg/kg and zangrado (124 mg/kg, with zangrado almost entirely composed of short oligomers ( Conclusion Progrado has a promising safety profile, significant chondroprotective and antioxidant actions, directly inhibits MMP activity and promotes the production of the cartilage repair factor, IGF-1. This suggests that progrado may offer therapeutic benefits in joint health, wound healing and inflammation.

  13. Movement-related theta rhythm in humans: coordinating self-directed hippocampal learning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphael Kaplan

    Full Text Available The hippocampus is crucial for episodic or declarative memory and the theta rhythm has been implicated in mnemonic processing, but the functional contribution of theta to memory remains the subject of intense speculation. Recent evidence suggests that the hippocampus might function as a network hub for volitional learning. In contrast to human experiments, electrophysiological recordings in the hippocampus of behaving rodents are dominated by theta oscillations reflecting volitional movement, which has been linked to spatial exploration and encoding. This literature makes the surprising cross-species prediction that the human hippocampal theta rhythm supports memory by coordinating exploratory movements in the service of self-directed learning. We examined the links between theta, spatial exploration, and memory encoding by designing an interactive human spatial navigation paradigm combined with multimodal neuroimaging. We used both non-invasive whole-head Magnetoencephalography (MEG to look at theta oscillations and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI to look at brain regions associated with volitional movement and learning. We found that theta power increases during the self-initiation of virtual movement, additionally correlating with subsequent memory performance and environmental familiarity. Performance-related hippocampal theta increases were observed during a static pre-navigation retrieval phase, where planning for subsequent navigation occurred. Furthermore, periods of the task showing movement-related theta increases showed decreased fMRI activity in the parahippocampus and increased activity in the hippocampus and other brain regions that strikingly overlap with the previously observed volitional learning network (the reverse pattern was seen for stationary periods. These fMRI changes also correlated with participant's performance. Our findings suggest that the human hippocampal theta rhythm supports memory by coordinating

  14. Handling of future human actions in the safety assessment SR-Can

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moren, Lena

    2006-10-01

    This report documents the future human actions (FHA) considered in the long-term safety analysis of a KBS-3 repository. The report is one of the supporting documents to the safety assessment SR-Can. The purpose of this report is to provide an account of: General considerations concerning FHA; The methodology applied in SR-Can to assess FHA; The aspects of FHA that need to be considered in the evaluation of their impact on a deep geological repository; and The selection of representative scenarios for illustrative consequence analysis

  15. Handling of future human actions in the safety assessment SR-Can

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moren, Lena

    2006-10-15

    This report documents the future human actions (FHA) considered in the long-term safety analysis of a KBS-3 repository. The report is one of the supporting documents to the safety assessment SR-Can. The purpose of this report is to provide an account of: General considerations concerning FHA; The methodology applied in SR-Can to assess FHA; The aspects of FHA that need to be considered in the evaluation of their impact on a deep geological repository; and The selection of representative scenarios for illustrative consequence analysis.

  16. Invariant recognition drives neural representations of action sequences.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Tacchetti

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Recognizing the actions of others from visual stimuli is a crucial aspect of human perception that allows individuals to respond to social cues. Humans are able to discriminate between similar actions despite transformations, like changes in viewpoint or actor, that substantially alter the visual appearance of a scene. This ability to generalize across complex transformations is a hallmark of human visual intelligence. Advances in understanding action recognition at the neural level have not always translated into precise accounts of the computational principles underlying what representations of action sequences are constructed by human visual cortex. Here we test the hypothesis that invariant action discrimination might fill this gap. Recently, the study of artificial systems for static object perception has produced models, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs, that achieve human level performance in complex discriminative tasks. Within this class, architectures that better support invariant object recognition also produce image representations that better match those implied by human and primate neural data. However, whether these models produce representations of action sequences that support recognition across complex transformations and closely follow neural representations of actions remains unknown. Here we show that spatiotemporal CNNs accurately categorize video stimuli into action classes, and that deliberate model modifications that improve performance on an invariant action recognition task lead to data representations that better match human neural recordings. Our results support our hypothesis that performance on invariant discrimination dictates the neural representations of actions computed in the brain. These results broaden the scope of the invariant recognition framework for understanding visual intelligence from perception of inanimate objects and faces in static images to the study of human perception of action sequences.

  17. Level of action of cathodal DC polarisation induced inhibition of the human motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitsche, Michael A; Nitsche, Maren S; Klein, Cornelia C; Tergau, Frithjof; Rothwell, John C; Paulus, Walter

    2003-04-01

    To induce prolonged motor cortical excitability reductions by transcranial direct current stimulation in the human. Cathodal direct current stimulation was applied transcranially to the hand area of the human primary motor cortex from 5 to 9 min in separate sessions in twelve healthy subjects. Cortico-spinal excitability was tested by single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transcranial electrical stimulation and H-reflexes were used to learn about the origin of the excitability changes. Neurone specific enolase was measured before and after the stimulation to prove the safety of the stimulation protocol. Five and 7 min direct current stimulation resulted in motor cortical excitability reductions, which lasted for minutes after the end of stimulation, 9 min stimulation induced after-effects for up to an hour after the end of stimulation, as revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Muscle evoked potentials elicited by transcranial electric stimulation and H-reflexes did not change. Neurone specific enolase concentrations remained stable throughout the experiments. Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation is capable of inducing prolonged excitability reductions in the human motor cortex non-invasively. These changes are most probably localised intracortically.

  18. Force direction patterns promote whole body stability even in hip-flexed walking, but not upper body stability in human upright walking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Roy; Rode, Christian; Aminiaghdam, Soran; Vielemeyer, Johanna; Blickhan, Reinhard

    2017-11-01

    Directing the ground reaction forces to a focal point above the centre of mass of the whole body promotes whole body stability in human and animal gaits similar to a physical pendulum. Here we show that this is the case in human hip-flexed walking as well. For all upper body orientations (upright, 25°, 50°, maximum), the focal point was well above the centre of mass of the whole body, suggesting its general relevance for walking. Deviations of the forces' lines of action from the focal point increased with upper body inclination from 25 to 43 mm root mean square deviation (RMSD). With respect to the upper body in upright gait, the resulting force also passed near a focal point (17 mm RMSD between the net forces' lines of action and focal point), but this point was 18 cm below its centre of mass. While this behaviour mimics an unstable inverted pendulum, it leads to resulting torques of alternating sign in accordance with periodic upper body motion and probably provides for low metabolic cost of upright gait by keeping hip torques small. Stabilization of the upper body is a consequence of other mechanisms, e.g. hip reflexes or muscle preflexes.

  19. Action spectrum for photobleaching of human lenses by short wavelength visible irradiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessel, Line; Larsen, Michael

    2015-01-01

    transmission with increasing laser irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: For a 75 year old lens an effect corresponding to elimination of 15 years or more of optical ageing was obtained. This study of the spectral characteristics and intensity needed to bleach the human lens with single-photon laser effects found...... an action-spectrum peak at 420 nm tailing gradually off toward longer wavelengths and more steeply toward shorter wavelengths. The results may be used to guide experiments with two-photon bleaching....

  20. The role of human parietal area 7A as a link between sequencing in hand actions and in overt speech production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan eHeim

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Research on the evolutionary basis of the human language faculty has proposed the mirror neuron system as a link between motor processing and speech development. Consequently, most work has focussed on the left inferior frontal cortex, in particular Broca's region, and the left inferior parietal cortex. However, the direct link between planning of hand motor and speech actions remains to be elucidated. Thus, the present study investigated whether sequencing of hand motor actions vs. speech motor actions has a common neural denominator. For the hand motor task, 25 subjects performed single, repeated, or sequenced button presses with either the left or right hand. The speech task was in analogy; the same subjects produced the syllable "po" once or repeatedly, or a sequence of different syllables (po-pi-po. Speech motor vs. hand motor effectors resulted in increased perisylvian activation including Broca's region (left area 44 and areas medially adjacent to left area 45. In contrast, common activation for sequenced vs. repeated production of button presses and syllables revealed the effector-independent involvement of left area 7A in the superior parietal lobule (SPL in sequencing. These data demonstrate that sequencing of vocal gestures, an important precondition for ordered utterances and ultimately human speech, shares area 7A, rather than inferior parietal regions, as a common cortical module with hand motor sequencing. Interestingly, area 7A has previously also been shown to be involved in the observation of hand and non-hand actions. In combination with the literature, the present data thus suggest a distinction between area 44, which is specifically recruited for (cognitive aspects of speech, and SPL area 7A for general aspects of motor sequencing. In sum, the study demonstrates a yet little considered role of the superior parietal lobule in the origins of speech, and may be discussed in the light of embodiment of speech and language in the

  1. Cytogenetic analysis of the combined action of pesticides and radiation on human lymphocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryabchenko, N.I.; Fesenko, Eh.V.; Antoshchina, M.M.

    1995-01-01

    The efficiency of the combined action of pesticides and irradiation at the G 0 stage was studied in cultured human lymphocytes. Carbophos (malathion) increased the yield of chromosome and chromatid fragments in irradiated lymphocytes. Herbicide 2,4-D (dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) raised lymphocyte radiosensitivity by increasing the yield of chromosome type aberrations, the radiosensitizing effect of the herbicide decreased as its concentration increased. 4 refs

  2. The Neural Representation of Goal-Directed Actions and Outcomes in the Ventral Striatum's Olfactory Tubercle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadziola, Marie A.

    2016-01-01

    The ventral striatum is critical for evaluating reward information and the initiation of goal-directed behaviors. The many cellular, afferent, and efferent similarities between the ventral striatum's nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle (OT) suggests the distributed involvement of neurons within the ventral striatopallidal complex in motivated behaviors. Although the nucleus accumbens has an established role in representing goal-directed actions and their outcomes, it is not known whether this function is localized within the nucleus accumbens or distributed also within the OT. Answering such a fundamental question will expand our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors. Here we address whether the OT encodes natural reinforcers and serves as a substrate for motivational information processing. In recordings from mice engaged in a novel water-motivated instrumental task, we report that OT neurons modulate their firing rate during initiation and progression of the instrumental licking behavior, with some activity being internally generated and preceding the first lick. We further found that as motivational drive decreases throughout a session, the activity of OT neurons is enhanced earlier relative to the behavioral action. Additionally, OT neurons discriminate the types and magnitudes of fluid reinforcers. Together, these data suggest that the processing of reward information and the orchestration of goal-directed behaviors is a global principle of the ventral striatum and have important implications for understanding the neural systems subserving addiction and mood disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Goal-directed behaviors are widespread among animals and underlie complex behaviors ranging from food intake, social behavior, and even pathological conditions, such as gambling and drug addiction. The ventral striatum is a neural system critical for evaluating reward information and the initiation of goal-directed behaviors. Here we

  3. 77 FR 14022 - Guidance for Industry: Testing for Salmonella Species in Human Foods and Direct-Human-Contact...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-08

    ...-contact animal foods, and the interpretation of test results, when the presence of Salmonella spp. in the... eggs) and direct-human-contact animal foods, and the interpretation of test results, when the presence... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2011-D-0091...

  4. Inflammatory aetiology of human myometrial activation tested using directed graphs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available THERE ARE THREE MAIN HYPOTHESES FOR THE ACTIVATION OF THE HUMAN UTERUS AT LABOUR: functional progesterone withdrawal, inflammatory stimulation, and oxytocin receptor activation. To test these alternatives we have taken information and data from the literature to develop causal pathway models for the activation of human myometrium. The data provided quantitative RT-PCR results on key genes from samples taken before and during labour. Principal component analysis showed that pre-labour samples form a homogenous group compared to those during labour. We therefore modelled the alternative causal pathways in non-labouring samples using directed graphs and statistically compared the likelihood of the different models using structural equations and D-separation approaches. Using the computer program LISREL, inflammatory activation as a primary event was highly consistent with the data (p = 0.925, progesterone withdrawal, as a primary event, is plausible (p = 0.499, yet comparatively unlikely, oxytocin receptor mediated initiation is less compatible with the data (p = 0.091. DGraph, a software program that creates directed graphs, produced similar results (p= 0.684, p= 0.280, and p = 0.04, respectively. This outcome supports an inflammatory aetiology for human labour. Our results demonstrate the value of directed graphs in determining the likelihood of causal relationships in biology in situations where experiments are not possible.

  5. Corrective Action Decision Document for Corrective Action Unit 417: Central Nevada Test Area Surface, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    This Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) identifies and rationalizes the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office's selection of a recommended corrective action alternative (CAA) appropriate to facilitate the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 417: Central Nevada Test Area Surface, Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in Hot Creek Valley in Nye County, Nevada, and consisting of three separate land withdrawal areas (UC-1, UC-3, and UC-4), CAU 417 is comprised of 34 corrective action sites (CASs) including 2 underground storage tanks, 5 septic systems, 8 shaker pad/cuttings disposal areas, 1 decontamination facility pit, 1 burn area, 1 scrap/trash dump, 1 outlier area, 8 housekeeping sites, and 16 mud pits. Four field events were conducted between September 1996 and June 1998 to complete a corrective action investigation indicating that the only contaminant of concern was total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) which was found in 18 of the CASs. A total of 1,028 samples were analyzed. During this investigation, a statistical approach was used to determine which depth intervals or layers inside individual mud pits and shaker pad areas were above the State action levels for the TPH. Other related field sampling activities (i.e., expedited site characterization methods, surface geophysical surveys, direct-push geophysical surveys, direct-push soil sampling, and rotosonic drilling located septic leachfields) were conducted in this four-phase investigation; however, no further contaminants of concern (COCs) were identified. During and after the investigation activities, several of the sites which had surface debris but no COCs were cleaned up as housekeeping sites, two septic tanks were closed in place, and two underground storage tanks were removed. The focus of this CADD was to identify CAAs which would promote the prevention or mitigation of human exposure to surface and subsurface soils with contaminant

  6. mTORC1 directly phosphorylates and regulates human MAF1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michels, Annemieke A; Robitaille, Aaron M; Buczynski-Ruchonnet, Diane; Hodroj, Wassim; Reina, Jaime H; Hall, Michael N; Hernandez, Nouria

    2010-08-01

    mTORC1 is a central regulator of growth in response to nutrient availability, but few direct targets have been identified. RNA polymerase (pol) III produces a number of essential RNA molecules involved in protein synthesis, RNA maturation, and other processes. Its activity is highly regulated, and deregulation can lead to cell transformation. The human phosphoprotein MAF1 becomes dephosphorylated and represses pol III transcription after various stresses, but neither the significance of the phosphorylations nor the kinase involved is known. We find that human MAF1 is absolutely required for pol III repression in response to serum starvation or TORC1 inhibition by rapamycin or Torin1. The protein is phosphorylated mainly on residues S60, S68, and S75, and this inhibits its pol III repression function. The responsible kinase is mTORC1, which phosphorylates MAF1 directly. Our results describe molecular mechanisms by which mTORC1 controls human MAF1, a key repressor of RNA polymerase III transcription, and add a new branch to the signal transduction cascade immediately downstream of TORC1.

  7. Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warinner, C; Hendy, J; Speller, C; Cappellini, E; Fischer, R; Trachsel, C; Arneborg, J; Lynnerup, N; Craig, O E; Swallow, D M; Fotakis, A; Christensen, R J; Olsen, J V; Liebert, A; Montalva, N; Fiddyment, S; Charlton, S; Mackie, M; Canci, A; Bouwman, A; Rühli, F; Gilbert, M T P; Collins, M J

    2014-11-27

    Milk is a major food of global economic importance, and its consumption is regarded as a classic example of gene-culture evolution. Humans have exploited animal milk as a food resource for at least 8500 years, but the origins, spread, and scale of dairying remain poorly understood. Indirect lines of evidence, such as lipid isotopic ratios of pottery residues, faunal mortality profiles, and lactase persistence allele frequencies, provide a partial picture of this process; however, in order to understand how, where, and when humans consumed milk products, it is necessary to link evidence of consumption directly to individuals and their dairy livestock. Here we report the first direct evidence of milk consumption, the whey protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG), preserved in human dental calculus from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE) to the present day. Using protein tandem mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that BLG is a species-specific biomarker of dairy consumption, and we identify individuals consuming cattle, sheep, and goat milk products in the archaeological record. We then apply this method to human dental calculus from Greenland's medieval Norse colonies, and report a decline of this biomarker leading up to the abandonment of the Norse Greenland colonies in the 15(th) century CE.

  8. Verification of human actions in SBO sequences with LOCA stamps in Westinghouse PWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Queral, C.; Mena Rosell, L.; Jimenez Varas, G.

    2013-01-01

    The Fukushima accident has shown the need for tools and methodologies able to analyze human activities and / or capabilities of portable systems that has given the Spanish plants as a result of the stress tests . In this work we have applied the methodology of integrated safety analysis developed by the CSN , to SBO sequences with LOCA stamp. The aim is to show a methodology for testing the performances of the Emergency Operating Procedures and Guides Severe Accident Management. The simulations were performed with the tool SCAIS coupled to MAAP . The results show that there are human activities that may be beneficial in certain sequences but harmful in others. This type of problem is already known and referred to in the GGAS . However, FSR shows a practical way to check human actions cannot be obtained with other methods.

  9. Stress prompts habit behavior in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwabe, Lars; Wolf, Oliver T

    2009-06-03

    Instrumental behavior can be controlled by goal-directed action-outcome and habitual stimulus-response processes that are supported by anatomically distinct brain systems. Based on previous findings showing that stress modulates the interaction of "cognitive" and "habit" memory systems, we asked in the presented study whether stress may coordinate goal-directed and habit processes in instrumental learning. For this purpose, participants were exposed to stress (socially evaluated cold pressor test) or a control condition before they were trained to perform two instrumental actions that were associated with two distinct food outcomes. After training, one of these food outcomes was selectively devalued as subjects were saturated with that food. Next, subjects were presented the two instrumental actions in extinction. Stress before training in the instrumental task rendered participants' behavior insensitive to the change in the value of the food outcomes, that is stress led to habit performance. Moreover, stress reduced subjects' explicit knowledge of the action-outcome contingencies. These results demonstrate for the first time that stress promotes habits at the expense of goal-directed performance in humans.

  10. Troubling practices of control: re-visiting Hannah Arendt's ideas of human action as praxis of the unpredictable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohlen, Helen

    2015-07-01

    In this article, Hannah Arendt's concept of action will be used to problematize current transformations of the health care sector and examine some responses by ethicists in light of those transformations. The sphere of human interaction that should typify health care work is identified as an action of unpredictable praxis in contrast to controllable procedures and techniques which increasingly take place in the health care sector. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Action simulation plays a critical role in deceptive action recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tidoni, Emmanuele; Borgomaneri, Sara; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe; Avenanti, Alessio

    2013-01-09

    The ability to infer deceptive intents from nonverbal behavior is critical for social interactions. By combining single-pulse and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy humans, we provide both correlational and causative evidence that action simulation is actively involved in the ability to recognize deceptive body movements. We recorded motor-evoked potentials during a faked-action discrimination (FAD) task: participants watched videos of actors lifting a cube and judged whether the actors were trying to deceive them concerning the real weight of the cube. Seeing faked actions facilitated the observers' motor system more than truthful actions in a body-part-specific manner, suggesting that motor resonance was sensitive to deceptive movements. Furthermore, we found that TMS virtual lesion to the anterior node of the action observation network, namely the left inferior frontal cortex (IFC), reduced perceptual sensitivity in the FAD task. In contrast, no change in FAD task performance was found after virtual lesions to the left temporoparietal junction (control site). Moreover, virtual lesion to the IFC failed to affect performance in a difficulty-matched spatial-control task that did not require processing of spatiotemporal (acceleration) and configurational (limb displacement) features of seen actions, which are critical to detecting deceptive intent in the actions of others. These findings indicate that the human IFC is critical for recognizing deceptive body movements and suggest that FAD relies on the simulation of subtle changes in action kinematics within the motor system.

  12. Electrophysiological properties of computational human ventricular cell action potential models under acute ischemic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta, Sara; Mincholé, Ana; Quinn, T Alexander; Rodriguez, Blanca

    2017-10-01

    Acute myocardial ischemia is one of the main causes of sudden cardiac death. The mechanisms have been investigated primarily in experimental and computational studies using different animal species, but human studies remain scarce. In this study, we assess the ability of four human ventricular action potential models (ten Tusscher and Panfilov, 2006; Grandi et al., 2010; Carro et al., 2011; O'Hara et al., 2011) to simulate key electrophysiological consequences of acute myocardial ischemia in single cell and tissue simulations. We specifically focus on evaluating the effect of extracellular potassium concentration and activation of the ATP-sensitive inward-rectifying potassium current on action potential duration, post-repolarization refractoriness, and conduction velocity, as the most critical factors in determining reentry vulnerability during ischemia. Our results show that the Grandi and O'Hara models required modifications to reproduce expected ischemic changes, specifically modifying the intracellular potassium concentration in the Grandi model and the sodium current in the O'Hara model. With these modifications, the four human ventricular cell AP models analyzed in this study reproduce the electrophysiological alterations in repolarization, refractoriness, and conduction velocity caused by acute myocardial ischemia. However, quantitative differences are observed between the models and overall, the ten Tusscher and modified O'Hara models show closest agreement to experimental data. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  13. Directional and balancing selection in human beta-defensins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollox, Edward J; Armour, John A L

    2008-04-16

    In primates, infection is an important force driving gene evolution, and this is reflected in the importance of infectious disease in human morbidity today. The beta-defensins are key components of the innate immune system, with antimicrobial and cell signalling roles, but also reproductive functions. Here we examine evolution of beta-defensins in catarrhine primates and variation within different human populations. We show that five beta-defensin genes that do not show copy number variation in humans show evidence of positive selection in catarrhine primates, and identify specific codons that have been under selective pressure. Direct haplotyping of DEFB127 in humans suggests long-term balancing selection: there are two highly diverged haplotype clades carrying different variants of a codon that, in primates, is positively selected. For DEFB132, we show that extensive diversity, including a four-state amino acid polymorphism (valine, isoleucine, alanine and threonine at position 93), is present in hunter-gatherer populations, both African and non-African, but not found in samples from agricultural populations. Some, but not all, beta-defensin genes show positive selection in catarrhine primates. There is suggestive evidence of different selective pressures on these genes in humans, but the nature of the selective pressure remains unclear and is likely to differ between populations.

  14. Ionic channels underlying the ventricular action potential in zebrafish embryo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alday, Aintzane; Alonso, Hiart; Gallego, Monica; Urrutia, Janire; Letamendia, Ainhoa; Callol, Carles; Casis, Oscar

    2014-06-01

    Over the last years zebrafish has become a popular model in the study of cardiac physiology, pathology and pharmacology. Recently, the application of the 3Rs regulation and the characteristics of the embryo have reduced the use of adult zebrafish use in many studies. However, the zebrafish embryo cardiac physiology is poorly characterized since most works have used indirect techniques and direct recordings of cardiac action potential and ionic currents are scarce. In order to optimize the zebrafish embryo model, we used electrophysiological, pharmacological and immunofluorescence tools to identify the characteristics and the ionic channels involved in the ventricular action potentials of zebrafish embryos. The application of Na(+) or T-type Ca(+2) channel blockers eliminated the cardiac electrical activity, indicating that the action potential upstroke depends on Na(+) and T-type Ca(+2) currents. The plateau phase depends on L-type Ca(+2) channels since it is abolished by specific blockade. The direct channel blockade indicates that the action potential repolarization and diastolic potential depends on ERG K(+) channels. The presence in the embryonic heart of the Nav1.5, Cav1.2, Cav3.2 and ERG channels was also confirmed by immunofluorescence, while the absence of effect of specific blockers and immunostaining indicate that two K(+) repolarizing currents present in human heart, Ito and IKs, are absent in the embryonic zebrafish heart. Our results describe the ionic channels present and its role in the zebrafish embryo heart and support the use of zebrafish embryos to study human diseases and their use for drug testing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Action observation and mirror neuron network: a tool for motor stroke rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sale, P; Franceschini, M

    2012-06-01

    Mirror neurons are a specific class of neurons that are activated and discharge both during observation of the same or similar motor act performed by another individual and during the execution of a motor act. Different studies based on non invasive neuroelectrophysiological assessment or functional brain imaging techniques have demonstrated the presence of the mirror neuron and their mechanism in humans. Various authors have demonstrated that in the human these networks are activated when individuals learn motor actions via execution (as in traditional motor learning), imitation, observation (as in observational learning) and motor imagery. Activation of these brain areas (inferior parietal lobe and the ventral premotor cortex, as well as the caudal part of the inferior frontal gyrus [IFG]) following observation or motor imagery may thereby facilitate subsequent movement execution by directly matching the observed or imagined action to the internal simulation of that action. It is therefore believed that this multi-sensory action-observation system enables individuals to (re) learn impaired motor functions through the activation of these internal action-related representations. In humans, the mirror mechanism is also located in various brain segment: in Broca's area, which is involved in language processing and speech production and not only in centres that mediate voluntary movement, but also in cortical areas that mediate visceromotor emotion-related behaviours. On basis of this finding, during the last 10 years various studies were carry out regarding the clinical use of action observation for motor rehabilitation of sub-acute and chronic stroke patients.

  16. Human Rights Literacy: Moving towards Rights-Based Education and Transformative Action through Understandings of Dignity, Equality and Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Anne; de Wet, Annamagriet; van Vollenhoven, Willie

    2015-01-01

    The twentieth century has been characterised by the proliferation of human rights in the discursive practices of the United Nations (Baxi, 1997). In this article, we explore the continual process of rights-based education towards transformative action, and an open and democratic society, as dependent upon the facilitation of human rights literacy…

  17. Evidence of the protein content of bovine and human dental pulps by the action of endodontic irrigation solutions through electrophoretic patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María E López

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis let to show the protein content of different tissues. Dental pulp contains connective tissue which is removed during the endodontic treatment. Many studies consider bovine rather than human pulp tissue because of its size. Aim: To evidence the protein content of bovine and human dental pulps and the action of endodontic irrigation solutions through electrophoretic patterns. Materials and Methods: Extracts of human and bovine dental pulps were prepared. Sodium hypochlorite, calcium hydroxide, chlorhexidine and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid were used as irrigating solutions. Results: Bovine and human pulps have a small difference in two bands of proteins present between 74 kDa and 80 kDa. The denaturizing capacity of sodium hypochlorite and the washing action of calcium hydroxide and chlorhexidine were evidenced. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid solution was shown to contain proteins continuously during the endodontic root canal washing. Conclusions: Differences in pulp tissues and the action of irrigating solutions on their protein content would help on the understanding of the biological process of the endodontic treatment.

  18. Human-directed local autonomy for motion guidance and coordination in an intelligent manufacturing system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alford, W. A.; Kawamura, Kazuhiko; Wilkes, Don M.

    1997-12-01

    This paper discusses the problem of integrating human intelligence and skills into an intelligent manufacturing system. Our center has jointed the Holonic Manufacturing Systems (HMS) Project, an international consortium dedicated to developing holonic systems technologies. One of our contributions to this effort is in Work Package 6: flexible human integration. This paper focuses on one activity, namely, human integration into motion guidance and coordination. Much research on intelligent systems focuses on creating totally autonomous agents. At the Center for Intelligent Systems (CIS), we design robots that interact directly with a human user. We focus on using the natural intelligence of the user to simplify the design of a robotic system. The problem is finding ways for the user to interact with the robot that are efficient and comfortable for the user. Manufacturing applications impose the additional constraint that the manufacturing process should not be disturbed; that is, frequent interacting with the user could degrade real-time performance. Our research in human-robot interaction is based on a concept called human directed local autonomy (HuDL). Under this paradigm, the intelligent agent selects and executes a behavior or skill, based upon directions from a human user. The user interacts with the robot via speech, gestures, or other media. Our control software is based on the intelligent machine architecture (IMA), an object-oriented architecture which facilitates cooperation and communication among intelligent agents. In this paper we describe our research testbed, a dual-arm humanoid robot and human user, and the use of this testbed for a human directed sorting task. We also discuss some proposed experiments for evaluating the integration of the human into the robot system. At the time of this writing, the experiments have not been completed.

  19. Action-based mechanisms of attention.

    OpenAIRE

    Tipper, S P; Howard, L A; Houghton, G

    1998-01-01

    Actions, which have effects in the external world, must be spatiotopically represented in the brain. The brain is capable of representing space in many different forms (e.g. retinotopic-, environment-, head- or shoulder-centred), but we maintain that actions are represented in action-centred space, meaning that, at the cellular level, the direction of movement is defined by the activity of cells. In reaching, for example, object location is defined as the direction and distance between the or...

  20. Human action in a Genomic Era: debates on human nature Ação humana na Era do Genoma: debates sobre a natureza humana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Gomes Rotondaro

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available The supposed properties of 'genes' have led natural scientists to claim authority to explain the reasons of human action, behavior, and even human nature, which has traditionally been the object of study of the humanities. The aim of this paper is to discuss the possibilities of sociological theory dealing with the biological reductionism that establishes the strict articulation between 'human nature' and 'human action', presented in several speeches and papers by scientists and journalists and supported by features of 'genes'. I intend to argue that sociological theories may broaden their scope of analysis by encompassing biological dimensions, which does not necessarily mean adopting a biological reductionist approach.As supostas propriedades dos 'genes' levam os cientistas naturais a reivindicar autoridade para explicar as razões de atos, comportamentos e até a natureza humana, tradicional objeto de estudo das ciências humanas. O objetivo deste artigo é discutir as possibilidades de a teoria sociológica lidar com o reducionismo biológico, que estabelece uma articulação exata entre 'natureza humana' e 'ação humana'. Tal reducionismo está presente em discursos e artigos de cientistas e jornalistas, e é embasado por características dos 'genes'. Argumento que as teorias sociológicas podem ampliar suas possibilidades de análise se incorporarem dimensões biológicas, o que não implica necessariamente adotar uma abordagem reducionista.

  1. Learning Human Actions by Combining Global Dynamics and Local Appearance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Guan; Yang, Shuang; Tian, Guodong; Yuan, Chunfeng; Hu, Weiming; Maybank, Stephen J

    2014-12-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of human action recognition through combining global temporal dynamics and local visual spatio-temporal appearance features. For this purpose, in the global temporal dimension, we propose to model the motion dynamics with robust linear dynamical systems (LDSs) and use the model parameters as motion descriptors. Since LDSs live in a non-Euclidean space and the descriptors are in non-vector form, we propose a shift invariant subspace angles based distance to measure the similarity between LDSs. In the local visual dimension, we construct curved spatio-temporal cuboids along the trajectories of densely sampled feature points and describe them using histograms of oriented gradients (HOG). The distance between motion sequences is computed with the Chi-Squared histogram distance in the bag-of-words framework. Finally we perform classification using the maximum margin distance learning method by combining the global dynamic distances and the local visual distances. We evaluate our approach for action recognition on five short clips data sets, namely Weizmann, KTH, UCF sports, Hollywood2 and UCF50, as well as three long continuous data sets, namely VIRAT, ADL and CRIM13. We show competitive results as compared with current state-of-the-art methods.

  2. Directional dominance on stature and cognition in diverse human populations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joshi, Peter K; Esko, Tonu; Mattsson, Hannele

    2015-01-01

    is predicted for traits under directional evolutionary selection, this study provides evidence that increased stature and cognitive function have been positively selected in human evolution, whereas many important risk factors for late-onset complex diseases may not have been....... confounding, directly contributes to phenotypic variance. Contrary to earlier reports in substantially smaller samples, no evidence was seen of an influence of genome-wide homozygosity on blood pressure and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, or ten other cardio-metabolic traits. Since directional dominance...

