One of the most spectacular displays of social behavior is the synchronized movements that many animal groups perform to travel, forage and escape from predators. However, elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying the evolution of collective behaviors, as well as their fitness effects, remains challenging. Here, we study collective motion patterns with and without predation threat and predator

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) involves several classes of pathogenic autoantibodies, some of which react with type-II collagen (COL2) in articular cartilage. We previously described a subset of COL2 antibodies targeting the F4 epitope (ERGLKGHRGFT) that could be regulatory. Here, using phage display, we developed recombinant antibodies against this epitope and examined the underlying mechanism of acti

This study presents a thermodynamically consistent continuum damage model for fiber-based materials that combines elastoplasticity and damage mechanisms to simulate the nonlinear mechanical behavior under in-plane loading. The anisotropic plastic response is characterized by a non-quadratic yield surface composed of six sub-surfaces, providing flexibility in defining plastic properties and accurac

The Furongian Słowińska Formation in Poland yielded minute three-dimensionally preserved, phosphatic fossils. Based on shape and structure, two distinct types are identified. The first type comprises sinuously folded, coiled, or spiral string-shaped specimens, interpreted as faecal material, coprolites. The specimens measure between less than one and two mm, the strings being long and against thei

Methyl isopropyl ketone (MIPK) is the simplest branched ketone and a promising biofuel. In this work, laminar burning velocities (SL) of MIPK + air flames were measured using the heat flux method at atmospheric pressure, over initial mixture temperatures of 298–358 K and equivalence ratios of 0.7–1.4. With the help of the temperature dependence of the SL, data inconsistency between the present mea

How do science teachers perceive student engagement and its importance for teaching and what strategies do they use to create it? When 21 experienced science teachers in 4 focus groups discussed these questions, they brought up behavioural aspects, but also less visible emotional and cognitive aspects, as well as reciprocal aspects of teacher and student engagement. One teacher described engagemen

Collisionless dark matter only (DMO) structure formation simulations predict that dark matter (DM) haloes are prolate in their centres and triaxial towards their outskirts. The addition of gas condensation transforms the central DM shape to be rounder and more oblate. It is not clear, however, whether such shape transformations occur in 'ultra-faint' dwarfs, which have extremely low baryon fractio

In past years efforts have concentrated on the development of arrays of Silicon Drift Detectors for X-ray spectroscopy. This is in stark contrast to the little effort that has been devoted to the improvement of germanium detectors, in particular for synchrotron applications. Germanium detectors have better energy resolution and are more efficient in detecting high energy photons than silicon detec

Evidence about the environmental impacts of shared mobility is fragmented and scattered. In this article a systematic literature review is presented. The review focuses on assessments that use Life-Cycle Assessment to quantify the environmental impacts of car sharing, carpooling, bikesharing, and scooter/moped sharing. The results of these assessments were analyzed, as well as the factors that inf

This study presents a novel approach to forming low-resistance ohmic contacts for AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. The optimized contacts exhibit an outstanding contact resistance of approximately 0.15 Ω·mm. This is achieved by firstly recessing the barrier of the heterostructure to a depth beyond the channel. In this way, the channel region is exposed on the sidewall of the recess. The coverage of the Ti/Al/Ti o

Visibility in smoke is a key aspect in terms of safe egress in various fire related situations. Due to the hazardous nature of fire induced smoke, it is hard to study human behaviour under such conditions, but recent development within the field of virtual reality (VR) has enabled exposure to many different hazardous conditions while remaining relatively safe. However, to obtain valid results from

Introduction: Until now, the mechanism underlying the impact of topping on hormone regulation in tobacco plants remains unclear, and most studies investigating the hormone signaling pathways in plants rely on genes or transcriptional pathways. Methods: This study examines the regulatory mechanisms of hormones in the roots and leaves of tobacco plants with and without topping at the protein level.

Purpose: Steadily increasing use of computational/virtual phantoms in medical physics has motivated expanding development of new simulation methods and data representations for modelling human anatomy. This has emphasized the need for increased realism, user control, and availability. In breast cancer research, virtual phantoms have gained an important role in evaluating and optimizing imaging sys

Background and purpose: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a promising treatment for patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) who do not respond to standard treatments. However, the management of respiratory motion during treatment remains a challenge. This study aimed to investigate the effect of abdominal compression (AC) on respiratory induced motion in the heart. Materials

Abstract: In this work, we utilise grand canonical Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations, to establish pore-induced freezing of restricted primitive model fluids. A planar pore model is utilised, with walls that are initially neutral, and either non-conducting or perfectly conducting. The phase of the confined electrolyte (solid/fluid) displays an oscillatory dependence on surface separation, in narr

GaN-based power devices operating at high currents and high voltages are critically affected by the dissipation of Joule heat generated in the active regions. Consequently, knowledge of GaN thermal conductivity is crucial for effective thermal management, needed to ensure optimal device performance and reliability. Here, we present a study on the thermal conductivity of bulk GaN in crystallographi

The molecular self-diffusion coefficients were accessed, for the first time, in solutions of microcrystalline cellulose, dissolved in 30 wt% and 55 wt% aqueous tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, TBAH (aq), and in mixtures of 40 wt% TBAH (aq) with an organic co-solvent, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), through pulsed field gradient stimulated echo NMR measurements. A two-state model was applied to estimate α (

PURPOSE Effective treatments are needed for melanoma that progresses on inhibitors of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1). We conducted the phase II LEAP-004 study to evaluate the combination of the multikinase inhibitor lenvatinib and the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in this population (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03776136).METHODSEligible patients with unresectable

Research Question/Issue: Motivated by the agency theory and the findings of linguistic studies, we analyze the association between the internationalization of a firm's audit committee and its corporate governance. Research Findings/Insights: Based on data from 2159 publicly traded European firms from 15 countries for the period 2000–2018, we find that firms with foreign directors on their audit co