No link between handedness and spatial navigation: evidence from over 400 000 participants in 41 countries

There is an active debate concerning the association of handedness and spatial ability. Past studies used small sample sizes. Determining the effect of handedness on spatial ability requires a large, cross-cultural sample of participants and a navigation task with real-world validity. Here, we overcome these challenges via the mobile app Sea Hero Quest. We analysed the navigation performance from 422 772 participants from 41 countries and found no reliable evidence for any difference in spatial ability between leftand right-handers across all countries. A small but growing gap in performance appears for participants over 64 years old, with left-handers outperforming right-handers. Further analysis, however, suggests that this gap is most likely due to selection bias. Overall, our study clarifies the factors associated with spatial ability and shows that left-handedness is not associated with either a benefit or a deficit in spatial ability

Ianus: an Adpative FPGA Computer

Dedicated machines designed for specific computational algorithms can outperform conventional computers by several orders of magnitude. In this note we describe {\it Ianus}, a new generation FPGA based machine and its basic features: hardware integration and wide reprogrammability. Our goal is to build a machine that can fully exploit the performance potential of new generation FPGA devices. We also plan a software platform which simplifies its programming, in order to extend its intended range of application to a wide class of interesting and computationally demanding problems. The decision to develop a dedicated processor is a complex one, involving careful assessment of its performance lead, during its expected lifetime, over traditional computers, taking into account their performance increase, as predicted by Moore's law. We discuss this point in detail

An in vivo culture system for human embryos using an encapsulation technology: a pilot study

BACKGROUND Animal studies have demonstrated better embryo development in vivo than in vitro. This pilot study tested the feasibility of using a novel in utero culture system (IUCS) to obtain normal human fertilization and embryo development. METHODS The IUCS device comprised a perforated silicone hollow tube. The study included 13 patients (<36 years) undergoing a first intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment and 167 metaphase II oocytes in three groups. In Group 1, 1-2 h after ICSI, sibling oocytes were assigned to IUCS or conventional in vitro culture. The device was retrieved on Day 1, and all zygotes were cultured in vitro till Day 5. In Group 2, fertilized oocytes were assigned on Day 1, embryos retrieved on Day 3 and all embryos cultured till Day 5. In Group 3, after Day 0 assignment, embryos were retrieved on Day 3 for blastomere biopsy and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and cultured until Day 5. The highest quality blastocysts were transferred on Day 5. RESULTS Fertilization and embryo development were comparable in the in vitro and IUCS arms, with a tendency towards better embryo quality in the IUCS. FISH analysis in Group 3 revealed more normal embryos using the IUCS (P = 0.049). Three clinical pregnancies and live births were obtained: two from the IUCS arm and one from the in vitro arm. CONCLUSIONS Our pilot study shows that this new IUCS appears to be feasible and safe, supporting normal fertilization, embryo development and normal chromosomal segregation. Furthermore, live births are possible after the transient presence of a silicone device in the uterus.Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT0048010

A New Rapid Method for the Authentication of Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) in Seafood Products Using Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) and Lateral Flow Assay (LFA)

The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a highly valued cephalopod species which is marketed with different grades of processing, such as frozen, cooked or even canned, and is likely to be mislabeled. Some molecular methods have been developed for the authentication of these products, but they are either labor-intensive and/or require specialized equipment and personnel. This work describes a newly designed rapid, sensitive and easy-to-use method for the detection of Octopus vulgaris in food products, based on Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) and a detection using a Lateral Flow assay (LFA). After studying several gene markers, a system of primers and nfo-probe was designed in the COI (Cytochrome Oxidase I) region and was successfully tested in 32 reference samples (covering 14 species) and 32 commercial products, after optimization. The method was also validated in a ring trial with eight European laboratories and represents a useful tool for food authenticity control at all levels of the value chain

Identification and validation of a QTL influencing bitter pit symptoms in apple (Malus x domestica)

Bitter pit is one of the most economically important physiological disorders affecting apple fruit production, causing soft discrete pitting of the cortical flesh of the apple fruits which renders them unmarketable. The disorder is heritable; however, the environment and cultural practices play a major role in expression of symptoms. Bitter pit has been shown to be controllable to a certain extent using calcium sprays and dips; however, their use does not entirely prevent the incidence of the disorder. Previously, bitter pit has been shown to be controlled by two dominant genes, and markers on linkage group 16 of the apple genome were identified that were significantly associated with the expression of bitter pit symptoms in a genome-wide association study. In this investigation, we identified a major QTL for bitter pit defined by two microsatellite (SSR) markers. The association of the SSRs with the bitter pit locus, and their ability to predict severe symptom expression, was confirmed through screening of individuals with stable phenotypic expression from an additional mapping progeny. The data generated in this current study suggest a two gene model could account for the control of bitter pit symptom expression; however, only one of the loci was detectable, most likely due to dominance of alleles carried by both parents of the mapping progeny used. The SSR markers identified are cost-effective, robust and multi-allelic and thus should prove useful for the identification of seedlings with resistance to bitter pit using marker-assisted selection in apple breeding programs

The Spin Glass Phase in the Four-State, Three-Dimensional Potts Model

We perform numerical simulations, including parallel tempering, on the Potts glass model with binary random quenched couplings using the JANUS application-oriented computer. We find and characterize a glassy transition, estimating the location of the transition and the value of the critical exponents. We show that there is no ferromagnetic transition in a large temperature range around the glassy critical temperature. We also compare our results with those obtained recently on the "random permutation" Potts glass.Comment: 7 pages and 3 figures. Corrected minor typo

Síntesis de ectomicorrizas entre Cistus sp. y las especies del complejo Boletus edulis

En los jarales resultantes de la reiteración de incendios forestales en el oeste de Castilla y León (León, Salamanca y Zamora) es habitual la presencia de fructificaciones de Boletus edulis Bull. La recolección de estos hongos micorrícicos comestibles en los jarales dominados exclusivamente por Cistus ladanifer, supone una oportunidad económica alternativa a los usos tradicionales para zonas con bajos ingresos procedentes del monte. El objetivo de éste trabajo es la obtención de ectomicorrizas de las especies del complejo B. edulis con Cistus sp. bajo condiciones controladas, y las descripciones anatómicas detalladas de las mismas. La identificación de los aislados fúngicos de Boletus aereus Bull., B. edulis, B. reticulatus Schaeff. y B. pinophilus Pilát & Dermek fue confirmada por métodos moleculares. Se han obtenido ectomicorrizas de Boletus aereus, B. edulis y B. reticulatus con Cistus albidus L. y C. ladanifer en condiciones de síntesis en cultivo puro, en un substrato de turbavermiculita estéril y solución nutritiva. Las ectomicorrizas formadas se describieron siguiendo los caracteres anatómicos y morfológicos habituales. Las tres ectomicorrizas son muy similares, de color blanco, con ramificación monopodial-pinnada, manto formado por tres capas plectenquimatosas y con rizomorfos de tipo boletoide