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Abstract Background Kinetic and kinematic gait analysis is increasingly practised as a part of lameness evaluation in dogs. The aim of this study was to examine the normal short- and long-term variation in forelimb gait in sound control dogs (CD) at a walk using seven selected variables of objective kinetic and kinematic gait analyses. Also, to compare the findings in CD to a group of forelimb lame dogs with elbow osteoarthritis (OAD). An additional aim was to test a kinetic based graphic method for lameness detection; symmetry squares (SS). A prospective longitudinal study was carried out on client owned CD and OAD. Clinical and orthopaedic evaluations were performed to ensure soundness and detect and grade lameness. Seven kinetic and kinematic variables and SS were tested for lameness evaluation. The CD were divided into two subgroups, CD1 and CD2, and examined twice: CD1 with two months interval and CD2 with 3–4 h interval. The OAD group was evaluated once and compared to the CD groups’ first examination. Results Thirteen CD and 19 OAD were included. For CD1 and CD2, there were no significant differences in any examined variable between examination occasions. Total peak force/impulse symmetry and fore-hind peak force/impulse symmetry differed significantly between OAD and CD. Symmetry squares had a 74% agreement to subjective orthopaedic evaluations. Conclusions In CD, no difference in the examined variables was seen between examination occasions. Four out of seven objective variables differed significantly between CD and OAD. The graphic SS method might have diagnostic potential for lameness detection, making it possible to detect a shift from lame to non-lame limbs. Potentially, this might be especially helpful in bilaterally lame dogs, which often represent a clinical challenge in lameness evaluation.

When speaking to infants, adults often produce speech that differs systematically from that directed to other adults. To quantify the acoustic properties of this speech style across a wide variety of languages and cultures, we extracted results from empirical studies on the acoustic features of infant-directed speech. We analysed data from 88 unique studies (734 effect sizes) on the following five acoustic parameters that have been systematically examined in the literature: fundamental frequency (f0), f0 variability, vowel space area, articulation rate and vowel duration. Moderator analyses were conducted in hierarchical Bayesian robust regression models to examine how these features change with infant age and differ across languages, experimental tasks and recording environments. The moderator analyses indicated that f0, articulation rate and vowel duration became more similar to adult-directed speech over time, whereas f0 variability and vowel space area exhibited stability throughout development. These results point the way for future research to disentangle different accounts of the functions and learnability of infant-directed speech by conducting theory-driven comparisons among different languages and using computational models to formulate testable predictions.

This study compared the acoustic properties of 26 (100% female, 100% monolingual) Danish caregivers' spontaneous speech addressed to their 11- to 24-month-old infants (infant-directed speech, IDS) and an adult experimenter (adult-directed speech, ADS). The data were collected between 2016 and 2018 in Aarhus, Denmark. Prosodic properties of Danish IDS conformed to cross-linguistic patterns, with a higher pitch, greater pitch variability, and slower articulation rate than ADS. However, an acoustic analysis of vocalic properties revealed that Danish IDS had a reduced or similar vowel space, higher within-vowel variability, raised formants, and lower degree of vowel discriminability compared to ADS. None of the measures, except articulation rate, showed age-related differences. These results push for future research to conduct theory-driven comparisons across languages with distinct phonological systems.

