Search

This paper reports on a mixed-methods study that utilized a convergent parallel design to examine Chinese graduate students' knowledge of and stance on plagiarism in English academic writing. A sample of 183 master's students from three broad disciplinary groupings at a major university in northeastern China completed a Perceptions of Plagiarism (PoP) survey, and another 13 graduate students participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed disciplinary differences in knowledge of subtle plagiarism, stance on plagiarism caused by inadequate academic ability and due to perceived low risks, and non-condemnatory attitudes toward plagiarism. There were also gender differences in knowledge of inappropriate referencing and attitudes toward plagiarism due to inadequate academic ability or perceived low risks. These results are interpreted in terms of training in English academic writing available, disciplinary knowledge-making practices, and gender characteristics. By way of conclusion, pedagogical implications are derived from the empirical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have designed an anti-plagiarism software to detect plagiarism in students' assignments, especially written assignments, homework, and research reports, which will hereinafter be collectively referred to as student work. We used our university network to gather student work to detect plagiarism.. To collect data, we used a domain name system to store the student work data based on the respective location, time, and the subject on which each student was assigned work. Once the student work data were collected, they were sent to an extraction module to remove unwanted data. The remaining data were then fed to a similarity index module, which produced similarity values based on comparisons between the collected data and the student work. This module uses mathematical equations that are built using semantic and syntactic similarity reports. Furthermore, in this study, we recommended procedures that can be applied to avoid plagiarism using the programming approach. This approach can raise awareness of plagiarism among students and encourage them to generate innovative ideas instead of plagiarizing. To attract faculty members to use the software, promotional materials can be customized based on the actual control factors that directly affect their adoption of the software. For example, the campaign should provide information highlighting the ease of implementation of the software for senior faculty members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students are often reluctant to report the academic dishonesty of their peers. Loyalty to friends and classmates has previously been identified as an important reason for this. This paper explores loyalty conflicts among students from upper secondary school, through bachelor's, to Ph.D. level. Drawing on semi-structured qualitative interviews (N = 72) conducted in Denmark, Ireland and Hungary, we show that loyalty considerations among students can be complex and draw on a range of norms including responsibility. The study demonstrates how students are often willing to assume substantial personal responsibility for dealing with the academic dishonesty of a peer, often preferring this to reporting. However, when deciding on the right course of action, they also perceive tensions between the norms of the good researcher and student and their own norms of being a good friend and person. The loyalty considerations and tension were identified in all three countries and across the educational levels, which suggests that this is a cross-cultural challenge. We argue that institutions should formally decide whether they want students to take some degree of responsibility themselves for addressing less serious cases of academic dishonesty and communicate their decision to their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endophytic bacteria are those that colonise the internal tissues of plant without negative impact on plant health. This work aims to isolate the endophytic bacteria colonising Triticum vulgare and Phragmites australis and evaluate their compatibility as biostimulants to maize. Three of the six obtained isolates were selected upon their surpassing ability to stimulate the growth of maize seedlings (maximum of 18% increase in germination and 2.4-fold increase in the number of lateral roots). These isolates were molecularly identified as Klebsiella MK2R2, Bacillus B2L2 and Enterobacter E1S2. The response of maize seedlings to the combined effect of these isolates revealed that Bacillus B2L2, containing treatments, surpassed the other treatments in growth vigour parameters and upon this result these treatments were applied in a field experiment either alone or in combination with 100% N fertilisation. Maize plants, inoculated with Klebsiella MK2R2 and Bacillus B2L2 either alone or in combination with Enterobacter E1S2 in the presence of urea, surpassed significantly other treatments as the weight of ear increased almost two times and the number of grains increased 1.8 times compared to the control values. It could be concluded that the obtained strains are compatible biostimulants to maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (FOC) is one of the most destructive pathogens in many cucumber-growing countries around the globe. There is still lack of high-resistant cucumber cultivars against this pathogen, and the use of fungicides is threatening the environmental conditions. However, biocontrol is an environment-friendly technique in plant protection. In this regard, the present work was aimed to screen antagonistic bacterial strains from vermicompost to against FOC in cucumber. Using the dilution-plate method, 374 bacterial strains were isolated from fresh vermicompost. A total of 28 bacterial strains showed antagonistic activity against FOC, among which strain D2 exhibited the best inhibitory effect on the growth of FOC, with the diameter of the growth inhibition zone of 28.28 mm. Then strain D2 was classified and identified based on the morphology and colony characteristics, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence homology. For molecular identification, a 1,462-bp fragment of 16S rDNA of strain D2 was obtained. Based on its morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics, strain D2 was identified as Burkholderia cenocepacia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper designs a consumer trust measurement model of agricultural e-commerce based on D-S evidence theory for improving the accuracy of consumer trust measurement of agricultural products e-commerce. First of all, the index system of consumer trust of agricultural products e-commerce was constructed. Then, the two sides of the transaction were divided into direct and indirect trust models. Secondly, according to the calculation results of direct trust, combining with redistributive conflict evidence, weight coefficient, time decay and confidence, indirect trust was calculated. Eventually, the comprehensive trust degree of agricultural e-commerce consumers was calculated based on D-S evidence theory. The results show that the model designed in this paper has good application effect and accurately measure consumer trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the failure of the existing systems to convert online service reputation evaluation, the accuracy, average recall rate and average comprehensive index of online service reputation evaluation show a straight-line downward trend. Therefore, this paper proposes an online service reputation system of agricultural products sales platform based on P2P network. This paper analyses the related concepts involved in the online service reputation system of agricultural products sales platform, designs the system under P2P network through B/S framework, mainly including the modules of online service reputation evaluation, information release and system account management. The online service reputation evaluation of agricultural products sales platform is transformed into service classification in multi-dimensional space. Machine learning is used to train the samples, and the optimal classifier model is established in multi-dimensional space to classify the online service of agricultural product sales platform, so as to achieve the final evaluation of online service reputation of agricultural product sales platform. The experimental results show that the accuracy and average recall rate of the system are close to 100%, and the average comprehensive index is up to 98.