Electrophysiological Signatures of Perceiving Alternated Tone in Mandarin Chinese: Mismatch Negativity to Underlying Tone Conflict

Although phonological alternation is prevalent in languages, the process of perceiving phonologically alternated sounds is poorly understood, especially at the neurolinguistic level. We examined the process of perceiving Mandarin 3rd tone sandhi (T3 + T3 → T2 + T3) with a mismatch negativity (MMN) experiment. Our design has two independent variables (whether the deviant undergoes tone sandhi; whether the standard and the deviant have matched underlying tone). These two independent variables modulated ERP responses in both the first and the second syllables. Notably, despite the apparent segmental conflict between the standard and the deviant in all conditions, MMN is only observed when neither the standard nor the deviant undergoes tone sandhi, suggesting that discovering the underlying representation of an alternated sound could interfere with the generation of MMN. A tentative model with three hypothesized underlying processing mechanisms is proposed to explain the observed latency and amplitude differences across conditions. The results are also discussed in light of the potential electrophysiological signatures involved in the process of perceiving alternated sounds.

An atlas of the Norway spruce needle seasonal transcriptome

Boreal conifers possess a tremendous ability to survive and remain evergreen during harsh winter conditions and resume growth during summer. This is enabled by coordinated regulation of major cellular functions at the level of gene expression, metabolism, and physiology. Here we present a comprehensive characterization of the annual changes in the global transcriptome of Norway spruce needles as a resource to understand needle development and acclimation processes throughout the year. In young, growing needles (May 15 to June 30), cell walls, organelles etc. were formed, and this developmental program heavily influenced the transcriptome, explained by over represented Gene Ontology (GO) categories. Later changes in gene expression were smaller but four phases were recognized: summer (July-August), autumn (September-October), winter (November-February) and spring (March-April), where over represented GO categories demonstrated how the needles acclimated to the various seasons. Changes in the seasonal global transcriptome profile were accompanied by differential expression of members of the major transcription factor families. We present a tentative model of how cellular activities are regulated over the year in needles of Norway spruce, which demonstrates the value of mining this dataset, accessible in ConGenIE together with advanced visualization tools.

Muslim Wives’ Intention to Undertake an HIV test: A Conceptual Development

Background: The intention in the Theory of Planned Behavior is preceded by attitude, perceived control, and subjective norm. This theory had been applied to hundreds of studies from many disciplines. However, when a nurse applies this theory, it requires a detail description related to Muslim wives’ intention to undertake an HIV test. This detailed concept development will help nurses in employing the nursing process accurately to achieve the target of Prevention from Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. Purpose: The study aims to develop a model of Muslim wives’ intention to undertake an HIV test. Methods: Concept validation of Muslim wives’ intention to undertake an HIV test was traced by using keywords “intention”, “willingness”, “desire”, “HIV tests”, “readiness”, “commitment”, “woman and HIV/AIDS”, “awareness”, in EBSCO, CINAHL, and Proquest. Results: The concept of Muslim wives’ intention was developed from existing theories as deductive origin and literature reviews as an inductive origin. The concept consists of many antecedents that being categorized into two categories includes internal and external factors and six sub-categories as follows internal commitment, knowledge, ethical values, risk perception, demographic factor and subjective norms. Both attribute and consequence key words each have one category. Conclusion: The tentative model can be generalized for other settings or situations. There is no specification that this model just for a specific gender or specific situation.

Expansive Learning Process of Exercise Organizers: The Case of Major Fire Incident Exercises in Underground Mines

A major fire incident in a Swedish underground mine made the personnel from the mining company and the rescue service realize their limited preparedness. It was the beginning of a collaboration project that included the development of a new exercise model for a more effective joint rescue operation practice. The aim of this study was to explore the collaborative learning process of exercise organizers from the rescue service, mining companies, the emergency medical service, a training company, and academia. The analysis was performed through the application of the theory cycle of expansive learning to the material consisting of documents from 16 collaboration meetings and 11 full-scale exercises. The learning process started by the participants questioning the present practice of the rescue operation and analyzing it by creating a flow chart. An essential part of the process was to model new tools in order to increase the potential for collaboration. The tools were examined and tested during collaboration meetings and implemented during full-scale exercises. The exercise organizers reflected that the process led to organizational development and a better understanding of the other organizations’ perspectives. Consequently, a tentative model for developing the learning process of exercise organizers was developed.

YEAST IN SOUTHWEST MONSOON RAINWATER

Strong evidence of the presence of bacteria and fungi in the tropospheric boundary layer is available in the literature. We report successful isolation of unique morphotypes of wild ascomycetous yeasts from rainwater samples collected directly in sterile containers, taking extreme care to avoid ambient contamination. Direct and quick visualization of fresh rainwater samples under a phase contrast microscope indicated the sporadic presence of yeast cells. Further confirmation of the presence of yeast was obtained by plating of rainwater on a medium with antibiotics to generate pure colonies. We described their characteristics while molecular identification revealed it as Candida tropicalis. Yeast species could contribute valuable knowledge about yeast transportation in the atmosphere. However, knowledge is insufficient about the yeast deposited from the atmosphere and its transportation across the atmosphere. We report and discuss these interesting and exciting results which are useful in understanding the microbiological dimension of meteorology and the southwest monsoon rainfall in the light of present discourse on global warming and climate change. We offer a tentative model for a possible source, role, and fate of the yeasts in rainwater.

Stress Buildup Upon Crystallization of GeTe Thin Films: Curvature Measurements and Modelling

Phase change materials are attractive materials for non-volatile memories because of their ability to switch reversibly between an amorphous and a crystal phase. The volume change upon crystallization induces mechanical stress that needs to be understood and controlled. In this work, we monitor stress evolution during crystallization in thin GeTe films capped with SiOx, using optical curvature measurements. A 150 MPa tensile stress buildup is measured when the 100 nm thick film crystallizes. Stress evolution is a result of viscosity increase with time and a tentative model is proposed that renders qualitatively the observed features.

Love at first flight: Wing interference patterns are species-specific and sexually dimorphic in blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Wing interference patterns (WIPs) are stable structural colours displayed on insect wings which are only visible at specific viewing geometries and against certain backgrounds. These patterns are widespread among flies and wasps, and growing evidence suggests that they may function as species- and sex-specific mating cues in a range of taxa. As such, it is expected that WIPs should differ between species and show clear sexual dimorphisms. However, the true extent to which WIPs vary between species, sexes, and individuals is currently unclear, as previous studies have only taken a qualitative approach, without considering how WIPs might be perceived by the insect. Here, we perform the first quantitative analysis of inter- and intra-specific variation in WIPs across seven Australian species of the blowfly genus Chrysomya. Using multispectral digital imaging and a tentative model of blowfly colour vision, we provide quantitative evidence that WIPs are species-specific, highlight that the extent of divergence is greater in males than in females, and demonstrate sexual dimorphisms in several species. These data provide evidence that WIPs have diversified substantially in blowflies and suggests that sexual selection may have played a role in this process.