Interacting pest control and pollination services in coffee systems.

Biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services (ES) support human well-being, but their values are typically estimated individually. Although ES are part of complex socioecological systems, we know surprisingly little about how multiple ES interact ecologically and economically. Interactions could be positive (synergy), negative (trade-offs), or absent (additive effects), with strong implications for management and valuation. Here, we evaluate the interactions of two ES, pollination and pest control, via a factorial field experiment in 30 Costa Rican coffee farms. We found synergistic interactions between these two critical ES to crop production. The combined positive effects of birds and bees on fruit set, fruit weight, and fruit weight uniformity were greater than their individual effects. This represents experimental evidence at realistic farm scales of positive interactions among ES in agricultural systems. These synergies suggest that assessments of individual ES may underestimate the benefits biodiversity provides to agriculture and human well-being. Using our experimental results, we demonstrate that bird pest control and bee pollination services translate directly into monetary benefits to coffee farmers. Excluding both birds and bees resulted in an average yield reduction of 24.7% (equivalent to losing US$1,066.00/ha). These findings highlight that habitat enhancements to support native biodiversity can have multiple benefits for coffee, a valuable crop that supports rural livelihoods worldwide. Accounting for potential interactions among ES is essential to quantifying their combined ecological and economic value.

The Forces Generated by Agonist Muscles during Isometric Contractions Arise from Motor Unit Synergies.

The purpose of our study was to identify the low-dimensional latent components, defined hereafter as motor unit modes, underlying the discharge rates of the motor units in two knee extensors (vastus medialis and lateralis, eight men) and two hand muscles (first dorsal interossei and thenars, seven men and one woman) during submaximal isometric contractions. Factor analysis identified two independent motor unit modes that captured most of the covariance of the motor unit discharge rates. We found divergent distributions of the motor unit modes for the hand and vastii muscles. On average, 75% of the motor units for the thenar muscles and first dorsal interosseus were strongly correlated with the module for the muscle in which they resided. In contrast, we found a continuous distribution of motor unit modes spanning the two vastii muscle modules. The proportion of the muscle-specific motor unit modes was 60% for vastus medialis and 45% for vastus lateralis. The other motor units were either correlated with both muscle modules (shared inputs) or belonged to the module for the other muscle (15% for vastus lateralis). Moreover, coherence of the discharge rates between motor unit pools was explained by the presence of shared synaptic inputs. In simulations with 480 integrate-and-fire neurons, we demonstrate that factor analysis identifies the motor unit modes with high levels of accuracy. Our results indicate that correlated discharge rates of motor units that comprise motor unit modes arise from at least two independent sources of common input among the motor neurons innervating synergistic muscles.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It has been suggested that the nervous system controls synergistic muscles by projecting common synaptic inputs to the engaged motor neurons. In our study, we reduced the dimensionality of the output produced by pools of synergistic motor neurons innervating the hand and thigh muscles during isometric contractions. We found two neural modules, each representing a different common input, that were each specific for one of the muscles. In the vastii muscles, we found a continuous distribution of motor unit modes spanning the two synergistic muscles. Some of the motor units from the homonymous vastii muscle were controlled by the dominant neural module of the other synergistic muscle. In contrast, we found two distinct neural modules for the hand muscles.

Motor unit modes in the calf muscles during a submaximal isometric contraction are changed by brief stretches.

