Degree Of Alignment Research Articles

Lay Definitions of Intelligence, Knowledge, and Memory: Inter- and Independence of Constructs.

The present study examined how lay participants define the following concepts used widely in psychology: being intelligent, knowing, and remembering. In the scientific community, knowledge overlaps with the contents of semantic memory, crystallized intelligence reflects the accumulation of knowledge, knowledge and event memory interact, and fluid intelligence and working memory correlate. Naturally, the lay public has implicit theories of these constructs. These theories mainly distinguish between intelligent and unintelligent behaviors and tend to include characteristics outside psychometric studies of intelligence, such as emotional intelligence. Here, we asked lay participants from the online platform Prolific to explain "what does being intelligent mean to you?" as well as "knowing" and "remembering" to understand their degree of alignment with theoretical conceptualizations in the research community. Qualitative coding of participant definitions showed that intelligence and knowledge are closely related, but asymmetrically-when defining what it means to be intelligent, participants reference knowledge, but intelligence is not considered in explaining knowing. Although participants note that intelligence is multi-faceted and related to problem-solving, there is an emphasis (in terms of frequency of mentions) on the crystallized side of intelligence (i.e., knowledge). A deeper understanding of lay participants' mental models of these constructs (i.e., their metacognitions) is essential for bridging gaps between experts and the general public.

Successful aging of musicians: Preservation of sensorimotor regions aids audiovisual speech-in-noise perception.

Musicianship can mitigate age-related declines in audiovisual speech-in-noise perception. We tested whether this benefit originates from functional preservation or functional compensation by comparing fMRI responses of older musicians, older nonmusicians, and young nonmusicians identifying noise-masked audiovisual syllables. Older musicians outperformed older nonmusicians and showed comparable performance to young nonmusicians. Notably, older musicians retained similar neural specificity of speech representations in sensorimotor areas to young nonmusicians, while older nonmusicians showed degraded neural representations. In the same region, older musicians showed higher neural alignment to young nonmusicians than older nonmusicians, which was associated with their training intensity. In older nonmusicians, the degree of neural alignment predicted better performance. In addition, older musicians showed greater activation in frontal-parietal, speech motor, and visual motion regions and greater deactivation in the angular gyrus than older nonmusicians, which predicted higher neural alignment in sensorimotor areas. Together, these findings suggest that musicianship-related benefit in audiovisual speech-in-noise processing is rooted in preserving youth-like representations in sensorimotor regions.

On geometrical interpretation of alignment phenomenon

The observed alignment of spots in the X-ray films in cosmic ray emulsion experiments is analyzed and interpreted in the framework of geometrical approach. It is shown that the high degree of alignment can appear partly due to the selection procedure of most energetic particles itself and the threshold on the energy deposition together with the transverse momentum conservation.

Exploiting Enzyme in the Polymer Synthesis for a Remarkable Increase in Thermal Conductivity.

The interest in polymers with high thermal conductivity increased much because of their inherent properties such as low density, low cost, flexibility, and good chemical resistance. However, it is challenging to engineer plastics with good heat transfer characteristics, processability, and required strength. Improving the degree of the chain alignment and forming a continuous thermal conduction network is expected to enhance thermal conductivity. This research aimed to develop polymers with a high thermal conductivity that can be interesting for several applications. Two polymers, namely poly(benzofuran-co-arylacetic acid) and poly(tartronic-co-glycolic acid), with high thermal conductivity containing microscopically ordered structures were prepared by performing enzyme-catalyzed (Novozyme-435) polymerization of the corresponding α-hydroxy acids 4-hydroxymandelic acid and tartronic acid, respectively. A comparison between the polymer's structure and heat transfer obtained by mere thermal polymerization before and enzyme-catalyzed polymerization will now be discussed, revealing a dramatic increase in thermal conductivity in the latter case. The polymer structures were investigated by FTIR spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in liquid- and solid-state (ss-NMR), and powder X-ray diffraction. The thermal conductivity and diffusivity were measured using the transient plane source technique.

