Transcranial alternating current stimulation does not modulate corticospinal activity in humans

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (TACS) is commonly used to synchronise the output of a cortical area to other parts of the nervous system, but evidence for this based on brain recordings in humans is challenging. The brain transmits beta oscillations (~21Hz) to tonically contracted limb muscles linearly and through the fastest corticospinal pathways. Therefore, muscle activity may be used as a proxy measure for the level of beta entrainment in the corticospinal tract due to TACS over motor cortex. Here, we assessed if TACS is able to modulate the neural inputs to muscles, which would provide an indirect evidence for TACS-driven neural entrainment. In the first part of this study, we ran a series of simulations of motor neuron (MN) pools receiving inputs from corticospinal neurons with different levels of beta entrainment. Results indicated that MNs should be highly sensitive to changes in corticospinal beta activity. Then, we ran experiments on healthy human subjects (N=10) in which TACS (at 1mA) was delivered over the motor cortex at 21Hz (beta stimulation), or at 7Hz or 40Hz (control conditions) while the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) or the tibialis anterior muscle (TA) were tonically contracted. Muscle activity was measured using high-density electromyography, which allowed us to decompose the spiking activity of pools of motor units innervating the studied muscles. By analysing motor unit pool activity, we observed that none of the tested TACS conditions could consistently alter the spectral characteristics of the common neural inputs received by the muscles. These results suggest that 1mA-TACS over motor cortex given at frequencies in the beta band does not affect corticospinal beta entrainment.

Apical and basal auxin sources pattern shoot branching in a moss

Shoot branching mechanisms where branches arise in association with leaves – referred to as lateral or axillary branching – evolved by convergence in the sporophyte of vascular plants and the gametophyte of bryophytes, and accompanied independent events of plant architectural diversification. Previously, we showed that three hormonal cues, including auxin, have been recruited independently to co-ordinate branch patterning in flowering plant leafy shoots and moss gametophores (Coudert, Palubicki et al., 2015). Moreover, auxin-mediated apical dominance, which relies on local auxin production, has been proposed as a unifying molecular regulatory mechanism of branch development across land plants. Whilst our previous work in the moss Physcomitrium patens has gathered indirect evidence supporting the notion that auxin synthesized in gametophore apices regulates branch formation at a distance, direct genetic evidence for a role of auxin biosynthesis in gametophore branching control is still lacking. Here, we show that gametophore apex decapitation promotes branch emergence through massive and rapid transcriptional reprogramming of auxin-responsive genes and altering auxin biosynthesis gene activity. Specifically, we identify a subset of P. patens TRYPTOPHAN AMINO-TRANSFERASE (TAR) and YUCCA FLAVIN MONOOXYGENASE-LIKE (YUC) auxin biosynthesis genes expressed in apical and basal regions of the gametophore, and show that they are essential for branch initiation and outgrowth control. Our results demonstrate that local auxin biosynthesis coordinates branch patterning in moss and thus constitutes a shared and ancient feature of shoot architecture control in land plants.

Penggunaan Bukti Tidak Langsung Dan Penerapan Leniency Program Di Kasus Kartel Indonesia

Cartels as a Form of Unfair Business Competition KPPU often has difficulty proving it through direct evidence in accordance with Law No. 5/1999, so the alternative used by KPPU to obtain evidence is indirect evidence, and in practice this indirect evidence It is also not easy because it has not been regulated in Law No. 5/1999 so that the Supreme Court has not given any information regarding indirect evidence. The research method used by the author is normative research using library research to obtain data, and there is a need for clarity regarding procedural law from the KPPU. And the Authority of the KPPU in order to facilitate the handling of the KPPU on the Cartel Problem in Indonesia and amid the uncertainty of indirect evidence, the leniency of the program can also be used as an alternative in proving the occurrence of cartel actions carried out by business actors, and the application of evidence is not This directly was also adopted by other countries as well as the leniency program, and Indonesia also needs to follow this step to reduce cartels in Indonesia.

A triad of kicknet sampling, eDNA metabarcoding, and predictive modeling to assess aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity

Monitoring freshwater biodiversity is essential to understand the impacts of human activities and for effective management of ecosystems. Thereby, biodiversity can be assessed through direct collection of targeted organisms, through indirect evidence of their presence (e.g. signs, environmental DNA, camera trap, etc.), or through extrapolations from species distribution models (SDM). Differences in approaches used in biodiversity assessment, however, may come with individual challenges and hinder cross-study comparability. In the context of rapidly developing techniques, we compared a triad of approaches in order to understand assessment of aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. Specifically, we compared the community composition and species richness of three orders of aquatic macroinvertebrates (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, hereafter EPT) obtained via eDNA metabarcoding and via traditional in situ kicknet sampling to catchment-level based predictions of a species distribution model. We used kicknet data from 24 sites in Switzerland and compared taxonomic lists to those obtained using eDNA amplified with two different primer sets. Richness detected by these methods was compared to the independent predictions made by a statistical species distribution model using landscape-level features to estimate EPT diversity. Despite the ability of eDNA to consistently detect some EPT species found by traditional sampling, we found important discrepancies in community composition between the two approaches, particularly at local scale. Overall, the more specific set of primers, namely fwhF2/EPTDr2n, was most efficient for the detection of target species and for characterizing the diversity of EPT. Moreover, we found that the species richness measured by eDNA was poorly correlated to the richness measured by kicknet sampling and that the richness estimated by eDNA and kicknet were poorly correlated with the prediction of the statistical model. Overall, however, neither eDNA nor the traditional approach had strong links to the predictive models, indicating inherent limitations in upscaling species richness estimates. Future challenges include improving the accuracy and sensitivity of each approach individually yet also acknowledge their respective limitations, in order to best meet stakeholder demands addressing the biodiversity crisis we are facing.