The purpose of our study was to investigate the influence of a stretch intervention on the common modulation of discharge rate among motor units in the calf muscles during a submaximal isometric contraction. The current report comprises a computational analysis of a motor unit dataset that we published previously (Mazzo et al., 2021). Motor unit activity was recorded from the three main plantar flexor muscles while participants performed an isometric contraction at 10% of the maximal voluntary contraction force before and after each of two interventions. The interventions were a control task (standing balance) and static stretching of the plantar flexor muscles. A factorization analysis on the smoothed discharge rates of the motor units from all three muscles yielded three modes that were independent of the individual muscles. The composition of the modes was not changed by the standing-balance task, whereas the stretching exercise reduced the average correlation in the second mode and increased it in the third mode. A centroid analysis on the correlation values showed that most motor units were associated with two or three modes, which were presumed to indicate shared synaptic inputs. The percentage of motor units adjacent to the seven centroids changed after both interventions: Control intervention, mode 1 decreased and the shared mode 1 + 2 increased; stretch intervention, shared modes either decreased (1 + 2) or increased (1 + 3). These findings indicate that the neuromuscular adjustments during both interventions were sufficient to change the motor unit modes when the same task was performed after each intervention. KEY POINTS: Based on covariation of the discharge rates of motor units in the calf muscles during a submaximal isometric contraction, factor analysis was used to assign the correlated discharge trains to three motor unit modes. The motor unit modes were determined from the combined set of all identified motor units across the three muscles before and after each participant performed a control and a stretch intervention. The composition of the motor unit modes changed after the stretching exercise, but not after the control task (standing balance). A centroid analysis on the distribution of correlation values found that most motor units were associated with a shared centroid and this distribution, presumably reflecting shared synaptic input, changed after both interventions. Our results demonstrate how the distribution of multiple common synaptic inputs to the motor neurons innervating the plantar flexor muscles changes after a brief series of stretches.

Correlations in abnormal synergies between the upper and lower extremities across various phases of stroke.

The flexion synergy and extension synergy are a representative consequence of a stroke and appear in the upper extremity and the lower extremity. Since the ipsilesional corticospinal tract (CST) is the most influential neural pathway for both extremities in motor execution, damage by a stroke to this tract could lead to similar motor pathological features (e.g., abnormal synergies) in both extremities. However, less attention has been paid to the interlimb correlations in the flexion synergy and extension synergy across different recovery phases of a stroke. We used results of the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) to characterize those correlations in a total of 512 participants with hemiparesis after stroke from the acute phase to 1 year. The FMA provides indirect indicators of the degrees of the flexion synergy and extension synergy after stroke. We found that, generally, strong interlimb correlations (r > 0.65 with all P values < 0.0001) between the flexion synergy and extension synergy appeared in the acute-to-subacute phase (<90 days). However, the correlations of the lower-extremity extension synergy with the upper-extremity flexion synergy and extension synergy decreased (down to r = 0.38) 360 days after stroke (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the preferential use of alternative neural pathways after damage by a stroke to the CST enhances the interlimb correlations between the flexion synergy and extension synergy. At the same time, the results imply that the recovery of CST integrity or/and the fragmentation (remodeling) of the alternative neural substrates in the chronic phase may contribute to diversity in neural pathways in motor execution, eventually leading to reduced interlimb correlations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY For the first time, this article addresses the asynchronous relationships in the strengths of flexion and extension synergy expressions between the paretic upper extremity and lower extremity across various phases of stroke.

Kinematic and neuromuscular characterization of cognitive involvement in gait control in healthy young adults.

The signature of cognitive involvement in gait control has rarely been studied using both kinematic and neuromuscular features. The present study aimed to address this gap. Twenty-four healthy young adults walked on an instrumented treadmill in a virtual environment under two optic flow conditions: normal (NOF) and perturbed (POF, continuous mediolateral pseudorandom oscillations). Each condition was performed under single-task and dual-task conditions of increasing difficulty (1-, 2-, 3-back). Subjective mental workload (raw NASA-TLX), cognitive performance (mean reaction time and d-prime), kinematic (steadiness, variability, and complexity in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions), and neuromuscular (duration and variability of motor primitives) control of gait were assessed. The cognitive performance and the number and composition of motor modules were unaffected by simultaneous walking, regardless of the optic flow condition. Kinematic and neuromuscular variability was greater under POF compared with NOF conditions. Young adults sought to counteract POF by rapidly correcting task-relevant gait fluctuations. The depletion of cognitive resources through dual-tasking led to reduced kinematic and neuromuscular variability and this occurred to the same extent regardless of simultaneous working memory (WM) load. Increasing WM load led to a prioritization of gait control in the mediolateral direction over the anteroposterior direction. The impact of POF on kinematic variability (step velocity) was reduced when a cognitive task was performed simultaneously, but this phenomenon was not modulated by WM load. Collectively, these results shed important light on how young adults adjust the processes involved in goal-directed locomotion when exposed to varying levels of task and environmental constraints.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The kinematic and neuromuscular signatures of cognitive involvement in gait control have rarely been studied jointly. We sought to address this issue using gait perturbation and dual-task paradigms. The protocol consisted of a fixed-speed treadmill walk to which visual and cognitive constraints were applied separately and together. The results revealed that young adults optimally regulated their gait to cope with these constraints by maintaining relatively stable muscle synergies and flexibly allocating attentional resources.

