Monitoring Neuronal Network Disturbances of Brain Diseases: A Preclinical MRI Approach in the Rodent Brain

Functional and structural neuronal networks, as recorded by resting-state functional MRI and diffusion MRI-based tractography, gain increasing attention as data driven whole brain imaging methods not limited to the foci of the primary pathology or the known key affected regions but permitting to characterize the entire network response of the brain after disease or injury. Their connectome contents thus provide information on distal brain areas, directly or indirectly affected by and interacting with the primary pathological event or affected regions. From such information, a better understanding of the dynamics of disease progression is expected. Furthermore, observation of the brain's spontaneous or treatment-induced improvement will contribute to unravel the underlying mechanisms of plasticity and recovery across the whole-brain networks. In the present review, we discuss the values of functional and structural network information derived from systematic and controlled experimentation using clinically relevant animal models. We focus on rodent models of the cerebral diseases with high impact on social burdens, namely, neurodegeneration, and stroke.

Workflow for wooden contact samples in use-wear experiments with bronze axe replicas (MAP-protocol_B) v1

Focussing on the role of contact materials as an element of variable control in archaeological use-wear experiments, this protocol sets out a workflow for the preparation, use and documentation of standardized beechwood contact samples. Although developed in the context of rig-based experimentation with bronze axe replicas as part of MAP, it follows principles and sets out procedures of broader applicability within traceological experimental research in general and in studies involving ligneous contact material in particular. MAP (the Mainz, Mayen & Monrepos Axperimental Programme) expands into a 'post-lithic' material class (copper-based artefacts) and chronological setting (the Bronze Age) the research agenda developed by TraCEr, which is based on a strong commitment to open science and an understanding of sustained methodological development as a key to consolidating traceology as a sub-discipline within archaeology. TraCEr (the Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments) was established by the RGZM, the Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology, at the MONREPOS Research Centre and Museum at Neuwied in 2017. Its main scope is to carry out ground-breaking research that combines methodological development, aided by state-of-the-art facilities for controlled experimentation and advanced methods of documentation, and fundamental research on Pleistocene and Early Holocene archaeology.

Incidence of hyperaccumulation and tissue-level distribution of manganese, cobalt, and zinc in the genusGossia(Myrtaceae)

The rare phenomenon of plant manganese (Mn) hyperaccumulation within the Australian flora has previously been detected in the field, which suggested that the tree genus Gossia (Myrtaceae) might contain new Mn hyperaccumulators. We conducted the first growth experiment on Gossia using a multi-factorial dosing trial to assess Mn, cobalt (Co), and zinc (Zn) (hyper)accumulation patterns in selected Gossia species (G. fragrantissima and G. punctata) after a systematic assessment of elemental profiles on all holdings of the genus Gossia at the Queensland Herbarium using handheld X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. We then conducted detailed in situ analyses of the elemental distribution of Mn, Co, Zn and other elements at the macro (organ) and micro (cellular) levels with laboratory- and synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM). Gossia pubiflora and Gossia hillii were newly discovered to be Mn hyperaccumulator plants. In the dosing trial, G. fragrantissima accumulated 17 400 µg g−1 Mn, 545 µg g−1 Co, and 13 000 µg g−1 Zn, without signs of toxicity. The laboratory-based XFM revealed distinct patterns of accumulation of Co, Mn, and Zn in G. fragrantissima, while the synchrotron XFM showed their localization in foliar epidermal cells, and in the cortex and phloem cells of roots. This study combined novel analytical approaches with controlled experimentation to examine metal hyperaccumulation in slow-growing tropical woody species, thereby enabling insight into the phenomenon not possible through field studies.

Introducing platform surface interior angle (PSIA) and its role in flake formation, size and shape

Four ways archaeologists have tried to gain insights into how flintknapping creates lithic variability are fracture mechanics, controlled experimentation, replication and attribute studies of lithic assemblages. Fracture mechanics has the advantage of drawing more directly on first principles derived from physics and material sciences, but its relevance to controlled experimentation, replication and lithic studies more generally has been limited. Controlled experiments have the advantage of being able to isolate and quantify the contribution of individual variables to knapping outcomes, and the results of these experiments have provided models of flake formation that when applied to the archaeological record of flintknapping have provided insights into past behavior. Here we develop a linkage between fracture mechanics and the results of previous controlled experiments to increase their combined explanatory and predictive power. We do this by documenting the influence of Herztian cone formation, a constant in fracture mechanics, on flake platforms. We find that the platform width is a function of the Hertzian cone constant angle and the geometry of the platform edge. This finding strengthens the foundation of one of the more influential models emerging from the controlled experiments. With additional work, this should make it possible to merge more of the experimental results into a more comprehensive model of flake formation.

