bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementing QR codes in academia to improve sample tracking, data accessibility, and traceability in multicampus interdisciplinary collaborations
Authors: Hernandez Cristian , Aslankoohi Elham , Frolikov Pavel , Li Houpu , Kurniawan Sri , Rolandi Marco
Published: April 2023

The growing number of multicampus interdisciplinary projects in academic institutions expedites a necessity for tracking systems that provide instantly accessible data associated with devices, samples, and experimental results to all collaborators involved. This need has become particularly salient with the COVID pandemic when consequent travel restrictions have hampered in person meetings and laboratory visits. Minimizing post-pandemic travel can also help reduce carbon footprint of research activities. Here we developed a Quick Response (QR) code tracking system that integrates project management tools for seamless communication and tracking of materials and devices between multicampus collaborators: one school of medicine, two engineering laboratories, three manufacturing cleanroom sites, and three research laboratories. Here we aimed to use this system to track the design, fabrication, and quality control of bioelectronic devices, in vitro experimental results, and in vivo testing. Incorporating the tracking system into our project helped our multicampus teams accomplish milestones on a tight timeline via improved data traceability, manufacturing efficiency, and shared experimental results. This tracking system is particularly useful to track device issues and ensure engineering device consistency when working with expensive biological samples in vitro and animals in vivo to reduce waste of biological and animal resources associated with device failure.
Effectiveness of a blended multidisciplinary intervention for patients with moderate medically unexplained physical symptoms (PARASOL): A cluster randomized clinical trial
Authors: van Westrienen Paula Elisabeth , de Wit Niek , Toonders Suze , Veenhof Cindy , Gerrits Marloes , Pisters Martijn
Published: April 2023

Introduction

In patients with moderate Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS), interventions focusing on both physical and psychological aspects are recommended. A proactive, blended and integrated physical therapy and mental health nurse intervention (PARASOL) might reduce complaints, stimulate self-management and prevent chronicity.

Objective

To investigate short- and long-term effectiveness of the PARASOL intervention compared to usual care on subjective symptom impact and quality of life in patients with moderate MUPS.

Methods

We conducted a cluster randomized clinical trial. The 12-week intervention integrated face-to-face sessions with the physical therapist and mental health nurse and access to a web-based program consisting of graded activity, exercises and information modules. Primary outcomes were subjective symptom impact, as registered with the adequate relief question, and quality of life. Secondary outcomes were severity of (psychosocial) symptoms, overall current health, physical behaviour, illness perceptions, and self-management skills. Assessment took place at baseline, after three and twelve months.

Results

Compared to usual care (n = 80), the number of patients in the PARASOL intervention (n = 80) that reported adequate short-term relief was higher (31.2% in intervention group vs. 13.7% in control group). On quality of life and secondary outcomes no significant between group differences in short- and long-term were found.

Conclusions

The PARASOL intervention does improve subjective symptom impact of patients with moderate MUPS on short-term. No additional beneficial effects on the other outcomes and the long-term were found.
Effects of Mexican Ganoderma lucidum extracts on liver, kidney, and the gut microbiota of Wistar rats: A repeated dose oral toxicity study
Authors: Meneses María E. , Martínez-Carrera Daniel , González-Ibáñez Laura , Torres Nimbe , Sánchez-Tapia Mónica , Márquez-Mota Claudia C. , Rendón Gilmar , Mitzi Vladimir , Morales Alfredo , Tello-Salgado Isaac , Tovar Armando R.
Published: April 2023

Well-characterized and standardized extracts of a Mexican genotype of Ganoderma lucidum (Gl), a medicinal mushroom, cultivated on oak sawdust (Gl-1) or oak sawdust plus acetylsalicylic acid (Gl-2, ASA), have been shown to exert antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, and anticancer properties. However, toxicity analyses still need to be carried out. Different doses of these Gl-1 or Gl-2 extracts were administered to Wistar rats for 14 days in a repeated dose oral toxicity study. We assessed the external clinical signs, biochemical parameters, liver and kidney tissues, injury and inflammation biomarkers, gene expression, inflammatory responses, proinflammatory mediators, and gut microbiota. Gl extracts had no significant adverse, toxic or harmful effects on male and female rats compared to the control groups. No injury or dysfunction were recorded in the kidney or liver, as there were no significant abnormal variations in organ weight, tissue histopathology, serum biochemical parameters (C-reactive protein, creatinine, urea, glucose, ALT and AST transaminases, TC, LDL-c, TG, HDL-c), urinary parameters (creatinine, urea nitrogen, albumin, the albumin-to-creatinine ratio, glucose), injury and inflammatory biomarkers (KIM-1/TIM-1, TLR4, and NF-кB protein expression; IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 gene expression), or the expression of genes linked to cholesterol metabolism (HMG-CoA, Srebp2, Ldlr). Gl-1 and Gl-2 extracts showed prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota of male and female Wistar rats. Bacterial diversity and relative bacterial abundance (BRA) increased, positively modulating the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. The ASA (10 mM) added to the substrate used for mushroom cultivation changed properties and effects of the Gl-2 extract on Wistar rats. The no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) was 1000 mg/kg body weight/day of Gl-1 or Gl-2 extracts. Clinical trials are recommended for further exploring the potential therapeutic applications of studied extracts.
In vitro spermatogenesis in isolated seminiferous tubules of immature mice
Authors: Feng Xuemin , Matsumura Takafumi , Yamashita Yuki , Sato Takuya , Hashimoto Kiyoshi , Odaka Hisakazu , Makino Yoshinori , Okada Yuki , Nakamura Hiroko , Kimura Hiroshi , Fujii Teruo , Ogawa Takehiko
Published: April 2023