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the coordination problem between Chinese rural supermarket chains and farmers' consumption behaviour, this paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct the evaluation system of coordination between rural supermarket chains and farmers' consumption behaviour. The results show that although the coordination degree between rural supermarket chains and farmers' consumption behaviour is generally on the rise, it fluctuates relatively in the past 12 years, which does not meet the relative effectiveness required by the evaluation model. This shows that the coordination between rural supermarket chains and farmers' consumption behaviour still needs to be further improved. Finally, it puts forward specific strategies to improve the coordinated development of China's rural chain supermarkets and farmers' consumption behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is underdiagnosed in most countries. We report our first experience from a national pilot project of cascade screening in relatives of FH patients. Methodology: Participating specialists recruited consecutive index patients (IP) with Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN) score -6. After informed consent, the relatives were visited by the nurses to collect relevant clinical data and perform blood sampling for lipid profile measurement. FH diagnosis in the relatives was based on the DLCN and/or MEDPED FH (Make-Early-Diagnosis-to-Prevent-Early-Deaths-in-FH) criteria. Results: In a period of 18months, a total of 127 IP (90 with definite FH and 37 with probable FH) were enrolled in 15 centres. Out of the 270 relatives visited by the nurses, 105 were suspected of having FH: 31 with DCLN score >8, 33 with DLCN score 5-8 and 41 with MEDPED FH criteria. In a post-hoc analysis, another set of MEDPED FH criteria established in the Netherlands and adapted to Belgium allowed to detect FH in 51 additional relatives. Conclusion: In a country with no national FH screening program, our pilot project demonstrated that implementing a simple phenotypical FH cascade screening strategy using the collaboration of motivated specialists and two nurses, allowed to diagnose FH in 127 index patients and an additional 105 of their relatives over the two-year period. Newly developed MEDPED FH cut-offs, easily applicable by a nurse with a single blood sample, might further improve the sensitivity of detecting FH within families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Patients and medical staff expose to significant radiation during electro-physiological (EP) procedures. There are few data regarding the leading factors of longer fluoroscopy time and higher scattered radiation in a laboratory giving EP training during those interventions. Material and methods: The patients' recordings that underwent EP procedure in a single centre arrhythmia unit from February 2019 to January 2020 were examined. Prospectively collected data regarding procedure duration, fluoroscopy time and total air kerma, demographic characteristics of the patients, type of procedure, success of ablation and the use of electro anatomic mapping were retrospectively evaluated. Predictors of total air kerma were analysed with linear regression analysis. Results: Study population consisted of 437 patients with a median age of 47 (39-56); 184 (42.1%) were male. Median fluoroscopy time was 768 (420-1320) seconds and median cumulative air kerma was 369 (191-750) mGy. Fluoroscopy time and cumulative air kerma were significantly lower in diagnostic EP studies compared to other procedures. There was no difference in terms of total air kerma between the procedures other than the diagnostic EP study. In multivariable linear regression analysis; body surface area, fluoroscopy time, not using the electroanatomical mapping, unsuccessful ablation and atrial flutter ablation were predictors of total air kerma in EP studies performed by trainees. Conclusion: Scattered radiation during EP procedures performed by in-training operators is related with some factors. Awareness about those may help to effort reducing the harmful effect of ionising radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to determine the value of the inferior vena cava (IVC) ultrasound in the decision to hospitalise acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients. Our secondary aim was to find the most successful IVC measurement method in monitoring volume status. Methods: ADHF patients were accepted over a 1-year period in this study. Patients' vital signs, laboratory tests and IVC measurements measured by six methods (in B- and M-mode; maximum, minimum diameter and caval index) performed on an hourly basis were recorded. The presence of any statistically significant difference between the IVC measurement methods, laboratory tests and vital parameters between the hospitalised and discharged patients was calculated. ROC curves were produced in order to determine the ability of parameters to differentiate two groups. Spearman's correlation test was used to investigate correlation between the IVC measurement methods and patients' urine outputs. Results: A total of 71 patients were included in the study; 42 of these were hospitalised and 29 were discharged. Potassium, brain natriuretic peptide, respiration rate, urine output, maximum and minimum IVC diameters differed significantly between the two groups. Minimum IVC diameter measured in M-mode was identified as a weak marker with 65% sensitivity and 64% specificity (þPPV: 73%; -NPV:54%) for hospitalisation. Change in maximum IVC diameter measured in B-mode exhibited a high degree of correlation with change in body fluid (cc: 0.802). Conclusion: IVC ultrasound may have a limited value in the decision to hospitalise ADHF patients. But Maximum IVC diameter may be an ideal method for monitoring hypervolemic patients' volume status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated the risk of ischaemic stroke in patients with 1 another stroke risk factor (i.e. CHA2DS2-VASc score -1 [males] or 2 [females]) and the impact of different component risk factors. Methods: Database were collected from two hospitals in the city of Hohhot in china. Among 3148 Nonvalvular AF patients not on antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy, we evaluated males with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1 and females with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 2. The clinical endpoint was the occurrence of ischaemic stroke. Results: Among 546 AF male patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 1, there were 44 patients (8.06%) who experienced ischaemic stroke during follow-up (3.4 ± 2.1 years) with an annual stroke rate of 2.62%. The risk of ischaemic stroke ranged from 1.86%/year for patients with vascular diseases to 3.33%/year for those age 65-74 years of age. For the female patients with 653 AF, 54 (8.27%) experienced ischaemic stroke during follow-up (3.4 ± 2.1 years), for an annual stroke rate of 2.76%. The risk of ischaemic stroke increased from 1.96%/year for patients with vascular diseases to 3.38%/year for those 65-74 years of age. Conclutions: The risk of each factor is not equal in CHA2DS2-VASc score, with age 65-74 years associated with the highest stroke rate. Oral anticoagulation should be considered for AF patients with 1 another stroke risk factor given their high risk of ischaemic stroke. ARTICLE SUMMARY: 1. The risk of each factor is not equal in CHA2DS2-VASc score. 