Coherent Network Research Articles

Combining magnetoencephalography with telemetric streaming of intracranial recordings and deep brain stimulation—A feasibility study

Abstract The combination of subcortical Local Field Potential (LFP) recordings and stimulation with Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) patients enables the investigation of cortico-subcortical communication patterns and provides insights into DBS mechanisms. Until now, these recordings have been carried out in post-surgical patients with externalised leads. However, a new generation of telemetric stimulators makes it possible to record and stream LFP data in chronically implanted patients. Nevertheless, whether such streaming can be combined with MEG has not been tested. In the present study, we tested the most commonly implanted telemetric stimulator—Medtronic Percept PC with a phantom in three different MEG systems: two cryogenic scanners (CTF and MEGIN) and an experimental Optically Pumped Magnetometry (OPM)-based system. We found that when used in combination with the new SenSight segmented leads, Percept PC telemetric streaming only generates band-limited interference in the MEG at 123 Hz and harmonics. However, the “legacy streaming mode” used with older lead models generates multiple, dense artefact peaks in the physiological range of interest (below 50 Hz). The effect of stimulation on MEG critically depends on whether it is done in bipolar (between two contacts on the lead) or monopolar (between a lead contact and the stimulator case) mode. Monopolar DBS creates severe interference in the MEG as previously reported. However, we found that the OPM system is more resilient to this interference and could provide artefact-free measurements, at least for limited frequency ranges. A resting measurement in the MEGIN system from a Parkinson’s patient implanted with Percept PC and subthalamic SenSight leads revealed artefact patterns consistent with our phantom recordings. Moreover, analysis of LFP-MEG coherence in this patient showed oscillatory coherent networks consistent in their frequency and topography with those described in published group studies done with externalised leads. In conclusion, Percept PC telemetric streaming with SenSight leads is compatible with MEG. Furthermore, OPM sensors could provide additional new opportunities for studying DBS effects.

Graphene/silicon heterojunction for reconfigurable phase-relevant activation function in coherent optical neural networks

Optical neural networks (ONNs) herald a new era in information and communication technologies and have implemented various intelligent applications. In an ONN, the activation function (AF) is a crucial component determining the network performances and on-chip AF devices are still in development. Here, we first demonstrate on-chip reconfigurable AF devices with phase activation fulfilled by dual-functional graphene/silicon (Gra/Si) heterojunctions. With optical modulation and detection in one device, time delays are shorter, energy consumption is lower, reconfigurability is higher and the device footprint is smaller than other on-chip AF strategies. The experimental modulation voltage (power) of our Gra/Si heterojunction achieves as low as 1 V (0.5 mW), superior to many pure silicon counterparts. In the photodetection aspect, a high responsivity of over 200 mA/W is realized. Special nonlinear functions generated are fed into a complex-valued ONN to challenge handwritten letters and image recognition tasks, showing improved accuracy and potential of high-efficient, all-component-integration on-chip ONN. Our results offer new insights for on-chip ONN devices and pave the way to high-performance integrated optoelectronic computing circuits.

Pemetaan Kerentanan Tingkat Kriminalitas Menggunakan Metode Self Organizing Map

The crime rate in an area can be a serious problem and can endanger the safety and welfare of the community. One important aspect in handling crime problems is understanding and disclosing patterns and characteristics of criminal incidents. This understanding is the basis for formulating effective crime prevention and control policies. Methods that have been widely used include Self-Organizing Map (SOM). Self-Organizing Mapping (SOM) was introduced in 1982 by Teuvo Kohonen as an unsupervised learning method. SOM can perform fairly valid and unbiased mapping, allowing it to map feature-based datasets through self-organization rules. The SOM architecture or what is often called a coherent network is a network consisting of two layers, namely the input layer and the output layer. Every neuron in the input layer is connected to every neuron in the output layer. Each neuron in the output layer interprets the class of the input provided. Based on the research results, it was found that it was certain that the best cluster was in cluster 2 for districts/cities in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java. Cluster 1 consists of 15 districts/cities, and cluster 2 consists of 63 districts/cities

The Māui Narratives: from bowdlerisation, dislocation and infantilisation to veracity, a Māori practice-led approach

