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Tag Archives: Specific
The Image You See First In This Visual Test Reveals Your Specific Love Language – YourTango
- The Image You See First In This Visual Test Reveals Your Specific Love Language YourTango
- What you see first in this optical illusion reveals whether you’re ultra sensitive or morally strong… The US Sun
- Optical illusion reveals whether YOU are an empath or the natural-born star of the show – and it all depends o Daily Mail
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Musk tells court he lacked ‘specific’ funding to take Tesla private | Elon Musk
Elon Musk expected strong financial support when he tweeted that he would take Tesla private in 2018, but lacked specific commitments from potential backers, according to testimony he gave on his third day of questioning in a San Francisco federal court.
Musk is accused of defrauding investors by driving up the price of Tesla stock by tweeting on 7 August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take the electric carmaker private.
The trial is testing whether the world’s second-richest person can be held liable for his use of Twitter. At stake are millions of dollars for shareholders who claim they suffered losses after Musk tweeted that “investor support is confirmed” for the deal.
Tesla’s stock price surged after Musk’s tweets, and later fell as it became clear the buyout would not happen.
Musk told the jury on Tuesday that he could have drawn upon several sources of financing to take Tesla private, from existing shareholders like Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund or his own fortune.
“Funding was absolutely not an issue,” Musk said. “It was quite the opposite.”
Musk, however, acknowledged he did not have binding agreements with investors, leaving it to the jury to decide if he misled shareholders.
A jury of nine will decide whether the Tesla CEO artificially inflated the company’s share price by touting the buyout’s prospects.
Responding to questions from his lawyer Alex Spiro, Musk said that his tweet was intended to inform investors about his interest in taking Tesla private. Musk said he had already discussed his interest with the Tesla board and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and he feared it would leak to the media.
“I had no ill motive,” he said. “My intent here was to do the right thing for shareholders.”
The Saudi fund did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Musk told the jury he decided to drop the idea of taking the company private after getting feedback from shareholders.
“After talking to a number of investors, especially the smaller investors, they said they would prefer a Tesla that remained public and I felt it was important to be responsive to their wishes,” Musk testified.
The jury was shown notes and documents from a board meeting in the days after the tweet at which Goldman Sachs, which was working with Musk on the proposed deal, had indicated there would be more than enough funding to take the company private.
Goldman Sachs did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
But when questioned by Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer for the investors, Musk said he did not have binding agreements for financing from any interested party.
Musk repeatedly resisted the “yes” or “no” responses sought by Porritt about discussions over funding pledges by the Saudi fund, prompting the judge at one point to help with the questioning.
“Was a specific number discussed?” the judge asked.
“Not a specific number,” Musk said.
On Monday, Musk said he could have financed the deal by selling his stake in SpaceX, the aerospace company where he is also chief executive officer. He has also said he believed financing had been pledged by the Saudi fund, before they backpedalled.
The tweet has already resulted in a $40m settlement with securities regulators.
After it became apparent that the money was not in place to take Tesla private, Musk stepped down as Tesla’s chairman while remaining CEO as part of the Securities and Exchange Commission settlement, without acknowledging any wrongdoing.
The trial is scheduled to continue into next week with testimony by Tesla board members and experts.
Reuters contributed to this report
Human Cocaine and Heroin Addiction Is Found Tied to Impairments in Specific Brain Circuit Initially Implicated in Animals
Summary: Greater impairment of the prefrontal cortex-habenula pathway was correlated with earlier age of first drug use.
Source: Mount Sinai Hospital
White matter in the brain that was previously implicated in animal studies has now been suggested to be specifically impaired in the brains of people with addiction to cocaine or heroin, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Baylor College of Medicine.
The study was published October 6 in Neuron.
The study looked at the connectivity of the tract between the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a brain region critical for regulating higher-order executive functions, and the habenula, a region that plays a critical role in reward and reward-associated learning.
The habenula has emerged as a key driver of drug-seeking behaviors in animal models of addiction. Specifically, signaling from the PFC to the habenula is disrupted in rodent cocaine addiction models, implicating this PFC-habenula circuit in withdrawal and cue-induced relapse behaviors.
