julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Foreflipper and hindflipper muscle reconstructions ofCryptoclidus eurymerusin comparison to functional analogues: introduction of a myological mechanism for flipper twisting
2021-12-15

Background Plesiosaurs, diapsid crown-group Sauropterygia, inhabited the oceans from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. Their most exceptional characteristic are four hydrofoil-like flippers. The question whether plesiosaurs employed their four flippers in underwater flight, rowing flight, or rowing has not been settled yet. Plesiosaur locomotory muscles have been reconstructed in the past, but neither the pelvic muscles nor the distal fore- and hindflipper musculature have been reconstructed entirely. Methods All plesiosaur locomotory muscles were reconstructed in order to find out whether it is possible to identify muscles that are necessary for underwater flight including those that enable flipper rotation and twisting. Flipper twisting has been proven by hydrodynamic studies to be necessary for efficient underwater flight. So, Cryptoclidus eurymerus fore- and hindflipper muscles and ligaments were reconstructed using the extant phylogenetic bracket (Testudines, Crocodylia, and Lepidosauria) and correlated with osteological features and checked for their functionality. Muscle functions were geometrically derived in relation to the glenoid and acetabulum position. Additionally, myology of functionally analogous Chelonioidea, Spheniscidae, Otariinae, and Cetacea is used to extract general myological adaptations of secondary aquatic tetrapods to inform the phylogenetically inferred muscle reconstructions. Results A total of 52 plesiosaur fore- and hindflipper muscles were reconstructed. Amongst these are flipper depressors, elevators, retractors, protractors, and rotators. These muscles enable a fore- and hindflipper downstroke and upstroke, the two sequences that represent an underwater flight flipper beat cycle. Additionally, other muscles were capable of twisting fore- and hindflippers along their length axis during down- and upstroke accordingly. A combination of these muscles that actively aid in flipper twisting and intermetacarpal/intermetatarsal and metacarpodigital/metatarsodigital ligament systems, that passively engage the successive digits, could have accomplished fore-and hindflipper length axis twisting in plesiosaurs that is essential for underwater flight. Furthermore, five muscles that could possibly actively adjust the flipper profiles for efficient underwater flight were found, too.
Predicting Fraction and Algebra Achievements Online: A Large-Scale Longitudinal Study Using Data from an Online Learning Environment
2021-12-15

Background: Mastering fractions seems among the most critical mathematical skills for students to acquire in school as fraction understanding significantly predicts later mathematic achievements, but also broader academic and vocational prospects. As such, identifying longitudinal predictors of fraction understanding (e.g., mastery of numbers and operations) is highly relevant. However, almost all existing studies identifying more basic numerical skills as predictors of fraction understanding rest on data acquired in face-to-face testing—mostly in classrooms. Objectives: In this article, we evaluated whether results obtained in these previous studies generalized to data from the curriculum-based online learning environment Bettermarks for mathematics used in schools in the Netherlands. Methods: We considered data from more than 5,000 students who solved over 1 million mathematical problem sets on basic mathematical skills, fractions, but also algebra. Results and Conclusions: In line with previous findings, we found that fraction understanding was predicted significantly by more basic mathematical skills. Our analyzes also indicated that algebra achievement was predicted significantly by fraction understanding beyond influences of more basic mathematical skills. Implications: Together, these findings generalized previous results based on face-to-face testing to the context of data from online learning environments and thus, indicate that data from such large-scale online learning environments may well qualify to provide significant insights into the hierarchical development of mathematical skills.
Simulated visual hallucinations in virtual reality enhance cognitive flexibility
2021-12-15

ABSTRACT Historically, psychedelic drugs are known to modulate cognitive flexibility, a central aspect of cognition permitting adaptation to changing environmental demands. Despite proof suggesting phenomenological similarities between artificially-induced and actual psychedelic altered perception, experimental evidence is still lacking about whether the former is also able to modulate cognitive flexibility. To address this, we measure participants’ cognitive flexibility through behavioral tasks after the exposure to virtual reality panoramic videos and their hallucinatory-like counterparts generated by the DeepDream algorithm. Results show that the estimated semantic network has a flexible structure when preceded by altered videos. Crucially, following the simulated psychedelic exposure, individuals also show an attenuated contribution of the automatic process and chaotic dynamics underlying the decision process. This suggests that simulated altered perceptual phenomenology enhances cognitive flexibility, presumably due to a reorganization in the cognitive dynamics that facilitates the exploration of uncommon decision strategies and inhibits automated choices.
Mental Number Representations are Spatially Mapped both by Their Magnitudes and Ordinal Positions
2021-12-15