Mouse spermatogenesis, from spermatogonial stem cell proliferation to sperm formation, can be reproduced in vitro by culturing testis tissue masses of neonatal mice. However, it remains to be determined whether this method is also applicable when testis tissues are further divided into tiny fragments, such as segments of the seminiferous tubule (ST), a minimal anatomical unit for spermatogenesis. In this study, we investigated this issue using the testis of an Acrosin-GFP/Histone H3.3-mCherry (Acr/H3) double-transgenic mouse and monitored the expression of GFP and mCherry as indicators of spermatogenic progression. Initially, we noticed that the cut and isolated stretches of ST shrunk rapidly and conglomerated. We therefore maintained the isolation of STs in two ways: segmental isolation without truncation or embedding in soft agarose. In both cases, GFP expression was observed by fluorescence microscopy. By whole-mount immunochemical staining, meiotic spermatocytes and round and elongating spermatids were identified as Sycp3-, crescent-form GFP-, and mCherry-positive cells, respectively. Although the efficiency was significantly lower than that with tissue mass culture, we clearly showed that spermatogenesis can be induced up to the elongating spermatid stage even when the STs were cut into short segments and cultured in isolation. In addition, we demonstrated that lowered oxygen tension was favorable for spermatogenesis both for meiotic progression and for producing elongating spermatids in isolated STs. Culturing isolated STs rather than tissue masses is advantageous for explicitly assessing the various environmental parameters that influence the progression of spermatogenesis.
Soil organic carbon fraction accumulation and bacterial characteristics in curtilage soil: Effects of land conversion and land use
Authors: Cao Qingqing , Liu Bing , Wu Jinhang , Zhang Xu , Ma Wen , Cui Dongxu
Published: April 2023

Conversion of curtilage land into cropland or grassland can have substantial effects on soil nutrition and microbial activities; however, these effects remain ambiguous. This is the first study to compare the soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions and bacterial communities in rural curtilage, converted cropland, and grassland compared with cropland and grassland. This study determined the light fraction (LF) and heavy fraction (HF) of organic carbon (OC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and the microbial community structure by conducting a high-throughput analysis. Curtilage soil had significantly lower OC content, the DOC, MBC, LFOC and HFOC of grassland and cropland soils were 104.11%, 55.58%, 264.17%, and 51.04% higher than curtilage soil averagely. Cropland showed notably high bacterial richness and diversity, with Proteobacteria (35.18%), Actinobacteria (31.48%), and Chloroflexi (17.39%) predominating in cropland, grassland, and curtilage soil, respectively. Moreover, DOC and LFOC contents of converted cropland and grassland soils were 47.17% and 148.65% higher than curtilage soil while MBC content was 46.24% lower than curtilage soil averagely. Land conversion showed more significant effects on microbial composition than land-use differences. The abundant Actinobacteria and Micrococcaceae population and the low MBC contents indicated a “hungry” bacterial state in the converted soil, whereas the high MBC content, Acidobacteria proportion, and relative abundance of functional genes in the fatty acid and lipid biosynthesis indicated a “fat” bacterial state in cropland. This study contributes to the improvement of soil fertility and the comprehension and efficient use of curtilage soil.
Agroecosystem edge effects on vegetation, soil properties, and the soil microbial community in the Canadian prairie
Authors: Aguiar Mariah , Conway Alexandra J. , Bell Jennifer K. , Stewart Katherine J.
Published: April 2023

Edge effects resulting from adjacent land uses are poorly understood in agroecosystems yet understanding above and belowground edge effects is crucial for maintaining ecosystem function. The aim of our study was to examine impacts of land management on aboveground and belowground edge effects, measured by changes in plant community, soil properties, and soil microbial communities across agroecosystem edges. We measured plant composition and biomass, soil properties (total carbon, total nitrogen, pH, nitrate, and ammonium), and soil fungal and bacterial community composition across perennial grassland-annual cropland edges. Edge effects due to land management were detected both aboveground and belowground. The plant community at the edge was distinct from the adjacent land uses, where annual, non-native, plant species were abundant. Soil total nitrogen and carbon significantly decreased across the edge (P < 0.001), with the highest values in the perennial grasslands. Both bacterial and fungal communities were different across the edge with clear changes in fungal communities driven directly and indirectly by land management. A higher abundance of pathogens in the more heavily managed land uses (i.e. crop and edge) was detected. Changes in plant community composition, along with soil carbon and nitrogen also influenced the soil fungal community across these agroecosystems edges. Characterizing edge effects in agroecosystem, especially those associated with soil microbial communities, is an important first step in ensuring soil health and resilience in these managed landscapes.
Molecular characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus in Seoul, South Korea, during 10 consecutive years, 2010–2019
Authors: Kim Ha Nui , Hwang Jinha , Yoon Soo-Young , Lim Chae Seung , Cho Yunjung , Lee Chang-Kyu , Nam Myung-Hyun
Published: April 2023

