Facilitatory Effect Research Articles

Effects of Social Facilitation and Introduction Methods for Cattle on Virtual Fence Adaptation

Effects of Social Facilitation and Introduction Methods for Cattle on Virtual Fence Adaptation

Shared representations in cognate comprehension and production: An online picture naming and lexical decision study with bilingual children

Abstract The cognate facilitation effect, a classic example of cross-language interaction in the bilingual lexicon, has mostly been studied in adults. We examined the extent to which such effects occurred in simultaneous bilingual children’s word processing, to what extent these were modulated by language dominance, and to what extent this differed between comprehension and production tasks. Simultaneous bilingual Dutch-Greek children, ranging from Dutch-dominant to Greek-dominant, performed auditory lexical decision and picture-naming tasks in an online experiment. Cognate facilitation effects emerged in both tasks but manifested themselves differently. In lexical decision, there was an interaction effect with language dominance in accuracy, while in picture naming there was a main effect in reaction times. These findings suggest that, similar to what has been found for adults, simultaneous bilingual children have an integrated lexicon, in which both languages are interactively connected. Effects may differ as a combined result of factors such as comprehension versus production and individual differences in language dominance. Importantly, despite such differences, our results show that cognate effects emerge across tasks and across a range of individual children’s language dominance, indicating that shared representations within the bilingual lexicon are accessed during both word comprehension and production.

Consistent social information perceived in animated backgrounds improves ensemble perception of facial expressions.

Observers can rapidly extract the mean emotion from a set of faces with remarkable precision, known as ensemble coding. Previous studies have demonstrated that matched physical backgrounds improve the precision of ongoing ensemble tasks. However, it remains unknown whether this facilitation effect still occurs when matched social information is perceived from the backgrounds. In two experiments, participants decided whether the test face in the retrieving phase appeared more disgusted or neutral than the mean emotion of the face set in the encoding phase. Both phases were paired with task-irrelevant animated backgrounds, which included either the forward movement trajectory carrying the "cooperatively chasing" information, or the backward movement trajectory conveying no such chasing information. The backgrounds in the encoding and retrieving phases were either mismatched (i.e., forward and backward replays of the same trajectory), or matched (i.e., two identical forward movement trajectories in Experiment 1, or two different forward movement trajectories in Experiment 2). Participants in both experiments showed higher ensemble precisions and better discrimination sensitivities when backgrounds matched. The findings suggest that consistent social information perceived from memory-related context exerts a context-matching facilitation effect on ensemble coding, and more importantly, this effect is independent of consistent physical information.

Caregiver reactions to babbling organize turn-taking interactions: Facilitative effects of vocal versus non-vocal responses.

Turn-taking interactions are foundational to the development of social, communicative, and cognitive skills. In infants, vocal turn-taking experience is predictive of infants' socioemotional and language development. However, different forms of turn-taking interactions may have different effects on infant vocalizing. It is presently unknown how caregiver vocal, non-vocal and multimodal responses to infant vocalizations compare in extending caregiver-infant vocal turn-taking bouts. In bouts that begin with an infant vocalization, responses that maintain versus change the communicative modality may differentially affect the likelihood of further infant vocalizing. No studies have examined how caregiver response modalities that either matched or differed from the infant acoustic (vocal) modality might affect the temporal structure of vocal turn-taking beyond the initial serve-and-return exchanges. We video-recorded free-play sessions of 51 caregivers with their 9-month-old infants. Caregivers responded to babbling most often with vocalizations. In turn, caregiver vocal responses were significantly more likely to elicit subsequent infant babbling. Bouts following an initial caregiver vocal response contained significantly more turns than those following a non-vocal or multimodal response. Thus prelinguistic turn-taking is sensitive to the modality of caregivers' responses. Future research should investigate if such sensitivity is grounded in attentional constraints, which may influence the structure of turn-taking interactions.

