Human Behavior

Morality and COVID-19: Why some individuals continue to ignore rules about wearing face masks – Milwaukee Independent

Governments around the world have recommended or mandated various behaviors to slow the spread of COVID-19. These include staying at home, wearing face masks and practicing social distancing.

Yet individuals continue to flout these recommendations and ignore explicit rules about wearing face masks. In the U.S., U.K. and Australia, crowds have gathered closely together to protest against lockdowns. All this poses the question: Why are people not following the rules that protect not only their own health but the health of their community and nation? And how can policymakers and public health officials design better messages to encourage uptake?

How morals guide our decisions

In my latest research, I studied how people perceive the three main recommended behaviors as either right or wrong. I grounded my research on Moral Foundations Theory, which states that people judge the rightness or wrongness of behaviors along five different moral concerns or foundations.

The first is whether an action shows you care; the second is whether an action upholds standards of equality; the third is whether it shows loyalty to the group; the fourth is whether it shows deference to authority; and the last is whether it conforms to impulses and the natural way of doing things.

Some foundations are relevant to certain behaviors; others, not so much. For example, parents who are anti-vaxxers hold this view because they see vaccines as harming a childs natural immunological defenses. Although that is not true, vaccines still challenge their perception of whats natural. Likewise, when it comes to charitable giving, people donate because they see it as showing they care not because they see it as natural to do so.

One benefit of exploring which moral foundation is relevant to a certain behavior is that it offers a better understanding of how to encourage or discourage that behavior. For example, policymakers now understand that to encourage vaccinations for children, messages aimed at hesitant parents need to help them see how vaccinations can actually boost a childs natural defenses. But telling these parents that it shows you care for your child has little effect, because the caring foundation is less relevant.

Morality and COVID-19

I surveyed 1,033 Americans during the last week in April 2020, asking them how relevant each moral foundation is to staying at home, wearing face masks and practicing social distancing. I found that Americans, on the whole, associated all three behaviors with the caring and equality foundations. Indeed, staying at home when you dont need to go out shows you care about others I call this the caring foundation. But staying at home helps flatten the curve only if everyone does it the equality foundation. The same can be said for wearing face masks and social distancing.

But I also found important age differences in two other moral foundations. Younger adults felt that staying at home and wearing face masks go against their nature what I call the nature foundation. It would make sense. Younger adults are more likely to crave social interactions, and so staying at home goes against what they perceive to be natural human behavior.

Meanwhile, wearing face masks not only is uncomfortable but hides ones face, which also goes against beliefs about how human beings are supposed to socialize. Older adults, on the other hand, felt that all three behaviors show a greater value placed on communal goals and public health over personal comfort. Interestingly, the authority foundation didnt relate to any of the three behaviors, regardless of age.

Policy implications

By understanding which moral foundations are relevant, social marketers, public health officials and policymakers can design more effective appeals to get people to stay at home, wear face masks and stay 6 feet apart.

For example, because Americans see the actions as showing they care, emphasizing how those behaviors show caring will likely increase compliance. To target younger adults, who see staying at home and wearing face masks as going against the social nature of human beings, messages should suggest how these actions can actually facilitate socialization.

For example: Wearing a mask lets you stay in touch, safely. Common slogans such as Staying Apart, Together, while whimsical and a play on words, are unlikely to increase younger adults uptake, since the communal foundation is a less relevant concern for them. Those slogans may be more effective for older adults.

If governments and public health officials really want to promote staying at home, wearing face masks and practicing social distancing, they cant just say its moral to do so. They might want to learn to appeal to the relevant moral convictions of the population they are targeting.

Original post:
Morality and COVID-19: Why some individuals continue to ignore rules about wearing face masks - Milwaukee Independent

Embryology

CSUN Prof Finds Aggressive Alga Threatening Health of Caribbean Coral Reefs – CSUN Today

Peyssonnelid algal crusts (PAC) overgrowing a star coral near the Caribbean island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Photo by Peter Edmunds.

Hurricanes, pollution, disease, bleaching and effects of an increasingly warmer planet are all negatively impacting the health of coral reefs around the world. However, the reefs in the Caribbean are facing a new threat an aggressive, crust-like algae that is rapidly overgrowing shallow reefs.

California State University, Northridge marine biologist Peter Edmunds and a team of researchers said the algae, known as peyssonnelid algal crusts (PAC), are taking over the reefs at such an aggressive rate that they are interfering with the ability of coral larva, or babies, to find places to settle on the reefs, and interfering with the reefs natural ecosystem.

PAC starting to cover Orbicella annularis, a boulder star coral, at 14 meter depth. Photo by Peter Edmunds.

PAC seems a little bit like that silent killer who has been in the back seat at all the events, Edmunds said. People have been worried about hurricanes and their impact on the reefs. People have been worried about diseases, worried about bleaching, worried about pollution and worried about climate change. Thats where the attention has been and somehow, while people have been focused on those things, this alga slowly has been creeping in and gobbling up more and more space.

An article about their research on PAC, An unusual microbiome characterizes a spatially-aggressive crustose alga rapidly overgrowing shallow Caribbean reefs, appears in the most recent edition of the journal Scientific Reports. Edmunds co-authors are Bryan Wilson, a researcher at University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and Chen-Ming Fan, a faculty member in the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington D.C.

Edmunds said he first spotted the alga about five years ago while was studying the impact of two back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria on the coral reefs near the Caribbean island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

At first, he didnt pay much attention to the alga. But as time passed, Edmunds said, he was stunned by how quickly it began to dominate the reef.

The space that it had gobbled up before the hurricane was partially cleaned by the storms washed away with sandblasting, he said. And then, boom! It was going like gangbusters again within a year of the storms. I realized that I cant just sit back on the sidelines and watch this happen. I knew I was going to wake up one day and see the reef 100 percent covered by the algae, and Id ask myself why didnt I do something sooner?

Edmunds noted that algae have always been a component of coral reefs, often serving as food to sea urchins. But something changed, he said, and a new type of algae (PAC) now seems to be heading towards domination of Caribbean reefs.

PAC over growing a brain coral. Photo by Peter Edmunds.

He, Wilson and Fan have been able to document how PAC are aggressively taking over large areas of space on some of the shallow reefs of St. John. PAC is taking over so much space that it is discouraging baby coral and other sea life, including sea urchins, from making the reef home, which, in turn, jeopardizes the persistence of the reef community itself.

Once the alga is there, its very hard to get rid of, Edmunds said. Its like cutting down the proverbial forest and paving it over with asphalt. Once youve paved it over, its very difficult to get back to the forest. In this instance, PAC has taken up real estate on the reefs and is not letting anybody else move into the neighborhood.

Edmunds noted that PAC, with its dark brown and dirty orange veneer, stands out among the white sands and light greens, pinks, yellows and other colors that make up the reef.

Edmunds said he and his researchers are not sure if PAC is made up of one algal species or several, nor do they know what is causing the algae to be so aggressive.

What we do know is that this is an alarming trend, and one that we need to know more about, he said. The coral and their ecosystem are so fragile as it is. They are under assault by environmental pollution and global warming. We have made their lives so fragile, yet they are sticking in there. And now this gets thrown into the mix. We dont know if this is the straw that breaks the camels back, but we need to find out.