Academic identity at the intersection of global scientific communities and national science policies: societal impact in the UK and Netherlands

ABSTRACT This article investigates attitudes to societal impact of research as an entry point into understanding academic identities. Conceptually, we position academic identity at the intersection of global scientific fields and national science policies. We argue that the degree of alignment or misalignment between the two can create coherent academic identities, or on the contrary, tensions in academics’ identity. Empirically, we use the disciplines of philosophy and anthropology as proxies for scientific fields in the social sciences and humanities (SSH). The study is based on sixteen semi-structured interviews with mid-career philosophers and anthropologists in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and an analysis of how societal impact is positioned in the two national evaluation systems. We conclude that ‘coercive’ national impact policies (like the one in the UK) are less likely to be aligned with global disciplinary norms in the SSH and therefore create tensions in academic identity; these can undermine academics’ agency and be counterproductive in terms of reaching policy objectives. By contrast, ‘enabling’ national impact policies (like the one in the Netherlands) are conducive to more coherent academic identities that are better aligned with disciplinary notions of societal impact. By discussing academic identities in a comparative context, the study highlights the struggles of reconciling disciplinary and national notions of societal impact. To realise the potential societal impact of academic research, we recommend that impact is integrated into a wider ecosystem of interactions where policy-driven notions are aligned with disciplinary norms and values.

Digital Writing and Labor-based Grading: An Equitable and Inclusive Approach to Undergraduate Writing Instruction

Resumen The tradition of digital writing instructional practices is nearly 50 years old in the US (Handa, 2004). Sometimes, students fully online digital writing courses may fail to engage with and finish the course because they do not feel competent in handling the technologies in the academic context; thus, it is important to find out what equitable practices and what factors influence student success in these courses. Therefore, this study aims to examine digital writing assignments requested in a writing course, with the goal of demonstrating an inclusive and equitable practice: the Labor-based grading contract, in a way that promotes equal and fair grades. This practice is proposed as a solution to the shortcomings detected, since it has been observed that students inexperienced in pre-college education in the delivery of online writing assignments persist in their difficulties with technological educational platforms in college. The creation of a contract between the teacher and the students -at first-, fosters knowledge, motivation, involvement, or engagement with the task; thus, digital writing assignments go from being an unattainable goal to being a feasible task to engage in. Also, the cooperative creation of this online writing with an easy-to-use platform (Eli Peer Review) stimulates them to persist in the following tasks, as they have already reflected on them and have already found out among their peers what they consist of and how to deal with such tasks. In our research we present a case study of a course based on online writing instruction. Therefore, this study aims to examine a particular course in the United States in which multimedia writing assignments and labor-based grading allowed for deep student engagement and success (Dickson,1974; Inoue, 2019). The data comes from the use of mixed methods that combine qualitative information collected through document analysis (teacher materials: syllabi, guidelines, instructions; student materials: personal research, blog entries, and final letter); classroom observation field diaries and the semi-structured teacher interview, with the quantitative methods of a student survey. The results show that there is a high degree of alignment between the course and the best practices of online instruction, and that the nature of the assignments and the Labor-based Grading Contract (Dickson,1974, Inoue, 2019) appear to play key roles in student engagement and success in the course. Likewise, the most highlighted aspect by the students has been the emotional factor, since the tasks have allowed them to get involved and enjoy writing in the digital support. The systematic observation of this writing course aims to deeply understand its provenance, objectives, taxonomy and functionality, with the final purpose of highlighting the capabilities of this methodology in order to offer it as a model in other contexts to promote a fairer and more equitable education. Keywords assessment, case study, democratization, digital literacy, school performance monitoring

3D bioprinting using a new photo-crosslinking method for muscle tissue restoration

