bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do we overtreat patients with presumed neutropenic sepsis?
Authors: King Abbey , Irvine Sharon , McFadyen Angus , Isles Chris
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Many aspects of the management of neutropenic sepsis remain controversial. These include the choice of empiric antibiotic, the duration of antibiotic therapy and the possibility that very low-risk cases may be managed safely with oral rather than intravenous therapy.

Study design

Retrospective cohort study conducted in a district general hospital serving a population of 148 000 in south west Scotland.

Results

Fifty one patients with cancer, whose neutrophil count was less than 1.0×109/L within 21 days of their last chemotherapy, were admitted as a medical emergency in 2019. All received antibiotic because of presumed neutropenic sepsis. A total of 4 patients had positive blood cultures (group 1), 12 patients had a clinical focus of infection but no clear pathogen (group 2), while 35 patients had neither (group 3). Group 3 patients were more likely to have a solid tumour, less likely to be febrile, had shorter time to neutrophil recovery and higher Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer scores, though not all of these comparisons achieved statistical significance. Median intravenous plus oral antibiotic duration in group 3 patients was 9 days with median hospital stay of 7 days, raising the possibility of overtreatment. Retrospectively, 23 (66%) group 3 patients had MASSC Risk Index greater than 21 suggesting they were at low risk of complications.

Conclusions

It seems likely that many low-risk neutropenic cancer patients with solid tumours could be managed as effectively and as safely with shorter courses of antibiotic, with oral rather than intravenous antibiotic, as outpatients rather than inpatients and with an overall positive impact on antimicrobial stewardship.
Factors associated with symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage after intravenous thrombolysis in severe white matter lesions: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Shen Yu , Li DeFu , Tang BoJi , Cao Qian , Hou Zhuo , Xu LiJun
Published: October 2021

Background and purpose

White matter lesions (WMLs) are thought to cause damage to the blood–brain barrier, thereby aggravating bleeding after intravenous thrombolysis. However, the risk factors for symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage after thrombolysis are still unclear. This study explored the risk factors for bleeding in patients with severe WMLs after intravenous thrombolysis to prevent bleeding as soon as possible.

Methods

A large single-centre observational study conducted a retrospective analysis of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with severe WMLs from January 2018 to March 2021. According to whether symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage occurred, the patients were divided into two groups, and then statistical analysis was performed.

Results

After a retrospective analysis of the data of nearly 1000 patients with intravenous thrombolysis and excluding invalid information, 146 patients were included, of which 23 (15.8%) patients had symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage. Univariate analysis showed that a history of hypertension (20% vs 4.9%, p=0.024), hyperlipidaemia (38.7% vs 9.6%, p<0.001), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score before thrombolysis (median 17 vs 6, p<0.001), low-density lipoprotein levels (median 2.98 vs 2.44, p=0.011), cholesterol levels (mean 4.74 vs 4.22, p=0.033), platelet count (median 161 vs 191, p=0.031), platelet distribution width (median 15.2 vs 12.1, p=0.001) and sodium ion levels (median 139.81 vs 138.67, p=0.043) were significantly associated with symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hyperlipidaemia (OR=9.069; 95% CI 2.57 to 32.07; p=0.001) and the NIHSS score before thrombolysis (OR=1.33; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.52; p<0.001) were comprehensive risk factors for symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage.

Conclusion

Hyperlipidaemia and the NIHSS score before thrombolysis are independent risk factors for bleeding after intravenous thrombolysis in patients with severe WMLs. Delaying the onset of white matter and preventing risk factors for bleeding will help improve the prognosis of cerebral infarction and reduce mortality. These risk factors need to be further evaluated in future studies.
Serum prokineticin-2 in prepubertal and adult Klinefelter individuals
Authors: Fiore Marco , Tarani Luigi , Radicioni Antonio , Spaziani Matteo , Ferraguti Giampiero , Putotto Carolina , Gabanella Francesca , Maftei Daniela , Lattanzi Roberta , Minni Antonio , Greco Antonio , Tarani Francesca , Petrella Carla
Published: October 2021

The prokineticin-2 (PROK2) is a small peptide belonging to the prokineticin family. In humans and rodents this chemokine is primarily involved in the control of central and peripheral reproductive processes. Klinefelter’s syndrome (KS) is the first cause of male genetic infertility, due to an extra X chromosome, which may occur with a classical karyotype (47, XXY) or mosaic forms (46, XY/47, XXY). In affected subjects, pubertal maturation usually begins at an adequate chronological age, but when development is almost complete, they display a primary gonadal failure, with early spermatogenesis damage, and later onset of testosterone insufficiency. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to investigate the serum levels of PROK2 in prepubertal and adult KS patients, comparing them with healthy subjects. We showed for the first time the presence of PROK2 in the children serum but with significant changes in KS individuals. Indeed, compared with healthy subjects characterized by PROK2 serum elevation during the growth, KS individuals showed constant serum levels during the sexual maturation phase (higher during the prepubertal phase but lower during the adult age). In conclusion, these data indicate that in KS individuals PROK2 may be considered a biomarker for investigating the SK infertility process.
Authentication of garlic (Allium sativum L.) supplements using a trnLUAA mini-barcode
Authors: Paradiso Lydia , Little Damon P.
Published: October 2021