The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect – i.e., faster responses to small numbers with the left compared to the right side and to large numbers with the right compared to the left side – suggests that numbers are associated with space. However, it remains unclear whether the SNARC effect evolves from a number's magnitude or the ordinal position of a number in working memory. One problem is that, in different paradigms, the task demands influence the role of ordinality and magnitude. While single-task setups in which participants judge the parity of a displayed number indicate the importance of magnitude for the SNARC effect, evidence for ordinal influences usually comes from experiments where ordinal sequences have to be memorized or setups in which participants possess pre-existing knowledge of the ordinality of stimuli. Therefore, in this preregistered study, we employed a SNARC task without secondary ordinal sequence memorization. We dissociate ordinal and magnitude accounts by carefully manipulating experimental stimulus sets. The results indicate that even though the magnitude model better accounts for the observed data, the ordinal position seems to matter as well. Hence, numbers are associated with space in both a magnitude- and an order-respective manner, yielding a mixture of both compatibility effects. Moreover, a multiple coding framework may most accurately explain the roots of the SNARC effect.
Model Selection in Local Approximation Gaussian Processes: A Markov Random Fields Approach
2021-12-15

Local approximations are popular methods to scale Gaussian processes (GPs) to big data. Local approximations reduce time complexity by dividing the original dataset into subsets and training a local expert on each subset. Aggregating the experts' prediction is done assuming either conditional dependence or independence between the experts. Imposing the \\emph{conditional independence assumption} (CI) between the experts renders the aggregation of different expert predictions time efficient at the cost of poor uncertainty quantification. On the other hand, modeling dependent experts can provide precise predictions and uncertainty quantification at the expense of impractically high computational costs. By eliminating weak experts via a theory-guided expert selection step, we substantially reduce the computational cost of aggregating dependent experts while ensuring calibrated uncertainty quantification. We leverage techniques from the literature on undirected graphical models, using sparse precision matrices that encode conditional dependencies between experts to select the most important experts. Moreov
Combining ACL Reconstruction and Refixation: the Single Anteromedial Bundle Biological Augmentation and Refixation (SAMBBAR) Technique
2021-12-15

PURPOSE OF THE STUDYAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) preservation surgical techniques have been rising lately.In the acute setting, proximal ACL tears and femoral avulsions of the ACL are good indications for primary repair of the ACL.However, literature shows a wide range of failure rates.An intact synovial membrane seems to be a predicational factor for the outcome of primary ACL repair.Disruption of the synovial membrane is associated with higher failure rates.We describe a surgical technique repairing the ACL in combination with a semitendinosus augmentation for proximal ACL tears with or without disruption of the synovial membrane. MATERIAL AND METHODSThe procedure preserves as much of the original anatomy as possible by repairing the synovial membrane and ACL remnant to the femoral origin.To accomplish this, we have built on the so-called "Single Anteromedial Bundle Biological Augmentation (SAMBBA) technique" and developed it further to the "Single Anteromedial Bundle Biological Augmentation and Refixation (SAMBBAR) technique", which we firstly describe here. RESULTSAll three patients treated with the SAMBBAR technique showed very good short-term clinical outcomes comparable with successful standard ACL reconstruction.There were no complications.Twelve months postoperatively, patients had no pain.They had normal range of motion in the affected knee without any signs of instability. DISCUSSIONThe SAMBBAR technique seems to be an adequate procedure to preserve as much proprioceptive native tissue as possible, while at the same time ensuring high tissue strength in order to reduce failure rates.Prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to compare the new SAMBBAR technique with standard ACL reconstruction, with the original SAMBBA technique, and with techniques of ACL refixation. CONCLUSIONSWith the presented surgical procedure, it is possible to perform a standard ACL reconstruction using an autologous semitendinosus graft and at the same time preserving the tissue remnant of the ACL in all proximal tear patterns.This might contribute to improved proprioception and rehabilitation without sacrificing stability.
Collaborative Annotation as a Teaching Tool
2021-12-15

The guidelines presented here were developed in a seminar aimed at M.A. and advanced B.A. students. They are based on narratological theories by Marie-Laure Ryan, Gérard Genette, William Nelles, Ansgar Nünning, John Pier, and Viveca Füredy. Our contribution focuses on how collaborative annotation tasks can be used in university seminars, especially in the context of teaching students how to critically assess and compare theoretical frameworks and definitions. We also highlight the students’ impression that developing and using annotating guidelines improved their close-reading skills and that the task sensitised them to some of the core challenges of distant reading (e.g. questions of ambiguity and interpretation).
Aquaporin-4 Expression in the Human Choroid Plexus
2021-12-15

