bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fusarium oxysporum infection-induced formation of agarwood (FOIFA): A rapid and efficient method for inducing the production of high quality agarwood
Authors: Zhang Zheng , Xiang-zhao Meng , Ran Jiadong , Gao Mei , Li Ning-xiao , Ma Yi-mian , Sun Ying , Li Yuan
Published: November 2022

Agarwood, a non-wood product from the endangered Aquilaria and Gyrinops tress, is highly prized for its use in fragrances and medicines. The special formation process of agarwood is closely related to external injury and fungal infection. In this study, we demonstrate that infection of Aquilaria sinensis by Fusarium oxysporum, a soilborne fungus that causes vascular wilt diseases in diverse plants, induces agarwood formation. Based on these findings, an efficient method, termed F. oxysporum infection-induced formation of agarwood (FOIFA), was developed for the rapid production of quality agarwood. The agarwood formed in response to F. oxysporum infection was similar in structure and chemical composition to wild agarwood according to TLC (Thin-layer chromatography), HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography), and GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) analyses, except that the contents of alcohol-soluble extract, chromones, and essential oils (mainly sesquiterpenes) were higher in the formed agarwood.
CT vs. bioluminescence: A comparison of imaging techniques for orthotopic prostate tumors in mice
Authors: Myers Molly S. , Kosmacek Elizabeth A. , Chatterjee Arpita , E. Oberley-Deegan Rebecca
Published: November 2022

Prostate cancer is one of the most diagnosed cancers in men in the United States. In mouse models, orthotopic tumors are favored for their biological relevance and simulation of growth in a microenvironment akin to that found in humans. However, to monitor the disease course, animal models require consistent and noninvasive surveillance. In vivo bioluminescent imaging has become a mainstay imaging modality due to its flexibility and ease of use. However, with some orthotopic prostate tumor models, bioluminescence fails to describe disease progression due to optical scattering and signal attenuation. CT scanning, in addition to its utility in human cancer diagnosis and surveillance, can be applied to mouse models with improved results. However, CT imaging has poor definition when imaging soft tissues and is not routinely used in prostate cancer models. Using an orthotopic prostate cancer model, our results demonstrate that, when compared to bioluminescent imaging, CT imaging correlates more closely to orthotopic prostate tumor growth in mice. Based on the data from this study, we conclude that CT imaging can be used as an alternative to the more commonly used bioluminescent imaging for measuring orthotopic prostate cancer growth over time.
Educational intervention and livestock ownership successfully improved the intake of animal source foods in 6–23 months old children in rural communities of Northern Ethiopia: Quasi-experimental study
Authors: Haileselassie Mekonnen , Redae Getachew , Berhe Gebretsadik , Henry Carol J. , Nickerson Michael T. , Mulugeta Afework
Published: November 2022

Background

Animal source foods (ASFs) are rich in high-quality proteins, including essential amino acids and highly bioavailable micronutrients vital for child growth and cognitive development. But, the daily consumption of ASFs among 6–23 months old children is very low in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.

Objective

The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of nutrition education intervention to improve the consumption of ASFs among 6–23 months old children from rural communities with strict religious fasting traditions of avoiding intake of ASFs in Northern Ethiopia.

Methods

A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two food insecure districts namely Samre Seharti (intervention) and Tanqua Abergele (comparison). The mother-child pairs in the intervention group (n = 140) received nutrition education based on the barriers and available resources for optimal consumption of ASFs among children and followed up for nine months. The mother-child pairs in the comparison group (n = 153) received routine nutrition education. The data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The baseline and endline data assessment included interviews on socio-demographic and socio-economic status, dietary intake, and child feeding practices. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured using the difference-in-difference (DID) analysis model.

Results

At endline, the consumption of ASFs among children was 19.5 percentage points higher in the intervention group compared with the comparison group (p = 0.008). In addition, there was a significant increase in egg consumption among children in the intervention group (DID of 16.9, p = 0.012) from the comparison group. No child was consuming meat at baseline in both the intervention and comparison arms and it was very low at endline (5.2% vs. 7.9%). Overall, the proportion of children that consumed eggs in the intervention group was higher than in the comparison group in households that owned sheep and goats (4.8% vs. 21.4%, p = 0.050) and chicken (6.3% vs. 43.8%, p = 0.002) after education interventions. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between cow ownership and milk consumption among children (p>0.05).

