Showing papers by "Boston College published in 2022"
TL;DR: In this article , the authors identify six sEV markers (ENO1, GPI, HSPA5, YWHAB, CSF1R, and CNTN1) that are similarly abundant in sEVs of all cell types.
29 citations
21 citations
TL;DR: The ability to remember events in vivid, multisensory detail is a significant part of human experience, allowing us to relive previous encounters and providing us with the store of memories that shape our identity.
Abstract: The ability to remember events in vivid, multisensory detail is a significant part of human experience, allowing us to relive previous encounters and providing us with the store of memories that shape our identity. Recent research has sought to understand the subjective experience of remembering, that is, what it feels like to have a memory. Such remembering involves reactivating sensory-perceptual features of an event and the thoughts and feelings we had when the event occurred, integrating them into a conscious first-person experience. It allows us to reflect on the content of our memories and to understand and make judgments about them, such as distinguishing events that actually occurred from those we might have imagined or been told about. In this review, we consider recent evidence from functional neuroimaging in healthy participants and studies of neurological and psychiatric conditions, which is shedding new light on how we subjectively experience remembering. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a subset of studies from a previous meta-analysis of 5 decades of youth psychotherapy randomized controlled trials was analyzed, which indicated that higher anti-Black cultural racism was associated with lower effect sizes for studies with majority-Black youth (β = -0.2, 95% CI [-0.35, −0.04], p = .02) but was unrelated to effect sizes of majority-White youth.
Abstract: To examine whether anti-Black cultural racism moderates the efficacy of psychotherapy interventions among youth.A subset of studies from a previous meta-analysis of 5 decades of youth psychotherapy randomized controlled trials was analyzed. Studies were published in English between 1963 and 2017 and identified through a systematic search. The 194 studies (N = 14,081 participants; age range, 2-19) across 34 states comprised 2,678 effect sizes (ESs) measuring mental health problems (eg, depression) targeted by interventions. Anti-Black cultural racism was operationalized using a composite index of 31 items measuring explicit racial attitudes (obtained from publicly available sources, eg, General Social Survey) aggregated to the state level and linked to the meta-analytic database. Analyses were conducted with samples of majority-Black (ie, ≥50% Black) (n = 36 studies) and majority-White (n = 158 studies) youth.Two-level random-effects meta-regression analyses indicated that higher anti-Black cultural racism was associated with lower ESs for studies with majority-Black youth (β = -0.2, 95% CI [-0.35, -0.04], p = .02) but was unrelated to ESs for studies with majority-White youth (β = 0.0004, 95% CI [-0.03, 0.03], p = .98), controlling for relevant area-level covariates. In studies with majority-Black youth, mean ESs were significantly lower in states with the highest anti-Black cultural racism (>1 SD above the mean; Hedges' g = 0.19) compared with states with the lowest racism (<1 SD below the mean; Hedges' g = 0.60).Psychotherapies tested with samples of majority-Black youth were significantly less effective in states with higher (vs lower) levels of anti-Black cultural racism, suggesting that anti-Black cultural racism may be one contextual moderator of treatment effect heterogeneity.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a recursive econometric method has been developed to analyze the temporal stability of Granger-causal relationships among key U.S. macroeconomic series, using Stata.
Abstract: The concept of Granger causality is an important tool in applied macroeconomics. Recently, recursive econometric methods have been developed to analyze the temporal stability of Granger-causal relationships. This article offers an implementation of these recursive procedures in Stata. An empirical example illustrates their use in analyzing the temporal stability of Granger causality among key U.S. macroeconomic series.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a task in which experimental rats were allowed to investigate two conspecifics, one healthy and one sick, to imitate sickness, and found that the insular cortex inactivation via administration of the GABAA agonist muscimol to experimental rats prior to social preference tests eliminated the preference to avoid sick adult conspeccifics.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a reciprocal proximity based biotinylation approach was used to map the basal complex proteome of T. gondii cell division and the resulting map for spatiotemporal dynamics and function by disrupting the expression of components.