2. Atrial fibrillation is a risk factor of ischaemic stroke. 3. Oral anticoagulation should be considered for AF patients with 1 another stroke risk factor given their high risk of ischaemic stroke. 4. It is the retrospective nature of the study. 5. We were not able to clearly confirm the cause of ischaemic stroke because it can be due to AF-related thromboembolism or atherosclerosis and thrombosis of the cerebral artery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cryoablation (CRYO) of cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)-dependent atrial flutter (AFL) has been shown to be non-inferior to radiofrequency ablation (RF) in terms of ablation success and is associated with less pain. However, procedural time has been significantly longer with CRYO compared to RF. A possible explanation for this could be that operators had less experience with CRYO than with RF. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that in the hands of experienced operators, cryoablation of CTI-dependent AFL is effective with proceduretime similar to what is reported for RF. Methods: This prospective 2-center study included 184 patients with CTI-dependent AFL - median age 66 years (range 28-83), 159 men (86%). Cryoablation was performed using a 9 F, 8mm tip catheter (Freezor MAX, Medtronic, Inc, MN, USA). Ablation endpoint was bidirectional CTI-block. Pain was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (VAS 0-10). All operators had experience of at least 25 previous CTI-ablations with CRYO. Results: The acute success rate was 89%. Procedural time including an observation period of 30 min, was 115 ± 36 min which is similar to procedural times for RF in previous studies. Fluoroscopy time was 11 ± 9 min. Cryoablation was perceived as almost pain-free by the patients, VAS (mean) 1.8 ± 1.2. Success rate at 12-month follow-up (FU) was 88% in patients with primary success. No major adverse events occurred. Conclusions: Cryoablation of CTI-dependent AFL is effective, with a low level of procedurerelated pain. In experienced hands, the procedure time in this prospective non-randomised trial seems to be in the level of reported procedure times for RF. The long-term relapse rate appears to be higher than for RF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria have been validated for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH); the majority in Caucasian subjects from Europe and North America. Diagnostic utility of ECG criteria to detect LVH has never been established in our population; nonetheless they are frequently used. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic utility of different LVH ECG criteria in a Northern Mexican population and to determine the effect of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) on their performance. Methods: We conducted an observational, case-control study in patients divided according to the presence of LVH in an echocardiogram (Echo). We calculated the accuracy, sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 22 ECG criteria. Results: Four hundred thirty-two patients were studied (202 had LVH). The Dalfo criterion (ECG18. SV3þRaVL) had the best diagnostic performance with a Se of 56%, Sp of 71.3%, PPV 62.9%, NPV 65% and a diagnostic accuracy (95%CI) of 64.1% (59.5-68.6). This criterion had the highest accuracy in both genders, in all BMI, in older patients (>60 years) and in those with positive Echo ischaemic heart disease (IHD); it also performed well in patients with history of IHD and in hypertensive patients. VDP Cornell had the best accuracy in patients less than 60 years old, and in patients with non-ischaemic findings by Echo. Conclusions: The Dalfo criteria had the overall best accuracy in the detection of LVH, and specific populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to compare the findings of a segmental speckle-tracking strain of right ventricle with those of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in this setting. Methods: In 26 patients with operated tetralogy of Fallot (mean age, 15.35 ± 2.3 years; range 11-18 years), right ventricular segmental speckle-straining (the basal, mid, apical segments of right ventricular septum and lateral free wall, and right ventricular apex) were determined using two-dimensional echocardiography. The echocardiographic findings were compared to right ventricular ejection fraction, right ventricular indexed end-diastolic volume, indexed end-systolic volume and pulmonary regurgitation fraction at cardiac magnetic resonance. Results: Right ventricular global speckle strain was -18.6 ± 3.7and lateral free wall strain was -17.8 ± 4.9. Indexed right ventricular end diastolic volume was 171.7 ± 23.3 ml/m2, indexed right ventricular end systolic volume was 95.1 ± 35.0 ml/m2 and right ventricular ejection fraction was 44.76 ± 9.39%. Basal inferior septum is correlated with indexed right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV; r=-0.521, p=0.015) and pulmonary regurgitation fraction (r=-0.584, p=0.015). Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived RVEDV is correlated with lateral free wall (r=-0.465, p=0.034) and Global RV (r=0.442, p=0.045). Conclusion: Right ventricular basal inferior septal and apical longitudinal strain correlates with the measures of right ventricular performance on CMR. These parameters would be useful to monitor right ventricular performance in patients after tetralogy of Fallot repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Periprocedural uninterrupted anticoagulation for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) became standard after positive results of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) trials. Previous studies of uninterrupted direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs. VKA have given controversial results. We thus aimed to elucidate the risk/benefit ratio of uninterrupted DOAC vs. VKA during catheter ablation of AF in an updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: Online databases were searched for RCTs comparing uninterrupted DOAC to VKA in patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF. Data from retrieved studies were analysed in a comprehensive meta-analysis. Primary safety outcome was major bleeding; primary efficacy outcome was stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Secondary outcomes included a composite of major bleeding and stroke or TIA, minor bleeding, acute cerebral lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and mortality. Results: Six eligible RCTs comprising 2,369 patients were included. There were no significant differences in DOAC vs. VKA concerning the rates of major bleeding (2.2% vs. 3.8%; odds ratio (OR) 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30-1.56; p=.37) and stroke or TIA (0.2% vs. 0.2%; OR 0.97, CI 0.20-4.72; p=.97). Pooled meta-analysis of secondary outcomes revealed no significant differences (OR 0.73, p=.49 for composite of major bleeding and stroke or TIA; OR 1.08, p=.52 for minor bleeding; OR 1.12, p=.59 for acute cerebral lesions on MRI; and OR 0.60, p=.64 for all-cause mortality). