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Phylogenomics, taxonomy, and biogeography of Hyacinthinae Parl. (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae)
No full textThe subtribe Hyacinthinae Parl. consists of more than 290 species of mostly spring-flowering bulbs, distributed across the Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian floristic region,
and the Far East, and several of which have importance in horticulture. Morphological
work in the 1990’s, proposed that Hyacinthinae consists of 21 genera. However, these
generic boundaries have not been extensively tested using phylogenomics, leaving the
taxonomy and evolution of the group relatively unexplored. In this thesis, I aimed to
gain a better understanding about the evolution and taxonomy of the diverse subtribe
Hyacinthinae by comprehensively sampling across its taxonomic and geographic range
and constructing both nuclear and plastome phylogenies. These phylogenies were
used to test the morphologically defined generic boundaries of Hyacinthinae,
revealing that morphology and DNA were largely congruent. However, inclusion of
more taxa showed that some generic boundaries do need redefining, specifically
within the Fessia clade. While morphology and DNA are broadly congruent within the
wider Hyacinthinae, a detailed phylogenomic examination of the horticulturally
important genus Muscari s.lat., showed high levels of incongruence between the
morphologically distinct subgenera Muscari and Leopoldia, likely a result of
incomplete lineage sorting. Finally, historical biogeographical analyses, based upon
plastid protein coding genes, suggest a Late Oligocene origin of the subtribe.
Distribution of the three clades and Barnardia are heavily influenced by vicariance
events throughout the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene. Meanwhile, early
divergence within the three main clades, coincided with the Mid-Miocene Climatic
Optimum, challenging the common assumption that plant diversity in the
Mediterranean is primarily influenced by the onset of Mediterranean climate. Overall,
this thesis has provided a crucial phylogenetic and taxonomic framework for
Hyacinthinae. However, while it has answered many questions regarding the
subtribe’s taxonomy, distribution, and diversity, it has also highlighted several areas
which require further investigation
Empowering stroke recovery with upper limb rehabilitation monitoring using TinyML based heterogeneous classifiers
Get PDFStroke is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, with approximately 70% of survivors experiencing motor impairments in the upper limbs, significantly affecting their quality of life. Home-based rehabilitation offers a cost-effective approach to improving motor function, but it faces challenges, including inaccurate movement reporting, lack of real-time feedback, and the high cost of rehabilitation equipment. Therefore, there is a need for affordable, lightweight home-based rehabilitation monitoring systems. This paper presents an intelligent wearable sensor system that utilizes TinyML AI technology to classify eight upper limb rehabilitation movements with minimal sensors. The system is designed for patients with upper limb impairments who retain antigravity voluntary movement, enabling them to monitor rehabilitation progress at home. The study recruited 10 healthy volunteers to perform rehabilitation movements, creating a standardized dataset for model training. Data normalization, preprocessing, model training, and deployment were carried out using the Edge Impulse platform. A hybrid classifier, combining multilayer perceptron and k-means clustering, achieved 96.1% training accuracy, 95.09% testing accuracy, and 88.01% deployment accuracy. The proposed TinyML-based system shows promising potential for home-based rehabilitation of stroke patients
A two-country comparison of ethnic wage gaps of South Asians in the United States and the United Kingdom
Get PDFThis article compares the wage differentials of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi workers in the United States and the United Kingdoms. In both countries, Indians have the best outcomes and Bangladeshis have the worst, with Pakistanis in between. Second generation ethnic minorities experience wage gaps in the United Kingdom, but wage parity or advantage in the United States. Among immigrants, adjusted gaps are larger in the United Stated than in the United Kingdom, indicating that characteristics such as education, explain the gaps in the United Kingdom more than in the United States. Immigrants experience wage assimilation but only in the United States
Factors influencing lake surface water temperature variability in West Greenland and the role of the ice-sheet
Get PDFSubarctic West Greenland is populated by thousands of seasonally ice-free lakes. Using remotely sensed observations, we analyse the surface water temperatures of six lakes during 1995-2022 to identify factors influencing their variability. The connectivity to the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has a clear influence on lake surface temperature, with ice-sheet marginal lakes experiencing smaller average summer maximum temperature (< 6°C) and minimal inter-annual variability. A lake fed by a GrIS-originating river has the fastest seasonal response and largest seasonal amplitude with average maximum temperatures above 13°C. The seasonal cycle of surface water temperature for all studied lakes is asymmetrical, with faster warming observed after ice off, and a slower cooling of water towards winter freezing. We find that during the study period, the onset of positive stratification has occurred earlier, at rates of up to 0.5 days/year, and that July-August temperatures have increased at rates up to 0.1°C/year, although the GrIS-connected lakes show smaller increases. Our analysis suggests that the main meteorological factor determining interannual variability of surface water temperature in the studied lakes is air temperature. This study highlights the important role of remote sensing for long-term monitoring of Greenlandic lakes under climate change
