Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Materialism and Social Networking Site Addiction among Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract Materialism has been consistently linked to Internet-related addictions, including compulsive online shopping, problematic online gaming, and excessive smartphone use; however, the relationship between materialism and social networking site (SNS) addiction has remained unclear. Thus, this study aims to examine the association between materialism and SNS addiction and investigate the mediating effect of fatalism and moderating effect of self-concept clarity in this relationship among 703 Chinese adolescents. Materialism was significantly positively associated with SNS addiction in adolescents, and fatalism partially mediated this association. Moreover, self-concept clarity moderated the direct and indirect relationships between materialism and SNS addiction. Specifically, for adolescents with low (versus high) self-concept clarity, those who also had high levels of materialism were more likely to develop fatalistic beliefs and showed further symptoms of SNS addiction. This study’s findings imply that decreasing materialism and fatalism and developing self-concept clarity might be effective interventions for reducing SNS addiction among adolescents.
Groundwater environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals hidden diversity and reflects land‐use and geology

Despite being the most important source of liquid freshwater on the planet, groundwater is severely threatened by climate change, agriculture, or industrial mining. It is thus extensively monitored for pollutants and declines in quantity. The organisms living in groundwater, however, are rarely the target of surveillance programmes and little is known about the fauna inhabiting underground habitats. The difficulties accessing groundwater, the lack of expertise, and the apparent scarcity of these organisms challenge sampling and prohibit adequate knowledge on groundwater fauna. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding provides an approach to overcome these limitations but is largely unexplored. Here, we sampled water in 20 communal spring catchment boxes used for drinking water provisioning in Switzerland, with a high level of replication at both filtration and amplification steps. We sequenced a portion of the COI mitochondrial gene, which resulted in 4917 ASVs, yet only 3% of the reads could be assigned to a species, genus, or family with more than 90% identity. Careful evaluation of the unassigned reads corroborated that these sequences were true COI sequences belonging mostly to diverse eukaryotic groups, not present in the reference databases. Principal component analyses showed a strong correlation of the community composition with the surface land‐use (agriculture vs. forest) and geology (fissured rock vs. unconsolidated sediment). While incomplete reference databases limit the assignment of taxa in groundwater eDNA metabarcoding, we showed that taxonomy‐free approaches can reveal large hidden diversity and couple it with major land‐use drivers, revealing their imprint on chemical and biological properties of groundwater.
The Relationship Between the Joint Space and Outcomes After Hip Arthroscopic Surgery for Femoroacetabular Impingement: Reevaluating the 2-mm Rule

Background: A limited joint space (<2 mm) is associated with poorer outcomes and conversion to total hip arthroplasty (THA) after hip arthroscopic surgery. As indications for hip arthroscopic surgery expand, it is important to reevaluate established risk factors among large patient populations. Purpose: To reevaluate the relationship between the radiographic joint space and outcomes after hip arthroscopic surgery and to assess the validity of a joint space of 2 mm as the accepted cutoff for successful hip arthroscopic surgery. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Patients aged 18 to 50 years who underwent hip arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement between January 2008 and December 2016 and had a minimum 2-year follow-up were included. Patients with previous ipsilateral hip surgery, a history of hip fractures, dysplasia (lateral center-edge angle <20°), or osteoarthritis (Tonnis grade >2) were excluded. The joint space was categorized as diminished (≤2 mm), borderline (>2 to ≤3 mm), or preserved (>3 mm). Minimum 2-year patient-reported outcomes (modified Harris Hip Score [mHHS], Hip Outcome Score–Activities of Daily Living [HOS-ADL], Hip Outcome Score–Sports-Specific Subscale [HOS-SSS]), revision rates, and rates of conversion to THA were compared between groups. Results: A total of 699 patients (782 hips) with a mean age of 33.8 ± 10.1 years met 2-year inclusion criteria. The mean follow-up time was 4.2 ± 2.1 years. Overall, 51 hips (6.5%) had a diminished joint space, 297 (38.0%) had a borderline joint space, and 434 (55.5%) had a preserved joint space. Patients with a diminished joint space had larger femoral and acetabular defects compared with those with larger joint spaces. All groups had improved patient-reported outcome scores compared with baseline (P < .001 for all), and there were no differences between the groups in the percentage of patients who reached the minimal clinically important difference or patient acceptable symptom state. There were also no differences between the groups in revision rates (P = .95). A greater number of hips with a diminished joint space converted to THA (n = 8 [15.7%]) compared with those with a borderline (n = 9 [3.0%]) or preserved (n = 9 [2.1%]) joint space (P < .001). Considering joint space as a continuous variable, adjusted logistic regression showed that for every millimeter decrease in the joint space, the odds of conversion to THA increased by a factor of 2.5 (odds ratio, 2.5 [95% CI, 1.6-3.8]). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that patients with a diminished joint space were at a higher risk of conversion to THA. Although 2 mm should not serve as a strict cutoff, patients should be counseled based on their preoperative radiographic findings accordingly.
Do live-stream telemedicine follow-up appointments for a Ponseti-treated clubfoot caseload compare favourably with a face-to-face review? Observed clinical outcomes and treatment provision during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Restrictions on face-to-face (F2F) healthcare services during the recent COVID-19 pandemic necessitated novel provision of care for Ponseti-treated clubfoot patients. This retrospective review compares the effectiveness of telemedicine (TM) using live-stream videoconferencing compared to conventional F2F review, in two cohorts of 78 patients attending routine follow-up, during Ponseti-treated clubfoot bracing in their first 5 years. Methods Rates of compliance, recurrence of deformity, and type of intervention provided were compared between cohorts. The TM cohort was re-evaluated F2F as part of routine follow-up care. Attendance rates were compared between cohorts and with an equivalent time period the previous year. Results There was no significant difference in the rate of compliance between cohorts (77% in the TM group, 74% in the F2F group), or in the rate of recurrence. Subsequent F2F review of the TM cohort showed that compliance had improved in some patients, indicating successful TM intervention. There were no missed cases of recurrence. TM follow-up appointments offered similar rates of management of skin problems, brace adjustment, and provision of exercises. At least one element of intervention was provided in 64% of the TM group, and 72% of the F2F group. TM connection was successful in 74% of booked appointments. The number of patients attending was similar to F2F bookings one year prior. Discussion The use of TM for routine follow-up of Ponseti-treated clubfoot patients can be as clinically effective as F2F assessment, and has potential for integration into routine follow-up care.
Prospective association between adherence to UK dietary guidelines in school-age children and cardiometabolic risk markers in adolescence/early adulthood in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort

Abstract Research into how alignment to UK dietary guidelines during childhood affects cardiometabolic health is limited. The association between adherence to UK dietary guidelines during childhood and overall cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in adolescence/early adulthood was explored using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). ALSPAC children with diet diaries completed at 7, 10 and 13 years of age, and data on CMR markers at 17 years (n 1940) and 24 years (n 1957) were included. A children’s Eatwell Guide (C-EWG) score was created by comparing dietary intakes at each age to UK dietary guidelines for nine foods/nutrients. Cardiometabolic health at 17 and 24 years was assessed using a composite CMR score. Multivariable linear regression models examined associations between C-EWG scores at 7, 10 and 13 years and the CMR score at 17 and 24 years, adjusting for confounders. C-EWG scores were generally low. However, a higher score (adherence to more dietary guidelines) at 7 years old was associated with a lower CMR score at 17 and 24 years: β −0·13 (95 % CI −0·25, –0·01) and β −0·25 (95 % CI −0·38, –0·13) for a 1-point increase in C-EWG score, respectively. A higher C-EWG score at 10 years was also associated with a lower CMR z-score at 24 years. No clear associations were evident at other ages. Greater adherence to UK dietary guidelines during mid-childhood was associated with a better overall cardiometabolic profile, suggesting that encouraging children to eat in this way has long-term benefits to health.
Self-supervised semantic segmentation of retinal pigment epithelium cells in flatmount fluorescent microscopy images

Abstract Motivation Morphological analyses with flatmount fluorescent images are essential to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) aging studies and thus require accurate RPE cell segmentation. Although rapid technology advances in deep learning semantic segmentation have achieved great success in many biomedical research, the performance of these supervised learning methods for RPE cell segmentation is still limited by inadequate training data with high-quality annotations. Results To address this problem, we develop a Self-Supervised Semantic Segmentation (S4) method that utilizes a self-supervised learning strategy to train a semantic segmentation network with an encoder–decoder architecture. We employ a reconstruction and a pairwise representation loss to make the encoder extract structural information, while we create a morphology loss to produce the segmentation map. In addition, we develop a novel image augmentation algorithm (AugCut) to produce multiple views for self-supervised learning and enhance the network training performance. To validate the efficacy of our method, we applied our developed S4 method for RPE cell segmentation to a large set of flatmount fluorescent microscopy images, we compare our developed method for RPE cell segmentation with other state-of-the-art deep learning approaches. Compared with other state-of-the-art deep learning approaches, our method demonstrates better performance in both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, suggesting its promising potential to support large-scale cell morphological analyses in RPE aging investigations. Availability and implementation The codes and the documentation are available at: https://github.com/jkonglab/S4_RPE.
Letter to the Editor A modi$ed Newton method for root$nding with cubic convergence