In Aotearoa New Zealand, as a consequence of colonisation, generations of Māori have been alienated from both their language and culture. This project harnessed an artistic re-consideration of pūrākau (traditional stories) such that previously fractured or erased stories relating to Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga were orchestrated into a coherent narrative network. Storytelling is not the same as reading a story aloud or reciting a piece from memory. It also differs from performed drama, although it shares certain characteristics with all of these art forms. As a storyteller I look into the eyes of the audience and we both construct a virtual world. Together the listener and the teller compose the tale. The storyteller uses voice, pause and gesture; a listener, from the first moment, absorbs, reacts and co-creates. For each, the pūrākau is unique. Its story images differ. The experience can be profound, exercising thinking and emotional transformation. In the design of 14 episodes of the Māui narrative, connections were made between imagery, sound and the resonance of traditional, oral storytelling. The resulting Māui pūrākau, functions not only to revive the beauty of te reo Māori, but also to resurface traditional values that lie embedded within these ancient stories. The presentation contributes to knowledge through three distinct points. First, it supports language revitilisation by employing ancient words, phrases and karakia that are heard. Thus, we encounter language expressed not in its neutral written form, but in relation to tone, pause, rhythm, pronunciation and context. Second, it connects the Māui narratives into a cohesive whole. In doing this it also uses whakapapa to make connections and to provide meaning and chronology both within and between the episodes. Third, it elevates the pūrākau beyond the level of simple children’s stories. The inclusion of karakia reinforces that these incantations are in fact sacred texts. Rich in ancient language they give us glimspes into ancient epistemologies. Appreciating this elevated state, we can understand how these pūrākau dealt with complex human and societal issues including abortion, rape, incest, murder, love, challenging traditional hierarchies, the power of women, and the sacredness of knowledge and ritual. Finally, the presentation considers both in theory and practice, the process of intergenerational bowdlerisation. 

Beyond Social Class – Psychometric Properties of the Spanish-Language Version of the Personal Relative Deprivation Scale and Its Associations With Intra- and Interpersonal Outcomes

Abstract: The Personal Relative Deprivation Scale (PRDS; Callan et al., 2008 , 2011 ) captures feelings of dissatisfaction and resentment deriving from the judgment that one is deprived of personally relevant outcomes compared to what other (similar) individuals have. Despite its good psychometric properties in Western English-speaking samples, recent investigations on the generalization of the PRDS to other cultural contexts have shown inconsistencies in reproducing the unidimensional latent structure and high internal consistency of its scores. Using expert evaluations and empirical data from seven community samples ( NTOTAL = 1,985), this multi-study investigation developed and validated the Spanish-language version of the PRDS (SP-PRDS). Our instrument first demonstrated robust unidimensionality, invariance across gender and age groups, and high internal and temporal consistency. Furthermore, our investigation found that this measure exhibits a coherent network of correlates with intra- and interpersonal psychological outcomes. SP-PRDS scores were connected with reduced subjective and psychological well-being. They were also more strongly related to broader affective manifestations (high envy, anger, and hostility) than to more concrete behaviors (physical/verbal aggression, prosocial behaviors, and online trolling). Notably, these associations were independent of individuals’ social class. The SP-PRDS represents a promising tool for measuring PRD in Spain and, potentially, in other Spanish-speaking populations worldwide.

Hardware-Efficient and Robust DSP Scheme for Coherent DSCM System in Presence of Transmitter IQ Impairments

In this paper, a hardware-efficient and robust DSP scheme for the coherent digital subcarrier multiplexing (DSCM) system in presence of transmitter (Tx) in-phase/quadrature (IQ) impairments is introduced and demonstrated. An analytic complex model is given to describe the effects of IQ skew, IQ amplitude and phase imbalance (referred to as IQ mixing) on the DSCM signal. Based on the model, residual frequency offset, polarization and carrier phase noise are jointly recovered using frequency pilot tones (FPT) in presence of IQ mixing. This process avoids the coupling effect of phase noise and Tx IQ mixing in conventional schemes, which allows the Tx IQ mixing to be compensated for by the following joint equalization of conjugate symmetric subcarriers. Compared to the conventional scheme based on widely linear equalizer, the polarization and carrier phase tracking capability of the proposed scheme is robust to IQ mixing. Meanwhile, the proposed scheme can tolerate a wide range of Tx IQ mixing in the presence of residual frequency offset and carrier phase noise. Since polarization crosstalk is eliminated, the signals of the two polarizations can be equalized separately in the proposed scheme, thus reducing the computational complexity by half. For a 4-subcarrier DSCM system with baud rate of 32 Gbaud, experimental results show that the Q-factor degradation of the proposed scheme is less than 0.5dB in the presence of Tx IQ time skew within <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula> 15 ps, IQ phase imbalance within <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula> 20 degrees or IQ amplitude imbalance within <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula> 3 dB. With 1dB Q-factor degradation, the proposed scheme can track polarization variation up to 10 Mrad/s, residual frequency offset of 10 MHz or carrier phase noise with 3dB linewidth of 200 kHz in the presence of Tx IQ mixing. Therefore, the proposed scheme provides a hardware-efficient and robust DSP solution for coherent DSCM targeting access network applications.