Crebinostat facilitates memory formation

Protein modifications importantly contribute to memory formation. Protein acetylation is a posttranslational modification of proteins that regulates memory formation. Acetylation level is determined by the relative activities of acetylases and deacetylases. Crebinostat is a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Here we show that in object recognition task, crebinostat facilitates memory formation by a weak training. Further, this compound enhances acetylation of α-tubulin, and reduces the level of histone deacetylase 6, an α-tubulin deacetylase. The results suggest that enhanced acetylation of α-tubulin by crebinostat contributes to its facilitatory effect on memory formation.

Evaluation of the Effect of Parental Participation on Chinese Adolescent Behavioral Development Through the Mediating Effect of Peers: A Moderated Mediation Model.

With the rapid changes in the social environment, adolescents are facing increasing academic pressure and challenges to their physical and mental development in the socialization process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence mechanisms of parental participation on adolescent behavioral development (learning persistence, expressive language ability and knowledge absorption ability), revealing the mediation role of adolescent positive and negative peer interactions between parental participation and behavioral development, and whether differences in parents and children's educational expectations moderate this process. This study was measured using the Parental Participation Questionnaire, Peer Interaction Questionnaire, Behavioral Development Scale, and Educational Expectancy Gap from the China Education Panel Survey. A total of 7730 seventh-grade students and their parents were invited to participate, to establish a moderated mediation model, and the significance of the mediation effect was tested using the bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method. (1) High frequent parental participation has a significant positive effect on adolescent behavioral development, including behavioral participation, emotional participation, and educational participation all exerting varying degrees of positive influence, as well as positively influencing adolescents' peer interactions. (2) Positive and negative peer interactions play the mediation role of 12.3% and 2.5% respectively in the process of parental participation affecting adolescent behavioral development. (3) Comparing "educational expectation gap - equal", the "educational expectation gap - high" negatively moderates the effect of parental participation on adolescent behavioral development and positive peer interaction (inhibitory effect), the "educational expectation gap - low" positively moderates the effect of parental participation on negative peer interaction (facilitation effect), which meant that the "educational expectation gap - equal" between parents and children is a more desirable state. These findings provide empirical support and effective operational suggestions to further promote positive adolescent behavioral development. Particularly for developing countries, it is recognized that positive parental participation and peer interaction, as well as equal educational expectation of parents and children, are protective factors for adolescent development.

The difference of affect improvement effect of music intervention in aerobic exercise at different time periods.

Objectives: A randomized controlled experimental design that combines exercise and music intervention was adopted in this study to verify whether this approach could help improve human affect. The differences in the effect of music listening on affective improvement were compared in four different periods: before, during, and after aerobic power cycling exercise and the whole exercise course. Method: A total of 140 subjects aged 19-30 years (average age: 23.6 years) were recruited and randomly divided into four music intervention groups, namely, the pre-exercise, during-exercise, post-exercise, and the whole-course groups. The subjects' demographic and sociological variables and daily physical activities were collected using questionnaires. Individual factors, such as the subjects' noise sensitivity, personality traits, and degree of learning burnout, were collected via scale scoring. A laboratory in Zhejiang Normal University was selected as the experimental site. The testing procedure can be summarized as follows. In a quiet environment, the subjects were asked to sit quietly for 5min after completing a preparation work, and then they were informed to take a pre-test. The four subject groups wore headphones and completed 20min of aerobic cycling (i.e., 7min of moderate-intensity cycling [50%*HRR + RHR] + 6min of low-intensity interval cycling [30%*HRR + RHR] + 7min of moderate-intensity cycling [50%*HRR + RHR] after returning to a calm state (no less than 20min) for post-testing. The affect improvement indicators (dependent variables) collected in the field included blood pressure (BP), positive/negative affect, and heart rate variability indicators (RMSSD, SDNN, and LF/HF). Results: 1) Significant differences were found in the participants' systolic BP (SBP) indices and the effect of improvement of the positive affect during the exercise-music intervention among the four groups at different durations for the same exercise intensity (F = 2.379, p = 0.030, ɳp 2 = 0.058; F = 2.451, p = 0.043, ɳp 2 = 0.091). 2) Music intervention for individuals during exercise contribute more to the reduction of SBP than the other three time periods (F = 3.170, p = 0.047, ɳp 2 = 0.068). Improvement in the participants' negativity affective score was also better during exercise, and it was significantly different than the other three time periods (F = 5.516, p = 0.006, ɳp 2 = 0.113). No significant differences were found in the improvement effects of the other effective indicators for the four periods. Conclusion: Exercise combined with music intervention has a facilitative effect on human affect improvement, and listening to music during exercise has a better impact on affective improvement than music interventions at the other periods. When people perform physical activities, listening to music during exercise positively affects the progress effect among them.

