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Fisheries are forecasted to shrink in the tropics due to climate change. In Vietnam, fisheries are a pro-poor economic sector and essential nutrition source; however, welfares of producers and consumers in the climate change context are not well understood. While most studies focus on the gains or losses of total products and revenues, this paper pays additional attention to the changes in surpluses of market players in the long run. A combination of the production function, demand and supply functions, and partial equilibrium analysis is employed to measure the production and welfare impacts based on time series data from 1976 to 2018 and a Vietnam household living standards survey in 2018. The results show that relative to the present, catch yield is likely to reduce 35%-45% by mid-century and 45%-80% by the end of the century. Consumers may lose their surplus of 7-9 billion USD (PPP, 2018) by 2035 and 10-18 billion USD by 2065 due to supply reduction, while producers may gain additional profit of 3.5-4.5 billion USD by 2035 and 5-9 billion USD by 2065 owing to a price increase. The research findings suggest that Vietnam could impose measures to limit capture effort, as set out in the Law of Fisheries 2017, without harming fisher welfare. The expansion of aquaculture could reduce the gap between supply and demand of wild fish to mitigate consumer welfare loss; however, this impact is still ambiguous.

During the last trimester of human pregnancy, the cerebral cortex of foetuses becomes greatly and quickly gyrified, and post-mortem studies have demonstrated that hemispheres are already asymmetric at the level of Heschl gyrus, planum temporale and superior temporal sulcus (STS). Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dedicated post-processing tools enabled the quantitative study of brain development non-invasively in the preterm newborn. However, previous investigations were conducted either over the whole brain or in specific sulci. These approaches may consequently fail to highlight most cerebral sites, where anatomical landmarks are hard to delineate among individuals. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to blindly and automatically map early asymmetries over the immature cortex. Voxel-based analyses of cortical and white matter masks were performed over a group of 25 newborns from 26 to 36weeks of gestational age. Inter-individual variations associated with increasing age were first detected in large cerebral regions, with a prevalence of the right hemisphere in comparison with the left. Asymmetries were further highlighted in three specific cortical regions. Confirming previous studies, we observed deeper STS on the right side and larger posterior region of the sylvian fissure on the left side, close to planum temporale. For the first time, we also detected larger anterior region of the sylvian fissure on the left side, close to Broca's region. This study demonstrated that perisylvian regions are the only regions to be asymmetric from early on, suggesting their anatomical specificity for the emergence of functional lateralization in language processing prior to language exposure.

In this study, a compressive impact test was conducted using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) method to investigate SMA fiber-reinforced mortar’s impact behavior. A 1.5% fiber volume of crimped fibers and dog-bone-shaped fibers was used, and half of the specimens were heated to induce recovery stress. The results showed that the appearance of SMA fibers, recovery stress, and composite capacity can increase strain rate. For mechanical properties, the SMA fibers reduced dynamic compressive strength and increased the peak strain. The specific energy absorption of the reinforced specimens slightly increased due to the addition of SMA fibers and the recovery stress; however, the effect was not significant. The composite behavior between SMA fibers and the mortar matrix, however, significantly influenced the dynamic compressive properties. The higher composite capacity of the SMA fibers produced lower dynamic compressive strength, higher peak strain, and higher specific energy absorption. The composite behavior of the dog-bone-shaped fiber was less than that of the crimped fiber and was reduced due to heating, while that of the crimped fiber was not. The mechanical properties of the impacted specimen followed a linear function of strain rate ranging from 10 to 17 s−1; at the higher strain rates of about 49–67 s−1, the linear functions disappeared. The elastic modulus of the specimen was independent of the strain rate, but it was dependent on the correlation between the elastic moduli of the SMA fibers and the mortar matrix.

The microwave spectrum of 3,5-dimethylanisole was recorded using a pulsed molecular jet Fourier transform microwave spectrometer, covering the frequency range from 2.0 to 26.5 GHz. Splittings from internal rotations of the syn-m and anti-m-methyl groups were observed, analyzed, and modeled using the XIAM and the ntop programs for a data set including 622 rotational lines. The torsional barriers of the syn-m and anti-m-methyl groups were determined to be 58.62367(53) cm−1 and 36.28449(69) cm−1, respectively. The low barriers to internal rotation of both methyl groups posed significant challenges for spectral analysis and modeling. The successful assignment was achieved using combination difference loops and separately fitting the five torsional components. Comparing the torsional barriers observed in various toluene derivatives with methyl groups at meta-positions supports the assumption that electrostatic effects contribute more significantly than steric effects in the low-barrier cases of aromatic molecules.

As the population is shrinking in many municipalities in Japan, one of its effects is the vacant house crisis. The rise of empty houses profoundly affects the city’s society and economy, e.g., property value reduction, increased crime rate, poor sanitation, and housing market stagnation. To better understand the mechanism of the vacant house crisis, the present study proposes to examine the determinants of housing vacancy spatial distribution with the case study of the city of Sapporo. The results highlight the severe vacant cluster in the central city, which would seem to link to the disequilibrium housing market rather than the urban decline. Regarding vacancy determinants, demographic features were the most influential factors, followed by housing and neighborhood characteristics. Specifically, the vacancy correlated strongly with a high density of single households, children, the elderly (in the center), and a high share of offices. The surplus in housing supply and the inelasticity in housing structures also affected the vacancy significantly. On the contrary, a high percentage of private property, household ownership, and the elderly (in suburban) would reduce the vacancy. For other facilities, clinics, parking, public transportation, and educational institutions had a medium effect on the vacancy. Finally, the influence factors varied, across city areas, in magnitude and direction. These outcomes would be helpful for decision-making to alleviate the rise of vacant houses and their effect on the urban area.

