Acquisition Of Patterns Research Articles

Response of functional traits in Machilus pauhoi to nitrogen addition is influenced by differences of provenances

Comprehensive studies on the response of whole plant functional traits to nitrogen deposition can provide insight into the resource acquisition strategies of plants. However, current studies on nitrogen deposition have mainly focused on leaves or roots.We conducted nitrogen deposition simulation experiments with Machilus pauhoi (Lauraceae) from five provenances in a common garden experiment in the southeast of China. We measured 29 traits (biomass, phenology traits, and nutrient concentrations) of leaves, stems, and roots in response to nitrogen addition and selected 26 distinct important functional traits related to resource acquisition strategies of the whole M. pauhoi seedlings.We found that N (Nitrogen) addition significantly increased the biomass of M. pauhoi seedlings and altered biomass allocation among organs. The response of the leaf, stem and root traits to nitrogen addition was not always consistent among the different provenances of M. pauhoi seedlings. A uniform variation pattern of the three organs was found in the C (Carbon) and P (Phosphorus) concentrations, as well as N:P ratio. In contrast, N concentration, the C:N ratio and the phenotypic trait specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root area (SRL) did not respond in the same direction at the organ level.We concluded that nitrogen addition alters the biomass allocation pattern of M. pauhoi and the resource acquisition capacity of above- and below-ground organs. N concentrations and C:N ratio may play a key role in this regulatory process. Overall, N addition increased leaf mass fraction (LMF) and SRL, and instead decreased SLA and root mass fraction (RMF) of M. pauhoi. There are also differences in biomass allocation and resource acquisition patterns between the different provenances. AF and SC seedlings can be preferred provenances for M. pauhoi due to their balanced resource acquisition strategy and high phenotypic plasticity, respectively.Our study may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how N deposition affects the plant as a whole and provide a theoretical basis for precise nutrient management of M. pauhoi seedlings and their plantations in the context of nitrogen deposition.

Comprehensive Assessment of Coronary Calcification in Intravascular OCT Using a Spatial-Temporal Encoder-Decoder Network.

Coronary calcification is a strong indicator of coronary artery disease and a key determinant of the outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention. We propose a fully automated method to segment and quantify coronary calcification in intravascular OCT (IVOCT) images based on convolutional neural networks (CNN). All possible calcified plaques were segmented from IVOCT pullbacks using a spatial-temporal encoder-decoder network by exploiting the 3D continuity information of the plaques, which were then screened and classified by a DenseNet network to reduce false positives. A novel data augmentation method based on the IVOCT image acquisition pattern was also proposed to improve the performance and robustness of the segmentation. Clinically relevant metrics including calcification area, depth, angle, thickness, volume, and stent-deployment calcification score, were automatically computed. 13844 IVOCT images with 2627 calcification slices from 45 clinical OCT pullbacks were collected and used to train and test the model. The proposed method performed significantly better than existing state-of-the-art 2D and 3D CNN methods. The data augmentation method improved the Dice similarity coefficient for calcification segmentation from 0.615±0.332 to 0.756±0.222, reaching human-level inter-observer agreement. Our proposed region-based classifier improved image-level calcification classification precision and F1-score from 0.725±0.071 and 0.791±0.041 to 0.964±0.002 and 0.883±0.008, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis showed close agreement between manual and automatic calcification measurements. Our proposed method is valuable for automated assessment of coronary calcification lesions and in-procedure planning of stent deployment.

StackZDPD: a novel encoding scheme for mass spectrometry data optimized for speed and compression ratio

As the pervasive, standardized format for interchange and deposition of raw mass spectrometry (MS) proteomics and metabolomics data, text-based mzML is inefficiently utilized on various analysis platforms due to its sheer volume of samples and limited read/write speed. Most research on compression algorithms rarely provides flexible random file reading scheme. Database-developed solution guarantees the efficiency of random file reading, but nevertheless the efforts in compression and third-party software support are insufficient. Under the premise of ensuring the efficiency of decompression, we propose an encoding scheme “Stack-ZDPD” that is optimized for storage of raw MS data, designed for the format “Aird”, a computation-oriented format with fast accessing and decoding time, where the core compression algorithm is “ZDPD”. Stack-ZDPD reduces the volume of data stored in mzML format by around 80% or more, depending on the data acquisition pattern, and the compression ratio is approximately 30% compared to ZDPD for data generated using Time of Flight technology. Our approach is available on AirdPro, for file conversion and the Java-API Aird-SDK, for data parsing.

