Communicating science in the COVID-19 news in the UK during Omicron waves: exploring representations of nature of science with epistemic network analysis.

News media plays a vital role in communicating scientific evidence to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such communication is important for convincing the public to follow social distancing guidelines and to respond to health campaigns such as vaccination programmes. However, newspapers were criticised that they focus on the socio-political perspective of science, without explaining the nature of scientific works behind the government's decisions. This paper examines the connections of the nature of science categories in the COVID-19 era by four local newspapers in the United Kingdom between November 2021 to February 2022. Nature of science refers to different aspects of how science works such as aims, values, methods and social institutions of science. Considering the news media may mediate public information and perception of scientific stories, it is relevant to ask how the various British newspapers covered aspects of science during the pandemic. In the period explored, Omicron variant was initially a variant of concern, and an increasing number of scientific evidence showed that the less severity of this variant might move the country from pandemic to endemic. We explored how news articles communicate public health information by addressing how science works during the period when Omicron variants surge. A novel discourse analysis approach, epistemic network analysis is used to characterise the frequency of connections of categories of the nature of science. The connection between political factors and the professional activities of scientists, as well as that with scientific practices are more apparent in left-populated and centralist outlets than in right-populated news outlets. Among four news outlets across the political spectrum, a left-populated newspaper, the Guardian, is not consistent in representing relations of different aspects of the nature of scientific works across different stages of the public health crisis. Inconsistency of addressing aspects of scientific works and a downplay of the cognitive-epistemic nature of scientific works likely lead to failure in trust and consumption of scientific knowledge by the public in the healthcare crisis.

Word reading transfer in two distinct languages in reading interventions: How Chinese-English bilingual children with reading difficulties learn to read.

PURPOSE: Skills developed from literacy training in L1 are shown to transfer to reading in L2 when both languages involve an alphabetic writing system. However, transfer of literacy skills between a logographic L1 and an alphabetic L2 is less studied. This study examined whether the gain in literacy skills after an 8-week training on 1) Chinese character recognition or 2) English phonics, may generalize across the two languages in Chinese elementary students with reading disabilities. METHODS: Chinese-speaking students identified with reading difficulties were randomly assigned to the Chinese intervention (Chinese character orthography training), English intervention (English phonics training), and control groups. Their Chinese and English literacy skills were measured before and after the interventions. RESULTS: Though training on the orthography of Chinese characters significantly improved performance in Chinese word reading and Chinese orthographic awareness, our results did not provide evidence for the generalization of word-decoding skills from L1 Chinese to word reading in L2 English. However, phonics training in L2 English benefitted not only English word reading, but also cross-language word reading in L1 Chinese. CONCLUSION: We postulated that teaching children analytical skills in decoding words in an alphabetic writing system might likewise benefit their word decoding in a logographic script.

Development of the high angular resolution 360° LiDAR based on scanning MEMS mirror.

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) using various operational principles has been applied in many fields, e.g., robotics navigation, autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial flyers, land surveying, etc. The multichannel LiDAR system is of great importance in the field of autonomous driving due to its larger field of view (FoV). However, the number of transceivers limits the vertical angular resolution of multichannel LiDAR systems and makes them costly. On the other hand, the emergence of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors may provide a highly promising solution to a low-cost, high angular resolution LiDAR system. We have demonstrated a MEMS mirror-based 360° LiDAR system with high angular resolution and will present the detailed design process and obtained experimental results in this paper. With the combination of the MEMS mirror and a rotation platform for the LiDAR system, a 360° × 8.6° (horizontal × vertical) FoV was achieved. Compared with existing commercial multichannel 360° LiDAR systems, our system has 13.8 times better angular resolution than the Velodyne HDL-64 LiDAR sensor. The experimental results verified an excellent performance of 0.07° × 0.027° (horizontal × vertical) angular resolution, which enhances the panoramic scanning and imaging capability of the LiDAR system, potentially providing more accurate 3D scanning applications in areas such as autonomous vehicles, indoor surveying, indoor robotics navigation, etc.

