bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Neem Leaf Powder (Azadirachta Indica) on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Serum Biochemical Parameters of Broilers
Authors: Almamury Ali
Published: December 2024

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with neem leaf powder (NLP) on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, and serum biochemical parameters of broilers. A total of 225 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were used in a 35-day experiment using a completely randomized design. The birds were divided into 5 dietary base treatments with 3 replicates of 15 birds per pen. The treatments consisted of supplementation of 0, 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 g/kg of NLP to a basal diet. The experiment included an evaluation of the following characteristics: performance, internal organs, and serum biochemical parameters. The results showed that the addition of different levels of NLP to the diet had no significant effect on the growth performance of broilers at different ages. Broilers fed with 2-3.5 g/kg NLP had a smaller breast size compared to the control group, while thigh weight increased linearly. The gizzard's weight showed a linear increase. Other organ weights did not differ significantly. The addition of 3.5 g/kg NLP to the broiler diet increased total protein and albumin levels. ALT, AST, and MDA levels decreased significantly with increasing NLP levels, while SOD and CAT levels increased. Broilers fed 2.5–3.5 g/kg NLP had higher HDL and lower LDL levels compared to the control group. No significant effect was observed on TG, total cholesterol, or VLDL levels. In summary, NLP supplementation in the broiler diet led to smaller breast sizes, increased thigh weight, an improved lipid profile, and enhanced liver health.
Prevailing Ages in Acute, Recurrent and Chronic Urinary Tract Infections in Iraq, Kirkuk City
Authors: Mohammed Fatma Mustafa , Saleh Mahmood K.
Published: December 2024

Background: Acute, recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections are a major public health concern and occur in all age groups of males and females. They are a major and serious health problem that may lead to the subsequent development of serious symptoms with increased resistance to antibiotics.Aim: This study aimed to identify the most vulnerable ages in acute, recurrent and chronic urinary tract infections and the most common age groups for infection in Kirkuk cityMaterials and Methods: 151 urine samples were collected from patients with urinary tract infections who visited private clinics in Kirkuk Governorate. They were diagnosed by a urologist for the period from December 2022 to October 2023. The patients' ages ranged from 21-76 years. Microscopic examination, laboratory tests, culture and isolation of pathogens were performed to confirm the patients' cases.Results: In the current study, the number of male patients with urinary tract infections was 62, representing 41.1%, while the number of females was 89, representing 58.9%. The condition was diagnosed as acute, recurrent, or chronic. The results of the current study showed, that the number of samples for patients with acute urinary tract infections was 91 samples, representing 60.3% for both males and females. The number of males was 37, representing 40.7%, and the number of females was 54, representing 3.59%. As for the cases of patients with recurrent urinary tract infections, the percentage of males was 42.6%, with 23, while the percentage of females was 57.4%, with 31 samples. As for patients with chronic urinary tract infections, the percentage of males was 33.3%, with 2, while the percentage of females was 66.7%, with 4 samples. As for the age groups most affected by these cases, the ages ranged between 42-51, where the numbers were 62, with a percentage of 41.1%, followed by the age group 21-32 years, where the numbers were 42, with a percentage of 28.8%. In general, female infections were higher than males.Conclusion: This study, which was conducted on urinary tract patients in Kirkuk Governorate, showed that ages 42-51 years and ages 21-32 years are the most vulnerable groups to acute, chronic and recurrent urinary tract infections.
Impact of Medication Nonadherence Across Medical Specialties: Effects on Clinical Outcomes, Physician Satisfaction, and Socioeconomic Factors with Tools for Mitigation
Authors: Kerna Nicholas A. , Pruitt Kevin D. , Olaniru Frank O. , Flores John V. , Nwafor Bafford N. , Ngwu Dabeluchi C. , Keke Chukwuemeka O. , Holets Hilary M. , McKee Devin , Jomsky Breanna M. , Carsrud N.D. Victor , Anderson II Joseph
Published: December 2024

Nonadherence to prescribed medications is a significant issue across many medical specialties and human conditions. Nonadherence affects individuals with chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, psychiatric disorders, and respiratory conditions, as well as in more acute conditions. Nonadherence can lead to treatment delays or discontinuation, potentially impacting outcomes, but the challenge of medication adherence spans a wide variety of diseases and treatment settings. Factors influencing nonadherence are complex, including psychological, social, financial, and system-level barriers, which apply to numerous medical specialties. Historically, physicians often had to rely on suspicion and guesswork to identify nonadherence or factors contributing to reduced treatment efficacy and delayed or failed outcomes. This uncertainty often left physicians feeling limited in their ability to provide optimal care and effectively apply diagnostic strategies. Fortunately, today, there are various tools available across medical specialties that significantly reduce the uncertainty surrounding nonadherence and its contributing factors. These tools, while widely available, are sometimes underutilized or less well-known. The purpose of this paper is to serve as both a reminder and an introduction to these tools, encouraging healthcare providers to actively and practically employ them for more accurate patient and treatment assessment. This strategy ultimately supports physicians in their commitment to providing each patient with the best possible care and personalized support, as well as improving physician job satisfaction and reducing overall healthcare costs.
Effect of Shrimp Liquid Extract on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Biochemical Parameters and Immunological Responses of Broiler Chicken
Authors: Ajafar M. , Alzwghaibi A. , Almamury A. , Altamimi M.K.A.
Published: December 2024