Effect of contextual prediction on emotional word processing: an evidence from ERPNR-D-24-00189.

This study examined the effect of context on the prediction of emotional words with varying valences. It investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the processing differences of emotion words with different valences in both predictable and unpredictable contexts. Additionally, it aimed to address the conflicting results regarding the processing time in predictive contexts reported in previous studies. Participants were instructed to carefully read the text that included the specified emotion words. Event-related potentials elicited by emotional words were measured. To ensure that the participants can read the text carefully, 33% of the texts are followed by comprehension problems. After reading the text, the comprehension questions were answered based on the text content. The study revealed that the N400 amplitude elicited by an unpredictable context was greater than that elicited by a predictable context. Additionally, the N400 amplitude triggered by positive emotion words was larger than that triggered by negative emotion words. However, there was no significant difference in late positive component amplitude observed between contextual prediction and emotional word valence. The present study suggests that predictive processing takes place at an intermediate stage of speech processing, approximately 400 ms after stimulus onset. Furthermore, the presence of a predictive context enhances the processing of emotional information. Notably, brain activity is more pronounced during the processing of positive emotional stimuli compared to negative emotional stimuli. Additionally, the facilitative effect of a predictable context diminishes in the advanced phase of Chinese speech comprehension.

Hydraulic fracturing in layered heterogeneous shale: The interaction between adjacent weak interfaces

Shale is known as the typical layered heterogeneous rock with multiple weak interfaces between different layers, and how to depict the propagation characteristic of fluid-driven fracture in such complex geological structures is critical for hydraulic fracturing engineering. Traditional investigations only focus on the intersecting behaviors of hydraulic fracture (HF) at a single weak interface. Herein, we reveal the propagation of HF in shale formation based on the extended finite element method (XFEM), where multiple weak interfaces and different rock properties are carefully considered in the sandwiched layered structure (SLS). The crack tip singularities at the weak interfaces due to the material discrepancy are characterized by the eigen-function expansion, and the unified enrichment function is constructed to evaluate the stress intensity factors (SIFs) directly without extra computations. The corresponding energy release rate (ERR) criteria are employed to determine the HF propagation direction. By the comprehensive analysis with various dip angles and material/structural properties, the propagation of HF moving across the layered heterogeneous shale is regarded as the interaction between adjacent weak interfaces. For the front weak interface, the inhibition effect could be seen in the fracture penetrating capacity by the rear interface, which reflects contrasting trends due to large material discrepancies of various weak interfaces. The propagation behavior at the rear weak interface is affected by the facilitation effect from the front interface, and the HF pre-offset at the front interface greatly enhances the facilitation effect on fracture penetrating through shale formations.

