Mayerpetty4946

Human children show unique cognitive skills for dealing with the social world but their cognitive performance is paralleled by great apes in many tasks dealing with the physical world. Recent studies suggested that members of a songbird family-corvids-also evolved complex cognitive skills but a detailed understanding of the full scope of their cognition was, until now, not existent. Furthermore, relatively little is known about their cognitive development. Here, we conducted the first systematic, quantitative large-scale assessment of physical and social cognitive performance of common ravens with a special focus on development. To do so, we fine-tuned one of the most comprehensive experimental test-batteries, the Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB), to raven features enabling also a direct, quantitative comparison with the cognitive performance of two great ape species. Full-blown cognitive skills were already present at the age of four months with subadult ravens' cognitive performance appearing very similar to that of adult apes in tasks of physical (quantities, and causality) and social cognition (social learning, communication, and theory of mind). These unprecedented findings strengthen recent assessments of ravens' general intelligence, and aid to the growing evidence that the lack of a specific cortical architecture does not hinder advanced cognitive skills. Difficulties in certain cognitive scales further emphasize the quest to develop comparative test batteries that tap into true species rather than human specific cognitive skills, and suggest that socialization of test individuals may play a crucial role. We conclude to pay more attention to the impact of personality on cognitive output, and a currently neglected topic in Animal Cognition-the linkage between ontogeny and cognitive performance.Human mammary epithelial cells can proliferate and reorganize into polarized multi-cellular constructs in-vitro, thereby functioning as an important model system in recapitulating key steps of in-vivo morphogenesis. Current approaches to constructing such three-dimensional mimics of the in-vivo microenvironment have involved the use of complex and ill-defined naturally derived matrices, whose properties are difficult to manipulate independently, and which have therefore limited our ability to understand the extrinsic regulation of morphogenesis. Here, we employ an automated, high-throughput approach to array modular building blocks of synthetic components, and develop a systematic approach to analyze colonies resulting from these varied microenvironmental combinations. This methodology allows us to systematically map the relationship between microenvironmental properties and ensuing morphogenetic phenotypes. Our analysis reveals that apico-basal polarity of mammary epithelial cells occurs within a narrow range of matrix stiffness, and that phenotypic homogeneity is favored in matrices which are insensitive to MMP-mediated degradation. Furthermore, combinations of extracellular proteins in the matrix finely tune the morphology of the mammary colonies, suggesting that subtle disregulations of the microenvironment may play a significant role in pathological disease states. This approach, which leverages the combinatorial possibilities of modular synthetic artificial extracellular matrices with an automated technology platform, demonstrates how morphogenesis can be assessed systematically in 3D, and provides new insights into mammary epithelial multicellularity.Pneumonia in hospitalized patients is associated with myocardial injury. In this study, we evaluated risk factors for myocardial injury in hospitalized patients with pneumonia and its prognostic value. We retrieved all patients who were hospitalized in internal medicine departments in a tertiary medical center between 2008 and 2019 with a diagnosis of pneumonia. From 2008 to 2019 a total of 20,683 adult patients were hospitalized in internal medicine wards in the Sheba Medical Center with a diagnosis of pneumonia, 8195 were tested for troponin levels, and 3207 had elevated levels. Risk factors for elevated troponin levels were age, prior diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, and elevated creatinine level upon admission. The in-hospital mortality and 1-year mortality rate were higher among patients who had elevated troponin levels when using a propensity score-based matched analysis. In conclusion, in hospitalized patients with pneumonia elevated troponin levels have a major impact on prognosis. Hence, troponin levels may be used as another tool of risk stratification for patients hospitalized with pneumonia.We aimed was to assess the factors influencing therapy choice and clinical outcome after 3-4 months in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). In a retrospective, bi-centric study, the set consisted of 82 consecutive CVST patients (61 females; mean age 33.5 ± 15.7 years). Following data were collected baseline characteristics, presence of gender-specific risk factors (GSRF), location and extent of venous sinus impairment, clinical presentation, type of treatment, recanalization, presence of parenchymal lesions, and clinical outcome after 3-4 months (assessed using the modified Rankin Scale [mRS], with excellent outcome defined as mRS 0-1). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for statistical evaluation. After 3-4 months, complete recovery was achieved in 41 (50%) and excellent clinical outcome in 67 (81.7%) patients. Female sex (OR 0.11; p = 0.0189) and presence of focal neurologic deficit (OR 0.16; p = 0.0165) were identified as significant independent negative predictors and, the presence of GSRF (OR 15.63; p = 0.0011) as significant independent positive predictor of excellent clinical outcome. In conclusion, in our CVST patients, the presence of GSRF was associated with excellent clinical outcome, while the female sex itself was associated with poorer clinical outcome.The genus Paramignya (Rutaceae) comprises about 30 species typically distributing in tropical Asia. Like other genera of the family Rutaceae, the significant variation in the morphology of Paramignya species makes the taxonomic study and accurate identification become difficult. In Vietnam, Paramignya species have been mostly found in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces and used as traditional medicines. Recently, Paramignya trimera, a species of the genus Paramignya with local name "Xao tam phan" has been drawn attention and intensively exploited to treat liver diseases and cancers. However, the significant variations in the morphology and different local names of P. trimera have caused confusion and difficulty in the accurate identification and application of this plant for medicine. BGB-283 nmr In this study, the combination of both morphological and DNA sequence data has effectively supported the taxonomic identification of P. trimera and some relatives collected in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces. The comparison of the morphology and analysis of the phylogenetic trees suggested that there was a significant variation of P. trimera. In addition, some accessions of P. trimera with morphological characteristics similar and Atalantia buxifolia were likely the intergeneric hybrids between the two species. Analysis of genetic variation, interspecific and intraspecific distances using ITS, matK and rbcL sequences shown that P. trimera was closely related to A. buxifolia, Severinia monophylla and Luvunga scandens. In addition, matK sequences represented as the effective candidate DNA barcode to identify and distinguish Paramignya species from others of the family Rutaceae.The realization of the mechanical nonreciprocity requires breaking either the time-reversal symmetry or the material deformation symmetry. The time-reversal asymmetry was the commonly adopted approach to realize dynamic nonreciprocity. However, a static nonreciprocity requires-with no any other option-breaking the material deformation symmetry. By virtue of the Maxwell-Betti reciprocal theorem, the achievement of the static nonreciprocity seems to be conditional by the use of a nonlinear material. Here, we further investigate this and demonstrate a novel "nonreciprocal elasticity" concept. We investigated the conditions of the attainment of effective static nonreciprocity. We revealed that the realization of static nonreciprocity requires breaking the material deformation symmetry under the same kinematical and kinetical conditions, which can be achieved only and only if the material exhibits a nonreciprocal elasticity. By means of experimental and topological mechanics, we demonstrate that the realization of static nonreciprocity requires nonreciprocal elasticity no matter what the material is linear or nonlinear. We experimentally demonstrated linear and nonlinear metamaterials with nonreciprocal elasticities. The developed metamaterials were used to demonstrate that nonreciprocal elasticity is essential to realize static nonreciprocal-topological systems. The nonreciprocal elasticity developed here will open new venues of the design of metamaterials that can effectively break the material deformation symmetry and achieve, both, static and dynamic nonreciprocity.Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), with skin manifestations, has been associated with mutations in JUP encoding plakoglobin. Genotype-phenotype correlations regarding the penetrance of cardiac involvement, and age of onset have not been well established. We examined a cohort of 362 families with skin fragility to screen for genetic mutations with next-generation sequencing-based methods. In two unrelated families, a previously unreported biallelic mutation, JUP c.201delC; p.Ser68Alafs*92, was disclosed. The consequences of this mutation were determined by expression profiling both at tissue and ultrastructural levels, and the patients were evaluated by cardiac and cutaneous work-up. Whole-transcriptome sequencing by RNA-Seq revealed JUP as the most down-regulated gene among 21 skin fragility-associated genes. Immunofluorescence showed the lack of plakoglobin in the epidermis. Two probands, 2.5 and 22-year-old, with the same homozygous mutation, allowed us to study the cross-sectional progression of cardiac involvements in relation to age. The older patient had anterior T wave inversions, prolonged terminal activation duration (TAD), and RV enlargement by echocardiogram, and together with JUP mutation met definite ARVC diagnosis. The younger patient had no evidence of cardiac disease, but met possible ARVC diagnosis with one major criterion (the JUP mutation). In conclusion, we identified the same biallelic homozygous JUP mutation in two unrelated families with skin fragility, but cardiac findings highlighted age-dependent penetrance of ARVC. Thus, young, phenotypically normal patients with biallelic JUP mutations should be monitored for development of ARVC.The protection of quantum coherence is essential for building a practical quantum computer able to manipulate, store and read quantum information with a high degree of fidelity. Recently, it has been proposed to increase the operation time of a qubit by means of strong pulses to achieve a dynamical decoupling of the qubit from its environment. We propose and demonstrate a simple and highly efficient alternative route based on Floquet modes, which increases the Rabi decay time ([Formula see text]) in a number of materials with different spin Hamiltonians and environments. We demonstrate the regime [Formula see text] with [Formula see text] the relaxation time, thus providing a route for spin qubits and spin ensembles to be used in quantum information processing and storage.