Plastid genomes of photosynthetic flowering plants are usually highly conserved in both structure and gene content. However, the plastomes of parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plants may be released from selective constraint due to the reduction or loss of photosynthetic ability. Here we present the greatly reduced and highly divergent, yet functional, plastome of the nonphotosynthetic holoparasite Hydnora visseri (Hydnoraceae, Piperales). The plastome is 27 kb in length, with 24 genes encoding ribosomal proteins, ribosomal RNAs, tRNAs and a few non-bioenergetic genes, but no genes related to photosynthesis. The inverted repeat and the small single copy region are only ~1.5 kb, and intergenic regions have been drastically reduced. Despite extreme reduction, gene order and orientation are highly similar to the plastome of Piper cenocladum, a related photosynthetic plant in Piperales. Gene sequences in Hydnora are highly divergent and several complementary approaches using the highest possible sensitivity were required for identification and annotation of this plastome. Active transcription is detected for all of the protein coding genes in the plastid genome, and one of two introns is appropriately spliced out of rps12 transcripts. The whole genome shotgun read depth is 1,400X coverage for the plastome, while the mitochondrial genome is covered at 40X and the nuclear genome at 2X. Despite the extreme reduction of the genome and high sequence divergence, the presence of syntenic, long transcriptionally-active open reading frames with distant similarity to other plastid genomes and a high plastome stoichiometry relative to the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes suggests that the plastome remains functional in Hydnora visseri. A four stage model of gene reduction, including the potential for complete plastome loss, is proposed to account for the range of plastid genomes in nonphotosynthetic plants.

Introduction Multimodal pain therapy (MPT) has been established accounting for biopsychosocial consideration in diagnostic and therapy. MPT seems to be effective, but comparability of studies is limited due to diversity of study designs and outcome measurements. The presented study aims to develop a core outcome set consisting of a minimum of outcome measures deemed necessary for medical and therapeutic decision-making, which must be measured in all clinical trials and non-randomised intervention studies.

In psychological research, many questionnaires use verbal response scales with vague linguistic terms (e.g., frequency expressions). The words’ meanings can be formalized and evaluated using fuzzy membership functions (MFs), which allow constructing distinct and equidistant response scales. The discriminatory power value of MFs indicates how distinct the functions and, hence, the verbal expressions are. The present manuscript interrogates the threshold of discriminatory power necessary to indicate a sufficient difference in meaning. Using an empirical validation procedure, participants (N = 133) estimated (1) three correspondence values for verbal expressions to determine MFs, and (2) similarities of words by pairwise comparison ratings. Results show a non-linear relationship between discriminatory power and similarity, and fuzzy MFs, as well as the searched-for threshold value for discriminatory power. Implications for the selection of verbal expressions and the construction of verbal categories in questionnaire response scales are discussed.

Background: In many European countries including Germany, migrants utilize preventive services less frequently than the majority population. This is also true for the utilization of dental checkups. Little is known about which demographic, social, behavioral, and health-related factors influence the decision of migrants to seek preventive dental health care and how these factors differ from those in non-migrants. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of these factors among migrants and non-migrants residing in Germany. Methods: Data from cross-sectional national health surveys are used, providing information on preventive dental health behavior from n = 41,220 individuals, of which 15.0% are migrants. Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use is the conceptual framework of the investigation. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to examine the role of different predisposing and enabling factors. Interaction terms were included in order to examine whether determinants differ between migrants and non-migrants. Average marginal effects (AMEs) are reported in addition to odds ratios (ORs) as measures of effect size which are robust against bias arising from unobserved heterogeneity. Results: Migrants are at an about 36% lower chance of utilizing regular dental checkups than non-migrants [OR = 0.64 (95% confidence interval, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.68); AME = −0.081 (95% CI = −0.093, −0.069)]. Differences are partly explained by the influence of demographic, social, behavioral, and health-related factors [adjusted OR = 0.69 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.73); AME = −0.065 (95% CI = −0.076, −0.053)]. Younger age, being male, lower socioeconomic status, a non-statutory health insurance, not living in a relationship, living in the Western part of Germany and in an urban setting, and poor limited social support were associated with a lower chance of utilizing regular dental checkups. Interaction effects could be observed for age and for the type of health insurance. Discussion: The study identifies different enabling and predisposing factors that are relevant for the utilization of dental checkups among the population in Germany, some of which differ between migrants and non-migrants. Differences are particularly pronounced for younger ages. This differs from findings on other preventive services where older migrants tend to be more disadvantaged. Additional explanatory factors such as barriers that migrants experience in the dental health care system need to be considered in order to implement patient-oriented services and to reduce disparities in access to dental prevention.