Phenotypic plasticity variations in Phragmites australis under different plant-plant interactions influenced by salinity

Abstract Coastal wetland ecosystems are increasingly threatened by escalating salinity levels, subjecting plants to salinity stress coupled with interactions in community. Abiotic factors can disrupt the balance between competition and facilitation among plant species. Investigating the effects of different neighboring species and trait plasticity could extend the stress gradient hypothesis and enhance understanding of vegetation distribution and diversity in salt marshes. We conducted a greenhouse experiment and investigated the plastic response of wetland grass Phragmites australis to 7 neighboring plants of 3 functional types (conspecifics, graminoids, and forbs) under soil salinity (0 g/L and10 g/L). Plant height, base diameter, density, leaf thickness, specific leaf area, total and part biomasses were measured. Additionally, the Relative Interaction Index (RII, based on biomass) and the Relative Distance Plasticity Index (RDPI) were calculated. Salinity significantly reduced the biomass, height, density, and diameter of P. australis. The functional types of neighboring plants also significantly affected these growth parameters. The influence of graminoids on P. australis was negative under 0 g/L, but this negative effect shifted to positive facilitation under 10 g/L. The facilitation effect of forbs was amplified under salinity, both supporting the stress gradient hypothesis. The growth traits of P. australis had plastic response to salinity and competition, such as increasing belowground biomass to obtain more water and resources. The RDPI was higher under salt condition than competitive conditions. The plant-plant interaction response to stress varies with plant functional types and traits plasticity.

Angiotensin receptors and α1B-adrenergic receptors regulate native IK(ACh) and phosphorylation-deficient GIRK4 (S418A) channels through different PKC isoforms.

Signaling of G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels is an important mechanism of the parasympathetic regulation of the heart rate and cardiac excitability. GIRK channels are inhibited during stimulation of Gq-coupled receptors (GqPCRs) by depletion of phosphatidyl-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and/or channel phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC). The GqPCR-dependent modulation of GIRK currents in terms of specific PKC isoform activation was analyzed in voltage-clamp experiments in rat atrial myocytes and in CHO or HEK 293 cells. By using specific PKC inhibitors, we identified the receptor-activated PKC isoforms that contribute to phenylephrine- and angiotensin-induced GIRK channel inhibition. We demonstrate that the cPKC isoform PKCα significantly contributes to GIRK inhibition during stimulation of wildtype α1B-adrenergic receptors (α1B-ARs). Deletion of the α1B-AR serine residues S396 and S400 results in a preferential regulation of GIRK activity by PKCβ. As a novel finding, we report that the AT1-receptor-induced GIRK inhibition depends on the activation of the nPKC isoform PKCε whereas PKCα and PKCβ do not mainly participate in the angiotensin-mediated GIRK reduction. Expression of the dominant negative (DN) PKCε prolonged the onset of GIRK inhibition and significantly reduced AT1-R desensitization, indicating that PKCε regulates both GIRK channel activity and the strength of the receptor signal via a negative feedback mechanism. The serine residue S418 represents an important phosphorylation site for PKCε in the GIRK4 subunit. To analyze the functional impact of this PKC phosphorylation site for receptor-specific GIRK channel modulation, we monitored the activity of a phosphorylation-deficient (GIRK4 (S418A)) GIRK4 channel mutant during stimulation of α1B-ARs or AT1-receptors. Mutation of S418 did not impede α1B-AR-mediated GIRK inhibition, suggesting that S418 within the GIRK4 subunit is not subject to PKCα-induced phosphorylation. Furthermore, activation of angiotensin receptors induced pronounced GIRK4 (S418A) channel inhibition, excluding that this phosphorylation site contributes to the AT1-R-induced GIRK reduction. Instead, phosphorylation of S418 has a facilitative effect on GIRK activity that was abolished in the GIRK4 (S418A) mutant. To summarize, the present study shows that the receptor-dependent regulation of atrial GIRK channels is attributed to the GqPCR-specific activation of different PKC isoforms. Receptor-specific activated PKC isoforms target distinct phosphorylation sites within the GIRK4 subunit, resulting in differential regulation of GIRK channel activity with either facilitative or inhibitory effects on GIRK currents.