The next step, Edmunds said, is to beat the bushes to raise the funds to study what PAC is and its long-term impact on the coral reefs.

Alga, Climate Change, College of Science and Mathematics, Coral Reef Research, Coral Reefs, CSUN marine biology, Department of Biology, Environment, Featured, Peter Edmunds

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CSUN Prof Finds Aggressive Alga Threatening Health of Caribbean Coral Reefs - CSUN Today

Embryology

First Lady of DR Congo Meets Merck Foundation CEO to Mark Together the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls – Outlook…

(Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India&Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Business Wire India DR Congo First Lady partners with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, break infertility stigma and empower girls through education. Merck Foundation CEO underscored their long term commitment to the social and economic development of Democratic Republic of The Congo through their partnership with The First Lady and Ministry of Health.Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, underscored their long term commitment through starting their partnership with The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo, H.E. Madam DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI. During the high level meeting held this week, Dr. RashaKelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, appointed The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo as The Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother to work closely with Merck Foundation to break the stigma of infertility, build healthcare capacity , and empower girls through education in the country. H.E. Madam DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother emphasized, I am very happy to partner with Merck Foundation and start their valuable programs in our country as their Ambassador. These programs will help us to transform our public health care sector and create a future shift to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, health and change of mindset as well as empower girls through education which is very close to my heart. Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President, Merck More Than a Mother emphasized, I am very proud of our partnership with The First Lady Of Democratic Republic of the Congo and welcome her as the Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother, and new member of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative-MFFLI. With the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, building healthcare capacity is of the highest importance, and through our partnership, we are planning to provide specialty training to equip the local doctors with the skills they need to improve access to equitable and quality healthcare solutions. Along with appointing The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo as the Ambassador of Merck More Than A Mother, Merck Foundation also marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations, and on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, We must work together to eliminate violence against women and girls once and for all, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.Merck Foundation has enrolled 32 doctors from Democratic Republic of the Congo to master course in Diabetes in French accredited by Diabetes UK as part of their Diabetes Blue Point Program to help the doctors prevent and manage the disease in their communities.Merck Foundation has also provided Fertility and Embryology training to 5 Doctors from Democratic Republic of the Congo with the aim to establish a strong platform of first Fertility specialists and Embryologists to assist infertile couples in the country as part of their historic campaign Merck More than a Mother.Merck Foundation has also enrolled 1 Oncologist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of their Merck Oncology Fellowship Program to increase the limited number of oncologists in the country and plans to enroll more doctors after coronavirus lockdown is over. COVID-19 has severely affected the families of casual and daily workers. To aid this issue, Merck Foundation made a community donation to the casual workers and women to support poor families in Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of their coronavirus response program. We are also planning to support 20 girl students as part of Merck Foundation Educating Katty which aims to empower girls through education in Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are closely working with The First Lady on this new program with the aim to empower girls through education, added Dr. Rasha Kelej, One of the 100 Most Influential Africans (2019, 2020). Merck Foundation also announced 9 winners from Democratic Republic of the Congo for their Stay at Home Media Recognition Awards 2020 which been launched earlier this year in partnership with The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo with the aim to build media capacity and raise awareness about Covid-19 pandemic. The Merck Foundation Stay At Home Media Recognition Awards winners from Democratic Republic of the Congo are:ONLINE CATEGORY WINNERS:FIRST Position: Cassien Tribunal Aungane - Radio Centrale & "Diplomacy & Development" (500 USD)And Mukanya Kafuata Andre Mbote Africa (500 USD)SECOND Position: Stphie Manza Mukinzi Alert Coronavirus (300 USD)PRINT CATEGORY WINNERS:FIRST Position: Mathy Musau Dinyika - Forum Des As (500 USD)MULTIMEDIA CATEGORY WINNERS:FIRST Position: Muemba Wa Muemba Donat Jua Magazine (500 USD)SECOND Position: Jessy Nzengu - Palmier Radio-Tlvision Communautaire (300 USD)THIRD Position: Kazadi Lukusa Nicolas - Radiotlvision Happy Day (200 USD)RADIO CATEGORY WINNERS:FIRST Position: Aly Bukasa Kabambi Radio Communautaire Butook (500 USD)SECOND Position: Jody Daniel Nkashama- Radio Okapi (300 USD)About Merck More Than a Mother campaignMerck More Than a Mother is a strong movement that aims to empower infertile women through access to information, education and change of mind-sets. This powerful campaign supports governments in defining policies to enhance access to regulated, safe, effective and equitable fertility care solutions. It defines interventions to break the stigma around infertile women and raises awareness about infertility prevention, management and male infertility. In partnership with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Information, Education & Gender, academia, policymakers, International fertility societies, media and art, the initiative also provides training for fertility specialists and embryologists to build and advance fertility care capacity in Africa and developing countries.With Merck More Than a Mother, we have initiated a cultural shift to de-stigmatize infertility at all levels: By improving awareness, training local experts in the fields of fertility care and media, building advocacy in cooperation with African First Ladies and women leaders and by supporting childless women in starting their own small businesses. Its all about giving every woman the respect and the help she deserves to live a fulfilling life, with or without a child.The Ambassadors of Merck More Than a Mother are: H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana

H.E. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of The Gambia

H.E. MONICA GEINGOS, The First Lady of NamibiaH.E. ANGELINE NDAYISHIMIYE,The First Lady of Burundi

H.E. REBECCA AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady of Ghana

H.E ASSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of NigerH.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady of Central African Republic

H.E. COND DJENE, The First Lady of Guinea Conakry

H.E. AISHA BUHARI, The First Lady of NigeriaH.E. HINDA DEBY ITNO, The First Lady of Chad

H.E. CLAR WEAH, The First Lady of Liberia

H.E FATIMA MAADA BIO, The First Lady of Sierra LeoneH.E. ANTOINETTE SASSOU-NGUESSO, The First Lady of Congo Brazzaville

H.E. MONICA CHAKWERA, The First Lady of Malawi

H.E. ESTHER LUNGU, The First Lady of ZambiaH.E. DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, THE First Lady of Democratic Republic of Congo

H.E. ISAURA FERRO NYUSI, The First Lady of Mozambique

H.E. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, The First Lady of Zimbabwe Merck Foundation launched new innovative initiatives to sensitize local communities about infertility prevention, male infertility with the aim to break the stigma of infertility and empowering infertile women as part of Merck More than a Mother COMMUNITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, such as; Merck More than a Mother Media Recognition Awards and Health Media Training Merck More than a Mother Fashion Awards Merck More than a Mother Film Awards Local songs with local artists to address the cultural perception of infertility and how to change it Children storybook, localized for each country Click on icon below to Download Merck Foundation Apphttps://www.merck-foundation.com/MF_StoreRedirectionJoin the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard Facebook: Merck FoundationTwitter: @MerckfoundationYouTube: MerckFoundationInstagram: Merck FoundationFlickr: Merck FoundationWebsite: http://www.merck-foundation.comAbout Merck Foundation The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit http://www.merck-foundation.com to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media: Merck Foundation; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flickr. To View the Image Click on the Link Below:Dr. RashaKelej, CEO of Merck Foundation & President, Merck More Than a Mother during her meeting with H.E. Madam DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, The First Lady of Democratic Republic of The Congo and Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother. PWRPWR

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

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First Lady of DR Congo Meets Merck Foundation CEO to Mark Together the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls - Outlook...