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggests that uninterrupted DOAC is not superior to VKA in patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF with comparable rates of major bleeding and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pulmonary immersion oedema is a frequent diving accident. Although its outcome is generally favourable within 72 h, it can nonetheless lead to heart failure or sudden death. Cases of transient myocardial dysfunction have been reported in the literature. This phenomenon is similar to Takotsubo syndrome in many ways. It is characterised by transient myocardial hypokinesia, without associated coronary lesions. Methods: We report on 20 cases of patients who showed transient alteration of left ventricular kinetics with normal coronary angiography over the course of an immersion pulmonary oedema. Results: The echocardiographic localisation of the myocardial damage was generally focal and not centred on the apex with an average left ventricular ejection fraction of 45%. The main anomalies in the electrocardiographic repolarisation were T wave inversion with corrected QT interval prolongation. We also observed a moderate increase in troponin levels, with discordance between the enzymatic peak and the severity of the left ventricle segmental dysfunction. Conclusion: These cases suggest the incidence of a clinical entity strongly reminiscent of Takotsubo phenomenon of atypical topography as a consequence of diving accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The awareness of radiation doses and risks, also during interventional cardiology procedures, is essential today in order to apply the risk-benefit assessment and to reinforce the principles of justification and optimisation in clinical practice. Methods: A voluntary survey with 10 questions and multiple-choice answers was run on a popular cardiology website (www.cardiolink.it) independently by a scientific publisher, in order to evaluate the contemporary level of radiation awareness in a multi-speciality sample of physicians in Italy. Results: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one physicians completed the test. The survey showed good results since both prescribers and practitioners (mostly cardiologists) working in Italy are largely aware of the cancer and non-cancer risks of medical radiation use, regardless of their subspecialty background. Conclusion: Physicians are largely aware of the cancer and non-cancer risks of medical radiation use, regardless of their subspecialty background. However, there is still broad space for improvement; in the future, the awareness of radiation risk is a prerequisite to create a culture of respect for radiation hazard and a commitment to minimise exposure and maximise protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an Expression of Concern for the published article in the periodical, and mentions study described in the article did not adhere to ethical guidelines as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and the Declaration of Istanbul and guidance from the World Health Organisation.

This study looks at the relative frequency of 'bad language' according to gender in Nordic languages and in English in a 210-million-token corpus of messages by 18,686 Nordic Twitter users. For the Nordic languages, more than 19,000 'bad-language' word forms were compiled on the basis of usage note annotations in major Nordic-language dictionaries. The most frequent terms overall are swear words, and while males use more of these items on average, the gender difference is less pronounced for English words. For potentially offensive words in the Nordic languages, males make more use of traditional profanities associated with the Devil, religion, and blasphemy. Both genders make more use of profanities when tweeting to people of their own gender. The study provides empirical evidence for a small gender-based discrepancy in the use of profanity in social media in the Nordic languages, mirroring results previously found in corpus-based studies of English-language data. The results are interpreted in light of previous findings as evidence for a gendered difference in sensitivity toward the use of language that could potentially be offensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motion-event typology has moved into a "post-Talmian" terrain of approaches focusing on an open-ended number of patterns across languages and constructions. Following a proposal to distinguish between four typological clusters, we systematically compared the motion event descriptions in four languages suggested to exemplify these clusters: Swedish, French, Thai and Telugu, with the help of an elicitation-based study. 20 adult native speakers of each language were asked to describe 52 motion events, 38 of which were translocative. The stimuli varied with respect to the parameters caused/uncaused, bounded/unbounded motion as well as the viewpoint from which they were filmed. The descriptions were analyzed following Holistic Spatial Semantics and compared with respect to the categories Path, Direction, Region, Landmark, Manner and Cause, as well as the means of expressing these. The four languages patterned differently in significant ways. In terms of Path expression, French lagged behind the other languages, but with respect to Direction, it patterned together with Swedish. We demonstrate a number of such criss-crossing patterns, showing that there is no way to group the languages, thus implying at least four distinct typological prototypes. Further, we show that different kinds of motion situations, corresponding to different constructions, need to be compared separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the derivation of English sentences in which negation (NEG) surfaces in a matrix clause but is interpreted as if it were in an embedded clause. The cases we are interested in allow NEG to be interpreted as having scope over a quantified subject NP in the embedded clause or over the verbal predicate in the same embedded clause. Syntactic approaches to this phenomenon have proposed a rule of NEG-raising which proceeds upwards in multi-clause structures, very much like a garden-variety movement transformation. Pragma-semantic approaches, in contrast, appeal in general to either a combination of the excluded middle law and a pre-suppositional analysis or scalar implicatures. Here we will argue that while the syntactic treatment of NEG seems to be generally correct, a leftwards/upwards approach to NEG movement does not yield the appropriate semantic representations for the sentences under consideration; rather, we propose a syntactic rule of NEG-lowering to account for the data we examine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Oto-Laryngologica is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Oto-Laryngologica is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Superior Canal Dehiscence is classically diagnosed with typical abnormalities on Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans. This paper discusses the utility of the video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) in SCD. Data from 11 ears (8 patients) with SCD were retrospectively reviewed. Results from vHIT, VEMPs and CT and when possible, MRI scans were correlated. An audit of 300 vHIT from patients undergoing routine testing for any neurotological complaint was also conducted to look at the incidence of isolated abnormal superior canal function. 