bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards bamboo agroforestry development in Ghana: evaluation of crop performance, soil properties and economic benefit
Authors: Akoto Daniel S. , Partey Samuel T. , Denich Manfred , Kwaku Michael , Borgemeister Christian , Schmitt Christine B.
Published: May 2020

In the quest to promote bamboo agroforestry in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana, we evaluated changes in soil properties, crop productivity and the economic potential of a bamboo-based intercropping system. The intercropping system was established from 3-months old sympodial bamboo (Bambusa balcooa) seedlings planted at a 5 m × 5 m spacing and intercropped with maize, cassava or cowpea. Separate monocropping fields for maize, cassava, cowpea and bamboo were set up adjacent to the intercropped field. In both the intercropping and monocropping fields, plots were with fertilizer treatments and without. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with four replicates and studied over three years. Economic analysis was conducted using the financial benefit–cost ratio method. The results showed that regardless of fertilizer treatments, bamboo agroforestry and monocropped fields had comparable effects on soil properties and crop productivity within two years of establishment. In the third year, however, bamboo agroforestry had significantly (p < 0.05) higher soil moisture, pH and crop productivity levels. An intercropping advantage over monocropping was evident for all crops with respective partial land equivalent ratios for fertilized and non-fertilized intercropped systems as follows: cowpea (1.37 and 1.54), maize (1.38 and 1.36), and cassava (1.12 and 1.19). The economic evaluation also indicated marginal profitability of bamboo intercropping over monocropping systems. From the results obtained, there are clear indications that where bamboo is a prioritized woody perennial, integrated systems with crops may be encouraged.
Genetic mapping of the common and dwarf bunt resistance gene Bt12 descending from the wheat landrace PI119333
Authors: Muellner Almuth Elise , Eshonkulov Babur , Hagenguth Julia , Pachler Bernadette , Michel Sebastian , Buerstmayr Maria , Hole David , Buerstmayr Hermann
Published: May 2020

Common bunt (CB), caused by Tilletia caries and T. foetida, and dwarf bunt (DB), caused by T. controversa, are particularly destructive diseases of wheat grown under organic (low-input) production conditions and negatively affect both grain yield and quality. A total of 16 race specific bunt resistance genes have been proposed to date. Thereof, only Bt9 and Bt10 have been mapped so far. A mapping and two validation populations comprising 176 recombinant inbred lines were evaluated for CB and DB in artificially inoculated field trials. The mapping population was derived from the cross of the Bt12 carrier PI119333 and the susceptible cultivar ‘Rainer’. The population was genotyped with the Illumina 15 K SNP chip and the major QTL QBt.ifa-7DS representing Bt12 was identified on chromosome 7DS, explaining 39% and 14% of the phenotypic variation for CB and DB resistance, respectively. Selected SNP markers were turned into Kompetitive Allele-Specific (KASP) markers and used to validate Bt12 in two independent validation populations. These markers can be used for introgressing Bt12 into regionally adapted elite breeding material.
A comparison of the quality of image acquisition between two different sidestream dark field video-microscopes
Authors: Coppel Jonny , Bountziouka Vassiliki , Martin Daniel , Gilbert-Kawai Edward
Published: May 2020

Sidestream dark field (SDF) imaging enables direct visualisation of the microvasculature from which quantification of key variables is possible. The new MicroScan USB3 (MS-U) video-microscope is a hand-held SDF device that has undergone significant technical upgrades from its predecessor, the MicroScan Analogue (MS-A). The MS-U claims superior quality of sublingual microcirculatory image acquisition over the MS-A, however, this has yet to be robustly confirmed. In this manuscript, we therefore compare the quality of image acquisition between these two devices. The microcirculation of healthy volunteers was visualised to generate thirty video images for each device. Two independent raters, blinded to the device type, graded the quality of the images according to the six different traits in the Microcirculation Image Quality Score (MIQS) system. Chi-squared tests and Kappa statistics were used to compare not only the distribution of scores between the devices, but also agreement between raters. MS-U showed superior image quality over MS-A in three of out six MIQS traits; MS-U had significantly more optimal images by illumination (MS-U 95% optimal images, MS-A 70% optimal images (p-value 0.003)), by focus (MS-U 70% optimal images, MS-A 35% optimal images (p-value 0.002)) and by pressure (MS-U 72.5% optimal images, MS-A 47.5% optimal images (p-value 0.02)). For each trait, there was at least 85% agreement between the raters, and all the scores for each trait were independent of the rater (all p-values > 0.05). These results show that the new MS-U provides a superior quality of sublingual microcirculatory image acquisition when compared to old MS-A
Interaction between endophytic Proteobacteria strains and Serendipita indica enhances biocontrol activity against fungal pathogens
Authors: del Barrio-Duque Alejandro , Samad Abdul , Nybroe Ole , Antonielli Livio , Sessitsch Angela , Compant Stéphane
Published: May 2020

Aims

Plants host communities of fungal and bacterial endophytes, establishing a complex network of multipartite interactions, but the mechanisms whereby they interact are poorly understood. Some fungi, such as the beneficial mycorrhiza-like fungusSerendipita(=Piriformospora)indica, can be helped by bacteria for establishment, survival and colonization. Although this fungus harbors aRhizobiumas an endofungal bacterium, we hypothesized that other bacteria might also establish associations with the fungus and combiningS. indicawith bacteria might enhance plant growth and health.