Abstract: The basal complex (BC) is essential for T. gondii cell division but mechanistic details are lacking. Here we report a reciprocal proximity based biotinylation approach to map the BC's proteome. We interrogate the resulting map for spatiotemporal dynamics and function by disrupting the expression of components. This highlights four architecturally distinct BC subcomplexes, the compositions of which change dynamically in correlation with changes in BC function. We identify BCC0 as a protein undergirding BC formation in five foci that precede the same symmetry seen in the apical annuli and IMC sutures. Notably, daughter budding from BCC0 progresses bidirectionally: the apical cap in apical and the rest of the IMC in basal direction. Furthermore, the essential role of the BC in cell division is contained in BCC4 and MORN1 that form a 'rubber band' to sequester the basal end of the assembling daughter cytoskeleton. Finally, we assign BCC1 to the non-essential, final BC constriction step.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the associations of family engagement in home learning activities and in early childhood care and education centers (ECCE; e.g., attending meetings or workshops, helping inside the classroom) with young children's emergent literacy and numeracy, social-emotional functioning, motor development, and executive functions, as measured through direct assessment.
7 citations
TL;DR: Elphbolt as discussed by the authors is a modern Fortran (2018 standard) code for efficiently solving the coupled electron-phonon Boltzmann transport equations from first principles. But it does not support parallelization.
Abstract: elphbolt is a modern Fortran (2018 standard) code for efficiently solving the coupled electron-phonon Boltzmann transport equations from first principles. Using results from density functional and density functional perturbation theory as inputs, it can calculate the effect of the non-equilibrium phonons on the electronic transport (phonon drag) and non-equilibrium electrons on the phononic transport (electron drag) in a fully self-consistent manner and obeying the constraints mandated by thermodynamics. It can calculate the lattice, charge, and thermoelectric transport coefficients for the temperature gradient and electric fields, and the effect of the mutual electron-phonon drag on these transport properties. The code fully exploits the symmetries of the crystal and the transport-active window to allow the sampling of extremely fine electron and phonon wave vector meshes required for accurately capturing the drag phenomena. The coarray feature of modern Fortran, which offers native and convenient support for parallelization, is utilized. The code is compact, readable, well-documented, and extensible by design.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors reported the discovery of a novel unidirectional charge density wave (CDW) order on the (001) surface of chiral crystal CoSi -a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions.
Abstract: In Weyl semimetals, charge density wave (CDW) order can spontaneously break the chiral symmetry, gap out the Weyl nodes, and drive the material into the axion insulating phase. Investigations have however been limited since CDWs are rarely seen in Weyl semimetals. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), we report the discovery of a novel unidirectional CDW order on the (001) surface of chiral crystal CoSi - a unique Weyl semimetal with unconventional chiral fermions. The CDW is incommensurate with both lattice momentum and crystalline symmetry directions, and exhibits an intra unit cell π phase shift in the layer stacking direction. The tunneling spectrum shows a particle-hole asymmetric V-shaped energy gap around the Fermi level that modulates spatially with the CDW wave vector. Combined with first-principle calculations, we identify that the CDW is locked to the crystal chirality and is related by a mirror reflection between the two enantiomers of the chiral crystal. Our findings reveal a novel correlated topological quantum state in chiral CoSi crystals and raise the potential for exploring the unprecedented physical behaviors of unconventional chiral fermions.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , a large-scale empirical study of DRO and several variations of standard learning procedures was conducted to identify approaches for model development and selection that consistently improve disaggregated and worst-case performance over subpopulations compared to standard approaches for learning predictive models from electronic health records data.
Abstract: Predictive models for clinical outcomes that are accurate on average in a patient population may underperform drastically for some subpopulations, potentially introducing or reinforcing inequities in care access and quality. Model training approaches that aim to maximize worst-case model performance across subpopulations, such as distributionally robust optimization (DRO), attempt to address this problem without introducing additional harms. We conduct a large-scale empirical study of DRO and several variations of standard learning procedures to identify approaches for model development and selection that consistently improve disaggregated and worst-case performance over subpopulations compared to standard approaches for learning predictive models from electronic health records data. In the course of our evaluation, we introduce an extension to DRO approaches that allows for specification of the metric used to assess worst-case performance. We conduct the analysis for models that predict in-hospital mortality, prolonged length of stay, and 30-day readmission for inpatient admissions, and predict in-hospital mortality using intensive care data. We find that, with relatively few exceptions, no approach performs better, for each patient subpopulation examined, than standard learning procedures using the entire training dataset. These results imply that when it is of interest to improve model performance for patient subpopulations beyond what can be achieved with standard practices, it may be necessary to do so via data collection techniques that increase the effective sample size or reduce the level of noise in the prediction problem.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explore the use of computational tools to discover strains and enzymes that detoxify harmful compounds from the environment, but identifying suitable candidates and improving them remain challenging.
