Spike sorting: new trends and challenges of the era of high-density probes

Recording from a large neuronal population of neurons is a crucial challenge to unravel how information is processed by the brain. In this review, we highlight the recent advances made in the field of “spike sorting”, which is arguably a very essential processing step to extract neuronal activity from extracellular recordings. We more specifically target the challenges faced by newly manufactured high-density multi-electrode array devices (HD-MEA), e.g. Neuropixels probes. Among them, we cover in depth the prominent problem of drifts (movements of the neurons with respect to the recording devices) and the current solutions to circumscribe it. In addition, we also review recent contributions making use of deep learning approaches for spike sorting, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Next, we highlight efforts and advances in unifying, validating, and benchmarking spike sorting tools. Finally, we discuss the spike sorting field in terms of its open and unsolved challenges, specifically regarding scalability and reproducibility. We conclude by providing our personal view on the future of spike sorting, calling for a community-based development and validation of spike sorting algorithms and fully automated, cloud-based spike sorting solutions for the neuroscience community.

The Fragmented Glueball: A Personal View

A coupled-channel analysis has been performed to identify the spectrum of scalar mesons. The data include BESIII data on radiative J/ψ decays into π0π0, KS KS, ηη, and ωϕ, 15 Dalitz plots from ¯N annihilation at rest at LEAR, the CERN-Munich multipoles for ππ elastic scattering, the S-wave from BNL data on ππ scattering into KS KS, from GAMS data on ππ π0π0; ηη, and ηη', and NA48/2 data on low-mass ππ interactions from K± → ππe±v decays. The analysis reveals the existence of ten scalar isoscalar resonances. The resonances can be grouped into two classes: resonances with a large SU(3) singlet component and those with a large octet component. The production of isoscalar resonances with a large octet component should be suppressed in radiative J/ψ decays. However, in a limited mass range centered at 1900MeV, these mesons are produced abundantly. Mainly-singlet scalar resonances are produced over the full mass range but with larger intensity at 1900MeV. The total scalar isoscalar yield in radiative decays into scalar mesons shows a clear peak which is interpreted as the scalar glueball of lowest mass.

A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of Anti-feminist Poetry in English and Arabic

Language is the fundamental element of communication and understanding in society. It relates immediately to human thoughts and is embodied in written or spoken signs or signals. The field that scientifically studies language (its forms and structures) is called Linguistics. Among the linguistic studies of language is Rhetoric which studies the importance of speech or texts for the audience. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion; it comprises different arguments raised by the speaker/writer depending on social, religious, moral or even traditional evidence in order to prove that the raised arguments are real. In this way, the writer/speaker associates the language to similar or related realities in order to reach the purpose of her/his language. However, presenting arguments and evidence it not always accurate because there are arguments that rely on weak evidence. The purpose of argumentative techniques is still to persuade the audience about a personal view or a societal concept. From this perspective, the feminist linguists suggest that rhetoric is actually masculine; that is, rhetoric is anti-feminist. Therefore, linguists presented a great deal of evidence to prove this theory and bring the feminist ideology into rhetoric. This study aims at providing a feminist rhetorical analysis of the anti-feminist poetry to study the status of women in rhetoric and whether the arguments that demean women are true or not. For this purpose, the current study utilizes Fiorenza’s (1995) model of analysis; a feminist rhetorical tool to analyze anti-feminist poems written by male poets in English and Arabic in order to study the arguments as well as the evidence the poets present against women.

Inter-transitional Architecture: New Spatial Models for Prisoner Reintegration in New Zealand

<p>The aim of this research was to explore the design of transitional housing for newly released prisoners from the New Zealand prison environment. This was achieved through the development of an architecture that provides a dynamic, vibrant, beautiful and connective environment for those using the space. Reconnecting released prisoners with society requires careful consideration. The use of architecture may aid released prisoner’s societal habilitation and wellbeing by creating informed dynamic interior spaces. The issues released prisoners face when trying to reintegrate back into society were analysed. This research focused on how these issues can be addressed through the built environment. Current issues include the lack of supportive accommodation available to released prisoners, the lack of successful mental health interventions, the disproportionate representation of the population in New Zealand prisons and the absence of healing environments for released prisoners. The research provides evidence that a family and community based model for transitional housing could be successful in New Zealand. It also discussed how released prisoners can improve their personal view of themselves when they are adequately supported by their family and have a strong connection to their site, culture and context. It is argued that released prisoner’s positive sense of self may improve their mental health and recidivism rates. An improvement of recidivism rates is valuable to wider society’s safety. The research suggests that an ambient, healing and calm atmosphere might be achieved through material texture and tactility and natural lighting in a family and cultural based model. The proposed design was aimed at a small focus group of three released prisoners and their family members. The purpose was to reconnect and support the family through the reintegration of the released prisoner. There are three main blocks in the design: a reflection space, a communal block, and three private blocks for each family. The design of the walls aimed to visually connect the users to the context of the building and to act as a prompt to establish a relationship with their cultural background. The proposed design uses materiality, lighting and symbolism as techniques to improve the therapeutic atmosphere of the interior. The design research process and the proposed design was critically analysed and reflected on. The research is related back to a global context and collectively a contribution to the existing body of knowledge was made.</p>

Inter-transitional Architecture: New Spatial Models for Prisoner Reintegration in New Zealand

