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Nick K. Jones1,2*, Lucy Rivett1,2*, Chris Workman3, Mark Ferris3, Ashley Shaw1, Cambridge COVID-19 Collaboration1,4, Paul J. Lehner1,4, Rob Howes5, Giles Wright3, Nicholas J. Matheson1,4,6¶, Michael P. Weekes1,7¶1 Cambridge University NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK2 Clinical Microbiology & Public Health Laboratory, Public Health England, Cambridge, UK3 Occupational Health and Wellbeing, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK4 Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK5 Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre and AstraZeneca, Anne Mclaren Building, Cambridge, UK6 NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge, UK7 Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK*Joint first authorship¶Joint last authorshipCorrespondence: mpw1001@cam.ac.ukThe UK has initiated mass COVID-19 immunisation, with healthcare workers (HCWs) given early priority because of the potential for workplace exposure and risk of onward transmission to patients. The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended maximising the number of people vaccinated with first doses at the expense of early booster vaccinations, based on single dose efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 disease.1-3At the time of writing, three COVID-19 vaccines have been granted emergency use authorisation in the UK, including the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech). A vital outstanding question is whether this vaccine prevents or promotes asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, rather than symptomatic COVID-19 disease, because sub-clinical infection following vaccination could continue to drive transmission. This is especially important because many UK HCWs have received this vaccine, and nosocomial COVID-19 infection has been a persistent problem.Through the implementation of a 24 h-turnaround PCR-based comprehensive HCW screening programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT), we previously demonstrated the frequent presence of pauci- and asymptomatic infection amongst HCWs during the UK’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.4 Here, we evaluate the effect of first-dose BNT162b2 vaccination on test positivity rates and cycle threshold (Ct) values in the asymptomatic arm of our programme, which now offers weekly screening to all staff.Vaccination of HCWs at CUHNFT began on 8th December 2020, with mass vaccination from 8th January 2021. Here, we analyse data from the two weeks spanning 18thto 31st January 2021, during which: (a) the prevalence of COVID-19 amongst HCWs remained approximately constant; and (b) we screened comparable numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated HCWs. Over this period, 4,408 (week 1) and 4,411 (week 2) PCR tests were performed from individuals reporting well to work. We stratified HCWs <12 days or > 12 days post-vaccination because this was the point at which protection against symptomatic infection began to appear in phase III clinical trial.226/3,252 (0·80%) tests from unvaccinated HCWs were positive (Ct<36), compared to 13/3,535 (0·37%) from HCWs <12 days post-vaccination and 4/1,989 (0·20%) tests from HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination (p=0·023 and p=0·004, respectively; Fisher’s exact test, Figure). This suggests a four-fold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination, compared to unvaccinated HCWs, with an intermediate effect amongst HCWs <12 days post-vaccination.A marked reduction in infections was also seen when analyses were repeated with: (a) inclusion of HCWs testing positive through both the symptomatic and asymptomatic arms of the programme (56/3,282 (1·71%) unvaccinated vs 8/1,997 (0·40%) ≥12 days post-vaccination, 4·3-fold reduction, p=0·00001); (b) inclusion of PCR tests which were positive at the limit of detection (Ct>36, 42/3,268 (1·29%) vs 15/2,000 (0·75%), 1·7-fold reduction, p=0·075); and (c) extension of the period of analysis to include six weeks from December 28th to February 7th 2021 (113/14,083 (0·80%) vs 5/4,872 (0·10%), 7·8-fold reduction, p=1x10-9). In addition, the median Ct value of positive tests showed a non-significant trend towards increase between unvaccinated HCWs and HCWs > 12 days post-vaccination (23·3 to 30·3, Figure), suggesting that samples from vaccinated individuals had lower viral loads.We therefore provide real-world evidence for a high level of protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection after a single dose of BNT162b2 vaccine, at a time of predominant transmission of the UK COVID-19 variant of concern 202012/01 (lineage B.1.1.7), and amongst a population with a relatively low frequency of prior infection (7.2% antibody positive).5This work was funded by a Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to MPW (108070/Z/15/Z), a Wellcome Principal Research Fellowship to PJL (210688/Z/18/Z), and an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/P008801/1) and NHSBT workpackage (WPA15-02) to NJM. Funding was also received from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. We also acknowledge contributions from all staff at CUHNFT Occupational Health and Wellbeing and the Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre.

