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What can functional neuroimaging tell the experimental psychologist?

I argue here that functional neuroimaging data--which I restrict to the haemodynamic techniques of fMRI and PET--can inform psychological theorizing, provided one assumes a "systematic" function-structure mapping in the brain. In this case, imaging data simply comprise another dependent variable, along with behavioural data, that can be used to test competing theories. In particular, I distinguish two types of inference: function-to-structure deduction and structure-to-function induction. With the former inference, a qualitatively different pattern of activity over the brain under two experimental conditions implies at least one different function associated with changes in the independent variable. With the second type of inference, activity of the same brain region(s) under two conditions implies a common function, possibly not predicted a priori. I illustrate these inferences with imaging studies of recognition memory, short-term memory, and repetition priming. I then consider in greater detail what is meant by a "systematic" function-structure mapping and argue that, particularly for structure-to-function induction, this entails a one-to-one mapping between functional and structural units, although the structural unit may be a network of interacting regions and care must be taken over the appropriate level of functional/structural abstraction. Nonetheless, the assumption of a systematic function-structure mapping is a "working hypothesis" that, in common with other scientific fields, cannot be proved on independent grounds and is probably best evaluated by the success of the enterprise as a whole. I also consider statistical issues such as the definition of a qualitative difference and methodological issues such as the relationship between imaging and behavioural data. I finish by reviewing various objections to neuroimaging, including neophrenology, functionalism, and equipotentiality, and by observing some criticisms of current practice in the imaging literature.

Arousal↗

PRISM-G: an interpretable privacy scoring framework for assessing risk in synthetic human genome data.

MOTIVATION: Synthetic genomic data promises broader data access, but unresolved privacy risks remain a major concern. Existing evaluations often rely on similarity-based metrics that measure proximity between real and synthetic genomes, overlooking additional mechanisms through which genomic information may leak. RESULTS: We introduce PRISM-G, a model-agnostic framework that quantifies privacy exposure in synthetic genomic data across three complementary components: proximity to real genomes in genetic-coordinate space, replay of familial or population-structure patterns, and trait-linked exposure through rare variants and membership-inference signals. These components are normalized and combined through a risk-averse aggregation into a single 0-100 PRISM-G score. By pairing PRISM-G with downstream utility metrics, the framework also enables analysis of privacy-utility trade-offs across generative models. We evaluated PRISM-G on synthetic cohorts generated by a generative adversarial network (GAN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), and a logic-based SAT solver (Genomator). Our results show that privacy vulnerabilities arise along different axes across models and marker densities, demonstrating that a single similarity-based metric is insufficient to characterize genomic privacy risk. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The source code of PRISM-G is available at https://github.com/alejocrojo09/prismg.

Humans↗

Modular epistasis in yeast metabolism.

Epistatic interactions, manifested in the effects of mutations on the phenotypes caused by other mutations, may help uncover the functional organization of complex biological networks. Here, we studied system-level epistatic interactions by computing growth phenotypes of all single and double knockouts of 890 metabolic genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using the framework of flux balance analysis. A new scale for epistasis identified a distinctive trimodal distribution of these epistatic effects, allowing gene pairs to be classified as buffering, aggravating or noninteracting. We found that the ensuing epistatic interaction network could be organized hierarchically into function-enriched modules that interact with each other 'monochromatically' (i.e., with purely aggravating or purely buffering epistatic links). This property extends the concept of epistasis from single genes to functional units and provides a new definition of biological modularity, which emphasizes interactions between, rather than within, functional modules. Our approach can be used to infer functional gene modules from purely phenotypic epistasis measurements.

Algorithms↗

FMRI study of emotional speech comprehension.

Little is known about the neural correlates of affective prosody in the context of affective semantic discourse. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate this issue while subjects performed 1) affective classification of sentences having an affective semantic content and 2) grammatical classification of sentences with neutral semantic content. Sentences of each type were produced half by actors and half by a text-to-speech software lacking affective prosody. Compared with neutral sentences processing, sentences with affective semantic content--with or without affective prosody--led to an increase in activation of a left inferior frontal area involved in the retrieval of semantic knowledge. In addition, the posterior part of the left superior temporal sulcus (STS) together with the medial prefrontal cortex were recruited, although not activated by neutral sentences classification. Interestingly, these areas have been described as implicated during self-reflection or other's mental state inference that possibly occurred during the affective classification task. When affective prosody was present, additional rightward activations of the human-selective voice area and the posterior part of STS were observed, corresponding to the processing of speaker's voice emotional content. Accurate affective communication, central to social interactions, requires the cooperation of semantics, affective prosody, and mind-reading neural networks.