Garlic (Allium sativum), a widely distributed plant with great cultural and medicinal significance, is one of the most popular herbal dietary supplements in Europe and North America. Garlic supplements are consumed for a variety of reasons, including for their purported antihypertensive, antibacterial, and anticarcinogenic effects. The steady increase in the global herbal dietary supplement market paired with a global patchwork of regulatory frameworks makes the development of assays for authentication of these products increasingly important. A DNA mini-barcode assay was developed using the P6 loop of the plastid trnLUAA intron to positively identify A. sativum products. Analysis of 43 commercially available garlic herbal dietary supplements produced mini-barcode sequences for 33 supplements, all of which contained detectable amounts of A. sativum. The trnLUAA P6 mini-barcode can be highly useful for specimen identification, particularly for samples that may contain degraded DNA.
Anisotropic counterpart of charged Durgapal V perfect fluid sphere
Authors: Azmat Hina , Zubair M.
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we have developed a static charged anisotropic stellar model for a spherically symmetric spacetime geometry. For this, we have considered charged Durgapal V perfect fluid sphere and constructed its anisotropic counterpart by using gravitational decoupling through the minimal geometric deformation (MGD) approach. We have presented physical analysis of the constructed model in details by taking observational data of two different compact stars, namely, SMC X-4 and Vela X-1, into account. All the physical properties such as density, pressure, sound speeds, energy conditions, stability conditions, Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equation, compactness factor, and redshift are found to meet the general criteria required to ensure a well-behaved stellar system.
A characterization of graded pseudo-valuation domains
Authors: Ahmed Malik Tusif , Bakkari Chahrazade , Mahdou Najib , Riffi Abdelkbir
Published: October 2021

Let [Formula: see text] be a torsionless grading monoid, [Formula: see text] a [Formula: see text]-graded integral domain, H the set of nonzero homogeneous elements of R, K the quotient field of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] the group of units of [Formula: see text]. We say that R is a graded pseudo-valuation domain (gr-PVD) if whenever a homogeneous prime ideal P of R contains the product xy of two homogeneous elements of [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text]. The notion of gr-PVDs was introduced recently by the authors in (M. T. Ahmed, C. Bakkari, N. Mahdou and A. Riffi, Graded pseudo-valuation domains, Comm. Algebra 48 (2020) 4555–4568) as a graded version of pseudo-valuation domains (PVDs). In this paper, we show that R is a gr-PVD if and only if exactly one of the following two conditions holds : (1) (a) [Formula: see text], (b) [Formula: see text] is a pseudo-valuation monoid, and (c) [Formula: see text] for every [Formula: see text] whenever [Formula: see text] is not a unit. (2) (a) [Formula: see text], (b) [Formula: see text] is a valuation monoid, (c) [Formula: see text] for every [Formula: see text] whenever [Formula: see text] is not a unit, and (d) [Formula: see text] is a gr-PVD.
Ideal factorization in strongly discrete independent rings of Krull type
Authors: Chang Gyu Whan , Choi Hyun Seung
Published: October 2021

Let D be an integral domain and w be the so-called w-operation on D. In this paper, we define the notion of w-ZPUI domains which is a natural generalization of ZPUI domains introduced by Olberding in 2000. We say that D is a w-ZPUI domain if every nonzero proper w-ideal I of D can be written as [Formula: see text] for some w-invertible ideal J of D and [Formula: see text] is a nonempty collection of pairwise w-comaximal prime w-ideals of D. Then, among other things, we show that D is a w-ZPUI domain if and only if the polynomial ring [Formula: see text] is a w-ZPUI domain, if and only if D is a strongly discrete independent ring of Krull type. We construct three types of new w-ZPUI domains from an old one by [Formula: see text]-construction, pullback, and [Formula: see text]-domains. We also show that given an abelian group G, there is a ZPUI domain with ideal class group G but not a Dedekind domain. Finally, we introduce and study the notion of w-ISP domains as a generalization of w-ZPUI domains.
A new binary representation method for shape convexity and application to image segmentation
Authors: Luo Shousheng , Tai Xue-Cheng , Wang Yang
Published: October 2021

We present a novel and computable characterization method for convex shapes. We prove that the shape convexity is equivalent to a quadratic constraint on the associated indicator function. Such a simple characterization method allows us to design efficient algorithms for various applications with convex shape prior. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, this method is incorporated with a probability-based model to extract an object with convexity prior. The Lagrange multiplier method is used to solve the proposed model. Numerical results on various images show the superiority of the proposed method.
On the spherical slice transform
Authors: Rubin Boris
Published: October 2021