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections and hospitalization in infants and young children. Here, we analyzed the genetic diversity of RSV using partial G gene sequences in 84 RSV-A and 78 RSV- B positive samples collected in Seoul, South Korea, for 10 consecutive years, from 2010 to 2019. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that RSV-A strains were classified into either the ON1 (80.9%) or NA1 (19.0%) genotypes. On the other hand, RSV-B strains demonstrated diversified clusters within the BA genotype. Notably, some sequences designated as BA-SE, BA-SE1, and BA-DIS did not cluster with previously identified BA genotypes in the phylogenetic trees. Despite this, they did not meet the criteria for the assignment of a new genotype based on recent classification methods. Selection pressure analysis identified three positive selection sites (amino acid positions 273, 274, and 298) in RSV-A, and one possible positive selection site (amino acid position 296) in RSV-B, respectively. The mean evolutionary rates of Korean RSV-A from 1999 to 2019 and RSV-B strains from 1991 and 2019 were estimated at 3.51 × 10−3 nucleotides (nt) substitutions/site/year and 3.32 × 10−3 nt substitutions/site/year, respectively. The population dynamics in the Bayesian skyline plot revealed fluctuations corresponding to the emergence of dominant strains, including a switch of the dominant genotype from NA1 to ON1. Our study on time-scaled cumulative evolutionary analysis contributes to a better understanding of RSV epidemiology at the local level in South Korea.
Hazard source detection of longitudinal tearing of conveyor belt based on deep learning
Authors: Wang Yimin , Miao Changyun , Miao Di , Yang Dengjie , Zheng Yao
Published: April 2023

Belt tearing is the main safety accident of belt conveyor. The main cause of tearing is the doped bolt and steel in the conveying belt. In this paper, the bolt and steel are identified as the Hazard source of tear. In this paper, bolt and steel are defined as the risk sources of tearing. Effective detection of the source of danger can effectively prevent the occurrence of conveyor belt tearing accidents. Here we use deep learning to detect the hazard source image. We improved on the SSD(Single Shot MultiBox Detector) model. Replace the original backbone network with an improved Shufflenet_V2, and replace the original position loss function with the CIoU loss function. Additionally, it compares this new approach to previous methods. The proposed model has surpassed other state-of-art methods with more than 94% accuracy. In addition, when deployed without GPU acceleration, the detection speed can reach 20fps. It can meet the requirements of real-time detection. The experimental results show that the proposed model can realize the online detection of hazard sources, so as to prevent longitudinal tearing of conveyor belt.
Product preferences and willingness to pay for potable water delivery: Experimental evidence from rural Bihar, India
Authors: Cameron Drew B. , Ray Isha , Parida Manoj , Dow William H.
Published: April 2023

Despite dramatic reductions in global risk exposures to unsafe water sources, lack of access to clean water remains a persistent problem in many rural and last-mile communities. A great deal is known about demand for household water treatment systems; however, similar evidence for fully treated water products is limited. This study evaluates an NGO-based potable water delivery service in rural Bihar, India, meant to stand-in for more robust municipal treated water supply systems that have yet to reach the area. We use a random price auction and discrete choice experiment to examine willingness to pay (WTP) and stated product preferences, respectively, for this service among 162 households in the region. We seek to determine the impact of short-term price subsidies on demand for water delivery and the extent to which participation in the delivery program leads to changes in stated preferences for service characteristics. We find that mean WTP for the first week of service is roughly 51% of market price and represents only 1.7% of median household income, providing evidence of untapped demand for fully treated water. We also find mixed evidence on the effect of small price subsidies for various parts of the delivery service, and that one week of initial participation leads to significant changes in stated preferences for the taste of the treated water as well as the convenience of the delivery service. While more evidence is needed on the effect of subsidies, our findings suggest that marketing on taste and convenience could help increase uptake of clean water delivery services in rural and last-mile communities that have yet to receive piped water. However, we caution that these services should be seen as a stopgap, not a substitute for piped municipal water systems.
(Not) part of the team: Racial empathy bias in a South African minimal group study
Authors: Deist Melanie , Fourie Melike M.
Published: April 2023

