Motor imagery-induced EEG patterns in individuals with spinal cord injury and their impact on brain–computer interface accuracy

Objective. Assimilating the diagnosis complete spinal cord injury (SCI) takes time and is not easy, as patients know that there is no ‘cure’ at the present time. Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) can facilitate daily living. However, inter-subject variability demands measurements with potential user groups and an understanding of how they differ to healthy users BCIs are more commonly tested with. Thus, a three-class motor imagery (MI) screening (left hand, right hand, feet) was performed with a group of 10 able-bodied and 16 complete spinal-cord-injured people (paraplegics, tetraplegics) with the objective of determining what differences were present between the user groups and how they would impact upon the ability of these user groups to interact with a BCI. Approach. Electrophysiological differences between patient groups and healthy users are measured in terms of sensorimotor rhythm deflections from baseline during MI, electroencephalogram microstate scalp maps and strengths of inter-channel phase synchronization. Additionally, using a common spatial pattern algorithm and a linear discriminant analysis classifier, the classification accuracy was calculated and compared between groups. Main results. It is seen that both patient groups (tetraplegic and paraplegic) have some significant differences in event-related desynchronization strengths, exhibit significant increases in synchronization and reach significantly lower accuracies (mean (M) = 66.1%) than the group of healthy subjects (M = 85.1%). Significance. The results demonstrate significant differences in electrophysiological correlates of motor control between healthy individuals and those individuals who stand to benefit most from BCI technology (individuals with SCI). They highlight the difficulty in directly translating results from healthy subjects to participants with SCI and the challenges that, therefore, arise in providing BCIs to such individuals

Globalisation, the environment and recent trends in international trade

The process of globalization has had far-reaching social as well as economic effects. The term "globalization" is generally taken to mean an increase in international transactions in markets for goods, services and factors of production and a growth in institutions .that straddle international borders. This development has also meant that the corporate-governance mechanisms have to be reinforced to ensure fairness and transparency as well as social responsibility. Finally, international infrastructure and institutions have to evolve to facilitate and ameliorate the effects of the growth in this world trade on the environment, sustainable development and bio-diversity. This paper provides an overview of the current developments in all these areas.

Long-term reproductive success of Australasian gannets (Morus serrator)

Life history theory predicts that individuals make trade-offs between investment in current reproduction, future reproductive potential and success in order to maximise lifetime reproductive success (LRS). Factors that may influence LRS in seabirds include delayed maturity, small clutches, high adults survivorship and long life spans. Studies have shown that reproductive success of seabirds increases with age and experience. Australasian gannets are long-lived seabirds that typically commence breeding at five or six years of age. A small colony of gannets was monitored over 12 years. This study aimed to identify patterns of long-term individual breeding biology. Results indicate that nest site, pair bond duration, age and breeding experience are all important factors in reproductive success. Relationships were found between breeding success and several variables including breeding experience, pair bond duration and nest site quality. Identifying and understanding the factors that contribute to individuals’ reproductive success is of critical importance for future conservation and management of seabird species.

Anti-Americanism: recent sources

Anti-American sentiment has, it would seem, increased in the wake of the election of George Bush, jr. and the US’s response to the events of
September 11. Commentators within the US, and globally, have analysed the recent variants of a long-standing condition. Below is a review of recent coverage of the phenomenon. The entries for the print sources are divided into:

(1) analyses of anti-Americanism written in the US,
(2) accounts of international expressions of anti-Americanism.

Plastic crystal behaviour in tetraethylammonium dicyanamide

The plastic crystal tetraethylammonium dicyanamide ([N_2,2,2,2][dca]) has been investigated with an emphasis on structure and dynamics in the plastic phase. It was found that almost all of the volume expansion occurs at the II → I transition, with no volume expansion at the melt transition (as normally observed for crystals). The conductivity of this material shows a rapid increase at temperatures below the II → I transition, reaching values ~ 10^{− 3} S/cm in Phase I, and 0.1 S/cm in the melt. The NMR measurements show that there is a sudden onset of rotational motions of the cations at the plastic transition; below this temperature the cations appear static. The rotational motion of the cation in Phase I has been discussed in terms of isotropic tumbling.

