An enigmatic hypoplastic defect of the maxillary lateral incisor in recent and fossil orangutans from Sumatra (Pongo abelii) and Borneo (Pongo pygmaeus)

Developmental dental pathologies provide insight into health of primates during ontogeny, and are particularly useful for elucidating the environment in which extant and extinct primates matured. Our aim is to evaluate whether the prevalence of an unusual dental defect on the mesiolabial enamel of the upper lateral incisor, thought to reflect dental crowding during maturation, is lesser in female orangutans, with their smaller teeth, than in males; and in Sumatran orangutans, from more optimal developmental habitats, than in those from Borneo. Our sample includes 49 Pongo pygmaeus (87 teeth), 21 P. abelii (38 teeth), Late Pleistocene paleo-orangutans from Sumatra and Vietnam (67 teeth), Late Miocene catarrhines Lufengpithecus lufengensis (2 teeth), and Anapithecus hernyaki (7 teeth). Methods include micro-CT scans, radiography, and dental metrics of anterior teeth. We observed fenestration between incisor crypts and marked crowding of unerupted crowns, which could allow tooth-to-tooth contact. Tooth size does not differ significantly in animals with or without the defect, implicating undergrowth of the jaw as the proximate cause of dental crowding and defect presence. Male orangutans from both islands show more defects than do females. The defect is significantly more common in Bornean orangutans (71 %) compared to Sumatran (29 %). Prevalence among fossil forms falls between these extremes, except that all five individual Anapithecus show one or both incisors with the defect. We conclude that maxillary lateral incisor defect is a common developmental pathology of apes that is minimized in optimal habitats and that such evidence can be used to infer habitat quality in extant and fossil apes

Early Geometrical Thinking in the Environment of Patterns, Mosaics and Isometries

This book discusses the learning and teaching of geometry, with a special focus on kindergarten and primary education. It examines important new trends and developments in research and practice, and emphasizes theoretical, empirical and developmental issues. Further, it discusses various topics, including curriculum studies and implementation, spatial abilities and geometric reasoning, as well as the psychological roots of geometrical thinking and teacher preparation in geometry education. It considers these issues from historical, epistemological, cognitive semiotic and educational points of view in the context of students' difficulties and the design of teaching and curricula

Towards Comprehensive Foundations of Computational Intelligence

Abstract. Although computational intelligence (CI) covers a vast variety of different methods it still lacks an integrative theory. Several proposals for CI foundations are discussed: computing and cognition as compression, meta-learning as search in the space of data models, (dis)similarity based methods providing a framework for such meta-learning, and a more general approach based on chains of transformations. Many useful transformations that extract information from features are discussed. Heterogeneous adaptive systems are presented as particular example of transformation-based systems, and the goal of learning is redefined to facilitate creation of simpler data models. The need to understand data structures leads to techniques for logical and prototype-based rule extraction, and to generation of multiple alternative models, while the need to increase predictive power of adaptive models leads to committees of competent models. Learning from partial observations is a natural extension towards reasoning based on perceptions, and an approach to intuitive solving of such problems is presented. Throughout the paper neurocognitive inspirations are frequently used and are especially important in modeling of the higher cognitive functions. Promising directions such as liquid and laminar computing are identified and many open problems presented.

Forecasting of dental fillings durability on the basis of laboratory evaluation

W artykule opisano metodę prognozowania trwałości wypełnień stomatologicznych według kryterium zmęczeniowej propagacji szczeliny brzeżnej pomiędzy wypełnieniem a twardymi tkankami zęba. Szczelina brzeżna inicjowana jest poprzez skurcz polimeryzacyjny wypełnienia. Rozwój szczeliny jest wynikiem wielu zjawisk zużyciowych. Celem badań było określenie wpływu udarowych obciążeń mechanicznych (IC) oraz cyklicznych obciążeń termicznych - szoków termicznych (TC) na degradację szczelności wypełnienia stomatologicznego oraz wykazanie konieczności uwzględniania tego typu wymuszeń w przyspieszonych badaniach laboratoryjnych trwałości wypełnień stomatologicznych. Wykazano, że cykliczne szoki termiczne (TC) oraz udarowe obciążenia mechaniczne (IC) mają istotny wpływ na postęp degradacji wypełnienia. Wykazano również, że w badaniach in vitro wymuszenia tego typu nie mogą być pominięte. Precyzyjna ocena stanu wypełnienia, oparta na ocenie ilościowej, powinna uwzględniać pomiary nieszczelności w całym zakresie głębokości ubytku tzn. we wszystkich strefach styku wypełnienia z tkankami zęba a nie tylko przy powierzchni żucia.The paper describes a method of forecasting durability of dental fillings according to the criterion of fatigue expansion (propagation) of the marginal gap between the filling and the hard tissue of the tooth. The marginal fissure is initiated by the polymer shrinkage of the filling. Development of the fissure results from a number of wear phenomena. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of impact mechanical loadings (IC) and thermal impact loadings (TC) on degradation of tightness of a dental filling as well as to provide evidence for the necessity of including this type of forces in accelerated laboratory tests of dental filling durability.It has been revealed that cyclical thermal shocks (TC) and impact mechanical loadings play a crucial role in degradation of the filling. In authors’ opinion, this type of forces shall be taken into consideration while performing In vitro tests. Accurate evaluation of the condition of teething, based on quantitative evaluation shall include the measurements of untightness in all contact zones between a filling and the tooth tissues, not only by the mastication surface