Methods

The interactions amongS. indicaand four endophytic Proteobacteria belonging toMethylobacterium,Tardiphaga,RhodanobacterandTrinickiaspp. were characterized in vitro and for their effect on tomato growth and biocontrol ofFusarium oxysporumandRhizoctonia solani. Possible mechanisms behind these interactions were described based on genome and microscopic analyses, using fungal and bacterial strains tagged with fluorescent markers.

Results

All bacteria stimulatedS. indicagrowth in vitro. Moreover, several of the bacteria stimulated growth of tomato plants, but co-inoculations withS. indicaand bacteria did not perform better than single inoculations. Contrarily, combinations ofS. indicaand bacteria significantly reduced disease progression of fungal pathogens. These microbes seem to cooperate in the process of root colonization for instance by increasing fungal sporulation and hyphae expansion, showing multipartite interaction between microbes and plants. Interestingly, the strain ofTrinickiainternally colonizes spores ofS. indicaas an endofungal bacterium during in vitro-co-culturing, suggesting further that the fungus might acquire formerly unrecognized genera of bacteria and genome analysis of the bacteria revealed many genes potentially involved in fungal and plant growth stimulation, biocontrol and root colonization, highlighting putative mechanisms of plant-fungal-bacterial interaction.

Conclusions

Our study represents an important step towards unraveling the complex interactions among plants,S. indica, endophytic bacteria and fungal pathogens, and indicates that adding bacteria to fungal inoculum could have a remarkable impact on the plant-S. indicasymbiosis.
How does monitoring set the stage for adaptive regulation or maladaptive behavior in collaborative learning?
Authors: Sobocinski Márta , Järvelä Sanna , Malmberg Jonna , Dindar Muhterem , Isosalo Antti , Noponen Kai
Published: May 2020

In collaborative learning situations, monitoring is needed to maintain common progress toward shared goals. The present study aimed to analyze group-level monitoring events, as well as groups’ reactions to these events, to identify instances of adaptive regulation and maladaptive behavior. Three dimensions of monitoring events were qualitatively coded from video data: the monitoring target, valence, and phase, which provided insight into identifying critical moments during the collaborative process when regulation is needed. By looking at what kind of monitoring the groups engaged in, and how the groups progressed after the need for regulation arose, different types of adaptive regulation and maladaptive behavior were distinguished. In addition, group-level physiological state transitions in the heart rate were explored to see whether changes in regulation (adaptive regulation and maladaptive behavior) were reflected in the state transitions. Nine groups of three students each participated in a collaborative exam for an advanced high school physics course, during which video and heart rate data were collected. The results showed that on-track sequences were the most common, followed by adaptive sequences. The temporality of these sequences was examined, and four categories of group progress are described with case examples. A correlation analysis showed that physiological state transitions were positively correlated with on-track sequences. The opportunities and limitations of using three dimensions of monitoring and heart-rate based physiological state transitions to study adaptive regulation are discussed.
Deep learning-based anatomical site classification for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
Authors: He Qi , Bano Sophia , Ahmad Omer F. , Yang Bo , Chen Xin , Valdastri Pietro , Lovat Laurence B. , Stoyanov Danail , Zuo Siyang
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic image documentation has provided an efficient, low-cost solution to address quality control for endoscopic reporting. The problem is, however, challenging for computer-assisted techniques, because different sites have similar appearances. Additionally, across different patients, site appearance variation may be large and inconsistent. Therefore, according to the British and modified Japanese guidelines, we propose a set of oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) images to be routinely captured and evaluate its efficiency for deep learning-based classification methods.

Methods

A novel EGD image dataset standardising upper GI endoscopy to several steps is established following landmarks proposed in guidelines and annotated by an expert clinician. To demonstrate the discrimination of proposed landmarks that enable the generation of an automated endoscopic report, we train several deep learning-based classification models utilising the well-annotated images.

Results

We report results for a clinical dataset composed of 211 patients (comprising a total of 3704 EGD images) acquired during routine upper GI endoscopic examinations. We find close agreement between predicted labels using our method and the ground truth labelled by human experts. We observe the limitation of current static image classification scheme for EGD image classification.