Minimal Group Paradigm (MGP) research suggests that recategorization with an arbitrarily defined group may be sufficient to override empathy biases among salient social categories like race. However, most studies utilizing MGPs do not consider sufficiently the socio-historical contexts of social groups. Here we investigated whether the recategorization of White participants into arbitrarily defined mixed-race teams using a non-competitive MGP would ameliorate racial empathy biases towards ingroup team members in the South African context. Sixty participants rated their empathic and counter-empathic (Schadenfreude, Glückschmerz) responses to ingroup and outgroup team members in physically painful, emotionally distressing, and positive situations. As anticipated, results indicated significant ingroup team biases in empathic and counter-empathic responses. However, mixed-race minimal teams were unable to override ingroup racial empathy biases, which persisted across events. Interestingly, a manipulation highlighting purported political ideological differences between White and Black African team members did not exacerbate racial empathy bias, suggesting that such perceptions were already salient. Across conditions, an internal motivation to respond without prejudice was most strongly associated with empathy for Black African target individuals, regardless of their team status. Together, these results suggest that racial identity continues to provide a salient motivational guide in addition to more arbitrary group memberships, even at an explicit level, for empathic responding in contexts characterized by historical power asymmetry. These data further problematize the continued official use of race-based categories in such contexts.
Semiochemicals produced by fungal bark beetle symbiont Endoconidiophora rufipennis and the discovery of an anti-attractant for Ips typographus
Authors: Lindmark Matilda , Ganji Suresh , Wallin Erika A. , Schlyter Fredrik , Unelius C. Rikard
Published: April 2023

Bark beetles vector symbiotic fungal species into their host trees during mass attacks. The symbiotic relationship with blue stain fungi of the Ascomycetes, including genera of Endoconidiophora (syn. = Ceratocystis), promotes successful establishment whereby the microbes help to overcome the host trees’ defence and degrade toxic resins. This is the first study to evaluate both the volatile emissions from an insect-associated blue stain fungus over time and the insect response in a field trapping experiment. Volatile emissions from isolates of Endoconidiophora rufipennis (ER) were collected by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed by gas chromatography—mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) over a period of 30 days. This virulent North American fungus is closely related to E. polonica, a symbiotic fungus known from Eurasian spruce bark beetle Ips typographus.Nine volatiles were emitted by ER in substantial amounts: isoamyl acetate, sulcatone, 2-phenethyl acetate, geranyl acetone, geranyl acetate, citronellyl acetate, (R)- and (S)-sulcatol, and (R)-sulcatol acetate. A late peaking compound was geranyl acetone. In the field trapping experiment, three of the fungal volatiles (geranyl acetone, 2-phenethyl acetate and sulcatone) were tested in combination with a synthetic aggregation pheromone for I. typographus. Traps with geranyl acetone attracted lower numbers of I. typographus compared to traps with 2-phenethyl acetate, sulcatone or the pheromone alone as a control. The results showed that geranyl acetone acts as an anti-attractant and may act naturally on I. typographus as a cue from an associated fungus to signal an overexploited host.
Validation of the Spanish version of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) to identify and assess psychosocial problems among early adolescents in Chile
Authors: Ramírez Saray , Gana Sofía , Godoy María Inés , Valenzuela Daniela , Araya Ricardo , Gaete Jorge
Published: April 2023

Background

The high prevalence of mental disorders in early adolescents, and their consequences, encourage the need for validated instruments to identify and assess psychosocial problems.

Objectives

i) To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) questionnaires (PSC-Y, 35 items, and PSC-17-Y) and its subscales (Attention, Internalizing and Externalizing subscales), including the assessment of the item structure, concurrent validity, and reliability; and ii) To assess possible associations between bullying experiences, school climate and school membership with psychological problems identified by the PSC questionnaire.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 39 schools in Santiago, Chile. The sample consisted of 3,968 adolescents aged between 10 and 11 years. A descriptive analysis of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist was performed along with measures of dimensionality, reliability, and correlations with a validated questionnaire exploring similar constructs, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Finally, associations of bullying, school climate, and school membership with the three subscales of the PSC were explored.

Results

Both versions of PSC had problems with item #7 (Act as if driven by motor), which did not load in any of the latent factors. It was removed from later analyses. The three-factor structure of PSC was confirmed. All remaining items had high factor loadings in their corresponded latent factors, and the reliability was high for the total scales (PSC-34-Y, ω = 0.78; PSC-16-Y, ω = 0.94) and the subscales of PSC-16-Y (Attention, ω = 0.77; Internalizing, ω = 0.79; Externalizing, ω = 0.78). The goodness of fit was adequate, and the correlation between PSC subscales and SDQ subscales was high. Victimization and perpetration were associated with all PSC subscales, and higher school climate and stronger school memberships were negatively associated with PSC symptoms.

Conclusions

The current findings seem to demonstrate that the Spanish version of the PSC is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying and assessing psychosocial problems in early adolescents.
A novel aspiration technique to assess cervical remodelling in patients with or without cervical shortening: Sequence of first changes, definition of cut-off values and impact of cervical pessary, stratified for cervical length
Authors: Kyvernitakis Ioannis , Lauer Philien , Malan Marcel , Badir Sabrina , Maul Holger
Published: April 2023

Background

The therapeutic significance of the cervical pessary has been confirmed by several studies. However, the underlying mechanism by which pessaries reduce the risk of a preterm birth remains elusive. The aim of this study is to investigate the hypothesis whether the application of a cervical pessary may stabilize the ectocervical stiffness in order to achieve a cervical arrest.

