Coherent Unit Research Articles

First demonstration and field trial on multi-user UDWDM-PON full duplex PSK-PSK with single monolithic integrated dual-output-DFB-SOA based ONUs.

We demonstrate a monolithically integrated dual-output DFB-SOA, and conduct the field trial on a multi-user bidirectional coherent ultradense wavelength division multiplexing-passive optical network (UDWDM-PON). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first achievement of simplified single integrated laser-based neighboring coherent optical network units (ONUs) with a 12.5 GHz channel spaced ultra-dense access network, including both downstream and upstream, taking the benefits of low footprint and low-temperature dependence.

Team Synergies in Sport: Theory and Measures.

Individual players act as a coherent unit during team sports performance, forming a team synergy. A synergy is a collective property of a task-specific organization of individuals, such that the degrees of freedom of each individual in the system are coupled, enabling the degrees of freedom of different individuals to co-regulate each other. Here, we present an explanation for the emergence of such collective behaviors, indicating how these can be assessed and understood through the measurement of key system properties that exist, considering the contribution of each individual and beyond These include: to (i) dimensional compression, a process resulting in independent degree of freedom being coupled so that the synergy has fewer degrees of freedom than the set of components from which it arises; (ii) reciprocal compensation, if one element do not produce its function, other elements should display changes in their contributions so that task goals are still attained; (iii) interpersonal linkages, the specific contribution of each element to a group task; and (iv), degeneracy, structurally different components performing a similar, but not necessarily identical, function with respect to context. A primary goal of our analysis is to highlight the principles and tools required to understand coherent and dynamic team behaviors, as well as the performance conditions that make such team synergies possible, through perceptual attunement to shared affordances in individual performers. A key conclusion is that teams can be trained to perceive how to use and share specific affordances, explaining how individual’s behaviors self-organize into a group synergy. Ecological dynamics explanations of team behaviors can transit beyond mere ratification of sport performance, providing a comprehensive conceptual framework to guide the implementation of diagnostic measures by sport scientists, sport psychologists and performance analysts. Complex adaptive systems, synergies, group behaviors, team sport performance, ecological dynamics, performance analysis.

Titchener's ⊥ with its lines tilted-A partial replication and extension of Cormack and Cormack (1974).

Following Cormack and Cormack (Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 208-212, 1974), modified versions of Titchener's (Experimental Psychology, Vol. 1, Pt. 1, 1901) ⊥, in which the ⊥'s lines were tilted (Experiment 1), or tilted and dissected into two separate lines (Experiment 2), were used as stimuli. In Experiment 1, the overestimation of the length of the ⊥'s vertical, undivided line tended to decrease with its tilt relative to the horizontal, divided line. For ⊥s rotated 90° or 270°, the divided line was tilted, and the overestimation of the length of the now horizontal, undivided line vanished except for ⊥s with orthogonal lines. Separation of the ⊥'s lines in Experiment 2 led to an attenuation of the overestimation of the length of the undivided line for the default ⊥, and an underestimation of the length of this line for rotated ⊥s. Results only partly confirm Cormack and Cormack, probably because of the different psychophysical methods used. Findings support the notion of a T-schema as a coherent unit in midlevel visual processing, but also suggest medium- and long-range interactions between orientation-sensitive neural mechanisms.

Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches of Delineation in Detailed Mapping of Vineyard Landscape. Case Study: Vicinity of Pezinok (Slovakia)

AbstractThe main goal of this paper is the application of qualitative and quantitative free available data for geographical delineation based on reconnaissance research in vineyard landscape. The results of delineation are useful in agricultural management or environmental planning. Our delineation may serve as the basic information on site conditions of vineyards near Pezinok (Slovakia), with historical use from the beginning of 13thcentury. We have studied the actual land cover and classified physiotopes of the study area into a set of relatively homogenous and coherent landscape units. The landscape units defined in this work consist of homogenous physiotopes in terms of their structural and functional characteristics, which have been shaped by natural factors (land-forms, soil type and subtype, geological base, elevation, slope, aspect, solar radiation and normal different vegetation index (NDVI)). The characteristics were used to define 23 landscape units in qualitative delineation (based on both qualitative and quantitative data). Only quantitative characteristics – elevation, aspect, slope, solar radiation and NDVI, were used in a K-means cluster analysis to define the 17 landscape units. The number of landscape units was computed by WB-index, and standardisation of data was computed by factor analysis. The whole classification process was statistically significant. The strength of the grouping procedure was tested by using Discriminant Analysis, which found that 92.70% of objects in qualitative and 98.50% of objects in quantitative delineation were correctly classified.