Conclusion

Our study presents a framework for developing automated EGD reports using deep learning. We demonstrate that our method is feasible to address EGD image classification and can lead towards improved performance and additionally qualitatively demonstrate its performance on our dataset.
Self-set salaries and creativity
Authors: Brück Christian , Knauer Thorsten , Meier Harald , Schwering Anja
Published: May 2020

Organizations frequently try to incentivize employees to develop highly creative solutions. In this study, we examine self-set salaries as a specific type of incentive design. We investigate whether self-set salaries affect employees’ motivation and overall (creative) performance. Moreover, because self-set salaries potentially risk opportunistic employee behavior, we consider the effect of the observability of peer performance on employees’ level of self-set salaries. Using a laboratory experiment, we hold the average employee compensation constant and demonstrate that, in comparison with fixed-pay contracts, self-set salaries increase the quantitative performance in creative tasks without affecting the average creativity. However, we do not find significant differences between the amount of individuals’ self-set salaries with observability of peer performance and the amount for individuals without the chance to observe peer performance. Our findings are important for firms that rely on the development of creative ideas but are unsure about the effects of the introduction of self-set salaries.
A surrogate FRAX model for the Kyrgyz Republic
Authors: Lesnyak O. , Zakroyeva A. , Lobanchenko O. , Johansson H. , Liu E. , Lorentzon M. , Harvey N. C. , McCloskey E. , Kanis J. A.
Published: May 2020

Summary

The hip fracture rates from Kazakhstan were used to create a surrogate FRAX® model for the Kyrgyz Republic.

Introduction

The International Society for Clinical Densitometry and International Osteoporosis Foundation recommend utilizing a surrogate FRAX model, based on the country-specific risk of death, and fracture data based on a country where fracture rates are considered to be representative of the index country.

Objective

This paper describes a surrogate FRAX model for the Kyrgyz Republic.

Methods

The FRAX model used the incidence of hip fracture from the neighbouring country of Kazakhstan and the death risk for the Kyrgyz Republic.

Results

Compared with the model for Kazakhstan, the surrogate model gave somewhat higher 10-year fracture probabilities for men between 60 and 80 years of age and lower probabilities for men above the age of 80. For women the probabilities were similar up to the age of 75–80 years and then lower. There were very close correlations in fracture probabilities between the surrogate and authentic models (1.00) so that the use of the Kyrgyz model had little impact on the rank order of risk. It was estimated that 2752 hip fractures arose in 2015 in individuals over the age of 50 years in the Kyrgyz Republic, with a predicted increase by 207% to 8435 in 2050.

Conclusion

The surrogate FRAX model for the Kyrgyz Republic provides the opportunity to determine fracture probability among the Kyrgyz population and help guide decisions about treatment.
The Effectiveness of Grain Refinement by Machine Hammer Peening in High Deposition Rate Wire-Arc AM Ti-6Al-4V
Authors: Hönnige J. R. , Davis A. E. , Ho A. , Kennedy J. R. , Neto L. , Prangnell P. , Williams S.
Published: May 2020

Surface deformation, applied in-process by machine hammer peening (MHP), has the potential to refine the coarse columnar β-grain structures normally found in high deposition rate Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) processes with Ti alloys like Ti-6Al-4V. Effective refinement, as well as a reduction in texture strength, has been achieved in relatively thick sections and to a depth that is greater than that expected from the surface deformation induced by MHP. By application of MHP to each deposition track, the average β-grain size could be reduced from cm’s to less than 0.5 mm. Systematic experiments have been performed to investigate the origin of this interesting effect, which included ‘stop-action’ trials and separation of the strain and temperature gradients induced by the two process steps. The maximum depth of the plastic deformation from MHP required to generate new β-grain orientations was determined by electron backscatter diffraction local average misorientation analysis to be < 0.5 mm, which was less than the melt pool depth in the WAAM process. Nevertheless, new β-grain orientations were observed to form within the peened layer ahead of the approaching heat source as the peak temperature rose above the β transus, which then grew into the less deformed core of the wall as the temperature rose. This allowed the new grain orientations to penetrate deeper than the melt pool depth and survive to act as substrates for epitaxial growth at the fusion boundary during solidification, resulting in significant grain refinement.
Return to Play After a Lateral Ligament Ankle Sprain
Authors: D’Hooghe P. , Cruz F. , Alkhelaifi K.
Published: May 2020

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to describe the current evidence on the most common sports-related ankle injuries. Joint anatomy, epidemiology, clinical findings, diagnostic approach, and treatment are presented with a specific focus on the available evidence towards return to play.

Recent Findings

Recent findings show that ankle sprain is the most common injury in the world of sports. Bony fractures, cartilage defects, and syndesmotic lesions are frequently seen in association with the more severe type of ankle sprains.