Mapping of Spatiotemporal Auricular Electrophysiological Signals Reveals Human Biometric Clusters.

Underneath the ear skin there are rich vascular network and sensory nerve branches. Hence, the 3D mapping of auricular electrophysiological signals can provide new biomedical perspectives. However, it is still extremely challenging for current sensing techniques to cover the entire ultra-curved auricle. Here, a 3D graphene-based ear-conformable sensing device with embedded and distributed 3D electrodes for full-auricle physiological monitoring is reported. As a proof-of-concept, spatiotemporal auricular electrical skin resistance (AESR) mapping is demonstrated for the first time, and human subject-specific AESR distributions are observed. From the data of more than 30 ears (both right and left ears), the auricular region-specific AESR changes after cycling exercise are observed in 98% of the tests and are clustered into four groups via machine learning-based data analyses. Correlations of AESR with heart rate and blood pressure are also studied. This 3D electronic platform and AESR-based biometrical findings show promising biomedical applications.

Wide-Bandwidth Nanocomposite-Sensor Integrated Smart Mask for Tracking Multiphase Respiratory Activities.

Wearing masks has been a recommended protective measure due to the risks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) even in its coming endemic phase. Therefore, deploying a "smart mask" to monitor human physiological signals is highly beneficial for personal and public health. This work presents a smart mask integrating an ultrathin nanocomposite sponge structure-based soundwave sensor (≈400 µm), which allows the high sensitivity in a wide-bandwidth dynamic pressure range, i.e., capable of detecting various respiratory sounds of breathing, speaking, and coughing. Thirty-one subjects test the smart mask in recording their respiratory activities. Machine/deep learning methods, i.e., support vector machine and convolutional neural networks, are used to recognize these activities, which show average macro-recalls of ≈95% in both individual and generalized models. With rich high-frequency (≈4000 Hz) information recorded, the two-/tri-phase coughs can be mapped while speaking words can be identified, demonstrating that the smart mask can be applicable as a daily wearable Internet of Things (IoT) device for respiratory disease identification, voice interaction tool, etc. in the future. This work bridges the technological gap between ultra-lightweight but high-frequency response sensor material fabrication, signal transduction and processing, and machining/deep learning to demonstrate a wearable device for potential applications in continual health monitoring in daily life.

Rapid nanomolding of nanotopography on flexible substrates to control muscle cell growth with enhanced maturation.

In vivo, multiple biophysical cues provided by highly ordered connective tissues of the extracellular matrix regulate skeletal muscle cells to align in parallel with one another. However, in routine in vitro cell culture environments, these key factors are often missing, which leads to changes in cell behavior. Here, we present a simple strategy for using optical media discs with nanogrooves and other polymer-based substrates nanomolded from the discs to directly culture muscle cells to study their response to the effect of biophysical cues such as nanotopography and substrate stiffness. We extend the range of study of biophysical cues for myoblasts by showing that they can sense ripple sizes as small as a 100 nm width and a 20 nm depth for myotube alignment, which has not been reported previously. The results revealed that nanotopography and substrate stiffness regulated myoblast proliferation and morphology independently, with nanotopographical cues showing a higher effect. These biophysical cues also worked synergistically, and their individual effects on cells were additive; i.e., by comparing cells grown on different polymer-based substrates (with and without nanogrooves), the cell proliferation rate could be reduced by as much as ~29%, and the elongation rate could be increased as much as ~116%. Moreover, during myogenesis, muscle cells actively responded to nanotopography and consistently showed increases in fusion and maturation indices of ~28% and ~21%, respectively. Finally, under electrical stimulation, the contraction amplitude of well-aligned myotubes was found to be almost 3 times greater than that for the cells on a smooth surface, regardless of the substrate stiffness.

COVID-19, community response, public policy, and travel patterns: A tale of Hong Kong.