Evidence of the existence of multiple modules for the stroke-caused flexion synergy from Fugl-Meyer assessment scores.

Stroke-caused synergies may result from the preferential use of the reticulospinal tract (RST) due to damage to the corticospinal tract. The RST branches multiple motoneuron pools across the arm together resulting in gross motor control or abnormal synergies, and accordingly, the controllability of individual muscles decreases. However, it is not clear whether muscles involuntarily activated by abnormal synergy vary depending on the muscles voluntarily activated when motor commands descend through the RST. Studies showed that abnormal synergies may originate from the merging and reweighting of synergies in individuals without neurological deficits. This leads to a hypothesis that those abnormal synergies are still selectively excited depending on the context. In this study, we test this hypothesis, leveraging the Fugl-Meyer assessment that could characterize the neuroanatomical architecture in individuals with a wide range of impairments. We examine the ability to perform an out-of-synergy movement with the flexion synergy caused by either shoulder or elbow loading. The results reveal that about 14% [8/57, 95% confidence interval (5.0%, 23.1%)] of the participants with severe impairment (total Fugl-Meyer score <29) in the chronic phase (6 months after stroke) are able to keep the elbow extended during shoulder loading and keep the shoulder at neutral during elbow loading. Those participants underwent a different course of neural reorganization, which enhanced abnormal synergies in comparison with individuals with mild impairment (P < 0.05). These results provide evidence that separate routes and synergy modules to motoneuron pools across the arm might exist even if the motor command is mediated possibly via the RST.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We demonstrate that abnormal synergies are still selectively excited depending on the context.

Speech perception difficulty modulates theta-band encoding of articulatory synergies.

The human brain tracks available speech acoustics and extrapolates missing information such as the speaker's articulatory patterns. However, the extent to which articulatory reconstruction supports speech perception remains unclear. This study explores the relationship between articulatory reconstruction and task difficulty. Participants listened to sentences and performed a speech-rhyming task. Real kinematic data of the speaker's vocal tract were recorded via electromagnetic articulography (EMA) and aligned to corresponding acoustic outputs. We extracted articulatory synergies from the EMA data with principal component analysis (PCA) and employed partial information decomposition (PID) to separate the electroencephalographic (EEG) encoding of acoustic and articulatory features into unique, redundant, and synergistic atoms of information. We median-split sentences into easy (ES) and hard (HS) based on participants' performance and found that greater task difficulty involved greater encoding of unique articulatory information in the theta band. We conclude that fine-grained articulatory reconstruction plays a complementary role in the encoding of speech acoustics, lending further support to the claim that motor processes support speech perception.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Top-down processes originating from the motor system contribute to speech perception through the reconstruction of the speaker's articulatory movement. This study investigates the role of such articulatory simulation under variable task difficulty. We show that more challenging listening tasks lead to increased encoding of articulatory kinematics in the theta band and suggest that, in such situations, fine-grained articulatory reconstruction complements acoustic encoding.

An invasive prey and changing climate interact to shape the breeding phenology of an endangered predator.

Changes in phenology are occurring from global climate change, yet the impacts of other types of global change on the phenology of animals remain less appreciated. Understanding the potential for synergistic effects of different types of global change on phenology is needed, because changing climate regimes can have cascading effects, particularly on invasive species that vary in their thermal tolerances. Using 25 years of data from 5963 nests and 4675 marked individuals across the entire US breeding range of an endangered predator, the snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), we isolated the effects of an invasion of novel prey and warming temperatures on breeding phenology and its demographic consequences. Over this time period, breeding season length doubled, increasing by approximately 14 weeks. Both temperature and the establishment of invasive prey interacted to explain the timing of nest initiation. Temperature and invasive prey played distinct roles: earlier nest initiation occurred with increasing temperatures, whereas late nesting increased with invasion. Ultimately, both nest survival and juvenile survival declined later in the year, such that effects from invasive prey, but not warming temperatures, have the apparent potential for mistiming in breeding phenology by some individuals. Nonetheless, relatively few nesting events occurred during late fall when nest survival was very low, and seasonal declines in nest survival were weaker and renesting was more frequent in invaded wetlands, such that total reproductive output increased with invasion. Variation in demographic effects illustrate that considering only particular components of demography (e.g., nest survival rates) may be inadequate to infer the overall consequences of changes in phenology, particularly the potential for mistiming of phenological events. These results emphasize that species invasions may profoundly alter phenology of native species, such effects are distinct from climate effects, and both interact to drive population change.

