Effects of individuation and categorization on face representations in the visual cortex.

The human faculty of distinguishing thousands of faces critically contributes to face identification and our social interactions. While prior studies have revealed the involvement of the fusiform face area (FFA) in the individuation processing of faces, there are also reports supporting that the responses of the FFA is flexible depending on tasks. Here, we investigated whether the specificity of neural responses in the FFA for individual faces depends on the need for individuation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that individual face images could be decoded from response patterns of the FFA when individuation was required for the task but not when only categorization according to a common feature such as race or gender was necessary. These results suggest that the specificity of neural responses for individual faces is flexible in the FFA, depending on the behavioral goal of face individuation.

The Influence of Anxiety on the Recognition of Facial Emotion Depends on the Emotion Category and Race of the Target Faces.

The recognition of emotional facial expressions is critical for our social interactions. While some prior studies have shown that a high anxiety level is associated with more sensitive recognition of emotion, there are also reports supporting that anxiety did not affect or reduce the sensitivity to the recognition of facial emotions. To reconcile these results, here we investigated whether the effect of individual anxiety on the recognition of facial emotions is dependent on the emotion category and the race of the target faces. We found that, first, there was a significant positive correlation between the individual anxiety level and the recognition sensitivity for angry faces but not for sad or happy faces. Second, while the correlation was significant for both low- and high-intensity angry faces during the recognition of the observer's own-race faces, there was significant correlation only for low-intensity angry faces during the recognition of other-race faces. Collectively, our results suggest that the influence of anxiety on the recognition of facial emotions is flexible depending on the characteristics of the target face stimuli including emotion category and race.

DialysisNet: Application for Integrating and Management Data Sources of Hemodialysis Information by Continuity of Care Record.

OBJECTIVES: Health Avatar Beans was for the management of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This article is about the DialysisNet system in Health Avatar Beans for the seamless management of ESRD based on the personal health record. METHODS: For hemodialysis data modeling, we identified common data elements for hemodialysis information (CDEHI). We used ASTM continuity of care record (CCR) and ISO/IEC 11179 for the compliance method with a standard model for the CDEHI. According to the contents of the ASTM CCR, we mapped the CDHEI to the contents and created the metadata from that. It was transformed and parsed into the database and verified according to the ASTM CCR/XML schema definition (XSD). DialysisNet was created as an iPad application. The contents of the CDEHI were categorized for effective management. For the evaluation of information transfer, we used CarePlatform, which was developed for data access. The metadata of CDEHI in DialysisNet was exchanged by the CarePlatform with semantic interoperability. RESULTS: The CDEHI was separated into a content list for individual patient data, a contents list for hemodialysis center data, consultation and transfer form, and clinical decision support data. After matching to the CCR, the CDEHI was transformed to metadata, and it was transformed to XML and proven according to the ASTM CCR/XSD. DialysisNet has specific consideration of visualization, graphics, images, statistics, and database. CONCLUSIONS: We created the DialysisNet application, which can integrate and manage data sources for hemodialysis information based on CCR standards.

Enzyme responsive nanocontainers with cyclodextrin gatekeepers and synergistic effects in release of guests.

The cyclodextrin covered porous silica nanoparticles (Si-MPs) exhibited enzyme responsive characteristics. The cyclodextrin gatekeepers on the surface of Si-MPs can be hydrolyzed by a-amylase to release guest molecules from the porous reservoir. The ester linkage in the stalk part of the cyclodextrin gatekeeper can also be cleaved by lipase to release guests from the channel. Our approach would provide a unique methodology for controlled delivery systems.