Embryology

Introduction to the Global Scientist Interdisciplinary Forum job with Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) | 302819 – The Chronicle…

Global Scientist Interdisciplinary Forum of Southern Universityof Science and Technology (SUSTech) is animportant forum for SUSTech to recruit excellent talents. It isaimed to provide a platform for domestic and overseas scholars toexchange thoughts and conduct academic communication, promotedisciplinary crossing and academic innovation, and jointly build aworld-class university and develop academic disciplines.SUSTech is striving to build itself into a top researchuniversity with distinctive strength and uniqueness both in Chinaand the rest of the world through recruiting and trainingworld-class talents and vigorous efforts in pursing excellence. TheSchool of Medicine will provide recruited applicants with globallycompetitive remunerations, first-class research laboratories andplatforms, and excellent living facilities for themselves and theirfamilies.

Introduction to the School of Medicine ofSUSTech

The School of Medicine of SUSTech was founded in 2018.Based in Shenzhen, it is positioned as an internationalizedhigh-level research school of medicine featuring the integration ofmedicine with sciences, engineering, and humanities. Itsmission is to train and foster leading medical talents who willpossess ethical integrity, professional competence andinternational vision.

Taking the advantage of strong science and engineeringdisciplines of SUSTech, the School of Medicine will establish asystem of new medicine to achieve interdisciplinary developmentbetween medicine and engineering, the humanities and sciences, withclinical medicine as the core focus. Through such integration ofmedicine with engineering, sciences and the humanities and bydrawing on the experience of medical education models both in Chinaand abroad, the School of Medicine is striving to build itself intoa base for cultivating world-class medical talents withmultidisciplinary capabilities to meet the strategic demands forhealth development at the municipal, provincial and nationallevels.

The School of Medicine has an internationally competitiveleadership team. Mingzhao Xing, M.D., Ph. D., the foundingDean of the School of Medicine of SUSTech, is a tenured Professorof Medicine (LOA) of the Johns Hopkins University School ofMedicine and an elected member of the Association of AmericanPhysicians, who joined SUSTech full time for his leadership role atthe School of Medicine. He is an internationally renownedphysician-scientist and American Board-certified clinical expert inendocrinology and thyroid medicine. Under the leadership ofDean Xing, the School of Medicine has in short time built a strongleadership team and a unique and efficient administrativeorganizational structure. Professor Xiao Guozhi, a formertenured professor at Rush University in Chicago, serves as theAssociate Dean in charge of scientific research and graduatestudies and Professor Zhang Wenyong, a USA-trained M.D., Ph.D andAmerican Board-certified pathologist, serves as the Associate Deanin charge of undergraduate education. Seven basicadministrative units have been established in the Medical School,now in their full functional operation, including the Deansoffice, the office of human resource, the office of teachingaffairs, the office of scientific research, the office of studentsaffairs, the office of graduate student affairs, and the office offinancial affairs. The School of Medicine has a total of 148employees (including visiting scholars).

The 2019 Global Scientist Interdisciplinary Forum of SUSTechattracted more than 80 outstanding talents from both China andabroad. More are expected to come this year. In the last 1-2years the School of Medicine has built a strong faculty, currentlywith 31 core tenured or tenure-track members (including some toarrive). These include one academician of the Chinese Academy ofSciences and five chair professors. There are additional 12 facultymembers on the research track at the Research Assistant/AssociateProfessor levels. Among these faculty members there are 40person-times of outstanding academic talent honor titles at thenational, provincial and municipal levels. There arecurrently 11 postdoctoral fellows, with an expected rapid growth inthe near future. All members in the individual facultymembers research team in the School of Medicine has a master orhigher education degree.

The School of Medicine has established eight departments,including Department of Medical Neurosciences, Department ofPharmacology, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Human CellBiology and Genetics, Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology,Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Department ofPathology, and Department of Oncology. Additionally, theDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology is currently indevelopment. It also has two specially designated scientificresearch platforms the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory forCell Microenvironment and Disease Research and the SUSTech PainMedicine Center.

The School of Medicine currently has two core undergraduateeducation programs--clinical medicine and biomedicine, with severalmore to be developed in the next few years. The SUSTech also has astrategic plan to collaborate with King's College London (UK) inbuilding a joined international medical education program or joinedmedical school. The School presently enrolls graduatestudents for master and doctoral degrees in biology and iscurrently in the process of applying for accreditation for offeringmaster and doctoral degrees in clinical medicine.

Benefited from the excellent resources in Guangdong Province andShenzhen Municipality as well as SUSTech, the School of Medicinehas, in its relatively short history, achieved remarkablescientific accomplishments. By October 2020, it has published140 scientific papers and has been awarded 46 government-sponsoredresearch grants of a total monetary value of 40.6374 millionYuan. The School has organized 98 major academicseminars.

The School of Medicine has ten hospitals with direct affiliationor with a collaboration relationship. These include threedirectly affiliated hospitals the First Affiliated Hospital ofSUSTech (Shenzhen Peoples Hospital), the Second AffiliatedHospital of SUSTech (The Third Peoples Hospital of Shenzhen), andthe Third Affiliated Hospital of SUSTech (formerly XiliHospital). The main tertiary hospital of the School ofMedicine its own in adjacency with the campus of the School ofMedicine is currently under designing and its construction willstart soon. There is one jointly-funded collaborative hospital(SUSTech Yantian Hospital) and five teaching hospitals (theShenzhen Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of MedicalSciences, the Shenzhen Kangning Psychiatry Hospital, the ShenzhenChildrens Hospital, the Shenzhen Hospital of Peking University,and the Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital).

The core moral value of the School of Medicine includescivility, team spirit, cooperation, harmony, respect, inclusivenessand mutual help to form a unique cultural atmosphere. The Schoolpromotes diverse cultural pursuits and supports and organizes avariety of cultural activities among students and employees. Thispositive cultural atmosphere is seen in the student dormitories,class rooms, laboratories, conference rooms, offices and everywherein the School of Medicine. The School of Medicine is dedicated tocreating a learning and working atmosphere commensurate with thecore humanity value of medical science.

The School of Medicine at SUSTech will strive towards the goalof building itself into a world-class school of medicine, fosteringgenerations of motivated, responsible and capable physicianscientists who are both outstanding research scientists and skilledclinicians. This is to generate and provide outstandingleaders in clinical medicine and biomedicine to the GuangdongHongKongMacao Greater Bay Area, the country of China, and theworld.

