Animals must encode fundamental physical relationships in their brains. A heron plunging its head underwater to skewer a fish must correct for light refraction, an archerfish shooting down an insect must "consider" gravity, and an echolocating bat that is attacking prey must account for the speed of sound in order to assess its distance. Do animals learn these relations or are they encoded innately and can they adjust them as adults are all open questions. We addressed this question by shifting the speed of sound and assessing the sensory behavior of a bat species that naturally experiences different speeds of sound. We found that both newborn pups and adults are unable to adjust to this shift, suggesting that the speed of sound is innately encoded in the bat brain. Moreover, our results suggest that bats encode the world in terms of time and do not translate time into distance. Our results shed light on the evolution of innate and flexible sensory perception.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024352118 | DOI Listing |
J Voice
January 2025
Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, 4-9-1 Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan.
Introduction: Vocal distortion, also known as a scream or growl, is used worldwide as an essential technique in singing, especially in rock and metal, and as an ethnic voice in Mongolian singing. However, the production mechanism of vocal distortion is not yet clearly understood owing to limited research on the behavior of the larynx, which is the source of the distorted voice.
Objectives: This study used high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) to observe the larynx of professional singers with exceptional singing skills and determine the laryngeal dynamics in the voice production of various vocal distortions.
J Anim Sci
January 2025
USDA-Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), Clay Center, NE, USA.
Sow lameness results in premature culling, causing economic loss and well-being issues. A study, utilizing a pressure-sensing mat (GAIT4) and video monitoring system (NUtrack), was conducted to identify objective measurements on gilts that are predictive of future lameness. Gilts (N = 3656) were categorized to describe their lifetime soundness: SOUND, retained for breeding with no detected mobility issues; LAME_SOW, retained for breeding and detected lame as a sow; CULL_STR, not retained due to poor leg structure; LAME_GILT, not retained due to visible signs of lameness; and CULL, not retained due to reasons other than leg structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensors (Basel)
December 2024
Faculty of Mechatronics, Warsaw University of Technology, ul. św. Boboli 8, 02-525 Warsaw, Poland.
This paper considers the problem of flying a UAV along a given trajectory at speeds close to the speed of sound and above. A novel pitch channel control system is presented using the example of a trajectory with rapid and large changes in flight height. The control system uses a proportional-integral-differential (PID) controller, whose gains were first determined using the Ziegler-Nichols II method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicromachines (Basel)
November 2024
Department of Microsystem Technology, University of Applied Sciences Berlin, 12459 Berlin, Germany.
Shock wave boundary/layer interactions (SWBLIs) are critical in high-speed aerodynamic flows, particularly within supersonic regimes, where unsteady dynamics can induce structural fatigue and degrade vehicle performance. Conventional measurement techniques, such as pressure-sensitive paint (PSP), face limitations in frequency response, calibration complexity, and intrusive instrumentation. Similarly, MEMS-based sensors, like Kulite sensors, present challenges in terms of intrusiveness, cost, and integration complexity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Toxicol
January 2025
Cosmetics Europe, Brussels, Belgium.
Grouping of chemicals has been proposed as a strategy to speed up the screening and identification of potential substances of concern among the broad chemical universe under REACH. Such grouping is usually based on shared structural features and should only be used for the prioritization objectives. However, additional considerations (as well as structural similarity) are needed, e.
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