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Sense of Agency (SoA) refers to the awareness of being the agent of our own actions. A key feature of SoA relies on the perceived temporal compression between our own actions and their sensory consequences, a phenomenon known as “Intentional Binding.” Prior studies have linked SoA to the sense of responsibility for our own actions. However, it is unclear whether SoA predicts the way we judge the actions of others – including judgments of morally wrong actions like harming others. To address this issue, we ran an on-line pilot experiment where participants underwent two different tasks designed to tap into SoA and moral cognition. SoA was measured using the Intentional Binding task which allowed us to obtain both implicit (Intentional Binding) and explicit (Agency Rating) measures of SoA. Moral cognition was assessed by asking the same participants to evaluate videoclips where an agent could deliberately or inadvertently cause suffering to a victim (Intentional vs. Accidental Harm) compared with Neutral scenarios. Results showed a significant relation between both implicit and explicit measures of SoA and moral evaluation of the Accidental Harm scenarios, with stronger SoA predicting stricter moral judgments. These findings suggest that our capacity to feel in control of our actions predicts the way we judge others’ actions, with stronger feelings of responsibility over our own actions predicting the severity of our moral evaluations of other actions. This was particularly true in ambiguous scenarios characterized by an incongruency between an apparently innocent intention and a negative action outcome.

Humans are equipped with an extraordinary ability to understand and imitate actions by mapping the observed movement onto their own cortical motor system. Long-established lines of research have identified two correlates of this motor resonance following action observation: the mu rhythm event-related desynchronization (mu-ERD) recorded through electroencephalography (EEG) and the facilitation of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1). Yet, whether mu-ERD and MEP facilitation reflect unique or distinct mechanisms is not conclusive, as prior work did not combine simultaneous TMS-EEG recording with a trial-by-trial analysis of the two markers. To address this issue, here, we used TMS-EEG co-registration while participants observed and executed finger movements. EEG was continuously recorded while single-pulse TMS was administered over the left M1 and MEPs were recorded from the right hand. We found stronger motor cortex recruitment during action execution and observation as shown by mu-ERD. MEPs instead were larger overall during action execution and showed a facilitation specific to the muscles involved in the observed movements. Interestingly, when analyzing these two parameters using a trial-by-trial statistical approach, we did not find any relationship between mu-ERD and MEPs within the action observation condition. Our findings support the notion that EEG and TMS indices of motor resonance reflect distinct neural mechanisms.

Nucleic acids are a powerful engineering material that can be used to implement a broad range of computational circuits at the nanoscale, with potential applications in high-precision biosensing, diagnostics, and therapeutics. However, nucleic acid circuits are prone to leaks, which result from unintended displacement interactions between nucleic acid strands. Such leaks can grow combinatorially with circuit size, are challenging to mitigate, and can significantly compromise circuit behavior. While several techniques have been proposed to partially mitigate leaks, computational methods for designing new leak mitigation strategies and comparing their effectiveness on circuit behavior are limited. Here we present a general method for the automated leak analysis of nucleic acid circuits, referred to as DSD Leaks. Our method extends the logic programming functionality of the Visual DSD language, developed for the design and analysis of nucleic acid circuits, with predicates for leak generation, a leak reaction enumeration algorithm, and predicates to exclude low probability leak reactions. We use our method to identify the critical leak reactions affecting the performance of control circuits, and to analyze leak mitigation strategies by automatically generating leak reactions. Finally, we design new control circuits with substantially reduced leakage including a sophisticated proportional-integral controller circuit, which can in turn serve as building blocks for future circuits. By integrating our method within an open-source nucleic acid circuit design tool, we enable the leak analysis of a broad range of circuits, as an important step toward facilitating robust and scalable nucleic acid circuit design.

The aroma of pea protein (

Embodiment is the percept that something not originally belonging to the self becomes part of the body. Feeling embodiment for a prosthesis may counteract amputees’ altered image of the body and increase prosthesis acceptability. Prosthesis embodiment has been studied longitudinally in an amputee receiving feedback through intraneural and perineural multichannel electrodes implanted in her stump. Three factors—invasive (vs non-invasive) stimulation, training, and anthropomorphism—have been tested through two multisensory integration tasks: visuo-tactile integration (VTI) and crossing-hand effect in temporal order judgment (TOJ), the former more sensible to an extension of a safe margin around the body and the latter to action-oriented remapping. Results from the amputee participant were compared with the ones from healthy controls. Testing the participant with intraneural stimulation produced an extension of peripersonal space, a sign of prosthesis embodiment. One-month training extended the peripersonal space selectively on the side wearing the prostheses. More and less-anthropomorphic prostheses benefited of intraneural feedback and extended the peripersonal space. However, the worsening of TOJ performance following arm crossing was present only wearing the more trained, despite less anthropomorphic, prosthesis, suggesting that training was critical for our participant to achieve operative tool-like embodiment.