82% of patients (9 ears) with SCD showed abnormal vHIT (reduced gain and catch-up saccades) isolated to the affected superior semicircular canal. Correlation of the CT and VEMPs are important in forming a diagnosis of SCD. However, if isolated superior canal vHIT abnormalities are demonstrated, it is suggestive of SCD and such patients should be referred for further investigations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various guidelines for the social implementation of autonomous robots have been developed so far; however, how these guidelines are used remains an issue. In this study, the concept of legitimacy is used as a criterion to evaluate such guidelines. From the perspective of legitimacy, sociological acceptance, moral legitimacy, and future expectations can be considered constitutional and legal perspectives when addressing the necessary conditions for the social implementation of autonomous robots. At the same time, the article considers that resources, reflections, expertise, recognitions, and results are required as sufficient conditions of the elaboration likelihood model. As a case study, an examination of the Japanese government's approach to ethics extracted the need for moral legitimacy and the need for resources and advice from a professional perspective on ethics to obtain adequate outcomes. It has contributed to this paper by presenting a review process, in which the necessary and sufficient conditions for consideration must be examined from the perspective of legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–robot interactions are increasingly taking place between a robot agent and a human observer who, unable to witness all aspects of the robot's behaviour, is uncertain as to how the robot will behave. This uncertainty has serious consequences when it concerns the normative aspects of machine behaviour: that is, whether the robot's actions are morally permissible. Bringing together distinct threads from robotic design and machine ethics, we demonstrate the importance of conveying ethical understanding and commitment in order to reduce moral ambiguity and how this can demand a behavioural demonstration. We provide a framework that structures these considerations in the form of a broad constraint on robot behaviour: roughly, to avoid behaviour, even if it is permissible, if that behaviour could appear impermissible. Thus, we formalise a model of communicative-behavioural ethics in human–robot interactions. We apply this constraint to a series of example cases demonstrating how it can be modified to incorporate different sources of information including preferences and probabilities. This reveals the complexity of less idealised cases and highlights how the constraint can be fine-tuned along a number of dimensions to take into account, amongst other thing, risk attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on ethics in AI focusing particularly on the social and ethical issues which emerge during human–conversational agent interaction. Those issues will be approached adopting both the perspective of the user and the one of the machine. In fact, it is often stressed the need to include the ethical component within system's design, which it is certainly necessary as will be discussed in the article. Nevertheless, conversational agents are tools, although they are capable of having a strong impact on the society; thus, the moral use of these social tools must be demanded to users as well. For this reason, it will be proposed a new set of ethical guidelines, called Mirror Ethics, based on the alignment of both parties involved in the conversation to a shared moral baseline. The adoption of these shared values will lead to the creation of a new ethical equilibrium between users and conversational agents, producing a social beneficial impact and increasing the level of trust within the human–machine interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to understand if and how interactions with Sexual Robots will modify users' relational abilities in human-human relations. We first underline that, in today's scholar discussion on the 'symbolic argument', there is no theoretical framework explaining the process of symbolic shift between human-robot interactions (HRI) and human-human interactions (HHI). To clarify the symbolic shift mechanism, we propose the concept of objectual mediation. Moreover, under the lens of Winnicott's object-relation theory, we argue that HRI can structurally modify users relationality, degrading intersubjective abilities: Sexual Robots may blurry the limit between the 'internal object' and the external one. We conclude that, under certain conditions, interactions with Sexual Robots may bring the user back to an infantile object-relation setting, worsening the user ability to manage relational frustration. This will negatively impact on human-human interactions and social values in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic keeps spreading across the world and, while national governments concentrate on lockdowns and restrictions to mitigate the disaster, advanced technologies could be employed more widely to fight the pandemic. This paper surveys existing robotic solutions that could be employed for pandemic care and presents a systematized description of desired robot properties based on a particular application area and target users. We propose a new generation infection hospital framework that integrates existing robotic tools toward pandemic mitigation and discuss ethical aspects of their use within the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to their lower costs and functional properties, the construction industry has been increasingly adopting synthetic organic polymer (SOP) materials into linings, interiors and non-load bearing structural components. While SOPs have favourable properties and characteristics at ambient conditions, the same materials often perform poorly under moderate-to-elevated temperatures such as that arising from a building fire. In fact, most SOPs tend to combust and decompose at elevated temperatures which, unlike traditional building materials such as concrete and ceramic tiles, is proven to not only contribute to the fire but also to adversely affect evacuation and firefighting operations. From a fire engineering perspective, this paper tests a hypothesis in which ceramic tiles (CTs) are expected to outperform SOPs and commonly used insulations as finishing and lining materials under fire conditions. As such, this study showcases a thorough comparison between the behaviour of commonly available CTs, SOPs and insulations in temperatures ranging between 25 and 1000°C. Then, this paper analyses published CT models to derive temperature-dependent material models with the aid of machine learning (ML). Findings of this work advocate the use of CTs as favourable finishing and interior lining materials to enable realising improved structural fire performance and fire response managements, as opposed to SOPs, composites or insulations. The outcome of this work is expected to be of interest to architects, first responders, building officials, fire and structural engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review addresses resistive switching devices operating according to the bipolar valence change mechanism (VCM), which has become a major trend in electronic materials and devices over the last decade due to its high potential for non-volatile memories and future neuromorphic computing. We will provide detailed insights into the status of understanding of these devices as a fundament for their use in the different fields of application. The review covers the microscopic physics of memristive states and the switching kinetics of VCM devices. It is shown that the switching of all variants of VCM cells relies on the movement of mobile donor ions, which are typically oxygen vacancies or cation interstitials. VCM cells consist of three parts: an electronically active electrode (AE), often a metal with a high work function, in front of which the switching occurs, a mixed ionic-electronic conducting (MIEC) layer consisting of a nanometer-scale metal oxide or a stack of different metal oxides, and an ohmic counter electrode (OE). After an introduction to definitions and classification, the