Healthcare Utilization with Drug Acquisition and Expenses at the National Health Insurance Fund in Sudan.

Background: Understanding the pattern of care use can provide valuable information for reform interventions. This study investigates the pattern of healthcare utilization and its association with drug acquisition patterns and expenses in the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) of Al Jazira State in Sudan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at NHIF primary healthcare centers of Al Jazirah state in Sudan. Results: A total of 768 beneficiaries were interviewed, of which 63.2% reported using out-of-network physician care, while 36.8% receive care from the NHIF physician network only. More than half (60.8%) of NHIF-interviewed clients reported a heavy burden of medication costs. The pattern of physician utilization was significantly associated with the number and source of regular drugs, the burden of out-of-pocket payment, and monthly out-of-pocket expenditures on medications, (p < 0.001). The regression analysis revealed that gender, marital status, number of chronic diseases, and number of regular drugs were the significant predictors of the pattern of physician care utilization; these factors explained nearly 36% of the variance in respondents’ pattern of physician care utilization. Conclusions: An impressive proportion of out-of-network care was found in Al Jazirah State in Sudan. The NHIF stakeholders should consider medication subsidy as a potential strategy for decreasing patient leakage to out-of-network services.

Task space exploration improves adaptation after incompatible virtual surgeries.

Humans have a remarkable capacity to learn new motor skills, a process that requires novel muscle activity patterns. Muscle synergies may simplify the generation of muscle patterns through the selection of a small number of synergy combinations. Learning of new motor skills may then be achieved by acquiring novel muscle synergies. In a previous study, we used myoelectric control to construct virtual surgeries that altered the mapping from muscle activity to cursor movements. After compatible virtual surgeries, which could be compensated by recombining subject-specific muscle synergies, participants adapted quickly. In contrast, after incompatible virtual surgeries, which could not be compensated by recombining existing synergies, participants explored new muscle patterns but failed to adapt. Here, we tested whether task space exploration can promote learning of novel muscle synergies required to overcome an incompatible surgery. Participants performed the same reaching task as in our previous study but with more time to complete each trial, thus allowing for exploration. We found an improvement in trial success after incompatible virtual surgeries. Remarkably, improvements in movement direction accuracy after incompatible surgeries occurred faster for corrective movements than for the initial movement, suggesting that learning of new synergies is more effective when used for feedback control. Moreover, reaction time was significantly higher after incompatible than compatible virtual surgeries, suggesting an increased use of an explicit adaptive strategy to overcome incompatible surgeries. Taken together, these results indicate that exploration is important for skill learning and suggest that human participants, with sufficient time, can learn new muscle synergies.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Motor skill learning requires the acquisition of novel muscle patterns, a slow adaptive process. Here we show that learning to control a cursor after an incompatible virtual surgery, a complex skill requiring new muscle synergies, is possible when enough time for task space exploration is provided. Our results suggest that learning new synergies is related to the exceptional human capacity to acquire a wide variety of novel motor skills with practice.

