julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Entraining Alpha Activity Using Visual Stimulation in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Feasibility Study
2020-08-20

Entraining alpha activity with rhythmic visual, auditory, and electrical stimulation can reduce experimentally induced pain. However, evidence for alpha entrainment and pain reduction in patients with chronic pain is limited. This feasibility study investigated whether visual alpha stimulation can increase alpha power in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and, secondarily, if chronic pain was reduced following stimulation. In a within-subject design, 20 patients underwent 4-min periods of stimulation at 10 Hz (alpha), 7 Hz (high-theta, control), and 1 Hz (control) in a pseudo-randomized order. Patients underwent stimulation both sitting and standing and verbally rated their pain before and after each stimulation block on a 0-10 numerical rating scale. Global alpha power was significantly higher during 10 Hz compared to 1 Hz stimulation when patients were standing (<i>t</i> = -6.08, <i>p</i> < 0.001). On a more regional level, a significant increase of alpha power was found for 10 Hz stimulation in the right-middle and left-posterior region when patients were sitting. With respect to our secondary aim, no significant reduction of pain intensity and unpleasantness was found. However, only the alpha stimulation resulted in a minimal clinically important difference in at least 50% of participants for pain intensity (50%) and unpleasantness ratings (65%) in the sitting condition. This study provides initial evidence for the potential of visual stimulation as a means to enhance alpha activity in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The brief period of stimulation was insufficient to reduce chronic pain significantly. This study is the first to provide evidence that a brief period of visual stimulation at alpha frequency can significantly increase alpha power in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. A further larger study is warranted to investigate optimal dose and individual stimulation parameters to achieve pain relief in these patients.
Leveraging Model Inherent Variable Importance for Stable Online Feature Selection
2020-08-20

Feature selection can be a crucial factor in obtaining robust and accurate predictions. Online feature selection models, however, operate under considerable restrictions; they need to efficiently extract salient input features based on a bounded set of observations, while enabling robust and accurate predictions. In this work, we introduce FIRES, a novel framework for online feature selection. The proposed feature weighting mechanism leverages the importance information inherent in the parameters of a predictive model. By treating model parameters as random variables, we can penalize features with high uncertainty and thus generate more stable feature sets. Our framework is generic in that it leaves the choice of the underlying model to the user. Strikingly, experiments suggest that the model complexity has only a minor effect on the discriminative power and stability of the selected feature sets. In fact, using a simple linear model, FIRES obtains feature sets that compete with state-of-the-art methods, while dramatically reducing computation time. In addition, experiments show that the proposed framework is clearly superior in terms of feature selection stability.
Systemic treatment of advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the context of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: recommendations from the interdisciplinary working group for renal tumors (IAG-N)
2020-08-20

Abstract This letter summarizes recommendations from the interdisciplinary working group of renal tumors (IAGN) of the German Cancer Society for the systemic treatment of advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Hydrogenosomal tail-anchored proteins are targeted to both mitochondria and ER upon their expression in yeast cells
2020-08-20

Some organisms, like Trichomonas vaginalis, contain mitochondria-related hydrogen-producing organelles, called hydrogenosomes. The protein targeting into these organelles is proposed to be similar to the well-studied mitochondria import. Indeed, S. cerevisiae mitochondria and T. vaginalis hydrogenosomes share some components of protein import complexes. However, it is still unknown whether targeting signals directing substrate proteins to hydrogenosomes can support in other eukaryotes specific mitochondrial localization. To address this issue, we investigated the intracellular localization of three hydrogenosomal tail-anchored proteins expressed in yeast cells. We observed that these proteins were targeted to both mitochondria and ER with a variable dependency on the mitochondrial MIM complex. Our results suggest that the targeting signal of TA proteins are only partially conserved between hydrogenosomes and yeast mitochondria.
Internationalisation and the validity of knowledge in religious education as a field of research
2020-08-20

Building on the notion of validity claims within the discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education as a field of research, three views on the contextuality of knowledge are discussed. From a classical perspective in the sociology of science, the issue of validity must be treated irrespective of matters of context. Secondly, from the perspective of postcolonial studies, this naïve view is criticised as a veiled form of Eurocentrism. Thirdly, these two general views are concretised in light of a reception process bridging the Global South and the Global North. To this end, exemplary factors contributing to the inclusion of Paulo Freire’s pedagogical work in discourses on religious education are analysed. What emerges through these analyses is a differentiated view of validity resting on the de- and recontextualisation of knowledge that allows for it to oscillate between different contexts.
Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: electron density shift at the metal-molecule interface induced by a static electric field
2020-08-20