1. Forum Schedule

Date of Main online Forum: January 9,2021 (Saturday)

9 a.m. Beijing Time, Main forum live9 p.m. Beijing Time, Mainforum replay

Date of Sub-forum Presentation: January 10-17, 2021

2. Recruiting Categories

3. Application Materials and Methods

1) Application materials

Resume

Cover letter

Representative papers (published in the previous 5 years),representative work

Honors and awards

Research proposal

How to apply

Please submit all your application materials to the Mailbox ofHuman Resources Office of School of Medicine(hr-med@sustech.edu.cn) and entitledSUSTech Global Scientist Interdisciplinary ForumApplication-School of Medicine-OutstandingFaculty/Young Faculty/Post-doctoralTalents(choose one from the three) for evaluation. Wewill evaluate your application and send out invitations as soon aspossible. Please send materials at your earliest convenience sincethe registration is limited.

Application due date:

December 31, 2020

Successful applicants will receive the invitation before January5, 2021.

4.ContactInformation

Miss. Wang

Tel: +86-755-88018031

Email: hr-med@sustech.edu.cn

5. Qualifications and Benefits

Outstanding Faculty (Chair Professor /Professor)

1.Requirements

Candidate of national-level talent programstenured professor orassociate professor of overseas well-known universities or researchinstitutions, leading talent with internationally recognizedachievements.

2.Support Policies

Research fundswill be discuss case by case.

Group support: At least 1 PhD student per year andunlimited numbers of post-doctoral fellows in support.Self-determination of hiring research assistant professors (RAPs)with competitive research funding support for RAPs.

Lab space about 150 square meters per person.

3.Remuneration

Salary: Globally competitive salary; Preferential policy ofindividual income tax, income tax of qualified high-level talentswill be compensated by local government to a maximum of 15% (taxfree).

Insurances: Shenzhens highest level of retirement insurance,medical insurance, unemployment insurance, industrial injuryinsurance, maternity insurance and housing provident funds. Specialhigh-level health insurance is negotiable.

4.Benefits

Housing and subsidies: Temporary on-campus apartments providedor subsidies to support off-campus rental housing. No less than CNY4.5 million living and housing subsidies (tax free) for scholars ofnational-level talent programs. An extra yearly subsidy of CNY500,000 will be awarded to scholars within Pearl River TalentsPlan (longest duration 5 years).

Other benefits: Permanent residence or resident visa service forscholars and family (spouse and children); Service of childrenseducation in SUSTech affiliated preschool, primary school andmiddle school; Spouses employment service.

Young Faculty (Associate / Assistantprofessor)

1. Requirements

Under the age of 40.

Doctoral degree obtained from internationally renowneduniversities and institutes; or Ph.D. degrees from Chineseuniversities and more than 36 months of overseas work experience,with a formal teaching or research position in famous overseasuniversities and research institutes.

2.SupportPolicies

Research funds: Up to CNY 12 million / 6 million in researchstart-up funding is provided by local government and the universitywithin 5 years.

Group support: At least 1 PhD student per year and unlimitednumbers of post-doctoral fellows in support. Self-determination ofhiring research assistant professors (RAPs) with competitiveresearch fund support for RAPs.

Lab space of approx. 150 square meters per person.

3.Remuneration

Salary: Globally competitive salary; Preferential policy ofindividual income tax, income tax of qualified high-level talentswill be compensated by local government to a maximum of 15% (taxfree).

Insurances: Shenzhens highest level of retirement insurance,medical insurance, unemployment insurance, industrial injuryinsurance, maternity insurance and housing provident funds. Specialhigh-level health insurance is negotiable.

4.Benefits

Housing and subsidies: Temporary on-campus apartments providedor subsidies to support off-campus rental housing. No less than CNY2.75 million living and housing subsidies (tax free) for scholarsof national-level talent programs. An extra yearly subsidy of CNY500,000 will be awarded to scholars within Pearl River TalentsPlan (longest duration 5 years).

Other benefits: Permanent residence or resident visa service forscholars and family (spouse and children); Service of childrenseducation in SUSTech affiliated preschool, primary school andmiddle school; Spouses employment service.

Post-doctoral Talents

1.Requirements

Under the age of 35

No more than 3 years of obtaining doctoral degree withdemonstrable academic and scientific research excellence.

2.Remuneration

Salary: Pre-tax annual salary not less than CNY 335,000(including provincial and municipal subsidies); For PresidentOutstanding Post-doctors, pre-tax annual salary not less than507,000 CNY (including provincial and municipal subsidies).

Insurances: Shenzhens highest level of retirementinsurance.

3.Benefits

Housing and subsidies: Temporary on-campus apartments providedor subsidies to support off-campus rental housing. No lessthan CNY 1.6 million living and housing subsidies (tax free) forscholars who meet the requirements of high-level talents inShenzhen.

Other benefits: Permanent residence or resident visa service forscholars and family (spouse and children); Service of childrenseducation in SUSTech affiliated preschool, primary school andmiddle school.

Welcome all eligible scholars at home and abroad to apply andattend

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Introduction to the Global Scientist Interdisciplinary Forum job with Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) | 302819 - The Chronicle...

Embryology

Merck Foundation CEO and DR Congo First Lady mark the International day of ‘Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls’ after appointing her as…

DR Congo First Lady partners with Merck Foundation (http://www.Merck-Foundation.com) to build healthcare capacity, break infertility stigma and empower girls through education; Merck Foundation CEO underscored their long term commitment to the social and economic development of Democratic Republic of The Congo through their partnership with The First Lady and Ministry of Health.

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, underscored their long term commitment through starting their partnership with The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo, H.E. Madam DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI.

During the high level meeting held this week, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, appointed The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo as The Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother to work closely with Merck Foundation to break the stigma of infertility , build healthcare capacity , and empower girls through education in the country.

H.E. Madam DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother emphasized, I am very happy to partner with Merck Foundation and start their valuable programs in our country as their Ambassador. These programs will help us to transform our public health care sector and create a future shift to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, health and change of mindset as well as empower girls through education which is very close to my heart.

Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President, Merck More Than a Mother emphasized, I am very proud of our partnership with The First Lady Of Democratic Republic of the Congo and welcome her as the Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother, and new member of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative-MFFLI. With the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, building healthcare capacity is of the highest importance, and through our partnership, we are planning to provide specialty training to equip the local doctors with the skills they need to improve access to equitable and quality healthcare solutions.

Along with appointing The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo as the Ambassador of Merck More Than A Mother, Merck Foundation also marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations, and on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, We must work together to eliminate violence against women and girls once and for all Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.

Merck Foundation has enrolled 32 doctors from Democratic Republic of the Congo to master course in Diabetes in French accredited by Diabetes UK as part of their Diabetes Blue Point Program to help the doctors prevent and manage the disease in their communities.

Merck Foundation has also provided Fertility and Embryology training to 5 Doctors from Democratic Republic of the Congo with the aim to establish a strong platform of first Fertility specialists and Embryologists to assist infertile couples in the country as part of their historic campaign Merck More than a Mother.

Merck Foundation has also enrolled 1 Oncologist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of their Merck Oncology Fellowship Program to increase the limited number of oncologists in the country and plans to enroll more doctors after coronavirus lockdown is over.

COVID-19 has severely affected the families of casual and daily workers. To aid this issue, Merck Foundation made a community donation to the casual workers and women to support poor families in Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of their coronavirus response program.