Adult↗

Normal mode analysis of proteins: a comparison of rigid cluster modes with C(alpha) coarse graining.

The ability to infer dynamic motions from an equilibrium (static) conformation of a protein can be essential in establishing structure-function relationships. In particular, the low-frequency motions are of functional interest because statistical mechanics predicts these motions will have the largest amplitudes. In this paper, we address the computational cost of normal mode analysis (NMA) applied to a C(alpha)-based elastic network model (C(alpha)-NMA) and present a new coarse-grained rigid-body-based analysis (cluster-NMA). This new method represents a protein as a collection of rigid bodies interconnected with harmonic potentials. This representation produces reduced degree-of-freedom (DOF) equations of motion (EOMs) which, even in the case of large structures (10(3+) residues), enables the computation of normal modes to be done on a desktop PC. We present the complete theory and analysis of cluster-NMA and also include its application to a variety of structures. The results of the new method are compared with C(alpha)-NMA and it is shown that cluster-NMA produces very good approximations to the lowest modes at a fraction of the computational cost.

Algorithms↗

Phylogeographic patterns of host-race evolution in Tephritis conura (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Host-race evolution is a prime candidate for sympatric speciation because host shifts must take place in the presence of both hosts. However, the geographic context in which the shift takes place may have strong allopatric or peripatric components if the primary host within a localized area is scarce or even goes extinct. Inference of the relative importance of the geographic mode of speciation may be gained from phylogeographic imprints. Here, we investigate the phylogeography of host races of the tephritid fly Tephritis conura from sympatric, parapatric and allopatric populations of Cirsium heterophyllum and Cirsium oleraceum (Asteraceae) in Europe, for addressing the age and direction, and the geographic context of host-race formation. Haplotype networks of the host races differed significantly in molecular diversity and topology. However, host-race haplotypes were nested within the same network, with a central haplotype H1 being the most common haplotype in both host races. C. heterophyllum flies were genetically more diverse and substructured than flies from C. oleraceum, suggesting that the latter is the derived race. The phylogeographic imprint indicates either that C. heterophyllum flies colonized C. oleraceum during range expansion or that heterophyllum flies went extinct in an area where oleraceum flies persisted (followed by re-immigration). These imprints are in concordance with peripatric diversification, probably in the European Alps and related to the last ice age, where the host-race diversification was largely completed before the postglacial range expansion on C. oleraceum to current areas of sympatry and parapatry with C. heterophyllum.

Animals↗

Deterministic generation of single photons from one atom trapped in a cavity.

A single cesium atom trapped within the mode of an optical cavity is used to generate single photons on demand. The photon wave packets are emitted as a Gaussian beam with temporal profile and repetition rate controlled by external driving fields. Each generation attempt is inferred to succeed with a probability near unity, whereas the efficiency for creating an unpolarized photon in the total cavity output is 0.69 +/- 0.10, as limited by passive cavity losses. An average of 1.4 x 10(4) photons are produced by each trapped atom. These results constitute an important step in quantum information science, for example, toward the realization of distributed quantum networking.

Journal Article↗

Predicting transcription factor activities from combined analysis of microarray and ChIP data: a partial least squares approach.

BACKGROUND: The study of the network between transcription factors and their targets is important for understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms in a cell. Unfortunately, with standard microarray experiments it is not possible to measure the transcription factor activities (TFAs) directly, as their own transcription levels are subject to post-translational modifications. RESULTS: Here we propose a statistical approach based on partial least squares (PLS) regression to infer the true TFAs from a combination of mRNA expression and DNA-protein binding measurements. This method is also statistically sound for small samples and allows the detection of functional interactions among the transcription factors via the notion of "meta"-transcription factors. In addition, it enables false positives to be identified in ChIP data and activation and suppression activities to be distinguished. CONCLUSION: The proposed method performs very well both for simulated data and for real expression and ChIP data from yeast and E. Coli experiments. It overcomes the limitations of previously used approaches to estimating TFAs. The estimated profiles may also serve as input for further studies, such as tests of periodicity or differential regulation. An R package "plsgenomics" implementing the proposed methods is available for download from the CRAN archive.

Algorithms↗

Transcriptomic and Proteomic Insights into Mucosal Immune Responses of Asian Seabass (Lates calcarifer) After Sequential Mucosal Vaccination Against Bacterial Pathogens.