In summary, the majority of the athletes’ ankle sprains are managed conservatively with excellent outcomes and full return to their pre-injury level of play. However, it is essential to differentiate the single ligament sprain from a more complex injury to the ankle joint. The evidence-based treatment and rehabilitation programmes are associated with a better prognosis and a faster time to return to sport participation.
Phosphodiesterase 10A Inhibition Leads to Brain Region-Specific Recovery Based on Stroke Type
Authors: Birjandi Shirin Z. , Abduljawad Nora , Nair Shyama , Dehghani Morteza , Suzuki Kazunori , Kimura Haruhide , Carmichael S. Thomas
Published: May 2020

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. Recovery of function after stroke involves signaling events that are mediated by cAMP and cGMP pathways, such as axonal sprouting, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity. cAMP and cGMP are degraded by phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which are differentially expressed in brain regions. PDE10A is highly expressed in the basal ganglia/striatum. We tested a novel PDE10A inhibitor (TAK-063) for its effects on functional recovery. Stroke was produced in mice in the cortex or the striatum. Behavioral recovery was measured to 9 weeks. Tissue outcome measures included analysis of growth factor levels, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and inflammation. TAK-063 improved motor recovery after striatal stroke in a dose-related manner, but not in cortical stroke. Recovery of motor function correlated with increases in striatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor. TAK-063 treatment also increased motor system axonal connections. Stroke affects distinct brain regions, with each comprising different cellular and molecular elements. Inhibition of PDE10A improved recovery of function after striatal but not cortical stroke, consistent with its brain localization. This experiment is the first demonstration of brain region-specific enhanced functional recovery after stroke, and indicates that differential molecular signaling between brain regions can be exploited to improve recovery based on stroke subtype.
Cucurbitane-Type Triterpene Glycosides from Momordica charantia and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities
Authors: Gao Ya , Chen Jian-Chao , Peng Xing-Rong , Li Zhong-Rong , Su Hai-Guo , Qiu Ming-Hua
Published: May 2020

Ten cucurbitane-type triterpene glycosides, including five new compounds named charantosides H (1), J (2), K (3), momorcharacoside A (4), goyaglycoside-l (5), and five known compounds (6–10), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of Momordica charantia fruits. The chemical structures of these compounds were identified by 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic analyses. Configurations of new compounds were determined by ROESY correlations and comparison of their 13C NMR data with literature reported values. All compounds were evaluated for their inhibition against α-glucosidase, in which compounds 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 showed moderate inhibitory activities with IC50 values ranging from 28.40 to 63.26 μM comparing with the positive control (acarbose, IC50 87.65 ± 6.51 μM).

Graphic Abstract
A force levels and gestures integrated multi-task strategy for neural decoding
Authors: Hua Shaoyang , Wang Congqing , Xie Zuoshu , Wu Xuewei
Published: May 2020

This paper discusses the problem of decoding gestures represented by surface electromyography (sEMG) signals in the presence of variable force levels. It is an attempt that multi-task learning (MTL) is proposed to recognize gestures and force levels synchronously. First, methods of gesture recognition with different force levels are investigated. Then, MTL framework is presented to improve the gesture recognition performance and give information about force levels. Last but not least, to solve the problem that using the greedy principle in MTL, a modified pseudo-task augmentation (PTA) trajectory is introduced. Experiments conducted on two representative datasets demonstrate that compared with other methods, frequency domain information with convolutional neural network (CNN) is more suitable for gesture recognition with variable force levels. Besides, the feasibility of extracting features that are closely related to both gestures and force levels is verified via MTL. By influencing learning dynamics, the proposed PTA method can improve the results of all tasks, and make it applicable to the case where the main tasks and auxiliary tasks are clear.
The Principle of Introducing Halogen Ions Into β-FeOOH: Controlling Electronic Structure and Electrochemical Performance
Authors: Zhang Dongbin , Han Xuzhao , Kong Xianggui , Zhang Fazhi , Lei Xiaodong
Published: May 2020

Coordination tuning electronic structure of host materials is a quite effective strategy for activating and improving the intrinsic properties. Herein, halogen anion (X−)-incorporated β-FeOOH (β-FeOOH(X), X = F−, Cl−, and Br−) was investigated with a spontaneous adsorption process, which realized a great improvement of supercapacitor performances by adjusting the coordination geometry. Experiments coupled with theoretical calculations demonstrated that the change of Fe–O bond length and structural distortion of β-FeOOH, which is rooted in halogen ions embedment, led to the relatively narrow band gap. Because of the strong electronegativity of X−, the Fe element in β-FeOOH(X)s presented the unexpected high valence state (3 + δ), which is facilitating to adsorb SO32− species. Consequently, the designed β-FeOOH(X)s exhibited the good electric conductivity and enhanced the contact between electrode and electrolyte. When used as a negative electrode, the β-FeOOH(F) showed the excellent specific capacity of 391.9 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 current density, almost tenfold improvement compared with initial β-FeOOH, with the superior rate capacity and cyclic stability. This combinational design principle of electronic structure and electrochemical performances provides a promising way to develop advanced electrode materials for supercapacitor.
Negative views of Islam in Switzerland with special regard to religiosity as an explanatory factor
Authors: Yendell Alexander , Huber Stefan
Published: May 2020

