Brain regulatory program predates central nervous system evolution

Understanding if bilaterian centralized nervous systems (CNS) evolved once or multiple times has been debated for over a century. Recent efforts determined that the nerve chords found in bilaterian CNSs likely evolved independently, but the origin(s) of brains remains debatable. Developing brains are regionalized by stripes of gene expression along the anteroposterior axis. Gene homologs are expressed in the same relative order in disparate species, which has been interpreted as evidence for homology. However, regionalization programs resemble anteroposterior axial patterning programs, which supports an alternative model by which conserved expression in brains arose convergently through the independent co-option of deeply conserved axial patterning programs. To begin resolving these hypotheses, we sought to determine when the neurogenic role for axial programs evolved. Here we show that the nerve net in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis and bilaterian brain are regionalized by the same molecular programs, which indicates nervous system regionalization predates the emergence of bilaterians and CNSs altogether. This argues that shared regionalization mechanisms are insufficient to support the homology of brains and supports the notion that axial programs were able to be co-opted multiple times during evolution of brains.

Nonlinear Control System for Non-Affine Undefined Plants with Output Delays

The article deals with the problem of synthesis of the control algorithms for combined nonlinear control system for one class of single-channel non-affine priory uncertain plants with state delay in the presence of permanent bounded external noises and at measuring only the plant’s output signal. As methods for solving this problem V. M. Popov’s hyperstability criterion and the conditions of L-dissipativity are used. With the help of simulation the operation quality of the obtained system at different values of the plant relative order and its parameters is shown. The results obtained in article may be useful for construction the control systems for different dynamic plants which contains input nonlinearities and state delays.

Effect of Magnetic Fields on UV Absorption and Evaporation of Water

We investigated the effects of unipolar magnetic fields (N or S polarity) on the physical properties of deionized water. Long-term experiments revealed significant pole-dependent changes in water absorption in the UV range (180 – 350 nm). In the case of water in open vessels, the order of absorption values was C-N-S. That is, control (C) water absorbed the most, N-pole-influenced water absorbed less, and S pole the least. The differences in absorption between N and S waters were substantial. In the case of closed vessels, the differences in absorption spectra substantially diminished, and the arrangement of the absorption values became C-S-N (highest to lowest). A correlation between UV absorption values and evaporation rates was also found. The relative order of evaporation rates, C-N-S (highest to lowest), was the same as the order of the absorption values, also C-N-S. The differences in UV absorption spectra of the N- and S-treated waters persisted for several months after removing the magnets. Hence, the effects of magnetic fields were long term. The interaction of magnetic fields with water is of interest not only from a physical sciences perspective, but also in the context of the significant applications in medicine and biology.

Effects of order on memory of event times

Memorizing time of an event may employ two processes (1) encoding of the absolute time of events within an episode, (2) encoding of its relative order. Here we study interaction between these two processes. We performed experiments in which one or several items were presented, after which participants were asked to report the time of occurrence of items. When a single item was presented, the distribution of reported times was quite wide. When two or three items were presented, the relative order among them strongly affected the reported time of each of them. Bayesian theory that takes into account the memory for the events order is compatible with the experimental data, in particular in terms of the effect of order on absolute time reports. Our results suggest that people do not deduce order from memorized time, instead people’s memory for absolute time of events relies critically on memorized order of the events.

Permutations Avoiding Certain Partially-Ordered Patterns

A permutation $\pi$ contains a pattern $\sigma$ if and only if there is a subsequence in $\pi$ with its letters in the same relative order as those in $\sigma$. Partially ordered patterns (POPs) provide a convenient way to denote patterns in which the relative order of some of the letters does not matter. This paper elucidates connections between the avoidance sets of a few POPs with other combinatorial objects, directly answering five open questions posed by Gao and Kitaev in 2019. This was done by thoroughly analysing the avoidance sets and developing recursive algorithms to derive these sets and their corresponding combinatorial objects in parallel, which yielded natural bijections. We also analysed an avoidance set whose simple permutations are enumerated by the Fibonacci numbers and derived an algorithm to obtain them recursively.

Applicants' institution selection criteria in the higher education: An empirical study in Hungarian higher education management

The purpose of this paper is to show what are the applicants' institution selection criteria in higher education in Hungary and what changes this will imply in higher education management and communication. These questions were investigated based on a review of the most relevant literature and the analysis of 1396 Hungarian higher education University of Pécs applicants in two consecutive years. Exploratory and confirmative factor analyses were used to identify the relative order of the application influencing factors: as a result, the first most important is the vivacity, followed by career and costs, fourth is image and the last one is the low commitment. In this context, the paper has shown that the identification of the application strategies requires renewed management and communication techniques. The results help the institutions to determine the possible actions to be implemented to attract more students and improve the level of offered services. The permanent system change of the Hungarian higher education as a phenomenon versus the applicants' institution selection criteria gives the uniqueness of the Hungarian situation, and this study provides information for researchers in higher education in this field additionally.

The relative order of foci and polarity complementizers

According to Rizzi & Bocci’s (2017) suggested hierarchy of the left periphery, fronted foci (FOC) can never precede polarity complementizers (PolC); yet languages like Bulgarian and Macedonian appear to display precisely such an ordering configuration. On the basis of a cross-linguistic comparison of ten Slavic languages, I argue that in the Slavic subgroup the possibility of having a focus precede PolC is dependent on the morphological properties of the complementizer itself: in languages where the order FOC < PolC is acceptable, PolC is a complex morpheme derived through the incorporation of a lower functional head with a higher one. The order FOC < PolC is then derived by giving overt spell-out to the intermediate copy of PolC rather than to the topmost one. In turn, this option is linked to the possibility, recorded in all languages which allow for FOC < PolC, to also realize the morpheme expressing interrogative polarity as an enclitic particle attaching to fronted foci.