Methods

This is a prospective, controlled, non-interventional, post-market, monocentric, longitudinal, cohort study in a tertiary maternity hospital to determine ectocervical stiffness and its changes measured before and after placement of a pessary in singleton pregnancies with cervical shortening in the mid trimester. In order to assess reference values for cervical stiffness, we measured also singleton pregnancies with normal cervical length in the same gestational week spectrum. The cervical stiffness measured with the Pregnolia System as the Cervical Stiffness Index (CSI, in mbar) shall be the primary endpoint, whilst patient delivery data (gestational age, mode of delivery and complications) will be the secondary endpoint. In this pilot study, up to 142 subjects will be enrolled to have a total of 120 subjects (estimated dropout rate of 15%) to complete the study; pessary cohort: 60 (up to 71 recruited), control group: 60 (up to 71 recruited).

Discussion

Our hypothesis is that patients with cervical shortening will present with lower CSI values and that pessary placement will be able to stabilize the CSI values through further prevention of cervical remodelling. The measurement of controls with normal cervical length shall serve as a reference.
Remote Assessment in healthcare—Technologies, methods, benefits, and challenges
Authors: Bardram Jakob Eyvind
Published: April 2023

The PLOS ONE Collection on “Remote Assessment” brings together a series of studies on how remote assessment methods and technologies can be used in health and behavioral sciences. At the time of writing (October 2022), this collection has accepted and published 10 papers, which address remote assessment in a wide range of health topics including mental health, cognitive assessment, blood sampling and diagnosis, dental health, COVID-19 infections, and prenatal diagnosis. The papers also cover a wide range of methodological approaches, technology platforms, and ways to utilize remote assessment. As such, this collection provides a broad view into the benefits and challenges of remote assessment, and provides a lot of detailed knowledge on how to make it work in practice This paper provides an overview of the included studies, and presents and discusses the different benefits as well as challenges associated with remote assessment.
An integrative review protocol on interventions to improve users’ ability to identify trustworthy online health information
Authors: Mohamed Hind , Salsberg Jon , Kelly Dervla
Published: April 2023

Background

The epidemiological transition phenomena drive the attention to focus the scope on health literacy as it has an impact on patients’ health outcomes and quality of life.

Aim

This paper aims to explore the implemented interventions for improving users’ ability to identify trustworthy online health information.

Methodology

A comprehensive search of the literature will be conducted on the following electronic bibliographic databases: Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane database, Academic search complete and APA psycinfo. Further, manual search of eligible studies reference lists will be carried out to identify other eligible studies. The search strategy will include a combination of three key blocks of terms, namely: (adult OR adults) Or (patient OR patients) OR (layperson OR laypersons) OR (caregiver OR caregivers), (Intervention OR Interventions) OR Educational programs OR (health literacy And curriculum) OR Community outreach OR Interactive workshops OR (Online portal OR Patient Portals), and information seeking behavior OR consumer health information OR online information OR social media OR access to information. The results of these categories will then be combined using the AND connector. Two independent reviewers will screen and assess data quality. Disagreements will be resolved by consensus. Due to the anticipated methodological pluralism of the potentially eligible studies, a narrative synthesis of the findings on interventions aimed at improving users’ ability to identify trustworthy online information will be provided according to the pre-identified thematic areas. Furthermore, a narrative synthesis of the reported barriers and facilitators for applying these interventions by end users.

Expected results and impact

Given that the focus of our review findings is on understanding the breadth and depth of the global research into interventions to improve users’ ability to identify trustworthy online health information. The findings will be of great value to inform future innovative approaches to promote identification of trustable online sources for young people worldwide.
Turn-timing in conversations between autistic adults: Typical short-gap transitions are preferred, but not achieved instantly
Authors: Wehrle Simon , Cangemi Francesco , Janz Alicia , Vogeley Kai , Grice Martine
Published: April 2023

The organisation of who speaks when in conversation is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of human communication. Research on a wide variety of groups of speakers has revealed a seemingly universal preference for between-speaker transitions consisting of very short silent gaps. Previous research on conversational turn-taking in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) consists of only a handful of studies, most of which are limited in scope and based on the non-spontaneous speech of children and adolescents. No previous studies have investigated dialogues between autistic adults. We analysed the conversational turn-taking behaviour of 28 adult native German speakers in two groups of dyads, in which both interlocutors either did or did not have a diagnosis of ASD. We found no clear difference in turn-timing between the ASD and the control group overall, with both groups showing the same preference for very short silent-gap transitions that has been described for many other groups of speakers in the past. We did, however, find a clear difference between groups specifically in the earliest stages of dialogue, where ASD dyads produced considerably longer silent gaps than controls. We discuss our findings in the context of the previous literature, the implications of diverging behaviour specifically in the early stages of conversation, and the general importance of studying the neglected aspect of interactions between autistic adults.
Research on differential game strategy of debt restructuring supported by government
Authors: Zhao Danyu , Song Li , Han Liangliang
Published: April 2023