In SERS and TERS charge transfer can lead to the chemical signal enhancement. STM assisted TERS allows for applying DC electric fields between tip and sample comparably high to the fields experienced by molecules in regular devices. The influence of DC electric fields on tip enhanced Raman spectra has been reported by various authors who discussed different aspects such as reorientation of molecules, intensity changes and energy level shifts. Here we report on our progress towards a better understanding of a scanning DC electric field on tip enhanced Raman spectra of small molecules directly bound to the metallic substrate.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of FRA1 Kinesin Modulates the Lateral Stability of Cortical Microtubules through Cellulose Synthase-Microtubule Uncoupling Proteins.
2020-08-20

Cell wall assembly requires harmonized deposition of cellulose and matrix polysaccharides. Cortical microtubules orient the deposition of cellulose by guiding the trajectory of cellulose synthase complexes. Vesicles containing matrix polysaccharides are thought to be transported by the FRAGILE FIBER1 (FRA1) kinesin to facilitate their secretion along cortical microtubules. The cortical microtubule cytoskeleton thus may provide a platform to coordinate the delivery of cellulose and matrix polysaccharides, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we show that the tail region of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) FRA1 kinesin physically interacts with cellulose synthase-microtubule uncoupling (CMU) proteins that are important for the microtubule-dependent guidance of cellulose synthase complexes. Interaction with CMUs did not affect microtubule binding or motility of the FRA1 kinesin but differentially affected the protein levels and microtubule localization of CMU1 and CMU2, thus regulating the lateral stability of cortical microtubules. Phosphorylation of the FRA1 tail region inhibited binding to CMUs and consequently reversed the extent of cortical microtubule decoration by CMU1 and CMU2. Genetic experiments demonstrated the significance of this interaction to the growth and reproduction of Arabidopsis plants. We propose that modulation of CMU protein levels and microtubule localization by FRA1 provides a mechanism that stabilizes the sites of deposition of both cellulose and matrix polysaccharides.© 2020 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. PMID: 32487563
Object manifold geometry across the mouse cortical visual hierarchy
2020-08-21

Abstract Despite variations in appearance we robustly recognize objects. Neuronal populations responding to objects presented under varying conditions form object manifolds and hierarchically organized visual areas untangle pixel intensities into linearly decodable object representations. However, the associated changes in the geometry of object manifolds along the cortex remain unknown. Using home cage training we showed that mice are capable of invariant object recognition. We simultaneously recorded the responses of thousands of neurons to measure the information about object identity across the visual cortex and found that lateral areas LM, LI and AL carry more linearly decodable object information compared to other visual areas. We applied the theory of linear separability of manifolds, and found that the increase in classification capacity is associated with a decrease in the dimension and radius of the object manifold, identifying the key features in the geometry of the population neural code that enable invariant object coding.
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Calibrating the lithium–age relation with open clusters and associations
2020-08-21

Context. Previous studies of open clusters have shown that lithium depletion is not only strongly age dependent but also shows a complex pattern with other parameters that is not yet understood. For pre- and main-sequence late-type stars, these parameters include metallicity, mixing mechanisms, convection structure, rotation, and magnetic activity. Aims. We perform a thorough membership analysis for a large number of stars observed within the Gaia -ESO survey (GES) in the field of 20 open clusters, ranging in age from young clusters and associations, to intermediate-age and old open clusters. Methods. Based on the parameters derived from the GES spectroscopic observations, we obtained lists of candidate members for each of the clusters in the sample by deriving radial velocity distributions and studying the position of the kinematic selections in the E W (Li)-versus- T eff plane to obtain lithium members. We used gravity indicators to discard field contaminants and studied [Fe/H] metallicity to further confirm the membership of the candidates. We also made use of studies using recent data from the Gaia DR1 and DR2 releases to assess our member selections. Results. We identified likely member candidates for the sample of 20 clusters observed in GES (iDR4) with UVES and GIRAFFE, and conducted a comparative study that allowed us to characterize the properties of these members as well as identify field contaminant stars, both lithium-rich giants and non-giant outliers. Conclusions. This work is the first step towards the calibration of the lithium–age relation and its dependence on other GES parameters. During this project we aim to use this relation to infer the ages of GES field stars, and identify their potential membership to young associations and stellar kinematic groups of different ages.
Response of Mitochondrial Respiration in Adipose Tissue and Muscle to 8 Weeks of Endurance Exercise in Obese Subjects
2020-08-21