(1) Background: The aim of the current pilot study was to describe the long-term effects of a single intra-articular injection of autologous stromal vascular fraction (SVF) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in dogs with confirmed elbow OA, using orthopedic lameness scoring and kinetic and kinematic gait analysis. For comparison of normal long-term variation of gait over time, a group of healthy control dogs (CDs) was also evaluated. (2) Methods: A prospective longitudinal clinical pilot study investigating 19 client-owned dogs with elbow OA (OADs) treated with SVF and PRP and eight CDs not receiving treatment. The OAD and CD groups were evaluated before and after 6 and at least 12 months following treatment with SVF and PRP (OAD group) and twice with a six-month interval (CD group), respectively, through orthopedic examinations, goniometry, and kinetic and kinematic analyses (seven variables). (3) Results: The OAD had an increase in fore–hind peak force symmetry ≥12 months after treatment (p < 0.05), but no other objective variables changed over time. Orthopedic consensus scores had improved at ≥six months follow-up evaluation (p < 0.05). None of the investigated gait variables had changed at ≥six months follow-up evaluation in the CD group. (4) Conclusions: The current study could not confirm a significant benefit from SVF and PRP treatment in OADs, but future studies should be conducted in order to fully evaluate the potential of the treatment. The improvement seen in fore–hindlimb symmetry may represent an improvement in gait or an incidental finding.

The ground has long been cited as a key contributing factor for injury risk in the cross-country phase of eventing. The current study aimed to develop a practically useful standardized protocol for measuring eventing cross country ground. Data collection was split into three phases: Phase 1 (Validation), Phase 2 (Expansion of data set), and Phase 3 (Threshold establishment). During Phase 1, data from nine event courses were collected using an Orono Biomechanical Surface Tester (OBST), Vienna Surface Tester (VST), Lang Penetrometer, Going Stick, and moisture meter. Using linear regression, 80% of the variability in cushioning measured with the OBST was predicted from moisture and VST measurements (p < 0.001). In Phase 2, objective data from 81 event courses and subjective assessments from 180 event riders were collected. In Phase 3, k-means cluster analysis was used to classify the courses into ten clusters based on average course measurements of moisture, cushioning, firmness, stiffness, depth, and coefficient of restitution. Based on cluster membership, course average subjective data (16 courses) were compared using a General Linear Model. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in subjective impact firmness (p = 0.038) and subjective cushioning (p = 0.010) were found between clusters. These data and cluster thresholds provide an event course baseline for future comparisons.

Abstract Background Leaf-cutting (attine) ants use their own fecal material to manure fungus gardens, which consist of leaf material overgrown by hyphal threads of the basidiomycete fungus Leucocoprinus gongylophorus that lives in symbiosis with the ants. Previous studies have suggested that the fecal droplets contain proteins that are produced by the fungal symbiont to pass unharmed through the digestive system of the ants, so they can enhance new fungus garden growth. Results We tested this hypothesis by using proteomics methods to determine the gene sequences of fecal proteins in Acromyrmex echinatior leaf-cutting ants. Seven (21%) of the 33 identified proteins were pectinolytic enzymes that originated from the fungal symbiont and which were still active in the fecal droplets produced by the ants. We show that these enzymes are found in the fecal material only when the ants had access to fungus garden food, and we used quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis to show that the expression of six of these enzyme genes was substantially upregulated in the fungal gongylidia. These unique structures serve as food for the ants and are produced only by the evolutionarily advanced garden symbionts of higher attine ants, but not by the fungi reared by the basal lineages of this ant clade. Conclusions Pectinolytic enzymes produced in the gongylidia of the fungal symbiont are ingested but not digested by Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants so that they end up in the fecal fluid and become mixed with new garden substrate. Substantial quantities of pectinolytic enzymes are typically found in pathogenic fungi that attack live plant tissue, where they are known to breach the cell walls to allow the fungal mycelium access to the cell contents. As the leaf-cutting ant symbionts are derived from fungal clades that decompose dead plant material, our results suggest that their pectinolytic enzymes represent secondarily evolved adaptations that are convergent to those normally found in phytopathogens.