The present study was conducted to investigate effect of shrimp liquid extract on growth performance, carcass traits, immunological responses, and biochemical parameters evaluation of broiler chickens. A total of 360 day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to five experimental treatments, with six replicates of 12 birds each. The dietary treatments comprised five different levels (0, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 ml/l) of shrimp liquid extract added to the drinking water of the birds in a completely randomized design over a 35-day trial period. Results showed that supplementation of broiler chickens with different concentrations of shrimp liquid extract, particularly at 2 and 2.5 ml/l, resulted in improved performance metrics. Notably, these concentrations showed optimal results in terms of carcass yield, weight gain, and organ weights such as breast, thigh, and heart. Serum lipid fractions were not affected by the shrimp liquid extract. However, birds receiving the extract exhibited lower levels of serum creatinine and uric acid, along with higher urea levels. Furthermore, the shrimp liquid extract significantly boosted antibody titers against AIV (Avian Influenza Virus), NDV (Newcastle Disease Virus), IBD (Infectious Bursal Disease) and IBV (Infectious Bronchitis Virus) post-vaccination. Specifically, broilers given 1.5 to 2.5 ml/l of the extract displayed markedly higher antibody titers against various diseases compared to those receiving lower concentrations. Supplementation of shrimp liquid extract in water for broiler chickens at concentrations of 2 and 2.5 ml/l positively impacted performance metrics, organ weights, serum biochemistry parameters, and antibody response against various diseases.
Examining the Awareness of Mobile Money Users on Security Risks in Tanzania to Enhance Cybersecurity Literacy: A Case Study of Airtel Money
Authors: Nyamwihula Dorothy William
Published: December 2024

The proliferation of mobile money services in Tanzania has revolutionized financial inclusion, but it has also exposed users to increasing cyber threats. This study examines the level of cybersecurity awareness among mobile money users, focusing on Airtel as a case study, to identify gaps and opportunities for enhancing cybersecurity literacy. The research explores users’ exposure to formal training, the impact of Airtel’s educational materials, and users’ confidence in securing their accounts. Findings reveal a significant lack of formal training, with most users relying on Airtel’s security tips to develop cybersecurity knowledge. While these resources have improved user confidence, there is a demonstrated demand for structured workshops and comprehensive training programs. The study underscores the need for collaborative efforts between service providers, policymakers, and educational institutions to address these gaps. Enhancing cybersecurity literacy through accessible, interactive, and user-centred approaches is essential to fostering a secure mobile money ecosystem in Tanzania.
El autoconcepto y su incidencia en el rendimiento académico de estudiantes universitarios
Authors: Saona-Lozano Rosario Valeria , Santillán Saona Valeria Lilibeth , Saona-Lozano Cruz Aracely , Lucas Moreira Oscar Daniel
Published: December 2024

El presente trabajo de investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la incidencia del autoconcepto en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes universitarios. En la actualidad, el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes posiblemente influya en el autoconcepto emocional, laboral o académico, social, familiar o físico, que son la principal causa para que el estudiante se sienta menospreciado, con baja autoestima, falta de afecto, entre otras, incidiendo en el rendimiento académico durante su etapa universitaria. La investigación fue de tipo cuantitativa, de método correlacional, de diseño no experimental y transversal. Como instrumento se utilizó la Escala de autoconcepto Forma 5 (AF5) elaborado por García y Musitu (2014) y también las calificaciones de todas las asignaturas del semestre culminado. Como resultado se tuvo que mientras mayor sea el autoconcepto académico o laboral, aumentara el potencial de su nivel académico. En conclusión, se obtuvo datos que demuestran el valor significativo del autoconcepto resaltando su incidencia en el rendimiento académico.
Actualización, formación en artes y su importancia en la formación práctica y pedagógica
Authors: García Morales Javier Antonio , López Ramos Alex Ricardo
Published: December 2024

La importancia del arte en la formación docente radica en su capacidad para desarrollar habilidades fundamentales para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. El arte, al integrar la creatividad, la comunicación y el pensamiento crítico, enriquece el proceso educativo y contribuye al crecimiento emocional e intelectual de los futuros educadores. El objetivo ha sido el analizar la relevancia del arte en la formación docente y su contribución al desarrollo de competencias pedagógicas y a la mejora del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje.  Se empleó un enfoque cuantitativo para evaluar la percepción del arte entre estudiantes y docentes en formación, revelando que una gran mayoría valora el arte como crucial en su formación y práctica pedagógica. Sin embargo, también se identificaron desafíos como la falta de recursos y apoyo institucional que podrían limitar la integración efectiva del arte en la educación. La triangulación de datos muestra un consenso en la importancia del arte, confirmando su rol esencial en el desarrollo de competencias pedagógicas y en la formación integral de los docentes y concluyendo que el arte no solo enriquece el currículo, sino que también facilita una enseñanza más dinámica y adaptativa, alineada con las necesidades y contextos educativos contemporáneos.
La experiencia de vinculación social-musical
Authors: Eguiguren Luis
Published: December 2024

