ROOT is an object-oriented C++ framework conceived in the high-energy physics (HEP) community, designed for storing and analyzing petabytes of data in an efcient way. Any instance of a C++ class can be stored into a ROOT le in a machine-independent compressed binary format. In ROOT the TTree object container is optimized for statistical data analysis over very large data sets by using vertical data storage techniques. These containers can span a large number of les
The heart continuously and cyclically communicates with the brain. Beyond homeostatic regulation and sensing, recent neuroscience research has started to shed light on brain-heart interactions in diverse cognitive and emotional processes. In particular, neural responses to heartbeats, as measured with the so-called heartbeat-evoked potential, have been shown to be useful for investigating cortical activity processing cardiac signals. In this review, we first overview and discuss the basic properties of the HEP such as underlying physiological pathways, brain regions, and neural mechanisms. We then provide a systematic review of the mental processes associated with cortical HEP activations, notably heartbeat perception, emotional feelings, perceptual awareness, and self-consciousness, in healthy subjects and clinical populations. Finally, we discuss methodological issues regarding the experimental design and data analysis for separating genuine HEP components from physiological artifacts (e.g., cardiac field artifact, pulse artifact) or other neural activities that are not specifically associated with the heartbeat. Findings from this review suggest that when intrinsic limitations (e.g., artifacts) are carefully controlled, the HEP could provide a reliable neural measure for investigating brain-viscera interactions in diverse mental processes.
Abstract A new concept of high-entropy cathode is reported, which can bring about a definite improvement of electrochemical performance for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). As a proof-of-concept, a new high-entropy perovskite oxide of La0.2Pr0.2Nd0.2Sm0.2Ba0.1Sr0.1Co0.2Fe0.6Ni0.1Cu0.1O3-δ (HEP) is successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot combustion method and proposed as a potential cathode for SOFC at intermediate temperatures. The high-entropy HEP formed a single phase of cubic perovskite structure and matched well with the adjacent electrolyte of Gd0.2Ce0.8O2-δ (GDC). The high-entropy HEP shows a sufficient electrical conductivity of 635.15 S·cm-1 at 800 °C. The high-entropy cathode of HEP achieved a much lower polarization resistance of 0.3 Ω·cm2 on YSZ electrolyte at 800 °C, which was only half of 0.6 Ω·cm2 for conventional La0.8Sr0.2FeO3-δ (LSF) cathode under same conditions. The YSZ-based SOFC with HEP cathode exhibited an outstanding output performance of 714.5 mW·cm-2 at 800 °C, indicating that the high-entropy perovskite as a new-type SOFC cathode is promising.
F. Petzschner, Lilian A. E. Weber, Katharina V. Wellstein
et al.
Theoretical frameworks such as predictive coding suggest that the perception of the body and world – interoception and exteroception – involve intertwined processes of inference, learning, and prediction. In this framework, attention is thought to gate the influence of sensory information on perception. In contrast to exteroception, there is limited evidence for purely attentional effects on interoception. Here, we empirically tested if attentional focus modulates cortical processing of single heartbeats, using a newly-developed experimental paradigm to probe purely attentional differences between exteroceptive and interoceptive conditions in the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP). We found that the HEP is significantly higher during interoceptive compared to exteroceptive attention, in a time window of 520-580ms after the R-peak. Furthermore, this effect predicted self-report measures of autonomic system reactivity. This study thus provides direct evidence that the HEP is modulated by attention and supports recent interpretations of the HEP as a neural correlate of interoceptive prediction errors.
Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides (HEPs) have attracted widespread attention in regulating gut microbiota (GM). To investigate digestibility and fermentation of HEPs and their effects on GM composition, three polysaccharide fractions, namely, HEP-30, HEP-50, and HEP-70, were fractionally precipitated with 30%, 50%, and 70% ethanol concentrations (v/v) from hot water-soluble extracts of Hericium erinaceus, respectively. Three kinds of prepared HEPs were structurally characterized and simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and their effects on human fecal microbiota fermentations of male and female and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in vitro were clarified. Under digestive conditions simulating saliva, stomach, and small intestine, HEPs were not significantly influenced and safely reached the distal intestine. After 24 h of in vitro fermentation, the content of SCFAs was significantly enhanced (p < 0.05), and the retention rates of total and reducing sugars and pH value were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Thus, HEPs could be utilized by GM, especially HEP-50, and enhanced the relative abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria, e.g., Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Butyricicoccus, and Lactobacillus. Furthermore, HEPs reduced the relative abundances of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, e.g., Escherichia-Shigella, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter. This study suggests that gradual ethanol precipitation is available for the preparation of polysaccharides from Hericium erinaceus, and the extracted polysaccharide could be developed as functional foods with great development value.
A. Zaccaro, M. G. Perrucci, Eleonora Parrotta
et al.
Respiration and heartbeat continuously interact within the living organism at many different levels, representing two of the main oscillatory rhythms of the body and providing major sources of interoceptive information to the brain. Despite the modulatory effect of respiration on exteroception and cognition has been recently established in humans, its role in shaping interoceptive perception has been scarcely investigated so far. In two independent studies, we investigated the effect of spontaneous breathing on cardiac interoception by assessing the Heartbeat Evoked Potential (HEP) in healthy humans. In Study 1, we compared HEP activity for heartbeats occurred during inhalation and exhalation in 40 volunteers at rest. We found higher HEP amplitude during exhalation, compared to inhalation, over fronto-centro-parietal areas. This suggests increased brain-heart interactions and improved cortical processing of the heartbeats during exhalation. Additionally, further analyses revealed that this effect was also moderated by heart rate changes. In Study 2, we tested the respiratory phase-dependent modulation of HEP activity in 20 volunteers during Exteroceptive and Interoceptive conditions of the Heartbeat Detection (HBD) task. In these conditions, participants were requested to tap at each heartbeat, either listened to or felt, respectively. Results showed higher HEP activity and higher detection accuracy at exhalation than inhalation in the Interoceptive condition only. Direct comparisons of Interoceptive and Exteroceptive conditions confirmed stronger respiratory phase-dependent modulation of HEP and accuracy when attention was directed towards the interoceptive stimuli. Moreover, HEP changes during the Interoceptive condition were independent of heart physiology, but were positively correlated with higher detection accuracy at exhalation than inhalation. This suggests a link between optimization of cortical processing of cardiac signals and detection of heartbeats across the respiratory cycle. Overall, we provide data showing that respiration shapes cardiac interoception at the neurophysiological and behavioural levels. Specifically, exhalation may allow attentional shift towards the internal bodily states.