The Warburg Dance Movement Library-The WADAMO Library: A Validation Study

The Warburg Dance Movement Library is a validated set of 234 video clips of dance movements for empirical research in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience of action perception, affect perception and neuroaesthetics. The library contains two categories of video clips of dance movement sequences. Of each pair, one version of the movement sequence is emotionally expressive (Clip a), while the other version of the same sequence (Clip b) is not expressive but as technically correct as the expressive version (Clip a). We sought to complement previous dance video stimuli libraries. Facial information, colour and music have been removed, and each clip has been faded in and out. We equalised stimulus length (6 seconds, 8 counts in dance theory), the dancers’ clothing and video background and included both male and female dancers, and we controlled for technical correctness of movement execution. The Warburg Dance Movement Library contains both contemporary and ballet movements. Two online surveys (N = 160) confirmed the classification into the two categories of expressivity. Four additional online surveys (N = 80) provided beauty and liking ratings for each clip. A correlation matrix illustrates all variables of this norming study (technical correctness, expressivity, beauty, liking, luminance, motion energy)

Humans don’t time sub-second intervals like a stopwatch

Many activities require the ability to estimate intervals of time in an accurate and flexible manner. A traditional and popular account suggests that humans possess a kind of internal stopwatch that can be started, paused and stopped at will. Here we test this idea by measuring variable performance errors in three experiments. Participants had to compare the total time accumulated during one to three short target intervals with a single standard interval. With two or more target intervals, participants had to pause, but not reset, their putative internal stopwatches. By establishing baseline performance at two different standard durations and extrapolating based on Weber’s law, we were able to estimate how much performance should have deteriorated when target segments contained breaks. The decrement in performance we observed far exceeded the stopwatch prediction, and also exceeded the simulated predictions of a modified stopwatch with a slowing pacemaker. The data thus favour either a counter that cannot be paused during sub-second durations or alternative models of sub-second interval duration discrimination which do not posit a count-based metric for time. We discuss several possible strategies which participants might have implemented in order to apply such clocks in the split-interval task

Downregulation of genes with a function in axon outgrowth and synapse formation in motor neurones of the VEGF(delta/delta) mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an endothelial cell mitogen that stimulates vasculogenesis. It has also been shown to act as a neurotrophic factor in vitro and in vivo. Deletion of the hypoxia response element of the promoter region of the gene encoding VEGF in mice causes a reduction in neural VEGF expression, and results in adult-onset motor neurone degeneration that resembles amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Investigating the molecular pathways to neurodegeneration in the VEGF(delta/delta) mouse model of ALS may improve understanding of the mechanisms of motor neurone death in the human disease. Results: Microarray analysis was used to determine the transcriptional profile of laser captured spinal motor neurones of transgenic and wild-type littermates at 3 time points of disease. 324 genes were significantly differentially expressed in motor neurones of presymptomatic VEGF(delta/delta) mice, 382 at disease onset, and 689 at late stage disease. Massive transcriptional downregulation occurred with disease progression, associated with downregulation of genes involved in RNA processing at late stage disease. VEGF(delta/delta) mice showed reduction in expression, from symptom onset, of the cholesterol synthesis pathway, and genes involved in nervous system development, including axonogenesis, synapse formation, growth factor signalling pathways, cell adhesion and microtubule-based processes. These changes may reflect a reduced capacity of VEGF(delta/delta) mice for maintenance and remodelling of neuronal processes in the face of demands of neural plasticity. The findings are supported by the demonstration that in primary motor neurone cultures from VEGF(delta/delta) mice, axon outgrowth is significantly reduced compared to wild-type littermates. Conclusions: Downregulation of these genes involved in axon outgrowth and synapse formation in adult mice suggests a hitherto unrecognized role of VEGF in the maintenance of neuronal circuitry. Dysregulation of VEGF may lead to neurodegeneration through synaptic regression and dying-back axonopathy

A discontinuous finite element baroclinic marine model on unstructured prismatic meshes: I. Space discretization

We describe the space discretization of a three-dimensional baroclinic finite element model, based upon a discontinuous Galerkin method, while the companion paper (Comblen et al. 2010a) describes the discretization in time. We solve the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations governing marine flows on a mesh made up of triangles extruded from the surface toward the seabed to obtain prismatic three-dimensional elements. Diffusion is implemented using the symmetric interior penalty method. The tracer equation is consistent with the continuity equation. A Lax–Friedrichs flux is used to take into account internal wave propagation. By way of illustration, a flow exhibiting internal waves in the lee of an isolated seamount on the sphere is simulated. This enables us to show the advantages of using an unstructured mesh, where the resolution is higher in areas where the flow varies rapidly in space, the mesh being coarser far from the region of interest. The solution exhibits the expected wave structure. Linear and quadratic shape functions are used, and the extension to higher-order discretization is straightforward

