Speech-to-Speech synchronization protocol to classify human participants as high or low auditory-motor synchronizers

The ability to synchronize a motor action to a rhythmic auditory stimulus is often considered an innate human skill. However, some individuals lack the ability to synchronize speech to a perceived syllabic rate. Here, we describe a simple and fast protocol to classify a single native English speaker as being or not being a speech synchronizer. This protocol consists of four parts: the pretest instructions and volume adjustment, the training procedure, the execution of the main task, and data analysis

Indicadores hematológicos y hemoquímicos de dasyprocta fuliginosa (guara, guatín o ñeque) en cautiverio

Los indicadores hematológicos y hemoquímicos de la Dasyprocta fuliginosa (guara, guatín o ñeque) en cautiverio se realizaron en el municipio de Florencia, Caquetá (Colombia), pretendiendo iniciar una referencia de datos para estudios de conservación, manejo productivo y clínico de la especie. Fueron utilizados diez animales machos en dos estados de desarrollo (juveniles y adultos). Para hemograma se determinaron hematocrito (técnica de microhematocrito), hemoglobina (método espectrofotométrico de la cianometahemoglobina), recuento total de leucocitos (técnica del hemocitómetro) y recuento diferencial de leucocitos (frotis sanguíneo coloreado), y en hemoquímica se determinó glicemia (método GOD-PAP), colesterol (método CHOD-PAP), triglicéridos (método GPO-PAP), proteínas totales (método Biuret) y creatinina (método colorimétrico simétrico). Los valores promedios para los parámetros evaluados en hemograma fueron: hematocrito 49,9 ± 2,9%; hemoglobina 16,5 ± 1,1 g/dl; recuento leucocitario total 6650 ± 1276,9 leucocitos/mm3; neutrófilos 17,7 ± 12,9%; linfocitos 77,6 ± 12,4%, y eosinófilos 5,1 ± 3,2 %. Para hemoquímica los resultados fueron: glicemia 249,9 ± 47,1 mg/dl; colesterol 108,1 ± 20,1 mg/dl; triglicéridos 108,1 ± 20,1 mg/dl, proteínas totales 5,7 ± 0,6 g/dl, y creatinina 1,7 ± 0,2 mg/dl. En algunos individuos los valores se desviaron significativamente del promedio, debiéndose tal vez a circunstancias fisiológicas e individuales (estrés, respuesta a mecanismos externos) o por lesiones que padecían días antes a la toma de la muestra. Los indicadores del hemograma estuvieron en promedios similares a los de otros roedores del piedemonte amazónico: Proechimys sp., Agouti paca e Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris, al igual que en los hemoquímicos, salvo en glicemia, en donde se encontraron mayores valores para Dasyprocta fuliginosa, debido posiblemente al régimen alimenticio que se basaba sobre todo en frutas y subproductos de cocina con altos contenidos de carbohidratos

Links between topography, wind, deflation, lakes and dust: The case of the Bodélé Depression, Chad

The Bodélé Depression, Chad is the planet's largest single source of dust. Deflation from the Bodélé could be seen as a simple coincidence of two key prerequisites: strong surface winds and a large source of suitable sediment. But here we hypothesise that long term links between topography, winds, deflation and dust ensure the maintenance of the dust source such that these two apparently coincidental key ingredients are connected by land-atmosphere processes with topography acting as the overall controlling agent. We use a variety of observational and numerical techniques, including a regional climate model, to show that: 1) contemporary deflation from the Bodélé is delineated by topography and a surface wind stress maximum; 2) the Tibesti and Ennedi mountains play a key role in the generation of the erosive winds in the form of the Bodélé Low Level Jet (LLJ); 3) enhanced deflation from a stronger Bodélé LLJ during drier phases, for example, the Last Glacial Maximum, was probably sufficient to create the shallow lake in which diatoms lived during wetter phases, such as the Holocene pluvial. Winds may therefore have helped to create the depression in which erodible diatom material accumulated. Instead of a simple coincidence of nature, dust from the world's largest source may result from the operation of long term processes on paleo timescales which have led to ideal conditions for dust generation in the world's largest dust source. Similar processes plausibly operate in other dust hotspots in topographic depressions

Transfer/Breakup Modes in the 6He+209Bi Reaction Near and Below the Coulomb Barrier