Challenges in addressing professional competence expectations in human resource management courses

Although research has identified many of the competences that human resource management (HRM) professionals need, limited research examines how competence expectations can be met in HRM courses. This study sought to generate the knowledge required to align HRM courses with competence statements in the recently revised Australian Human Resources Institute Model of Excellence. To accomplish this aim, focus groups and interviews were conducted with HRM professionals from private, public and not‐for‐profit organisations. Findings suggest that the process of aligning course curricula with the MoE is challenging for several reasons, including: competence statements are subject to varied interpretation; subjecting each statement to a learning needs analysis is complex; it is difficult to cluster the wide range of knowledge areas that must be covered into coherent units of learning. This paper explores the appropriateness of using a generic competence model in a curricular‐influencing role and outlines implications of our findings for practice and research.

Towards the spatial coherence of biogeographical regionalizations at subcontinental and landscape scales

AbstractAimOne of the fundamental tools in biogeography is the classification of the Earth surface into spatially coherent units based on assemblage distinctiveness. However, spatial coherence of biogeographical regions may be scale‐dependent, that is, it may change with changing the size of spatial units used. We ask (1) how the clusters resulting from the classification of animal assemblages at different spatial scales differ in their spatial coherence, (2) whether there are geographical trends in the patterns of spatial coherence, and (3) what factors drive these patterns at different scales and in different areas of Europe.LocationEurope.MethodsWe used data from distribution atlases at two spatial scales (50 × 50 km and c. 10 × 10 km) and, for each scale, we selected four different areas across Europe, each of them covered by 250 grid cells. We classified each area based on the distributions of mammals (coarser scale only) and birds (both scales). Subsequently, we calculated the spatial coherence of resulting clusters and correlated it with environmental factors and geographical distance.ResultsCoarse‐scale classifications provided more spatially coherent clusters than the classifications at the finer scale and this pattern was closely related to different strength of distance decay of similarity in the species composition at different scales. Spatial coherence revealed latitudinal trends, so that coarse‐scale clusters were more spatially coherent in northern Europe. Geographical distance was the best predictor of spatial patterns at the coarser scale, although this effect was strong only in central and northern Europe. At the finer scale, topography and land cover composition were the most important.Main conclusionsSpatial coherence of biogeographical regionalizations depends on scale and varies geographically. It is closely related to different beta diversity patterns at different scales and in different areas. Heterogeneous areas with high beta diversity and endemism reveal more complex patterns than areas characterized by lower beta diversity but a stronger relationship between beta diversity and distance, and consequently coherent clusters. If the development of the species distribution databases provides fine‐resolution data covering large areas in the future, the issue of the scale of biogeographical regionalizations will probably become even more crucial.

Community ecological modelling as an alternative to physiographic classifications for marine conservation planning

Accurate mapping of marine species and habitats is an important yet challenging component of establishing networks of representative marine protected areas. Due to limited biological data, marine classifications based on abiotic data are often used as surrogates to represent biological patterns. We tested the surrogacy of an existing physiographic marine classification using non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational analysis of variance to determine whether species composition was significantly different among physiographic units. We also present an alternative ecological classification that incorporates biological and environmental data in a community modeling approach. We use data on 174 species of demersal fish and benthic invertebrates to identify mesoscale biological assemblages in a 100,000 km2 study area in the northeast Pacific Ocean. We identified assemblages using cluster analysis then used a random forest model with 12 environmental variables to delineate mesoscale ecological units. Our community modelling approach resulted in five geographically coherent ecological units that were best explained by changes in depth, temperature and salinity. Our model showed high predictive performance (AUC = 0.93) and the resulting ecological units represent more distinct species assemblages than those delineated by physiographic variables alone. A strength of our analysis is the ability to map model uncertainty to identify transition zones at unit boundaries. The output of this study provides a biotic driven classification that can be used to better achieve representativity in the MPA planning process.