Drawing on such theoretical paradigms as Social Identity Theory, the deprivation hypothesis, and the concept of trust, we sought to investigate how religiosity relates to attitudes towards Islam among the Swiss population. In this quantitative study based on the data of the Swiss Household Panel 2015 (n=10,848) we took into account both public religious practice and personal religiosity. A hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that religiosity influenced attitudes towards Islam, in that affiliation to one of the large churches (Protestant or Catholic), had a weak positive influence, which might in turn reflect a focus within the large churches on religious freedom and inter-religious dialogue. The effect of church attendance in general on attitudes was positive albeit rather weak. In comparison, personal religiosity was important, with people with a high level of personal religiosity being more likely to have a positive attitude towards Islam. One important finding was that religiosity contributed more to explaining variance than did other factors such as social trust, political position or national identity. Other influential factors included political attitude and trust in other people. The study also revealed that those Swiss people for whom national identity was particularly important were more likely to have a negative view of Islam. While belonging to an Evangelical denomination was significant in our regression models, and exerted an even stronger negative impact when variables of religiosity were included, the impact lost its significance in models which included the importance of Swiss identity. We conclude that Evangelicals are more negative towards Islam not because of their religiosity, but because they tend to have a strong national identity.
Present at the Transition
Authors: Havrylyshyn Oleh
Published: May 2020

Nearly thirty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, debates over paths to market liberalization have produced numerous studies across the social sciences. This groundbreaking work from Oleh Havrylyshyn offers a new perspective. Havrylyshyn, a former official in the post-independence Ukrainian government, provides a unique, primary source account of the people and problems at the heart of economic transitions. Grounded in three decades of data, along with experiential research gleaned from nearly thirty countries, this book contains the most up-to-date assessment of economic transitions in post-communist regions. It critically examines questions of gradual versus radical reforms, the relationship between democracy and market liberalization, and how history, individual personalities, and foreign influence determined political choices. Thorough research and accessible style make this work a valuable resource for students and specialists of economics, political science, and history as well as readers generally interested in international studies, government, and business.
Caring or Not Caring for Coworkers? An Empirical Exploration of the Dilemma of Care Allocation in the Workplace
Authors: Antoni Anne , Reinecke Juliane , Fotaki Marianna
Published: May 2020

Organization and management researchers praise the value of care in the workplace. However, they overlook the conflict between caring for work and for coworkers, which resonates with the dilemma of care allocation highlighted by ethicists of care. Through an in-depth qualitative study of two organizations, we examine how this dilemma is confronted in everyday organizational life. We draw on the concept of boundary work to explain how employees negotiate the boundary of their caring responsibilities in ways that grants or denies care to coworkers. We argue that the possibility of an ethics of care for coworkers requires boundary work that suspends the separation of personal and professional selves and constitutes the worker as a whole person. We contribute to research on care in organizations by showing how care for coworkers may be enabled or undermined by maintaining or suppressing the care allocation dilemma.
Interpersonal violence and mental health: a social justice framework to advance research and practice
Authors: Tol W.A.
Published: May 2020

This editorial paper accompanies a special series in the journal Global Mental Health focused on the topic of interpersonal violence and mental health. This series included 24 papers reporting on data from 31 countries, published between 2017 and 2019. This accompanying paper provides a short summary of findings in the special series and reflects on next steps in research and practice. Collectively, the series’ 24 papers suggest intricate bi-directional relationships between interpersonal violence and mental health, situated in particular contexts and varying across the life course. In order to study this complexity, an overarching theoretical framework is critical. This paper takes the social justice theory developed by Powers and Faden (2006, 2019) as a starting point. It is argued that application of this social justice framework will be helpful to: strengthen conceptual clarity; provide a sense of direction for research and practice in the area of interpersonal violence and mental health; assist in conducting more fine grained analyses of contextually determined processes of disadvantage; and help situate disciplinary specific research and practice questions in their broader context, thereby strengthening multi-disciplinary research and multi-sectoral policy and programming efforts.
Development of a New Multi-cavity Pneumatic-driven Earthworm-like Soft Robot
Authors: Tang Zhijie , Lu Jiaqi , Wang Zhen , Ma Gaoqian , Chen Weiwei , Feng Hao
Published: May 2020

This paper presents a soft robot which can imitate the crawling locomotion of an earthworm. Locomotion of the robot can be achieved by expanding and contracting the body that is made of flexible material. A link of the earthworm-like robot is combined with three modules, and a multi-cavity earthworm-like soft robot is combined with multiple links. The multiple links of the earthworm-like soft robot are fabricated by silicone in the three-dimensional printed customized molds. Experiments on a single module, two-links, and three-links show that the soft robot can move and bend on condition of modules extension and contraction in a specified gait. The development of the earthworm-like soft robot shows a great prospect in many complicated environments such as pipeline detection.
Monolingual and bilingual children's processing of coarticulation cues during spoken word recognition
Authors: DESMEULES-TRUDEL Félix , MOORE Charlotte , ZAMUNER Tania S.
Published: May 2020

