bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phrasal Complexity Measures as Predictors of EFL University Students’ English Academic Writing Proficiency
Authors: Thongyoi Krittaya , Poonpon Kornwipa
Published: October 2023

The study aims to investigate phrasal complexity measures that can predict EFL students’ academic writing proficiency. Academic English written test responses were derived from written responses from the Khon Kaen University Academic English Language Test (KKU-­‐AELT). Five hundred and thirty written responses were separated into groups based on their writing scores. Sixty-­‐six phrasal complexity measures (Kyle, 2016) were analyzed for this study. The Tool for the Automatic Analysis of Syntactic Sophistication and Complexity (TAASSC), a computational tool for phrasal complexity analysis, was used to calculate the average  numbers of occurring measures in written responses. Phrasal complexity measures occurring in written responses were analyzed with the independent t-­‐test. Then, 11 significant phrasal complexity measures, derived from the independent t-­‐test, were entered into Binary logistic regression in order to examine potential phrasal complexity measures that can predict proficiency levels. The results revealed three phrasal complexity measures that can predict academic writing for higher proficiency level students.
Metacognitive Awareness of Reading and Reading Strategy Use by Nonproficient College Readers
Authors: Adunyarittigun Dumrong
Published: October 2023

This research investigated what reading strategies Thai college EFL students who were identified as nonproficient readers are aware of and what reading strategies they use. Data were gathered from a questionnaire, think-aloud and interviews. The analysis identified 3 broad categories of 16 reading strategies employed by the nonproficient readers: text-based strategies, knowledge-based strategies and interactive strategies. Results also showed that the nonproficient readers viewed reading as a decoding process and that they were aware of different reading strategies. However, they could not regulate the strategies to construct meanings from texts effectively and solve reading problems. Their unsuccessful reading was due to the interplay of factors such as a lack of word recognition skills and necessary syntactic knowledge, and ineffective regulation of reading strategies.
Cultural Representations in ELT Textbooks Used in a Multicultural School
Authors: Saemee Kulthida , Nomnian Singhanat
Published: October 2023

The use of ELT textbooks in multicultural schools is an under-explored issue despite an increasing number of non-Thais studying in the Thai compulsory education system due to mobility within the ASEAN Community. This paper aims to explore the representations of cultural aspects in the ELT textbooks, which are used in a public primary school where Cambodian, Lao, Myanmar, and Thai learners have created culturally and ethnically diverse landscape. Drawing upon the content analysis, the findings reveal five cultural categories ranked in the following order: products (41%), practices (26%), places (20%), persons (6%), perspectives (6%), and unidentified (1%). These cultural aspects are, however, imbalanced and inappropriate due to the misallocation of cultural representations and learners’ lack of recognition of the sociocultural background depicted. Language teachers and school administrators have become instrumental in narrowing down the cultural gap that exists between the textbooks’ cultural content and learners’ sociocultural backgrounds, experience, and contexts. This study can potentially inform language educators, school administrators, policy makers, and textbook writers who are involved in ELT textbook publication to be more culturally sensitive to Thai and migrant learners’ cultural milieu. The right to education of these learners should be recognized, valued, and promoted in multicultural schools that meet the objectives of UNESCO Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), namely Quality Education, which includes equitable education and recognition of cultural heterogeneity and multiplicity.
Revealing University Students’ Attitudes toward Online Extensive Reading in Thailand
Authors: Puripunyavanich Mintra
Published: October 2023

This study explores undergraduates’ attitudes toward extensive reading (ER) and reading graded readers online via Xreading.com in a large-scale ER program (ERP) involving over 5,000 students. Data were obtained from 356 students via an online questionnaire and 13 students in three focus groups. The quantitative findings showed that the students had positive attitudes toward ER. The top three reasons included (1) reading graded readers made them enjoy reading in English more than before, (2) they were more motivated to read graded readers because the stories were simple, and (3) they preferred to read shorter texts because they were simpler. Additionally, the qualitative findings revealed that all 13 students enjoyed freedom of choice in which they could choose their own graded readers that matched their interests and proficiency. Also, students had positive attitudes toward online ER through Xreading due to a variety of graded readers, an opportunity for students to practice their English and reading skills, enjoyment from reading, convenience and ease of use, and self-monitoring features. However, two difficulties were reported, including not knowing which graded readers to choose and eyestrain when reading online. Finally, pedagogical implications are discussed to guide ERP coordinators and teachers.
‘Welcome to the Business of Living’, a Translation of Lexical Metaphor on a Company Website: A Case of Emirates Airline
Authors: Chueasuai Pasakara
Published: October 2023

