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Recent research in inductive category learning has demonstrated that interleaved study of category exemplars results in better performance than does studying each category in separate blocks. However, the questions of how the category structure influences this advantage and how simultaneous presentation interacts with the advantage are open issues. In this article, we present three experiments. The first experiment indicates that the advantage of interleaved over blocked study is modulated by the structure of the categories being studied. More specifically, interleaved study results in better generalization for categories with high within- and between-category similarity, whereas blocked presentation results in better generalization for categories with low within- and between-category similarity. In Experiment 2 , we present evidence that when presented simultaneously, between-category comparisons (interleaved presentation) result in a performance advantage for high-similarity categories, but no differences were found for low-similarity categories. In Experiment 3 , we directly compared simultaneous and successive presentation of low-similarity categories. We again found an overall benefit for blocked study with these categories. Overall, these results are consistent with the proposal that interleaving emphasizes differences between categories, whereas blocking emphasizes the discovery of commonalities among objects within the same category.

The indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) on HEp-2 cells is widely used for detection of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). The dichotomous outcome, negative or positive, is integrated in diagnostic and classification criteria for several systemic autoimmune diseases. However, the HEp-2 IIFA test has much more to offer: besides the titre or fluorescence intensity, it also provides fluorescence pattern(s). The latter include the nucleus and the cytoplasm of interphase cells as well as patterns associated with mitotic cells. The International Consensus on ANA Patterns (ICAP) initiative has previously reached consensus on the nomenclature and definitions of HEp-2 IIFA patterns. In the current paper, the ICAP consensus is presented on the clinical relevance of the 29 distinct HEp-2 IIFA patterns. This clinical relevance is primarily defined within the context of the suspected disease and includes recommendations for follow-up testing. The discussion includes how this information may benefit the clinicians in daily practice and how the knowledge can be used to further improve diagnostic and classification criteria.

(1) Background: Patients with respiratory conditions typically exhibit adventitious respiratory sounds (ARS), such as wheezes and crackles. ARS events have variable duration. In this work we studied the influence of event duration on automatic ARS classification, namely, how the creation of the Other class (negative class) affected the classifiers’ performance. (2) Methods: We conducted a set of experiments where we varied the durations of the other events on three tasks: crackle vs. wheeze vs. other (3 Class); crackle vs. other (2 Class Crackles); and wheeze vs. other (2 Class Wheezes). Four classifiers (linear discriminant analysis, support vector machines, boosted trees, and convolutional neural networks) were evaluated on those tasks using an open access respiratory sound database. (3) Results: While on the 3 Class task with fixed durations, the best classifier achieved an accuracy of 96.9%, the same classifier reached an accuracy of 81.8% on the more realistic 3 Class task with variable durations. (4) Conclusion: These results demonstrate the importance of experimental design on the assessment of the performance of automatic ARS classification algorithms. Furthermore, they also indicate, unlike what is stated in the literature, that the automatic classification of ARS is not a solved problem, as the algorithms’ performance decreases substantially under complex evaluation scenarios.

The effects of preexercise photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) to enhance performance, accelerate recovery, and attenuate exercise-induced oxidative stress were still not fully investigated, especially in high-level athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of PBMT (using infrared low-level laser therapy) applied before a progressive running test on functional aspects, muscle damage, and inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in high-level soccer players. A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial was performed. Twenty-two high-level male soccer players from the same team were recruited and treated with active PBMT and placebo. The order of interventions was randomized. Immediately after the application of active PBMT or placebo, the volunteers performed a standardized high-intensity progressive running test (ergospirometry test) until exhaustion. We analyzed rates of oxygen uptake (VO2 max), time until exhaustion, and aerobic and anaerobic threshold during the intense progressive running test. Creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1-β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), levels of thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) and carbonylated proteins, and catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured before and five minutes after the end of the test. PBMT increased the VO2 max (both relative and absolute values—p<0.0467 and p<0.0013, respectively), time until exhaustion (p<0.0043), time (p<0.0007) and volume (p<0.0355) in which anaerobic threshold happened, and volume in which aerobic threshold happened (p<0.0068). Moreover, PBMT decreased CK (p<0.0001) and LDH (p<0.0001) activities. Regarding the cytokines, PBMT decreased only IL-6 (p<0.0001). Finally, PBMT decreased TBARS (p<0.0001) and carbonylated protein levels (p<0.01) and increased SOD (p<0.0001)and CAT (p<0.0001) activities. The findings of this study demonstrate that preexercise PBMT acts on different functional aspects and biochemical markers. Moreover, preexercise PBMT seems to play an important antioxidant effect, decreasing exercise-induced oxidative stress and consequently enhancing athletic performance and improving postexercise recovery. This trial is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03803956.