However, until now, the PFC-habenula path has remained poorly understood in the human brain. Furthermore, its involvement in the neuropathological effects of drugs other than cocaine has not been previously explored.
For the first time in the human brain, a team led by Rita Z. Goldstein, PhD, and Junqian Xu, PhD, used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tractography to investigate the microstructural features of the PFC-habenula circuit in people with cocaine or heroin addiction compared to healthy control participants.
Diffusion MRI tractography uses noninvasive brain imaging to model fiber bundles in the living human brain.
Dr. Goldstein is the Mount Sinai Professor in Neuroimaging of Addiction and Director of the Neuroimaging of Addictions and Related Conditions Research Program at Icahn Mount Sinai. Dr. Xu is Associate Professor of Radiology, and Psychiatry, at Baylor College of Medicine.
“In addition to identifying microstructural differences, specifically reduced coherence in the orientation of the white matter fibers in the cocaine-addicted group that comprised both current cocaine users and those with short-term abstinence, we extended results beyond cocaine (a stimulant) to heroin (an opioid), suggesting that abnormalities in this path may be generalized in addiction,” said Sarah King, a PhD student in Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn Mount Sinai, who led the analyses and is first author of the paper.
“Importantly, we found that across all addicted individuals, greater impairment was correlated with earlier age of first drug use, which points to a potential role for this circuit in developmental or premorbid risk factors.”
The results advance ongoing research in the field by targeting a previously unexplored circuit in the pathophysiology of addiction in humans, where deficits may predispose an individual to both the development of drug addiction and to relapse and which may be potentially amenable for individually tailored treatment or prevention efforts.
About this addiction and neuroscience research news
Author: Elizabeth Dowling
Source: Mount Sinai Hospital
Contact: Elizabeth Dowling – Mount Sinai Hospital
Image: The image is credited to Mount Sinai Hospital
Original Research: Closed access.
“Prefrontal-habenular microstructural impairments in human cocaine and heroin addiction” by Rita Z. Goldstein et al. Neuron
Abstract
See also
Prefrontal-habenular microstructural impairments in human cocaine and heroin addiction
Highlights
- Diffusion MRI tractography models a plausible PFC-Hb connection in human brain
- People with cocaine addiction showed reduced PFC-Hb microstructural coherence
- Results showed a similar pattern in heroin addiction, extending preclinical models
- Impairments were associated with earlier onset of drug use in the addiction groups
Summary
The habenula (Hb) is central to adaptive reward- and aversion-driven behaviors, comprising a hub for higher-order processing networks involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Despite an established role in preclinical models of cocaine addiction, the translational significance of the Hb and its connectivity with the PFC in humans is unclear.
Using diffusion tractography, we detailed PFC structural connectivity with the Hb and two control regions, quantifying tract-specific microstructural features in healthy and cocaine-addicted individuals. White matter was uniquely impaired in PFC-Hb projections in both short-term abstainers and current cocaine users.
Abnormalities in this tract further generalized to an independent sample of heroin-addicted individuals and were associated, in an exploratory analysis, with earlier onset of drug use across the addiction subgroups, potentially serving as a predisposing marker amenable for early intervention.
Importantly, these findings contextualize a plausible PFC-Hb circuit in the human brain, supporting preclinical evidence for its impairment in cocaine addiction.
FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Specific Ground Beef In HelloFresh Meal Kits Due to Possible E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert due to concerns that ground beef products in HelloFresh meal kits may be associated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 illness. A recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.
The meal kits containing ground beef for this public health alert were shipped to consumers from July 2-21, 2022. The following products are subject to the public health alert [view label]:
- 10-oz. plastic vacuum-packed packages containing “GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN/15% FAT” with codes “EST#46481 L1 22 155” or “EST#46481 L5 22 155” on the side of the packaging.
The ground beef packages bear “EST.46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection and on the plastic ground beef package.
FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state public health partners are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 and raw ground beef is the probable source of the reported illnesses. Traceback information identified that multiple case-patients received ground beef produced at establishment M46841 and distributed by HelloFresh in meal kits from July 2-21, 2022. Traceback of materials used to produce the ground beef is ongoing and FSIS continues to work with suppliers and public health partners on the investigation.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away.
FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart.
Media and consumers with questions regarding the public health alert can contact hello@hellofresh.com or by live chat.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.
WhatsApp is adding the option to hide your ‘Last Seen’ status from specific contacts
This week, WhatsApp began rolling out . And it looks like the company could soon implement another overdue feature. With the latest beta release of its iOS app, WhatsApp has added an option that allows users to limit specific individuals from seeing their “Last Scene” status, according to .
If you’re not familiar with that part of WhatsApp, it’s the feature that indicates when someone last checked the app, and it’s a way to find out if a contact may have potentially seen your message even if they have read receipts turned off. For a while now, WhatsApp has allowed you to limit who sees your status to only your contacts. You can also disable the feature altogether, but you haven’t had the ability to prevent specific individuals from seeing that information.
However, WhatsApp iOS beta version 22.9.0.70 adds a new “My Contacts Except…” option under the Last Seen section of the app’s privacy settings. According to WABetaInfo, adding an individual to that list also prevents you from seeing their status. The outlet says WhatsApp is also implementing more granular privacy controls for both profile photos and about sections. With the feature now in beta testing on both Android and iOS, it likely won’t be long until it’s officially available in WhatsApp.
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There’s a Strange New Discovery About The Brain Structures Involved in Reading Skill
Our ability to look at abstract symbols and map them onto sounds is one of the key skills for becoming a competent reader. In the academic world, this is known as phonological processing, and this skill can vary from person to person, with conditions like dyslexia making it more difficult for some.
In a new study, a team of researchers tested two supposedly opposing hypotheses on how brain structures relate to reading skill, and rather strangely, found some support for both.
The human brain is naturally asymmetrical, and some of the structures on the left side are thought to be involved in language processing; according to the hypothesis called ‘cerebral lateralization’, the more asymmetry here, the better one’s reading ability.
On the other hand, it might also be that the presence of asymmetries in the left part of the brain simply reinforces the traits needed to read – what the team calls the ‘canalization hypothesis’. By that token, having more asymmetry just puts you in the average reading skill range.
It now appears that depending on the level of analysis – whether across the entire brain hemisphere or in specific regions – both hypotheses have merit.
Specifically, the team found that reading ability did indeed increase with greater asymmetry in the left hemisphere, but only when looking at the most asymmetric structure, essentially taking into account the hemisphere as a whole.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from previous research to identify asymmetrical structural differences in the brains of over 700 children and adults.
While similar to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures metabolic activity, MRI scans draw a map of the brain by revealing anatomical structures.
Participants had also been asked to perform reading ability tests, including ones that required them to sound out pseudowords: made-up words which involve a heightened degree of processing because our brains are not conditioned to them – this is called phonological decoding.
Once researchers had determined levels of brain asymmetry, they found that when a person’s most asymmetric left hemisphere brain region was considered, greater asymmetry was associated with better performance in the pseudoword reading task.
“Leftward asymmetry in the size of the superior temporal gyrus, in particular, is classically thought to reflect leftward hemispheric organization for language, which, when disrupted, contributes to poor reading skills according to a cerebral lateralization hypothesis,” the team wrote in the paper.
Under the cerebral lateralization hypothesis, each lobe of the brain is specialized in its ability to do the heavy lifting in specific cognitive tasks. The left side is generally associated with processes related to language, but previous research has suffered from having small sample sizes, and findings that also show activity in the right hemisphere when people perform language-based tasks.
If true, it’s still not clear that the functional differences between the hemispheres depend on their structural differences, but specific regions on the left side of the brain are reliably larger than those same regions on the right.
Meanwhile, the team also found that if certain specific brain regions were more exaggerated in their structural differences between the two lobes, the person was more likely to fall within the average reading ability range.