Lexical metaphor functions as a rhetorical device that embellishes the texts with figurative meanings. In non-literary texts such as commercial texts on company websites, lexical metaphor can help to promote the company image and sales. It is vital in the service sector such as the airline industry where the competition is sky-high. This paper attempts to identify the lexical metaphor appearing on the English and Thai websites of Emirates Airline following Dickins’ (2005) classification of lexicalized and non-lexicalised metaphors. The study also explores how the lexical metaphors are rendered into Thai by means of literal translation and adaptation. It is found that more lexicalised metaphors are identified in comparison with the non-lexicalised type. As for the types of translation, literal translation plays more part in retaining while adaptation tends to remove the original metaphorical form and meaning in the translated version.
The Politeness Strategies of Thai Undergraduates in an Instant Messaging Application
Authors: Pathanasin Saranya , Eschstruth Ian
Published: October 2023

The aim of this study is twofold: to analyze politeness strategies in the online conversations of Thai students, and to suggest how this analysis can be applicable to pedagogical practice. A corpus of a 21-month instant online conversation among students and teachers has been analyzed. Throughout the time of data collection, the teachers continually encouraged students to use English and French to promote the use of foreign languages that they were learning. The result of statistical analysis showed the relation between speech acts and politeness strategies used in the data. It could be claimed that the students’ language proficiency governed their politeness strategies. As a result, the authors proposed a modification of Brown & Levinson’s (1978) Weightiness formula for non-native speakers of English as: Wx = LP(S) × [D(S,H) + P(H,S) + Rx]. The results also showed that emoticons were used as redressive actions in politeness. Further, interlanguage pragmatics in the data were discussed based on linguistic competency and socio-cultural norms in the participants’ L1. The results suggest that teachers and curriculum developers could better understand students’ communication behaviors and language competency through computer-mediated communication. Finally, we offer suggestions to promote online communication in the context of active learning.
Making Beverage Service Word List for English for Specific Purposes Classroom
Authors: Arunvong Na Ayutthaya Junporn , Kunthonjinda Konkamon , Somwang Kanjana , Laosrirattanachai Piyapong
Published: October 2023

Creating a word list for the beverage services is one method to assist learners in this field to expand their English language vocabulary. The purpose of the current study was to create the Beverage Service Word List (BSWL). Data were collected from www.tasteatlas.com—a website that contains abundant beverage information from all over the world. The Beverage Service Corpus (BSC) was compiled from 1,729 beverage menus with a size of 471,233 tokens. The criteria used in the current study were frequency, range, lexical profiling, and expert consultation. The words included in the BSWL were those which occurred at least 13 times in 30 per cent of menus, were outside the reference word lists (the General Service List, the Academic Word List, the Function Word List, the abbreviation list, and the Proper Name List), and were scaled as 3 or 4 by two or more experts. As a result, the BSWL comprised 288 words with 7.92 per cent coverage of the BSC.
Portfolio Assessment Among Thai EFL First-Year University Students: Perceptions and Progress
Authors: Punyapratheep Kritsada , Wudthayagorn Jirada
Published: October 2023

This research study investigated students’ perceptions toward the use of portfolios as well as documenting the progress of a portfolio assessment in a classroom-based setting of Thai EFL undergraduate students. The 25 first-year students who had enrolled in an English foundation course offered at a public university were the participants. These participants completed two types of essays, which comprised eight drafts in total for compiling the portfolios. Reflective journals, a perception questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a portfolio self-assessment form were utilized to collect data so that the perceptions toward the use of portfolios could be examined. The quantitative data from the perception questionnaire were analyzed by descriptive statistics (mean scores and standard deviation). The qualitative data from the reflective journals, semi-structured interview, and portfolio self-assessment form were analyzed by means of content analysis. Moreover, the progress of the eight drafts of two types of essays was analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA. It was found that the participants had positive perceptions toward the use of portfolio assessment, and they wrote significantly better essays. In sum, portfolio assessment can be an effective alternative choice in a classroom-based setting.
Understanding Teacher Autonomy Through EFL Teachers’ Online Teaching Experiences
Authors: Chinpakdee Muthita
Published: October 2023

Research on autonomy in foreign language education has largely focused on learner autonomy while relatively little attention has been given to teacher autonomy and the factors that underpin its exercise and development. Similar to learner autonomy, teacher autonomy is a multidimensional construct and the degree to which it can be exercised and maintained varies, depending on context. This qualitative research examines teacher autonomy in the context of emergency online language teaching. Accounts of two teachers’ online teaching experiences were used to (a) explore how EFL teachers exercise and maintain their autonomy in teaching during the transition from face-to-face to online learning and (b) identify factors that affect their autonomy during this challenging time. Findings reveal that both teachers viewed the transition to online learning as an opportunity to exercise their autonomy and experiment with new ways to improve their practices. However, the extent to which they could implement new pedagogical ideas in their teaching depends on their professional relationships with others in their contexts. This study highlights the importance of reflection, collaboration, and negotiation as essential components of teacher autonomy and teacher development.
Shift to Impress: How Thai LGBTs Create New Terms in Their Daily Chats
Authors: Kanchanabundhu Korapon , Trakulkasemsuk Wannapa
Published: October 2023

