ConGen—A Simulator-Agnostic Visual Language for Definition and Generation of Connectivity in Large and Multiscale Neural Networks

An open challenge on the road to unraveling the brain's multilevel organization is establishing techniques to research connectivity and dynamics at different scales in time and space, as well as the links between them. This work focuses on the design of a framework that facilitates the generation of multiscale connectivity in large neural networks using a symbolic visual language capable of representing the model at different structural levels—ConGen. This symbolic language allows researchers to create and visually analyze the generated networks independently of the simulator to be used, since the visual model is translated into a simulator-independent language. The simplicity of the front end visual representation, together with the simulator independence provided by the back end translation, combine into a framework to enhance collaboration among scientists with expertise at different scales of abstraction and from different fields. On the basis of two use cases, we introduce the features and possibilities of our proposed visual language and associated workflow. We demonstrate that ConGen enables the creation, editing, and visualization of multiscale biological neural networks and provides a whole workflow to produce simulation scripts from the visual representation of the model.

Burial-induced deterioration in leather: a FTIR-ATR, DSC, TG/DTG, MHT and SEM study

In this study we used an analytical approach based on complementary techniques that targets all structural levels of collagen in leather to investigate how vegetable-tanned leather deteriorates during soil burial tests. For the first time, a group of deterioration markers specific to molecular, fibrillar and fibrous structure of collagen in leather was associated with the deterioration of buried leather. The application of the second order derivative of FTIR-ATR spectra analysis allowed us to detect loosening of collagen–tannin matrix, de-tanning and gelatin formation based on the behaviour of collagen and tannin spectral components (intensity variation and shifts). Collagen denaturation observed by DSC analysis and its thermo-oxidative behaviour measured by TG/DTG analysis, as well as the altered morphology of collagen (namely melt-like fibres and distorted fibrillar ultrastructure) imaged by SEM confirmed the FTIR-ATR analyis results. These analytical outcomes enabled us to understand the effect of leather hardening/cementing through soil mineral penetration into its fibrous structure and thus correctly interprete the higher-than-expected shrinkage temperatures and intervals determinatd by MHT method. Thus, MHT method proved to be suitable for a quick evaluation method that can direcly support the first conservation decision after excavation. The combination of FTIR-ATR, DSC, TG/DTG and SEM can be particularly useful to provide insights on the deterioration mechanism of archaeological leather and support best decision on its long-term preservation.

Quartz-in-garnet barometry constraints on formation pressures of eclogites from the Franciscan Complex, California

Determining pressure and temperature variations between high-pressure/low-temperature (HP–LT) eclogite blocks is crucial for constraining end-member exhumation models; however, it has historically been challenging to constrain eclogite pressures due to the high variance associated with this bulk-rock composition. In this work, we utilize quartz-in-garnet elastic barometry to constrain formation pressures of eclogites from the northern (Junction School, Ring Mountain, Jenner Beach) and southern Franciscan Complex (Santa Catalina Island). Multiple eclogite blocks from Jenner Beach are analyzed, and a single eclogite from the other localities. By comparing garnet growth conditions from within a single outcrop and between distinct outcrops, we evaluate the local and regional spatial distribution of P conditions recorded by eclogites. We compare the mean, median, and max pressures between different garnet zones and eclogites. Pressures sometimes exhibit systematic changes across garnet zones; however, some eclogites exhibit no systematic pressure variations across garnet zones. Pressures from northern Franciscan eclogites range from $$\sim $$ ∼ 1.4–1.8 GPa, at an estimated temperature of 500 $$^{\circ }$$ ∘ C; pressures from the Catalina eclogite range from $$\sim $$ ∼ 1.2–1.5 GPa, at an estimated temperature of 650 $$^{\circ }$$ ∘ C. Mean and maximum pressures of different eclogites from the northern Franciscan exhibit negligible differences (< 0.1 GPa). The results are inconsistent with models that propose exhumation of metamorphic blocks from different structural levels, and suggest that now exposed HP–LT eclogites from the northern Franciscan Complex may represent rocks that were coherently underplated, and exhumed from similar structural levels.

On the English Translation of Jian’ai by Late Qing Missionary-Sinologists

With an increasing volume of research being conducted on the transmission of premodern Chinese thought in the Western world, a plethora of studies have been published on the English translation of the ancient text Mozi, primarily through the lens of cross-cultural translation studies. Discussions on how the concept of jian’ai – often rendered as “universal love” – should be expressed in English have also taken place in this framework, while the topic has rarely been examined hermeneutically or with reference to histories of knowledge transfer, intellectuals, or scholarship. This article discusses the translation of jian’ai into English by the missionary-sinologists Joseph Edkins and James Legge during the mid-to-late 1800s. It points out that, while both scholars used the term “universal” to translate the concept, they differed on whether “equal” could be used. The author also demonstrates how differences in translation can signify differences in thinking. Using the “unit of thought” of hermeneutics as a methodology to study the translators’ conception of jian’ai via a comparison of common structural levels, a case can be made that both of them used the criticism by Mengzi of Mozi as a kind of “situational construction”. However, in terms of “situational processing”, Edkin’s demonstrated the necessity and equality of jian’ai by quoting the words of ancient sages and wise rulers just as Mozi did, while Legge focused on the “Teng Wen Gong I” chapter of the Mengzi, arguing that the idea of “equality” was not espoused by Mozi himself but rather his later followers. From the perspective of “situational fusion”, Edkins pointed out that, while jian’ai is similar in form to the love of Christ, it in fact shares more similarities with utilitarianism. By contrast, Legge believed that jian’ai was more in line with the thought of Confucius, while he also discussed the similarities and differences between jian’ai and the love of Christ. The differing understandings of jian’ai arrived at by these two scholars demonstrates that missionaries sent to China after the mid-nineteenth century underwent a transition from amateur to professional sinologists. Moreover, by examining how Mohism was introduced to the West in modern times, it can be shown how Legge’s interpretation of jian’ai coined a longstanding translated name for the concept.