We consider a modi$cation of the Newton method for $nding a zero of a univariate function. The case of multiple roots is not treated. It is proven that the modi$cation converges cubically. Per iteration it requires one evaluation of the function and two evaluations of its derivative. Thus, the modi$cation is suitable if the calculation of the derivative has a similar or lower cost than that of the function itself. Classes of such functions are sketched and a numerical example is given. c
Coupling: Cutos, CFTP and Tameness

The principal theme underlying this work is that of coupling. Coupling is a general technique with applications in many areas of probability, as well as being an active area of research in its own right. In this thesis a number of problems involving coupling are investigated: some new results, as well as an indication of exciting possibilities for future research, are given in each case. Our journey into the world of coupling begins with the topic of the cutoff phenomenon for random walks on groups. Chapter 2 investigates the behaviour of a coupling for a general random walk on the hypercube, proving the existence under a simple condition of a new type of threshold behaviour called a coupling-cutoff. Chapter 3 is concerned with the theory of maximal couplings of Markov chains. This concept is generalised to maximal coalescent couplings, and an explicit description of an optimal co-adapted coupling for the symmetric random walk on Z2 is presented. The difference between optimal co-adapted and maximal couplings is also investigated for Brownian motion and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Coupling is at the heart of the simulation technique known as perfect simulation, and this subject forms the focus of the second half of the thesis. Some consideration is given to the efficiency of Coupling from the Past (CFTP) algorithms, but the principal novel contribution to this area is an investigation into the existence of a dominated CFTP algorithm for subgeometrically ergodic Markov chains. This question turns out to be significantly harder than that for geometrically ergodic chains: we introduce a class of positive recurrent chains, named tame chains, for which a perfect simulation algorithm is shown to exist. LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ACRONYMS ‖·‖ Total variation metric . 3 μ ∧ ν Greatest common component of measures μ and ν . 4 ‖·‖p `p-distance . 4 dS Separation distance . 5 δx Dirac delta . 6 θt Shift operator . 7 D = Equal in distribution . 7 τmix Mixing time . 11 RST Randomised stopping time . 13 SUT Strong uniform time . 13 L(X) Law of X . 13 fn = o(gn) fn/gn → 0 as n→∞ . 18 fn = O(gn) fn/gn is eventually bounded . 18 Erf (z) Error function . 22 w −→ Weak convergence . 31 v −→ Vague convergence . 34 a ∨ b max {a, b}, for a, b ∈ R . 40 a ∧ b min {a, b}, for a, b ∈ R . 40 ν+ max {ν, 0} . 59 ν− max {0,−ν} . 59 MCMC Markov chain Monte Carlo . 87 CFTP Coupling from the Past . 88 SRS Stochastic recursive sequence . 88 T ∗ Backwards coalescence time . 90 domCFTP Dominated CFTP . 99 ‖μ‖f supg:|g|≤f |μ(g)| . 109 τA First hitting time of the set A . 109 PR Drift condition for positive recurrence . 111 GE, GE(V, β, b, C) Drift condition for geometric ergodicity . 112 PE, PE(V, c, α, b, C) Drift condition for polynomial ergodicity . 121 SGE, SGE(V, φ, b, C) Drift condition for subgeometric ergodicity . 122
Letter to the Editors Precursors to PKP. Seismic Wave Scattering and Spectral Data

The phases arriving before PKIKP in the distance range 120" to 142" have been observed for some time. Recently Haddon (1972) suggested that these precursors to PKIKP are the result of scattering of PKP waves from irregularities in the vicinity of the circle in which the PKP caustic intersects the core-mantle boundary. Cleary & Haddon (1972) have subsequently examined this hypothesis in more detail using travel time and dT/dA data. We consider here some published spectral data by Gutenberg (1958) and Subiza & BBth (1964) and interpret it in the light of this hypothesis. The observed precursors to PKIKP are of higher frequency than PKIKP. For example from Subiza & Bhh (1964), the average period of 58 observations of PKIKP, (P" or P;' where no P" was observed) in the distance range 125" to 142" and for which precursors (Po") were observed, was 0.92s, while the average period of the 58 first arrival precursors (Po") was 0.60 s. More particularly however it is necessary to compare these phases recorded at one station from one earthquake so that the effects of the magnification curves of the seismographs, the local geology, microseisms and the spectral content of the waves leaving the earthquake region can be minimized. We assume that the spectral content of the PKIKP is that of the earthquake source, modified by attenuation along the ray path, the instrument magnification curve and the local geology at the station, since this phase is refracted through the inner core. The precursors are scattered at or near the core-mantle boundary and their spectral content will not only depend on those factors which affect PKIKP but will also depend on the nature of the scatterer, its typical dimension and the angular deviation of the scattered path from the normal path in the absence of the scatterer; the normal path is that of the PKP caustic.
Effect of surfactants during drop formation in a microfluidic channel: a combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics approach