Background & aims: How can non-autistic adults facilitate social learning with children on the spectrum? A new theoretical understanding of autism is currently emerging that has made this question more relevant than ever. At the intersection of two growing research areas in the field of autism, the borderland that separates the experience of social interaction between neurotypes is increasingly mapped out. By integrating anthropological research on autistic sociality and the neurocognitive framework of predictive processing, this paper explores the question: If autistic people experience the world in a fundamentally different way, what is a meaningful strategy for supporting them in developing their socialities? Methods: The paper reports an in-depth analysis of a 2-min sequence in which a non-autistic adult facilitates a collaboration game between three autistic children (8-12 years). The data comes from a participatory research project that develops a new pedagogical approach to social learning based on open-ended construction play. The analytical strategy is informed by conversation analysis. Results: We find that the facilitation supports the children in accomplishing social interaction and collaboration, but it also in several instances gives rise to misunderstandings between the children. Whereas the facilitator aims to support the children's direct verbal communication about the construction task, we observe that the children use a broad repertoire of non-direct communication strategies that enables them to coordinate and align their shared process. We find that the children's actions with their hands in the construction task count as turns in the communication. Regarding the play-based learning environment, we find that the children are engaged in the shared construction task and that they competently navigate social tension when it arises without the facilitator's help. Conclusion: We conclude that the misunderstandings between the children created by the facilitation from a non-autistic adult emerge from a discrepancy of attention in the situation. The facilitator focuses on the words, but the children focus on the task. Even though this discrepancy is not necessarily a result of different neurotypes, we find that it emerges from the social dynamics of facilitation by non-autistic adults that is key in many social intervention settings. Furthermore, we conclude that the play-based learning environment enables the facilitator to support the children without directly instructing them in their social behavior. This appears to give the children an opportunity to acquire complex social experiences through their collaboration. Implications: The interaction dynamics in the data clip is shaped by the non-autistic adult's expectations of the children's interaction. This made us wonder whether we can establish a learning environment that begins from the learners' perspectives instead. The analysis caused us to change the facilitation strategy that we employ in our project. It is our hope that our approach will inspire reflection and curiosity in researchers and practitioners who develop social interventions targeting autistic people.

National differences in uncertainty, inequality, and trust have been accentuated by COVID-19. There are indications that the pandemic has impacted societies characterized by high uncertainty, inequality, and low trust harder than societies characterized by low uncertainty, equality, and high trust. This study investigates differential response strategies to COVID-19 as reflected in news media of two otherwise similar low uncertainty societies: Denmark and Sweden. The comparison is made using a recent approach to information dynamics in unstructured data. The main findings are that the news dynamics generally mirror public-health policies, capture fundamental socio-cultural variables related to uncertainty and trust, and may provide a measure of societal uncertainty. The findings can provide insights into evolutionary trajectories of decision-making under high uncertainty and, from a methodological level, be used to develop a media-based index of uncertainty and trust.

We report on the performative score “Sharing Perspectives” from the art/science research collaboration, Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting. Sharing Perspectives (SP) is developed as a score, inspired by choreography and the postmodern dance form Contact Improvisation, to stage exploration and improvisation, exploring uncertainty, creativity, togetherness, and the relationship between bodies and between bodies and space and artworks. The SP score acts as an experiment in how a brief intervention may affect the way art exhibitions are experienced, exploring how deeper and more sensorial engagement with art may be facilitated, for the benefit of visitors, galleries and artists. Based on questionnaires and qualitative interviews with participants during the Olafur Eliasson exhibition “In Real Life” at the Tate Modern in London in November 2019, we explore how the SP score modulates a playful mode of being, enhancing the experience of a museum art exhibition as a space of transformation and reflection. We find that the SP score encourages curiosity, which allows participants to recognize their habits for art and instead experience art slowly, recognize their comfort zones and move past them. As the score enacts a sensorial and playful approach to the exploration of the exhibition, participants experience a breaking of boundaries between each other, toward the other visitors, as well as to the artworks and the space itself, prompting an experience of being part of the exhibit as a whole. We discuss how the SP score invites a slowness and curiosity that takes on characteristics of play, which can change the participants’ appreciation of an art space.

