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Pickett Jansen posted an update a month ago
Measurement systems serve as a driving force behind the development of both culture and technology. Nevertheless, the progress of measurement remains inadequately comprehended. While many early standardized systems of measurement stemmed from human body parts, like the cubit and fathom, scant research has been conducted on the rationale or method of adopting such a system. In 186 cultures, we cataloged body-based units of measurement, demonstrating how body-measurement practices are universal. The cultural and technological contexts for the use of these units are explained in this section. Our argument hinges on the assertion that body-centric units have consistently proven, and may yet prove, more advantageous than standardized systems in the realm of ergonomic design. The persistence of body-based measurement, even after the advent of standardized systems, is explained by this.
Similar to the self-repair capabilities of human skin, self-healing soft electronic and robotic devices are able to autonomously recover from any damage. In current devices, the consistent use of a single dynamic polymer type for all functional layers, while ensuring strong interlayer adhesion, inherently mandates manual layer alignment procedures. Employing two dynamic polymers with immiscible backbones but identical dynamic bonds, we aimed to preserve interlayer adhesion, enabling independent realignment during the healing. The interface of these dynamic polymers, weakly interpenetrating and adhesive, has a variable width. To minimize interfacial free energy, the structures of damaged multilayered polymer films autonomously realign themselves during the process of healing. Utilizing conductive, dielectric, and magnetic particles, we created devices capable of functional self-healing after damage. This facilitated the development of thin-film pressure sensors, magnetically assembled soft robots, and underwater circuit assembly.
Transition metal activity with respect to carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds is governed by the balanced interplay of electron donation and withdrawal at the metallic site. Controlling the reactivity in a way that is manageable is impeded by the experimental obstacles to accessing hypothesized metal-alkane charge-transfer interactions. We deploy time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy to trace the charge-transfer phenomena accompanying the C-H activation of octane by a cyclopentadienyl rhodium carbonyl complex. Emergent characteristics in the femtosecond to nanosecond timescale data include fluctuations in oxidation state, and alterations in the valence-orbital energies and their inherent properties. The stability of metal-alkane complexes, a consequence of alkane-to-metal donation, and the oxidative addition-mediated C-H bond cleavage, facilitated by metal-to-alkane back-donation, are demonstrably seen in x-ray spectroscopic signatures. Charge-transfer interactions, dissected on an orbital level, provide a means to tailor C-H reactivity at transition metal sites.
Primate social evolution’s underlying biological mechanisms are still not fully comprehended. The variability of social organizations among Asian colobines provides a compelling subject for studying the evolution of social structures. Our multidisciplinary study, including ecological, geological, fossil, behavioral, and genomic analysis, unveiled that colobine primates in colder environments usually form larger, more intricate social networks. Selection pressures during the past six million years of glacial periods have favored genes implicated in cold-related energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. Odd-nosed primates exhibited an evolution of more-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways, possibly prolonging maternal care and lactation, leading to improved infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive modifications appear to have fostered heightened interindividual connections, increased tolerance among males, and expedited the staged growth of societies from independent one-male groups to large, multifaceted structures.
The complex relationship between cardiovascular health, cognitive functions, and mental health is known, but the phenotypic and genetic interconnections between heart and brain systems remain a significant area of research. Our investigation of heart-brain connections utilized multiorgan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from a sample size exceeding 40,000 individuals. Heart MRI traits exhibited diverse and interconnected relationships with aspects of brain structure and function, such as brain gray matter morphometry, white matter microstructure, and functional networks. Seventy-nine associated genomic loci, plus one additional one (P-value significantly below 6.09 x 10^-10), linked to heart MRI characteristics were identified; these exhibited genetic influences parallel to those observed in cardiovascular and cerebral diseases. Heart MRI characteristics exhibited correlations with brain-related traits and disorders. Causation between brain disorders and heart conditions is a possibility hinted at by Mendelian randomization. Our study’s conclusions showcase a multi-organ perspective on human health, characterized by the discovery of heart-brain connections and the presence of shared genetic determinants.