Dynamic Control of Distal Spatial Mode Pattern Output From Multimode Fiber Using Integrated Coherent Network

Dynamic Control of Distal Spatial Mode Pattern Output From Multimode Fiber Using Integrated Coherent Network

Solidification crack elimination in TIG welding of Al7075: Experimental investigation and modified RDG modelling

Although solidification crack susceptibility modelling has been a point of interest for many years in fusion welding of aluminum alloys, the underlying mechanism of solidification crack elimination is not yet fully understood. To contribute in closing this knowledge gap, the present study investigates and proposes a new modified Rappaz-Drezet-Gremaud (RDG) physical model in autogenous and heterogeneous TIG welding of Al7075 sheets. The core novelty of the new model is that it includes the shrinkage strain rate, which allows to better capture the effects of capillary pressure, coherency point, as well as final dendrite or grain size in the fusion zone. In agreement with the experimental results and previous models, the new model shows that the defining mechanism of eliminating solidification cracks in heterogeneous joints is the capacity of nanoparticles to initiate heterogeneous grain nucleation, altering the fusion zone grain morphology from dendritic to fine equiaxed, with only little impact of the resulting grain size. This leads to two main effects causing reduced solidification crack susceptibility: (1) a reduction in coherency point by about 15 % from 902 K to 879 K, which reduces strain accumulation on the coherent solid network; (2) a considerable increase in capillary pressure across the entire mushy zone, allowing to maintain the total pressure at void/liquid interfaces in the positive range, which prevents the growth of potentially formed voids between grains at any temperature during solidification. In contrast, dendrite widths below 68 μm are required to prevent solidification cracks in autogenous joints without TiC nanoparticles, indicating a greater role of grain refinement. Overall, the proposed model highlights the more determinant role of the temperature-dependent solidification shrinkage strain rate in solidification crack susceptibility as it is an order of magnitude greater compared to the temperature-independent thermal contraction strain rate that has been the main or sole focus of previous models.

If you build it, they will come: Coastal amenities facilitate human engagement in marine protected areas

Abstract Calls for using marine protected areas (MPAs) to achieve goals for nature and people are increasing globally. While the conservation and fisheries impacts of MPAs have been comparatively well‐studied, impacts on other dimensions of human use have received less attention. Understanding how humans engage with MPAs and identifying traits of MPAs that promote engagement is critical to designing MPA networks that achieve multiple goals effectively, equitably and with minimal environmental impact. In this paper, we characterize human engagement in California's MPA network, the world's largest MPA network scientifically designed to function as a coherent network (124 MPAs spanning 16% of state waters and 1300 km of coastline) and identify traits associated with higher human engagement. We assemble and compare diverse indicators of human engagement that capture recreational, educational and scientific activities across California's MPAs. We find that human engagement is correlated with nearby population density and that site “charisma” can expand human engagement beyond what would be predicted based on population density alone. Charismatic MPAs tend to be located near tourist destinations, have long sandy beaches and be adjacent to state parks and associated amenities. In contrast, underutilized MPAs were often more remote and lacked both sandy beaches and parking lot access. Synthesis and applications: These results suggest that achieving MPA goals associated with human engagement can be promoted by developing land‐based amenities that increase access to coastal MPAs or by locating new MPAs near existing amenities during the design phase. Alternatively, human engagement can be limited by locating MPAs in areas far from population centres, coastal amenities or sandy beaches. Furthermore, managers may want to prioritize monitoring, enforcement, education and outreach programmes in MPAs with traits that predict high human engagement. Understanding the extent to which human engagement impacts the conservation performance of MPAs is a critical next step to designing MPAs that minimize tradeoffs among potentially competing objectives. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Coherent Quantum Network of Superconducting Qubits as a Highly Sensitive Detector of Microwave Photons for Searching of Galactic Axions

