Grouping strategies in numerosity perception between intrinsic and extrinsic grouping cues

The number of items in an array can be quickly and accurately estimated by dividing the array into subgroups, in a strategy termed “groupitizing.” For example, when memorizing a telephone number, it is better to do so by divide the number into several segments. Different forms of visual grouping can affect the precision of the enumeration of a large set of items. Previous studies have found that when groupitizing, enumeration precision is improved by grouping arrays using visual proximity and color similarity. Based on Gestalt theory, Palmer (Cognit Psychol 24:436, 1992) divided perceptual grouping into intrinsic (e.g., proximity, similarity) and extrinsic (e.g., connectedness, common region) principles. Studies have investigated groupitizing effects on intrinsic grouping. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has explored groupitizing effects for extrinsic grouping cues. Therefore, this study explored whether extrinsic grouping cues differed from intrinsic grouping cues for groupitizing effects in numerosity perception. The results showed that both extrinsic and intrinsic grouping cues improved enumeration precision. However, extrinsic grouping was more accurate in terms of the sensory precision of the numerosity perception.

The effect of the doublesex gene in body colour masculinization of the damselfly Ischnura senegalensis

Odonata species display a remarkable diversity of colour patterns, including intrasexual polymorphisms. In the damselfly ( Ischnura senegalensis ), the expression of a sex-determining transcription factor, the doublesex ( Isdsx ) gene is reportedly associated with female colour polymorphism (CP) (gynomorph for female-specific colour and andromorph for male-mimicking colour). Here, the function of Isdsx in thoracic coloration was investigated by electroporation-mediated RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi of the Isdsx common region in males and andromorphic females reduced melanization and thus changed the colour pattern into that of gynomorphic females, while the gynomorphic colour pattern was not affected. By contrast, RNAi against the Isdsx long isoform produced no changes, suggesting that the Isdsx short isoform is important for body colour masculinization in both males and andromorphic females. When examining the expression levels of five genes with differences between sexes and female morphs, two melanin-suppressing genes, black and ebony , were expressed at higher levels in the Isdsx RNAi body area than a control area. Therefore, the Isdsx short isoform may induce thoracic colour differentiation by suppressing black and ebony , thereby generating female CP in I. senegalensis. These findings contribute to the understanding of the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying female CP in Odonata.

EXPRESS: Competition between perceptual grouping cues in an indirect objective task

The integration between Gestalt grouping cues has been a relatively unexplored issue in vision science. The present work introduces an objective indirect method based on the repetition discrimination task to determine the rules that govern the dominance dynamics of the competition between both intrinsic (Experiment 1: proximity vs. luminance similarity) and extrinsic grouping cues (Experiment 2: common region vs. connectedness) by means of objective measures of grouping (reaction times and accuracy). Prior to the main task, a novel objective equating task was introduced with the aim of equating the grouping strength of the cues for the visuomotor system. The main task included two single conditions with the grouping cues acting alone as well as two competing conditions displaying the grouping factors pitted against one another. Conventional aggregated analyses were combined with individual analysis and both revealed a consistent pattern of processing dominance of: (1) luminance similarity over proximity, and of (2) common region over connectedness. Interestingly, the individual analyses showed that, despite the heterogeneous responses to the single conditions, the pattern of dominance between cues was robustly homogenous among the participants in the competing conditions.

An antibody targeting type III secretion system induces broad protection against Salmonella and Shigella infections

Salmonella and Shigella bacteria are food- and waterborne pathogens that are responsible for enteric infections in humans and are still the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the emerging countries. The existence of multiple Salmonella and Shigella serotypes as well as the emergence of strains resistant to antibiotics requires the development of broadly protective therapies. Recently, the needle tip proteins of the type III secretion system of these bacteria were successfully utilized (SipD for Salmonella and IpaD for Shigella) as vaccine immunogens to provide good prophylactic cross-protection in murine models of infections. From these experiments, we have isolated a cross-protective monoclonal antibody directed against a conserved region of both proteins. Its conformational epitope determined by Deep Mutational Scanning is conserved among needle tip proteins of all pathogenic Shigella species and Salmonella serovars, and are well recognized by this antibody. Our study provides the first in vivo experimental evidence of the importance of this common region in the mechanism of virulence of Salmonella and Shigella and opens the way to the development of cross-protective therapeutic agents.