Bilingual children cope with a significant amount of phonetic variability when processing speech, and must learn to weigh phonetic cues differently depending on the cues’ respective roles in their two languages. For example, vowel nasalization is coarticulatory and contrastive in French, but coarticulatory-only in English. In this study, we extended an investigation of the processing of coarticulation in two- to three-year-old English monolingual children (Zamuner, Moore & Desmeules-Trudel, 2016) to a group of four- to six-year-old English monolingual children and age-matched English–French bilingual children. Using eye tracking, we found that older monolingual children and age-matched bilingual children showed more sensitivity to coarticulation cues than the younger children. Moreover, when comparing the older monolinguals and bilinguals, we found no statistical differences between the two groups. These results offer support for the specification of coarticulation in word representations, and indicate that, in some cases, bilingual children possess language processing skills similar to monolinguals.
From trauma-blind to trauma-informed: re-thinking criminalization and the role of trauma in persons with serious mental illness
Authors: Thordarson Helga , Rector Tiffany
Published: May 2020

Trauma-informed approaches offer a new perspective for understanding how and why individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) become entangled in the criminal justice system. There is growing awareness that many individuals with SMI have experienced significant life trauma, and factors beyond SMI that contribute to criminalization are being identified; however, the role of trauma continues to be overlooked in many formulations. In trauma-blind systems, trauma-related behaviors are often misunderstood and met with responses that exacerbate psychiatric and behavioral problems. Trauma-informed approaches provide a richer understanding of underlying drivers of behavior, and view trauma as an integral component of risk management, case formulation, relationship-based care, and referral. Embedding trauma-informed principles across organizations promotes continuity of care, safety, and more compassionate cultures that help reduce the flow of individuals with SMI into the criminal justice system. An expanded view of the criminalization hypothesis is offered, which incorporates all factors addressed in current research.
Psychometric properties of Persian version of Cognitive Behavioural Avoidance Scale: results from student, general population and clinical samples in Iran
Authors: Moloodi Reza , Dobson Keith , Fata Ladan , Pourshahbaz Abbas , Mohammadkhani Parvaneh , Mootabi Fereshteh , Kami Maryam , Ziai Kaveh , Ghaderi Ata
Published: May 2020

Background:

There is no published evidence about the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Behavioral Avoidance Scale (CBAS) in Eastern cultures.

Aims:

The current research evaluated the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the CBAS.

Method:

The research consisted of two studies. In Study 1, a university student sample (n = 702) completed the CBAS, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Thought Control Questionnaire and the Anxious Thoughts Inventory. In Study 2, a general population sample (n = 384) and a clinical sample (n = 152) completed the CBAS, the Young Compensation Inventory and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21.

Results:

Exploratory factor analysis of the data from Study 1 suggested a four-factor solution for CBAS. The CBAS had acceptable internal consistency and test–re-test reliability, and showed significant correlations with depression symptoms and anxious thoughts. Confirmatory factor analysis of the data from Study 2 indicated good fit between the four-factor model and data. The CBAS had a significant relationship with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, but no associations with schema compensatory behaviour strategy. Finally, the CBAS and its subscales successfully distinguished a clinical sample from a general population sample.

Conclusions:

The findings provide preliminary evidence for reliability and validity of the CBAS among Iranian student, general population and clinical samples.
Does a radiographer-led palliative radiotherapy pathway provide an efficient service for patients with symptoms of advanced cancer? The Northampton experience
Authors: Graveling M. , Jarral K. , Gore A.
Published: May 2020

Aim:

To investigate whether a radiographer-led radiotherapy pathway can provide an efficient service for patients requiring treatment for symptomatic skeletal metastases.

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective review of 425 courses of palliative radiotherapy was conducted. Data was analysed assessing diagnosis, dose/fractionation, time from referral to treatment, gender, age, inpatient/outpatient status and referring clinic location for radiographer- and clinical oncologist-led cohorts.

Results:

Patients aged ≥70 years were more likely to be planned by radiographers (n = 162/57, p < 0·001). Patients were more likely to be treated with 8 Gy in single fraction than with 20 Gy in five fractions (n = 279/136, p = 0·012). The median referral to treatment time in 8-Gy single-fraction prescriptions was 3 days for radiographer-led versus 7 days for clinical oncologist-led cohorts. In all patients and in 20 Gy in five-fraction prescriptions, it was 4 versus 8 days. A comparison of all prescriptions (p < 0·001), 8 Gy in single-fraction (p < 0·001) and 20 Gy in five-fraction prescriptions (p = 0·001) showed radiographer-led procedures as enabling faster access to treatment in each category.