De acuerdo con la revista digital “The Ecuador Journal of Medicine” el maltrato y abuso en adultos mayores se ha incrementado en las últimas décadas, siendo el maltrato físico, psicológico, sexual y negligencia los más comunes. Este trabajo, pretende poner de manifiesto, los resultados obtenidos sobre el desarrollo del proyecto de vinculación con la colectividad de la Escuela de Música de la Universidad hemisferios y la Fundación Fretless, llamado “Coro del Adulto Mayor Asociación de Jubilados de Uyumbicho”, que se lleva adelante en la parroquia Uyumbicho del Cantón Mejía y en articulación con el Núcleo de la Casa de la Cultura extensión Mejía. La metodología empleada se basó en la observación y recolección de datos directos. El interés de este proyecto es aportar a la erradicación el ageísmo, (discriminación por razón de edad), se busca aportar a la mejor calidad de vida promoviendo entre la comunidad el respeto, admiración y dignidad en la vejez desde la práctica coral, que además ayude a evitar la depresión causada principalmente por la soledad entre otras razones. Para esto, se plantean una serie de actividades con el coro que van desde el desarrollo de la técnica del canto, repertorio musical hasta conciertos, todo articulado con entidades de difusión cultural, los gobiernos descentralizados y la comunidad.
the rise of neuroscience
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

So I knew neuroscience has exploded over the last few decades, but I didn’t know its emergence as a more autonomous discipline is “the biggest structural change in scientific citation patterns over the past decade”. In the authors’ words that follow, they are referring to their figure showing neuroscience emerging as a new citation macro-cluster: “We also highlight the biggest structural change in scientific citation patterns over the past
supporting open access science with PLoS
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

McDawg says he has four PLoS ONE t-shirts! He must be embarrassed to not have a PLoS Pathogens t-shirt, PLoS Messenger Bag, or PLoS Travel Mug. Support open access by becoming a Public Library of Science member and get the goodies. Or do it for free by posting one of these free signs on your door or website. PLoS ONE has been doing really well, with over 2000 papers published to date.
Is red special? There’s a big literature on this, but
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

An old post salvaged from the dying Google+: Is red special? There’s a big literature on this, but I haven’t seen any studies investigate this with quality methodology. A number of studies purport to investigate whether the color red is special, like whether “red test materials lower performance”. Two problems: 1) these studies may be impossible to replicate because the authors tend not to report the colors in a device-independent fashion!
The Fair Open Access principles
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Mark Wilson and I wrote the below piece for the Australian Open Access Support Group. The principles we lay out guide our vision for working to create an open access future governed by the community of scholars, not publishers. In March 2017 a group of researchers and librarians interested in journal reform formalized the Fair Open Access Principles.
open letter to Society for Neuroscience regarding their new open-access journal
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The below letter was spearheaded by Erin McKiernan and requests that the Society for Neuroscience bring its new open-access policy in line with emerging best practices for sharing of data and ability to re-use content.
Yellow journalism and Manhattan murders
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The headline screams “You’re 45% more likely to be murdered in de Blasio’s Manhattan”. The evidence? Sixteen people have been killed so far this year in Manhattan, against only eleven over the same period last year. Does this evidence indicate you are more likely to be murdered, as the headline says? To find out, I tested whether a constant murder rate could explain the results.
fantastic talk on global energy and the economy
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Fabulous talk by economist Jeff Rubin on oil supply, oil consumption, and its relation to the global economy. From The Business of Climate Change Conference 2009. Not being my area I can’t comment on his facts but it was delivered with a superbly compelling and accessible style. I learned a lot.
Make quodlibets quotidian again! as scientific debates
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Quodlibet

is an obscure word that originally referred to a medieval event that included a debate. I haven’t been able to find much information about it, but here is a brief description from Graham (2007): I’m interested in this because I rue the lack of debates in modern science. Perhaps it’s only an accident of history that real debates aren’t happening much nowadays.
Ethics and IRB burden
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Hoisted from the comments on Scott Alexander’s ethics/IRB nightmare, an insight I hadn’t seen before:   And, to bring home again the absurdity:
The attentional blink and temporal selection
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

While our retinas process the world around us continuously with little to no interruption, certain mental processes are very limited. One way to show this it to present someone with a rapid stream of letters, one at a time in the center of the screen, at a rate of perhaps 10 letters per second.
cracks in the edifice of visual time?
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Below is a draft of a chapter I’m writing for