This research study aims to investigate word-formation strategies employed by Thai LGBTs in creating new terms. A number of LGBT terms were preselected from a Thai LGBT series named Diary Tootsies The Series, then validated by three external raters. The 50 remaining terms were analysed through an adapted framework of word formation (Algeo and Algeo, 1993; Bauer, 2020). The result indicates that Shift of Meaning, which is the strategy of assigning new meaning to the existing terms, was the predominant strategy employed. Shift of Meaning may possibly co-occur with some other strategies, such as using rhyme-motivated or compounding words. The use of more than one strategy may help embellish the terms and make their meaning more expressive and entertaining. As language can reflect its users’ identity, new terms created by Thai LGBTs would embrace the stereotypical image that people have about them in the ways that they are outgoing, funny, and creative.
Using Tasks with Low Proficiency Learners in English Teaching
Authors: Srimavin Wilaksana , Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

This paper examines the effects of using holistic tasks with elementary learners of English in a Thai university. The existing course for these learners used a discrete-point syllabus resulting in low motivation and involvement in learning. Six tasks, involving problem solving, creative thinking and values clarification, were added to the course. These tasks led to higher student participation and involvement in learning, and increased self-confidence and self-reliance. It is therefore concluded that holistic tasks provide an effective vehicle for teaching English to elementary learners.
Cohesion and Coherence Analyses of Extended Written Schizophrenic Discourse: An Exploratory Case Study
Authors: Todd Richard Watson
Published: October 2023

Schizophrenic discourse is characterized by thought disorder, or a lack of coherence, prompting substantial research into identifying and measuring the incoherent discourse of schizophrenics. Much of this research has examined short extracts of elicited spoken data and used researcher judgments. This study examines the connectedness of naturally-occurring extensive written schizophrenic discourse using three methods of analysis: an automated analysis of cohesion, lexical cohesion analysis, and topic-based analysis focusing on propositional coherence. The results show that the schizophrenic texts are highly cohesive, especially in their use of connectives and the density of connections. The texts also show high proportions of topic shifts and a greater average distance of moves between concepts. These suggest that the topic structure of the schizophrenic texts consists predominantly of repetitive topic maintenance interspersed with short unrelated mini-topics, and it is this structure that manifests thought disorder.
Teacher Cognition of EFL Assessment: A Case Study of Professional Development on Performance-based Language Assessment in Japan
Authors: Chinda Bordin , Hinkelman Don
Published: October 2023

This qualitative study, conducted in Hokkaido, Japan, concerns the investigation of the teacher cognition and practice of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) assessment and the impact of a professional development (PD) program on the participants. The PD program was carried out as a series of seven in-service workshops with five native speakers of English teaching in Japanese schools and universities. The workshops aimed to provide these teachers with a basic theoretical and practical understanding of performance-based language assessment. Another major purpose of the PD was for the teachers to conduct research and publish a paper concerning language assessment. In the study, the recording of teacher reflections was used as the data collection method. From the analysis of the data, the findings show that the PD program has positively affected the teachers. They have learned about alternative ways to assess the students, gained greater self-reliance, and became confident as teacher-assessors.
Multi- and Uni-Text Treatments of Genre: A Trainer’s Description and Teacher-Trainees’ Evaluation
Authors: Lassche Gerry
Published: October 2023

This paper discusses two approaches to teaching literacy: a text-level approach, involving the use of multiple models; and a context-level, genre-based approach, involving a single model. Each approach is described, and its implications on literacy comprehension evaluated. A qualitative assessment of teacher trainees towards the adoption of uni-text approaches follows. The findings suggest that, although teachers acknowledge the superiority of a genre-based approaches for facilitating communicative skills, they have misgivings about its applicability due to unfamiliarity with L2 and with the technical manipulation of the approach, and the antagonistic influence of current testing paradigms.
Designing Task-Based Materials to Promote Learner Autonomy in the Classroom
Authors: Wiriyakarun Pamararat
Published: October 2023

Encouraging learners to become fully autonomous is an ideal rather than the reality. However, developing some degree of autonomy is essential if learners are to become effective language users. It is believed that despite a number of constraints imposed by individuals, institutions and society, the classroom is still the best place for learners to move towards autonomy.
Media Literacy and Language Teaching
Authors: Wongbiasaj Sorani
Published: October 2023

Ours is an age of media and information technology, in which the mass media drive our global politics and economy and control our perceptions. Media literacy, or the ability to "read" what is hidden in the media text (both spoken and written) is a very important skill for our learners, especially at the tertiary level, to really understand what is going on around them, and to become independent, critical thinkers in our society. This article gives an example of a newspaper report with bias and shows how a critical reading can be done to reveal the implicit side-taking perspective. It also discusses why media literacy should be incorporated into a language class and how this can be done.
Study of Speed Reading and Comprehension Aided by Prediction, Skimming and Scanning
Authors: Banditvilai Choosri
Published: October 2023