We study the spherical slice transform [Formula: see text] which assigns to a function f on the unit sphere Sn in [Formula: see text] the integrals of f over cross-sections of Sn by k-dimensional affine planes passing through the north pole (0,…, 0, 1). These transforms are known when k = n. We consider all 2 ≤ k ≤ n and obtain an explicit formula connecting [Formula: see text] with the classical (k − 1)-plane Radon–John transform [Formula: see text] on [Formula: see text]. Using this connection, known facts for Rk−1, like inversion formulas, support theorems, representation on zonal functions, and some others, are reformulated for [Formula: see text].
Colorful orthology clustering in bounded-degree similarity graphs
Authors: Sánchez Alitzel López , Lafond Manuel
Published: October 2021

Clustering genes in similarity graphs is a popular approach for orthology prediction. Most algorithms group genes without considering their species, which results in clusters that contain several paralogous genes. Moreover, clustering is known to be problematic when in-paralogs arise from ancient duplications. Recently, we proposed a two-step process that avoids these problems. First, we infer clusters of only orthologs (i.e. with only genes from distinct species), and second, we infer the missing inter-cluster orthologs. In this paper, we focus on the first step, which leads to a problem we call Colorful Clustering . In general, this is as hard as classical clustering. However, in similarity graphs, the number of species is usually small, as well as the neighborhood size of genes in other species. We therefore study the problem of clustering in which the number of colors is bounded by [Formula: see text], and each gene has at most [Formula: see text] neighbors in another species. We show that the well-known cluster editing formulation remains NP-hard even when [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We then propose a fixed-parameter algorithm in [Formula: see text] to find the single best cluster in the graph. We implemented this algorithm and included it in the aforementioned two-step approach. Experiments on simulated data show that this approach performs favorably to applying only an unconstrained clustering step.
Female reproduction-specific proteins, origins in marine species, and their evolution in the animal kingdom
Authors: Jimenez-Gutierrez Laura Rebeca
Published: October 2021

The survival of a species largely depends on the ability of individuals to reproduce, thus perpetuating their life history. The advent of metazoans (i.e. pluricellular animals) brought about the evolution of specialized tissues and organs, which in turn led to the development of complex protein regulatory pathways. This study sought to elucidate the evolutionary relationships between female reproduction-associated proteins by analyzing the transcriptomes of representative species from a selection of marine invertebrate phyla. Our study identified more than 50 reproduction-related genes across a wide evolutionary spectrum, from Porifera to Vertebrata. Among these, a total of 19 sequences had not been previously reported in at least one phylum, particularly in Porifera. Moreover, most of the structural differences between these proteins did not appear to be determined by environmental pressures or reproductive strategies, but largely obeyed a distinguishable evolutionary pattern from sponges to mammals.
Buckling Characteristics of Sandwich Conical Shells with Variable Skin Thickness
Authors: Zarei M. , Rahimi G. H.
Published: October 2021

In this paper, an analytical solution is presented to study the buckling analysis of the composite sandwich conical shells with variable skin thickness and reinforced with lattice cores. This problem involves the filament wound conical shells, where the skin thickness varies through the length of the shell. First, the reinforced core is converted to a layer by analyzing smeared moments and forces on a unit cell. Next, superimposing the stiffness contribution of the stiffeners with those of the inner and outer shells, the equivalent stiffness of the whole structure is achieved. The power series method based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is employed to solve the buckling load of the laminated sandwich conical shell. Numerical solution is conducted to verify analytical results by preparing finite element models. Furthermore, using the analytical model, the impact of several design parameters like buckling load, specific buckling load, stiffener orientation, value of stiffeners angle, lamination angle and semi-vertex angle is investigated, and presented based on the results of this study.
A Study of the Vowel Context Effect on Initial Stops of Mandarin Produced by Native and Nonnative Speakers
Authors: Du Dan , Zhang Jinsong
Published: October 2021

This study, based on corpus materials, investigates the “voice onset time” (VOT) of Mandarin word-initial stops in isolated syllables according to the effect of vowel contexts produced by native and nonnative speakers. Here, 1250 monosyllables of word-initial plosives /p/, /t/, /k/, /p[Formula: see text]/, /t[Formula: see text]/, and /k[Formula: see text]/ were uttered in combination with the vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ in four tone contexts except /ki/ and /k[Formula: see text]i/ that are phonetically illegal in Mandarin by 20 participants (10 native Chinese speakers and 10 Urdu learners of Chinese). Results show that for native Chinese speakers, the VOTs of aspirated stops followed by the high vowels /i/ and /u/ are significantly longer than those followed by the low vowel /a/, and unaspirated stops followed only by the high back vowel /u/ are significantly longer than those followed by the low vowel /a/. For native Urdu speakers, the mean VOTs of word-initial stops in Mandarin monosyllables have no significant effect for both aspirated and unaspirated ones in combination with different vowels. Understanding the results of this study will be of assistance to second language learning and teaching.
Educators as Gamemasters
Authors: Ahmad Azhan , Law Effie Lai-Chong
Published: October 2021