Subjective Time,

an upcoming book from MIT Press edited by Valtteri Arstila and Dan Lloyd. In a bowling alley, a professional player launches his ball down the lane. As the ball rolls toward the pins, our visual experience of it is smooth and seamless. The ball shifts in position continuously, and this seems to be represented with high fidelity by our brain.
PsychFileDrawer blog, commenting on Association for Research in Personality newsletter
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I’ve started blogging at PsychFileDrawer. One of our first posts is addressed to the Association for Research in Personality newsletter: Regarding your article entitled “Personality Psychology Has a Serious Problem (And so Do Many Other Areas of Psychology)”, We agree wholeheartedly with your diagnosis of a major problem in publication practices in psychology.
Is the APA trying to take your science down?
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Dear Psychologist, If you have published in an APA (American Psychological Association) journal and posted the article PDF to a website, you may have already received an email from APA lawyers asking you to take that PDF down: The APA is likely within their legal rights here, but there is a way to continue making your work freely available to the world.
Isfahan, Iran
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Isfahan, Iran has one of the most beautiful plazas in the world. A gorgeous book about that city has been redone and includes a full-page version of this photograph I took of its Friday Mosque. I hope the book, Isfahan: Pearl of Persia gets the readers it deserves. I also highly recommend visiting Iran yourself.
Position available: postdoc, or highly-qualified research assistant
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

We invite applications for a research fellowship/postdoctoral research fellowship working with Dr. Alex Holcombe in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney. The research area is visual psychophysics, and the project involves the perception and attentive tracking of moving objects. One line of experiments will investigate the limits on judging the spatial relationship of moving objects.
fast-track fee protest letter sent,
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I’ve just sent the fast-track protest letter with our original list of 18 authors to the several journals that charge a fee to fast-track. I believe their policy imperils the fairness of the scientific publication system. I’m sure we’ll need more support to convince some of these journals to discontinue their unsavory policy, so please add your name to the signatories here I’ll soon be linking to the responses we receive from the journals.
Where are all the scientific debates? They’re disturbingly hard to find
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Scientific theories are alive. They are debated and actively questioned. Scientists have differing views, strong and informed ones. However, the system of science tends to mask the debate. In the scientific literature, differences are aired, but rarely in a way that most people would recognize as a debate. ‘Debate’ evokes a vision of two parties concisely articulating their positions, disputing points, and rebutting each other.
Planning for PlanS
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Several European funders announced planS, which suggests that several European nations will ban grantees form publishing in paywalled journals (including hybrid journals that allow one to make an article open access for a fee), and that includes many society journals that are owned by societies but published by large subscription-based publishers. This is to begin in 2020.
An open access fail
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

In this post I dissect the response by the editors of

Cognition

to a mass appeal for open access by the researcher community. I hope that my rather critical comments will improve understanding of the issues and help the community achieve better outcomes in the future.

Cognition

is a scientific journal published by Elsevier that was traditionally available only by subscription.
Anne Treisman and feature integration theory
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Perhaps the rumors of Anne Treisman’s passing are greatly exaggerated. I hope they are [UPDATE: I’ve gotten confirmation they sadly aren’t]. Regardless, in this era of lists of most-influential psychologists that do not include her, it is a good time to reflect on her influence.
scientific computing with Python webinar
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/422340144 Fri, May 22, 2009 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM CDT description: http://blog.enthought.com/?p=116 They will try to record it for later playback.
Robert S. McNamara on nuclear weapons
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

“Is it right and proper that today there are 7500 offensive nuclear warheads of which 2500 are on fifteen-minute alert to be launched by the decision of one human being?”” “The lesson of the Cuban missile crisis is this: the indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will destroy nations.” “Rational individuals came that […]
Just a list of our VSS presentations for 2019
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Topics this year: Visual letter processing; role of attention shifts versus buffering (mostly @cludowici, @bradpwyble); reproducibility (@sharoz); visual working memory (mostly @will_ngiam)

Symposium contribution, 12pm Friday 17 May:
mashing up Elsevier’s journal article database
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Thanks to Efoundations, I see Elsevier has announced an Article 2.0 contest, in which programmers can create new value by harvesting data from 7500 XML-encoded scientific articles.  This is an exciting opportunity for web 2.0 programmers interested in science. But I hope people keep in mind they’d be giving their software ideas to a publisher that charges exorbitant prices for publicly-funded science.
Fast-tracking fees vs. open-access fees
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Several academic journals offer fast-tracking for a fee, and I’ve been complaining about it, mainly because it’s hard to see how this policy could be implemented without sometimes giving monied authors an advantage not only in time until publication, but also in likelihood of acceptance. Traditionally, acceptance into a journal was not affected by how much the authors pay, and many of us would like to see things stay that way.
Animal visual arcana, tweeted
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I started tweeting under the name VisFact, in addition to my normal account. To make vision science more interesting to undergrads, I frequently contrast human visual abilities with those of various animals. Vision is so important that some animals have evolved eyes bigger than their brain. So vision is definitely important enough to deserve this twitter account!
Evidence Charts receives commendation
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Our Evidence Charting project has received a commendation as a a Undergraduate Learning, Teaching, and Assessment Resource Commendation.
The binding problem: A new encyclopedia entry
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The conventional encyclopedia: old and unimproved! Here is a preprint of my entry for the

