A graphical, scalable and intuitive method for the placement and the connection of biological cells

We introduce a graphical method originating from the computer graphics domain that is used for the arbitrary and intuitive placement of cells over a two-dimensional manifold. Using a bitmap image as input, where the color indicates the identity of the different structures and the alpha channel indicates the local cell density, this method guarantees a discrete distribution of cell position respecting the local density function. This method scales to any number of cells, allows to specify several different structures at once with arbitrary shapes and provides a scalable and versatile alternative to the more classical assumption of a uniform non-spatial distribution. Furthermore, several connection schemes can be derived from the paired distances between cells using either an automatic mapping or a user-defined local reference frame, providing new computational properties for the underlying model. The method is illustrated on a discrete homogeneous neural field, on the distribution of cones and rods in the retina and on a coronal view of the basal ganglia.Comment: Corresponding code at https://github.com/rougier/spatial-computatio

Microcircuit testing and fabrication, using scanning electron microscopes

Scanning electron microscopes are used to determine both user-induced damages and manufacturing defects subtle enough to be missed by conventional light microscopy. Method offers greater depth of field and increased working distances

Dicarba-closo-dodecarborane-containing half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium : biological relevance and synthetic strategies

This review describes how the incorporation of dicarba-closo-dodecarboranes into half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium might lead to the development of a new class of compounds with applications in medicine. Such a combination not only has unexplored potential in traditional areas such as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy agents, but also as pharmacophores for the targeting of biologically important proteins and the development of targeted drugs. The synthetic pathways used for the syntheses of dicarba-closo-dodecarboranes-containing half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium are also reviewed. Complexes with a wide variety of geometries and characteristics can be prepared. Examples of addition reactions on the metal centre, B–H activation, transmetalation reactions and/or direct formation of metal–metal bonds are discussed (103 references)

Gamow-Teller properties of the double beta-decay partners 116Cd(Sn) and 150Nd(Sm)

The two Gamow-Teller (GT) branches connecting the double-beta decay partners (116Cd, 116Sn) and (150Nd, 150Sm) with the intermediate nuclei 116In and 150Pm are studied within a microscopic approach based on a deformed proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation built on a Skyrme selfconsistent mean field with pairing correlations and spin-isospin residual forces. The results are compared with the experimental GT strength distributions extracted from charge-exchange reactions. Combining the two branches, the nuclear matrix elements for the two-neutrino double-beta decay are evaluated and compared to experimental values derived from the measured half-lives.Comment: 10 pages, 16 figure

Regulating Mobile Mental Health Apps

Mobile medical apps (MMAs) are a fast‐growing category of software typically installed on personal smartphones and wearable devices. A subset of MMAs are aimed at helping consumers identify mental states and/or mental illnesses. Although this is a fledgling domain, there are already enough extant mental health MMAs both to suggest a typology and to detail some of the regulatory issues they pose. As to the former, the current generation of apps includes those that facilitate self‐assessment or self‐help, connect patients with online support groups, connect patients with therapists, or predict mental health issues. Regulatory concerns with these apps include their quality, safety, and data protection. Unfortunately, the regulatory frameworks that apply have failed to provide coherent risk‐assessment models. As a result, prudent providers will need to progress with caution when it comes to recommending apps to patients or relying on app‐generated data to guide treatment

Non-Tariff Barriers and Trade Liberalization

This paper shows that governments have no incentive to introduce non-tariff barriers when they are free to set tariffs but they do when tariffs are determined cooperatively. We then show three results. First, with trade liberalization, there is a progression from u sing tariffs only to quotas, and to antidumping constraints (when quotas are jointly eliminated). Second, there is a narrowing of the range of industries in which each instrument is used. Third, the degree of tariff liberalization and of replacement of ta riffs by NTBs depend on industry characteristics. These results are roughly in line with the empirical evidence.Tariffs, trade policy, reciprocal dumping, quotas, antidumping

Rejoinder: Harold Jeffreys's Theory of Probability Revisited

We are grateful to all discussants of our re-visitation for their strong support in our enterprise and for their overall agreement with our perspective. Further discussions with them and other leading statisticians showed that the legacy of Theory of Probability is alive and lasting. [arXiv:0804.3173]Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-STS284REJ the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

A computational approach to the covert and overt deployment of spatial attention

Popular computational models of visual attention tend to neglect the influence of saccadic eye movements whereas it has been shown that the primates perform on average three of them per seconds and that the neural substrate for the deployment of attention and the execution of an eye movement might considerably overlap. Here we propose a computational model in which the deployment of attention with or without a subsequent eye movement emerges from local, distributed and numerical computations