Pro-equality initiatives increase expressed sexism among men but may improve trust among women football fans
Get PDFGlobally, prejudicial attitudes toward women persist. By taking anti-discriminatory stances, value-oriented organizations – e.g., political parties and religious denominations – can tap into group identities to shape their members’ attitudes. We know much less about the role of organizations that are not inherently value-oriented – such as sports teams – in accomplishing the same. Yet, as various campaigns by sports teams worldwide indicate, this is precisely what non-value-oriented organizations increasingly attempt to do. Can football team fandom be leveraged to promote gender-egalitarian attitudes? We address this question with data from a national survey in Brazil and a survey experiment conducted in partnership with a major Brazilian football club. We find that while football team identity is salient and may be leveraged to change displayed social attitudes, the Club’s anti-sexism campaign inadvertently increased men’s expressed prejudice toward women in football – although it may have also improved institutional trust among women
Weather features drive free‐tropospheric baroclinicity variability in the North Atlantic storm track
Get PDFDespite the fundamental contribution of diabatic processes for the evolution of storm tracks, our theoretical understanding of their role is still incomplete. Given that the strongest diabatic forcing is associated with cyclones, fronts, and atmospheric rivers, these synoptic features must exert a significant influence on the evolution of storm tracks. Their relative contribution to the climatological maintenance of baroclinicity, however, has not been investigated. Hence, we quantify the diabatic contribution of cyclones, fronts, and atmospheric rivers to free-tropospheric baroclinicity variability in the North Atlantic storm track in winter using the isentropic slope framework, which discriminates between diabatic and adiabatic contributions to changes in baroclinicity. The total variability of free-tropospheric baroclinicity within the storm track is characterised by diabatic generation followed by adiabatic decay. We find that the largest diabatic generation of baroclinicity takes place within cyclones, both individually and in combination with fronts, which contribute to more than half of this total variability in the storm track, despite their limited spatial extent and temporal occurrence. The contribution from atmospheric rivers, however, is small, confirming that the presence of moisture alone does not necessarily translate into diabatic production of baroclinicity in the absence of a mechanism for ascent. Though the contribution from the background to the variability is coherent with the total variability, there is no clear synoptic evolution associated with the background variability. Thus, the largest diabatic production of free-tropospheric baroclinicity is tightly linked to cyclones and fronts, whereas its adiabatic depletion occurs irrespective of the presence of weather features
Let’s chat about spoken discourse: a tutorial to support use of spoken discourse analysis when providing aphasia clinical services
No full textPurpose: Spoken discourse is integral to everyday communication; improving
discourse outcomes is a primary goal for individuals with aphasia and their families. Consequently, the application of discourse analysis in aphasia assessment
and treatment has gained increasing attention in both research and clinical settings. Despite its recognized value among researchers and clinicians, several
barriers—such as limited time, inadequate training, and lack of resources—
continue to impede the widespread use of discourse analysis into clinical practice. To facilitate its broader adoption, speech-language pathologists require
access to comprehensive resources that include information on discourse tasks,
outcome measures, psychometric properties, and practical examples of how to
implement spoken discourse assessments effectively. The purpose of this tutorial is to equip clinicians with this knowledge, promoting the consistent and
effective application of discourse analysis in clinical settings.
Method: This tutorial, developed by members of the FOQUSAphasia Writing
Group—comprising both researchers and clinical practitioners—offers an overview
of recommended spoken discourse collection and analysis procedures, outcome
measures, and their psychometric properties, as well as factors to consider when
planning to conduct discourse assessments. It includes a series of case studies
(severe aphasia, latent or very mild aphasia, bilingual aphasia, and primary progressive aphasia) that illustrate the utility of discourse analysis for varied clinical
contexts and shows how the choice of tasks and measures can reveal meaningful
insights tailored to the individual being assessed. In addition, the tutorial provides
practical recommendations and considerations for incorporating discourse analysis into clinical aphasia services, along with suggestions for future research.