Abstract: Biological organisms carry a rich potential for removing toxins from our environment, but identifying suitable candidates and improving them remain challenging. We explore the use of computational tools to discover strains and enzymes that detoxify harmful compounds.
TL;DR: A sampling system for measuring emissions of nonvolatile particulate matter (NVPM) from aircraft gas turbine engines has been developed to replace the use of smoke number and is used for internatio...
Abstract: A sampling system for measuring emissions of nonvolatile particulate matter (nvPM) from aircraft gas turbine engines has been developed to replace the use of smoke number and is used for internatio...
Scripps Institution of Oceanography1, United States Naval Academy2, University of California, Berkeley3, University of California, San Diego4, University of Wisconsin-Madison5, Sonoma State University6, Queen Mary University of London7, Boston College8, University of California, Davis9, University of Texas at San Antonio10, Harvard University11, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics12, University of Colorado Boulder13, University of Georgia14
TL;DR: In this article , the authors present measurements of gas-phase volatile organosulfur molecules taken with a Vocus proton-transfer-reaction high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer during a mesocosm phytoplankton bloom experiment using coastal seawater.
Abstract: Abstract. The oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS; CH3SCH3), emitted from the surface ocean, contributes to the formation of Aitken mode particles and their growth to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) sizes in remote marine environments. It is not clear whether other less commonly measured marine-derived, sulfur-containing gases share similar dynamics to DMS and contribute to secondary marine aerosol formation. Here, we present measurements of gas-phase volatile organosulfur molecules taken with a Vocus proton-transfer-reaction high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer during a mesocosm phytoplankton bloom experiment using coastal seawater. We show that DMS, methanethiol (MeSH; CH3SH), and benzothiazole (C7H5NS) account for on average over 90 % of total gas-phase sulfur emissions, with non-DMS sulfur sources representing 36.8 ± 7.7 % of sulfur emissions during the first 9 d of the experiment in the pre-bloom phase prior to major biological growth, before declining to 14.5 ± 6.0 % in the latter half of the experiment when DMS dominates during the bloom and decay phases. The molar ratio of DMS to MeSH during the pre-bloom phase (DMS : MeSH = 4.60 ± 0.93) was consistent with the range of previously calculated ambient DMS-to-MeSH sea-to-air flux ratios. As the experiment progressed, the DMS to MeSH emission ratio increased significantly, reaching 31.8 ± 18.7 during the bloom and decay. Measurements of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), heterotrophic bacteria, and enzyme activity in the seawater suggest the DMS : MeSH ratio is a sensitive indicator of the bacterial sulfur demand and the composition and magnitude of available sulfur sources in seawater. The evolving DMS : MeSH ratio and the emission of a new aerosol precursor gas, benzothiazole, have important implications for secondary sulfate formation pathways in coastal marine environments.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors focus on how the accumulation of oxidative charge (holes) on the surface of a catalyst triggers O − O bond formation and discuss recent advances in understanding the factors that drive surface hole formation at specific sites.
TL;DR: This paper evaluated three methods for identifying correlates of binge drinking, comparing logistic regression to two machine learning methods (classification trees and random forests) and found that the random forest analysis more accurately classified positive cases of drinking.
01 Jan 2022
TL;DR: The New Dad studies as discussed by the authors explored the experiences of these fathers on a wide range of issues including their transition to fatherhood, work roles, definitions of success, attitudes on paternity leave and caregiving, and work-family issues.
Abstract: This chapter draws mainly from “The New Dad” studies, a decade long research series done by the Boston College Center for Work & Family which studied the changing role of primarily college-educated, white-collar fathers working in large US-based corporate settings. The series explored the experiences of these fathers on a wide range of issues including their transition to fatherhood, work roles, definitions of success, attitudes on paternity leave and caregiving, and work-family issues.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors argue that both the accumulation of inward FDI and a nation's position in the global network of FDI could facilitate either environmentally beneficial spillover effects and technology transfers or the outsourcing and distancing of environmentally harmful and ecologically unsustainable economic activities.