The COVID-19 outbreak has necessitated a critical review of urban transportation and its role in society against the backdrop of an exogenous shock. This article extends the transportation literature regarding community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons can be obtained from the case of Hong Kong in 2020. Individual behavior and collective responsibility are considered crucial to ensure both personal and community wellbeing in a pandemic context. Trends in government policies, the number of infectious cases, and community mobility are examined using multiple data sources. The mobility changes that occurred during the state of emergency are revealed by a time-series analysis of variables that measure both the epidemiological severity level and government stringency. The results demonstrate a high response capability of the local government, inhabitants, and communities. Communities in Hong Kong are found to have reacted faster than the implementation of health interventions, whereas the government policies effectively reduced the number of infection cases. The ways in which community action are vital to empower flexible and adaptive community responses are also explored. The results indicate that voluntary community involvement constitutes a necessary condition to help inform and reshape future transport policy and response strategies to mitigate the pandemic.

Attenuation of amyloid-ß generation by atypical protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of engulfment adaptor PTB domain containing 1 threonine 35.

Amyloid-ß (Aß) is derived from the proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP), and the deposition of extracellular Aß to form amyloid plaques is a pathologic hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although reducing Aß generation and accumulation has been proposed as a means of treating the disease, adverse side effects and unsatisfactory efficacy have been reported in several clinical trials that sought to lower Aß levels. Engulfment adaptor phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain containing 1 (GULP1) is a molecular adaptor that has been shown to interact with APP to alter Aß production. Therefore, the modulation of the GULP1-APP interaction may be an alternative approach to reducing Aß. However, the mechanisms that regulate GULP1-APP binding remain elusive. As GULP1 is a phosphoprotein, and because phosphorylation is a common mechanism that regulates protein interaction, we anticipated that GULP1 phosphorylation would influence GULP1-APP interaction and thereby Aß production. We show here that the phosphorylation of GULP1 threonine 35 (T35) reduces GULP1-APP interaction and suppresses the stimulatory effect of GULP1 on APP processing. The residue is phosphorylated by an isoform of atypical PKC (PKCζ). Overexpression of PKCζ reduces both GULP1-APP interaction and GULP1-mediated Aß generation. Moreover, the activation of PKCζ via insulin suppresses APP processing. In contrast, GULP1-mediated APP processing is enhanced in PKCζ knockout cells. Similarly, PKC ι, another member of atypical PKC, also decreases GULP1-mediated APP processing. Intriguingly, our X-ray crystal structure of GULP1 PTB-APP intracellular domain (AICD) peptide reveals that GULP1 T35 is not located at the GULP1-AICD binding interface; rather, it immediately precedes the ß1-α2 loop that forms a portion of the binding groove for the APP helix αC. Phosphorylating the residue may induce an allosteric effect on the conformation of the binding groove. Our results indicate that GULP1 T35 phosphorylation is a mechanism for the regulation of GULP1-APP interaction and thereby APP processing. Moreover, the activation of atypical PKC, such as by insulin, may confer a beneficial effect on AD by lowering GULP1-mediated Aß production.-Chau, D. D.-L., Yung, K. W.-Y., Chan, W. W.-L., An, Y., Hao, Y., Chan, H.-Y. E., Ngo, J. C.-K., Lau, K.-F. Attenuation of amyloid-ß generation by atypical protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of engulfment adaptor PTB domain containing 1 threonine 35.

In situ printing of liquid superlenses for subdiffraction-limited color imaging of nanobiostructures in nature.

The nanostructures and patterns that exist in nature have inspired researchers to develop revolutionary components for use in modern technologies and our daily lives. The nanoscale imaging of biological samples with sophisticated analytical tools, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), has afforded a precise understanding of structures and has helped reveal the mechanisms contributing to the behaviors of the samples but has done so with the loss of photonic properties. Here, we present a new method for printing biocompatible "superlenses" directly on biological objects to observe subdiffraction-limited features under an optical microscope in color. We demonstrate the nanoscale imaging of butterfly wing scales with a super-resolution and larger field-of-view (FOV) than those of previous dielectric microsphere techniques. Our approach creates a fast and flexible path for the direct color observation of nanoscale biological features in the visible range and enables potential optical measurements at the subdiffraction-limited scale.

Atomization of High-Viscosity Fluids for Aromatherapy Using Micro-heaters for Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation.