The genome of a plant is the most critical factor to control bakery- quality trait in wheat, where it can bemade by applying genetic variation upon using mutagens for its improvement. In this study, chemical and Farinograph experiments were investigated in T-66-58-60, O-64-1-10, RO-1, RO-3 and RO-5 lines from Tabassi, Omid, and Roshan cultivar, respectively. Also, the sigmoid transfer function was used for the assessment of factors by the model of feed-forward neural network with training method of levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The chemical traits of Zeleny number, the hardness, wet gluten and protein content in the RO-3 line increased significantly compared with the control. Also, water absorption percentage and valorimeter value increased substantially in the O-64-1-10, whereas it was shown that the dough softening after 10 and 20 minutes decreased significantly compared with the control. The protein content, bread volume, Farinograph quality number and E10 properties had the most significant impact on the neural network model. The results show a positive effect of the irradiation on the improvement of dough quality properties.

Computer vision is a subcategory of artificial intelligence focused on extraction of information from images and video. It provides a compelling new means for objective orthopaedic gait assessment in horses using accessible hardware, such as a smartphone, for markerless motion analysis. This study aimed to explore the lameness assessment capacity of a smartphone single camera (SC) markerless computer vision application by comparing measurements of the vertical motion of the head and pelvis to an optical motion capture multi-camera (MC) system using skin attached reflective markers. Twenty-five horses were recorded with a smartphone (60 Hz) and a 13 camera MC-system (200 Hz) while trotting two times back and forth on a 30 m runway. The smartphone video was processed using artificial neural networks detecting the horse’s direction, action and motion of body segments. After filtering, the vertical displacement curves from the head and pelvis were synchronised between systems using cross-correlation. This rendered 655 and 404 matching stride segmented curves for the head and pelvis respectively. From the stride segmented vertical displacement signals, differences between the two minima (MinDiff) and the two maxima (MaxDiff) respectively per stride were compared between the systems. Trial mean difference between systems was 2.2 mm (range 0.0–8.7 mm) for head and 2.2 mm (range 0.0–6.5 mm) for pelvis. Within-trial standard deviations ranged between 3.1–28.1 mm for MC and between 3.6–26.2 mm for SC. The ease of use and good agreement with MC indicate that the SC application is a promising tool for detecting clinically relevant levels of asymmetry in horses, enabling frequent and convenient gait monitoring over time.

Interpersonal physiological entrainment is increasingly arguedto underlie rapport, empathy and even team performance. Weinvestigate the presence, temporal development, possiblemechanisms and impact of interpersonal heart rateentrainment during collective creative LEGO constructiontasks. We observe a statistically significant presence andincrease over time of structured entrainment, which relates tothe actual unfolding and development of behavioralcoordination. Heart rate entrainment does not predict rapportand perceived group competence, but behavioral coordinationdoes. Physiological entrainment, thus, should not beconsidered a universal unmediated proxy for shared emotions,empathy and collective performance. Behavioral coordination– at least in tasks requiring forms of joint action – seems to bea more informative proxy for both physiological entrainmentand collective experience.

Symbolic artifacts present a challenge to theories ofneurocognitive processing due to their dual nature: they areboth physical objects and vehicles of social meanings. Whiletheir physical properties can be read of the surface structure,the meaning of symbolic artifacts depends on theirembeddedness in cultural practices. In this study, participantsbuilt models of LEGO bricks to illustrate their understandingof abstract concepts. Subsequently, they were scanned withfMRI while presented to photographs of their own and others’models. When participants attended to the meaning of themodels, we observed activations associated with socialcognition and semantics. In contrast, when attending to thephysical properties, we observed activations related to objectrecognition and manipulation. Furthermore, when contrastingown and others’ models, we found activations in areasassociated with autobiographical memory and agency. Ourfindings support a view of symbolic artifacts as neurocognitivetrails of human social interactions.