Conclusions

Age-appropriate educational interventions for mothers and owning small livestock in the household can improve the consumption of ASFs and eventually the minimum diet diversity of children in communities with strict religious traditions of avoiding ASFs during the fasting seasons.
Loss of GPR40 in LDL receptor-deficient mice exacerbates high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Authors: Lu Zhongyang , Li Yanchun , Li Ai-Jun , Syn Wing-Kin , Wank Stephen A. , Lopes-Virella Maria F. , Huang Yan
Published: November 2022

GPR40, a G protein-coupled receptor for free fatty acids (FFAs), is considered as a therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) since GPR40 activation in pancreatic beta cells enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common complication of T2DM or metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the role of GPR40 in NAFLD associated with T2DM or MetS has not been well established. Given that it is known that cholesterol and FFAs are critically involved in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and LDL receptor (LDLR)-deficient mice are a good animal model for human hyperlipidemia including high cholesterol and FFAs, we generated GPR40 and LDLR double knockout (KO) mice in this study to determine the effect of GPR40 KO on hyperlipidemia-promoted NASH. We showed that GPR40 KO increased plasma levels of cholesterol and FFAs in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed LDLR-deficient mice. We also showed that GPR40 KO exacerbated HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Further study demonstrated that GPR40 KO led to upregulation of hepatic CD36 and genes involved in lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, fibrosis and inflammation. Finally, our in vitro mechanistic studies showed that while CD36 was involved in upregulation of proinflammatory molecules in macrophages by palmitic acid (PA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), GPR40 activation in macrophages exerts anti-inflammatory effects. Taken together, this study demonstrated for the first time that loss of GPR40 in LDLR-deficient mice exacerbated HFD-induced hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis potentially through a CD36-dependent mechanism, suggesting that GPR40 may play a beneficial role in hyperlipidemia-associated NASH in LDLR-deficient mice.
Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage to reduce radiation exposure: A single-center experience
Authors: Park Sung Eun , Nam In Chul , Baek Hye Jin , Ryu Kyeong Hwa , Lim Sung Gong , Won Jung Ho , Kim Doo Ri
Published: November 2022

Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) has been an effective treatment to access the biliary tree, especially in case of endoscopically inaccessible biliary tree. In general, PTBD techniques are divided into two methods: fluoroscopy-guided PTBD and ultrasound (US)-guided PTBD. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of US-guided PTBD, focusing on radiation exposure according to intrahepatic duct (IHD) dilatation degree, differences between right- and left-sided approaches and differences between benign and malignant biliary stenosis/obstruction. We evaluated technical success, clinical success, procedural data (the number of liver capsule punctures, procedural time, fluoroscopy time and radiation dose), and procedure-related complications. During the study period, a total of 123 patients with biliary stenosis/obstruction or bile leakage were initially eligible. We excluded 76 patients treated with only ERCP or initially treated with ERCP followed underwent PTBD insertion. Finally, a total of 50 procedures were performed in 47 patients. Of the 47 patients, 8 patients had anatomical alteration due to previous surgery, 6 patients refused ERCP, and 3 patients failed ERCP. For the remaining 30 patients, PTBD was performed on weekend or at night, 11 of whom had poor general condition, 10 patients underwent ERCP 3 to 4 days later after PTBD insertion, 6 patients improved after PTBD insertion without ERCP, 1 patient died, and 1 patient was referred to other hospital. Remaining 1 patient underwent surgery due to Mirizzi syndrome. All procedures were performed by two interventional radiologists. Technical success rate was 100%, clinical success was 94%, and the complication rate was 10%. Fluoroscopy time and the reported radiation dose were significantly lower in patients with dilated bile ducts than in those with non-dilated bile ducts, when biliary puncture under US guidance was performed initially. However, even in patients with non-dilated bile ducts undergoing initial trials of biliary puncture under US guidance, the fluoroscopy time and the reported radiation dose were low, based on current studies. No statistical significant differences were observed in terms of technical and dosimetry results according to right-sided and left-sided procedures and benign and malignant biliary stenosis/obstruction. Thus, US-guided PTBD was found to be a safe and effective technique that significantly reduced fluoroscopy time and radiation doses.
Power motivation arousal promotes prosocial behavior in the dictator game depending on social presence
Authors: Wang Jianfeng , Qu Shuangyi , Li Ruiyu , Fu Yunqiao
Published: November 2022

Despite the popular notion that power motivations are associated with aggression and antisocial behavior, this study tested the hypothesis that activating power motivations can promote prosocial behavior. Because previous research has shown that public prosocial behavior is associate with reputation and status, this study examined how making prosocial decisions publicly or privately moderates the relationship between power motivations and prosocial behavior. One hundred and forty participants were randomly assigned to watch 20 min of either The Experiment (power motivation arousal) or a documentary called Beautiful China (control condition). A modified version of the dictator game was used to measure prosocial behavior. Participants were instructed to allocate an amount of money between themselves and a stranger girl in need, in the presence of the experimenter (the experimenter registers donation amount) or in the absence of the experimenter (the donation was put in a closed envelope). The results showed that individuals in the power motivation arousal group increased their help when their reputation was under scrutiny due to the experimenter’s presence. In the private condition (experimenter is absent), power motivation is not related to prosocial behavior. The contrasting behavioral reactions resulting from the presence or absence of the experimenter are discussed in terms of reputation gain and competitive altruism.
Impact of early initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor on cardiovascular outcomes in people with diabetes and known or at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: Propensity score matched analysis
Authors: Sun Wen , Kong Alice P. S. , Yan Bryan P.
Published: November 2022

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the impact of early initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with known or at risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Research design and methods

T2D with first prescription of SGLT2i (Dx-to-Rx time) ≤12 months were matched with >12 months using propensity score derived from logistic regression. T2D were divided into 3 groups: (i) known ASCVD; (ii) additional CV risk factor(s) and; (iii) without ASCVD or additional CV risk factors. Incidence rates of 3-point major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, including non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction and CV death) were compared between Dx-to-Rx time ≤12 months and >12 months across 3 subgroups.