Speed reading is a method of improving a reader’s ability to read and comprehend a text quickly. To help students learn to accelerate their reading, the techniques of prediction, skimming and scanning were employed in this study. The findings show that the use of these techniques improved students’ comprehension capabilities. The students in this study expressed positive attitudes towards the development of their skills, both in increasing reading speed and in motivating reading with a purpose.
Enhancing Authentic English Learning to Non-English Speaking Learners Using a Course Homepage
Authors: Khampusaen Dararat
Published: October 2023

The primary purpose of this work was to study the management of an instructional media through information technology network, the course homepage, in a general English course classroom. The study secondarily focused on problems occurred and the needs and attitudes of the users towards the course homepage. From a questionnaire survey, generally the findings were positive, especially concerning the extent to which the course homepage was used. There were, however, some problems, largely practical or technical, with using a course homepage.
Switching schemata
Authors: Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

The importance of schemata in reading has been highlighted by many studies. However, one aspect of schemata, namely schema switching, has largely been ignored in the literature. For most texts several schemata are activated in turn, and readers' willingness to switch schemata may affect their comprehension. This paper investigates schema switching by looking at the referents readers assign to an ambiguous it in a text. Evidence for schema use comes from readers' identification of words not found in the text as referents of it. Most readers switch schemata as they read, with most changes in interpretation of the referent occurring at points where lexical cohesion plays a role. No differences in willingness to switch schemata between native speakers and non-native speakers were found.
use of macro-skills in giving consultations
Authors: Riamliw Jakraphan , Yamkate Kulawadee , Tepsuriwong Saowaluck
Published: October 2023

Consultations, which are sessions arranged for assisting students to manage the lessons or learning problems, have become a part of the learner-centred classroom. Teachers, especially those who are new to dealing with helping students in this way, would probably feel uneasy about them. This paper reports the results of a study on the use of macroskills in giving consultations by novice university teachers. It also discusses some practical perspectives that would be applicable and beneficial in counselling.
Three modes of CALL communication
Authors: Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

One aspect of CALL which has received little attention in both research into and design of multimedia language learning software is the mode of CALL communication. By this I mean who the software user is interacting with and how they are interacting. Most multimedia software is designed for a one learner – one computer mode of communication. However, modes where learners interact with each other either face-to-face with two learners sitting at one computer or over a network could be integrated relatively easily into most software. This study compares three modes of CALL communication, namely, one learner to one computer, competitive face-to-face pairs, and networked pairs. To conduct the comparison, a program involving a noughts-and-crosses (tic-tac-toe) game and multiple-choice questions on collocation was designed. Findings show that, in the two paired modes, learner-learner communication was impoverished, but that learners preferred these modes and were more involved in learning.
Training teachers to use the Web in ELT
Authors: Pongsart Pongpet
Published: October 2023

This study aimed to provide support for secondary school teachers learning how to make effective use of Web-based CALL (WBC). With this in mind, the researcher created a CD designed to help train teachers in useful aspects of WBC. Using questionnaires and interviews, the CD was trialled with teachers from government secondary schools throughout Thailand. This study looks at the results of this trial. The key findings are that teachers had positive attitudes towards WBC and that some of the pages on the CD were visited far more frequently than others. These findings were used to generate guidelines for designing CDs to support training in the future.
Problems Using Electronic Dictionaries to Translate Thai Written Essays into English
Authors: Boonmoh Atipat , Singhasiri Wareesiri , Hull Jonathan
Published: October 2023

This article describes problems that Thai students have when they use electronic dictionaries to translate Thai written essays into English. The subjects were six first-year undergraduate students studying at the Faculty of Engineering of a Thai university. The research instruments were questionnaires, written essays, verbal reports (think aloud), retrospective semi-structured interviews and observation check sheets. The subjects wrote an English essay by writing a draft in Thai and then translating it into English. Their electronic dictionaries were the only technical support they were allowed to use while they were producing these essays. The results reveal that there were six identified problems when the subjects used electronic dictionaries to translate Thai written essays into English. Furthermore, the observation, the think aloud and the interview reveal the subjects’ problems using the electronic dictionaries and some problems with the electronic dictionaries themselves.
Designing a Placement Test for Use in Student English Access Rooms (SEARs)
Authors: Tepparat Parinun , Watson Todd Richard , Buato Punnee
Published: October 2023

One project in Thailand in which self-access has been implemented recently is Student English Access Rooms (SEARs), which is funded by the World Bank. The aim is to promote English development and improvement through self-access learning. To serve the aim, a placement test is needed as supportive guidance on where to start using the materials. This paper investigates whether a computer-based placement test, which was specially designed for use in SEARs, is an appropriate test and whether the levels of the materials suggested are appropriate for students’ language levels.
Preferred Learning Styles and Strategies of Adult Thai EFL Students in a Bangkok Business Setting
Authors: Wall Ursula
Published: October 2023