  3. Basic Characteristics of Human Erroneous Actions during Test and Maintenance Activities Leading to Unplanned Reactor Trips

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Whan; Park, Jin Kyun

    2010-01-01

    Test and maintenance (T and M) activities of nuclear power plants are essential for sustaining the safety of a power plant and maintaining the reliability of plant systems and components. However, the potential of human errors during T and M activities has also the potential to induce unplanned reactor trips or power derate or making safety-related systems unavailable. According to the major incident/accident reports of nuclear power plants in Korea, contribution of human errors takes up about 20% of the total events. The previous study presents that most of human-related unplanned reactor trip events during normal power operation are associated with T and M activities (63%), which are comprised of plant maintenance activities such as a 'periodic preventive maintenance (PPM)', a 'planned maintenance (PM)' and a 'corrective maintenance (CM)'. This means that T and M activities should be a major subject for reducing the frequency of human-related unplanned reactor trips. This paper aims to introduce basic characteristics of human erroneous actions involved in the test and maintenance-induced unplanned reactor trip events that have occurred between 1986 and 2006 in Korean nuclear power plants. The basic characteristics are described by dividing human erroneous actions into planning-based errors and execution-based errors. For the events associated with planning failures, they are, firstly, classified according to existence of the work procedure and then described for what aspects of the procedure or work plan have deficiency or problem. On the other hand, for the events associated with execution failures, they are described from the aspect of external error modes

  4. Globalisation and health inequalities: can a human rights paradigm create space for civil society action?

    Science.gov (United States)

    London, Leslie; Schneider, Helen

    2012-01-01

    While neoliberal globalisation is associated with increasing inequalities, global integration has simultaneously strengthened the dissemination of human rights discourse across the world. This paper explores the seeming contradiction that globalisation is conceived as disempowering nations states' ability to act in their population's interests, yet implementation of human rights obligations requires effective states to deliver socio-economic entitlements, such as health. Central to the actions required of the state to build a health system based on a human rights approach is the notion of accountability. Two case studies are used to explore the constraints on states meeting their human rights obligations regarding health, the first drawing on data from interviews with parliamentarians responsible for health in East and Southern Africa, and the second reflecting on the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. The case studies illustrate the importance of a human rights paradigm in strengthening parliamentary oversight over the executive in ways that prioritise pro-poor protections and in increasing leverage for resources for the health sector within parliamentary processes. Further, a rights framework creates the space for civil society action to engage with the legislature to hold public officials accountable and confirms the importance of rights as enabling civil society mobilization, reinforcing community agency to advance health rights for poor communities. In this context, critical assessment of state incapacity to meet claims to health rights raises questions as to the diffusion of accountability rife under modern international aid systems. Such diffusion of accountability opens the door to 'cunning' states to deflect rights claims of their populations. We argue that human rights, as both a normative framework for legal challenges and as a means to create room for active civil society engagement provide a means to contest both the real and the

  5. Small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels contribute to action potential repolarization in human atria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skibsbye, Lasse; Poulet, Claire; Diness, Jonas Goldin

    2014-01-01

    (+) currents by ∼15% and prolonged action potential duration (APD), but no effect was observed in myocytes from AF patients. In trabeculae muscle strips from right atrial appendages of SR patients, both compounds increased APD and effective refractory period, and depolarized the resting membrane potential......, while only NS8593 induced these effects in tissue from AF patients. SK channel inhibition did not alter any electrophysiological parameter in human interventricular septum tissue. CONCLUSIONS: SK channels are present in human atria where they participate in repolarization. SK2 and SK3 were down...

  6. Corrective Action Decision Document for Corrective Action Unit 417: Central Nevada Test Area Surface, Nevada Appendix D - Corrective Action Investigation Report, Central Nevada Test Area, CAU 417

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    This Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) identifies and rationalizes the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office's selection of a recommended corrective action alternative (CAA) appropriate to facilitate the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 417: Central Nevada Test Area Surface, Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in Hot Creek Valley in Nye County, Nevada, and consisting of three separate land withdrawal areas (UC-1, UC-3, and UC-4), CAU 417 is comprised of 34 corrective action sites (CASs) including 2 underground storage tanks, 5 septic systems, 8 shaker pad/cuttings disposal areas, 1 decontamination facility pit, 1 burn area, 1 scrap/trash dump, 1 outlier area, 8 housekeeping sites, and 16 mud pits. Four field events were conducted between September 1996 and June 1998 to complete a corrective action investigation indicating that the only contaminant of concern was total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) which was found in 18 of the CASs. A total of 1,028 samples were analyzed. During this investigation, a statistical approach was used to determine which depth intervals or layers inside individual mud pits and shaker pad areas were above the State action levels for the TPH. Other related field sampling activities (i.e., expedited site characterization methods, surface geophysical surveys, direct-push geophysical surveys, direct-push soil sampling, and rotosonic drilling located septic leachfields) were conducted in this four-phase investigation; however, no further contaminants of concern (COCs) were identified. During and after the investigation activities, several of the sites which had surface debris but no COCs were cleaned up as housekeeping sites, two septic tanks were closed in place, and two underground storage tanks were removed. The focus of this CADD was to identify CAAs which would promote the prevention or mitigation of human exposure to surface and subsurface soils with contaminant

  7. Guess Where? Actor-Supervision for Spatiotemporal Action Localization

    KAUST Repository

    Escorcia, Victor

    2018-04-05

    This paper addresses the problem of spatiotemporal localization of actions in videos. Compared to leading approaches, which all learn to localize based on carefully annotated boxes on training video frames, we adhere to a weakly-supervised solution that only requires a video class label. We introduce an actor-supervised architecture that exploits the inherent compositionality of actions in terms of actor transformations, to localize actions. We make two contributions. First, we propose actor proposals derived from a detector for human and non-human actors intended for images, which is linked over time by Siamese similarity matching to account for actor deformations. Second, we propose an actor-based attention mechanism that enables the localization of the actions from action class labels and actor proposals and is end-to-end trainable. Experiments on three human and non-human action datasets show actor supervision is state-of-the-art for weakly-supervised action localization and is even competitive to some fully-supervised alternatives.

  8. Guess Where? Actor-Supervision for Spatiotemporal Action Localization

    KAUST Repository

    Escorcia, Victor; Dao, Cuong D.; Jain, Mihir; Ghanem, Bernard; Snoek, Cees

    2018-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of spatiotemporal localization of actions in videos. Compared to leading approaches, which all learn to localize based on carefully annotated boxes on training video frames, we adhere to a weakly-supervised solution that only requires a video class label. We introduce an actor-supervised architecture that exploits the inherent compositionality of actions in terms of actor transformations, to localize actions. We make two contributions. First, we propose actor proposals derived from a detector for human and non-human actors intended for images, which is linked over time by Siamese similarity matching to account for actor deformations. Second, we propose an actor-based attention mechanism that enables the localization of the actions from action class labels and actor proposals and is end-to-end trainable. Experiments on three human and non-human action datasets show actor supervision is state-of-the-art for weakly-supervised action localization and is even competitive to some fully-supervised alternatives.

  9. Differentiating neural systems mediating the acquisition versus expression of goal-directed and habitual behavioral control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liljeholm, Mimi; Dunne, Simon; O'Doherty, John P.

    2015-01-01

    Considerable behavioral data indicates that operant actions can become habitual, as evidenced by insensitivity to changes in the action-outcome contingency and in subjective outcome values. Notably, although several studies have investigated the neural substrates of habits, none has clearly differentiated the areas of the human brain that support habit formation from those that implement habitual control. We scanned participants with fMRI as they learned and performed an operant task in which the conditional structure of the environment encouraged either goal-directed encoding of the consequences of actions, or a habit-like mapping of actions to antecedent cues. Participants were also scanned during a subsequent assessment of insensitivity to outcome devaluation. We identified dissociable roles of the cerebellum and ventral striatum, across learning and test performance, in behavioral insensitivity to outcome devaluation. We also show that the inferior parietal lobule – an area previously implicated in several aspects of goal-directed action selection, including the attribution of intent and awareness of agency – predicts sensitivity to outcome devaluation. Finally, we reveal a potential functional homology between the human subgenual cortex and rodent infralimbic cortex in the implementation of habitual control. In summary, our findings suggest a broad systems division, at the cortical and subcortical levels, between brain areas mediating the encoding and expression of action-outcome and stimulus-response associations. PMID:25892332

  10. Mechanism of action of direct-acting antiviral agents in treatment of chronic hepatitis C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WEN Xiaoyu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available With the development and launch of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs in the world in recent years, therapeutic regimens for chronic hepatitis C are constantly evolving. DAAs will also be launched in China in the near future. DAAs mainly target at the non-structural proteins of HCV and can inhibit HCV RNA replication. This article introduces the targets, mechanism of action, and resistance characteristics of different DAAs, as well as their current research and development in China and the results of phase Ⅲ clinical studies, in order to provide a reference for combined therapeutic strategies with DAAs in the treatment for chronic hepatitis C.

  11. Corticostriatal connectivity underlies individual differences in the balance between habitual and goal-directed action control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wit, S. de; Watson, A.J.P.; Harsay, H.A.; Cohen, M.X.; Vijver, I. van de; Ridderinkhof, K.R.

    2012-01-01

    Why are some individuals more susceptible to the formation of inflexible habits than others? In the present study, we used diffusion tensor imaging to demonstrate that brain connectivity predicts individual differences in relative goal-directed and habitual behavioral control in humans.

  12. Directional and balancing selection in human beta-defensins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armour John AL

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In primates, infection is an important force driving gene evolution, and this is reflected in the importance of infectious disease in human morbidity today. The beta-defensins are key components of the innate immune system, with antimicrobial and cell signalling roles, but also reproductive functions. Here we examine evolution of beta-defensins in catarrhine primates and variation within different human populations. Results We show that five beta-defensin genes that do not show copy number variation in humans show evidence of positive selection in catarrhine primates, and identify specific codons that have been under selective pressure. Direct haplotyping of DEFB127 in humans suggests long-term balancing selection: there are two highly diverged haplotype clades carrying different variants of a codon that, in primates, is positively selected. For DEFB132, we show that extensive diversity, including a four-state amino acid polymorphism (valine, isoleucine, alanine and threonine at position 93, is present in hunter-gatherer populations, both African and non-African, but not found in samples from agricultural populations. Conclusion Some, but not all, beta-defensin genes show positive selection in catarrhine primates. There is suggestive evidence of different selective pressures on these genes in humans, but the nature of the selective pressure remains unclear and is likely to differ between populations.

  13. Human projected area factors for detailed direct and diffuse solar radiation analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kubaha, K.; Fiala, D.; Toftum, Jørn

    2004-01-01

    Projected area factors for individual segments of the standing and sedentary human body were modelled for both direct and diffuse solar radiation using detailed 3D geometry and radiation models. The local projected area factors with respect to direct short-wave radiation are a function of the solar...

  14. A Praxeological Approach to Intentional Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Futerman Alan G.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The concept of Intentional Action is at the core of Praxeology, as developed by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. Under this unique approach, defined as the science of human action and designed to study the field of the social sciences, Mises create “action axiom”: the contention that every acting man more satisfactory state of affairs for a Austrian scholar is able to derive the fundament human action; such as value, scale of value, scarcity, abundance, profit, loss, uncertainty and causality, among others. This paper intends to present the praxeological perspective on intentional action and its epistemologic implications; it also attempts to answer objections to this thesis.

  15. Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 528: Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Rev. 0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office

    2003-05-08

    This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 528, Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination (PCBs), Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in the southwestern portion of Area 25 on the NTS in Jackass Flats (adjacent to Test Cell C [TCC]), CAU 528 consists of Corrective Action Site 25-27-03, Polychlorinated Biphenyls Surface Contamination. Test Cell C was built to support the Nuclear Rocket Development Station (operational between 1959 and 1973) activities including conducting ground tests and static firings of nuclear engine reactors. Although CAU 528 was not considered as a direct potential source of PCBs and petroleum contamination, two potential sources of contamination have nevertheless been identified from an unknown source in concentrations that could potentially pose an unacceptable risk to human health and/or the environment. This CAU's close proximity to TCC prompted Shaw to collect surface soil samples, which have indicated the presence of PCBs extending throughout the area to the north, east, south, and even to the edge of the western boundary. Based on this information, more extensive field investigation activities are being planned, the results of which are to be used to support a defensible evaluation of corrective action alternatives in the corrective action decision document.

  16. In vitro assessment of antiproliferative action selectivity of dietary isothiocyanates for tumor versus normal human cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konić-Ristić Aleksandra

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Numerous epidemiological studies have shown beneficial effects of cruciferous vegetables consumption in cancer chemoprevention. Biologically active compounds of different Brassicaceae species with antitumor potential are isothiocyanates, present in the form of their precursors - glucosinolates. The aim of this study was to determine the selectivity of antiproliferative action of dietary isothiocyanates for malignant versus normal cells. Methods. Antiproliferative activity of three isothiocyanates abundant in human diet: sulforaphane, benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC and phenylethyl isothiocyanate, on human cervix carcinoma cell line - HeLa, melanoma cell line - Fem-x, and colon cancer cell line - LS 174, and on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC, with or without mitogen, were determined by MTT colorimetric assay 72 h after their continuous action. Results. All investigated isothiocyanates inhibited the proliferation of HeLa, Fem-x and LS 174 cells. On all cell lines treated, BITC was the most potent inhibitor of cell proliferation with half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50 values of 5.04 mmoL m-3 on HeLa cells, 2.76 mmol m-3 on Fem-x, and 14.30 mmol m-3 on LS 174 cells. Antiproliferative effects on human PBMC were with higher IC50 than on malignant cells. Indexes of selectivity, calculated as a ratio between IC50 values obtained on PBMC and malignant cells, were between 1.12 and 16.57, with the highest values obtained for the action of BITC on melanoma Fem-x cells. Conclusion. Based on its antiproliferative effects on malignant cells, as well as the selectivity of the action to malignant vs normal cells, benzyl isothiocyanate can be considered as a promising candidate in cancer chemoprevention. In general, the safety of investigated compounds, in addition to their antitumor potential, should be considered as an important criterion in cancer chemoprevention. Screening of selectivity is a plausible approach to the evaluation

  17. Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandor, Aniko; Cross, Ernest V., II; Chang, Mai Lee

    2014-01-01

    Human-robot interaction (HRI) is a discipline investigating the factors affecting the interactions between humans and robots. It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human's ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively when working with a robot. By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed to appropriately support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for the design of robotic systems. This DRP concentrates on three areas associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI which are applicable to NASA robot systems: 1) Video Overlays, 2) Camera Views, and 3) Command Modalities. The first study focused on video overlays that investigated how Augmented Reality (AR) symbology can be added to the human-robot interface to improve teleoperation performance. Three types of AR symbology were explored in this study, command guidance (CG), situation guidance (SG), and both (SCG). CG symbology gives operators explicit instructions on what commands to input, whereas SG symbology gives operators implicit cues so that operators can infer the input commands. The combination of CG and SG provided operators with explicit and implicit cues allowing the operator to choose which symbology to utilize. The objective of the study was to understand how AR symbology affects the human operator's ability to align a robot arm to a target using a flight stick and the ability to allocate attention between the symbology and external views of the world. The study evaluated the effects type of symbology (CG and SG) has on operator tasks performance and attention allocation during teleoperation of a robot arm. The second study expanded on the first study by evaluating the effects of the type of

  18. Investigation of the direct effects of salmon calcitonin on human osteoarthritic chondrocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedersen Christian

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Calcitonin has been demonstrated to have chondroprotective effects under pre-clinical settings. It is debated whether this effect is mediated through subchondral-bone, directly on cartilage or both in combination. We investigated possible direct effects of salmon calcitonin on proteoglycans and collagen-type-II synthesis in osteoarthritic (OA cartilage. Methods Human OA cartilage explants were cultured with salmon calcitonin [100 pM-100 nM]. Direct effects of calcitonin on articular cartilage were evaluated by 1 measurement of proteoglycan synthesis by incorporation of radioactive labeled 35SO4 [5 μCi] 2 quantification of collagen-type-II formation by pro-peptides of collagen type II (PIINP ELISA, 3 QPCR expression of the calcitonin receptor in OA chondrocytes using four individual primer pairs, 4 activation of the cAMP signaling pathway by EIA and, 5 investigations of metabolic activity by AlamarBlue. Results QPCR analysis and subsequent sequencing confirmed expression of the calcitonin receptor in human chondrocytes. All doses of salmon calcitonin significantly elevated cAMP levels (P 35SO4 incorporation, with a 96% maximal induction at 10 nM (P Conclusion Calcitonin treatment increased proteoglycan and collagen synthesis in human OA cartilage. In addition to its well-established effect on subchondral bone, calcitonin may prove beneficial to the management of joint diseases through direct effects on chondrocytes.

  19. Tryptophan Depletion Promotes Habitual over Goal-Directed Control of Appetitive Responding in Humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worbe, Yulia; Savulich, George; de Wit, Sanne; Fernandez-Egea, Emilio; Robbins, Trevor W

    2015-02-05

    Optimal behavioral performance results from a balance between goal-directed and habitual systems of behavioral control, which are modulated by ascending monoaminergic projections. While the role of the dopaminergic system in behavioral control has been recently addressed, the extent to which changes in global serotonin neurotransmission could influence these 2 systems is still poorly understood. We employed the dietary acute tryptophan depletion procedure to reduce serotonin neurotransmission in 18 healthy volunteers and 18 matched controls. We used a 3-stage instrumental learning paradigm that includes an initial instrumental learning stage, a subsequent outcome-devaluation test, and a slip-of-action stage, which directly tests the balance between hypothetical goal-directed and habitual systems. We also employed a separate response inhibition control test to assess the behavioral specificity of the results. Acute tryptophan depletion produced a shift of behavioral performance towards habitual responding as indexed by performance on the slip-of-action test. Moreover, greater habitual responding in the acute tryptophan depletion group was predicted by a steeper decline in plasma tryptophan levels. In contrast, acute tryptophan depletion left intact the ability to use discriminative stimuli to guide instrumental choice as indexed by the instrumental learning stage and did not impair inhibitory response control. The major implication of this study is that serotonin modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-response habitual systems of behavioral control. Our findings thus imply that diminished serotonin neurotransmission shifts behavioral control towards habitual responding. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

  20. Use of time and materials and cost reimbursement subcontracts for remedial actions under the alternative remedial contracting strategy contracts. Directive

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    The directive is intended to establish agency guidance on the use of time and materials and cost reimbursement contracts for remedial actions in general and to provide specific instruction regarding the use of these approaches in subcontracting under the Alternative Remedial Contracting Strategy (ARCS) contracts

  1. Factors for assessment of human health risk associated with remedial action at hazardous waste sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephenson, D.E.; King, C.M.; Looney, B.B.; Holmes, W.G.; Gordon, D.E.

    1985-01-01

    A risk assessment strategy that is cost effective and minimized human health risks was developed for closure of hazardous waste sites at the Savannah River Plant. The strategy consists of (1) site characterization, (2) contaminant transport modeling, and (3) determination of relative merits of alternative remedial actions according to the degree of health protection they provide

  2. Action understanding as inverse planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Chris L; Saxe, Rebecca; Tenenbaum, Joshua B

    2009-12-01

    Humans are adept at inferring the mental states underlying other agents' actions, such as goals, beliefs, desires, emotions and other thoughts. We propose a computational framework based on Bayesian inverse planning for modeling human action understanding. The framework represents an intuitive theory of intentional agents' behavior based on the principle of rationality: the expectation that agents will plan approximately rationally to achieve their goals, given their beliefs about the world. The mental states that caused an agent's behavior are inferred by inverting this model of rational planning using Bayesian inference, integrating the likelihood of the observed actions with the prior over mental states. This approach formalizes in precise probabilistic terms the essence of previous qualitative approaches to action understanding based on an "intentional stance" [Dennett, D. C. (1987). The intentional stance. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press] or a "teleological stance" [Gergely, G., Nádasdy, Z., Csibra, G., & Biró, S. (1995). Taking the intentional stance at 12 months of age. Cognition, 56, 165-193]. In three psychophysical experiments using animated stimuli of agents moving in simple mazes, we assess how well different inverse planning models based on different goal priors can predict human goal inferences. The results provide quantitative evidence for an approximately rational inference mechanism in human goal inference within our simplified stimulus paradigm, and for the flexible nature of goal representations that human observers can adopt. We discuss the implications of our experimental results for human action understanding in real-world contexts, and suggest how our framework might be extended to capture other kinds of mental state inferences, such as inferences about beliefs, or inferring whether an entity is an intentional agent.

  3. Human reliability analysis methods for probabilistic safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyy, P.

    2000-11-01

    Human reliability analysis (HRA) of a probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) includes identifying human actions from safety point of view, modelling the most important of them in PSA models, and assessing their probabilities. As manifested by many incidents and studies, human actions may have both positive and negative effect on safety and economy. Human reliability analysis is one of the areas of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) that has direct applications outside the nuclear industry. The thesis focuses upon developments in human reliability analysis methods and data. The aim is to support PSA by extending the applicability of HRA. The thesis consists of six publications and a summary. The summary includes general considerations and a discussion about human actions in the nuclear power plant (NPP) environment. A condensed discussion about the results of the attached publications is then given, including new development in methods and data. At the end of the summary part, the contribution of the publications to good practice in HRA is presented. In the publications, studies based on the collection of data on maintenance-related failures, simulator runs and expert judgement are presented in order to extend the human reliability analysis database. Furthermore, methodological frameworks are presented to perform a comprehensive HRA, including shutdown conditions, to study reliability of decision making, and to study the effects of wrong human actions. In the last publication, an interdisciplinary approach to analysing human decision making is presented. The publications also include practical applications of the presented methodological frameworks. (orig.)

  4. Turning over renal osteodystrophy dogma: direct actions of FGF23 on osteoblast β-catenin pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiavi, Susan C; Moysés, Rosa M A

    2016-07-01

    Although recognized as a major complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD), the pathophysiology of the CKD-related mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) is not completely understood. Recently, the inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in osteocytes by sclerostin has been shown to play a role in CKD-MBD. The study by Carrilo-Lopez et al. confirms this inhibition in an experimental model of CKD. Moreover, they describe direct actions of FGF23-Klotho on osteoblasts, increasing the expression of DKK1, another Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor. Copyright © 2016 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Pretargeting vs. direct targeting of human betalox5 islet cells subcutaneously implanted in mice using an anti-human islet cell antibody

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Guozheng; Dou Shuping; Akalin, Ali; Rusckowski, Mary; Streeter, Philip R.; Shultz, Leonard D.; Greiner, Dale L.

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: We previously demonstrated MORF/cMORF pretargeting of human islets and betalox 5 cells (a human beta cell line) transplanted subcutaneously in mice with the anti-human islet antibody, HPi1. We now compare pretargeting with direct targeting in the beta cell transplant model to evaluate the degree to which target/non-target (T/NT) ratios may be improved by pretargeting. Methods: Specific binding of an anti-human islet antibody HPi1 to the beta cells transplanted subcutaneously in mice was examined against a negative control antibody. We then compared pretargeting by MORF-HPi1 plus 111 In-labeled cMORF to direct targeting by 111 In-labeled HPi1. Results: HPi1 binding to betalox5 human cells in the transplant was shown by immunofluorescence. Normal organ 111 In backgrounds by pretargeting were always lower, although target accumulations were similar. More importantly, the transplant to pancreas and liver ratios was, respectively, 26 and 10 by pretargeting as compared to 9 and 0.6 by direct targeting. Conclusions: Pretargeting greatly improves the T/NT ratios, and based on the estimated endocrine to exocrine ratio within a pancreas, pretargeting may be approaching the sensitivity required for successful imaging of human islets within this organ.

  6. Direct numerical simulation of human phonation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodony, Daniel; Saurabh, Shakti

    2017-11-01

    The generation and propagation of the human voice in three-dimensions is studied using direct numerical simulation. A full body domain is employed for the purpose of directly computing the sound in the region past the speaker's mouth. The air in the vocal tract is modeled as a compressible and viscous fluid interacting with the elastic vocal folds. The vocal fold tissue material properties are multi-layered, with varying stiffness, and a linear elastic transversely isotropic model is utilized and implemented in a quadratic finite element code. The fluid-solid domains are coupled through a boundary-fitted interface and utilize a Poisson equation-based mesh deformation method. A kinematic constraint based on a specified minimum gap between the vocal folds is applied to prevent collision during glottal closure. Both near VF flow dynamics and far-field acoustics have been studied. A comparison is drawn to current two-dimensional simulations as well as to data from the literature. Near field vocal fold dynamics and glottal flow results are studied and in good agreement with previous three-dimensional phonation studies. Far-field acoustic characteristics, when compared to their two-dimensional counterpart, are shown to be sensitive to the dimensionality. Supported by the National Science Foundation (CAREER Award Number 1150439).

  7. Directional asymmetries in human smooth pursuit eye movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Sally R; Lam, Jessica; Pai, Dinesh K; Spering, Miriam

    2013-06-27

    Humans make smooth pursuit eye movements to bring the image of a moving object onto the fovea. Although pursuit accuracy is critical to prevent motion blur, the eye often falls behind the target. Previous studies suggest that pursuit accuracy differs between motion directions. Here, we systematically assess asymmetries in smooth pursuit. In experiment 1, binocular eye movements were recorded while observers (n = 20) tracked a small spot of light moving along one of four cardinal or diagonal axes across a featureless background. We analyzed pursuit latency, acceleration, peak velocity, gain, and catch-up saccade latency, number, and amplitude. In experiment 2 (n = 22), we examined the effects of spatial location and constrained stimulus motion within the upper or lower visual field. Pursuit was significantly faster (higher acceleration, peak velocity, and gain) and smoother (fewer and later catch-up saccades) in response to downward versus upward motion in both the upper and the lower visual fields. Pursuit was also more accurate and smoother in response to horizontal versus vertical motion. CONCLUSIONS. Our study is the first to report a consistent up-down asymmetry in human adults, regardless of visual field. Our findings suggest that pursuit asymmetries are adaptive responses to the requirements of the visual context: preferred motion directions (horizontal and downward) are more critical to our survival than nonpreferred ones.

  8. Flexible and multi-directional piezoelectric energy harvester for self-powered human motion sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min-Ook; Pyo, Soonjae; Oh, Yongkeun; Kang, Yunsung; Cho, Kyung-Ho; Choi, Jungwook; Kim, Jongbaeg

    2018-03-01

    A flexible piezoelectric strain energy harvester that is responsive to multi-directional input forces produced by various human motions is proposed. The structure of the harvester, which includes a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) bump, facilitates the effective conversion of strain energy, produced by input forces applied in random directions, into electrical energy. The structural design of the PDMS bump and frame as well as the slits in the piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film provide mechanical flexibility and enhance the strain induced in the PVDF film under input forces applied at various angles. The amount and direction of the strain induced in PVDF can be changed by the direction of the applied force; thus, the generated output power can be varied. The measured maximum output peak voltage is 1.75, 1.29, and 0.98 V when an input force of 4 N (2 Hz) is applied at angles of 0°, 45°, and 90°, and the corresponding maximum output power is 0.064, 0.026, and 0.02 μW, respectively. Moreover, the harvester stably generates output voltage over 1.4 × 104 cycles. Thus, the proposed harvester successfully identifies and converts strain energy produced by multi-directional input forces by various human motions into electrical energy. We demonstrate the potential utility of the proposed flexible energy harvester as a self-powered human motion sensor for wireless healthcare systems.

  9. An online brain-machine interface using decoding of movement direction from the human electrocorticogram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milekovic, Tomislav; Fischer, Jörg; Pistohl, Tobias; Ruescher, Johanna; Schulze-Bonhage, Andreas; Aertsen, Ad; Rickert, Jörn; Ball, Tonio; Mehring, Carsten

    2012-08-01

    A brain-machine interface (BMI) can be used to control movements of an artificial effector, e.g. movements of an arm prosthesis, by motor cortical signals that control the equivalent movements of the corresponding body part, e.g. arm movements. This approach has been successfully applied in monkeys and humans by accurately extracting parameters of movements from the spiking activity of multiple single neurons. We show that the same approach can be realized using brain activity measured directly from the surface of the human cortex using electrocorticography (ECoG). Five subjects, implanted with ECoG implants for the purpose of epilepsy assessment, took part in our study. Subjects used directionally dependent ECoG signals, recorded during active movements of a single arm, to control a computer cursor in one out of two directions. Significant BMI control was achieved in four out of five subjects with correct directional decoding in 69%-86% of the trials (75% on average). Our results demonstrate the feasibility of an online BMI using decoding of movement direction from human ECoG signals. Thus, to achieve such BMIs, ECoG signals might be used in conjunction with or as an alternative to intracortical neural signals.

  10. Human platelet vasopressin receptor identification by direct ultraviolet photoaffinity labeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thibonnier, M.

    1987-01-01

    Tritiated vasopressin ([ 3 H]AVP) was directly crosslinked to its human platelet receptor by using an ultraviolet irradiation procedure. After preincubation with [ 3 H]AVP, the hydrodynamic parameters of the hormone-receptor complexes solubilized with 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate were derived from Sephacryl S-300 superfine gel filtration and from sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation experiments. The following values were obtained: Stoke's radius = 5.48 +/- 0.1 nm, apparent sedimentation coefficient = 5.55 +/- 0.1 S, and calculated molecular weight = 132,000. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-8% polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions, [ 3 H]AVP preferentially and specifically labeled a 125,000-dalton protein. The labeling of this protein was suppressed by addition of excess cold vasopressin, whereas angiotensin II did not inhibit incorporation of tritiated vasopressin in this protein. These results suggest that direct UV-photoaffinity labelling with [ 3 H]AVP is a suitable tool for the purification of the human platelet vasopressin receptor

  11. Direct effects of exendin-(9,39) and GLP-1-(9,36)amide on insulin action, β-cell function, and glucose metabolism in nondiabetic subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sathananthan, Matheni; Farrugia, Luca P; Miles, John M; Piccinini, Francesca; Dalla Man, Chiara; Zinsmeister, Alan R; Cobelli, Claudio; Rizza, Robert A; Vella, Adrian

    2013-08-01

    Exendin-(9,39) is a competitive antagonist of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) at its receptor. However, it is unclear if it has direct and unique effects of its own. We tested the hypothesis that exendin-(9,39) and GLP-1-(9,36)amide have direct effects on hormone secretion and β-cell function as well as glucose metabolism in healthy subjects. Glucose containing [3-(3)H]glucose was infused to mimic the systemic appearance of glucose after a meal. Saline, GLP-1-(9,36)amide, or exendin-(9,39) at 30 pmol/kg/min (Ex 30) or 300 pmol/kg/min (Ex 300) were infused in random order on separate days. Integrated glucose concentrations were slightly but significantly increased by exendin-(9,39) (365 ± 43 vs. 383 ± 35 vs. 492 ± 49 vs. 337 ± 50 mmol per 6 h, saline, Ex 30, Ex 300, and GLP-1-[9,36]amide, respectively; P = 0.05). Insulin secretion did not differ among groups. However, insulin action was lowered by exendin-(9,39) (25 ± 4 vs. 20 ± 4 vs. 18 ± 3 vs. 21 ± 4 10(-4) dL/kg[min per μU/mL]; P = 0.02), resulting in a lower disposition index (DI) during exendin-(9,39) infusion (1,118 ± 118 vs. 816 ± 83 vs. 725 ± 127 vs. 955 ± 166 10(-14) dL/kg/min(2) per pmol/L; P = 0.003). Endogenous glucose production and glucose disappearance did not differ significantly among groups. We conclude that exendin-(9,39), but not GLP-1-(9,36)amide, decreases insulin action and DI in healthy humans.

  12. Knowing beans: Human mirror mechanisms revealed through motor adaptation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur M Glenberg

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Human mirror mechanisms (MMs respond during both performed and observed action and appear to underlie action goal recognition. We introduce a behavioral procedure for discovering and clarifying functional MM properties: Blindfolded participants repeatedly move beans either toward or away from themselves to induce motor adaptation. Then, the bias for perceiving direction of ambiguous visual movement in depth is measured. Bias is affected by a number of beans moved, b movement direction, and c similarity of the visual stimulus to the hand used to move beans. This cross-modal adaptation pattern supports both the validity of human MMs and functionality of our testing instrument. We also discuss related work that extends the motor adaptation paradigm to investigate contributions of MMs to speech perception and language comprehension.