Combining Macro- and Mesoscale Optimization: A Case Study of the General Electric Jet Engine Bracket

Topology optimization (TO) is a mathematical method that optimizes the material layout in a pre-defined design domain. Its theoretical background is widely known for macro-, meso-, and microscale levels of a structure. The macroscale TO is now available in the majority of commercial TO software, while only a few software packages offer a mesoscale TO with the design and optimization of lattice structures. However, they still lack a practical simultaneous macro–mesoscale TO. It is not clear to the designers how they can combine and apply TO at different levels. In this paper, a two-scale TO is conducted using the homogenization theory at both the macro- and mesoscale structural levels. In this way, the benefits of the existence and optimization of mesoscale structures were researched. For this reason, as a case study, a commercial example of the known jet engine bracket from General Electric (GE bracket) was used. Different optimization workflows were implemented in order to develop alternative design concepts of the same mass. The design concepts were compared with respect to their weight, strength, and simulation time for the given load cases. In addition, the lightest design concept among them was identified.

Structural basis for transthyretin amyloid formation in vitreous body of the eye

Amyloid transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of ATTR fibrils in multiple organs. However, the structure of ATTR fibrils from the eye is poorly understood. Here, we used cryo-EM to structurally characterize vitreous body ATTR fibrils. These structures were distinct from previously characterized heart fibrils, even though both have the same mutation and type A pathology. Differences were observed at several structural levels: in both the number and arrangement of protofilaments, and the conformation of the protein fibril in each layer of protofilaments. Thus, our results show that ATTR protein structure and its assembly into protofilaments in the type A fibrils can vary between patients carrying the same mutation. By analyzing and matching the interfaces between the amino acids in the ATTR fibril with those in the natively folded TTR, we are able to propose a mechanism for the structural conversion of TTR into a fibrillar form.

Analysis of research programs: a sociological perspective

The origins and content of the methodology of scientific research programs of I. Lakatos are considered taking into account the problems and tasks of the history of sociology. The reception of the methodology of research programs in sociology can be explained by the relevance of the analytical model of the structure and dynamics of the research program in the analysis of sociological knowledge. Within the framework of sociological knowledge, metatheoretical, theoretical and empirical structural levels are analytically distinguished. Certain structural analogies are observed: between the “hard core” and “negative heuristics” of the research program, on the one hand, and metatheory, on the other; between the “protective belt” and the “positive heuristic” of the research program, on the one hand, and theory, on the other; between the empirical content of the research program, on the one hand, and the empirical basis of sociology, on the other. One can observe a number of analogies in the dynamics of functional connections between the structural components of the research program, on the one hand, and the dynamics of functional connections between metatheorizing, theorizing, and empirical analysis in sociology, on the other.

Geochemical Insights from Clinopyroxene Phenocrysts into the Magma Evolution of an Alkaline Magmatic System from the Sanshui Basin, South China

The Sanshui Basin is located at the northern continental margin of the South China Sea and characterized by a continental rift basin. The bimodal volcanic rocks in Sanshui Basin record the early Cenozoic magmatic activity in the South China Block, but the magmatic evolution that produced the bimodal volcanic rocks is poorly understood. Clinopyroxenes in bimodal volcanic rocks in the Sanshui Basin provide an opportunity to investigate magma during magma ascent. In this work, we classified nine types of clinopyroxene phenocrysts according to composition and texture in cogenetic basalt-trachyandesite-comenditic trachyte, while the composition of unzoned clinopyroxene have an evolution sequence of diopside-hedenbergite-aegirine along with an increase in trace element contents with a decrease of Mg#, indicating that the genesis of clinopyroxene was dominated by fractional crystallization in a closed magma system. However, the clinopyroxenes with reversed zoning and multiple zoning record the process of magma mixing and recharge indicating an open magma system. While fractional crystallization is the dominant process, magma mixing, recharge, and crystal settling were also found to influence magma evolution. Thermobarometric calculations showed that clinopyroxene crystallized a several structural levels in the crust during magma ascent. In this study, we established a magma plumbing system that provides new constraints for the magma evolution in the Sanshui Basin.

OntoSLAM: An Ontology for Representing Location and Simultaneous Mapping Information for Autonomous Robots

Autonomous robots are playing an important role to solve the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem in different domains. To generate flexible, intelligent, and interoperable solutions for SLAM, it is a must to model the complex knowledge managed in these scenarios (i.e., robots characteristics and capabilities, maps information, locations of robots and landmarks, etc.) with a standard and formal representation. Some studies have proposed ontologies as the standard representation of such knowledge; however, most of them only cover partial aspects of the information managed by SLAM solutions. In this context, the main contribution of this work is a complete ontology, called OntoSLAM, to model all aspects related to autonomous robots and the SLAM problem, towards the standardization needed in robotics, which is not reached until now with the existing SLAM ontologies. A comparative evaluation of OntoSLAM with state-of-the-art SLAM ontologies is performed, to show how OntoSLAM covers the gaps of the existing SLAM knowledge representation models. Results show the superiority of OntoSLAM at the Domain Knowledge level and similarities with other ontologies at Lexical and Structural levels. Additionally, OntoSLAM is integrated into the Robot Operating System (ROS) and Gazebo simulator to test it with Pepper robots and demonstrate its suitability, applicability, and flexibility. Experiments show how OntoSLAM provides semantic benefits to autonomous robots, such as the capability of inferring data from organized knowledge representation, without compromising the information for the application and becoming closer to the standardization needed in robotics.