This exploratory study was designed to look at personal learning styles and preferred language learning strategies in Thai students of English. A questionnaire incorporating statements from Willing (1989) on learning style, and from Oxford (1990) on learning strategies, was constructed and administered to 30 adult EFL students at a large computer-network service company located in Bangkok. Although the results are inconclusive, they suggest adult students in Thailand represent the full range of learning styles but exhibit a slight preference for what Kolb (1979) called the Concrete Experience dimension; that is, students’ scores are highest for Willing’s (1989) Communicative Learning Style, followed closely by Concrete Learning Style. These results have implications in the classroom, both for general teaching and for specific strategy training. Thai students need to be explicitly taught to make better use of their preferred styles, in other words, to turn their love of group interaction into an effective learning strategy.
Teachers' Beliefs Concerning Large-Class English Teaching at the University Level
Authors: Jimakorn Pattamawan , Singhasiri Wareesiri
Published: October 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ beliefs toward teaching English in large classes. The study made use of a questionnaire to survey 75 tertiary-level lecturers in Thailand. All participants had more than one year's teaching experience. The questionnaire comprised 3 parts with closed-ended and open-ended questions and rating scales. It was used to find out the teachers’ beliefs concerning classroom management, teaching techniques and strategies, teaching procedures, evaluation and assessment, physical constraints, and affective relationships. The results show that tertiarylevel teachers think that teaching English in large classes may possible but many constraints should be taken into consideration.
desigualdad en el trabajo de la mujer
Authors: Bravo Montalvo Washington Luis
Published: October 2023

Desde la comprensión del trabajo como actividad humana, la primera impresión que nos da la idea de “igualdad en el trabajo” es que NO HAY igualdad en el trabajo. De hecho, contamos ejemplos de ellos como teorías que intentan explicar el trabajo como degradación; Uno de ellos es la desigualdad en el trabajo de la Mujer, ámbito en el que la historia tiene una gran responsabilidad, que nos la ha presentado, casi siempre, desempeñando su papel tradicional: Como subordinada, en el hogar, sujeta a jerarquías culturalmente aceptadas. Quizás, la respuesta al por qué, podría estar ahondando en el mismo umbral donde empezó todo, donde empezó a originarse la desigualdad: La mentalidad que creíamos correcta y de la que nos alimentamos a través de la educación que recibimos.
Maternidad subrogada: entre Dignidad humana y autonomía privada
Authors: Mantilla Yarango Diego Enrique
Published: October 2023

El convenio de maternidad subrogada se gesta en el ámbito jurídico civil y trasciende a las distintas disciplinas jurídicas, como consecuencia, genera un gran número de problemas. Uno de los más básicos problemas se circunscribe en el presunto dilema entre la dignidad y la autonomía. Con la presente investigación no pretendo resolver el problema, sino disolverlo. Resolver el presunto dilema, implica confrontar a la dignidad y a la autonomía para obtener un vencedor; muy por el contrario, comprender que el respeto de la dignidad garantiza el espacio de actuación autónoma de la persona, implica disolver el problema, es decir, aclarar que la dignidad y autonomía fluyen de manera armónica, pues no son antagónicas y, por tanto, no existe conflicto alguno. Una vez superada la falacia, analizo la compatibilidad de la práctica con el ordenamiento para establecer su factibilidad jurídica. Así, al no existir impedimento para concebir por encargo, se entiende permitida, pero debido a los intereses involucrados, hago patente una regulación especial sobre la subrogación del vientre como parte del ámbito privado del desarrollo de la persona humana en sociedad.
EXPECTATIVA DA FINITUDE:
Authors: Silva Leonardo Luiz Silveira da , Costa Alfredo , Clemente Carlos Magno Santos
Published: October 2023

Este trabalho baseia-se em pressupostos mais-que-representacionais e propõe uma reflexão sobre como a expectativa da morte interfere no afeto e na performance humana, trazendo repercussões importantes para o arranjo do espaço. De forma mais detida, parte-se da natureza duplamente localizada do afeto, intermediada pelo campo relacional entre corpos e o subconsciente, para propor a descrição de expressões primárias e secundárias da finitude. Destacamos que estas expressões interagem ativamente, e aludem tanto à dimensão das relações estabelecidas pelos indivíduos frente às estruturas funcionalmente ligadas à morte - exemplificadas aqui a partir da sua disposição no tecido urbano de Salinas-MG -, e também à dimensão subconsciente do afeto. Nossa metodologia inclui uma análise da temporalidade afetada pela experiência do passado e pela expectativa do porvir, o que dialoga diretamente com os pressupostos das chamadas geografias espectrais, entendidas como um conjunto de abordagens mais-que-representacionais que utilizam do afeto entre temporalidades como uma forma importante de ler a geografia do que acontece. Concluímos que a expectativa da finitude é um constituinte indissociável da existência, apresentando-se como uma das mais poderosas forças que se corporificam nas performances, trazendo repercussões muito relevantes para o arranjo paisagístico e, ao mesmo tempo, se apresentando como forças que continuam a afetar a experiência de cada um de nós.
Measuring Objective Walkability from Pedestrian-Level Visual Perception Using Machine Learning and GSV in Khulna, Bangladesh
Authors: Biswas Gitisree , Roy Tusar Kanti
Published: October 2023