Although multiple studies have shown the efficacy of Serious Games (SGs) in improving students' performance and learning experience, the wide use of SGs is yet to be realised. One of the challenges towards the adoption of SGs can be attributed to the complex and costly development process. In this paper, we present ARQS (Authentic Role-playing-game Quest System) tool, an educator-oriented authoring tool we developed for supporting the implementation of a serious role-playing-game (RPG). The authoring tool consists of features that simplify the creation of important RPG components e.g. avatars, virtual world. Furthermore, the authoring process employs block-based programming to configure aspects of RPG such as creating quests. The concept is adopted in order to provide a platform where educators without programming knowledge are able to use. A formative evaluation was conducted with ten educators from secondary and university levels, using a low-fidelity prototype. Outcomes from the evaluation showed promising results, attesting the potential of ARQS as an educational tool for the creation of interactive learning instructions in the form of real-world scenarios embedded within a role-playing-game.
Transparency in Measurement Reporting
Authors: Aeschbach Lena Fanya , Perrig Sebastian A.C. , Weder Lorena , Opwis Klaus , Brühlmann Florian
Published: October 2021

Measuring theoretical concepts, so-called constructs, is a central challenge of Player Experience research. Building on recent work in HCI and psychology, we conducted a systematic literature review to study the transparency of measurement reporting. We accessed the ACM Digital Library to analyze all 48 full papers published at CHI PLAY 2020, of those, 24 papers used self-report measurements and were included in the full review. We assessed specifically, whether researchers reported What, How and Why they measured. We found that researchers matched their measures to the construct under study and that administrative details, such as number of points on a Likert-type scale, were frequently reported. However, definitions of the constructs to be measured and justifications for selecting a particular scale were sparse. Lack of transparency in these areas threaten the validity of singular studies, but further compromise the building of theories and accumulation of research knowledge in meta-analytic work. This work is limited to only assessing the current transparency of measurement reporting at CHI PLAY 2020, however we argue this constitutes a fair foundation to assess potential pitfalls. To address these pitfalls, we propose a prescriptive model of a measurement selection process, which aids researchers to systematically define their constructs, specify operationalizations, and justify why these measures were chosen. Future research employing this model should contribute to more transparency in measurement reporting. The research was funded through internal resources. All materials are available on https://osf.io/4xz2v/.
Under Pressure
Authors: Beres Nicole A. , Klarkowski Madison , Mandryk Regan L.
Published: October 2021

Video games frequently invoke high-pressure circumstances in which player performance is crucial. These high-pressure circumstances are incubators for 'choking' and 'clutching'-phenomena that broadly address critical failures and successes in performance, respectively. The eruption of esports into the mainstream has vitalized the need to understand performance in video games, and particularly in competitive games spaces. In this work, we explore the potential mechanisms behind choking and clutching and how they are related to player traits and tendencies. We report the results of multiple regression analyses, finding that the propensity to choke is positively correlated with Reinvestment, Obsessive Passion, and Public Self-Consciousness, as well as Approach and Avoidance coping styles. Likewise, we find that the propensity to clutch is negatively correlated with Social Anxiety, and positively with Private Self-Consciousness and player experience with competitive gaming. We propose that these findings can be utilized to scaffold and support performance in high-pressure gaming spaces, such as esports. This work represents an initial step in the empirical exploration of choking and clutching in competitive video game contexts.
Facial and Bodily Expressions of Emotional Engagement
Authors: Greipl Simon , Bernecker Katharina , Ninaus Manuel
Published: October 2021

Users' emotional engagement in a task is important for performance and motivation. Non-intrusive, computerized process measures of engagement have the potential to provide fine-grained access to underlying affective states and processes. Thus, the current work brings together subjective measures (questionnaires) and objective process measures (facial expressions and head movements) of emotions to examine users' emotional engagement with respect to the absence or presence of game-elements. In particular, we randomly assigned 156 adult participants to either a spatial working memory task with or without game elements present, while their faces and head movements were recorded with a webcam during task execution. Positive and negative emotions were assessed before the task and twice during task execution using conventional questionnaires. We additionally examined whether perceived subjective effort, assumed to inherit a substantial affective component, manifests at a bodily expressive level alongside positive and negative emotions. Importantly, we explored the relationship between subjective and objective measures of emotions across the two tasks versions. We found a series of action units and head movements associated with the subjective experience of emotions as well as to subjective effort. Impacted by game elements, these associations often fit intuitively or lined up with findings from literature. As did a linear increase of blink (action unit 45) intensity relate to participants performing the task without game elements, presumably indicating disengagement in the more tedious task variant. On other occasions, associations between subjective and objective measures seemed indiscriminative or even contraindicated. Additionally, facial and bodily reactions and the resulting subjective-objective correspondences were rather consistent within, but not between the two task versions. Our work therefore both gains detailed access to automated emotion recognition and promotes its feasibility within research of game elements while highlighting the individuality and context dependency of emotional expressions.
Playing Cool - Winter Weather's Influence on Location-Based Gaming
Authors: Back Jon , Johansson Karin B.
Published: October 2021