Abstract Context Exercise training improves glycemic control and increases mitochondrial content and respiration capacity in skeletal muscle. Rodent studies suggest that training increases mitochondrial respiration in adipose tissue. Objective To assess the effects of endurance training on respiratory capacities of human skeletal muscle and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue and to study the correlation with improvement in insulin sensitivity. Design Using high-resolution respirometry, we analyzed biopsies from 25 sedentary (VO2 peak 25.1 ± 4.0 VO2 mL/[kg*min]) subjects (16 female, 9 male; 29.8 ± 8.4 years) with obesity (body mass index [BMI] 31.5 ± 4.3 kg/m2), who did not have diabetes. They performed a supervised endurance training over 8 weeks (3 × 1 hour/week at 80% VO2 peak). Results Based on change in insulin sensitivity after intervention (using the Matsuda insulin sensitivity index [ISIMats]), subjects were grouped in subgroups as responders (&amp;gt;15% increase in ISIMats) and low-responders. The response in ISIMats was correlated to a reduction of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue volume. Both groups exhibited similar increases in fitness, respiratory capacity, and abundance of mitochondrial enzymes in skeletal muscle fibers. Respiratory capacities in subcutaneous adipose tissue were not altered by the intervention. Compared with muscle fibers, adipose tissue respiration showed a preference for β-oxidation and complex II substrates. Respiratory capacities were higher in adipose tissue from female participants. Conclusion Our data show that the improvement of peripheral insulin sensitivity after endurance training is not directly related to an increase in mitochondrial respiratory capacities in skeletal muscle and occurs without an increase in the respiratory capacity of subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Bias and error in modelling thermochronometric data: resolving a potential increase in Plio-Pleistocene erosion rate
2020-08-21

Abstract. Thermochronometry provides one of few methods to quantify rock exhumation rate and history, including potential changes in exhumation rate. Thermochronometric ages can resolve rates, accelerations, and complex histories by exploiting different closure temperatures and path lengths using data distributed in elevation. We investigate how the resolution of an exhumation history is determined by the distribution of ages and their closure temperatures through an error analysis of the exhumation history problem. We define the sources of error, defined in terms of resolution, model error and methodological bias in the inverse method used by Herman et al. (2013) which combines data with different closure temperatures and elevations. The error analysis provides a series of tests addressing the various types of bias, including addressing criticism that there is a tendency of thermochronometric data to produce a false inference of faster erosion rates towards the present day because of a spatial correlation bias (Schildgen et al., 2018). Tests based on synthetic data demonstrate that the inverse method used by Herman et al. (2013) has no methodological or model bias towards increasing erosion rates. We do find significant resolution errors with sparse data, but these errors are not systematic, tending rather to leave inferred erosion rates at or near a Bayesian prior. To explain the difference in conclusions between our analysis and that of Schildgen et al. (2018), we examine their paper and find that their model tests used an incorrect geotherm calculation, invalidating their models. We also found that Schildgen et al. (2018) applied a biased operator to the results of Herman et al. (2013) thereby distorting the original results producing a bias that was falsely attributed to the original inverse model. Our reanalysis and interpretation show that the original results of Herman et al. (2013) are correct and there is no evidence for a systematic bias.
Inherited and Acquired Determinants of Hepatic CYP3A Activity in Humans
2020-08-21

Human CYP3A enzymes (including CYP3A4 and CYP4A5) metabolize about 40% of all drugs and numerous other environmental and endogenous substances. CYP3A activity is highly variable within and between humans. As a consequence, therapy with standard doses often results in too low or too high blood and tissue concentrations resulting in therapeutic failure or dose-related adverse reactions. It is an unanswered question how much of the big interindividual variation in CYP3A activity is caused by genetic or by environmental factors. This question can be answered by the twin study approach. Using midazolam as CYP3A probe drug, we studied 43 monozygotic and 14 dizygotic twins and measured midazolam and its metabolite 1-OH-midazolam. In addition, endogenous biomarkers of CYP3A activity, 4ß-OH-cholesterol and 6ß-OH-cortisol, were analyzed. Additive genetic effects accounted for only 15% of the variation in midazolam AUC, whereas 48% was attributed to common environmental factors. In contrast, 73, 56, and 31% of 1-OH-midazolam, 4ß-OH-cholesterol and 6ß-OH-cortisol variation was due to genetic effects. There was a low phenotypic correlation between the four CYP3A biomarkers. Only between midazolam and its 1-OH-metabolite, and between midazolam and 6ß-OH-cortisol we found significant bivariate genetic correlations. Midazolam AUC differed depending on the <i>CYP3A4<sup>∗</sup>22</i> variant (<i>p</i> = 0.001) whereas plasma 4ß-OH-cholesterol was significantly lower in homozygous carriers of <i>CYP3A5<sup>∗</sup>3</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.02). Apparently, non-genomic factors played a dominant role in the inter-individual variation of the CYP3A probe drug midazolam. A small intra-individual pharmacokinetic variation after repeated administration of midazolam was rated earlier as indication of high heritability of CYP3A activity, but according to present data that could also largely be due to constant environmental factors and/or heritability of liver blood flow. The higher heritabilities of 4ß-OH-cholesterol and of 1-OH-midazolam may deserve further research on the underlying factors beyond CYP3A genes. <b>Clinical Trial Registration:</b> ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01845194 and EUDRA-CT: 2008-006223-31.
New perspectives on human subsistence during the Magdalenian in the Swabian Jura, Germany
2020-08-21