We are also planning to support 20 girl students as part of Merck Foundation Educating Katty which aims to empower girls through education in Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are closely working with The First Lady on this new program with the aim to empower girls through education, added Dr. Rasha Kelej, One of the 100 Most Influential Africans (2019, 2020).

Merck Foundation also announced 9 winners from Democratic Republic of the Congo for their Stay at Home Media Recognition Awards 2020 which been launched earlier this year in partnership with The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo with the aim to build media capacity and raise awareness about Covid-19 pandemic.

The Merck Foundation Stay At Home Media Recognition Awards winners from Democratic Republic of the Congo are:

ONLINE CATEGORY WINNERS:

FIRST Position:

SECOND Position:

PRINT CATEGORY WINNERS:

FIRST Position:

MULTIMEDIA CATEGORY WINNERS:

FIRST Position:

SECOND Position:

THIRD Position:

RADIO CATEGORY WINNERS:

FIRST Position:

SECOND Position:

Jody Daniel Nkashama- Radio Okapi (300 USD)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.

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About Merck Foundation:The Merck Foundation (Merck-Foundation.com), established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit http://www.merck-foundation.com to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media:Merck Foundation, (Merck-Foundation.com)Facebook(bit.ly/2MmUl3p),Twitter(bit.ly/2NDqHLR), Instagram(bit.ly/2MtCKsu), YouTube(bit.ly/318obQe) andFlicker(bit.ly/2P7AICN).

About Merck More Than a Mother campaign:Merck More Than a Mother is a strong movement that aims to empower infertile women through access to information, education and change of mind-sets. This powerful campaign supports governments in defining policies to enhance access to regulated, safe, effective and equitable fertility care solutions. It defines interventions to break the stigma around infertile women and raises awareness about infertility prevention, management and male infertility. In partnership with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Information, Education & Gender, academia, policymakers, International fertility societies, media and art, the initiative also provides training for fertility specialists and embryologists to build and advance fertility care capacity in Africa and developing countries.

With Merck More Than a Mother, we have initiated a cultural shift to de-stigmatize infertility at all levels: By improving awareness, training local experts in the fields of fertility care and media, building advocacy in cooperation with African First Ladies and women leaders and by supporting childless women in starting their own small businesses. Its all about giving every woman the respect and the help she deserves to live a fulfilling life, with or without a child.

The Ambassadors of Merck More Than a Mother are:

H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana

H.E. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of The Gambia

H.E. MONICA GEINGOS, The First Lady of Namibia

H.E. ANGELINE NDAYISHIMIYE,

The First Lady of Burundi

H.E. REBECCA AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady of Ghana

H.E ASSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of Niger

H.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady of Central African Republic

H.E. COND DJENE, The First Lady of Guinea Conakry

H.E. AISHA BUHARI, The First Lady of Nigeria

H.E. HINDA DEBY ITNO, The First Lady of Chad

H.E. CLAR WEAH, The First Lady of Liberia

H.E FATIMA MAADA BIO, The First Lady of Sierra Leone

H.E. ANTOINETTE SASSOU-NGUESSO, The First Lady of Congo Brazzaville

H.E. MONICA CHAKWERA, The First Lady of Malawi

H.E. ESTHER LUNGU, The First Lady of Zambia

H.E. DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, THE First Lady of Democratic Republic of Congo

H.E. ISAURA FERRO NYUSI, The First Lady of Mozambique

H.E. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, The First Lady of Zimbabwe

Merck Foundation launched new innovative initiatives to sensitize local communities about infertility prevention, male infertility with the aim to break the stigma of infertility and empowering infertile women as part of Merck More than a Mother COMMUNITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, such as;

Merck More than a Mother Media Recognition Awards and Health Media Training

Merck More than a Mother Fashion Awards

Merck More than a Mother Film Awards

Local songs with local artists to address the cultural perception of infertility and how to change it

Children storybook, localized for each country

Africanews provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes.

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Merck Foundation CEO and DR Congo First Lady mark the International day of 'Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls' after appointing her as...

Embryology

Tales of pain for couples unable to have children – The Standard

Like for all newlywed couples, life was supposed to follow a certain pattern for Mary when she got married. Get married, enjoy honey moon, get pregnant and enjoy family life. But that was not the case.

I never thought that I would need another woman to carry my child. I thought I was fertile because I come from a lineage of fertile women. But in 2013 I used another womans womb to bring my child into this world, she says.

Mary (not her real name), now 42 years old, recalls how infertility almost ended her marriage a year into the union when they realised there was a problem.

People started talking. Relatives were asking whether I was a real woman. Mary recalls.

I wondered what the definition of a real woman was. For a while, we blocked our ears from the mean comments but two years in, we started looking for answers, she adds.

Heartless in-laws

Mary says they spent a lot of money on in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which was not successful. Before they settled on surrogacy, some relatives had already found a second wife for her husband.

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I was depressed. I had everything I ever wanted: a husband, a well-paying job, a beautiful house, but I couldnt make my husband a father, she says in tears.

It broke my heart when I learnt that my dear in-laws were looking for a replacement for me without even giving me a chance to conceive. But I am happy that my husband stood by me.

In 2013, three years into the marriage, Mary and her husband opted for a surrogate.It was a difficult decision. I felt like I wasnt woman enough. But I went for counseling and the process was easier. We finally found a surrogate, sorted out the finances, and she carried our child. We were in touch with her throughout the pregnancy, Mary narrates.

Although there are couples who prefer not knowing their surrogates, the couple chose to be involved. After the delivery we were in touch for a few weeks, after which she opted to end the communication for personal reasons.

Mary, however, says if shed consulted a specialist a year into her marriage, she could have prevented a lot of heartache.

Dr Wanyoike Gichuhi, a consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist and fertility specialist, says a couple that lives together, not on any birth control method and having regular sexual intercourse, who are not able to conceive within a year of marriage, should seek medical help.

He explains that once certain tests are done, they will determine if the challenge is with the woman or the man or both partners.

Fertility tests for a woman involve hormonal tests such as antimllerian hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone and oestrogen, and pelvic ultrasound and x-ray, Dr Wanyoike explains.

Semen analysis

For men, semen analysis is done to examine its quality among other factors. If indeed there is a problem, assisted reproduction is recommended.

During IVF, the ovaries are stimulated with fertility medicines to produce multiple ova (eggs). The mature eggs are retrieved from the ovaries in an operating theatre and fertilised with the sperms in the laboratory. The embryos are cultured in an incubator where they develop, before being transferred back to the womb, explains Dr Gichuhi.

Data from the Nairobi Fertility Clinic shows that IVF success rates are about 40 per cent in women below the age of 35 years but, as women go beyond the age of 41, they have less than 5 per cent success rates.

The success of IVF depends on many factors, but the age of the woman is the most important factor if she is using her own eggs.

Kenya is lagging behind on legislative framework governing the practise of fertility.

Developed countries like the UK have elaborate and comprehensive regulatory authorities. In the UK, where I trained, there is the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is responsible for ensuring that the fertility clinic and research centre comply with the law and ethics, Dr Gichuchi explains.

