julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Stable isotope signatures of large herbivore foraging habitats across Europe
2018-01-02

We investigated how do environmental and climatic factors, but also management, affect the carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope composition in bone collagen of the two largest contemporary herbivores: European bison (Bison bonasus) and moose (Alces alces) across Europe. We also analysed how different scenarios of population recovery- reintroduction in bison and natural recovery in moose influenced feeding habitats and diet of these two species and compared isotopic signatures of modern populations of bison and moose (living in human-altered landscapes) with those occurring in early Holocene. We found that δ13C of modern bison and moose decreased with increasing forest cover. Decreasing forest cover, increasing mean annual temperature and feeding on farm crops caused an increase in δ15N in bison, while no factor significantly affected δ15N in moose. We showed significant differences in δ13C and δ15N among modern bison populations, in contrast to moose populations. Variation in both isotopes in bison resulted from inter-population differences, while in moose it was mainly an effect of intra-population variation. Almost all modern bison populations differed in δ13C and δ15N from early Holocene bison. Such differences were not observed in moose. It indicates refugee status of European bison. Our results yielded evidence that habitat structure, management and a different history of population recovery have a strong influence on foraging behaviour of large herbivores reflected in stable isotope signatures. Influence of forest structure on carbon isotope signatures of studied herbivores supports the "canopy effect" hypothesis.
A systematic review of wild grass exploitation in relation to emerging cereal cultivation throughout the Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic of the Fertile Crescent
2018-01-02

The present study investigates the occurrence of wild grasses at Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic sites in the Near East in order to assess their role in subsistence economies alongside the emergence of cereal cultivation. We use Chogha Golan in the foothills of the central Zagros Mountains (ca. 11.7-9.6 ka cal. BP) as a case study, where the archaeobotanical data suggest the frequent exploitation of a complex of wild grasses for almost 2,000 years. Domesticated emmer replaced these wild grasses as the major food resources towards the end of occupation at the site (ca. 9.8 ka cal. BP). We discuss possible implications of this development and conclude that the traditional concept of pre-domestication cultivation seems unsuited for explaining the patterns from Chogha Golan. These data are in good accordance with the overall picture in the Zagros Mountains, where wild grasses were routinely gathered throughout the early Holocene. In contrast, wild grasses were gradually replaced by wild cereals in the Levantine corridor since the end of the Pleistocene. However, several sites located in this region provide evidence for a continuous exploitation of wild grasses alongside emerging cereal cultivation and most of these taxa were part of the earliest segetal floras that evolved with the appearance of domestic cereals throughout the 11th millennium cal. BP. Some sites contemporary to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B still provide evidence for the usage of wild grasses, which possibly reflects the utilization of edible arable weeds and continuous gathering of wild grasses by more mobile groups.
The Vivarium: Maximizing Learning with Living Invertebrates—An Out-of-School Intervention Is more Effective than an Equivalent Lesson at School
2018-01-02

The introduction of living invertebrates into the classroom was investigated. First, possible anchor points for a lesson with living invertebrates are explored by referring to the curriculum of primary/secondary schools and to out-of-school learning. The effectiveness of living animals for increasing interest, motivation, and achievement in recent research is discussed. Next, the Vivarium, an out-of-school learning facility with living invertebrates, is described. The effects of an intervention study with living invertebrates on achievement are then investigated at school (School condition) and out of school (University condition); a third group served as a control condition. The sample consisted of 1861 students (an age range of 10–12 years). Invertebrate-inspired achievement was measured as pre-, post-, and follow-up-tests. Measures of trait and state motivation were applied. The nested data structure was treated with three-level analyses. While achievement generally increased in the treatment groups as compared to the control group, there were significant differences by treatment. The University condition was more effective than the School condition. Achievement was positively related to conscientiousness/interest and negatively to tension. The study concludes that out-of-school learning offers achievement gains when compared to the same treatment implemented at school. The outlook focuses on further research questions that could be implemented with the Vivarium.
Integrating Covariates into Social Relations Models: A Plausible Values Approach for Handling Measurement Error in Perceiver and Target Effects
2018-01-02

