Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Neural Netw 2021 Mar 25;140:261-273. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan. Electronic address:

Continuous dimensional emotion recognition from speech helps robots or virtual agents capture the temporal dynamics of a speaker's emotional state in natural human-robot interactions. Temporal modulation cues obtained directly from the time-domain model of auditory perception can better reflect temporal dynamics than the acoustic features usually processed in the frequency domain. Feature extraction, which can reflect temporal dynamics of emotion from temporal modulation cues, is challenging because of the complexity and diversity of the auditory perception model. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021 Mar 31;203:111725. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran.

Hydrogels are a promising choice for soft tissue (cartilage, skin and adipose) engineering and repair. However, lack of interconnected porosity and poor mechanical performance have hindered their application, especially in natural polymer-based hydrogels. Cryogels with the potential to overcome the shortcomings of hydrogels have drawn attention in the last few years. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2021 Mar 29;30:102647. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Audibility, Perception, and Cognition Laboratory, BTNRH, Omaha, NE, USA.

Children with hearing loss (CHL) exhibit delays in language function relative to children with normal hearing (CNH). However, evidence on whether these delays extend into other cognitive domains such as working memory is mixed, with some studies showing decrements in CHL and others showing CHL performing at the level of CNH. Despite the growing literature investigating the impact of hearing loss on cognitive and language development, studies of the neural dynamics that underlie these cognitive processes are notably absent. Read More

Acad Pediatr 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Center for the Art of Medicine, University of Minnesota; Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota; Department of Medical Education, Children's Minnesota. Electronic address:

Neurosci Lett 2021 Apr 7:135882. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Graduate School of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, 241002, Anhui, China; Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, 241002, Anhui, China. Electronic address:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a substantial clinical and social problem worldwide, causing high morbidity and mortality along with significant economic and medical costs. Forkhead box O transcription factors (FOXOs) have been found to play a critical role in the regulation of cell functions, such as nutrient metabolism, programmed cell death, and tumor suppression. In the central nervous system, FOXOs are reported to be pivotal regulators of learning and memory, neurite outgrowth, and axonal degeneration. Read More

Brain Behav Immun 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

School of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21944-590, Brazil; Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21944-590, Brazil. Electronic address:

Sepsis survivors show long-term impairments, including alterations in memory and executive function. Evidence suggests that systemic inflammation contributes to the progression of Alzheimeŕs disease (AD), but the mechanisms involved in this process are still unclear. Boosted (trained) and diminished (tolerant) innate immune memory has been described in peripheral immune cells after sepsis. Read More

Neuropsychologia 2021 Apr 7:107848. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA. Electronic address:

Healthy aging is accompanied by increased false remembering in addition to reduced successful remembering in older adults. Neuroimaging studies implicate age-related differences in the involvement of medial temporal lobe and fronto-parietal regions in mediating highly confident false recollection. However, no studies have directly examined the relationship between white matter microstructure and false recollection in younger and older adults. Read More

Brain Res 2021 Apr 7:147452. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT. U.K. Electronic address:

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) that can be used to increase (intermittent TBS) or reduce (continuous TBS) cortical excitability. The current study provides a preliminary report of the effects of iTBS and cTBS in healthy young adults, to investigate the causal role of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) during the performance of four cognitive functions: attention, inhibition, sequence learning and working memory. A 2 x 2 repeated measures design was incorporated using hemisphere (left/right) and TBS type (iTBS/cTBS) as the independent variables. Read More

Cell 2021 Apr 7. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, USA. Electronic address:

A general approach for heritably altering gene expression has the potential to enable many discovery and therapeutic efforts. Here, we present CRISPRoff-a programmable epigenetic memory writer consisting of a single dead Cas9 fusion protein that establishes DNA methylation and repressive histone modifications. Transient CRISPRoff expression initiates highly specific DNA methylation and gene repression that is maintained through cell division and differentiation of stem cells to neurons. Read More

Curr Biol 2021 Mar 31. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Neuropharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15 W7 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.

Adapting to changing environmental conditions requires a prospective inference of future actions and their consequences, a strategy also known as model-based decision making. In stable environments, extensive experience of actions and their consequences leads to a shift from a model-based to a model-free strategy, whereby behavioral selection is primarily governed by retrospective experiences of positive and negative outcomes. Human and animal studies, where subjects are required to speculate about implicit information and adjust behavioral responses over multiple sessions, point to a role for the central serotonergic system in model-based decision making. Read More

Rev Neurosci 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, John Hume Building, North Campus, Maynooth, Co KildareW23 F2H6, Ireland.