Bacterial diseases caused by Flavobacterium covae (Fc), Vibrio harveyi (Vh), Vibrio vulnificus (Vv) and Photobacterium damselae (Pd) seriously constrain Asian seabass aquaculture. Here we dissect the mucosal immune mechanisms engaged by a five-month sequential vaccination strategy that combines nanoemulsion immersion priming with multivalent oral hydrogel boosting. Juvenile seabass were vaccinated, then challenged with F. covae by freshwater immersion and with a Vibrio-Photobacterium (Vh/Vv/Pd) mix by immersion or intraperitoneal injection. Gills were sampled after immersion challenges and intestine after injection, and profiled by RNA sequencing and label-free quantitative proteomics, with selected genes validated by RT-qPCR. Principal component analysis showed clear separation of vaccinated and control fish in all tissues and challenges, indicating a strong and coherent transcriptional reprogramming. Vaccination markedly increased the number of upregulated genes, with Gene Ontology enrichment revealing dominant signatures of ribosome biogenesis, RNA processing, lysosomal organization and immune response. KEGG analysis highlighted cytokine receptor interaction; NOD and Toll-like receptor signaling; oxidative phosphorylation; and phagosome, lysosome and cell adhesion molecule pathways, consistent with heightened antimicrobial readiness. Volcano plots and focused heatmaps showed strong induction of interferon-stimulated genes, cytokines and chemokine receptors, complement components, macrophage mannose receptor, epithelial barrier mediators and numerous immunoglobulin transcripts, with tissue- and challenge-specific patterns. Proteomics corroborated these trends, demonstrating a higher abundance of immunoglobulin heavy chains, complement proteins, cathepsins, heat shock and redox chaperones, ribosomal proteins and cytoskeletal and adhesion regulators in vaccinated mucosae. Integrated pathway mapping linked endothelial adhesion molecules and leukocyte integrins with T cell costimulation networks and an intestinal immune network for immunoglobulin production, including enhanced pIgR-mediated transcytosis. Overall, the sequential vaccination regimen was associated with coordinated transcriptomic and proteomic signatures related to epithelial responses, innate immunity, and humoral immune functions across gill and intestinal tissues. These molecular patterns were accompanied by improved survival following bacterial challenge; however, the present data do not directly demonstrate the functional activity of the inferred immune mechanisms in Asian seabass.

Animals↗

Mechanisms of alveolar fibrosis after acute lung injury.

In patients who die after severe acute lung injury, a dramatic fibroproliferative response occurs within the alveolar air space, interstitium, and microvessels. Profound shunt physiology, dead space ventilation, and pulmonary hypertension are the physiologic consequences of this fibroproliferative response. The anatomic pattern of the response is unique within each alveolar compartment. For example, the air space is obliterated by granulation tissue, with replicating mesenchymal cells, their connective tissue products, and an expanding network of intra-alveolar capillaries. In contrast, the vascular fibroproliferative response is dominated by mesenchymal cell replication and connective tissue deposition within the walls of microvessels. Despite the unique anatomic features of these fibroproliferative processes, the regulatory signals involved are likely to be similar. Although our current understanding of the signals regulating the fibroproliferative response to acute lung injury is limited, inferences can be made from in vitro studies of mesenchymal cell behavior and several better understood fibroproliferative processes, including wound healing and chronic fibrotic lung diseases. As clinicians, our future ability to enhance effective lung repair will likely utilize therapeutic strategies specifically targeted to the signals that regulate the fibroproliferative process within the alveolar microenvironment.

Acute Disease↗

The iProClass integrated database for protein functional analysis.

Increasingly, scientists have begun to tackle gene functions and other complex regulatory processes by studying organisms at the global scales for various levels of biological organization, ranging from genomes to metabolomes and physiomes. Meanwhile, new bioinformatics methods have been developed for inferring protein function using associative analysis of functional properties to complement the traditional sequence homology-based methods. To fully exploit the value of the high-throughput system biology data and to facilitate protein functional studies requires bioinformatics infrastructures that support both data integration and associative analysis. The iProClass database, designed to serve as a framework for data integration in a distributed networking environment, provides comprehensive descriptions of all proteins, with rich links to over 50 databases of protein family, function, pathway, interaction, modification, structure, genome, ontology, literature, and taxonomy. In particular, the database is organized with PIRSF family classification and maps to other family, function, and structure classification schemes. Coupled with the underlying taxonomic information for complete genomes, the iProClass system (http://pir.georgetown.edu/iproclass/) supports associative studies of protein family, domain, function, and structure. A case study of the phosphoglycerate mutases illustrates a systematic approach for protein family and phylogenetic analysis. Such studies may serve as a basis for further analysis of protein functional evolution, and its relationship to the co-evolution of metabolic pathways, cellular networks, and organisms.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sequential evolution of a symbiont inferred from the host: Wolbachia and Drosophila simulans.