Abstract The Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany is famous for its Paleolithic sites which have been studied since the 1860s. While there is a rich tradition of research on the Magdalenian, many of the best-known sites were not excavated using modern methods, and recently, few discoveries of new sites have been made. Thus, much of the information on this period comes from sites lacking data collected using modern standards. This has left open questions regarding the recolonization of the Swabian Jura and hunter-gatherer subsistence and settlement during the Magdalenian in the region. Langmahdhalde is a recently discovered rock shelter in the Lone Valley of the Swabian Jura that has intact, well-stratified horizons dating to the Magdalenian with associated lithic artifacts, faunal remains, and combustion features. In this paper, we present a study of the faunal materials from this new site. We use the macrofaunal remains to discuss human subsistence and a taphonomic analysis of the microfaunal remains to determine the spatial scale of our previously published paleoenvironmental interpretations. Our results on human subsistence support previous interpretations from other Magdalenian assemblages in Central Europe. Further, our taphonomic study of the microfauna suggests that our paleoenvironmental analyses are relatively local, within a maximum of 70 km 2 from the rock shelter. We place these results within the larger context of human paleoecology in the region and suggest that the successful resettlement of the Swabian Jura by Magdalenian peoples during the Late Glacial was probably facilitated by the presence of a higher diversity of resources on the landscape compared to regions to the west.
Age-Dependency of Neurite Outgrowth in Postnatal Mouse Cochlear Spiral Ganglion Explants
2020-08-21

Background: The spatial gap between cochlear implants (CIs) and the auditory nerve limits frequency selectivity as large populations of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are electrically stimulated synchronously. To improve CI performance, a possible strategy is to promote neurite outgrowth toward the CI, thereby allowing a discrete stimulation of small SGN subpopulations. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is effective to stimulate neurite outgrowth from SGNs. Method: TrkB (tropomyosin receptor kinase B) agonists, BDNF, and five known small-molecule BDNF mimetics were tested for their efficacy in stimulating neurite outgrowth in postnatal SGN explants. To modulate Trk receptor-mediated effects, TrkB and TrkC ligands were scavenged by an excess of recombinant receptor proteins. The pan-Trk inhibitor K252a was used to block Trk receptor actions. Results: THF (7,8,3′-trihydroxyflavone) partly reproduced the BDNF effect in postnatal day 7 (P7) mouse cochlear spiral ganglion explants (SGEs), but failed to show effectiveness in P4 SGEs. During the same postnatal period, spontaneous and BDNF-stimulated neurite outgrowth increased. The increased neurite outgrowth in P7 SGEs was not caused by the TrkB/TrkC ligands, BDNF and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Conclusions: The age-dependency of induction of neurite outgrowth in SGEs was very likely dependent on presently unidentified factors and/or molecular mechanisms which may also be decisive for the age-dependent efficacy of the small-molecule TrkB receptor agonist THF.
Bioavailable iron produced through benthic cycling in glaciated Arctic fjords (Svalbard)
2020-08-21

<title>Abstract</title> The Arctic has the highest warming rates world-wide. Glaciated fjord ecosystems, which are known hotspots of carbon cycling and burial, are predicted to be extremely sensitive to this warming. Glaciers are important sources of iron, an essential nutrient for phytoplankton, to high-latitude marine ecosystems. However, up to 95% of the glacially-sourced iron settles in sediments close to the glacial source. We found that only 0.6-12% of the total glacially-sourced iron is potentially bioavailable. Our results also show that biogeochemical cycling in fjord sediments converts the unreactive glacial iron into more reactive and bioavailable phases, leading to an up to 9-fold increase in the amount of potentially bioavailable iron. Arctic fjord sediments therefore likely are an important source of bioavailable iron. However, once glaciers retreat onto land, the flux of iron from sediments into the water column is reduced, such that glacial retreat could exacerbate iron limitation in polar oceans.
Approaching text genre
2020-08-21

Abstract In the present study, we sought to clarify how differences in contextualized experience influence the performance of participants engaged in genre decision-making. Using a simple learning algorithm, we ran a series of computational simulations to model the effects that context and cue competition have on the way readers of different backgrounds make genre decisions. Next, we used the results of those simulations as predictions for our behavioural genre decision experiment. Differences in test performance were strongly influenced by the factors that have long been known to influence learning: Cue competition and its embedding in a specific context jointly modulate what gets learned and that inevitably affects later performance. We discuss our findings in the context of learning and literary genres.