In his paper “Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science,” Andy Clark seminally proposed that the brain's job is to predict whatever information is coming “next” on the basis of prior inputs and experiences. Perception fundamentally subserves survival and self-preservation in biological agents, such as humans. Survival however crucially depends on rapid and accurate information processing of what is happening in the here and now. Hence, the term “next” in Clark's seminal formulation must include not only the temporal dimension (i.e., what is perceived now) but also the spatial dimension (i.e., what is perceived here or next-to-my-body). In this paper, we propose to focus on perceptual experiences that happen “next,” i.e., close-to-my-body. This is because perceptual processing of proximal sensory inputs has a key impact on the organism's survival. Specifically, we focus on tactile experiences mediated by the skin and what we will call the “extended skin” or “second skin,” that is, immediate objects/materials that envelop closely to our skin, namely, clothes. We propose that the skin and tactile experiences are not a mere border separating the self and world. Rather, they simultaneously and inherently distinguish and connect the bodily self to its environment. Hence, these proximal and pervasive tactile experiences can be viewed as a “transparent bridge” intrinsically relating and facilitating exchanges between the self and the physical and social world. We conclude with potential implications of this observation for the case of Depersonalization Disorder, a condition that makes people feel estranged and detached from their self, body, and the world.

Locomotion in mammals relies on a central pattern-generating circuitry of spinal interneurons established during development that coordinates limb movement. These networks produce left-right alternation of limbs as well as coordinated activation of flexor and extensor muscles. Here we show that a premature stop codon in the DMRT3 gene has a major effect on the pattern of locomotion in horses. The mutation is permissive for the ability to perform alternate gaits and has a favourable effect on harness racing performance. Examination of wild-type and Dmrt3-null mice demonstrates that Dmrt3 is expressed in the dI6 subdivision of spinal cord neurons, takes part in neuronal specification within this subdivision, and is critical for the normal development of a coordinated locomotor network controlling limb movements. Our discovery positions Dmrt3 in a pivotal role for configuring the spinal circuits controlling stride in vertebrates. The DMRT3 mutation has had a major effect on the diversification of the domestic horse, as the altered gait characteristics of a number of breeds apparently require this mutation.

Background/ObjectivesSharing the bed with a partner is common among adults and impacts sleep quality with potential implications for mental health. However, hitherto findings are contradictory and particularly polysomnographic data on co-sleeping couples are extremely rare. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a bed partner's presence on individual and dyadic sleep neurophysiology.MethodsYoung healthy heterosexual couples underwent sleep-lab-based polysomnography of two sleeping arrangements: individual sleep and co-sleep. Individual and dyadic sleep parameters (i.e., synchronization of sleep stages) were collected. The latter were assessed using cross-recurrence quantification analysis. Additionally, subjective sleep quality, relationship characteristics, and chronotype were monitored. Data were analyzed comparing co-sleep vs. individual sleep. Interaction effects of the sleeping arrangement with gender, chronotype, or relationship characteristics were moreover tested.ResultsAs compared to sleeping individually, co-sleeping was associated with about 10% more REM sleep, less fragmented REM sleep (p = 0.008), longer undisturbed REM fragments (p = 0.0006), and more limb movements (p = 0.007). None of the other sleep stages was significantly altered. Social support interacted with sleeping arrangement in a way that individuals with suboptimal social support showed the biggest impact of the sleeping arrangement on REM sleep. Sleep architectures were more synchronized between partners during co-sleep (p = 0.005) even if wake phases were excluded (p = 0.022). Moreover, sleep architectures are significantly coupled across a lag of ± 5min. Depth of relationship represented an additional significant main effect regarding synchronization, reflecting a positive association between the two. Neither REM sleep nor synchronization was influenced by gender, chronotype, or other relationship characteristics.ConclusionDepending on the sleeping arrangement, couple's sleep architecture and synchronization show alterations that are modified by relationship characteristics. We discuss that these alterations could be part of a self-enhancing feedback loop of REM sleep and sociality and a mechanism through which sociality prevents mental illness.