The Sage Encyclopedia of Perception

with headword “The Binding Problem”. The hardcopy version of the encyclopedia will be a massive 1100-page tome with hundreds of contributors.
programming for perception job opening [update: position filled]
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

programming perception experiments job opening
open access week, to open code and science
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

This is open-access week. Most already know they should be publishing in open-access journals and/or self-archiving their papers. But moving science towards open access has been… slow. I was going to write that things have been moving at a

glacial

pace, thinking that would be an exaggeration; but nowadays I worry the world’s glaciers may be moving/melting fast enough to be gone before open access is the norm.
Psychonomics 2017, our presentations
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Was that a shift of attention or binding in a buffer?

Charles J. H. Ludowici; Alex O. Holcombe (presented by Alex) 3:50-4:05 PM Friday 10 November, West Meeting Room 118-120   Cueing a stimulus can boost the rate of success reporting it. This is usually thought to reflect a time-consuming attention shift to the stimulus location.
survey of vision researchers: 2016 results on open access
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Salvaged from an early Feb 2016 Google+ posting: A vision researcher discussion happened on a semi-private email group (CVnet), but you can see some discussion on the visionlist archive (by moving around here: http://visionscience.com/pipermail/visionlist/2016/009312.html ), and below you can see the results of the survey.
finally, Australian Research Council supports open access
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Previously, the Australian Research Council (ARC) expressly forbade use of grant funds to pay publication charges. This prevented many of us from publishing in open-access journals, as they generally charge a fee. Fortunately, the newly-revised funding rules change that, and instead strongly encourage open access, via journals and via depositing one’s research in an institutional repository. Hooray!
Data analysis with Python, SciPy and R
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I’ve transitioned to all open-source software for my science. The Python language and its libraries VisionEgg and Psychopy are more than sufficient to code my perception experiments. For data analysis, I’ve gotten pretty far with the SciPy library for Python, which has probability distributions, function minimization, Fourier transforms, etc. The Matplotlib library makes it easy to make plots in a way familiar for old MATLAB users like me.
Widening the gulf between haves and have-nots: Money fast-tracks journal submissions!
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I recently learned that a journal called

Obesity Reviews

has a “Fast Track Facility”: This is a terrible development for academia. It creates a two-tier system, wherein scientists who are well-funded such as those from rich countries now have an unfair advantage over those who don’t. Science traditionally has been a partial refuge from the injustice of rich vs. poor.
funny video about p-values and statistical power
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

I haven’t come across many students or scientists lately that are as confused about statistics as this brown bear:   but sometimes people still slip from reporting “the effect of X was not statistically significant” to saying in the discussion section that “there was no effect of X”. The video’s from http://www.statisticsblog.com/
Fast-track fees imperil journals’ reputation for fairness
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

At least seven academic journals now offer preferential treatment for a fee—see the table at bottom. The journals describe this as a “fast-track” service that simply speeds things up. Even if that were all it was, this is an unwelcome development, as it means scientists from poorer countries or with poor funding will fall further behind their rich counterparts, whose publications can now leapfrog over the others.
old (from 2011) fast-track fee protest letter
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

There has been renewed interest in fast-track fees, after Nature Scientific Reports began piloting their use. Back in 2011, we wrote a protest letter to seven journals that were using fast-track fees at that time (some have since discontinued). The original website where we posted the letter is defunct, so I am re-posting here. We write to ask that you discontinue the policy of fast-tracking submissions for a fee.
Perceptual speed limits unexplained and confused in the BBC’s “Invisible Worlds” (part 1)
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The BBC has produced a wonderful series called Richard Hammond’s Invisible Worlds. It’s visually stunning and it’ll wow you with a lot of cool science. The first episode is called Speed Limits. Because I study speed limits on perception, I was very excited.  To introduce the topic, Richard Hammond explains that vision is too slow to see many interesting things, things which can be revealed by high-speed imaging techniques.
High school student success with evidence charts
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Bianca Hewes is a high-school English teacher and educational technology enthusiast that I was fortunate to connect with. She’s tried a lot of different websites in her search for tools to increase student engagement and improve instruction. With our evidencecharting site, she saw some potential to push her students towards writing better essays.
Posting manuscripts online
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The below, a letter to my department, is a brief primer for researchers on pre/postprint posting, with some comments on the evolving scholarly publication landscape. Dear colleagues, In last week’s School Research Committee meeting, the topic of publishing open access came up, and our Head of School asked me to send you an email about one solution in particular.
CHAST public science talks at University of Sydney
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

3 CHAST (www.chast.org) lectures: Why we cannot make life Professor Bert Meijer, Molecular Sciences, Organic Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology and 2011 Cornforth Foundation Lecturer, University of Sydney