Results

Median follow-up was 2.8 years (IQR 2.2 to 3.4). Among 29,309 T2D (mean age 57.6±11.4 years, 59.0% men), 23.6% had established ASCVD and 66.6% had additional CV risk factors. Overall, 19.0% of patients had Dx-to-Rx time ≤12 month which was associated with lower rates of MACE [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.17–0.42]. Benefits of early initiation of SGLT2i was observed in patients with additional CV risk factors or known ASCVD but not in those without CV risk factors or ASCVD (P for interaction = 0.001).

Conclusion

Early initiation of SGLT2 inhibitor was associated with lower MACE rates in T2D with known or at risk of ASCVD.
HIV proviral genetic diversity, compartmentalization and inferred dynamics in lung and blood during long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Shahid Aniqa , Jones Bradley R. , Yang Julia S. W. , Dong Winnie , Shaipanich Tawimas , Donohoe Kathryn , Brumme Chanson J. , Joy Jeffrey B. , Leung Janice M. , Brumme Zabrina L.
Published: November 2022

The lung is an understudied site of HIV persistence. We isolated 898 subgenomic proviral sequences (nef) by single-genome approaches from blood and lung from nine individuals on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and characterized genetic diversity and compartmentalization using formal tests. Consistent with clonal expansion as a driver of HIV persistence, identical sequences comprised between 8% to 86% of within-host datasets, though their location (blood vs. lung) followed no consistent pattern. The majority (77%) of participants harboured at least one sequence shared across blood and lung, supporting the migration of clonally-expanded cells between sites. The extent of blood proviral diversity on ART was also a strong indicator of diversity in lung (Spearman’s ρ = 0.98, p<0.0001). For three participants, insufficient lung sequences were recovered to reliably investigate genetic compartmentalization. Of the remainder, only two participants showed statistically significant support for compartmentalization when analysis was restricted to distinct proviruses per site, and the extent of compartmentalization was modest in both cases. When all within-host sequences (including duplicates) were considered, the number of compartmentalized datasets increased to four. Thus, while a subset of individuals harbour somewhat distinctive proviral populations in blood and lung, this can simply be due to unequal distributions of clonally-expanded sequences. For two participants, on-ART proviruses were also phylogenetically analyzed in context of plasma HIV RNA populations sampled up to 18 years prior, including pre-ART and during previous treatment interruptions. In both participants, on-ART proviruses represented the most ancestral sequences sampled within-host, confirming that HIV sequences can persist in the body for decades. This analysis also revealed evidence of re-seeding of the reservoir during treatment interruptions. Results highlight the genetic complexity of proviruses persisting in lung and blood during ART, and the uniqueness of each individual’s proviral composition. Personalized HIV remission and cure strategies may be needed to overcome these challenges.
REDESCRIPTION OF IDANTHYRSUS BIHAMATUS (SABELLARIIDAE, POLYCHAETA): AN ENDEMIC SPECIES OF INDONESIA
Authors: Pamungkas Joko
Published: November 2022

The endemic polychaete species Idanthyrsus bihamatus is redescribed based on a new material collected from Bali, Indonesia. All key diagnostic characters of the genus were used to describe the species. Both photo– and SEM micrographs were used to illustrate the species. Additionally, a map was created to show the distribution of the species across the geographic region. The material of the present study is deposited at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense in Cibinong, Bogor, and is the first sabellariid collection of the museum.
Historical forests of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA, determined using General Land Office surveys
Authors: Tatina Robert E. , Hanberry Brice B.
Published: November 2022

Forests in the western United States generally have increased in tree density since Euro-American settlement, particularly through increases in fire-sensitive species, such as spruces, firs, and junipers. Like most areas, the Black Hills region in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming was logged for forest products and underwent agricultural conversion before historical forests were documented. To supplement historical reconstructions and accounts, we compared tree composition and densities (diameters ≥12.7 cm at 1.37 m above ground height) from historical General Land Office (GLO) records (years 1878 to 1915) and current Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) tree surveys (years 2011 to 2016) in the Black Hills Highlands of South Dakota. For composition, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. Lawson & C. Lawson) decreased from 95% to 86% of all trees, with a consequent increase specifically of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) from 1.5% to 6.7% of all trees. Ponderosa pine currently is smaller in mean diameter by 7.4 cm, while white spruce is larger in mean diameter by 2.4 cm than historically. When the 35% of historical survey points without recorded trees were excluded, historical tree densities indicated an overall forested structure of savannas and open woodlands with tree densities ranging from 66 trees ha–1 to 162 trees ha–1. However, historical forests of the Black Hills incorporated dense stands. Tree densities have increased two- to more than four-fold, to 311 trees ha–1 currently. These comparisons provide another source of information, paralleling changes documented in surface fire-dependent pine and oak forests throughout the United States, of transitions in forest composition and structure since Euro-American settlement.
Contested Space and Self-Determination: The Dynamics of Ethiopia's Digital Space
Authors: Wodajo Kebene
Published: November 2022