Background: We aimed to investigate the difference in the total length of hospital stay (LOS) after intraperitoneal vs. intravenous antibiotic treatment in patients with complicated appendicitis.Methods: We conducted a quasi-randomized prospective clinical trial. The intervention group received 4 g fosfomycin, 1 g metronidazole, and 50 μg recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor intraperitoneally, which was left in the abdominal cavity, immediately after laparoscopic appendectomy. Postoperatively, this group received antibiotics orally. The control group received intravenous antibiotics both during surgery and postoperatively. We primarily evaluated total LOS within 30 days. Furthermore, we evaluated harms and adverse events, Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index, postoperative complications, and convalescence. Participants were followed for 30 days postoperatively.Results: A total of 12 participants concluded the trial. The total LOS was significantly shorter in the intervention group (six participants, median 13 h; range 2–21 h) than in the control group (six participants, median 84 h; range 67–169 h), p = 0.017. Comparable harms and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index scores were found in the two groups. The time to return to normal activities was median 6 and 10 days for the intervention and the control group, respectively. There were no serious adverse events related to the trial nor any complications in the intervention group. In the control group, two patients developed intraabdominal abscesses.Conclusions: The intervention group had a significantly shorter total LOS. The study was not powered to assess differences in complications, but the results indicate that the intervention seems to be a safe regimen, which can be investigated further to treat patients with complicated appendicitis.Identifiers: EudraCT no. 2017-004753-16.ClinicalTrials:https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03435900?term=NCT03435900&draw=2&rank=1">draw=2&rank=1.

Clinical assessment of spinal motion in horses is part of many routine clinical exams but remains highly subjective. A prerequisite for the quantification of spinal motion is the assessment of the expected normal range of motion and variability of back kinematics. The aim of this study was to objectively quantify spinal kinematics and between -measurement, -surface and -day variation in owner-sound horses. In an observational study, twelve owner-sound horses were trotted 12 times on four different paths (hard/soft straight line, soft lunge left and right). Measurements were divided over three days, with five repetitions on day one and two, and two repetitions on day three (recheck) which occurred 28-55 days later. Optical motion capture was used to collect kinematic data. Elements of the outcome were: 1) Ranges of Motion (ROM) with confidence intervals per path and surface, 2) a variability model to calculate between-measurement variation and test the effect of time, surface and path, 3) intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to determine repeatability. ROM was lowest on the hard straight line. Cervical lateral bending was doubled on the left compared to the right lunge. Mean variation for the flexion-extension and lateral bending of the whole back were 0.8 and 1 degrees. Pelvic motion showed a variation of 1.0 (pitch), 0.7 (yaw) and 1.3 (roll) degrees. For these five parameters, a tendency for more variation on the hard surface and reduced variation with increased repetitions was observed. More variation was seen on the recheck (p

This study investigated the effects of rider weight in the BW ratio (BWR) range common for Icelandic horses (20% to 35%), on stride parameters in tölt in Icelandic horses. The kinematics of eight experienced Icelandic school horses were measured during an incremental exercise test using a high-speed camera (300 frames/s). Each horse performed five phases (642 m each) in tölt at a BWR between rider (including saddle) and horse starting at 20% (BWR20) and increasing to 25% (BWR25), 30% (BWR30), 35% (BWR35) and finally 20% (BWR20b) was repeated. One professional rider rode all horses and weight (lead) was added to saddle and rider as needed. For each phase, eight strides at speed of 5.5 m/s were analyzed for stride duration, stride frequency, stride length, duty factor (DF), lateral advanced placement, lateral advanced liftoff, unipedal support (UPS), bipedal support (BPS) and height of front leg action. Stride length became shorter (Y=2.73−0.004x; P0.05). In conclusion, increased BWR decreased stride length and increased DF proportionally to the same extent in all limbs, whereas BPS increased at the expense of decreased UPS. These changes can be expected to decrease tölt quality when subjectively evaluated according to the breeding goals for the Icelandic horse. However, beat, symmetry and height of front leg lifting were not affected by BWR.