This paper studies the debt restructuring equilibrium decision problem composed of creditors and debt enterprises with the participation of the government and asset management companies. With the differential game, the dynamic optimization models of debt restructuring under three situations: centralized decision-making, decentralized decision-making, and Stackelberg game after introducing cost-sharing contract are constructed, respectively. The optimal equilibrium strategy of debt restructuring, the optimal trajectory of debt restructuring synergy, and the optimal profit under three decision-making situations are investigated and compared. It is found that the synergy effect and total profit of debt restructuring are the highest under centralized decision-making, and the Stackelberg game is superior to decentralized decision-making, which shows that the cost-sharing contract can achieve the coordination of overall interests, improve the debt restructuring environment, and promote the debt restructuring process. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of relevant parameters is carried out through an example, which verifies the effectiveness of the conclusion and provides the scientific basis for the government and asset management companies to participate in debt restructuring successfully.
Measurement-based care for suicidal youth: Outcomes and recommendations from the Services for Teens At Risk (STAR) Center
Authors: Victor Sarah E. , Salk Rachel H. , Porta Giovanna , Hamilton Edward , Bero Kelsey , Poling Kim , Brent David A. , Goldstein Tina R.
Published: April 2023

Measurement-based care has demonstrable benefits, but significant implementation barriers slow dissemination in real-world clinical settings, especially youth behavioral health care. Here, we describe use of measurement-based care in a specialty clinic offering a continuum of outpatient care for suicidal youth. We characterize strategies used to facilitate measurement-based care in this population and ways in which challenges to implementation have been addressed. We examined adherence to measurement-based care procedures relative to treatment engagement data from electronic medical records, as well as data from clinicians regarding acceptability and utility of measurement-based care. Results suggest that measurement-based care is both feasible and acceptable for use with suicidal youth. Here we provide future directions in measurement-based care in this, and other, behavioral health settings.
Inhuman drag: Getting under the sk(e)ins of the posthuman in conversation with Charity Kase
Authors: Bradley Callum
Published: April 2023

This article is the culmination of a collaborative process with drag artist Charity Kase. Providing both transcriptions of our conversation and sections of theoretical commentary, I come to test and transform what constitutes the (post)human. Aspects of Charity’s drag – its mediality and virtuality, its hybrid monstrosity and beauty and its anthropomorphic abjections of bodies and environments – embrace the disordered and damaged dimensions of human life on earth. This article introduces an inhuman turn, emphasizing how bodily borders are broken down when the inside is re-turned through staged fantasy and shared imaginaries, as a strategy for challenging phallo- and anthropocentric stereotypes, and the opening of a potential within for becoming without. Tracing some differences in my and Charity’s senses of what drag can do, this article offers up a figure for post/in/human possibilities.
Avatars at the apocalypse: Posthuman drag and the temporality of survival
Authors: Dawson Cat
Published: April 2023

This article considers three digital, time-based projects – by micha cárdenas, Meriem Bennani and Rashaad Newsome – in which digital avatars function as posthuman drag, reaching beyond their particular contexts to drag normative understandings of space, time and kinning. In proffering queer and trans of colour perspectives as an ethical imperative of, and precondition for, humanity’s persistence into the future, these works challenge the ontological formations that undergird the neo-liberal project, and in being designed to circulate beyond queer and trans communities, they mobilize queer and trans strategies for survival and redress beyond the confines of queer and trans spaces and lives. The dis/junctures at the core of these three works bring into focus a set of new ways of thinking the body beyond whiteness, where the post- of the human is a way of staging time so as to lose white-dominant culture.
Mourning murmurations: Speculative fagulation and the ecological lament in drag down under
Authors: Lawrence Blake
Published: April 2023

Drag performers in Australia perform anthro-decentric laments for and beside endemic nonhuman species. They catalyse a public exteriorization of multi-species grief and rage in response to compounding losses in a situated, contested Anthropocene. Approaching queer performance beside intersections in new materialism and the environmental humanities, this article proposes drag as a device of speculative fabulation – of story-telling or fable-making in-the-present for generative, undefined outcomes in un-promised futures. Imbricating qualitative visual and textual analyses with autoethnography and a methodology informed by avian ecology, the article shares stories of ecological laments in the context of contemporary Australian performance, art and culture. It presents a brief review/revue of performances by artists based in Warrang (Sydney): Vallarie Van Gogh dances as a burning human-galah hybrid; Latai Taumoepeau goes to war as a monstrous coral reef; Phasmahammer (Justin Shoulder) bends mythology and matter imagining post-apocalyptic memories of birds.
Furry acts as non/human drag: A case study exploring queer of colour liveability through the fursona
Authors: Zaman Hazel (Bobbi) Ali
Published: April 2023

This article seeks to explore how non/human drag has been utilized to perform queer of colour feelings, which result in a mess-making of identity-based relationalities. Rooted in a phenomenological exploration of the fursona, this queer narrative case study focuses on furry acts, or the act of creating and embodying a personalized fursona, as non/human drag that becomes a site for self-exploration and queer of colour becoming. In exploring furry acts, this study centres its focus on the material impacts of non/human drag performances and suggests that furry acts are improvised responses to queer of colour domestication. The non/human drag performances, as explored through furry Poppy’s narratives, are also considered feral practices that intentionally bewilder and disorder subject identification. With a focus on furry acts as messy, this study proposes that non/human drag performances are essential for Poppy in accessing queer of colour joy, pleasure and liveability.
Advancing Network Securing Strategies with Network Algorithms for Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) Missile Batteries
Authors: Pran Rakib Hassan
Published: April 2023