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a highly effective technique for fabricating cell-loaded constructs in tissue engineering. However, the versatility of fabricating precise and complex cell-loaded hydrogels is limited owing to the poor crosslinking ability of cell-containing hydrogels. Herein, we propose an optic-fiber-assisted bioprinting (OAB) process to efficiently crosslink methacrylated hydrogels. By selecting appropriate processing conditions for the photo-crosslinking technique, we fabricated biofunctional cell-laden structures including methacrylated gelatin (Gelma), collagen, and decellularized extracellular matrix. To apply the method to skeletal muscle regeneration, cell-laden Gelma constructs were processed with a functional nozzle having a topographical cue and an OAB process that could induce a uniaxial alignment of C2C12 and human adipose stem cells (hASCs). Significantly higher degrees of cell alignment and myogenic activities in the cell-laden Gelma structure were observed compared with those in the cell construct that was printed using a conventional crosslinking method. Moreover, an in vivo regenerative potential was observed in volumetric muscle defects in a mouse model. The hASC-laden construct significantly induced greater muscle regeneration than the cell construct without topographical cues. Based on the results, the newly designed bioprinting process can prove to be highly effective in fabricating biofunctional cell-laden constructs for various tissue engineering applications.

Deformable registration of multimodal retinal images using a weakly supervised deep learning approach

There are different retinal vascular imaging modalities widely used in clinical practice to diagnose different retinal pathologies. The joint analysis of these multimodal images is of increasing interest since each of them provides common and complementary visual information. However, if we want to facilitate the comparison of two images, obtained with different techniques and containing the same retinal region of interest, it will be necessary to make a previous registration of both images. Here, we present a weakly supervised deep learning methodology for robust deformable registration of multimodal retinal images, which is applied to implement a method for the registration of fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images. This methodology is strongly inspired by VoxelMorph, a general unsupervised deep learning framework of the state of the art for deformable registration of unimodal medical images. The method was evaluated in a public dataset with 172 pairs of FA and superficial plexus OCTA images. The degree of alignment of the common information (blood vessels) and preservation of the non-common information (image background) in the transformed image were measured using the Dice coefficient (DC) and zero-normalized cross-correlation (ZNCC), respectively. The average values of the mentioned metrics, including the standard deviations, were DC = 0.72 ± 0.10 and ZNCC = 0.82 ± 0.04. The time required to obtain each pair of registered images was 0.12 s. These results outperform rigid and deformable registration methods with which our method was compared.

Marginal ridge alignment and interproximal bone levels: Evaluation of a possible correlation

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there is a relationship between the alignment or misalignment of the marginal ridges of posterior teeth and the degree of resorption of interproximal alveolar bone. Material and Methods: Intraoral scans and bitewing radiographs were performed on 50 subjects. The bitewing radiographs were analyzed using the VixWinTM Platinum software, measuring the distance between the cementitious junction and the alveolar ridge at the interproximal level for 32 sites for each patient, defined as bitewing scores. The digital models have been oriented in the three dimensions using the Rhinoceros 3D and the linear distance between two contiguous marginal ridges was measured for each interproximal space. To estimate the entity of the correlation, a separate linear regression was performed on the bitewing score for each mouth quadrant. Using the t-test the significance of each estimated coefficient was determinate (P < 0.05). Results: In the general comparison including all the analyzed elements, the independent variables are partially correlated with each other. Apparently, the relationship between independent and dependent variables appears to be insignificant. Comparing groups of teeth, however, there seems to be a statistically significant correlation (P < 0.05) between canine and lower first premolar in the XZ and YZ planes and between lower first and second molars in the three dimensions. Conclusion: There seems to be a poor correlation at a general level between periodontal conditions of the alveolar bone and the degree of alignment of the marginal ridges.

Development and Validation of Entrustable Professional Activities for Provisionally Registered (Intern) Pharmacists in Australia

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for a pharmacy intern training program in Australia. MethodsPerformance outcomes with EPAs suggested as an assessment in the intern year were identified and EPAs were developed. The EQual rubric, designed for EPAs in graduate medical education settings, was used to validate the EPAs. Eight subject matter experts were recruited to validate 14 EPAs using prespecified cutoffs in the EQual rubric to determine the degree of alignment with established key domains of the EPA construct. Descriptive statistics for the EQual rubric scores were calculated for each of the 14 EPAs overall and for each of the 3 domains. Any EPA falling below the prespecified cut score required revisions and a second round of validation. ResultsEight responses were recorded for the first round of validation. Seven EPAs were below the discrete units of work cutoff (4.17); 2 of these EPAs were also below the EPA curricular role cutoff (4.00). All scores described in the EPAs as entrustable, essential, and important tasks of the profession were above the cutoff (4.00). Seven subject matter experts responded to the second round of validation. All 7 revised EPAs scored above the EQual rubric’s overall cutoff of 4.07. ConclusionFourteen EPAs were validated for use with provisionally registered (intern) pharmacists. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the EQual rubric has been used in the evaluation and validation of pharmacy EPAs.