The ability to accurately recall locations and navigate our environment relies on multiple cognitive mechanisms. The behavioural and neural correlates of spatial navigation have been repeatedly examined using different types of mazes and tasks with animals. Accurate performances of many of these tasks have proven to depend on specific circuits and brain structures and some have become the standard test of memory in many disease models. Read More

Immun Inflamm Dis 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Pediatric Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

Background: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), and autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) are disorders characterized by immune-mediated destruction of hematopoietic cell lineages. A link between pediatric immune cytopenias and inborn errors of immunity (IEI) was established in particular in the combined and chronic forms.

Objective: Aim of this study is to provide clinical-immunological parameters to hematologists useful for a prompt identification of children with immune cytopenias deserving a deeper immunological and genetic evaluation. Read More

Pediatr Pulmonol 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago.

Numerous studies in the past 10 years have reported on the neurocognitive sequalae of pediatric Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB). Variations in criteria used to define SDB in conjunction with the wide variety of neuropsychological measures selected to evaluate cognitive consequences of SDB have resulted in discrepancies within the literature. This review summarizes the extent literature regarding cognitive effects of pediatric SDB across domains of global intelligence, attention, executive function, memory, language, and visuospatial ability. Read More

Mol Biol Rep 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal, 731235, India.

Globally, breast cancer is a serious concern that exhibits a persistent rise in its incidence and related mortality even after significant advancement in the field of cancer research. To find an alternative cure for the disease from natural resources we selected Bacopa monniera, a perennial ethnomedicinal plant popularly used for boosting memory and mental health. We isolated four different types of dammarane saponins, namely bacopasaponins C-F (1-4) from the plant and evaluated their toxic effects on two different types of human breast cancer cell lines-a hormone-responsive MCF7 and a triple-negative MDA-MB-231. Read More

Neuroradiology 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Imaging Sciences and Interventional Radiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala, 695011, India.

Purpose: The functional changes concerning memory deficits in dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) brain are inadequately understood. This study aimed to understand the functional connectivity alterations of brain regions widely affirmed for explicit and implicit memory functions in dAVF patients (DP) and look into the frequency effects of the altered functional networks.

Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) analysis was done in the memory-associated regions of 30 DP and 30 healthy controls (HC). Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

ENVIS Resource Partner on Climate Change and Public Health, Applied Biology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Tarnaka, Hyderabad, 500007, Telangana, India.

Advanced and accurate forecasting of COVID-19 cases plays a crucial role in planning and supplying resources effectively. Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques have proved their capability in time series forecasting non-linear problems. In the present study, the relationship between weather factor and COVID-19 cases was assessed, and also developed a forecasting model using long short-term memory (LSTM), a deep learning model. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Viral Immunobiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Immunological memory equips our immune system to respond faster and more effectively against reinfections. This acquired immunity was originally attributed to long-lived, memory T and B cells with body wide access to peripheral and secondary lymphoid tissues. In recent years, it has been realized that both innate and adaptive immunity to a large degree depends on resident immune cells that act locally in barrier tissues, including tissue resident memory T cells (Trm). Read More

Mem Cognit 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Psychology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.

Recently, researchers have identified word animacy as a strong predictor of recall. In contrast, the method of loci is an ancient mnemonic technique which takes advantage of highly structured encoding and recall processes alongside a strong imagery component to create easily remembered "memory palaces." The present experiments examine the combined effectiveness of these techniques: Experiment 1 (N = 154) demonstrates that the method of loci and word animacy have additive effects, while Experiment 2 (N = 200) demonstrates that the additive effect of animacy is likely related to both the animate nature of words themselves and animate imagery associated with them. Read More

Geroscience 2021 Apr 10. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, DCBS, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, México, CDMX, 09340, México.

The brain is one of the most sensitive organs damaged during aging due to its susceptibility to the aging-related oxidative stress. Hence, in this study, the sensory nerve pathway integrity and the memory were evaluated and related to the redox state, the antioxidant enzymes function, and the protein oxidative damage in the brain cortex (Cx) and the hippocampus (Hc) of young (4-month-old) and old (24-month-old) male and female Wistar rats. Evoked potentials (EP) were performed for the auditory, visual, and somatosensory pathways. Read More

Arch Toxicol 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Área Toxicología, Departamento de Ciencias de Los Alimentos Y Medio Ambiente. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas Y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, S2002LRK, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient of several widely used herbicide formulations. Studies based on Glyphosate exposure in different experimental models have suggested that the nervous system represented a key target for its toxicity. Previously, we demonstrated that exposure to glyphosate during gestation induces deficits on behavioral and cognitive function in rats. Read More

Mol Psychiatry 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

INSERM UMR-S 1270, Paris, France.