Findings:

A radiographer-led service can facilitate faster access to treatment than a clinical oncologist-led pathway for an appropriately selected patient caseload.
The relative importance of regional institutions and external finance for small business investment: evidence from Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Bach
Published: May 2020

This study examines the relative importance of local institutions and external finance on small business investment. Utilising the institutional theory, we argue that local institutions and external finance have heterogeneous effects on firm investment. More importantly, they may interact and moderate each other. Analysing a set of 1.3 million observations of small businesses operating in Vietnam (2006–2016) obtained from the Annual Enterprise Survey data from the Vietnam Statistics Office, we find that local institutional settings and external finance are important determinants of firm investment. Moreover, local institutions are able to moderate the effects of external finance on firm investment. As such, this study asserts that conventional models cannot discern whether institutions or external finance are more important to firm investment. Rather, the relative importance of institutions and external finance should be investigated from the perspective of their interaction.
Interpretation of Oxygen Isotopes in Phanerozoic Ophiolites and Sedimentary Rocks
Authors: Kanzaki Yoshiki
Published: May 2020

Two reactive transport models were developed to integrally simulate fluxes of oxygen isotopes from hydrothermal alteration of oceanic crust and weathering of continental rocks for a better understanding of the regulation of oxygen isotopes in the ocean. The hydrothermal alteration model consists of three boxes to represent pillow basalt, sheeted dike, and gabbro sections and simulates the steady‐state δ18O of solid rocks and porewaters in three individual sections along the spreading direction. The continental weathering model similarly calculates steady‐state δ18O profiles along the uplift direction. The two models were run in concert to simulate the evolution of seawater δ18O during the Phanerozoic, reflecting the relevant forcing factors to the corresponding parameter values of the models as functions of time. The seawater δ18O was calculated to have evolved from less than −5‰ in the early Paleozoic to between −2 and 0‰ for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, as a result of declines in atmospheric CO2 and land area of igneous and high‐grade metamorphic rocks. The transition of seawater δ18O is similar to the δ18O trend that is commonly recorded in authigenic sedimentary rocks such as carbonates and cherts. The simultaneously simulated δ18O values for altered continental and oceanic rocks are decoupled from seawater δ18O because of kinetic inhibition and solid‐rock buffering at respective low and high temperatures and are similar to the shale and ophiolite δ18O records. Overall consistency between the simulation and observations supports the dynamic behavior of oceanic δ18O over the Phanerozoic eon.
Bioinformatic prediction of potential T cell epitopes for SARS-Cov-2
Authors: Kiyotani Kazuma , Toyoshima Yujiro , Nemoto Kensaku , Nakamura Yusuke
Published: May 2020

To control and prevent the current COVID-19 pandemic, the development of novel vaccines is an emergent issue. In addition, we need to develop tools that can measure/monitor T-cell and B-cell responses to know how our immune system is responding to this deleterious virus. However, little information is currently available about the immune target epitopes of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) to induce host immune responses. Through a comprehensive bioinformatic screening of potential epitopes derived from the SARS-CoV-2 sequences for HLAs commonly present in the Japanese population, we identified 2013 and 1399 possible peptide epitopes that are likely to have the high affinity (<0.5%- and 2%-rank, respectively) to HLA class I and II molecules, respectively, that may induce CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses. These epitopes distributed across the structural (spike, envelope, membrane, and nucleocapsid proteins) and the nonstructural proteins (proteins corresponding to six open reading frames); however, we found several regions where high-affinity epitopes were significantly enriched. By comparing the sequences of these predicted T cell epitopes to the other coronaviruses, we identified 781 HLA-class I and 418 HLA-class II epitopes that have high homologies to SARS-CoV. To further select commonly-available epitopes that would be applicable to larger populations, we calculated population coverages based on the allele frequencies of HLA molecules, and found 2 HLA-class I epitopes covering 83.8% of the Japanese population. The findings in the current study provide us valuable information to design widely-available vaccine epitopes against SARS-CoV-2 and also provide the useful information for monitoring T-cell responses.
Phase imaging with an untrained neural network
Authors: Wang Fei , Bian Yaoming , Wang Haichao , Lyu Meng , Pedrini Giancarlo , Osten Wolfgang , Barbastathis George , Situ Guohai
Published: May 2020

Most of the neural networks proposed so far for computational imaging (CI) in optics employ a supervised training strategy, and thus need a large training set to optimize their weights and biases. Setting aside the requirements of environmental and system stability during many hours of data acquisition, in many practical applications, it is unlikely to be possible to obtain sufficient numbers of ground-truth images for training. Here, we propose to overcome this limitation by incorporating into a conventional deep neural network a complete physical model that represents the process of image formation. The most significant advantage of the resulting physics-enhanced deep neural network (PhysenNet) is that it can be used without training beforehand, thus eliminating the need for tens of thousands of labeled data. We take single-beam phase imaging as an example for demonstration. We experimentally show that one needs only to feed PhysenNet a single diffraction pattern of a phase object, and it can automatically optimize the network and eventually produce the object phase through the interplay between the neural network and the physical model. This opens up a new paradigm of neural network design, in which the concept of incorporating a physical model into a neural network can be generalized to solve many other CI problems.
Controlling angular dispersions in optical metasurfaces
Authors: Zhang Xiyue , Li Qi , Liu Feifei , Qiu Meng , Sun Shulin , He Qiong , Zhou Lei
Published: May 2020

