julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Finding the SNARC Instead of Hunting It: A 20∗20 Monte Carlo Investigation
2017-07-18

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect describes a stimulus-response association of left with small magnitude and right with large magnitude. Usually, it is estimated by means of regression slopes, where the independent variable only has a limited number of levels. Inspection of the literature reveals that it is not difficult to detect a SNARC effect within a group, but it has been quite unusual to find group differences. Is the SNARC effect as it is usually estimated using regression slopes largely insensitive to group differences, and are there design parameters necessary to increase sensitivity in group comparison analyses? Using numerical simulations, we provide evidence that both sample size and the number of stimulus repetitions, as well as intra-individual variability, contribute in a substantial way to the probability of detecting an existing SNARC effect. Our results show that the adequate choice of either sample size or number of repetitions per experimental cell does not fully compensate for a poor choice of the other parameter. Moreover, repeated failures to find significant group differences in the SNARC effect can be explained by insufficient power. Fortunately, increasing the number of repetitions to about 20 and testing at least 20 participants provides in most cases sufficient sensitivity to reliably detect the SNARC effect as well as group differences. Power plots are provided, which may help to improve both the economy and sensitivity of experimental design in future SNARC experiments, or, more generally when regression slopes are estimated intra-individually.
Intrinsic measurement errors for the speed of light in vacuum
2017-07-18

The speed of light in vacuum, one of the most important and precisely\\nmeasured natural constants, is fixed by convention to m/s.\\nAdvanced theories predict possible deviations from this universal value, or\\neven quantum fluctuations of . Combining arguments from quantum parameter\\nestimation theory and classical general relativity, we here establish\\nrigorously the existence of lower bounds on the uncertainty to which the speed\\nof light in vacuum can be determined in a given region of space-time, subject\\nto several reasonable restrictions. They provide a novel perspective on the\\nexperimental falsifiability of predictions for the quantum fluctuations of\\nspace-time.\\n
Nano-sized zeolites as modulators of thiacloprid toxicity onChironomus riparius
2017-07-18

This study investigated whether zeolites of different size (Y30 (nano-sized) and H-Beta(OH)-III (forming large aggregates/agglomerates composed of 50 nm small primary particles)) exerted acute toxicity on larvae of the non-biting midge, Chironomus riparius , and whether such zeolites are able to modulate the toxicity of a common insecticide, thiacloprid, by means of adsorption of a dissolved toxicant. We conducted acute toxicity tests with fourth instar larvae of C. riparius . In these tests, larvae were exposed to zeolites or thiacloprid solely, or to mixtures of both compounds. The mixtures comprised 1.0 μg/L thiacloprid in addition to low (5.2 mg/L), medium (18.2 mg/L), and high (391.7 mg/L) zeolite concentrations, resulting in different adsorption rates of thiacloprid. As biological endpoints, changes in mortality rates and in behavior were monitored every 24 h over a total investigation period of 96 h. Furthermore, we conducted chemical analyses of thiacloprid in the medium and the larvae and located the zeolite particles within the larvae by LA-ICP-MS imaging techniques. Our results demonstrate that both types of zeolites did not exert acute toxicity when applied as single-substances, but led to reduced acute toxicity of thiacloprid when applied together with thiacloprid. These results are in line with the sorption properties of zeolites indicating reduced bioavailability of thiacloprid, although our data indicate that thiacloprid can desorb from zeolites to some extent. While freely dissolved (i.e., non-sorbed) fraction of thiacloprid was a good parameter to roughly estimate toxic effects, it did not correlate with measured internal thiacloprid concentrations. Moreover, it was shown that both zeolite types were ingested by the larvae, but no indication for cellular uptake of them was found.
Affective Aspects of Perceived Loss of Control and Potential Implications for Brain-Computer Interfaces
2017-07-18

Most brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) focus on detecting single aspects of user states (e.g., motor imagery) in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in order to use these aspects as control input for external systems. This communication can be effective, but unaccounted mental processes can interfere with signals used for classification and thereby introduce changes in the signal properties which could potentially impede BCI classification performance. To improve BCI performance, we propose deploying an approach that potentially allows to describe different mental states that could influence BCI performance. To test this approach, we analyzed neural signatures of potential affective states in data collected in a paradigm where the complex user state of perceived loss of control (LOC) was induced. In this article, source localization methods were used to identify brain dynamics with source located outside but affecting the signal of interest originating from the primary motor areas, pointing to interfering processes in the brain during natural human-machine interaction. In particular, we found affective correlates which were related to perceived LOC. We conclude that additional context information about the ongoing user state might help to improve the applicability of BCIs to real-world scenarios.
Peer Review #2 of "Nano-sized zeolites as modulators of thiacloprid toxicity on Chironomus riparius (v0.1)"
2017-07-18