Abstract The choroid plexus (CP) consists of specialized ependymal cells and underlying blood vessels and stroma producing the bulk of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CP epithelial cells are considered the site of the internal blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, show epithelial characteristics (basal lamina, tight junctions), and express aquaporin-1 (AQP1) apically. In this study, we analyzed the expression of aquaporins in the human CP using immunofluorescence and qPCR. As previously reported, AQP1 was expressed apically in CP epithelial cells. Surprisingly, and previously unknown, many cells in the CP epithelium were also positive for aquaporin-4 (AQP4), normally restricted to ventricle-lining ependymal cells and astrocytes in the brain. Expression of AQP1 and AQP4 was found in the CP of all eight body donors investigated (3 males, 5 females; age 74-91). These results were confirmed by qPCR, and by electron microscopy detecting orthogonal arrays of particles. To find out whether AQP4 expression correlated with the expression pattern of relevant transport-related proteins we also investigated expression of NKCC1, and Na/K-ATPase. Immunostaining with NKCC1 was similar to AQP1 and revealed no particular pattern related to AQP4. Co-staining of AQP4 and Na/K-ATPase indicated a trend for an inverse correlation of their expression. We hypothesized that AQP4 expression in the CP was caused by age-related changes. To address this, we investigated mouse brains from young (2 months), adult (12 months) and old (30 months) mice. We found a significant increase of AQP4 on the mRNA level in old mice compared to young and adult animals. Taken together, we provide evidence for AQP4 expression in the CP of the aging brain which likely contributes to the water flow through the CP epithelium and CSF production. In two alternative hypotheses, we discuss this as a beneficial compensatory, or a detrimental mechanism influencing the previously observed CSF changes during aging.
CURRICULAR INNOVATION RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF RENEWABLE ENERGY USING THE EXAMPLE OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND METHANE PRODUCTION
2021-12-15

In school and university education it is important to integrate current, innovative topics into curricula. Particularly in thefield of education for sustainable development, there is a major need, based on the Sustainable Development Goals,
Ecosystem fluxes during drought and recovery in an experimental forest
2021-12-16

An experimental forest ecosystem drought Drought is affecting many of the world’ s forested ecosystems, but it has proved challenging to develop an ecosystem-level mechanistic understanding of the ways that drought affects carbon and water fluxes through forest ecosystems. Werner et al . used an experimental approach by imposing an artificial drought on an entire enclosed ecosystem: the Biosphere 2 Tropical Rainforest in Arizona (see the Perspective by Eisenhauer and Weigelt). The authors show that ecosystem-scale plant responses to drought depend on distinct plant functional groups, differing in their water-use strategies and their position in the forest canopy. The balance of these plant functional groups drives changes in carbon and water fluxes, as well as the release of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere. —AMS
Microplastic Contamination in Human Stools, Foods, and Drinking Water Associated with Indonesian Coastal Population
2021-12-16

Approximately 381 million tons of plastic are produced globally every year, and the majority of it ends up as pollutants. In the environment, plastic waste is fragmented into microplastic particles less than 5 mm in size; owing to their small size, durability, and abundance, they can easily be dispersed, incorporated into the food chains, and enter the human body. The extent of microplastic exposure in the human body has become a major concern in many countries, including in Indonesia, the second largest plastic waste contributor in the world. Here, we report the detection of microplastics in human stools collected from a fisherman community in the coastal area of Surabaya, Indonesia. Microplastics were found in more than 50% of samples analyzed with a concentration ranging from 3.33 to 13.99 μg of microplastic per gram of feces (μg/g). HDPE was observed as the most prevalent type of microplastic, with an average concentration of 9.195 μg/g in positive samples. Different types of microplastics were also detected in seafood, staple foods, drinking water, table salts, and toothpaste, which were regularly used and consumed by the study participants. Results from this preliminary study indicate widespread contamination of microplastic in the human body and in consumables associated with the coastal populations of Indonesia.
The time-course of distractor-based activation modulates effects of speed-accuracy tradeoffs in conflict tasks
2021-12-16

Abstract The cognitive processes underlying the ability of human performers to trade speed for accuracy is often conceptualized within evidence accumulation models, but it is not yet clear whether and how these models can account for decision-making in the presence of various sources of conflicting information. In the present study, we provide evidence that speed-accuracy tradeoffs (SATs) can have opposing effects on performance across two different conflict tasks. Specifically, in a single preregistered experiment, the mean reaction time (RT) congruency effect in the Simon task increased, whereas the mean RT congruency effect in the Eriksen task decreased, when the focus was put on response speed versus accuracy. Critically, distributional RT analyses revealed distinct delta plot patterns across tasks, thus indicating that the unfolding of distractor-based response activation in time is sufficient to explain the opposing pattern of congruency effects. In addition, a recent evidence accumulation model with the notion of time-varying conflicting information was successfully fitted to the experimental data. These fits revealed task-specific time-courses of distractor-based activation and suggested that time pressure substantially decreases decision boundaries in addition to reducing the duration of non-decision processes and the rate of evidence accumulation. Overall, the present results suggest that time pressure can have multiple effects in decision-making under conflict, but that strategic adjustments of decision boundaries in conjunction with different time-courses of distractor-based activation can produce counteracting effects on task performance with different types of distracting sources of information.
Additive Manufacturing of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composites: The Effect of Fiber Content on Compressive Properties
2021-12-16