Maternal nutrition exclusively during the periconceptional period can induce remarkable effects on both oocyte maturation and early embryo development, which in turn can have lifelong consequences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of maternal methionine supplementation on the transcriptome of bovine preimplantation embryos. Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of two treatments differing in level of dietary methionine (1.89 Met vs. 2.43 Met % of metabolizable protein) from calving until embryo flushing. High quality preimplantation embryos from individual cows were pooled and then analyzed by RNA sequencing. Remarkably, a subtle difference in methionine supplementation in maternal diet was sufficient to cause significant changes in the transcriptome of the embryos. A total of 276 genes out of 10,662 showed differential expression between treatments (FDR <0.10). Interestingly, several of the most significant genes are related to embryonic development (e.g., VIM, IFI6, BCL2A1, and TBX15) and immune response (e.g., NKG7, TYROBP, SLAMF7, LCP1, and BLA-DQB). Likewise, gene set enrichment analysis revealed that several Gene Ontology terms, InterPro entries, and KEGG pathways were enriched (FDR <0.05) with differentially expressed genes involved in embryo development and immune system. The expression of most genes was decreased by maternal methionine supplementation, consistent with reduced transcription of genes with increased methylation of specific genes by increased methionine. Overall, our findings provide evidence that supplementing methionine to dams prior to conception and during the preimplantation period can modulate gene expression in bovine blastocysts. The ramifications of the observed gene expression changes for subsequent development of the pregnancy and physiology of the offspring warrant further investigation in future studies.

Abstract Sustainable intensification of land-use practices has never been more important to ensure food security for a growing world population. When combined under thoughtful management, cover cropping and crop-livestock integration under no-till systems can benefit from unexpected synergies due to their unique features of plant-animal diversification and complex agroecosystem functions. Mimicking the nutrient coupling/decoupling processes of natural ecosystems by diversifying plant and animal components of no-till integrated crop-livestock operations is an essential feature of the design of agroecological systems that support self-regulating feedbacks and lend resilience while increasing productivity and ecosystem service provision. Focusing on grazing animals as drivers of agroecosystem change, we highlight the benefits of grazed cover crops in rotation with cash crops for primary and secondary production and for soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters. However, careful management of grazing intensity is imperative; overgrazing drives soil deterioration, while light to moderate grazing enhances overall system functioning and allows for the generation of emergent properties.

In this work we determine the linear and non-linear optical properties of a Fluoro-N-Acylhydrazide derivative (FBHZ), using a combined supermolecule approach and an iterative scheme of electrostatic polarization, where the atoms of neighbouring molecules are represented by point charges. Our results for non-linear optics (NLO) are comparable to those found experimentally, suggesting that FBHZ constitutes an attractive object for future studies and for use as an interesting material for third-order NLO applications. The dynamic electrical properties of FBHZ in different solvent media are reported. Its molecular properties are closely related to supramolecular features; accordingly, we analysed all its crystal structure properties via intermolecular interactions in the solid state, using X-ray crystallography data and Hirshfeld surface (HS), including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and hot-stage microscopy (HSM), where the results reveal crystal stability in respect to temperature variation.

Research on how information should be studied during inductive category learning has identified both interleaving of categories and blocking by category as beneficial for learning. Previous work suggests that this mixed evidence can be reconciled by taking into account within- and between-category similarity relations. In this article, we present a new moderating factor. Across two experiments, one group of participants studied categories actively (by studying the objects without correct category assignment and actively figuring out what the category was), either interleaved or blocked. Another group studied the same categories passively (objects and correct category assignment were simultaneously provided). Results from a subsequent generalization task show that whether interleaved or blocked study results in better learning depends on whether study is active or passive. One account of these results is that different presentation sequences and tasks promote different patterns of attention to stimulus components. Passive learning and blocking promote attending to commonalities within categories, while active learning and interleaving promote attending to differences between categories.

Climate models project greater weather variability over the coming decades. High yielding systems that can maintain stable crop yields under variable environmental scenarios are critical to enhance food security. However, the effect of adding a trophic level (i.e. herbivores) on the long-term stability of agricultural systems is not well understood. We used a 16-year dataset from an integrated soybean-beef cattle experiment to measure the impacts of grazing on the stability of key crop, pasture, animal and whole-system outcomes. Treatments consisted of four grazing intensities (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm sward height) on mixed black oat ( Avena strigosa ) and Italian ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum ) pastures and an ungrazed control. Stability of both human-digestible protein production and profitability increased at moderate to light grazing intensities, while over-intensification or absence of grazing decreased system stability. Grazing did not affect subsequent soybean yields but reduced the chance of crop failure and financial loss in unfavorable years. At both lighter and heavier grazing intensities, tradeoffs occurred between the stability of herbage production and animal live weight gains. We show that ecological intensification of specialized soybean systems using livestock integration can increase system stability and profitability, but the probability of win–win outcomes depends on management.