The study of genomic diversity’s influence on fundamental biological processes benefits greatly from considering the remarkable range of morphological and behavioral adaptations exhibited by primates. Dissecting the complex nature of that diversity sheds light on longstanding problems in both evolutionary and conservation biology, a task heightened by the serious threats these species currently confront. Whole-genome data is presented here for 233 primate species, representing 86% of genera and every family. This dataset, combined with fossil calibration, was utilized to build a nuclear DNA phylogeny and to re-examine the timelines of evolutionary divergence among various primate clades. Analyzing genetic diversity within species across families and geographic regions revealed a correlation with climate and social behaviors, but no correlation with the risk of extinction. Comparatively, mutation rates differ across species, potentially influenced by the sizes of their effective populations. microbiology inhibitor To conclude, we determined the widespread reappearance of missense mutations, once thought to be a solely human characteristic. This study’s contributions will open up diverse avenues for future research into primate genomics.
The impact of official statistical data quality, as demonstrated by Steed et al. (1), is critical to the accuracy, consistency, and fairness of the policy decisions derived from them. The authors reiterate that data, even with the utmost care in curation, is not immune to inaccuracies. We strongly advocate for principled quality assessment methods in the evaluation of official statistical data. Improvement is needed in the quality assessment procedure of Steed et al. due to the inadmissibility of their estimator and the inconsistent probabilistic model it generates for the joint space of the estimator and observed data. Our discussion encompasses the development of alternative statistical methodologies for principled quality assessments of official statistical data products, illustrated through two simulation-based methods for admissible minimax shrinkage estimation under multilevel empirical Bayesian models. Data’s context-specific usability, as perceived by policymakers and stakeholders, hinges on evaluating both the inherent uncertainties of the data and the downstream applications, such as the policy decisions that utilize those data products.
The personalized analysis of individual genomes through sequencing has shown the existence of millions of genetic variations, but the full clinical impact of these differences is still not completely understood. Employing a systematic approach to deciphering the effects of human genetic variations, we obtained whole-genome sequencing data from 809 individuals across 233 primate species, identifying 43 million common protein-altering variants possessing orthologous counterparts in humans. We posit that these variants are non-deleterious in humans, corroborated by their high allele frequencies in related primate species. This resource enables us to classify 6% of all possible human protein-altering variants as potentially harmless and, using deep learning, estimate the pathogenicity of the remaining 94%, thereby achieving the most advanced accuracy in diagnosing pathogenic variants for patients with genetic ailments.
Incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) is a factor contributing to the difference in phylogenetic trees observed in some genomic sections in comparison to the species tree. Across the entire primate evolutionary tree, we explore the frequencies and driving forces behind ILS in 29 key ancestral nodes. A genome portion, up to 64% of it, is affected by ILS at each individual node. Speciation times and ancestral population sizes are derived from our analysis using ILS. The fossil record’s depiction of divergence aligns strongly with the more recent estimates of speciation time compared to genomic divergence. The genome exhibits a wide range of ILS, with recombination and gene proximity being key drivers; this demonstrates the profound impact of selection on genomic variation. In a considerable number of nodes, the reduction of ILS is more pronounced on the X chromosome, surpassing autosomal expectations under neutrality, pointing towards a stronger selective pressure on the X chromosome. We ultimately find an elevated presence of ILS in genes linked to immune responses and a lower presence in genes crucial for basic cellular maintenance. Insights into the speciation times, ancestral population sizes, and patterns of natural selection in primate evolution are gleaned from the extensive ILS data discovered in this study.
Phenotypically and genetically diverse phylogenetic species of baboons, belonging to the Papio genus, have undergone hybridization, resulting in a significant level of morphological and behavioral variation within the catarrhine monkey clade. High-coverage whole-genome sequences from 225 wild baboons, originating from 19 distinct geographic areas, provided the data for our investigation into population genomics and interspecies gene flow.