How do robots learn to perform motor tasks in a specific condition and apply what they have learned in a new condition? This paper proposes a framework for motor coordination acquisition of a robot drawing straight lines within a part of the workspace. Then, it addresses transferring the acquired coordination into another area of the workspace while performing the same task. Motor patterns are generated by a Central Pattern Generator (CPG) model. The motor coordination for a given task is acquired by using a multi-objective optimization method that adjusts the CPGs' parameters involved in the coordination. To transfer the acquired motor coordination to the whole workspace we employed (1) a Self-Organizing Map that represents the end-effector coordination in the Cartesian space, and (2) an estimation method based on Inverse Distance Weighting that estimates the motor program parameters for each SOM neuron. After learning, the robot generalizes the acquired motor program along the SOM network. It is able therefore to draw lines from any point in the 2D workspace and with different orientations. Aside from the obvious distinctiveness of the proposed framework from those based on inverse kinematics typically leading to a point-to-point drawing, our approach also permits of transferring the motor program throughout the workspace.

Effect sizes are the currency of psychological research. They quantify the results of a study to answer the research question and are used to calculate statistical power. The interpretation of effect sizes—when is an effect small, medium, or large?—has been guided by the recommendations Jacob Cohen gave in his pioneering writings starting in 1962: Either compare an effect with the effects found in past research or use certain conventional benchmarks. The present analysis shows that neither of these recommendations is currently applicable. From past publications without pre-registration, 900 effects were randomly drawn and compared with 93 effects from publications with pre-registration, revealing a large difference: Effects from the former (median r = 0.36) were much larger than effects from the latter (median r = 0.16). That is, certain biases, such as publication bias or questionable research practices, have caused a dramatic inflation in published effects, making it difficult to compare an actual effect with the real population effects (as these are unknown). In addition, there were very large differences in the mean effects between psychological sub-disciplines and between different study designs, making it impossible to apply any global benchmarks. Many more pre-registered studies are needed in the future to derive a reliable picture of real population effects.

(1) Background: Maximum isokinetic force loads show strongly increased post-load lactate concentrations and an increase in the maximum blood lactate concentration rate ( V˙ Lamax), depending on load duration. The reproducibility of V˙ Lamax must be known to be able to better assess training-related adjustments of anaerobic performance using isokinetic force tests. (2) Methods: 32 subjects were assigned to two groups and completed two unilateral isokinetic force tests (210° s−1, Range of Motion 90°) within seven days. Group 1 (n = 16; age 24.0 ± 2.8 years, BMI 23.5 ± 2.6 kg m−2, training duration: 4.5 ± 2.4 h week−1) completed eight repetitions and group 2 (n = 16; age 23.7 ± 1.9 years, BMI 24.6 ± 2.4 kg m−2, training duration: 5.5 ± 2.1 h week−1) completed 16 repetitions. To determine V˙ Lamax, capillary blood (20 µL) was taken before and immediately after loading, and up to the 9th minute post-load. Reproducibility and variability was determined using Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, and variability were determined using within-subject standard deviation (Sw) and Limits of Agreement (LoA) using Bland Altman plots. (3) Results: The correlation of V˙ Lamax in group 1 was r = 0.721, and in group 2 r = 0.677. The Sw of V˙ Lamax was 0.04 mmol L−1 s−1 in both groups. In group 1, V˙ Lamax showed a systematic bias due to measurement repetition of 0.02 mmol L−1 s−1 in an interval (LoA) of ±0.11 mmol L−1 s−1. In group 2, a systematic bias of −0.008 mmol L−1 s−1 at an interval (LoA) of ±0.11 mmol L−1 s−1 was observed for repeated measurements of V˙ Lamax. (4) Conclusions: Based on the existing variability, a reliable calculation of V˙ Lamax seems to be possible with both short and longer isokinetic force loads. Changes in V˙ Lamax above 0.11 mmol L−1 s−1 due to training can be described as a non-random increase or decrease in V˙ Lamax.