Self-Assembly of Atomically Aligned Nanoparticle Superlattices from Pt-Fe3O4 Heterodimer Nanoparticles.

Multicomponent nanoparticle superlattices (SLs) promise the integration of nanoparticles (NPs) with remarkable electronic, magnetic, and optical properties into a single structure. Here, we demonstrate that heterodimers consisting of two conjoined NPs can self-assemble into novel multicomponent SLs with a high degree of alignment between the atomic lattices of individual NPs, which has been theorized to lead to a wide variety of remarkable properties. Specifically, by using simulations and experiments, we show that heterodimers composed of larger Fe3O4 domains decorated with a Pt domain at one vertex can self-assemble into an SL with long-range atomic alignment between the Fe3O4 domains of different NPs across the SL. The SLs show an unanticipated decreased coercivity relative to nonassembled NPs. In situ scattering of the self-assembly reveals a two-stage mechanism of self-assembly: translational ordering between NPs develops before atomic alignment. Our experiments and simulation indicate that atomic alignment requires selective epitaxial growth of the smaller domain during heterodimer synthesis and specific size ratios of the heterodimer domains as opposed to specific chemical composition. This composition independence makes the self-assembly principles elucidated here applicable to the future preparation of multicomponent materials with fine structural control.

Goal-Based Private Sustainability Governance and Its Paradoxes in the Indonesian Palm Oil Sector

In response to stakeholder pressure, companies increasingly make ambitious forward-looking sustainability commitments. They then draw on corporate policies with varying degrees of alignment to disseminate and enforce corresponding behavioral rules among their suppliers and business partners. This goal-based turn in private sustainability governance has important implications for its likely environmental and social outcomes. Drawing on paradox theory, this article uses a case study of zero-deforestation commitments in the Indonesian palm oil sector to argue that goal-based private sustainability governance’s characteristics set the stage for two types of paradoxes to emerge: performing paradoxes between environmental, social, and economic sustainability goals, and organizing paradoxes between cooperation and competition approaches. Companies’ responses to these paradoxes, in turn, can explain the lack of full goal attainment and differential rates of progress between actors. These results draw our attention to the complexities hidden behind governance through goal setting in the corporate space, and raise important questions about the viability of similar strategies such as science-based targets and net-zero goals.

Iterative projection algorithm for retrieval of angle-resolved single-molecule dipoles from high-harmonic spectra

High-order harmonic spectroscopy (HHS), as an emerging technique, provides a way to detect molecular structures with \aa{}ngstr\"om spatial resolution and ultrafast electron dynamics in molecules on an attosecond timescale. However, the implementation of HHS still encounters great difficulties due to the coherent average of single-molecule emissions from different alignment angles. Here, we provide a machine learning algorithm based on the iterative projection method to fully retrieve the complex single-molecule dipole of a linear molecule from the harmonic spectra measured at different delays and polarization angles between the alignment and driving pulses. We demonstrated our algorithm both theoretically and experimentally using the ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$ molecule. The results show that our algorithm can accurately retrieve the complex single-molecule dipole from the harmonic spectra with good noise stability and robustness. From the retrieved single-molecule dipole, the contributions of multiple orbitals in high harmonic generation are identified even with a low degree of alignment.