Structures and detrital zircon ages of the Devonian–Permian Tarbagatay accretionary complex in west Junggar, China: imbricated ocean plate stratigraphy and implications for amalgamation of the CAOB

ABSTRACTThe Tarbagatay Complex, located in northwest Junggar, is situated tectonically between the Zharma–Saur arc to the north and the Tacheng terrane and the Boshchekol–Chingiz arc to the south. This Complex belt is variably composed of ophiolitic mélange, sedimentary mélange, and coherent units of turbidites and shallow water sediments. These rocks crop out in fault-bound slices with fault-parallel asymmetric folds. Both the lithologies and deformation features of the Tarbagatay Complex suggest an accretionary origin generally with a top-to-the-south tectonic vergence, suggesting N-dipping subduction beneath the Zharma–Saur arc. The presence of a former ocean is indicated by the Ordovician ophiolite mélanges and related marine fossils. The time duration of the Tarbagatay Complex can be bracketed by detrital zircon ages of turbidites and shallow water sediments with a lower limit of major peak ages of 350–370 Ma, and an upper limit of middle Permian indicated by detrital zircon ages of 262.3 Ma. Based on these data, we suggest that the subduction of the Tarbagatay Ocean likely started in the Late Devonian and lasted until the middle Permian. Taking into account the formation of the northern part of the Kazakhstan orocline, which has a similar temporal-spatial framework, we propose a tectonic model for the western CAOB that involves accretion and amalgamation from the Ordovician to the middle Permian.

Pervasive near-surface stratal disruption in an accretionary prism setting: Kaczawa Complex, SW Poland

AbstractThe tectonized and metamorphosed mudrocks within the Variscan accretionary prism of the Kaczawa Mountains in SW Poland comprise sedimentary mélanges together with more coherent stratigraphic units; some represent large olistoliths deposited in a submarine trench. We infer a trend of progressive near-surface stratal disruption in mud-dominated deposits due to dewatering that forms a continuum with subduction-related tectonic structures imposed on unconsolidated sediment during deeper burial. The assemblage of characters suggests that an accretionary prism environment can influence, and leave characteristic traces of, the total burial history of a trench succession.

The P–T path of eclogites in the St. Cyr klippe, Yukon, Canada: Permian metamorphism of a coherent high-pressure unit in an accreted terrane of the North American Cordillera

The St. Cyr klippe, part of the Yukon–Tanana terrane in Yukon, Canada, preserves fresh and retrogressed eclogite hosted by quartzofeldspathic schists. Petrology, mineral chemistry and compositional zoning combined with isochemical phase equilibrium (pseudosection) modeling shows that eclogites followed a clockwise pressure–temperature path. An amphibolite facies, pre-eclogite stage (pre-Stage I) preceded early eclogite-facies conditions of about 16 kbar and 510 °C (Stage I) and the peak pressure (Stage II), which reached up to 20 kbar and 670 °C. The peak observed and modeled eclogite-facies assemblage is garnet, omphacite, Na-rich amphibole, phengite, quartz and rutile. Pseudosections were modeled for varying Fe 3+ contents, and Fe 3+ = 20 % of total Fe is found to best match the pyrope and grossular content observed in garnet. Retrogression back to amphibolite-facies conditions (Stage III) followed a clockwise path as temperature decreased during decompression without passing through the chlorite stability field. U-Pb SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry) dating and trace-element analysis of zircon shows that the protolith of the eclogites formed within the Yukon–Tanana terrane during early arc activity, between 364 and 380 Ma. The rocks were then subducted to mantle depths and metamorphosed to eclogite-facies conditions during the Late Permian, between 267 and 271 Ma. These medium-temperature eclogites are part of a coherent high-pressure (HP) terrane that was tectonically eroded from the Yukon-Tanana composite arc in a subduction zone environment.