Acquisition pattern of nitrogen by microorganisms and plants affected by gravel mulch in a semiarid Tibetan grassland

As an important coarse inorganic fraction of soil, gravel may regulate the effects of the interaction between above- and belowground communities and affect the relationship between microorganisms and plants in alpine ecosystems. However, comparatively little is known about the effects of gravel on the acquisition pattern of nitrogen (N) by microorganisms and plants in alpine ecosystems. In this study, a 15N-labelling experiment was conducted to investigate the acquisition pattern of organic (15N-glycine) and inorganic N (15N-NO3− and 15N-NH4+) by microorganisms and plants under three particle sizes of gravel mulch (fine: 2–10 mm, medium: 10–20 mm, coarse: 20–40 mm) on a semiarid Tibetan grassland. Gravel mulch significantly improved the 15N recovery of Stipa purpurea, but had no significant impacts on A. nanschanica. Therefore, gravel mulch decreased the ratio of microbial biomass 15N recovery to plant biomass 15N recovery for S. purpurea, but caused little effect on the state of N competition between plants and soil microbes for A. nanschanica. The N absorption preference of plants from both species shifted from an individual preference for 15N-NO3− in the natural (i.e., control) microplots to a common preference for 15N-NO3−and 15N-NH4+ in the fine- and medium-sized gravel mulch microplots, while there were no significant differences in microbial N recovery between 15N-NO3− and 15N-NH4+ across all treatments. The results helped to improve the understanding of the acquisition pattern of N by microorganisms and plants under the influence of gravel mulch in alpine ecosystems, and provide theoretical support for revegetation in alpine ecosystems in the future.

Preliminary Report on the Train the Brain Project, Part II: Neuroplasticity of Augmented Neuromuscular Training and Improved Injury-Risk Biomechanics.

Neuromuscular training (NMT) facilitates the acquisition of new movement patterns that reduce the anterior cruciate ligament injury risk. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these changes are unknown. To determine the relationship between brain activation and biomechanical changes after NMT with biofeedback. Cohort study. Research laboratory. Twenty female high school soccer athletes, with 10 in an augmented NMT group and 10 in a control (no training) group. Ten participants completed 6 weeks of NMT augmented with real-time biofeedback to reduce knee injury-risk movements, and 10 participants pursued no training. Augmented neuromuscular training (aNMT) was implemented with visual biofeedback that responded in real time to injury-risk biomechanical variables. A drop vertical jump with 3-dimensional motion capture was used to assess injury-risk neuromuscular changes before and after the 6-week intervention. Brain-activation changes were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging during unilateral knee and multijoint motor tasks. After aNMT, sensory (precuneus), visual-spatial (lingual gyrus), and motor-planning (premotor) brain activity increased for knee-specific movement; sensorimotor cortex activity for multijoint movement decreased. The knee-abduction moment during landing also decreased (4.66 ± 5.45 newton meters; P = .02; Hedges g = 0.82) in the aNMT group but did not change in the control group (P > .05). The training-induced increased brain activity with isolated knee movement was associated with decreases in knee-abduction moment (r = 0.67; P = .036) and sensorimotor cortex activity for multijoint movement (r = 0.87; P = .001). No change in brain activity was observed in the control group (P > .05). The relationship between neural changes observed across tasks and reduced knee abduction suggests that aNMT facilitated recruitment of sensory integration centers to support reduced injury-risk mechanics and improve sensorimotor neural efficiency for multijoint control. Further research is warranted to determine if this training-related multimodal neuroplasticity enhances neuromuscular control during more complex sport-specific activities.

Towards the interpretation of a shift of the central beam in nano-beam electron diffraction as a change in mean inner potential

The measurement of electric fields in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is a highly investigated field of research. The constant improvement of spatial resolution in STEM and the development of new hardware for the fast acquisition of diffraction patterns even paved the way for the measurement of atomic electric fields. Although the basic principle that an electric field leads to a tilt of the focussed electron probe that can be detected as a shift of the diffraction pattern in the back focal plane of the objective lens seems quite simple, many challenges arose in the measurement of fields in a quantitative way. In the present study we investigate whether a shift of the diffraction pattern that occurs at an interface between two materials can be related to the electric field which is caused by the difference of the mean inner potentials of the two materials. To this end, experiments and simulations are compared. It is demonstrated that the difference in mean inner potential has an influence on the observed effect, but a quantitative interpretation is difficult. The influence of image recording effects such as shot noise and the modulation transfer function are investigated as well as further effects such as e.g. sample tilt. In addition, the influence of the observed effect on a strain measurement is shown.

