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Focuses on a study which described the non-linear optical properties of polysilane polymer thin films. Methodology in the deposition of thin films; Discussion on the harmonic field theory; Implication of polysilane in non-linear optics.

A joint work on morphology, structure, and nonlinear optical properties of vacuum evaporated thin films of pDCH on different amorphous or monocrystalline substrates is presented. The thin film evaporation of some diacetylene monomers on the alkali-halide single crystals leads to epitaxy with particularly good biorientation of the polymer chains, the b repetitive distance of the monomer matches well with two equivalent [110] and [110] directions of the cubic KBr cystal. Polymerization is thermally induced. The resulting pDCH films are polycrystalline with low optical defects. Crystal sizes are in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 μm with some long needles of 2–3 μm length. Third harmonic generation (THG) and electric field induced second harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurements on disordered thin films show the two-photon resonances at 1.35–1.45 μm wavelength range, similarly as in other polydiacetylenes, with resonant values 〈χ(3) (-3ω; ω,ω,ω)>=(1±0.1)×10-10 esu (THG) and <χ(3) (-2ω, ω,ω,0)>=(6.4±0.4)×10-11 esu (EFISHG). The biorientational order of the pDCH chains observed by electron microscopy on various alkali-halide single crystals is confirmed on a macroscopical scale by third harmonic generation. As expected for a bioriented film, the angular dependence of THG intensity follows the theoretical law. So, for the first time, both morphological and optical techniques have been used in combination to characterize thin films and have shown a nearly perfect biorientation of the polymer crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferromagnetic shape memory alloys are a class of smart materials that exhibit a unique combination of large strains and fast response when exposed to magnetic field. Accordingly, these materials have significant potential in motion generation applications such as microactuators and sensors. This article presents a novel experimental system that measures the dynamic magnetomechanical behavior of microscale ferromagnetic shape memory specimens. The system is comprised of an alternating magnetic field generator (AMFG) and a mechanical loading and sensing system. The AMFG generates a dynamic magnetic field that periodically alternates between two orthogonal directions to facilitate martensitic variant switching and to remotely achieve a full magnetic actuation cycle, without the need of mechanical resetting mechanisms. Moreover, the AMFG is designed to produce a magnetic field that inhibits 180° magnetization domain switching, which causes energy loss without strain generation. The mechanical loading and sensing system maintains a constant mechanical load on the measured specimen by means of a cantilever beam, while the displacement is optically monitored with a resolution of approximately 0.1 μm. Preliminary measurements using Ni2MnGa single crystal specimens, with a cross section of 100×100 μm2, verified their large actuation strains and established their potential to become a material of great importance in microactuation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An original technique, with a special design of liquid cell, is proposed for third-harmonic generation in liquids. The technique is based on a principle of harmonic generation in an infinite medium by focused laser beam applied for liquid cell windows and uses a thin wedge-shaped liquid compartment. The measurements can be performed in air, and a high precision in cubic susceptibility and refractive index dispersion determination can be obtained. The technique also allows measurements to be made on liquids absorbing at harmonic and fundamental frequencies and in function of external parameters like temperature, pressure, and electric or magnetic fields. Some results for organic solvents are presented and compared with those obtained by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity to learn new visuomotor associations is fundamental to adaptive motor behavior. Evidence suggests visuomotor learning deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the exact nature of these deficits and the ability of dopamine medication to improve them are under-explored. Previous studies suggested that learning driven by large and small movement errors engaged distinct neural mechanisms. Here, we investigated whether PD patients have a generalized impairment in visuomotor learning or selective deficits in learning from large explicit errors which engages cognitive strategies or small imperceptible movement errors involving primarily implicit learning processes. Visuomotor learning skills of non-medicated and medicated patients were assessed in two reaching tasks in which the size of visuospatial errors experienced during learning was manipulated using a novel three-dimensional virtual reality environment. In the explicit perturbation task, the visuomotor perturbation was applied suddenly resulting in large consciously detected initial spatial errors, whereas in the implicit perturbation task, the perturbation was gradually introduced in small undetectable steps such that subjects never experienced large movement errors. A major finding of this study was that PD patients in non-medicated and medicated conditions displayed slower learning rates and smaller adaptation magnitudes than healthy subjects in the explicit perturbation task, but performance similar to healthy controls in the implicit perturbation task. Also, non-medicated patients showed an average reduced deadaptation relative to healthy controls when exposed to the large errors produced by the sudden removal of the perturbation in both the explicit and implicit perturbation tasks. Although dopaminergic medication consistently improved motor signs, it produced a variable impact on learning the explicit perturbation and deadaptation and unexpectedly worsened performance in some patients. Considered together, these results indicate that PD selectively impairs the ability to learn from large consciously detected visuospatial errors. This finding suggests that basal ganglia-related circuits are important