High-pressure metamorphic age and significance of eclogite-facies continental fragments associated with oceanic lithosphere in the Western Alps (Etirol-Levaz Slice, Valtournenche, Italy)

The Etirol-Levaz Slice in the Penninic Alps (Valtournenche, Italy) is a piece of eclogite-facies continental basement sandwiched between two oceanic units, the blueschist-facies Combin Zone in the hanging wall and the eclogite-facies Zermatt-Saas Zone in the footwall. It has been interpreted as an extensional allochthon from the continental margin of Adria, emplaced onto ultramafic and mafic basement of the future Zermatt-Saas Zone by Jurassic, rifting-related detachment faulting, and later subducted together with the future Zermatt-Saas Zone. Alternatively, the Etirol-Levaz Slice could be derived from a different paleogeographic domain and be separated from the Zermatt-Saas Zone by an Alpine shear zone.We present Lu–Hf whole rock–garnet ages of two eclogite samples, one from the center of the unit and one from the border to the Zermatt-Saas Zone below. These data are accompanied by a new geological map of the Etirol-Levaz Slice and the surrounding area, as well as detailed petrology of these two samples. Assemblages, mineral compositions and garnet zoning in both samples indicate a clockwise PT-path and peak-metamorphic conditions of about 550–600°C/20–25kbar, similar to conditions proposed for the underlying Zermatt-Saas Zone. Prograde garnet ages of the two samples are 61.8±1.8Ma and 52.4±2.1Ma and reflect different timing of subduction. One of these is significantly older than published ages of eclogite-facies metamorphism in the Zermatt-Saas Zone and thus contradicts the hypothesis of Mesozoic emplacement. The occurrence of serpentinite and metagabbro bodies possibly derived from the Zermatt-Saas Zone inside the Etirol-Levaz Slice suggests that the latter is a tectonic composite. The basement slivers forming the Etirol-Levaz Slice and other continental fragments were subducted earlier than the Zermatt-Saas Zone, but nonetheless experienced similar pressure–temperature histories. Our results support the hypothesis that the Zermatt-Saas Zone and the overlying continental slivers do not represent a coherent paleogeographic unit but rather formed by successive, in-sequence subduction and accretion of different fragments.

An (in‐)coherent metamorphic evolution of high‐P eclogites and their host rocks in the Chinese southwest Tianshan?

AbstractIn the (ultra‐)high‐P–low‐T metamorphic terrane of the Chinese South Tianshan, discontinuous mafic blocks and boudins (former upper oceanic crust) are now embedded in voluminous (mainly metasedimentary) host rocks. Two different models were proposed and relate the occurrence of both high‐P and ultra‐high‐P mafic and metasedimentary rocks to either (i) a tectonic mélange style exhumation, with no exhumation of coherent units, but different lithologies derived from different depths juxtaposed and intermingled during exhumation in the subduction channel, or (ii) the evolution of two coherent metamorphic belts: one with high‐P and the other with ultra‐high‐P conditions. In contrast to most previous studies in the Chinese South Tianshan which focused either on single eclogites or metasedimentary rocks (assumed as representative), this study concentrates on the systematic investigation of both mafic boudins and their immediate sedimentary host rocks, because the investigation of both lithologies and the comparison of their metamorphic evolution is crucial to reconstruct the geodynamical context of the whole (ultra‐)high‐P–low‐T metamorphic complex. Several sample pairs consisting of both lithologies were geochemically investigated and their respective metamorphic evolution was reconstructed using geothermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling. The latter approach considers changes in the mineral assemblage during the metamorphic evolution, as well as changes in mineral composition, which may help to determine the metamorphic history of a rock despite the preservation of critical mineral assemblages. All samples experienced a clockwise P–T path with overall maximum P–T conditions of 540–550 °C and 1.9–2.25 GPa for the host rocks, and 555–575 °C and 2.2–2.5 GPa for the eclogites. Peak‐metamorphic temperatures of ~525–540 °C of the metasedimentary host rocks were also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material. Results from thermobarometry and thermodynamic modelling are consistent with the observation that none of the samples contains mineral relicts indicating UHP conditions (like coesite in garnet) and neither conventional thermobarometry, nor thermodynamical modelling resulted in P–T conditions in the stability field of coesite. Thus, no evidence of ultra‐high‐P conditions was found. Given that the whole sampled river valley lies within the proposed ‘ultra‐high‐P sub‐belt’ and considering former studies, which showed that at other places within this ‘unit’ both ultra‐high‐P and high‐P rocks are now juxtaposed on a small scale, the formation of the whole (ultra‐)high‐P–low‐T metamorphic belt in the Chinese South Tianshan as a tectonic mélange style exhumation is more convincing than the formation and juxtaposition of two coherent metamorphic units with high‐P and ultra‐high‐P conditions respectively.