Abstract The effect of surfactants on the flow characteristics during rapid drop formation in a microchannel is investigated using high-speed imaging, micro-particle image velocimetry and numerical simulations; the latter are performed using a three- dimensional multiphase solver that accounts for the transport of soluble surfactants in the bulk and at the interface. Drops are generated in a flow-focusing microchannel, using silicone oil ($4.6$ mPa s) as the continuous phase and a 52 % w/w glycerol solution as the dispersed phase. A non-ionic surfactant (Triton X-100) is dissolved in the dispersed phase at concentrations below and above the critical micelle concentration. Good agreement is found between experimental and numerical data for the drop size, drop formation time and circulation patterns. The results reveal strong circulation patterns in the forming drop in the absence of surfactants, whose intensity decreases with increasing surfactant concentration. The surfactant concentration profiles in the bulk and at the interface are shown for all stages of drop formation. The surfactant interfacial concentration is large at the front and the back of the forming drop, while the neck region is almost surfactant free. Marangoni stresses develop away from the neck, contributing to changes in the velocity profile inside the drop.
Phylogenetic analyses based on molecular and morphological data reveal a new species of Strigea Abildgaard, 1790 (Digenea: Strigeidae) and taxonomic changes in strigeids infecting Neotropical birds of prey

Abstract Members of the genus Strigea Abildgaard, 1790 are endoparasites of birds distributed worldwide. Adults of an undescribed species of the genus Strigea were collected from the intestines of two hawk species (Rupornis magnirostris and Accipiter coperii). Other species identified as Parastrigea macrobursa that were described in Argentina were also recovered from two hawk species (Buteogallus urubitinga and Buteogallus anthracinus) in three localities along the coasts of Mexico. Specimens of the two species were sequenced for three molecular markers, the internal transcribed spacers locus (ITS1-5.8S rDNA- ITS2) and the domains D1–D3 from the large subunit from nuclear ribosomal DNA and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 from mitochondrial DNA. The newly sequenced specimens were aligned with other strigeids sequences downloaded from GenBank. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses inferred with each molecular marker revealed that our specimens of Strigea sp. formed an independent lineage, which is recognized herein as a new species, Strigea magnirostris n. sp. , representing the first species in Mexico and the 16th in the Neotropical region. Morphologically, the new species is distinguished from other congeneric species from the Americas by having an oral sucker with several papillae around it, well-developed pseudosuckers (118–248 μm), a tegument covered with tiny spines, a larger cone genital (193–361 × 296–637) and a larger copulatory bursa (247–531 × 468–784). Our phylogenetic analyses revealed that P. macrobursa is not closely related to other members of the genus Parastrigea and is nested within Strigea, suggesting that P. macrobursa should be transferred to Strigea to form Strigea macrobursa n. comb. , expanding its distribution range from Mexico to Argentina. Finally, the analyses also revealed that the taxonomy and systematics of Strigea should be re-evaluated, combining morphological and molecular characteristics.
Genetic characterization of the zoonotic parasite Ancylostoma caninum in the central and eastern United States

Abstract Ancylostoma caninum is the most common nematode parasite of dogs in the United States. The present study aimed to describe the molecular epidemiology of A. caninum isolates from the central and eastern states of the United States using the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (cox1) gene and to compare them with those reported globally. We isolated eggs from faecal samples of dogs and characterized each isolate based on cox1 sequences. A total of 60 samples originating from Kansas, Iowa, New York, Florida and Massachusetts were included. 25 haplotypes were identified in the United States dataset with high haplotype diversity (0.904). Sequence data were compared to sequences from other world regions available in GenBank. Global haplotype analysis demonstrated 35 haplotypes with a haplotype diversity of 0.931. Phylogenetic and network analysis provide evidence for the existence of moderate geographical structuring of A. caninum haplotypes. Our results provide an updated summary of A. caninum haplotypes and data for neutral genetic markers with utility for tracking hookworm populations. Sequences have been deposited in GenBank (ON980650–ON980674). Further studies of isolates from other regions are essential to understand the genetic diversity of this parasite.
A System Justification Theory of Entrepreneurial Attitudinal Change During a Crisis

Entrepreneurship resilience during a crisis is an important research area. However, prior research has not examined cognitive antecedents of entrepreneurial resilience. Using the 2014 oil price crisis in the Middle East as a natural experiment, we draw on system justification theory to understand why and how entrepreneurs differ in the extent of their attitudinal changes toward corruption. We find foreign entrepreneurs substantially increased their willingness to engage in corruption whereas local entrepreneurs did not. Among foreign entrepreneurs, corruption willingness increases more among those from countries where corruption is not the norm, than those from more corrupt home countries.