This study aims to unravel the biogeography of a model symbiont/host system by exploiting the prediction that a symbiont will leave a signature of infection on the host. Specifically, a global sample of 1,442 Drosophila simulans from 33 countries and 64 sampling localities was employed to infer the phylogeography of the maternally inherited alpha-proteobacteria Wolbachia. Phylogenetic analyses, from three symbiont genes and 24 mtDNA genomes (excluding the A + T-rich region), showed that each of four Wolbachia strains infected D. simulans once. The global distribution and abundance of the Wolbachia strains and the three mtDNA haplogroups (D. simulans siI, siII and siIII) was then determined. Finally, network analyses of variable regions within siI (584 bp from seven additional lines) and siII (1,701 bp from 383 lines) facilitated a detailed biogeographic discussion. There is little variation in siIII and the haplogroup is restricted in its distribution. These data show how the history of an infection can be mapped by combining data from the symbiont and the host. They say little about the organismal history of the host because the mtDNA genome is a biased representation of the whole genome.

Animals↗

Effects of wide band inhibitors in the dorsal cochlear nucleus. II. Model calculations of the responses to complex sounds.

In a previous modeling study of signal processing in the dorsal cochlear nucleus [Reed and Blum, J. Acoust. Soc. Am 96, 1442-1453 (1997)] it was shown that inclusion of a wideband inhibitor (WBI) greatly improved the fit between model response maps and the experimental response maps of type IV units to pure tones. In this study we examine the effect of the WBI on the responses to complex sound stimuli such as broadband noise (BBN), notch noise, noise bands, and band/notch combinations. A new and more realistic model for auditory nerve (AN) response in the presence of different levels of noise is used. It is shown that one can explain and understand the qualitative features of virtually all the published data on type II and type IV unit responses to BBN, notch noise and noise bands. The monotone decreasing response of the maximum firing rate of type II units to noise bands of increasing width that is observed experimentally occurs in the model due to the increasing inhibition of type II cells by the WBI. Similarly, the various nonmonotone patterns of maximum firing rate of type IV units to noise bands of increasing width is shown to arise from the complex and highly nonlinear effects of inhibition from the type II to type IV and the WBI to type IV cells and the nonlinear direct excitation from the AN to the type IV cells. A number of experiments using double notches, double noise bands, or notch-noise band pairs are suggested which, by comparison with model results, would allow one to infer probable connectional patterns between type II and type IV units and between the WBI units and the type IV units.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Cotyledon vascular pattern2-mediated inositol (1,4,5) triphosphate signal transduction is essential for closed venation patterns of Arabidopsis foliar organs.

Vein patterns in leaves and cotyledons form in a spatially regulated manner through the progressive recruitment of ground cells into vascular cell fate. To gain insight into venation patterning mechanisms, we have characterized the cotyledon vascular pattern2 (cvp2) mutants, which exhibit an increase in free vein endings and a resulting open vein network. We cloned CVP2 by a map-based cloning strategy and found that it encodes an inositol polyphosphate 5' phosphatase (5PTase). 5PTases regulate inositol (1,4,5) triphosphate (IP(3)) signal transduction by hydrolyzing IP(3) and thus terminate IP(3) signaling. CVP2 gene expression is initially broad and then gradually restricted to incipient vascular cells in several developing organs. Consistent with the inferred enzymatic activity of CVP2, IP(3) levels are elevated in cvp2 mutants. In addition, cvp2 mutants exhibit hypersensitivity to the plant hormone abscisic acid. We propose that elevated IP(3) levels in cvp2 mutants reduce ground cell recruitment into vascular cell fate, resulting in premature vein termination and, thus, in an open reticulum.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Atlas - a data warehouse for integrative bioinformatics.