Location-based games are highly dependent on the physical environment. One important but often overlooked factor is weather. In this paper we focus on winter weather, as this is a common weather that is often not designed for specifically. By performing a qualitative observation, interview, and questionnaire study of families during and after playing a GPS-based mobile game in a winter setting, this paper studies how winter conditions affected the gaming experience. Three main factors were observed to have a big impact on the gaming experience: snow, ice and cold. We outline ways these weather conditions were found to be both obstacles, and adding value to the game. Finally, we suggest design implications for winter weather, mainly; the need for short games due to cold, adaption of gameplay for movement in snow, to avoid interactions based on handling the phone, and to adapt maps to the effects of snow and ice. By explaining how winter conditions affect the gaming experience, location-based games can be better adapted for these weather conditions, and thereby help in making better design decisions.
A Socio-Ecological Approach to Activity Games for Girls
Authors: Kapuscinska Adela , Bhujwala Payal M. , Kalarchian Melissa , Hammer Jessica
Published: October 2021

Most American girls are not meeting physical activity guidelines, placing them at risk for adverse health consequences. In response, our team developed Frolic, an evidence-based mobile application to address this problem through play. Frolic uses a socio-ecological framework and behavioral design principles to address barriers and social norms that are specific to girls. Parents are leveraged as important sources of support and motivation, with key design elements to help girls initiate play, adapt to the space, and play independently. The current paper contributes design principles for creating socio-ecological activity games for girls. In addition, we contribute the design of Frolic itself, a game constructed according to these guidelines, and outline future intervention studies with the app itself. Finally, we provide the perspectives of professional game designers and health experts on our work and interpretative insights for game designers and researchers who hope to work in this space.
Merlynne
Authors: Chan Tina , Gauthier Robert P. , Suarez Ally , Sia Nicholas F. , Wallace James R.
Published: October 2021

Human-Computer Interaction researchers have explored how online communities can be leveraged for peer support, but general disinterest and a lack of engagement have emerged as substantial barriers to their use in practice. To address this gap, we designed Merlynne, a serious game that seeks to motivate individuals to support peers through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our game explored use of the Proteus Effect - a phenomenon where players adopt characteristics of their in-game avatar - to motivate peer support through stereotyped 'helpful' and 'unhelpful' avatars. We then conducted a mixed-methods, exploratory study to investigate its design. We found that our game successfully motivated players to offer peer support, despite the substantial emotional labour required by CBT. However, we were not able to replicate the Proteus Effect, and did not find differences in that support based on a player's avatar. In reflecting on our findings, we discuss design challenges and considerations for the use of serious games to motivate participation in mental health support, including: fatigue, a player's need for self-expression and to relate to those they are supporting, and ludonarrative dissonance.
The Potential of Video Game Streaming as Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety
Authors: Frommel Julian , Dechant Martin J. , Mandryk Regan L.
Published: October 2021

Social anxiety is a prevalent problem that affects many people with varying severity; digital exposure therapy-which involves controlled exposure to simulations of feared social situations alongside cognitive restructuring-can help treat patients with anxieties. However, the need to personalize exposure scenarios and simulate audiences are barriers to treating social anxieties through digital exposure. In this paper, we propose game streaming as an exposure therapy paradigm for social anxiety, supporting it with data from two studies. We first propose a framework describing requirements for exposure therapy and how game streaming can fulfill them. We select demand and performance visibility from these characteristics to showcase how to manipulate them for experiences of gradual exposure. With Study 1, we provide evidence for these characteristics and support for the framework by showing that a game's demand affected expected fear of streaming games. In Study 2, we show that the prospect of streaming led to elevated fear, a necessary property for effective exposure therapy. Further, we show that the effect of streaming on expected fear was similar for participants who can be considered socially anxious. These findings provide evidence for the essential effect of exposure therapy, which serves as a first step towards the validation of streaming as a social anxiety treatment. Our paper provides an initial, important step towards a novel, broadly applicable, and widely accessible digital approach for the treatment of social anxiety.
Pathfinder
Authors: Naglé Tim , Bateman Scott , Birk Max V.
Published: October 2021

Designers of instructional software use gamification to help motivate and engage learners. Typically focusing on gamifying a single task, designers aim to provide a straightforward path through learning. In contrast, video games frequently provide optional secondary tasks using collectibles. Collectibles-like coins-are secondary, non-essential goals that encourage players to selectively take on additional challenges and engage more with a game. While research supports the idea that by increasing engagement learning can be improved, exactly how collectibles-an extremely common element in games-might be employed in gamified learning and how it might affect the play experience is underexplored. We present the results of a study comparing a gamified photo-editing training game that uses collectibles to one without collectibles. Our results show that learners choose to engage more when collectibles are present, and that this has a positive effect on software skills applied to a representative out-of-game challenge. Our findings provide a nuanced view of the tradeoffs in motivation and experience when collectibles are used.
UES-Br
Authors: Miranda David , Li Carmen , Darin Ticianne
Published: October 2021