This study investigated whether zeolites of different size (Y30 (nano-sized) and H-Beta(OH)-III (forming large aggregates/agglomerates composed of 50 nm small primary particles)) exerted acute toxicity on larvae of the non-biting midge, Chironomus riparius, and whether such zeolites are able to modulate the toxicity of a common insecticide, thiacloprid, by means of adsorption of a dissolved toxicant.We conducted acute toxicity tests with fourth instar larvae of C. riparius.In these tests, larvae were exposed to zeolites or thiacloprid solely, or to mixtures of both compounds.The mixtures comprised 1.0 μg/L thiacloprid in addition to low (5.2 mg/L), medium (18.2 mg/L), and high (391.7 mg/L) zeolite concentrations, resulting in different adsorption rates of thiacloprid.As biological endpoints, changes in mortality rates and in behavior were monitored every 24 h over a total investigation period of 96 h.Furthermore, we conducted chemical analyses of thiacloprid in the medium and the larvae and located the zeolite particles within the larvae by LA-ICP-MS imaging techniques.Our results demonstrate that both types of zeolites did not exert acute toxicity when applied as single-substances, but led to reduced acute toxicity of thiacloprid when applied together with thiacloprid.These results are in line with the sorption properties of zeolites indicating reduced bioavailability of thiacloprid, although our data indicate that thiacloprid can desorb from zeolites to some extent.While freely dissolved (i.e.non-sorbed) fraction of thiacloprid was a good parameter to roughly estimate toxic effects, it did not correlate with measured internal thiacloprid concentrations.Moreover, it was shown that both zeolite types were ingested by the larvae, but no indication for cellular uptake of them was found.
Temporal progression of PARP activity in the Prph2 mutant rd2 mouse: Neuroprotective effects of the PARP inhibitor PJ34
2017-07-19

Peripherin (peripherin/rds) is a membrane-associated protein that plays a critical role in the morphogenesis of rod and cone photoreceptor outer segments. Mutations in the corresponding PRPH2 gene cause different types of retinal dystrophies characterized by a loss of photoreceptors. Over activation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) was previously shown to be involved in different animal models for hereditary retinal dystrophies. This includes the rd2 mouse, which suffers from a human homologous mutation in the PRPH2 gene. In the present study, we show that increased retinal PARP activity and poly-ADP-ribosylation of proteins occurs before the peak of rd2 photoreceptor degeneration. Inhibition of PARP activity with the well-characterized PARP inhibitor PJ34 decreased the levels of poly-ADP-ribosylation and photoreceptor cell death. These results suggest a causal involvement of PARP in photoreceptor degeneration caused by peripherin mutations and highlight the possibility to use PARP inhibition for the mutation-independent treatment of hereditary retinal dystrophies.
Heat treatment as a universal technical solution for silcrete use? A comparison between silcrete from the Western Cape (South Africa) and the Kalahari (Botswana)
2017-07-19

Heat treatment was one of the first transformative technologies in the southern African Middle Stone Age (MSA), with many studies in the Cape coastal zone of South Africa identifying it as an essential step in the preparation of silcrete prior to its use in stone tool manufacture. To date, however, no studies have investigated whether heat treatment is necessary for all silcrete types, and how geographically widespread heat treatment was in the subcontinent. The aim of this study is to investigate experimentally whether heat treatment continued further north into the Kalahari Desert of Botswana and northernmost South Africa, the closest area with major silcrete outcrops to the Cape. For this we analyse the thermal transformations of silcrete from both regions, proposing a comprehensive model of the chemical, crystallographic and 'water'-related processes taking place upon heat treatment. For the first time, we also explore the mobility of minor and trace elements during heat treatment and introduce a previously undescribed mechanism-steam leaching-causing depletion of a limited number of elements. The results of this comparative study reveal the Cape and Kalahari silcrete to respond fundamentally differently to heat treatment. While the former can be significantly improved by heat, the latter is deteriorated in terms of knapping quality. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the role of fire as a technical solution in MSA stone tool knapping, and for the extension of its use in southern Africa. Silcrete heat treatment-at least in the form we understand it today-may have been a strictly regional phenomenon, confined to a narrow zone along the west and south coast of the Cape. On the basis of our findings, silcrete heat treatment should not be added as a new trait on the list of behaviours that characterise the MSA of the southern African subcontinent.
Ultrafast Excited State Dynamics in Diindenoperylene Films
2017-07-19