  13. mTORC1 Directly Phosphorylates and Regulates Human MAF1▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michels, Annemieke A.; Robitaille, Aaron M.; Buczynski-Ruchonnet, Diane; Hodroj, Wassim; Reina, Jaime H.; Hall, Michael N.; Hernandez, Nouria

    2010-01-01

    mTORC1 is a central regulator of growth in response to nutrient availability, but few direct targets have been identified. RNA polymerase (pol) III produces a number of essential RNA molecules involved in protein synthesis, RNA maturation, and other processes. Its activity is highly regulated, and deregulation can lead to cell transformation. The human phosphoprotein MAF1 becomes dephosphorylated and represses pol III transcription after various stresses, but neither the significance of the phosphorylations nor the kinase involved is known. We find that human MAF1 is absolutely required for pol III repression in response to serum starvation or TORC1 inhibition by rapamycin or Torin1. The protein is phosphorylated mainly on residues S60, S68, and S75, and this inhibits its pol III repression function. The responsible kinase is mTORC1, which phosphorylates MAF1 directly. Our results describe molecular mechanisms by which mTORC1 controls human MAF1, a key repressor of RNA polymerase III transcription, and add a new branch to the signal transduction cascade immediately downstream of TORC1. PMID:20516213

  14. The relationship between impulsive choice and impulsive action: a cross-species translational study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nienke Broos

    Full Text Available Maladaptive impulsivity is a core symptom in various psychiatric disorders. However, there is only limited evidence available on whether different measures of impulsivity represent largely unrelated aspects or a unitary construct. In a cross-species translational study, thirty rats were trained in impulsive choice (delayed reward task and impulsive action (five-choice serial reaction time task paradigms. The correlation between those measures was assessed during baseline performance and after pharmacological manipulations with the psychostimulant amphetamine and the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine. In parallel, to validate the animal data, 101 human subjects performed analogous measures of impulsive choice (delay discounting task, DDT and impulsive action (immediate and delayed memory task, IMT/DMT. Moreover, all subjects completed the Stop Signal Task (SST, as an additional measure of impulsive action and filled out the Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS-11. Correlations between DDT and IMT/DMT were determined and a principal component analysis was performed on all human measures of impulsivity. In both rats and humans measures of impulsive choice and impulsive action did not correlate. In rats the within-subject pharmacological effects of amphetamine and atomoxetine did not correlate between tasks, suggesting distinct underlying neural correlates. Furthermore, in humans, principal component analysis identified three independent factors: (1 self-reported impulsivity (BIS-11; (2 impulsive action (IMT/DMT and SST; (3 impulsive choice (DDT. This is the first study directly comparing aspects of impulsivity using a cross-species translational approach. The present data reveal the non-unitary nature of impulsivity on a behavioral and pharmacological level. Collectively, this warrants a stronger focus on the relative contribution of distinct forms of impulsivity in psychopathology.

  15. Directed neuronal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noggle Scott A

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We have developed a culture system for the efficient and directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs to neural precursors and neurons. HESC were maintained by manual passaging and were differentiated to a morphologically distinct OCT-4+/SSEA-4- monolayer cell type prior to the derivation of embryoid bodies. Embryoid bodies were grown in suspension in serum free conditions, in the presence of 50% conditioned medium from the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2 (MedII. Results A neural precursor population was observed within HESC derived serum free embryoid bodies cultured in MedII conditioned medium, around 7–10 days after derivation. The neural precursors were organized into rosettes comprised of a central cavity surrounded by ring of cells, 4 to 8 cells in width. The central cells within rosettes were proliferating, as indicated by the presence of condensed mitotic chromosomes and by phosphoHistone H3 immunostaining. When plated and maintained in adherent culture, the rosettes of neural precursors were surrounded by large interwoven networks of neurites. Immunostaining demonstrated the expression of nestin in rosettes and associated non-neuronal cell types, and a radial expression of Map-2 in rosettes. Differentiated neurons expressed the markers Map-2 and Neurofilament H, and a subpopulation of the neurons expressed tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker for dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion This novel directed differentiation approach led to the efficient derivation of neuronal cultures from HESCs, including the differentiation of tyrosine hydroxylase expressing neurons. HESC were morphologically differentiated to a monolayer OCT-4+ cell type, which was used to derive embryoid bodies directly into serum free conditions. Exposure to the MedII conditioned medium enhanced the derivation of neural precursors, the first example of the effect of this conditioned medium on HESC.

  16. A new method to consider human actions in the framework of a dynamic PSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kloos, M.; Peschke, J.

    2006-01-01

    The variety of accident sequences to be considered in the framework of a PSA derives from mutual dependencies between the physical process, the behaviour of the technical system, human actions and stochastic influences along the time axis. Because the conventional PSA approach is not able to adequately account for these interactions, so-called probabilistic dynamics methods have been developed. They generally achieve a more realistic modelling of accident scenarios and a more realistic safety assessment. At GRS, the method MCDET - a combination of Monte Carlo Simulation und the Discrete Dynamic Event Tree method - was developed. The implementation of MCDET was supplemented by a so called Crew-Module which allows - together with a deterministic dynamics code - to simulate human actions as a dynamic process evolving over time in interaction with the system and process dynamics. The Crew-Module accounts for communications between crew members and for performance shaping factors like stress, knowledge or ergonomics. This paper presents the Crew- Module and gives an overview of the results which may be obtained from its combination with MCDET and a deterministic dynamics code. The emergency operating procedure 'Secondary Side Bleed and Feed' in a German PWR is selected as an illustrative application. (authors)

  17. 78 FR 46600 - Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land (N-91073) for Affordable Housing Purposes in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    ...; 13-08807; MO 4500052481; TAS: 14X5232] Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale of Public Land (N-91073... BLM serial number N-91073, and must be made in the form of certified check, postal money order, bank... through escrow by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), or in the form of a certified check, postal money order...

  18. [Advance directives, a tool to humanize care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmari-Ebbing, M; Zumbach, C N; Forest, M I; Rapin, C H

    2000-07-01

    The relationship between the patient and a medical care giver is complex specially as it implies to the human, juridical and practical points of view. It depends on legal and deontological considerations, but also on professional habits. Today, we are confronted to a fundamental modification of this relationship. Professional guidelines exist, but are rarely applied and rarely taught in universities. However, patients are eager to move from a paternalistic relationship to a true partnership, more harmonious and more respectful of individual values ("value based medicine"). Advance directives give us an opportunity to improve our practices and to provide care consistent with the needs and wishes of each patient.

  19. The Extrastriate Body Area Computes Desired Goal States during Action Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Marius; Verhagen, Lennart; de Lange, Floris P; Toni, Ivan

    2016-01-01

    How do object perception and action interact at a neural level? Here we test the hypothesis that perceptual features, processed by the ventral visuoperceptual stream, are used as priors by the dorsal visuomotor stream to specify goal-directed grasping actions. We present three main findings, which were obtained by combining time-resolved transcranial magnetic stimulation and kinematic tracking of grasp-and-rotate object manipulations, in a group of healthy human participants (N = 22). First, the extrastriate body area (EBA), in the ventral stream, provides an initial structure to motor plans, based on current and desired states of a grasped object and of the grasping hand. Second, the contributions of EBA are earlier in time than those of a caudal intraparietal region known to specify the action plan. Third, the contributions of EBA are particularly important when desired and current object configurations differ, and multiple courses of actions are possible. These findings specify the temporal and functional characteristics for a mechanism that integrates perceptual processing with motor planning.

  20. Clonogenic growth of human breast cancer cells co-cultured in direct contact with serum-activated fibroblasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samoszuk, Michael; Tan, Jenny; Chorn, Guillaume

    2005-01-01

    Accumulating evidence suggests that fibroblasts play a pivotal role in promoting the growth of breast cancer cells. The objective of the present study was to characterize and validate an in vitro model of the interaction between small numbers of human breast cancer cells and human fibroblasts. We measured the clonogenic growth of small numbers of human breast cancer cells co-cultured in direct contact with serum-activated, normal human fibroblasts. Using DNA microarrays, we also characterized the gene expression profile of the serum-activated fibroblasts. In order to validate the in vivo relevance of our experiments, we then analyzed clinical samples of metastatic breast cancer for the presence of myofibroblasts expressing α-smooth muscle actin. Clonogenic growth of human breast cancer cells obtained directly from in situ and invasive tumors was dramatically and consistently enhanced when the tumor cells were co-cultured in direct contact with serum-activated fibroblasts. This effect was abolished when the cells were co-cultured in transwells separated by permeable inserts. The fibroblasts in our experimental model exhibited a gene expression signature characteristic of 'serum response' (i.e. myofibroblasts). Immunostaining of human samples of metastatic breast cancer tissue confirmed that myofibroblasts are in direct contact with breast cancer cells. Serum-activated fibroblasts promote the clonogenic growth of human breast cancer cells in vitro through a mechanism that involves direct physical contact between the cells. This model shares many important molecular and phenotypic similarities with the fibroblasts that are naturally found in breast cancers

  1. Motor contagion during human-human and human-robot interaction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ambra Bisio

    Full Text Available Motor resonance mechanisms are known to affect humans' ability to interact with others, yielding the kind of "mutual understanding" that is the basis of social interaction. However, it remains unclear how the partner's action features combine or compete to promote or prevent motor resonance during interaction. To clarify this point, the present study tested whether and how the nature of the visual stimulus and the properties of the observed actions influence observer's motor response, being motor contagion one of the behavioral manifestations of motor resonance. Participants observed a humanoid robot and a human agent move their hands into a pre-specified final position or put an object into a container at various velocities. Their movements, both in the object- and non-object- directed conditions, were characterized by either a smooth/curvilinear or a jerky/segmented trajectory. These trajectories were covered with biological or non-biological kinematics (the latter only by the humanoid robot. After action observation, participants were requested to either reach the indicated final position or to transport a similar object into another container. Results showed that motor contagion appeared for both the interactive partner except when the humanoid robot violated the biological laws of motion. These findings suggest that the observer may transiently match his/her own motor repertoire to that of the observed agent. This matching might mediate the activation of motor resonance, and modulate the spontaneity and the pleasantness of the interaction, whatever the nature of the communication partner.

  2. Motor contagion during human-human and human-robot interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisio, Ambra; Sciutti, Alessandra; Nori, Francesco; Metta, Giorgio; Fadiga, Luciano; Sandini, Giulio; Pozzo, Thierry

    2014-01-01

    Motor resonance mechanisms are known to affect humans' ability to interact with others, yielding the kind of "mutual understanding" that is the basis of social interaction. However, it remains unclear how the partner's action features combine or compete to promote or prevent motor resonance during interaction. To clarify this point, the present study tested whether and how the nature of the visual stimulus and the properties of the observed actions influence observer's motor response, being motor contagion one of the behavioral manifestations of motor resonance. Participants observed a humanoid robot and a human agent move their hands into a pre-specified final position or put an object into a container at various velocities. Their movements, both in the object- and non-object- directed conditions, were characterized by either a smooth/curvilinear or a jerky/segmented trajectory. These trajectories were covered with biological or non-biological kinematics (the latter only by the humanoid robot). After action observation, participants were requested to either reach the indicated final position or to transport a similar object into another container. Results showed that motor contagion appeared for both the interactive partner except when the humanoid robot violated the biological laws of motion. These findings suggest that the observer may transiently match his/her own motor repertoire to that of the observed agent. This matching might mediate the activation of motor resonance, and modulate the spontaneity and the pleasantness of the interaction, whatever the nature of the communication partner.

  3. Cyanotoxins: producing organisms, occurrence, toxicity, mechanism of action and human health toxicological risk evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buratti, Franca M; Manganelli, Maura; Vichi, Susanna; Stefanelli, Mara; Scardala, Simona; Testai, Emanuela; Funari, Enzo

    2017-03-01

    Cyanobacteria were present on the earth 3.5 billion years ago; since then they have colonized almost all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They produce a high number of bioactive molecules, among which some are cyanotoxins. Cyanobacterial growth at high densities, forming blooms, is increasing in extension and frequency, following anthropogenic activities and climate changes, giving rise to some concern for human health and animal life exposed to cyanotoxins. Numerous cases of lethal poisonings have been associated with cyanotoxins ingestion in wild animal and livestock. In humans few episodes of lethal or severe human poisonings have been recorded after acute or short-term exposure, but the repeated/chronic exposure to low cyanotoxin levels remains a critical issue. The properties of the most frequently detected cyanotoxins (namely, microcystins, nodularins, cylindrospermopsin and neurotoxins) are here critically reviewed, describing for each toxin the available information on producing organisms, biosynthesis/genetic and occurrence, with a focus on the toxicological profile (including kinetics, acute systemic toxicity, mechanism and mode of action, local effects, repeated toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity; human health effects and epidemiological studies; animal poisoning) with the derivation of health-based values and considerations on the risks for human health.

  4. Clinical Research with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): Challenges and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunoni, Andre Russowsky; Nitsche, Michael A.; Bolognini, Nadia; Bikson, Marom; Wagner, Tim; Merabet, Lotfi; Edwards, Dylan J.; Valero-Cabre, Antoni; Rotenberg, Alexander; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Ferrucci, Roberta; Priori, Alberto; Boggio, Paulo; Fregni, Felipe

    2011-01-01

    Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulatory technique that delivers low-intensity, direct current to cortical areas facilitating or inhibiting spontaneous neuronal activity. In the past ten years, tDCS physiological mechanisms of action have been intensively investigated giving support for the investigation of its applications in clinical neuropsychiatry and rehabilitation. However, new methodological, ethical, and regulatory issues emerge when translating the findings of preclinical and phase I studies into phase II and III clinical studies. The aim of this comprehensive review is to discuss the key challenges of this process and possible methods to address them. Methods We convened a workgroup of researchers in the field to review, discuss and provide updates and key challenges of neuromodulation use for clinical research. Main Findings/Discussion We reviewed several basic and clinical studies in the field and identified potential limitations, taking into account the particularities of the technique. We review and discuss the findings into four topics: (i) mechanisms of action of tDCS, parameters of use and computer-based human brain modeling investigating electric current fields and magnitude induced by tDCS; (ii) methodological aspects related to the clinical research of tDCS as divided according to study phase (i.e., preclinical, phase I, phase II and phase III studies); (iii) ethical and regulatory concerns; (iv) future directions regarding novel approaches, novel devices, and future studies involving tDCS. Finally, we propose some alternative methods to facilitate clinical research on tDCS. PMID:22037126

  5. Action observation and robotic agents: learning and anthropomorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Press, Clare

    2011-05-01

    The 'action observation network' (AON), which is thought to translate observed actions into motor codes required for their execution, is biologically tuned: it responds more to observation of human, than non-human, movement. This biological specificity has been taken to support the hypothesis that the AON underlies various social functions, such as theory of mind and action understanding, and that, when it is active during observation of non-human agents like humanoid robots, it is a sign of ascription of human mental states to these agents. This review will outline evidence for biological tuning in the AON, examining the features which generate it, and concluding that there is evidence for tuning to both the form and kinematic profile of observed movements, and little evidence for tuning to belief about stimulus identity. It will propose that a likely reason for biological tuning is that human actions, relative to non-biological movements, have been observed more frequently while executing corresponding actions. If the associative hypothesis of the AON is correct, and the network indeed supports social functioning, sensorimotor experience with non-human agents may help us to predict, and therefore interpret, their movements. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Observing complex action sequences: The role of the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molnar-Szakacs, Istvan; Kaplan, Jonas; Greenfield, Patricia M; Iacoboni, Marco

    2006-11-15

    A fronto-parietal mirror neuron network in the human brain supports the ability to represent and understand observed actions allowing us to successfully interact with others and our environment. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we wanted to investigate the response of this network in adults during observation of hierarchically organized action sequences of varying complexity that emerge at different developmental stages. We hypothesized that fronto-parietal systems may play a role in coding the hierarchical structure of object-directed actions. The observation of all action sequences recruited a common bilateral network including the fronto-parietal mirror neuron system and occipito-temporal visual motion areas. Activity in mirror neuron areas varied according to the motoric complexity of the observed actions, but not according to the developmental sequence of action structures, possibly due to the fact that our subjects were all adults. These results suggest that the mirror neuron system provides a fairly accurate simulation process of observed actions, mimicking internally the level of motoric complexity. We also discuss the results in terms of the links between mirror neurons, language development and evolution.

  7. How can the study of action kinematics inform our understanding of human social interaction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnan-Barman, Sujatha; Forbes, Paul A G; Hamilton, Antonia F de C

    2017-10-01

    The kinematics of human actions are influenced by the social context in which they are performed. Motion-capture technology has allowed researchers to build up a detailed and complex picture of how action kinematics vary across different social contexts. Here we review three task domains-point-to-point imitation tasks, motor interference tasks and reach-to-grasp tasks-to critically evaluate how these tasks can inform our understanding of social interactions. First, we consider how actions within these task domains are performed in a non-social context, before highlighting how a plethora of social cues can perturb the baseline kinematics. We show that there is considerable overlap in the findings from these different tasks domains but also highlight the inconsistencies in the literature and the possible reasons for this. Specifically, we draw attention to the pitfalls of dealing with rich, kinematic data. As a way to avoid these pitfalls, we call for greater standardisation and clarity in the reporting of kinematic measures and suggest the field would benefit from a move towards more naturalistic tasks. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Sleep Deprivation Promotes Habitual Control over Goal-Directed Control: Behavioral and Neuroimaging Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie; Liang, Jie; Lin, Xiao; Zhang, Yang; Zhang, Yan; Lu, Lin; Shi, Jie

    2017-12-06

    Sleep is one of the most fundamental processes of life, playing an important role in the regulation of brain function. The long-term lack of sleep can cause memory impairments, declines in learning ability, and executive dysfunction. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of sleep deprivation on instrumental learning behavior, particularly goal-directed and habitual actions in humans, and investigated the underlying neural mechanisms. Healthy college students of either gender were enrolled and randomly divided into sleep deprivation group and sleep control group. fMRI data were collected. We found that one night of sleep deprivation led to greater responsiveness to stimuli that were associated with devalued outcomes in the slips-of-action test, indicating a deficit in the formation of goal-directed control and an overreliance on habits. Furthermore, sleep deprivation had no effect on the expression of acquired goal-directed action. The level of goal-directed action after sleep deprivation was positively correlated with baseline working memory capacity. The neuroimaging data indicated that goal-directed learning mainly recruited the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC), the activation of which was less pronounced during goal-directed learning after sleep deprivation. Activation of the vmPFC during goal-directed learning during training was positively correlated with the level of goal-directed action performance. The present study suggests that people rely predominantly on habits at the expense of goal-directed control after sleep deprivation, and this process involves the vmPFC. These results contribute to a better understanding of the effects of sleep loss on decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding the cognitive consequences of sleep deprivation has become extremely important over the past half century, given the continued decline in sleep duration in industrialized societies. Our results provide novel evidence that goal-directed action may be

  9. Bidirectional Control of Reversal in a Dual Action Task by Direct and Indirect Pathway Activation in the Dorsolateral Striatum in Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muriel Laurent

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The striatum is a key brain structure involved in the processing of cognitive flexibility, which results from the balance between the flexibility demanded for novel learning of motor actions and the inflexibility required to preserve previously learned actions. In particular, the dorsolateral portion of the striatum (DLS is engaged in the learning of action sequence. This process is temporally driven by fine adjustments in the function of the two main neuronal populations of the striatum, known as the direct pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs. Here, using optogenetics, behavioral, and electrophysiological tools, we addressed the relative role of both neuronal populations in the acquisition of a reversal dual action sequence in the DLS. While the channelrhodopsin-induced activation of dMSNs and iMSNs of the DLS did not induce changes in the learning rate of the sequence, the specific activation of the dMSNs of the DLS facilitated the acquisition of a reversal dual action sequence; the activation of iMSNs induced a significant deficit in the acquisition of the same task. Taken together our results indicate an antagonistic relationship between dMSNs and iMSNs on the acquisition of a reversal dual action sequence.

  10. Direct dating of Early Upper Palaeolithic human remains from Mladec.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild, Eva M; Teschler-Nicola, Maria; Kutschera, Walter; Steier, Peter; Trinkaus, Erik; Wanek, Wolfgang

    2005-05-19

    The human fossil assemblage from the Mladec Caves in Moravia (Czech Republic) has been considered to derive from a middle or later phase of the Central European Aurignacian period on the basis of archaeological remains (a few stone artefacts and organic items such as bone points, awls, perforated teeth), despite questions of association between the human fossils and the archaeological materials and concerning the chronological implications of the limited archaeological remains. The morphological variability in the human assemblage, the presence of apparently archaic features in some specimens, and the assumed early date of the remains have made this fossil assemblage pivotal in assessments of modern human emergence within Europe. We present here the first successful direct accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating of five representative human fossils from the site. We selected sample materials from teeth and from one bone for 14C dating. The four tooth samples yielded uncalibrated ages of approximately 31,000 14C years before present, and the bone sample (an ulna) provided an uncertain more-recent age. These data are sufficient to confirm that the Mladec human assemblage is the oldest cranial, dental and postcranial assemblage of early modern humans in Europe and is therefore central to discussions of modern human emergence in the northwestern Old World and the fate of the Neanderthals.

  11. A network approach to response inhibition: dissociating functional connectivity of neural components involved in action restraint and action cancellation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dambacher, F.; Sack, A.T.; Lobbestael, J.; Arntz, A.; Brugman, S.; Schuhmann, T.

    2014-01-01

    The ability to inhibit action tendencies is vital for adaptive human behaviour. Various paradigms are supposed to assess action inhibition and are often used interchangeably. However, these paradigms are based on different conceptualizations (action restraint vs. action cancellation) and the

  12. Direct conversion of human fibroblasts into functional osteoblasts by defined factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Kenta; Kishida, Tsunao; Sato, Yoshiki; Nishioka, Keisuke; Ejima, Akika; Fujiwara, Hiroyoshi; Kubo, Toshikazu; Yamamoto, Toshiro; Kanamura, Narisato; Mazda, Osam

    2015-05-12

    Osteoblasts produce calcified bone matrix and contribute to bone formation and remodeling. In this study, we established a procedure to directly convert human fibroblasts into osteoblasts by transducing some defined factors and culturing in osteogenic medium. Osteoblast-specific transcription factors, Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), and Osterix, in combination with Octamer-binding transcription factor 3/4 (Oct4) and L-Myc (RXOL) transduction, converted ∼ 80% of the fibroblasts into osteocalcin-producing cells. The directly converted osteoblasts (dOBs) induced by RXOL displayed a similar gene expression profile as normal human osteoblasts and contributed to bone repair after transplantation into immunodeficient mice at artificial bone defect lesions. The dOBs expressed endogenous Runx2 and Osterix, and did not require continuous expression of the exogenous genes to maintain their phenotype. Another combination, Oct4 plus L-Myc (OL), also induced fibroblasts to produce bone matrix, but the OL-transduced cells did not express Osterix and exhibited a more distant gene expression profile to osteoblasts compared with RXOL-transduced cells. These findings strongly suggest successful direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into functional osteoblasts by RXOL, a technology that may provide bone regeneration therapy against bone disorders.

  13. Direct coercion – challenges for nursing practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karcz Edyta

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Direct coercion is a part of medical intervention in which the patient’s autonomy as a basic human right is limited. In clinical practice, there are situations in which the use of coercion is indeed necessary to protect the patient and his/her environment against the effects of growing aggression. A very important element of action in such cases is to ensure the safety of both the patient through professional care, and of the personel executing the coercive measure.

  14. Foreign Direct Investments and Human Capital Development in Subsaharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luc NEMBOT NDEFFO

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study is to estimate the impact of foreign direct investments on human capital development in 32 Subsaharan African countries over the period 1980 – 2005. Human capital is captured by the percentage of children in full-time education in primary and secondary schools. Panel data regressions are used for the estimations. The results show a correlation not only between FDI and the percentage of children in full-time education in primary school but also between the FDI and the percentage of children in full-time education in secondary school. These results are not significant for that. This shows that FDI directed towards Sub-Saharan Africa still remain insufficient. That is why a lot of effort should be made in order to favour the attraction of FDI in this part of the continent. The other variables which have a positive and significant impact on the percentage of children in full-time education are: the domestic investment rate, public sector expenditures, life expectancy at birth and the growth rate of the gross domestic product per capita.

  15. Counterfactual Processing of Economic Action-Outcome Alternatives in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Further Evidence of Impaired Goal-Directed Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillan, Claire M.; Morein-Zamir, Sharon; Kaser, Muzaffer; Fineberg, Naomi A.; Sule, Akeem; Sahakian, Barbara J.; Cardinal, Rudolf N.; Robbins, Trevor W.

    2014-01-01

    Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder of automatic, uncontrollable behaviors and obsessive rumination. There is evidence that OCD patients have difficulties performing goal-directed actions, instead exhibiting repetitive stimulus-response habit behaviors. This might result from the excessive formation of stimulus-response habit associations or from an impairment in the ability to use outcome value to guide behavior. We investigated the latter by examining counterfactual decision making, which is the ability to use comparisons of prospective action-outcome scenarios to guide economic choice. Methods We tested decision making (forward counterfactual) and affective responses (backward counterfactual) in 20 OCD patients and 20 matched healthy control subjects using an economic choice paradigm that previously revealed attenuation of both the experience and avoidance of counterfactual emotion in schizophrenia patients and patients with orbitofrontal cortex lesions. Results The use of counterfactual comparison to guide decision making was diminished in OCD patients, who relied primarily on expected value. Unlike the apathetic affective responses previously shown to accompany this decision style, OCD patients reported increased emotional responsivity to the outcomes of their choices and to the counterfactual comparisons that typify regret and relief. Conclusions Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients exhibit a pattern of decision making consistent with a disruption in goal-directed forward modeling, basing decisions instead on the temporally present (and more rational) calculation of expected value. In contrast to this style of decision making, emotional responses in OCD were more extreme and reactive than control subjects. These results are in line with an account of disrupted goal-directed cognitive control in OCD. PMID:23452663

  16. "She" Is Not Like "I": The Tie between Language and Action Is in Our Imagination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papeo, Liuba; Corradi-Dell'Acqua, Corrado; Rumiati, Raffaella Ida

    2011-01-01

    Embodied theories hold that understanding what another person is doing requires the observer to map that action directly onto his or her own motor representation and simulate it internally. The human motor system may, thus, be endowed with a "mirror matching" device through which the same motor representation is activated, when the subject is…

  17. Estimating the probability that the Taser directly causes human ventricular fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, H; Haemmerich, D; Rahko, P S; Webster, J G

    2010-04-01

    This paper describes the first methodology and results for estimating the order of probability for Tasers directly causing human ventricular fibrillation (VF). The probability of an X26 Taser causing human VF was estimated using: (1) current density near the human heart estimated by using 3D finite-element (FE) models; (2) prior data of the maximum dart-to-heart distances that caused VF in pigs; (3) minimum skin-to-heart distances measured in erect humans by echocardiography; and (4) dart landing distribution estimated from police reports. The estimated mean probability of human VF was 0.001 for data from a pig having a chest wall resected to the ribs and 0.000006 for data from a pig with no resection when inserting a blunt probe. The VF probability for a given dart location decreased with the dart-to-heart horizontal distance (radius) on the skin surface.

  18. Chemerin Elicits Potent Constrictor Actions via Chemokine-Like Receptor 1 (CMKLR1), not G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 1 (GPR1), in Human and Rat Vasculature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Amanda J; Yang, Peiran; Read, Cai; Kuc, Rhoda E; Yang, Lucy; Taylor, Emily J A; Taylor, Colin W; Maguire, Janet J; Davenport, Anthony P

    2016-10-14

    Circulating levels of chemerin are significantly higher in hypertensive patients and positively correlate with blood pressure. Chemerin activates chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1 or ChemR23) and is proposed to activate the "orphan" G-protein-coupled receptor 1 (GPR1), which has been linked with hypertension. Our aim was to localize chemerin, CMKLR1, and GPR1 in the human vasculature and determine whether 1 or both of these receptors mediate vasoconstriction. Using immunohistochemistry and molecular biology in conduit arteries and veins and resistance vessels, we localized chemerin to endothelium, smooth muscle, and adventitia and found that CMKLR1 and GPR1 were widely expressed in smooth muscle. C9 (chemerin149-157) contracted human saphenous vein (pD 2 =7.30±0.31) and resistance arteries (pD 2 =7.05±0.54) and increased blood pressure in rats by 9.1±1.0 mm Hg at 200 nmol. Crucially, these in vitro and in vivo vascular actions were blocked by CCX832, which we confirmed to be highly selective for CMKLR1 over GPR1. C9 inhibited cAMP accumulation in human aortic smooth muscle cells and preconstricted rat aorta, consistent with the observed vasoconstrictor action. Downstream signaling was explored further and, compared to chemerin, C9 showed a bias factor=≈5000 for the G i protein pathway, suggesting that CMKLR1 exhibits biased agonism. Our data suggest that chemerin acts at CMKLR1, but not GPR1, to increase blood pressure. Chemerin has an established detrimental role in metabolic syndrome, and these direct vascular actions may contribute to hypertension, an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This study provides proof of principle for the therapeutic potential of selective CMKLR1 antagonists. © 2016 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

  19. Structural behavior of human lumbar intervertebral disc under direct shear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Hendrik; Häussler, Kim; Wilke, Hans-Joachim; Wolfram, Uwe

    2015-03-18

    The intervertebral disc (IVD) is a complex, flexible joint between adjacent vertebral bodies that provides load transmission while permitting movements of the spinal column. Finite element models can be used to help clarify why and how IVDs fail or degenerate. To do so, it is of importance to validate those models against controllable experiments. Due to missing experimental data, shear properties are not used thus far in validating finite element models. This study aimed to investigate the structural shear properties of human lumbar IVDs in posteroanterior (PA) and laterolateral (LL) loading directions. Fourteen lumbar IVDs (median age: 49 years) underwent direct shear in PA and LL loading directions. A custom-build shear device was used in combination with a materials testing machine to load the specimens until failure. Shear stiffness, ultimate shear force and displacement, and work to failure were determined. Each specimen was tested until complete or partial disruption. Median stiffness in PA direction was 490 N/mm and in LL direction 568 N/mm. Median ultimate shear force in the PA direction was 2,877 N and in the LL direction 3,199 N. Work to failure was 12 Nm in the PA and 9 Nm in the LL direction. This study was an experiment to subject IVDs to direct shear. The results could help us to understand the structure and function of IVDs with regard to mechanical spinal stability, and they can be used to validate finite element models of the IVD.

  20. Coordinated action of histone modification and microRNA regulations in human genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuan; Zheng, Guantao; Dong, Dong

    2015-10-10

    Both histone modifications and microRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal role in gene expression regulation. Although numerous studies have been devoted to explore the gene regulation by miRNA and epigenetic regulations, their coordinated actions have not been comprehensively examined. In this work, we systematically investigated the combinatorial relationship between miRNA and epigenetic regulation by taking advantage of recently published whole genome-wide histone modification data and high quality miRNA targeting data. The results showed that miRNA targets have distinct histone modification patterns compared with non-targets in their promoter regions. Based on this finding, we proposed a machine learning approach to fit predictive models on the task to discern whether a gene is targeted by a specific miRNA. We found a considerable advantage in both sensitivity and specificity in diverse human cell lines. Finally, we found that our predicted miRNA targets are consistently annotated with Gene Ontology terms. Our work is the first genome-wide investigation of the coordinated action of miRNA and histone modification regulations, which provide a guide to deeply understand the complexity of transcriptional regulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. The Human Nuclear Exosome Targeting Complex Is Loaded onto Newly Synthesized RNA to Direct Early Ribonucleolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michal Lubas

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The RNA exosome complex constitutes the major nuclear eukaryotic 3′-5′ exonuclease. Outside of nucleoli, the human nucleoplasmic exosome is directed to some of its substrates by the nuclear exosome targeting (NEXT complex. How NEXT targets RNA has remained elusive. Using an in vivo crosslinking approach, we report global RNA binding sites of RBM7, a key component of NEXT. RBM7 associates broadly with RNA polymerase II-derived RNA, including pre-mRNA and short-lived exosome substrates such as promoter upstream transcripts (PROMPTs, enhancer RNAs (eRNAs, and 3′-extended products from snRNA and replication-dependent histone genes. Within pre-mRNA, RBM7 accumulates at the 3′ ends of introns, and pulse-labeling experiments demonstrate that RBM7/NEXT defines an early exosome-targeting pathway for 3′-extended snoRNAs derived from such introns. We propose that RBM7 is generally loaded onto newly synthesized RNA to accommodate exosome action in case of available unprotected RNA 3′ ends.