Government-to-people and people-to-people relationships are increasingly mediated and configured by emerging technologies, necessitating new ways of framing and understanding the role of government and digital technologies in the social order. Recent sociopolitical developments in Ethiopia demonstrate how digital platforms have become a space for contested narratives and a division of interests between socioeconomic policies and political views. By addressing the major technologically assisted counterpower movements in Ethiopia between 2015 and 2021, this article examines digitally mediated encounters and configurations that are struggling to produce a specific form of subjectivity. The article examines digitally mediated encounters and the patterns of the relationships among main actors in the digital space—users, the government, and platform technologies—through the lens of the network theory of power. The article problematizes the deployment of state surveillance, rulemaking and regulatory leverages, and the gatekeeping role of platform technologies in modulating and suppressing the emergence of a self-determined critical mass. As a remedial approach to addressing the risks inherent in intersecting state–corporate configuration and surveillance, the article proposes a broadly defined yet context-specific right to privacy that enables self-development, protects a socially and culturally constructed emergent self, and encourages the capacity for self-determination. To analyze the right to privacy as a remedy, the study uses a critical legal analysis of privacy rights with a focus on the 1995 Ethiopian Constitution. Throughout the analysis, it seeks to highlight three overarching arguments that have relevance beyond the specific case of Ethiopia. First, it challenges the assumption that the digital space is a neutral and free space. It argues that digital platforms provide venues for contested and rival narratives and interests, and that not every actor in the digital space has equal leverage over the digital infrastructure. The digital space therefore manifests an asymmetric power relationship. Second, it argues that the capacity of citizens for self-development and self-determination is increasingly modulated by expansive surveillance and the regulatory leverage of state and corporate power, which is used to suppress the emergence of critical mass. It therefore argues that third, there is a pressing need for the reinterpretation of legal protection for privacy rights as a protection for a socially and culturally constructed emergent self. By addressing this need, protection will be offered to the capacity for self-determination, critical subjectivity and democracy.
Kant y el ateísmo
Authors: Olesti Vila Josep
Published: November 2022

Se aborda la tercera sección del «Canon» de la Crítica de la razón pura, dedicada a la distinción entre opinión, saber y creencia, para analizar el concepto de «creencia doctrinal» (doctrinaler Glaube), que no aparece explícitamente en ningún otro lugar del corpus kantiano. Se sostiene que este concepto, bajo el cual Kant subsume nuestra creencia en la existencia de Dios, está pensado para descartar el denominado ateísmo por defecto (o la presunción de ateísmo), que de otro modo obtendría la primacía en la epistemología crítica.
La filosofía kantiana como procedimiento para emitir un juicio
Authors: Delgado del Aguila Jesús Miguel
Published: November 2022

Este trabajo retoma las categorías que trabaja Kant en función de la emisión de juicios con respecto al gusto y la estética. Para ello, es necesario que se considere el método que se configura a partir de la sistematización de las cosas y los fenómenos que intervienen para obtener su constitución. Asimismo, todo ello está orientado a precisar el concepto de estética, para que después se comprendan los tipos de juicios que se derivan de las facultades cognitivas, como los juicios analíticos y sintéticos, los juicios a priori y a posteriori, los juicios determinantes y reflexionantes, los juicios estéticos en el Arte y los juicios teleológicos.
Del juicio estético al juicio político
Authors: Ruiz Sanjuán César
Published: November 2022

Una de las dimensiones más importantes y actuales del pensamiento de Hannah Arendt es su concepción del juicio, siendo asimismo una de las partes más complejas y polémicas de su obra. El problema fundamental que se le presenta a toda confrontación con la teoría arendtiana del juicio es la ausencia de una exposición acabada de la misma, lo que obliga a reconstruirla a partir de los materiales preparatorios publicados póstumamente, en los que Arendt efectúa una traducción en términos políticos de la concepción kantiana del juicio estético. Estos materiales deben ser contrastados a su vez con los planteamientos parciales sobre la facultad de juzgar contenidos en diversos ensayos publicados en vida por Arendt, para tratar de realizar una reconstrucción de su teoría lo más precisa posible. Esto es lo que nos proponemos en el presente trabajo, evitando asimismo dar una imagen de coherencia allí donde no existe y mostrando los interrogantes que inevitablemente permanecen abiertos en base al material disponible.
The History of the Passage of Legislation Authorizing the Optometric Use of Drugs for Diagnostic Purposes in Alabama
Authors: Amos, OD, MS, DOS John F.
Published: November 2022

