Microscopic anatomy of Eukoenenia spelaea (Palpigradi)

Eukoenenia spelaea is a troglobiont palpigrade found in caves of the European Alps. These small animals have a maximum body length of 1.5 mm without the characteristic terminal flagellum. They lack eyes and breathing organs but have unique sensory organs. Detailed morphological studies of Palpigradi date back the late 19th and early 20th century. The placement of Palpigradi within a morphology based phylogeny of Euchelicerata is difficult. Data on microscopic anatomy and comparative morphology is incomplete, they show numerous plesiomorphic features, and they are so small, resulting in reduction, simplification and loss of organ systems. In this study, I analyze the microscopic anatomy of Eukoenenia spelaea, present evidence that progenesis is the developmental mechanism resulting in a paedomorphic adult morphology and miniaturized size, and discuss the results in a phylogenetic framework. I used serial sectioning for light microscopy as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopy to describe the microscopic anatomy. The morphological analysis comprised all organs and external structures. Several new morphological features were described which are unique for Eukoenenia spelaea. For other structures I provide evidence that allow for new interpretations in the light of evolutionary morphology. (1) The prosoma is dorsally divided into two prosomal shields, the pro- and metapeltidium. (2) The ventral plate is probably an osmoregulatory organ. (3) The prosternum consists of the fused sternites of segments 2–4. (4) The frontal organ and trichobothria were found to have a morphology which is unique within euchelicerates. (5) The esophagus is enveloped by the supraesophageal ganglion associated with the chelicerae. (6) The heart lacks ostia, a pericard, a nerve, and well developed musculature. (7) The rostrosoma is not associated with chelicerae or pedipalps. (8) The midgut is simple and sac-like, a hindgut is missing. (9) The coxal gland (tubule and glandular section) has no lumen. (10) Females have an unpaired ovary with only few large eggs. (11) The aflagellate sperm has a prominent vacuole. The morphological results were fed into a phylogenetic analysis. Several autapomorphic characters were recognized to characterize Palpigradi (i.e. the dorsal division of the prosoma into pro- and metapeltidium, the frontal organ, and the rostrosoma with no association with chelicerae or pedipalps). A phylogenetic sister group relationship was found with Acaromorpha with which they share the morphology of the leg musculature and joints, the opening of the coxal organ on leg 1, the lack of a postcerebral suction pump, a myogenic heart, and vacuolated sperm. This phylogenetic position suggests that the common ancestor of Palpigradi and Acaromorpha was already small. The small body size of Eukoenenia spelaea (and probably all Palpigradi) resulted in reduction or even loss of structures like musculature, and the complete lack of breathing organs and Malpighian tubules. Some organs showed a typical paedomorphotic morphology which was interpreted as the result of progenetic development, e.g. the microscopic anatomy of the heart, the brain, and the midgut. These findings suggest that E. spelaea is miniaturized

Microscopic anatomy of Eukoenenia spelaea (Palpigradi)

Eukoenenia spelaea is a troglobiont palpigrade found in caves of the European Alps. These small animals have a maximum body length of 1.5 mm without the characteristic terminal flagellum. They lack eyes and breathing organs but have unique sensory organs. Detailed morphological studies of Palpigradi date back the late 19th and early 20th century. The placement of Palpigradi within a morphology based phylogeny of Euchelicerata is difficult. Data on microscopic anatomy and comparative morphology is incomplete, they show numerous plesiomorphic features, and they are so small, resulting in reduction, simplification and loss of organ systems. In this study, I analyze the microscopic anatomy of Eukoenenia spelaea, present evidence that progenesis is the developmental mechanism resulting in a paedomorphic adult morphology and miniaturized size, and discuss the results in a phylogenetic framework. I used serial sectioning for light microscopy as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopy to describe the microscopic anatomy. The morphological analysis comprised all organs and external structures. Several new morphological features were described which are unique for Eukoenenia spelaea. For other structures I provide evidence that allow for new interpretations in the light of evolutionary morphology. (1) The prosoma is dorsally divided into two prosomal shields, the pro- and metapeltidium. (2) The ventral plate is probably an osmoregulatory organ. (3) The prosternum consists of the fused sternites of segments 2–4. (4) The frontal organ and trichobothria were found to have a morphology which is unique within euchelicerates. (5) The esophagus is enveloped by the supraesophageal ganglion associated with the chelicerae. (6) The heart lacks ostia, a pericard, a nerve, and well developed musculature. (7) The rostrosoma is not associated with chelicerae or pedipalps. (8) The midgut is simple and sac-like, a hindgut is missing. (9) The coxal gland (tubule and glandular section) has no lumen. (10) Females have an unpaired ovary with only few large eggs. (11) The aflagellate sperm has a prominent vacuole. The morphological results were fed into a phylogenetic analysis. Several autapomorphic characters were recognized to characterize Palpigradi (i.e. the dorsal division of the prosoma into pro- and metapeltidium, the frontal organ, and the rostrosoma with no association with chelicerae or pedipalps). A phylogenetic sister group relationship was found with Acaromorpha with which they share the morphology of the leg musculature and joints, the opening of the coxal organ on leg 1, the lack of a postcerebral suction pump, a myogenic heart, and vacuolated sperm. This phylogenetic position suggests that the common ancestor of Palpigradi and Acaromorpha was already small. The small body size of Eukoenenia spelaea (and probably all Palpigradi) resulted in reduction or even loss of structures like musculature, and the complete lack of breathing organs and Malpighian tubules. Some organs showed a typical paedomorphotic morphology which was interpreted as the result of progenetic development, e.g. the microscopic anatomy of the heart, the brain, and the midgut. These findings suggest that E. spelaea is miniaturized

