On the universal structure of human lexical semantics

How universal is human conceptual structure? The way concepts are organized in the human brain may reflect distinct features of cultural, historical, and environmental background in addition to properties universal to human cognition. Semantics, or meaning expressed through language, provides direct access to the underlying conceptual structure, but meaning is notoriously difficult to measure, let alone parameterize. Here we provide an empirical measure of semantic proximity between concepts using cross-linguistic dictionaries. Across languages carefully selected from a phylogenetically and geographically stratified sample of genera, translations of words reveal cases where a particular language uses a single polysemous word to express concepts represented by distinct words in another. We use the frequency of polysemies linking two concepts as a measure of their semantic proximity, and represent the pattern of such linkages by a weighted network. This network is highly uneven and fragmented: certain concepts are far more prone to polysemy than others, and there emerge naturally interpretable clusters loosely connected to each other. Statistical analysis shows such structural properties are consistent across different language groups, largely independent of geography, environment, and literacy. It is therefore possible to conclude the conceptual structure connecting basic vocabulary studied is primarily due to universal features of human cognition and language use.Comment: Press embargo in place until publicatio

Impulsive choice in mice lacking paternal expression of Grb10 suggests intragenomic conflict in behavior

Imprinted genes are expressed from one parental allele only as a consequence of epigenetic events that take place in the mammalian germ line and are thought to have evolved through intra-genomic conflict between parental alleles. We demonstrate, for the first time, oppositional effects of imprinted genes on brain and behavior. Specifically, here we show that mice lacking paternal Grb10 make fewer impulsive choices, with no dissociable effects on a separate measure of impulsive action. Taken together with previous work showing that mice lacking maternal Nesp55 make more impulsive choices this suggests that impulsive choice behavior is a substrate for the action of genomic imprinting. Moreover, the contrasting effect of these two genes suggests impulsive choices are subject to intra-genomic conflict and that maternal and paternal interests pull this behavior in opposite directions. Finally, these data may also indicate that an imbalance in expression of imprinted genes contributes to pathological conditions such as gambling and drug addiction, where impulsive behavior becomes maladaptive

Mice lacking paternal expression of imprinted 1 Grb10 are risk-takers

The imprinted genes Grb10 and Nesp influence impulsive behavior on a delay discounting task in an opposite manner. A recently developed theory suggests that this pattern of behavior may be representative of predicted effects of imprinted genes on tolerance to risk. Here we examine whether mice lacking paternal expression of Grb10 show abnormal behavior across a number of measures indicative of risk‐taking. Although Grb10 +/p mice show no difference from wild type (WT) littermates in their willingness to explore a novel environment, their behavior on an explicit test of risk‐taking, namely the Predator Odor Risk‐Taking task, is indicative of an increased willingness to take risks. Follow‐up tests suggest that this risk‐taking is not simply because of a general decrease in fear, or a general increase in motivation for a food reward, but reflects a change in the trade‐off between cost and reward. These data, coupled with previous work on the impulsive behavior of Grb10 +/p mice in the delayed reinforcement task, and taken together with our work on mice lacking maternal Nesp , suggest that maternally and paternally expressed imprinted genes oppositely influence risk‐taking behavior as predicted

Identification of the Imprinted KLF14 Transcription Factor Undergoing Human-Specific Accelerated Evolution

Imprinted genes are expressed in a parent-of-origin manner and are located in clusters throughout the genome. Aberrations in the expression of imprinted genes on human Chromosome 7 have been suggested to play a role in the etiologies of Russell-Silver Syndrome and autism. We describe the imprinting of KLF14, an intronless member of the Krüppel-like family of transcription factors located at Chromosome 7q32. We show that it has monoallelic maternal expression in all embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues studied, in both human and mouse. We examine epigenetic modifications in the KLF14 CpG island in both species and find this region to be hypomethylated. In addition, we perform chromatin immunoprecipitation and find that the murine Klf14 CpG island lacks allele-specific histone modifications. Despite the absence of these defining features, our analysis of Klf14 in offspring from DNA methyltransferase 3a conditional knockout mice reveals that the gene's expression is dependent upon a maternally methylated region. Due to the intronless nature of Klf14 and its homology to Klf16, we suggest that the gene is an ancient retrotransposed copy of Klf16. By sequence analysis of numerous species, we place the timing of this event after the divergence of Marsupialia, yet prior to the divergence of the Xenarthra superclade. We identify a large number of sequence variants in KLF14 and, using several measures of diversity, we determine that there is greater variability in the human lineage with a significantly increased number of nonsynonymous changes, suggesting human-specific accelerated evolution. Thus, KLF14 may be the first example of an imprinted transcript undergoing accelerated evolution in the human lineage