Although metasurfaces have shown great potential for manipulating light, most previously realized meta-devices suffer from uncontrolled angular dispersions, making them unfavorable for many applications. Here, we propose a general strategy to realize optical metasurfaces with desired angular dispersions based on carefully controlling both the near-field couplings between meta-atoms and the radiation pattern of a single meta-atom. Utilizing such a strategy, we experimentally demonstrate a series of optical meta-devices with predesigned angular dispersions, including two incident-angle-insensitive absorbers, one incident-angle-selective absorber, and one multifunctional meta-polarizer whose functionality changes from a perfect mirror to a half-waveplate as the excitation angle varies. Finally, we design a gradient meta-device using meta-atom arrays with purposely controlled angular dispersions and numerically demonstrate that it can exhibit distinct wavefront-control functionalities when illuminated at different incident angles. Our findings establish a new platform for achieving angle-multiplexed functional meta-devices, significantly expanding the wave-manipulation capabilities of optical metasurfaces.
Digital synthesis of histological stains using micro-structured and multiplexed virtual staining of label-free tissue
Authors: Zhang Yijie , de Haan Kevin , Rivenson Yair , Li Jingxi , Delis Apostolos , Ozcan Aydogan
Published: May 2020

Histological staining is a vital step in diagnosing various diseases and has been used for more than a century to provide contrast in tissue sections, rendering the tissue constituents visible for microscopic analysis by medical experts. However, this process is time consuming, labour intensive, expensive and destructive to the specimen. Recently, the ability to virtually stain unlabelled tissue sections, entirely avoiding the histochemical staining step, has been demonstrated using tissue-stain-specific deep neural networks. Here, we present a new deep-learning-based framework that generates virtually stained images using label-free tissue images, in which different stains are merged following a micro-structure map defined by the user. This approach uses a single deep neural network that receives two different sources of information as its input: (1) autofluorescence images of the label-free tissue sample and (2) a “digital staining matrix”, which represents the desired microscopic map of the different stains to be virtually generated in the same tissue section. This digital staining matrix is also used to virtually blend existing stains, digitally synthesizing new histological stains. We trained and blindly tested this virtual-staining network using unlabelled kidney tissue sections to generate micro-structured combinations of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Jones’ silver stain, and Masson’s trichrome stain. Using a single network, this approach multiplexes the virtual staining of label-free tissue images with multiple types of stains and paves the way for synthesizing new digital histological stains that can be created in the same tissue cross section, which is currently not feasible with standard histochemical staining methods.
Adaptive optics two-photon microscopy enables near-diffraction-limited and functional retinal imaging in vivo
Authors: Qin Zhongya , He Sicong , Yang Chao , Yung Jasmine Sum-Yee , Chen Congping , Leung Christopher Kai-Shun , Liu Kai , Qu Jianan Y.
Published: May 2020

In vivo fundus imaging offers non-invasive access to neuron structures and biochemical processes in the retina. However, optical aberrations of the eye degrade the imaging resolution and prevent visualization of subcellular retinal structures. We developed an adaptive optics two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (AO-TPEFM) system to correct ocular aberrations based on a nonlinear fluorescent guide star and achieved subcellular resolution for in vivo fluorescence imaging of the mouse retina. With accurate wavefront sensing and rapid aberration correction, AO-TPEFM permits structural and functional imaging of the mouse retina with submicron resolution. Specifically, simultaneous functional calcium imaging of neuronal somas and dendrites was demonstrated. Moreover, the time-lapse morphological alteration and dynamics of microglia were characterized in a mouse model of retinal disorder. In addition, precise laser axotomy was achieved, and degeneration of retinal nerve fibres was studied. This high-resolution AO-TPEFM is a promising tool for non-invasive retinal imaging and can facilitate the understanding of a variety of eye diseases as well as neurodegenerative disorders in the central nervous system.
Ultrafast optical response and ablation mechanisms of molybdenum disulfide under intense femtosecond laser irradiation
Authors: Pan Changji , Jiang Lan , Sun Jingya , Wang Qingsong , Wang Feifei , Wang Kai , Lu Yongfeng , Wang Yeliang , Qu Liangti , Cui Tianhong
Published: May 2020

Numerous valuable studies on electron dynamics have focussed on the extraordinary properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2); however, most of them were confined to the level below the damage threshold. Here the electron dynamics of MoS2 under intense ultrafast laser irradiation was investigated by experiments and simulations. Two kinds of ablation mechanisms were revealed, which led to two distinct types of electron dynamics and final ablation morphology. At a higher fluence, the emergence of superheated liquid induced a dramatic change in the transient reflectivity and micro-honeycomb structures. At a lower fluence, the material was just removed by sublimation, and the ablation structure was relatively flat. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) measurements demonstrated that thermal decomposition only occurred at the higher fluence. Furthermore, a theoretical model was developed to deeply reveal the ultrafast dynamics of MoS2 ablation. The simulation results were in good agreement with the temporal and spatial reflectivity distribution obtained from the experiment. The electron and lattice temperature evolution was also obtained to prove the ablation mechanism. Our results revealed ultrafast dynamics of MoS2 above the damage threshold and are helpful for understanding the interaction mechanism between MoS2 and intense ultrafast lasers, as well as for MoS2 processing applications.