Accumulating evidence supports immune involvement in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, a severe psychiatric disorder. In particular, high expression variants of C4, a gene of the innate immune complement system, were shown to confer susceptibility to schizophrenia. However, how elevated C4 expression may impact brain circuits remains largely unknown. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 9;11(1):7826. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya (U.M.), 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rivers carry suspended sediments along with their flow. These sediments deposit at different places depending on the discharge and course of the river. However, the deposition of these sediments impacts environmental health, agricultural activities, and portable water sources. Read More

Nat Commun 2021 Apr 9;12(1):2134. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK.

The categorisation of long-term memory into semantic and episodic systems has been an influential catalyst for research on human memory organisation. However, the impact of variable cognitive control demands on this classical distinction remains to be elucidated. Across two independent experiments, here we directly compare neural processes for the controlled versus automatic retrieval of semantic and episodic memory. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Apr;118(15)

Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138.

Many animals restrict their movements to a characteristic home range. This constrained pattern of space use is thought to result from the foraging benefits of memorizing the locations and quality of heterogeneously distributed resources. However, due to the confounding effects of sensory perception, the role of memory in home-range movement behavior lacks definitive evidence in the wild. Read More

Cancer Discov 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Cancer Immunotherapy & Tumor Immunology and Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells mediate potent antigen-specific antitumor activity, however, their indirect effects on the endogenous immune system is not well characterized. Remarkably, we demonstrate that CAR T cell treatment of mouse syngeneic glioblastoma activates intratumoral myeloid cells and induces endogenous T cell memory responses coupled with feed-forward propagation of CAR T responses. IFNy production by CAR T cells and IFNy-responsiveness of host immune cells is critical for tumor immune landscape remodeling to promote a more activated and less suppressive tumor microenvironment. Read More

J Immunother Cancer 2021 Apr;9(4)

Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, Oregon, USA

Background: PD-1/PD-L1 engagement and overexpression of galectin-3 (Gal-3) are critical mechanisms of tumor-induced immune suppression that contribute to immunotherapy resistance. We hypothesized that Gal-3 blockade with belapectin (GR-MD-02) plus anti-PD-1 (pembrolizumab) would enhance tumor response in patients with metastatic melanoma (MM) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: We performed a phase I dose escalation study of belapectin+pembrolizumab in patients with advanced MM or HNSCC (NCT02575404). Read More

Transplant Cell Ther 2021 Apr 14;27(4):330.e1-330.e9. Epub 2021 Jan 14.

Department of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Dmitriy Rogachev National Medical Center Of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology And Immunology, Moscow, Russia. Electronic address:

Depletion of αβ T cells from the graft prevents graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and improves the outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from haploidentical donors. Delayed recovery of adaptive immunity remains a problem, which can be approached by adoptive T-cell transfer. In a randomized trial, we have assessed the safety and efficacy of low-dose memory (CD45RA-depleted) donor lymphocytes (mDLI) after HSCT with αβ T-cell depletion. Read More

Transplant Cell Ther 2021 Apr 17;27(4):310.e1-310.e6. Epub 2020 Dec 17.

Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Adaptive natural killer (NK) cells are long-lived and exhibit properties of immunologic memory against cytomegalovirus (CMV). We previously reported that expansion of adaptive NK cells after CMV reactivation in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was associated with a lower rate of relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia. In the present study, we examined the impact of adaptive NK cell expansion in a cohort of 110 individuals who underwent autologous HCT (AHCT) for a lymphoid malignancy (lymphoma or multiple myeloma [MM]). Read More

Br J Anaesth 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Department of Anaesthesiology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

Background: The US Food and Drug Administration warned that exposure of pregnant women to general anaesthetics may impair fetal brain development. This review systematically evaluates the evidence underlying this warning.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched from inception until April 3, 2020. Read More

Trials 2021 Apr 9;22(1):265. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1200, Cai-Lun Road, Shanghai, China.

Background: Statistics show that every year, 5.4 million people in the world suffer a stroke. Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is one of the most common complications after stroke with a rate of 75%, which leads to decreased functions for independent living and reduced quality of life (QOL). Read More