Scene flow tracks the three-dimensional (3D) motion of each point in adjacent point clouds. It provides fundamental 3D motion perception for autonomous driving and server robot. Although the Red Green Blue Depth (RGBD) camera or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) capture discrete 3D points in space, the objects and motions usually are continuous in the macro world. That is, the objects keep themselves consistent as they flow from the current frame to the next frame. Based on this insight, the Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) is utilized to self-learn 3D scene flow with no need for ground truth. The fake point cloud of the second frame is synthesized from the predicted scene flow and the point cloud of the first frame. The adversarial training of the generator and discriminator is realized through synthesizing indistinguishable fake point cloud and discriminating the real point cloud and the synthesized fake point cloud. The experiments on Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Toyota Technological Institute (KITTI) scene flow dataset show that our method realizes promising results without ground truth. Just as human, the proposed method can identify the similar local structures of two adjacent frames even without knowing the ground truth scene flow. Then, the local correspondence can be correctly estimated, and further the scene flow is correctly estimated.   Corresponding author(s) Email: wanghesheng@sjtu.edu.cn

Leukocyte differential test is a widely performed clinical procedure for screening infectious diseases. Existing hematology analyzers require labor-intensive work and a panel of expensive reagents. Here we report an artificial-intelligence enabled reagent-free imaging hematology analyzer (AIRFIHA) modality that can accurately classify subpopulations of leukocytes with minimal sample preparation. AIRFIHA is realized through training a two-step residual neural network using label-free images of isolated leukocytes acquired from a custom-built quantitative phase microscope. By leveraging the rich information contained in quantitative phase images, we not only achieved high accuracy in differentiating B and T lymphocytes, but also classified CD4 and CD8 cells, therefore outperforming the classification accuracy of most current hematology analyzers. We validated the performance of AIRFIHA in a randomly selected test set and cross-validated it across all blood donors. Owing to its easy operation, low cost, and accurate discerning capability of complex leukocyte subpopulations, we envision AIRFIHA is clinically translatable and can also be deployed in resource-limited settings, e.g., during pandemic situations for the rapid screening of infectious diseases.  Corresponding author(s) Email:    rjzhou@cuhk.edu.hk,  rishikesh.pandey@uconn.edu