Large amplitude motions (LAMs) form a fundamental phenomenon that demands the development of specific theoretical and Hamiltonian models. In recent years, along with the strong progress in instrumental techniques on high-resolution microwave spectroscopy and computational capacity in quantum chemistry, studies on LAMs have become very diverse. Larger and more complex molecular systems have been taken under investigation, ranging from series of heteroaromatic molecules from five- and six-membered rings to polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon derivatives. Such systems are ideally suited to create families of molecules in which the positions and the number of LAMs can be varied, while the heteroatoms often provide a sufficient dipole moment to the systems to warrant the observation of their rotational spectra. This review will summarize three types of LAMs: internal rotation, inversion tunneling, and ring puckering, which are frequently observed in aromatic five-membered rings such as furan, thiophene, pyrrole, thiazole, and oxazole derivatives, in aromatic six-membered rings such as benzene, pyridine, and pyrimidine derivatives, and larger combined rings such as naphthalene, indole, and indan derivatives. For each molecular class, we will present the representatives and summarize the recent insights on the molecular structure and internal dynamics and how they help to advance the field of quantum mechanics.

Very preterm (VPT) young adolescents are at high risk of executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties. Previous research has shown significant evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on these abilities. This study aims to assess the association between the effects of MBI on neurobehavioral functioning and changes in white-matter microstructure in VPT young adolescents who completed an 8-week MBI program. Neurobehavioural assessments (i.e., neuropsychological testing, parents- and self-reported questionnaires) and multi-shell diffusion MRI were performed before and after MBI in 32 VPT young adolescents. Combined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) measures were extracted on well-defined white matter tracts (TractSeg). A multivariate data-driven approach (partial least squares correlation) was used to explore associations between MBI-related changes on neurobehavioural measures and microstructural changes. The results showed an enhancement of global executive functioning using parent-reported questionnaire after MBI that was associated with a general pattern of increase in fractional anisotropy (FA) and decrease in axonal dispersion (ODI) in white-matter tracts involved in executive processes. Young VPT adolescents with lower gestational age at birth showed the greatest gain in white-matter microstructural changes after MBI.

This study investigated the recovery stress and bond resistance of cold drawn crimped SMA fiber using two different initial diameters of 1.0 and 0.7 mm. These characteristics are important to the active prestressing effect and crack-closing of the fiber. NiTi SMA fiber was used for the cold drawing, and then crimped shapes were manufactured with various wave heights. After that, tensile, recovery, and pullout tests were conducted. The cold drawn crimped fiber showed softening tensile behavior more clearly than the cold drawn straight fiber when not subjected to heating, whereas they had the same tensile behavior under heating. The recovery stress and the residual stress of the crimped fibers were less than those of the straight fiber with the same diameter. Moreover, crimped fibers with a large diameter and higher wave height would induce more recovery stress and residual stress. The maximum pullout resistance of the crimped fiber was a function of the wave depth, embedded length, yield strength, and flexural rigidity of the fiber.

Shigella sonnei is a human-adapted pathogen that is emerging globally as the dominant agent of bacterial dysentery. To investigate local establishment, we sequenced the genomes of 263 Vietnamese S. sonnei isolated over 15 y. Our data show that S. sonnei was introduced into Vietnam in the 1980s and has undergone localized clonal expansion, punctuated by genomic fixation events through periodic selective sweeps. We uncover geographical spread, spatially restricted frontier populations, and convergent evolution through local gene pool sampling. This work provides a unique, high-resolution insight into the microevolution of a pioneering human pathogen during its establishment in a new host population.

Our understanding of polyploid genome evolution is constrained because we cannot know the exact founders of a particular polyploid. To differentiate between founder effects and post polyploidization evolution, we use a pan-genomic approach to study the allotetraploid Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors. Comparative analysis suggests that most B. hybridum whole gene presence/absence variation is part of the standing variation in its diploid progenitors. Analysis of nuclear single nucleotide variants, plastomes and k-mers associated with retrotransposons reveals two independent origins for B. hybridum , ~1.4 and ~0.14 million years ago. Examination of gene expression in the younger B. hybridum lineage reveals no bias in overall subgenome expression. Our results are consistent with a gradual accumulation of genomic changes after polyploidization and a lack of subgenome expression dominance. Significantly, if we did not use a pan-genomic approach, we would grossly overestimate the number of genomic changes attributable to post polyploidization evolution. Existing plant pan-genomic studies usually report considerable intraspecific whole gene presence-absence variation. Here, the authors use pan-genomic approach to reveal gradual polyploid genome evolution by analyzing of Brachypodium hybridum and its diploid progenitors.