Effects of expectation on face perception and its association with expertise

Perceptual decisions are derived from the combination of priors and sensorial input. While priors are broadly understood to reflect experience/expertise developed over one’s lifetime, the role of perceptual expertise at the individual level has seldom been directly explored. Here, we manipulate probabilistic information associated with a high and low expertise category (faces and cars respectively), while assessing individual level of expertise with each category. 67 participants learned the probabilistic association between a color cue and each target category (face/car) in a behavioural categorization task. Neural activity (EEG) was then recorded in a similar paradigm in the same participants featuring the previously learned contingencies without the explicit task. Behaviourally, perception of the higher expertise category (faces) was modulated by expectation. Specifically, we observed facilitatory and interference effects when targets were correctly or incorrectly expected, which were also associated with independently measured individual levels of face expertise. Multivariate pattern analysis of the EEG signal revealed clear effects of expectation from 100 ms post stimulus, with significant decoding of the neural response to expected vs. not stimuli, when viewing identical images. Latency of peak decoding when participants saw faces was directly associated with individual level facilitation effects in the behavioural task. The current results not only provide time sensitive evidence of expectation effects on early perception but highlight the role of higher-level expertise on forming priors.

Do aluminum (Al)-hyperaccumulator and phosphorus (P)-solubilising species assist neighbouring plants sensitive to Al toxicity and P deficiency?

We aimed to evaluate the facilitation effects of an aluminum (Al) hyperaccumulator species bearing cluster roots, Gevuina avellana, on the seedling growth and performance of an Al-intolerant and phosphorus (P)-deficient-sensitive plant, Vaccinium corymbosum. For this, seedlings of G. avellana and V. corymbosum were grown alone or together as follows: i) two G. avellana seedlings, ii) one G. avellana + one V. corymbosum and iii) two V. corymbosum, in soil supplemented with Al (as Al2(SO4)3) and in the control (without Al supplementation). We determined relative growth rate (RGR), photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll concentration, lipid peroxidation and Al and nutrient concentration [Nitrogen (N), P, potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and sulfur (S)] in leaves and roots of both species. The results showed that, in general, G. avellana did not assist V. corymbosum to enhance its RGR nor reduce its Al uptake. However, G. avellana assisted V. corymbosum in enhanced N acquisition and, consequently, to increase its chlorophyll concentration and photosynthetic rate. Besides, V. corymbosum had lower lipid peroxidation in leaves when grown in the soil with high Al supplementation in association with G. avellana. Our results suggest a facilitating effect of G. avellana to V. corymbosum when grown in soils with high Al concentration, by enhancing chlorophyll concentrations and photosynthetic rate, and decreasing the oxidative damage to lipids.

Time course of attentional guidance by visual and verbal working memory representations

ABSTRACT Visual and verbal representations in working memory guide visual attention to a memory-matching item. It is well documented that visual cues have an advantage in target detection over verbal cues; however, little research has explored the differences in visual search processes and between attentional guidance by visual and verbal working memory. To address this issue, here we investigated the time course of attentional guidance through visual and verbal representations by comparing the inhibition of return effects. Previous research shows that both types of working memory items produce early facilitation effects and later inhibition effects, but there are lesser facilitation effects for verbal than for visual working memory guidance of attention. Results showed that in all conditions, attention was guided by memory representations, but no inhibition of return was observed. Thus, the robustness of previous findings on the time course of attentional guidance by working memory is low.

Effect of foot core exercises vs ankle proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation on pain, range of motion, and dynamic balance in individuals with plantar fasciitis: a comparative study