This fits in line with the canalization hypothesis, which can be visualized as a needle moving along the groove of a record, whereby it maintains a predetermined trajectory. In the case of language processing and reading, protective genetic mechanisms would kick in to develop the necessary brain asymmetries.
Because these mechanisms are reliably expressed, phonological processing is typically constrained within a normal range. The absence of these asymmetries would allow for the unconstrained expression of impaired or elevated abilities.
“Our findings indicate that, at a population level, structural brain asymmetries are related to the normal development of a speech sound processing ability that is important for establishing proficient reading,” says lead author Mark Eckert from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Strangely, performance in the pseudoword reading task was not related to asymmetries in regions of the left hemisphere that are known to be important for specific language functions. This leaves an open question for exactly how these structural asymmetries, at larger scales, affect people’s reading abilities.
“Cerebral lateralization and canalization hypotheses may both have validity but at different scales of cerebral organization and function,” the team concludes.
“A greater degree of asymmetry within the left hemisphere may allow for more efficient phonological processing, perhaps due to greater hemispheric specialization.”
The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Switching off Specific Brain Cells Protects Against Stress
Summary: Using chemogenetic technology to deactivate a small group of neurons in the claustrum made mice more resilient against chronic stress and reduced anxiety behaviors.
Source: Osaka University
It is well known that long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious psychiatric problems. However, the precise mechanisms underpinning the stress response have remained elusive.
Recent advances in microscopic imaging by researchers from Japan have led to the exciting discovery of a small group of brain cells that control stress-induced responses. These cells could be the key to understanding the origin of stress-related mental disorders.
In a study published this month in Science Advances, researchers from Osaka University discovered a small group of brain cells in the claustrum of mice that controls stress-induced anxiety behaviors.
When these cells were activated using chemogenetic technology, mice exhibited anxiety-related behaviors, whereas deactivation of the cells made mice more resilient against chronic stress.
Until recently, the identification of such small populations of cells using an unbiased and hypothesis-free approach has been challenging because of technical limitations.
Now, the recent development of block-face serial microscopy tomography (known as FAST) by researchers at Osaka University has made this possible. This technique allowed the researchers to examine changes in cellular activity at the resolution of a single cell. It is widely understood that the processing of stress relies on the communication between cortical and subcortical regions of the brain; however, the exact mechanism underlying this communication is uncertain, which is what the researchers aimed to uncover using this technique.
The researchers used well-established psychological animal models of restraint and social defeat stress to map patterns of cellular activity in mice that were exposed to stress. Using the FAST technique, the team collected whole-brain images of control mice and mice exposed to these stressful conditions. Of the 22 brain regions studied, the claustrum was identified as a key region that differentiated stressed brains from non-stressed brains:
“A combined approach using brain activation mapping and machine learning showed that the claustrum activation serves as a reliable marker of exposure to acute stressors,” say lead authors Misaki Niu and Atsushi Kasai.
Crucially, by manipulating the activity of these cells using chemogenetic technology, they concluded that the claustrum is crucial for the control of stress-induced anxiety-related behaviors. When the activity of these cells was amplified, mice exhibited anxious behaviors; these could then be reversed by suppressing claustrum cell activity.
“Inactivation of stress-responsive claustrum neurons can serve as at least a partially preventative measure for the emergence of depression-like behavior, and moreover, for stress susceptibility to increase resilience to emotional stress,” explains senior author Hitoshi Hashimoto.
This discovery opens new opportunities for claustrum activity as a new treatment target for anxiety-related conditions and gaining a better understanding of the cause of stress-related disorders.
About this stress research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Osaka University
Contact: Press Office – Osaka University
Image: The image is credited to Atsushi Kasai
Original Research: Open access.
“Claustrum mediates bidirectional and reversible control of stress-induced anxiety responses” by Atsushi Kasai et al. Science Advances
Abstract
See also
Claustrum mediates bidirectional and reversible control of stress-induced anxiety responses
The processing of stress responses involves brain-wide communication among cortical and subcortical regions; however, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.