The Social Relations Model (SRM) is a conceptual and analytical approach to examining dyadic behaviors and interpersonal perceptions within groups. In an SRM, the perceiver effect describes a person's tendency to perceive other group members in a certain way, whereas the target effect measures the tendency to be perceived by others in certain ways. In SRM research, it is often of interest to relate these individual SRM effects to covariates. However, the estimated individual SRM effects might not provide a very reliable measure of the true, unobserved SRM effects, resulting in distorted estimates of associations with other variables. This article introduces a plausible values approach that allows users to correct for measurement error when assessing the association of individual SRM effects with other individual difference variables. In the plausible values approach, the latent, true individual SRM effects are treated as missing values and are imputed from an imputation model by applying Bayesian estimation techniques. In a simulation study, the statistical properties of the plausible values approach are compared with two approaches that have been used in previous research. A data example from educational psychology is presented to illustrate how the plausible values approach can be implemented with the software WinBUGS.
Trustful behaviour is meaningful behaviour: Implications for theory on identification-based trusting relations
2018-01-02

This article emphasises that trustful behaviour is meaningful behaviour which communicates that the interaction partner is perceived as a trustworthy actor. It shows how this almost trivial insight can enrich our theoretical understanding of trusting relations in a significant way. Three assumptions will be derived which emphasise the relational character of trust and which focus on causal and constitutive interactions between trustful behaviour and certain inter-subjective structures in which a relationship is embedded: first, trustful behaviour (re-)produces shared social identity; second, trustful behaviour satisfies the socio-emotional needs of the trusted actor; and third, trustful behaviour complies with a social norm and obligation to trust. These assumptions will be applied for a theoretical analysis of processes of building and maintaining identification-based trusting relations. It will be highlighted that the active celebration of trustful behaviour itself is necessary for the (re-)production of the socio-emotional foundation of an identification-based trusting relationship. Moreover, the theoretical analysis will provide a discussion of appropriate and effective reassurance strategies which actors may follow in times of uncertainty and doubt. In sum, the article provides a new perspective on the relationship between trust and risk: not only trustful behaviour is (objectively) risky, but also the refusal of trust. Actors who unnecessarily refuse to engage in trustful behaviour risk deteriorating the relationship.
Why does theory matter? Reflections on an apparently self-evident question in sport sociology
2018-01-02

In a seminar on the social determinants of physical activity, we recently had a discussion about the risks of TV viewing for the development of children. Referring to several studies (Dennison, Erb...
Alpha-band lateralization during auditory selective attention for brain–computer interface control
2018-01-02

In this paper, we investigated selective attention to auditory stimuli as a control mechanism for a Brain–Computer Interface (BCI). For BCIs using visual stimuli, the use of steady state or code modulated visual evoked potentials yields high performance. In this work, these approaches were transferred and tested in the auditory domain. The attentional modulation of code-modulated auditory evoked potentials (c-AEPs) and steady state auditory evoked potentials (SSAEPs) showed only a small effect, which is not sufficient for BCI control. However, for both kinds of stimuli, we found a spatial attention-related alpha-band lateralization that allows classification accuracies above 70% and thereby can be used for controlling a BCI.
Airborne observations of newly formed boundary layer aerosolparticles under cloudy conditions
2018-01-02

Abstract. This study describes the formation of freshly formed boundary layer aerosol particles under classical called non favourable conditions by the existence of low-level strato cumulus clouds. Airborne measurements for vertical profiling atmospheric boundary layer properties and aerosol particles in the diameter range between 5 nm and 10 μm were repeatedly performed with the unmanned aerial system ALADINA (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting IN-situ Aerosol) at the research site of TROPOS (Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research) in Melpitz during three seasons between October 2013 and July 2015. More than 100 measurement flights were performed during this period on 23 different days with a total flight duration of 53 h. On 26 % of the measurement days, new particle formation was measured close to the inversion layer and was observed to be transported downwards during short time intervals of cloud gaps. However, the typical banana shape of new particle formation and growth was not seen at ground, only sporadic events appeared with low particle growth rate and thus might not have been classified as NPF by pure surface studies. This presentation focuses on two cases influenced by the passage of a low pressure system and minimal concentrations of SO2 as indicator for precursor gases at ground; I) on April 4, 2014 by east wind and II) on June 21, 2015 under south-west wind. For a closure, an LES-model output was used for the second study in order to derive a full analysis of atmospheric boundary layer growth over the measurement site at small-scale with high spatial resolution. Pronounced turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat in the vertical distribution initiated fast mixing processes of freshly formed boundary layer aerosol. Furthermore, CO2 and particle fluxes indicated downward transport and high deposition during sporadic nucleation events, so that NPF occurrence above with subsequent downward transport was clearly identified.
Dissociating Controllable and Uncontrollable Effects of Affective Stimuli on Attitudes and Consumption
2018-01-03