Tam Hunt [1], Jonathan SchoolerUniversity of California Santa Barbara Synchronization, harmonization, vibrations, or simply resonance in its most general sense seems to have an integral relationship with consciousness itself. One of the possible “neural correlates of consciousness” in mammalian brains is a combination of gamma, beta and theta synchrony. More broadly, we see similar kinds of resonance patterns in living and non-living structures of many types. What clues can resonance provide about the nature of consciousness more generally? This paper provides an overview of resonating structures in the fields of neuroscience, biology and physics and attempts to coalesce these data into a solution to what we see as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem, which is generally known as the “combination problem” or the “binding problem.” The combination problem asks: how do micro-conscious entities combine into a higher-level macro-consciousness? The proposed solution in the context of mammalian consciousness suggests that a shared resonance is what allows different parts of the brain to achieve a phase transition in the speed and bandwidth of information flows between the constituent parts. This phase transition allows for richer varieties of consciousness to arise, with the character and content of that consciousness in each moment determined by the particular set of constituent neurons. We also offer more general insights into the ontology of consciousness and suggest that consciousness manifests as a relatively smooth continuum of increasing richness in all physical processes, distinguishing our view from emergentist materialism. We refer to this approach as a (general) resonance theory of consciousness and offer some responses to Chalmers’ questions about the different kinds of “combination problem.”  At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat: the sound of cycles in sync…. [T]hese feats of synchrony occur spontaneously, almost as if nature has an eerie yearning for order. Steven Strogatz, Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Universe, Nature and Daily Life (2003) If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.Nikola Tesla (1942) I.               Introduction Is there an “easy part” and a “hard part” to the Hard Problem of consciousness? In this paper, we suggest that there is. The harder part is arriving at a philosophical position with respect to the relationship of matter and mind. This paper is about the “easy part” of the Hard Problem but we address the “hard part” briefly in this introduction.  We have both arrived, after much deliberation, at the position of panpsychism or panexperientialism (all matter has at least some associated mind/experience and vice versa). This is the view that all things and processes have both mental and physical aspects. Matter and mind are two sides of the same coin.  Panpsychism is one of many possible approaches that addresses the “hard part” of the Hard Problem. We adopt this position for all the reasons various authors have listed (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1997, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017). This first step is particularly powerful if we adopt the Whiteheadian version of panpsychism (Whitehead 1929).  Reaching a position on this fundamental question of how mind relates to matter must be based on a “weight of plausibility” approach, rather than on definitive evidence, because establishing definitive evidence with respect to the presence of mind/experience is difficult. We must generally rely on examining various “behavioral correlates of consciousness” in judging whether entities other than ourselves are conscious – even with respect to other humans—since the only consciousness we can know with certainty is our own. Positing that matter and mind are two sides of the same coin explains the problem of consciousness insofar as it avoids the problems of emergence because under this approach consciousness doesn’t emerge. Consciousness is, rather, always present, at some level, even in the simplest of processes, but it “complexifies” as matter complexifies, and vice versa. Consciousness starts very simple and becomes more complex and rich under the right conditions, which in our proposed framework rely on resonance mechanisms. Matter and mind are two sides of the coin. Neither is primary; they are coequal.  We acknowledge the challenges of adopting this perspective, but encourage readers to consider the many compelling reasons to consider it that are reviewed elsewhere (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1998, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017, Schooler, Schooler, & Hunt, 2011; Schooler, 2015).  Taking a position on the overarching ontology is the first step in addressing the Hard Problem. But this leads to the related questions: at what level of organization does consciousness reside in any particular process? Is a rock conscious? A chair? An ant? A bacterium? Or are only the smaller constituents, such as atoms or molecules, of these entities conscious? And if there is some degree of consciousness even in atoms and molecules, as panpsychism suggests (albeit of a very rudimentary nature, an important point to remember), how do these micro-conscious entities combine into the higher-level and obvious consciousness we witness in entities like humans and other mammals?  This set of questions is known as the “combination problem,” another now-classic problem in the philosophy of mind, and is what we describe here as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem. Our characterization of this part of the problem as “easy”[2] is, of course, more than a little tongue in cheek. The authors have discussed frequently with each other what part of the Hard Problem should be labeled the easier part and which the harder part. Regardless of the labels we choose, however, this paper focuses on our suggested solution to the combination problem.  Various solutions to the combination problem have been proposed but none have gained widespread acceptance. This paper further elaborates a proposed solution to the combination problem that we first described in Hunt 2011 and Schooler, Hunt, and Schooler 2011. The proposed solution rests on the idea of resonance, a shared vibratory frequency, which can also be called synchrony or field coherence. We will generally use resonance and “sync,” short for synchrony, interchangeably in this paper. We describe the approach as a general resonance theory of consciousness or just “general resonance theory” (GRT). GRT is a field theory of consciousness wherein the various specific fields associated with matter and energy are the seat of conscious awareness.  A summary of our approach appears in Appendix 1.  All things in our universe are constantly in motion, in process. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, resonating, at specific frequencies. So all things are actually processes. Resonance is a specific type of motion, characterized by synchronized oscillation between two states.  An interesting phenomenon occurs when different vibrating processes come into proximity: they will often start vibrating together at the same frequency. They “sync up,” sometimes in ways that can seem mysterious, and allow for richer and faster information and energy flows (Figure 1 offers a schematic). Examining this phenomenon leads to potentially deep insights about the nature of consciousness in both the human/mammalian context but also at a deeper ontological level.

Cannabis sativa is an extraordinarily versatile species. Hemp and its cousin marijuana, both C. sativa, have been used for millennia as a source of fibre, oil and for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. Because the consumption of Cannabis can have psychoactive effects, the plant has been widely banned throughout the last century. In the past decade, evidence of its medicinal properties did lead to the relaxation of legislation in many countries around the world. Consequently, the genetics and development of Cannabis as well as Cannabis-derived products are the subject of renewed attention.Here, we review the biology of C. sativa, including recent insights from taxonomy, morphology and genomics, with an emphasis on the genetics of cannabinoid synthesis. Because the female Cannabis flower is of special interest as the site of cannabinoid synthesis, we explore flower development, flowering time well as the species’ unique sex determination system in detail. Furthermore, we outline the tremendous medicinal, engineering, and environmental opportunities that Cannabis bears. Together, the picture emerges that our understanding of Cannabis biology currently progresses at an unusual speed. A future challenge will be to preserve the multi-purpose nature of Cannabis, and to harness its medicinal properties and sustainability advantages simultaneously.