This article recalls events that led to the passage of legislation authorizing the use of drugs for diagnostic purposes by optometrists in other states prior to the law’s passage in the State of Alabama.  Some states authorized optometrists to utilize drugs for diagnostic purposes by state statue and others by attorney general’s ruling.  In Alabama a new state optometry practice act was passed in 1975. This law was complex and confusing, and of equal importance, resulted in a series of attorney general’s opinions, after the new state optometry practice act was passed. A series of Attorney General’s opinions shifted between a favorable, or an unfavorable, opinion over the next seven years. Finally, in 1982, the Attorney General issued a final determination that resulted in a favorable opinion for optometry.  During the ensuing years no lawsuits were brought against optometrists that involved the use of drugs for diagnostic purposes.
Getting two birds with one stone: Combining immunohistochemistry and Azan staining in animal morphology
Authors: Beckers Patrick , Müller Claudia , Wallnisch Christiane , Bartolomaeus Thomas
Published: November 2022

Classical histological stained sections have the disadvantage that fine structures, like individual neurites, or specific macromolecules, like neurotransmitters cannot be visualized. Due to its highly specific staining of only one target molecule within the cell, the visualization of delicate structures, which would be superimposed by other tissue layers in classical Azan staining, is possible with immunohistochemistry. However, using immunohistological methods not all tissues of a specimen can be visualized at once. In contrast, density specific stains like Azan allow for a whole staining of the tissues. We provide a step by step protocol of how to combine immunohistochemistry and Azan staining in the same serial paraffin sections. The combination of both methods allows for a highly detailed investigation of structures of interest. The spatial detection of the previous, to Azan staining, gained antibody-labeled signal allows for a much better understanding of animal organ systems. By using serial sections, it is possible to create an aligned image stack that is both Azan stained and also antibody-labeled. Thus enabling a correlative approach that bridges traditional histology with immunohistochemistry in animal morphology.
The complex step method for approximating the Fréchet derivative of matrix functions in automorphism groups
Authors: Werner Tom
Published: November 2022

We show, that the Complex Step approximation to the Fréchet derivative of matrix functions is applicable to the matrix sign, square root and polar mapping using iterative schemes. While this property was already discovered for the matrix sign using Newtons method, we extend the research to the family of Padé iterations, that allows us to introduce iterative schemes for finding function and derivative values while approximately preserving automorphism group structure.
Front Matter Vol 3 No. 3 (2022): Oktober 2022
Authors: Windarta Jaka
Published: November 2022

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Not drowning, waving: The role of video in a renewed digital learning world
Authors: Colasante Meg
Published: November 2022

While online teaching involves a range of contemporary digital tools, there are strong indicators for an ongoing place for video in a new digital learning world. For example, the use of video during the pandemic, to urgently translate on-campus lectures to online content, refocussed the argument on the role of video into the next phase of digital learning. Beyond a much-appreciated tool of convenience, what is video’s pedagogical role in higher education? This article draws from the literature, including reviews, theory, and case examples, to offer a typology to represent the role of video in university teaching practices, including intentional reasons to employ video beyond passive viewing. The typology is offered in three role types: functional purpose, academic focus (or knowledge type), and pedagogical strategy. It is recommended that university educational practitioners (including teachers, developers, and designers) consider video as multidimensional, and consult all three role types when designing video-based learning experiences, to maintain the human design processes within the complexity of teaching and learning. The typology is dynamic and adaptable to further emerging contexts.
Implications for practice or policy:

A typology of video roles demonstrates the multidimensional nature of video as a university teaching and learning tool, and thus signals the inherent complexity in digital teaching design practice.
The video typology is offered for university educators to consult for intentional video-based learning design choices including to prompt considerations beyond passive student viewing.
The typology is open for further adaptation into the future, for example, upon application to new cases.
Generalising the impact of lecture capture availability on student achievement: A method and its application
Authors: Freyens Benoit Pierre , Gong Xiaodong
Published: November 2022

Whether the use of lecture capture technology helps improve student performance is a contested area of research. In most cases, the answer relies on the degree to which online recordings supplement or substitute for live or live-streamed lecture delivery. We present a parameter, the technical rate of substitution, which captures this information holding student performance constant. We introduce a method to estimate this measure, which we applied to a pilot sample of students in a first-year quantitative methods class. We find imperfect substitutability: live lectures are, in the context of our sample, a less resource-intensive technology than the corresponding online recording to produce a set exam score. Our main contribution is the proposed parameter and the method to derive it. Its calculation significantly facilitates comparison and consolidation of previous research and provides valuable insights on the relative effectiveness of different learning platforms to inform instructor best practice and higher education policy.
Implications for practice or policy:

Instructors can use our measure to evaluate their students’ effective use of online learning technologies.
Course designers can use the measure to select the right mix of online and offline delivery methods.
Educators can use the measure to determine the most effective platform for delivering introductory, substantive or review material.
Our method helps researchers compare and generalise results from existing studies of the relative performance of online and offline educational technologies.
What is the metaverse? Definitions, technologies and the community of inquiry
Authors: Ng Davy Tsz Kit
Published: November 2022