fundamentals of solid-state physics and chemistry associated with VCM cells are described, including redox processes and the role of electrodes. The microscopic changes induced by electroforming, a process often required prior to resistive switching, are described in terms of electronic initialization and subsequent changes in chemistry, structure, and conductivity. The switching process is discussed in terms of switching polarity, geometry of the switching region, and spectroscopic detection of the valence changes. Emphasis is placed on the extreme nonlinearity of switching kinetics described by physics-based multiscale modeling, ranging from ab initio methods to kinetic Monte Carlo and finite element models to compact models that can be used in circuit simulators. The review concludes with a treatment of the highly relevant reliability issues and a description of the failure mechanisms, including mutual trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine mode particulate matter (PM) is known to be a major risk for human health as it can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Whether produced from anthropogenic or natural processes, fine mode PM is often electrically charged with positive, negative and/or bipolar charges. These preexisting charges can, in some cases, significantly affect measurements from sensors which involve a charging stage prior to measurement by, e.g., electrometry. In this work, we demonstrate quantitatively the impact of preexisting charges ( q = 0 , ± 1 , ± 2 ) on three different unipolar diffusion charging (DC) configurations using both simulations and experiments. The DC configurations include traditional steady state (SS) DC and pulsed modes of DC, where in all configurations a positive corona charger is used. We show that the impact of preexisting charges on SS and modulated precipitation (MP) DC is comparable. Positively pre-charged particles cause a larger deviation for SS and MP DC, in contrast to modulated diffusion charging (MDC), where negatively pre-charged particles have a greater impact. In addition, we show that the ion concentration in the charging region can be increased to significantly reduce the resulting error caused by the pre-charges for both SS DC and MP DC, in contrast to MDC. These results show that the influence of unipolarly pre-charged particles is very differently pronounced for the different modes of DC. The impact strongly depends on the polarity of the pre-charges, characteristics of the charger and the DC configuration itself. These insights are particularly interesting for the design and the application of DC based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality on board the International Space Station (ISS) is a significant concern for the long-term health of astronauts living on the station. Aerosolized particles are generated from a variety of sources, such as on-board equipment, electronics, and the astronauts themselves. Airborne particles can remain suspended for significant amounts of time due to the absence of gravitational settling. In this work, we examine the particulate matter on board the ISS through scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and single-particle multi-element inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (sp-ICP) analysis of two vacuum bag dust samples collected with a handheld vacuum cleaner used to clean surfaces and filter faces inside the ISS. SEM/EDX analysis shows that many large particles were collected. These particles are most commonly clothing fibers or of biological origin, along with smaller numbers of carbonaceous particles that may be from polymer and halopolymer materials. sp-ICP analysis quantitatively determined metal concentrations in particles approximately <10 µm in diameter and was able to identify several distinct particle compositions. Some of these, such as stainless steel (Fe-Cr-Ni-Mn), antiperspirant (Al-Zr), silver (Ag), and titanium oxide (Ti) particles, are consistent with particle types identified through past aerosol and vacuum bag sampling and analyses. Other types, including Fe-Al and other types of Al and Zr particles, do not have a clear origin consistent with past work. SEM/EDX and sp-ICP provide different but complementary information regarding the composition of particles obtained from vacuum bag dust samples. The material analyzed was obtained through the Divert Unwanted Space Trash (DUST) experiment on ISS, which returned vacuum bags to Earth for the purpose of understanding airborne particles in the unique ISS environment. Copyright © 2021 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through virus-containing aerosol particles has been established as an important pathway for Covid-19 infection. Suitable measures to prevent such infections are imperative, especially in situations when a high number of persons convene in closed rooms. Here we tested the efficiency and practicability of operating four air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters in a high school classroom while regular classes were taking place. We monitored the aerosol number concentration for particles >3 nm at two locations in the room, the aerosol size distribution in the range from 10 nm to 10 µm, PM10 and CO2 concentration. For comparison, we performed similar measurements in a neighboring classroom without purifiers. In times when classes were conducted with windows and door closed, the aerosol concentration was reduced by more than 90% within less than 30 min when running the purifiers (air exchange rate 5.5 h−1). The reduction was homogeneous throughout the room and for all particle sizes. The measurements are supplemented by a calculation estimating the maximum concentration levels of virus-containing aerosol from a highly contagious person speaking in a closed room with and without air purifiers. Measurements and calculation demonstrate that air purifiers potentially represent a well-suited measure to reduce the risks of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 substantially. Staying for 2 h in a closed room with a highly infective person, we estimate that the inhaled dose is reduced by a factor of six when using air purifiers with a total air exchange rate of 5.7 h−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africans have become firmly part of Australian society. They account for an increasing proportion of its total population. This article draws from empirical data generated via in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 participants in South East Queensland. The findings suggest that the discursive constructions of Africans in everyday language and social relations in Australia work to construct their lived reality of being; becoming and being positioned as a racialized subject, leading to objectification, marginalization, exclusion and disadvantage. The article advocates for systemic changes that will end the problems of everyday racism at both state and national levels, and for the introduction of programs that will encourage the inclusion, belonging and full participation of visible and ethnically marked immigrants to Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study explores police corruption, and measure whether public experience of police corruption predict confidence in the police. Police legitimacy is often built on public confidence, but when the actions of the police are fraught with corruption, the confidence reposed on it by the public will be eroded. Studies have also demonstrated that public experience of police corruption undermine the ethos and image of the police. While this assertion holds true, scarcely has any study test the creditability of such assumption. Therefore, it is imperative to assess in detail, the extent of such claim, and the major determinant of