Strong linkages between DOM optical properties and main clades of aquatic bacteria

AbstractDespite considerable research on the linkages between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bacteria, it is not yet clear how the abundance of the main aquatic clades relates to DOM composition in natural aquatic systems. We evaluated this relation using PARAFAC modeling of excitation–emission fluorescence spectroscopy and spectroscopic indexes to characterize DOM composition, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, to quantify the major bacterial groups in a subtropical lagoon. The DOM exhibited marked temporal variations in concentration, molecular weight, aromaticity, color, degree of humification, and freshness, and proportion of the three different fluorescent components identified. All major bacterial clades (Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Cytophaga‐Flavobacteria) were significantly linked to DOM concentration and/or composition, being those crucial factors for modeling their abundance in situ. The combination and significance of the factors was specific for each bacterial group, strongly indicating that they behave as coherent and distinctive units. Cytophaga‐Flavobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were the groups which correlated with more DOM properties. Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria abundances were significantly explained by low or high dissolved organic carbon concentrations, respectively. The significant relationships between DOM properties and the main bacterial groups delineated a profile of each group regarding DOM preferences/dislikes, in agreement with evidence derived from genome analysis to single‐cell substrate uptake. These results highlight the specificities of the main bacterial clades, providing support for a functional classification of the bacterioplankton regarding DOM processing at the level of bacterial classes.

Multiscale View of Cytoskeletal Mechanoregulation of Cell and Tissue Polarity.

The ability of cells to generate, maintain, and repair tissues with complex architecture, in which distinct cells function as coherent units, relies on polarity cues. Polarity can be described as an asymmetry along a defined axis, manifested at the molecular, structural, and functional levels. Several types of cell and tissue polarities were described in the literature, including front-back, apical-basal, anterior-posterior, and left-right polarity. Extensive research provided insights into the specific regulators of each polarization process, as well as into generic elements that affect all types of polarities. The actin cytoskeleton and the associated adhesion structures are major regulators of most, if not all, known forms of polarity. Actin filaments exhibit intrinsic polarity and their ability to bind many proteins including the mechanosensitive adhesion and motor proteins, such as myosins, play key roles in cell polarization. The actin cytoskeleton can generate mechanical forces and together with the associated adhesions, probe the mechanical, structural, and chemical properties of the environment, and transmit signals that impact numerous biological processes, including cell polarity. In this article we highlight novel mechanisms whereby the mechanical forces and actin-adhesion complexes regulate cell and tissue polarity in a variety of natural and experimental systems.

Family routines and rituals following separation: continuity and change

Separation always changes family life. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the everyday practices of ‘doing family’ after separation. We focus on two central elements of family life: routines and rituals. While in most families both parents are involved in family routines and rituals, this is often not the case in post-separation families. Based on the narratives of 35 separated parents living in the Netherlands, we found three types of post-separation families. For all three types, routines with the children are practised separately with each parent or mainly with the resident parent. However, the three types differ greatly in how they practise family rituals. Rituals play an important role in displaying the post-separation family as a coherent unit. Our study further reveals that the type of post-separation family is not necessarily consistent with the custodial and residential arrangement and may change over time.