Abstract: This study offers a new approach to the study of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the environment. We argue that both the accumulation of inward FDI and a nation's position in the global network of FDI could facilitate either environmentally beneficial spillover effects and technology transfers or the outsourcing and distancing of environmentally harmful and ecologically unsustainable economic activities. In other words, the environmental impacts, good or bad, are potentially greater for nations that occupy more central positions in the world's FDI network and for nations with relatively larger amounts of inward FDI. To test these arguments, we estimate cross-national longitudinal models of total carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. The results suggest that both emissions outcomes are positively associated with inward FDI stocks and FDI network centrality for the overall sample of nations, but these positive associations are much more pronounced for Global South nations than for Global North nations. Overall, the findings are consistent with the arguments that foreign investment facilitates the outsourcing of energy inefficiency and environmentally harmful production processes, leading to growth in fossil-fuel consumption and concomitant carbon emissions for receiving nations, especially in the Global South. We conclude by summarizing the limitations of our analysis, and outline some next steps for this new approach to the study of FDI and the environment.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors find only weak evidence that cross-sectional predictors make good time-series predictors, especially out-of-sample, especially in the case of short interest.
Abstract: Abstract Firm-level variables that predict cross-sectional stock returns, such as price-to-earnings and short interest, are often averaged and used to predict market returns. Using various samples of cross-sectional predictors and accounting for the number of predictors and their interdependence, we find only weak evidence that cross-sectional predictors make good time-series predictors, especially out-of-sample. The results suggest that cross-sectional predictors do not generally contain systematic information.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors employ ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine two distinct processes of depoliticization by non-governmental organizations advocating rights for sex workers in China, arguing that the consolidation of state repression of civil society under the Xi regime created an institutional field of power to which two NGOs responded differently.
Abstract: Abstract This article employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine two distinct processes of depoliticization by non-governmental organizations advocating rights for sex workers in China. Drawing upon Bourdieu and institutional theory, we argue that the consolidation of state repression of civil society under the Xi regime created an institutional field of power to which two NGOs responded differently. While one of them relied on government procurement as its major funding source, thus diluting the original mission, the other internalized state rhetoric as it sought political legitimacy through state certification, thus sanitizing its political mission. These distinct responses were then institutionalized into organizational practices, norms and culture. Rather than portraying NGOs in China as either capable political actors or pawns of an authoritarian state, this article illustrates how NGOs are subtly depoliticized by being inculcated in a state-produced, hierarchical social order in which compliance with state norms becomes synonymous with organizational competence.
TL;DR: The majority of Palliative care (PC) clinicians report recently caring for a person with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and the impact of untreated SUD is associated with significant suf....
Abstract: Background:The majority of Palliative Care (PC) clinicians report recently caring for a person with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The impact of an untreated SUD is associated with significant suf...
TL;DR: In this paper , the development of a commitment to antiracist activism among Black and Latinx adolescents over four years of high school was analyzed using a critical consciousness framework to consider participants' descriptions of their developing commitment.
Abstract: This qualitative study considered the development of a commitment to antiracist activism among Black and Latinx adolescents (n = 50) over 4 years of high school. Four waves of interviews with participating adolescents were analysed using a critical consciousness framework to consider participants' descriptions of their developing commitment to antiracist activism and the factors contributing to this development. From these analyses emerged five different trajectories of adolescents' developing commitment to activism that included steady growth over 4 years of high school, more sudden growth in the final years of high school, steady growth in the beginning years of high school followed by subsequent disengagement, and, finally, students whose commitments remained consistently high or low throughout high school.
TL;DR: Li et al. as discussed by the authors quantitatively demonstrate that TMs in solution permeate inside the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which precipitates cell aging following a loss of lithium inventory at the anode.