An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-differential ion mobility (DMS)-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to quantify 14 bitter-tasting lipids in 17 commercial pea-protein isolates (

The aroma of pea protein (Pisum sativum L.) was decrypted for knowledge-based flavor optimization of new food products containing pea protein. Sensomics helped to determine several volatiles via ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and 3-nitrophenylhydrazine derivatization. Among the investigated volatiles, representatives of aldehydes, ketones, and acids were reported in literature as especially important in pea and pea-related matrices. After validation of the method and quantitation of the corresponding analytes, sensory reconstitution as well as omission studies of a selected pea protein were performed and revealed nine odor-active compounds as key food odorants (3-methylbutanal, hexanal, acetaldehyde, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E)-2-octenal, benzaldehyde, heptanal, 2-methylbutanal, and nonanoic acid). Interestingly, eight out of nine compounds belonged to the chemical class of aldehydes. Statistical heatmap and cluster analysis of all odor activity values of different pea proteins confirmed the obtained sensory results and generalize these nine key food odorants in other pea proteins. The knowledge of key components gained shows potential for simplifying industrial flavor optimization of pea protein-based food.

Peripersonal Space (PPS) is the multisensory space immediately surrounding our body. Visual and tactile stimuli here are promptly processed, since their interaction gradually strengthens as the distance between visual stimulus and the body decreases. Recently, a modified version of the Temporal Order Judgment (TOJ) task was proposed to assess PPS based on the spatial congruence between somatosensory and visual stimuli. Here, we used this paradigm to explore how a temporary vs a permanent state of anxiety can alter PPS. Indeed, previous research showed that PPS boundaries are not fixed, but they can be enlarged by contingent factors (i.e. emotional features). Participants performed the TOJ paradigm twice, just before and after completing an anxiety-inducing task (experimental breathing condition) or a neutral one (control breathing condition), while their trait and state anxiety levels were repeatedly measured. We found that the pattern of visuo-tactile integration in PPS changes in the very opposite way following the two breathing tasks for participants with high levels of temporary anxiety, by strengthening and weakening its power after the experimental and control conditions, respectively. On the contrary, both the breathing tasks are capable of reducing the cross-modal interplay as compared to baseline for high trait-anxious participants, who show an overall stronger visuo-tactile integration inside the PPS than low trait anxious individuals. These results are discussed in the light of the double dissociation between orienting and alerting attentional network over-functioning, reported in state anxiety participants, and impoverished prefrontal attentional control shown by trait anxiety individuals.

Chemical reaction networks (CRNs) have been applied successfully to model a wide range of phenomena and are commonly used for designing molecular computation circuits. Often, CRNs with specific properties (oscillations, Turing patterns, multistability) are sought, which entails searching an exponentially large space of CRNs for those that satisfy a property. As the size of the CRNs being considered grows, so does the frequency of isomorphisms, by up to a factor \(N!\), where \(N\) is the number of species. Accordingly, being able to generate sets of non-isomorphic CRNs within a class can lead to large computational savings when carrying out global searches. Here, we present a bijective encoding of bimolecular CRNs into novel vertex-coloured digraphs called Open image in new window . The problem of enumerating non-isomorphic CRNs can then be tackled by leveraging well-established computational methods from graph theory [20]. In particular, we extend Nauty, the graph isomorphism tool suite by McKay [22]. Our method is highly parallelisable and more efficient than competing approaches, and a software package (genCRN) is freely available for reuse. Non-isomorphs are generated directly by genCRN, alleviating the need to store intermediate results. We provide the first complete count of all 2-species bimolecular CRNs and extend previous known counts for classes of CRNs of special interest, such as mass-conserving and reversible CRNs.