Here, we show that the claustrum (CLA) is crucial for the control of stress-induced anxiety-related behaviors. A combined approach using brain activation mapping and machine learning showed that the CLA activation serves as a reliable marker of exposure to acute stressors.
In TRAP2 mice, which allow activity-dependent genetic labeling, chemogenetic activation of the CLA neuronal ensemble tagged by acute social defeat stress (DS) elicited anxiety-related behaviors, whereas silencing of the CLA ensemble attenuated DS-induced anxiety-related behaviors.
Moreover, the CLA received strong input from DS-activated basolateral amygdala neurons, and its circuit-selective optogenetic photostimulation temporarily elicited anxiety-related behaviors.
Last, silencing of the CLA ensemble during stress exposure increased resistance to chronic DS. The CLA thus bidirectionally controls stress-induced emotional responses, and its inactivation can serve as a preventative strategy to increase stress resilience.
Aaron Rodgers has specific destinations in place, if he chooses to leave the Packers
Aaron Rodgers reportedly is torn between staying with the Packers or moving on. So if he’ll be moving on, where will he go?
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Rodgers has specific deals lined up with other teams — and those teams have trade compensation lined up with the Packers. The potential moves have been arranged, essentially, with the permission of the Packers.
The destinations are believed to be exclusively in the AFC. To little surprise, the Broncos are one of them. Other viable possibilities are, we’re told, the Titans and Steelers.
To be clear, if Rodgers chooses Denver or Tennesseee or Pittsburgh, the deals will fall into place quickly, both as to the trade terms and as to the contract Rodgers would sign.
Thus, as we understand it, the current question isn’t simply Packers vs. Not the Packers. It’s Green Bay or Denver or Tennessee or Pittsburgh, with the final move hinging on whatever Rodgers decides to do.
Three weeks and one day ago, Rodgers said that he’d take a couple of weeks to contemplate his future, and that his decision would come pretty quickly. He’s now at the point where a decision soon needs to be made. He’s the first domino for the quarterback movement that will occur in the 2022 offseason. And he needs to decide whether he wants to stay with Green Bay in a division that, with him, the Packers can easily control, or whether he wants to jump to the AFC West with the Broncos, the AFC North with the Steelers, or the AFC South with the Steelers.
The clock continues to tick. Rodgers continues to mull over his choices. Time (but not much) will tell what he decides.
Deodorant recall 2021: Procter & Gamble voluntary recalls specific Old Spice, Secret aerosol spray antiperspirant products
Procter and Gamble is recalling 18 Old Spice and secret products because of a cancer-causing chemical.
The aerosol antiperspirants were sold in stores nationwide and online.
The FDA said the products may have benzene, which is known to lead to blood cancers and other blood disorders.
There have been no reports of adverse effects from the products.
The affected products are used as antiperspirant spray products and are packaged in aerosol cans. See below for Product names and UPC codes and further descriptions.
UPC: Description
037000728870: Old Spice Sweat Defense Pure Sport Plus Dry Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 107 g
037000728863: Old Spice Sweat Defense Stronger Swagger Dry Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 107 g
012044029053: Old Spice Sweat Defense Ultimate Captain Dry Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 107 g
056100008965: Secret Baby Powder Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 122 g
037000747765: Secret Outlast Completely Clean Dry Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 107 g
037000747826: Secret Outlast Protecting Powder Dry Spray Antiperspirant/Deodorant 107 g
037000729587: Secret Dry Spray Lavender Anti-perspirant/Deodorant 107 g
037000729600: Secret Dry Spray Waterlily Anti-perspirant/Deodorant 107 g
If you have one of the sprays, you can get in touch with the company to get a refund.
Consumers with questions regarding this recall can seek more information via the Consumer Care team at 888-339-7689 from Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 6:00pm EST or by visiting visit www.oldspice.com or www.secret.com for more information about the impacted products and to learn how to receive reimbursement for eligible products. Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to using these products.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
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