Walkability entails measuring the degree of walking activity, a non-motorized mode of active transportation crucial in fast-developing urban settings and combating sedentary lifestyles. While there has been extensive objective research focusing on factors related to the physical environment that influence walkability, there has been a comparatively limited exploration into objectively evaluating a pedestrian’s visual perception. This study in Khulna, Bangladesh, aimed to develop a novel method for objectively measuring walkability based on pedestrian-level visual perception using machine learning. In this research, ResNet, a computer vision model, analyzed 127 panoramic Google Street View images taken at 200-meter intervals from seven major roads. The model, trained with the “deeplabv3plusResnet18CamVid” algorithm, quantified five selected visual features. The results, including walkability rankings, correlation analysis, and spatial mapping, highlighted that greenery and visual enclosures significantly influenced the walkability index. However, the impact of other visual features was less distinctive due to an overall poor streetscape condition. This study bridged the gap between human perception and scientific intelligence, allowing for the evaluation of previously “unmeasurable” streetscape designs. It provides valuable insights for more human-centered planning and transportation strategies, addressing the challenges of modern urbanization and sedentary behavior.
Digital Cartographic Generalization – Study of Its Thresholds and Stages in Example of Cartographic Line
Authors: Budkowski Szczepan
Published: October 2023

Digital generalization of spatial data has been the goal of the research in many research centers around the world. This article presents the evolution of cartographic generalization, drawing the reader’s attention to the change of its nature from analog to digital. Despite the passage of time and developing technologies, scientists have unfortunately yet to develop a uniform automatic generalization algorithm. One of the factors that hinder this process is the high complexity and complication of the whole process. The article is an attempt to answer this problem and addresses the issue of digital cartographic generalization by creating a proposal of thresholds and stages of cartographic generalization depending on the ratios of the numbers of points of generalized objects. The publication attempts to examine the possibility of applying an objective criterion of drawing recognition by examining digital generalization algorithms and setting its thresholds. The practical aim of the publication is to present generalization thresholds on the example of Chrobak’s algorithm. The proposal to make the selection of generalization thresholds dependent on the percentage share of points is a solution that is as simple to use as it is to implement. The method of defining intervals based on the three-sigma rule is a solution that guarantees that the obtained results will be characteristic of the probability density function of the normal distribution, which will define individual intervals most objectively.
Quantitative Geometric Modeling of Blood Cells from X-ray Histotomograms of Whole Zebrafish Larvae
Authors: Yakovlev Maksim A. , Liang Ke , Zaino Carolyn R. , Vanselow Daniel J. , Sugarman Andrew L. , Lin Alex Y. , La Riviere Patrick J. , Zheng Yuxi , Silverman Justin D. , Leichty John C. , Huang Sharon X. , Cheng Keith C.
Published: October 2023

Tissue phenotyping is foundational to understanding and assessing the cellular aspects of disease in organismal context and an important adjunct to molecular studies in the dissection of gene function, chemical effects, and disease. As a first step toward computational tissue phenotyping, we explore the potential of cellular phenotyping from 3-Dimensional (3D), 0.74 µm isotropic voxel resolution, whole zebrafish larval images derived from X-ray histotomography, a form of micro-CT customized for histopathology. As proof of principle towards computational tissue phenotyping of cells, we created a semi-automated mechanism for the segmentation of blood cells in the vascular spaces of zebrafish larvae, followed by modeling and extraction of quantitative geometric parameters. Manually segmented cells were used to train a random forest classifier for blood cells, enabling the use of a generalized cellular segmentation algorithm for the accurate segmentation of blood cells. These models were used to create an automated data segmentation and analysis pipeline to guide the steps in a 3D workflow including blood cell region prediction, cell boundary extraction, and statistical characterization of 3D geometric and cytological features. We were able to distinguish blood cells at two stages in development (4- and 5-days-post-fertilization) and wild-type vs.
polA2 huli hutu
(
hht
) mutants. The application of geometric modeling across cell types to and across organisms and sample types may comprise a valuable foundation for computational phenotyping that is more open, informative, rapid, objective, and reproducible.
Shh from mossy cells contributes to preventing NSC pool depletion after seizure-induced neurogenesis and in aging
Authors: Noguchi Hirofumi , Arela Jessica Chelsea , Ngo Thomas T. , Cocas Laura , Pleasure Samuel J.
Published: October 2023