Kenyas Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill introduced in the National Assembly by Suba North Constituency Member of Parliament, Millie Adhiambo, is still a long way from becoming law to regulate the practise.

The MP acknowledges that women disproportionately bear the brunt of the stigma when a couple is unable to conceive, yet, she says, science has shown that men also have fertility challenges.

I am childless, and I am not shy about it, but I didnt know the extent of this problem, she says.

I realised that even in Parliament there are several other people who have gotten their children through an assisted reproductive technology but because of the stigma around this, they cannot talk about it publicly, she says.Odhiambo explains that a support group of women with fertility challenges approached her to introduce the Bill in Parliament to protect affected couples from exploitation and stigma.

A couple without a child is stigmatised, with different communities having names for such men and women. Part of the reason for introducing this Bill is to create awareness on this sensitive issue and let people know that you do not have to have a child if you do not want to, and if you are facing challenges, know that there are alternatives.

Modern day surrogacy

She refers to the Bible where a couple who could not have children would get a woman to conceive with the man, an earlier form of surrogacy. Modern day surrogacy is a bit different with IVF playing the crucial role in conception.

Vanessa, 30, decided to be a surrogate for a close relative after they failed to conceive through IVF.

Vanessa decided to help them after having that conversation with a friend two years earlier.

My relatives marriage was on the verge of collapse because of six years of childlessness. I wanted to help, and being their surrogate was the only way I could. They cried when I told them I wanted to be their surrogate. It was a very emotional moment, she recalls.

Vanessa says her relatives and friends were shocked when she told them she was doing it for free. However, she admits that it was a challenge because she had a 1-year-old daughter that she had to stop breastfeeding. I had to stop breastfeeding my baby. It was hard for me, I felt like I was failing my child. But I had chosen to help my relative. The nurses encouraged me on.

Vanessa explains that placing the embryo into her uterus (implantation) was not scary. The transfer was quick and painless, and she did not require medication or anaesthesia.

She was advised to be on bed rest for two weeks, after which she went back to the hospital to confirm the viability of the pregnancy. It was positive.

Prior to the implantation, Vanessas relative decided to also try IVF at the same time one last time, and to their surprise, it was a double blessing that she was also able to carry her pregnancy at the same time.

Vanessa explains that the hardest moment was when she was discharged and had to take the baby to the parents.

My sister came for me and we took the baby to her parents. When we reached their home, I didnt alight from the taxi, I really cried, Vanessa intimates.

But I pulled myself together because I knew this was expected.

Slowly with time, she has adjusted to the reality that the new baby was not hers.

The rest is here:
Tales of pain for couples unable to have children - The Standard

Neuroscience

Informative Report: What will be the future of the Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market – PharmiWeb.com

Pune, New York, USA, November 30 2020 (Wiredrelease) Research Dive :The global neuroscience antibodies & assays market is estimated to surpass $6,159.8 million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 10.2% from 2020 to 2027.

The report aims to offer a clear picture of the current scenario and future growth of the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market. The report provides scrupulous analysis of global market by thoroughly reviewing several factors of the market such as vital segments, regional market condition, market dynamics, investment suitability, and key players operating in the market. Besides, the report delivers sharp insights into present and forthcoming trends & developments in the global market.

The report articulates the key opportunities and factors propelling the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market growth. Also, threats and limitations that have the possibility to hamper the market growth are outlined in the report. Further, Porters five forces analysis that explains the bargaining power of suppliers and consumers, competitive landscape, and development of substitutes in the market is also sketched in the report.

For More Detail Insights, Download Sample Copy of the Report at: https://www.researchdive.com/download-sample/1843

The report reveals various statistics such as predicted market size and forecast by analyzing the major factors and by assessing each segment of the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market. Regional market analysis of these segments is also provided in the report. The report segments the global market into four main regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and LAMEA. Moreover, these regions are sub-divided to offer an exhaustive landscape of the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market across key countries in respective regions. Furthermore, the report divulges some of the latest advances, trends, and upcoming opportunities in every region.

Furthermore, the report profiles top players active in the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market. A comprehensive summary of 10 foremost players operating in the global market is delivered in the report to comprehend their position and footmark in the industry. The report highlights various data points such as short summary of the company, companys financial status and proceeds, chief company executives, key business strategies executed by company, initiatives undertaken & advanced developments by the company to thrust their position and grasp a significant position in the market.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research report is formed by collating different statistics and information concerning the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market. Long hours of deliberations and interviews have been performed with a group of investors and stakeholders, including upstream and downstream members. Primary research is the main part of the research efforts; however, it is reasonably supported by all-encompassing secondary research. Numerous product type literatures, company annual reports, market publications, and other such relevant documents of the leading market players have been studied, for better & broader understanding of market penetration. Furthermore, medical journals, trustworthy industry newsletters, government websites, and trade associations publications have also been evaluated for extracting vital industry insights.

Connect with Our Analyst to Contextualize Our Insights for Your Business:https://www.researchdive.com/connect-to-analyst/1843

KEY MARKET BENEFITS

This report is a compilation of qualitative assessment by industry analysts, detailed information & study, and valid inputs from industry participants & experts across the value chainAn in-depth analysis along with recent trends of the industry are provided in the report to identify & comprehend the prevailing opportunities and the tactical assessment of the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market growthThe market size and forecasts are derived by scrutinizing market boomers and restraints, and key developments in the Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market marketThe report studies the market from 2019 to 2027 and maps the qualitative impact of several industry factors on market segments as well as geographiesThe development strategies implemented by the key industry players are conscripted in the report to understand the competitive scenario of the global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market marketThe report also offers insights into foremost market players, Porters Five Analysis, and top winning business strategies

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS

The global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market market is segmented on the basis of the following:

Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Market By Product Type:

Consumables, Instruments

Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Market By Applications:

Research, In Vitro Diagnostics, Drug Discovery and Development

Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Market By Regions:

North America (U.S, Canada, and Mexico.)Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe.)Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Rest of APAC.)LAMEA (Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE, Rest of LAMEA)

Top Leading key players stated in Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market Market report are:

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Abcam, Bio-Rad, Merck KGaA, BioLegend, Cell Signaling Technology, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, GenScript, Rockland Immunochemicals, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Siemens, Tecan

The report also summarizes other important aspects including financial performance, product portfolio, SWOT analysis, and recent strategic moves and developments of the leading players.

Contact Us:

Mr. Abhishek PaliwalResearch Dive30 Wall St. 8th Floor, New YorkNY 10005 (P)+ 91 (788) 802-9103 (India)+1 (917) 444-1262 (US) TollFree : +1 -888-961-4454Email:support@researchdive.comLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/research-diveTwitter:https://twitter.com/ResearchDiveFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/Research-DiveBlog:https://www.researchdive.com/blogFollow us on:https://covid-19-market-insights.blogspot.com

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Informative Report: What will be the future of the Global Neuroscience Antibodies & Assays Market - PharmiWeb.com

Neuroscience

MIT study shows how the brain is wired for reactive, reflexive movements – News-Medical.net

When riding your bike to the store you might have two very different reasons to steer: plain old reflex when something dart into your path, or executive control when you see street signs that indicate the correct route.