<p>The aim of this research was to explore the design of transitional housing for newly released prisoners from the New Zealand prison environment. This was achieved through the development of an architecture that provides a dynamic, vibrant, beautiful and connective environment for those using the space. Reconnecting released prisoners with society requires careful consideration. The use of architecture may aid released prisoner’s societal habilitation and wellbeing by creating informed dynamic interior spaces. The issues released prisoners face when trying to reintegrate back into society were analysed. This research focused on how these issues can be addressed through the built environment. Current issues include the lack of supportive accommodation available to released prisoners, the lack of successful mental health interventions, the disproportionate representation of the population in New Zealand prisons and the absence of healing environments for released prisoners. The research provides evidence that a family and community based model for transitional housing could be successful in New Zealand. It also discussed how released prisoners can improve their personal view of themselves when they are adequately supported by their family and have a strong connection to their site, culture and context. It is argued that released prisoner’s positive sense of self may improve their mental health and recidivism rates. An improvement of recidivism rates is valuable to wider society’s safety. The research suggests that an ambient, healing and calm atmosphere might be achieved through material texture and tactility and natural lighting in a family and cultural based model. The proposed design was aimed at a small focus group of three released prisoners and their family members. The purpose was to reconnect and support the family through the reintegration of the released prisoner. There are three main blocks in the design: a reflection space, a communal block, and three private blocks for each family. The design of the walls aimed to visually connect the users to the context of the building and to act as a prompt to establish a relationship with their cultural background. The proposed design uses materiality, lighting and symbolism as techniques to improve the therapeutic atmosphere of the interior. The design research process and the proposed design was critically analysed and reflected on. The research is related back to a global context and collectively a contribution to the existing body of knowledge was made.</p>

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Mongolia: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Vaccine acceptance in the general public is essential in controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to assess the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the adult population of Mongolia, and determine the associated factors. A total of 2875 individuals from urban and rural areas were recruited, and completed an online survey. Older age, urban residence, previous vaccination, high education, good knowledge of side effects, and a personal view of the importance of vaccines were associated with vaccine acceptability, whereas gender and religion were not. Receiving COVID-19 vaccine information from official government pages was related to a higher acceptance rate. Reliance on social media as a source of COVID-19 vaccine information was associated with high level of vaccine hesitancy. The side effects and the type of the COVID-19 vaccine were a major reason for hesitation. Countering false information regarding COVID-19 vaccines on social media, and promoting vaccine importance on general news websites is necessary. Moreover, providing clear and direct educational materials through official communication channels on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines alongside information on COVID-19 symptoms, vaccine side effects, and location of vaccine administration centers among the younger populations, rural residents, and those with lower education is needed.

Dignity and attitudes to aging: A cross-sectional study of older adults

Background: Dignity is a multidimensional construct that includes perception, knowledge, and emotions related to competence or respect. Attitudes to aging are a comprehensive personal view of the experience of aging over the course of life, which can be influenced by various factors, such as the levels of health and self-sufficiency and social, psychological, or demographic factors. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes to aging of home-dwelling and inpatient older adults, and whether dignity and other selected factors belong among the predictors influencing attitudes to aging in these two different groups of older adults. Research design: Cross-sectional study using a set of questionnaires: Patient Dignity Inventory, Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire, and Barthel Index. Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses and multivariable linear regression were used for statistical processing. Participants and research context: 233 inpatients and 237 home-dwelling older adults participated in the research in two regions of the Czech Republic. Ethical considerations: Institutional Review Board approval was received from the authors’ university. Findings: The inpatients had more negative attitudes to aging (M = 74.9±10.9; P <0.0001). The predictors of their attitudes to aging were gender and dignity. Women ( β = −2.969, P = 0.045) and inpatients with poor dignity ratings ( β = −0.332, P <0.0001) had more negative attitudes to aging. The predictors for home-dwelling older adults were education, living arrangement, and dignity. More negative attitudes to aging were found in older adults with lower levels of education ( β = 2.716, P = 0.007) who lived alone ( β = 2.163, P = 0.046) and rated their dignity as low ( β = −0.325, P <0.0001). Discussion and Conclusions: The results of this study add to the understanding that a sense of dignity is an important predictor of attitudes to aging for both home-dwelling older adults and inpatients.

Thirty Years in Silicon Photonics: A Personal View

Silicon Photonics, the technology where optical devices are fabricated by the mainstream microelectronic processing technology, was proposed almost 30 years ago. I joined this research field at its start. Initially, I concentrated on the main issue of the lack of a silicon laser. Room temperature visible emission from porous silicon first, and from silicon nanocrystals then, showed that optical gain is possible in low-dimensional silicon, but it is severely counterbalanced by nonlinear losses due to free carriers. Then, most of my research focus was on systems where photons show novel features such as Zener tunneling or Anderson localization. Here, the game was to engineer suitable dielectric environments (e.g., one-dimensional photonic crystals or waveguide-based microring resonators) to control photon propagation. Applications of low-dimensional silicon raised up in sensing (e.g., gas-sensing or bio-sensing) and photovoltaics. Interestingly, microring resonators emerged as the fundamental device for integrated photonic circuit since they allow studying the hermitian and non-hermitian physics of light propagation as well as demonstrating on-chip heavily integrated optical networks for reconfigurable switching applications or neural networks for optical signal processing. Finally, I witnessed the emergence of quantum photonic devices, where linear and nonlinear optical effects generate quantum states of light. Here, quantum random number generators or heralded single-photon sources are enabled by silicon photonics. All these developments are discussed in this review by following my own research path.