Muscle synergies for multidirectional isometric force generation during maintenance of upright standing posture.

Muscle synergies are defined as coordinated recruitment of groups of muscles with specific activation balances and time profiles aimed at generating task-specific motor commands. While muscle synergies in postural control have been investigated primarily in reactive balance conditions, the neuromechanical contribution of muscle synergies during voluntary control of upright standing is still unclear. In this study, muscle synergies were investigated during the generation of isometric force at the trunk during the maintenance of standing posture. Participants were asked to maintain the steady-state upright standing posture while pulling forces of different magnitudes were applied at the level at the waist in eight horizontal directions. Muscle synergies were extracted by nonnegative matrix factorization from sixteen lower limb and trunk muscles. An average of 5-6 muscle synergies were sufficient to account for a wide variety of EMG waveforms associated with changes in the magnitude and direction of pulling forces. A cluster analysis partitioned the muscle synergies of the participants into a large group of clusters according to their similarity, indicating the use of a subjective combination of muscles to generate a multidirectional force vector in standing. Furthermore, we found a participant-specific distribution in the values of cosine directional tuning parameters of synergy amplitude coefficients, suggesting the existence of individual neuromechanical strategies to stabilize the whole-body posture. Our findings provide a starting point for the development of novel diagnostic tools to assess muscle coordination in postural control and lay the foundation for potential applications of muscle synergies in rehabilitation.

Promoting Sustainable Development Goals by Optimizing City-Level Solar Photovoltaic Deployment in China.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, which enable carbon neutrality, are expected to surge in the coming decades. This growth will support sustainable development goals (SDGs) via reductions in power-generation-related environmental emissions and water consumption while generating new jobs. However, where and to what extent PVs should be utilized to support SDGs must be thoroughly addressed. Here, we use multiple PV deployment scenarios to compare the benefits of PVs and related SDGs progress in 366 prefectural-level cities in China. We developed an assessment framework that integrates a PV allocation model, an electricity system optimization model, and a benefit assessment approach. We identify vast differences in PV distribution and electricity transmission and elucidate trade-offs and synergies among the SDGs under various PV implementation scenarios. The water conservation-oriented scenario yields substantial carbon reduction, air pollutant mitigation, and water saving cobenefits, leading to the greatest SDGs improvements. Prioritizing employment creation enhances job-relevant SDGs but inhibits environmental resource benefits. SDGs in less developed cities present greater progress across all scenarios. This study highlights the need to consider spatial heterogeneity and the potential trade-offs between different SDGs and regions when designing energy transition strategies.

Abnormal interlimb coordination of motor developmental delay during infant crawling based on kinematic synergy analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that abnormal interlimb coordination is a typical characteristic of motor developmental delay (MDD) during human movement, which can be visually manifested as abnormal motor postures. Clinically, the scale assessments are usually used to evaluate interlimb coordination, but they rely heavily on the subjective judgements of therapists and lack quantitative analysis. In addition, although abnormal interlimb coordination of MDD have been studied, it is still unclear how this abnormality is manifested in physiology-related kinematic features. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate how abnormal interlimb coordination of MDD during infant crawling was manifested in the stability of joints and limbs, activation levels of synergies and intrasubject consistency from the kinematic synergies of tangential velocities of joints perspective. METHODS: Tangential velocities of bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle over time were computed from recorded three-dimensional joint trajectories in 40 infants with MDD [16 infants at risk of developmental delay, 11 infants at high risk of developmental delay, 13 infants with confirmed developmental delay (CDD group)] and 20 typically developing infants during hands-and-knees crawling. Kinematic synergies and corresponding activation coefficients were derived from those joint velocities using the non-negative matrix factorization algorithm. The variability accounted for yielded by those synergies and activation coefficients, and the synergy weightings in those synergies were used to measure the stability of joints and limbs. To quantify the activation levels of those synergies, the full width at half maximum and center of activity of activation coefficients were calculated. In addition, the intrasubject consistency was measured by the cosine similarity of those synergies and activation coefficients. RESULTS: Interlimb coordination patterns during infant crawling were the combinations of four types of single-limb movements, which represent the dominance of each of the four limbs. MDD mainly reduced the stability of joints and limbs, and induced the abnormal activation levels of those synergies. Meanwhile, MDD generally reduced the intrasubject consistency, especially in CDD group. CONCLUSIONS: These features have the potential for quantitatively evaluating abnormal interlimb coordination in assisting the clinical diagnosis and motor rehabilitation of MDD.

