Linking forest diversity and tree health: preliminary insights from a large-scale survey in Italy

Forest health is currently assessed in Europe (ICP Forests monitoring program). Crown defoliation and dieback, tree mortality, and pathogenic damage are the main aspects considered in tree health assessment. The worsening of environmental conditions (i.e., increase of temperature and drought events) may cause large-spatial scale tree mortality and forest decline. However, the role of stand features, including tree species assemblage and diversity as factors that modify environmental impacts, is poorly considered. The present contribution reanalyses the historical dataset of crown conditions in Italian forests from 1997 to 2014 to identify ecological and structural factors that influence tree crown defoliation, highlighting in a special manner the role of tree diversity. The effects of tree diversity were explored using the entire data set through multivariate cluster analyses and on individual trees, analysing the influence of the neighbouring tree diversity and identity at the local (neighbour) level. Preliminary results suggest that each tree species shows a specific behaviour in relation to crown defoliation, and the distribution of crown defoliation across Italian forests reflects the distribution of the main forest types and their ecological equilibrium with the environment. The potentiality and the problems connected to the possible extension of this analysis at a more general level (European and North American) were discussed

Interpersonal motor interactions shape multisensory representations of the peripersonal space

This perspective review focuses on the proposal that predictive multisensory integration occurring in one’s peripersonal space (PPS) supports individuals’ ability to efficiently interact with others, and that integrating sensorimotor signals from the interacting partners leads to the emergence of a shared representation of the PPS. To support this proposal, we first introduce the features of body and PPS representations that are relevant for interpersonal motor interactions. Then, we highlight the role of action planning and execution on the dynamic expansion of the PPS. We continue by presenting evidence of PPS modulations after tool use and review studies suggesting that PPS expansions may be accounted for by Bayesian sensory filtering through predictive coding. In the central section, we describe how this conceptual framework can be used to explain the mechanisms through which the PPS may be modulated by the actions of our interaction partner, in order to facilitate interpersonal coordination. Last, we discuss how this proposal may support recent evidence concerning PPS rigidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its possible relationship with ASD individuals’ difficulties during interpersonal coordination. Future studies will need to clarify the mechanisms and neural underpinning of these dynamic, interpersonal modulations of the PPS

Compassion on University Degree Programmes at a UK University: The Neuroscience of Effective Group work

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/ licences/by/4.0/legalcodePurpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the neuroscience that underpins the psychology of compassion as a competency. We explain why this cognitive competency is now taught and assessed on modules of different degree subjects in a UK university. Design/methodology/approach The paper is divided into first, an exploration of recent psychology and neuroscience literature that illuminates the differences, and relationship, between empathy and compassion for safeness building in teams. Within that, the role of oxytocin in achieving social and intellectual rewards though the exercise of cognitive flexibility, working memory and impulsive inhibitory control (Zelazo, et al, 2016) is also identified. The literature findings are compared against relevant qualitative data from the above university’s, so far, nine years of mixed methods action research on compassion-focused pedagogy (CfP). Findings These are that the concept and practice of embedding compassion as a cognitive competency into assessed university group work is illuminated and rationalised by research findings in neuroscience. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the study are that, so far, fMRI research methods have not been used to investigate student subjects involved in the compassion-focused pedagogy now in use. Practical implications The paper has implications for theory, policy and practice in relation to managing the increasing amount of group work that accompanies widening participation in Higher Education. Originality/value A review of this kind specifically for student assessed group and its implications for student academic achievement and mental health has not, apparently, been publishedPeer reviewe

Item-Level Scores on the Boston Naming Test as an Independent Predictor of Perirhinal Volume in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment

We explored the methodological value of an item-level scoring procedure applied to the Boston Naming Test (BNT), and the extent to which this scoring approach predicts grey matter (GM) variability in regions that sustain semantic memory. Twenty-seven BNT items administered as part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were scored according to their “sensorimotor interaction” (SMI) value. Quantitative scores (i.e., the count of correctly named items) and qualitative scores (i.e., the average of SMI scores for correctly named items) were used as independent predictors of neuroanatomical GM maps in two sub-cohorts of 197 healthy adults and 350 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participants. Quantitative scores predicted clusters of temporal and mediotemporal GM in both sub-cohorts. After accounting for quantitative scores, the qualitative scores predicted mediotemporal GM clusters in the MCI sub-cohort; clusters extended to the anterior parahippocampal gyrus and encompassed the perirhinal cortex. This was confirmed by a significant yet modest association between qualitative scores and region-of-interest-informed perirhinal volumes extracted post hoc. Item-level scoring of BNT performance provides complementary information to standard quantitative scores. The concurrent use of quantitative and qualitative scores may help profile lexical–semantic access more precisely, and might help detect changes in semantic memory that are typical of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease

A Fragment-Based Approach for the Development of G-Quadruplex Ligands: Role of the Amidoxime Moiety

G-quadruplex (G4) nucleic acid structures have been reported to be involved in several human pathologies, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and infectious diseases; however, G4 targeting compounds still need implementation in terms of drug-like properties and selectivity in order to reach the clinical use. So far, G4 ligands have been mainly identified through high-throughput screening methods or design of molecules with pre-set features. Here, we describe the development of new heterocyclic ligands through a fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) approach. The ligands were designed against the major G4 present in the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter region of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), the stabilization of which has been shown to suppress viral gene expression and replication. Our method is based on the generation of molecular fragment small libraries, screened against the target to further elaborate them into lead compounds. We screened 150 small molecules, composed by structurally and chemically different fragments, selected from commercially available and in-house compounds; synthetic elaboration yielded several G4 ligands and two final G4 binders, both embedding an amidoxime moiety; one of these two compounds showed preferential binding for the HIV-1 LTR G4. This work presents the discovery of a novel potential pharmacophore and highlights the possibility to apply a fragment-based approach to develop G4 ligands with unexpected chemical features

A Self-sensing Inverse Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

In recent years, the inverse pneumatic artificial muscles attained great attention in soft robotics, especially for the wider motion range compared to traditional positive pneumatic actuators. Besides self-sensing is a recognized highly desirable property for soft actuators to enable proprioception and to facilitate the soft robots control, a self-sensing strategy for a soft inverse pneumatic muscle was still missing. In this paper, we present the first self-sensing inverse pneumatic artificial muscle in which the reinforcing but compliant element that guides the actuator motion during actuation has not only a mechanical function but, being also electrically conductive, it endows the actuator with self-sensing. Here, the actuator design and manufacturing are described, together with an electro- mechanical characterization. In addition, we demonstrate its self-sensing capability in a dynamic setting, by predicting the actuator strain from its electric resistance variation, through a calibration model

Actuation Technologies for Soft Robot Grippers and Manipulators: A Review

Purpose of Review The new paradigm of soft robotics has been widely developed in the international robotics community. These robots being soft can be used in applications where delicate yet effective interaction is necessary. Soft grippers and manipulators are important, and their actuation is a fundamental area of study. The main purpose of this work is to provide readers with fast references to actuation technologies for soft robotic grippers in relation to their intended application. Recent Findings The authors have surveyed recent findings on actuation technologies for soft grippers. They presented six major kinds of technologies which are either used independently for actuation or in combination, e.g., pneumatic actuation combined with electro-adhesion, for certain applications. Summary A review on the latest actuation technologies for soft grippers and manipulators is presented. Readers will get a guide on the various methods of technology utilization based on the application

Oracular Byzantine Reliable Broadcast

Byzantine Reliable Broadcast (BRB) is a fundamental distributed computing primitive, with applications ranging from notifications to asynchronous payment systems. Motivated by practical consideration, we study Client-Server Byzantine Reliable Broadcast (CSB), a multi-shot variant of BRB whose interface is split between broadcasting clients and delivering servers. We present Draft, an optimally resilient implementation of CSB. Like most implementations of BRB, Draft guarantees both liveness and safety in an asynchronous environment. Under good conditions, however, Draft achieves unparalleled efficiency. In a moment of synchrony, free from Byzantine misbehaviour, and at the limit of infinitely many broadcasting clients, a Draft server delivers a b-bits payload at an asymptotic amortized cost of 0 signature verifications, and (log?(c) + b) bits exchanged, where c is the number of clients in the system. This is the information-theoretical minimum number of bits required to convey the payload (b bits, assuming it is compressed), along with an identifier for its sender (log?(c) bits, necessary to enumerate any set of c elements, and optimal if broadcasting frequencies are uniform or unknown). These two achievements have profound practical implications. Real-world BRB implementations are often bottlenecked either by expensive signature verifications, or by communication overhead. For Draft, instead, the network is the limit: a server can deliver payloads as quickly as it would receive them from an infallible oracle