Individuals’ preference on reading pathways influences the involvement of neural pathways in phonological learning

IntroductionExisting behavioral and neuroimaging studies revealed inter-individual variability in the selection of the two phonological routes in word reading. However, it is not clear how individuals’ preferred reading pathways/strategies modulate the involvement of a certain brain region for phonological learning in a new language, and consequently affect their behavioral performance on phonological access.MethodsTo address this question, the present study recruited a group of native Chinese speakers to learn two sets of artificial language characters, respectively, in addressed-phonology training (i.e., whole-word mapping) and assembled-phonology training conditions (i.e., grapheme-to-phoneme mapping).ResultsBehavioral results showed that the more lexical pathways participants preferred, the better they performed on newly-acquired addressed characters relative to assembled characters. More importantly, neuroimaging results showed that participants who preferred lexical pathway in phonological access show less involvement of brain regions for addressed phonology (e.g., the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right pars triangularis) in the processing of newly-acquired addressed characters.ConclusionThese results indicated that phonological access via the preferred pathway required less neural resources to achieve better behavioral performance. These above results provide direct neuroimaging evidence for the influence of reading pathway preference on phonological learning

A modified inverse vector hysteresis model for nonoriented electrical steels considering anisotropy for FEA

This paper presents a modified Mayergoyz-based vector hysteresis model to describe the anisotropic material behavior of nonoriented (NO) steels over a wide range of rotational excitations. The proposed model adopts a new representation of a vector Everett function, which is actually an elliptical interpolation motivated by the real anisotropic behavior of NO steel, to deal with the uniaxial anisotropy characteristic, which is especially pronounced for low induction levels. The biaxial anisotropy occurring at high densities is described by a nonlinear coefficient, which is actually a function of magnitude of magnetic flux density. A systematic identification algorithm is given in detail. The validity of this model is verified through comparison with experimental data under both alternating and rotational excitations. The 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) of incorporating this model into TEAM problem 32 simulation is also illustrated

Measurement and analysis of the non-symmetry of transverse magnetisation and resulting loss in grain-oriented steel using a modified RSST

A modified rotational single-sheet tester, in which a circular sample can be rotated to be magnetised along arbitrary directions, was used to study the transverse magnetisation and associated losses in grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). Longitudinal and transverse components of flux density B and magnetic field H in a sample of commercial GOES were measured under alternating excitation at angles from −90° to +90° to the rolling direction (RD) at peak flux densities up to 1.5 T over a magnetising frequency range of 20–400 Hz. The loss due to the transverse components of B and H, referred to as the transverse loss, was evaluated. At 1.5 T, 20 Hz, the transverse loss was less than 0.1 mW/kg when magnetised along either the RD or the transverse direction but it rose to around 5 mW/kg when magnetised at 30° to the RD. It was found to be magnetising direction, frequency and flux density dependent. The transverse loss was a simple function of the angle of magnetisation with respect to the RD but it differed when magnetised along directions on either side of to the RD dependent on the grain structure in the measurement region. The basic phenomenon is explained with the aid of simple magnetic domain and magnetisation models. The difficulty of quantifying its absolute effect in GOES and non-oriented electrical steel is discussed. It appears that transverse magnetisation in GOES is not normally large enough to have any practical effect on measurements obtained using IEC Standard loss testers or on the prediction of electrical machine core losses. A preliminary series of tests showed that transverse loss also occurs in non-oriented electrical steel but it is difficult to quantify

Microbial Community Succession and Response to Environmental Variables During Cow Manure and Corn Straw Composting

In composting system, the composition of microbial communities is determined by the constant change in the physicochemical parameters. This study explored the dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities during cow manure and corn straw composting using high throughput sequencing technology. The relationships between physicochemical parameters and microbial community composition and abundance were also evaluated. The sequencing results revealed the major phyla included Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi and Actinobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) illustrated that Actinomycetales and Sordariomycetes were the indicators of bacteria and fungi in the maturation phase, respectively. Mantel test showed that NO3--N, NH4+-N, TN, C/N, temperature and moisture content significantly influenced bacterial community composition while only TN and moisture content had a significant effect on fungal community structure. Structural equation model (SEM) indicated that TN, NH4+-N, NO3--N and pH had a significant effect on fungal abundance while TN and temperature significantly affected bacterial abundance. Our finding increases the understanding of microbial community succession in cow manure and corn straw composting under natural conditions

