New Synonymy in the Genus Chelotrupes Jekel, 1866 (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae)

In 2012, two articles were published describing new species of the genus Chelotrupes Jekel, 1866 (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae); the fi rst one included fi ve new species and the second a single species. However, the species described in the second article, Chelotrupes annamariae Byk 2012, is identical to Chelotrupes algarvicus Hillert, Král and Schneider 2012 and should be considered a junior synonym: Chelotrupes algarvicus Hillert, Král and Schneider 2012 = Chelotrupes annamariae Byk 2012, syn. nov

Individual differences in vocal size exaggeration

The human voice carries socially relevant information such as how authoritative, dominant, and attractive the speaker sounds. However, some speakers may be able to manipulate listeners by modulating the shape and size of their vocal tract to exaggerate certain characteristics of their voice. We analysed the veridical size of speakers’ vocal tracts using real-time magnetic resonance imaging as they volitionally modulated their voice to sound larger or smaller, corresponding changes to the size implied by the acoustics of their voice, and their influence over the perceptions of listeners. Individual differences in this ability were marked, spanning from nearly incapable to nearly perfect vocal modulation, and was consistent across modalities of measurement. Further research is needed to determine whether speakers who are effective at vocal size exaggeration are better able to manipulate their social environment, and whether this variation is an inherited quality of the individual, or the result of life experiences such as vocal training

Sampled simulation of task-based programs

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other worksSampled simulation is a mature technique for reducing simulation time of single-threaded programs. Nevertheless, current sampling techniques do not take advantage of other execution models, like task-based execution, to provide both more accurate and faster simulation. Recent multi-threaded sampling techniques assume that the workload assigned to each thread does not change across multiple executions of a program. This assumption does not hold for dynamically scheduled task-based programming models. Task-based programming models allow the programmer to specify program segments as tasks which are instantiated many times and scheduled dynamically to available threads. Due to variation in scheduling decisions, two consecutive executions on the same machine typically result in different instruction streams processed by each thread. In this paper, we propose TaskPoint, a sampled simulation technique for dynamically scheduled task-based programs. We leverage task instances as sampling units and simulate only a fraction of all task instances in detail. Between detailed simulation intervals, we employ a novel fast-forwarding mechanism for dynamically scheduled programs. We evaluate different automatic techniques for clustering task instances and show that DBSCAN clustering combined with analytical performance modeling provides the best trade-off of simulation speed and accuracy. TaskPoint is the first technique combining sampled simulation and analytical modeling and provides a new way to trade off simulation speed and accuracy. Compared to detailed simulation, TaskPoint accelerates architectural simulation with 8 simulated threads by an average factor of 220x at an average error of 0.5 percent and a maximum error of 7.9 percent.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Specific LED-based red light photo-stimulation procedures improve overall sperm function and reproductive performance of boar ejaculates

The present study evaluated the effects of exposing liquid-stored boar semen to different red light LED regimens on sperm quality and reproductive performance. Of all of the tested photo-stimulation procedures, the best pattern consisted of 10min light, 10min rest and 10min of further light (10-10-10 pattern). This pattern induced an intense and transient increase in the majority of motility parameters, without modifying sperm viability and acrosome integrity. While incubating non-photo-stimulated sperm at 37°C for 90min decreased all sperm quality parameters, this reduction was prevented when the previously-described light procedure was applied. This effect was concomitant with an increase in the percentage of sperm with high mitochondrial membrane potential. When sperm were subjected to 'in vitro' capacitation, photo-stimulation also increased the percentage of sperm with capacitation-like changes in membrane structure. On the other hand, treating commercial semen doses intended for artificial insemination with the 10-10-10 photo-stimulation pattern significantly increased farrowing rates and the number of both total and live-born piglets for parturition. Therefore, our results indicate that a precise photo-stimulation procedure is able to increase the fertilising ability of boar sperm via a mechanism that could be related to mitochondrial function

Progression of Hypertrophy and Myocardial Fibrosis in Aortic Stenosis: A Multicenter Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Study