The development of a novel lead-free microelectromechanical-system (MEMS)-based atomizer using the principle of thermal bubble actuation is presented. It is a low-cost, lead-free design that is environmentally friendly and harmless to humans. It has been tested to be applicable over a wide range of fluid viscosities, ranging from 1 cP (e.g., water) to 200 cP (e.g., oil-like fluid) at room temperature, a range that is difficult to achieve using ordinary atomizers. The results demonstrate that the average power consumption of the atomizer is approximately 1 W with an atomization rate of 0.1 to 0.3 mg of deionized (DI) water per cycle. The relationships between the micro-heater track width and the track gap, the size of the micro-cavities and the nucleation energy were studied to obtain an optimal atomizer design. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) results indicate that the diameter of the ejected droplets ranges from 30 to 90 µm with a speed of 20 to 340 mm/s. In addition, different modes of spraying are reported for the first time. It is envisioned that the successful development of this MEMS-based atomizing technology will revolutionize the existing market for atomizers and could also benefit different industries, particularly in applications involving viscous fluids.

Whole-genome sequencing of two probands with hereditary spastic paraplegia reveals novel splice-donor region variant and known pathogenic variant in SPG11.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders, which are often presented with overlapping phenotypes such as progressive paraparesis and spasticity. To assist the diagnosis of HSP subtypes, next-generation sequencing is often used to provide supporting evidence. In this study, we report the case of two probands from the same family with HSP symptoms, including bilateral lower limb weakness, unsteady gait, cognitive decline, dysarthria, and slurring of speech since the age of 14. Subsequent whole-genome sequencing revealed that the patients are compound heterozygous for variants in the SPG11 gene, including the paternally inherited c.6856C>T (p.Arg2286*) variant and the novel maternally inherited c.2316+5G>A splice-donor region variant. Variants in SPG11 are the common cause of autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia type 11. According to the ClinVar database, there are already 101 reported pathogenic variants in SPG11 that are associated with HSPs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SPG11 variants in our local population. The novel splice variant identified in this study enriches the catalog of SPG11 variants, potentially leading to better genetic diagnosis of HSPs.

High-energy, near- and mid-IR picosecond pulses generated by a fiber-MOPA-pumped optical parametric generator and amplifier.

We report a high-energy picosecond optical parametric generator/amplifier (OPG/A) based on a MgO:PPLN crystal pumped by a fiber master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) employing direct amplification. An OPG tuning range of 1450-3615 nm is demonstrated with pulse energies as high as 2.6 µJ (signal) and 1.2 µJ (idler). When seeded with a ~100 MHz linewidth diode laser, damage-limited pulse energies of 3.1 µJ (signal) and 1.3 µJ (idler) have been achieved and the signal pulse time-bandwidth product is improved to ~2 times transform-limited. When seeded with a 0.3 nm-bandwidth filtered amplified spontaneous emission source, crystal damage is avoided and maximum pulse energies of 3.8 µJ (signal) and 1.7 µJ (idler) are obtained at an overall conversion efficiency of 45%.

Improving atomic force microscopy imaging by a direct inverse asymmetric PI hysteresis model.

A modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model, referred to as a direct inverse asymmetric PI (DIAPI) model in this paper, was implemented to reduce the displacement error between a predicted model and the actual trajectory of a piezoelectric actuator which is commonly found in AFM systems. Due to the nonlinearity of the piezoelectric actuator, the standard symmetric PI model cannot precisely describe the asymmetric motion of the actuator. In order to improve the accuracy of AFM scans, two series of slope parameters were introduced in the PI model to describe both the voltage-increase-loop (trace) and voltage-decrease-loop (retrace). A feedforward controller based on the DIAPI model was implemented to compensate hysteresis. Performance of the DIAPI model and the feedforward controller were validated by scanning micro-lenses and standard silicon grating using a custom-built AFM.

Compact, high-pulse-energy, high-power, picosecond master oscillator power amplifier.

