Adaptation to hand-tapping affects sensory processing of numerosity directly: evidence from reaction times and confidence

Each file contains a matrix called “MatriceRisultati”. Each row of the matrix “MatriceRisultati” is a trial. The columns contain the following information: 1st: Number of trial 2nd: Test numerosity 3rd: Subject response on numerosity 4th: Subject response on their confidence level 5th: Response time 6th: 0 if the test numerosity 1

CONSERVACIÓN DE LA TORTUGA GOLFINA (LEPIDOCHELYS OLIVACEA ESCHSCHOLTZ, 1829)‎ Y EL TURISMO EN PLAYAS URBANAS: EL ACUARIO MAZATLÁN EN LA COSTA DEL PACÍFICO MEXICANO

This study shows the results of an interdisciplinary investigation on the conservation of the Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea Eschscholtz, 1829), a species that is considered endangered according to the Mexican Standard (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). This study shows the way in which some national institutions interact with tourist activity on urban beaches on the Mexican Pacific coast, particularly the Mazatlan Aquarium in Sinaloa. This aquarium is a para-statal entity governed by the city council of the city-port of Mazatlan, whose protection program for the Olive Ridley turtle is nationally recognized. For this study, interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological perspectives were built between fields of marine biology and comprehensive social sciences. The results show that, during two decades, 11,359 nests have been protected; 1,059,658 eggs recovered; 869,854 turtles released and a survival rate of 81.68%, all of this in a space where different interests converge, such as urban beaches which allow, through environmental education, the establishment of a mentality of care and connection with nature (sustainable) in the new generations of local citizens and tourists who visit the destination, discouraging the economic exploitation of the species in favor of the capitalist tourist company.El presente estudio muestra los resultados de una investigación interdisciplinaria sobre la conservación de la tortuga golfina (Lepidochelys olivacea Eschscholtz, 1829), una especie que se encuentra considera en peligro de acuerdo con la Norma Mexicana (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). Este estudio muestra la manera en que interactúan algunas instituciones nacionales con la actividad turística en playas urbanas de las costas del Pacífico Mexicano, particularmente el Acuario Mazatlán en Sinaloa. Este acuario es una entidad paraestatal regida por el ayuntamiento de la ciudad-puerto de Mazatlán, cuyo programa de protección a la tortuga golfina es reconocido a nivel nacional. Para este estudio se construyeron perspectivas teóricas y metodológicas interdisciplinarias entre ámbitos de la biología marina y las ciencias sociales comprensivas. Los resultados muestran que, durante dos décadas, se han resguardado 11359 nidos; 1059658 huevos recuperados; 869854 tortugas liberadas y un 81,68% de supervivencia, todo ello, en un espacio donde confluyen distintos intereses como lo son: las playas urbanas, que permiten mediante la educación ambiental, el establecimiento de un mentalidad de cuidado y vinculación con la naturaleza (sustentable) en las nuevas generaciones de ciudadanos locales y turistas que visitan el destino, desalentando la explotación económica de la especie a favor de la empresa turística capitalista

EEG signature of grouping strategies in numerosity perception

The moment we see a group of objects, we can appreciate its numerosity. Our numerical estimates can be imprecise for large sets (>4 items), but they become much faster and more accurate if items are clustered into groups compared to when they are randomly displaced. This phenomenon, termed groupitizing, is thought to leverage on the capacity to quickly identify groups from 1 to 4 items (subitizing) within larger sets, however evidence in support for this hypothesis is scarce. The present study searched for an electrophysiological signature of subitizing while participants estimated grouped numerosities exceeding this range by measuring event-related potential (ERP) responses to visual arrays of different numerosities and spatial configurations. The EEG signal was recorded while 22 participants performed a numerosity estimation task on arrays with numerosities in the subitizing (3 or 4) or estimation (6 or 8) ranges. In the latter case, items could be spatially arranged into subgroups (3 or 4) or randomly scattered. In both ranges, we observed a decrease in N1 peak latency as the number of items increased. Importantly, when items were arranged to form subgroups, we showed that the N1 peak latency reflected both changes in total numerosity and changes in the number of subgroups. However, this result was mainly driven by the number of subgroups to suggest that clustered elements might trigger the recruitment of the subitizing system at a relatively early stage. At a later stage, we found that P2p was mostly modulated by the total numerosity in the set, with much less sensitivity for the number of subgroups these might be segregated in. Overall, this experiment suggests that the N1 component is sensitive to both local and global parcelling of elements in a scene suggesting that it could be crucially involved in the emergence of the groupitizing advantage. On the other hand, the later P2p component seems to be much more bounded to the global aspects of the scene coding the total number of elements while being mostly blind to the number of subgroups in which elements are parsed

Conscious mobility for urban spaces: case studies review and indicator framework design