This study examined the effect of increasing BW ratio (BWR) between rider and horse, in the BWR range common for Icelandic horses (20% to 35%), on heart rate (HR), plasma lactate concentration (Lac), BWR at Lac 4 mmol/l (W4), breathing frequency (BF), rectal temperature (RT) and hematocrit (Hct) in Icelandic horses. In total, eight experienced school-horses were used in an incremental exercise test performed outdoors on an oval riding track and one rider rode all horses. The exercise test consisted of five phases (each 642 m) in tölt, a four-beat symmetrical gait, at a speed of 5.4±0.1 m/s (mean±SD), where BWR between rider (including saddle) and horse started at 20% (BWR20), was increased to 25% (BWR25), 30% (BWR30), and 35% (BWR35) and finally decreased to 20% (BWR20b). Between phases, the horses were stopped (~5.5 min) to add lead weights to specially adjusted saddle bags and a vest on the rider. Heart rate was measured during warm-up, the exercise test and after 5, 15 and 30 min of recovery and blood samples were taken and BF recorded at rest, and at end of each of these aforementioned occasions. Rectal temperature was measured at rest, at end of the exercise test and after a 30-min recovery period. Body size and body condition score (BCS) were registered and a clinical examination performed on the day before the test and for 2 days after. Heart rate and BF increased linearly (P0.05), but negative correlations (P

Standard mindfulness-based interventions have significant at-home assignments of formal mindfulness practice as a key component. Engagement with formal home practice has been correlated with treatment outcomes, but participants often complete less than the assigned amounts. Here, we explore the requirements for technology tools that can support and encourage home practice, in a way that is appropriate and consistent with the core principles of mindfulness-based interventions. Interviews were held with a group of five highly experienced mindfulness teachers and a group of five participants who had previously completed an eight-week course. Data was subjected to thematic analysis. A key finding was that providing teachers with information on how students practice could support communication around difficulties with home practice. We also identified questions around the appropriateness of adapting the course in response to participant difficulties and participant preferences. Both teachers and students made numerous suggestions for ways to augment their training using technology, such as via practice reminders and provision of teacher-specific content. Finally, a major design issue for technology developers is how to support participants in reflecting on their experiences of mindfulness practice, and subsequent learning, but not to critically evaluate their practice.

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, affecting around 8 million people worldwide. After host cell invasion, the infective trypomastigote form remains 2-4 hours inside acidic phagolysosomes to differentiate into replicative amastigote form. In vitro acidic-pH-induced axenic amastigogenesis was used here to study this step of the parasite life cycle. After three hours of trypomastigote incubation in amastigogenesis promoting acidic medium (pH 5.0) or control physiological pH (7.4) medium samples were subjected to three rounds of centrifugation followed by ultrafiltration of the supernatants. The resulting exoproteome samples were trypsin digested and analysed by nano flow liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Computational protein identification searches yielded 271 and 483 protein groups in the exoproteome at pH 7.4 and pH 5.0, respectively, with 180 common proteins between both conditions. The total amount and diversity of proteins released by parasites almost doubled upon acidic incubation compared to control. Overall, 76.5% of proteins were predicted to be secreted by classical or non-classical pathways and 35.1% of these proteins have predicted transmembrane domains. Classical secretory pathway analysis showed an increased number of mucins and mucin-associated surface proteins after acidic incubation. However, the number of released trans-sialidases and surface GP63 peptidases was higher at pH 7.4. Trans-sialidases and mucins are anchored to the membrane and exhibit an enzyme-substrate relationship. In general, mucins are glycoproteins with immunomodulatory functions in Chagas disease, present mainly in the epimastigote and trypomastigote surfaces and could be enzymatically cleaved and released in the phagolysosome during amastigogenesis. Moreover, evidence for flagella discard during amastigogenesis are addressed. This study provides the first comparative analysis of the exoproteome during amastigogenesis, and the presented data evidence the dynamism of its profile in response to acidic pH-induced differentiation.