Recently, the Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) has become vital for the defense system as the military defense system is vital for national security. Placing Integrated Air Defense System batteries among locations to protect locations assets is a crucial problem because optimal solutions are needed for interceptor missiles to intercept attacker missiles for maximizing protection of assets across locations or places. In this research, the procedures of using network algorithms along with developing several network algorithms are going to be demonstrated to develop a model for network securing strategies of Surface to Air Missile (SAM) batteries to maximize the protection of assets across locations (based on given asset values) by generating optimal solutions through computation to destroy maximum attacker missiles by using minimum interceptor missiles with given intercept probabilities. This network securing strategies can be implemented not only for Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) planning but also Counter Air (CA) planning as Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) is conducted with defensive counter air supported by attack operations in offensive counter air.
Outfitting the Conservative Civil Rights Movement: Rehearsed White Victimhood and the MAGA Hat
Authors: Neville-Shepard Meredith , Neville-Shepard Ryan
Published: April 2023

This essay contends that the red MAGA hat in the modern conservative movement plays off Donald Trump's populist construction of his supporters as victims by creating opportunities for the performance of what we call “rehearsed victimhood.” As an enactment of vulnerability that allows individuals in historically powerful positions to claim marginalized status by manifesting material evidence of their subjugation, we argue that rehearsed victimhood relies on weaponized polysemy to bait critics, the cooptation of civil rights rhetoric, and acts of humiliation and violent self-sacrifice. We illustrate the performance of rehearsed victimhood through a close reading of media coverage of numerous incidents where Trump supporters claimed discrimination after being attacked, fired, or ridiculed for wearing a MAGA hat.
Coronary Stent Off-Wire Dislodgement: Case Report of a Rare Complication
Authors: Lu Meng-Ying , Wang Kuang-Te
Published: April 2023

Although several techniques have been reported for managing an on-wire dislodged stent in the coronary artery, very few reports have focused on the much rarer complication of an off-wire dislodged stent. In a 73-year-old man who experienced an off-wire dislodged coronary stent, the proximal elongated segment was lodged in the left main coronary artery, and the distal segment was floating in the aorta like a wind sock. After a failed attempt at retrieval using a gooseneck microsnare, the dislodged stent was successfully removed using a 3-loop vascular snare via the left radial artery. There was no obvious vascular injury. This novel technique for removing a partially floating dislodged stent was successful after conventional retrieval techniques failed.
ESTIMATING AND FORECASTING COVID-19 CASES IN SULAWESI ISLAND USING GENERALIZED SPACE-TIME AUTOREGRESSIVE INTEGRATED MOVING AVERAGE MODEL
Authors: Sukarna Sukarna , Syahrul Nurul Fadilah , Sanusi Wahidah , Aswi Aswi , Abdy Muhammad , Irwan Irwan
Published: April 2023

A range of spatio-temporal models has been used to model Covid-19 cases. However, there is only a small amount of literature on the analysis of estimating and forecasting Covid-19 cases using the Generalized Space-Time Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (GSTARIMA) model. This model is a development of the GSTARMA model which has non-stationary data. This paper aims to estimate and forecast the daily number of Covid-19 cases in Sulawesi Island using GSTARIMA models. We compared two models namely GSTARI and GSTIMA considering the root mean square error (RMSE). Data on a daily number of Covid-19 cases (from April 10, 2020, to May 07, 2021) were used. The location weight used is the inverse distance weight based on the distance between airports in the capital cities of each province. The appropriate models obtained based on the data are the GSTARIMA (1;0;1;1) model and the GSTARIMA (1;1;1;0) model. The results showed that the forecast for the number of new Covid-19 cases is accurate and reliable only for the short term.
The impact of chronic stress on intracellular redox balance: A systems level analysis
Authors: Geddie Hannah , Cairns Megan , Smith Logan , van Wyk Minette , Beselaar Leandrie , Truter Nina , Rautenbach Fanie , Marnewick Jeanine L. , Joseph Danzil E. , Essop M. Faadiel
Published: April 2023

Chronic psychosocial stress is implicated in the onset and progression of noncommunicable diseases, and mechanisms underlying this relationship include alterations to the intracellular redox state. However, such changes are often investigated in isolation, with few studies adopting a system level approach. Here, male Wistar rats were exposed to 9.5 weeks of chronic unpredictable mild stress and redox status assays were subsequently performed on cardiac, hepatic, and brain tissues versus matched controls. The stressed rats displayed an anxious phenotype, with lowered plasma corticosterone levels (p = 0.04 vs. Controls) and higher plasma epinephrine concentrations (p = 0.03 vs. Controls). Our findings showed organ‐specific redox profiles, with stressed rats displaying increased myocardial lipid peroxidation (p = 0.04 vs. Controls) in the presence of elevated nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (p = 0.04 vs. Controls). Conversely, hepatic tissues of stressed rats exhibited lowered nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (p < 0.001 vs. Controls) together with increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (p = 0.05 vs. Controls). The brain displayed region‐specific antioxidant perturbations, with increased SOD activity (p = 0.01 vs. Controls) in the prefrontal cortex of the stressed rats. These findings reveal distinct stress‐related organ‐specific vulnerability to redox perturbations and may provide novel insights into putative therapeutic targets.
Lessons Learned from Digital-Only Experiences
Authors: Degkwitz Andreas
Published: April 2023