Background: Aortic stenosis is accompanied by progressive left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis. We investigated the natural history of these processes in asymptomatic patients and their potential reversal post-aortic valve replacement (AVR).  Methods: Asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with aortic stenosis underwent repeat echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Changes in peak aortic-jet velocity, left ventricular mass index, diffuse fibrosis (indexed extracellular volume), and replacement fibrosis (late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]) were quantified.  RESULTS: In 61 asymptomatic patients (43% mild, 34% moderate, and 23% severe aortic stenosis), significant increases in peak aortic-jet velocity, left ventricular mass index, indexed extracellular volume, and LGE mass were observed after 2.1±0.7 years, with the most rapid progression observed in patients with most severe stenosis. Patients with baseline midwall LGE (n=16 [26%]; LGE mass, 2.5 g [0.8–4.8 g]) demonstrated particularly rapid increases in scar burden (78% [50%–158%] increase in LGE mass per year). In 38 symptomatic patients (age, 66±8 years; 76% men) who underwent AVR, there was a 19% (11%–25%) reduction in left ventricular mass index (P<0.0001) and an 11% (4%–16%) reduction in indexed extracellular volume (P=0.003) 0.9±0.3 years after surgery. By contrast midwall LGE (n=10 [26%]; mass, 3.3 g [2.6–8.0 g]) did not change post-AVR (n=10; 3.5 g [2.1–8.0 g]; P=0.23), with no evidence of regression even out to 2 years.  Conclusions: In patients with aortic stenosis, cellular hypertrophy and diffuse fibrosis progress in a rapid and balanced manner but are reversible after AVR. Once established, midwall LGE also accumulates rapidly but is irreversible post valve replacement. Given its adverse long-term prognosis, prompt AVR when midwall LGE is first identified may improve clinical outcomes

Is There A Role for Limited Parotid Resections for Primary Malignant Parotid Tumors?

Background: Lateral or total parotidectomy are the standard surgical treatmentsfor malignant parotid tumors. However, some authors have proposed a more limited procedure.(2) Methods: We performed a review of the literature on this topic. Studies were included that metthe following criteria: malignant parotid tumors, information about the extent of surgical resection,treated with less than a complete lateral lobectomy, and information on local control and/or survival.Nine articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. (3) Results: Eight of the nine series reported favorableresults for the more limited approaches. Most used them for small, mobile, low-grade cancers inthe lateral parotid lobe. Most authors have used a limited partial lateral lobectomy for a presumedbenign lesion. The remaining study analyzed pediatric patients treated with enucleation with poorlocal control. (4) Conclusions: There is weak evidence for recommending less extensive proceduresthan a lateral parotid lobectomy. In the unique case of a partial lateral parotidectomy performed fora tumor initially thought to be benign but pathologically proved to be malignant, close follow-upcan be recommended for low grade T1 that has been excised with free margins and does not haveadverse prognostic factors

Mock data sets for the Eboss and DESI Lyman-α\alpha forest surveys

{We present a publicly-available code to generate mock Lyman-$\alpha$ (\lya) forest data sets. The code is based on the Fluctuating Gunn-Peterson Approximation (FGPA) applied to Gaussian random fields and on the use of fast Fourier transforms (FFT). The output includes spectra of lya transmitted flux fraction, $F$, a quasar catalog, and a catalog of high-column-density systems. While these three elements have realistic correlations, additional code is then used to generate realistic quasar spectra, to add absorption by high-column-density systems and metals, and to simulate instrumental effects. Redshift space distortions (RSD) are implemented by including the large-scale velocity-gradient field in the FGPA resulting in a correlation function of $F$ that can be accurately predicted. One hundred realizations have been produced over the 14,000 deg$^2$ Dark Energy Spectroscopy Instrument (DESI) survey footprint with 100 quasars per deg$^{2}$, and they are being used for the Extended Baryon Oscillation Survey (eBOSS) and DESI surveys. The analysis of these realizations shows that the correlation of $F$ follows the prediction within the accuracy of eBOSS survey. The most time-consuming part of the production occurs before application of the FGPA, and the existing pre-FGPA forests can be used to easily produce new mock sets with modified redshift-dependent bias parameters or observational conditions.Comment: to be submitted ot JCA

The DESI One-Percent Survey: Evidence for Assembly Bias from Low-Redshift Counts-in-Cylinders Measurements