Period-specific differences of style in Haribhaṭṭa’s “Garland of Jātakas” and in the “Avadāna-Śataka” (based on the deer jātaka)

The article examines the evolution of style traced in Sanskrit literature during the development of the genre of jātaka – the story of a previous life of Buddha – at an early stage of the genre's existence, represented by the anonymous collection “Avadāna-Śataka” (around 2nd century AD), and at the stage of the developed author literature, an example of which is the “Garland of Jātakas” by Haribhaṭṭa (4th to 5th centuries AD). The pre-literary jātaka in the Pali language is fairly well studied, while the literary works we consider here, being significant for the tradition, have hardly been studied in Russian science at all. Consideration of “Avadāna-Śataka” was carried out using the approaches of epic studies applied by Pavel Grintser to the “Mahābhārata” and “Rāmāyana”, which allowed us to reveal here the traces of the formulaic style characteristic of the oral existence of texts. These traces, however, are residual and indicate the stylisation of the text to the oral style of the pre-literary jātakas included in the Buddhist canon. In general, the text style is simple and monotonous; repetitions, catalogues and formulae are often found in it. We find a clear contrast to this picture in Haribhaṭṭa’s “Garland of Jātakas”, where features of the high court Sanskrit literature of the classical period (4th to 5th centuries AD) are obvious, to which this work has been proved to belong by indirect evidence. The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the two literary works from the standpoint of historical poetics.

Adjunctive Effect of Systemic Antibiotics in Regenerative/Reconstructive Periodontal Surgery—A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Background and Objective: Systemic antibiotics (AB) are often used in conjunction with regenerative/reconstructive periodontal surgery of intrabony defects and furcations; however, their potential benefits have not been systematically assessed. Materials and Methods: Data were retrieved from two recent systematic reviews (a total of 105 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on clinical and radiographic outcomes in intrabony defects (ID) and molars with furcation involvement (FI) treated by surgical access with regenerative techniques. Pair-wise meta-analysis of RCTs with and without AB was performed. Meta-regressions from single-arm (subgroup) RCTs including study arms with or without adjunctive AB were also conducted. Results: No statistically significant benefits of systemic AB with regard to PPD, CAL and bone gain were detected in ID by pair-wise meta-analysis. Meta-regression revealed increased PPD reduction (−0.91 mm, 95% CI = −1.30; −0.51, p < 0.001), CAL gain (−0.92 mm, 95% CI = −1.32; −0.52, p < 0.001) and bone gain (−1.08 mm, 95% CI = −1.63; −0.53, p < 0.001) in ID but not in any of the outcomes in FI for arms treated with AB vs. study arms treated with no AB. No clear differences in adverse events were detected between AB and non-AB groups. Conclusion: There is only weak indirect evidence that AB may provide additional benefits in terms of clinical improvements in the regenerative/reconstructive periodontal surgery of intrabony defects and no evidence for a benefit in furcations. Until new data are gained and in the context of antibiotic stewardship, it may be questionable to justify the adjunctive use of systemic antibiotics.

The importance of superspreaders on the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic

The dynamics of pandemics is most often analyzed using a variation of the SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) model1, the key parameter of which is the basic reproduction number R0. Some evidences suggest that the contagion-spreading networks are scale-free, with the biggest nodes corresponding to superspreaders2,3. However, current understanding of the scale-free topology of these networks, and of the implications of such topology for the dynamics of pandemics is incomplete. Here we show that the world-wide spreading rate of COVID-19 gives an indirect evidence that the underlying virus-spreading network is scale-free, with the degree distribution exponent close to 2. Furthermore, our results show that the spreading rate of a virus is predominantly controlled by superspreaders who typically get infected and acquire immunity during the initial outbreak stage of the pandemic. Thereby the biggest nodes get immune and hence, removed from the network, resulting in a rapid decrease of the effective reproduction number. These findings are important for understanding the dynamics of pandemics, and for designing optimal virus control strategies. In particular, screening a population for the number of antibodies of a set of viruses can reveal potential superspreaders, the vaccination or isolation of whom can impede a pandemic at its early stage.

Interiors of Earth-Like Planets and Satellites of the Solar System

The Earth-like planets and moons in our solar system have iron-rich cores, silicate mantles, and a basaltic crust. Differentiated icy moons can have a core and a mantle and an outer water–ice layer. Indirect evidence for several icy moons suggests that this ice is underlain by or includes a water-rich ocean. Similar processes are at work in the interiors of these planets and moons, including heat transport by conduction and convection, melting and volcanism, and magnetic field generation. There are significant differences in detail, though, in both bulk chemical compositions and relative volume of metal, rock and ice reservoirs. For example, the Moon has a small core [~ 0.2 planetary radii (RP)], whereas Mercury’s is large (~ 0.8 RP). Planetary heat engines can operate in somewhat different ways affecting the evolution of the planetary bodies. Mercury and Ganymede have a present-day magnetic field while the core dynamo ceased to operate billions of years ago in the Moon and Mars. Planets and moons differ in tectonic style, from plate-tectonics on Earth to bodies having a stagnant outer lid and possibly solid-state convection underneath, with implications for their magmatic and atmosphere evolution. Knowledge about their deep interiors has improved considerably thanks to a multitude of planetary space missions but, in comparison with Earth, the data base is still limited. We describe methods (including experimental approaches and numerical modeling) and data (e.g., gravity field, rotational state, seismic signals, magnetic field, heat flux, and chemical compositions) used from missions and ground-based observations to explore the deep interiors, their dynamics and evolution and describe as examples Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars, Ganymede and Enceladus.