Diindenoperylene (DIP) is an interesting organic molecular semiconductor as a component in organic solar cells. Here, we studied the ultrafast excited state dynamics of DIP after optical excitation in thin films on sapphire and SiO2 substrates, respectively, using femtosecond (fs) time-resolved second harmonic generation (TR-SHG). Sapphire, an inert and noninteracting substrate, is known to deliver no noteworthily contribution to the SHG-signal; thus, the pure response of DIP to the electronic excitation can be resolved in contrast to the measurements on SiO2. For DIP/sapphire, the initial optical excitation leads to the generation of delocalized excitons, which localize within approximately 100 fs in order to generate singlet molecular excitons (Frenkel excitons) or excitons localized on dimers. These excitons have a lifetime of 470 ± 100 fs. In a subsequent step, they form excimer states, which decay on a time scale of 680 ± 110 ps. For DIP/SiO2, the molecular excitons decay on a faster time scale of 210 ± 95 fs and populate either substrate-mediated trap states or excimer states. The present study provides important insights in the excited states dynamics of DIP on the so far unresolved ultrashort time scale, essential for understanding the photophysics of DIP.
A parametric texture model based on deep convolutional features closely matches texture appearance for humans
2017-07-19

Our visual environment is full of texture—“stuff” like cloth, bark or gravel as distinct from “things” like dresses, trees or paths—and humans are adept at perceiving subtle variations in material properties. To investigate image features important for texture perception, we psychophysically compare a recent parameteric model of texture appearance (CNN model) that uses the features encoded by a deep convolutional neural network (VGG-19) with two other models: the venerable Portilla and Simoncelli model (PS) and an extension of the CNN model in which the power spectrum is additionally matched. Observers discriminated model-generated textures from original natural textures in a spatial three-alternative oddity paradigm under two viewing conditions: when test patches were briefly presented to the near-periphery (“parafoveal”) and when observers were able to make eye movements to all three patches (“inspection”). Under parafoveal viewing, observers were unable to discriminate 10 of 12 original images from CNN model images, and remarkably, the simpler PS model performed slightly better than the CNN model (11 textures). Under foveal inspection, matching CNN features captured appearance substantially better than the PS model (9 compared to 4 textures), and including the power spectrum improved appearance matching for two of the three remaining textures. None of the models we test here could produce indiscriminable images for one of the 12 textures under the inspection condition. While deep CNN (VGG-19) features can often be used to synthesise textures that humans cannot discriminate from natural textures, there is currently no uniformly best model for all textures and viewing conditions.
Co‐production in climate change research: reviewing different perspectives
2017-07-20

Notions of ‘co‐production’ are growing in popularity in social science and humanities research on climate change, although there is some ambiguity about the meanings of the term and how it is being used. It is time to critically and reflexively take stock of this expanding area of scholarship. A comprehensive review of over 130 scientific publications first mapped the scholars using co‐production, relative to characteristics like their discipline, nationality, and research themes. Second, it looked at how this diversity of scientific perspectives has opened up a multiplicity of meanings of co‐production. While most discussions of co‐production stop at a basic distinction between descriptive and normative uses of the term, this review unpacked eight conceptual lenses on co‐production, each discernible by its particular emphases, academic traditions, logic, and criteria of success. There are two important implications of this work. On one hand, it urges self‐reflexive transparency when using co‐production concepts. The multiple meanings attached to co‐production add richness to the concept and open it up to different uses. However, it is important that scholars clearly communicate how they use the term and are mindful of what they ‘buy into’ by using the concept in certain ways. On the other hand, there are tensions between the different perspectives as well as opportunities for combining them into a compound concept of co‐production. In this way, co‐production is reconceptualized as a prism, where each aspect allows different but complimentary insights on the relationship between science, society, and nature. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e482. doi: 10.1002/wcc.482 This article is categorized under: Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge &gt; Knowledge and Practice
Current perspectives on invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella disease
2017-07-20

Purpose of review We searched PubMed for scientific literature published in the past 2 years for relevant information regarding the burden of invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella disease and host factors associated with nontyphoidal Salmonella infection and discuss current knowledge on vaccine development. The following search terms were used: Salmonella , non typhoidal/nontyphoidal, NTS, disease, bloodstream infection, invasive, sepsis/septicaemia/septicemia, bacteraemia/bacteremia, gastroenteritis, incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, case fatality, host/risk factor, vaccination, and prevention/control. Recent findings Estimates of the global invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella disease burden have been recently updated; additional data from Africa, Asia, and Latin America are now available. New data bridge various knowledge gaps, particularly with respect to host risk factors and the geographical distribution of iNTS serovars. It has also been observed that Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type 313 is emergent in several African countries. Available data suggest that genetic variation in the sequence type 313 strain has led to increased pathogenicity and human host adaptation. A bivalent efficacious vaccine, targeting Salmonella serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis , would significantly lower the disease burden in high-risk populations. Summary The mobilization of surveillance networks, especially in Asia and Latin America, may provide missing data regarding the invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella disease burden and their corresponding antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Efforts and resources should be directed toward invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella disease vaccine development.
High-energy gamma-rays from Cyg X-1
2017-07-20