  2. On the role played by direct protection of the haemopoietic system cells in radioprotective action of some biogenous amines on the animal organism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smirnova, I.B.; Dontsova, G.V.; Yanushevskaya, M.I.; Graevskij, E.Ya.

    1975-01-01

    It has been found in mice, by a method of splenic exocolonies, that: (1) serotonin, adrenaline and noradrenaline can protect both isolated bone marrow cells and cells in situ (2) a considerable contribution to a radioprotective action of the amines under study on the animal organism is made by their direct protective effect on cells, (3) with serotonin and adrenaline, ''cell'' protection in the organism is added by a radioprotective action of tissue hypoxia caused by these amines

  3. Application of ultrasonic extraction method in the preparation of the directive action beverage from black currant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. S. Rodionova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of experimental determination of physical-and chemical parameters, the amount of anthocyanins, the definition of color and organoleptic characteristics of the beverage prepared with ultrasonic extraction method in comparison with the fruit-drink, obtained according to traditional recipe. Black currant was chosen the main raw material for the development of the beverage production technology. It is characterized by a high content of bioactive components that increase the adaptive abilities of human body. The purpose is to use ultrasonic extraction method in the preparation of functionally directed actions beverages. Extractor with submerged ultrasonic emitter was used as an experimental device. The essence of its operation is as follows: a mixture of the extractant and the plant substrate in different ratios was loaded into a container with the emitter, then the ultrasonic generator was turned on. The vibrations of ultrasonic frequency (22 kHz made high-frequency mechanical vibrations that caused the formation of intense cavitation areas and diffuse dissolution of cell substrates in the extractant in the treated mixture. The ultrasonic extraction technique involves brief contact of berries and extractant (up to 15 minutes upon application of ultrasonic vibrations. With an increase in exposure time, the yield of biologically active substances increases to reach an equilibrium state corresponding to the most complete exhaustion of raw materials. All this leads to a significant acceleration of the transition from the active ingredients from the raw materials into the extractant to obtain a product with improved physical - and chemical, organoleptic characteristics, as well as a higher antioxidant activity.

  4. COST action TD1407: network on technology-critical elements (NOTICE)--from environmental processes to human health threats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobelo-García, A; Filella, M; Croot, P; Frazzoli, C; Du Laing, G; Ospina-Alvarez, N; Rauch, S; Salaun, P; Schäfer, J; Zimmermann, S

    2015-10-01

    The current socio-economic, environmental and public health challenges that countries are facing clearly need common-defined strategies to inform and support our transition to a sustainable economy. Here, the technology-critical elements (which includes Ga, Ge, In, Te, Nb, Ta, Tl, the Platinum Group Elements and most of the rare-earth elements) are of great relevance in the development of emerging key technologies-including renewable energy, energy efficiency, electronics or the aerospace industry. In this context, the increasing use of technology-critical elements (TCEs) and associated environmental impacts (from mining to end-of-life waste products) is not restricted to a national level but covers most likely a global scale. Accordingly, the European COST Action TD1407: Network on Technology-Critical Elements (NOTICE)-from environmental processes to human health threats, has an overall objective for creating a network of scientists and practitioners interested in TCEs, from the evaluation of their environmental processes to understanding potential human health threats, with the aim of defining the current state of knowledge and gaps, proposing priority research lines/activities and acting as a platform for new collaborations and joint research projects. The Action is focused on three major scientific areas: (i) analytical chemistry, (ii) environmental biogeochemistry and (iii) human exposure and (eco)-toxicology.

  5. Consciousness in humans and non-human animals: recent advances and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boly, Melanie; Seth, Anil K; Wilke, Melanie; Ingmundson, Paul; Baars, Bernard; Laureys, Steven; Edelman, David B; Tsuchiya, Naotsugu

    2013-10-31

    This joint article reflects the authors' personal views regarding noteworthy advances in the neuroscience of consciousness in the last 10 years, and suggests what we feel may be promising future directions. It is based on a small conference at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, USA, in July of 2012, organized by the Mind Science Foundation of San Antonio, Texas. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of subjectivity in humans and other animals, including empirical, applied, technical, and conceptual insights. These include the evidence for the importance of fronto-parietal connectivity and of "top-down" processes, both of which enable information to travel across distant cortical areas effectively, as well as numerous dissociations between consciousness and cognitive functions, such as attention, in humans. In addition, we describe the development of mental imagery paradigms, which made it possible to identify covert awareness in non-responsive subjects. Non-human animal consciousness research has also witnessed substantial advances on the specific role of cortical areas and higher order thalamus for consciousness, thanks to important technological enhancements. In addition, much progress has been made in the understanding of non-vertebrate cognition relevant to possible conscious states. Finally, major advances have been made in theories of consciousness, and also in their comparison with the available evidence. Along with reviewing these findings, each author suggests future avenues for research in their field of investigation.

  6. Moral theological analysis of direct versus indirect abortion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haas, John M

    2017-08-01

    Cases of a vital conflict, where the lives of both the mother and child are at risk during pregnancy, have been the subject of recent vigorous debate. The basic principles put forth in the Ethical and Religious Directives are reviewed, as is the principle of double effect. An illustrative case of severe cardiomyopathy in a pregnant woman is described and it is noted that the principle of double effect would not apply. Counter arguments are noted, focusing on Martin Rhonheimer who posits that in the case of vital conflicts, such as performing a craniotomy on a baby stuck in the birth canal, taking the baby's life does not constitute a direct abortion because moral norms do not apply in the extreme conflict situation where both mother and child will die. He states that the death of the fetus is not intentional in these cases. He overlooks "how the life is being saved" and that a choice has been made, which implies a moral act, not just a physical one. Rhonheimer wants to make his moral judgment solely on the basis of intention, prescinding from what actually occurs in the physical world of cause and effect. This is clearly against the teaching in Evangelium vitae. Ethics deal with the deliberate chosen actions in space and time of embodied human beings; it deals inescapably with material actions, with specifications of intentions. Rhonheimer states, "a killing or an abortion is 'direct,' not because the death of the fetus is caused in some physically direct way, but because it is willed as the means to an end." However the death of the child cannot be excluded from the act and is therefore of necessity included in it. What the acting person chooses includes what happens physically in this act. If the action theory proposed by Rhonheimer is accepted, it could be very difficult to avoid death-dealing actions from taking place in Catholic hospitals. This is a moral analysis of cases of "vital conflicts," where the lives of both the mother and child are at risk during a

  7. Direct and indirect mechanisms for the induction of apparent DNA-protein crosslinks by far- and near-ultraviolet radiations in human cells in culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peak, M.J.; Peak, J.G.; Jones, C.A.

    1985-01-01

    DNA from human epithelioid P/sub 3/ cells in culture was studied by alkaline elution techniques after the cells were irradiated by monochromatic 254, 290, 313, 334, 365, 405, 434, and 545 nm ultraviolet light. An action spectrum (aerobic irradiation) for the relative efficiency of induction of apparent DNA-protein covalent bonds (crosslinks) showed a maximum at about 254 nm, with a secondary peak of activity at 405 nm. No changes in the crosslink production by 290 nm radiation were observed when the cells were irradiated under anoxic conditions or in an environment of D/sub 2/O. Under anoxic conditions, the induction of crosslinks was reduced by 80% at 405 nm, and, in the presence of D/sub 2/O, it was doubled. These findings constitute evidence that far- and near-UV radiations induce crosslinks by direct (absorption of photons directly by DNA) and indirect (photosensitizations involving nonDNA cellular sensitizers and reactive species of oxygen) mechanisms respectively

  8. Action recognition in depth video from RGB perspective: A knowledge transfer manner

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jun; Xiao, Yang; Cao, Zhiguo; Fang, Zhiwen

    2018-03-01

    Different video modal for human action recognition has becoming a highly promising trend in the video analysis. In this paper, we propose a method for human action recognition from RGB video to Depth video using domain adaptation, where we use learned feature from RGB videos to do action recognition for depth videos. More specifically, we make three steps for solving this problem in this paper. First, different from image, video is more complex as it has both spatial and temporal information, in order to better encode this information, dynamic image method is used to represent each RGB or Depth video to one image, based on this, most methods for extracting feature in image can be used in video. Secondly, as video can be represented as image, so standard CNN model can be used for training and testing for videos, beside, CNN model can be also used for feature extracting as its powerful feature expressing ability. Thirdly, as RGB videos and Depth videos are belong to two different domains, in order to make two different feature domains has more similarity, domain adaptation is firstly used for solving this problem between RGB and Depth video, based on this, the learned feature from RGB video model can be directly used for Depth video classification. We evaluate the proposed method on one complex RGB-D action dataset (NTU RGB-D), and our method can have more than 2% accuracy improvement using domain adaptation from RGB to Depth action recognition.

  9. Direct Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Haploid Spermatogenic Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles A. Easley, IV

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs have been shown to differentiate into primordial germ cells (PGCs but not into spermatogonia, haploid spermatocytes, or spermatids. Here, we show that hESCs and hiPSCs differentiate directly into advanced male germ cell lineages, including postmeiotic, spermatid-like cells, in vitro without genetic manipulation. Furthermore, our procedure mirrors spermatogenesis in vivo by differentiating PSCs into UTF1-, PLZF-, and CDH1-positive spermatogonia-like cells; HIWI- and HILI-positive spermatocyte-like cells; and haploid cells expressing acrosin, transition protein 1, and protamine 1 (proteins that are uniquely found in spermatids and/or sperm. These spermatids show uniparental genomic imprints similar to those of human sperm on two loci: H19 and IGF2. These results demonstrate that male PSCs have the ability to differentiate directly into advanced germ cell lineages and may represent a novel strategy for studying spermatogenesis in vitro.

  10. Action-based effects on music perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maes, Pieter-Jan; Leman, Marc; Palmer, Caroline; Wanderley, Marcelo M

    2014-01-03

    The classical, disembodied approach to music cognition conceptualizes action and perception as separate, peripheral processes. In contrast, embodied accounts of music cognition emphasize the central role of the close coupling of action and perception. It is a commonly established fact that perception spurs action tendencies. We present a theoretical framework that captures the ways in which the human motor system and its actions can reciprocally influence the perception of music. The cornerstone of this framework is the common coding theory, postulating a representational overlap in the brain between the planning, the execution, and the perception of movement. The integration of action and perception in so-called internal models is explained as a result of associative learning processes. Characteristic of internal models is that they allow intended or perceived sensory states to be transferred into corresponding motor commands (inverse modeling), and vice versa, to predict the sensory outcomes of planned actions (forward modeling). Embodied accounts typically refer to inverse modeling to explain action effects on music perception (Leman, 2007). We extend this account by pinpointing forward modeling as an alternative mechanism by which action can modulate perception. We provide an extensive overview of recent empirical evidence in support of this idea. Additionally, we demonstrate that motor dysfunctions can cause perceptual disabilities, supporting the main idea of the paper that the human motor system plays a functional role in auditory perception. The finding that music perception is shaped by the human motor system and its actions suggests that the musical mind is highly embodied. However, we advocate for a more radical approach to embodied (music) cognition in the sense that it needs to be considered as a dynamical process, in which aspects of action, perception, introspection, and social interaction are of crucial importance.

  11. Action-based effects on music perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maes, Pieter-Jan; Leman, Marc; Palmer, Caroline; Wanderley, Marcelo M.

    2013-01-01

    The classical, disembodied approach to music cognition conceptualizes action and perception as separate, peripheral processes. In contrast, embodied accounts of music cognition emphasize the central role of the close coupling of action and perception. It is a commonly established fact that perception spurs action tendencies. We present a theoretical framework that captures the ways in which the human motor system and its actions can reciprocally influence the perception of music. The cornerstone of this framework is the common coding theory, postulating a representational overlap in the brain between the planning, the execution, and the perception of movement. The integration of action and perception in so-called internal models is explained as a result of associative learning processes. Characteristic of internal models is that they allow intended or perceived sensory states to be transferred into corresponding motor commands (inverse modeling), and vice versa, to predict the sensory outcomes of planned actions (forward modeling). Embodied accounts typically refer to inverse modeling to explain action effects on music perception (Leman, 2007). We extend this account by pinpointing forward modeling as an alternative mechanism by which action can modulate perception. We provide an extensive overview of recent empirical evidence in support of this idea. Additionally, we demonstrate that motor dysfunctions can cause perceptual disabilities, supporting the main idea of the paper that the human motor system plays a functional role in auditory perception. The finding that music perception is shaped by the human motor system and its actions suggests that the musical mind is highly embodied. However, we advocate for a more radical approach to embodied (music) cognition in the sense that it needs to be considered as a dynamical process, in which aspects of action, perception, introspection, and social interaction are of crucial importance. PMID:24454299

  12. Action-based effects on music perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pieter-Jan eMaes

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The classical, disembodied approach to music cognition conceptualizes action and perception as separate, peripheral phenomena. In contrast, embodied accounts to music cognition emphasize the central role of the close coupling of action and perception. It is a commonly established fact that perception spurs action tendencies. We present a theoretical framework capturing the ways that the human motor system, and the actions it produces, can reciprocally influence the perception of music. The cornerstone of this framework is the common coding theory postulating a representational overlap in the brain between the planning, the execution, and the perception of movement. The integration of action and perception in so-called internal models is explained as a result of associative learning processes. Characteristic of internal models is that they allow intended or perceived sensory states to be transferred into corresponding motor commands (inverse modelling, and vice versa, to predict the sensory outcomes of planned actions (forward modelling. Embodied accounts typically adhere to inverse modelling to explain action effects on music perception (Leman, 2007. We extent this account by pinpointing forward modelling as an alternative mechanism by which action can modulate perception. We provide an extensive overview of recent empirical evidence in support of this idea. Additionally, we demonstrate that motor dysfunctions can cause perceptual disabilities, supporting the main idea of the paper that the human motor system plays a functional role in auditory perception. The finding that music perception is shaped by the human motor system, and the action it produces, suggests that the musical mind is highly embodied. However, we advocate for a more radical approach to embodied (music cognition in the sense that it needs to be considered as a dynamic process, in which aspects of action, perception, introspection, and social interaction are of crucial

  13. The need and direction of a human factors research program for the nuclear power industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blackman, H.S.; Meyer, O.R.; Nelson, W.R.

    1986-01-01

    It is axiomatic that the need for a human factors program in the nuclear power industry must be based upon an examination of the process of nuclear energy production and the role that the human plays in this process. It has been pointed out by others that a large number of incidents in technology based industries can be attributed to human error, thereby demonstrating the need to understand the human in interacting with complex processes. But an emphasis upon human ''error'' is a negative approach and can be non-productive, particularly when the ''correct'' human action has not been clearly defined prior to the incident. Some industries have expended great resources in a positive attempt to maximize the performance of the human in critical roles, e.g., the man-in-space program, the commercial airlines industry, deep-sea exploration. Central to this issue of human factors in nuclear power is the question of the role that the human plays in reducing the risk of the total system. If, as in other areas of application, the nuclear industry can make substantial improvements in the performance of humans, one needs to know how much risk is really reduced

  14. Translating visual information into action predictions: Statistical learning in action and nonaction contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monroy, Claire D; Gerson, Sarah A; Hunnius, Sabine

    2018-05-01

    Humans are sensitive to the statistical regularities in action sequences carried out by others. In the present eyetracking study, we investigated whether this sensitivity can support the prediction of upcoming actions when observing unfamiliar action sequences. In two between-subjects conditions, we examined whether observers would be more sensitive to statistical regularities in sequences performed by a human agent versus self-propelled 'ghost' events. Secondly, we investigated whether regularities are learned better when they are associated with contingent effects. Both implicit and explicit measures of learning were compared between agent and ghost conditions. Implicit learning was measured via predictive eye movements to upcoming actions or events, and explicit learning was measured via both uninstructed reproduction of the action sequences and verbal reports of the regularities. The findings revealed that participants, regardless of condition, readily learned the regularities and made correct predictive eye movements to upcoming events during online observation. However, different patterns of explicit-learning outcomes emerged following observation: Participants were most likely to re-create the sequence regularities and to verbally report them when they had observed an actor create a contingent effect. These results suggest that the shift from implicit predictions to explicit knowledge of what has been learned is facilitated when observers perceive another agent's actions and when these actions cause effects. These findings are discussed with respect to the potential role of the motor system in modulating how statistical regularities are learned and used to modify behavior.

  15. The effect of atomoxetine on random and directed exploration in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Christopher M; Wilson, Robert C; van der Wee, Nic J; Giltay, Eric J; van Noorden, Martijn S; Cohen, Jonathan D; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

    2017-01-01

    The adaptive regulation of the trade-off between pursuing a known reward (exploitation) and sampling lesser-known options in search of something better (exploration) is critical for optimal performance. Theory and recent empirical work suggest that humans use at least two strategies for solving this dilemma: a directed strategy in which choices are explicitly biased toward information seeking, and a random strategy in which decision noise leads to exploration by chance. Here we examined the hypothesis that random exploration is governed by the neuromodulatory locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system. We administered atomoxetine, a norepinephrine transporter blocker that increases extracellular levels of norepinephrine throughout the cortex, to 22 healthy human participants in a double-blind crossover design. We examined the effect of treatment on performance in a gambling task designed to produce distinct measures of directed exploration and random exploration. In line with our hypothesis we found an effect of atomoxetine on random, but not directed exploration. However, contrary to expectation, atomoxetine reduced rather than increased random exploration. We offer three potential explanations of our findings, involving the non-linear relationship between tonic NE and cognitive performance, the interaction of atomoxetine with other neuromodulators, and the possibility that atomoxetine affected phasic norepinephrine activity more so than tonic norepinephrine activity.

  16. Time Based Workload Analysis Method for Safety-Related Operator Actions in Safety Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yun Goo; Oh, Eung Se [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    During the design basis event, the safety system performs safety functions to mitigate the event. The most of safety system is actuated by automatic system however, there are operator manual actions that are needed for the plant safety. These operator actions are classified as important human actions in human factors engineering design. The human factors engineering analysis and evaluation is needed for these important human actions to assure that operator successfully perform their tasks for plant safety and operational goals. The work load analysis is one of the required analysis for the important human actions.

  17. Time Based Workload Analysis Method for Safety-Related Operator Actions in Safety Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yun Goo; Oh, Eung Se

    2016-01-01

    During the design basis event, the safety system performs safety functions to mitigate the event. The most of safety system is actuated by automatic system however, there are operator manual actions that are needed for the plant safety. These operator actions are classified as important human actions in human factors engineering design. The human factors engineering analysis and evaluation is needed for these important human actions to assure that operator successfully perform their tasks for plant safety and operational goals. The work load analysis is one of the required analysis for the important human actions.

  18. [Is autonomy ground of human dignity?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordillo Alvarez-Valdés, Lourdes

    2008-01-01

    This paper considers the conditions of autonomy if this is to be the foundation of human dignity. Since Kant Modernity has dissociated nature from morality and has tried to support autonomy in its purely formal aspect. To forget nature has voluntarist consequences that affect the way in which autonomy is understand. But autonomy does not consist of not having links, but of knowing how to assume one's own links freely and to be conscious of one's own limits. Autonomy and liberty are the very thing of the rational being, capable of discerning good and bad, and this must direct our actions. Reason directs as and distances us from reality to recognize the advisable thing in the human being.

  19. Counterfactual processing of economic action-outcome alternatives in obsessive-compulsive disorder: further evidence of impaired goal-directed behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillan, Claire M; Morein-Zamir, Sharon; Kaser, Muzaffer; Fineberg, Naomi A; Sule, Akeem; Sahakian, Barbara J; Cardinal, Rudolf N; Robbins, Trevor W

    2014-04-15

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder of automatic, uncontrollable behaviors and obsessive rumination. There is evidence that OCD patients have difficulties performing goal-directed actions, instead exhibiting repetitive stimulus-response habit behaviors. This might result from the excessive formation of stimulus-response habit associations or from an impairment in the ability to use outcome value to guide behavior. We investigated the latter by examining counterfactual decision making, which is the ability to use comparisons of prospective action-outcome scenarios to guide economic choice. We tested decision making (forward counterfactual) and affective responses (backward counterfactual) in 20 OCD patients and 20 matched healthy control subjects using an economic choice paradigm that previously revealed attenuation of both the experience and avoidance of counterfactual emotion in schizophrenia patients and patients with orbitofrontal cortex lesions. The use of counterfactual comparison to guide decision making was diminished in OCD patients, who relied primarily on expected value. Unlike the apathetic affective responses previously shown to accompany this decision style, OCD patients reported increased emotional responsivity to the outcomes of their choices and to the counterfactual comparisons that typify regret and relief. Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients exhibit a pattern of decision making consistent with a disruption in goal-directed forward modeling, basing decisions instead on the temporally present (and more rational) calculation of expected value. In contrast to this style of decision making, emotional responses in OCD were more extreme and reactive than control subjects. These results are in line with an account of disrupted goal-directed cognitive control in OCD. Copyright © 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Are flood victims more concerned about climate change than other people? The role of direct experience in risk perception and behavioural response

    OpenAIRE

    Whitmarsh, Lorraine E.

    2008-01-01

    Climate change is a threat to human health and life, both now and in the future. Despite this, studies show that the public typically do not consider the issue a priority concern or a direct, personal threat. Furthermore, few are taking any preventive or protective action. Previous studies identify direct experience as a major influence on risk perception, learning and action. Drawing on such evidence, this paper focuses on the intangibility of climate change as a key impediment to personal e...

  1. Progress in Human Nutrition, Volume 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margen, Sheldon, Ed.

    In view of the international character of nutrition and interrelationships and meaning of food to all people, this annual series of open-ended books has been started to direct attention to the aspects of human nutrition in regard to the quality of life. It is believed the study of the action nutrients, their interrelationships, and their ingestion…

  2. Comparative investigations of manual action representations: evidence that chimpanzees represent the costs of potential future actions involving tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frey, Scott H; Povinelli, Daniel J

    2012-01-12

    The ability to adjust one's ongoing actions in the anticipation of forthcoming task demands is considered as strong evidence for the existence of internal action representations. Studies of action selection in tool use reveal that the behaviours that we choose in the present moment differ depending on what we intend to do next. Further, they point to a specialized role for mechanisms within the human cerebellum and dominant left cerebral hemisphere in representing the likely sensory costs of intended future actions. Recently, the question of whether similar mechanisms exist in other primates has received growing, but still limited, attention. Here, we present data that bear on this issue from a species that is a natural user of tools, our nearest living relative, the chimpanzee. In experiment 1, a subset of chimpanzees showed a non-significant tendency for their grip preferences to be affected by anticipation of the demands associated with bringing a tool's baited end to their mouths. In experiment 2, chimpanzees' initial grip preferences were consistently affected by anticipation of the forthcoming movements in a task that involves using a tool to extract a food reward. The partial discrepancy between the results of these two studies is attributed to the ability to accurately represent differences between the motor costs associated with executing the two response alternatives available within each task. These findings suggest that chimpanzees are capable of accurately representing the costs of intended future actions, and using those predictions to select movements in the present even in the context of externally directed tool use.

  3. Molecular action mechanisms of solar infrared radiation and heat on human skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhalaya, M Ya; Maksimov, G V; Rubin, A B; Lademann, J; Darvin, M E

    2014-07-01

    The generation of ROS underlies all solar infrared-affected therapeutic and pathological cutaneous effects. The signaling pathway NF-kB is responsible for the induced therapeutic effects, while the AP-1 for the pathological effects. The different signaling pathways of infrared-induced ROS and infrared-induced heat shock ROS were shown to act independently multiplying the influence on each other by increasing the doses of irradiation and/or increasing the temperature. The molecular action mechanisms of solar infrared radiation and heat on human skin are summarized and discussed in detail in the present paper. The critical doses are determined. Protection strategies against infrared-induced skin damage are proposed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A Suspicious Action Detection System Considering Time Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozuka, Noriaki; Kimura, Koji; Hagiwara, Masafumi

    The paper proposes a new system that can detect suspicious actions such as a car break-in and surroundings in an open space parking, based on image processing. The proposed system focuses on three points of “order”, “time”, and “location” of human actions. The proposed system has the following features: it 1) deals time series data flow, 2) estimates human actions and the location, 3) extracts suspicious action detection rules automatically, 4) detects suspicious actions using the suspicious score. We carried out experiments using real image sequences. As a result, we obtained about 7.8% higher estimation rate than the conventional system.

  5. Robotic movement preferentially engages the action observation network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cross, E.S.; Liepelt, R.; Hamilton, A.F.D.C.; Parkinson, J.; Ramsey, R.; Stadler, W.; Prinz, W.G.

    2012-01-01

    As humans, we gather a wide range of information about other people from watching them move. A network of parietal, premotor, and occipitotemporal regions within the human brain, termed the action observation network (AON), has been implicated in understanding others' actions by means of an

  6. Direct Lineage Reprogramming Reveals Disease-Specific Phenotypes of Motor Neurons from Human ALS Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meng-Lu Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Subtype-specific neurons obtained from adult humans will be critical to modeling neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS. Here, we show that adult human skin fibroblasts can be directly and efficiently converted into highly pure motor neurons without passing through an induced pluripotent stem cell stage. These adult human induced motor neurons (hiMNs exhibit the cytological and electrophysiological features of spinal motor neurons and form functional neuromuscular junctions (NMJs with skeletal muscles. Importantly, hiMNs converted from ALS patient fibroblasts show disease-specific degeneration manifested through poor survival, soma shrinkage, hypoactivity, and an inability to form NMJs. A chemical screen revealed that the degenerative features of ALS hiMNs can be remarkably rescued by the small molecule kenpaullone. Taken together, our results define a direct and efficient strategy to obtain disease-relevant neuronal subtypes from adult human patients and reveal their promising value in disease modeling and drug identification.

  7. A framework of dynamic analysis for risks asociated with human activity at radioactive waste disposal sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umeki, H.; Masuda, S.

    1989-01-01

    Human intrusive actions at radioactive waste disposal sites which cause radiological impact were identified in connection with other events and processes on the influence diagram. The scenarios of less likely events including human intrusive actions were generated from the diagram and then treated by probabilistic way. For assigning probabilities of events dynamically, simultaneous difference equations were introduced and simple general solutions which satisfy the equations were used to illustrate the example calculations for both direct and indirect impacts by human intrusive actions such as drilling/mining and pumping of groundwater. The method developed here will be useful for both scenario screening in overall scenario study and risk calculation combined with consequence analysis

  8. "The Human Condition" as social ontology: Hannah Arendt on society, action and knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Philip

    2011-01-01

    Hannah Arendt is widely regarded as a political theorist who sought to rescue politics from "society," and political theory from the social sciences. This conventional view has had the effect of distracting attention from many of Arendt's most important insights concerning the constitution of "society" and the significance of the social sciences. In this article, I argue that Hannah Arendt's distinctions between labor, work, and action, as these are discussed in "The Human Condition" and elsewhere, are best understood as a set of claims about the fundamental structures of human societies. Understanding Arendt in this way introduces interesting parallels between Arendt's work and both classical and contemporary sociology. From this I draw a number of conclusions concerning Arendt's conception of "society," and extend these insights into two contemporary debates within contemporary theoretical sociology: the need for a differentiated ontology of the social world, and the changing role that novel forms of knowledge play in contemporary society as major sources of social change and order.

  9. Is Earth F**ked? Dynamical Futility of Global Environmental Management and Possibilities for Sustainability via Direct Action Activism

    Science.gov (United States)

    wErnEr, B.

    2012-12-01

    Environmental challenges are dynamically generated within the dominant global culture principally by the mismatch between short-time-scale market and political forces driving resource extraction/use and longer-time-scale accommodations of the Earth system to these changes. Increasing resource demand is leading to the development of two-way, nonlinear interactions between human societies and environmental systems that are becoming global in extent, either through globalized markets and other institutions or through coupling to global environmental systems such as climate. These trends are further intensified by dissipation-reducing technological advances in transactions, communication and transport, which suppress emergence of longer-time-scale economic and political levels of description and facilitate long-distance connections, and by predictive environmental modeling, which strengthens human connections to a short-time-scale virtual Earth, and weakens connections to the longer time scales of the actual Earth. Environmental management seeks to steer fast scale economic and political interests of a coupled human-environmental system towards longer-time-scale consideration of benefits and costs by operating within the confines of the dominant culture using a linear, engineering-type connection to the system. Perhaps as evidenced by widespread inability to meaningfully address such global environmental challenges as climate change and soil degradation, nonlinear connections reduce the ability of managers to operate outside coupled human-environmental systems, decreasing their effectiveness in steering towards sustainable interactions and resulting in managers slaved to short-to-intermediate-term interests. In sum, the dynamics of the global coupled human-environmental system within the dominant culture precludes management for stable, sustainable pathways and promotes instability. Environmental direct action, resistance taken from outside the dominant culture, as in

  10. 7. april 2005 inter-departmental directive on the actions of public authority in case of event leading to an emergency radiological situation (1); Directive interministerielle du 7 avril 2005 sur l'action des pouvoirs publics en cas d'evenement entrainant une situation d'urgence radiologique (1)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-07-01

    This directive concerns the management of a nuclear crisis. A correct information of Public Authorities is necessary at every level in order that actions to be lead can be in agreement with the situation. The protection of person, possessions and environment is the priority objective of Publics Authorities. This imperative is taken into account by the modalities exposed in the present directive, that determines the frame of the Public Authorities organization as well as the arrangements to take by Authorities in case of nuclear event. (N.C.)

  11. Beyond rational imitation: learning arbitrary means actions from communicative demonstrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Király, Ildikó; Csibra, Gergely; Gergely, György

    2013-10-01

    The principle of rationality has been invoked to explain that infants expect agents to perform the most efficient means action to attain a goal. It has also been demonstrated that infants take into account the efficiency of observed actions to achieve a goal outcome when deciding whether to reenact a specific behavior or not. It is puzzling, however, that they also tend to imitate an apparently suboptimal unfamiliar action even when they can bring about the same outcome more efficiently by applying a more rational action alternative available to them. We propose that this apparently paradoxical behavior is explained by infants' interpretation of action demonstrations as communicative manifestations of novel and culturally relevant means actions to be acquired, and we present empirical evidence supporting this proposal. In Experiment 1, we found that 14-month-olds reenacted novel arbitrary means actions only following a communicative demonstration. Experiment 2 showed that infants' inclination to reproduce communicatively manifested novel actions is restricted to behaviors they can construe as goal-directed instrumental acts. The study also provides evidence that infants' reenactment of the demonstrated novel actions reflects epistemic motives rather than purely social motives. We argue that ostensive communication enables infants to represent the teleological structure of novel actions even when the causal relations between means and end are cognitively opaque and apparently violate the efficiency expectation derived from the principle of rationality. This new account of imitative learning of novel means shows how the teleological stance and natural pedagogy--two separate cognitive adaptations to interpret instrumental versus communicative actions--are integrated as a system for learning socially constituted instrumental knowledge in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Direct Neural Conversion from Human Fibroblasts Using Self-Regulating and Nonintegrating Viral Vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shong Lau

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Recent findings show that human fibroblasts can be directly programmed into functional neurons without passing via a proliferative stem cell intermediate. These findings open up the possibility of generating subtype-specific neurons of human origin for therapeutic use from fetal cell, from patients themselves, or from matched donors. In this study, we present an improved system for direct neural conversion of human fibroblasts. The neural reprogramming genes are regulated by the neuron-specific microRNA, miR-124, such that each cell turns off expression of the reprogramming genes once the cell has reached a stable neuronal fate. The regulated system can be combined with integrase-deficient vectors, providing a nonintegrative and self-regulated conversion system that rids problems associated with the integration of viral transgenes into the host genome. These modifications make the system suitable for clinical use and therefore represent a major step forward in the development of induced neurons for cell therapy. : Lau et al. now use miRNA targeting to build a self-regulating neural conversion system. Combined with nonintegrating vectors, this system can efficiently drive conversion of human fibroblasts into functional induced neurons (iNs suitable for clinical applications.