Quantum chemistry must evolve if it wants to fully leverage the benefits of the internet age, where the world wide web offers a vast tapestry of tools that enable users to communicate and interact with complex data at the speed and convenience of a button press. The Open Chemistry project has developed an open source framework that offers an end-to-end solution for producing, sharing, and visualizing quantum chemical data interactively on the web using an array of modern tools and approaches. These tools build on some of the best open source community projects such as Jupyter for interactive online notebooks, coupled with 3D accelerated visualization, state-of-the-art computational chemistry codes including NWChem and Psi4 and emerging machine learning and data mining tools such as ChemML and ANI. They offer flexible formats to import and export data, along with approaches to compare computational and experimental data.

This paper responds to one by Graham Martin and colleagues, who offered a critique of my previous publications on masks for the lay public in the Covid-19 pandemic. I address their charges that my co-authors and I had misapplied the precautionary principle; drawn conclusions that were not supported by empirical research; and failed to take account of potential harms. But before that, I remind Martin et al that the evidence on mask wearing goes beyond the contested trials and observational studies they place centre stage. I set out some key findings from basic science, epidemiology, mathematical modelling, case studies and natural experiments, and use this rich and diverse body of evidence as the backdrop for my rebuttal of their narrowly-framed objections. I challenge my critics’ apparent assumption that a particular kind of systematic review should be valorised over narrative and real-world evidence, since stories are crucial to both our scientific understanding and our moral imagination. I conclude by thanking my academic adversaries for the intellectual sparring match, but exhort them to remember our professional accountability to a society in crisis. It is time to lay straw men to rest and engage, scientifically and morally, with the dreadful tragedy that is unfolding across the world.

This Supporting information includes interactive plots, videos, and data captured while performing evaluation and validation experiments for our paper. 

The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues including increasing burden of chronic disease, widening inequality, concerns over environmental degradation and anthropogenic climate change. While these criticisms overlook recent developments, there remains a need for biopsychosocial models that extend theoretical grounding beyond individual wellbeing, incorporating overlapping contextual issues relating to community and environment. Our first GENIAL model \cite{Kemp_2017} provided a more expansive view of pathways to longevity in the context of individual health and wellbeing, emphasising bidirectional links to positive social ties and the impact of sociocultural factors. In this paper, we build on these ideas and propose GENIAL 2.0, focusing on intersecting individual-community-environmental contributions to health and wellbeing, and laying an evidence-based, theoretical framework on which future research and innovative therapeutic innovations could be based. We suggest that our transdisciplinary model of wellbeing - focusing on individual, community and environmental contributions to personal wellbeing - will help to move the research field forward. In reconceptualising wellbeing, GENIAL 2.0 bridges the gap between psychological science and population health health systems, and presents opportunities for enhancing the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic conditions. Implications for future generations including the very survival of our species are discussed.  

Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield across global regions is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control and pollination services in adjacent crops using a global dataset of 529 sites. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimize floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.

Researchers' ability to accurately screen fossil and subfossil specimens for preservation of DNA and protein sequences remains limited. Thermal exposure and geologic age are usable proxies for sequence preservation on a broad scale but are of nominal use for specimens of similar depositional environments. Cell and tissue biomolecular histology is thus proposed as a novel proxy for determining sequence preservation potential of ancient specimens with improved accuracy. Biomolecular histology as a proxy is hypothesized to elucidate why fossils/subfossils of some depositional environments preserve sequences while others do not and to facilitate selection of ancient specimens for use in molecular studies.