We propose a novel approach to detect a low power microwave signal with a frequency of the order of several GHz based on a coherent collective response of quantum states occurring in a superconducting qubits network (SQN). An SQN composes of a large number of superconducting qubits embedded in a low-dissipative superconducting resonator. Our theory predicts that an SQN interacting with the off-resonance microwave radiation, demonstrates the collective alternating current Stark effect that can be measured even in the limit of single photon counting. A design of the layout of three terminals SQN detectors containing 10 flux qubits weakly coupled to a low-dissipative R-resonator and T-transmission line was developed. The samples were fabricated by Al-based technology with Nb resonator. The SQN detector was tested in terms of microwave measurements of scattering parameters and two-tone spectroscopy. A substantial shift of the frequency position of the transmission coefficient drop induced by a second tone pump signal was observed, and this effect clearly manifests a nonlinear multiphoton interaction between the second-tone microwave pump signal and an array of qubits.

Principle and strategy of using probabilistic shaping in a flexible coherent passive optical network without optical amplifiers

The coherent passive optical network (CPON) has received a great deal of attention in recent years due to its superior receiver sensitivity and extended power budget for 100G and beyond. In order to fully utilize the channel capacity and achieve adaptive rate adjustment in a flexible coherent passive optical network (FLCS-CPON), constellation-shaping techniques, such as probabilistic shaping (PS), have been introduced. Unlike long-distance transmission networks, which are subject to average power constraint when optical amplifiers are utilized, commercial passive optical network systems are generally subject to peak power constraint, as no optical amplifiers are used. This difference makes the classical probabilistic-shaping (CPS) technology less efficient in CPON systems without optical amplifiers. In this study, the use cases of PS in a flexible coherent access network, including nonlinear-penalty-dominant and noise-dominated regions, are thoroughly explored. By fixing the modulation order and utilizing CPS and reversed probabilistic shaping with a fixed modulation format, a hybrid PS-based FLCS-CPON without optical amplifiers is demonstrated, achieving a peak rate of 200G and a high dynamic range boost of up to 72% from 16 to 27.5 dB in upstream burst-mode-based PS-16 quadrature amplitude modulation. Over the entire dynamic range, the net data rate varies from 168 to 85 Gbps with a power budget of 37 dB, and a dynamic range and net-rate product improvement of 55% is achieved.

Engineering artificial casein micelles for future food: Is casein phosphorylation necessary?

Industrial-scale production of recombinant proteins for food products may become economically feasible but correct post-translational modification of proteins by microbial expression systems remains a challenge. For efficient production of hybrid products from bovine casein and recombinant casein, it is therefore of interest to evaluate the necessity of casein post-translational phosphorylation for the preparation of hybrid casein micelles and study their rennet-induced coagulation. Our results show that dephosphorylated casein was hardly incorporated into artificial casein micelles but was capable of stabilising calcium phosphate nanoclusters with an increased size through adsorption on their surface. Thereby, dephosphorylated casein formed larger colloidal particles with a decreased hydration. Furthermore, the presence of increasing amounts of dephosphorylated casein resulted in increasingly poor rennet coagulation behaviour, where dephosphorylated casein disrupted the formation of a coherent gel network by native casein. These results emphasise that post-translational phosphorylation of casein is crucial for their assembly into micelles and thereby for the production of dairy products for which the casein micelle structure is a prerequisite, such as many cheese varieties and yoghurt. Therefore, phosphorylation of future recombinant casein is essential to allow its use in the production of animal-free dairy products.

Deep learning with coherent VCSEL neural networks

Deep learning with coherent VCSEL neural networks

Edible, strong, and low-hygroscopic bacterial cellulose derived from biosynthesis and physical modification for food packaging.