Abstract: The deployment of energy dense positive electrode materials such as Ni-rich NMC (LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 with 0 < x, y, z < 1 and x + y + z = 1) for Li-ion batteries is plagued by numerous interfacial limitations. Among them, dissolution of transition metals (TMs) was shown to trigger deleterious growth of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and/or lithium plating at the anode. Although numerous post-mortem analysis and cycling data showed a causal relationship between TMs deposition and capacity fading, quantifying and discriminating the major source of degradation proves tedious. Herein, using graphite/LiNiO 2 chemistry, we quantitatively demonstrate that TMs in solution permeate inside the SEI to be reduced, which precipitates cell aging following a loss of lithium inventory at the anode. This loss induces a change in intercalation staging at the graphite anode, allowing the recovery of LiNiO 2 intercalation plateau at high potential, thus leading to a “S”-shape evolution of capacity as function of cycling. Furthermore, aging study in temperature show that TMs do not favor lithium plating but rather destabilize the SEI, especially at high temperature. Beyond the sole understanding of the graphite/LiNiO 2 chemistry, this work offers practical routes towards evaluating LIBs degradations using electrochemical diagnosis methods.
01 Jan 2022
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors analyse internationalisation of higher education and address both degree mobility, study abroad as part of the home degree, online education, and internationalisation at home.
Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis is upending higher education—as well as economies and lives of millions of individuals around the world. What will be the medium- and longer-term implications for international higher education? What will be the impact on international mobility and on internationalisation at home? Will online education take over or will it be more integrated in a hybrid form of education? In this chapter we will analyse internationalisation of higher education and address both degree mobility, study abroad as part of the home degree, online education, and internationalisation at home. Will this crisis be indeed both an end to internationalisation as tradeable commodity and its revival as internationalisation at home?
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors present an extensible framework, Mem3DG, for modeling 3D mechanochemical dynamics of membranes based on discrete differential geometry (DDG) on triangulated meshes.
Abstract: Biomembranes adopt varying morphologies that are vital to cellular functions. Many studies use computational modeling to understand how various mechanochemical factors contribute to membrane shape transformations. Compared with approximation-based methods (e.g., finite element method [FEM]), the class of discrete mesh models offers greater flexibility to simulate complex physics and shapes in three dimensions; its formulation produces an efficient algorithm while maintaining coordinate-free geometric descriptions. However, ambiguities in geometric definitions in the discrete context have led to a lack of consensus on which discrete mesh model is theoretically and numerically optimal; a bijective relationship between the terms contributing to both the energy and forces from the discrete and smooth geometric theories remains to be established. We address this and present an extensible framework, Mem3DG, for modeling 3D mechanochemical dynamics of membranes based on discrete differential geometry (DDG) on triangulated meshes. The formalism of DDG resolves the inconsistency and provides a unifying perspective on how to relate the smooth and discrete energy and forces. To demonstrate, Mem3DG is used to model a sequence of examples with increasing mechanochemical complexity: recovering classical shape transformations such as 1) biconcave disk, dumbbell, and unduloid; and 2) spherical bud on spherical, flat-patch membrane; investigating how the coupling of membrane mechanics with protein mobility jointly affects phase and shape transformation. As high-resolution 3D imaging of membrane ultrastructure becomes more readily available, we envision Mem3DG to be applied as an end-to-end tool to simulate realistic cell geometry under user-specified mechanochemical conditions.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors conducted a survey of 1471 PrEP-experienced GBM in Australia, between October 2019 and March 2020, and assessed awareness and knowledge of the three components of the "2-1-1" ED-PrEP dosing regimen (number of pills for loading dose, timing of loading dose and number of days after sex to take PrEP pills).
Abstract: Event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis (ED-PrEP), when taken according to the "2-1-1" dosing method, is highly effective at preventing HIV acquisition for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM). Any missed doses when using ED-PrEP drastically reduce its effectiveness, so it is vital that people using this method know how to take it correctly. This study investigated Australian GBM's awareness of ED-PrEP and their knowledge of how to take it correctly.We conducted a survey of 1471 PrEP-experienced GBM in Australia, between October 2019 and March 2020. The survey assessed awareness and knowledge of the 3 components of the "2-1-1" ED-PrEP dosing regimen (number of pills for loading dose, timing of loading dose, and number of days after sex to take PrEP pills) among GBM. Characteristics associated with ED-PrEP awareness and correct knowledge of how to take ED-PrEP were assessed with multivariate logistic regression.Two-thirds (n = 1004, 68.4%) had heard of ED-PrEP, of whom only one-eighth (n = 125, 12.5%) knew the correct details of the "2-1-1" ED-PrEP method; one-third (n = 339, 33.8%) did not know any of the 3 key components. Awareness of ED-PrEP and correct knowledge was associated with greater belief in PrEP efficacy, university education, and intention to take a nondaily PrEP regimen in the next 6 months.Although ED-PrEP awareness was considerable, most participants did not know how to use ED-PrEP correctly. Further work is needed to increase awareness and knowledge of ED-PrEP among GBM.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors build an organizing framework for understanding how social perceptions influence consumption at three levels: consumption for self, consumption for others, and consumption within the broader system.