Relative clauses in child heritage speakers of Turkish in the United States

Abstract How does complex syntax develop in heritage language children? This study investigates child Turkish heritage speakers’ comprehension and production of relative clauses (RCs) in Turkish and in English. RCs vary on their syntactic functions (subject, object) and show asymmetric patterns of acquisition and processing, which have been explained by linear distance, structural distance and input factors. Thirty-two child Turkish HS (ages 6–15) and 48 monolingual Turkish children (ages 3–15) completed a picture-sentence matching (comprehension) task and a sentence repetition (production) task in Turkish. The Turkish HS were tested on the RC comprehension and production tasks in English as well. The results indicated that the child HS showed (i) better performance in English than in Turkish with increasing age, (ii) better comprehension than production of Turkish RCs, (iii) replacement of complex RCs with simple juxtaposition in Turkish, and (iv) a subject advantage in comprehension. We take these findings to suggest that Turkish RCs do not fully develop in child HS of Turkish in the U.S., although the strength of this explanation must be corroborated by a study of child and adult HS. Overall, the findings are most compatible with the structural distance account and other factors that may affect production.

Golden-bellied mangabeys (Cercocebus chrysogaster) consume and share mammalian prey at LuiKotale, Democratic Republic of the Congo

AbstractPredator–prey dynamics are an important aspect of community ecology, but predation events are often difficult to observe. Among African primates, observations of mammal predation are particularly uncommon and generally restricted to a few ape and cercopithecoid species. I report five observations of mammal predation by golden-bellied mangabeys (Cercocebus chrysogaster) living in rainforest at the LuiKotale study site, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over 46 all-day follows, mangabeys from one group caught and consumed four duikers (Cephalophinae spp.) and one Alexander’s cusimanse (Crossarchus alexandri). Individuals begged from the feeding individual in three of five observations. I observed one successful attempt at begging, which resulted in an adult female tolerating removal of blue duiker by a juvenile. These are the first detailed observations of mammal predation and food sharing by Cercocebus mangabeys and suggest mammals that feed alongside mangabeys may balance predation risk against social foraging benefits. Food sharing is rarely observed in most cercopithecine monkeys and could provide a useful metric to examine socio-ecological patterns of food acquisition.

Staging to join non-kin groups in a classical cooperative breeder, the Florida scrub-jay.

Why unrelated members form groups in animal societies remains a pertinent topic in evolutionary biology because benefits for group members often are not obvious. We studied subordinates that disperse to join unrelated social groups in the Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens, a cooperative breeding species mainly composed of kin-based groups. We evaluated potential adaptive benefits of dispersing to become an unrelated helper (staging) versus remaining home and dispersing only to pair and breed (direct dispersal) to understand why non-kin-based groups form. Using 35years of demographic data, we quantified life-history aspects of staging individuals and tested associations between social and ecological factors on the natal and staging territories. We compared fitness outcomes between dispersal strategies by analysing survival, breeding recruitment and direct reproductive output. We tested for sexual asymmetry potentially driven by differences in territory acquisition patterns and female-biased dispersal for this species. Of birds that reached 1year, 28% staged at a non-natal territory before breeding or disappearing. Staging dispersers departed at younger ages and moved greater distances than direct dispersers. When looking at proximate factors on the natal territory associated with staging, males left groups with many same-sex helpers, while females often left when their father disappeared. For both sexes, staging individuals more likely came from high-quality territories and joined groups with fewer same-sex helpers than in their natal group. While staging and direct dispersers did not differ in survival or likelihood of becoming a breeder, staging males became breeders later and had lower lifetime reproductive success than direct dispersers. In Florida scrub-jays, staging appears to be an alternative strategy for female helpers, but a best-of-a-bad-situation for males. This sexual asymmetry is consistent with males having more options than females to achieve higher reproductive success by breeding near home. Trade-offs in cost-benefits of departing the natal territory and joining unrelated groups as a helper seem to best explain alternative dispersal patterns, with optimal social queues primarily driving the benefits. This research highlights plasticity in dispersal behaviour in response to social and environmental conditions and offers a new perspective in our understanding of non-kin-based social groups.