Plantar fasciitis is generally described as an inflammation of the plantar fascia and adjacent tissues around calcaneus tuberosity. Plantar fasciitis onset has been proposed to have an internal mechanical cause, even though this is inadequately recognized. Studies related to alternation in lower-extremity biomechanics that leads to reduced domes of the foot are hypothesized to cause tension in the underlying fascia. Similarly, despite a wealth of anecdotal data suggesting a direct connection between foot mechanism and disability. This condition typically leads to calf muscular stiffness, soreness in the bottom of the feet, decreased range and foot function, strength, and balance impairment. These results interfere with the normal biomechanics of ambulation. A total of (n=66) individuals with plantar fasciitis will be selected for the trial. Subjects will be allocated to Groups A and B at equal allocation with randomization. Group A will undergo foot core exercises, while Group B will undergo ankle proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, with both groups receiving conventional treatment. The regimen lasts for 40 minutes, 5 days, for 6 weeks. Foot core exercises are exercises to strengthen the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the foot, which results in the improvement in the alignment of the foot. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation exercises are the facilitatory technique to improve the range and strength of the muscles, which results in the improvement in balance. Ultrasound and stretching techniques were added as the conventional therapy to reduce the pain. The outcome measures will be assessed on the Foot Functional Index, modified Star Excursion Balance Test (mSEBT), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and Weight Bearing Lunge Test (WBLT) will be assessed at the initiation and completion of the entire treatment protocol. Results will be analyzed prior to and after therapeutic intervention. Based on the comparison of the two treatments' effects on measuring outcomes in individuals with plantar fasciitis, an analysis will be conducted.

Species diversity promotes facilitation under stressful conditions

Climate change is expected to lead to a drier world, with more frequent and severe droughts, constituting a growing threat to biodiversity, especially in drylands. Positive plant−plant interactions, such as nurse plants facilitating beneficiary communities in their understorey, could mitigate such climate‐induced stress. However, testing the real‐world relevance of nurse facilitation under drought requires accounting for interactions within the diverse beneficiary communities, which may reduce, or amplify the buffering effect of a nurse. Here, we investigated when and how the interactions among nurse plants and beneficiary community members buffered drought effects in a Mediterranean semiarid abandoned cropland. We transplanted sapling beneficiary communities of either one or three species either under a nurse or in open microsites for different soil moisture levels through watering. Net facilitative effects on survival and biomass were only observed when beneficiary communities were species‐diverse and under drought (without watering), meaning that under these conditions, facilitation provided by the nurse had larger positive effects than the negative effects stemming from competition with the nurse and among beneficiary species. Nurses appear to be generating these increases in survival and biomass in drought conditions via two mechanisms commonly associated with watering in open sites: they generate complementarity among the beneficiaries and shift traits to lower stress profiles. Contrasting with watering, which was found to enhance competitive hierarchy, our study shows that nurses appear to alter species dominance, favouring the less competitive species. Our results highlight three mechanisms (complementarity, competitive dominance, and trait plasticity) by which nurse species could mitigate the loss of biodiversity and biomass production due to water stress. Maintaining and supporting nurse species is thus a potentially pivotal approach in the face of projected increase in drought conditions for many drylands across the world.Keywords: biodiversity, dryland, ecosystem functioning, facilitation, functional traits, plant–plant interactions

Theoretical modeling of concrete friction-impact deterioration using water-borne sand abrasion experiment

To explore the influence of impact angle on concrete abrasion deterioration under water-borne sand, a theoretical model for friction-impact deterioration was developed. This model innovatively proposes the inhibition effect of the normal impact action on the tangential friction mass loss and the facilitation effect of the tangential friction action on the normal impact mass loss to rationally explain the effect of impact angle on concrete mass loss. Simultaneously, a water-borne sand accelerated abrasion experiment was conducted to initiate a comprehensive discussion on surface abrasion deterioration indicators, including mass loss, number of holes, aperture, hole area, and hole volume. In addition, the concrete abrasion mass loss rate was evaluated based on the friction-impact deterioration model combined with experimental data. Applying this model facilitates a reliable prediction of concrete's mass loss caused by abrasion. Consequently, this allows for a more accurate assurance of the safety of concrete structures exposed to abrasive conditions throughout their operational life. The results show that the mass loss per unit area, maximum aperture, hole area ratio, and hole volume exhibit a trend of first decreasing, then increasing and finally decreasing with the increase of impact angle. Under 15°, 60°, and 90°, 70 % of the mass loss per unit area of the concrete specimens occurred within the first 6 d of abrasion. When the angles were 30° and 45°, 50 % of the mass loss per unit area of the concrete specimens occurred in the 9–12 d abrasion. It has been revealed that 69° results in the most severe abrasion mass loss. The abrasion deterioration process of concrete can be divided into three primary stages, including surface mortar abrasion, prime aggregate-mortar abrasion, and continuous aggregate-mortar abrasion. Additionally, the friction-impact theoretical model was employed to simulate the abrasion of both single and multiple pier columns, and the simulations provided insights into the non-uniform mass loss rate distribution around the pier columns.

Effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation combined with threshold inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function in neurocritical patients with weaning failure: a randomized controlled trial.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of combining proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) with threshold inspiratory muscle training (TIMT), compared with TIMT alone, on respiratory function in neurocritical patients who experienced a weaning failure. Forty-seven participants (mostly after a stroke), were randomly divided into the experimental group (n = 24) and the control group (n = 23). The control group received usual care and TIMT, whereas the experimental group, in addition, underwent four 90-s periods of manual PNF. Both groups performed training in the ICU twice a day for 5 consecutive days. The main outcome measures included maximum inspiratory pressure, diaphragmatic excursions, diaphragm thickening fraction, oxygenation index, and forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity. The results showed a significant group-by-time interaction effect for maximum inspiratory pressure [F (1, 45) = 17.84, η2 = 0.328, P < 0.001] and oxygenation index [F [1, 45) = 5.58, η2 = 0.11, P = 0.023]. When compared with the control group, the experimental group showed overall significantly higher maximum inspiratory pressure [mean difference = 4.37 cm H2O, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25-8.50, P = 0.038]. No other significant group differences were found. Combining PNF with TIMT may improve respiratory function in neurocritical patients with weaning failure. This combination approach may increase the likelihood of survival of neurocritical patients in the ICU.

Trade Facilitation and Global Value Chain Participation: Cross-country Analysis

In this article, we examine the role of trade facilitation in fostering firm participation in global value chains (GVCs). We use cross-sectional data for 115 economies spanning 2006–2018 sourced from World Bank Enterprise Surveys. We employ four trade indicators which are as follows: customs, regulation quality, loans and digitalization proxying for trade facilitation measures and we correct for reverse causality using the instrumental variable approach. Our empirical findings highlight that customs requirements deter GVC participation of the firm. Further, adhering to government regulations, having access to loans and digital communication adoption fosters supply chain integration of the firm. The present study also finds favourable heterogenous effects of trade facilitation on GVC participation of less productive firms and larger firms. Our findings are robust to alternative methods of endogeneity correction and GVC definitions. JEL Codes: F1, F19, F14

Modulatory Effects on Laminar Neural Activity Induced by Near-Infrared Light Stimulation with a Continuous Waveform to the Mouse Inferior Colliculus In Vivo.

Infrared neural stimulation (INS) is a promising area of interest for the clinical application of a neuromodulation method. This is in part because of its low invasiveness, whereby INS modulates the activity of the neural tissue mainly through temperature changes. Additionally, INS may provide localized brain stimulation with less tissue damage. The inferior colliculus (IC) is a crucial auditory relay nucleus and a potential target for clinical application of INS to treat auditory diseases and develop artificial hearing devices. Here, using continuous INS with low to high-power density, we demonstrate the laminar modulation of neural activity in the mouse IC in the presence and absence of sound. We investigated stimulation parameters of INS to effectively modulate the neural activity in a facilitatory or inhibitory manner. A mathematical model of INS-driven brain tissue was first simulated, temperature distributions were numerically estimated, and stimulus parameters were selected from the simulation results. Subsequently, INS was administered to the IC of anesthetized mice, and the modulation effect on the neural activity was measured using an electrophysiological approach. We found that the modulatory effect of INS on the spontaneous neural activity was bidirectional between facilitatory and inhibitory effects. The modulatory effect on sound-evoked responses produced only an inhibitory effect to all examined stimulus intensities. Thus, this study provides important physiological evidence on the response properties of IC neurons to INS. Overall, INS can be used for the development of new therapies for neurological disorders and functional support devices for auditory central processing.