IntroductionConsistent with World Health Organization (WHO) advice [1], UK Infection Protection Control guidance recommends that healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should use fluid resistant surgical masks type IIR (FRSMs) as respiratory protective equipment (RPE), unless aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) are being undertaken or are likely, when a filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) respirator should be used [2]. In a recent update, an FFP3 respirator is recommended if “an unacceptable risk of transmission remains following rigorous application of the hierarchy of control” [3]. Conversely, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19 should use an N95 or higher level respirator [4]. WHO guidance suggests that a respirator, such as FFP3, may be used for HCWs in the absence of AGPs if availability or cost is not an issue [1].A recent systematic review undertaken for PHE concluded that: “patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who are breathing, talking or coughing generate both respiratory droplets and aerosols, but FRSM (and where required, eye protection) are considered to provide adequate staff protection” [5]. Nevertheless, FFP3 respirators are more effective in preventing aerosol transmission than FRSMs, and observational data suggests that they may improve protection for HCWs [6]. It has therefore been suggested that respirators should be considered as a means of affording the best available protection [7], and some organisations have decided to provide FFP3 (or equivalent) respirators to HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients, despite a lack of mandate from local or national guidelines [8].Data from the HCW testing programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT) during the first wave of the UK severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic indicated a higher incidence of infection amongst HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19, compared with those who did not [9]. Subsequent studies have confirmed this observation [10, 11]. This disparity persisted at CUHNFT in December 2020, despite control measures consistent with PHE guidance and audits indicating good compliance. The CUHNFT infection control committee therefore implemented a change of RPE for staff on “red” (COVID-19) wards from FRSMs to FFP3 respirators. In this study, we analyse the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs before and after this transition.

Brilliant blue dye (BB) is being extensively used in textile and cosmetic industries. Recently BB has been reported to be carcinogenic and asthma causing agent. Hence, its use has been banned in several European countries. During the current study ZnO and Bi-ZnO were synthesized by using sol-gel method. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis (BET). Both ZnO and Bi-ZnO were used for the photocatalytic degradation of BB under solar light irradiation. Different parameters affecting the photocatalytic degradation of BB like contact time, dye concentration, catalyst concentration, and pH were evaluated and optimized. Both catalysts degraded BB efficiently but Bi-ZnO displayed better degradation potential (maximum 92 %) than ZnO (maximum 76 %). The band gap for ZnO and Bi-ZnO was found to be 3.10 and 2.95 eV, respectively. Surface area and pore size for ZnO and Bi-ZnO were determined to be 104.03 m 2/g and 199 nm, and 114.67 m 2/g and 203 nm, respectively. Kinetics analysis of the experimental data revealed that the photocatalytic degradation of BB followed pseudo-first-order kinetics (R 2 = 0.9581). The value of first order rate constant (k 1) was found to be 3.14 x 10 -3 min -1. The results of the scavenging studies indicated that superoxide radicals ( •O 2 −) and hydroxyl radicals ( •OH) produced by Bi-ZnO are mainly responsible for the degradation of BB. Finally, the current field challenges are presented, along with widely applied recommendations and detailed concluding remarks.

A two-year-old recently foaled pony was presented to the Large Animal Medicine Unit of Madras Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a history of reduced appetite and inability to walk. Physical examination revealed mild muscle tremors, stiffness of hindlimbs, ataxia, dry muzzle, and elevated temperature. Laboratory investigation revealed phosphorus, potassium, and decreased Calcium. Based on the history, clinical signs and laboratory findings, the case was diagnosed as hypocalcaemia. With 400 ml of Inj. 25% Calcium Borogluconate I/V and supportive therapies, the animal responded positively to treatment and showed good recovery. Keywords: Lactation tetany, Calcium Boro-gluconate

Proteomics is a collective approach using other “omics” technologies for analyzing and identifying the function and structure of proteins with greater precision. Along with the revolution in technologies and increase in statistical computing models, proteomics has been cognate promptly over the last ten years and enlightened on resolving complex diseases. Identification of various protein biomarkers, expression patterns of proteins in diseases, and the mechanism of pathogenicity, there is a demand for Proteomics-based technologies. This article profound impact on proteomics across diverse scientific domains, including disease biomarker discovery, drug development, structural biology, and functional genomics, complex biological systems, and underscores the significance of various techniques, including mass spectrometry, protein microarrays, SILAC, and iTRAQ. This review aims to illustrate several technologies of proteomics with their principle, the latest advancements, and their role in research.

A document by Athmanathan Senthilnathan. Click on the document to view its contents.