A lack of data collection on conscious mobility behaviors has been identified in current sustainable and smart mobility planning, development and implementation strategies. This leads to technocentric solutions that do not place people and their behavior at the center of new mobility solutions in urban centers around the globe. This paper introduces the concept of conscious mobility to link techno-economic analyses with user awareness on the impact of their travel decisions on other people, local urban infrastructure and the environment through systematic big data collection. A preliminary conscious mobility indicator framework is presented to leverage behavioral considerations to enhance urban-community mobility systems. Key factors for conscious mobility analysis have been derived from five case studies. The sample offers regional diversity (i.e., local, regional and the global urban contexts), as well as different goals in the transformation of conventional urban transport systems, from improving public transport efficiency and equipment electrification to mitigate pollution and climate risks, to focusing on equity, access and people safety. The case studies selected provide useful metrics on the adoption of cleaner, smarter, safer and more autonomous mobility technologies, along with novel people-centric program designs to build an initial set of conscious mobility indicators frameworks. The parameters were applied to the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in Mexico focusing on the needs of the communities that work, study and live around the local urban campus of the Tecnologico de Monterrey’s Distrito Tec. This case study, served as an example of how conscious mobility indicators could be applied and customized to a community and region of interest. This paper introduces the first application of the conscious mobility framework for urban communities’ mobility system analysis. This more holistic assessment approach includes dimensions such as society and culture, infrastructure and urban spaces, technology, government, normativity, economy and politics, and the environment. The expectation is that the conscious mobility framework of analysis will become a useful tool for smarter and sustainable urban and mobility problem solving and decision making to enhance the quality of life all living in urban communities

Polymeric synthetic nanoparticles for the induction of antigen-specific immunological tolerance

Current treatments to control pathological or unwanted immune responses often use broadly immunosuppressive drugs. New approaches to induce antigen-specific immunological tolerance that control both cellular and humoral immune responses are desirable. Here we describe the use of synthetic, biodegradable nanoparticles carrying either protein or peptide antigens and a tolerogenic immunomodulator, rapamycin, to induce durable and antigen-specific immune tolerance, even in the presence of potent Toll-like receptor agonists. Treatment with tolerogenic nanoparticles results in the inhibition of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell activation, an increase in regulatory cells, durable B-cell tolerance resistant to multiple immunogenic challenges, and the inhibition of antigen-specific hypersensitivity reactions, relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, and antibody responses against coagulation factor VIII in hemophilia A mice, even in animals previously sensitized to antigen. Only encapsulated rapamycin, not the free form, could induce immunological tolerance. Tolerogenic nanoparticle therapy represents a potential novel approach for the treatment of allergies, autoimmune diseases, and prevention of antidrug antibodies against biologic therapies.Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Internationa

Experimental evaluation of the importance of colonization history in early-life gut microbiota assembly

The factors that govern assembly of the gut microbiota are insufficiently understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that inter-individual microbiota variation can arise solely from differences in the order and timing by which the gut is colonized early in life. Experiments in which mice were inoculated in sequence either with two complex seed communities or a cocktail of four bacterial strains and a seed community revealed that colonization order influenced both the outcome of community assembly and the ecological success of individual colonizers. Historical contingency and priority effects also occurred in Rag1-/- mice, suggesting that the adaptive immune system is not a major contributor to these processes. In conclusion, this study established a measurable effect of colonization history on gut microbiota assembly in a model in which host and environmental factors were strictly controlled, illuminating a potential cause for the high levels of unexplained individuality in host-associated microbial communities. Supplemental figures attached below

Centennial-scale precipitation anomalies in the southern Altiplano (18° S) suggest an extra-tropical driver for the South American Summer Monsoon during the late Holocene

Modern precipitation anomalies in the Altiplano region of South America are closely linked to the strength of the South American Summer Monsoon (SASM) which is influenced by large-scales climate features sourced in the tropics such as latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, the timing, direction and spatial extent of precipitation changes prior to the instrumental period are still largely unknown, preventing a better understanding of the long-term drivers of the SASM and their effects over the Altiplano. Here we present a detailed pollen reconstruction from a sedimentary sequence covering the period between 4500-1000 cal yr BP in Lago Chungará (18° S; 4570 masl), a high elevation lake in the southwestern margin of the Altiplano where precipitation is delivered almost exclusively during the mature phase of the SASM in the austral summer. We distinguish three well-defined centennial-scale anomalies, with dry conditions between 4100-3300 and 1600-1000 cal yr BP, and a conspicuous humid interval between 2400-1600 cal yr BP; which resulted from weakening and strengthening of the SASM respectively. Comparisons with other climate reconstructions from the Altiplano, the Atacama Desert, the Tropical Andes and the southwestern Atlantic coast reveal that - unlike the modern climatological controls - past precipitation anomalies at Lago Chungará were largely decoupled from north-south shifts in the ITCZ and ENSO. A regionally coherent pattern of centennial-scale SASM variations and a significant latitudinal gradient in precipitation responses suggest the contribution of an extra-tropical moisture source for the SASM, with significant effects over precipitation variability in the Southern Altiplano