How speaking two languages affects executive functions has been a long-standing debate and the mechanisms underlying the observed cognitive advantages of bilingualism remain unspecified. Here, using multivariate pattern classification methods, we decoded spatial patterns of neural signals associated with Flanker task performance in mono-dialectal and bi-dialectal speakers of Chinese. While univariate approach to even-related potentials (ERPs) showed no between-group difference, decoding accuracy of ERPs was reduced in bi-dialectal as compared to mono-dialectal speakers in both congruent-neutral and incongruent-neutral classifications. There was no effect of bidialectalism, however, on decoding accuracy of alpha-band oscillations, an electrophysiological index implicated in inhibition. Behavioural data analysed using the Drift Diffusion Model (DDM) showed facilitating effects of bidialectalism on non-decision times but no effect on drift rates. These findings demonstrate that using two dialects on a daily basis enhances general attentional deployment rather than affecting specific component of executive functions such as inhibitory control. Given that the two dialects of Chinese differed almost exclusively in phonology, the bidialectalism effect was most likely motivated by resolving phonological competition at lexical processing level.
Perspective-taking, which is important for communication and social activities, can be cultivated through joint actions, including musical activities in children. We examined how rhythmic activities requiring coordination affect perspective-taking in a referential communication task with 100 Chinese 4- to 6-year-old children. In Study 1, 5- to 6-year-old children played an instrument with a virtual partner in one of three coordination conditions: synchrony, asynchrony, and antiphase synchrony. Eye movements were then monitored with the partner giving instructions to identify a shape referent which included a pre-nominal scalar adjective (e.g., big cubic block). When the target contrast (a small cubic block) was in the shared ground and a competitor contrast was occluded for the partner, participants who used perspective differences could, in principle, identify the intended referent before the shape was named. We hypothesized that asynchronous and antiphase synchronous musical activities, which require self-other distinction, might have stronger effects on perspective-taking than synchronous activity. Children in the asynchrony and antiphase synchrony conditions, but not the synchrony condition, showed anticipatory looks at the target, demonstrating real-time use of the partner's perspective. Study 2 was conducted to determine if asynchrony and antiphase asynchrony resulted in perspective-taking that otherwise would not have been observed, or if synchronous coordination inhibited perspective-taking that would otherwise have occurred. We found no evidence for online perspective-taking in 4- to 6-year-old children without music manipulation. Therefore, playing instruments asynchronously or in alternation, but not synchronously, increases perspective-taking in children of this age, likely by training self-other distinction and control.
Road transportation accounts for 56% of India's transportation sector's CO2 emissions. Reaching carbon neutrality before 2070 requires the deep decarbonization of this sector. This study assesses the potential of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel-cell vehicles (FCV) as the least-cost pathway toward carbon neutrality. We estimate the future demand for passenger and freight services and evaluate the impact of EV policies using the Integrated Model of Energy, Environment, and Economy for Sustainable Development/Technology (IMED/TEC). The study covers road transport emissions, energy, and air pollution transitions under four scenarios, including reference, low, medium, and high penetration of BEV and FCV, which align with the decarbonization target agreed upon under India's national policy. Results show that the carbon neutrality target would be challenging with BEV alone in road passenger and freight transportation because it is less efficient. Combined penetration of BEV and FCV can reduce air pollutant emissions significantly. Operative implementation of FCV could diminish more than 96% of the total road transport CO2 emissions. The analytical framework also proposes local climate change policies towards a carbon neutrality strategy to escalate the share of BEV and FCV in the Indian road transport sector.
In this study, the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, China serves as a natural experiment for examining the effect of natural disasters on high-stakes exam performance among students who were admitted to four-year colleges between 2005 and 2011. Results of a generalized difference-in-differences model show that, on average, the earthquake reduced a student's National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) standard score by 55% of a standard deviation. The findings have implications for higher education and China's economy, because earthquake exposure lowers a student's probability of being accepted to an elite college, pursuing a major in a high-salary field, and moving to a highly developed urban area for education or employment.
Phosphate addition is commonly applied to remediate lead contaminated sites via the formation of lead phosphate particles with low solubility. However, the effects of natural organic matter (NOM) with different properties, as well as the contributions of specific interactions (particle-particle, particle-NOM, and NOM-NOM) in enhanced stabilization or flocculation of the particles, are not currently well understood. This study investigates the influence of two aquatic NOM and two soil or coal humic acid (HA) extracts on the aggregation behavior of lead phosphate particles and explores the controlling mechanisms. All types of NOM induced disaggregation and steric stabilization of the particles in the presence of Na+ (100 mM) or low (1 mM) Ca2+ concentrations, as well as at low NOM concentrations (1 mgC/L). However, for the soil and coal HA, a threshold at NOM concentrations of 10 mgC/L and high (3 mM) Ca2+ concentrations was observed where bridging flocculation (rather than steric stabilization) occurred. In situ attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared characterization confirmed adsorption of the soil and coal humic acid extracts (10 mgC/L) onto the surface of the lead phosphate particles in 3 mM Ca2+, whereas dynamic and static light scattering demonstrated extensive HA flocculation that dominated the overall scattered light intensities. These results imply that the accelerated aggregation was induced by a combination of HA adsorption and bridging flocculation by Ca2+. Overall, this research demonstrates that the type of NOM is critical to predict the colloidal stability of lead phosphate particles. Aquatic NOM stabilized the particles under all conditions evaluated, but soil or coal HA with higher molecular weight and aromaticity showed highly variable stabilization or flocculation behavior depending on the HA and Ca2+ concentrations available to adsorb to the particles and participate in bridging. These results provide new mechanistic insights on particle stabilization or destabilization by NOM.