Data Augmentation of Wearable Sensor Data for Parkinson's Disease Monitoring using Convolutional Neural Networks

While convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been successfully applied to many challenging classification applications, they typically require large datasets for training. When the availability of labeled data is limited, data augmentation is a critical preprocessing step for CNNs. However, data augmentation for wearable sensor data has not been deeply investigated yet. In this paper, various data augmentation methods for wearable sensor data are proposed. The proposed methods and CNNs are applied to the classification of the motor state of Parkinson's Disease patients, which is challenging due to small dataset size, noisy labels, and large intra-class variability. Appropriate augmentation improves the classification performance from 77.54\% to 86.88\%.Comment: ICMI2017 (oral session

Wenn Gedanken die Kranken kränker machen: Zum Einfluss irrationaler Gedanken auf den wahrgenommenen Gesundheitszustand und die Zufriedenheit mit der Behandlung

Die Theorie der Rational-Emotiven-Verhaltenstherapie (REVT) von Albert Ellis geht davon aus, dass nicht objektive Ereignisse über die subjektive Befindlichkeit entscheiden, sondern die individuellen Kognitionen im Zusammenhang mit diesen Ereignissen. Insbesondere sollen irrationale Überzeugungen die Ursache von Unzufriedenheit bis hin zu psychischen Störungen sein. Auf Grundlage dieser Überlegungen wird an verschiedenen Krankenhäusern anhand einer Zufallsstichprobe von Patienten der Zusammenhang zwischen wahrgenommenem Gesundheitszustand und Zufriedenheit mit dem Krankenhausaufenthalt auf der einen und der Zustimmung zu verschiedenen irrationalen Überzeugungen auf der anderen Seite untersucht. Zwischen beiden Variablengruppen ergeben sich erwartungsgemäß überwiegend negative Zusammenhänge. Insbesondere die irrationale Überzeugung, weniger wert zu sein, als ein gesunder Mensch, korreliert signifikant negativ mit der Gesamtzufriedenheit mit dem Krankenhausaufenthalt

An approach to construct a three-dimensional isogeometric model from µ-CT scan data with an application to the bridge of a violin

We present an algorithm to build a ready to use isogeometric model from scan data gained by a µ-CT scan. Based on a three-dimensional multi-patch reference geometry, which includes the major topological features, we fit the outline, then the cross-section and finally the three-dimensional geometry. The key step is to fit the outline, where a non-linear least squares problem is solved with a Gauss-Newton approach presented by Borges and Pastva (2002). We extend this approach by a regularisation and a precise interpolation of selected data points. The resulting NURBS geometry is ready for applying isogeometric analysis tools for efficient numerical simulations. As a particular example we examine the scan data of a violin bridge and present the complete workflow from the µ-CT scan up to the numerical simulation based on isogeometric mortar methods. We illustrate the relevance of the constructed geometry with a vibro-acoustical application

A QoS Aware Approach to Service-Oriented Communication in Future Automotive Networks

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is about to enter automotive networks based on the SOME/IP middleware and an Ethernet high-bandwidth communication layer. It promises to meet the growing demands on connectivity and flexibility for software components in modern cars. Largely heterogeneous service requirements and time-sensitive network functions make Quality-of-Service (QoS) agreements a vital building block within future automobiles. Existing middleware solutions, however, do not allow for a dynamic selection of QoS. This paper presents a service-oriented middleware for QoS aware communication in future cars. We contribute a protocol for dynamic QoS negotiation along with a multi-protocol stack, which supports the different communication classes as derived from a thorough requirements analysis. We validate the feasibility of our approach in a case study and evaluate its performance in a simulation model of a realistic in-car network. Our findings indicate that QoS aware communication can indeed meet the requirements, while the impact of the service negotiations and setup times of the network remain acceptable provided the cross-traffic during negotiations stays below 70% of the available bandwidth

Diterpenes and Phenolic Compounds from Salvia brachyodon Vandas

Salvia brachyodon, the short-tooth sage, is one of the rarest plant species and endemic in the Adriatic area of the Balkan Peninsula. As aside from its essential oil, only limited information on its phytochemical composition is known, a more detailed study of the leaves was undertaken. From its leaves two diterpenes, agastanol (2), and a new natural compound 1, i.e., 3-methyl-4-methylen-11,12,14-trihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one, were isolated and identified by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. In addition, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside and rosmarinic acid were identfied by comparison with reference compounds. The fraction containg the diterpenes as well as the isolated compound 1 showed significant antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The diterpenes of S. brachyodon represent promising antimycobacterial substances for further evaluation. Due to the endangered nature of the plant, the wide use of S. brachyodon and its bioactive compounds could be achieved by growing the plants in culture