The term metaverse appeared for the first time in a novel published in 1992. Since the early 2000s, researchers have started to use this term to refer to digital technologies for learners to interact with other users with avatars. The term came to prominence in around 2020 due to the rebranding of Facebook. However, there was no consensus on what kind of technologies should belong to the metaverse and how to conceptualise the term. As such, this paper presents an exploratory review for conceptualising the metaverse based on 19 articles from the Web of Science database. This review focuses on the metaverse trend, how researchers in the past and present conceptualizing the term, and key technologies identified in the metaverse world. The findings identify the major types of technologies used in the metaverse studies and offers a sound theoretical foundation in terms of cognitive, social and teacher presence to understand what future potential of these technologies could bring to online learning. Five major types of technologies are identified which could map to four key elements of the metaverse (i.e., immersion, advanced computing, socialisation, decentralisation). At the end, a model is proposed to connect the key elements of the metaverse and its three presences in the community of inquiry that enhance students’ learning outcomes in the metaverse learning environment.
Implications for practice or policy:

Educators and researchers could rethink what types of technologies belong to the metaverse and how it has the potential to influence the education sector.
Instructional designers could create meaningful learning experiences through the four key elements of the metaverse – immersion, advanced computing, socialisation and decentralisation.
Policy-makers and educators could refer to the model of metaverse learning environment to guide their future policy and practices.
A deep learning network for Gleason grading of prostate biopsies using EfficientNet
Authors: Ramamurthy Karthik , Varikuti Abinash Reddy , Gupta Bhavya , Aswani Nehal
Published: November 2022

Objectives

The most crucial part in the diagnosis of cancer is severity grading. Gleason’s score is a widely used grading system for prostate cancer. Manual examination of the microscopic images and grading them is tiresome and consumes a lot of time. Hence to automate the Gleason grading process, a novel deep learning network is proposed in this work.

Methods

In this work, a deep learning network for Gleason grading of prostate cancer is proposed based on EfficientNet architecture. It applies a compound scaling method to balance the dimensions of the underlying network. Also, an additional attention branch is added to EfficientNet-B7 for precise feature weighting.

Result

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that integrates an additional attention branch with EfficientNet architecture for Gleason grading. The proposed models were trained using H&E-stained samples from prostate cancer Tissue Microarrays (TMAs) in the Harvard Dataverse dataset.

Conclusions

The proposed network was able to outperform the existing methods and it achieved an Kappa score of 0.5775.
The preanalytical phase – from an instrument-centred to a patient-centred laboratory medicine
Authors: Cadamuro Janne , Simundic Ana-Maria
Published: November 2022

In order to guarantee patient safety, medical laboratories around the world strive to provide highest quality in the shortest amount of time. A major leap in quality improvement was achieved by aiming to avoid preanalytical errors within the total testing process. Although these errors were first described in the 1970s, it took additional years/decades for large-scale efforts, aiming to improve preanalytical quality by standardisation and/or harmonisation. Initially these initiatives were mostly on the local or national level. Aiming to fill this void, in 2011 the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) working group “Preanalytical Phase” (WG-PRE) was founded. In the 11 years of its existence this group was able to provide several recommendations on various preanalytical topics. One major achievement of the WG-PRE was the development of an European consensus guideline on venous blood collection. In recent years the definition of the preanalytical phase has been extended, including laboratory test selection, thereby opening a huge field for improvement, by implementing strategies to overcome misuse of laboratory testing, ideally with the support of artificial intelligence models. In this narrative review, we discuss important aspects and milestones in the endeavour of preanalytical process improvement, which would not have been possible without the support of the Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) journal, which was one of the first scientific journals recognising the importance of the preanalytical phase and its impact on laboratory testing quality and ultimately patient safety.
Bioleaching of heavy metals from preservative-treated wood using Aspergillus tubingensis
Authors: Oh Jeong-Joo , Kim Gyu-Hyeok
Published: November 2022

Although fungal bioleaching with Aspergillus niger has been investigated to remove metal from treated wood wastes, toxicological concerns limit the practical use of the species, necessitating the search for non-toxic species with comparable or greater metal removal efficiency. The removal of metals from wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and copper amine-based preservatives was investigated using the non-ochratoxigenic mold Aspergillus tubingensis in comparison to A. niger via bioleaching. Metals were bioleached for 10 days by immersing treated wood sawdust in fungal culture filtrates. Culture filtrates were prepared by growing fungi in malt extract (ME) and sucrose media and then filtering the fungal biomass. Oxalic acid and citric acid were the predominant organic acids in A. tubingensis culture filtrate in ME and sucrose media, respectively. Citric acid present in sucrose media was found to be a more effective leaching agent for metals from preservative-treated wood. Citric acid produced by A. tubingensis and A. niger in sucrose media removed nearly 95% of copper, 80%–85% of chromium, and arsenic from CCA-treated wood, and 80%–90% of copper from wood treated with copper amine-based preservatives. As a result of its non-toxigenic characteristics and high metal removal efficiency, A. tubingensis may be a useful fungus for bioleaching metal components from inorganic preservative-treated wood.
Study on the compounding of sodium N-lauroyl glutamate and cationic cellulose
Authors: Wang Yuling , Liu Yue , He Binbin , Huang Jian , Xu Hujun
Published: November 2022