neural structures for adaptation to sudden perturbations requiring awareness and high-cost action selection. Dopaminergic treatment may selectively compromise the ability to learn from large explicit movement errors for reasons that remain to be elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that the pathophysiology of movement disorders in Parkinson''s disease (PD) includes deficits in sensory processing and integration. However, the exact nature of these deficits and the ability of dopamine medication to correct them have not been thoroughly examined in previous studies. For instance, it remains unclear whether PD patients have globally impaired sensorimotor integration functions or selective deficiencies in processing proprioception. We evaluated the specific deficits of PD patients in sensorimotor integration and proprioceptive processing by testing their ability to perform three-dimensional (3D) reaching movements in four conditions in which the sensory signals defining target and hand positions (visual and/or proprioceptive) varied. Ten healthy subjects and 11 PD patients, ON dopamine medication and in the OFF state, were tested. PD patients in the OFF state showed a greater mean level of 3D errors relative to controls when the only available sensory information about target and hand position came from proprioception, but this difference did not reach significance. This indicates that deficient proprioception is not an early key feature of PD. Interestingly, the inaccuracies of a number of PD subjects further increased in the ON medicated state relative to healthy controls when reaching to proprioceptively-defined targets, and this between group difference was statistically significant. However, dopamine medication did not consistently degrade the reaching accuracy of PD patients, with both negative and positive effects on accuracy of reaching to proprioceptive-defined targets. Together, these findings indicate that dopamine replacement therapy not only did not normalize sensorimotor performance to the level of controls, but also induced deficits in the processing of proprioceptive information in some of the PD patients tested. Furthermore, the diversity of effects of medication on accuracy of reaching to proprioceptively-defined targets supports the idea that dysfunction of dopaminergic circuits within the basal ganglia is not primarily responsible for the proprioceptive processing deficits of PD patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Increasing evidence indicates that Huntington’s disease (HD) produces postural control impairments even before the clinical diagnosis. It has been suggested that postural disorders of HD patients are explained by deficits in the processing and integration of sensory information, but this hypothesis has been under-explored. In the present study, we evaluated the amplitude of the center of pressure (COP) displacement during maximum leaning in four directions (forward, backward, rightward and leftward) and under three sensory conditions (eyes open, eyes closed and eyes closed standing on foam). We assessed the stability limits in 20 individuals with a positive HD genetic test (12 premanifests; eight manifests HD) and 15 healthy controls. The COP displacements were analyzed during the first and second phases of maintenance of the maximum leaning position. Manifest HD patients showed significantly greater COP ranges than healthy controls in both learning phases and all sensory conditions, but the greatest deterioration of their performance was found in the foam condition. In contrast, premanifest HD patients displayed larger COP ranges than controls only during the second phase of maximum learning, especially in the foam condition. Furthermore, both HD groups had significantly smaller limits of stability than healthy subjects during the second phase of maximum learning. However, their ability to maintain the maximum leaning position was degraded during both learning phases. Together, these findings demonstrate that HD reduces the limits of stability even before the clinical disease onset. Furthermore, our results indicate that dynamic postural tasks with high demand for sensorimotor integration and especially the use of proprioception are highly sensitive to early HD disease processes. This dynamic postural task may become a useful biomarker of HD progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global change is affecting the distribution and population dynamics of plant species across the planet, leading to trends such as shifts in distribution toward the poles and to higher elevations. Yet, we poorly understand why individual species respond differently to warming and other environmental changes, or how the trait composition of communities responds. Here we ask two questions regarding plant species and community changes over 42 years of global change in a temperate montane forest in Québec, Canada: (1) How did the trait composition, alpha diversity, and beta diversity of understory vascular plant communities change between 1970 and 2010, a period over which the region experienced 1.5°C of warming and changes in nitrogen deposition? (2) Can traits predict shifts in species elevation and abundance over this time period? For 46 understory vascular species, we locally measured six aboveground traits, and for 36 of those (not including shrubs), we also measured five belowground traits. Collectively, they capture leading dimensions of phenotypic variation that are associated with climatic and resource niches. At the community level, the trait composition of high-elevation plots shifted, primarily for two root traits: specific root length decreased and rooting depth increased. The mean trait values of high-elevation plots shifted over time toward values initially associated with low-elevation plots. These changes led to trait homogenization across elevations. The community-level shifts in traits mirrored the taxonomic shifts reported elsewhere for this site. At the species level, two of the three traits predicting changes in species elevation and abundance were belowground traits (low mycorrhizal fraction and shallow rooting). These findings highlight the importance of root traits, which, along with leaf mass fraction, were associated with shifts in distribution and abundance over four decades. Community-level trait changes were largely similar across the elevational and temporal gradients. In contrast, traits typically associated with lower elevations at the community level did not predict differences among species in their shift in abundance or distribution, indicating a decoupling between species- and community-level responses. Overall, changes were consistent with some influence of both climate warming and increased nitrogen availability., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