Where

: Old Geology Lecture Theatre, Edgeworth David Bldg, University of Sydney, map: http://bit.ly/hmm5U8

When:

Wednesday 31 August, 6:30-7:30pm.
learning about neural networks: free software
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Free neural network simulation engines, good for understanding simple cognitive-style networks, abstracting away from the actual reality with all those pesky ion channels and membrane potentials and spikes. Emergent is a workhorse, used by serious neural networks researchers but also useful for learning, in conjunction with an associated neural nets textbook, which is probably good for advanced undergraduates.
scientific journal articles: Too much is left out
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The current system of publishing scientific papers hampers scientific advancement in particular ways. I’d like to diagnose the problems so that new publishing efforts (like PLoS ONE) can be shaped to remedy them. I believe that a major flaw in the modern journal system is that it discourages complete treatments of the literature.
Protest of fast-tracking fees. Two journals respond, and one bows out.
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

One of the things I love about science is that money can’t buy you admission into a journal. You simply got to do respectable science, as judged by other scientists. Getting accepted by a journal isn’t like getting accepted into a country club or a business deal. Although every system has its biases and science is no exception, at least there’s no actual money being handed over to grease the wheels.
What now? Some lessons from the APA take-downs
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

The APA’s take-down notices have reminded us that our published articles are owned by them. While the APA has claimed that the initiative was simply to “to preserve the scientific integrity of the research we publish and provide a secure web environment to access the content”, the APA’s $10 million a year of subscription income might have more to do with it. Indeed, the APA may be reliant on this income.
Obesity Reviews cancels fast-track fees!
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Dr. David York, editor of Obesity Reviews, responded promptly to my email of today, saying that prior to receiving our petition, the journal had already decided to discontinue the policy. This is fabulous news. There are several journals remaining that according to their website continue to fast-track for a fee. I’ll provide an updated table in my next post.
A major math journal flips to Fair Open Access
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Akihiro Munemasa, Christos Athanasiadis, Hugh Thomas, and Hendrik van Maldeghem share the chief editor role at a journal that’s like many others across mathematics and the sciences. The

Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics

is a subscription journal published by one of the big, highly-profitable publishers (Springer Nature). But they haven’t been happy with the fees Springer charges for people to read their articles.
Nature targets financial weakness of PLoS journals
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Nature has published a news item by Declan Butler on the finances of one of its competitors: the open-access PLoS journals, using language that puts the organisation and its journals, especially PLoS ONE, in a negative light.
Tactile perception: The “comb illusion”
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

At first, I was underwhelmed by this one. But what it does is demonstrate the existence of stretch receptors in our system for the sensation of touch. Running an object (like a stick, or a pen) along the fine teeth of a comb, causes successive teeth of the comb to deflect laterally. There is no appreciable up-and-down component to the teeth’s movement, just the side-to-side movement.
Scientist meets Publisher- Explaining the video
Authors: Holcombe Alex O.
Published: December 2024

Academic publishing is stuck in an outmoded system. Most scientific research is paid for by government and non-profit university funds, but high-profit corporate publishers often control access to the results of the research. In this video, we showcased the absurdity of the situation and also pointed towards how to get ourselves un-stuck. There are significant costs associated with what journal publishers do, so we need publishers in some form.
Diminutiver på -ke i danske personnavne
Authors: Eggert Birgit
Published: December 2024

Diminutives in -ke i Danish personal names. An outcome of Low German migration during the Middle Ages.
In this study it is shown that names originally formed as diminutives in -ke are more frequent as male names than female names in Denmark in the Middle Ages, and, conversely, that the female names in the 18th century were far more frequent than the male names. Perhaps at that time names in -ke had begun to be perceived as women's names. Also, the geographical distribution is completely different in the 18th century, as the majority of the name bearers are found in the countryside, and not mainly in market towns and Southern Jutland as in the Middle Ages. This may indicate that the medieval use of names in -ke among German migrants had integrated with local Danish naming and had moved from towns to the rural population.
The Influence of Social Media on Language Evolution: A Linguistic Analysis of Emerging Internet Slang
Authors: Herlina Lina , Palandi Esther Hesline , Nurwahidah Lina Siti
Published: December 2024

This study investigates the influence of social media on language evolution, focusing specifically on the emergence and spread of internet slang. Using a qualitative, literature review-based approach, this research analyzes existing studies and linguistic theories to explore how platforms like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram contribute to the creation, dissemination, and standardization of new forms of expression. By employing library research, the study examines the dynamics of internet slang, its social and cultural contexts, and the role of social media in accelerating linguistic changes. The findings indicate that social media not only fosters the rapid development of slang but also blurs the boundaries between informal and formal language use, as online expressions often cross into mainstream communication. Key linguistic features of internet slang, such as abbreviations, acronyms, and non-standard spelling, are analyzed to understand their function in digital communication. Additionally, the study highlights the global nature of social media platforms, which allows for the rapid globalization of slang, transcending regional and linguistic boundaries. The research concludes that social media plays a crucial role in shaping modern language use, contributing to the continual evolution of language in a digital era. This study offers insights into how language changes in the age of social media, with implications for linguistics, sociolinguistics, and communication studies.
Edukasi dan Pendampingan Pengendalian Hama Terpadu Tanaman Kakao secara Biointensif di Kelompok Tani Kakao Desa Kisol Kabupaten Manggarai Timur
Authors: Lea Victoria Coo , Hamakonda Umbu Awang , Puspita Victoria Ayu , Taus Igniosa
Published: December 2024