In this work, sodium N-lauroyl glutamate (SLG) was mixed with cationic cellulose JR30 M. The rapidly occurring change in surface tension and the mass action law of the mixed (compound) system were investigated using dynamic and equilibrium surface tension methods. The behaviour of the system during phase separation was investigated by turbidimetry. The results showed that in the presence of JR30 M, the surface tension of SLG was reduced to a lower level in the given time interval due to the strong interaction compared to that of a solution with the same concentration of SLG but without JR30 M. The largest decrease was obtained with a JR30 M concentration of 0.2 g L−1, which reduced the equilibrium surface tension of SLG from 38.4 mN m−1 to 31.7 mN m−1. The rate of decrease in surface tension increased from 37.61 mN m−1 s−1 to 74.7 mN m−1 s−1. An association complex formed between SLG and JR30 M, and the equilibrium surface tension curve showed a double platform. As the concentration of JR30 M increased, the first platform broadened and the CMC value increased. The phase separation behaviour of the compound system disappeared with the increase of SLG concentration, and the area became narrower with the decrease of JR30 M concentration.
Heroes and Pilgrims: An Autoethnographic exploration of adventure motorcycle travel
Authors: Wragg Jason
Published: November 2022

This paper sets out to illuminate the lived experience of the adventure motorcyclist during a multi-day trip across the Sarn Helen, a stretch of Roman road that makes up part of the Trans European Trail in Wales, which is now a rough unpaved rural road. The accompanying text first discusses autoethnography and how creating comics can be used in research. This is followed by an autoethnographic account of the journey, presented as a short comic, and a discussion of my changing philosophical stance which gives meaning to the experience.

Unpaved roads provide a “Heterotopia”, a liminal space that allows for the meaning making of experiences and the negotiation and renegotiation of identities of self. This work draws upon an autoethnographic methodology to explore the lived experience of adventure motorcycling and utilises the creation of comics as a form of analysis and presentation of data.

Through the application of the Hero’s and Pilgrim’s lens or viewpoint this autoethnographic work highlights how adventurous journeys through heterotopic spaces can provide an ighlyn of identity, sense making, as well as demonstrating both the outward physical journey and the internal emotional journey undertaken.
Die Kristallstrukturen der Komplexe von 2,6-Dimethyl-γ-Pyron mit BF3, CuCl2 und HgCl2
Authors: Engel Günther , Lissner Falk , Thomas Schleid
Published: November 2022

The crystal structures of the complexes of 2,6-dimethyl-4H-pyran-4-one (DMP) with BF3, CuCl2 and HgCl2 have been investigated. In all three case, the site of coordination is to the carbonyl (exocyclic) oxygen atom. DMP·BF3 (I) crystallizes with the monoclinic space group C2/c and the lattice parameters a = 1023.98(5), b = 1465.74(7), c = 1169.03(6) pm, β = 101.347(2)°. In this molecular structure the non-connected molecules are arranged in layers, which spread out parallel to the ab plane. Starting from planar BF3, this molecule is converted by coordination to a tetrahedral entity −OBF3. DMP·CuCl2 (II) belongs to the orthorhombic space group Pnma with a = 1952.43(9), b = 670.84(3), c = 1362.30(6) pm and two different Cu2+ cations. All atoms except the Cl− anions and two atoms of the −CH3 groups reside in mirror planes. The coordination around both Cu2+ cations is square pyramidal −OCuCl4 with the oxygen atom at the apex. The bases are planar and connected via trans-oriented edges to form a strand, running parallel to the b axis. DMP·HgCl2 (III) crystallizes with the space group P21/n and the lattice parameters a = 767.59(4), b = 1970.32(9), c = 1374.41(6) pm, β = 98.257(2)°. Its monoclinic structure is a distorted version of the orthorhombic copper(II) complex structure. The reason is the preference of Hg2+ for the short linear arrangement Cl−Hg−Cl. It is demonstrated, that the crystal structure of DMP·HgCl2 belongs to a translationsgleiche subgroup of the DMP·CuCl2 structure.
Mythical rings? Waun Mawn and Stonehenge Stage 1
Authors: Darvill Timothy
Published: November 2022