A new study by MIT neuroscientists shows how the brain is wired for both by tracking the specific circuits involved and their effect on visually cued actions.

The research, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates in mice that neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) area of the prefrontal cortex, a region at the front of the brain associated with understanding rules and implementing plans, projects connections into an evolutionarily older region called the superior colliculus (SC).

The SC carries out basic commands reactive, reflexive key finding of the study is that the purpose of the ACC's connections to the SC is to override the SC when executive control is necessary.

The ACC provides inhibitory control of this ancient structure. This inhibitory control is a dynamic entity depending on the task and its rules. This is how a reflex is modulated by cortical control."

Mriganka Sur, Study Senior Author, Newton Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory

Lead author Rafiq Huda, an assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience at Rutgers University and a former postdoc in Sur's lab, added that by looking at specific circuits between the ACC and both the SC and the visual cortex (VC), the researchers could resolve uncertainty about how the cortex regulates more basic brain regions during decision-making.

"There has been an ongoing debate about what exactly is the role of the cortex in sensorimotor decisions," Huda said. "We were able to provide some answers by looking at the level of different ACC projection pathways, which would not have been possible by looking at all of ACC at once. Our work provides evidence for the possibility that inhibitory control of subcortical structures like the SC is a unifying principle for how the ACC, and the prefrontal cortex generally, modulates decision-making behavior."

To make their findings, the team first traced circuits going into and out of the ACC from both the VC and the SC, confirming that the ACC was in a prime position to integrate and process information about what the mice saw and what to do about it. Throughout the study, they chose to focus on these structures on the left side of the brain.

After tracing these left side ACC-SC and ACC-VC circuits, the team then trained mice to play a video game that required both sensation (seeing a cue on one side of the screen or the other) and action (spinning a trackball to move the cue).

One group of mice had to move the cue inward toward the screen's center. The other group had to move the cue outward toward the screen's edge. In this way, cues could be on either side visually and different groups of mice had to move them according to different rules.

As mice worked, the scientists observed the activity of neurons in the various regions to learn how they responded during each task. Then the researchers manipulated the neurons' activity using optogenetics, a technique in which cells are genetically engineered to become controllable by flashes of light.

These manipulations allowed the scientists to see how inhibiting neural activity within and between the regions would change behavior.

Under natural conditions, the SC would reflexively direct the movement of the mouse's head, for instance swiveling toward a stimulus to center it in view. But the scientists needed to keep the head still to make their observations, so they devised a way for mice to steer the stimulus on the screen with their paws on a trackball. In the paper, they show that these two actions are equivalent for mice to move a cue within their field of view.

Optogenetically inactivating the circuits between the ACC and VC on the brain's left side proved that the ACC-VC connection was essential for the mice to process cues on the right side of their field of view. This was equally true for both groups, regardless of which way they were supposed to move a cue when they saw it.

The manipulations involving the SC proved especially intriguing.

In the group of mice that saw a stimulus on the right and were supposed to move the cue inward to the screen's middle, when the scientists inactivated neurons within the left SC, they found that mice struggled compared to unmanipulated mice. In other words, under normal conditions, the left SC helped to move a stimulus on the right side into the middle of the field of view.

When the scientists instead inactivated input from the ACC to the SC, mice did the task correctly more often than unmanipulated mice. When the same mice saw a stimulus on the left and had to move it inwards, they did the task wrong more often.

The job of ACC inputs, it seemed, was to override the SC's inclination. When that override was disabled, the SC's preference for moving a righthand cue into the middle was unchecked. But the ability of the mouse to move a lefthand stimulus to the middle was undermined.

"Those results suggest that the SC and the ACC-SC pathway facilitate opposite actions," the authors wrote. "Importantly these findings also suggest that the ACC-SC pathway does so by modulating the innate response bias of the SC."

The scientists also tested the effect of ACC-SC inactivation in the second group of mice, whose job was to move the cue outward. There they saw that inactivation increased incorrect responses on right cue trials.

This result makes sense in the context of rules overriding reflex. If the reflex ingrained in the left-brain SC is to bring a righthand cue into the middle of the field of view (by swiveling the head right), then only a functioning ACC-SC override could compel it to successfully move the cue further to the right, and therefore further to the periphery of the field of view, when the task rule required it.

Sur said the findings accentuate the importance of the prefrontal cortex (in this case, specifically the ACC) in endowing mammals with the intelligence to follow rules rather than reflexes when needed. It also suggests that developmental deficits or injury in the ACC could contribute to psychiatric disorders.

"Understanding the role of the prefrontal cortex, or even a segment, is crucial to understanding how executive control can be developed, or may fail to develop, under conditions of dysfunction," Sur said.

Source:

Journal reference:

Huda, R., et al. (2020) Distinct prefrontal top-down circuits differentially modulate sensorimotor behavior. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19772-z.

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MIT study shows how the brain is wired for reactive, reflexive movements - News-Medical.net

Neuroscience

What makes a prize-winning paper? Observations from the 2020 Brain Structure and Function Editors’ Choice Award – On Biology – BMC Blogs Network

Each year, Brain Structure and Function presents an Editors Choice Award in conjunction with the Cajal Club. The winning papers are selected by the journals editorial team, with the prize aiming to celebrate early career researchers and recognize their achievements as they progress in the field of neuroscience.

Ordinarily, these awards are presented as part of a ceremony during the Cajal Clubs annual social at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, one of the largest scientific conferences in the world. Proceedings may have moved online this year, but the award was still an excellent opportunity to showcase authors valued contributions to the journal.

The selection process for the Editors Choice Award is extremely competitive, and consists of multiple stages. Of 222 eligible publications from across 2019, Brain Structure and Functions Associate Editor team nominated a shortlist of 19 papers.

From the shortlist, four panel members each voted on their top picks, from which the winner and runner up emerged.

This years winning papers

The winner of this years award is Hong-Hsi Lee, for his article Along-axon diameter variation and axonal orientation dispersion revealed with 3D electron microscopy: implications for quantifying brain white matter microstructure with histology and diffusion MRI

Lee et al. figure the semi-automatic segmentation process for the inside of axons, as depicted in the winning article.

In this article, electron microscopy images showing the brains of mice are reconstructed. Previous modeling of neuronal tissue has relied on several assumptions about structure, for example that axons (long projections of nerve cells, or neurons) are perfectly cylindrical and even in diameter, or that the bundles of fibers within the axons are oriented consistently.

However, here an algorithm was developed and applied in order to rapidly segment individual constituents of axons, allowing for the calculation of several size-related parameters. While it was found that the distribution of the orientation of fibers within these axons remains stable along their length, the diameter of the axons varies. This means that in tissue microstructure modeling scenarios, an active area of research bridging the gap between the structure and function of the brain, axons should not be modeled as perfectly cylindrical.

At the time of this research being carried out, Hong-Hsi Lee was undertaking his PhD studies at New York University School of Medicine, advised by Els Fieremans and Dmitry S Novikov.