Conclusions: Spoken discourse production can be an important indicator of communication ability in individuals with aphasia. This tutorial is intended to support clinicians by providing evidence-based, practical ways for integrating discourse analysis into aphasia assessment and treatment. Our collation of information and case
studies should encourage clinicians to apply spoken discourse-based approaches,
ultimately improving outcomes for individuals with aphasia.
Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.2928750
Investigating the impact of text-to-speech software on word-level reading and reading comprehension among dyslexic students in Saudi Arabia
No full textThe study aimed to investigate the impact of using text-to-speech (TTS) technology on
the reading skills of Saudi dyslexic girls, aged 8 and 9. Specifically, it focused on the sustained
use of Immersive Reader over six weeks to improve word-level reading and reading
comprehension. Additionally, it examined students' attitudes towards reading before and after the
intervention, as well as their perceptions of the impact of TTS on their reading experiences. The
study involved 11 dyslexic female students from a mainstream school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
during the 2022-2023 academic year. An embedded mixed-method design was used, consisting of
a two-phase data collection approach. The primary component was a quasi-experimental, one-group pre-test-post-test design, without a control group. In the second phase qualitative data was
collected through semi-structured interviews to explore students' perceptions after using the TTS
software. Findings indicated that TTS was effective in enhancing both word-level reading and
reading comprehension following the six-week intervention. Additionally, there was a positive
shift in students' perceptions and attitudes towards reading. While this study specifically focused
on Saudi dyslexic girls, its findings may have broader implications for supporting Arabic-speaking dyslexic learners in general. This study contributes to knowledge by highlighting TTS's
potential to improve unassisted reading skills, specifically word reading accuracy and reading
comprehension, among Arabic-speaking dyslexic students. Based on the findings,
recommendations were made to enhance the integration of TTS in educational settings,
addressing both its practical application and its role in supporting dyslexic students' learning
experiences
Parents perceptions of play in school: findings from the British Children's Play Survey
Get PDFUsing data from the British Children's Play Survey, we aimed to characterise parents’ perception of play in school and to examine to what extent perceptions were accounted for by socio‐demographic factors, geographic factors, and parents’ attitudes towards risk in play and protection from injury. Participants were 1919 parents (54% female) of children aged 5–11 years living in Britain. Overall, parents had positive perceptions about the need for outdoor play space in schools and viewed playtime as a vital part of the school day. There was more variability inparents’ responses to questions around the level of independence and risk that parents believed was appropriate in children's play. This variability was accounted for, in part, by socio‐demographic factors and parents’ attitudes towards risk in play and protection from injury. We discuss findings in relation to policy around play in schools and public health messaging about the benefits of play for child development, specifically independent, risky play
Implications of using spheroidal “cone model” CMEs in solar‐wind models
Get PDFSpace-weather forecasting requires advanced prediction of the arrival time and properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in near-Earth space. Kinematic properties of CMEs close to the Sun—such as speed, direction and angular width—are routinely estimated from coronagraph images by using three-dimensional geometric models, such as the “cone model.” These are used to characterize a time-dependent perturbation at the inner boundary of a numerical solar-wind model, normally at 0.1 AU, enabling a forecast of the CME arrival time and speed at Earth. This perturbation is typically spheroidal in shape. In this study we show that spheroidal CMEs exhibit four features inconsistent with observations that may limit the accuracy of space-weather forecasts: 1, Slow spheroidal CMEs intersect the model inner boundary for a long duration and hence resist acceleration by the ambient solar wind, producing longer transit times than observed; 2, The radial extent of a spheroidal CME is directly related to its angular width. Observations of CMEs at 1 AU do not display any relation between angular width and radial extent; 3, Fast-and-wide CMEs cannot be sufficiently decelerated by the ambient solar wind and arrive with higher speeds than observed; 4, Spheroidal CMEs show different magnitudes of interplanetary accelerations for different angular widths, contrary to observations. We show that fixing the CME duration at the inner boundary—which mimics observed CME expansion—alleviates these problems. The choice of fixed duration is a free parameter that needs to be calibrated against observations, but 8 hr works reasonably well