Input-specific control of interneuron numbers in nascent striatal networks

The assembly of functional neuronal circuits requires appropriate numbers of distinct classes of neurons, but the mechanisms through which their relative proportions are established remain poorly defined. Investigating the mouse striatum, here we found that the two most prominent subtypes of striatal interneurons, parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) GABAergic and cholinergic (ChAT+) interneurons, undergo extensive programmed cell death between the first and second postnatal weeks. Remarkably, the survival of PV+ and ChAT+ interneurons is regulated by distinct mechanisms mediated by their specific afferent connectivity. While long-range cortical inputs control PV+ interneuron survival, ChAT+ interneuron survival is regulated by local input from the medium spiny neurons. Our results identify input-specific circuit mechanisms that operate during the period of programmed cell death to establish the final number of interneurons in nascent striatal networks.

Understanding the dimensions of athlete brand authenticity

The management of an athlete brand is challenging due to the complex nature of athlete career and life. Striving to maintain brand authenticity will promote long-term sustainability of the brand. The purpose of the study is to determine possible factors that contribute to athlete brand authenticity and help athletes to develop their brand more authentically. To understand the concept of athlete brand authenticity, a systematic literature review was conducted on various electronic databases. The study opted the five-step stages of the framework for this systematic review. A total of 76 attributes were identified from past studies that analyzed the attributes of brand authenticity for various brands. After merging interrelated attributes, the final number of unique attributes was 23. These attributes were distributed among three major themes: on-field activities, off-field activities and marketing activities of an athlete. The study finds brand authenticity to be a multi-dimensional and complex process that endures for longer extensive periods of an athlete’s career. The current study also highlights the complications related to an athlete brand that occur when establishing athlete brand authenticity. Therefore, this study provides an opportunity to refine athlete brand authenticity further within the discussed domains.

Peer review declaration (STACLIM 2021)

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. • Type of peer review: Single-blind The review process is conducted in single-blind method that the reviewers have access to the name(s) of author(s) while author is not being informed on the name of the reviewer(s). • Conference submission management system: EDAS Conference and Journal Management System Link: https://edas.info/index.php?c=28219 • Number of submissions received: 110 (Total number of papers) • Number of submissions sent for review: 72 (Final number of papers reviewed) • Number of submissions accepted: 60 (Final number of papers after acceptance) • Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted/Number of Submissions Received X 100): 54.5% • Average number of reviews per paper: 3.25 Each paper have gone through at least two stages of review, namely abstract review, and full manuscript review, while papers with major and minor revision received additional 1 to 2 rounds of reviews. • Total number of reviewers involved: 24 • Any additional info on review process: ∘ First-stage of peer review was done on the submitted abstract; only those which are accepted will be prompted for full paper submission. ∘ The full paper needed to achieve similarity index of less than 30% before it could be sent out for the second-stage rigorous peer review; only papers that have properly revised and addressed the comments from editors and reviewers could be accepted and proceeded for acceptance, hence publication in the IOP Conference series: Earth and Environmental Science. • Contact person for queries: Name: Dr Marlia Mohd Hanafiah Affiliation: Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email : [email protected] Name: Dr Rawshan Ara Begum Affiliation: Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email : [email protected] Name: Dr Maggie Chel Gee Ooi Affiliation: Institute of Climate Change (IPI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email : [email protected]

Modeling the coupling between a COVID-19-like epidemic and the economy

We consider a compartmental model adapted to the case of COVID-19 that takes into account the detection of ill individuals and the cost of medical treatment and investigate the effect of a budget constraint. Our analysis shows how the collapse of the budget can drastically change the outcome of an epidemics. We see how with a good testing policy the epidemic might be controllable. By introducing a lockdown period, we show that the final number of deaths can be reduced substantially and observe that a budget collapse introduces rather extreme effects. We find that there exists a well-defined optimal starting point for a lockdown. We also looked at the consequences of a loss of immunity and found that then a budget collapse can occur for smaller costs of medical treatment.

COGENERATION UNIT NOISE REDUCTION BY ITS CASE

This paper deals with cogeneration unit noise measurement by the acoustic camera. Noise is not only measured as the final number of sound power levels, but also its original location is determined with the use of the beamforming algorithm. The properties of the used microphone array are considered and numerically calculated as every different microphone array layout will measure with another resolution. From the frequency spectrum, the possible technical source is determined. The results of noise source visualization show the cogeneration unit case noise decreasing effect while also offering the possibilities for design improvements.