Impacts of currency fluctuations on Japanese foreign direct investment

The Japanese currency has appreciated substantially against most other currencies over the last two decades. During the same time Japan has become one of the world's largest providers of FDI. Japan's share of total FDI outflows increased from about 6 percent during the late 70's to 21 percent in 1990 while its share of the total stock of FDI in the world increased from less than 1 percent in 1960 to more than 13 percent in 1993. Not surprisingly, Japan's role in international business in general and its FDI activities, in particular, have attracted considerable attention from researchers world wide. However, much of this attention has been directed towards the patterns and determinants of Japanese foreign direct investment, in particular to the United States. The impact of changes in the value of the Yen on Japanese FDI has been largely overlooked. Thus, this paper fills an important gap in the literature by focusing on the influence of changes of the exchange rate on Japanese foreign direct investment. A comprehensive simultaneous equa-tion model of Japanese FDI is developed on a regional level to gauge the extent to which currency fluctuations affect Japanese FDI activities. The results suggest that the exchange rate is an effective mechanism through which to influence FDI. Thus, the exchange rate should not be overlooked by the World Trade Organisation in its efforts to further liberalise investment through the Multilateral Agreement on Investment.

Medidas antidumping e política doméstica: o caso da citricultura estadunidense

Pós-graduação em Relações Internacionais (UNESP - UNICAMP - PUC-SP) - FFC

Characterization of the transcriptome of fast and slow muscle myotomal fibres in the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Intestinal bacteria induce TSLP to promote mutualistic T-cell responses

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is constitutively expressed in the intestine and is known to regulate inflammation in models of colitis. We show that steady-state TSLP expression requires intestinal bacteria and has an important role in limiting the expansion of colonic T helper type 17 (Th17) cells. Inappropriate expansion of the colonic Th17 cells occurred in response to an entirely benign intestinal microbiota, as determined following the colonization of germ-free C57BL/6 or TSLPR(-/-) mice with the altered Schaedler flora (ASF). TSLP-TSLPR (TSLP receptor) interactions also promoted the expansion of colonic Helios(-)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells, necessary for the control of inappropriate Th17 responses following ASF bacterial colonization. In summary, these data reveal an important role for TSLP-TSLPR signaling in promoting steady-state mutualistic T-cell responses following intestinal bacterial colonization.

Onset of long-term cooling of Greenland near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary as revealed by branched tetraether lipids

The Eocene-Oligocene (E-O) boundary interval is considered to be one of the major transitions in Earth's climate, witnessing the first major expansion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, the extent of the associated climatic cooling, especially for high northern latitude continental landmasses, is poorly constrained. In this study we reconstruct the first mean annual air temperature (MAAT) for the Greenland landmass during the late Eocene and early Oligocene by applying a new proxy based on the distribution of branched tetraether lipids derived from soil bacteria preserved in a marine sediment core from the Greenland Basin. The temperature estimates are compared with a composite continental temperature record based on bio-climatic analysis of pollen assemblages. Both proxies reveal comparable late Eocene MAATs of ~13-15 °C and a gradual long-term cooling of ~3-5 °C starting near the E-O boundary. These data are in agreement with other MAAT reconstructions from northern midlatitude continents and suggest a general cooling of the Northern Hemisphere during the E-O transition.

Building resilience to water scarcity in Southern Spain: A case study of rice farming in Doñana protected wetlands

Agricultural water management needs to evolve in view of increased water scarcity, especially when farming and natural protected areas are closely linked. In the study site of Don?ana (southern Spain), water is shared by rice producers and a world heritage biodiversity ecosystem. Our aim is to contribute to defining adaptation strategies that may build resilience to increasing water scarcity and minimize water conflicts among agricultural and natural systems. The analytical framework links a participatory process with quantitative methods to prioritize the adaptation options. Bottom-up proposed adaptation measures are evaluated by a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) that includes both socioeconomic criteria and criteria of the ecosystem services affected by the adaptation options. Criteria weights are estimated by three different methods?analytic hierarchy process, Likert scale and equal weights?that are then compared. Finally, scores from an MCA are input into an optimization model used to determine the optimal land-use distribution in order to maximize utility and land-use diversification according to different scenarios of funds and water availability. While our results show a spectrum of perceptions of priorities among stakeholders, there is one overriding theme that is to define a way to restore part of the rice fields to natural wetlands. These results hold true under the current climate scenario and evenmore so under an increased water scarcity scenario.