public loss of confidence in the police. Using a sample of 482 participants from a cross-sectional survey, the study measures whether public experience of police corruption has any effect on any of the three dimensions of public confidence in the South African Police Service. This current study corroborates and somewhat challenge previous assertions on the extent of relationship between the police and the public in South Africa. The implications of the findings for policing in South Africa are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In post-apartheid South Africa, on military integration, the new South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) faced numerous social and political challenges on integration, including former guerrillas absenting themselves from work without official leave. The paper examines the ways in which the Azania Peoples Liberation Army (APLA), an armed wing of the Pan Africanist Congress understood the 'new' army barracks as racialised and dominated by white soldiers. However, I argue that both former guerrilla formations and the white-dominated soldiers, SADF were unwilling to compromise their past political ideological understanding which had shaped them prior to integration in the 'new' army. The paper examines how the military was understood by APLA guerrillas, in which discipline and punishment was viewed as racialised. However, the new army was also insulated with some 'good moments. In substantiating my argument, I draw on 17 former APLA former guerrillas' who were once integrated into the new army and left prematurely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal migration is increasing within the African continent, but the processes by which migrants integrate and accumulate in the host community remain bewildering. Using ethnography as a method of enquiry, this article investigates 'marriages of convenience' between Nigerian migrant entrepreneurs and Zimbabwean nationals in Harare, Zimbabwe. It examines how these marriages serve as a strategy to negotiate an 'insider' identity so as to integrate and accumulate (business advancement) among Nigerian migrant entrepreneurs. However, the article also shows how local women are repurposing these relations for their own ends. Thus, these conjugal relationships are therefore represented as transactions that are mutually beneficial. This is an important addition to the body of knowledge on the complexities of South-South migration as it helps us to understand the politics of integration and belonging in the politically and economically troubled host communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the timing and entry into public discourse of 'Radical Economic Transformation' as a concept that is open to deliberate misinterpretation in the media. Whilst, as the title suggests, it is necessary to distil the content signified by its rhetorical signposts, the diverse uses to which 'radical economic transformation' is being put by the media, government and researchers requires examination relative to parameters of debate set by the Greek orator Demosthenes's thesis in his Against Meidias, during times of political crisis in Athens Macedonian expansion. Similarly, in the wake of oligarchies and deepening economic inequality along racial lines, Jacob Zuma's Radical Economic Transformation (RET) was intended to be a bulwark against further expansion, exploitation and pauperization. In its intention, the rhetoric RET signposted a pro-poor intervention for ownership, management and control of the economy in favour of all South Africans. If the exordium is whether 'Radical Economic Transformation' should be embraced, then the debate takes stock of the observation by Mark Swilling that while there is a clear need for 'radical economic transformation,' there are concerns that 'this is being used as an ideological smokescreen to mask the rent-seeking practices of the Zuma-centred power elite' (Bhorat et al., 2017). In the media, Schutte argues that Radical Economic Transformation is part of a 'distorted discourse [which] is the weapon of choice [at a time when] empty rhetoric is served up on Orwellian platters'. Following the logic of Demosthenes, the debate around the rhetoric of Radical Economic Transformation demands and deserves to be tested against legality, justice, expediency, practicability, decency and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electoral nostalgia involves a return in thought to an electoral period or to a deed from an electoral period in one's past. This essay is concerned with the electoral engagements of Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, better known by his moniker D'banj, as these relate to the 2011 presidential election bid of Nigeria's erstwhile president Goodluck Jonathan. The essay assesses the role of D'banj as campaign songwriter and observes his immediate post-2011-election works as reactionary performances to the hullabaloo generated by his involvement in President Jonathan's campaign. D'banj's post-election record 'Oliver Twist' (2011) is conceptualized as evidence of electoral nostalgia in popular music. The essay offers a critical look into the single by engaging the 'Oliver Twist' concept's English origins, the trigger for the appropriation of the concept by D'banj, the mastermind of the resulting transformative work, its calculated dissemination to target audiences, and the successes it garnered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D.O Fagunwa is a foremost and celebrated writer who wrote his major works in his indigenous Yoruba language. He published five major works: Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale (1938); Igbo Olodumare (1949); Ireke Onibudo (1949); Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbeje (1949); and Adiitu Eledumare (1961). These have all been translated into English hence Fagunwa's place in African literary pantheon is assured. Against this above backdrop, through a close reading of Igbo Olodumare (1949) translated Forest of Olodumare (2010) by Wole Soyinka, this paper connects 'weird life' narration as a corollary of wildlife consciousness in D.O Fagunwa. The essay is inspired by the submissions of Tola Badejo and draws insights from Ecocriticism and Magical Realism. This is activated through the novel's hunter protagonist. Fagunwa therefore locates indigenous wildlife consciousness within his weird settings and character portraitures. The paper affirms the enduring brilliance of Fagunwa's novelistic explorations by calling attention to how his novels serve as a template for wildlife conservation, animal ethics and biodiversity. The paper hopes to demonstrate how Fagunwa's enabling Yoruba context constructs animal imagery thereby foregrounding the place of wildlife consciousness in African literary imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rosetta Branch (Nile River, Egypt) is one of the main sources of freshwater for drinking, agricultural, and industrial activities in the Nile Delta. However, this water supply is compromised because it receives heavy loads of domestic, agricultural and industrial waste from several sources. Water samples were collected seasonally from ten sites along the Rosetta Branch during 2014–2015. The current study aimed to assess the water quality of Rosetta Branch using the Nile Chemical Pollution Index (NCPI), and a microbiological analysis, where the physical and chemical parameters of water branch were measured. Complete depletion of dissolved oxygen was recorded at the discharge points of El-Rahawy and Sobal drains, whereas COD, BOD and nutrient salts, recorded highest levels compared with the reference site of Nile River. The abundance of the major ions was in the following order: HCO3− > Cl− > Na+ > SO42− > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+. NCPI