Association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine: a Mendelian randomization study

ObjectiveThe important contribution of dietary triggers to migraine pathogenesis has been recognized. However, the potential causal roles of many dietary habits on the risk of migraine in the whole population are still under debate. The objective of this study was to determine the potential causal association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine (and its subtypes) development, as well as the possible mediator roles of migraine risk factors.MethodsBased on summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies, we conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) and bidirectional MR to investigate the potential causal associations between 83 dietary habits and migraine and its subtypes, and network MR was performed to explore the possible mediator roles of 8 migraine risk factors.ResultsAfter correcting for multiple testing, we found evidence for associations of genetically predicted coffee, cheese, oily fish, alcohol (red wine), raw vegetables, muesli, and wholemeal/wholegrain bread intake with decreased risk of migraine, those odds ratios ranged from 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63–0.95) for overall cheese intake to 0.61 (95% CI: 0.47–0.80) for drinks usually with meals among current drinkers (yes + it varies vs. no); while white bread, cornflakes/frosties, and poultry intake were positively associated with the risk of migraine. Additionally, genetic liability to white bread, wholemeal/wholegrain bread, muesli, alcohol (red wine), cheese, and oily fish intake were associated with a higher risk of insomnia and (or) major depression disorder (MDD), each of them may act as a mediator in the pathway from several dietary habits to migraine. Finally, we found evidence of a negative association between genetically predicted migraine and drinking types, and positive association between migraine and cups of tea per day.SignificanceOur study provides evidence about association between dietary habits and the risk of migraine and demonstrates that some associations are partly mediated through one or both insomnia and MDD. These results provide new insights for further nutritional interventions for migraine prevention

Core loss calculation for magnetic materials employed in SMPS under rectangular voltage excitations

Magnetic materials are widely used in switching-mode power supplies (SMPS) and magnetic components in SMPS usually work under two typical rectangular excitations (with or without the period of zero voltage). Extensive experimental results have shown that there is quite a difference of core loss between sinusoidal excitations and rectangular excitations, which means the traditional core loss calculation methods are no longer applicable. In this paper, two formulas for core loss calculation under the above rectangular excitations are derived based on the Improved Generalized Steinmetz Equation (IGSE). Core loss of different magnetic materials, under both sinusoidal excitations and rectangular excitations with different frequencies and duty cycles, are measured. Experimental results show that the formulas are accurate enough and very useful to predict the core loss

Application-Oriented Characterization and Analysis of Core Materials Under Medium-Frequency Condition

In medium-frequency applications, magnetic components generally operate in high-temperature conditions caused by higher power loss and more difficult heat dissipation, which results in changes in their electromagnetic characteristics. In this article, the application-oriented characterization of the typical core materials, Mn-Zn ferrite and Fe-based nanocrystalline alloy, is comprehensively studied. The magnetic parameters under sinusoidal (5-50 kHz) and square (10 kHz) excitation from 20 °C to 125 °C are analyzed detailedly. Combined with the micromagnetic theory, the influence factors of electromagnetic parameters such as permeability and power factor angle are investigated. The loss variation of ferrite with temperature, flux density, and frequency is explained by using the energy loss ratio. The proportion of Ph and Pdy in total loss with temperature and frequency is compared, and the loss fluctuation of nanocrystalline alloys and ferrite is analyzed. Moreover, the reasonable range of frequency that needs to consider temperature effect in practical applications is suggested. The difference between the B-H loop bias under asymmetrical square excitation and dc bias conditions is compared and illuminated. The effectiveness and limitation of typical Steinmetz equations considering the temperature and duty cycle effect are analyzed, and the suggestion of loss calculation is given combined with the material characteristics.</p