The purpose of the paper is to examine the influence of electronic-Human Resource Management (e-HRM) post-adoption behaviour in ABC Municipality’s HRM strategy. The study adopted a qualitative and a case study approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data at ABC Municipality from Top management, HR Practitioners in the HR department. Official documents (Strategic plan documents and e-HRM manuals) were also analysed to uncover how e-HRM was adopted and how it influences HRM strategy at ABC Municipality. The study discovered that the e-HRM’s post – adoption behaviour aligned well with the strategic goals that the HRM department seeks to achieve. The study was only done in Gauteng Province at ABC, meaning the study only covered one province and only one government entity. Generalizations on findings could not be made as they may not apply to other organisations, private or government. The study investigated e-HRM post-adoption behaviour’s influence to the HRM strategy at ABC Municipality based on the SCT perspectives. The study findings show that behaviour (affect), personal (self-efficacy, anxiety and outcome expectations) and environmental (social influence) (as SCT factors) played a significant role in ensuring e-HRM post-adoption behaviour at ABC Municipality. Top management support, end-user involvement in innovation initiatives/technology roadmaps presentations, engagements with trade unions, HR support’s availability factors also influenced the post-adoption behavior. To help improve e-HRM post-adoption behavior at South African municipalities, municipalities should consider these factors when implementing systems aimed at supporting HR department’s end-users to embrace Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in general, in this instance the e-HRM.

The invasion of alien plant species poses a threat to native community’s composition and diversity. However, the invasiveness of alien plants and invisibility of native communities should be depended on the interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, such as natural enemies and nutrient availability. In a study, we simulated the invasion of nine invasive plants into native plant communities with two levels of nutrient availability and natural enemies suppression. We explored how the biotic and abiotic factors affect the response of alien target species and the resistance of native communities to invasion. The results showed that enemy release (i.e., presence of enemy) increased biomass proportion of alien plants and decreased that of native community under without nutrient addition. Furthermore, we also found that the negative effect of enemy suppression on the evenness of native community and the root-to-shoot ratio of alien target species was greatest under nutrient addition. Therefore, nutrient deficiency and natural enemies might promote the invasive success of alien species in native community, whereas nutrient addition and enemy suppression can better enhance the resistance of native plant communities to invasion.

INTRODUCTIONAn unpleasant experience for both the patient and the anesthetist, post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a complication of spinal anesthesia or lumbar puncture. It is believed to be caused by cerebral vasodilation, which is an indirect consequence of low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure, or meningeal traction linked to low CSF pressure.1 PDPH incidence varies, although it is generally thought to be 36% or more after lumbar puncture, 0%-10% after spinal anesthesia, and 81% after an unintentional dural puncture during epidural insertion.2, 3 Although PDPH typically resolves on its own, it can make it difficult for mothers to care for their infants and lengthen hospital stays. Serious side effects such as subdural hematoma, convulsions, sagittal sinus thrombosis, and cranial nerve palsies are more infrequently linked to PDPH.

Throughout history, human beings have caused irreversible changes to the environment. However, with the emergence of modern science in recent decades, scientists have been able to quantify the extent of these changes. It is therefore crucial to monitor the environment comprehensively in order to establish laws and standards that ensure its cleanliness. Traditional chemical analysis methods often do not adhere to the twelve principles of Green Chemistry, are costly, and involve large amounts of toxic and harmful solvents that can harm the environment. As a result, it is essential to develop reliable analytical techniques that meet the requirements of Green Analytical Chemistry, complement, or replace traditional classical methods, and are environmentally friendly. Bioassays offer a potential alternative. It has long been acknowledged that high plants, particularly Vicia faba, are excellent genetic models for identifying mutagenic and cytogenetic agents and are commonly used in environmental monitoring studies. V. faba-based bioassays have been employed to investigate the DNA damage caused by various substances, such as metal compounds, pesticides, complex mixtures, petroleum derivatives, toxins, nanoparticles, and industrial effluents, resulting in chromosomal and nuclear errors. V. faba's test system is widely used to assess toxic agents due to its numerous advantages, and it has become a crucial bioassay for ecotoxicological studies. The aim of this study was to demonstrate how V. faba bioassays can be complementary alternatives to traditional analysis methods, satisfy Green Analytical Chemistry criteria, and comply with environmental monitoring laws and regulations.