We explore the galaxy-halo connection information that is available in low-redshift samples from the early data release of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We model the halo occupation distribution (HOD) from z=0.1-0.3 using Survey Validation 3 (SV3; a.k.a., the One-Percent Survey) data of the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS). In addition to more commonly used metrics, we incorporate counts-in-cylinders (CiC) measurements, which drastically tighten HOD constraints. Our analysis is aided by the Python package, galtab, which enables the rapid, precise prediction of CiC for any HOD model available in halotools. This methodology allows our Markov chains to converge with much fewer trial points, and enables even more drastic speedups due to its GPU portability. Our HOD fits constrain characteristic halo masses tightly and provide statistical evidence for assembly bias, especially at lower luminosity thresholds: the HOD of central galaxies in $z\sim0.15$ samples with limiting absolute magnitude $M_r < -20.0$ and $M_r < -20.5$ samples is positively correlated with halo concentration with a significance of 99.9% and 99.5%, respectively. Our models also favor positive central assembly bias for the brighter $M_r < -21.0$ sample at $z\sim0.25$ (94.8% significance), but there is no significant evidence for assembly bias with the same luminosity threshold at $z\sim0.15$. We provide our constraints for each threshold sample's characteristic halo masses, assembly bias, and other HOD parameters. These constraints are expected to be significantly tightened with future DESI data, which will span an area 100 times larger than that of SV3

Vocal Tract Images Reveal Neural Representations of Sensorimotor Transformation During Speech Imitation

Imitating speech necessitates the transformation from sensory targets to vocal tract motor output, yet little is known about the representational basis of this process in the human brain. Here, we address this question by using real-time MR imaging (rtMRI) of the vocal tract and functional MRI (fMRI) of the brain in a speech imitation paradigm. Participants trained on imitating a native vowel and a similar nonnative vowel that required lip rounding. Later, participants imitated these vowels and an untrained vowel pair during separate fMRI and rtMRI runs. Univariate fMRI analyses revealed that regions including left inferior frontal gyrus were more active during sensorimotor transformation (ST) and production of nonnative vowels, compared with native vowels; further, ST for nonnative vowels activated somatomotor cortex bilaterally, compared with ST of native vowels. Using test representational similarity analysis (RSA) models constructed from participants' vocal tract images and from stimulus formant distances, we found that RSA searchlight analyses of fMRI data showed either type of model could be represented in somatomotor, temporal, cerebellar, and hippocampal neural activation patterns during ST. We thus provide the first evidence of widespread and robust cortical and subcortical neural representation of vocal tract and/or formant parameters, during prearticulatory ST

The DESI One-Percent survey: constructing galaxy-halo connections for ELGs and LRGs using auto and cross correlations

In the current Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey, emission line galaxies (ELGs) and luminous red galaxies (LRGs) are essential for mapping the dark matter distribution at $z \sim 1$. We measure the auto and cross correlation functions of ELGs and LRGs at $0.8<z\leq 1.0$ from the DESI One-Percent survey. Following Gao et al. (2022), we construct the galaxy-halo connections for ELGs and LRGs simultaneously. With the stellar-halo mass relation (SHMR) for the whole galaxy population (i.e. normal galaxies), LRGs can be selected directly by stellar mass, while ELGs can also be selected randomly based on the observed number density of each stellar mass, once the probability $P_{\mathrm{sat}}$ of a satellite galaxy becoming an ELG is determined. We demonstrate that the observed small scale clustering prefers a halo mass-dependent $P_{\mathrm{sat}}$ model rather than a constant. With this model, we can well reproduce the auto correlations of LRGs and the cross correlations between LRGs and ELGs at $r_{\mathrm{p}}>0.1$ $\mathrm{Mpc}\,h^{-1}$. We can also reproduce the auto correlations of ELGs at $r_{\mathrm{p}}>0.3$ $\mathrm{Mpc}\,h^{-1}$ ($s>1$ $\mathrm{Mpc}\,h^{-1}$) in real (redshift) space. Although our model has only seven parameters, we show that it can be extended to higher redshifts and reproduces the observed auto correlations of ELGs in the whole range of $0.8<z<1.6$, which enables us to generate a lightcone ELG mock for DESI. With the above model, we further derive halo occupation distributions (HODs) for ELGs which can be used to produce ELG mocks in coarse simulations without resolving subhalos.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, accepted by Ap