Digitisation includes technical systems that communicate with each other but can only communicate the characters for which input and output interfaces are available. That is a fraction of what human communication is all about. The resulting lack of contact bothers us and we find it inadequate. In times of Covid-19 we have learned that the longer the phases of exclusively digitally executed workflows and processes last, the more we realise that we lack activities that do not require digital technology, as it was a matter of course before Corona. This leads us to ask what it means when we become avatars or robots of ourselves. The following demonstrations of an exclusively digitally organised summer festival and a fully digitised library can give us insights into the purely digital perspective.
Ausflug in eine ferne nahe Welt: Forschungsalltag 2040
Authors: Frick Claudia , Heller Lambert
Published: April 2023

Anhand der jungen Forscherin Elena werfen wir einen mit Absicht dystopischen Blick in die fiktive Zukunft wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens, und zwar in jene Zukunft im Jahr 2040, in der wir alle Warnzeichen und fragwürdigen bis negativen Entwicklungen seit 2020 ignoriert und der Bequemlichkeit und dem Druck nachgegeben haben. Willkommen im Forschungsalltag 2040, der nicht nur durch Plattformökonomie, sondern auch durch eine fragmentierte Wissenschaftslandschaft aufgrund eines Wirtschaftskrieges geprägt ist. Anhand einzelner kurzer Szenen aus einem ihrer normalen Arbeitstage erhalten wir Einblick in Elenas subjektives Erleben dieser Zukunft. Am Ende wirft sie einen Blick zurück und fragt sich, wie es so weit kommen konnte.
Wagnis Dissens. Kritische (Selbst-)Befragungen zur programmatischen Demokratieförderung schwedischer Bibliotheken
Authors: Wischmann Antje
Published: April 2023

Der Beitrag bezieht die aktuelle schwedische Bibliotheksdebatte auf die europaweit entfachte Diskussion zur Verteidigung und Stärkung der Demokratie. Im Zuge der Kritik an Habermas’ Öffentlichkeitskonzept, dessen frühe Version von homogenisierenden Vorstellungen geleitet war, wird nun versucht, demokratische Prozeduren und Repräsentationsweisen ausgehend von divergierenden Überzeugungen (Dissens) und länger anhaltenden Konflikten neu zu fassen. Der demokratiesichernde Auftrag – nicht nur – der schwedischen Bibliotheken zeichnet sich dadurch aus, in Krisen- und Konfliktlagen Informationen und Orientierungswissen bereitzustellen, ein sicherer öffentlicher Raum zu sein und sowohl das Personal als auch die Anwendenden mit Ressourcen auszustatten, die ihnen jederzeit ermöglichen, gesprächsbereit und handlungsfähig zu bleiben.
FDM-Sprint: Enlightening Research Data Management
Authors: Mersmann Jana , Grunwald-Eckhardt Laura , Dallinga Ann-Christin
Published: April 2023

In diesem Beitrag werden, inspiriert von praxiserprobten Book- und Paper-Sprints, unterschiedliche Optionen für ein interaktives Forschungsdatenmanagement als Vermittlungsansatz beleuchtet. An einem Schulungskonzept wird anhand unterschiedlicher Einstiege beispielhaft demonstriert, wie u. a. die aufgrund starker fachspezifischer Ausprägungen im Forschungsdatenmanagement unabdingbare Fachexpertise eingesetzt werden kann. Die mit diesem Konzept einhergehende, an vielen Stellen notwendige Flexibilität birgt vielfältige Herausforderungen, weshalb entsprechende Lösungsansätze eingehend thematisiert werden.
„Someone has to organize it“ – Widerstand
linked open
Authors: Bemme Jens , Erlinger Christian
Published: April 2023

Das Wikiversum mit all seinen Portalen und den Prinzipien der Offenheit und Vernetztheit bildet eine wesentliche Säule unserer gegenwärtigen Wissensversorgung. Damit dieser Strom an Wissen aufrecht bleibt und neue Vernetzungen, Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse aus diesen Ressourcen entstehen können, braucht es Beitragende und Pflegende für diese Datenbestände. Mit den Wikimedians in Residence existiert ein Konzept, das Brücken zwischen institutioneller Informationsversorgung und freier gemeinschaftsbasierter Arbeit herzustellen vermag. Erschließung und Datenbereitstellung außerhalb gewohnt institutioneller und strenger Arbeitsumgebungen heißt einmal mehr, Widerstand und Einsatz zu erhöhen – und für freien, dauerhaften und einfachen Zugang zu Wissen und qualitätsvolle Erschließung zu kämpfen.