Epileptic seizures induce aberrant neurogenesis from resident neural stem cells (NSCs) in the dentate gyrus of the adult mouse hippocampus, which has been implicated in depletion of the NSC pool and impairment of hippocampal function. However, the mechanisms regulating neurogenesis after seizures remain unknown. Here we demonstrate that Shh from mossy cells is a major source of Shh signaling activity after seizures, by which mossy cells contribute to seizure-induced neurogenesis and maintenance of the NSC pool. Deletion of Shh from mossy cells attenuates seizure-induced neurogenesis. Moreover, in the absence of Shh from mossy cells, NSCs pool are prematurely depleted after seizure-induced proliferation, and NSCs have impaired self-renewal. Likewise, lack of Shh from mossy cells accelerates age-related decline of the NSC pool with accompanying reduction of self-renewal of NSCs outside the context of pathology such as seizures. Together, our findings indicate that Shh from mossy cells is critical to maintain NSCs and to prevent exhaustion from excessive consumption in aging and after seizures.
The pelvic organs receive no parasympathetic innervation
Authors: Sivori Margaux , Dempsey Bowen , Chettouh Zoubida , Boismoreau Franck , Ayerdi Maïlys , Eymael Annaliese Nucharee , Baulande Sylvain , Lameiras Sonia , Coulpier Fanny , Delattre Olivier , Rohrer Hermann , Mirabeau Olivier , Brunet Jean-François
Published: October 2023

The pelvic organs (bladder, rectum and sex organs) have been represented for a century as receiving autonomic innervation from two pathways — lumbar sympathetic and sacral parasympathetic — by way of a shared relay, the pelvic ganglion, conceived as an assemblage of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons. Using single cell RNA sequencing, we find that the mouse pelvic ganglion is made of four classes of neurons, distinct from both sympathetic and parasympathetic ones, albeit with a kinship to the former, but not the latter, through a complex genetic signature. We also show that spinal lumbar preganglionic neurons synapse in the pelvic ganglion onto equal numbers of noradrenergic and cholinergic cells, both of which therefore serve as sympathetic relays. Thus, the pelvic viscera receive no innervation from parasympathetic or typical sympathetic neurons, but instead from a divergent tail end of the sympathetic chains, in charge of its idiosyncratic functions.
Syntaxin 17 recruitment to mature autophagosomes is temporally regulated by PI4P accumulation
Authors: Shinoda Saori , Sakai Yuji , Matsui Takahide , Uematsu Masaaki , Koyama-Honda Ikuko , Sakamaki Jun-ichi , Yamamoto Hayashi , Mizushima Noboru
Published: October 2023

During macroautophagy, cytoplasmic constituents are engulfed by autophagosomes. Lysosomes fuse with closed autophagosomes but not with unclosed intermediate structures. This is achieved in part by the late recruitment of the autophagosomal SNARE syntaxin 17 (STX17) to mature autophagosomes. However, how STX17 recognizes autophagosome maturation is not known. Here, we show that this temporally regulated recruitment of STX17 depends on the positively charged C-terminal region of STX17. Consistent with this finding, mature autophagosomes are more negatively charged compared with unclosed intermediate structures. This electrostatic maturation of autophagosomes is likely driven by the accumulation of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) in the autophagosomal membrane. Accordingly, dephosphorylation of autophagosomal PI4P prevents the association of STX17 to autophagosomes. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations support PI4P-dependent membrane insertion of the transmembrane helices of STX17. Based on these findings, we propose a model in which STX17 recruitment to mature autophagosomes is temporally regulated by a PI4P-driven change in the surface charge of autophagosomes.
A low-cost unity-based virtual training simulator for laparoscopic partial nephrectomy using HTC Vive
Authors: Rasheed Fareeha , Bukhari Faisal , Iqbal Waheed , Asif Muhammad , Chaudhry Hafiza Ayesha Hoor
Published: October 2023

Laparoscopic education and surgery assessments increase the success rates and lower the risks during actual surgeries. Hospital residents need a secure setting, and trainees require a safe and controlled environment with cost-effective resources where they may hone their laparoscopic abilities. Thus, we have modeled and developed a surgical simulator to provide the initial training in Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy (LPN—a procedure to treat kidney cancer or renal masses). To achieve this, we created a virtual simulator using an open-source game engine that can be used with a commercially available, reasonably priced virtual reality (VR) device providing visual and haptic feedback. In this study, the proposed simulator’s design is presented, costs are contrasted, and the simulator’s performance is assessed using face and content validity measures. CPU- and GPU-based computers can run the novel simulation with a soft body deformation based on simplex meshes. With a reasonable trade-off between price and performance, the HTC Vive’s controlled soft body effect, physics-based deformation, and haptic rendering offer the advantages of an excellent surgical simulator. The trials show that the medical volunteers who performed the initial LPN procedures for newbie surgeons received positive feedback.
Efecto del déficit hídrico sobre el intercambio gaseoso y la vulnerabilidad a embolismo xilemático en los Cv. Chardonnay y Sauvignon blanc (Vitis vinifera)
Authors:   , Beyer Correa Magdalena
Published: October 2023