In this study, the impact of physiological parameters, ethnicity and gender on flavour perception and flavour release of chewing gum was investigated. Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry in-nose monitoring of volatile organic compounds was coupled to discontinuous time intensity sensory evaluation for mint flavour and sweetness perception. Each of the 29 subjects, 14 European and 15 Chinese panelists (13 male and 16 females, age 24 ± 1.4 years old) consumed the samples in triplicates. Physiological parameters (oral cavity volume, salivary flow, acetone and isoprene concentration and fungiform papillae density) were measured. Significant differences for in vivo flavour release between Chinese and European panelists after 90 s of consumption and after the gum was removed from the mouth were found. Significant differences were observed also in flavour and sweetness perception while no gender effect was detected. In this work, for the first time an effect of ethnicity on in-nose flavour release monitored through PTR-MS was noticed during chewing gum consumption, in agreement with the findings from sensory evaluation. Single physiological parameters do not explain the relation between flavour in nose release and perception during consumption.

Computational nucleic acid devices show great potential for enabling a broad range of biotechnology applications, including smart probes for molecular biology research, in vitro assembly of complex compounds, high-precision in vitro disease diagnosis and, ultimately, computational theranostics inside living cells. This diversity of applications is supported by a range of implementation strategies, including nucleic acid strand displacement, localization to substrates, and the use of enzymes with polymerase, nickase, and exonuclease functionality. However, existing computational design tools are unable to account for these strategies in a unified manner. This paper presents a logic programming language that allows a broad range of computational nucleic acid systems to be designed and analyzed. The language extends standard logic programming with a novel equational theory to express nucleic acid molecular motifs. It automatically identifies matching motifs present in the full system, in order to apply a spe...

We propose a type-based analysis to infer the session protocols of channels in an ML-like concurrent functional language. Combining and extending well-known techniques, we develop a type-checking system that separates the underlying ML type system from the typing of sessions. Without using linearity, our system guarantees communication safety and partial lock freedom. It also supports provably complete session inference for finite sessions with no programmer annotations. We exhibit the usefulness of our system with interesting examples, including one which is not typable in substructural type systems.

Purpose. This study aims at developing novel core-shell poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles as a delivery system for protein vaccine candidates. Materials and Methods. Anionic nanoparticles consisting of a core of PMMA and a shell deriving from Eudragit L100/55 were prepared by an innovative synthetic method based on emulsion polymerization. The formed nanoparticles were characterized for size, surface charge and ability to reversibly bind two basic model proteins (Lysozyme, Trypsin) and a vaccine relevant antigen (HIV-1 Tat), by means of cell-free studies. Their in vitro toxicity and capability to preserve the biological activity of the HIV-1 Tat protein were studied in cell culture systems. Finally, their safety and immunogenicity were investigated in the mouse model. Results. The nanoparticles had smooth surface, spherical shape and uniform size distribution with a mean diameter of 220 nm. The shell is characterized by covalently bound carboxyl groups negatively charged at physiological pH, able to reversibly adsorb large amounts (up to 20% w/w) of basic proteins (Lysozyme, Trypsin and HIV-1 Tat), mainly through specific electrostatic interactions. The nanoparticles were stable, not toxic to the cells, protected the HIV-1 Tat protein from oxidation, thus preserving its biological activity and increasing its shelf-life, and efficiently delivered and released it intracellularly. In vivo experiments showed that they are well tolerated and elicit strong immune responses against the delivered antigen in mice. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that these new nanoparticles provide a versatile platform for protein surface adsorption and a promising delivery system particularly when the maintenance of the biologically active conformation is required for vaccine efficacy.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) are very promising antisense agents, but their in vivo application is often hampered by their low bioavailability, mainly due to their limited uptake through cellular and nuclear membranes. However, PNA chemical synthesis easily allows modification with functional structures able to improve the intrinsically low permeability and great interest is arising in finding specific and efficient delivery protocols. Polymeric core-shell microspheres with anionic functional groups on the surface were tested for their ability to reversibly bind lysine modified PNA sequences, whose antisense activity against COX-2 mRNA was already demonstrated in murine macrophages.

We develop a theory of bisimulations for a simple language containing communicating transactions, obtained by dropping the isolation requirement of standard transactions. Such constructs have emerged as a useful programming abstraction for distributed systems.

Consensus is an often occurring problem in concurrent and distributed programming. We present a programming language with simple semantics and build-in support for consensus in the form of communicating transactions. We motivate the need for such a construct with a characteristic example of generalized consensus which can be naturally encoded in our language. We then focus on the challenges in achieving an implementation that can efficiently run such programs. We setup an architecture to evaluate different implementation alternatives and use it to experimentally evaluate runtime heuristics. This is the basis for a research project on realistic programming language support for consensus.