  13. Spatial Working Memory Is Necessary for Actions to Guide Thought

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Laura E.

    2013-01-01

    Directed actions can play a causal role in cognition, shaping thought processes. What drives this cross-talk between action and thought? I investigated the hypothesis that representations in spatial working memory mediate interactions between directed actions and problem solving. Participants attempted to solve an insight problem while…

  14. Animated pose templates for modeling and detecting human actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Benjamin Z; Nie, Bruce X; Liu, Zicheng; Zhu, Song-Chun

    2014-03-01

    This paper presents animated pose templates (APTs) for detecting short-term, long-term, and contextual actions from cluttered scenes in videos. Each pose template consists of two components: 1) a shape template with deformable parts represented in an And-node whose appearances are represented by the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) features, and 2) a motion template specifying the motion of the parts by the Histogram of Optical-Flows (HOF) features. A shape template may have more than one motion template represented by an Or-node. Therefore, each action is defined as a mixture (Or-node) of pose templates in an And-Or tree structure. While this pose template is suitable for detecting short-term action snippets in two to five frames, we extend it in two ways: 1) For long-term actions, we animate the pose templates by adding temporal constraints in a Hidden Markov Model (HMM), and 2) for contextual actions, we treat contextual objects as additional parts of the pose templates and add constraints that encode spatial correlations between parts. To train the model, we manually annotate part locations on several keyframes of each video and cluster them into pose templates using EM. This leaves the unknown parameters for our learning algorithm in two groups: 1) latent variables for the unannotated frames including pose-IDs and part locations, 2) model parameters shared by all training samples such as weights for HOG and HOF features, canonical part locations of each pose, coefficients penalizing pose-transition and part-deformation. To learn these parameters, we introduce a semi-supervised structural SVM algorithm that iterates between two steps: 1) learning (updating) model parameters using labeled data by solving a structural SVM optimization, and 2) imputing missing variables (i.e., detecting actions on unlabeled frames) with parameters learned from the previous step and progressively accepting high-score frames as newly labeled examples. This algorithm belongs to a

  15. Habitual versus goal-directed action control in Parkinson disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wit, Sanne; Barker, Roger A; Dickinson, Anthony D; Cools, Roshan

    2011-05-01

    This study presents the first direct investigation of the hypothesis that dopamine depletion of the dorsal striatum in mild Parkinson disease leads to impaired stimulus-response habit formation, thereby rendering behavior slow and effortful. However, using an instrumental conflict task, we show that patients are able to rely on direct stimulus-response associations when a goal-directed strategy causes response conflict, suggesting that habit formation is not impaired. If anything our results suggest a disease severity-dependent deficit in goal-directed behavior. These results are discussed in the context of Parkinson disease and the neurobiology of habitual and goal-directed behavior.

  16. The Non-Genomic Actions of Vitamin D

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles S Hii

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Since its discovery in 1920, a great deal of effort has gone into investigating the physiological actions of vitamin D and the impact its deficiency has on human health. Despite this intense interest, there is still disagreement on what constitutes the lower boundary of adequacy and on the Recommended Dietary Allowance. There has also been a major push to elucidate the biochemistry of vitamin D, its metabolic pathways and the mechanisms that mediate its action. Originally thought to act by altering the expression of target genes, it was realized in the mid-1980s that some of the actions of vitamin D were too rapid to be accounted for by changes at the genomic level. These rapid non-genomic actions have attracted as much interest as the genomic actions and they have spawned additional questions in an already busy field. This mini-review attempts to summarise the in vitro and in vivo work that has been conducted to characterise the rapid non-genomic actions, the mechanisms that give rise to these properties and the roles that these play in the overall action of vitamin D at the cellular level. Understanding the effects of vitamin D at the cellular level should enable the design of elegant human studies to extract the full potential of vitamin D to benefit human health.

  17. Recognizing human actions by learning and matching shape-motion prototype trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Zhuolin; Lin, Zhe; Davis, Larry S

    2012-03-01

    A shape-motion prototype-based approach is introduced for action recognition. The approach represents an action as a sequence of prototypes for efficient and flexible action matching in long video sequences. During training, an action prototype tree is learned in a joint shape and motion space via hierarchical K-means clustering and each training sequence is represented as a labeled prototype sequence; then a look-up table of prototype-to-prototype distances is generated. During testing, based on a joint probability model of the actor location and action prototype, the actor is tracked while a frame-to-prototype correspondence is established by maximizing the joint probability, which is efficiently performed by searching the learned prototype tree; then actions are recognized using dynamic prototype sequence matching. Distance measures used for sequence matching are rapidly obtained by look-up table indexing, which is an order of magnitude faster than brute-force computation of frame-to-frame distances. Our approach enables robust action matching in challenging situations (such as moving cameras, dynamic backgrounds) and allows automatic alignment of action sequences. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach achieves recognition rates of 92.86 percent on a large gesture data set (with dynamic backgrounds), 100 percent on the Weizmann action data set, 95.77 percent on the KTH action data set, 88 percent on the UCF sports data set, and 87.27 percent on the CMU action data set.

  18. 77 FR 71695 - Secondary Direct Food Additives Permitted in Food for Human Consumption; Sodium...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 173 [Docket No. FDA-2011-F-0853] Secondary Direct Food Additives Permitted in Food for Human Consumption; Sodium... dodecylbenzenesulfonate (CAS No. 25155-30-0) as an antimicrobial agent for use in wash water for fruits and vegetables...

  19. New sensitive direct radioimmunoassay for human plasma renin and its clinical application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Higaki, J.; Ogihara, T.; Imai, N.; Kumahara, Y.; Hontani, S.; Nishiura, M.; Ogawa, H.; Hirose, S.; Murakami, K.

    1984-01-01

    A new sensitive direct radioimmunoassay for human plasma renin has been developed. Renin was purified from Haas' preparation utilizing a pepstatin-C 6 -Sepharose affinity chromatography. Antiserum, prepared by immunizing rabbits with the purified renin, was used for the direct radioimmunoassay at a final dilution of 1:30,000. The antibody was specific for human renal and plasma renin, but did not cross-react with cathepsin D, trypsin, or renins of mouse, dog, and rat. Radioimmunoassay was performed by the double antibody technique using the delayed tracer addition method. In this method, a standard curve was obtained over a range from 0.2 to 8.0 ng/ml. The values from this assay correlated well with total renin activity measured as the generation rate of angiotensin I after trypsin activation, but correlated weakly with active renin activity. This finding disclosed that both active and inactive renin were detected by this method. In normal participants, plasma renin concentration determined by direct radioimmunoassay was increased by standing and furosemide injection. The plasma renin concentration determined by direct radioimmunoassay of patients with essential hypertension was not significantly different from values in normal controls. The values were higher in patients with renovascular hypertension, malignant hypertension and Bartter's syndrome, but lower in patients with primary aldosteronism than in normal controls. 20 references, 7 figures

  20. Effects of social intention on movement kinematics in cooperative actions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francois eQuesque

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Optimal control models of biological movements are used to account for those internal variables that constrain voluntary goal-directed actions. They however do not take into account external environmental constraints as those associated to social intention. We investigated here the effects of the social context on kinematic characteristics of sequential actions consisting in placing an object on an initial pad (preparatory action before reaching and grasping as fast as possible the object to move it to another location (main action. Reach-to-grasp actions were performed either in an isolated condition or in the presence of a partner (audience effect, located in the near or far space (effect of shared reachable space, and who could intervene on the object in a systematic fashion (effect of social intention effect or not (effect of social uncertainty. Results showed an absence of audience effect but nevertheless an influence of the social context both on the main and the preparatory actions. In particular, a localized effect of shared reachable space was observed on the main action, which was smoother when performed within the reachable space of the partner. Furthermore, a global effect of social uncertainty was observed on both actions with faster and jerkier movements. Finally, social intention affected the preparatory action with higher wrist displacements and slower movements when the object was placed for the partner rather than placed for self-use. Overall, these results demonstrate specific effects of action space, social uncertainty and social intention on the planning of reach-to-grasp actions, in particular on the preparatory action, which was performed with no specific execution constraint. These findings underline the importance of considering the social context in optimal models of action control for human-robot interactions, in particular when focusing on the implementation of motor parameters required to afford intuitive

  1. Sleep-dependent directional coupling between human neocortex and hippocampus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Tobias; Axmacher, Nikolai; Lehnertz, Klaus; Elger, Christian E; Fell, Jürgen

    2010-02-01

    Complex interactions between neocortex and hippocampus are the neural basis of memory formation. Two-step theories of memory formation suggest that initial encoding of novel information depends on the induction of rapid plasticity within the hippocampus, and is followed by a second sleep-dependent step of memory consolidation. These theories predict information flow from the neocortex into the hippocampus during waking state and in the reverse direction during sleep. However, experimental evidence that interactions between hippocampus and neocortex have a predominant direction which reverses during sleep rely on cross-correlation analysis of data from animal experiments and yielded inconsistent results. Here, we investigated directional coupling in intracranial EEG data from human subjects using a phase-modeling approach which is well suited to reveal functional interdependencies in oscillatory data. In general, we observed that the anterior hippocampus predominantly drives nearby and remote brain regions. Surprisingly, however, the influence of neocortical regions on the hippocampus significantly increased during sleep as compared to waking state. These results question the standard model of hippocampal-neocortical interactions and suggest that sleep-dependent consolidation is accomplished by an active retrieval of hippocampal information by the neocortex. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved.

  2. Waste - the human factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLaren, D.J.

    1993-01-01

    Waste is a human concept, referring to things that have no use to human beings and arising entirely from human activities. It is the useless residue of any human process that affects the economy or environment. The changes brought about by the industrial revolution are enormous; fossil fuels, not just photosynthesis, now provide energy and wastes at rates far exceeding the capacity of the ecosystem to absorb or recycle. Three major problems face the Planet: accelerated population growth, accelerated use of resources for energy and industry, and the disproportionate use of resources and waste between the northern and southern parts of the Planet. Knowledge and science are in a position to provide both human creativity and the directed technology to take remedial action and rediscover harmony between nature and mankind. Only social and political will is lacking

  3. The allocation of attention to learning of goal-directed actions: A cognitive neuroscience framework focusing on the basal ganglia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liz eFranz

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The present paper builds on the idea that attention is largely in service of our actions. A framework and model which captures the allocation of attention for learning of goal-directed actions is proposed and developed. This framework highlights an evolutionary model based on the notion that rudimentary brain functions have become embedded into increasingly higher levels of networks which all contribute to adaptive learning. Background literature is presented alongside key evidence based on experimental studies in the so-called ‘split-brain’ (surgically divided cerebral hemispheres with a key focus on bimanual actions. The proposed multilevel cognitive-neural system of attention is built upon key processes of a highly-adaptive basal-ganglia-thalamic-cortical system. Although overlap with other existing findings and models is acknowledged where appropriate, the proposed framework is an original synthesis of cognitive experimental findings with supporting evidence of a neural system and a carefully formulated model of attention. It is the hope that this new synthesis will be informative in fields of cognition and other fields of brain sciences and will lead to new avenues for experimentation across domains.

  4. The effect of oxytocin on human-directed social behaviour in dogs (Canis familiaris).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kis, Anna; Ciobica, Alin; Topál, József

    2017-08-01

    The oxytocin system has recently received increasing attention due to its effect on complex human behaviours. In parallel to this, over the past couple of decades, the human-analogue social behaviour of dogs has been intensively studied. Combining these two lines of research (e.g. studying the relationship between dog social behaviour and the oxytocin system) is a promising new research area. The present paper reviews the existing literature on how oxytocin is related to different aspects of human-directed social behaviour in dogs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Photon Energy Threshold in Direct Photocatalysis with Metal Nanoparticles: Key Evidence from the Action Spectrum of the Reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarina, Sarina; Jaatinen, Esa; Xiao, Qi; Huang, Yi Ming; Christopher, Philip; Zhao, Jin Cai; Zhu, Huai Yong

    2017-06-01

    By investigating the action spectra (the relationship between the irradiation wavelength and apparent quantum efficiency of reactions under constant irradiance) of a number of reactions catalyzed by nanoparticles including plasmonic metals, nonplasmonic metals, and their alloys at near-ambient temperatures, we found that a photon energy threshold exists in each photocatalytic reaction; only photons with sufficient energy (e.g., higher than the energy level of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals) can initiate the reactions. This energy alignment (and the photon energy threshold) is determined by various factors, including the wavelength and intensity of irradiation, molecule structure, reaction temperature, and so forth. Hence, distinct action spectra were observed in the same type of reaction catalyzed by the same catalyst due to a different substituent group, a slightly changed reaction temperature. These results indicate that photon-electron excitations, instead of the photothermal effect, play a dominant role in direct photocatalysis of metal nanoparticles for many reactions.

  6. [Antihypoxic effect of 3-hydroxypyridine and succinic acid derivatives and their nootropic action in alloxan diabetes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volchegorskiĭ, I A; Rassokhina, L M; Miroshnichenko, I Iu

    2011-01-01

    Relationship between the antihypoxic effect of 3-hydroxypyridine and succinic acid derivatives (emoxipine, reamberin and mexidol) and their effect on conditional learning, glycemia, and lipidemia was studied in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. In parallel, the analogous relationship was investigated for alpha-lipoic acid that is regarded as a "gold standard" in treatment of diabetic neuropathy. It was established that single administration of emoxipine and mexidol in mice in doses equivalent to therapeutic-range doses in humans produces antihypoxic effect manifested by increased resistance to acute hypoxic hypoxia in test animals. Alpha-lipoic acid is inferior to emoxipin and mexidol in the degree of antihypoxic action. Reamberin does not exhibit this effect. The introduction of emoxipin, reamberin, mexidol, and alpha-lipoic acid in rats with alloxan diabetes during 7 or 14 days in doses equivalent to therapeutic-range doses in humans corrects conditional learning disorders in direct relationship with the antihypoxic activity of these drugs. The development of the nootropic effect of emoxipin, mexidol, and alpha-lipoic acid is related to a decrease in hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in rats with alloxan diabetes. The nootropic action of reamberin is accompanied by a transient hypoglycemizing effect and aggravation of dyslipidemic disorders. The antihypoxic activity of investigated drugs determines the direction and expression of their lipidemic effect, but is not correlated with the hypoglycemizing action these drugs on test animals with alloxan diabetes.

  7. Reasoning, learning, and creativity: frontal lobe function and human decision-making.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Collins

    Full Text Available The frontal lobes subserve decision-making and executive control--that is, the selection and coordination of goal-directed behaviors. Current models of frontal executive function, however, do not explain human decision-making in everyday environments featuring uncertain, changing, and especially open-ended situations. Here, we propose a computational model of human executive function that clarifies this issue. Using behavioral experiments, we show that unlike others, the proposed model predicts human decisions and their variations across individuals in naturalistic situations. The model reveals that for driving action, the human frontal function monitors up to three/four concurrent behavioral strategies and infers online their ability to predict action outcomes: whenever one appears more reliable than unreliable, this strategy is chosen to guide the selection and learning of actions that maximize rewards. Otherwise, a new behavioral strategy is tentatively formed, partly from those stored in long-term memory, then probed, and if competitive confirmed to subsequently drive action. Thus, the human executive function has a monitoring capacity limited to three or four behavioral strategies. This limitation is compensated by the binary structure of executive control that in ambiguous and unknown situations promotes the exploration and creation of new behavioral strategies. The results support a model of human frontal function that integrates reasoning, learning, and creative abilities in the service of decision-making and adaptive behavior.

  8. Reasoning, learning, and creativity: frontal lobe function and human decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Anne; Koechlin, Etienne

    2012-01-01

    The frontal lobes subserve decision-making and executive control--that is, the selection and coordination of goal-directed behaviors. Current models of frontal executive function, however, do not explain human decision-making in everyday environments featuring uncertain, changing, and especially open-ended situations. Here, we propose a computational model of human executive function that clarifies this issue. Using behavioral experiments, we show that unlike others, the proposed model predicts human decisions and their variations across individuals in naturalistic situations. The model reveals that for driving action, the human frontal function monitors up to three/four concurrent behavioral strategies and infers online their ability to predict action outcomes: whenever one appears more reliable than unreliable, this strategy is chosen to guide the selection and learning of actions that maximize rewards. Otherwise, a new behavioral strategy is tentatively formed, partly from those stored in long-term memory, then probed, and if competitive confirmed to subsequently drive action. Thus, the human executive function has a monitoring capacity limited to three or four behavioral strategies. This limitation is compensated by the binary structure of executive control that in ambiguous and unknown situations promotes the exploration and creation of new behavioral strategies. The results support a model of human frontal function that integrates reasoning, learning, and creative abilities in the service of decision-making and adaptive behavior.

  9. The difference of being human: Morality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayala, Francisco J.

    2010-01-01

    In The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, published in 1871, Charles Darwin wrote: “I fully … subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.” I raise the question of whether morality is biologically or culturally determined. The question of whether the moral sense is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I propose that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature, whereas moral codes are products of cultural evolution. Humans have a moral sense because their biological makeup determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself but as a necessary consequence of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morality evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Moral codes, however, are outcomes of cultural evolution, which accounts for the diversity of cultural norms among populations and for their evolution through time. PMID:20445091

  10. RCRA corrective action determination of no further action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-06-01

    On July 27, 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a regulatory framework (55 FR 30798) for responding to releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents from solid waste management units (SWMUs) at facilities seeking permits or permitted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The proposed rule, 'Corrective Action for Solid Waste Management Units at Hazardous Waste Facilities', would create a new Subpart S under the 40 CFR 264 regulations, and outlines requirements for conducting RCRA Facility Investigations, evaluating potential remedies, and selecting and implementing remedies (i.e., corrective measures) at RCRA facilities. EPA anticipates instances where releases or suspected releases of hazardous wastes or constituents from SWMUs identified in a RCRA Facility Assessment, and subsequently addressed as part of required RCRA Facility Investigations, will be found to be non-existent or non-threatening to human health or the environment. Such releases may require no further action. For such situations, EPA proposed a mechanism for making a determination that no further corrective action is needed. This mechanism is known as a Determination of No Further Action (DNFA) (55 FR 30875). This information Brief describes what a DNFA is and discusses the mechanism for making a DNFA. This is one of a series of Information Briefs on RCRA corrective action

  11. Clean Slate 1 corrective action decision document, Corrective Action Unit No. 412. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-04-01

    A Corrective Action Investigation has been completed at the Clean Slate 1 (CS-1) Site, located in the central portion of the Tonopah Test Range. The purpose of this CADD is to identify and evaluate potential correct action alternatives at the CS-1 Site and to evaluate these alternatives with respect to their technical, human health, and environmental benefits and to their cost. Base on this evaluation a corrective action will be recommended for implementation at the CS-1 Site

  12. Action Simulation Plays a Critical Role in Deceptive Action Recognition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tidoni, Emmanuele; Borgomaneri, Sara; Di Pellegrino, Giuseppe; Avenanti, Alessio

    2013-01-01

    The ability to infer deceptive intents from nonverbal behavior is critical for social interactions. By combining single-pulse and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy humans, we provide both correlational and causative evidence that action simulation is actively involved in

  13. Loss of urban forest canopy and the related effects on soundscape and human directed attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laverne, Robert James Paul

    The specific questions addressed in this research are: Will the loss of trees in residential neighborhoods result in a change to the local soundscape? The investigation of this question leads to a related inquiry: Do the sounds of the environment in which a person is present affect their directed attention?. An invasive insect pest, the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis ), is killing millions of ash trees (genus Fraxinus) throughout North America. As the loss of tree canopy occurs, urban ecosystems change (including higher summer temperatures, more stormwater runoff, and poorer air quality) causing associated changes to human physical and mental health. Previous studies suggest that conditions in urban environments can result in chronic stress in humans and fatigue to directed attention, which is the ability to focus on tasks and to pay attention. Access to nature in cities can help refresh directed attention. The sights and sounds associated with parks, open spaces, and trees can serve as beneficial counterbalances to the irritating conditions associated with cities. This research examines changes to the quantity and quality of sounds in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A series of before-and-after sound recordings were gathered as trees died and were removed between 2013 and 2015. Comparison of recordings using the Raven sound analysis program revealed significant differences in some, but not all measures of sound attributes as tree canopy decreased. In general, more human-produced mechanical sounds (anthrophony) and fewer sounds associated with weather (geophony) were detected. Changes in sounds associated with animals (biophony) varied seasonally. Monitoring changes in the proportions of anthrophony, biophony and geophony can provide insight into changes in biodiversity, environmental health, and quality of life for humans. Before-tree-removal and after-tree-removal sound recordings served as the independent variable for randomly-assigned human volunteers as

  14. Observing human movements helps decoding environmental forces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zago, Myrka; La Scaleia, Barbara; Miller, William L; Lacquaniti, Francesco

    2011-11-01

    Vision of human actions can affect several features of visual motion processing, as well as the motor responses of the observer. Here, we tested the hypothesis that action observation helps decoding environmental forces during the interception of a decelerating target within a brief time window, a task intrinsically very difficult. We employed a factorial design to evaluate the effects of scene orientation (normal or inverted) and target gravity (normal or inverted). Button-press triggered the motion of a bullet, a piston, or a human arm. We found that the timing errors were smaller for upright scenes irrespective of gravity direction in the Bullet group, while the errors were smaller for the standard condition of normal scene and gravity in the Piston group. In the Arm group, instead, performance was better when the directions of scene and target gravity were concordant, irrespective of whether both were upright or inverted. These results suggest that the default viewer-centered reference frame is used with inanimate scenes, such as those of the Bullet and Piston protocols. Instead, the presence of biological movements in animate scenes (as in the Arm protocol) may help processing target kinematics under the ecological conditions of coherence between scene and target gravity directions.

  15. The oldest anatomically modern humans from far southeast Europe: direct dating, culture and behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandrine Prat

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs are known to have spread across Europe during the period coinciding with the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. Whereas their dispersal into Western Europe is relatively well established, evidence of an early settlement of Eastern Europe by modern humans are comparatively scarce. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: Based on a multidisciplinary approach for the study of human and faunal remains, we describe here the oldest AMH remains from the extreme southeast Europe, in conjunction with their associated cultural and paleoecological background. We applied taxonomy, paleoecology, and taphonomy combined with geomorphology, stratigraphy, archeology and radiocarbon dating. More than 160 human bone remains have been discovered. They originate from a well documented Upper Paleolithic archeological layer (Gravettian cultural tradition from the site of Buran-Kaya III located in Crimea (Ukraine. The combination of non-metric dental traits and the morphology of the occipital bones allow us to attribute the human remains to Anatomically Modern Humans. A set of human and faunal remains from this layer has been radiocarbon dated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. The direct-dating results of human bone establish a secure presence of AMHs at 31,900+240/-220 BP in this region. They are the oldest direct evidence of the presence of AMHs in a well documented archeological context. Based on taphonomical observations (cut marks and distribution of skeletal elements, they represent the oldest Upper Paleolithic modern humans from Eastern Europe, showing post-mortem treatment of the dead as well. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings are essential for the debate on the spread of modern humans in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic, as well as their cultural behaviors.

  16. The oldest anatomically modern humans from far southeast Europe: direct dating, culture and behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prat, Sandrine; Péan, Stéphane C; Crépin, Laurent; Drucker, Dorothée G; Puaud, Simon J; Valladas, Hélène; Lázničková-Galetová, Martina; van der Plicht, Johannes; Yanevich, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) are known to have spread across Europe during the period coinciding with the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. Whereas their dispersal into Western Europe is relatively well established, evidence of an early settlement of Eastern Europe by modern humans are comparatively scarce. Based on a multidisciplinary approach for the study of human and faunal remains, we describe here the oldest AMH remains from the extreme southeast Europe, in conjunction with their associated cultural and paleoecological background. We applied taxonomy, paleoecology, and taphonomy combined with geomorphology, stratigraphy, archeology and radiocarbon dating. More than 160 human bone remains have been discovered. They originate from a well documented Upper Paleolithic archeological layer (Gravettian cultural tradition) from the site of Buran-Kaya III located in Crimea (Ukraine). The combination of non-metric dental traits and the morphology of the occipital bones allow us to attribute the human remains to Anatomically Modern Humans. A set of human and faunal remains from this layer has been radiocarbon dated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. The direct-dating results of human bone establish a secure presence of AMHs at 31,900+240/-220 BP in this region. They are the oldest direct evidence of the presence of AMHs in a well documented archeological context. Based on taphonomical observations (cut marks and distribution of skeletal elements), they represent the oldest Upper Paleolithic modern humans from Eastern Europe, showing post-mortem treatment of the dead as well. These findings are essential for the debate on the spread of modern humans in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic, as well as their cultural behaviors.

  17. Emotions as pragmatic and epistemic actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilutzky, Wendy

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the idea that emotions in social contexts and their intentionality may be conceived of as pragmatic or epistemic actions. That is, emotions are often aimed at achieving certain goals within a social context, so that they resemble pragmatic actions; and in other cases emotions can be plausibly construed as acts of probing the social environment so as to extract or uncover important information, thus complying with the functions of epistemic actions (cf. Kirsh and Maglio, 1994). This view of emotions stands at odds with the wide-held conception that emotions' intentionality can be cashed out in terms of representations of value. On such a position, emotions' intentionality has only a mind-to-world direction of fit while any world-to-mind direction of fit is deemed secondary or is even outrightly denied. However, acknowledging that emotions (qua actions) also have a world-to-mind direction fit has several advantages over the typical rendition of emotions as representations of value, such as accounting for emotions' sensitivity to contextual factors, variations in emotion expression and, importantly, assessing the appropriateness of emotional reactions. To substantiate this claim, several cases of emotions in social contexts are discussed, as the social dimension of emotions highlights that emotions are inherently ways of interacting with one's social environment. In sum, the construal of emotions in social contexts as pragmatic or epistemic actions yields a more fine-grained and accurate understanding of emotions' intentionality and their roles in social contexts than the insistence on a purely mind-to-world direction of fit. PMID:26578999

  18. mTORC1 directly phosphorylates and regulates human MAF1.

    OpenAIRE

    Michels Annemieke A; Robitaille Aaron M; Buczynski-Ruchonnet Diane; Hodroj Wassim; Reina Jaime H; Hall Michael N; Hernandez Nouria

    2010-01-01

    mTORC1 is a central regulator of growth in response to nutrient availability, but few direct targets have been identified. RNA polymerase (pol) III produces a number of essential RNA molecules involved in protein synthesis, RNA maturation, and other processes. Its activity is highly regulated, and deregulation can lead to cell transformation. The human phosphoprotein MAF1 becomes dephosphorylated and represses pol III transcription after various stresses, but neither the significance of the p...

  19. Functions of pointing by humans, and dogs’ responses, during dog-human play between familiar and unfamiliar players.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert W. Mitchell

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Although much research focuses on human index finger pointing to hidden items for dogs in experimental settings, there is little research about human pointing in naturalistic interactions. We examined human pointing to dogs during 62 dog-human play interactions, spanning 4.8 hours of videotape, to determine the functions of human pointing and dogs’ responses to that pointing. Participants were 26 humans and 27 dogs. Humans played with their own dog(s and, almost always, an unfamiliar dog. Seventeen people (16 players and one passerby pointed for 20 dogs a total of 101 times (once with a foot during 26 interactions. Most (49.5% points were toward an object (almost always a ball, to direct attention or action toward the object; 36.6% were to the ground in front of the (almost always familiar pointer, directing the dog to come, and/or drop a ball the dog held, here; 10.9% directed the dog toward the designated player and/or play area; and 3.0% directed the dog to move away from a ball the dog had dropped. Humans almost always pointed such that the dog could see the point (92.1%, and pointed more with their own than with an unfamiliar dog. Dogs responded appropriately (i.e., did what the pointer requested for only 24.7% of the visible points, more often for points to the ground than for points to objects. The proportion of dogs’ appropriate responses to visible points was similar for both familiar (30% and unfamiliar (18% humans. Six dogs who responded appropriately to some points resisted responding appropriately to others. Future research should examine non-object directed uses of pointing with dogs and their responses in naturalistic and experimental settings, and experimentally assess diverse explanations, including resistance, when dogs and other animals fail standard pointing tasks.

  20. Compliant Task Execution and Learning for Safe Mixed-Initiative Human-Robot Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Shuonan; Conrad, Patrick R.; Shah, Julie A.; Williams, Brian C.; Mittman, David S.; Ingham, Michel D.; Verma, Vandana

    2011-01-01

    We introduce a novel task execution capability that enhances the ability of in-situ crew members to function independently from Earth by enabling safe and efficient interaction with automated systems. This task execution capability provides the ability to (1) map goal-directed commands from humans into safe, compliant, automated actions, (2) quickly and safely respond to human commands and actions during task execution, and (3) specify complex motions through teaching by demonstration. Our results are applicable to future surface robotic systems, and we have demonstrated these capabilities on JPL's All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) robot.

  1. Communicative Elements of Action Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Thomas G.

    2013-01-01

    This review considers human communications as utilized within a research design; in this case collaborative action research (CAR), a derivative of action research (AR), to achieve outcomes that change, and move participants forward. The association between AR and CAR is a deliberate attempt by the author to draw attention to communicative actions…

  2. The Aristotelian conception of habit and its contribution to human neuroscience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier eBernacer

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The notion of habit used in neuroscience is an inheritance from a particular theoretical origin, whose main source is William James. Thus, habits have been characterized as rigid, automatic, unconscious, and opposed to goal-directed actions. This analysis leaves unexplained several aspects of human behavior and cognition where habits are of great importance. We intend to demonstrate the utility that another philosophical conception of habit, the Aristotelian, may have for neuroscientific research. We first summarize the current notion of habit in neuroscience, its philosophical inspiration and the problems that arise from it, mostly centered on the sharp distinction between goal-directed actions and habitual behavior. We then introduce the Aristotelian view and we compare it with that of William James. For Aristotle, a habit is an acquired disposition to perform certain types of action. If this disposition involves an enhanced cognitive control of actions, it can be considered a habit-as-learning. The current view of habit in neuroscience, which lacks cognitive control and we term habit-as-routine, is also covered by the Aristotelian conception. He classifies habits into three categories: 1 theoretical, or the retention of learning understood as knowing that x is so; 2 behavioral, through which the agent achieves a rational control of emotion-permeated behavior (knowing how to behave; and 3 technical or learned skills (knowing how to make or to do. Finally, we propose new areas of research where this novel conception of habit could serve as a framework concept, from the cognitive enrichment of actions to the role of habits in pathological conditions. In all, this contribution may shed light on the understanding of habits as an important feature of human action. Habits, viewed as cognitively controlled behaviors that in turn improve cognitive control of behavior, are a crucial resource for enhancing human learning and behavioral plasticity.

  3. Affirmative Action in Higher Education: A Sourcebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanderWaerdt, Lois

    A comprehensive guide to the implementation of affirmative action in colleges and universities is presented. Information is provided on the preparation of an affirmative action plan subject to review by the federal Office of Contract Compliance. Attention is directed to qualifications for staffing affirmative action offices; procedures for hiring…

  4. Crimes against humanity: the role of international courts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eder Milton Schneider

    Full Text Available We study the role of international tribunals, like the International Criminal Court (ICC, as an effective way of reducing the number and/or gravity of crimes against humanity. The action of the ICC is directed against leaders that promote or tolerate these kinds of crimes, that is, political authorities, army commanders, civil leaders, etc. In order to simulate the action of the ICC we build a hierarchical society where the most important leaders have the highest connectivity and can spread their points of view, or their orders, through a chain of less but still highly connected deputy chiefs or opinion chieftains. In this way, if they practice misconduct, corruption, or any kind of discriminatory or criminal actions against individuals or groups, it would very difficult and improbable that they will be prosecuted by the courts of their own country. It is to alleviate this situation that the ICC was created. Its mission is to process and condemn crimes against humanity though a supranational organism that can act on criminal leaders in any country. In this study, the action of the ICC is simulated by removing the corrupt leader and replacing it by a "decent" one. However, as the action of the corrupt leader could have spread among the population by the time the ICC acts, we try to determine if a unique action of the ICC is sufficient or if further actions are required, depending on the degree of deterioration of the human rights in the hypothetical country. The results evidence the positive effect of the ICC action with a relatively low number of interventions. The effect of the ICC is also compared with the action of the local national judiciary system.