The User Engagement Scale (UES) is a self-reported attitude scale broadly used in user research to measure their engagement with interactive systems, such as digital games and applications. The present work presents a translation of UES to the Portuguese language and its cultural adaptation to the Brazilian context. We followed five steps for the cross-cultural adaptation process: Translation, Synthesis, Back translation, Expert committee review, and Pretesting. Seeking to assure that the translated version is equivalent to the original in terms of metrics and semantics, we run tests on two data sets collected from 432 users' past experiences. As expected, T-tests for independent samples demonstrated that UES-Br provides significantly higher engagement experiences than scores for non-engaging experiences. An exploratory factor analysis indicated that most items were strongly correlated to the main factor (Engagement), showing a single underlying factor for all items. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis suggests that the original four-factor model provided an adequate fit to the data collected with UES-Br. The translation also demonstrated evidence of validity and reliability. This paper contributes to the global player- and human-computer interaction knowledge by enabling the Portuguese-speaking community to use a validated tool already established for native English speakers.
"The Small Decisions Are What Makes it Interesting"
Authors: Tyack April , Wyeth Peta
Published: October 2021

Games and play research at CHI employs psychological theory to investigate the ways that varied qualities of people, videogames, and play contexts contribute to nuances in player experience (PX). Play is often characterised as self-endorsed and freely chosen behaviour, and self-determination theory (SDT) proposes that this autonomous quality contributes to wellbeing restoration. However, prior research has produced only inconsistent support for this claim. In this study, 148 participants experienced an autonomy-satisfying or -frustrating puzzle before playing Spore, a videogame likely to satisfy autonomy. Need-frustrated participants showed comparatively greater improvement in autonomy, vitality, and intrinsic motivation when playing Spore, and in-game autonomy satisfaction was shown to index post-play wellbeing outcomes. However, further results were mixed, and only competence frustration was found to predict ill-being outcomes. These findings are contextualised by post-study interviews that investigate the ways that autonomy, wellbeing, and motivation emerge in and through play in daily life.
Glycocalyx Curving the Membrane: Forces Emerging from the Cell Exterior
Authors: Kuo Joe Chin-Hun , Paszek Matthew J.
Published: October 2021

Morphological transitions are typically attributed to the actions of proteins and lipids. Largely overlooked in membrane shape regulation is the glycocalyx, a pericellular membrane coat that resides on all cells in the human body. Comprised of complex sugar polymers known as glycans as well as glycosylated lipids and proteins, the glycocalyx is ideally positioned to impart forces on the plasma membrane. Large, unstructured polysaccharides and glycoproteins in the glycocalyx can generate crowding pressures strong enough to induce membrane curvature. Stress may also originate from glycan chains that convey curvature preference on asymmetrically distributed lipids, which are exploited by binding factors and infectious agents to induce morphological changes. Through such forces, the glycocalyx can have profound effects on the biogenesis of functional cell surface structures as well as the secretion of extracellular vesicles. In this review, we discuss recent evidence and examples of these mechanisms in normal health and disease.
Molecular Mechanisms of Sexually Dimorphic Nervous System Patterning in Flies and Worms
Authors: Goodwin Stephen F. , Hobert Oliver
Published: October 2021

Male and female brains display anatomical and functional differences. Such differences are observed in species across the animal kingdom, including humans, but have been particularly well-studied in two classic animal model systems, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we summarize recent advances in understanding how the worm and fly brain acquire sexually dimorphic features during development. We highlight the advantages of each system, illustrating how the precise anatomical delineation of sexual dimorphisms in worms has enabled recent analysis into how these dimorphisms become specified during development, and how focusing on sexually dimorphic neurons in the fly has enabled an increasingly detailed understanding of sex-specific behaviors.
Expanded In Situ Aging Indicators for Lithium-Ion Batteries with a Blended NMC-LMO Electrode Cycled at Sub-Ambient Temperature
Authors: Smith Alexander J. , Svens Pontus , Varini Maria , Lindbergh Göran , Lindström Rakel Wreland
Published: October 2021

An important step toward safer and more reliable lithium-ion battery systems is the improvement of methods for detection and characterization of battery degradation. In this work, we develop and track aging indicators over the life of 18650-format lithium-ion batteries with a blended NMC532-LMO positive electrode and graphite negative electrode. Cells are cycled until reaching 80% of their original capacity under combinations of four cycling conditions: ambient and sub-ambient temperatures (29 °C and 10 °C) and fast and mild rates (2.7 and 1.0C). Loss of lithium inventory dominates aging for all cases, with additional loss of NMC capacity under the combination of sub-ambient temperature and mild rate. A novel, easily acquired polarization factor complements capacity fade analysis; it correlates well with impedance and galvanostatic cycle life and indicates changes in active aging processes. These processes are further revealed by differential voltage analysis (DVA) and incremental capacity analysis (ICA). New indicators and aging scenarios are evaluated for these techniques and supported by post mortem analysis. From in operando cycling data and a single, slow discharge curve, these four methods (capacity fade, polarization factor, DVA, and ICA) comprise a simple, explanatory, and non-invasive toolbox for evaluating aging in lithium-ion battery systems.
Potassium-induced potentiation of subtetanic force in rat skeletal muscles: influences of β2-activation, lactic acid, and temperature
Authors: Olesen Jonas H. , Herskind Jon , Pedersen Katja K. , Overgaard Kristian
Published: October 2021