Unbounded Spatial Data Stream Query Processing using Spatial Semijoins

In this paper, the problem of query processing in spatial data streams is explored, with a focus on the spatial join operation. Although the spatial join has been utilized in many proposed centralized and distributed query processing strategies, for its application to spatial data streams the spatial join operation has received very little attention. One identified limitation with existing strategies is that a bounded region of space (i.e., spatial extent) from which the spatial objects are generated needs to be known in advance. However, this information may not be available. Therefore, two strategies for spatial data stream join processing are proposed where the spatial extent of the spatial object stream is not required to be known in advance. Both strategies estimate the common region that is shared by two or more spatial data streams in order to process the spatial join. An evaluation of both strategies includes a comparison with a recently proposed approach in which the spatial extent of the data set is known. Experimental results show that one of the strategies performs very well at estimating the common region of space using only incoming objects on the spatial data streams. Other limitations of this work are also identified.

Hemiconvulsion-Hemiplegia-Epilepsy syndrome with 5q33.3q34 microdeletion: causal or chance association

Background Hemiconvulsion–hemiplegia–epilepsy (HHE) syndrome is a rare syndrome characterized by childhood onset partial motor convulsions, hemiplegia, and epilepsy in sequence. Exact pathogenesis is not clear. Case presentation: We present a girl with global developmental delay with history and brain MRI consistent with the diagnosis of HHE syndrome. The cytogenetic microarray (CMA) showed 9.1 Mb deletion in 5q33.3q34 region. Along with HHE syndrome, the patient also had global developmental delay. Clinical phenotype of this microdeletion region has not been described in association with HHE syndrome in the literature. We compared the patient’s phenotype with other patients in 5 previously published papers of a common region of deletion spanning 157501989–164166203. GABRA1, GABRB2, GABRG2, CYFIP2, THG1 are the important genes in the present deleted region, which may be responsible for the fever sensitivity and global developmental delay. Conclusions This is the first case of HHE syndrome in which CMA showed a microdeletion of 5q33.3q34 region. This case report links HHE syndrome and global developmental delay to microdeletions of 5q33.3q34, which has never been reported in literature. Cause of HHE syndrome remains unexplained in present case and HHE may be a causal or chance co-occurrence.

Fine Motor Skills and Unsystematic Spatial Binding in the Common Region Test: Under-Inclusivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Over-Inclusivity in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Introduction: The Common Region Test (CRT) is useful for predicting children’s visual memory as individual object-place binding predicted better object memory while objects-region coding predicted better place memory. Aim: To test children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with regards to spatial binding in the CRT. Methods: 19 children with ASD and 20 children with ADHD were gender-matched with 39 typically developing children by chronological age and with another 39 children by verbal mental age as control groups (N = 117) and tested with the CRT and Bender Gestalt test. Results: Children with ASD and ADHD showed more unsystematic coding than typically developing children. This was due to lower fine motor skills, and in children with ADHD also because of reduced verbal naming. Almost all children with ASD presented the less mature under-inclusive Type I unsystematic coding which included object-place binding, while children with ADHD showed the over-inclusive Type II unsystematic coding that was overriding the Gestalt-like properties of proximity and similarity. Conclusions: It was demonstrated that the CRT is a useful screening instrument for ASD and ADHD that shows that their spatial categorization varies in their unsystematic visuo-spatial classification due to fine motor skill deficiencies.

Intraoral lipoma, surgical approach: A Case report

Background: Lipoma is a rare benign tumor that overgrows in oral cavity. Its occurrence rate is about 1-4% with predilection for males rather than females. Lipoma is associated with adipose tissue and is usually seen in major salivary glands, buccal mucosa, and vestibule. Fifty percent of lesions are seen in buccal mucosa. The progressive and aggressive growth of these lesions may interfere with speech and mastication owing to the dimensions and location of the tumor. The lesion basically affects the individuals of 4th to 5th decades. Lipoma is managed by surgical excision using scalpel, laser, or electro-cautery. Case Presentation: This study presents two 63 and 18 years old male patients with lipoma in their buccal mucosa along with their improved situation following the treatment. The treatment included surgical excision of the lesion and suturing the surgical area. Conclusions: The incidence of intraoral lipoma is low and buccal mucosa is the most common region for the occurrence of oral lipoma. Most clinicians suggested surgical techniques as a certain treatment.