  5. Crimes against humanity: the role of international courts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Eder Milton; Iglesias, José Roberto; Hallberg, Karen; Kuperman, Marcelo Néstor

    2014-01-01

    We study the role of international tribunals, like the International Criminal Court (ICC), as an effective way of reducing the number and/or gravity of crimes against humanity. The action of the ICC is directed against leaders that promote or tolerate these kinds of crimes, that is, political authorities, army commanders, civil leaders, etc. In order to simulate the action of the ICC we build a hierarchical society where the most important leaders have the highest connectivity and can spread their points of view, or their orders, through a chain of less but still highly connected deputy chiefs or opinion chieftains. In this way, if they practice misconduct, corruption, or any kind of discriminatory or criminal actions against individuals or groups, it would very difficult and improbable that they will be prosecuted by the courts of their own country. It is to alleviate this situation that the ICC was created. Its mission is to process and condemn crimes against humanity though a supranational organism that can act on criminal leaders in any country. In this study, the action of the ICC is simulated by removing the corrupt leader and replacing it by a "decent" one. However, as the action of the corrupt leader could have spread among the population by the time the ICC acts, we try to determine if a unique action of the ICC is sufficient or if further actions are required, depending on the degree of deterioration of the human rights in the hypothetical country. The results evidence the positive effect of the ICC action with a relatively low number of interventions. The effect of the ICC is also compared with the action of the local national judiciary system.

  6. Impairments in action-outcome learning in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Richard W; Cyrzon, Chad; Green, Melissa J; Le Pelley, Mike E; Balleine, Bernard W

    2018-03-03

    Learning the causal relation between actions and their outcomes (AO learning) is critical for goal-directed behavior when actions are guided by desire for the outcome. This can be contrasted with habits that are acquired by reinforcement and primed by prevailing stimuli, in which causal learning plays no part. Recently, we demonstrated that goal-directed actions are impaired in schizophrenia; however, whether this deficit exists alongside impairments in habit or reinforcement learning is unknown. The present study distinguished deficits in causal learning from reinforcement learning in schizophrenia. We tested people with schizophrenia (SZ, n = 25) and healthy adults (HA, n = 25) in a vending machine task. Participants learned two action-outcome contingencies (e.g., push left to get a chocolate M&M, push right to get a cracker), and they also learned one contingency was degraded by delivery of noncontingent outcomes (e.g., free M&Ms), as well as changes in value by outcome devaluation. Both groups learned the best action to obtain rewards; however, SZ did not distinguish the more causal action when one AO contingency was degraded. Moreover, action selection in SZ was insensitive to changes in outcome value unless feedback was provided, and this was related to the deficit in AO learning. The failure to encode the causal relation between action and outcome in schizophrenia occurred without any apparent deficit in reinforcement learning. This implies that poor goal-directed behavior in schizophrenia cannot be explained by a more primary deficit in reward learning such as insensitivity to reward value or reward prediction errors.

  7. Predictive Mechanisms Are Not Involved the Same Way during Human-Human vs. Human-Machine Interactions: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aïsha Sahaï

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, interactions with others do not only involve human peers but also automated systems. Many studies suggest that the motor predictive systems that are engaged during action execution are also involved during joint actions with peers and during other human generated action observation. Indeed, the comparator model hypothesis suggests that the comparison between a predicted state and an estimated real state enables motor control, and by a similar functioning, understanding and anticipating observed actions. Such a mechanism allows making predictions about an ongoing action, and is essential to action regulation, especially during joint actions with peers. Interestingly, the same comparison process has been shown to be involved in the construction of an individual's sense of agency, both for self-generated and observed other human generated actions. However, the implication of such predictive mechanisms during interactions with machines is not consensual, probably due to the high heterogeneousness of the automata used in the experimentations, from very simplistic devices to full humanoid robots. The discrepancies that are observed during human/machine interactions could arise from the absence of action/observation matching abilities when interacting with traditional low-level automata. Consistently, the difficulties to build a joint agency with this kind of machines could stem from the same problem. In this context, we aim to review the studies investigating predictive mechanisms during social interactions with humans and with automated artificial systems. We will start by presenting human data that show the involvement of predictions in action control and in the sense of agency during social interactions. Thereafter, we will confront this literature with data from the robotic field. Finally, we will address the upcoming issues in the field of robotics related to automated systems aimed at acting as collaborative agents.

  8. Ubuntu and Capabilities Approach: Basic Doctrines for Calibrating Humanitarian Action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rapatsa Mashele

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article explores prospects of using Ubuntu and Capabilities Approach to expand the scope of humanitarian action, to design one which serves humanity better even in the absence of disaster to essentially fulfil human development needs. It is considerate of the fact that humanitarian works contributes immensely in determining the extent to which humanity thrives. The traditional view on humanitarianism presupposes action-driven initiatives geared towards devising interventions to restore or reinforce human social order, improve livelihoods and quality of life. In sociological terms, human development is dependent on realizing and safeguarding, amongst others, human well-being, civil liberties and social security. The article utilizes core values enshrined in Ubuntu, Africa’s historic philosophy of life, and Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Approach as tools of analysis, with the view to expressing how to operationalize what should be considered stable humanitarian conditions and human well-being. Owing to persistent socio-economic challenges, especially the poverty problem, it is asserted that humanitarian action ought to depart from being a post-disaster intervention strategy, to being a pro-active and preventative pre-disaster orientated action, intended to nurture well-being and resultantly enable human development.

  9. Self-directed learning in gross human anatomy: assessment outcomes and student perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smythe, Gayle; Hughes, Diane

    2008-01-01

    Speech pathology students enrolled in a lecture-based gross human anatomy program completed two out of nine topics in self-directed mode. Student performance in quizzes was compared for the two modes, and the students completed questionnaires on their perceptions of the self-directed mode of delivery. Students performed as well in the first self-directed topic as they did in lecture-based material, but performance declined significantly on the second self-directed topic. Correlations showed that students who performed well in lecture-based topics also performed well on self-directed topics. The major issues that arose in the student questionnaires were primarily related to the amount of content in the topics and the length of time required for completion. We conclude that there is a strong need for appropriate design of distance education materials to reflect student perceptions of length, content, and time investment, and more importantly that there is a need to ensure extensive communication and support of students studying in distance education/self-directed modes for the first time.

  10. Good is up – Spatial metaphors in action observation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janna Marleen Gottwald

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Positive objects or actions are associated with physical highness, whereas negative objects or actions are related to physical lowness. Previous research suggests that metaphorical connection (good is up or bad is down between spatial experience and evaluation of objects is grounded in actual experience with the body. Prior studies investigated effects of spatial metaphors with respect to verticality of either static objects or self-performed actions. By presenting videos of object placements, the current three experiments combined vertically-located stimuli with observation of vertically-directed actions. As expected, participants’ ratings of emotionally-neutral objects were systematically influenced by the observed vertical positioning, that is, ratings were more positive for objects that were observed being placed up as compared to down. Moreover, effects were slightly more pronounced for bad is down, because only the observed downward, but not the upward, action led to different ratings as compared to a medium-positioned action. Last, some ratings were even affected by observing only the upward/downward action, without seeing the final vertical placement of the object. Thus, both, a combination of observing a vertically-directed action and seeing a vertically-located object, and observing a vertically-directed action alone, affected participants’ evaluation of emotional valence of the involved object. The present findings expand the relevance of spatial metaphors to action observation, thereby giving new impetus to embodied-cognition research.

  11. A minimal architecture for joint action

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vesper, Cordula; Butterfill, Stephen; Knoblich, Günther

    2010-01-01

    What kinds of processes and representations make joint action possible? In this paper we suggest a minimal architecture for joint action that focuses on representations, action monitoring and action prediction processes, as well as ways of simplifying coordination. The architecture spells out...... minimal requirements for an individual agent to engage in a joint action. We discuss existing evidence in support of the architecture as well as open questions that remain to be empirically addressed. In addition, we suggest possible interfaces between the minimal architecture and other approaches...... to joint action. The minimal architecture has implications for theorizing about the emergence of joint action, for human-machine interaction, and for understanding how coordination can be facilitated by exploiting relations between multiple agents’ actions and between actions and the environment....

  12. The chemokine CXCL12 mediates the anti-amyloidogenic action of painless human nerve growth factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capsoni, Simona; Malerba, Francesca; Carucci, Nicola Maria; Rizzi, Caterina; Criscuolo, Chiara; Origlia, Nicola; Calvello, Mariantonietta; Viegi, Alessandro; Meli, Giovanni; Cattaneo, Antonino

    2017-01-01

    Nerve growth factor is a therapeutic candidate for Alzheimer's disease. Due to its pain-inducing activity, in current clinical trials nerve growth factor is delivered locally into the brain by neurosurgery, but data on the efficacy of local nerve growth factor delivery in decreasing amyloid-β deposition are not available. To reduce the nerve growth factor pain-inducing side effects, thus avoiding the need for local brain injection, we developed human painless nerve growth factor (hNGFp), inspired by the human genetic disease hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V. hNGFp has identical neurotrophic potency as wild-type human nerve growth factor, but a 10-fold lower pain sensitizing activity. In this study we first mimicked, in the 5xFAD mouse model, the intraparenchymal delivery of hNGFp used in clinical trials and found it to be ineffective in decreasing amyloid-β plaque load. On the contrary, the same dose of hNGFp delivered intranasally, which was widely biodistributed in the brain and did not induce pain, showed a potent anti-amyloidogenic action and rescued synaptic plasticity and memory deficits. We found that hNGFp acts on glial cells, modulating inflammatory proteins such as the soluble TNFα receptor II and the chemokine CXCL12. We further established that the rescuing effect by hNGFp is mediated by CXCL12, as pharmacological inhibition of CXCL12 receptor CXCR4 occludes most of hNGFp effects. These findings have significant therapeutic implications: (i) we established that a widespread exposure of the brain is required for nerve growth factor to fully exert its neuroprotective actions; and (ii) we have identified a new anti-neurodegenerative pathway as a broad target for new therapeutic opportunities for neurodegenerative diseases. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

  13. Joint action without and beyond planning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blomberg, Olle

    2013-01-01

    ” that one must have in order to be a party to a shared intention (consider, for example, the social play of young children or the cooperative hunting of non-human primates or social carnivores). The second lacuna concerns how participants (including adult human agents) are able to coordinate their actions......, to make sense of the idea that joint activities are non-accidentally coordinated. In chapter 3, I offer an account of a kind of joint activity in which agents such as young children and some non-human primates could participate, given what we know about their socio-cognitive capacities. In chapter 4, I...... to perform “our” joint action. I reject this constraint and argue that some joint actions (such as a joint manoeuvre performed by two figure skaters) are joint in virtue of each participant having what I call ‘socially extended intention-in-action’ that overlap. In chapter 5, I review empirical work...

  14. Identification of human-induced initiating events in the low power and shutdown operation using the commission error search and assessment method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yong Chan; Kim, Jong Hyun [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (KINGS), Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-03-15

    Human-induced initiating events, also called Category B actions in human reliability analysis, are operator actions that may lead directly to initiating events. Most conventional probabilistic safety analyses typically assume that the frequency of initiating events also includes the probability of human-induced initiating events. However, some regulatory documents require Category B actions to be specifically analyzed and quantified in probabilistic safety analysis. An explicit modeling of Category B actions could also potentially lead to important insights into human performance in terms of safety. However, there is no standard procedure to identify Category B actions. This paper describes a systematic procedure to identify Category B actions for low power and shutdown conditions. The procedure includes several steps to determine operator actions that may lead to initiating events in the low power and shutdown stages. These steps are the selection of initiating events, the selection of systems or components, the screening of unlikely operating actions, and the quantification of initiating events. The procedure also provides the detailed instruction for each step, such as operator's action, information required, screening rules, and the outputs. Finally, the applicability of the suggested approach is also investigated by application to a plant example.

  15. Mining Key Skeleton Poses with Latent SVM for Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoqiang Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human action recognition based on 3D skeleton has become an active research field in recent years with the recently developed commodity depth sensors. Most published methods analyze an entire 3D depth data, construct mid-level part representations, or use trajectory descriptor of spatial-temporal interest point for recognizing human activities. Unlike previous work, a novel and simple action representation is proposed in this paper which models the action as a sequence of inconsecutive and discriminative skeleton poses, named as key skeleton poses. The pairwise relative positions of skeleton joints are used as feature of the skeleton poses which are mined with the aid of the latent support vector machine (latent SVM. The advantage of our method is resisting against intraclass variation such as noise and large nonlinear temporal deformation of human action. We evaluate the proposed approach on three benchmark action datasets captured by Kinect devices: MSR Action 3D dataset, UTKinect Action dataset, and Florence 3D Action dataset. The detailed experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves superior performance to the state-of-the-art skeleton-based action recognition methods.

  16. Primitive Based Action Representation and recognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baby, Sanmohan

    The presented work is aimed at designing a system that will model and recognize actions and its interaction with objects. Such a system is aimed at facilitating robot task learning. Activity modeling and recognition is very important for its potential applications in surveillance, human-machine i......The presented work is aimed at designing a system that will model and recognize actions and its interaction with objects. Such a system is aimed at facilitating robot task learning. Activity modeling and recognition is very important for its potential applications in surveillance, human......-machine interface, entertainment, biomechanics etc. Recent developments in neuroscience suggest that all actions are a compositions of smaller units called primitives. Current works based on primitives for action recognition uses a supervised framework for specifying the primitives. We propose a method to extract...... primitives automatically. These primitives are to be used to generate actions based on certain rules for combining. These rules are expressed as a stochastic context free grammar. A model merging approach is adopted to learn a Hidden Markov Model to t the observed data sequences. The states of the HMM...

  17. CSR concept implementation vs. political hedonism driven by human action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Hoppe

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The concept of CSR is a big challenge for organisations striving for business excellence. Nevertheless, a question should be asked whether achieving excellence is possible? I s it possible to become an excellent organisation in contemporary economic, social and political circumstances? Or the efforts to build an excellent organisation are only a PR trick. Unfortunately, nowadays many facts seem to confirm that, while operating in a very unfavourable environment, the majority of organisations which implement – to the full extent – the CSR concept in their strategies and adopt the model of socially responsible business risk business failure. Such a conclusion derives from two key facts. First of all, the legal environment is not ready for the development of socially responsible companies which results from political hedonism being an innate feature of democratic systems. Secondly, the level of customer social responsibility is not satisfactory and hardly any changes are expected in the short-term perspective, which is the consequence of hedonistic nature of human actions.

  18. Directed Selection of Recombinant Human Monoclonal Antibodies to Herpes Simplex Virus Glycoproteins from Phage Display Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanna, Pietro Paolo; Williamson, R. Anthony; de Logu, Alessandro; Bloom, Floyd E.; Burton, Dennis R.

    1995-07-01

    Human monoclonal antibodies have considerable potential in the prophylaxis and treatment of viral disease. However, only a few such antibodies suitable for clinical use have been produced to date. We have previously shown that large panels of human recombinant monoclonal antibodies against a plethora of infectious agents, including herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, can be established from phage display libraries. Here we demonstrate that facile cloning of recombinant Fab fragments against specific viral proteins in their native conformation can be accomplished by panning phage display libraries against viral glycoproteins "captured" from infected cell extracts by specific monoclonal antibodies immobilized on ELISA plates. We have tested this strategy by isolating six neutralizing recombinant antibodies specific for herpes simplex glycoprotein gD or gB, some of which are against conformationally sensitive epitopes. By using defined monoclonal antibodies for the antigen-capture step, this method can be used for the isolation of antibodies to specific regions and epitopes within the target viral protein. For instance, monoclonal antibodies to a nonneutralizing epitope can be used in the capture step to clone antibodies to neutralizing epitopes, or antibodies to a neutralizing epitope can be used to clone antibodies to a different neutralizing epitope. Furthermore, by using capturing antibodies to more immunodominant epitopes, one can direct the cloning to less immunogenic ones. This method should be of value in generating antibodies to be used both in the prophylaxis and treatment of viral infections and in the characterization of the mechanisms of antibody protective actions at the molecular level.

  19. Neuronal interactions between mentalising and action systems during indirect request processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Ackeren, Markus J; Smaragdi, Areti; Rueschemeyer, Shirley-Ann

    2016-09-01

    Human communication relies on the ability to process linguistic structure and to map words and utterances onto our environment. Furthermore, as what we communicate is often not directly encoded in our language (e.g. in the case of irony, jokes or indirect requests), we need to extract additional cues to infer the beliefs and desires of our conversational partners. Although the functional interplay between language and the ability to mentalise has been discussed in theoretical accounts in the past, the neurobiological underpinnings of these dynamics are currently not well understood. Here, we address this issue using functional imaging (fMRI). Participants listened to question-reply dialogues. In these dialogues, a reply is interpreted as a direct reply, an indirect reply or a request for action, depending on the question. We show that inferring meaning from indirect replies engages parts of the mentalising network (mPFC) while requests for action also activate the cortical motor system (IPL). Subsequent connectivity analysis using Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) revealed that this pattern of activation is best explained by an increase in effective connectivity from the mentalising network (mPFC) to the action system (IPL). These results are an important step towards a more integrative understanding of the neurobiological basis of indirect speech processing. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support): summary and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumanyika, S

    2013-10-01

    This supplement presents the foundational elements for INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support). As explained in the overview article by Swinburn and colleagues, INFORMAS has a compelling rationale and has set forth clear objectives, outcomes, principles and frameworks for monitoring and benchmarking key aspects of food environments and the policies and actions that influence the healthiness of food environments. This summary highlights the proposed monitoring approaches for the 10 interrelated INFORMAS modules: public and private sector policies and actions; key aspects of food environments (food composition, labelling, promotion, provision, retail, prices, and trade and investment) and population outcomes (diet quality). This ambitious effort should be feasible when approached in a step-wise manner, taking into account existing monitoring efforts, data sources, country contexts and capacity, and when adequately resourced. After protocol development and pilot testing of the modules, INFORMAS aims to be a sustainable, low-cost monitoring framework. Future directions relate to institutionalization, implementation and, ultimately, to leveraging INFORMAS data in ways that will bring key drivers of food environments into alignment with public health goals. © 2013 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

  1. Direct observation of glycogen synthesis in human muscle with 13C NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jue, T.; Rothman, D.L.; Shulman, G.I.; Tavitian, B.A.; DeFronzo, R.A.; Shulman, R.G.

    1989-01-01

    On the basis of previous indirect measurements, skeletal muscle has been implicated as the major site of glucose uptake and it has been suggested that muscle glycogen formation is the dominant pathway. However, direct measurements of the rates of glycogen synthesis have not been possible by previous techniques. The authors have developed 13 C NMR methods to measure directly the rate of human muscle glycogen formation from infused, isotopically labeled [1- 13 C]glucose. They show that under conditions of imposed hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, a majority of the infused glucose was converted to muscle glycogen in a normal man. This directly shows that muscle is the major site of glucose disposal under these conditions, and provides quantitation of the glucose flux to muscle glycogen

  2. Brain Insulin Signaling and Alzheimer's Disease: Current Evidence and Future Directions

    OpenAIRE

    Schiöth, Helgi B.; Craft, Suzanne; Brooks, Samantha J.; Frey, William H.; Benedict, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Insulin receptors in the brain are found in high densities in the hippocampus, a region that is fundamentally involved in the acquisition, consolidation, and recollection of new information. Using the intranasal method, which effectively bypasses the blood–brain barrier to deliver and target insulin directly from the nose to the brain, a series of experiments involving healthy humans has shown that increased central nervous system (CNS) insulin action enhances learning and memory processes as...

  3. 7. april 2005 inter-departmental directive on the actions of public authority in case of event leading to an emergency radiological situation (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    This directive concerns the management of a nuclear crisis. A correct information of Public Authorities is necessary at every level in order that actions to be lead can be in agreement with the situation. The protection of person, possessions and environment is the priority objective of Publics Authorities. This imperative is taken into account by the modalities exposed in the present directive, that determines the frame of the Public Authorities organization as well as the arrangements to take by Authorities in case of nuclear event. (N.C.)

  4. Logistic regression models for polymorphic and antagonistic pleiotropic gene action on human aging and longevity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Qihua; Bathum, L; Christiansen, L

    2003-01-01

    In this paper, we apply logistic regression models to measure genetic association with human survival for highly polymorphic and pleiotropic genes. By modelling genotype frequency as a function of age, we introduce a logistic regression model with polytomous responses to handle the polymorphic...... situation. Genotype and allele-based parameterization can be used to investigate the modes of gene action and to reduce the number of parameters, so that the power is increased while the amount of multiple testing minimized. A binomial logistic regression model with fractional polynomials is used to capture...... the age-dependent or antagonistic pleiotropic effects. The models are applied to HFE genotype data to assess the effects on human longevity by different alleles and to detect if an age-dependent effect exists. Application has shown that these methods can serve as useful tools in searching for important...

  5. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-linked mutation in troponin T causes myofibrillar disarray and pro-arrhythmic action potential changes in human iPSC cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lili; Kim, Kyungsoo; Parikh, Shan; Cadar, Adrian Gabriel; Bersell, Kevin R; He, Huan; Pinto, Jose R; Kryshtal, Dmytro O; Knollmann, Bjorn C

    2018-01-01

    Mutations in cardiac troponin T (TnT) are linked to increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia and sudden death despite causing little to no cardiac hypertrophy. Studies in mice suggest that the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)-associated TnT-I79N mutation increases myofilament Ca sensitivity and is arrhythmogenic, but whether findings from mice translate to human cardiomyocyte electrophysiology is not known. To study the effects of the TnT-I79N mutation in human cardiomyocytes. Using CRISPR/Cas9, the TnT-I79N mutation was introduced into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). We then used the matrigel mattress method to generate single rod-shaped cardiomyocytes (CMs) and studied contractility, Ca handling and electrophysiology. Compared to isogenic control hiPSC-CMs, TnT-I79N hiPSC-CMs exhibited sarcomere disorganization, increased systolic function and impaired relaxation. The Ca-dependence of contractility was leftward shifted in mutation containing cardiomyocytes, demonstrating increased myofilament Ca sensitivity. In voltage-clamped hiPSC-CMs, TnT-I79N reduced intracellular Ca transients by enhancing cytosolic Ca buffering. These changes in Ca handling resulted in beat-to-beat instability and triangulation of the cardiac action potential, which are predictors of arrhythmia risk. The myofilament Ca sensitizer EMD57033 produced similar action potential triangulation in control hiPSC-CMs. The TnT-I79N hiPSC-CM model not only reproduces key cellular features of TnT-linked HCM such as myofilament disarray, hypercontractility and diastolic dysfunction, but also suggests that this TnT mutation causes pro-arrhythmic changes of the human ventricular action potential. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. 42 CFR 493.1846 - Civil action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Civil action. 493.1846 Section 493.1846 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS Enforcement Procedures § 493.1846 Civil action. If CMS...

  7. Viewpoint Manifolds for Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Souvenir Richard

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Action recognition from video is a problem that has many important applications to human motion analysis. In real-world settings, the viewpoint of the camera cannot always be fixed relative to the subject, so view-invariant action recognition methods are needed. Previous view-invariant methods use multiple cameras in both the training and testing phases of action recognition or require storing many examples of a single action from multiple viewpoints. In this paper, we present a framework for learning a compact representation of primitive actions (e.g., walk, punch, kick, sit that can be used for video obtained from a single camera for simultaneous action recognition and viewpoint estimation. Using our method, which models the low-dimensional structure of these actions relative to viewpoint, we show recognition rates on a publicly available dataset previously only achieved using multiple simultaneous views.

  8. Model environmental assessment for a property-cleanup/interim-storage remedial action at a formerly utilized site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merry-Libby, P.

    1982-07-01

    This document has been prepared as a model for the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a property-cleanup/interim-storage type of remedial action under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) of the US Department of Energy (DOE). For major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be prepared to aid DOE in making its decision. However, when it is not clear that an action is major and the impacts are significant, an EA may be prepared to determine whether to prepare an EIS or a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). If it is likely that an action may be major and the impacts significant, it is usually more cost-effective and timely to directly prepare an EIS. If it is likely that a FONSI can be reached after some environmental assessment, as DOE believes may be the case for most property-cleanup/interim-storage remedial actions, preparation of site-specific EAs is an effective means of compliance with NEPA

  9. Imprescribility of the action and the disciplinary sanction by violation of human rigths and infractions to the humanitarian international right.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania Milena Daza-Márquez

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This article puts forward an analysis of the problem of the imprescriptibility of action and disciplinary sanctions for grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, committed by civil servants, particularly, members of the Military Forces and the National Police. The study deals with the regulation of disciplinary action for grave conduct within the disciplinary regime applicable to the Public Forces over the past thirty years and in the current Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Proceedures. I also illustrate the legal, political, social and economic consequences—for the Colombian State—of investigation and disciplinary sanctions for crimes against humanity or war crimes being ommitted or delayed through negligence of State offi- cials. The declaration of a prescription may be considered a means to impunity for administrative sanctions and, in turn, provides proof of the State’s failure to comply with International committments that guarantee and protect Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. Finally, given the controversy regarding diciplinary imprescriptibility, this paper proposes a llegal reform which extends the term of prescription in order to preserve the rights of victims and the disciplined.

  10. Motion Primitives for Action Recognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2007-01-01

    the actions as a sequence of temporal isolated instances, denoted primitives. These primitives are each defined by four features extracted from motion images. The primitives are recognized in each frame based on a trained classifier resulting in a sequence of primitives. From this sequence we recognize......The number of potential applications has made automatic recognition of human actions a very active research area. Different approaches have been followed based on trajectories through some state space. In this paper we also model an action as a trajectory through a state space, but we represent...... different temporal actions using a probabilistic Edit Distance method. The method is tested on different actions with and without noise and the results show recognition rates of 88.7% and 85.5%, respectively....

  11. Action Recognition using Motion Primitives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moeslund, Thomas B.; Fihl, Preben; Holte, Michael Boelstoft

    the actions as a sequence of temporal isolated instances, denoted primitives. These primitives are each defined by four features extracted from motion images. The primitives are recognized in each frame based on a trained classifier resulting in a sequence of primitives. From this sequence we recognize......The number of potential applications has made automatic recognition of human actions a very active research area. Different approaches have been followed based on trajectories through some state space. In this paper we also model an action as a trajectory through a state space, but we represent...... different temporal actions using a probabilistic Edit Distance method. The method is tested on different actions with and without noise and the results show recognizing rates of 88.7% and 85.5%, respectively....

  12. Outward Foreign Direct Investment and Human Capital Development: A Small Country Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonnell, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Irish MNCs, and more specifically, to investigate their approach to human capital development and how these correspond to foreign MNCs in Ireland. In particular, it seeks to investigate training and development expenditure, adoption of…

  13. Stereoscopically Observing Manipulative Actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferri, S; Pauwels, K; Rizzolatti, G; Orban, G A

    2016-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of stereopsis to the processing of observed manipulative actions. To this end, we first combined the factors "stimulus type" (action, static control, and dynamic control), "stereopsis" (present, absent) and "viewpoint" (frontal, lateral) into a single design. Four sites in premotor, retro-insular (2) and parietal cortex operated specifically when actions were viewed stereoscopically and frontally. A second experiment clarified that the stereo-action-specific regions were driven by actions moving out of the frontoparallel plane, an effect amplified by frontal viewing in premotor cortex. Analysis of single voxels and their discriminatory power showed that the representation of action in the stereo-action-specific areas was more accurate when stereopsis was active. Further analyses showed that the 4 stereo-action-specific sites form a closed network converging onto the premotor node, which connects to parietal and occipitotemporal regions outside the network. Several of the specific sites are known to process vestibular signals, suggesting that the network combines observed actions in peripersonal space with gravitational signals. These findings have wider implications for the function of premotor cortex and the role of stereopsis in human behavior. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  14. The Mirror Neuron System and Action Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buccino, Giovanni; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Riggio, Lucia

    2004-01-01

    Mirror neurons, first described in the rostral part of monkey ventral premotor cortex (area F5), discharge both when the animal performs a goal-directed hand action and when it observes another individual performing the same or a similar action. More recently, in the same area mirror neurons responding to the observation of mouth actions have been…

  15. Goats display audience-dependent human-directed gazing behaviour in a problem-solving task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawroth, Christian; Brett, Jemma M; McElligott, Alan G

    2016-07-01

    Domestication is an important factor driving changes in animal cognition and behaviour. In particular, the capacity of dogs to communicate in a referential and intentional way with humans is considered a key outcome of how domestication as a companion animal shaped the canid brain. However, the lack of comparison with other domestic animals makes general conclusions about how domestication has affected these important cognitive features difficult. We investigated human-directed behaviour in an 'unsolvable problem' task in a domestic, but non-companion species: goats. During the test, goats experienced a forward-facing or an away-facing person. They gazed towards the forward-facing person earlier and for longer and showed more gaze alternations and a lower latency until the first gaze alternation when the person was forward-facing. Our results provide strong evidence for audience-dependent human-directed visual orienting behaviour in a species that was domesticated primarily for production, and show similarities with the referential and intentional communicative behaviour exhibited by domestic companion animals such as dogs and horses. This indicates that domestication has a much broader impact on heterospecific communication than previously believed. © 2016 The Author(s).

  16. Intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning for human-robot interaction in the real-world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qureshi, Ahmed Hussain; Nakamura, Yutaka; Yoshikawa, Yuichiro; Ishiguro, Hiroshi

    2018-03-26

    For a natural social human-robot interaction, it is essential for a robot to learn the human-like social skills. However, learning such skills is notoriously hard due to the limited availability of direct instructions from people to teach a robot. In this paper, we propose an intrinsically motivated reinforcement learning framework in which an agent gets the intrinsic motivation-based rewards through the action-conditional predictive model. By using the proposed method, the robot learned the social skills from the human-robot interaction experiences gathered in the real uncontrolled environments. The results indicate that the robot not only acquired human-like social skills but also took more human-like decisions, on a test dataset, than a robot which received direct rewards for the task achievement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Magnetorotational Dynamo Action in the Shearing Box

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Justin; Boldyrev, Stanislav

    2017-10-01

    Magnetic dynamo action caused by the magnetorotational instability is studied in the shearing-box approximation with no imposed net magnetic flux. Consistent with recent studies, the dynamo action is found to be sensitive to the aspect ratio of the box: it is much easier to obtain in tall boxes (stretched in the direction normal to the disk plane) than in long boxes (stretched in the radial direction). Our direct numerical simulations indicate that the dynamo is possible in both cases, given a large enough magnetic Reynolds number. To explain the relatively larger effort required to obtain the dynamo action in a long box, we propose that the turbulent eddies caused by the instability most efficiently fold and mix the magnetic field lines in the radial direction. As a result, in the long box the scale of the generated strong azimuthal (stream-wise directed) magnetic field is always comparable to the scale of the turbulent eddies. In contrast, in the tall box the azimuthal magnetic flux spreads in the vertical direction over a distance exceeding the scale of the turbulent eddies. As a result, different vertical sections of the tall box are permeated by large-scale nonzero azimuthal magnetic fluxes, facilitating the instability. NSF AGS-1261659, Vilas Associates Award, NSF-Teragrid Project TG-PHY110016.

  18. Integration of laboratory bioassays into the risk-based corrective action process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, D.; Messina, F.; Clark, J.