Achieving High Performance in the Construction Industry: the Case of BAM DLP the Netherlands

The construction industry is a significant contributor to the economic development and performance of many countries. At the same time, this industry has long suffered from low productivity, poor project outcomes and disappointing results. The construction industry is therefore in need of a quality upgrade of construction companies so they will be able to achieve better organisational results. Based on a literature review into holistic evaluation and improvement techniques suitable for a systematic appraisal of the quality of construction companies and the subsequent improvement of this quality, the high performance organisation (HPO) framework was chosen for this purpose. It was applied on a construction company in the Netherlands, to evaluate whether the HPO Framework can yield an accurate picture of the current status of this company (i.e. how far along it was towards becoming an HPO) and whether it provides useful indications for improvement. Both were the case, and in fact the outcomes of the application of the framework indicated a high degree of alignment with financial and non-financial results of the case company. As such, the HPO Framework can be designated as a potential useful technique for other construction organisations, both in the Netherlands and in other countries, to help them in their quest for achievement of higher performance.

Dependence of crack shape in loaded articular cartilage on the collagenous structure

ABSTRACT Cartilage cracks disrupt tissue mechanics, alter cell mechanobiology, and often trigger tissue degeneration. Yet, some tissue cracks heal spontaneously. A primary factor determining the fate of tissue cracks is the compression-induced mechanics, specifically whether a crack opens or closes when loaded. Crack deformation is thought to be affected by tissue structure, which can be probed by quantitative polarized light microscopy (PLM). It is unclear how the PLM measures are related to deformed crack morphology. Here, we investigated the relationship between PLM-derived cartilage structure and mechanical behavior of tissue cracks by testing if PLM-derived structural measures correlated with crack morphology in mechanically indented cartilages. Methods: Knee joint cartilages harvested from mature and immature animals were used for their distinct collagenous fibrous structure and composition. The cartilages were cut through thickness, indented over the cracked region, and processed histologically. Sample-specific birefringence was quantified as two-dimensional (2D) maps of azimuth and retardance, two measures related to local orientation and degree of alignment of the collagen fibers, respectively. The shape of mechanically indented tissue cracks, measured as depth-dependent crack opening, were compared with azimuth, retardance, or “PLM index,” a new parameter derived by combining azimuth and retardance. Results: Of the three parameters, only the PLM index consistently correlated with the crack shape in immature and mature tissues. Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified the relative roles of azimuth and retardance on the deformation of tissue cracks, with azimuth playing the dominant role. The applicability of the PLM index should be tested in future studies using naturally-occurring tissue cracks.

FROM SCHOOL TO OFFICE: RECENT GRADUATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION AND PRACTICE

ABSTRACT We relate the findings of a survey of architecture school graduates wherein we investigate the relationship between education and practice and provide suggestions for bringing the two worlds closer together. Following a literature review, we present a questionnaire asking alumni to describe their understanding of practice gained while in school, their sense of preparation when entering the profession, and their observations about the nature and degree of alignment between the two. In our conclusions, we describe the relationship between a more theoretical and design-focused architectural education and the obligation of the architect to sustain a viable practice, to respond effectively to client-defined project needs and budget, and to ensure the health, safety and welfare of society.

‘It was a great brain, and I miss it’: lay perspectives on postoperative cognitive dysfunction

BackgroundPostoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a concern after anaesthesia and surgery, but preoperative discussion of neurocognitive risks with older patients rarely occurs. Anecdotal experiences of POCD are common in the popular media and may inform patient perspectives. However, the degree of alignment between lay and scientific perspectives on POCD is not known. MethodsWe performed inductive qualitative thematic analysis on website user comments publicly submitted under an article entitled, ‘The hidden long-term risks of surgery: “It gives people's brains a hard time”’, published by the UK-based news source The Guardian in April 2022. ResultsWe analysed 84 comments from 67 unique users. Themes that emerged from user comments included the importance of functional impact (‘Couldn't work … even reading was a struggle’), attribution to a range of causes but particularly the use of general, rather than consciousness-preserving, anaesthesia techniques (‘side effects aren't fully understood’), and inadequate preparation and response by healthcare providers (‘I would have benefited by being warned’). ConclusionsThere is misalignment between professional and lay understandings of POCD. Lay people emphasise subjective and functional impact of symptoms, and express beliefs about the role of anaesthetics in causing POCD. Some patients and caregivers affected by POCD report feeling abandoned by medical providers. In 2018, new nomenclature for postoperative neurocognitive disorders was published, which better aligns with lay perspectives by including subjective complaints and functional decline. Further studies based on newer definitions and public messaging may improve concordance between different understandings of this postoperative syndrome.