This research studies a fundamental and seemingly straightforward question: Can basic advertising elements, such as the presence of attractive imagery, have uncontrollable effects on consumers’ attitudes and consumption decisions? Answering this question is methodologically challenging, because the presence of an uncontrollable process can be masked by a simultaneously operating controllable process. We argue first that existing methods conflate the contribution of both processes and are therefore unable to measure the presence of an uncontrollable process reliably. To solve the conundrum, we present a novel application of processing tree modeling. Evaluative conditioning is employed as a paradigm to study the influence of affective visual stimuli on attitudes and behavior. Across six experiments, we demonstrate the validity of the model parameters estimating controllable and uncontrollable processes. As predicted, the parameter estimate of the controllable process is susceptible to cognitive resources and levels of motivation to exert control. The parameter estimate of the uncontrollable process appears unaffected by these factors. We also demonstrate the external validity of our findings and their relevance to stimuli and instructions typical for consumer research. Finally, we find that controllable and uncontrollable processes are both predictive of product choice and consumption. We discuss implications for consumer protection.
Development and Validation of a Gene Signature for Patients with Head and Neck Carcinomas Treated by Postoperative Radio(chemo)therapy
2018-01-03

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify and independently validate a novel gene signature predicting locoregional tumor control (LRC) for treatment individualization of patients with locally advanced HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) who are treated with postoperative radio(chemo)therapy (PORT-C). Experimental Design: Gene expression analyses were performed using NanoString technology on a multicenter training cohort of 130 patients and an independent validation cohort of 121 patients. The analyzed gene set was composed of genes with a previously reported association with radio(chemo)sensitivity or resistance to radio(chemo)therapy. Gene selection and model building were performed comparing several machine-learning algorithms. Results: We identified a 7-gene signature consisting of the three individual genes HILPDA, CD24, TCF3, and one metagene combining the highly correlated genes SERPINE1, INHBA, P4HA2, and ACTN1. The 7-gene signature was used, in combination with clinical parameters, to fit a multivariable Cox model to the training data (concordance index, ci = 0.82), which was successfully validated (ci = 0.71). The signature showed improved performance compared with clinical parameters alone (ci = 0.66) and with a previously published model including hypoxia-associated genes and cancer stem cell markers (ci = 0.65). It was used to stratify patients into groups with low and high risk of recurrence, leading to significant differences in LRC in training and validation (P &amp;lt; 0.001). Conclusions: We have identified and validated the first hypothesis-based gene signature for HPV-negative HNSCC treated by PORT-C including genes related to several radiobiological aspects. A prospective validation is planned in an ongoing prospective clinical trial before potential application in clinical trials for patient stratification. Clin Cancer Res; 24(6); 1364–74. ©2018 AACR.
Favorable immune signature in CLL patients, defined by antigen-specific T-cell responses, might prevent second skin cancers
2018-01-03

The course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), inducing an immunosuppressed state that also affects T cells as central components of adaptive immunity, predisposes patients to develop second malignancies with skin cancer being the most common. Recently, we found that prevalence of memory T cells with specificity for CLL-associated antigens defined by mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidome analysis correlated with a significant survival benefit. Here, we analyzed our CLL patient cohort for second skin (pre)malignancies and found a significantly lower incidence of skin cancer in the patients showing immune responses to CLL-associated antigens. Surprisingly, CLL-associated antigen-specific immune responses did not associate with clinical characteristics including leukocyte, neutrophil, and thrombocyte count, hemoglobin, immunoglobulin levels, or CD8<sup>+</sup> and CD4<sup>+</sup> T-cell immune status. Our data indicate that the CLL-specific immune signature of a given patient, defined by antigen-specific T-cell responses, might represent an independent marker to identify CLL patients susceptible for the development of skin malignancies.
Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation for Refractory/Relapsed Neuroblastoma
2018-01-04

Pediatric patients with refractory or relapsed metastatic neuroblastoma (NBL) have a poor prognosis despite autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT). Allogeneic SCT from a haploidentical donor has a remarkable alloreactive effect in patients with leukemia; thus, we evaluated this approach in children with very high-risk NBL. We analyzed data from 2 prospective phase I/II trials. A total of 26 patients with refractory (n = 5), metastatic relapsed (n = 20), or locally relapsed MYCN-positive (n = 1) NBL received a median of 17 × 10<sup>6</sup>/kg T/B cell-depleted CD34<sup>+</sup> stem cells with 68 × 10<sup>3</sup>/kg residual T cells and 107 × 10<sup>6</sup>/kg natural killer cells. The conditioning regimen comprised melphalan, fludarabine, thiotepa, OKT3, and a short course of mycophenolate mofetil post-transplantation. Engraftment occurred in 96% of the patients. Event-free survival and overall survival at 5 years were 19% and 23%, respectively. No transplantation-related mortality was observed, and the single death was due to progression/subsequent relapse. The median duration of follow-up was 8.1 years. Patients in complete remission before SCT had a significantly better prognosis than those with residual tumor load (P < .01). All patients with progressive disease before SCT relapsed within 1 year. Grade II and grade III acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurred in 31% and 12% of the patients, respectively. Chronic limited and extensive GVHD occurred in 28% and 10%, respectively. Our data indicate that haploidentical SCT is a feasible treatment option that can induce long-term remission in some patients with NBL with tolerable side effects, and may enable the development of further post-transplantation therapeutic strategies based on the donor-derived immune system.
The NLR family pyrin domain–containing 11 protein contributes to the regulation of inflammatory signaling
2018-01-04