Now a Post-Doctoral Fellow at NYU, Hong-Hsis research projects continue to focus on the validation of biophysical models, analyzing numerical simulations in order to confirm or challenge various assumptions made in their design. Having developed a framework relevant to 3D cells organelles, he is now collaborating with Susie Y. Huang at Massachusetts General Hospital and Jeff W. Lichtman at Harvard University to extend this knowledge into human brain tissues, with promising preliminary results.

2020 winner Hong-Hsi Lee

Additionally, drawing on his statistical modeling skills and further expertise having completed an MD with the National Taiwan University, Dr Lee has undertaken an additional research project this year, looking at the collateral effects of measures against COVID-19 on common infections. His analysis of Taiwans National Health Insurance database showed that following the implementation of measures such as mask wearing and regular hand washing, rates of hospitalization due to other infections have been significantly decreased.

This years runner up prize for the Editors Choice Award went to Habon Issa, for her work as first author on an article comparing the brain microstructure of bonobo and chimpanzees, revealing differences in socio-emotional circuits.

Issa et al. figure a comparison of the proportion of neuropils (structural, connective elements of the brain) between Bonobos and Chimpanzees, alongside a microscopic image of the amygdala nuclei located in the brain)

While humans closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, are also closely related to each other, they show several important differences in behavior. Bonobos social tolerance is high, while chimpanzees are indicated to be more aggressive and territorial.

This study in the journal compared bonobo and chimpanzee brain microstructure, by looking at the ratio of tissue area occupied by structural elements like axons and synapses, against area occupied by cell bodies.

It was found that a higher proportion of axons, dendrites and synapses were found in specific regions of the bonobo brain when directly compared to those regions in the chimpanzee brain. This supports the hypothesis that comparatively increased presence of these connective elements may reflect variation in behavior between bonobos and chimpanzees.

When the research for this article was undertaken, Habon Issa was an undergraduate student at the George Washington University, something senior author Chet Sherwood noted as being particularly impressive upon her nomination for the award.

2020 runner-up Habon Issa

At the time of the articles publication, Habon had moved on to become a research technician in Mark Wus lab at John Hopkins University, studying genes influencing sleep timing and drive. Following on from this, she moved to New York University to begin a PhD with Robert Froemkes lab, identifying the neurons behind maternal motivation for interaction with young.

The key themes running through Habons experiences are her interest in the neuroanatomy, genes and molecular mechanisms relating to social and naturalistic behaviors.

Could you be a winner?

Were delighted that Hong-Hsi and Habon both published their research with Brain Structure and Function, and wish them both the best for their future research careers. The Editors Choice Award runs annually all submissions published in the previous year are eligible for nomination providing that they have a first author who is within the first ten years of their research career.

Want to be in with a chance to be considered for a future Editors Choice Award? Find out more about submitting to Brain Structure and Function.

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What makes a prize-winning paper? Observations from the 2020 Brain Structure and Function Editors' Choice Award - On Biology - BMC Blogs Network

Neuroscience

Conversing with infants may affect their brain circuitry | Stanford News – Stanford University News

While babies arent known for being great conversationalists, talking to them can still be worthwhile. A new Stanford study finds that engaging in conversations with adults may help infant brains develop, especially those areas involved in language comprehension.

Conversing with five- to eight-month-old babies may help their brain development, especially in areas involved in language comprehension. (Image credit: Getty Images)

In a new study, published Nov. 30 in the Journal of Neuroscience, Stanford researchers assessed the brain function of sleeping babies, aged five to eight months old, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. They also outfitted these San Francisco Bay Area infants with a special, wearable device a sort of talk pedometer which recorded at least eight hours of all the nearby, clear speech in their home environments on a typical day.

Using these data, the researchers were able to calculate the quantity of the conversations that babies engaged in with the adults in their environments. Even though infants of this age cant take part in complex conversations, they can babble syllables the building blocks of words in order to respond to their caregivers or to elicit a response.

Before infants are even producing words, our findings indicate that the conversations we have with infants matter for their brain function, said Lucy King, the studys lead author and a doctoral candidate in Stanfords Department of Psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences. There seems to be something special about these conversational dynamics between infants and caregivers, versus just the raw amount of stimulation that infants receive.

Of the 99 infants who completed recordings of their home language environments as part of the observational study, 51 went on to provide fMRI brain scans. Collecting the imaging data for this study wasnt easy, given that infants cant follow directions like being told to be still during scanning. When we started this, no one had scanned infants for research at Stanford, so we had to set up all of the procedures, said study co-author Ian Gotlib, the David Starr Jordan Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and the director of the Stanford Neurodevelopment, Affect and Psychopathology Laboratory, where the research was conducted.

The researchers scheduled the brain scans close to infants bedtimes so that the babies could sleep during scanning. Mothers helped to soothe infants to sleep in the scanning facility. For every scan, there was a researcher who played the role of baby whisperer, designated to monitor the baby throughout the scan. There was also a parent whisperer, who helped support parents and communicate with them about the testing procedures.

The researchers focused their analyses on functional connectivity a measure of how activation in different areas of the brain rises and falls in synchrony in brain regions in the infants temporal cortex that are linked with language comprehension. They found that babies who engaged in more conversations with adults in their everyday lives had less synchronized activation in a network of regions that processes language stimulation.

It is not clear at this point whether the correlation between more conversational turns and lower functional connectivity in the posterior temporal cortex means that lower connectivity is a good or a bad thing, King said. Although we cant know for sure, we speculate that lower connectivity reflects more efficient brain organization.

Interestingly, this brain effect was only observed in babies that adults conversed with directly, and not in those who only overheard speech between other adults. These findings support previous behavioral findings about the importance of direct conversations for a babys language development. Infants experience a really rapid period of brain development during the first, very important year of life, King said.

The Stanford researchers caution that further study is needed to better understand how brain function may be associated with the development of language later on in life. But King says this study helps to establish the importance of continuing to conduct research to understand the role of the early environment in language development so that researchers can identify the factors of the early environment that we might want to target and interventions to help promote infant development.

Using these data, you can imagine interventions, training programs or parenting programs, aimed at increasing these kinds of meaningful back-and-forth conversations, assuming that the associations that we are documenting with the infant brain are going to have significant consequences later in life, Gotlib said.

The lab is following up with participating parents and their infants at 18 months of age to examine how they are developing including looking at empathy, social relatedness, vocabulary and early signs of psychopathology.

The researchers hope their findings can inspire policies or practices to help families in the future.

We, as a society, must support parents so that they have the time and resources to engage in these rich interactions with their infants, King said. Thats especially top of mind right now when so many parents are taxed by everything theyre juggling childcare, work and the chronic stress of the pandemic.

Additional co-authors on the study, titled Naturalistic Language Input is Associated with Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Infancy, include Kathryn L. Humphreys, now an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University; M. Catalina Camacho, now a neuroscience doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis; and David Montez, now a postdoc researcher at Washington University in St. Louis.

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health (Grant numbers R21 MH111978 and R2131 HD090493), the National Science Foundation and the Jacobs Foundation.

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Conversing with infants may affect their brain circuitry | Stanford News - Stanford University News