Moderate elevations of extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) occur during exercise and have been shown to potentiate force during contractions elicited with subtetanic frequencies. Here, we investigated whether lactic acid (reduced chloride conductance), β2-adrenoceptor activation, and increased temperature would influence the potentiating effect of potassium in slow- and fast-twitch muscles. Isometric contractions were elicited by electrical stimulation at various frequencies in isolated rat soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles incubated at normal (4 mM) or elevated K+, in combination with salbutamol (5 μM), lactic acid (18.1 mM), 9-anthracene-carboxylic acid (9-AC; 25 μM), or increased temperature (30–35°C). Elevating [K+]o from 4 mM to 7 mM (soleus) and 10 mM (EDL) potentiated isometric twitch and subtetanic force while slightly reducing tetanic force. In EDL, salbutamol further augmented twitch force (+27 ± 3%, P < 0.001) and subtetanic force (+22 ± 4%, P < 0.001). In contrast, salbutamol reduced subtetanic force (−28 ± 6%, P < 0.001) in soleus muscles. Lactic acid and 9-AC had no significant effects on isometric force of muscles already exposed to moderate elevations of [K+]o. The potentiating effect of elevated [K+]o was still well maintained at 35°C. Addition of salbutamol exerts a further force-potentiating effect in fast-twitch but not in slow-twitch muscles already potentiated by moderately elevated [K+]o, whereas lactic acid, 9-AC, or increased temperature does not exert any further augmentation. However, the potentiating effect of elevated [K+]o was still maintained in the presence of these, thus emphasizing the positive influence of moderately elevated [K+]o for contractile performance during exercise.
Melatonin MT2 receptor is expressed and potentiates contraction in human airway smooth muscle
Authors: Sasaki Haruka , Zhang Yi , Emala Charles W. , Mizuta Kentaro
Published: October 2021

Nocturnal asthma is characterized by heightened bronchial reactivity at night, and plasma melatonin concentrations are higher in patients with nocturnal asthma symptoms. Numerous physiological effects of melatonin are mediated via its specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) named the MT1 receptor, which couples to both Gq and Gi proteins, and the MT2 receptor, which couples to Gi. We investigated whether melatonin receptors are expressed on airway smooth muscle; whether they regulate intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) and calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i), which modulate airway smooth muscle tone; and whether they promote airway smooth muscle cell proliferation. We detected the mRNA and protein expression of the melatonin MT2 but not the MT1 receptor in native human and guinea pig airway smooth muscle and cultured human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells by RT-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. Activation of melatonin MT2 receptors with either pharmacological concentrations of melatonin (10–100 µM) or the nonselective MT1/MT2 agonist ramelteon (10 µM) significantly inhibited forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation in HASM cells, which was reversed by the Gαi protein inhibitor pertussis toxin or knockdown of the MT2 receptor by its specific siRNA. Although melatonin by itself did not induce an initial [Ca2+]i increase and airway contraction, melatonin significantly potentiated acetylcholine-stimulated [Ca2+]i increases, stress fiber formation through the MT2 receptor in HASM cells, and attenuated the relaxant effect of isoproterenol in guinea pig trachea. These findings suggest that the melatonin MT2 receptor is expressed in ASM, and modulates airway smooth muscle tone via reduced cAMP production and increased [Ca2+]i.
Age-related deficits in rapid visuomotor decision-making
Authors: Gómez-Granados Ana , Barany Deborah A. , Schrayer Margaret , Kurtzer Isaac L. , Bonnet Cédrick T. , Singh Tarkeshwar
Published: October 2021

Older adults show declines in vision, decision-making, and motor control, which can lead to functional limitations. We used a rapid visuomotor decision task to examine how these deficits may interact to affect task performance. Compared with healthy young adults, older adults made more errors in both decision-making and motor execution, especially when the task required intercepting moving targets. This suggests that age-related declines in integrating perceptual and motor information may contribute to functional deficits.
Implicit adaptation to mirror reversal is in the correct coordinate system but the wrong direction
Authors: Wang Tianhe , Taylor Jordan A.
Published: October 2021

Recent studies have found that implicit learning may operate inappropriately in some motor tasks, requiring explicit strategies to improve performance. However, this inappropriate adaptation could be attributable to competitive interactions between explicit and implicit processes. After isolating implicit processes, we found that implicit adaptation remained in the wrong direction for a mirror reversal, acting as if it were a rotation. Interestingly, however, the implicit system is sensitive to a particular coordinate system, treating mirror reversal and rotation differently.
Automatic decomposition of electrophysiological data into distinct nonsinusoidal oscillatory modes
Authors: Fabus Marco S. , Quinn Andrew J. , Warnaby Catherine E. , Woolrich Mark W.
Published: October 2021