Acquiring Italian stop consonants: A challenge for Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners

The acquisition of Italian stop consonants by Mandarin Chinese-speaking learners has hardly been investigated. This study was designed to fill this gap. To investigate Chinese learners’ acquisition patterns of Italian voiced and voiceless stops, a perception experiment and a production experiment were conducted. Twenty Mandarin Chinese-speaking undergraduate students majoring in Italian, five native Italian and five native Mandarin speakers served as participants in the perception experiment; and an equal number of participants with the same language backgrounds served as participants in the production experiment. In the perception experiment, the participants had to identify the stimuli in three continua (i.e. bilabial, alveolar and velar) where voice onset time (VOT) values ranged from −50 ms to 90 ms in 10 ms steps. In the production experiment, data were collected from a reading task in which the participants were asked to read the target words with word-initial stops in carrier-sentences; the VOT and closure durations were measured. The results show that, in perception, Chinese learners have difficulty differentiating between Italian voiced and voiceless stops; in production, Italian voiced rather than voiceless stops represent a challenge for Chinese learners. The results are in line with the predictions made by the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 (PAM-L2) and the Speech Learning Model (SLM), as well as with most other studies focusing on the acquisition of stops of ‘true-voice languages’ by Chinese learners.

Differential patterns of postmigration HIV-1 infection acquisition among Portuguese immigrants of different geographical origins.

To investigate the dynamics of phylogenetic transmission clusters involving immigrants of Portuguese Speaking Countries living in Portugal. We included genomic sequences, sociodemographic and clinical data from 772 HIV migrants followed in Portugal between 2001 and 2017. To reconstruct HIV-1 transmission clusters, we applied phylogenetic inference from 16 454 patients: 772 migrants, 2973 Portuguese and 12 709 global controls linked to demographic and clinical data. Transmission clusters were defined using: clusters with SH greater than 90% (phylogenetic support), genetic distance less than 3.5% and clusters that included greater than 66% of patients from one specific geographic origin compared with the total of sequences within the cluster. Logistic regression was performed to assess factors associated with clustering. Three hundred and six (39.6%) of migrants were included in transmission clusters. This proportion differed substantially by region of origin [Brazil 54% vs. Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOPs) 36%, P < 0.0001] and HIV-1 infecting subtype (B 52%, 43% subtype G and 32% CRF02_AG, P < 0.001). Belonging to a transmission cluster was independently associated with treatment-naive patients, CD4+ greater than 500, with recent calendar years of sampling, origin from PALOPs and with seroconversion. Among Brazilian migrants - mainly infected with subtype B - 40.6% were infected by Portuguese. Among migrants from PALOPs - mainly infected with subtypes G and CFR02_AG - the transmission occurred predominantly within the migrants' community (53 and 80%, respectively). The acquisition of infection among immigrants living in Portugal differs according to the country of origin. These results can contribute to monitor the HIV epidemic and prevent new HIV infections among migrants.

Persistence of open-air markets in the food systems of Africa's secondary cities

In a rapidly urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), changing urban food systems are expected to affect the ways in which households access food. While significant research and policy efforts address food production to support food security in the context of city-region food systems, the complex nature of urban food systems has received less attention, particularly in secondary cities across the globe. Using household survey data collected in 2019 across 4 cities in Kenya and 14 cities in Zambia, we examined patterns of household food acquisition from key food retail locations. Households predominantly purchased food from open-air markets and vendors, and only a subset of households bought food from supermarkets. Variations in urban population size, area, and connectivity across the 18 cities presented a clustering of four city types that shape household food access and purchasing patterns at food retail locations. Despite a growing narrative that supermarkets and western diets will dominate SSA's urban food systems, our findings suggest that low- to middle-income households will continue to purchase food at open-air markets in SSA's secondary cities in the coming years. Attention to these urban household purchasing patterns can inform urban planning and governance priorities to ensure that SSA's food systems can meet urban food security needs.