Abstract Spatiotemporal manipulation of biological processes in living animals using noninvasive, remote-controlled stimuli is a captivating but challenging endeavor. Herein, we present the development of a biocompatible photocatalytic technology termed CAT-NIR, which uses external near infrared light (NIR, 740?nm) to trigger decaging reactions in living mice. The Os(II) terpyridine complex was identified as an efficient NIR photocatalyst for promoting deboronative hydroxylation reactions via superoxide generation in the presence of NIR light, resulting in the deprotection of phenol groups and the release of bioactive molecules under living conditions. The validation of the CAT-NIR system was demonstrated through the NIR-triggered rescue of fluorophores, prodrugs as well as biomolecules ranging from amino acids, peptides to proteins. Furthermore, by combining genetic code expansion and computer-aided screening, CAT-NIR could regulate affibody binding to the cell surface receptor HER2, providing a selective cell tagging technology through external NIR light. In particular, the tissue-penetrating ability of NIR light allowed for facile prodrug activation in living mice, enabling noninvasive, remote-controlled rescue of drug molecules. Given its broad adaptability, this CAT-NIR system may open new opportunities for manipulating the functions of bioactive molecules in living animals using external NIR light with spatiotemporal resolution.
The porous defective MIL-88B(Fe) with abundant oxygen vacancies and Fe-N sites was fabricated to accomplish nearly zero peroxydisulfate (PDS) consumption for persistent bisphenol A (BPA) degradation via electron-transfer pathway (ETP). Interestingly, the generated sulfates during ETP were oxidized to yield the confined sulfate radicals and to accomplish the peroxydisulfate regeneration in the fine-tuned MIL-88B(Fe), which was verified by series experiments and DFT calculations. Further studies suggested that the optimal De-MIL-88B(Fe)-1.25 catalyst achieved the persistent nonradical reactions for BPA decomposition under visible light irradiation with both low input and low consumption of PDS. It was the first case to achieve nearly zero PDS consumption for emerging pollutants elimination, which provided new strategy to design and tune defective metal-organic frameworks for the purpose of reducing the stoichiometry between PDS and contaminants for nearly zero PDS consumption.
Given the deficiencies of traditional government capacity indicators and cultural factors (e.g., individualism) in explaining the discrepancies of different agents' responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the present study proposed and examined the role of neoliberalism, a novel cultural tradition of knowledge emphasizing the principles of free markets and self-governance, as an additional explanation of the discrepancies in the governmental and individual responses to the pandemic. Analyzing policy responses of 106 nations and personal responses from 105,203 individuals in 104 nations during the first wave of the pandemic, we found that nation-level neoliberalism (delineated by the economic freedom index) negatively predicted the nonlinear trajectories of government policy responses to contain the pandemic. Specifically, in more neoliberal countries, stringent containment policy responses showed a sharper decline in the later stage of the first wave of the pandemic. Moreover, nation-level neoliberalism negatively predicted individuals' pandemic-protective attitudes and behaviors. All these effects are independent of and incremental to those of nation-level individualism. In conclusion, this study sheds light on how neoliberalism could lead to negative consequences during large-scale, long-lasting public threats, offering practical guidance for adjusting public crisis management in the future.
Abstract Aim Quantifying niche shifts of non-native species and their interactions with natives is vital in evaluating invasion risk yet remains difficult. Climate filtering and competition with native congeners are two important processes impacting niche changes and yielding contradictory predictions for the coexistence of non-native and native species. Closely related species representing the Eastern Asia (EA)?Eastern North America (ENA) floristic disjunction provide a powerful yet unexplored system for assessing the relative roles of these two processes. Here, we tested three niche change scenarios (unfilling, expansion and stable) using EA species naturalized in ENA. We aim to answer: (1) which scenario is observed for naturalized species? and (2) how has niche overlap between EA and ENA congeners changed after naturalization? Location ENA and EA. Time Period Present. Major Taxa Studied Angiosperms. Methods Niches were estimated using both occurrences and predictions generated by ecological niche models. Niche changes of naturalized species and their niche overlap with natives were measured using Schoener's D. Contributions of niche expansion and unfilling on niche changes of naturalized niches were evaluated using hierarchical partitioning and linear regressions. We further measured pairwise phylogenetic distances among EA and ENA congeners and evaluated the association with niche overlap. Results Unfilling-dominated postintroduction niche changes of the naturalized species. EA species naturalized in ENA exhibited lower niche overlap with ENA native congeners compared with native range populations in EA. These results remain when considering time since introduction and potential physical dispersal limitations interpreted by projecting suitable niche space between EA and ENA. However, dispersal limitation may contribute to the degree of niche unfilling. Main Conclusions Using intercontinental disjunct species as a study system, we found that naturalization is shaped jointly by climate filtering and competition with native congeners, providing valuable insights for evaluating invasion risk underlying global floristic exchanges.
An approach to generalize any kind of collinear functional in density functional theory to noncollinear functionals is proposed. This approach satisfies the correct collinear limit for any kind of functional, guaranteeing that the exact collinear functional after generalization is still exact for collinear spins. Besides, it has well-defined and numerically stable functional derivatives, a desired feature for noncollinear and spin-flip time-dependent density functional theory. Furthermore, it provides local torque, hinting at its applications in spin dynamics.