Fast and robust mesh generation on the sphere - Application to coastal domains

This paper presents a fast and robust mesh generation procedure that is able to generate meshes of the earth system (ocean and continent) in matters of seconds. Our algorithm takes as input a standard shape-file i.e. geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. The input is initially coarsened in order to automatically remove unwanted channels that are under a desired resolution. A valid non-overlapping 1D mesh is then created on the sphere using the Euclidean coordinates system x, y, z. A modified Delaunay kernel is then proposed that enables to generate meshes on the sphere in a straightforward manner without parametrization. One of the main difficulty in dealing with geographical data is the over-sampled nature of coastline representations. We propose here an algorithm that automatically unrefines coastline data. Small features are automatically removed while always keeping a valid (non-overlapping) geometrical representation of the domain. A Delaunay refinement procedure is subsequently applied to the domain. The refinement scheme is also multi-threaded at a fine grain level, allowing to generate about a million points per second on 8 threads. Examples of meshes of the Baltic sea as well as of the global ocean are presented

Endovascular Treatment of the Descending Thoracic Aorta

AbstractObjectives: to report our initial experience with endovascular stent graft repair of a variety of thoracic aortic pathology.Design: retrospective single center study.Material and methods: between February 2000 and January 2002, endovascular stent graft repair was performed in 26 patients: traumatic aortic isthmus rupture (n=3), Type B dissection (n=11) and descending thoracic aortic aneurysm (n=12). The deployed stent graft systems were AneuRx-Medtronic (n=1), Talent-Medtronic (n=13) and Excluder-Gore (n=12).Results: successful deployment of the stent grafts in the intended position was achieved in all patients. No hospital mortality neither paraplegia were observed. Late, non procedure related, death occurred in four patients (15%). Access artery complications with rupture of the iliac artery occurred in two patients and were managed by iliac-femoral bypass. The left subclavian artery was overstented in seven patients (27%). Only the first patient received a carotido-subclavian bypass. The mean maximal aortic diameter decreased significantly in patients treated for descending thoracic aneurysm. Only one patient had an endoleak type II after 6 months without enlargement of the aneurysm. Complete thrombosis of the thoracic false lumen occurred in all but one patient treated for Type B dissection 6 months postoperatively. Two patients underwent a consecutive stent graft placement, due to a large re-entry tear distal to the first stent graft.Conclusions: endovascular stent graft repair for Type B dissection, descending thoracic aneurysm and aortic isthmus rupture is a promising less-invasive alternative to surgical repair. Further studies are mandatory to determine its long-term efficacy

Comparative susceptibility of mosquito populations in North Queensland, Australia to oral infection with dengue virus.

Dengue is the most prevalent arthropod-borne virus, with at least 40% of the world's population at risk of infection each year. In Australia, dengue is not endemic, but viremic travelers trigger outbreaks involving hundreds of cases. We compared the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from two geographically isolated populations to two strains of dengue virus serotype 2. We found, interestingly, that mosquitoes from a city with no history of dengue were more susceptible to virus than mosquitoes from an outbreak-prone region, particularly with respect to one dengue strain. These findings suggest recent evolution of population-based differences in vector competence or different historical origins. Future genomic comparisons of these populations could reveal the genetic basis of vector competence and the relative role of selection and stochastic processes in shaping their differences. Lastly, we show the novel finding of a correlation between midgut dengue titer and titer in tissues colonized after dissemination

Wear of human teeth: a tribological perspective

The four main types of wear in teeth are attrition (enamel-on-enamel contact), abrasion (wear due to abrasive particles in food or toothpaste), abfraction (cracking in enamel and subsequent material loss), and erosion (chemical decomposition of the tooth). They occur as a result of a number of mechanisms including thegosis (sliding of teeth into their lateral position), bruxism (tooth grinding), mastication (chewing), toothbrushing, tooth flexure, and chemical effects. In this paper the current understanding of wear of enamel and dentine in teeth is reviewed in terms of these mechanisms and the major influencing factors are examined. In vitro tooth wear simulation and in vivo wear measurement and ranking are also discussed

Killing them softly:managing pathogen polymorphism and virulence in spatially variable environments

Understanding why pathogen populations are genetically variable is vital because genetic variation fuels evolution, which often hampers disease control efforts. Here I argue that classical models of evolution in spatially variable environments – specifically, models of hard and soft selection – provide a useful framework to understand the maintenance of pathogen polymorphism and the evolution of virulence. First, the similarities between models of hard and soft selection and pathogen life cycles are described, highlighting how the type and timing of pathogen control measures impose density regulation that may affect both the level of pathogen polymorphism and virulence. The article concludes with an outline of potential lines of future theoretical and experimental work