Abstract: This article builds an organizing framework for understanding how social perceptions influence consumption at three levels: consumption for self, consumption for others, and consumption within the broader system. At each level, social others play a distinct role in individuals' consumption behaviors, from passive observers to active agents. Importantly, consumption at each of these levels is characterized by common tensions and misperceptions, which sometimes undermine individuals’ consumption choices, outcomes, and intent. We describe some of the tensions and explore how individuals navigate them. At the end, we discuss how the proposed framework offers exciting opportunities for future research.
TL;DR: A review of the advances made in the care of patients and to the quality of life after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) over the last century is provided in this paper .
Abstract: This review provides a concise outline of the advances made in the care of patients and to the quality of life after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) over the last century. Despite these improvements reversal of the neurological injury is not yet possible. Instead, current treatment is limited to providing symptomatic relief, avoiding secondary insults and preventing additional sequelae. However, with an ever-advancing technology and deeper understanding of the damaged spinal cord, this appears increasingly conceivable. A brief synopsis of the most prominent challenges facing both clinicians and research scientists in developing functional treatments for a progressively complex injury are presented. Moreover, the multiple mechanisms by which damage propagates many months after the original injury requires a multifaceted approach to ameliorate the human spinal cord. We discuss potential methods to protect the spinal cord from damage, and to manipulate the inherent inhibition of the spinal cord to regeneration and repair. Although acute and chronic SCI share common final pathways resulting in cell death and neurological deficits, the underlying putative mechanisms of chronic SCI and the treatments are not covered in this review.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored the expansion of informal property rights documents through the case of chiefs' titles in Zambia, and found that despite their flaws, chiefs’ titles do increase citizens' perceptions of tenure security.
Abstract: Abstract This article explores the expansion of informal property rights documents through the case of chiefs’ titles in Zambia. Entrepreneurial chiefs have created written land rights for citizens on customary land in the form of letters, signed maps, and certificates. These documents are an alternative to state land titling that allows chiefs to maintain their control over land. However, chiefs’ titles are extra-legal: they are enforced by the same traditional leaders who govern unwritten customary rights, raising doubt about whether written land rights can strengthen citizens’ land claims without changing the existing power structures. Evidence from 121 interviews with chiefs, bureaucrats, and smallholder farmers and a survey of over 5,500 citizens shows that, despite their flaws, chiefs’ titles do increase citizens’ perceptions of tenure security. This suggests that informal property rights documents can be a powerful tool in a citizen’s arsenal. Further, these findings illustrate a process of adaptation and change within customary land institutions.
TL;DR: The PyMVPD toolbox as mentioned in this paper is an open source toolbox for multivariate pattern dependence, which includes linear regression models and artificial neural network models of the interactions between regions.
Abstract: Cognitive tasks engage multiple brain regions. Studying how these regions interact is key to understand the neural bases of cognition. Standard approaches to model the interactions between brain regions rely on univariate statistical dependence. However, newly developed methods can capture multivariate dependence. Multivariate pattern dependence (MVPD) is a powerful and flexible approach that trains and tests multivariate models of the interactions between brain regions using independent data. In this article, we introduce PyMVPD: an open source toolbox for multivariate pattern dependence. The toolbox includes linear regression models and artificial neural network models of the interactions between regions. It is designed to be easily customizable. We demonstrate example applications of PyMVPD using well-studied seed regions such as the fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA). Next, we compare the performance of different model architectures. Overall, artificial neural networks outperform linear regression. Importantly, the best performing architecture is region-dependent: MVPD subdivides cortex in distinct, contiguous regions whose interaction with FFA and PPA is best captured by different models.