In a recent Antiquity article, Parker Pearson and colleagues (2021) presented results from excavations at Waun Mawn in south-west Wales, interpreting the site as a dismantled stone circle and source for some of the Bluestone pillars used in the Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge. Here, the author examines the evidence, showing that alternative interpretations are possible. Waun Mawn is argued to represent a series of smaller stone settings, typical of ceremonial sites in south-west Wales. Meanwhile the Aubrey Holes are shown to reflect a well-established regional sequence in which post circles are followed by pit circles. A Welsh ‘source-circle’ for Stonehenge cannot be excluded but, the author argues, the claim is unsupported by the current evidence.
Pattern Motion Direction Is Encoded in the Population Activity of Macaque Area MT
Authors: Quaia Christian , Kang Incheol , Cumming Bruce G.
Published: November 2022

Direction selective neurons in macaque primary visual cortex are narrowly tuned for orientation, and are thus afflicted by the aperture problem. At the next stage of motion processing, in the middle temporal (MT) area, some cells appear to solve this problem, responding to the pattern motion direction of plaids. Models have been proposed to account for this computation, but they do not replicate the diversity of responses observed in MT. We recorded from 386 cells in area MT of two male macaques, while presenting a wide range of random-line stimuli and their compositions into noise plaids. As we broadened the range of stimuli used to probe the cells, yielding ever more challenging conditions for extracting pattern motion, the diversity of the responses observed increased, and the fraction of cells that faithfully encoded pattern motion direction shrank. However, we show here that a pattern motion signal is present at the population level. We identified four mechanisms, one never proposed before, that together might account for the observed diversity in single-cell responses. Pattern motion is thus extracted in area MT, but it is encoded across the population, and not in a small subset of pattern neurons.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTSome neurons in the middle temporal area of macaques solve the aperture problem, signaling the direction of motion of complex patterns. As the number of pattern types used to probe this mechanism is increased, fewer and fewer cells retain this capability. We show here that different cells fail in different ways, and that simply summing their responses averages away their failures, yielding a clear pattern motion signal. Similar encodings, which unequivocally violate the “neuron as a feature detector” hypothesis that has dominated sensory processing theories for the past 50 years, might apply throughout the brain.
ПРОФЕСІЙНА СПРЯМОВАНІСТЬ МАТЕМАТИЧНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ МАЙБУТНІХ ІНЖЕНЕРІВ НАФТОГАЗОВОГО ПРОФІЛЮ
Authors: HURAL INESA , SMOLOVIK LIANA
Published: November 2022

У статті досліджено міжпредметні зв'язки математичних і професійно орієнтованих дисциплін у нафтогазовій інженерній освіті. Виявлено тісний зв'язок математичних і дисциплін природничого, загальтотехнічного та фахового спрямувань. Наведено приклади завдань моделювання ситуацій, що виникають у професійній діяльності інженера нафтогазового профілю, а дослідження цієї ситуації здійснюється за допомогою математики. Включення таких професійно спрямованих завдань стимулює навчальну мотивацію студентів. Окреслені проблеми характерні в організації професіоналізації змісту дисциплін математичного циклу.
ОЗНАЙОМЛЕННЯ З РЕГІОНАЛЬНИМИ ОСОБЛИВОСТЯМИ САКРАЛЬНОГО МИСТЕЦТВА КАРПАТ ЯК ВАЖЛИВА СКЛАДОВА ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ МАЙБУТНІХ МИТЦІВ
Authors: KUZENKO PETRO , KINDRFCHUK VOLODYMYR
Published: November 2022

У статті розкривається зміст та методика ознайомлення студентів з особливостями сакрального мистецтва Карпат як важливої складової професійної підготовки майбутніх митців. Для студентів які навчаються за спеціальністю 023 «Образотворче мистецтво, декоративне мистецтво, реставрація» передбачена вибіркова дисципліна «Сакральне мистецтво Карпат» під час вивчення якої здобувачі освіти знайомляться з тенденціями розвитку різних видів сакрального мистецтва краю. Студенти вивчають особливості дерев’яної церковної архітектури Карпат, виготовленого із дерева облаштування інтер’єру храмів, особливості іконопису, традицію ландшафтних та побутово-обрядових хрестів Карпатського краю
ПСИХОЛОГО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНІ ОСНОВИ НАВЧАННЯ ФІЗИКИ СТУДЕНТІВ БУДІВЕЛЬНИХ СПЕЦІАЛЬНОСТЕЙ ЗАСОБАМИ РОЗВ’ЯЗУВАННЯ ЗАДАЧ
Authors: HRYHORCHUK OLEKSANDR , TSOKOLENKO OLEKSANDR   , ROKYTSKA HALYNA
Published: November 2022

У статті проаналізовано психолого-педагогічні засади професійно орієнтованого навчання фізики студентів будівельних спеціальностей засобами розв’язування навчальних задач. Акцентовано увагу на забезпеченні організації особистісно орієнтованої змістової діяльності з урахуванням міжпредметних зв’язків через контекст професійно орієнтованих задач з фізики. На основі компетентнісної парадигми професійної освіти визначено чинники впливу на розвиток особистості: мотиваційний, ціннісно-вольовий та змістово-діяльнісний компоненти, виокремлено типи професійно орієнтованого навчання фізики студентів будівельних спеціальностей.