The additive manufacturing (AM) of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites continue to grow due to the attractive strength-to-weight and modulus-to-weight ratios afforded by the composites combined with the ease of processibility achievable through the AM technique. Short fiber design factors such as fiber content effects have been shown to play determinant roles in the mechanical performance of AM fabricated CFRP composites. However, this has only been investigated for tensile and flexural properties, with no investigations to date on compressive properties effects of fiber content. This study examined the axial and transverse compressive properties of AM fabricated CFRP composites by testing CF-ABS with fiber contents from 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% for samples printed in the axial and transverse build orientations, and for axial tensile in comparison to the axial compression properties. The results were that increasing carbon fiber content for the short-fiber thermoplastic CFRP composites slightly reduced compressive strength and modulus. However, it increased ductility and toughness. The 20% carbon fiber content provided the overall content with the most decent compressive properties for the 0–30% content studied. The AM fabricated composite demonstrates a generally higher compressive property than tensile property because of the higher plastic deformation ability which characterizes compression loaded parts, which were observed from the different failure modes.
Accretion of a clumped wind from a red supergiant donor on to a magnetar is suggested by the analysis of the XMM–Newton and NuSTAR observations of the X-ray binary 3A 1954+319
2021-12-16

ABSTRACT 3A 1954+319 has been classified for a long time as a symbiotic X-ray binary, hosting a slowly rotating neutron star and an aged M red giant. Recently, this classification has been revised thanks to the discovery that the donor star is an M supergiant. This makes 3A 1954+319 a rare type of high-mass X-ray binary consisting of a neutron star and a red supergiant donor. In this paper, we analyse two archival and still unpublished XMM–Newton and NuSTAR observations of the source. We perform a detailed hardness ratio-resolved spectral analysis to search for spectral variability that could help investigating the structures of the inhomogeneous M supergiant wind from which the neutron star is accreting. We discuss our results in the context of wind-fed supergiant X-ray binaries and show that the newest findings on 3A 1954+319 reinforce the hypothesis that the neutron star in this system is endowed with a magnetar-like magnetic field strength (≳ 1014 G).
mTORC1 functional assay revealsSZT2loss-of-function variants and a founder in-frame deletion
2021-12-16

Abstract Biallelic pathogenic variants in SZT2 result in a neurodevelopmental disorder with shared features, including early-onset epilepsy, developmental delay, macrocephaly, and corpus callosum abnormalities. SZT2 is as a critical scaffolding protein in the amino acid sensing arm of the mTORC1 signalling pathway. Due to its large size (3432 amino acids), lack of crystal structure, and absence of functional domains, it is difficult to determine the pathogenicity of SZT2 missense and in-frame deletions, but these variants are increasingly detected and reported by clinical genetic testing in individuals with epilepsy. To exemplify this latter point, here we describe a cohort of 12 individuals with biallelic SZT2 variants and phenotypic overlap with SZT2-related neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the majority of individuals carried one or more SZT2 variants of uncertain significance (VUS), highlighting the need for functional characterization to determine, which, if any, of these VUS were pathogenic. Thus, we developed a novel individualized platform to identify SZT2 loss-of-function variants in the context of mTORC1 signalling and reclassify VUS. Using this platform, we identified a recurrent in-frame deletion (SZT2 p.Val1984del) which was determined to be a loss-of-function variant and therefore likely pathogenic. Haplotype analysis revealed that this single in-frame deletion is a founder variant in those of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Moreover, this approach allowed us to tentatively reclassify all of the VUS in our cohort of 12 individuals, identifying five individuals with biallelic pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants. Clinical features of these five individuals consisted of early-onset seizures (median 24 months), focal seizures, developmental delay and macrocephaly similar to previous reports. However, we also show a widening of the phenotypic spectrum, as none of the five individuals had corpus callosum abnormalities, in contrast to previous reports. Overall, we present a rapid assay to resolve VUS in SZT2, identify a founder variant in individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, and demonstrate that corpus callosum abnormalities is not a hallmark feature of this condition. Our approach is widely applicable to other mTORopathies including the most common causes of the focal genetic epilepsies, DEPDC5, TSC1/2, MTOR and NPRL2/3.