Single-shot multiwavelength digital holography using Bragg diffraction of light by several ultrasound waves [Invited

We report on wavelength-multiplexed digital holographic imaging based on simultaneous Bragg diffraction of wideband light by several ultrasound waves of different frequencies in crystalline media. This technique is easy to implement, avoids spectral scanning, and is applicable in various digital holography schemes. It also enables single-shot acquisition of a few spectral fringe patterns by a single monochrome sensor and wavelength demultiplexing of the resulting interferogram. We have assembled a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an acousto-optical tunable filter operating in the multifrequency mode and have validated the proposed technique by dual-, three-, and four-wavelength quantitative phase imaging of the test samples.

Short echo time dual-frequency MR Elastography with Optimal Control RF pulses

Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) quantifies the mechanical properties of tissues, typically applying motion encoding gradients (MEG). Multifrequency results allow better characterizations of tissues using data usually acquired through sequential monofrequency experiments. High frequencies are difficult to reach due to slew rate limitations and low frequencies induce long TEs, yielding magnitude images with low SNR. We propose a novel strategy to perform simultaneous multifrequency MRE in the absence of MEGs: using RF pulses designed via the Optimal Control (OC) theory. Such pulses control the spatial distribution of the MRI magnetization phase so that the resulting transverse magnetization reproduces the phase pattern of an MRE acquisition. The pulse is applied with a constant gradient during the multifrequency mechanical excitation to simultaneously achieve slice selection and motion encoding. The phase offset sampling strategy can be adapted according to the excitation frequencies to reduce the acquisition time. Phantom experiments were run to compare the classical monofrequency MRE to the OC based dual-frequency MRE method and showed excellent agreement between the reconstructed shear storage modulus G′. Our method could be applied to simultaneously acquire low and high frequency components, which are difficult to encode with the classical MEG MRE strategy.

Pattern of acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens in the ICU of an academic tertiary care hospital.

Among hospitalized patients, a 48-hour window from time of hospitalization defines nosocomial infections and guides empiric antibiotic selection. This time frame may lead to overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Our primary objective was to determine the earliest and median time since hospital admission to acquire antibiotic-resistant pathogens among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of an academic, tertiary care hospital. Retrospective chart review was conducted for adult patients admitted to the ICU from home or another hospital within the same health authority in 2018, to identify the time to acquisition of hospital-associated pathogens: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales, non-ESBL ceftriaxone-resistant Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Patients transferred from hospitals outside the health authority, admitted to ICU after 14 days of hospitalization, who were solid organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, or who were otherwise immunocompromised were excluded. In 2018, 1,343 patients were admitted to this ICU; 820 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 121 (14.76%) acquired a hospital-associated pathogen in the ICU. The probability of isolating a hospital-associated pathogen by 48 hours of hospital admission was 3%. The earliest time to isolate any of these pathogens was 29 hours, and the median was 9 days (interquartile range [IQR] 3.8-15.6 days). Most patients (85.3%) in this ICU never acquired a hospital-associated pathogen. The median time to acquire a hospital-associated pathogen among the remaining patients suggests that initiating empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics on the basis of a 48-hour threshold may be premature.

Corporate memory dynamics in project-based organizations (PBOs): multiple case study in Brazilian engineering design firms and a framework proposal