Vitis vinifera es una especie de gran importancia en la fruticultura chilena, su producción abarca tanto la producción de pisco como de vino y se extiende a lo largo del país. Uno de los desafíos de la producción vitivinícola en el futuro es la creciente escasez hídrica, tanto a nivel nacional como mundial. En este contexto, es esencial buscar y aplicar métodos de producción que minimicen el uso de agua sin comprometer los rendimientos. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar y comprender el comportamiento de los cultivares Chardonnay (CH) y Sauvignon blanc (SB) en respuesta al déficit hídrico temprano y tardío, analizando el impacto de estas condiciones en el intercambio gaseoso y la vulnerabilidad al embolismo xilemático. Con este propósito, se realizaron mediciones del estatus hídrico bajo diferentes tratamientos de riego, así como evaluaciones de la vulnerabilidad hidráulica, los rendimientos y parámetros de intercambio gaseoso, como la asimilación máxima de CO2, en ambos cultivares en condiciones de campo. Los resultados revelaron notables diferencias en los parámetros fisiológicos mencionados en respuesta al estrés hídrico en ambos variedades. A raíz de lo expuesto, se puede concluir que Chardonnay presentaría una mayor resistencia al estrés hídrico en comparación con Sauvignon blanc, que, por el contrario, mostró una mayor susceptibilidad.
Fronteras urbano-territoriales en el ámbito de la ciudad intermedia. El caso del ferrocarril en Curicó, Chile
Authors:   , Guerra Corral Diego Joaquín
Published: October 2023

Esta investigación se orienta a comprender las relaciones que se establecen entre la ciudad intermedia como aparato articulador del territorio, y algunos sistemas de escala territorial como son la topografía, los ríos, y las infraestructuras de transporte. Se expone que en dicho contexto se producen fricciones que decantan en la configuración de fronteras urbano-territoriales que en un estado de deterioro, afectan negativamente el entorno urbano y su capacidad de interacción con el territorio. Sin embargo, también es necesario comprender la frontera como un espacio de interacción, donde potencialmente pueden ocurrir encuentros e intercambios beneficiosos en distintos ámbitos y escalas. Tomando el ferrocarril como objeto central se apunta a que una serie de causas, como la falta de soluciones efectivas a la barrera ferroviaria, el deterioro de su infraestructura, y la rápida expansión urbana, han decantado en el deterioro de la frontera en torno al ferrocarril. Sin embargo, el entorno ferroviario expresa variadas potencialidades, como la permanencia de tradiciones locales en torno transporte y el comercio, espacios disponibles en entornos bien equipados de la ciudad, así como el potencial de transformarse en un soporte para la movilidad en un futuro cercano. En ese sentido se plantea que mediante la rearticulación de las fronteras urbano-territoriales y la integración del aparato ferroviario como espacio de interacción y soporte para la movilidad local y regional, pueden revertirse los efectos negativos de la presencia de estos sistemas territoriales en la ciudad, recomponiendo funciones extintas y aportando además nuevos espacios comunes de interacción para la ciudad intermedia.
Dereliction and Reconfiguration of Casas Patronales: a balancing act between material fragility and Chilean heritage
Authors:   , Bornscheuer David Leonhard
Published: October 2023

Esta tesis explora las características tipológicas y materiales de las casas patronales como tipología de edificación tradicional en zonas rurales de Chile y las causas de su deterioro. Las casas patronales, definidas como grandes conjuntos rurales del Valle Central chileno originados entre los siglos XVII y XIX, evolucionaron gradualmente, creando patrones ortogonales en torno a patios. Estas casonas constituyeron la casa principal de las grandes haciendas agrícolas y funcionaban como su centro de actividad, cumpliendo propósitos agrícolas y administrativos, además de proporcionar espacio habitacional para los patrones, trabajadores domésticos y criados. A pesar de constituir una parte relevante del patrimonio protegido chileno, estas casas sufren una falta de valoración y reconocimiento por parte de la sociedad, lo que provoca su desocupación, abandono, deterioro y finalmente su desaparición. Esta tendencia a la decadencia tiene varias causas, entre las que destacan la fragilidad material (las construcciones de adobe son vulnerables a la actividad sísmica y caras de mantener) y la obsolescencia programática (la sequía y el progreso técnico dieron lugar a nuevas formas de agricultura, los cambios demográficos y la supremacía de la ciudad en muchos sectores provocan un éxodo rural, las viviendas familiares a gran escala con numerosos trabajadores domésticos en un entorno rural parecen anticuadas en la sociedad moderna). Esta investigación pretende exponer los problemas y desafíos de tipología y material. A partir de este análisis, el objetivo es comprender por qué muchos casos de estudio están deteriorándose o gravemente dañados, para, en última instancia, salvar este patrimonio nacional de la desaparición. La tesis sirve de apoyo al mi proyecto de título, que pretende reactivar una casa patronal negligida creando nuevas interdependencias entre el ámbito rural y el urbano.