    1995-01-01

    Recent data generated by the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and others indicate that residual hydrocarbon may be bound/sequestered in soil such that it is unavailable for microbial degradation, and thus possibly not bioavailable to human/ecological receptors. A reduction in bioavailability would directly equate to reduced exposure and, therefore, potentially less-conservative risk-based cleanup soil goals. Laboratory bioassays which measure bioavailability/toxicity can be cost-effectively integrated into the risk-based corrective action process. However, in order to maximize the cost-effective application of bioassays several site-specific parameters should be addressed up front. This paper discusses (1) the evaluation of parameters impacting the application of bioassays to soils contaminated with metals and/or petroleum hydrocarbons and (2) the cost-effective integration of bioassays into a tiered ASTM type framework for risk-based corrective action

  19. Effect of mental challenge induced by movie clips on action potential duration in normal human subjects independent of heart rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Child, Nicholas; Hanson, Ben; Bishop, Martin; Rinaldi, Christopher A; Bostock, Julian; Western, David; Cooklin, Michael; O'Neil, Mark; Wright, Matthew; Razavi, Reza; Gill, Jaswinder; Taggart, Peter

    2014-06-01

    Mental stress and emotion have long been associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death in animal models and humans. The effect of mental challenge on ventricular action potential duration (APD) in conscious healthy humans has not been reported. Activation recovery intervals measured from unipolar electrograms as a surrogate for APD (n=19) were recorded from right and left ventricular endocardium during steady-state pacing, whilst subjects watched an emotionally charged film clip. To assess the possible modulating role of altered respiration on APD, the subjects then repeated the same breathing pattern they had during the stress, but without the movie clip. Hemodynamic parameters (mean, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure, and rate of pressure increase) and respiration rate increased during the stressful part of the film clip (P=0.001). APD decreased during the stressful parts of the film clip, for example, for global right ventricular activation recovery interval at end of film clip 193.8 ms (SD, 14) versus 198.0 ms (SD, 13) during the matched breathing control (end film left ventricle 199.8 ms [SD, 16] versus control 201.6 ms [SD, 15]; P=0.004). Respiration rate increased during the stressful part of the film clip (by 2 breaths per minute) and was well matched in the respective control period without any hemodynamic or activation recovery interval changes. Our results document for the first time direct recordings of the effect of a mental challenge protocol on ventricular APD in conscious humans. The effect of mental challenge on APD was not secondary to emotionally induced altered respiration or heart rate. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

  20. Spatial updating depends on gaze direction even after loss of vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuschel, Johanna; Rösler, Frank; Henriques, Denise Y P; Fiehler, Katja

    2012-02-15

    Direction of gaze (eye angle + head angle) has been shown to be important for representing space for action, implying a crucial role of vision for spatial updating. However, blind people have no access to vision yet are able to perform goal-directed actions successfully. Here, we investigated the role of visual experience for localizing and updating targets as a function of intervening gaze shifts in humans. People who differed in visual experience (late blind, congenitally blind, or sighted) were briefly presented with a proprioceptive reach target while facing it. Before they reached to the target's remembered location, they turned their head toward an eccentric direction that also induced corresponding eye movements in sighted and late blind individuals. We found that reaching errors varied systematically as a function of shift in gaze direction only in participants with early visual experience (sighted and late blind). In the late blind, this effect was solely present in people with moveable eyes but not in people with at least one glass eye. Our results suggest that the effect of gaze shifts on spatial updating develops on the basis of visual experience early in life and remains even after loss of vision as long as feedback from the eyes and head is available.

  1. Infants Show Stability of Goal-Directed Imitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakkalou, Elena; Ellis-Davies, Kate; Fowler, Nia C.; Hilbrink, Elma E.; Gattis, Merideth

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies have reported that infants selectively reproduce observed actions and have argued that this selectivity reflects understanding of intentions and goals, or goal-directed imitation. We reasoned that if selective imitation of goal-directed actions reflects understanding of intentions, infants should demonstrate stability across…

  2. 75 FR 60567 - Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to Serious Human Rights Abuses by the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Order 13553 of September 28, 2010 Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to Serious Human Rights Abuses by the Government of Iran and Taking Certain Other Actions By the authority vested in me as..., or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human...

  3. Direct evidence for human reliance on rainforest resources in late Pleistocene Sri Lanka.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Patrick; Perera, Nimal; Wedage, Oshan; Deraniyagala, Siran; Perera, Jude; Eregama, Saman; Gledhill, Andrew; Petraglia, Michael D; Lee-Thorp, Julia A

    2015-03-13

    Human occupation of tropical rainforest habitats is thought to be a mainly Holocene phenomenon. Although archaeological and paleoenvironmental data have hinted at pre-Holocene rainforest foraging, earlier human reliance on rainforest resources has not been shown directly. We applied stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to human and faunal tooth enamel from four late Pleistocene-to-Holocene archaeological sites in Sri Lanka. The results show that human foragers relied primarily on rainforest resources from at least ~20,000 years ago, with a distinct preference for semi-open rainforest and rain forest edges. Homo sapiens' relationship with the tropical rainforests of South Asia is therefore long-standing, a conclusion that indicates the time-depth of anthropogenic reliance and influence on these habitats. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  4. [Factors behind action, emotion, and decision making].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Katsumi

    2009-12-01

    Human actions, emotions, and decision making are products of complex interactions between explicit and implicit processes at various levels of spatial and temporal scales. Although it may not be possible to obtain to experimental data for all the complexity of human behavioral and emotional processes in our everyday life, recent studies have investigated the effects of social contexts on actions, emotions, and decision making; these studies include those in the fields of experimental psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. In this paper, we review several empirical studies that exemplify how our actions, social emotions, and decision making are influenced by the presence of implicit external, rather than internal factors, particularly by presence of other individuals. The following are the main principles identified. (1) Unconscious behavioral contagion: Individuals tend to mimic others' actions. This tendency occurs unconsciously even when the observed and the to-be-executed movements are unrelated at various levels and aspects of behaviors (e. g., behavioral tempo and speed). (2) Neural substrates of social emotions: Various social emotions, including admiration, compassion, envy, and schadenfreude, are represented in neuronal networks that are similar to those of basic emotional processes. (3) Evasive nature of human decision making: Individuals tend to overrate their own subjective impression of and emotional reaction in forecasting affective reaction to events in the future, even though the predictive power of information from peer group is much larger in this regard. Individuals are seldom aware of the dissociation between their intended choice and excuted actions and are willing to give elaborate explanations for the choices they, in fact, did not make. Using these empirical examples, I will illustrate the considerable influences of implicit, unconscious processes on human actions, emotions, and decision making.

  5. Spontaneous processing of functional and non-functional action sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielbo, Kristoffer Laigaard; Sørensen, Jesper

    2011-01-01

    as sub-categories of non-functional behavior (i.e., actions lacking causal coherence and a necessary integration between subparts). New insights in human action processing can help us explain how cognition might vary depending on the type of behavior processed. Using an event segmentation paradigm, we...... conducted two experiments eliciting differences in participants' response patterns to functional and non-functional actions. Participants consistently segmented non-functional action sequences into smaller units indicating either an attentional shift to the level of gesture analysis or a problem...... of representational integration. Experimental studies of non-functional behavior can strengthen explanations of recurrent features of human action processing, such as ritual and ritualized behavior, as well as indicate potential sources and effects of breakdown of the system....

  6. Post-Colonial Theory and Action Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim Parsons

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores connections between post-colonial theory and action research. Post-colonial theory is committed to addressing the plague of colonialism. Action research, at its core, promises to problematize uncontested ‘colonial’ hegemonies of any form. Both post-colonial theory and action research engage dialogic, critically reflective and collaborative values to offer a fuller range of human wisdom. The authors contend that post-colonialism theory calls for justice and seeks to speak to social and psychological suffering, exploitation, violence and enslavement done to the powerless victims of colonization around the world by challenging the superiority of dominant perspectives and seeking to re-position and empower the marginalized and subordinated. In similar ways, action research works to eradicate oppression, powerlessness and worthlessness by affirming solidarity with the oppressed, helping humans move from passive to active and by fundamentally reshaping power. Because both post-colonial theory and action research position the insider or oppressed in an ethic of efficacy, it values community, relationships, communication and equality, and is committed to reciprocity, reflexivity and reflection. Thus, both hold the potential to help reconstruct conditions for a more democratic and just society

  7. Post-Colonial Theory and Action Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim B. Parsons

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores connections between post-colonial theory and action research. Post-colonial theory is committed to addressing the plague of colonialism. Action research, at its core, promises to problematize uncontested ‘colonial’ hegemonies of any form. Both post-colonial theory and action research engage dialogic, critically reflective and collaborative values to offer a fuller range of human wisdom. The authors contend that post-colonialism theory calls for justice and seeks to speak to social and psychological suffering, exploitation, violence and enslavement done to the powerless victims of colonization around the world by challenging the superiority of dominant perspectives and seeking to re-position and empower the marginalized and subordinated. In similar ways, action research works to eradicate oppression, powerlessness and worthlessness by affirming solidarity with the oppressed, helping humans move from passive to active and by fundamentally reshaping power. Because both post-colonial theory and action research position the insider or oppressed in an ethic of efficacy, it values community, relationships, communication and equality, and is committed to reciprocity, reflexivity and reflection. Thus, both hold the potential to help reconstruct conditions for a more democratic and just society.

  8. DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action in human liver cancer cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obara, Akio; Fujita, Yoshihito; Abudukadier, Abulizi; Fukushima, Toru; Oguri, Yasuo; Ogura, Masahito; Harashima, Shin-ichi; Hosokawa, Masaya; Inagaki, Nobuya, E-mail: inagaki@metab.kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp

    2015-05-15

    Metformin, one of the most commonly used drugs for patients with type 2 diabetes, recently has received much attention regarding its anti-cancer action. It is thought that the suppression of mTOR signaling is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action. Although liver cancer is one of the most responsive types of cancer for reduction of incidence by metformin, the molecular mechanism of the suppression of mTOR in liver remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation using human liver cancer cells. Metformin suppressed phosphorylation of p70-S6 kinase, and ribosome protein S6, downstream targets of mTOR, and suppressed cell proliferation. We found that DEPTOR, an endogenous substrate of mTOR suppression, is involved in the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation in human liver cancer cells. Metformin increases the protein levels of DEPTOR, intensifies binding to mTOR, and exerts a suppressing effect on mTOR signaling. This increasing effect of DEPTOR by metformin is regulated by the proteasome degradation system; the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation is in a DEPTOR-dependent manner. Furthermore, metformin exerts a suppressing effect on proteasome activity, DEPTOR-related mTOR signaling, and cell proliferation in an AMPK-dependent manner. We conclude that DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action in liver, and could be a novel target for anti-cancer therapy. - Highlights: • We elucidated a novel pathway of metformin's anti-cancer action in HCC cells. • DEPTOR is involved in the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling. • Metformin increases DEPTOR protein levels via suppression of proteasome activity. • DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action.

  9. DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action in human liver cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obara, Akio; Fujita, Yoshihito; Abudukadier, Abulizi; Fukushima, Toru; Oguri, Yasuo; Ogura, Masahito; Harashima, Shin-ichi; Hosokawa, Masaya; Inagaki, Nobuya

    2015-01-01

    Metformin, one of the most commonly used drugs for patients with type 2 diabetes, recently has received much attention regarding its anti-cancer action. It is thought that the suppression of mTOR signaling is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action. Although liver cancer is one of the most responsive types of cancer for reduction of incidence by metformin, the molecular mechanism of the suppression of mTOR in liver remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation using human liver cancer cells. Metformin suppressed phosphorylation of p70-S6 kinase, and ribosome protein S6, downstream targets of mTOR, and suppressed cell proliferation. We found that DEPTOR, an endogenous substrate of mTOR suppression, is involved in the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation in human liver cancer cells. Metformin increases the protein levels of DEPTOR, intensifies binding to mTOR, and exerts a suppressing effect on mTOR signaling. This increasing effect of DEPTOR by metformin is regulated by the proteasome degradation system; the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling and cell proliferation is in a DEPTOR-dependent manner. Furthermore, metformin exerts a suppressing effect on proteasome activity, DEPTOR-related mTOR signaling, and cell proliferation in an AMPK-dependent manner. We conclude that DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action in liver, and could be a novel target for anti-cancer therapy. - Highlights: • We elucidated a novel pathway of metformin's anti-cancer action in HCC cells. • DEPTOR is involved in the suppressing effect of metformin on mTOR signaling. • Metformin increases DEPTOR protein levels via suppression of proteasome activity. • DEPTOR-related mTOR suppression is involved in metformin's anti-cancer action

  10. Learning a Mid-Level Representation for Multiview Action Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cuiwei Liu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recognizing human actions in videos is an active topic with broad commercial potentials. Most of the existing action recognition methods are supposed to have the same camera view during both training and testing. And thus performances of these single-view approaches may be severely influenced by the camera movement and variation of viewpoints. In this paper, we address the above problem by utilizing videos simultaneously recorded from multiple views. To this end, we propose a learning framework based on multitask random forest to exploit a discriminative mid-level representation for videos from multiple cameras. In the first step, subvolumes of continuous human-centered figures are extracted from original videos. In the next step, spatiotemporal cuboids sampled from these subvolumes are characterized by multiple low-level descriptors. Then a set of multitask random forests are built upon multiview cuboids sampled at adjacent positions and construct an integrated mid-level representation for multiview subvolumes of one action. Finally, a random forest classifier is employed to predict the action category in terms of the learned representation. Experiments conducted on the multiview IXMAS action dataset illustrate that the proposed method can effectively recognize human actions depicted in multiview videos.

  11. 24 CFR 7.37 - Final action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., Color Religion, Sex, National Origin, Age, Disability or Reprisal Complaints § 7.37 Final action. (a... consult with the General Counsel, the Assistant Secretary of Administration, the Office of Human Resources... shall contain notice of the right to appeal the final action to the EEOC, the right to file a civil...

  12. Body posture modulates action perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Marius; Toni, Ivan; de Lange, Floris P

    2013-04-03

    Recent studies have highlighted cognitive and neural similarities between planning and perceiving actions. Given that action planning involves a simulation of potential action plans that depends on the actor's body posture, we reasoned that perceiving actions may also be influenced by one's body posture. Here, we test whether and how this influence occurs by measuring behavioral and cerebral (fMRI) responses in human participants predicting goals of observed actions, while manipulating postural congruency between their own body posture and postures of the observed agents. Behaviorally, predicting action goals is facilitated when the body posture of the observer matches the posture achieved by the observed agent at the end of his action (action's goal posture). Cerebrally, this perceptual postural congruency effect modulates activity in a portion of the left intraparietal sulcus that has previously been shown to be involved in updating neural representations of one's own limb posture during action planning. This intraparietal area showed stronger responses when the goal posture of the observed action did not match the current body posture of the observer. These results add two novel elements to the notion that perceiving actions relies on the same predictive mechanism as planning actions. First, the predictions implemented by this mechanism are based on the current physical configuration of the body. Second, during both action planning and action observation, these predictions pertain to the goal state of the action.

  13. Modeling Interdependent and Periodic Real-World Action Sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurashima, Takeshi; Althoff, Tim; Leskovec, Jure

    2018-01-01

    Mobile health applications, including those that track activities such as exercise, sleep, and diet, are becoming widely used. Accurately predicting human actions in the real world is essential for targeted recommendations that could improve our health and for personalization of these applications. However, making such predictions is extremely difficult due to the complexities of human behavior, which consists of a large number of potential actions that vary over time, depend on each other, and are periodic. Previous work has not jointly modeled these dynamics and has largely focused on item consumption patterns instead of broader types of behaviors such as eating, commuting or exercising. In this work, we develop a novel statistical model, called TIPAS, for Time-varying, Interdependent, and Periodic Action Sequences. Our approach is based on personalized, multivariate temporal point processes that model time-varying action propensities through a mixture of Gaussian intensities. Our model captures short-term and long-term periodic interdependencies between actions through Hawkes process-based self-excitations. We evaluate our approach on two activity logging datasets comprising 12 million real-world actions (e.g., eating, sleep, and exercise) taken by 20 thousand users over 17 months. We demonstrate that our approach allows us to make successful predictions of future user actions and their timing. Specifically, TIPAS improves predictions of actions, and their timing, over existing methods across multiple datasets by up to 156%, and up to 37%, respectively. Performance improvements are particularly large for relatively rare and periodic actions such as walking and biking, improving over baselines by up to 256%. This demonstrates that explicit modeling of dependencies and periodicities in real-world behavior enables successful predictions of future actions, with implications for modeling human behavior, app personalization, and targeting of health interventions. PMID

  14. Comparative Cognition: Action Imitation Using Episodic Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crystal, Jonathon D

    2016-12-05

    Humans encounter a myriad of actions or events and later recall some of these events using episodic memory. New research suggests that dogs can imitate recently encountered actions using episodic memory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Frontosubthalamic Circuits for Control of Action and Cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herz, Damian M.; Brown, Peter; Forstmann, Birte U.; Zaghloul, Kareem

    2016-01-01

    The subthalamic nucleus (STN) of the basal ganglia appears to have a potent role in action and cognition. Anatomical and imaging studies show that different frontal cortical areas directly project to the STN via so-called hyperdirect pathways. This review reports some of the latest findings about such circuits, including simultaneous recordings from cortex and the STN in humans, single-unit recordings in humans, high-resolution fMRI, and neurocomputational modeling. We argue that a major function of the STN is to broadly pause behavior and cognition when stop signals, conflict signals, or surprise signals occur, and that the fronto-STN circuits for doing this, at least for stopping and conflict, are dissociable anatomically and in terms of their spectral reactivity. We also highlight recent evidence for synchronization of oscillations between prefrontal cortex and the STN, which may provide a preferential “window in time” for single neuron communication via long-range connections. PMID:27911752

  16. Action Research as a Network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boulus-Rødje, Nina

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores roles and interventions in IS action research. I draw upon a four-year research project about electronic medical records, conducted in close collaboration with a community partner. Following a self-reflexive stance, I trace the trajectory of the research engagement...... and the different roles I occupied. To better understand the complex nature of collaboration found within action research projects, I propose conceptualizing action research as a network. The network framework directs our attention to the collective production and the conditions through which roles...... this influences the researcher’s agency....

  17. Anger fosters action. Fast responses in a motor task involving approach movements towards angry faces and bodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josje eDe Valk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Efficiently responding to others’ emotions, especially threatening expressions such as anger and fear, can have great survival value. Previous research has shown that humans have a bias towards threatening stimuli. Most of these studies focused on facial expressions, yet emotions are expressed by the whole body. Body language contains a direct action component, and activates action preparation areas in the brain more than facial expressions. Hence, biases towards threat may be larger following threatening bodily expressions as compared to facial expressions. The current study investigated reaction times of movements directed towards emotional bodies and faces. For this purpose, a task was developed where participants were standing in front of a computer screen on which angry, fearful and neutral faces and bodies were presented which they had to touch as quickly as possible. Results show that participants responded faster to angry than to neutral stimuli, regardless of the source (face or body. No significant difference was observed between fearful and neutral stimuli, demonstrating that the threat bias was not related to the negativity of the stimulus, but likely to the directness of the threat. Whereas fearful stimuli might signal an environmental threat that requires further exploration before action, angry expressions signal

  18. SST: Single-Stream Temporal Action Proposals

    KAUST Repository

    Buch, Shyamal; Escorcia, Victor; Shen, Chuanqi; Ghanem, Bernard; Niebles, Juan Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Our paper presents a new approach for temporal detection of human actions in long, untrimmed video sequences. We introduce Single-Stream Temporal Action Proposals (SST), a new effective and efficient deep architecture for the generation of temporal action proposals. Our network can run continuously in a single stream over very long input video sequences, without the need to divide input into short overlapping clips or temporal windows for batch processing. We demonstrate empirically that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art on the task of temporal action proposal generation, while achieving some of the fastest processing speeds in the literature. Finally, we demonstrate that using SST proposals in conjunction with existing action classifiers results in improved state-of-the-art temporal action detection performance.

  19. SST: Single-Stream Temporal Action Proposals

    KAUST Repository

    Buch, Shyamal

    2017-11-09

    Our paper presents a new approach for temporal detection of human actions in long, untrimmed video sequences. We introduce Single-Stream Temporal Action Proposals (SST), a new effective and efficient deep architecture for the generation of temporal action proposals. Our network can run continuously in a single stream over very long input video sequences, without the need to divide input into short overlapping clips or temporal windows for batch processing. We demonstrate empirically that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art on the task of temporal action proposal generation, while achieving some of the fastest processing speeds in the literature. Finally, we demonstrate that using SST proposals in conjunction with existing action classifiers results in improved state-of-the-art temporal action detection performance.

  20. On action- and affectpsychology of human reliability. An access by training simulators for complex man-machine systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuette, M.

    2002-02-01

    Theoretical part and its topics: errors at the interface between man and machine; reliability analysis for man; the psychological explanation of action reliability of man (intention and control); a paradigma for human reliability (frustration and regression). Empirical part: Control room in a nuclear power plant: Influences on repeated blockages on component care in case of start-up operation; ship bridge: Frustration and regression while steering in a bight. Appendix: analysis of a social interaction.(GL)

  1. Nonlinear Synchronization for Automatic Learning of 3D Pose Variability in Human Motion Sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mozerov M

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available A dense matching algorithm that solves the problem of synchronizing prerecorded human motion sequences, which show different speeds and accelerations, is proposed. The approach is based on minimization of MRF energy and solves the problem by using Dynamic Programming. Additionally, an optimal sequence is automatically selected from the input dataset to be a time-scale pattern for all other sequences. The paper utilizes an action specific model which automatically learns the variability of 3D human postures observed in a set of training sequences. The model is trained using the public CMU motion capture dataset for the walking action, and a mean walking performance is automatically learnt. Additionally, statistics about the observed variability of the postures and motion direction are also computed at each time step. The synchronized motion sequences are used to learn a model of human motion for action recognition and full-body tracking purposes.

  2. Induction of hyperresponsiveness in human airway tissue by neutrophils--mechanism of action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anticevich, S Z; Hughes, J M; Black, J L; Armour, C L

    1996-05-01

    The two main features of asthma are bronchial hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. The inflammatory response in asthma consists of infiltration and activation of a variety of inflammatory cells including neutrophils. Our previous studies have shown that stimulated neutrophil supernatants cause hyperresponsiveness of human bronchial tissue in vitro. To investigate the effect of the sensitization status of the tissue and the albumin concentration used to prepare supernatants on the response of human bronchial tissue to stimulated neutrophil supernatants. Neutrophil supernatants were prepared from human isolated blood in the presence of varying concentrations of albumin (0%, 0.1% and 4%). Neutrophil supernatants were added to sensitized and non-sensitized human isolated bronchial tissue which was stimulated with electrical field stimulation (EFS) (20 s every 4 min). Receptor antagonists specific for the prostaglandin and thromboxane (10(-7) M GR32191), platelet activating factor (10(-6) M WEB 2086), leukotriene D4 (10(-6) M MK-679) and neurokinin A (10(-7) M SR48968) receptors were used to identify neutrophil products responsible for the effects observed in the bronchial tissue. In non-sensitized human bronchial tissue, stimulated neutrophil supernatants induced a direct contraction in the presence of 0% and 0.1% but not 4% albumin. This contraction was due to leukotriene D4 as MK-679 completely inhibited the contraction. In contrast, stimulated neutrophil supernatants increased responsiveness of sensitized human bronchial tissue to EFS. The increased responsiveness was observed only in the presence of 0.1% albumin, with the site of modulation likely to be prejunctional on the parasympathetic nerve. The increased responsiveness was not inhibited by any of the antagonists tested. Sensitization status of the tissue and albumin concentration effect the responsiveness of human bronchial tissue to stimulated neutrophil supernatant. Our results suggest a possible role for

  3. Action recognition is sensitive to the identity of the actor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferstl, Ylva; Bülthoff, Heinrich; de la Rosa, Stephan

    2017-09-01

    Recognizing who is carrying out an action is essential for successful human interaction. The cognitive mechanisms underlying this ability are little understood and have been subject of discussions in embodied approaches to action recognition. Here we examine one solution, that visual action recognition processes are at least partly sensitive to the actor's identity. We investigated the dependency between identity information and action related processes by testing the sensitivity of neural action recognition processes to clothing and facial identity information with a behavioral adaptation paradigm. Our results show that action adaptation effects are in fact modulated by both clothing information and the actor's facial identity. The finding demonstrates that neural processes underlying action recognition are sensitive to identity information (including facial identity) and thereby not exclusively tuned to actions. We suggest that such response properties are useful to help humans in knowing who carried out an action. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Insulin action in human thighs after one-legged immobilization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richter, Erik; Kiens, Bente; Mizuno, M.

    1989-01-01

    Insulin action was assessed in thighs of five healthy young males who had one knee immobilized for 7 days by a splint. The splint was not worn in bed. Subjects also used crutches to prevent weight bearing of the immobilized leg. Immobilization decreased the activity of citrate synthase and 3-OH......-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase in the vastus lateralis muscle by 9 and 14%, respectively, and thigh volume by 5%. After 7 days of immobilization, a two-step euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp procedure combined with arterial and bilateral femoral venous catheterization was performed. Insulin action on glucose uptake and tyrosine release...... of the thighs at mean plasma insulin concentrations of 67 (clamp step I) and 447 microU/ml (clamp step II) was decreased by immobilization, whereas immobilization did not affect insulin action on thigh exchange of free fatty acids, glycerol, O2, or potassium. Before and during the clamp step I, lactate release...

  5. 76 FR 41687 - Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption; Hydroxypropyl Cellulose

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-15

    ... Organization and the World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee for Food Additives (JECFA) has... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR Part 172 [Docket No. FDA-2010-F-0103] Food Additives Permitted for Direct Addition to Food for Human Consumption...

  6. Do Endogenous and Exogenous Action Control Compete for Perception?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfister, Roland; Heinemann, Alexander; Kiesel, Andrea; Thomaschke, Roland; Janczyk, Markus

    2012-01-01

    Human actions are guided either by endogenous action plans or by external stimuli in the environment. These two types of action control seem to be mediated by neurophysiologically and functionally distinct systems that interfere if an endogenously planned action suddenly has to be performed in response to an exogenous stimulus. In this case, the…

  7. Effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites on bleomycin-induced cytotoxic action on human neuroblastoma cells in vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sailaja Polavarapu

    Full Text Available In the present study, we noted that bleomycin induced growth inhibitory action was augmented by all the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs tested on human neuroblastoma IMR-32 (0.5 × 10(4 cells/100 µl of IMR cells (EPA > DHA > ALA = GLA = AA > DGLA = LA: ∼ 60, 40, 30, 10-20% respectively at the maximum doses used. Of all the prostaglandins (PGE1, PGE2, PGF2α, and PGI2 and leukotrienes (LTD4 and LTE4 tested; PGE1, PGE2 and LTD4 inhibited the growth of IMR-32 cells to a significant degree at the highest doses used. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4, 19,20-dihydroxydocosapentaenoate (19, 20 DiHDPA and 10(S,17(S-dihydroxy-4Z,7Z,11E,13Z,15E,19Z-docosahexaenoic acid (protectin: 10(S,17(SDiHDoHE, metabolites of DHA, significantly inhibited the growth of IMR-32 cells. Pre-treatment with AA, GLA, DGLA and EPA and simultaneous treatment with all PUFAs used in the study augmented growth inhibitory action of bleomycin. Surprisingly, both indomethacin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA at 60 and 20 µg/ml respectively enhanced the growth of IMR-32 cells even in the presence of bleomycin. AA enhanced oxidant stress in IMR-32 cells as evidenced by an increase in lipid peroxides, superoxide dismutase levels and glutathione peroxidase activity. These results suggest that PUFAs suppress growth of human neuroblastoma cells, augment growth inhibitory action of bleomycin by enhancing formation of lipid peroxides and altering the status of anti-oxidants and, in all probability, increase the formation of lipoxins, resolvins and protectins from their respective precursors that possess growth inhibitory actions.

  8. Motor memory is encoded as a gain-field combination of intrinsic and extrinsic action representations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brayanov, Jordan B; Press, Daniel Z; Smith, Maurice A

    2012-10-24

    Actions can be planned in either an intrinsic (body-based) reference frame or an extrinsic (world-based) frame, and understanding how the internal representations associated with these frames contribute to the learning of motor actions is a key issue in motor control. We studied the internal representation of this learning in human subjects by analyzing generalization patterns across an array of different movement directions and workspaces after training a visuomotor rotation in a single movement direction in one workspace. This provided a dense sampling of the generalization function across intrinsic and extrinsic reference frames, which allowed us to dissociate intrinsic and extrinsic representations and determine the manner in which they contributed to the motor memory for a trained action. A first experiment showed that the generalization pattern reflected a memory that was intermediate between intrinsic and extrinsic representations. A second experiment showed that this intermediate representation could not arise from separate intrinsic and extrinsic learning. Instead, we find that the representation of learning is based on a gain-field combination of local representations in intrinsic and extrinsic coordinates. This gain-field representation generalizes between actions by effectively computing similarity based on the (Mahalanobis) distance across intrinsic and extrinsic coordinates and is in line with neural recordings showing mixed intrinsic-extrinsic representations in motor and parietal cortices.

  9. Hypoxia in Combination With Muscle Contraction Improves Insulin Action and Glucose Metabolism in Human Skeletal Muscle via the HIF-1α Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Görgens, Sven W; Benninghoff, Tim; Eckardt, Kristin; Springer, Christian; Chadt, Alexandra; Melior, Anita; Wefers, Jakob; Cramer, Andrea; Jensen, Jørgen; Birkeland, Kåre I; Drevon, Christian A; Al-Hasani, Hadi; Eckel, Jürgen

    2017-11-01

    Skeletal muscle insulin resistance is the hallmark of type 2 diabetes and develops long before the onset of the disease. It is well accepted that physical activity improves glycemic control, but the knowledge on underlying mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects remains incomplete. Exercise is accompanied by a decrease in intramuscular oxygen levels, resulting in induction of HIF-1α. HIF-1α is a master regulator of gene expression and might play an important role in skeletal muscle function and metabolism. Here we show that HIF-1α is important for glucose metabolism and insulin action in skeletal muscle. By using a genome-wide gene expression profiling approach, we identified RAB20 and TXNIP as two novel exercise/HIF-1α-regulated genes in skeletal muscle. Loss of Rab20 impairs insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in human and mouse skeletal muscle by blocking the translocation of GLUT4 to the cell surface. In addition, exercise/HIF-1α downregulates the expression of TXNIP , a well-known negative regulator of insulin action. In conclusion, we are the first to demonstrate that HIF-1α is a key regulator of glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle by directly controlling the transcription of RAB20 and TXNIP These results hint toward a novel function of HIF-1α as a potential pharmacological target to improve skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. © 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.

  10. Cortical processing of object affordances for self and others’ action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica eMaranesi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The perception of objects does not rely only on visual brain areas, but also involves cortical motor regions. In particular, different parietal and premotor areas host neurons discharging during both object observation and grasping. Most of these cells often show similar visual and motor selectivity for a specific object (or set of objects, suggesting that they might play a crucial role in representing the potential motor act afforded by the object. The existence of such a mechanism for the visuomotor transformation of object physical properties in the most appropriate motor plan for interacting with them has been convincingly demonstrated in humans as well. Interestingly, human studies have shown that visually presented objects can automatically trigger the representation of an action provided that they are located within the observer’s reaching space (peripersonal space. The affordance effect also occurs when the presented object is outside the observer’s peripersonal space, but inside the peripersonal space of an observed agent. These findings recently received direct support by single neuron studies in monkey, indicating that space-constrained processing of objects in the ventral premotor cortex might be relevant to represent objects as potential targets for one’s own or others' action.

  11. Benchmark of systematic human action reliability procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spurgin, A.J.; Hannaman, G.W.; Moieni, P.