Mammalian Nod-like receptor (NLR) proteins contribute to the regulation and induction of innate and adaptive immunity in mammals, although the function of about half of the currently identified NLR proteins remains poorly characterized. Here we analyzed the function of the primate-specific <i>NLRP11</i> gene product. We show that <i>NLRP11</i> is highly expressed in immune cells, including myeloid cells, B cells, and some B cell lymphoma lines. Overexpression of NLRP11 in human cells did not trigger key innate immune signaling pathways, including NF-κB and type I interferon responses. NLRP11 harbors a pyrin domain, which is responsible for inflammasome formation in related NLR proteins. However, NLRP11 did not interact with the inflammasome adaptor protein ASC, and it did not trigger caspase-1 activation. By contrast, expression of NLRP11 specifically repressed NF-κB and type I interferon responses, two key innate immune pathways involved in inflammation. This effect was independent of the pyrin domain and ATPase activity of NLRP11. siRNA-mediated knockdown of NLRP11 in human myeloid THP1 cells validated these findings and revealed enhanced lipopolysaccharide and Sendai virus-induced cytokine and interferon responses, respectively, in cells with reduced NLRP11 expression. In summary, our work identifies a novel role of NLRP11 in the regulation of inflammatory responses in human cells.
Organozinc Precursor-Derived Crystalline ZnO Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Their Spectroscopic Properties
2018-01-04

Crystalline ZnO-ROH and ZnO-OR (R = Me, Et, iPr, nBu) nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully synthesized by the thermal decomposition of in-situ-formed organozinc complexes Zn(OR)2 deriving from the reaction of Zn[N(SiMe3)2]2 with ROH and of the freshly prepared Zn(OR)2 under an identical condition, respectively. With increasing carbon chain length of alkyl alcohol, the thermal decomposition temperature and dispersibility of in-situ-formed intermediate zinc alkoxides in oleylamine markedly influenced the particle sizes of ZnO-ROH and its shape (sphere, plate-like aggregations), while a strong diffraction peak-broadening effect is observed with decreasing particle size. For ZnO-OR NPs, different particle sizes and various morphologies (hollow sphere or cuboid-like rod, solid sphere) are also observed. As a comparison, the calcination of the fresh-prepared Zn(OR)2 generated ZnO-R NPs possessing the particle sizes of 5.4~34.1 nm. All crystalline ZnO nanoparticles are characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis, electron microscopy and solid-state 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The size effect caused by confinement of electrons’ movement and the defect centres caused by unpaired electrons on oxygen vacancies or ionized impurity heteroatoms in the crystal lattices are monitored by UV-visible spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and photoluminescent (PL) spectroscopy, respectively. Based on the types of defects determined by EPR signals and correspondingly defect-induced probably appeared PL peak position compared to actual obtained PL spectra, we find that it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between defect types and PL peak position, revealing the complication of the formation of defect types and photoluminescence properties.
A novel rapid additive manufacturing concept for architectural composite shell construction inspired by the shell formation in land snails
2018-01-04

State-of-the-art rapid additive manufacturing (RAM)-specifically fused filament fabrication (FFF)-has gained popularity among architects, engineers and designers for the quick prototyping of technical devices, the rapid production of small series and even the construction scale fabrication of architectural elements. The spectrum of producible shapes and the resolution of detail, however, are determined and constrained by the layer-based nature of the fabrication process. These aspects significantly limit FFF-based approaches for the prefabrication and in situ fabrication of free-form shells at the architectural scale. Snails exhibit a shell building process that suggests ways to overcome these limits. They produce a soft, pliable proteinaceous film-the periostracum-which later hardens and serves, among other functions, as a form-giving surface for an inner calcium carbonate layer. Snail shell formation behavior is interpreted from a technical point of view to extract potentially useful aspects for a biomimetic transfer. A RAM concept for the continuous extrusion of thin free-form composite shells inspired by the snail shell formation is presented.