How Servant Leadership Influence Employee Service Quality of Fitness Centers During COVID-19: The Interacting Effects of Self-Efficacy.

Drawing on conservation of resource theory, social cognitive theory and person-environment fit theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of servant leadership and self-efficacy on service quality in fitness centers. Cross-sectional data came from 771 employees of fitness center. All participants completed the perceived servant leadership scale, self-efficacy scale and service quality scale. The polynomial regression and response surface analysis techniques were used to investigate the mediating influence and boundary conditions of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy acts as a mediator between servant leadership and employee service quality, with servant leadership having a positive, substantial impact on both. Meanwhile, regarding the relationship, the level of service quality is inversely correlated with the degree to which servant leadership and employee self-efficacy are aligned. The smaller the degree of alignment, the lower the level of employee service quality. The findings of this study can help fitness centre practitioners better improve the service quality of employees through service-oriented servant leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby contributing to the development of the sports and service industries.

Correlational between the gap contact force and the degree of lower limb alignment correction in Oxford mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty

Objective: To study the correlation between joint contact force and postoperative lower extremity alignment in Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (OUKA) and provide reference data for predicting the lower extremity alignment after OUKA. Methods: It was a retrospective case series study. A total of 78 patients (92 knees) who underwent OUKA surgery from January 2020 to January 2022 in the Department of Orthopedics and Joint Surgery of China-Japan Friendship Hospital were included in this study, including 29 males and 49 females, aged (68.8±6.9) years. A custom-designed force sensor was used to measure gap contact force in the medial gap of OUKA. The patients were divided into groups according to the varus degree of lower limb alignment after operation. Relationship between the gap contact force and the alignment of the lower limbs after operation was analyzed with Pearson correlation analysis, and the gap contact force was compared between patients with different lower limbs alignment correcting results. Results: The mean contact force measured during the operation at 0° of knee extension was 81.7 N±57.8 N, and it was 96.1 N±54.5 N at 20° of knee flexion. The average postoperative knee varus angle was 2.9°±2.7°. The gap contact force at the 0° and 20° positions of the knee joint was negatively correlated with the varus degree of the postoperative lower limb alignment (r=-0.493, -0.331, both P<0.001). The distribution of gap contact force at 0° was different in each group, the contact force [M (Q1, Q3)] of the neutral position group(n=24) was 117.4 N (31.7 N, 233.0 N), and it was 63.7 N (11.3 N, 209.0 N), 31.5 N (8.3 N, 87.7 N) in the mild varus group (n=51) and the significant varus group (n=17), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001); while at 20°, only the difference between the significant varus group and the neutral position group was statistically significant (P=0.040). The gap contact force of the alignment satisfactory group at 0° and 20° was greater than those in the significant varus group (both P<0.05). The gap contact force measured at 0° and 20° was significantly greater in patients with preoperative significant flexion deformity than in patients without flexion deformity (or mild flexion deformity) (both P<0.05). Conclusions: OUKA gap contact force is related to the degree of lower limb alignment correction after the operation. In patients with well-corrected lower limb alignment after surgery, the median intraoperative knee joint gap contact force at 0° and 20° is 117.4 N and 92.5 N, respectively.

Radial microstructural nonuniformity of boron nitride films deposited on a wafer scale substrate by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

The nonuniform deposition behavior of boron nitride (BN) films, which is governed by the natural gradient of plasma density, was examined by investigating their microstructure and phase formation. The BN films were deposited on a 10 cm diameter, negatively self-biased Si wafer via unbalanced magnetron sputtering. At a bias voltage of −160 V, where only a turbostratic BN (tBN) film formed, the (0002) hexagonal BN laminates composing the film were aligned normal to the substrate. However, their degree of alignment tended to decrease as their distance from the substrate center increased. At a bias voltage of −220 V, a cubic BN film formed at the center of the substrate, while a tBN film formed on the periphery. These two deposition behaviors were attributed to the bombarding ion flux gradient inherent in the plasma used in sputtering.