We have obtained a firm detection of Cyg X-1 during its hard and intermediate spectral states in the energy range of 40 MeV--60 GeV based on observations by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, confirming the independent results at 60MeV of a previous work. The detection significance is in the 0.1--10 GeV range. In the soft state, we have found only upper limits on the emission at energies 0.1 MeV. However, we have found emission with a very soft spectrum in the 40--80 MeV range, not detected previously. This is likely to represent the high-energy cutoff of the high-energy power-law tail observed in the soft state. Similarly, we have detected a -ray soft excess in the hard state, which appears to be of similar origin. We have also confirmed the presence of an orbital modulation of the detected emission in the hard state, expected if the -rays are from Compton upscattering of stellar blackbody photons. However, the observed modulation is significantly weaker than that predicted if the blackbody upscattering were the dominant source of -rays. This argues for a significant contribution from -rays produced by the synchrotron-self-Compton process. We have found that such strong contribution is possible if the jet is strongly clumped. We reproduce the observed hard-state average broad-band spectrum using a self-consistent jet model, taking into account all the relevant emission processes, e pair absorption, and clumping. This model also reproduces the amplitude of the observed orbital modulation.
Body Mass Index Decline Is Related to Spinocerebellar Ataxia Disease Progression
2017-07-20

Abstract Background Spinocerebellar ataxias ( SCA s) are dominantly inherited, progressive ataxia disorders. Disease progression could be preceded by weight loss. Objectives We aimed to study the course of weight loss in patients who had the most common SCA s ( SCA 1, SCA 2 SCA 3, and SCA 6). Additional objectives were to identify subgroups of weight evolution, to determine the factors influencing these evolutions, and to assess the impact of these evolutions on disease progression. Methods In total, 384 patients from the EUROSCA prospective cohort study were analyzed who had SCA 1, SCA 2, SCA 3, or SCA 6 and at least 3 measurements of weight. Age was used as a time scale. Clinical outcomes were body mass index ( BMI ) and the Scale for the Assessment and Rating Ataxia ( SARA ), with scores ranging from 0 to 40. We used a linear mixed model to analyze the course of BMI and a latent class mixed model to identify subgroup BMI evolution. Results Overall, BMI declined over time (−0.11 ± 0.03 kg/m 2 per decade; P = 0.0009). Three subgroups of BMI evolution were identified: “decreasing BMI ” (n = 88; 23%), “increasing BMI ” (n = 70; 18%) and “stable BMI ” (n = 226; 59%). Patients in the decreasing BMI group were more severely affected at baseline with higher SARA scores and a higher frequency of non‐ataxia signs (especially motor symptoms) compared with those in the other groups. Weight loss was associated with faster disease progression (5.7 ± 0.7 SARA points per decade; P = 0.036). Conclusions The current data have substantial implications for the design of future interventional studies in SCA , as they provide a basis for patient stratification and emphasize the usefulness of BMI as a biomarker for monitoring disease progression.
Anterior Thalamic High Frequency Band Activity Is Coupled with Theta Oscillations at Rest
2017-07-20

Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between slow and fast brain rhythms, in the form of phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), is proposed to enable the coordination of neural oscillatory activity required for cognitive processing. PAC has been identified in the neocortex and mesial temporal regions, varying according to the cognitive task being performed and also at rest. PAC has also been observed in the anterior thalamic nucleus (ATN) during memory processing. The thalamus is active during the resting state and has been proposed to be involved in switching between task-free cognitive states such as rest, in which attention is internally-focused, and externally-focused cognitive states, in which an individual engages with environmental stimuli. It is unknown whether PAC is an ongoing phenomenon during the resting state in the ATN, which is modulated during different cognitive states, or whether it only arises during the performance of specific tasks. We analyzed electrophysiological recordings of ATN activity during rest from seven patients who received thalamic electrodes implanted for treatment of pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy. PAC was identified between theta (4-6 Hz) phase and high frequency band (80-150 Hz) amplitude during rest in all seven patients, which diminished during engagement in tasks involving an external focus of attention. The findings are consistent with the proposal that theta-gamma coupling in the ATN is an ongoing phenomenon, which is modulated by task performance.
Survival among children with “Lethal” congenital contracture syndrome 11 caused by novel mutations in the gliomedin gene ( GLDN )
2017-07-20

Biallelic GLDN mutations have recently been identified among infants with lethal congenital contracture syndrome 11 (LCCS11). GLDN encodes gliomedin, a protein required for the formation of the nodes of Ranvier and development of the human peripheral nervous system. We report six infants and children from four unrelated families with biallelic GLDN mutations, four of whom survived beyond the neonatal period into infancy, childhood, and late adolescence with intensive care and chronic respiratory and nutritional support. Our findings expand the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of LCCS11 and demonstrate that the condition may not necessarily be lethal in the neonatal period.