Tujuan dari pelaksanaan kegiatan edukasi dan pendampingan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (PKM) ini adalah meningkatkan pengetahuan petani tentang metode pengendalian hama selain metode kimiawi termasuk pengetahuan pengendalian hayati sehingga petani dalam mengendalikan hama tidak hanya terpaku pada metode kimiawi saja, membuka pola pikir bahwa banyak metode pengendalian hama penyakit yang dapat diterapkan dalam usaha taninya, meningkatkan pengetahuan petani di bidang biopestisida berbahan aktif mikroba bermanfaat serta meningkatkan pengetahuan dan keterampilan teknik isolasi, perbanyakan, dan produksi agensia pengendali hayati.dari golongan jamur. Metode Pelaksanaan PKM dilakukan melalui tiga tahapan yaitu: edukasi dan pemberian materi, kegiatan Pembuatan Biopestisida yang berbahan dasar Beauveria bassiana dan  Trichoderma sp dan pemantauan dan evaluasi ? Hasil edukasi dan pendampingan pada UMKM Kakao diperoleh hasil yakni: (1) Kelompok UMKM memiliki keinginan yang kuat untuk meningkatkan produksi tanaman kakao, namun kendala utama adalah serangan Organisme Pengganggu Tanaman (OPT). Olehnya respon yang positif diberikan kelompok UMKM Kakao selama kegiatan edukasi dan pendampingan, terbukti dengan begitu antusias mengikuti kegiatan ini, (2) Kelompok UMKM kakao  memahami filosofi dari ekosistem budidaya tanaman kakao dan siklus hidup Helopeltis sp, (3) Kelompok UMKM kakao telah memahami tentang pengendalian OPT dengan memanfaatkan agen hayati berupa Beauveria bassiana dan Trichoderma sp serta telah mampu melaksanakan dengan baik kegiatan pembuatan pupuk organik menambahkan dekomposer jamur Trichoderma sp untuk mempercepat proses dekomposisi.
Penyuluhan Perkembangan Seks Anak Usia Dini bagi Orang Tua Murid dan Guru TK Kristen Karmel Fatululi
Authors: Taopan Putri Desi A. Subu , Banamtuan Arniwaty C.
Published: December 2024

Anak Usia dini merupakan periode awal yang paling penting dan mendasar sepanjang rentang pertumbuhan serta perkembangan kehidupan manusia. Salah satu yang harus diperhatikan adalah perkembangan seksual yang merupakan aspek penting dalam pertumbuhan anak yang sering kali diabaikan atau disalahpahami oleh orang tua dan guru. Perkembangan seksual  sangat penting diberikan kepada anak sejak dini, agar dapat mencegah terjadinya penyimpangan seksual pada anak.  Pentingnya pendidikan seksual pada anak dapat mencegah agar anak tidak menjadi korban pelecehan seksual, dengan dibekali pengetahuan tentang seksual, anak jadi mengerti perilaku mana yang tergolong pelecehan seksual dan mencegah anak-anak mencoba  hal-hal yang seharusnya belum boleh anak lakukan karena ketidaktahuannya. Tujuannya untuk meningkatkan pemahaman orang tua dan guru tentang perkembangan seksual anak usia dini (0-6 tahun) serta memberikan panduan praktis dalam mendukung perkembangan tersebut. Metodenya meliputi penyuluhan dilakukan melalui presentasi yang mencakup tahapan perkembangan seksual anak, peran orang tua dan guru, serta strategi komunikasi yang efektif., diskusi kelompok, dan pelatihan interaktif. Temuan penting menunjukkan bahwa banyak orang tua dan guru memiliki pemahaman yang terbatas tentang perkembangan seksual anak usia dini dan cenderung merasa canggung membicarakannya. Setelah mengikuti program, peserta menunjukkan peningkatan pemahaman dan kepercayaan diri dalam membahas topik ini dengan anak-anak. Mereka juga mampu menerapkan strategi komunikasi yang lebih efektif dan mendukung. Kesimpulannya, pengabdian ini berhasil meningkatkan pemahaman dan keterampilan orang tua dan guru dalam mendukung perkembangan seksual anak usia dini. Pendidikan seksual yang tepat dan berbasis usia adalah kunci dalam membantu anak-anak mengembangkan pemahaman yang sehat tentang tubuh mereka, identitas gender, dan hubungan interpersonal.
Optimalisasi Manfaat Teknik Pijat Marmet sebagai Metode Keberhasilan ASI Eksklusif
Authors: Rajadiah Ervina Yuni , Pramana Cipta , Fadhilah Siti
Published: December 2024