Validating the Pro-Environmental Behavior Task in a Japanese Sample

Controlled experimentation is critical for understanding the causal determinants of pro-environmental behavior. However, the potential of experimental pro-environmental behavior research is limited by the difficulty to observe pro-environmental behavior under controlled conditions. The Pro-Environmental Behavior Task (PEBT) was developed to address this limitation by facilitating the experimental analysis of pro-environmental behavior in the laboratory. Previous studies in Belgian samples have already supported the validity of the PEBT as a procedure for the study of actual pro-environmental behavior. Here, we aimed for a cross-cultural replication of this finding in a sample of N = 103 Japanese college students. Along the lines of previous studies, we found PEBT choice behavior to be sensitive to within-subject manipulations of its behavioral costs and environmental benefits. This implies that participants take these consequences into account when choosing between PEBT options. In addition, we showed, for the first time, that such consequence effects can also be detected in a less powerful between-subjects design. These results support the generality of consequence effects on PEBT choice behavior as well as the validity and utility of the PEBT for use in samples from different cultural backgrounds.

‘False Relations’: Hermann von Helmholtz's Study of Music and the Delineation of Nineteenth-Century Physiology

This article discusses the delineation between physiology and music theory in Hermann von Helmholtz's On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (1863). It takes the phenomenon of ‘false relations’ as a point of departure to question the methodology Helmholtz devised to study music and hearing. The key to understanding this experimental method is the concept of ‘controlled deviation’, which is substantiated in two main sections. After providing some background information on the history of music theory, the first section explores ‘false relations’ within the context of physiological experimentation and hydrodynamics, the two most important areas of Helmholtz's scientific research. The second section of the article is centred on the experimental methods of Helmholtz as used in his investigation of vision and hearing. More specifically, it introduces notions of distortion, defamiliarization and deviation to distinguish levels of physiology that relate to the body and to cognition. As it turns out, music posed specific problems for the researcher. Beyond the ephemerality of sound, the malleability of hearing and of musical aesthetics proved even more of an obstacle for controlled experimentation. The article concludes with a discussion of Hugo Riemann, who continued to explore the central finding of Helmholtz, namely that the rules of music change due to the habits of the listener.

Probing the Electron Transfer between iLOV Protein and Ag Nanoparticles

Nanomaterials have been widely used in biomedical sciences; however, the mechanism of interaction between nanoparticles and biomolecules is still not fully understood. In the present study, we report the interaction mechanism between differently sized Ag nanoparticles and the improved light-oxygen-voltage (iLOV) protein. The steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence results demonstrated that the fluorescence intensity and lifetime of the iLOV protein decreased upon its adsorption onto Ag nanoparticles, and this decrease was dependent upon nanoparticle size. Further, we showed that the decrease of fluorescence intensity and lifetime arose from electron transfer between iLOV and Ag nanoparticles. Moreover, through point mutation and controlled experimentation, we demonstrated for the first time that electron transfer between iLOV and Ag nanoparticles is mediated by the tryptophan residue in the iLOV protein. These results are of great importance in revealing the function of iLOV protein as it applies to biomolecular sensors, the field of nano-photonics, and the interaction mechanism between the protein and nanoparticles.

Technologies Turning Future Brick-and-Mortar Stores into Data-Rich Environments

Visitors of an online retailer’s website leave digital traces. Every click and each interaction on the website generate information about a customer while many traditional retailers tend to know very little about their customers. However, market incumbents need not watch this development in passive awe. Many technologies are already available that help brick-and-mortar stores gather more valuable information about their customers, allowing them to improve shopper experience, retain customers, and ultimately increase profits. If used in a smart, transparent and non-offending way, technologies like in-store cameras, smart sensors, virtual reality or augmented reality can make a physical store almost as data-rich as a website. Retailers can be enabled to track the customer journey, observe product interactions in front of shelfs, recognize customers and identify segments, detect emotional states automatically and understand their customers’ information needs and decision making processes. Virtual reality offers retailers environments for controlled experimentation so that they can employ A/B tests to optimize customer experience and turnover and do not fall behind online retailers. New technologies need to be introduced carefully and consider people’s needs for transparency and control.