Evidence suggests falls and postural instabilities among seniors are attributed to a decline in both the processing of afferent signals (e.g., proprioceptive, vestibular) and attentional resources. We investigated the interaction between the non-visual and attentional demands of postural control in sedentary seniors. Old and young adults performed a postural stability limit task involving a maximal voluntary leaning movement with and without vision as well as a cognitive-attentional subtraction task. These tasks were performed alone (single-task) or simultaneously (dual-task) to vary the sensory-attentional demands. The functional limits of stability were quantified as the maximum center of pressure excursion during voluntary leaning. Seniors showed significantly smaller limits of postural stability compared to young adults in all sensory-attentional conditions. However, surprisingly, both groups of subjects reduced their stability limits by a similar amount when vision was removed. Furthermore, they similarly decreased their anterior-posterior stability limits when concurrently performing the postural and the cognitive-attentional tasks with vision. The overall average cognitive performance of young adults was higher than seniors and was only slightly affected during dual-tasking. In contrast, older adults markedly degraded their cognitive performance from the single- to the dual-task situations, especially when vision was unavailable. Thus, their dual-task costs were higher than those of young adults and increased in the eyes-closed condition, when postural control relied more heavily on non-visual sensory signals. Our findings provide the first evidence that as posture approaches its stability limits, sedentary seniors allot increasingly large cognitive attentional resources to process critical sensory inputs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to American Aging Association.)

Background and Aims: Trait-based frameworks assess plant survival strategies using different approaches. Some frameworks use functional traits to assign species to a priori defined ecological strategies. Others use functional traits as the central element of a species ecophysiological strategy. We compared these two approaches by asking: (1) what is the primary ecological strategy of three dominant co-occurring shrub species from inselbergs based on the CSR scheme, and (2) what main functional traits characterize the ecophysiological strategy of the species based on their use of carbon, water and light?, Methods: We conducted our study on a Colombian inselberg. In this extreme environment with multiple stressors (high temperatures and low resource availability), we expected all species to be stress tolerant (S in the CSR scheme) and have similar ecophysiological strategies. We measured 22 anatomical, morphological and physiological leaf traits., Key Results: The three species have convergent ecological strategies as measured by CSR (S, Acanthella sprucei; and S/CS, Mandevilla lancifolia and Tabebuia orinocensis) yet divergent resource-use strategies as measured by their functional traits. A. sprucei has the most conservative carbon use, risky water use and a shade-tolerant strategy. M. lancifolia has acquisitive carbon use, safe water use and a shade-tolerant strategy. T. orinocensis has intermediate carbon use, safe water use and a light-demanding strategy. Additionally, stomatal traits that are easy to measure are valuable to describe resource-use strategies because they are highly correlated with two physiological functions that are hard to measure: stomatal conductance and maximum photosynthesis per unit mass., Conclusions: The two approaches provide complementary information on species strategies. Plant species can co-occur in extreme environments, such as inselbergs, because they exhibit convergent primary ecological strategies but divergent ecophysiological strategies, allowing them to use limiting resources differently., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Here we provide the 'Global Spectrum of Plant Form and Function Dataset', containing species mean values for six vascular plant traits. Together, these traits -plant height, stem specific density, leaf area, leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen content per dry mass, and diaspore (seed or spore) mass - define the primary axes of variation in plant form and function. The dataset is based on ca. 1 million trait records received via the TRY database (representing ca. 2,500 original publications) and additional unpublished data. It provides 92,159 species mean values for the six traits, covering 46,047 species. The data are complemented by higher-level taxonomic classification and six categorical traits (woodiness, growth form, succulence, adaptation to terrestrial or aquatic habitats, nutrition type and leaf type). Data quality management is based on a probabilistic approach combined with comprehensive validation against expert knowledge and external information. Intense data acquisition and thorough quality control produced the largest and, to our knowledge, most accurate compilation of empirically observed vascular plant species mean traits to date., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Historic yield advances in the major crops have, to a large extent, been achieved by selection for improved productivity of groups of plant individuals such as high-density stands. Research suggests that such improved group productivity depends on "cooperative" traits (e.g., erect leaves, short stems) that-while beneficial to the group-decrease individual fitness under competition. This poses a problem for some traditional breeding approaches, especially when selection occurs at the level of individuals, because "selfish" traits will be selected for and reduce yield in high-density monocultures. One approach, therefore, has been to select