Spatio-temporal dynamics and socio-ecological determinants of ecosystem service interplays in Shandong Province's coastal region (2000-2020): Implications for environmental protection and sustainable ecosystem management.

The sustainable management of multiple concurrent ecosystem services (ESs) requires a comprehensive understanding of the interconnections between various ESs. In this study, we develop spatial maps for six distinct ESs using a variety of models, and we quantify their trade-offs, synergies, and bundling patterns through spatial mapping and statistical methodologies. We further delve into the antagonistic and synergistic dynamics between different ESs within each Ecosystem Service Bundle (ESB), and employ GeoDetector to pinpoint the key drivers of each ES. Our findings reveal that: (1) The spatial distributions of ESs are heterogeneous, with most ESs exhibiting a downward trend except for GP and SC, which are on the rise. CS shows positive correlations with all other five ES indicators. HQ exhibits positive correlations with SC and RS, whereas negative correlations are observed between HQ-GP and WC-RS. Six ES pairs demonstrate a decline in synergistic relationships, but an increase in trade-off relationships. (2) We distinguish six types of ESBs, each differing in their combination and extent of ES provision. The trade-offs and synergies within these distinct ESBs display both commonalities and differences. In certain ESBs, supply services display synergistic relationships with other ESs. We leverage ES bundles as the foundation for studying spatial planning zoning, revealing a diversity in the interactions between different ES pairs and the driving factors of ES. Therefore, we establish the theoretical basis for formulating spatial planning on the interrelationships and drivers of ES under spatial and temporal changes. We anticipate that our findings will offer valuable scientific insight for the development of future ecological conservation and spatial planning strategies in the region.

How digital transformation facilitate synergy for pollution and carbon reduction: Evidence from China.

Frontier studies have neglected the impact of digital transformation (DT) on the synergy for pollution and carbon reduction (SPCR) from the perspective of micro enterprises. This paper explores the SPCR effect of DT, as well as its mechanism at micro-firm level. The study found that: (1) DT significantly facilitates corporate SPCR. For every 10% increase in the level of DT, the ranking of SPCR will rise by about 2.3 places. This effect is more obvious in high-tech firms and non-heavy polluters, firms in the eastern region in China, and non-SOE. (2) DT creates innovation-driven and structure-optimizing effects, which enhance the corporate green innovation ability, optimize the business structure and capital allocation structure of enterprises, and then drive the SPCR. (3) External public environmental concerns (PEC) and internal corporate ESG governance act as "accelerators" promoting the SPCR effect of DT. Based on these, policy implications are made to accelerate the pace of corporate DT, give full play to the first-mover advantage, and break the "pollution (carbon) lock-in" with a view to providing theoretical references for the listed enterprises' digitalized governance of SPCR, as well as the governmental departments' formulation of relevant guiding policies, and striving to achieve the high-quality development goal.

Path to pollution and carbon reduction synergy from the perspective of the digital economy: Fresh evidence from 292 prefecture-level cities in China.