Reconfigurable Radio-Over-Fiber Networks [Invited

This paper discusses the advantages of reconfigurable radio-over-fiber (RoF) networks and presents key activities in coherent remote access units, silicon photonics for microwave photonics, optical switching, and photonically reconfigurable antennas. These research areas enable functionalities that improve the utilization, flexibility, and performance of RoF networks.

Zipf's law holds for phrases, not words.

With Zipf’s law being originally and most famously observed for word frequency, it is surprisingly limited in its applicability to human language, holding over no more than three to four orders of magnitude before hitting a clear break in scaling. Here, building on the simple observation that phrases of one or more words comprise the most coherent units of meaning in language, we show empirically that Zipf’s law for phrases extends over as many as nine orders of rank magnitude. In doing so, we develop a principled and scalable statistical mechanical method of random text partitioning, which opens up a rich frontier of rigorous text analysis via a rank ordering of mixed length phrases.

Mapping social–ecological systems: Identifying ‘green-loop’ and ‘red-loop’ dynamics based on characteristic bundles of ecosystem service use

We present an approach to identify and map social–ecological systems based on the direct use of ecosystem services by households. This approach builds on the premise that characteristic bundles of ecosystem service use represent integrated expressions of different underlying social–ecological systems. We test the approach in South Africa using national census data on the direct use of six provisioning services (freshwater from a natural source, firewood for cooking, firewood for heating, natural building materials, animal production, and crop production) at two different scales. Based on a cluster analysis, we identify three distinct ecosystem service bundles that represent social–ecological systems characterized by low, medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use among households. We argue that these correspond to ‘green-loop’, ‘transition’ and ‘red-loop’ systems as defined by Cumming et al. (2014). When mapped, these systems form coherent spatial units that differ from systems identified by additive combinations of separate social and biophysical datasets, the most common method of mapping social–ecological systems to date. The distribution of the systems we identified is mainly determined by social factors, such as household income, gender of the household head, and land tenure, and only partly determined by the supply of natural resources. An understanding of the location and characteristic resource use dynamics of different social–ecological systems allows for policies to be better targeted at the particular sustainability challenges faced in different areas.

Lam6 Regulates the Extent of Contacts between Organelles.

SummaryCommunication between organelles is crucial for eukaryotic cells to function as one coherent unit. An important means of communication is through membrane contact sites, where two organelles come into close proximity allowing the transport of lipids and small solutes between them. Contact sites are dynamic in size and can change in response to environmental or cellular stimuli; however, how this is regulated has been unclear. Here, we show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Lam6 resides in several central contact sites: ERMES (ER/mitochondria encounter structure), vCLAMP (vacuole and mitochondria patch), and NVJ (nuclear vacuolar junction). We show that Lam6 is sufficient for expansion of contact sites under physiological conditions and necessary for coordination of contact site size. Given that Lam6 is part of a large protein family and is conserved in vertebrates, our work opens avenues for investigating the underlying principles of organelle communication.

Spermatozoan ultrastructure and mitochondrial gene sequence of Caryocorbula caribaea (d'Orbigny, 1853) (Corbulidae: Bivalvia), a species with plasticity in shell morphology

Systematics of Corbulidae supported by anatomical and conchological studies remains confused and controversial because of the considerable phenotypic plasticity of their shells. Ultrastructural spermatozoan study and molecular analyses have been performed to contribute valuable information, which could be used in taxonomy. Electron microscopy was used to analyse sperm cells from specimens of Caryocorbula (Gardner, 1926) exhibiting shell differences. The spermatozoon was of the aquasperm type, showing short acrosome, barrel-shaped nucleus, midpiece composed of four spherical mitochondria and simple flagellum. In addition, about 860 base pairs of mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit (16S rRNA) were sequenced from each individual. The consistent similarity shared by spermatozoa and DNA sequences from all studied specimens indicated that they belonged to one coherent unit, Caryocorbula caribaea (d'Orbigny, 1853), despite the extraordinary plasticity exhibited by their shells.