values ranged from 15 to 45 with an average of 31, where, a sudden increase was recorded at sites affected by human activity (Sites 3 and 6) to be grossly polluted, and then the water quality improved slightly farther downstream. Microbial analyses indicated that the total bacterial counts and the total diazotrophs were present in high population densities (up to 105 CFU ml−1). Significant differences in counts were recorded among seasons, whereas no spatial changes were recorded. The total and faecal coliforms populations exceeded the permissible limits cited by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. An intensive water-quality monitoring program is recommended for the Rosetta Branch, and the treatment of wastewater prior to discharge to mitigate health problems outbreaks or any aquatic ecosystem disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-related activities are known to have deleterious effects on the water quality of aquatic ecosystems, but there is limited information on the impact of these on rivers in tropical regions, such as the Chania River in Kenya. The Chania River is an important source of water for humans and animals and provides habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. This study used a Water Quality Index (WQI) to assess the suitability of the water for human use based on selected physico-chemical parameters (nitrates, Total Dissolved solids (TDS), potassium, sulphates, chlorides, copper, manganese, pH and phosphates). Sample collection was done between October 2018 and February 2019 over the dry and the wet seasons. Generally, the WQI indicated that water quality was fair to good in the dry season (19.67 to 30.10) but fair to poor in the wet season (23.17 to 89.15). It is recommended that the riparian zone of the Chania River be protected from anthropogenic disturbances in the County Kiambu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mullet species, Planiliza macrolepis and Moolgarda cunnesius, were collected seasonally from Mfolozi-Msunduzi Estuary on the east coast of South Africa in order to determine their diet. The gut contents of 178 fish with standard length (SL) ranging between 100 and 220 mm revealed strong evidence that in the Mfolozi-Msunduzi these fish rely heavily on benthic floc as a primary food source. Plant debris and small benthic organisms, including Assiminea, copepods, nematodes and ostracods also formed part of their diet. Some of these food items (e.g. Assiminea sp. nematodes) were only consumed by P. macrolepis. Differences in the occurrence of food items consumed by these two closely related species may be explained by their feeding ground preferences. Results suggest that P. macrolepis forages in substrata mostly dominated by fine-to-medium sand grain sizes (<50 to 450 µm), whereas M. cunnesius prefers substrata dominated by fine sand to muddy grain sizes (50 to 250 µm). Based on these findings, it is concluded that differences in substrate preference by these two mullet species is an important strategy by which they circumvent any possible interspecific competition for food resources within the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlamydomonas proboscigera is a unicellular, ellipsoidal-to-spherical chlorophyte distinguished by a flattened papilla, a large spherical pyrenoid and a disc-shaped stigma located anterior in a cup-shaped chloroplast. The species is common in eutrophic water, but also occurs in terrestrial environments, such as soils. Previously, Chlamydomonas proboscigera was only described from certain parts of Europe, Asia and northern Africa (Algeria). The findings of C. proboscigera in South Africa during 2019, represent the first reported record of this species in the southern hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 75 000 ha, hyper-arid area of Riemvasmaak represents one of the first land restitution cases in post-apartheid South Africa. People who were forcibly removed in 1974 were resettled in 1995. We describe the impact that people and domestic livestock have had on the vegetation of Riemvasmaak since resettlement. Matched photographs and botanical surveys undertaken at 10-year intervals (1995, 2005 and 2015) were used to estimate the percentage cover of herbaceous (primarily grasses) and woody vegetation of the major land forms (slopes, plains, ephemeral streams). The results of a linear mixed-effects model suggest that herbaceous vegetation decreased significantly from 1995 to 2005 (p < 0.001) and increased significantly from 2005 to 2015 (p < 0.001), whereas woody cover did not change significantly over the study period. Linear regressions of size class and density of individuals for Vachellia erioloba indicate little recruitment over the period 1995–2015, compared with the period before the initial survey in 1995. Precipitation, as well as the density of grazers and browsers, driven by the socioeconomic and cultural changes occurring in Riemvasmaak since 1995, has influenced the change in vegetation cover and the recruitment of V. erioloba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is widely cultivated in semiarid West Africa as a combined crop for human consumption and animal feed. In order to address the shortage of ruminant feed in Burkina Faso, we studied the potential of preparing silage from sorghum at various growth stages and analysed the main factors affecting silage fermentation, including the microbial population, chemical composition and ensiling characteristics of sorghum prepared with and without microbial additives at three stages of development (soft dough; hard dough; physiological mature stover). After 90 d of ensiling, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) became the dominant microorganisms in silages. The silage from soft dough sorghum exhibited the highest LAB counts, water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein content. In addition, silage presented greater quality with higher (p < 0.05) lactic acid content and lower (p < 0.05) pH and ammonia nitrogen levels than those at hard dough stage and stover. The WSC and LAB were the important factors affecting silage fermentation and the addition of LAB and cellulase improved fermentation quality. The combined additives displayed a synergistic effect and when silage is prepared with sorghum at soft dough stage, it has best potential for controlling spoilage microorganisms and preserving the silage quality for animal feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Themeda triandra has bigeniculate hygroscopic lemma seed awns that twist when wet and drying, thereby transporting the caryopsis across the soil surface into suitable germination microsites. The prediction that awns would be longer in drier grassland and have greater motility to enable them to move quickly and farther to find scarce germination sites was tested in KwaZulu-Natal. Awns (n = 100) were collected from 16 sites across a mean annual precipitation gradient (575–1 223 mm), ranging from 271−1 097 m asl. The daily movement of hydrated long and short awns (n = 10) across blotting paper was tracked for five days, and the rotational speed of anchored awns was measured. Awn length varied considerably (mean: 41.4–63.2 mm; SD: 3.44–8.99), but tended to increase (r = 0.426, p = 0.099) not decline, with increasing MAP. Awn length was unrelated to elevation, temperature and aridity indices. Long awns rotated at the same rate (2 min 48 sec), but moved twice as fast (46.3 vs 22.1 mm day−1) and much farther (maximum: 82.1 vs 38.6 mm day−1) than short awns. Whether moisture limits awn development, the benefit of longer awns to negotiate densely tufted mesic grassland, and the multifunctionality of awns require investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]