The pervasive presence of plastic packaging has led to significant environmental contamination due to excessive reliance on petrochemicals and the inherent non-biodegradability of these materials. Bacterial cellulose (BC) films present a viable alternative for food packaging applications, owing to their environmentally friendly synthesis process, non-toxic nature, robust mechanical strength, and biodegradability. However, the high hygroscopicity of such bio-based materials has limited their widespread adoption, as it results in diminished strength and barrier properties. In this study, a novel approach for creating edible, transparent, robust, and high-barrier BC-based composite packaging was proposed through biosynthesis with the incorporation of soy protein isolate and the physical interpenetration of calcium alginate-polyethylene glycol as a composite coating. The finding demonstrated that the synthesized bio-based composite material exhibits stability in water, high optical transparency, complete oil resistance, and full degradability within 1 to 2 months. Furthermore, the composite material displayed enhanced mechanical properties in both dry and wet conditions, with a tensile strength of approximately 84 MPa, outperforming commercially available kraft paper and low-density polyethylene. Soy protein isolate established a rigid, coherent, and homogeneous network with BC fibrils, thereby augmenting mechanical properties. Calcium alginate can be effectively combined with BC, utilizing polyethylene glycol as a binder and plasticizer, to generate a densely packed structure with reduced hygroscopicity. This bio-based composite material demonstrated considerable potential for application in food packaging and other value-added sectors as a substitute for non-degradable plastics. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

A meet-up of acetyl phosphate and c-di-GMP modulates BldD activity for development and antibiotic production.

Actinobacteria are ubiquitous bacteria undergoing complex developmental transitions coinciding with antibiotic production in response to stress or nutrient starvation. This transition is mainly controlled by the interaction between the second messenger c-di-GMP and the master repressor BldD. To date, the upstream factors and the global signal networks that regulate these intriguing cell biological processes remain unknown. In Saccharopolyspora erythraea, we found that acetyl phosphate (AcP) accumulation resulting from environmental nitrogen stress participated in the regulation of BldD activity through cooperation with c-di-GMP. AcP-induced acetylation of BldD at K11 caused the BldD dimer to fall apart and dissociate from the target DNA and disrupted the signal transduction of c-di-GMP, thus governing both developmental transition and antibiotic production. Additionally, practical mutation of BldDK11R bypassing acetylation regulation could enhance the positive effect of BldD on antibiotic production. The study of AcP-dependent acetylation is usually confined to the control of enzyme activity. Our finding represents an entirely different role of the covalent modification caused by AcP, which integrated with c-di-GMP signal in modulating the activity of BldD for development and antibiotic production, coping with environmental stress. This coherent regulatory network might be widespread across actinobacteria, thus has broad implications.

Demonstration of continuous multiple access with homodyne and image-rejection heterodyne coherent receivers using directly modulated laser transmitters

This work presents a comprehensive set of experiments for the multipoint-to-point coherent passive optical network (PON), where the wavelength locking between the optical network unit (ONU) and optical line termination lasers is critical, especially if operating in burst mode. Here, we test the performance of continuous multiple access in a splitter-based PON with both an ultra-dense wavelength division multiplexing and RF-subcarrier multiplexing configuration, with simple distributed feedback (DFB) lasers along non-return to zero and pulse amplitude modulation of four levels. Most interestingly, we test a spectrally efficient heterodyne receiver with image-frequency rejection and polarization independence based on the 3×3 optical front-end. Two users at the same intermediate frequency are detected simultaneously avoiding image frequency interference while minimizing complexity, with transmissions of 2.5 Gb/s. We provide comparison with an asynchronous homodyne receiver. The achieved results demonstrate the feasibility of continuous multiple access using thermally controlled ONUs with conventional DFBs as an enhanced alternative to commercial time division multiplexing access.

Differential Modulation-Based Buffer-Aided Cooperative Relaying Network

In this article, we consider a multirelay cooperative network using a differential modulation technique. The given set-up consists of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$</tex-math></inline-formula> decode-and-forward (DF) relays, each equipped with a buffer of size <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L$</tex-math></inline-formula> . All transceiver nodes in the considered cooperative network apply differential modulation for the transmission of data, hence, channel-state information is not required for decoding of the data at the receiving nodes. A priority-based max link selection approach is used for the selection of the best links for the transmission and reception of data. The Markov chain approach is used to derive the state-transition matrix of the system, which is then further used to model the evolution of buffer status. Analytical expressions of the outage probability and average bit error rate are obtained with the help of the state-transition matrix. The performance of the considered system is analyzed for different buffer sizes and a number of relays. The performance is then further compared with that of a coherent buffer-aided network and also with the nonbuffer-aided differential amplify-and-forward and DF systems. As compared to the coherent buffer-aided network, the considered buffer-aided differential system suffers a negligible signal-to-noise ratio penalty in the scenario when more than one buffer-aided relay is present in the network, which is a significant improvement when compared with the nonbuffer-aided differential cooperative systems, which suffer a performance penalty of approximately 3 dB as compared to their coherent counterpart.