Sowing dates and node emission in buckwheat cultivars

The aim of this study was to determine the rate of node appearance (RNA), the final number of nodes (FNN) and the period of node emission (PNE) in two buckwheat cultivars (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) for different sowing dates, and to check variability in the RNA, FNN and PNE between the cultivars and sowing dates. The IPR91-Baili and IPR92-Altar cultivars were evaluated for 29 and 31 sowing dates from October to May in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 agricultural years respectively. In each experiment, a completely randomised design with five replications was used. The number of nodes (NN) on the main stem was counted twice a week in each plant (replication), from emission of the first node until the end of the cycle. The linear regression (y = a + bx) of the number of nodes (NN, y) was adjusted for each plant based on the number of days after emergence (DAE, x). The rate of node appearance (RNA), in days node-1, was determined from the inverse of the slope of the linear regression between NN and DAE (RNA = 1/b). The RNA was calculated for the period of node emission (PNE, in days), i.e. from emergence to emission of the last node. The final number of nodes (FNN) was counted at the end of node emission. Variability was found in the rate of node appearance (RNA), the final number of nodes (FNN) and the period of node emission (PNE) between the cultivars and sowing dates. The rate of node appearance ranges between 2.20 and 8.23 days node-1, the final number of nodes between 2.20 and 17.20, and the period of node emission between 16.60 and 49.20 days. Plants of the IPR91-Baili and IPR92-Altar cultivars show better vegetative development (lower RNA, higher FNN and greater PNE) when sown in November, December, January and February, compared to those sown in October, March, April and May.

Project Based Learning in Projects in the Data mining: a tutoring experience report

Data Mining (MD) is an area from Computer Science that has been taught as a discipline, because it allows the generation of knowledge about society. It had being offered in Information Systems Bachelor (BSI) undergraduate course at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) with the execution of hypothetical projects unrelated to students' reality, so final number of enrolled students was low. This work aims to report the application of the Project Based Learning (PBL) approach in MD teaching during 2018.1 semester of BSI course at UFRN with the help of a Tutoring Project. For doing that, training actions about PBL and MD were carried out with monitors and students. As a result, the number of offerings was filled and students developed projects related to their life contexts, got articles approved at academic conferences, and produced research and outreach projects.

Phenology and productive performance of chamomile in sowing dates and spacing between plants

The present work has aimed to evaluate phenology and productive performance of chamomile in a subtropical weather region, sown in different dates and spacings in between plants. The experiment took place in Santa Maria – RS with four sowing dates in the year 2017 (18/03, 28/04, 30/06 and 31/08) and seven spacings along plants in rows (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 cm), spaced 30 cm between each other. Phenological observations were made every two or three days in two plants per portion while also accounting for the number of nodes in the main stem. The harvest of chamomile floral chapters was performed manually from the beggining of flowering and repeated biweekly until plant maturation. Productivity of dry floral chapters as well as content and productivity of essential oils were evaluated. It was established that sowing dates affect the productivity of dry floral chapters, content and productivity of essential oil from cv. Mandirituba chamomile, with the sowings of March 18th and April 28th presenting the highest values for such variables. Increasing the space between plants from the 10 cm line to 40 cm in lines spaced in 30 cm has shown a linear tendency of decreasing the productivity of dry floral chapters. Spacings between plants did not affect the phenological development of chamomile, however, sowing dates interfered in the thermal time of six evaluated subperiods regarding plastochron and the final number of nodes.

Poorly known aspects of flattening the curve of COVID-19

This work concerns the too-often mentioned flattening of the curve of COVID-19. The diffusion of the virus is analyzed with logistic-curve fits on the 25 countries most affected at the time of the writing and in which the diffusion curve was more than 95% completed. A negative correlation observed between the final number of infections and the slope of the logistic curve corroborates a result obtained long time ago via an extensive simulation study. There is both theoretical arguments and experimental evidence for the existence of such correlations. The flattening of the curve results in a retardation of the curve’s midpoint, which entails an increase in the final number of infections. It is possible that more lives are lost at the end by this process. Our analysis also permits evaluation of the various governments’ interventions in terms of rapidity of response, efficiency of the actions taken (the amount of flattening achieved), and the number of days by which the curve was delayed. Not surprisingly, early decisive response proves to be the optimum strategy among the countries studied.

A Simple Ecological Model Captures the Transmission Pattern of COVID-19 Outbreak in China

Background The rapid spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), initially reported in the city of Wuhan in China, and quickly transmitted to the entire nation and beyond, has become an international public health emergency. Estimating the final number of infection cases and the turning point (time with the fastest spreading rate) is crucial to assessing and improving the national and international control measures currently being applied.Methods We develop a simple model based on infectious growth with a time-varying infection rate, and estimate the final number of infections and the turning point using data updated daily from 3 February 2020, when China escalated its initial public health measures, to 10 February.Results Our model provides an extremely good fit to the existing data and therefore a reasonable estimate of the time-varying infection rate that has largely captured the transmission pattern of this epidemic outbreak. Our estimation suggests that (i) the final number of infections in China could reach 78,000 with an upper 95% confidence limit of 88,880; (ii) the turning point of the fastest spread was on the 4th or the 5th of February; and (iii) the projected period for the end of the outbreak (i.e., when 95% of the final predicted number of infection is reached) will be the 24th of February, with an upper 95% confidence limit on the 19th of March.Conclusions Our results suggest that the current control measures in China are excellent, and more than sufficient to contain the spread of this highly infectious novel coronavirus, and that the application of such measures could be considered internationally for the global control of this outbreak.