Resting heart rate (RHR) is positively related with mortality. Regular exercise causes a reduction in RHR. The aim of the systematic review was to assess whether regular exercise or sports have an impact on the RHR in healthy subjects by taking different types of sports into account. A systematic literature research was conducted in six databases for the identification of controlled trials dealing with the effects of exercise or sports on the RHR in healthy subjects was performed. The studies were summarized by meta-analyses. The literature search analyzed 191 studies presenting 215 samples fitting the eligibility criteria. 121 trials examined the effects of endurance training, 43 strength training, 15 combined endurance and strength training, 5 additional school sport programs. 21 yoga, 5 tai chi, 3 qigong, and 2 unspecified types of sports. All types of sports decreased the RHR. However, only endurance training and yoga significantly decreased the RHR in both sexes. The exercise-induced decreases of RHR were positively related with the pre-interventional RHR and negatively with the average age of the participants. From this, we can conclude that exercise—especially endurance training and yoga—decreases RHR. This effect may contribute to a reduction in all-cause mortality due to regular exercise or sports.

Introduction Research in the field of embodied cognition is occupied with a variety of research questions stemming from the idea that cognition is deeply connected with bodily aspects such as perception and action (Barsalou, 1999, 2008). However, some embodiment studies have been identified to exhibit problems such as non-replicable results (Lakens, 2014). With this article, we wish to accomplish three aims: exemplifying ways of categorizing embodied cognition research in an informative manner; providing guidelines on how to identify problematic study designs; suggesting solutions for potentially problematic designs. Within the field of embodied cognition, several aspects are investigated as outlined by Wilson (2002). One example for embodiment mentioned by Wilson (2002) is gesturing (for an overview on gesturing, see Hostetter and Alibali, 2008). Embodied cognition theory can be used to analyze the relation between gestures and mental processes (e.g., Hostetter and Alibali, 2008). Furthermore, there is a debate around the question whether language and meaning are grounded in perceptual contents experienced through the body (e.g., Borghi et al., 2004; for an overview on grounded cognition, see Barsalou, 2010). Besides research on cognition, principles of embodied cognition have been applied to fields such as social psychology (see Meier et al., 2012, for an overview) and educational psychology (see Paas and Sweller, 2012, for an overview). For instance, research on embodiment in the context of social cognition has provided evidence for the claim that bodily sensations such as weight can alter judgments on importance (e.g., Ackerman et al., 2010). In educational psychology, one application of embodiment theory is the design of interactive learning environments (e.g., Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). In response to the current replication crisis in psychology (for discussions, see Pashler and Wagenmakers, 2012; Maxwell et al., 2015), several solutions have been proposed to improve the quality of psychological research (e.g., Chambers, 2013; Simons, 2014; LeBel, 2015; for overviews, see Ferguson, 2015; Zwaan et al., 2017). Benjamin et al. (2018) argue for a change of the standard 0.05 alpha level and instead support to lower the default alpha value for novel findings in the field of psychology to 0.005. Importantly, the sample size and power of studies have been described as pivotal contributors to replicable results (Fraley and Vazire, 2014). Multiple types of embodied cognition research are facing the problem of delivering non-replicable results as discussed in the literature (e.g., Rabelo et al., 2015). Perugini et al. (2014) present a method for the calculation of sample sizes for replication studies and confirmatory research that takes into account that observed effect sizes may be inaccurate estimates. They suggest to conduct sample size calculations using an effect size that is based on the lower bounds of the confidence interval computed for an observed effect size (Perugini et al., 2014). Another method is presented by Simonsohn (2015), who makes the argument that sample size calculations for replication studies should not merely use the effect sizes reported in the original research that is to be replicated. He explains that by increasing the sample size by the factor of 2.5, a replication study can be used to assess whether an effect is too small to have been appropriately captured in the original study (Simonsohn, 2015). This method has already been used in a recent replication study on embodied cognition effects (Ronay et al., 2017). We suggest to use one of the aforementioned methods of sample size calculation for studies involving embodiment-based manipulation types that are known for potential problems. In the following, we will present three important aspects that can be used to check whether an embodied cognition study design will need amendments such as an increased sample size.

Listening to music usually elicits emotions that can vary considerably in their intensity over the course of listening. Yet, after listening to a piece of music, people are easily able to evaluate the music's overall emotional intensity. There are two different hypotheses about how affective experiences are temporally processed and integrated: (1) all moments' intensities are integrated, resulting in an averaged value; (2) the overall evaluation is built from specific single moments, such as the moments of highest emotional intensity (peaks), the end, or a combination of these. Here we investigated what listeners do when building an overall evaluation of a musical experience. Participants listened to unknown songs and provided moment-to-moment ratings of experienced intensity of emotions. Subsequently, they evaluated the overall emotional intensity of each song. Results indicate that participants' evaluations were predominantly influenced by their average impression but that, in addition, the peaks and end emotional intensities contributed substantially. These results indicate that both types of processes play a role: All moments are integrated into an averaged value but single moments might be assigned a higher value in the calculation of this average.