BACKGROUND: We present a biological data warehouse called Atlas that locally stores and integrates biological sequences, molecular interactions, homology information, functional annotations of genes, and biological ontologies. The goal of the system is to provide data, as well as a software infrastructure for bioinformatics research and development. DESCRIPTION: The Atlas system is based on relational data models that we developed for each of the source data types. Data stored within these relational models are managed through Structured Query Language (SQL) calls that are implemented in a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The APIs include three languages: C++, Java, and Perl. The methods in these API libraries are used to construct a set of loader applications, which parse and load the source datasets into the Atlas database, and a set of toolbox applications which facilitate data retrieval. Atlas stores and integrates local instances of GenBank, RefSeq, UniProt, Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD), Biomolecular Interaction Network Database (BIND), Database of Interacting Proteins (DIP), Molecular Interactions Database (MINT), IntAct, NCBI Taxonomy, Gene Ontology (GO), Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), LocusLink, Entrez Gene and HomoloGene. The retrieval APIs and toolbox applications are critical components that offer end-users flexible, easy, integrated access to this data. We present use cases that use Atlas to integrate these sources for genome annotation, inference of molecular interactions across species, and gene-disease associations. CONCLUSION: The Atlas biological data warehouse serves as data infrastructure for bioinformatics research and development. It forms the backbone of the research activities in our laboratory and facilitates the integration of disparate, heterogeneous biological sources of data enabling new scientific inferences. Atlas achieves integration of diverse data sets at two levels. First, Atlas stores data of similar types using common data models, enforcing the relationships between data types. Second, integration is achieved through a combination of APIs, ontology, and tools. The Atlas software is freely available under the GNU General Public License at: http://bioinformatics.ubc.ca/atlas/

Computational Biology↗

Genetic variation among world populations: inferences from 100 Alu insertion polymorphisms.

We examine the distribution and structure of human genetic diversity for 710 individuals representing 31 populations from Africa, East Asia, Europe, and India using 100 Alu insertion polymorphisms from all 22 autosomes. Alu diversity is highest in Africans (0.349) and lowest in Europeans (0.297). Alu insertion frequency is lowest in Africans (0.463) and higher in Indians (0.544), E. Asians (0.557), and Europeans (0.559). Large genetic distances are observed among African populations and between African and non-African populations. The root of a neighbor-joining network is located closest to the African populations. These findings are consistent with an African origin of modern humans and with a bottleneck effect in the human populations that left Africa to colonize the rest of the world. Genetic distances among all pairs of populations show a significant product-moment correlation with geographic distances (r = 0.69, P < 0.00001). F(ST), the proportion of genetic diversity attributable to population subdivision is 0.141 for Africans/E. Asians/Europeans, 0.047 for E. Asians/Indians/Europeans, and 0.090 for all 31 populations. Resampling analyses show that approximately 50 Alu polymorphisms are sufficient to obtain accurate and reliable genetic distance estimates. These analyses also demonstrate that markers with higher F(ST) values have greater resolving power and produce more consistent genetic distance estimates.

Africa↗

galaxie--CGI scripts for sequence identification through automated phylogenetic analysis.

MOTIVATION: The prevalent use of similarity searches like BLAST to identify sequences and species implicitly assumes the reference database to be of extensive sequence sampling. This is often not the case, restraining the correctness of the outcome as a basis for sequence identification. Phylogenetic inference outperforms similarity searches in retrieving correct phylogenies and consequently sequence identities, and a project was initiated to design a freely available script package for sequence identification through automated Web-based phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: Three CGI scripts were designed to facilitate qualified sequence identification from a Web interface. Query sequences are aligned to pre-made alignments or to alignments made by ClustalW with entries retrieved from a BLAST search. The subsequent phylogenetic analysis is based on the PHYLIP package for inferring neighbor-joining and parsimony trees. The scripts are highly configurable. AVAILABILITY: A service installation and a version for local use are found at http://andromeda.botany.gu.se/galaxiewelcome.html and http://galaxie.cgb.ki.se

Algorithms↗

Drug delivery optimization through Bayesian networks: an application to erythropoietin therapy in uremic anemia.

This paper describes how Bayesian networks can be used in combination with compartmental models to plan recombinant human erythropoietin delivery in the treatment of anemia of chronic uremic patients. Past measurements of hemoglobin concentration in a patient during the therapy can be exploited to adjust the parameters of a compartmental model of erythropoiesis. This adaptive process provides more accurate patient-specific predictions, and hence a more rational dosage planning. Inferences are performed by using a stochastic simulation algorithm called Gibbs sampling. We describe a drug delivery optimization protocol based on our approach. Some results obtained on real data are presented.

Adult↗