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how the processes of memory acquisition, retention, retrieval and application occur in project-based organizations (PBOs). In this kind of organization, the nature of corporate memory is influenced by the transience, uniqueness and independence of the project portfolio. Such understanding may help practitioners to mitigate the effects of project transience and promote knowledge sharing among project teams.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical and qualitative study was carried out through a multiple case study approach conducted in three Brazilian Engineering Design Firms, which are organized by projects. Document analysis, direct observation and semi-structured interviews with engineers, project managers and executives were conducted.FindingsThe memory acquisition process takes place in five forms which have different sources and destinations when comparing PBOs with traditional organizational settings. Memory retention in PBOs crosses organizational boundaries and establishes a knowledge network of former employees and third parties. The PBOs project memory can be divided into volatile and perennial memory, where the former can be lost throughout project execution and the latter is internalized, becoming an inseparable part of the corporate memory. Memory retrieval in PBOs is also distinct since it has particular mechanisms depending on whether the knowledge is technical or administrative.Originality/valueThe research investigates the corporate memory processes within the volatile context of PBOs in a Latin-American developing country whose culture favors tacit knowledge exchange. The paper proposes a framework that unveils different patterns of knowledge acquisition, temporary and perennial retention structures, intensive usage of external knowledge in memory retrieval and particular memory applications in PBOs. The framework may guide scholars, project managers, engineers and practitioners in navigating through the uniqueness of organizational learning flows and structures in PBOs.

Root nutrient capture and leaf resorption efficiency modulated by different influential factors jointly alleviated P limitation in Quercus acutissima across the North-South Transect of Eastern China.

Soil and climatic conditions are known to have close associations with plant morphological and stoichiometric traits at a regional scale along latitudinal gradients; however, how latitude drives biotic and abiotic factors affecting plant nutrient acquisition to accommodate environmental nutrient deficiency remains unclear. We quantified soil, root, leaf, and leaf litter nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations to determine the potentially limiting nutrient and the simultaneous responses of root capture and leaf resorption to nutrient deficiency in seven Quercus acutissima forests across the North-South Transect of Eastern China. The results showed that the mean leaf and root N:P ratios in Q. acutissima were 21.58 and 20.23, respectively, which markedly exceeded the P limitation threshold of 16 for terrestrial plants. The mean leaf litter N and P were 10.63 mg/g and 0.51 mg/g, respectively, indicating that P resorption proficiency was relatively higher than N resorption proficiency. N displayed higher stoichiometric homeostasis than P in the leaf. The leaf and root N:P ratios showed a quadratic variation that first decreased and then increased as latitude increased, whereas the phosphorus resorption efficiency and root-soil accumulation factor of P displayed the opposite trend. Partial least square path modeling ( PLS-PM) analysis demonstrated that root nutrient capture and leaf nutrient resorption were regulated by different influential factors. Overall, these findings provide new insights into plant strategies to adapt to environmental nutrient deficiency, as well as the scientific basis for predicting the spatial and temporal patterns of nutrient acquisition in the context of climate change.

СПОЖИВЧА ПОВЕДІНКА В НОВОМУ МЕДІАЛАНДШАФТІ

The article is devoted to analyzing a transformation of the end consumers’ behavior in the changing media environment. Informational, behavioral, and generational approaches to the transformation of consumption content are substantiated. The essential characteristics of the modern media paradigm are considered. The main challenges for traditional media are outlined. Qualitative and quantitative shifts in consumption of various types of media in certain countries are analyzed, and structural changes in media consumption are illustrated using the example of American society. The main causes of disparities in the degree of penetration of new media types are identified. Special attention was paid to the generation factor as the main prerequisite for the transformation of media consumption, as well as the acquisition of new consumer experiences and behavioral patterns. Other elements of the research program of consumption theory are proposed, reflecting the complications and expansion of consumer behavior taking into account the new media paradigm. Changes in roles, functions, structure, and forms of consumption implementation were studied. Distinctive characteristics of the Zoomers generation as a consumer segment are considered and the trends of its behavior in the digital space are reflected. The study exposes the activation and complication of the modern consumer, which is manifested in the diversification of needs and individualization of the information and communication space. It was established that the products are saturated with an informational component, which implies the inclusion of ideological, aesthetic, and other dimensions. The modification of the mechanism of consumer choice is explained by the growing influence of digital communications at each iteration of the purchase process. The algorithm of the consumer decision-making process is outlined, and the factors affecting this process are identified. It is noted that with the development of information and communication technologies and the expansion of the choice of media, the information saturation of the markets is increasing, which emphasizes the importance of partnership relations between the producer and the consumer. The article concludes with an outline of several megatrends and an assessment of their impact on consumer behavior.