The digital economy is a crucial focus for realizing the transformation of old and new kinetic energy in China. It is widely integrated with various fields of the economy and society, constantly providing a new dynamic mechanism with synergetic control of environmental pollution and carbon emissions (SCEPCE). Based on panel data from 292 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this study discusses the spatial effects and mechanisms of the digital economy on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. The study found that: (1) The digital economy has direct and indirect influences on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. The digital economy can drive reductions in pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions by upgrading industrial structures and transforming energy structures. (2) Green innovation plays an active regulatory role in the digital economy and structural optimization, particularly in the context of SCEPCE. This interference helps mitigate the impact of the digital economy on pollution and carbon emissions. (3) The digital economy has a significant spatial spillover effect on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. (4) The influence mechanism of the digital economy on pollution reduction and carbon reduction synergy exhibits geographical heterogeneity, resource endowment heterogeneity. To enhance the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, it is essential to bolster support and optimise the digital economy at various levels. This includes reinforcing regional balance, considering spatial spillover effects, and enhancing the leading role of developed cities in the region.

Investigating the impact of external load on muscle synergies during bipedal squats.

PURPOSE: A broad functional movement repertoire is crucial for engaging in physical activity and reducing the risk of injury, both of which are central aspects of lifelong health. As a fundamental exercise in both recreational and rehabilitative training regimes, the bipedal squat (SQBp) incorporates many everyday movement patterns. Crucially, SQBp can only be considered functional if the practitioner can meet the coordinative demands. Many factors affect coordinative aspects of an exercise, most notably external load. Since compound movements are assumed to be organized in a synergistic manner, we employed muscle synergy analysis to examine differences in muscle synergy properties between various external load levels during SQBp. METHODS: Ten healthy male recreational athletes were enrolled in the present study. Each participant performed three sets of ten SQBp on a smith machine at three submaximal load levels (50%, 62.5%, and 75% of 3 repetition maximum) across three non-consecutive days. Muscle activity was recorded from 12 prime movers of SQBp by way of electromyography (EMG). Muscle synergies were analyzed in terms of temporal activation patterns, i.e., waveform, as well as the relative input of each muscle into individual synergies, i.e., weight contribution. RESULTS: Waveforms of muscle synergies did not differ between loads. Weight contributions showed significant differences between load levels, albeit only for the gastrocnemius muscle in a single synergy. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results imply mostly stable spatiotemporal composition of muscle activity during SQBp, underlining the importance of technical competence during compound movement performance in athletic and rehabilitative settings.

Microstructural design for mechanical-optical multifunctionality in the exoskeleton of the flower beetle Torynorrhina flammea.

Biological systems have a remarkable capability of synthesizing multifunctional materials that are adapted for specific physiological and ecological needs. When exploring structure-function relationships related to multifunctionality in nature, it can be a challenging task to address performance synergies, trade-offs, and the relative importance of different functions in biological materials, which, in turn, can hinder our ability to successfully develop their synthetic bioinspired counterparts. Here, we investigate such relationships between the mechanical and optical properties in a multifunctional biological material found in the highly protective yet conspicuously colored exoskeleton of the flower beetle, Torynorrhina flammea Combining experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches, we demonstrate that a micropillar-reinforced photonic multilayer in the beetle's exoskeleton simultaneously enhances mechanical robustness and optical appearance, giving rise to optical damage tolerance. Compared with plain multilayer structures, stiffer vertical micropillars increase stiffness and elastic recovery, restrain the formation of shear bands, and enhance delamination resistance. The micropillars also scatter the reflected light at larger polar angles, enhancing the first optical diffraction order, which makes the reflected color visible from a wider range of viewing angles. The synergistic effect of the improved angular reflectivity and damage localization capability contributes to the optical damage tolerance. Our systematic structural analysis of T. flammea's different color polymorphs and parametric optical and mechanical modeling further suggest that the beetle's microarchitecture is optimized toward maximizing the first-order optical diffraction rather than its mechanical stiffness. These findings shed light on material-level design strategies utilized in biological systems for achieving multifunctionality and could thus inform bioinspired material innovations.

Transferring Sensor-Based Assessments to Clinical Practice: The Case of Muscle Synergies.

Sensor-based assessments in medical practice and rehabilitation include the measurement of physiological signals such as EEG, EMG, ECG, heart rate, and NIRS, and the recording of movement kinematics and interaction forces. Such measurements are commonly employed in clinics with the aim of assessing patients' pathologies, but so far some of them have found full exploitation mainly for research purposes. In fact, even though the data they allow to gather may shed light on physiopathology and mechanisms underlying motor recovery in rehabilitation, their practical use in the clinical environment is mainly devoted to research studies, with a very reduced impact on clinical practice. This is especially the case for muscle synergies, a well-known method for the evaluation of motor control in neuroscience based on multichannel EMG recordings. In this paper, considering neuromotor rehabilitation as one of the most important scenarios for exploiting novel methods to assess motor control, the main challenges and future perspectives for the standard clinical adoption of muscle synergy analysis are reported and critically discussed.