We introduce a novel, data-driven method to identify oscillations in neural recordings. This approach is based on empirical mode decomposition and reduces mixing of components, one of its main problems. The technique is validated and compared with existing methods using simulations and real data. We show our method better extracts oscillations and their properties in highly noisy and nonsinusoidal datasets.
Active and Reactive Power Control for Wind Turbines Based DFIG Using LQR Controller with Optimal Gain-Scheduling
Authors: Radaideh Ashraf , Bodoor Mu’men , Al-Quraan Ayman
Published: October 2021

This paper proposes an optimal gain-scheduling for linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control framework to improve the performance of wind turbines based Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG). Active and reactive power decoupling is performed using the field-oriented vector control which is used to simplify DFIG’s nonlinearity and derive a compact linearized state-space model. The performance of the optimal controller represented by a linear quadratic regulator is further enhanced using the whale optimization algorithm in a multiobjective optimization environment. Adaptiveness against wind speed variation is achieved in an offline training process at a discretized wind speed domain. Lookup tables are used to store the optimal controller parameter and called upon during the online implementation. The control framework further integrates the effects of pitch angle control mechanism for active power ancillary services and possible improvements on reactive power support. The results of the proposed control framework improve the overall performance of the system compared to the conventional PI controller. Comparison is performed using the MATLAB Simulink platform.
Abnormal Liver Tests during Hospitalization Predict Mortality in Patients with COVID-19: A Multicenter Study from South America
Authors: Balderramo Domingo , Mattos Angelo Z. , Mulqui Victoria , Chiesa Talita , Plácido-Damián Zuly , Abarca Jaysoom , Bolomo Andrea , Carlino Yanina , Bombassaro Isadora Z. , Wiltgen Denusa , Castillo Laura Tenorio , Díaz Karina , Acuña Johana , Manero Estela , Prieto Jhon , Carrera Enrique , Díaz-Ferrer Javier , Debes Jose D.
Published: October 2021

Background. The role of liver function tests (LFT) as prognostic factors in patients admitted with COVID-19 has not been fully investigated, particularly outside resource-rich countries. We aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of abnormal LFT on admission and during hospitalization of patients with COVID-19. Methods. We performed a retrospective study that included 298 adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19, between 05/2020 and 02/2021, in 6 hospitals from 5 countries in South America. We analyzed demographic and comorbid variables and laboratory tests on admission and during hospitalization. LFT over twice the upper limit of normal (ALEx2) were also evaluated in relation to a variety of factors on admission and during hospitalization. De novo-ALEx2 was defined as the presence of ALEx2 at one week of hospitalization in patients without ALEx2 on admission. Patients were followed until hospital discharge or death. Multivariable analysis was used to evaluate the association between ALEx2 on admission and during hospitalization and mortality. Results. Of the total of 298 patients, 60% were male, with a mean age of 60 years, and 74% of patients had at least one comorbidity. Of those, 137 (46%) patients were transferred to the intensive care unit and 66 (22.1%) patients died during hospitalization. ALEx2 on admission was present in 87 (29.2%) patients and was found to be independently associated with 1-week mortality (odds ratio (OR) = 3.55; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.05–12.05). Moreover, 84 (39.8%) out of 211 patients without ALEx2 at admission developed de novo-ALEx2, which was independently associated with mortality during second week of hospitalization (OR = 6.09; 95%CI 1.28–29) and overall mortality (OR = 2.93, 95%CI 1.05–8.19). Conclusions. A moderate elevation of LFT during admission was associated with a poor short-term prognosis in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. In addition, moderate elevation of LFT at one week of hospitalization was an independent risk factor for overall mortality in these patients.
Polarization Properties of Obliquely Incident EM Waves in Nonuniform Weakly Ionized Dusty Plasma
Authors: Gan Li-Ping , Guo Li-Xin , Li Jiang-Ting , Guo Lin-Jing
Published: October 2021

Effects of nonuniform weakly ionized dusty plasma on the polarization properties of obliquely incident electromagnetic (EM) waves were theoretically investigated in this paper. The dielectric coefficient of magnetized dusty plasma is obtained based on the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook collision model. Then, the effects of external magnetic field, dust radii, and density on the polarization mismatch loss of obliquely incident EM waves in the L-band were analyzed using the equivalent impedance method. Results indicate that the larger the external magnetic field, the greater the polarization mismatch loss. In addition, we also found that dusty particles alleviate the deterioration of the polarization state significantly; regulating and controlling dust radius and density can avoid polarization reversal and reduce the polarization mismatch loss. We further analyzed the variation of the polarization state under different reentry heights. Our analysis reveals interesting features concerning polarization properties of obliquely incident EM waves, which provide an important theoretical basis for information reception in the plasma sheath containing ablative particles.