The nature of culture : an eight-grade model for the evolution and expansion of cultural capacities in hominins and other animals

Tracing the evolution of human culture through time is arguably one of the most controversial and complex scholarly endeavors, and a broad evolutionary analysis of how symbolic, linguistic, and cultural capacities emerged and developed in our species is lacking. Here we present a model that, in broad terms, aims to explain the evolution and portray the expansion of human cultural capacities (the EECC model), that can be used as a point of departure for further multidisciplinary discussion and more detailed investigation. The EECC model is designed to be flexible, and can be refined to accommodate future archaeological

Swainson\u27s Thrushes Do Not Show Strong Wing Selectivity Prior to Crossing the Gulf of Mexico

During long-distance fall migrations, nocturnally migrating Swainson’s Thrushes often stop on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast before flying across the Gulf. To minimize energetic costs, trans-Gulf migrants should stop over when they encounter crosswinds or headwinds, and depart with supportive tailwinds. However, time constrained migrants should be less selective, balancing costs of headwinds with benefits of continuing their migrations. To test the hypotheses that birds select supportive winds and that selectivity is mediated by seasonal time constraints, we examined whether local winds affected Swainson’s Thrushes’ arrival and departure at Ft. Morgan, Alabama, USA at annual, seasonal, and nightly time scales. Additionally, migrants could benefit from forecasting future wind conditions, crossing on nights when winds are consistently supportive across the Gulf, thereby avoiding the potentially lethal consequences of depleting their energetic reserves over water. To test whether birds forecast, we developed a movement model, calculated to what extent departure winds were predictive of future Gulf winds, and tested whether birds responded to predictability. Swainson’s Thrushes were only slightly selective and did not appear to forecast. By following the simple rule of avoiding only the strongest headwinds at departure, Swainson’s Thrushes could survive the 1500 km flight between Alabama and Veracruz, Mexico

Psychometric Evaluation of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Randomized Controlled Trials: A Rome Foundation Report

There is debate about how best to measure patient reported outcomes (PROs) in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We pooled data from clinical trials to measure the psychometric properties of IBS endpoints, including binary responses (e.g. “adequate relief”) and 50% improvement in symptom severity

Closed loop optogenetic control and thalamic state

Dating as far back as the eighteenth century with Luigi Galvani's seminal studies in bioelectricity, interfacing with the nervous system at fast timescales has proven invaluable for scientific investigation as well as clinical interventions in diseases such as Parkinson's and epilepsy. Traditionally, electrical stimulation has been the primary technique for neuronal control at fast timescales. Over the past fifteen years, the advent of optogenetics, a technique whereby optical excitation or inhibition of neural activity can be targeted genetically, has ushered in a new wave of experimental approaches to dissecting circuit function. To date, most optogenetic control of neural activity has been limited to open-loop stimulation. However, activity in the brain changes in a state-dependent fashion, presenting a moving target for stimulation. In contrast to open-loop stimulation, feedback control seeks to achieve target activity by updating stimulation in real-time as a function of recorded neuronal activity. In this thesis, engineering approaches to feedback control and state estimation are used to tackle the problems of controlling neuronal firing activity in vivo, with the goal of developing a set of methods that are general enough to be applied to manipulation of other types of neuronal activity. Specifically, we apply closed-loop optogenetic control (CLOC) to manipulate somatosensory thalamus, a deep brain region that serves as a central gateway for conducting sensory information to the cerebral cortex. First, we developed a design methodology for using a previously described model-free optogenetic control scheme to entrain patterns of rate modulation such as observed in the rodent somatosensory thalamus during active movement of facial whiskers. In order to ensure the optogenetic control scheme generalizes more gracefully to future multi-input/multi-output control problems, we next applied state-space model-based control and estimation techniques to the problem of manipulating thalamic firing rates. Importantly, using this approach we investigated the effectiveness of CLOC in the awake animal for the first time, as well as the response of local populations of neurons to optical stimulation rather than recording from single neurons at a time. Finally, we investigated the effect of CLOC on thalamic “state” more generally, analyze the robustness of control to a naturally-occurring disturbance (animal movement), and look at its consequences for downstream cortical activity and sensory response characteristics in the primary somatosensory pathway. As part of this analysis, a broadly-applicable state-space model based notion of thalamic state is put forth, marrying previously distinct neuroscientific and engineering notions of “state”.Ph.D

Quelques pièces à retouche unifaciale ou bifaciale provenant de Nieder-Bieber (Ville de Neuwied- Rhénanie-Palatinat - Allemagne)

Im vorhegenden Aufsatz werden drei flächenretuschierte Artefakte aus Niederbieber vorgestellt, die sich völlig von dem endpaläolithischen Fundmaterial unterscheiden. Es handelt sich zunächst um einen Abschlag mit beidseitiger Flächenretusche, weiterhin um ein Artefakt, das wahrscheinlich eine Vorarbeit einer Blattspitze darstellt und schlielich um ein Werkzeugfragment, das sehr groe Ähnlichkeit mit der Blattspitze aufweist. Wahrscheinlich stehen diese Stücke in einem Zusammenhang mit dem Szeletien (Blattspitzengruppen) und gehören damit zu dem Übergang von Mittel - zum Jungpaläolithikum, d.h. die Zeit zwischen den Interstadialen Hengelo und Denekamp (ca. 40 000 - ca. 30 000 B.P.).This article deals with three artefacts with uni- or bifacial retouch which differ completely from the other artefacts which are all final palaeolithic. The pieces in question are first of all a flake withe bifacial retouch, then an artefact which probably represents a preparatory work for a leaf point and, finally, a fragment of a tool which shows striking similarities to the leaf point. These pieces probably are connected with the Szeletian (Blattspitzengruppen) and thus belong to the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic, this seams to the span of time between the interstadials Hengelo and Denekamp (about 40 000 - about 30 000 B.P.).Dans cet article trois artefacts à retouche unifaciale ou bifaciale qui se distinguent complètement des autres artefacts qui sont à leur tour sans exception paléolithiques finals seront présentés. Il s'agit tout d'abord d'un éclat à retouche bifaciale, d'un artefact qui représente probablement un travail préparatoire pour une pointe foliacée, et enfin d'un fragment d'outil qui a une grande ressemblance avec la pointe foliacée. Les pièces sont vraisemblablement en rapport avec le Szélétien (Blattspitzengruppen) et appartiennent donc à la transition entre le Paléolithique moyen et le Paléolithique supérieur, c'est-à-dire à la période entre les interstades Hengelo et Denekamp (environ 40.000 - environ 30.000 B.P).Bolus Michael. Quelques pièces à retouche unifaciale ou bifaciale provenant de Nieder-Bieber (Ville de Neuwied- Rhénanie-Palatinat - Allemagne). In: Paléo. Supplément,1995. pp. 123-125

The role of the productive imagination in the interpretation of the the theatrical language of architecture

M.S.James P. Williamso