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July

Crop Updates 2001 - Lupins

This session covers twenty six papers from different authors: INTRODUCTION, 1. Introduction, Dr Mark Sweetingham LUPIN RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT, Agriculture Western Australia VARIETIES 2. Lupin variety performance: Are you making the most of it? Bevan J. Buirchell, Agriculture Western Australia 3. Adaption of restricted-branching lupins in Western Australia, Bob French and Laurie Wahlsten, Agriculture Western Australia 4. Isolated microspore culture of lupin for production of doubled haploids, Dr Janet Wroth, Dr Kirsty Bayliss and A/Prof. Wallace Cowling, Plant Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia NUTRITION 5. Banding manganese fertiliser below the seed increases seed yields of narrow-leafed lupins, R.F. Brennan, Agriculture Western Australia 6. Residual value of manganese fertiliser for lupin grain production, R.F. Brennan, Agriculture Western Australia AGRONOMY 7. Lupin seeding density, Miles Dracup, Agriculture Western Australia, Nick Galwey, University of Western Australia and Bob Thomson, University of Western AustraliaPESTS AND DISEASES 8. Anthracnose in lupins – understanding the risk, Moin Salam, Art Diggle, Geoff Thomas, Mark Sweetinghamand Bill O’Neill, Agriculture Western Australia 9. Implications of the ‘green bridge’ for viral and fungal disease carry-over between seasons, Debbie Thackray, Agriculture Western Australia and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 10. Insect pest development in WA via the ‘green bridge’, Kevin Walden, Agriculture Western Australia 11. Lupin anthracnose – seed infection thresholds, Geoff Thomas, Agriculture Western Australia 12. Identification and characterisation of resistance genes to Phomopsis blight in narrow-leafed lupin, M. Shankar1, M.W. Sweetingham1&2 and W.A. Cowling1&3 , 1Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, 2Agriculture Western Australia, 3Plant Sciences 13. Plant disease diagnostics, Dominie Wright and Nichole Burges, Agriculture Western Australia 14. Detection of strains of Phomopsis exhibiting species preference in lupins, M. Shankar, 1Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and M.W. Sweetingham, Agriculture Western Australia 15. Potential alternate host for the lupin anthracnose pathogen, Geoff Thomasa, Hu’aan Yangb, Mark Sweetinghamab and Ming Pei Youa, aAgriculture Western Australia, bCooperative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture WEEDS 16. Wild radish – the implications for our rotations, Dr David Bowran, Centre for Cropping Systems 17. Competitiveness of wild radish in a wheat – lupin rotation, Abul Hashem, Nerys Wilkins, and Terry Piper, Agriculture Western Australia 18. Population explosion and persistence of wild radish in a wheat-lupin rotation, Abul Hashem, Nerys Wilkins, Aik Cheam and Terry Piper, Agriculture Western Australia 19. Inter-row knockdowns for profitable lupins, Paul Blackwell, Agriculture Western Australia, Miles Obst, Mingenew 20. Is it safe to use 2,4-D Ester 80% pre-sowing when furrow sowing lupins? Andrew Sandison, Elders Ltd QUALITY AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT 21. Lupin protein – what we know, Bill O’Neill, Agriculture Western Australia 22. Foliar N application increases grain protein in lupins, Bob French and Laurie Wahlsten, Agriculture Western Australia 23. Can lupin grain protein be increased with Flexi-N? Cameron Weeks, Erin Hasson, Mingenew-Irwin Group and Luigi Moreschi, CSBP futurefarm 24. Putting a value on lupin use in the aquaculture industry: a fishy business? Brett D. Glencross, Fisheries WA, Fremantle Maritime Centre, Fremantle 25. Selection for thinner seed coats and pod walls in lupins, Jon Clements, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and Miles Dracup, Agriculture Western Australia 26. Assessing the nutritional benefit of Australian sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) in human foods, Ramon Hall (SPIRT PhD scholar), Stuart Johnson, Madeleine Ball, Deakin University, Melbourne, Sofia Sipsas and David Petterson, Agriculture Western Australi