Microring-based programmable coherent optical neural networks.

Coherent programmable integrated photonics circuits have shown great potential as specialized hardware accelerators for deep learning tasks, which usually involve the use of linear matrix multiplication and nonlinear activation components. We design, simulate and train an optical neural network fully based on microring resonators, which shows advantages in terms of device footprint and energy efficiency. We use tunable coupled double ring structures as the interferometer components for the linear multiplication layers and modulated microring resonators as the reconfigurable nonlinear activation components. We then develop optimization algorithms to train the direct tuning parameters such as applied voltages based on the transfer matrix method and using automatic differentiation for all optical components.

Accurate prognosis for localized prostate cancer through coherent voting networks with multi-omic and clinical data

Localized prostate cancer is a very heterogeneous disease, from both a clinical and a biological/biochemical point of view, which makes the task of producing stratifications of patients into risk classes remarkably challenging. In particular, it is important an early detection and discrimination of the indolent forms of the disease, from the aggressive ones, requiring post-surgery closer surveillance and timely treatment decisions. This work extends a recently developed supervised machine learning (ML) technique, called coherent voting networks (CVN) by incorporating a novel model-selection technique to counter the danger of model overfitting. For the challenging problem of discriminating between indolent and aggressive types of localized prostate cancer, accurate prognostic prediction of post-surgery progression-free survival with a granularity within a year is attained, improving accuracy with respect to the current state of the art. The development of novel ML techniques tailored to the problem of combining multi-omics and clinical prognostic biomarkers is a promising new line of attack for sharpening the capability to diversify and personalize cancer patient treatments. The proposed approach allows a finer post-surgery stratification of patients within the clinical high-risk category, with a potential impact on the surveillance regime and the timing of treatment decisions, complementing existing prognostic methods.

β-diversity reveals ecological connectivity patterns underlying marine community recovery: Implications for conservation.

As β-diversity can be seen as a proxy of ecological connections among species assemblages, modeling the decay of similarity in species composition at increasing distance may help elucidate spatial patterns of connectivity and local- to large-scale processes driving community assembly within a marine region. This, in turn, may provide invaluable information for setting ecologically coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) in which protected communities are potentially interrelated and can mutually sustain against environmental perturbations. However, field studies investigating changes in β-diversity patterns at a range of spatial scales and in relation to disturbance are scant, limiting our understanding of how spatial ecological connections among marine communities may affect their recovery dynamics. We carried out a manipulative experiment simulating a strong physical disturbance on subtidal rocky reefs at several locations spanning >1000 km of coast in the Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea) and compared β-diversity patterns and decay of similarity with distance and time by current transport between undisturbed and experimentally disturbed macrobenthic assemblages to shed light on connectivity processes and scales involved in recovery. In contrast to the expectation that very local-scale processes, such as vegetative regrowth and larval supply from neighboring undisturbed assemblages, might be the major determinants of recovery in disturbed patches, we found that connectivity mediated by currents at larger spatial scales strongly contributed to shape community reassembly after disturbance. Across our study sites in the Adriatic Sea, β-diversity patterns suggested that additional protected sites that matched hotspots of propagule exchange could increase the complementarity and strengthen the ecological connectivity throughout the MPA network. More generally, conditional to habitat distribution and selection of sites of high conservation priority (e.g., biodiversity hotspots), setting network internode distance within 100-150 km, along with sizing no-take zones to cover at least 5 km of coast, would help enhance the potential connectivity of Mediterranean subtidal rocky reef assemblages from local to large scale. These results can help improve conservation planning to achieve the goals of promoting ecological connectivity within MPA networks and enhancing their effectiveness in protecting marine communities against rapidly increasing natural and anthropogenic disturbances.