In spite of the high potential shown by spiking neural networks (e.g., temporal patterns), training them remains an open and complex problem [1]. In practice, while in theory these networks are computationally as powerful as mainstream artificial neural networks [2], they have not reached the same accuracy levels yet. The major reason for such situation seems to be represented by the lack of adequate training algorithms for deep spiking neural networks, since spike signals are not differentiable, i.e. no direct way to compute a gradient is provided. Recently a novel training method, based on the (digital) simulation of certain quantum systems, has been suggested. It has already shown interesting advantages, among which the fact that no gradient is required to be computed. In this work, we apply this approach to the problem of training spiking neural networks and we show that this recent training method is capable of training deep and complex spiking neural networks on the MNIST data set.

Understanding the effects of ecological restoration in abandoned coal mine on soil and plant is important to improve the knowledge of ecosystems evolution and facilitate taking appropriate ecological restoration management practices. This study aims to evaluate the coupling relationship between plant diversity and soil properties after ecological restoration in abandoned coal mine area. The plant diversity of arbor, shrub, and herb layers, and the soil properties in different depth layers were investigated in four sites of different ecological restoration patterns in Fengcheng county, a typical coal- rich area in the history of southern China. The results indicated that: 1) the PSR ( Pinus massoniana and Schima superba gardn restoration) site had higher Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index values than PR ( Pinus massoniana restoration) site, and the plant diversity of herb layer was significantly improved than that of the arbor and shrub layers; 2) in the PSR site, the soil properties were improved more notably than that of PR and NR (nature restoration) sites, and the plant diversity were also better than PR site; 3) Clay, SOM (soil organic matter), and MBC (microbial biomass carbon) made a great contribution to the plant diversity. It was concluded ecological restoration patterns had significant effects on soil nutrient content and plant diversity, and there exists evident coupling relationship between soil properties and plant diversity. The results of this study is of great significance for improving the effects of ecological restoration and management in abandoned coal mine area.

The world’s limited natural resources are under extreme stress due to the planet’s rising population and changing climate. This review article highlights some significant issues about land degradation, its effects, and current trends in solving these issues in Ghana. The foundational natural resources for the agricultural production system are soil and water. The leading causes of the degradation of these natural resources are anthropogenic and unfavorable biological activity. Soil erosion is one of the significant dangers to the depletion of soil and water resources among the different degradation processes. 35% of Ghana’s land is threatened by desertification and overgrazing. Grasslands, woodlands, and forests are disappearing due to land degradation, and natural water bodies are also drying up due to protracted droughts and sedimentation of river channels. According to most farmers in these two regions in Ghana (Eastern and Northern Region), over-cultivation, deforestation, and extreme rainfall are the main contributors to severe erosion. Farmers in the Eastern and Northern Regions of the country think soil erosion severity has worsened during the previous ten years by 58.6% and 75.0%, respectively. Protecting soil and water against deterioration calls for developing and deploying new technologies, prudent use of natural resources, and efficient management techniques. For long-term agricultural sustainability and soil health, the state needs to emphasize the state of natural resource degradation, erosion processes, and soil and water conservation techniques.

1. Over the last four decades coral disease research has continued to provide reports of disease states, the occurrence and severity of disease outbreaks, and associated disease signs however nomenclature and protocols for microscopic disease descriptions have yet to be implemented. Histopathology using systematic protocols is a gold standard for the microscopic assessment of diseases in veterinary and medical research. Increasing disease outbreaks on coral reefs as human impacts intensify highlights the need to also establish standardised diagnostic terminology and methodology for coral disease research. 2. Here we apply a systematic approach to collating, reviewing, and evaluating histopathological methods used to study white diseases in hard coral taxa and map research effort in this field spanning study design, sample processing and analysis in the 33 publications identified between 1984 and 2022. 3. We find that studies to-date have not uniformly detailed methodologies, and terminology associated with histopathological reporting and disease description is inconsistent between studies. Combined these limitations reduce study repeatability, limiting the uptake of histopathology in coral disease research and the capacity for researchers to compare disease reports. 4. A primary outcome of this study is revision of the most widely used terminology applied to coral tissue and development of recommendations for standardised reporting procedures with the aim of increasing accessibility and uptake of histopathology in addition to allowing for ongoing comparative analysis through living systematic reviews for the coral disease field.