individuals based on ideotypes with traits expected to promote group productivity. However, this approach is limited to architectural and physiological traits whose effects on growth and competition are relatively easy to anticipate. Here, we developed a general and simple method for the discovery of alleles promoting cooperation in plant stands. Our method is based on the game-theoretical premise that alleles increasing cooperation benefit the monoculture group but are disadvantageous to the individual when facing noncooperative neighbors. Testing the approach using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we found a major effect locus where the rarer allele was associated with increased cooperation and productivity in high-density stands. The allele likely affects a pleiotropic gene, since we find that it is also associated with reduced root competition but higher resistance against disease. Thus, even though cooperation is considered evolutionarily unstable except under special circumstances, conflicting selective forces acting on a pleiotropic gene might maintain latent genetic variation for cooperation in nature. Such variation, once identified in a crop, could rapidly be leveraged in modern breeding programs and provide efficient routes to increase yields., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Wuest et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The Montfort Postnatal Care-at-Home (MPCH) Program is an innovative, integrated physician, nurse and midwifery model of care that offers an early hospital discharge option to families. The MPCH Program provides care and support to families throughout their transition from hospital to home. The program has the potential to improve families' experiences and maternal-newborn health outcomes, and provides a safety net to families 24/7 during the first seven days postpartum at home. This model transforms how postnatal care is delivered, and has the potential to improve the flow of the birthing unit and the unit capacity and reduce acute care hospital costs., (Copyright © 2022 Longwoods Publishing.)

The trait-based approach in plant ecology aims at understanding and classifying the diversity of ecological strategies by comparing plant morphology and physiology across organisms. The major drawback of the approach is that the time and financial cost of measuring the traits on many individuals and environments can be prohibitive. We show that combining near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with deep learning resolves this limitation by quickly, non-destructively, and accurately measuring a suite of traits, including plant morphology, chemistry, and metabolism. Such an approach also allows to position plants within the well-known CSR triangle that depicts the diversity of plant ecological strategies. The processing of NIRS through deep learning identifies the effect of growth conditions on trait values, an issue that plagues traditional statistical approaches. Together, the coupling of NIRS and deep learning is a promising high-throughput approach to capture a range of ecological information on plant diversity and functioning and can accelerate the creation of extensive trait databases., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Vasseur, Cornet, Beurier, Messier, Rouan, Bresson, Ecarnot, Stahl, Heumos, Gérard, Reijnen, Tillard, Lacombe, Emanuel, Floret, Estarague, Przybylska, Sartori, Gillespie, Baron, Kazakou, Vile and Violle.)

Background: There is a growing attraction by youth to alternative tobacco products (ATPs) such as e-cigarettes and hookahs. This study investigated risk perceptions and demographic characteristics associated with ATP use in grade 8-10 students., Methods: Data were drawn from the 2014/15 cycle of the CSTADS. The analytic sample included 1819 students from a total pool of 42 094 students who completed the survey. Logistic regression models were used to examine factors (demographic characteristics and risk perception) associated with ATP use in the past 30 days., Results: 12% of students in grade 8-10 self-identified as having used ATPs in the past 30-days, with a majority of students in grade 10 (56%). Male students had higher odds of reporting ATP use when compared to females. Although a lesser proportion of Indigenous students reported ATP use in comparison to White students (31% vs 61%), Indigenous students were 2.42 (1.49, 3.93) times as likely to use ATPs as White students. Students who perceived smoking hookah once in a while as "no to slight risk" were 1.58 (1.09, 2.28) times more likely to report ATP use than students who perceived "moderate to great risk." Also, students who perceived using e-cigarettes on a regular basis as "no to slight risk" were 2.21 (1.53, 3.21) times more likely to report ATP use as students who perceived "moderate-great risk.", Conclusion: A significant number of grade 8-10 students use ATPs, especially e-cigarettes, with the misconception of minimal health risks. There remains the need to do more to counteract the rise in social and epidemiological alternative tobacco use trends among the youth., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning this article’s research, authorship, and/or publication., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Physical principles and laws determine the set of possible organismal phenotypes. Constraints arising from development, the environment, and evolutionary history then yield workable, integrated phenotypes. We propose a theoretical and practical framework that considers the role of changing environments. This 'ecomechanical approach' integrates functional organismal traits with the ecological variables. This approach informs our ability to predict species shifts in survival and distribution and provides critical insights into phenotypic diversity. We outline how to use the ecomechanical paradigm using drag-induced bending in trees as an example. Our approach can be incorporated into existing research and help build interdisciplinary bridges. Finally, we identify key factors needed for mass data collection, analysis, and the dissemination of models relevant to this framework., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests No interests are declared., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives., (© 2019 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)