Synergistic control of urban heat island and urban pollution island effects using green infrastructure.

Urban heat island (UHI) and urban pollution island (UPI) effects are two major challenges that affect the liveability and sustainability of cities under the circumstance of climate change. However, existing studies mostly addressed them separately. Urban green infrastructure offers nature-based solutions to alleviate urban heat, enhance air quality and promote sustainability. This review paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of the roles of urban green spaces, street trees, street hedges, green roofs and vertical greenery in mitigating UHI and UPI effects. These types of green infrastructure can promote the thermal environment and air quality, but also potentially lead to conflicting impacts. Medium-sized urban green spaces are recommended for heat mitigation because they can provide a balance between cooling efficiency and magnitude. Conversely, street trees pose a complex challenge since they can provide cooling through shading and evapotranspiration while hindering pollutant dispersion due to reduced air ventilation. Integrated research that considers simultaneous UHI and UPI mitigation using green infrastructure, their interaction with building features, and the urban geographical environment is crucial to inform urban planning and maximize the benefits of green infrastructure installations.

Exploring the interrelations and driving factors among typical ecosystem services in the Yangtze river economic Belt, China.

Exploring the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystem services (ESs) and their drivers is crucial for managers to develop significant scientific policies that further sustainable development. We used the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) to explore the trends, hotspots, and drivers of water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon sequestration (CS), and food supply (FS) between 2000 and 2020. Similarly, we analyzed relationships among ESs and drivers of the multiple ecosystem services landscape index (MESLI). We used the self-organizing map method to obtain the types and distribution of the ES bundles, revealing the bundles, trade-offs, and synergies among ESs. The four ESs had an increasing trend, with CS having the highest increase; ES hotspot analysis showed differences among upper, middle, and lower reaches. Constraint lines among ESs and drivers were diverse; the corresponding SC and WY reached thresholds when CS values were 1477.81 and 460.5 t km-2, respectively. When FS values were 67.34 and 86.17 × 104 Yuan·km-2, CS and WY reached their thresholds. All critical drivers of the four ESs were natural factors. The thresholds that the MESLI reached with driver status were 1000 mm (evapotranspiration), 2121 mm (precipitation), 2.42° (slope), 1.46% (soil organic matter), 36.08% (sand), 30.75% (proportion of non-agricultural population), 18.57% (cropland proportion), 1.05 × 104 persons·km-2 (population density), and 84.84% (proportion of non-agricultural industries in total gross domestic product), respectively. FS, water supply, and ecological conservation bundles changed over the 20 years, and trade-offs and synergies among ESs within bundles differed. We revealed the complexity of ESs from multiple perspectives, which will enable the development of ecosystem management and conservation recommendations for the YREB and large-scale economic zones worldwide.

Corporate political acuity and carbon - efficiency synergies.

RESEARCH QUESTION: In the context of global low-carbon emission reduction, how to achieve green and high-quality development has become a major issue for the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government recently. Based on the data of China's listed companies from 2013 to 2020, this paper uses Python to implement text analysis of annual reports, and explores the relationship between political acuity and carbon-efficiency synergies (CES) from the perspective of enterprise initiative. RESEARCH FINDINGS: We found that (1) political acuity positively affects carbon-efficiency synergies. (2) Increased political acuity can reduce carbon emissions, but the effect on economic efficiency is not obvious. That is, low carbon takes the lead in raising the level of carbon-efficiency synergies. (3) Environmental regulations can positively regulate the relationship between political acuity and carbon-efficiency synergies. (4) Political acuity in southern China, carbon neutral and non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs) will have a more pronounced effect on carbon-efficiency synergies. ACADEMIC IMPLICATIONS: From the perspective of the root causes of political linkages, we find the synergies between formal and informal institutions, and the key factors for policy implementation. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: This paper is helpful for enterprises to improve the synergies of emission reduction and efficiency promotion, and has practical implications for the government to promote green and high-quality development.