    1986-01-01

    Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methodology has emerged as one of the most promising tools for assessing the impact of human interactions on plant safety and understanding the importance of the man/machine interface. Human interactions were considered to be one of the key elements in the quantification of accident sequences in a PRA. The approach to quantification of human interactions in past PRAs has not been very systematic. The Electric Power Research Institute sponsored the development of SHARP to aid analysts in developing a systematic approach for the evaluation and quantification of human interactions in a PRA. The SHARP process has been extensively peer reviewed and has been adopted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as the basis of a draft guide for the industry. By carrying out a benchmark process, in which SHARP is an essential ingredient, however, it appears possible to assess the strengths and weaknesses of SHARP to aid human reliability analysts in carrying out human reliability analysis as part of a PRA

  12. The "symmetrical turn" in the study of colective action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Israel Rodríguez Giralt

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Conceptualising and understanding forms of collective action is one of the historic preoccupations of social thought. Good evidence of this can be found in the long line of disputes and polemics that runs through the history of thought about these social phenomena. It shows the difficulty social sciences have faced, and continue to face, when it comes to defining, explaining and delineating a phenomena as ephemeral and liminal as this one.In this context, I propose that a discussion of the implications an STS focus could have for the analysis of contemporary collective action. The main hypothesis I develop states that the conceptual and methodological baggage that goes with the Actor-Network theory (ANT, and its shaping into what has been called the 'symmetrical turn' in the social sciences, become a fundamental resource for renewing and enriching the analysis of collective action. For this, I will bring together two main contributions: its alternative understanding of social action (to explain the social it is necessary to  leave the exclusive concern with social relations aside and take into account the non-human actors, such as the technical procedures in which they are involved; and its original definition of the “collective” (the collective is basically an aggregate of humans and non-humans, without predefined borders, it is just the relational product created by the constant and precarious commitment between heterogeneous elements. Both contributions, I affirm, allow the opening of an interesting discussion about agency and the possibility of articulating a new theory of collective action that differs from the dominant traditions in that it considers and assumes the heterogeneous and relational character of all social actors, and, as such, it also assumes that all social action is the emergent effect, the interactive product of those hybrid collectives in action. To give an example of the fertility of this approach, I focus on an

  13. Does ankle joint power reflect type of muscle action of soleus and gastrocnemius during walking in cats and humans?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Neil J; Prilutsky, Boris I; Lichtwark, Glen A; Maas, Huub

    2013-04-26

    The main objective of this paper is to highlight the difficulties of identifying shortening and lengthening contractions based on analysis of power produced by resultant joint moments. For that purpose, we present net ankle joint powers and muscle fascicle/muscle-tendon unit (MTU) velocities for medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus (SO) muscles during walking in species of different size (humans and cats). For the cat, patterns of ankle joint power and MTU velocity of MG and SO during stance were similar: negative power (ankle moment×angular velocityankle joint power and fascicle velocity patterns were observed for MG muscle. In humans, like cats, the patterns of ankle joint power and MTU velocity of SO and MG were similar. Unlike the cat, there were substantial differences between patterns of fascicle velocity and ankle joint power during stance in both muscles. These results indicate that during walking, only a small fraction of mechanical work of the ankle moment is either generated or absorbed by the muscle fascicles, thus confirming the contribution of in-series elastic structures and/or energy transfer via two-joint muscles. We conclude that ankle joint negative power does not necessarily indicate eccentric action of muscle fibers and that positive power cannot be exclusively attributed to muscle concentric action, especially in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Action Observation System when Observing Hand Actions in Autism and Typical Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokorny, Jennifer J; Hatt, Naomi V; Colombi, Costanza; Vivanti, Giacomo; Rogers, Sally J; Rivera, Susan M

    2015-06-01

    Social impairments in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be in part due to difficulty perceiving and recognizing the actions of others. Evidence from imitation studies, which involves both observation and execution of an action, suggests differences, in individuals with ASD, between the ability to imitate goal-directed actions involving objects (transitive actions) and the ability to imitate actions that do not involve objects (intransitive actions). In the present study, we examined whether there were differences in how ASD adolescents encoded transitive and intransitive actions compared to typically developing (TD) adolescents, by having participants view videos of a hand reaching across a screen toward an object or to where an object would be while functional magnetic resonance images were collected. Analyses focused on areas within the action observation network (AON), which is activated during the observation of actions performed by others. We hypothesized that the AON would differentiate transitive from intransitive actions only in the ASD group. However, results revealed that object presence modulated activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus of the TD group, a differentiation that was not seen in the ASD group. Furthermore, there were no significant group differences between the TD and ASD groups in any of the conditions. This suggests that there is not a global deficit of the AON in individuals with ASD while observing transitive and intransitive actions. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Direct RNA-based detection of CTX-M β-lactamases in human blood samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Claudia; Makarewicz, Oliwia; Pfeifer, Yvonne; Brandt, Christian; Pletz, Mathias W

    2015-05-01

    Bloodstream infections with ESBL-producers are associated with increased mortality, which is due to delayed appropriate treatment resulting in clinical failure. Current routine diagnostics for detection of bloodstream infections consists of blood culture followed by species identification and susceptibility testing. In attempts to improve and accelerate diagnostic procedures, PCR-based methods have been developed. These methods focus on species identification covering only a limited number of ESBL coding genes. Therefore, they fail to cover the steadily further evolving genetic diversity of clinically relevant β-lactamases. We have recently designed a fast and novel RNA targeting method to detect and specify CTX-M alleles from bacterial cultures, based on an amplification-pyrosequencing approach. We further developed this assay towards a diagnostic tool for clinical use and evaluated its sensitivity and specificity when applied directly to human blood samples. An optimized protocol for mRNA isolation allows detection of specific CTX-M groups from as little as 100 CFU/mL blood via reverse transcription, amplification, and pyrosequencing directly from human EDTA blood samples as well as from pre-incubated human blood cultures with a turnaround time for test results of <7 h. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  16. Nonmuscle myosin IIA and IIB differentially contribute to intrinsic and directed migration of human embryonic lung fibroblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuragano, Masahiro; Murakami, Yota; Takahashi, Masayuki

    2018-03-25

    Nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) plays an essential role in directional cell migration. In this study, we investigated the roles of NMII isoforms (NMIIA and NMIIB) in the migration of human embryonic lung fibroblasts, which exhibit directionally persistent migration in an intrinsic manner. NMIIA-knockdown (KD) cells migrated unsteadily, but their direction of migration was approximately maintained. By contrast, NMIIB-KD cells occasionally reversed their direction of migration. Lamellipodium-like protrusions formed in the posterior region of NMIIB-KD cells prior to reversal of the migration direction. Moreover, NMIIB KD led to elongation of the posterior region in migrating cells, probably due to the lack of load-bearing stress fibers in this area. These results suggest that NMIIA plays a role in steering migration by maintaining stable protrusions in the anterior region, whereas NMIIB plays a role in maintenance of front-rear polarity by preventing aberrant protrusion formation in the posterior region. These distinct functions of NMIIA and NMIIB might promote intrinsic and directed migration of normal human fibroblasts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The Influence of Estrogens on the Biological and Therapeutic Actions of Growth Hormone in the Liver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro Fernández-Pérez

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available GH is main regulator of body growth and composition, somatic development, intermediate metabolism and gender-dependent dimorphism in mammals. The liver is a direct target of estrogens because it expresses estrogen receptors which are connected with development, lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, hepatic carcinogenesis, protection from drug-induced toxicity and fertility. In addition, estrogens can modulate GH actions in liver by acting centrally, regulating pituitary GH secretion, and, peripherally, by modulating GHR-JAK2-STAT5 signalling pathway. Therefore, the interactions of estrogens with GH actions in liver are biologically and clinically relevant because disruption of GH signaling may cause alterations of its endocrine, metabolic, and gender differentiated functions and it could be linked to dramatic impact in liver physiology during development as well as in adulthood. Finally, the interplay of estrogens with GH is relevant because physiological roles these hormones have in human, and the widespread exposition of estrogen or estrogen-related compounds in human. This review highlights the importance of these hormones in liver physiology as well as how estrogens modulate GH actions in liver which will help to improve the clinical use of these hormones.

  18. The interaction between felt touch and tactile consequences of observed actions: an action-based somatosensory congruency paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deschrijver, Eliane; Wiersema, Jan R; Brass, Marcel

    2016-07-01

    Action observation leads to a representation of both the motor aspect of an observed action (motor simulation) and its somatosensory consequences (action-based somatosensory simulation) in the observer's brain. In the current electroencephalography-study, we investigated the neuronal interplay of action-based somatosensory simulation and felt touch. We presented index or middle finger tapping movements of a human or a wooden hand, while simultaneously presenting 'tap-like' tactile sensations to either the corresponding or non-corresponding fingertip of the participant. We focused on an early stage of somatosensory processing [P50, N100 and N140 sensory evoked potentials (SEPs)] and on a later stage of higher-order processing (P3-complex). The results revealed an interaction effect of animacy and congruency in the early P50 SEP and an animacy effect in the N100/N140 SEPs. In the P3-complex, we found an interaction effect indicating that the influence of congruency was larger in the human than in the wooden hand. We argue that the P3-complex may reflect higher-order self-other distinction by signaling simulated action-based touch that does not match own tactile information. As such, the action-based somatosensory congruency paradigm might help understand higher-order social processes from a somatosensory point of view. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Human sensorimotor communication: a theory of signaling in online social interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pezzulo, Giovanni; Donnarumma, Francesco; Dindo, Haris

    2013-01-01

    Although the importance of communication is recognized in several disciplines, it is rarely studied in the context of online social interactions and joint actions. During online joint actions, language and gesture are often insufficient and humans typically use non-verbal, sensorimotor forms of communication to send coordination signals. For example, when playing volleyball, an athlete can exaggerate her movements to signal her intentions to her teammates (say, a pass to the right) or to feint an adversary. Similarly, a person who is transporting a table together with a co-actor can push the table in a certain direction to signal where and when he intends to place it. Other examples of "signaling" are over-articulating in noisy environments and over-emphasizing vowels in child-directed speech. In all these examples, humans intentionally modify their action kinematics to make their goals easier to disambiguate. At the moment no formal theory exists of these forms of sensorimotor communication and signaling. We present one such theory that describes signaling as a combination of a pragmatic and a communicative action, and explains how it simplifies coordination in online social interactions. We cast signaling within a "joint action optimization" framework in which co-actors optimize the success of their interaction and joint goals rather than only their part of the joint action. The decision of whether and how much to signal requires solving a trade-off between the costs of modifying one's behavior and the benefits in terms of interaction success. Signaling is thus an intentional strategy that supports social interactions; it acts in concert with automatic mechanisms of resonance, prediction, and imitation, especially when the context makes actions and intentions ambiguous and difficult to read. Our theory suggests that communication dynamics should be studied within theories of coordination and interaction rather than only in terms of the maximization of information

  20. Human sensorimotor communication: a theory of signaling in online social interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Pezzulo

    Full Text Available Although the importance of communication is recognized in several disciplines, it is rarely studied in the context of online social interactions and joint actions. During online joint actions, language and gesture are often insufficient and humans typically use non-verbal, sensorimotor forms of communication to send coordination signals. For example, when playing volleyball, an athlete can exaggerate her movements to signal her intentions to her teammates (say, a pass to the right or to feint an adversary. Similarly, a person who is transporting a table together with a co-actor can push the table in a certain direction to signal where and when he intends to place it. Other examples of "signaling" are over-articulating in noisy environments and over-emphasizing vowels in child-directed speech. In all these examples, humans intentionally modify their action kinematics to make their goals easier to disambiguate. At the moment no formal theory exists of these forms of sensorimotor communication and signaling. We present one such theory that describes signaling as a combination of a pragmatic and a communicative action, and explains how it simplifies coordination in online social interactions. We cast signaling within a "joint action optimization" framework in which co-actors optimize the success of their interaction and joint goals rather than only their part of the joint action. The decision of whether and how much to signal requires solving a trade-off between the costs of modifying one's behavior and the benefits in terms of interaction success. Signaling is thus an intentional strategy that supports social interactions; it acts in concert with automatic mechanisms of resonance, prediction, and imitation, especially when the context makes actions and intentions ambiguous and difficult to read. Our theory suggests that communication dynamics should be studied within theories of coordination and interaction rather than only in terms of the

  1. Paradigm Shift in Game Theory: Sociological Re-Conceptualization of Human Agency, Social Structure, and Agents’ Cognitive-Normative Frameworks and Action Determination Modalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom R. Burns

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to present some of the initial work of developing a social science grounded game theory—as a clear alternative to classical game theory. Two distinct independent initiatives in Sociology are presented: One, a systems approach, social systems game theory (SGT, and the other, Erving Goffman’s interactionist approach (IGT. These approaches are presented and contrasted with classical theory. They focus on the social rules, norms, roles, role relationships, and institutional arrangements, which structure and regulate human behavior. While strategic judgment and instrumental rationality play an important part in the sociological approaches, they are not a universal or dominant modality of social action determination. Rule following is considered, generally speaking, more characteristic and more general. Sociological approaches, such as those outlined in this article provide a language and conceptual tools to more adequately and effectively than the classical theory describe, model, and analyze the diversity and complexity of human interaction conditions and processes: (1 complex cognitive rule based models of the interaction situation with which actors understand and analyze their situations; (2 value complex(es with which actors operate, often with multiple values and norms applying in interaction situations; (3 action repertoires (rule complexes with simple and complex action alternatives—plans, programs, established (sometimes highly elaborated algorithms, and rituals; (4 a rule complex of action determination modalities for actors to generate and/or select actions in game situations; three action modalities are considered here; each modality consists of one or more procedures or algorithms for action determination: (I following or implementing a rule or rule complex, norm, role, ritual, or social relation; (II selecting or choosing among given or institutionalized alternatives according to a rule or principle; and (III

  2. Differential Effects of Systemic Cholinergic Receptor Blockade on Pavlovian Incentive Motivation and Goal-Directed Action Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostlund, Sean B; Kosheleff, Alisa R; Maidment, Nigel T

    2014-01-01

    Reward-seeking actions can be guided by external cues that signal reward availability. For instance, when confronted with a stimulus that signals sugar, rats will prefer an action that produces sugar over a second action that produces grain pellets. Action selection is also sensitive to changes in the incentive value of potential rewards. Thus, rats that have been prefed a large meal of sucrose will prefer a grain-seeking action to a sucrose-seeking action. The current study investigated the dependence of these different aspects of action selection on cholinergic transmission. Hungry rats were given differential training with two unique stimulus-outcome (S1-O1 and S2-O2) and action-outcome (A1-O1 and A2-O2) contingencies during separate training phases. Rats were then given a series of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer tests, an assay of cue-triggered responding. Before each test, rats were injected with scopolamine (0, 0.03, or 0.1 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), a muscarinic receptor antagonist, or mecamylamine (0, 0.75, or 2.25 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), a nicotinic receptor antagonist. Although the reward-paired cues were capable of biasing action selection when rats were tested off-drug, both anticholinergic treatments were effective in disrupting this effect. During a subsequent round of outcome devaluation testing—used to assess the sensitivity of action selection to a change in reward value—we found no effect of either scopolamine or mecamylamine. These results reveal that cholinergic signaling at both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors mediates action selection based on Pavlovian reward expectations, but is not critical for flexibly selecting actions using current reward values. PMID:24370780

  3. Technologies as incarnated action

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schraube, Ernst

    Contemporary conceptualizations of technology go beyond the traditional interpretation of created things as simply neutral means to an end. They theorize technologies as objects, which embody regimes of power (the theory of technological politics), or scripts (actor-network theory), or values (cr...... represent incarnated or reified actions. I will conclude that an understanding of human activity today has to embrace an imagination of how the inherent action principles of the objects situate the activities and relationships of the subjects to themselves and to others....

  4. 76 FR 51374 - Direct Discovery of HLA Associated Influenza Epitopes Isolated From Human Cells for Vaccine and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-18

    ... direct-discovery technology for use in FDA laboratories. C. Eligibility Information The technology...] Direct Discovery of HLA Associated Influenza Epitopes Isolated From Human Cells for Vaccine and... technology to molecularly characterize peptide epitopes that are processed and presented on soluble HLA...

  5. Direct induction of chondrogenic cells from human dermal fibroblast culture by defined factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidetatsu Outani

    Full Text Available The repair of large cartilage defects with hyaline cartilage continues to be a challenging clinical issue. We recently reported that the forced expression of two reprogramming factors (c-Myc and Klf4 and one chondrogenic factor (SOX9 can induce chondrogenic cells from mouse dermal fibroblast culture without going through a pluripotent state. We here generated induced chondrogenic (iChon cells from human dermal fibroblast (HDF culture with the same factors. We developed a chondrocyte-specific COL11A2 promoter/enhancer lentiviral reporter vector to select iChon cells. The human iChon cells expressed marker genes for chondrocytes but not fibroblasts, and were derived from non-chondrogenic COL11A2-negative cells. The human iChon cells formed cartilage but not tumors in nude mice. This approach could lead to the preparation of cartilage directly from skin in human, without going through pluripotent stem cells.

  6. Evaluation of chemical spraying and environmental management efficacy in areas with minor previous application of integrated control actions for visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara-Silva, Fabiana de Oliveira; Michalsky, Érika Monteiro; Fortes-Dias, Consuelo Latorre; Fiuza, Vanessa de Oliveira Pires; Dias, Edelberto Santos

    2017-12-01

    Leishmaniases are vector-borne diseases that are transmitted to humans through the bite of Leishmania-infected phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera:Psychodidae). The main proved vector of visceral leishmaniais (VL) in the New World - Lutzomyia longipalpis - is well-adapted to urban areas and has extensive distribution within the five geographical regions of Brazil. Integrated public health actions directed for the vector, domestic reservoir and humans for the control of VL are preferentially applied in municipalities with higher epidemiological risk of transmission. In this study, we evaluated the individual impact of two main vector control actions - chemical spraying and environmental management - in two districts with no reported cases of human VL. Although belonging to an endemic municipality for VL in Brazil, the integrated control actions have not been applied in these districts due to the absence of human cases. The number of L. longipalpis captured in a two-year period was used as indicator of the population density of the vector. After chemical spraying a tendency of reduction in L. longipalpis was observed but with no statistical significance compared to the control. Environmental management was effective in that reduction and it may help in the control of VL by reducing the population density of the vector in a preventive and more permanent action, perhaps associated with chemical spraying. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Direct 2-D reconstructions of conductivity and permittivity from EIT data on a human chest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Claudia N L; Vallejo, Miguel F M; Mueller, Jennifer L; Lima, Raul G

    2015-01-01

    A novel direct D-bar reconstruction algorithm is presented for reconstructing a complex conductivity distribution from 2-D EIT data. The method is applied to simulated data and archival human chest data. Permittivity reconstructions with the aforementioned method and conductivity reconstructions with the previously existing nonlinear D-bar method for real-valued conductivities depicting ventilation and perfusion in the human chest are presented. This constitutes the first fully nonlinear D-bar reconstructions of human chest data and the first D-bar permittivity reconstructions of experimental data. The results of the human chest data reconstructions are compared on a circular domain versus a chest-shaped domain.

  8. Discrimination of complex human behavior by pigeons (Columba livia and humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad A J Qadri

    Full Text Available The cognitive and neural mechanisms for recognizing and categorizing behavior are not well understood in non-human animals. In the current experiments, pigeons and humans learned to categorize two non-repeating, complex human behaviors ("martial arts" vs. "Indian dance". Using multiple video exemplars of a digital human model, pigeons discriminated these behaviors in a go/no-go task and humans in a choice task. Experiment 1 found that pigeons already experienced with discriminating the locomotive actions of digital animals acquired the discrimination more rapidly when action information was available than when only pose information was available. Experiments 2 and 3 found this same dynamic superiority effect with naïve pigeons and human participants. Both species used the same combination of immediately available static pose information and more slowly perceived dynamic action cues to discriminate the behavioral categories. Theories based on generalized visual mechanisms, as opposed to embodied, species-specific action networks, offer a parsimonious account of how these different animals recognize behavior across and within species.

  9. Human epithelial cells increase their rigidity with ageing in vitro: direct measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berdyyeva, Tamara K; Woodworth, Craig D; Sokolov, Igor

    2005-01-01

    The decrease in elasticity of epithelial tissues with ageing contributes to many human diseases. This change was previously attributed to increased crosslinking of extracellular matrix proteins. Here we show that individual human epithelial cells also become significantly more rigid during ageing in vitro. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we found that the Young's modulus of viable cells was consistently increased two- to four-fold in older versus younger cells. Direct visualization of the cytoskeleton using a novel method involving the AFM suggested that increased rigidity of ageing cells was due to a higher density of cytoskeletal fibres. Our results identify a unique mechanism that might contribute to the age-related loss of elasticity in epithelial tissues

  10. Corrective Action Decision Document/Corrective Action Plan for Corrective Action Unit 547: Miscellaneous Contaminated Waste Sites, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mark Krauss

    2011-09-01

    The purpose of this CADD/CAP is to present the corrective action alternatives (CAAs) evaluated for CAU 547, provide justification for selection of the recommended alternative, and describe the plan for implementing the selected alternative. Corrective Action Unit 547 consists of the following three corrective action sites (CASs): (1) CAS 02-37-02, Gas Sampling Assembly; (2) CAS 03-99-19, Gas Sampling Assembly; and(3) CAS 09-99-06, Gas Sampling Assembly. The gas sampling assemblies consist of inactive process piping, equipment, and instrumentation that were left in place after completion of underground safety experiments. The purpose of these safety experiments was to confirm that a nuclear explosion would not occur in the case of an accidental detonation of the high-explosive component of the device. The gas sampling assemblies allowed for the direct sampling of the gases and particulates produced by the safety experiments. Corrective Action Site 02-37-02 is located in Area 2 of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and is associated with the Mullet safety experiment conducted in emplacement borehole U2ag on October 17, 1963. Corrective Action Site 03-99-19 is located in Area 3 of the NNSS and is associated with the Tejon safety experiment conducted in emplacement borehole U3cg on May 17, 1963. Corrective Action Site 09-99-06 is located in Area 9 of the NNSS and is associated with the Player safety experiment conducted in emplacement borehole U9cc on August 27, 1964. The CAU 547 CASs were investigated in accordance with the data quality objectives (DQOs) developed by representatives of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office. The DQO process was used to identify and define the type, amount, and quality of data needed to determine and implement appropriate corrective actions for CAU 547. Existing radiological survey data and historical knowledge of

  11. Direct electrical stimulation of human cortex evokes high gamma activity that predicts conscious somatosensory perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Leah; Rolston, John D.; Fox, Neal P.; Knowlton, Robert; Rao, Vikram R.; Chang, Edward F.

    2018-04-01

    Objective. Direct electrical stimulation (DES) is a clinical gold standard for human brain mapping and readily evokes conscious percepts, yet the neurophysiological changes underlying these percepts are not well understood. Approach. To determine the neural correlates of DES, we stimulated the somatosensory cortex of ten human participants at frequency-amplitude combinations that both elicited and failed to elicit conscious percepts, meanwhile recording neural activity directly surrounding the stimulation site. We then compared the neural activity of perceived trials to that of non-perceived trials. Main results. We found that stimulation evokes distributed high gamma activity, which correlates with conscious perception better than stimulation parameters themselves. Significance. Our findings suggest that high gamma activity is a reliable biomarker for perception evoked by both natural and electrical stimuli.

  12. Planning-in-Action: An Innovative Approach to Human Development. The Hunger Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Community Development Journal, 1991

    1991-01-01

    The Hunger Project in India used a strategic planning-in-action approach that involved (1) reaching a common understanding; (2) creating a strategic intent; (3) choosing social indicators; (4) identifying strategic objectives; (5) empowering leadership; (6) identifying immediate action steps; and (7) sustaining the action. (SK)

  13. Understanding action language modulates oscillatory mu and beta rhythms in the same way as observing actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Iván; de Vega, Manuel; León, Inmaculada

    2013-08-01

    The mu rhythms (8-13 Hz) and the beta rhythms (15 up to 30 Hz) of the EEG are observed in the central electrodes (C3, Cz and C4) in resting states, and become suppressed when participants perform a manual action or when they observe another's action. This has led researchers to consider that these rhythms are electrophysiological markers of the motor neuron activity in humans. This study tested whether the comprehension of action language, unlike abstract language, modulates mu and low beta rhythms (15-20 Hz) in a similar way as the observation of real actions. The log-ratios were calculated for each oscillatory band between each condition and baseline resting periods. The results indicated that both action language and action videos caused mu and beta suppression (negative log-ratios), whereas abstract language did not, confirming the hypothesis that understanding action language activates motor networks in the brain. In other words, the resonance of motor areas associated with action language is compatible with the embodiment approach to linguistic meaning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. EVEN-SKIPPED HOMEOBOX 1 controls human ES cell differentiation by directly repressing GOOSECOID expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalisz, Mark; Winzi, Maria Karin; Bisgaard, Hanne Cathrine

    2012-01-01

    (EVX1) and GOOSECOID (GSC) regulate cell fate decisions in streak-like progenitors derived from human ES cells exposed to BMP4 and/or activin. We found that EVX1 repressed GSC expression and promoted formation of posterior streak-like progeny in response to BMP4, and conversely that GSC repressed EVX1...... expression and was required for development of anterior streak-like progeny in response to activin. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that EVX1 bound to the GSC 5'-flanking region in BMP4 treated human ES cells, and band shift assays identified two EVX1 binding sites in the GSC 5'-region......TGFß signaling patterns the primitive streak, yet little is known about transcriptional effectors that mediate the cell fate choices during streak-like development in mammalian embryos and in embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here we demonstrate that cross-antagonistic actions of EVEN-SKIPPED HOMEOBOX 1...

  15. Behavioral and Neural Representations of Spatial Directions across Words, Schemas, and Images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisberg, Steven M; Marchette, Steven A; Chatterjee, Anjan

    2018-05-23

    Modern spatial navigation requires fluency with multiple representational formats, including visual scenes, signs, and words. These formats convey different information. Visual scenes are rich and specific but contain extraneous details. Arrows, as an example of signs, are schematic representations in which the extraneous details are eliminated, but analog spatial properties are preserved. Words eliminate all spatial information and convey spatial directions in a purely abstract form. How does the human brain compute spatial directions within and across these formats? To investigate this question, we conducted two experiments on men and women: a behavioral study that was preregistered and a neuroimaging study using multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data to uncover similarities and differences among representational formats. Participants in the behavioral study viewed spatial directions presented as images, schemas, or words (e.g., "left"), and responded to each trial, indicating whether the spatial direction was the same or different as the one viewed previously. They responded more quickly to schemas and words than images, despite the visual complexity of stimuli being matched. Participants in the fMRI study performed the same task but responded only to occasional catch trials. Spatial directions in images were decodable in the intraparietal sulcus bilaterally but were not in schemas and words. Spatial directions were also decodable between all three formats. These results suggest that intraparietal sulcus plays a role in calculating spatial directions in visual scenes, but this neural circuitry may be bypassed when the spatial directions are presented as schemas or words. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human navigators encounter spatial directions in various formats: words ("turn left"), schematic signs (an arrow showing a left turn), and visual scenes (a road turning left). The brain must transform these spatial directions into a plan for action. Here, we investigate

  16. Hope for Environmental Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischer, Barbara J.; DeMoor, Emily

    2015-01-01

    Environmental consciousness-raising programs tend to emphasize the magnitude of imminent ecological disasters, if humans continue on their current trajectory. While these environmental literacy programs also call for action to avoid cataclysmic ecological changes, psychological research on "learned helplessness" suggests that information…

  17. Taking off the square root of Nambu-Goto action and obtaining Filippov-Lie algebra gauge theory action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jeong-Hyuck; Sochichiu, Corneliu

    2009-01-01

    We propose a novel prescription to take off the square root of the Nambu-Goto action for a p-brane, which generalizes the Brink-Di Vecchia-Howe-Tucker, also known as the Polyakov method. With an arbitrary decomposition, d+n=p+1, our resulting action is a modified d-dimensional Polyakov action, which is gauged and possesses a Nambu n-bracket squared potential. We first spell out how the (p+1)-dimensional diffeomorphism is realized in the lower dimensional action. Then we discuss a possible gauge fixing of it to a direct product of d-dimensional diffeomorphism and n-dimensional volume preserving diffeomorphism. We show that the latter naturally leads to a novel Filippov-Lie n-algebra based gauge theory action in d dimensions. (orig.)

  18. Action mechanisms of transcranial direct current stimulation in Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Niels

    2012-01-01

    The pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is often limited and accompanied by drug side effects. Thus alternative therapeutic strategies such as non-invasive brain stimulation are needed. Few studies have demonstrated that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a method of neuromodulation with consecutive robust excitability changes within the stimulated cortex area, is beneficial in AD. There is also evidence that tDCS enhances memory function in cognitive rehabilitation in depressive patients, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. tDCS improves working and visual recognition memory in humans and object-recognition learning in the elderly. AD's neurobiological mechanisms comprise changes in neuronal activity and the cerebral blood flow (CBF) caused by altered microvasculature, synaptic dysregulation from ß-amyloid peptide accumulation, altered neuromodulation via degenerated modulatory amine transmitter systems, altered brain oscillations, and changes in network connectivity. tDCS alters (i) neuronal activity and (ii) human CBF, (iii) has synaptic and non-synaptic after-effects (iv), can modify neurotransmitters polarity-dependently, (v) and alter oscillatory brain activity and (vi) functional connectivity patterns in the brain. It thus is reasonable to use tDCS as a therapeutic instrument in AD as it improves cognitive function in manner based on a disease mechanism. Moreover, it could prove valuable in other types of dementia. Future large-scale clinical and mechanism-oriented studies may enable us to identify its therapeutic validity in other types of demential disorders.

  19. Action spectra for inactivation of normal and xeroderma pigmentosum human skin fibroblasts by ultraviolet radiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keyse, S.M.; Moss, S.H.; Davies, D.J.G.

    1983-01-01

    Action spectra for UV-induced lethality as measured by colony forming ability were determined both for a normal human skin fibroblast strain (1BR) and for an excision deficient xeroderma pigmentosum strain (XP4LO) assigned to complementation group A using 7 monochromatic wavelengths in the range 254-365 nm. The relative sensitivity of the XP strain compared to the normal skin fibroblasts shows a marked decrease at wavelengths longer than 313 nm, changing from a ratio of about 20 at the shorter wavelengths to just greater than 1.0 at the longer wavelengths. The action spectra thus indicate that the influence on cell inactivation of the DNA repair defect associated with XP cells is decreased and almost reaches zero at longer UV wavelengths. This would occur, for example, if the importance of pyrimidine dimers as the lethal lesion decreased with increasing wavelength. These results are consistent with pyrimidine dimers induced in DNA being the major lethal lesion in both cell strains over the wavelength range 254-313 nm. However, it is indicated that different mechanisms of inactivation operate at wavelengths longer than 313 nm. (author)

  20. Decreasing Striatopallidal Pathway Function Enhances Motivation by Energizing the Initiation of Goal-Directed Action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho Poyraz, Fernanda; Holzner, Eva; Bailey, Matthew R.; Meszaros, Jozsef; Kenney, Lindsay; Kheirbek, Mazen A.

    2016-01-01

    Altered dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) binding in the striatum has been associated with abnormal motivation in neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Here, we tested whether motivational deficits observed in mice with upregulated D2Rs (D2R-OEdev mice) are reversed by decreasing function of the striatopallidal “no-go” pathway. To this end, we expressed the Gαi-coupled designer receptor hM4D in adult striatopallidal neurons and activated the receptor with clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). Using a head-mounted miniature microscope we confirmed with calcium imaging in awake mice that hM4D activation by CNO inhibits striatopallidal function measured as disinhibited downstream activity in the globus pallidus. Mice were then tested in three operant tasks that address motivated behavior, the progressive ratio task, the progressive hold-down task, and outcome devaluation. Decreasing striatopallidal function in the dorsomedial striatum or nucleus accumbens core enhanced motivation in D2R-OEdev mice and control littermates. This effect was due to increased response initiation but came at the cost of goal-directed efficiency. Moreover, response vigor and the sensitivity to changes in reward value were not altered. Chronic activation of hM4D by administering CNO for 2 weeks in drinking water did not affect motivation due to a tolerance effect. However, the acute effect of CNO on motivation was reinstated after discontinuing chronic treatment for 48 h. Used as a therapeutic approach, striatopallidal inhibition should consider the risk of impairing goal-directed efficiency and behavioral desensitization. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Motivation involves a directional component that allows subjects to efficiently select the behavior that will lead to an optimal outcome and an activational component that initiates and maintains the vigor and persistence of actions. Striatal output pathways modulate motivated behavior, but it remains unknown how these pathways regulate specific