We report a compact, stable, gain-switched-diode-seeded master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA), employing direct amplification via conventional Yb(3+)-doped fibers, to generate picosecond pulses with energy of 17.7 µJ and 97-W average output power (excluding amplified spontaneous emission) at 5.47-MHz repetition frequency in a diffraction-limited and single-polarization beam. A maximum peak power of 197 kW is demonstrated. Such a high-energy, high-power, MHz, picosecond MOPA is of great interest for high-throughput material processing. With 13.8-µJ pulse energy confined in the 0.87-nm 3-dB spectral bandwidth, this MOPA is also a promising source for nonlinear frequency conversion to generate high-energy pulses in other spectral regions. We have explored the pulse energy scaling until the stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) becomes significant (i.e. spectral peak intensity exceeds 1% of that of the signal).

Polycrystalline-Diamond MEMS Biosensors Including Neural Microelectrode-Arrays.

Diamond is a material of interest due to its unique combination of properties, including its chemical inertness and biocompatibility. Polycrystalline diamond (poly-C) has been used in experimental biosensors that utilize electrochemical methods and antigen-antibody binding for the detection of biological molecules. Boron-doped poly-C electrodes have been found to be very advantageous for electrochemical applications due to their large potential window, low background current and noise, and low detection limits (as low as 500 fM). The biocompatibility of poly-C is found to be comparable, or superior to, other materials commonly used for implants, such as titanium and 316 stainless steel. We have developed a diamond-based, neural microelectrode-array (MEA), due to the desirability of poly-C as a biosensor. These diamond probes have been used for in vivo electrical recording and in vitro electrochemical detection. Poly-C electrodes have been used for electrical recording of neural activity. In vitro studies indicate that the diamond probe can detect norepinephrine at a 5 nM level. We propose a combination of diamond micro-machining and surface functionalization for manufacturing diamond pathogen-microsensors.

Authentication of Saussurea lappa, an endangered medicinal material, by ITS DNA and 5S rRNA sequencing.

Wild SAUSSUREA LAPPA in the family Asteraceae is a highly endangered plant. On the other hand, the dried root of cultivated S. LAPPA (Radix Aucklandia, Muxiang) is a popular medicinal material for treating various gastrointestinal diseases. In the market, several medicinal plants including VLADIMIRIA BERARDIOIDEA, V. SOULIEI, V. SOULIEI var. MIRABILIS, INULA HELENIUM and I. RACEMOSA in the family Asteraceae and ARISTOLOCHIA DEBILIS in the family Aristolochiaceae have the trade name of Muxiang. To manage the concerned medicinal material, we investigated if the ITS and 5S rRNA intergenic spacers are effective for discriminating S. LAPPA from its substitutes and adulterants. Sequencing results showed that the similarities of ITS-1, ITS-2 and 5S rRNA intergenic spacers among S. LAPPA and related species were 56.3 - 97.8 %, 58.5 - 97.0 %, and 26.4 - 77.9 %, respectively. The intraspecific variation was much lower. There are also several unique changes in the S. LAPPA sequences that may be used as differentiation markers.

Biochemical investigation of Tau protein phosphorylation status and its solubility properties in Drosophila.

Tau hyperphosphorylation and insoluble aggregate formation are two cellular features of tauopathies. However, the contribution of Tau protein hyperphosphorylation and its aggregation to Tau pathology still remain controversial. Overexpression of human tau transgenes in the Drosophila eye is toxic and causes neuronal degeneration. We showed that human Tau protein was phosphorylated by endogenous protein kinases in flies, and overexpression of either GSK3beta or Cdk5 enhanced tau-induced toxicity. Using a dominant-negative approach, we showed that kinase activity is important for the enhancement of tau-induced toxicity. Interestingly, such enhancement was accompanied with hyperphosphorylation and alteration of protein solubility properties of Tau. This situation was reminiscent of that observed in pre-tangle neurons in tauopathies patients. We also observed age-dependent Tau aggregate formation in aged transgenic flies. In summary, tau-induced toxicity is enhanced when the human Tau protein undergoes hyperphosphorylation, and we further demonstrated that aging contributes to Tau aggregate formation. Our data also underscore the utilization of transgenic Drosophila Tau models for the studies of pre-tangle events in tauopathies.