Reaction products from the interaction of 6He with 209Bi have been measured at energies near the Coulomb barrier. A 4He group of remarkable intensity, which dominates the total reaction cross section, has been observed. The angular distribution of the group suggests that it results primarily from a direct nuclear process. It is likely that this transfer/breakup channel is the doorway state that accounts for the previously observed large sub-barrier fusion enhancement in this system.Comment: 4 pages; 3 figure

The LKB1-salt-inducible kinase pathway functions as a key gluconeogenic suppressor in the liver

LKB1 is a master kinase that regulates metabolism and growth through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and 12 other closely related kinases. Liver-specific ablation of LKB1 causes increased glucose production in hepatocytes in vitro and hyperglycaemia in fasting mice in vivo. Here we report that the salt-inducible kinases (SIK1, 2 and 3), members of the AMPK-related kinase family, play a key role as gluconeogenic suppressors downstream of LKB1 in the liver. The selective SIK inhibitor HG-9-91-01 promotes dephosphorylation of transcriptional co-activators CRTC2/3 resulting in enhanced gluconeogenic gene expression and glucose production in hepatocytes, an effect that is abolished when an HG-9-91-01-insensitive mutant SIK is introduced or LKB1 is ablated. Although SIK2 was proposed as a key regulator of insulin-mediated suppression of gluconeogenesis, we provide genetic evidence that liver-specific ablation of SIK2 alone has no effect on gluconeogenesis and insulin does not modulate SIK2 phosphorylation or activity. Collectively, we demonstrate that the LKB1-SIK pathway functions as a key gluconeogenic gatekeeper in the liver

Alpha Particle Emission from6He + 209Bi

In a recent experiment, we have for the first time studied near-barrier and sub-barrier fusion of the exotic Borromean nucleus 6He with 209Bi and found that the sub-barrier fusion of this system is exceptionally enhanced, implying a 20% reduction in the nominal fusion barrier. It was suggested that this striking effect might he due to coupling to positive Q-value neutron transfer channels, leading to neutron flow and consequent neck formation between the projectile and target. The results of a new experiment using the radioactive nuclear beam facility at the University of Notre Dame to measure fast ⍺-particle emission from 6He + 209Bi are discussed. A exceptional1y strong transfer/breakup group was observed at near-barrier and sub-barrier energies; this is very likely to be the doorway state that explains the enhanced sub-barrier fusion. In a recent experiment, we have for the first time studied near-barrier and sub-barrier fusion of the exotic Borromean nucleus 6He with 209Bi and found that the sub-barrier fusion of this system is exceptionally enhanced, implying a 20% reduction in the nominal fusion barrier. It was suggested that this striking effect might he due to coupling to positive Q-value neutron transfer channels, leading to neutron flow and consequent neck formation between the projectile and target. The results of a new experiment using the radioactive nuclear beam facility at the University of Notre Dame to measure fast ⍺-particle emission from 6He + 209Bi are discussed. A exceptional1y strong transfer/breakup group was observed at near-barrier and sub-barrier energies; this is very likely to be the doorway state that explains the enhanced sub-barrier fusion

Near- And Sub-barrier Fusion Of The Be7+ Ni58 System

Evaporation proton yields were measured for the fusion of the radioactive proton-rich nucleus Be-7 onto a Ni-58 target at six near-barrier energies. Total fusion cross sections were deduced by using calculated proton multiplicities. The resulting fusion excitation function shows a considerable enhancement with respect to calculations for a bare potential, even for energies above the Coulomb barrier. Inelastic couplings can account for the enhancement at the highest energy. Total fusion channels nearly saturate the total reaction cross section in the measured energy region. Comparison with previous results scaled appropriately for Be-7 + (Al-27, U-238) shows good agreement

Mutation analysis of three genes encoding novel LKB1-interacting proteins, BRG1, STRADα, and MO25α, in Peutz–Jeghers syndrome

Mutations in LKB1 lead to Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (PJS). However, only a subset of PJS patients harbours LKB1 mutations. We performed a mutation analysis of three genes encoding novel LKB1-interacting proteins, BRG1, STRADα, and MO25α, in 28 LKB1-negative PJS patients. No disease-causing mutations were detected in the studied genes in PJS patients from different European populations