Manfaat pemberian ASI eksklusif sangat banyak namun prevalensi pemberian ASI masih relatif rendah. Ibu yang mengalami ketidakefektifan proses menyusui disebabkan produksi dan sekresi ASI yang sedikit di hari-hari pertama sehingga ibu enggan untuk menyusui bayinya. Praktek Mandiri Bidan Ervina Yuni Rajadiah masih banyak ibu yang belum mengetahui apa itu pijat marmet. Kegiatan PKM bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan ibu menyusui dalam upaya meningkatkan keberhasilan ASI eksklusif. Sasaran PKM yaitu ibu menyusui di Praktek Mandiri Bidan Ervina Yuni Rajadiah. Metode edukasi dengan pre test dan post test, pemberian materi dan praktik. Hasil kegiatan edukasi ada peningkatan pengetahuan ibu tentang ASI eksklusif dengan rata-rata pretest berpengetahuan baik 20% dan rata-rata post test berpengetahuan baik 75%, serta ibu menyusui dapat melakukan praktik pijat marmet. Kegiatan edukasi dapat meningkatkan pengetahuan ibu tentang asi eksklusif dan keterampilan pijat marmet sebagai metode keberhasilan menyusui.
Peningkatan Kecerdasan Siswa melalui Pengenalan Laporan Keuangan di SMK Jeljakaka Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru
Authors: Pasamba Ester Melania , Kalorbobir Yohana Magdalena , Lawalata Maher Syalal , Kesaulya Clara
Published: December 2024

Meningkatkan kesadaran siswa tentang pentingnya laporan keuangan adalah langkah penting dalam memastikan siswa memahami dan mampu mengelola aspek keuangan baik dalam konteks pribadi maupun profesional. Perguruan Tinggi dapat menyediakan program pendidikan dan pelatihan yang fokus pada laporan keuangan yang lebih modern dan efektif. Literasi keuangan yang baik dapat membantu siswa memahami pentingnya pengelolaan keuangan secara umum. Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk: (1) Memberikan pengenalan tentang laporan keuangan kepada siswa SMK Jeljakaka Dobo, (2) Menjunjung tinggi Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi Universitas Pattimura, (3) Menjalin kerja sama yang baik antara pihak PSDKU Universitas Pattimura di Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru dan pihak lain yang mempunyai pengaruh terhadap perkembangan PSDKU Universitas Pattimura kedepan. Metode pelaksanaan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat dilakukan dengan memberikan sosialisasi kepada siswa SMK Jeljakaka berjumlah 40 orang. Luaran yang dicapai dalam kegiatan PKM ini, yaitu: Siswa serta para guru mampu memahami dengan baik laporan keuangan serta mewujudkan masyarakat yang berpengetahuan dan berwawasan luas mengenai laporan keuangan.
Kader Remaja Tangguh Cegah Tangkal Penyakit melalui Community Based Surveilance di Kelurahan Bandengan Kota Pekalongan
Authors: Maulana Jaya , Irawan Teguh , Fitriyani Nur L. , Pangestu M. Luhur , Fajri Mega Prima Nur
Published: December 2024

Tujuan pelaksanaan kegiatan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat ini, yaitu untuk mengembangkan kader remaja tangguh yang mampu berperan aktif dalam mencegah dan menangkal penyebaran penyakit melalui program Community Based Surveillance (CBS) di Kelurahan Bandengan, Kota Pekalongan. Melalui pelatihan intensif dan pembentukan tim kader remaja, diharapkan para remaja dapat memahami pentingnya surveilans berbasis komunitas dalam mendeteksi kasus penyakit secara dini. Kegiatan PKM dimulai dengan sesi edukasi remaja mengenai deteksi dini dan pencegahan penyakit, dilanjutkan dengan pelatihan dan pembentukan tim kader Community Based Surveillance (CBS). Metode yang digunakan dalam pelatihan ini mencakup diskusi kelompok (FGD) dan simulasi lapangan untuk menguji keterampilan serta pemahaman yang telah diperoleh oleh kader. Selain itu, kegiatan juga mencakup proses dokumentasi dan diseminasi hasil kepada berbagai pihak terkait. Kegiatan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (PKM) yang dilaksanakan di Kelurahan Bandengan, Kota Pekalongan, berhasil mengedukasi dan melatih kader remaja dalam upaya pencegahan dan penanggulangan penyakit menular melalui metode Community Based Surveillance (CBS). Program ini tidak hanya meningkatkan pengetahuan remaja tentang epidemiologi penyakit menular, tetapi juga membentuk tim kader CBS yang mampu melakukan surveilans di tingkat komunitas. Edukasi yang diberikan berdasarkan teori Health Promotion Model (HPM), menekankan pentingnya peran aktif individu dalam memelihara kesehatan melalui tindakan pencegahan dan promosi kesehatan.